Sermon – November 25, 2001
Title: The Gift of God - Part I
Text: 2 Cor 9:15 “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”
Introduction:
No doubt, we all have receive some gifts at Christmas that we could never use or perhaps could never figure what it was. Many of these are tucked away in the attic or in a closet.
Illustration:
Worst Gift
An American Express survey about Christmas gifts found that the fruitcake was chosen most often
(31%) from a list of “worst” holiday gifts. It even finished ahead of “no gift at all.” When asked
how to dispose of a bad gift, 30% would hide it in the closet, 21% would return it, and 19% would
give it away. This suggests that the Christmas fruitcake might get recycled as a gift for the host of
New Year’s party. - Resource, Mar/Apr, 1990
The best gift ever given was given by God that first Christmas. It was not wrapped with beautiful paper and frilly bows, but wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger.
The apostle Paul looked at Jesus and said, "I can’t describe Him. All I can do is fall on my knees and thank God for His indescribable gift."
Many have tried by prose, poetry, song or music to characterize this glorious gift but failed to appropriately describe Him. Musicians have composed some of their greatest music on this theme: Handel’s "Messiah," Bach’s Christmas Oratorio," & the beautiful hymns, "Joy to the World," "Silent Night, Holy Night," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," & my favorite, "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day."
Some of the greatest music our ears will ever hear were written about God’s indescribable gift.
Poets & painters & sculptors have taken up the tools of their trade to pay tribute to Jesus, the gift of God’s love.
This sermon began as a single message, but has developed into a series of sermons on the gift of God.
I. The Gift Of God Was Unveiled for the World To See.
Isa 40:5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Note: Many times, at Christmas, we want to try and keep the gift that we have a secret. God wants the world to know of the gift that is made available through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember the song, “It Is No Secret What God Can Do.”
A. Revealed to Adam and Eve in the garden.
Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it
shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
B. Revealed to the Patriarchs
Gen 12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall
all families of the earth be blessed.
C. Revealed to the prophets
Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear
a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his
shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting
Father, The Prince of Peace.
D. Revealed to the wisemen
Mt 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and
are come to worship him.
E. Revealed by the angels
1. To Mary and Joseph
Matt 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto
him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for
that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
Luke 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee,
named Nazareth,
Luke 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the
Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
Luke 1:30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
Luke 1:34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
Lu 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and
the power of the Highest shall overshdow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be
born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
2. To the shepherds
Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
F. Revealed by Jesus Himself.
John 4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that
saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee
living water.
E. Revealed by the Spirit
John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even
the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he
shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you
things to come.
Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
1 Cor 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness
unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
F. Revealed by other Christians.
Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature.
Illustration: The Unspeakable Gift
Long ago, there ruled in Persia a wise and good king. He loved his people. He wanted to know how
they lived. He wanted to know about their hardships. Often he dressed in the clothes of a working
man or a beggar, and went to the homes of the poor. No one whom he visited thought that he was
their ruler. One time he visited a very poor man who lived in a cellar. He ate the coarse food the
poor man ate. He spoke cheerful, kind words to him. Then he left. Later he visited the poor man
again and disclosed his identity by saying, “I am your king!” The king thought the man would
surely ask for some gift or favor, but he didn’t. Instead he said, “You left your palace and your
glory to visit me in this dark, dreary place. You ate the course food I ate. You brought gladness to
my heart! To others you have given your rich gifts. To me you have given yourself!”
The King of glory, the Lord Jesus Christ, gave himself to you and me. The Bible calls Him, “the
unspeakable gift!” - Source unknown
II. The Gift of God Is Unspeakable In Its Nature
– Matt. 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and
shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with
us., John 1:1. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
A. He was God incarnate in the flesh.
John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Matt 1:23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his
name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
B. He was tempted without sin.
Hebrews .4:15 For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
C. He was eternal
Rev 21:6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will
give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
D. He resurrected for our justification
Rom 4:25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.
III. The Gift Of God Is Unbelievable In Its Purpose.
1John 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the
devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested,
that he might destroy the works of the devil.
A. To provide for all people hope and assurance.
2 Thess 2:16 Now our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us,
and hath given us everlasting consolation and good hope through grace,
1Tim 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord
Jesus Christ, which is our hope;
B. To defeat Satan once and for all.
Heb 2:14-15 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself
likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of
death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime
subject to bondage.
C. To wash away the stain of sin
Isa 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they
shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
D. To present us clean and holy before the Father
Eph 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any
such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.
Illustration: Christ’s Triumph
Theologians tell a story to illustrate how Christ’s triumph presently benefits our lives: Imagine a
city under siege. The enemy that surrounds they city will not let anyone or anything leave. Supplies
are running low, and the citizens are fearful. But in the dark of the night, a spy sneaks through the
enemy lines. He has rushed to the city to tell the people that in another place the main enemy force
has been defeated; the leaders have already surrendered. The people do not need to be afraid. It is
only a matter of time until the besieging troops receive the news and lay down their weapons.
Similarly, we may seem now to be surrounded by the forces of evil—disease, injustice, oppression,
death. But the enemy has actually been defeated at Calvary. Things are not the way they seem to
be. It is only a matter of time until it becomes clear to all that the battle is really over.
- Uncommon Decency, Richard J. Mouw, pp. 149-150
IV. The Gift Of God Is Unfathomable In Its Love.
1Jo 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but
that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Note: Many of the gifts that we give at Christmas is out of necessity rather than out of love. There are some people we would give nothing if we did what we wanted to. The gift is not given in love, because we do not think they deserve it. Aren’t you thankful that God’s love saw no bounds. He gave in unfathomable love to all. None were deserving of His love gift from heaven.
A. The love of Christ made Calvary possible.
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
1 John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought
to lay down our lives for the brethren.
B. The love of Christ provided for us the necessary righteousness.
Isa 64:6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we
all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
2 Cor 5:21 says, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be
made the righteousness of God in him.”
C. The love of Christ constrains us.
2 Cor 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all,
then were all dead:
This is not a restriction as thought by some, but that the Love of Christ is pushing us out, or motivating
us. It is the ever-present, ever-abiding, ever-moving power, which forms the mainspring of all our
working; so that, take that away, and our energies are gone
D. The love of Christ is beyond our knowledge.
Eph 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all
the fulness of God.
E. The love of Christ is immeasurable in its scope.
The song, “The Love of God”
Illustration: The Love Of God
A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching next Sunday evening on “The Love of
God.” As the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through the cathedral windows, the
congregation gathered. In the darkness of the altar, the monk lighted a candle and carried it to the
crucifix. First of all, he illumined the crown of thorns, next, the two wounded hands, then the
marks of the spear wound. In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the chancel. There
was nothing else to say. - Source unknown
Conclusion:
This gift of God was given that you might be saved. Have you by faith received this glorious gift of God’s love? If you have never been saved or need to renew your vows before God, you can find forgiveness today.
