The Four “M’s” of Christmas
Part 3 - The Mission
Matthew 1:18-21
December 21, 2008
NOTE: THE ME/WE/GOD/YOU/WE FORMAT IS FROM ANDY STANLEY’S BOOK, "COMMUNICATING FOR A CHANGE."
Me: You may have noticed that your note-taking guide looks a little sparse compared to what is normally in there.
That is not an indication that the sermon is going to be any shorter than usual, so don’t get any ideas about getting out of here too soon, okay?
It’s just that there are two things that I want to stress, and everything else simply underscores these things.
You can jot down some other things as you see fit, but don’t worry about having to fill in a bunch of blanks, okay?
I was like most kids growing up in America when it came to the Christmas season.
I couldn’t wait for Santa to bring me presents. I loved watching all the Christmas specials on TV. Especially the Charlie Brown Christmas Special and Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer.
You know, the clay-mation one with the elf who wants to be a dentist and the prospector, Yukon Cornelius, and the Abominable Snow Monster?
I remember how my parents tried to get us to get to bed and go to sleep because Santa wouldn’t come until we were asleep.
Anybody else get that growing up?
One thing that I didn’t get much of a focus was the mission of Christmas.
I remember hearing and knowing the “what” of Christmas – that we were celebrating the birth of Jesus.
But I don’t remember hearing much about the “why” of Christmas. WHY did Jesus come to earth?
I’m willing to admit that probably most of that was because I had other things on my mind – toys, for instance.
I came across the story of two young boys who were spending the night at their grandparents’ house the week before Christmas. At bedtime, the two boys knelt beside their beds to say their prayers. The younger one began praying at the top of his lungs: "I PRAY FOR A NEW BICYCLE..." "I PRAY FOR A NEW NINTENDO..." His older brother leaned over, nudged him and said, "Why are you shouting? God isn’t deaf." But the little brother replied, "No, but Grandma is!" (Sermoncentral.com. Contributed by Joel Vicente)
So, in spite of what I’m sure were hearty efforts on my parents’ part to help me appreciate the spiritual aspects of Christmas, it never really sank in until I was in college.
We: I wonder how many people here today grew up the same way. Many, if not most of you, right?
We loved the magic of the season, looked forward to receiving gifts, even if they weren’t from Santa, or even if we had outgrown him.
But we never really heard much about the mission of Christmas. Never really heard much about why that little baby was born in that stable.
Some of you did grow up hearing the “why.” And for you, there’s no separation for you. Christmas means Christ.
And let me say, you’re very fortunate.
But some of us didn’t get that as well as you did.
That’s why I want to take our time today to really get into that. I want to make sure that no one leaves here today without knowing just WHY Jesus came to earth as a little baby.
And I hope that you will leave here today not just knowing the facts, but changed by them, just like they changed me a number of years ago.
God: Today we read one of the more familiar Christmas passages. It takes place just shortly before the passage we read last week, when the magi visited Jesus some time after He was born.
Matthew 1:18-21 (p. 681) –
18 This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 19 Because Joseph her husband was a righteous man and did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
Christmastime gives us the opportunity to explore all sorts of things regarding Jesus and His birth.
Just from this passage we could look at the fact that Jesus was born of a virgin or that Joseph was a righteous man who cared as much for Mary’s reputation as for his own.
We could talk about things like making this a season of giving, or remembering those less fortunate.
We could go into detail about the star that led the magi to Jesus after His birth.
Lots of things we could talk about.
But my focus for today is the mission of Jesus.
If you were to listen to what many in the world say about Jesus, they might tell you a number of things of what Jesus’ mission was.
That He came to challenge the religious structure or to get rid of organized religion.
That He came to bring a message of non-violence. Or to bring a message of liberation from oppressors.
Or that He came to bring people a new “god-consciousness.” Not meaning that we are more conscious of God, but meaning that we are more conscious that we are gods – that we carry a divine spark in us just like Jesus did.
