Home For Christmas
Pt. 3 - Code #3
I. Introduction
We are glad to have Buddy with us today. Buddy was raised by elves and so he thought he was an elf until Santa tells him his is a human with a human father. So, Buddy goes to NY to find his dad and in the process, he saves Christmas because he lives his life according to the Elf Code.
But we are focusing on this Elf Code and learning how we should live so that we, along with others, can get "Home for Christmas!"
Elf Code 3 - There is room for everyone on the nice list.
How many of you want to be on the nice list? Right? We all understand that that it is best to be on the nice list. At Christmas only those one the nice list get presents . . . right? During the year people would rather spend time with and hang out with folks on the nice list.
But it may be elf wishful thinking to think that everyone is on the nice list. In fact, I can vividly remember one scene in Buddy's movie where he finds out his father is on the naughty list. He freaks out. He is devastated.
So, I want you to hold on to your hat Buddy because here is the truth . . .
Isaiah 64:6 (TLB)
We are all infected and impure with sin. When we put on our prized robes of righteousness, we find they are but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves we fade, wither, and fall. And our sins, like the wind, sweep us away.
Is there any hope for us? Can we be saved? We’re all sin-infected, sin-contaminated. Our best efforts are grease-stained rags.
Romans 3:9-12
So where does that put us? Do we Jews get a better break than the others? Not really. Basically, all of us, whether insiders or outsiders, start out in identical conditions, which is to say that we all start out as sinners. Scripture leaves no doubt about it: There’s nobody living right, not even one, nobody who knows the score, nobody alert for God. They’ve all taken the wrong turn; they’ve all wandered down blind alleys. No one’s living right; I can’t find a single one.
Then in verse 23 the write drives it home ... we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
So, unfortunately I have some bad news first . . . We are all on the naughty list!
All of us. No one better than the other. No one with special privileges or exceptions . . . well they are just a good person. They have a special pass because of their heritage or their family. NO! We a all naughty! No exceptions. No special circumstances. No free pass.
But fortunately that is also what makes Christmas so special. Jesus arrives on the scene! How does that help?
Matthew 1:18-21
The birth of Jesus took place like this. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. Before they came to the marriage bed, Joseph discovered she was pregnant. (It was by the Holy Spirit, but he didn’t know that.) Joseph, chagrined but noble, determined to take care of things quietly so Mary would not be disgraced. While he was trying to figure a way out, he had a dream. God’s angel spoke in the dream: “Joseph, son of David, don’t hesitate to get married. Mary’s pregnancy is Spirit-conceived. God’s Holy Spirit has made her pregnant. She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus—‘God saves’—because he will save his people from their sins.”
Did you hear the last phrase. He will save his people from their sins! In fact, His very name is a clue. Jesus. literally means "to deliver" or "to rescue!"
Jesus arrives as Immanuel . . . God with us. God in skin. His sole purpose of arrival was to rescue us. In other words, He shows up to help us get our name on the nice list.
The write of Romans makes it clear that we are on the naughty list but he also makes it clear that it is through Jesus that we have the chance to be on the nice list . . .
Romans 3:25-26
God sacrificed Jesus on the altar of the world to clear that world of sin. Having faith in him sets us in the clear. God decided on this course of action in full view of the public—to set the world in the clear with himself through the sacrifice of Jesus, finally taking care of the sins he had so patiently endured. This is not only clear, but it’s now
—this is current history! God sets things right. He also makes it possible for us to live in his rightness.
Did you hear that? This is "current history!" It is possible for us to live in His rightness. It is possible to trade our righteousness for His righteousness and when we do we find ourselves on the nice list. In fact, Romans 10:13 tells us that "whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved!"
We can be on the nice list!
But that is where the rub is this morning.
Just because there is room on the nice list doesn't mean we are on it!
Just because there is room doesn't mean we have taken advantage of the vacancy. You can drive by a vacancy sign at a hotel and not accept the room!
Listen, Jesus has done all He can do. He came to earth, took punishment for sin, laid His life down, made provision, made room on the list for us. However, how many of you have seen someone on tv who is standing on the edge of bridge about to jump off and they fight rescue? Rescuers have to sneak up on them. Grab them. Physically constrain them.
How many of us are resisting rescue? Fighting freedom?
We must participate in our rescue!
Jesus did the heavy lifting, the hard work and paid the high price by dying on a cross. He made room for us, but we must call on His name. We must admit that we are on the naughty list and need His help. The promise is that those who call on the name of the Lord will be saved! The same write who told us we are on the naughty list tells us what we must do to get on the nice list.
Romans 10:9 "That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your
heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with
your mouth that you confess and are saved.
The good news this morning is there is indeed room for everyone on the nice list. There is plenty of grace, mercy and forgiveness. Jesus secured enough for even the worst sinner. But what is true about us all in our sin in true about us all in our rescue. We must ask. We must participate. We must call on His name.
Who wants to be on the nice list? There is room. We must simply do our small part.
