INTRO.- ILL.- The story is told of two women who were enjoying an elaborate lunch in a downtown restaurant. When one asked the occasion for the luncheon, the other lady said, “We are celebrating the baby’s birthday.”
“But where is the baby?” said the friend. “Oh,” said the mother, “you didn’t think I’d bring him. Did you? Why he doesn’t know anything about it.”
And so it is with the birth of Jesus. Many celebrate Christmas and don’t even bring Jesus to the party! In the first place, many people just celebrate Christmas as another holiday and a time to give gifts and nothing more. Nothing is said about the Lord Jesus Christ: about His birth, life, death or anything about Him. Christmas is not a Christian thing to them.
Many years ago someone came up with the bright phrase about Christmas. It is: “Jesus is the reason for the season!” And I love that phrase. Jesus is the reason for thanksgiving. We wouldn’t have anything if it were not for Him. Every good and perfect gift comes from above. Thanksgiving is all about giving thanks to God for all His good gifts and blessings! It’s not just about getting together to eat a big meal and then sleep or watch football on TV. It’s about thanking God for the good food and other blessings!
And He’s the reason for Christmas as well! I doubt seriously there would be any Christmas celebration at all if it were not for the Christ of Christmas. Of course, people would probably think up something else in order to celebrate since winter is not a fun time for many people.
Jesus the reason for every season! He’s the reason for every good thing that happens to us in life and in every season.
If you love summer, you need to realize it’s all because of Him. If you’ve experienced a great trip or vacation, it’s all because of Him! If you love working in your garden, it’s a gift of God! If you love any season for any reason then it’s because of Jesus! You wouldn’t be alive and enjoy anything were it not for Him!
And Jesus is certainly the reason for Christmas for all who are Christians! We rejoice in the birth of Christ because He came to earth to seek and to save that which was lost! And that’s us!
PROP.- Jesus is the reason for our gathering on Christmas and every Sunday. He was, he is, and will be.
1- He is the one who was
2- He is the one who is
3- He is the one who can
I. HE IS THE ONE WHO WAS
History is about the past, but someone has wisely said, “History is HIS STORY.” If nothing else, His is the greatest story ever. Why? Because He came to earth as God in the flesh, God in person! He is the most important person in all history since He came to save us! No history is better than that and no historical person is better than Jesus!
Matthew 1:17-19 “Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Christ. 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. 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.”
Jesus has quite a history, dating all the way back to Abraham. Many people love to study their ancestry which can be quite interesting. And as with most, we will find a shady character or two in our ancestry OR EVEN WORSE! I had a great, great grandfather who was named Levi Gingrich or so my grandmother told me. And she was said he was nothing but a scoundrel or a crook. We probably all have them in our families if we go back far enough.
The most important thing about Jesus’ ancestry is not that He can be dated back to Mary and Joseph or even as far back as Abraham, but that His ancestry dates back to heaven! He said, “Before Abraham was, I am.”
No one else on earth came from heaven to earth!
- Buddha (Siddhattha Gotama - SI-dar-ta GAW-ta-ma) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. But he wasn’t God and he didn’t come from heaven!
- Muhammad Abdullah was the founder of the religion of Islam, and is considered by Muslims to be a messenger and prophet of God. But he wasn’t God or God in the flesh and he didn’t come from heaven!
- Confucius was a Chinese thinker and social philosopher. The philosophy of Confucius emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity. But he wasn’t God and he didn’t come from heaven!
- Ghandi was the pre-eminent political and ideological leader of India during the Indian independence movement. He was quite a philosopher and said some great things, but he wasn’t God and he didn’t come from heaven!
- John Wesley was a Church of England preacher. He is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement. John Wesley did a great deal of good for kingdom of God and said some great words and preached some great sermons, but he wasn’t God and he didn’t come from heaven!
Many people simply view Jesus as a person of history, that is, someone who lived over 2,000 years ago. A nice man. A good man, maybe a prophet, but nothing more. BUT HE IS SO MUCH MORE!
There is one and only one who came from heaven and is God in the flesh! This is why we worship Jesus Christ!
II. HE IS THE ONE WHO IS
He was the Christ of old and He is the Christ of today. He is the Messiah right now. He is the Son of God today. He was and is still the Savior of the world!
Matthew 16:13-16 “When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
That question is still the most important question that any person will ever be asked in this world? Who do you say Jesus is? And there is only one right answer. The right answer will lead a person on the path to the gates of heaven. The wrong answer will lead down a path to misery.
Ultimately and eventually, all people will have to answer that question in a sense. All people will meet the Lord Jesus when they leave this world. What will they say and do? It all depends on what they did with Him here and now!
Philippians 2:5-11 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
ILL.- The old Fram oil commercial used to say, “You can pay me now or you can pay me later.” And later meant perhaps an engine repair or new engine because you didn’t keep a clean oil filter.
