How Christmas Changes Everything

The Birth that Changes Everything

Gal.5:4-7

The birth of a baby can change things.

At 3:00 a.m. the young wife shakes her husband awake, telling him to check on the newborn baby. He sits up for a minute listening before he protests, "But I don’t hear her crying." "I know" she replied, "And it’s your turn to go see why not!"

A baby changes a lot of things. A baby can change your sleeping habits. After you bring home that bundle of joy, your life will almost certainly get noisier. Grocery shopping will be a little different as you discover how many different kinds of formula and food are available. You will learn what foods makes junior smile, and what foods produce more unpleasant reactions. If you’re wise you’ll “child-proof” your home. With time you’ll be able to tell if her tears are tears of pain, tears of anger, or frustration. The birth of a baby brings some big changes in your life.

Christmas is the celebration of the birth of a Baby Who changed everything. He not only made a big difference in His own home, but a big difference in the whole world. His birth is meant to change everything for you, too. I want to talk this morning to you about the how the birth of Jesus Christ can change your life. Look with me in Gal.4:4-7 at 3 changes Christmas can bring into your life.

PRAYER

I. THE BIRTH OF CHRIST CHANGED HISTORY (v. 4a) But when the fullness of time had come….

The world we live in is shaped by the past. You and I live in America because an explorer named Christopher Columbus discovered the New World, and opened the door for European settlers (our ancestors) to make their home here. You don’t speak French or Spanish, because the British, who spoke English, colonized most of North America. You live in a democracy because our forefathers fought and died, and soldiers since have fought and died to preserve our freedom. The world today was shaped by many events from the past. But no event has changed the world as much as the birth of Jesus Christ in the manger of Bethlehem. What are some changes His birth produced?

The most obvious change you see every time you check the expiration date on your milk, or write out a check, or sign any legal document—you need to know what year it is. Where does that number for the year come from? It comes from the birth of Christ. Some still use the terms B. C. (before Christ) and A. D. (Latin, Anno Domini= the year of our Lord) to outline history. They’re trying to change that now to get rid of Christ’s Name by calling it BCE (before the Common Era) and ACE (after the Common Era).

One thing nobody can deny: all of human history is divided by His entrance into this world. How would the world have been different if He had not been born …in the fullness of time… ? Remove every reference to Christ from the world’s greatest literature, and the library will almost be empty. Erase from every great painting or statue any work which includes Christ, and you don’t have much art left to appreciate. Close down all the great colleges originally founded to train preachers of the Gospel —Harvard, Yale, Princeton--- and you eliminate some of our greatest seats of learning. Christianity, with all of its failures and faults, has been one of the most powerful forces in all history. But if Christ was never born, human history would be a very different story.

But Christ was born Paul declares. At just the right time, right on schedule, according to the plan mapped out long before creation, God sent forth His Son to be born into this world. His birth changed human history; but He wants to do more: He wants to change your history.

He wants to draw a line separating BC from AD in your life. He wants to transform everything in your history. The Bible says in

2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Christ’s birth changed human history; but Christ’s entrance into your life will change your history. When Christ enters your life:

He changes your direction. A Christian is a person who is no longer chasing after sin, but pursuing righteousness. He is following Christ, following His plan for their lives.

He changes our desires. A Christian wants to please God. She may struggle with sinful desires, but her ultimate desire is to live worthy of her Lord. Even when she fails, a Christian wants to be forgiven, to be cleansed, to do better for Jesus’ sake.