Unless you’ve completely isolated yourselves for the last week, you’ve been bombarded by all the advertising for the appropriately named “Black Friday”. Perhaps you are even one of the many people who got up early on Friday to brave the crowds in order to get some really good deals.
But if we really want to give the most valuable gift of all this Christmas season, then we need to make a completely different kind of preparations. This morning, I’m going to share the second of three messages to encourage us to give a gift that really is worth giving this year, the gift described by Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:
Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!
2 Corinthians 9:5 (ESV)
Last week we focused on the idea that the gift of Jesus is a sacrificial gift. Jesus sacrificed His position, His privileges and His possessions in order to provide us with the gift of eternal life – a gift that we could never obtain by any other means. But Jesus hasn’t given us that gift just to keep to ourselves. We are to help others open that gift as well. And in order to do that we also need to be willing to sacrifice our position, our privileges, our possessions and our pride. Thanks to several of you who shared some really good ideas about how to put that message into practice in some really practical ways on the church Facebook page. If any of you would like to look at those suggestions or add your own, I’ve included the links to a couple of web pages in your bulletin this week.
This week, I want to focus on a second aspect of that inexpressible gift. Not only is it a sacrificial gift, it is also a relational gift. Again that is evident throughout the Scriptures, but we’re going to focus on one passage from the gospel of John this morning. More than any of the gospels, John really focuses on this aspect of the ministry of Jesus. That’s not surprising given John’s close relationship with and love for Jesus. John loved to be wherever Jesus was and he was never far from Jesus’ side, even at His crucifixion. Go ahead and turn to John chapter 1 and follow along as I read beginning in verse 9:
9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
John 1:9-14 (ESV)
God could have chosen to make our salvation possible by any means that He desired. But from before the creation of the world, He determined that the method He would use would be to put on a body of flesh and to come down to the world He created and have a personal relationship with those He had created. This morning I want to focus on three critical elements in the process by which Jesus established that relationship and then we’ll see how we can apply those same principles for the purpose of helping others unwrap the gift of Jesus this Christmas by giving relational gifts.
JESUS’ RELATIONAL GIFT
• Jesus delighted in developing a relationship with those He created
Jesus did not give up the glory of heaven and come to earth as a man begrudgingly. As we saw last week, He had great joy in what He did because He was focused on the results that His sacrifice would accomplish. We also see evidence throughout the gospels that Jesus did not consider coming to earth to be an inconvenience or an obligation. He genuinely enjoyed being around people and establishing relationships with others for the purpose of sharing the gospel message with them.
Later on in the gospel of John, we find what I think is one of the most astonishing declarations in the entire Bible. As Jesus walked through a vineyard with His disciples in order to teach them about the importance of abiding in Him, He spoke these words:
No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.
John 15:15 (ESV)
Not only is there no other religion on the face of the earth where a god would stoop so low as to come to earth and walk side by side with his subjects, there is no other god who would ever call them friends. We clearly see here that Jesus really took delight in the process of developing personal relationships with others, particularly that small group of men who would soon be responsible for perpetuating His kingdom here on earth and passing that personal relationship on to others.
But just delighting in developing those relationships was only the first step. Next we see that…
• Jesus designed a plan to make a relationship possible
We know from the Bible that Jesus had designed a plan to make our personal relationship with Him possible even before He created any of us. Paul refers to that plan in his letter to the church at Ephesus:
When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
Ephesians 3:4-6 (ESV)
Paul refers to Jesus’ plan as a mystery because it could not be fully known until the point where Jesus put on a body of flesh and came to earth and died for our sins and then rose from the grave.
As we clearly see here in John 1, that plan was not only developed by Jesus, it is completely dependent on what He did and not on anything that we can do to earn the right to a relationship with Him. Although, as it says in verse 12, we were provided a means by which we might become children of God, we see in the very next verse that our privileged position is not a result of our physical birth or our own will, but rather it is completely the work of God.
We also see that Jesus’ plan for developing a relationship with us is based on His intimate knowledge of who we are, especially an understanding of our deepest needs. Being fully God and omniscient, Jesus already knew all those things about us, but He took the additional step of personally experiencing what we experience:
For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Hebrews 4:15 (ESV)
No matter what we’re going through in life, we can be sure that Jesus knows what we’re going through, not just because He is God, but also because He has experienced it firsthand as well. And the plan He designed to make our relationship with him possible specifically addresses the need for us to deal with the sin in our lives that would otherwise separate us from Him. Only Jesus can do that because He experienced every temptation that we have ever faced and yet lived a sinless life.
