A "WAY" IN A MANGER
by Mark Hardgrove
TEXT: Luke 2:1-20

INTRODUCTION:
God created man with the intention that man should have fellowship,
relationship, with God.  But Adam and Eve failed and sin came between
the creature and the Creator.  Sin sent man running from the presence of
a Holy and Loving God.  Judgment followed.  Death came into the picture,
man was driven from the Garden of Eden, and a Cherubim with a flaming
sword was posted at the entrance to keep man from reentering the garden
and eating of the Tree of Life.  

As a result of sin, the intimate relationship between man and God was
broken.  Still, God intended to be with man.  This desire on the part of
God moved God, by grace, to provide a means, through the blood of lambs,
rams, bullocks and goats, to allow the substitutionary death of the
innocent to atone, or cover, the sin of man.  God, by grace, chose a
people to be a nation of evangelists for the whole world.  God, by
grace, gave a tabernacle, and later a temple, in which worshippers could
come and offer sacrifices for their sins.   

There remained, however, a great gulf between God and man.  The Gentiles
could only come to the outer court, the Jewish women could go a little
farther, the Jewish men who were not sick or diseased, could get a
little closer, the Levites closer still, and the one man, the High
Priest could enter into the Holy of Holies once a year and behold the
Shekinah of God dwelling between the wing-tips of the golden cherubim
which sat atop the Ark of the Covenant.

As a whole, man failed miserably in upholding the requirements of the
Law.  Man was, in fact, powerless to make himself righteous, or to
maintain his righteousness.  Over and over man profaned the worship of
God, broke the Covenant commands, and continued in a downward spiral of
sin and failure.  Through the ages, "all have sinned and come short of
the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23).

But God had a plan.  God had the answer to humanity's helplessness
before we even knew we were helpless.  God already arranged to send the
lifeboat before we even knew we were drowning.  For when humanity had no
way, God made a way, He prepared Himself a " Lamb slain from the
foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8).  In fact, this Christmas I want to
point your attention to the fact that God had "A 'Way' In A Manger."

I	A WAY TO GOD
In verse 7 of our text the Word says, "And she brought forth her
firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a
manger; because there was no room for them in the inn."

Matthew's Gospel tells us that "all this was done, that it might be
fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet saying, Behold, a
virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall
call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us."  

As Joseph and Mary look upon the baby in the manger they are the first
to see what the prophet had longed to see, God condescending to come to
where we are.

We had no access, other than types and shadows.  We could only approach
God through intermediaries.  We could only know God through the rituals
and practices which pointed to the Great God who stood behind them.  But
now, in a manger, for the first time since the Garden of Eden, there is
a way--a way in a manger.

A way for man to know God intimately.  A way for man to pass beyond
veil.  A way for man to go beyond the ritual and know the relationship
God desires to have with us.  There is a way to get close enough to hear
the voice of God.  There is a way for man to get close enough to feel
the hand of God.  There is a way for man to come to God and have the
Spirit of God fall like fire and fill us with His power!  There is a way
in a manger!

Jesus told Thomas, in John's Gospel chapter 14 verse 6, "I am the way
the truth and the life, no man cometh to the Father but by me" (Jn.
14:6).  Jesus tells us that He is the way to know the Father; He said,
"If ye have known me, ye should have known my Father. . .  (v.7).  Jesus
is the way to see the Father.  Philip said, "Lord, shew us the Father .
. ."(8).  Jesus answered, "he that hath seen me hath seen the Father . .
." (9).  Jesus is the way to hear the Father.  He continued to say, "the
words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that
dwelleth in me. . . "(10).

There is no other way.  It's not by works.  It's not by riches.  It's
not by knowledge.  It's not by Joseph Smith.  It's not by Charles Taze
Russell.  It's not by Buddha.  It's not by Mohammed.  There is only one
way and that way is Jesus.  By Him we have access to the mercy seat, by
Him we come boldly to the throne of grace, by Him we are in the fold, we
are His sheep and He is our Shepherd.  There's a way in a manger!

Ask Joseph and Mary, they saw a way in the manger.  For thousands of
years following the fall of the first Adam, the world has struggled and
stumbled, fought and failed to find God.  Man could not get to where God
was.  Our sins separated us, but thank God, He made a way.  When we
could not get to where He was, He came to us!  Look anew upon the
Nativity and see a way in a manger. 

II	A WAY OF RECONCILIATION
Not only was man separated from God by sin, man and woman, man and man,
man and nature experienced a breach in their relationships.  Adam told
God, "the woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree
and I did eat" (Gen. 3:12).  Later we see Cain murdering his brother
Able.   Sin brought about racism, classism, sexism, and all the schisms
we can imagine.  Anywhere there is a wall built between two men,
anywhere two humans live in fear, or distrust, or disdain of one
another, this is the result of sin.

Social engineering has done nothing to alleviate the problem. 
Sociologists think they have the answer, and just when they think they
know what to do, they have to throw up their hands and admit that they
really don't know.  How can you make people with such diversities and
differences come together in brotherhood and sisterhood?  How can you
deal with decades of distrust and wounded hearts?  Some are saying it
can't be done.  Some are advocating further separation and segregation. 
Some want to go back, some want to go ahead and some want to stand
still, but the schisms remain.  My friends, let us look back to
Bethlehem and remember that there is a way in a manger.

