Wouldn’t that be an odd birthday party!!!
This is the way many celebrate the Lord’s Birthday.
Have we forgotten whose birthday we are celebrating at Christmas?
It is not:
• Frosty the snowman
• Rudolph the red nose reindeer
• Santa Claus
We are celebrating the birth of Christ.
We will soon be celebrating our favorite holiday of the year…CHRISTMAS
If you ask people what their favorite SEASON most folks will answer that it is SPRING or FALL.
Why?
Because these two seasons give us a mixture of WINTER and SUMMER at the same time. That is; in these seasons it is not TOO HOT nor is it TOO COLD.
However, if you ask people what their FAVORITE HOLIDAY is, overwhelmingly many would say -- CHRISTMAS.
But it is sad today everyone in our society does not feel the way we feel about Christmas.
For example the secularists today are doing everything they can to wipe Christmas off of our calendars.
There are sixteen Christmas songs that do not even mention the name Christmas. Songs like:
• Baby, It’s Cold outside
• Winter Wonderland
• Frosty the Snowman
• Home for the Holidays
• Jingle Bell Rock
• Silver Bells
And many more! There is not anything wrong with these songs but they do not mention Christ. No wonder our children are growing up not knowing what we are celebrating at Christmas.
The secularist would like to make it so that the name of Christ cannot be mentioned at ANYTIME in ANYPLACE.
Illus: For example, some want to change the Christmas tree into calling it the HOLIDAY TREE!!!
The secularist will not be happy until they:
• Remove every nativity scene from public properties
• Remove God’s name from the pledge of allegiance
• Remove God’s name from every coin
• Remove every Christmas carol that talks about God from the schools
• Remove all the Christian drama from the schools
• Remove every ten commandment plaque from public buildings
They want the word CHRISTMAS to be taken from our dictionary because you cannot spell Christmas without spelling CHRIST.
It reminds us of Acts 5:28, when they said, “…Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us.”
They were telling the disciples, STOP IT, WE WILL NOT TOLERATE THIS GOSPEL OF CHRIST ANY LONGER.
Make no mistake about it; Christmas is being attacked like it has never been attacked before.
There are stores today like “Macy’s that are instructing their employees to greet the customers by saying, “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings,” but do not wish them a “Merry Christmas” because this may offend someone.
I want them to know it offends me that they do not want their employees to wish their customers a MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Someone might say WHAT IS WRONG WITHT THESE PEOPLE?
These merchants do not mind making a third of their income from Christmas sales, but they do not want to acknowledge that without Christ there would be no Christmas.
They know that when we wish each other a “Merry Christmas,” we are acknowledging that “Christ is the reason for the season”.
But Christmas is a very special day for ALMOST everyone.
• It is such an exciting time in our life before Christmas get here we start counting the days for it to arrive.
• It is such an exciting time families began to make plans to travel to other cities to be with their families’ months in advance.
• It is such an exciting time stores began to stock their stores with toys and gifts for Christmas.
WHY DO PEOPLE ENJOY CHRISTMAS SO MUCH?
Because it is a time of giving and the spirit of giving brings the best out of all of us.
Christmas is a time of Giving because we know that it all began with God giving His beloved Son to die for our sins.
We call Christmas the Lord’s birthday!
Illus: I like the way we celebrate Christmas here at the First Baptist.
Six weeks before Christmas we start taking up a special offering we call the LORD’S BIRTHDAY.
After six weeks our deacons meet we take that special offering and we as a church make a decision to buy Him a present to show Him how much we love Him.
I like this tradition here at the church also because taking up a special offering for His birthday teaches the children of this church that CHRIST IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON!
This year one of the gifts we are going to buy Him is a NEW FREEZER for the kitchen in the fellowship hall. Once we buy it we will dedicate it to Him.
Our gifts could never match in value what He has given us on a daily basis.
But we do give the best we can give because we want Him to know how much we love Him and thank Him for giving us the gift of SALVATION.
Speaking of good gifts….
Illus: This reminds me of what happened to to me in the eighth grade.
My girlfriend’s parents were giving her a birthday party for her sixteenth birthday!
This being his girlfriend’s birthday, he went to the jewelry store and bought her the most expensive necklace he could afford. He spent weeks working as a bag boy to pay for this gift at one of the Winn Dixie’s grocery store.
He asked his sister to wrap it for him. His sister saw the beautiful necklace and fell in love with it.
