1 John 5:20 “We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true - even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
God came into this world through Jesus Christ. We know God today, because of Jesus.
• Christmas is really the celebration of an invasion – an invasion by God into our world.
• For what purpose? So that you and I will know Him.
• God made himself understandable and approachable. He is not some mysterious force in the universe; He is our heavenly Father.
Do you know God? Do you want to know God? Then you must know Jesus Christ.
• Heb 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by His powerful Word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”
• Jesus says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well.” (John 14:6-7)
There is no way man can ever know God, unless God shows Himself.
• And this was what He did at Christmas.
• God wants to get in touch with you, because YOU ARE IMPORTANT to Him.
• God wants you to know Him. You matter to God. Your problems matter to God. Your life matters to God.
His apostle John says: “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10)
Christmas was God’s idea. It was not a man’s invention.
• It was God’s plan, with a PURPOSE in mind and you are that purpose.
• Jesus came to be the “atoning sacrifice for our sins”.
• What sin? Our crime of rejecting God, for not acknowledging Him as God. We strayed from Him and sinned against Him by our unrighteous and immoral living.
He offered Himself so that we can be forgiven. He offered Himself so that “we might live through Him.”
• The question is, “Are you alive today?” I am not saying, are you breathing today, or are you having an existence today?
• Do you have a life – that is purposeful, meaningful and abundant?
Jesus says, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10)
• The Bible’s definition of life is not just mere existence. We are all living today, but many are living very sad lives, without meaning and purpose. Some wish to end it.
• The Bible’s definition of life has to do with a relationship with God.
• John 17:3 “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.”
Only such a life is meaningful, abundant and eternal.
• Since we cannot know God by our own efforts; God came through Christ.
• Today, God is very present in your life. All you need to do is to respond to Him with faith. He is only a prayer away, if you are willing to believe Him.
• No matter where you are or what you are facing today, God is fully aware and He can help you. I may not, but He is.
Not only are you important to Him, YOU ARE PRECIOUS in His sight.
• 1 John 4:9-10, “This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”
• The emphasis in God’s Word goes beyond just God knowing you but God loving you.
• There is still a difference between knowing and loving someone. Many people know me but not will care about me.
God loves you. You are not a statistic.
• Jesus calls His own sheep by name, He says in John 10:3. You are not a nameless entity to God.
• You may be just a number to our government, among the 5 million people staying in Singapore, but not so with God.
God loves you. You can’t make God stop loving you, because His love is not based on what you do.
• God is love, John says (1 John 4:16). Therefore YOUR LIFE IS PRECIOUS.
• Jesus paid a great price to save you. That’s the price tag on you.
• Value your life. Treasure every moment, because there is value and worth to your life.
• Don’t waste time. Don’t waste your life away. Use it to serve God. Do something significant, something that is eternal.
We are honouring God’s love for us when we treasure our life.
• Christmas reveals the greatness of God’s love for us. It shows us how precious we are to Him.
• Without Christmas, we would never have known. We would never have known anything about God.
A great professor and theologian Karl Barth, was asked to give a series of lectures at the University of Chicago’s Divinity School. At the end of his last lecture, the president of the seminary said that Dr Barth was not well and tired, and though Dr Barth would be willing to open for questions, he suggested that they do not do that, and instead, he said, “Allow me to ask just one question on behalf of all of us.”
The chairman turned to the renowned professor and asked, “Of all the theological insights you’ve ever had, which is the one you consider to be the greatest of them all?”
It was a great question for a man who had spent years studying the Scriptures and written tens of thousands of pages of some of the most difficult theology in print. The audience was alert and all ready to pen down what this great professor has to say.
The professor closed his tired eyes, paused for a moment and said, “The greatest theological insight that I have ever had is this: ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.’”
Of all the great knowledge that you’ve acquired on earth, what would be the one truth that has captivated your heart and life?
• The professor says (and many of us would say) - the love of God. That God would love me enough to come for me.
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. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
You are important to God; you are precious to God, and…
You are saved by God. God wants to give you a hope and a future.
• The penalty of sin is death, but God is willing to pay it. Jesus offers Himself.
• The deal has already been done. You are forgiven today. You can be forgiven today, if you accept Jesus as your Saviour!
• You cannot undo what Christ has already accomplished. The choice is yours. Our sins can be forgiven, once and for all, once we put your trust in Jesus.
It is the gift of God. By faith in Christ we are reconciled with God. It is by grace that we are saved.
• God is not against you; He is FOR you. Jesus came to save you.
• Don’t run away from Him. You need to run to Him.
• If you are still in sin, it is not God who is condemning you. You made that choice to remain where you are, because divine pardon is made available in Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters-in-Christ, rejoice because God has given us this gift of an abundant and eternal life.
• Rejoice always, because there is hope in Christ. No matter how difficult life has become, nothing is amiss to God and nothing impossible with God.
• For “…we are MORE than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (Rom 8:37)
• Remember this, you are deeply loved, highly favoured and forever blessed in Christ!
Dear friends, God knows you, He loves you and He has come to save you.
• You will be blessed if you put your faith in Jesus today and experience His love, peace and the joy of a new life.
• How do you do that? By praying.
• You can invite Him into your life simply by saying a prayer, admitting that we are sinners in need of His forgiveness, that we believe Jesus died for our sin on the cross, and He rose from the dead, giving us the hope of eternal life.
If you have not accepted Jesus as your Saviour, and would like to invite Him into your life right now, you can say this prayer with me.
• I do not know if there is anyone here who would like to say this prayer.
• Maybe you want to, just raise your hand and tell God this is what I want.
Pray this prayer with me:
“Dear God, thank you for loving me. I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus came and died for my sins. I repent of my sins and receive you Jesus as my Saviour. Thank you for saving me and giving me eternal life. Come into my life and guide me. Help me live for you. I am now a child of God. Thank you, dear Lord for hearing my prayer. In Jesus’ Name, we pray, AMEN.”
If you’ve made that prayer, you are now a child of God, you are a Christian. Your sins are forgiven. Jesus dwells in your heart. He will guide you in your life.
LET US PRAY:
Let all people rejoice, Lord, this Christmas, for the Saviour has been born.
Man will no longer need to live in darkness and sin, for the light has come.
Let all who are in bondage rejoice, for you have given us freedom and victory in life through Christ. Restore to us Lord the joy of your salvation.
May the peace and love and hope of Christmas be felt in each of our hearts today and in the many days to come.
In the Name of Jesus we pray, AMEN!
