MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(REVISED: 2017)
TEXT: Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23
Today is Dec. 24th, & tomorrow is Christmas Day. And for most of us this has been a very busy Christmas Season.
But right now I would like for you to forget all that & consider with me the real meaning of Christmas.
Now to help us do that I need your cooperation. I want you to imagine that just a few minutes ago Jesus Christ walked through those doors & took a seat in this room. Can you do that? Can you imagine that with me?
That shouldn’t be too much of a stretch for us because we know that He has promised to be present whenever even 2 or 3 gather together in His name. That means that He is here with us this morning.
But since He is a Spirit, we can’t see Him. So even though He is here, there is still somewhat of a barrier to our being able to see Him.
But what I’m asking you to do is this: Imagine that the barrier has been removed, & that He has come to be with us today in the flesh. We can see Him, & walk up to Him, & look in His eyes.
We can talk to Him, shake His hand, or bow down if we want. We can hear Him & listen as He speaks. Imagine that He is here in the flesh.
Now as I said, that shouldn’t be too difficult because, after all, that is what Christmas is all about. And there is one word that expresses the essence, the message of Christmas. It is a word used only a few times in the Bible.
It is found first of all in Isaiah 7:14, & repeated in chapter 8. And finally, it is quoted in Matthew 1:23. “The virgin will be with child & will give birth to a son, & they will call Him Immanuel.” Then Matthew adds these words, “which means, ‘God with us.’”
So God has come to be with us. When you come & when you go, God is with you.
He’ll be with you as you do your work. He’ll be with you as you wrestle with your checkbook & try to pay your bills.
He’ll be with you when you’re well. He’ll be with you when you’re sick. He’ll be with you through all the experiences of life. That’s the essence, the message of Christmas!
Some religious leaders, called Deists, used to say, “God created the world & then He left it & went someplace else. Now He is just watching us from a distance, & we’ve been left here all alone to fend for ourselves.”
But the Bible says, “God didn’t just create the world & then walk away from it. He cares about us, so He came to live in it with us. And He promises us, ‘I’ll never leave you, nor will I ever abandon you. I’ll be with you always.’”
So this morning, let’s remove that barrier & welcome Jesus in the flesh. “Immanuel - God with us.”
Now, if you saw Jesus here this morning, what would you say to Him? If he were sitting next to you, what would you do?
If you suddenly turned & saw Jesus, would you embrace Him? Or turn your back on Him? Or would you fall on your knees & worship Him? What would you do?
If I were up here behind the pulpit & I suddenly saw Him sitting here among us, I might say something like this:
“Lord, please forgive me, but I didn’t see you come in. I try to get around & greet most of the people, but you must have come in while I was talking to someone, & I didn’t notice you.
“I don’t think the greeters realized who you are, & the people sitting next to you don’t know either. Maybe it’s because at this time of the year we’re so focused on seeing you as a baby, lying in a manger.
“Or maybe it’s because all the pictures of you really don’t show you the way you are. We’re so used to seeing paintings of you in a long robe with a beard. But you kind of blend into the crowd this morning. You look just like all the rest of us.
“I must admit that seeing you sit there is a bit of a shock to me. Really, I’m overwhelmed with the fact that you’re here.
"Suddenly I’m more sensitive about what we have been doing this morning. The songs we sang seem so much more personal now. And our prayers – why, Lord, we were talking directly to you! You were here, & we didn’t realize it!
“What did you think about us, Lord, as we prayed? Did you think we were just praying because it was time to pray? Did you hear our hearts? Did you detect how sincere we are?
“What first impression did you have of us? Were we warm & friendly when you walked in the door? Did someone greet you immediately?
"Did anyone move over to give you room to sit beside them in the pew? Or were we just preoccupied with ourselves?
“Lord, are you disappointed with the number of people here today? You see, it’s a busy time of the year for us. We’ve been buying gifts, & wrapping them, & sending out cards.
“And some of our people are absent because they have gone over the river & through the woods to grandmother’s house today. But are you pleased with those of us who are here?
“You know, all this month our services have been like a celebration, a birthday party for you. And if we had known you could be here in the flesh we would have sent you a special invitation.