People can confess faith in Jesus now or they can confess Him later when they die, but later will be too late!
ILL.- Helen Keller never went to church during her early childhood. Deaf and dumb and blind, she did not learn the story of the love of God in Christ until she was taken to Phillips Brooks for religious instruction. The great preacher told her, in the simplest possible language, how God had sent Jesus to teach us His will, show us His love, and make Himself known to humanity.
The face of Miss Keller lighted up as she spelled into the hands of her interpreter, “I knew all the time there must be One like that, but I didn’t know His Name.”
Apparently, even deaf, dumb and blind recognized Jesus as someone special. It’s too bad the rest of society isn’t deaf, dumb and blind and then perhaps they, too, would recognize Jesus for the person He is!
It almost totally amazing to me to think that at Christmas the people of the United States don’t recognize Jesus as the Son of the living God! Yet many do not or refuse to believe in any shape or form. Instead of Merry Christmas, it’s Happy Holidays!
Christmas is so much than just a holiday and that’s because of who Jesus is! Jesus is the one who is!
III. HE IS THE ONE WHO CAN
Matthew 1:20-21 “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.“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.” Jesus can save from sin.
Matthew 11:28-29 “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Jesus can give rest to the soul.
John 3:16-17 “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. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” Jesus can give eternal life.
Jesus is the one who can still do what He did in the past. He still saves people from their sins. He still gives rest to the soul and brings healing to broken hearts. He still gives the promise of eternal life.
ILL.- As you know, my son Shane is a first time father and at age 31. His baby Sophia Grace was born on September 12th weighing only 4 lbs. 2 oz., but she’s picking up speed, slowly but surely. She doubled her weight in only two months. Not sure what she weighed at three months.
Babies do grow up! Look at our Liam Cunningham! Liam got a head start on many. And look at Bailey Frakes and Seth Kaser! Obviously, some grow up quicker and/or bigger than others, but they all do grow up unless hindered by some disease.
I really believe that my son Shane would give his life for his baby girl. And most of us would if put to the test. We would give our lives for our babies and I think we would even give our lives for our grown children as well.
But there is something we can’t do for them. There is something that no parent can do for their children. No parent can give their soul for their child! No parent can go to hell to keep their child out of hell. We might want to. We might be willing to, but I don’t think it’s possible.
Jesus is the only person who suffered the torment of hell for others. And He did it for the whole world!
No parent can believe in Jesus for their child. No parent can confess Jesus for their child. No parent can be baptized for their child. Our children will have to come to faith for themselves, but not by themselves. This is where we parents come in. It will be a whole lot easier for a child to come to faith, confess their faith and be baptized if we parents teach and lead the way! And may God have mercy on the children who don’t have parents who will do that for them!
Parents can’t save their own children but Jesus can. Jesus is the greatest “can do” person there is. He can do more for you and your children than any other person on planet earth. He can save us from our sins. He can give us peace within. He can give us eternal life.
CONCLUSION---------------
ILL. - On October 30, 2011, Brian McGuinn’s wife of five years, Anna, handed her husband her ring, asking him to put it in her jewelry box while she showered. At the same time, Brian picked up a disposable razor and without thinking, he tossed both into the trash. The couple didn’t realize what had happened until the next morning — after Waste Management had already picked up the garbage from their Florida condo. Anna, five months pregnant, burst into tears. Desperate to find her $10,000 ring, she called Wheelabrator, a division of Waste Management that processes the trash.
Officials on the line, hesitant to offer much hope, said that Brian was welcome to come and search. So he did. Brian arrived at the county dump, suited up in a protective vest, suit and goggles, and, alongside plant worker Joel Ryan who leveled the trash with a bulldozer for easier searching, started to make his way through the piles where his neighborhood’s trash was dumped.
"Nastiness you wouldn’t believe," Brian said of the garbage-digging. "It was absolutely disgusting. It stunk beyond belief. The smell was God-awful. Everything unsanitary you could think of crossed my path at least a couple times. I took an extraordinarily long shower and toothbrushes were used."
Then he saw it: a shiny object wedged between two brown bags. After just 30 minutes of searching (the Associated Press says it took 90 minutes), the ring was back in his possession.
"It looked like a screw and I reached down and it looped around my index finger," Brian told the Sun Sentinel. "I was ecstatic. It was like winning the lottery. It was probably one of the best moments ever."
"Perseverance," Brian said of the moral to the lost ring’s story. "A lot of people don’t find things; it’s gone. But I knew I had to try." As for Anna, she doesn’t intend on ever taking off the ring again.
Matthew 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.”
Brian McGuinn went through a lot of stinking trash to find one earthly treasure. What are you willing to go through in this world in order to find the treasure that only Jesus offers which is eternal?
Steve Shepherd, Jonesboro Christian Church, AR
jonesborochristianchurch@suddenlink.net
