VIDEO: CHARLIE BROWN AND THE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS (LINUS QUOTING “FOR UNTO US A SAVIOR IS BORN)
Wow. How times have changed. You would never hear THAT in a modern day cartoon.
Isn’t is comforting though…I mean, doesn’t it give you such peace of mind to know that Linus and Charlie Brown and all of his homies will be in heaven!?!? Let’s just pray that Charlie Brown and his buddies can win the the Bart Simpson family to the Lord.
It’s Christmas time…
I heard about a little old lady during Christmas week. The little old lady comes out onto her front porch every morning and shouts, "Praise the Lord!"
And every morning the atheist next door yells back, "There is no Lord!"
This goes on everyday during Christmas week. "Praise the Lord!" yells the lady. "There is no Lord!" responds the neighbor.
As the week goes by, the lady is stressing because of financial difficulties and is worried about buying food and presents for Christmas as the family is coming over. She goes out onto the porch and asks God for help with the food and presents for her family, then says, "Praise the Lord!"
The next morning when she goes out onto the porch, would you believe it! Bags and bags of groceries and presents are piled up on the porch! Of course, she shouts, "Praise the Lord!"
The atheist jumps out from behind the bush and exclaims, "HA! GOTCHYA! I bought all that stuff. There is no Lord!"
The lady looks up to heaven and smiles. She shouts, "Praise the Lord! Not only did you provide for me, Lord, but you also made Satan pay for all of it!"
Turn in/turn on your Bibles to:
LUKE 2:1-7
Jesus’ Birth in Bethlehem
2 Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2 This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3 And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. 4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. 6 While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Can you imagine that? No room…for Jesus in the inn. No room…for the King of Kings. No room…for the Creator of the world. No room…for the Messiah. No room…for Jesus in the inn.
Now lets not get it twisted…it’s not like the “inn” would have been all “that” anyway.
I think we read this story and think of the “inn” like a Scottsdale resort, a Ritz Carlton or a JW Marriott something. Far from it. But the “inn” WAS a place for people to stay, sleep and keep warm. A guest quarters…usally dirt floors where they could slap a blanket down…but at least it was covered.
But there WAS no room in the inn..and verse 7 says because of that: Mary wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger…
I gotta say, hats off to Mary and Joseph for improvising and keeping a godly attitude! They traveled all week long…while she was pregnant…they finally get there…and no room. *The distance from Nazareth to Bethlehem was about 80 miles.* Traveled all week long…she’ pregnant - they’re tired…no room. Keepin it real with you – I would have been ticked!
If I were Jesus’ parent…the Bible would be radically different today:
You’d be able to find my story in something like the book of:
1st Irritations 2: “Travis and his pregnant wife Natalie traveled all week long and were exhausted. When they got there, Natalie delivered her baby. But there was no room in the inn. (Pause) Travis went off on the Inn Keeper! You gotta be kidding me! Bro, do you have ANY idea who I am? Do you have ANY idea who my Son is? Oh, okay…Listen joker, we will remember this…no room for us in the inn, huh? We will remember this when YOU’RE hoping for a room one day.”
You know how we are? And don’t act like you’d be any different. You travel off to a hotel…you get there and they’re overbooked…or they mess up and give you the wrong room…I’m sure everyone in here, except me, would be as sweet as a peach!
But the Bible just shows that Mary and Joseph had to improvise and they did just fine…MARY…laid the king of kings…the Lord of Lords…the Creator of all creation – the messiah in a manger.
As you can see, I have a manger sitting on stage in front of me. This is typically how you and I view the manger at the manger scene. Small, modest. Humble. Made of wood with some hay. As you know, a manger is actually a freeding trough for animals. Mary laid the king of kings in an animal bowl.
But mangers were actually very different in Bible times. Mangers were made of mud and straw. Mangers looked something more like this: (Show Picture on Big Screen)
There was no room, so the Messiah was laid in a manger.
As much as the thought of this irritates me…it got me to thinking this week: “What rooms do you keep Jesus out of in your life?” What kind of room do you make for Jesus? Do you make room – or push Him aside? Listen, the truth is Jesus shouldn’t have A room in your life – Jesus IS the room for your life.
Today – I wanna give you 4 quick thoughts on Making Room For Jesus In My Life.
MAKING ROOM FOR JESUS IN MY LIFE
1. MAKE ROOM FOR JESUS IN MY FAITH.
Is there room for Jesus in your faith? What do I mean by that?
What I mean by that is this…
A lot of people who say they’re going to heaven - live like hell. As I’ve said, the route to heaven doesn’t go through hell – it goes through Jesus. A lot of people who boldy claim Christ on Sundays; are boldy ashamed of Christ come Monday.
Look, it’s EASY to be Christian Sunday morning at church around church people and church workers. It’s easy to be a Christian around other men and women of God. But are you a Christian every where else?…all day…everyday…every place. Are you Christlike. Are you a model of Christ. Do you possess the characteristics that exemplify JESUS. Do people even know you’re a Christian? Are you - bold in your faith?
Paul said in Romans:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.” Romans 1:16 (NIV)
If you’re a Christian who is ashamed – how are the Bart Simpsons in your live going to become Christians?
Romans says: I am not ashamed of the Gospel – it is the power of God that brings Salvation. When I was 17 and became a Christian, a friend said something to me that stuck with me. You’ve probably heard it before: You might be the only “Jesus” that many people will ever see. What are they seeing? What are they hearing? What kind of Jesus are YOU? That’s what I’m talking about today…Making room for Jesus in my faith.
It’s not enough to just believe. James 2:19 says, “You believe that there is one God – good – even the demons believe and shudder! That’s mad respect right there.