“But then, where would we have sent it? Well anyway, I hope you enjoy your birthday celebration today.
“By the way, I’ve always wondered what kind of music you like. Oh, I should have known – you like it all, don’t you? - as long as it brings praise & honor & glory to God.
“And what did you think of our communion service? Were we really remembering you as we partook of the emblems? Did we partake with reverence? Did you feel that we were really worshiping you?
“Lord, did it bother you when we were whispering to each other? Do we fidget too much? We have a hard time with being still & quiet before God, don’t we?
“Lord, there are other things that I wonder about. Sometimes I wonder if all this is making any difference. We meet together week after week, & we have been doing it for years.
“Now it’s Christmastime again. Last year many of us promised that we would do better. Are we any different inside? Are we better now than we were last year? Or do we sin the same sins, do we think the same thoughts? Do you see any difference in us at all?
“You said that we should pray that your kingdom would come, & your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. But I wonder, Lord, have we looked in heaven enough to find out what it is that you want on earth?
“And what about the church? You say that the church is your body. I guess it is good for us to see you this morning because, as we look at you now, we can see compassion in your eyes, & hear it in your voice.
“We can see your love & mercy & grace, Lord. Do we reach out in mercy & grace? Do we accept people for who they are? Do we forgive? Are we that kind of church?
“Lord, you talk about the fellowship of the church, ‘koinonia’ you called it, & sometimes we fail to realize how important that is. You tell us to “forsake not the assembling of ourselves together”, & yet sometimes that seems so hard for us to do.
“Lord, we really do need each other. That’s the “fellowship” you talk about, isn’t it? Where we just come together & sometimes, not even realizing it, we help carry each other’s burdens – we lift each other up.
“And when we leave here, even though we hadn’t counted on it, some-how our load is lighter, & it’s just better. Thank you for the ‘koinonia.’ Thank you for the church.
“Lord, do you think we’ve lost our zeal? Our excitement? I read about shepherds & I see how excited they were when they heard the good news that you had been born.
“I read about them saying, ‘Let us go to Bethlehem & see this thing which the Lord has made known to us.’ (Luke 2:15)
“And with haste they came, & they bowed down & worshiped you. I see their excitement, & I wonder if we have lost that excitement?
“I see wise men traveling across the desert bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, & myrrh, traveling for weeks, maybe even months, to get there. I wonder if we, today, would be willing to make such a sacrifice?
“I read about the early church. I read about Christians going out into the highways & byways & finding people & bringing them in, urging them to experience the love of God.
“I read about the apostle Paul saying, “Christ’s love compels us….” (2 Corinthians 5:14) Lord, have we lost that? Do we feel the grip of your love in our lives?
“Or have we become apathetic & impatient? Are we just here because it’s Sunday morning & we’re going through the motions? Are we really caught in the grip of your love?
“Do you think we’re too proud? Christmas is a time that can feed our egos, I guess. We spend too much on gifts. Sometimes we are even jealous of each other in comparing what we’re getting for Christmas, or in what we're giving.
“Are we too proud, Lord? You told us that you came to serve & not to be served, but what did you mean when you said, “Many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” (Matthew 19:30)
“Lord, I don’t quite know how to say this, but my Christmas prayer would be that our preoccupation with self would never again force you to come into the world you created & be rejected by it. And that our sin would never again force you to carry a cross.
“It’ll be over soon, Lord, – the way we celebrate Christmas, I mean. We’ll take down the trees & the lights – take back to the stores the things we didn’t like & exchange them for something else.
“It’ll soon be over. And too many of us will be our old selves once again. But this morning our hearts are tender; & it has been good for us to have you here. It’s been good to see you. It’s been good to know that you care enough about us to come.
“Lord, we really want to see you more. We long for the day when every knee will bow, every eye will behold, & every tongue will confess that you are Lord, to the glory of your Father.
"And we long for the day when we will be with you forever.
“So until then, Lord, ‘Merry Christmas,’ & ‘Happy Birthday’ to you!”
CONCL. Well, folks, that’s the sermon. This morning, if you’re here & you don’t know Jesus as your Savior we invite you to come. We’re going to stand & sing together. And as we do, we extend the invitation of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Will you come & respond to His love as we sing?
