Over the years, Saint Nicholas has undergone quite a transformation. Originally, according to tradition, he was a 4th Century bishop of Myra in what is today called Turkey. As a man concerned for the poor, he was always giving little gifts to the poor children in town.
In the Middle Ages, his relics were stolen from Myra and taken to Bari, Italy. There, in the early 1700’s, wives wishing to get rid of their husbands used vials of poison with this inscription: “Manna of Saint Nicholas of Bari.” Guys, if you see a vial under the Christmas tree this Christmas, be very careful. Your wife may be reviving an old tradition.
Later, the English in colonial New York adopted Saint Nicholas from the Dutch, calling him Santa Claus. They also moved Saint Nicholas’ feast day from December 6 to the English gift holiday – December 25.
Clement Moore forever changed our view of Saint Nicholas when he wrote The Night Before Christmas and read it to his family (show picture of Clement Moore’s family) on Christmas Eve in 1822. That’s when the once slender saint grew fat and jolly (picture of Santa Clause) as we know him today.
Saint Nicholas has gone through so many changes that the Catholic Church stopped requiring memorials to him in 1969, along with about 90 others. These were saints that got their standing more through legend than truth, and the Vatican wanted to (quote) “set the record straight” (Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, #5145)
Well, let me “set the record straight” this morning. While Santa Clause is a wonderful fantasy for our children to enjoy at Christmastime, he is nothing compared to the One that Christmas truly is all about (picture of Santa kneeling at the manger).
Father Christmas must bow before the Father of Eternity, because the Father of Eternity never changes. Jesus is the same yesterday, today and forever. Therefore, you can always count on Him. He won’t give you gifts one day and poison you the next. If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Isaiah 9, Isaiah 9, where this is made very clear.
Isaiah 9:6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father…
Literally, the “Father of (or the one who produces) eternity.
You see, Jesus originated time and eternity. He created it, and He controls it forever. So go ahead and ENJOY Santa Clause with your children and grandchildren this Christmas, but…
EMBRACE CHRIST, AND CHRIST ALONE, AS YOUR ETERNAL GOD.
Make the Father of Eternity the focus of your family celebrations and the center of your time on this earth. Grab a hold of Jesus, who is not bound by time or its limitations, and don’t let Him go!
Please turn with me to the book of Hebrews in your New Testaments, the book of Hebrews 1, Hebrews 1, where the Bible clarifies Jesus’ relationship to time a little more.
Hebrews 1:1-2 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things [i.e., God put Jesus in charge of everything] through whom also he created the world [literally, through whom he made the AGES].
Jesus Himself created time. He made the ages as we know them today.
That means that He is also the controller of time, as well. He is not trapped in it like we are. Time does not have a hold on Jesus. Rather, Jesus has a hold on time. The psalmist said, “My times are in your hands” (Psalm 31:15).
There is an old Chinese legend about an old man in China who raised horses for a living. When one of his prize stallions ran away, his friend gathered at his home to mourn his great loss. After they had expressed their concern, the man raised the question, “How do I know whether what happened is bad or good?
A couple of days later, the runaway horse returned with several strays following close behind. The same friends came to his house again – this time to celebrate his good fortune. The old man asked them, “But how do I know whether it’s good or bad?”
That very afternoon, the horse kicked the owner’s son and broke the young man’s leg. Once more, the old man’s friends gathered now to express their sorrow over the incident. And the father asked again, “But how do I know if this is bad or good?”
Only a few days later, war broke out, but the man’s son was exempted from military service because of his broken leg. And you guessed it, the man’s friends gathered again…
I think you get the point. From our limited perspective, we don’t know what time will bring out of our experiences. We don’t see the end from the beginning, but Jesus does! He has a hold of time, and He works all things together “for those who love God [and] are called according to his purpose, Romans 8:28 says.
Jesus is the Father of Eternity—the creator and controller of time.
But more than that, He is the conqueror of time, as well. He is victor over all the decay and death that time brings.
Psalm 90 is a vivid description of the ravages of time as contrasted with the calm eternity of God. It starts off with the phrase, “from everlasting to everlasting you are God” (Psalm 90:2).