All sorts of ideas.
But the Bible is very clear about the mission of Jesus, and it’s found in verse 21 of our passage –
“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins."
The mission of Christmas is this: Jesus came to give His life for us.
His mission from the beginning was a rescue mission. And Bethlehem was just the beginning of that mission.
You see, the baby at Bethlehem didn’t stay a baby.
He grew to be a man. He grew to become the sacrifice for your sins and mine.
He did it willingly. On purpose. And He was thinking of you and me when He did it.
The birth at Bethlehem was just the beginning of His work on earth.
All of His life on earth was leading to the time when He would hang on a bloody cross, shedding His blood, His body torn to rags as He listened to the people mock Him and gamble for His clothes.
He knew that the cross wasn’t the end, but He knew He had to endure it so you could have your sins washed away. So you could go to heaven instead of hell when you die.
He could have stayed in heaven and let us get what we deserve for our sins. And He would have been justified and glorified anyway.
But it’s though Jesus said, “I’d rather die than spend eternity without them.” And so He did.
And folks, we need to really get a grasp on the fact that this was the plan from the very beginning.
The Bible says in Philippians that Jesus was in heaven, but that He voluntarily took on human flesh, coming to earth as that baby, knowing that He would one day lay down His life for our sake.
It’s not like one day Jesus said, “Hey, you know what? I think that instead of running my dad’s carpentry shop, I’m gonna go die for the world.”
No. He left heaven so He could die. So we could live – forever in heaven with Him.
Let tell you about when I really understood this for myself.
I had asked Christ to come into my life while I was a freshman at SDSU, back in the fall of 1982.
For some reason I found myself at my grandparents farm west of Watertown during the semester break before Christmas.
And it was one night during my stay there that my grandma was playing her Jim Nabors Christmas albums.
For those of you who don’t know, Jim Nabors played Gomer Pyle back when TV was something you could watch with your kids and not have to change the channels because something icky was coming on…
He played a total dork on TV, but let me tell you, that guy can sing.
Anyway, I think he was singing, O Little Town of Bethlehem, and as I was sitting in the room I was staying in, God used that song to communicate something to me.
And I knew at that instant that Jesus had come down to die – for me.
I understood that He came to die for all who would believe in Him. I’d known that my whole life.
But it was that night that I finally understood that He actually came to die for me.
My life was changed from that moment on, and I knew deep inside that I would never be the same.
The joy and the thankfulness that welled up inside me was almost too much to contain.
And in the next few days, my life took on a new purpose – to live for Christ no matter what others thought, no matter the cost.
Do you understand that Jesus came to die for you?
You: How should we respond?
By giving our lives to Him.
There are two groups of people here today:
The first group is made up of those who have not yet taken Jesus for themselves.
Today you can give your life to Christ by putting your faith in Him – believing for yourself that Jesus died for you and rose again to give you the forgiveness of sins you need and the home in heaven you want.
In just a few moments I’m going to say a prayer that you can say along with me in your heart to invite Jesus to come into your life to give you a new life in Him.
The second group is made up of those who already have done that.
You can give your life to Christ by recommitting yourself to living for Him and His priorities above your own.
By choosing His agenda above your own.
By choosing to live for His glory above your own convenience.
We: Can you believe that Thanksgiving was just about two and half weeks ago?
I don’t know about you, but it seems like forever ago.
“Okay – Thanksgiving’s over – now it’s time to wear myself out getting ready for Christmas.” Right?
Please tell me I’m not the only one!
Folks, I think that all of us can use a healthy dose of thankfulness for the fact that the baby wasn’t just a baby.
That baby grew to be the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Your sins. My sins. Their sins. The sins of everyone who will call on Him for forgiveness and eternal life in heaven.
That’s the mission of Christmas. And it’s my hope that for everyone in here today He can say, “mission accomplished.”
And if that’s the case, let thanksgiving be the hallmark of your celebrations at Christmas.
Let’s pray.