The crazy thing is…the demons even got some of us beat…some of us believe – but don’t even shudder.
Look, do you wanna change the world or do you want the world to change you!? Be bold in your faith. Make room for Jesus in your faith. Faith is not supposed to be private, it’s supposed to be public. You know I’m sayin? No closet Christians.
There's a lot of investors in your faith - & a CEO with a "to die for" resume - it’s time to go public!
2. MAKE ROOM FOR JESUS IN MY FAMILY.
But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua 24:15 (NIV)
I wanna read this in context for a moment…
Joshua 24:14
14 Now, therefore, fear the LORD and serve Him in sincerity and truth; and put away the gods which your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD. 15 "If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD." 16The people answered and said, "Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;…
I get it. You’re sitting in an American Christian Church in Scottsdale, Arizona. You probably don’t serve Buddha, or Muhhammad…you don’t serve Baal or some Bible pagan god. But were all tempted to serve other gods. We self serve…serve our ego…lust…money…fame. When we put anything before god – it becomes our god.
Remember the 1st Commandment in the 10 Commandments in Exodus 20:3 “Thou shall have no other gods before me.” No other gods Not self. Not Pride. Power. Position. Prestige.
2 verses later, in Exodus 20:5 it says: “You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God…”
And Joshua says…put away all the powerless gods – and Serve the Lord with sincerity.
He says: Choose this day whom you will serve…make a choice. Choose. Get off the fence. Poop or get off the pot! (Can I say that in church? Good. At least I didn’t say the other word. I thought about it but didn’t want this to go viral on youtube or something. But It seems like we have a real problem with commitment today, don’ we? We’re fence riders. Non-committal. We wanna live together but not get married.
Isn’t it frustrating when somebody doesn’t wanna fully commit? They ride the fence? Let’s just live together – I’m not sure I wanna commit to you yet. Let’s just be fiends with benefits.
Jesus – let’s just be fiends with benefits.
We wanna live with Jesus – we just don’t wanna get married. It requires too much commitment from us. We wanna be able to push Him aside when we need to. We wanna use God, but we don’t wanna be used by God.
Some of you – I’m hittin’ you right between the eyes with a hot flaming arrow right now. Doesn’t that feel so awesome! LOL! Aren’t you glad you came to church today? You got beat up all week long and came to church to be uplifted and I’m delivering the knockout punch!
But some of you need to make a choice today. Choose this day whom you will serve.
I’m getting’ a little sidetracked here…but point #2 is make room for Jesus in my family. As for me and my house – we will serve the Lord.
Listen, I wanna talk to you dads…to you fathers in here. Establish that you and your house will serve the Lord. Be a leader. Take ownership. Stand up. Man up. (Every woman in the building should be shoutin’ amen right now!)
Make room for Jesus in your family. Make Jesus the center of your life and the center of your family.
3. MAKE ROOM FOR JESUS IN MY FRIENDS.
I’m sure you’ve heard the quote: “Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future.” Maybe do a little self examination of your friends. Who are your closest friends. Who you run with – you are one with. You become like who you’re around. Is Jesus the center of your friendships.
Think of your closest friends. Could you pray with them? or would that just be awkward?!? Could you read the Bible with them? Do you?
“He who walks with the wise grows wise, but a companion of fools suffers harm.” Proverbs 13:20 (NIV)
This is exactly why Andre rolls with me…
“Do not be misled, bad company corrupts good character.”
1 Corinthians 15:33 (NLT)
Don’t be misled…don’t get it twisted. Keep it straight…BAD COMPANY CORRUPTS GOOD CHARACTER.
Your brain can mislead you. It’ll tell you that you can hang out with bad company and you’ll influence them. You’ll be corrupted. Bad company corrupts.
But on the flipside:
“Iron sharpens iron. So one friend sharpens another.”
Proverbs 27:17 (NIV)
Good friends. Godly friends. Good, godly friends sharpen one another.
A bad friend stabs you in the back. But a good friend…a godly frined…
“A true friend stabs you in the front!” Oscar Wilde
4. MAKE ROOM FOR JESUS IN MY FINANCES.
I heard about a man who is talking to God. "God, how long is a million years?" God answers, "To me, it's about a minute." "God, how much is a million dollars?" "To me, it's a penny." "God, may I have a penny?" "Ya, in a minute."
I wanted to throw this point in here because I don’t believe that Jesus really has ANY room in our lives, period, if it’s not reflected in our finances. I just don’t. Everyone in this building spends their money…hard earned money…on what they love the most. On what they feel is most important in their lives…we spend our money on what we feel is a priority. Sure, sometimes it’s necessities – but other times it’s just to fulfill selfish desires. None of that is wrong – as long as you’re making room for Jesus in your finances.
Matthew 6:21 Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
How much money do you spend on Jesus? How much money do you spend for Jesus?
If you haven’t already, you need to make room for Jesus in your finances.
Ask yourself this question: Is my love for Jesus obvious in my finances? If Pastor Trav looked through my online banking statements – would by love for Jesus be obvious…or would he have to search for it? It is constant? Is it consistant?
Matthew 6:21 Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Three verses later, Jesus said:
"No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. Matthew 6:24
Again, choose this day whom will you serve. God or money? You can’t serve both. Pick one. Don’t be a fence rider.
“Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.” Ecclesiastes 5:10 (NIV)
My prayer for all of us this morning is that we make room for Jesus in our lives. Not just a little room – we give Him our entire life. Every piece of it. Not part of it; every part of it.
Stop pushing Jesus out. Stop keeping Jesus out or certain rooms or in certain rooms. Make room for Jesus in our lives. Make room for Jesus in your faith, make room for Jesus in your family and friends, in your finances – make room for Jesus in your entire life.