The angel declared to the shepherds "I bring you good tidings of great
joy, which shall be to all people" (v. 10).  The Apostle Paul said "But
when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of
a woman, made under the law" (Gal 4:4).  And as a result of the work of
God on behalf of humanity, ". . . ye are all the children of God by
faith in Christ Jesus.  For as many of you as have been baptized into
Christ have put on Christ.   There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is
neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all
one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:26-28).

The world doesn't have an answer.  The social engineers don't know the
way.  Even many churches have given up on racial, ethnic and economic
harmony among humanity, but the angel declared that there is a way in a
manger.

When Simeon saw the infant Jesus in the temple at the time of
dedication, he declared, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in
peace, according to thy word: For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to
lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel" (Lk. 2:29-32). 

In Revelation, the song is "Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God
by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation"
(rev. 5:9).  There's a way in a manger!

III	A WAY OF SALVATION
The angel announced to the shepherds in the field, "For unto you is born
this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.  And
this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped  in
swaddling clothes, lying in a manger" (vv. 10,11).

The angel announced that lying in a manger in the city of David was a
Savior.  The name Jesus is actually the Hebrew name Joshua, or Yeshua,
which means, "the Lord saves."

All of Israel had been looking for Messiah.  Year after year the hopes
and dreams of the people of Israel were fixed on the promise of a coming
Anointed One upon whom the Spirit of the Lord rested.  They were looking
for a Savior to deliver them from Roman rule.  They longed to be a free
and independent nation.  They wanted to be delivered from physical
bondage, but the mission of the Messiah was first and foremost,
spiritual.  Spiritual chain held the people more securely than the
political chains.  Sin had bound humanity more tightly than physical
oppression.

Just as Israel was powerless to overcome the might of Roman rule, all of
humanity was powerless to overcome the chains of sin.  Not just Israel,
but all the world needed a Savior.

The writer of Hebrews declares "For it is not possible that the blood of
bulls and of goats should take away sins" (10:4).  These things were
merely pointing to the cross.  Animal sacrifices were not the way. 
David confessed in Psalm 51,  "For thou desirest not sacrifice; else
would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering" (v.16).

The song writer aptly wrote, "I owed a debt I could not pay.  He paid a
debt He did not owe, I needed someone to wash my sins away.  And now I
sing a brand new song, Amazing Grace.  Christ Jesus paid a debt that I
could never pay."

The Lamb of God was laying in a manger.  The satisfaction of the sin
debt we owed was in a manger.  When there was no way we could pay the
debt, Jesus was the way. 

There's a way in a manger.  The angels rejoiced and declared, "Unto you
is born this day in the city of David a Saviour. . . "  For the
salvation of the world.  For the satisfaction of the sin debt.  Gospel
preached to the poor.  The brokenhearted healed.  Deliverance brought to
the captives.  Recovery of sight to the blind.  Liberty to them who are
bruised.  There's a way in a manger.   A way that leads from the deepest
pits of sin to the highest heights of God's glory.  There's a way in a
manger!

IV	 A WAY TO PRAISE
The Jews of Jesus' day were not a happy lot.  They were lead by a puppet
king, Herod, who had been installed against the protests of the
religious faithful.  He was not of the proper lineage to be king. 
Furthermore, he could be, and often was, a ruthless man who had sold out
to Caesar.  In addition to this, the Roman government forced the people
to pay exorbitant taxes to fund the massive roads and Roman legions who
walked those roads.

These shepherds, who watch over their sheep by night, knew that part of
their labors, either their wages, their land or their sheep--perhaps a
little of all--would go to pay the bills of a government for whom they
held no allegiance.  In addition, the religious establishment was
dominated by groups and leaders who could not even agree on whether
there was life after death.  And the Pharisees were constantly adding
new requirements to the Law of Moses so that it was all but impossible
to make it through a day without breaking some Law, or at least man's
interpretation of the Law.

But after one trip to a stable and one look in a manger they came way
glorifying and praising God.  What did they see in the manger?  They saw
a "Way" in a manger.  They saw liberty, they saw the Son who could set
men free.  They saw the Way out of religiosity and ritual.  They saw a
Way where there once had been no way.   They come away rejoicing at the
fact that there is a Way in a manger.  There was a Way to praise in
spite of circumstances.  There was a Way to praise in the face of the
powers of the world.  There was a Way in a manger!

CONCLUSION:
Some will argue, "Brother Hardgrove, that was then and this is now.  The
baby is not in the manger any longer.   The angels haven't been singing
over my fields.  The star hasn't been shining over my home.  Not only
are the cattle not lowing, I can't even afford a hamburger, so don't go
telling me about a way in a manger because I need help today!"

Well, you're right.  The baby isn't in the manger any longer.  He grew
up, became a man,  walked upon the earth, healed the sick, made the lame
to walk, cleansed the lepers, opened blinded eyes, made the deaf to hear
and the dumb to talk.. . .He raised the dead!  Then the Way went to a
cross and nailed our sins to a tree.  The Way isn't in the manger, the
Way isn't on the cross, they Way isn't in the tomb, the Way is at the
right hand of the Father where He ever liveth to make intercession for
the saints.  The Way is holding the door open and giving us access to
the throne of grace.  There is a Way, there's a Way to live more
abundant.  There's a Way to healing power.  There's a Way to peace and
joy and rest.  There is a Way!

________________________________________________________________________
See Pastor Hardgrove's Bio. at www.churchnetwork.com/suwaneecog
He is available for revivals, seminars or special services.