Xmas Day Talk
Reading: 2 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 15
"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"
Alternative Bible translations render it:
• King James Bible:
• “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift”
• Message:
• “Thank God for this gift, his gift. No language can praise it enough!”
• New Living Translation:
• “Thank God for his Son--a gift too wonderful for words!”
• English Standard Version:
• “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!”
• Contemporary English Version:
• “Thank God for his gift that is too wonderful for words!”
Question: What was your best Christmas Present ever?
Answer:
• I can honestly answer that;
• Last year I got the best present ever, a gift of a son! (Although ask me again in 15 yrs!)
Ill:
• When his uncle gave him the guitar, he was not too impressed,
• Yet the next time he saw him after the Xmas holidays he was full of enthusiasm.
“Thanks for the electric guitar you gave me for Christmas,
it's the best present I ever got."
• “That's great," said his uncle. "What made the difference, did you learn how to play it?"
• "Oh, I don't play it and that’s why it’s so great," replied the boy.
• The uncle puzzled asked him “What do you mean?”
• The boy answered:
"Well, My mom gives me a 50p not to play it during the daytime
and my dad gives me £1 a week not to play it at night”.
Reading: 2 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 15
"Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"
• In 2 Corinthians chapter 9,
• The Apostle Paul has been writing about human gifts.
• The church in Corinth is taking up offerings to give to the poor Christians in Jerusalem.
• He commends them for their eagerness to help, & reminds them;
“That those who sow sparingly will also reap sparingly,
but that those who sow generously will reap generously.”
Then he shifts his attention from human gifts to God’s gift of sending Jesus to earth for us.
• And he cannot find words to describe that.
• He simply says, "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift”.
• Or as the Contemporary English Version:
• “Thank God for his gift that is too wonderful for words!”
(1). A promised gift (Isaiah chapter 7 verse 14).
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel”.
ill:
• One stormy night in America;
• An elderly couple entered the lobby of a small hotel and asked for a room:
• The clerk said they were all booked up, the same as all the other hotels in town.
• Feeling sorry for them he said. “I can’t send a fine couple like you out in the rain,”
• “Would you be willing to sleep in my room?”
• The couple hesitated, but the clerk insisted.
The next morning when the man paid his bill, he said to the clerk,
“You’re the kind of man who should be managing the best hotel in the United States.
Someday I’ll build you one.”
• The clerk smiled politely.
• He was used to compliments and kind remarks but he knew they were only words.
A few years later the clerk received a letter from that elderly man:
• In it he recalled that stormy night and the clerks act of kindness;
• And he asked the clerk to come to New York.
• Also enclosed in the letter was a round-trip ticket.
• The clerk accepted the mans invitation and headed for new York.
• Soon after he had arrived in New York,
• His host took him to the corner of 5th Avenue and 34th Street,
• They both stood opposite a magnificent new building.
• “That,” explained the elderly man, “is the hotel I have built for you to manage.”
• The elderly man was William Waldorf Astor,
• And the hotel was the original Waldorf-Astoria.
• The young clerk was called George C. Boldt.
• And he became its first manager!
Christmas is a reminder that God keeps his word!
• I often say in my sermons that there are 7, 474 promises in the book,
• And none of them come with the words, “promises are meant to be broken!”
• God made a promise the devil after the fall in the Garden of Eden;
• Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 (C.E.V):
15You and this woman
will hate each other;
your descendants and hers
will always be enemies.
One of hers will strike you
on the head,
and you will strike him
on the heel."
And throughout the Old Testament:
• God gave more and more information,
• Promise after promise that the gift, the Messiah, Jesus would one day come!
Ill:
• Classic book called “The cross and the switchblade”,
• About a country preacher called David Wilkerson.
• Who in the 1950’s goes to work amongst the gangs and the drug addicts of New York,
• Incredible story of how God uses him in that situation.
• One of the gang members who gets converted is a guy called ‘Israel’
• And the first time he is given a Bible, he opens it up and says;
“Israel, Israel, Israel, hey guys my names all over this book!”
In a far greater way Jesus is all over this book:
• He is their symbolically, in types & shadows,
• But don’t forget he is promised again and again and again and again and again………!
Ill:
• When you X-ray the human body you see a persons hidden organs and bones,
• When you look deeper into this book, I guarantee you will see more and more of Jesus!