That is, from eternity past (with no beginning) to eternity future (with no end), God exists and will continue to exist forever. Then the psalm speaks about man, who sprouts like grass in the morning and by evening fades and withers away. Our existence on this earth, compared to God’s, is but a moment, here today and gone tomorrow.
A pastor in Seattle, Washington, was visiting an elderly couple who told him that they had a single-room vacation cabin they had been sharing with another couple for years.
Goading them a bit, he asked, “A SINGLE-room cabin with TWO couples? How did that work?”
“Well pastor,” the man replied, “we used to put a curtain across the middle, but now we just take off our bifocals” (Nick Vogelzang, Seattle, Washington, “Lite Fare”, Christian Reader)
That’s what time does to all of us. The eyesight fades. The body grows weaker and eventually the mind fails. We’re all growing older. We’re all caught in a flood of time—trapped in its rush to decay and death.
The question is: who can rescue us from this flood? The answer: Only one who is outside the flood of time. Only one who “inhabits eternity” (as Isaiah 57:15 says of God). Only the Father of Eternity can reach into time and pull us out, and that’s Jesus!
You’re in Hebrews 1. Flip a few pages to the right to the book of 1 John, 1 John 1. There, John says…
1 John 1:1-2 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you THE ETERNAL LIFE, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us…
John calls Jesus “the eternal life” in these verses. In other words, Jesus not only GIVES life; He IS life. And to know Him is to know life eternal.
You’re in 1 John 1. Flip just a few more pages to 1 John 5.
1 John 5:20 And we know 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, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the TRUE GOD and ETERNAL LIFE.
Jesus is the true God AND eternal life. Do you know Him? Have you embraced Him as your Savior? Have you called upon Him to save you from the decay and death of time?
Someone once wrote:
Man can give medicine when sickness comes,
Food when hunger comes,
Help when weakness comes,
Love when loneliness comes,
But when death comes, man can give
Only sympathy, only compassion,
Never the gift of life.
Only God can do that (Bible Illustrator, #5/1989.18)
So grab a hold of Him today! Trust Christ to give you the gift of life, the gift of eternal life. Embrace Jesus as your eternal God by embracing Jesus as your Lord and Savior. Then…
EMBRACE JESUS AS YOUR ETERNAL GUARDIAN, as well.
Grab a hold of Christ as your provider and protector forever. For you see, as the “Everlasting Father” (Isaiah 9:6), Jesus is not only the Father of Eternity; He is a Father Forever!—or more literally, a Daddy Forever.
The Hebrew word for “Father” in Isaiah 9:6 actually comes from the sound a small child makes towards the man who fathered him or her—“aba, aba, aba.” It’s a term of endearment—like our word, “daddy,” today.
You see, Jesus is our Daddy Forever, who will never leave us or forsake us like so many earthly fathers have done.
A teacher in a first grade Sunday School class asked her students to draw a picture of Jesus. Later on, the pastor dropped in for a visit, and the children were happy to show him their drawings.
One drew Jesus in the form of a brightly colored rainbow. Another had drawn the face of a man coming out of the clouds. One girl, displaying her picture, said, “I didn’t know what Jesus looked like, so I just drew a picture of my daddy” (Bible Illustrator, #6/1993.21)
That little girl had it right, didn’t she? Jesus is like a daddy to us, according to Isaiah 9:6. He is our Daddy forever! So embrace Him as such (show picture of Jesus hugging man).
Embrace Him as your eternal God. Embrace Him as your eternal Guardian. And then…
EMBRACE JESUS AS YOUR ETERNAL GUIDE.
Grab a hold of Christ as your Loving Leader forever. Welcome Him as the Director of your life.
You see, as our “Daddy Forever,” Jesus not only protects and provides for us; He also shows us the way. He guides and directs us along the way.
In Proverbs 3:11-12, the writer says, “My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights.”
The Lord is like a Father to us. He teaches us the right way to go, and He corrects us when we go the wrong way. He is our guide.
In Jeremiah 3:4, an errant Israel cries out to God, “My father, you are the friend of my youth”—literally, you are the chief or leader of my youth.
Our Lord is our constant Companion and Guide. The problem is: we don’t always listen to Him.