She begged him to swap it for her pop bead necklace.
He said, “No,” and was VERY ADAMANT about it.
He went to the party.
There were about fifteen to twenty of the students from their class, plus her parents and a few other relatives.
The time came for her to open all the presents. She opened up each one, held it up to see, and then passed it around the circle for everyone to hold in their hand.
She saved her boyfriend’s gift to open last.
He sat across the room. He wanted to be able to see her face when she opened his gift.
So far, he had not seen any gift there that was as nice as his.
• She opened the box his sister had wrapped. When she opened it…She looked VERY SURPRISED!
• When she held it up, HE LOOKED EVEN MORE SURPRISED!
He saw that his sister had swapped this gorgeous necklace for her plastic pop-bead necklace that had chipped paint on some of the beads.
He was embarrassed beyond words.
That is how many should be today when they give Jesus their cast-a-ways.
As we celebrate His birth, I want us to consider what is THE BEST GIFT WE COULD GIVE TO HIM.
The gift that He craves from us is the gift of OURSELVES.
We read in verse 11 that the wise men gave three precious gifts to the Lord.
We do not have those same gifts, but we can give Him THREE GIFTS THAT WOULD GREATLY PLEASE HIM.
First, we could give Him…
I. OUR COMMITMENT TO FAITHFULNESS.
The best gift we could give Him is our COMMITMENT TO SERVE HIM AND HIM ALONE!
He desires that each and every one of us commit ourselves to Him.
Look at…
• Exodus 20:3. God said, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
• Mark 12:30 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.
From the beginning of the Bible we see God has always required that we COMMIT OURSELVES TO HIM AND HIM ALONE.
If you are not willing to COMMIT yourself to God and God alone, you are kidding yourself to think that you can have a relationship with Him.
• This is why many will not get married because they are not willing to put someone that special in their life and commit themselves to that person alone.
• A lot of folks claim to have a relationship with the Lord Jesus while they still bow to the gods of world.
The Bible teaches that such a relationship is impossible.
Most of us before we were married would not accept such a relationship, so why do we expect God to accept one like that?
If He accepted such a relationship it would make Him as “dumb” as some people who do accept a relationship on those conditions.
For example.
Illus: A lady called in to a national radio talk show to explain to a psychologist (Laura Schlessinger) about her problem.
• She told the psychologist, “I love this man and I want to marry him, but he will not marry me.”
She went on to say that the man claimed that he loved her but was not willing to make a commitment.
• The psychologist interrupted her and said, “Let me ask you something, and I know the answer before I ask. Are you folks intimate in your relationship?”
• The caller answered, “Yes, we have been. What should I do?”
• The psychologist said, “If you have a brain in your head you will dump this fellow.
• What he is saying is that he wants your body when he asks for it, but he does not want to make any kind of commitment to you.”
That was some good advice.
Yes, there are people who will accept such a relationship. They call it LOVE. It has nothing to do with love. It has everything to do with STUPIDITY.
A lot of folks think they can play that kind of game with God.
They think they can have all the fringe benefits of the Christian life while at the same time make no commitment to God whatsoever.
Well, God does not play that game with us and he requires TOTAL COMMITMENT.
He said, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
Do I need to say that again, He said, Thou shalt have no other gods before me!!!!
While many do not take commitment seriously, there are some who do.
There are some WHO ARE SO NERVOUS ABOUT IT THAT IT SENDS SHIVERS UP AND DOWN THEIR SPINES TO EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!
Illus: Such was the case of one young man that I married years ago. He stood before me and his lovely bride to say his marriage vows.
To him “commitment” was an awesome word and awesome concept.
• In fact, while the preacher was in the midst of his charge to the couple, the young man passed out.
• They stood him back on his feet. He said he was all right so the minister proceeded.
• When he got to the commitment part again, the young man passed out again.
This time they let him sit in a chair. As he sat there, with a wet cloth on his forehead the pastor came to that part that states that the awesome responsibility of his committing his life to this one lady and guess what! He passed out again!
• When he was finally conscious again, the pastor looked at him and said, “Say ‘I do.’”
• The young man said, “I do!”
• The minister said, “Congratulations, you are married!”
There are many folks who will not even consider marriage because they are not willing to commit themselves to ONE INDIVIDUAL.
Many folks do not accept Christ for the same reason. They are not willing to COMMIT THEMSELVES TO CHRIST AND CHRIST ALONE.