• He was promised:
• And God always keeps his promises!
(2). A PRICELESS GIFT (Isaiah chapter 9 verse 6):
For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. And the government will rest on his shoulders. These will be his royal titles: Wonderful Counsel our, Mighty God, Everlasting Father,
Prince of Peace.
Ill:
If you look at the birth announcements in any newspaper.
• Not one of the announcements;
• Have a reference to what the baby will be when it grows up.
• Question: Why?
• Answer: because no one can accurately predict the future (well no human anyway!)
But in Isaiah 9:6 we have a different sort of birth announcement.
• The birth of the Messiah - the birth of Jesus Christ.
• And in this birth announcement
• The announcement not only predicts what kind of person this baby will be;
• But it does so eight hundred years before the actual birth took place.
Ill:
• Most if not all of us at Christmas,
• Want to try and keep the gift that we have purchased a secret from the recipient.
• e.g. We sometimes put small gifts in large boxes to disguise it,
• e.g. Or we wrap it in a shape that gives no clue as to what the gift is – to disguise it.
• e.g. Some folks hide their gifts under lock and key in the wardrobe,
• e.g. Ask someone to look after it for them.
GOD DID THE OPPOSITE WITH HIS GIFT!
• He wanted the whole world to know not only that he was giving a gift,
• But also what or rather ‘who’ that gift would be!
Ill:
• Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king.
• He loved his people. He wanted to know how they lived.
• He wanted to know about their hardships.
• Often he dressed in the clothes of a working man or a beggar,
• And went to the homes of the poor.
• No one whom he visited thought that he was their ruler.
• One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar.
• He ate the coarse food the poor man ate.
• He spoke cheerful, kind words to him.
• Then he left.
• Later he visited the poor man again and disclosed his identity by saying,
• “I am your king!”
• The king thought the man would surely ask for some gift or favour, but he didn’t.
• Instead he said,
“You left your palace and your glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place.
You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to my heart!
To others you have given your rich gifts.
To me you have given yourself!”
Christmas is a reminder that God gave himself to us:
• He did not send a human messenger,
• He did not send an angel,
• But he gave the most precious thing he had,
• He gave himself!
Ill:
• Jehovah witness knocks on the door,
• Sometimes I ask them what did God give up.
• To them Jesus is just a created angelic being,
• God could have made 1, 10, 100. 1,000, 100,000 of the same angelic being.
• Just like he could make 100,000 flowers or animals or even people!
• Yet he did not!
• The Bible makes it clear that God the Father had only one Son!
• He is uncreated, the eternal ‘Word’, the maker of all things!
Ill:
• Strange thing about Jesus;
• In heaven he had no mother and on earth he had no father!
• In heaven (he was never conceived or born, he is the second person of the Godhead).
• On earth he had no father (born of the virgin Mary – conceived by the Holy Spirit).
Isaiah the prophet makes it very clear:
• “To you a child is born” – flesh & blood ( a baby).
• But for God – “A son was given” (only give what you already have!)
Ill:
• I cannot give you all £50 if I haven’t got it.
• I can only give from what I already possess.
Ill:
• A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching next Sunday evening on
• “The Love of God.”
• As the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through the cathedral windows,
• The congregation gathered.
• In the darkness of the altar,
• The monk lighted a candle and carried it to the crucifix.
• First of all, he illumined the crown of thorns, next, the two wounded hands,
• Then the marks of the spear wound.
• In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the chancel.
• There was nothing else to say.
Quote:
“When I survey the wondrous cross…….
See from his head, his hands, his feet,
Sorrow and love flowed mingled down:
Dide’or such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small,
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all”.
Ill:
• A shipwrecked man was once washed ashore on an uninhabited island.
• In the days that followed he painstakingly built a hut;
• Using the few things he had salvaged from the wreck;
• And from whatever he could find on the island.
• That little hut was the only protection he had from the harsh elements;
• And the only place he could safeguard his meagre possessions.
• Upon returning one evening from a lengthy search for food,
• He was terrified to find the hut engulfed in flames.
• The loss devastated him.
• He spent that night despondent, sleeping on the sand.
• He awoke early the next morning and,
• To his surprise, saw a ship anchored off the island.
• A crew member stepped ashore and told him,
• •"We saw your smoke signal and came to rescue you!"
