THE CHRISTMAS GIFT FROM GOD
Isaiah 7:14
* Well, here we are in December once again. It’s the time for giving and receiving gifts. I read something this week which I thought you would enjoy. (Read buying gifts for men) Yes, I thought these rules might assist some of our ladies in buying presents for their husbands.
* Most of us know the joy and expectation of that one family member who always gives us our favorite gift each year. They may be the cool aunt or uncle or even that wealthy family friend. But whoever it is in your family, you always look forward to that special gift. It’s going to be cool, right, and perfect.
* Christmas time has always been about gifts. Have you ever set out to read all you can read about the history of Christmas? Having been incarcerated in my home (with my sickness) for the last couple of weeks gave me some time to read and I discovered that some contend the Christmas celebration goes back several thousand years to the area of Mesopotamia. While others say at least the gifts part of Christmas began with the Magi bringing gifts to the young boy. Still others suggest that it began in 375 A.D., and even more will contend that Christmas in America only took root in the 18th & 19th Century.
* Let me break this down for us this morning; seems to me that we, as believers, celebrate Christmas because of Jesus, God’s gift to mankind. Hopefully, we give gifts because of God’s greatest gift; we exchange gifts to remind us of the exchange life God has given us. All that we do this next month should be predicated on the truth that the first and best Christmas gift we can ever receive is from God. There are several scriptural reasons we can know truth and enjoy this holiday. Turn with me to Isaiah 7:14 and let’s consider one verse & the truth therein.
* Over the next month almost everything will be centered on Christmas. From our text, let’s see God’s gift to us in 4 slices;
1) The Promise For Christmas – “the Lord Himself shall give a sign”
* Every one in this building loves the thought of a “promise” for Christmas. Maybe it’s food, family, gifts, or a myriad of things.
* The promise for Christmas which God gives is a “sign.” In today’s world we are very used to signs. In our culture we think of signs in term of information. Yet, the signs which God gives are signs that “He is in the house.” Let’s remember exactly HOW God uses signs;
==> In Exodus 13, God makes the Passover celebration is set up a sign.
==> In Exodus 31 God says the observance of the Sabbath is also a sign.
==> Numbers 17 records Aaron’s blossoming rod as a sign of Aaron’s being chosen.
==> Joshua 4 records the Children of Israel crossing the Jordan and then placing 12 stones in the center of the riverbed as a sign from God to remember God’s provision in crossing the Jordan.
* God is big on signs. Why is this? Because God is giving His best effort to bring us out of the darkness. Isaiah 9 tells us this; “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light, on those living in the land of darkness, a light has dawned.” The sign which God gives is light.
* On this earth, God’s crown creation is walking in darkness because we live in a land of darkness. When you are truly consumed with darkness very little else matter except light. You don’t care about your hair, clothes, cars, house, or any other material goods, you simply want to see. God’s promise for Christmas is light.
* Let’s make this personal. Just because God has promised us light and delivered on His promise for this world does not indicate that you and I have automatically “seen” this light. We can and many still do walk in darkness. Just as surely as you walk into a room which possesses a light fixture requires action, so does your ability to see God’s divine light require action. God had promised us light and again, He’s delivered on His promise. Interestingly enough, He requires us to respond to His promise. Some of God’s other signs are love & life, but we’ll get to those. His promise is a sign and that sign is light.
2) The Power In Christmas – “a virgin will conceive”
* Wait a minute! A Virgin? Surely you gist. Without being offensive let me point out that in America there are two opposite views about this.
* First, there is the view of the “churched crowd” which seems to take the virgin birth for granted. We have been taught it for so long and believe it so deeply, that it’s seemingly no big deal.
* Next, there is the view of the “non-believer” which says this is a physical impossibility and contains no truth at all.
* Could it be that the very reason so many completely dismisses this is that we dismiss the “divine power” required to make this a reality.
* Allow me to play on your sense of logic for a moment. Were one of our lovely young ladies announce that they are expecting a child while, at the same time, proclaiming their purity, what would you think? You’d think the same thing that Joseph thought, “something’s wrong with this picture.” You see, this doesn’t just happen.
* Consider this; the power to heal leprosy, make the lame walk, cause the blind to see, feed 5000, and even raise the dead is the same power which is required to bring life to the womb of this little virgin girl. Think about it this way; Holy God would touch the pure and undisturbed womb of a virgin and give life. But this is exactly what God always does. Whatever He touches comes to Life.
* The power in Christmas is the power to bring light from darkness and life from nothing. He does this for you. He does this for me.
3) The Purpose Of Christmas – “have a Son”
* First of all, consider this with me. Some 400 plus years before the fact, not only does the prophet write that a virgin will conceive (this is a big deal), but he also declares the gender of the baby. In the past 25 years, through modern day medicine, it has become common practice for young couple to be told what the gender of the baby is. Deb and I were excited when we learned that our last baby would be a boy. Understand know the gender during a pregnancy is not a big thing today. However, there is no part of medicine that can predict a pregnancy 4 years in advance, let alone 400 years.
* Isaiah said “it’ll be a boy.” This is a truth that He repeated all through this book. Candidly, a girl would not fit the bill, it must be a boy.
* This boy has God as His Father and Mary as His mother, so He would be God-Man, fully God and fully man. This one of a kind person was and is the hope of all mankind. This is God’s gift to us.
* Isaiah further writes “For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on His shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, & Prince of Peace.”
* You want to talk about have a purpose in life, Jesus’ purpose is clear.
* John writes, “In Him was light and that light was the light of men.” He then writes, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.
* The very purpose of Christmas is to give this God-Man, the Son of God, to the world that the world through Him might be saved, saved from sin, death, and hell. This is God’s gift. It is a gift of love, light, & light.
4) The Presence At Christmas – “Immanuel”
* This may be the most blessed thought of all, Immanuel, God with us. In Old Testament days God “came upon” mankind through His spirit. Since the ascension, God the Holy Spirit is with us at all times. The angelic choir sang to the shepherds, “Peace on Earth and good will to mankind.” Through the Holy Spirit we can find both peace & good will.
* God has given us His best through this boy baby named Jesus. Remember what Matthew wrote, “You are to give Him the name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins. This is God’s gift to us at Christmas and it is His greatest gift.
* Joyce Clyde Hall began a mail order greeting card business out of Kansas City, Missouri. Before any new design was sent out it had the prototype had to pass J.C.’s inspection and receive “all okay, JC”. The founder of Hallmark Cards had a personal and corporate slogan which stated, “When you care enough to send your very best.”
* From those words I offer two final thoughts; First, God cared enough to send His very best to us. He made the first step to begin a relationship with us. The final thought is this; Do I return the favor?