It is sad to say but there are lost people in this church service today that are willing to go to a devil’s hell before they are willing to commit their life to the Lord Jesus!
But when they land in hell one second after they arrive there they would give anything to be able to come back for a REDO!!!
Presently they are willing to make a split commitment, to God and other gods, but do not want to commit to God alone.
Illus: One difference between sinners and Christians is this:
• Christians love the Lord enough to commit themselves to Him and Him alone,
• But sinners may love God a little, but NOT THAT MUCH!
First, loving God requires knowing Him, and that knowledge begins with His Word.
It may sound glib, but to know Him is to love Him.
Illus: In counseling with couples who have a marriage problem here are some of the complaints a pastor hear.
• “How can he say he loves me when he never wants to spend any time with me?”
• “When we go places, he’ll talk to all the other women, but he never says more than 10 words to me.”
• She might say “I don’t want him around the house; he’s a pain.”
• He might say “There are a lot of things I’d rather do than spend the day with her.”
As a pastor, I have heard all of these comments and dozens of others.
Illus: Remember as a teen when you spent hours every night on the phone with your boyfriend/girlfriend?
Many of us sneaked out of the house or maybe were not one-hundred percent honest with our parents to gain the opportunity to spend time with our high school sweetheart.
Is your heart that way toward God?
Psalm 84:2, “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.”
I like another translation that states this verse as, “My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”
When you love someone, you know them and you desire to spend time with them.
Illus: I spend a lot of time in my office studying and praying.
Even though I cannot be with my wife throughout the day I have pictures of her all over my office.
• I have some pictures of her when she was young.
• I have some pictures of her when we are together.
• I have some of her after decades of marriage and to me after decades I still have that same feeling I have when I first met her.
• After over sixty years of marriage she is the only woman I want to be that special in my life.
• There are women decades younger with more youthful beauty, but my wife is still the most beautiful woman I have ever seen.
• My happiness level rises when she enters the room; fears and doubt are easier to bear when she is there.
• She is not perfect, but she is perfect for me.
Those that love God are satisfied with Him. He is the root of their happiness and joy.
Do you know and love God enough that He satisfies you?
The apostle Paul felt this way.
Look at Philippians 3:8, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.”
Illus: Many a woman has been brokenhearted over a man…
• Who held her hand,
• Gave her flowers,
• Made her the center of his world (or so it seemed).
Then for whatever reasons, he no longer talks to her or spends time with her, and the relationship is soon cut off.
She realizes the love the man claimed to have for her was fleeting at best if it ever existed at all.
Examine your love for God.
• Do you delight in prayer and reading the Bible?
• Does He satisfy your heart?
• Do you wish to please him each day?
• Do you love the things He loves and hate the things He hates.
How much do you love God?
To KNOW HIM is to LOVE HIM?
Every time I hear that song by the TEDDY BEARS in the late 50’s I think of knowing the Lord and loving him.
It is a secular song but almost every words makes you think of knowing and loving the Lord Jesus.
Illus: The Teddy Bears - To Know Him Is To Love Him [The Perry Como Show 1958]
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It might be a lost person here today who are saying to themselves, I do not understand these Christians.
• They go to church every Sunday. Don’t they have better things to do!!!
• They give their offering and tithes to the Lord every Sunday. That’s ridiculous!!!
• They deprive themselves of doing things like sinnners do.
I do not understand these Christians!!!
Let me explain it this way if you are thinking this way…
TO REALLY GET TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM AND WANT TO PLEASE HIM!!!
Those who really know Him know He is the only One who brings PEACE AND JOY that mankind seek to have in their life.
They have come to know only HE SATISFIES AND THEY ARE WILLING TO LAY EVERYTHING ELSE ASIDE TO HAVE HIM IN OUR LIFE.
They willing make Him Lord of their life because they love Him that much!
Also they are willing to make Him Lord of their life because they know this is what He requires.
Look at Exodus 20:3 again. God said, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”
Yes, one of the best gifts we can give the Lord Jesus is a gift of OUR COMMITMENT TO FAITHFULNESS.
• They are willing to commit themselves above their favorite sport.
• They are willing to commit themselves above their friends.
• They are willing to commit themselves above their job.
• They are willing to commit themselves above their families.
• They are willing to commit themselves above themselves.
Preacher that is asking too much of anyone!
That is exactly what He expects!!!
Luke 14:26 If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
This verse needs an explanation.