But just delighting in developing relationships and designing a plan to make them possible still requires one more step…
• Jesus demonstrated His love by carrying out that plan
If all Jesus had done was to delight in developing relationships and then developed a plan to make that possible, it would have been all for naught had Jesus not actually carried out the plan. It was His action in carrying out that plan that demonstrated that His love was genuine. And what is really amazing about how Jesus carried out that plan is that He didn’t wait for us to ask for Him to do it, He didn’t wait for us to get our act together first, He didn’t even wait until we understood we needed His plan. He just went ahead and did what He needed to do so that we could have a relationship with Him. I love how Paul describes that fact in Romans 5:
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person - though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die - but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:6-8 (ESV)
Before we see how all this applies to how we give relational gifts to others, I need to spend a moment on one crucial principle that we find here in John 1. Although Jesus is the one who provides everything that I need in order to have a relationship with Him, I also have a part in that process, which is clearly described in verse 12.
HOW TO OPEN GOD’S GIFT OF RELATIONSHIP
As our passage makes clear, when Jesus came into the world He created, many of the same people He had created chose to reject Him and the gift that He offered to them. But in verse 12, we find what it is that we need to do in order to open that gift in our lives. Let’s look at verse 12 again:
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
• We open the gift by receiving Jesus
We obtain the right to become children of God and enter into a relationship with Him by receiving Jesus. That’s always the first part of opening a gift isn’t it? We have to first take that gift that is offered to us. We have to receive it. Since the gift in this case is Jesus Himself, we must receive it. And fortunately, John reveals to us exactly how we do that.
• We receive Jesus by believing in His name
What does it mean to believe “in His name”? It means that we must believe all that He is – all that He claimed to be, all that He did, all that He said. It means that we must come to Him on His terms, not our own.
Most humans long deep inside to know God. But unfortunately the god that they want to know is a god of their own making. But if we’ll come to Jesus on His terms, He promises to make us children of God. Not just members of a fraternity, or associates – not even just friends – but children, those who are entitled to an inheritance.
While it is true that no human desire, no heritage, no human resource can earn the right to become children of God because it is only the sovereign act of God that provides that privilege, it is also true that we can only open that gift through our personal faith in the living Word, Jesus, and in all that He said and did.
Although I am confident that most of us here this morning have already made that commitment in our own lives, if you have never become a child of God by receiving Jesus, by believing in Him, then I want to invite you to make that decision today. Perhaps you’re here for the first time today and this is all very new to you and you’d like to talk with someone more about what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus.
We would love to do anything that we can to help you make that decision and there are a number of ways you can let us know you’d like for us to do that. You can certainly talk to me or to one of the elders after the worship service this morning. You can discuss it with your teacher during the “Connections” class. Or there is a place on the flap of your bulletin where you can check a box that reads “I would like to learn more about how to have a personal relationship with Jesus”. Just check that box, provide us with your contact information and place it in the offering plate later in the service or hand it to me or to one of the greeters after the service.
For the rest of us who have already made that commitment, I want to encourage us to pass that gift that we have been given on to others by doing what Jesus did and giving relational gifts to others this Christmas season.
HOW TO GIVE RELATIONAL GIFTS TO OTHERS
As I mentioned last week, our Christmas Eve service this year is designed to be a safe place where you can invite your unsaved and unchurched family members and friends to hear a clear presentation of the gospel. And we certainly want to encourage you to begin praying about those who you want to invite right now, asking that God would make their hearts receptive to your invitation.
But as important as that event is in the process of helping people unwrap the gift of Jesus, the fact is that that event alone, or for that matter any of the other events that we have here at TFC, is not going to be very effective if it is not also accompanied by a personal relationship with a Christ follower. So in addition to inviting people to come with you to the Christmas Eve service, I also want to encourage you to think about how you can follow the example of Jesus and develop relationships with others for the purpose of helping them to unwrap the gift of Jesus this Christmas.
Since God’s gift to us was a relationship built on love, then we need to use the Christmas season as an opportunity to love our family and friends with gifts that enhance our relationships with them and which open the doors for us to introduce them to the relationship that they can have with Jesus. Let’s begin with some principles that are based on how Jesus developed His relationship with us and then we’ll see if we can’t develop some very practical ways to put those principles into practice.
The first thing I must do is…
• Delight in developing my relationships with others
If I only pursue relationships with others out of a sense of obligation or duty I’m probably not going to be very effective. Remember this verse that we looked at last week:
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.
