Theme: Christmas
Text: Galatians 4:1-7
Proportional Statement: Christmas is the final hope of a lost world.
1.Christmas is when God sent forth His Son into the world, Gal 4:4
a.God’s birth into the world
b.God’s expression in Jesus
c.God’s final dealing with man
2.Christmas is when God sent forth His Spirit of His Son into our hearts, Gal 4:6
a.Sons of God – God’s birth in believers
b.Heirs of God – God’s expression in believers
c.Messengers of God – God’s final ambassadors to man
Introduction
According to a legend Satan and his demons were having a Christmas party. As the demonic guests were departing, one grinned and said to Satan, “Merry Christmas, your majesty.” At that, Satan replied with a growl, “Yes, keep it merry. If they ever get serious about it, we’ll all be in trouble.”
The real problem is we are not serious about Christmas. We call that a Christmas tree. We sing Christmas carols. We give out Christmas cards and buy Christmas gifts. How much of these is really Christmas?
I went to a shop to buy some shampoo yesterday. After giving the change to me, the sale person at the counter said, “Merry Christmas”. I thought to myself, “Does she know the meaning of Christmas?”
The word Christmas in Mandarin is literal. It means ‘holy birth’. Christmas is about the birth of the Son of God.
The meaning of Christmas, like many festivals, gets eroded overtime. People remembers the feasting and the celebration BUT the meanings and stories of the festivals. How many of us know the original story behind the “Bak Chang (Rice Dumpling)” or “U-Chia Kuey (Fritter)” or the “ti kuey (sticky cake)”. What has Santa Claus to do with Christmas? In Mandarin, the word for Santa Claus means the old man of the holy birth.
Apart from the commercial values, the many things associated with Christmas are Satan’s ploy to erode Christmas; and, if it were possible to destroy the meaning of Christmas altogether.
Today, I like to share with you the meaning of Christmas from the perspective of God’s Calendar.
Let read Galatians 4:1-7
1. Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave although he is owner of everything, 2. but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. 3. So also we, while we were children, were held in bondage under the elemental things of the world. 4. But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5. so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons. 6. Because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" 7.Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
Verse 3 tells us that we were in bondage. We were held in sin. Other Bible text tells us that world sat in darkness waits for the Star of Christmas. The world without Christ is heading toward hell.
Christmas is the beginning of God’s special dealings with mankind. Because of these dealings it is imperative that we respond to the message of Christmas.
From today’s Bible text I will share with you two unique things that God did. It is unique because it has never happened in history until Christmas. It is unique also because it is only for a time only. After that it will never happen again. The two unique things are two gifts found in the phrase “God sent forth”
The first unique thing is found in verse 4, Christmas is when God sent forth His Son into the world.
One raw winter night a farmer heard an irregular thumping sound against his kitchen storm door. He went to a window and watched as tiny, shivering sparrows, attracted to the evident warmth inside, beat in vain against the glass.
Touched, the farmer bundled up and trudged through fresh snow to open the barn door for the struggling birds. He turned on the lights and tossed some hay in the corner. But the sparrows, which had scattered in all directions when he emerged from the house, hid in the darkness, afraid.
The man tried various tactics to get them into the barn. He laid down a trail of Saltine cracker crumbs to direct them. He tried circling behind the birds to drive them to the barn. Nothing worked. He, a huge, alien creature, had terrified them; the birds couldn’t comprehend that he actually desired to help. The farmer withdrew to his house and watched the doomed sparrows through a window. As he stared, a thought hit him like lightning from a clear blue sky: If only I could become a bird - one of them - just for a moment. Then I wouldn’t frighten them so. I could show them the way to warmth and safety.
At the same moment, another thought dawned on him. He grasped the reason Jesus was born. (As told by Paul Harvey)
God’s birth into the world
Christmas is God’s birth into the world. For the first time in history God became a man. Gal 4:4 tells us that He was born of a woman. God did not manifest His spirit in the flesh. He took on human form. He went through the process of conception, and foetus development, until He was born. This was the extent of God’s love. The creator became one of the created. This is unique because the invisible God became material.
In order to save a lost world, God identified with us and provide us the way to salvation, the way to eternal life.
God’s expression in Jesus
God did not just born into the world. He grew up. Jesus is God in human form. He was the express image of God. Jesus’ attitude and character expressed that of God. In Christ, God walked on the earth. Christianity is not a set of teachings. Christianity is God in Jesus showing us how to live in this world.
Hebrew 1:1-3a
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, 2. in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. 3. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power.
Jesus is the exact representation of God nature. When you see Jesus you see God. When you know Jesus, you know God.
God’s final dealing with man
Christmas signals God’s final dealing with man. Christmas was not the first time God spoke to man. God has spoken to the world many times but Christmas signals God’s final dealing with man. Hebrew 1:2 tells us that in the last days, God speak to us in His Son. The last days begins at the birth of Jesus Christ. Gal 4:4 says that in the fullness of time God sent forth His Son. The word fullness means complete. In this text, it means that God’s time table to send His Son has come. In time past, God spoke through prophets, the Old Testament Scripture. God has sent enough prophets. Finally, God sent His Son. Christmas is the time God sends His Son.