First, we must take this verse in the context of the chapter.
Jesus is teaching His disciples with a figure of speech, (metaphor) and like any good teacher He gets His students thinking.
In this case, He begins with a truth statement that is hard to understand.
The truth statement is “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple.”
It seems what we read in this METAPHOR that if we don’t hate our family members and ourselves, we cannot be Jesus’ disciple.
In this metaphor what He is telling His disciples our love for Him comparison to our love for our family and ourselves should seem like hate.
Let me explain…
Illus: Have you ever heard someone who was driving there car and they said someone was driving so fast when they past them….it was like they were standing still.
Were they saying they were standing still?
No!
They were putting emphasis on how fast the driver was driving that made them feel like they were standing still.
The Lord is not saying to be His disciple we have to hate, father, mother, brother, sister and ourselves.
No!
He was emphasizing our love for Him should be so much greater for Him than our love ones or our self would seem like hate.
Matthew 10:37 Whoever loves father or mother MORE THAN ME is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter MORE THAN ME is not worthy of me.
After all He has every right to expect us to COMMIT OUR LIFE TO HIM…
• He is our Creator AND without Him we would not even exist!!!
• He died for us on Calvary
A gift we all can give Him is OUR COMMITMENT TO FAITHFULNESS.
Another good gift we can give Him is...
II. OUR COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE.
Look at Ecclesiastes 9:10. We read, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.”
What this verse of scripture is telling us we who want to please the Lord in our giving in two ways.
(1) First, whatsoever our hands find to do, do it with all our might.
Do not do it haphazardly, do it with all thy might.
(2) Secondly, because one day when we die we will no longer be able to do anything with our hands.
There is a lot of folks if they could come back from the dead would give everything they had on this earth to be sitting in that pew you are sitting on today!
Because if they could come back they would do everything they can do to please the Lord.
In this life we only have ONE TIME TO DO IT RIGHT! NO DO OVERS!!!
He said, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might...”
THIS ALSO IS VERY GOOD ADVICE.
Today so many do what they do in a haphazard way.
Illus: Many of us love John Wayne as an actor. He was not only an actor; he was a very good actor.
Actors who worked with him would often complain because before a scene in his movies would be accepted he would often repeat a scene 6 or 8 times.
Why?
Before he was willing to move on to the next scene he wanted every line he had to quote and every action he took to be perfect.
No wonder he was such a good actor!!!
Whatever happened to the old adage, “If something is worth doing, it is worth doing right”?
By now you are asking, “Preacher, HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO THE CHURCH.”
Listen, some of the shoddiest work you will find on the face of this earth is done by those who claim they are working for the Lord.
Illus: Someone said, “If the average factory had to operate with the personnel that the average church has to operate with, they would be out of business in six months."
Listen, one of the best gifts we can give the Lord this Christmas is the GIFT of COMMITTING OURSELVES TO EXCELLENCE.
That is; we will strive to BE THE BEST WE CAN BE at the job we feel the Lord has given us to do.
As that wise old man said years ago, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might...”
Then there is one more gift wise Christians give the Lord.
We can give...
III. OUR COMMITMENT TO PURITY.
Illus: The best gift a young lady and a young man can present to each other on their wedding day is PURITY.
When a young man dates a girl, and takes her virginity from her, he has stolen from her future husband that which was intended for him alone.
Illus: Listen young people, one day you are going to meet that very special someone in your life and when you stand before the sacred altar of matrimony and look each other in the eyes, there is no joy or thrill that Satan can offer that come close to comparing to that event.
KEEP YOURSELVES PURE FOR EACH OTHER!
Illus: There is nothing worse for a young man and young woman in holy matrimony and all they have to offer each other is used merchandise that has been pawed all over!!!
This is what the Lord says to all of us as part of THE BRIDE OF CHRIST.
I Peter 1:15 says, “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy...”
Christ, the Bridegroom, says, “I am holy. I HAVE KEPT MYSELF PURE FOR YOU AND NOW YOU KEEP YOURSELF PURE FOR ME. I want you to be just like I am."
Conclusion:
In verse 11, we read, “And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh.”
If we give the Lord these three gifts…
I. OUR COMMITMENT TO FAITHFULNESS.
II. OUR COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE.
III. OUR COMMITMENT TO PURITY.
He will be as pleased with our gift as he was with the gifts of those first wise men, if not more with the gifts I have mentioned!!!