Things are not always as they seem:
• What seemed to be destruction turned out to be deliverance.
• God’s son seemed destroyed on the cross, but from his death came deliverance!
• Our salvation (God’s rescue plan) was secured,
• “Not with silver or gold……precious blood of Christ”
(3). A PERSONAL GIFT (John chapter 3 verse 16):
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
• Although we like seeing our loved ones getting gifts that make them happy,
• Let’s be honest, the best gifts of all are the ones that have your name on the label:
Ill:
Kathy purple party.
• At first she said, “Hi” to all the people,
• But then realised they had presents for her.
• And then the focus of her attention was no longer on the giver;
• But on the gift.
Let’s be honest, the best gifts of all are the ones that have your name on the label:
Ill:
• One thing I tell children when I share this verse with them is this;
• You can replace the word ‘whoever’ and put your name in instead.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Ill:
Meaningless words:
• (1). Kathy’s children’s cough medicine contains this warning:
• “Do not drive a car or operate machinery after taking this medication”
• (2). Boots hairdryer:
• “Do not use while sleeping!”
• (3). Marks & Spenser’s bread pudding:
• “Product will be hot after heating!”
• (4). Our Christmas lights from B&Q contain this helpful information:
• “For indoor and outdoor use only”
• (5). Sainsbury’s peanuts;
• “Warning product contains nuts!”
THOSE WORDS MIGHT BE APPEAR TO BE POINTLESS OR NOT RELEVANT:
• But John chapter 3 verse 16 are possibly the greatest words ever written.
• As a preacher if I had only one sermon left to preach it would be John chapter 3 verse 16.
John chapter 3 verse 16 divides up into 5 pairs:
• (1). "God & Son".
• (2). "Loved & Gave".
• (3). "World & Whoever".
• (4). "Believe & Have".
• (5). "Perish & Life".
The five pairs teach us:
• (1). "God & Son" - The ultimate giver and the ultimate gift.
• (2). "Loved & Gave" - The two expressions of God's compassion.
• (3). "World & Whoever" - The two-fold direction of God's loving and giving.
• (4). "Believe & Have" - The two things human beings are invited to do.
• (5). "Perish & Life" - The two final destinies.
LET’S JUST THINK OF THAT THIRD PAIR THIS MORNING:
• "World & Whoever"
• The two-fold direction of God's loving and giving.
• Jesus often talked in broad terms but then would narrow it down;
• Ill: “Who do the crowds say that I am,………………..what about you?”
Ill:
• If you were to look at Rembrandt’s painting of The Three Crosses,
• Your attention would be drawn first to the centre cross on which Jesus died.
Then as you would look at the crowd gathered around the foot of that cross,
• You’d note the various facial expressions and actions;
• Of the people involved in the awful crime of crucifying the Son of God.
• Finally, your eyes would drift to the edge of the painting;
• And catch sight of another figure, almost hidden in the shadows.
• Art critics say this is a representation of Rembrandt himself,
• For he recognized that by his sins he helped nail Jesus to the cross.
REMBRANDT REALISED:
• The two-fold direction of God's loving and giving.
• "World (crowds) & Whoever" (involved him!)
• Sooner or later Jesus gets very, very personnel with us,
• He calls us to make a choice, to follow him or to reject him.
Ill:
• The organist at St Paul's Cathedral (London);
• Caught sight of Felix Mendelssohn (German composer, 1809-47) in the congregation.
• He sent the great composer a note inviting him to play the organ after the service.
• Mendelssohn agreed,
• The congregation, already shuffling out of the pews to go home,
• Suddenly stopped and sat down again to listen entranced.
• Suddenly in the middle of a glorious crescendo the music died away & the organ went silent.
• The organ blower had gone home for lunch!
• What could have been one of the great highlights of his life,
• He threw away for something to eat.
Question:
• How many of us do that with God?
• We consider other things more important!
“Room for pleasure, room for business; But for Christ the crucified –
not a place that he can enter
in the heart for which he died”
Quote: Galatians chapter 2 verse 20:
“The Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Quote:
“When I survey the wondrous cross…….
See from his head, his hands, his feet,
Sorrow and love flowed mingled down:
Dide’or such love and sorrow meet,
Or thorns compose so rich a crown?
Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were an offering far too small,
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all”.