3 John 1:4 (ESV)
If we can take a long term view of the value of developing relationships, then we are going to be much more effective. When we view those relationships as the means through which we can help others open the gift of Jesus this season and as the starting point in a long term relationship through which we help people to grow in their relationship with Jesus, then it is much more likely that we will truly find joy and delight in those relationships and we will be much more likely to stay the course.
I’ll be real honest this morning. I really love giving to others and I believe that God has given me the spiritual gift of giving. And I know that many of you are generous givers, too. But most of the time at Christmas and on other holidays, I really dread the idea of buying gifts for others. The pressure of trying to buy just the right gift for someone who really doesn’t need anything just doesn’t give me a lot of joy. But you know what I do enjoy the most? Getting together with my family and friends that I love. So for me, the idea of focusing on relationships rather than things this Christmas is actually very liberating. And I’m looking forward to the possibility of developing some new relationships with others so that I can help them unwrap the gift of Jesus this year and I hope that you will also find great delight in your relationships – both old and new – this Christmas season.
• Design a gift based on the other person’s needs
Jesus designed the perfect gift for us – the gift of His incarnation, life, death and resurrection. It was the perfect gift because it met our deepest need, the need to have our sins forgiven so that we could have a relationship with God.
Designing a gift that really meets the needs of another person is really hard work. Frankly, it’s a lot easier to just go out and buy a Wal-Mart gift card for everyone than to take the time to really get to know the other person and to design a gift that truly meets the other person’s needs.
One of the things that always strikes me about Jesus’ ministry here on earth is that while He certainly had a sense of urgency about His ministry, He always had time to sit down and get to know people. He took time to listen so that He could move beyond the surface issues and address people’s deepest needs.
If we’re willing to take the time to look, we’ll find that most people really don’t need stuff. They need companionship, empathy, someone they can trust, encouragement.
Do you really want to give people a meaningful gift this year? Then take the time to find out what is important to them and then determine what it is that you have to offer that will meet that need. In most cases, it will require an investment of our time and our lives rather than an investment of money. And the great thing is that goes hand in hand with the idea that we looked at last week regarding spending less this Christmas so that we can give more to help people unwrap the gift of Jesus this Christmas.
But, just as Jesus demonstrated, the right attitude and the right plans alone are not enough. I also need to…
• Demonstrate my love by my actions
True love is not merely a matter of words or good intentions. It actually requires action as John reminds us in this familiar passage:
Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
1 John 3:18 (ESV)
I can tell Mary that I love her all that I want. But the real test of whether or not I love her is what I do. If my actions don’t match my words, then my professed love is a lie.
The same is true with our relational gift to others. We can have the best intentions in the world, we can really get to know the other person and plan to give some great gifts that will meet their needs, but unless we actually follow through with those plans, everything else that we have done is meaningless.
That is even true when it comes to inviting people to our Christmas Eve service. I know that right now many of you already have someone in mind that you really desire to invite. Perhaps, you’ve even planned how you’re going to make the invitation. But unless you actually follow through and make the invitation, everything else you’ve done will have been in vain.
I’m certainly not real comfortable with this whole idea of giving relational gifts. It’s not something that comes real natural to me. And perhaps the same is true for some of you. So let me just share with you a few ideas that I’ve come across that might give all of us some ideas. None of these ideas ore original, but I think perhaps they’ll help us be more creative in developing our own ideas:
• Spend a day making breads, candies, or cookies with the family with Christmas music playing in the background. Then deliver these treats to new families in the neighborhood or friends and family in the area.
• Host a holiday movie night with friends. Order some pizzas, break out the cookies, and watch a Christmas Classic with a living room full of friends.
• Wrap 2 books and a box of tea to give to a friend. Insert a coupon and offer to get together once a week to discuss the book and have a cup of tea.
• Create coupons that are redeemable for some service that you can provide to someone else – babysitting for a young couple so that they can have a night our together, yard work for an elderly neighbor, etc.
• Buy a gift that requires spending time together with friend or family members – a board game that you can play together or a jigsaw puzzle or a model to build.
• Create coupons that are redeemable for some activity that you will do with the other person – a round of miniature golf, an afternoon of bowling, a hike and picnic.
Many of you probably have a lot of other great ideas about how to give relational gifts this year. I really encourage you to check out the links that are on the bottom of your sermon outline and share your ideas and interact with others. And then, let’s make sure that we put those ideas into practice and do everything that we can to help others unwrap the gift of Jesus this Christmas season.
