THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT
Matthew 2:1-12
INTRO.- What is the Christmas spirit? It all depends on who you are. ILL.- Here’s a story called “The
Christmas Spirit,” which is one of the best I’ve found.
“Pardon me, Sir, I’m a stranger in town. I thought you might be able to tell me what’s going on.”
“Sure, anything. Glad to help. What do you mean, what’s going on?”
“Oh, you are a stranger! Well, stranger, this is the Christmas season. All of those decorations are to
help us get the Christmas spirit; and these people are doing their Christmas shopping.”
“Christmas shopping, you say? Do people shop more at Christmas than at other times? And what is the Christmas spirit? These folks look all hurried and worn out; and some of them even look angry.”
“Oh, yes, stranger, people shop more at Christmas. Some people even buy so much they go way in debt. You see, we buy gifts for each other; and then on Christmas Eve we have parties and family gatherings and exchange gifts.”
“Oh, that sounds interesting. Does everyone get just what he needs? And say, I see a lot of poor people. Do you exchange gifts with them, too?”
“Oh, no, we don’t always get just what we need, but that’s not the idea. And we don’t expect the poor
people to give us anything. But most of us give 50 cents or so to help them have a Merry Christmas.”
“Say, friend, I don’t want to see seem too ignorant, but these funny looking people dressed in red and
wearing long white bears, who are they?”
“Boy, you really are a stranger! Those are Santa Clauses. Santa Claus is the symbol of Christmas.
Nobody seems to know for sure when or where Santa Claus started; but we tell our children that at
Christmas Santa comes and brings them gifts. They really get excited. Yeah, Santa and Christmas
really go together.”
“That does sound exciting. But say, while we were talking, a man fell down in the gutter there.
Shouldn’t we help him up? No one else has offered to.”
“Oh, he’s all right. Probably had an office party and drank his gift all at one time. That’s the way some
celebrate Christmas. Just anything for a good time.”
“Yes, I see, anything for a good time. Say, there’s some rather interesting music coming from that store, but every now and then I hear a song about a white Christmas. I think I understand that one, too. That one about city sidewalks dressed up in holiday style seems appropriate. But there’s one in there that sounds like, Joy to the World, the Lord is come. What does that mean?”
“Well, stranger, I can’t explain that too well. You see, there are a few religious fanatics who claim that
Christmas has something to do about a baby called Jesus. I don’t know too much about it, but I guess
some people used to think that Christmas was His birthday. Anyway, they wrote a lot of mushy songs
about it and most of the old timers still sing them. Some of the churches still teach them to the kids, I
guess. I suppose the stores play one now and then to be sure they get the trade from those people who call themselves Christians.”
“I’d like to know more about these songs and that story. Do you know anyone who could tell me more?”
“No, I don’t, stranger. I never went for that stuff myself. I’ll stick to the real kind of Christmas. Boy! there’s real meaning and excitement in Christmas. But you might find someone in that church around the corner who could tell you something.”
“Oh, I hope so. I think I’ll go see. Thank you for telling me all about Christmas. I am sorry to seem so
dumb, but this is all so new to me.”
“That’s perfectly all right, stranger. Glad to oblige. Anything to pass on the Christmas spirit. By the way, what did you say your name was?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, didn’t I tell you? I go by several names, BUT THOSE WHO KNOW ME BEST JUST CALL
ME JESUS.”
Brethren, the Christmas spirit is many things to many people. For some people, Christmas is obviously just another holiday: extra time off from work, playing,
traveling, partying, more TV watching, more eating, etc.
For us who are followers of Jesus Christ it is many of these things too, but the Christmas spirit is a
whole lot more than just visiting with family and friends, eating, and having a good time. It is more
than just “Happy Holidays!”
PROP.- Please allow me to share three thoughts about the Christmas spirit.
1- It is praise and worship
2- It is preaching and living
3- It is serving and giving
I. THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT IS PRAISE AND WORSHIP
Matthew 2:11 “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him.”
The wise men worshipped Jesus. WISE PEOPLE STILL WORSHIP JESUS.
ILL.- A visiting preacher was filling the pulpit for the famous preacher, Henry Ward Beecher. A large
audience had assembled to hear the popular preacher. At the appointed time, the visiting minister walked in and entered the pulpit. Upon learning that Henry Ward Beecher was not going to preach that day, several people began to get up out of their pews and move toward the doors.
The visiting minister spoke up and said, “All who have come here today to worship Henry Ward Beecher may now leave the church! ALL WHO HAVE COME HERE TO WORSHIP THE LORD MAY KEEP THEIR SEATS!”
And no one left the church at that time.
ILL.- Another time a man happened to visit the church where Beecher preached and he was at his best on that particular Sunday. The audience sat motionless under the spell of his preaching. The spell was broken, however, when the man turned to someone next to him and said, “What a wonderful orator! What a wonderful orator!”