In Matthew 21:33-41 Jesus told us a parable. I like you to focus on the broad stroke, the big picture, in this parable.
33. “Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a wall around it and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and rented it out to vine-growers and went on a journey. 34. When the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his produce. 35. The vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, and killed another, and stoned a third. 36. Again he sent another group of slaves larger than the first; and they did the same thing to them. 37. But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ’They will respect my son.’ 38. But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ’This is the heir; come, let us kill him and seize his inheritance.’ 39. They took him, and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. 40. Therefore when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” 41. They said to Him, "He will bring those wretches to a wretched end, and will rent out the vineyard to other vine-growers who will pay him the proceeds at the proper seasons."
This is God’s final dealing with man. God sent forth His Son. Christmas is the beginning of the last days of God’s time table for mankind. The next time-table for mankind is the apocalypse--the end of this world as described clearly in the Book of Revelation.
The first message proclaimed by Jesus to the world was, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is imminent!” Mark 1:15
Christmas is unique because God became human being. On Christmas day, God manifested Himself through Jesus Christ. And Christmas is unique because it is God’s final and best method to save mankind before the judgement.
Christmas is when God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts
The first thing we know about Christmas is that it is Jesus’ birthday; God is born into the world. But that is not the end.
The second unique thing about Christmas from today text is found in Galatians 4:6, “God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts.”
This means that Christmas is God’s Spirit entering into the hearts of those who believe Jesus Christ. The spiritual birth in us is God’s gift for those who believe in Jesus. This also is part of Christmas – part of the last days.
This is the second unique thing because it has never happened before and is the last time it is happening. The window of time will soon be closed--God sending forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts.
Sons of God – God’s birth in believers
The purpose of Christmas is to make us sons of God. Galatians 4:6 says, “God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!”
The Bible tells us that we were alienated from God because of sin. But the moment we repented and confessed Jesus as Lord and Saviour, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts making us sons of God. With the Spirit of God in us we are now God’s sons. We are now related to Him. The moment God’s Spirit is born in us God becomes our Father.
Heirs of God – God’s expression in believers
Galatians 4:7 tells us that as sons of God we are also heirs of God. Therefore, Christmas is to make us heirs of God. We are no longer slave when God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. We are sons and therefore heirs of God.
What do believers inherit as heirs of God? First, they inherit eternal life. Second, they inherit the traits of the Father. Just as Jesus was the expressed image of God. God’s spirit in us can be seen by others. If you are truly born of God then you will bear the fruit of the Spirit. Jesus said that we will know the tree by their fruits. What Jesus was saying was that you can tell whether a person is the Father’s son by the person’s behaviour. When you see the behaviour of my son, you will see a part of me in him. Do you behave like your heavenly Father? Others who knew you, can they tell that you have changed and that God was the one who has changed you? This is the Christian witness to the world around us. We can’t 100 percent be like Jesus but we are getting there. People should be able to catch a glimpse of God in us.
Heirs of God must have attitude – God’s attitude.
Messengers of God – God’s final ambassadors to man
Because God sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts we are God’s sons, God’s heirs and, finally, God’s messengers. Christians who have the Spirit of God, their lives reflect hope not despair, faith not fear, joy not sadness, and Christmas not Christless.
Christians are God’s final ambassadors to mankind. This is the last days. Christmas reminds us that the final hour of world history is coming to an end. In the last days God send forth His Son, God send forth the Spirit of His Son. There is no more last last days, just last days. Therefore, unbelievers must respond with urgency to accept the good news of Christmas and make Jesus their Lord and Saviour. Christian must respond with urgency to share the good news of Christmas – God sent forth His Son to redeem mankind, God sent forth the Spirit of His Son to make us His sons and heirs.
C.S. Lewis wrote in his book, The Screwtape Letters, “There is a legend about Satan and his imps planning their strategy for attacking the world that’s hearing the message of salvation. One of the demons says, “I’ve got the plan, master. When I get on earth and take charge of people’s thinking, I’ll tell them there’s no heaven.”
The devil responds, “Ah, they’ll never believe that. This Book of Truth is full of messages about the hope of heaven through sins forgiven. They won’t believe that. They know there’s a glory yet future.”
On the other side of the room another says, “I’ve got the plan. I’ll tell ‘em there’s no hell.”
“No good,” he says. “Jesus, while He was on earth, talked more of hell than of heaven. They know in their hearts that their wrong will have to be taken care of in some way. They deserve nothing more than hell.”
And one brilliant little imp in the back stood up and said, “Then I know the answer. I’ll just tell them there’s no hurry.” And he’s the one Satan chose.”
Christmas is the hope of mankind. Christmas also reminds us that the time is short. The Christmas message is the last message, the final hope of a lost world. For those who haven’t accepted the Christmas message, I like to encourage you to exercise urgency to accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. For Christians, we must exercise urgency to share the Christmas message.
What is your response?