Back in the days when the telegraph was used a lot, there was a story floating around about a young man who applied for a job as a Morse Code operator. Answering an ad in the newspaper, he went to the address that was listed. When he arrived, he entered a large, noisy office. In the background, a telegraph clacked away. A sign on the receptionist’s counter instructed job applicants to fill out a form and wait until they were summoned to enter the inner office.
The young man completed his form and sat down with seven other waiting applicants. After a few minutes, he stood up, crossed the room to the door of the inner office, and walked right in.
Within a few minutes, the young man emerged from the inner office with his new boss, who announced to the other applicants, “Gentlemen, thank you very much for coming, but the job has been filled by this young man.”
The other applicants began grumbling to each other and then one spoke up, “Wait a minute,” he said. “I don’t understand. This guy was the last one to come in, and we never got a chance to be interviewed. Yet he got the job. That’s not fair.”
The employer responded, “All the time you’ve been sitting here, the telegraph has been ticking out the same message in Morse Code: ‘If you understand this message, then come right in. The job is yours.’ None of you heard it or understood it. This young man did, so the job is his” (Gary Preston, Character Forged from Conflict).
All the time, God is speaking. The question is: Are you listening? Jesus said of Himself, “The sheep hear His voice and He… leads them out” (John 10:3).
Jesus is speaking to us all the time through His Word, through His Holy Spirit, and through the circumstances of your life. Are you paying attention?
Oh please, this Christmas, embrace Jesus as your eternal God, embrace Him as your eternal Guardian, and embrace Him as your eternal Guide—listen to His voice today. Then you will…
EXPERIENCE HIS ETERNAL GRACE.
You will know His unconditional love. You will realize His unfailing compassion.
There is just one more passage of Scripture that I want us to look at together, and then we’ll be through. Please, if you will, turn with me to Psalm 103, Psalm 103, and when you find it, look at verse 8.
Psalm 103:8-13 The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
In the context of sin and failure, David remembers that God is a Father. God is a Father, who has compassion for His erring children.
The word for compassion here (vs.13) speaks of a deep love rooted in some natural bond. The noun form of the word in the Hebrew refers to the womb. Thus, the word itself is used to describe a mother’s love for the child of her womb, or a brother’s love for someone who came from the same womb. That is the kind of love the Lord has for us. It’s the love of a parent who cannot be angry with His children forever. It’s the love of a parent who is willing to forgive and forget the past. It’s the love of a parent who understands our weakness and accepts us as we are.
The very next verse in the psalm says, “For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:14).
A San Diego father (who wants to be known as “Frank”) believed his son, a homeless, heroin addict living on the streets in Denver, was on the verge of dying. Frank contacted Chris Conner, one of Denver's leading homeless advocates. Conner has helped parents find their lost children, but this was different. Conner said, “I've never had a parent who necessarily went this far to descend into homelessness themselves.” Conner connected Frank with Pastor Jerry Herships, whose church serves lunch to homeless people in a Denver park across from the state capitol.
Frank described the moment he met his son on the street in Denver:
He has no idea that I'm walking towards him. I can see that he can't stand up without the support of a building. He would appear drunk to most people. To his dad, though, I know from past experience, sadly he's on heroin—heavy. I go up to him, and he starts to turn his back on me. I don't even care. I just grab him and squeeze him as hard as I can.
For a week, Frank became his son’s shadow, wandering the streets during the day and sleeping on the banks of a river at night. He grew a beard, ate hand-out sandwiches during the day, and swatted away the rats at night. Meanwhile, his son got sick, in and out of the hospital, stealing to buy more drugs. At one point, Frank told his son, “If you die, your mom and dad die with you. We might still be here breathing. But make no mistake, we'll be dead inside.”
When asked why he did it, Frank said, “The only thing I could think of was just go there, be with him and love him. Show him how much his family loves him” (Andrea Dukakis, “A Father Feared For His Son's Life, So He Joined Him On The Street,” NPR, 6-23-18; www.PreachingToday.com).
That’s what Jesus did for you and me. He descended from heaven into homelessness itself just to show us how much He loves us.
Embrace Him as your Eternal God. Embrace Him as your Eternal Guardian. Embrace Him as your Eternal Guide and find eternal grace, because He is your Everlasting Father, your Daddy Forever!