At a later date that same man happened to visit the church where the great Charles Spurgeon preached
in London. Spurgeon was not much of an orator but he was a great preacher. He used no big words, no high-sounding phrases, and yet he was forceful and awesome. He preached about the suffering Christ of Calvary. The audience was moved to tears. And as they passed out of the church that day, that same man who had once praised Henry Ward Beecher was heard to whisper, “What a wonderful Christ! What a wonderful Christ!”
Brethren, as great as some preachers are, they are not to be worshipped. BUT WHAT A WONDERFUL CHRIST WE HAVE! WHAT A WONDERFUL SAVIOR WE HAVE! He alone is to be praised and worshipped!
Acts 20:7 Dr. Luke wrote, “On the first day of the week we came together to break bread....”
The early Christians gathered on the first day of the week to break bread, i.e. to remember Jesus in His
supper, to honor Him, to worship Him, to praise Him.
ILL.- Someone wrote this fictitious letter to God: “You see, God, it’s like this. We could attend church more faithfully if your day came at some other time. You have chosen a day that comes at the end of a
hard week and we’re all tired out.
“Not only that, but it’s a day following Saturday night, and Saturday night is when we got out and have
a good time. Often it is after midnight when we get home, and it is almost impossible to get up on
Sunday morning.
“And you must realize that you have picked a day which has the biggest newspaper and takes longer to read. And it’s the day when the biggest meal of the week must be prepared. We’d like to go to church and know we should, but you have just chosen the wrong day.”
Brethren, I don’t know of anyone in their right mind who would write a letter like that to God, but I do
know that people come up with all kinds of excuses for not worshipping our wonderful Christ!
And it seems to me that people who make excuses for not worshipping our wonderful Christ have not been touched by His grace and love.
Brethren, the true Christmas spirit is about praising and worshipping our wonderful Christ! This needs
to be done personally and congregationally! And those who do it personally will also want to do it
congregationally.
Phil. 2:8-11 “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even the death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The babe of Bethlehem is no more. He is now the glorified Christ of heaven and rightfully deserves our
praise and worship. And He will get it from all people whether they want to do it or not.
But we of all people should delight in worshipping the Christ! We praise Him and worship because of who He is and what He has so graciously done for us. BLESS HIS NAME!
1- The Christmas spirit is praise and worship
II. THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT IS PREACHING AND LIVING
Luke 2:17 “When they (the shepherds) had seen him (the Christ child), they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.”
Those early shepherds spread the word about the Christ.
Acts 8:4 says of the early Christians, “Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.”
The early Christians spread the good news about the Lord Jesus wherever they went: in the marketplaces, from house to house, in their daily living, everywhere. AND WE NEED TO DO THE SAME THING.
ILL.- It was said that one time Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) attended a Sunday morning church service. He met the pastor at the door afterward and told him that he had a book at home with every word he had heard preached that morning. The minister assured him that the sermon was an original.
Clemens still held his position. The pastor wanted to see this book so Clemens said he would send it
over in the morning. When the preacher unwrapped it he found a dictionary and in the flyleaf was written this: "Words, just words, just words."
That would be hard for a preacher to take, wouldn’t it? To think that his preaching of God’s Word was
just words and nothing more.
Basically, that’s what preaching is. But it is a matter of arranging words so as to say something
meaningful, something that will cause people to think about their relationship to Christ and make them
decide for Him. AND I WISH I COULD DO THAT IN EVERY SERMON I PREACH.
But preaching should not stop within the walls of the church house! The preaching of Christ the Savior
should be a part of our daily living.
ILL.- The great preacher Charles Spurgeon once said, “If the kingdom is ever to come to our Lord, it will never come through a few ministers, missionaries, or evangelists preaching the Gospel. It must come
through every one of you preaching it in the shop and by the fireside, when walking abroad and when
sitting in the chamber. You must always be endeavoring to save someone...” Spurgeon was saying
that preaching the Word of God in the churches is not enough to get the job done!
If Christmas is about anything at all, it is the matter of telling the world about the Christ who can save them from their sins and give them a home in heaven!
ILL.- As many of you know, our own Gary and Brenda Edwards are in the trucking business. Normally,
they make two trips a week to Westfield, MA. That’s over 4,000 miles each.
Gary and Brenda listen to the conversations that take place on their CB radio. And Gary said that the
truckers get into all kinds of discussions. Some good and some not so good.
He said that one conversation last week centered on the election, politicians and the United States. He
said the truckers were arguing back and forth about the U.S. Finally, apparently Gary got fed up with
all their talk and jumped into the middle of their conversation and said, “There is only one way America
is going to get saved and that is through Jesus Christ.”
And one man replied, “Now, there’s a smart man.” And after that, Gary said that there was total silence
for about 30 minutes.
THE GOSPEL IS POWERFUL! The name of Jesus is powerful enough to silence the mouths of men! Hard men! Tough men! Trucker men!
