Christmas Poem
O come all ye faithful, to the little town of Bethlehem,
Because in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light,
It was a silent night, an O holy night,
Oh what a sight as the harold angels sing,
But Mary said He’s coming soon, but there is no room,
As she reminded Joseph that a baby changes everything,
So I fell on my knees as the angels sing,
Joy to the world as we saw 3 kings,
And we all were sore afraid,
as the little Lord Jesus laid down his sweet head,
People were asking what child is this,
as He was born upon a midnight clear with sweet bliss,
It was the first Noel but I had no gift for Him,
So someone played their drum for Him,
But there was no danger,
For He was born away in a manger.
Introduction
Well Christmas is right around the corner. And we are asking questions. Right? You are asking questions, right?
You may be asking what does my wife or husband want for Christmas this year? Or you may be asking that about the grand kids.
Maybe you are asking if you will get that special gift that you have had your eye on for a while. Maybe you are asking will I get what is on your Christmas list.
Well let me ask you this. Does JC have a Christmas list? Does JC have a Christmas wish? Well folks you bet he does! You should know that HE does.
But have you been asking what does Jesus want? After all it is His birthday. JC does have a Christmas list and your name is on the very top of it.
And then He has another Christmas list with your name on it. And another list with your name on it.
And the Bible says that JC wants everyone to come to repentance and thereby He wants everyone to be saved. And folks that is Jesus’s Christmas wish.
In fact it is His wish all the time, not just at Christmas. But JC wants you to be saved for Christmas. IOW He wants you for Christmas.
Christmas
And speaking of Christmas, let me ask you, are you ready for Christmas? It is only 21 days from now. That is just 3 weeks.
Are you ready for:
All the fanfare?
All the gifts?
All the visitors that you may have?
All the lights and glitter?
All the food?
But are you ready for Jesus?
Little Drummer Boy
Do you remember the story of the little drummer boy? It is a fictitious about a little boy who went to visit the baby Jesus.
There were kings and wise men there and they were giving the baby expensive gifts. But the little drummer boy was poor, he had no expensive gifts to give.
Here are some of the words to the song:
Come they told me,
A new born King to see,
Our finest gifts we bring,
To lay before the King,
I have no gift to bring
That's fit to give the King
Shall I play for you,
On my drum?
Mary nodded,
The ox and lamb kept time,
I played my drum for Him,
I played my best for Him,
Then He smiled at me,
Me and my drum.
This little humble fellow had nothing to give to Jesus, the newborn King.
So what did he do? He did the only thing he could do.
He gave Jesus:
He created a gift for JC out of what he had.
Out of the talent and resources that God had given him.
The gift of music
His talent as a drummer
The only thing he knew to do, play his drum
And I have to believe that the little drummer boy poured his heart into that song.
I have to believe that the little drummer boy poured himself into that gift to Jesus.
Basically, the little drummer boy gave himself to Jesus through music.
And what are we doing here today?
What are you doing here today?
Are you giving yourself to Jesus through your God given talents?
But I also have to believe that the little drummer boy did not stop with music.
I believe that the little drummer boy gave his whole life to the little baby in the manger, Jesus Christ.
Have you?
As we come upon this Christmas season, I urge you to give.
Not your money (you came to church and we did not try to get your money)
Not a material gift
Not a meal
Not even a song
My prayer for you my friends, is that you will give to Jesus the most wonderful Christmas present of all.
And that Christmas present is you. If you are not saved then my prayer is that you will give your heart and your very life to JC.
If you are saved, then your gift to JC is repentance and ultimately obedience.
And not only for Christmas but for the whole year.
And not only for the whole year but for the rest of eternity.
Can you do that? Will you do that?
Repentance
So what is repentance? The word repent simply means to turn. You are walking to the east and you turn yourself and start walking toward the west.
You are living a life of unrepentant sin, you turn yourself away from sin.
You are living a life for yourself, you turn yourself and start living your life for God.
That’s what repentance is. But the main reason and perhaps the only reason that people do not repent is because of a hardened heart.
So what do we do about a hardened heart? Is this condition curable? Can it be resolved?
The answer is yes, with God’s help it surely can but without God it is impossible.
And that’s why there are so many hardened hearts out there.
People try to change themselves or others WITHOUT GOD!
And a hardened heart IS a spiritual disease and the first step of the cure is to acknowledge that we have a hardened heart toward God.
IOW we have to admit that we have a problem. We have to see and acknowledge the problem.
If you have a cut on your leg, you know it by the pain from it but you can also look at your leg and see the cut.
Well, with a hardened heart, it may not be so easy to see. But God will help you to see your heart’s condition when we ask Him:
Psalm 139:23-24
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart:
Try me, and know my thoughts:
24 And see if there be any wicked way in me,
And lead me in the way everlasting.
If you have a hardened heart, ask God to search your heart and thoughts.
In fact, even if you don’t have a hardened heart, it is a good idea to pray this anyway. To just ask God to examine or search your heart.
And then ask Him to show you if there is any wicked way in you. Then repent of that wicked way.
And when you do that God will already be at work healing your hardened heart. Now I am not saying it will be easy or happen overnight.
Meaning of Christmas Illustration
A television interviewer was walking streets of Tokyo at Christmas time. Much as in America, Christmas shopping is a big commercial success in Japan.
The interviewer stopped one young woman on the sidewalk, and asked, "What is the meaning of Christmas?"
Laughing, she responded, "I don't know. Is that the day that Jesus died?"
There was some truth in her answer.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Merry Christmas! Merry Christ-mas! My prayer is that this Christmas season JC will
Seem more real to you
Will speak to you clearly
That you will love Him more
and that you will give of yourself to Him. Merry Christmas!
