THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS
A TIME TO BE FESTIVE!
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” 15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” Lk 2:10
JOHNNY HUNT TELLS A STORY…Maybe some of you can relate to the grandmother who decided to forego the shopping this Christmas season. She bought each individual a card, wrote a check for the amount that she would spend, and wrote the same message in each card. Dear___, I didn’t go shopping this year. Please know that I love you. Please get your own gift. Love Grandma. Weeks later after sending the card, she went back to her desk only to find the checks that she had written were laying on her desk. She had forgotten to put them in the cards!
Rick Warren did a survey of one question, “What are you celebrating this year?” The answers may surprise you. Most had nothing to do with Christmas.
1. I’m celebrating that I made it through another year.
2. I’m celebrating being home with family.
3. I’m celebrating that I got my Christmas bonus.
4. I’m celebrating my son is home from Iraq.
5. I’m celebrating that the candidate I voted for is elected.
6. I’m celebrating that I’ve finished all my shopping.
7. I’m not celebrating anything. I’m just trying to survive.
Why is it such a festive season? Because Christmas is about the birth of Christ! What do we do when a baby is born? We celebrate the baby! Could the problem be that we have forgotten to celebrate the Baby?
1. IT’S PERSONAL. I bring you.
The shepherds took this personally. This message was to them. The angel appeared directly to them. Now please remember that shepherds had a bad reputation. They were unclean, unholy, they stunk, and they couldn’t be trusted. Yet God trusted them with this wonderful news. God chose to invite them to His son’s birthday party!
Perhaps today you can relate to the shepherds. Maybe you do not have it together. Could it be that you are a bit shady? Maybe your reputation has been tarnished.
God has good news for you! It is God who brought you to the place of worship so that He could personally tell you through His Holy Spirit and His servant that He has a personal message for you! That message is, “Trust Me. I know what is best.” Listen to..
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 1 Tim. 6:17
God loves you. He loves YOU. He wants to give you life. He gave His son so that you might live. For God so loved the world that He gave… Jesus said, I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. Jn 10:10b.
We should celebrate Christmas because it personally affects you. The birth of Jesus is God’s gift to you. God loves you! Listen, the baby didn’t stay in a manger. He grew, lived and willingly went to a cross to show, prove His love for you. Never question the love of Christ. Never doubt the love of God. Always know that He loves you and has plans for you.
2. IT’S POSITIVE.
Good news that will cause great joy. Really? Christmas is a time of stress. It is a time of rush and do this and rush and do that. Great joy? When it comes to Christmas it is duty not delight. It is pressure not pleasure. What gift should I get? What if they don’t like it? What if it is not good enough? Should I invite them to the party? What will they think if I don’t go to their party?
Possibly it is the dread of dealing with your oddball relatives; or the fact that you might be alone. It could be that you are dealing with the loss of a loved one.
Let me remind you of what the Bible says. 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Mt. 1:23.
Do you realize that the shepherds had not been to a worship service in a long time? They were forbidden. They were unholy. They couldn’t get close. To people they were repulsive. In the world’s eyes, especially there society, they were the farthest thing from God! And yet this angel said, I bring you good news that will cause great joy! God is with you!!
How do you think the shepherds felt? Could this be? Is this true? With me? With us? NO way?!
TURN TO YOUR NEIGHBOR AND SAY, “God is with you”… Immanuel.
Do you realize that God is everywhere all the time! It is part of His nature, character. The Bible clearly states that you cannot run from Him. Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? Ps.139:7
Our perspective of God needs to change. We have a negative perspective of God. For years people were afraid of God because no person had ever seen Him. So you develop ideas based on your perspective. Quit frankly our perspective was wrong. So God sent Jesus. The world can see what God is like by looking at Jesus. Colossians 1:15 says, “He is the image of the invisible God,”. So Jesus shows us God. But guess what? We still base our judgment of God by our circumstance! We still see God in the image of our earthly father.
Fearing the Lord doesn’t mean that you are afraid to go to Him. It doesn’t mean that you have to look over your shoulder scared of what He will do to you. If God wanted to punish you, He wouldn’t have to look very long to find fault- AMEN?
Listen to what the Bible says,
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 1 Jn 4:18
He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 Jn 4:8
Fearing God means that we recognize who He is, and that we should run to God not away from Him! As we run to God we will be embraced by His love; His perfect love that perfects us! And as we experience the presence of God we will lose fear. “Do not be afraid.”
A lady had a circle of friends for whom she really wanted to buy Christmas presents. Time slipped away and it was so busy at work for her. She just wasn’t able to get to the store and purchase those gifts. Time was running out. So not too many days before Christmas she decided to give up on the gift idea and just buy everybody the same beautiful card. She went to the local gift store and hurriedly went through the now picked over stack of cards and found a box of fifty, just exactly what she wanted. She didn’t take time to read the message; she just noticed a beautiful cover. The cover had gold around it and floral appearance on the front of the card and she thought, that’s perfect. So she signed all of them, “with all my love.” As New Years approached she had time to go back and look at the few cards that were left over. She read the card. It said, This Christmas card is just to say, a little gift is on its way.”
TELL YOUR NEIGHBOR, “THERE IS A GIFT COMING!”
Jesus often asked, “What do you want me to do for you?” MT 20:32; MK 10:36,51
11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. JER 29:11
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 1 JN 4:18
It's a personal message that will make a positive change.
3. IT PERMEATES. GLOBAL. For all people
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Jn 3:17
4 who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 1 Tim. 2
What kind of fireman would I be if I didn’t warn you about fire? What would you say about a fireman who saw your house on fire and said, “Oh, don’t worry. It will burn out in a minute after everything burns completely down. What kind of policeman would I be if I didn’t warn you about criminals? What kind of policeman would I be if I saw juveniles vandalizing your home or car and simply said, “Well you know, boys will be boys.” What kind of doctor would I be if I didn’t tell you about disease? What would you say about a doctor who said, “Well, you have cancer. Take to aspirin and get some rest.” What kind of pastor would I be if I didn’t warn you about hell? I would rather love people to heaven, but if I have to scare them there, then that will work too! What kind of Christian would go to heaven and not pass the good news along? The Bible says, 15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 1 Pet. 3:15
Do you remember the parable of the sower? It goes like this. “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
18 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.
Have you ever wondered why Satan would steal the word of God out of your heart? This is why: 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The Bible is very clear, without faith it is impossible to please God. Where do we get faith? The Bible tells us that So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:13. If Satan can keep us from hearing God or receiving His word, then Satan has kept us from pleasing God. This affects us individually, singularly. But what we don’t see is the HUNDREDFOLD, SIXTY FOLD, THIRTY FOLD!!! Jesus said, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. If Satan can keep you from receiving God’s word, then you will not have the faith the change your world! You will not see any need for global impact! You will not give up your loaves and fish so that God can feed the multitudes!
Close with two questions:
1. What from the past are you thankful for?
2. Since it is Jesus’ birthday, what will you give Him?
Father, may this be a festive season. May it not be just another Christmas. But may we get the true understanding of the birth of Your son! May we understand that you love us enough to make it personal to us! In a negative world we have a positive message. And it’s so much bigger than we can imagine!
This month we celebrate your birthday. Thank you for your blessings. And now we want to give you something! WE give you ________________.