Brethren, what I am saying is this: You all should go out and buy a truck and get to preaching the gospel!
What I am saying is this: No matter who you are or what you do for a living, you should present a witness for Christ. You should be preaching or presenting the Christ to someone every chance you get.
That’s the Christmas spirit! That’s what Christmas is all about!
I Pet. 3:15 “In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."
Of course, the Christmas spirit is also a matter of living the life as well as preaching the gospel. If your life doesn’t stack up with your preaching then you’d better keep your mouth shut.
ILL.- Our own Brother Harold Stirewalt was shopping in Wal-Mart the other day, minding his own business, when all of a sudden along came a woman with a shopping cart and rammed it right into Harold’s cart. AND IT WAS MY WIFE! She’s a reckless shopping cart driver. Watch out for her! Get out of her way when you see her coming.
No, not really. I don’t know that she really hit Harold, but I think she tried to. Of course, she was just teasing him. I think.
But the truth is: some people in Wal-Mart and other places are downright nasty this time of the year!
You know what I mean?
And I am saying nastiness and meanness and selfishness don’t go together with spreading the gospel of
Christ.
The Christmas spirit is a matter of preaching it and living it!
1- The Christmas spirit is praise and worship.
2- The Christmas spirit is preaching and living.
III. THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT IS SERVING AND GIVING
Matthew 2:11 says of the wise men, “On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.”
ILL.- A preacher told me one that one of his men read this passage of Scripture to the congregation at
Christmas in this manner, “They presented to him treasures of gold, frankenstein and myrrh.”
The thought was there anyway. And it’s the thought that counts.
Most of us are aware of the matter of giving at Christmas. This is the way most Americans have
celebrated Christmas for umpteen years. It is almost a national pastime with us.
Of course, we think in terms of giving gifts to family members and some friends, but we don’t normally think of giving gifts to the Lord.
This is where our church giving comes in. But if we have any appreciation at all for what Christ has done for us, we will give and on a regular basis.
We give because He first gave to us! And of course, His giving far outshadows anything that we give. BUT WE KEEP ON GIVING BECAUSE WE APPRECIATE EVERYTHING GOD HAS DONE FOR US IN THE PERSON OF CHRIST.
Of course, our giving should also include others.
Heb. 13:16 “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”
ILL.- It was near Christmas time when a child told his Sunday School teacher, “There are some poor kids next door to us who have no daddy, no toys, and no Aunt Jane.”
The teacher asked, “Wouldn’t you like to give them something?”
The boy said, “YEAH, LET’S GIVE THEM AUNT JANE!”
The idea of giving is good, but I’m not sure about giving anyone their Aunt Jane.
ILL.- One time a preacher called on a Mexican family in Texas. As the preacher went inside the house
and visited with the mother, the two small boys outside admired his new car. When the preacher came
out and saw the boys rubbing the fenders of his car, he said, “How do you like it?”
One boy said, “Fine. Where did you get it?” The preacher said, “My brother in Dallas bought it for me.”
And the boy replied, “I WISH I COULD BE A BROTHER LIKE THAT!”
I wish I could be a brother like that rather than, “I wish I had a brother like that.” That’s the spirit of
Christmas! It’s the spirit of giving! And all of us need to catch that spirit!
The Christmas spirit is also serving. Being thoughtful of others. Serving others any time we get a
chance.
ILL.- For some time, I’ve been freezing in my office. Well, maybe not freezing, but pretty cold. I was
sitting there studying the other day and in came John Myers and Quinton Webb. And I said, “I didn’t do it!” They said, “We know it, but we are!”
That’s not exactly how they put it. They said, “We’re going to get that air conditioner out of your window and make it warmer in here.” AND THEY DID! And that’s Christian service!
Anybody here need any AC’s removed from their windows? I know a couple of fellows who could do
the job.
Brethren, that’s the spirit of Christmas! It’s giving and it’s serving others!
CONCLUSION--------------------------------------------
ILL.- The story is told about a man who toured Europe and complained about everything he saw. The
cathedrals were musty and dim, the castles were drafty, damp and badly in need of repair. Finally, his
tour group reached Switzerland, and as they stood on a ledge that gave them a spectacular view of the Alps, the man’s companion said, “Now, you can’t complain about Switzerland, can you?”
The man looked around and replied, “TAKE AWAY THE SCENERY AND WHAT YOU DO HAVE?”
Brethren, at Christmas we have some pretty scenery, do we not? We see tremendous displays of lights, trees decorated with all kinds of ornaments and lights, tables spread with all kinds of mouth-watering
food, and expensive gifts wrapped in colorful paper and ribbons. BUT TAKE AWAY ALL THIS “SCENERY” AND WHAT DO YOU HAVE?
There is nothing unless Jesus Christ is behind it all! Without Him Christmas is nothing! Without
Him life is not worth much!
