The Meaning of Christmas
Lu 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field,keeping
watch over their flock by night.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone
round about them: and they were sore afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
I heard about a young boy who received a harmonica for Christmas from his uncle. After the first of the year he saw his uncle for the first time since receiving the harmonica. With a large smile he said, “Thanks for the harmonica you gave me for Christmas," "It’s the best present I ever got."
"That’s great," replied his uncle. "Do you know how to play it?"
"Oh, I don’t play it," the little fellow replied. "My mom gives me a dollar a day not to play it during the day and my dad gives me five dollars a week not to play it at night!"
We have some strange ideas about THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS.
We hear Happy Holidays, Which could mean anything.
Today I want to look at the Christmas story and see THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS.
I. Mean Times
We know that Mary and Joseph were in Bethlehem because it was a time of Tax.
Caesar was making life hard on the Jewish people.
Israel had been longing for a Savior for years and God had promised that He would send a Messiah to deliver His people.
*Worship had turned into a set of RULES
*The Government was oppressive,
*the Economy was oppressive, and the
*Church was oppressive.
* Mary was expecting at any time
* Mary and Joseph did not have a place to spend the night.
I am sure that Mary and Joseph thought “If God really loves me WHY AM I GOING THROUGH ALL THIS STUFF”.
Our story opens
V. 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Shepherds were camped out watching over some sheep to keep the BEARS, the LOINS, and the THIEVES away.
It was NIGHT.
*Things look different at night.
*Problems are magnified at night.
Have you ever been hunting at night? Every bush looks like a bear, every stick looks like a snake.
Suddenly a bright light shone around them
Think about a dark night and a BRIGHT LIGHT flashes.
9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone
round about them: and they were sore afraid.
I can understand being afraid, discouraged, depressed, READY FOR A CHANGE.
YOU may be going through some tough times:
*May be the ECOMONY,
*a PROMISE not yet Fulfilled,
*You may feel TAXED to the limit over CIRCUMSTANCES
II. Heavens Message
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of
great joy
That is still the message to you today FEAR NOT
2Ti 1:7 For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
We sometimes believe that one of the Gifts of the Spirit is WORRY
I can assure you that is not a Gift from God.
The Angels message was, I bring you good tidings of great joy,
This is GOOD NEWS.
We need to realize that God has GOOD NEWS for us.
We sometimes forget the Benefits of Serving God.
He has given us POWER over all the POWER of the DEVIL.
Lu 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you
I heard about the Devil coming into the Church and all but one man run out. The Devil looked at him and asked “Why are you not afraid of me”. The man said I have been married to your sister for 25years.
GOD HAS PERFECT TIMING
Ga 4:4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son,
The Angels appearance tells us that HEAVEN IS AWARE of where we are and what we need.
*Dan. 3:28 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego + Heaven Knew about the FIREY FURNACE and delivered.
*Dan. 6:22 Daniel in the lions den. Heaven knew about the Lions den.
*Acts 5:19 Peter in Prison Heaven Knew about the Prison
HEAVEN IS AWARE OF YOUR DARK HOUR, YOUR TAXING TIME, YOUR FIREY FURNACE, YOUR LIONS DEN, AND YOUR PRISON.
III. TO Who is the Message sent
V. 10 Which shall be to all people.
This GOOD NEWS IS FOR ALL PEOPLE.
This Christmas season is all about GOOD NEWS FOR EVERYONE.
*Not just East Texas
*Not Just Texas
*Not Just the United States.
*Not Just for the White
But It Is for EVERY MAN, WOMAN, BOY, GIRL.
This news is better than WINNING THE LOTTERY.
The Center of the Message is a SAVIOR
11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the
Lord
Jesus was born for US.
God is not trying to hide it from you.
We like to find little secrets, to make life better, to make the turkey more moist,
the cake a little better.
The GOOD NEWS IS EASY TO FIND.
V. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
They were given clear instructions.
It was going to be a BABE.
Who knows how many babies were born that night?
People are looking for their own way to God, but God has HIS WAY.
+It is not WORKS that will get you to God.
+It is not where you were born
+It is not who your parents were,
+It is not the Church you go to.
+You must follow the instructions.
Joh 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
If it was just any babe the shepherds could have been wrong so they were given
Better instructions.
babe wrapped in swaddling clothes
This would narrow the search.
Many of the babies would be wrapped in strips of cloth.
lying in a manger.
This would be the babe lying in a feed trough.
John called Jesus the LAMB OF GOD.
The shepherds would have been uncomfortable in a palace.
They would not been welcomed into a hotel.
IV. Heavens Method
13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
V.14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men
PEACE IS AVAIABLE TO US RIGHT HERE AND RIGHT NOW.
Christmas time has become a time of worry, fret, and hassle.
Peace is Yours NOW.
Jesus said:
Joh 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
Jesus gave us His Peace. Not like the worlds Peace.
The Worlds Peace depends upon circumstances.
No War does not mean Peace.
Iraq is not at war but there is no peace.
The Peace Jesus gives is not dependant upon circumstances.
Peace is not the absents of conflict, but is your reaction to it.
Jesus was asleep in the boat and a great storm arose.
The disciples fought the waves, the wind, and the water.
They were afraid, upset, discouraged and thought Jesus should get upset also.
They woke Jesus up.
Jesus was asleep= His Peace
Mr 4:39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm
This is the Peace that Christmas should be bring to our Families.
This is what was delivered on Christmas Morning
Missing The Obvious!
The great newspaper publisher of the early 20th century, William Randolph Hearst, was a great patron of ART works, he spent a great deal of time and money collecting great works of art. One day he found a description of an artwork that he felt he must own so he sent agents around the world looking ...for it. After months of searching for this one piece overseas they returned empty-handed, but they discovered some amazing information. The art work was actually near-by, it was found in a warehouse owned by William Randolph Hearst!!! HE ALREADY OWNED IT BUT HAD FAILED YEARS EARLIER TO UNCRATE IT. HE HAD BEEN SEARCHING FOR A TREASURE HE ALREADY HAD BUT DIDN’T REALIZE HE HAD IT!
We have The Benefits of serving the Lord NOW
GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN
God is not mad at you.
God sent Jesus for us
This is the Good News of Christmas.
What does Christmas mean to the Christian?
A Savior was born, for me.
I can have His Peace and power to overcome circumstances.
What does Christmas mean to the Non Christian?
Peace and Goodwill toward you because a Savior was born for you.
God is not mad at you.
God sent Jesus for you.
