“The Gift of Jesus”
The Gifts of Christmas – part four
Christmas is an exciting time and little Sammy was excited. He was 15 years old and Christmas was still to him a time of wonder. Sammy was a happy child despite his handicap. You see, Sammy was slightly retarded. NOW -he still went to school, though he was several years behind. And he did the things that most boys do; he played ball, road his bike, fished, climbed trees and other fun stuff.
And for the most part the kids were not too mean – Oh sometimes they laughed and called him "stupid Sammy" -- but Sammy just didn’t seem to hear them -- Sammy just enjoyed life every part of it; to him life was full of wonder and amazement. And Christmas was the most wonderful time of all.
It was Christmas Eve, and both the sky and the ground were white with snow. It was 8 O’clock, time to go to church for the annual Christmas Eve Celebration. And Sammy could hardly wait. He was so excited wondering what present would be under the tree for him this year. Last year he got a telescope.
You see, every year on Christmas Eve - at the little white church in the small town where Sammy lived, after the service all the children would gather around the huge Christmas tree and each one was handed a present, with their name on it. And even though Sammy was a little old for this they still let him take part.
Sammy’s parents left early that night, because his mother was singing a solo, "Silent Night" and she wanted to practice. They were the first to arrive at church. And when his dad opened the door; well you can guess where Sammy went; that’s right.. at the speed of light he went right to the Christmas tree and started to look for the present with his name of it.
After a few minutes, he began to worry because he couldn’t find it. Then his eyes caught hold of a big box -- the biggest present that was there. He slowly walked over to it -- lifted the card and there in great big letters was his name "Sammy." He couldn’t believe it, the biggest present was his, at once his mind began racing thinking of all the many possibilities of what was inside; maybe it was a bike; a TV a horse, a tent; ... Sammy could barely stand it -- but he knew he had to wait.
NOW - Sammy really did enjoy the service, really, but he did think that 3 days was just a little too long -- well, at least that is how long it seemed to him. Finally it was over and all the children rushed to the huge tree. Preacher Joe started picking up presents and calling out names; Sarah, Bobby, Susan, Sammy was on the edge of his seat -- he was about to explode with anticipation.
Then Preacher Joe walked over to the big box and said, "Well, let’s see whose name is on this one," but before he could read the name Sammy bolted beside him and said "It’s mine Preach Joe" "so it is," Joe replied. Sammy took the box and gently took off the bow, His heart was racing like a jack hammer. His mom and dad stood beside him smiling -- enjoying their sons excitement. Sammy removed all the paper and laid it beside the box -- And then he began to remove the lid -- In an instant all of the things he hoped to see flashed before his eyes. Finally Sammy got the box open, he looked inside and he saw........
Nothing ---- He saw nothing -- someone had played a trick on Sammy. When Sammy lifted his head, huge tears of heart break - were streaming down his face. Who would do something so cruel -- who would play such a mean trick on Sammy... The box was empty.
LISTEN - everyday, all around the world, this same trick is being played. Though the names and exact situation are a little different -- the results are still the same. UNDERSTAND - our world promises people great things; it promises them happiness, wealth, pleasure, relationships, fame, success, power. And it puts these things in a great big box, wraps them with pretty paper and sticks a beautiful bow on top.
And the world hands us this box -- as a gift, we get excited; we take off the bow -- we unwrap the box and we open it with great expectations.... And when we look inside, just like Sammy all we find is an empty box. No hope, no life, no joy, no happiness, no fulfillment, no purpose -- just huge tears of heart break streaming down our face.
UNDERSTAND – that’s the kind of gifts this world gives us… QUESTION - Have you ever opened one of her boxes? I think you have - NOT much fun was it?
The RELATIONSHIP – that you had hoped would make you life wonderful, the relationship that you thought would always satisfy – hasn’t… it doesn’t - it’s grown cold & stale…
The home, the car, the boat, THE THINGS – well they just don’t do for you what you thought they’d do… They didn’t live up to the hype…SURE they produce a measure of happiness for awhile – but not long after you pull it out of the car lot or take it out of the box - the thrill – the joy has worn off…
The GOOD TIMES – the excitement, the pleasure, the fun, the thrills, the parties – well there is just never much left when the party is over…just a messy house, an empty wallet, a major headache and some serious regrets…
And the CAREER – sure the money is great, being called boss ain’t bad either and the promotion, yeah is was pretty exciting – but you still find yourself thinking – but so what? How come I still don’t feel content? How come I still don’t feel like I made it? How come I still feel like something is missing…?
Today is our final week in our four part sermon series called, “the gifts of Christmas…” (during the last 3 weeks we have talked about…) The goal of this series has to been to make 2001 the most Christ-centered Christmas that any of us has ever had.
AND I think through this series – along with our “Keeping the Reason in the Season” devotional guide AND the ‘awesome’ outreach being done through our student ministry, that this goal of the most Christ-centered Christmas has been accomplished in the lives of many of us here today.
This morning we will conclude “The Gifts of Christmas” series with a message entitled, “The Gift of Christ…”
PRAYER….
LISTEN - in just 2 days you will probably be receiving some gifts, I’m pretty sure that at least a few boxes are going to come your way… But today I want us to talk about the greatest gift of all. AND it’s a gift that is available to everyone.
Maybe you are here today and you have already opened it up – if that’s where you are I say awesome! – but even so, what I want you to do today – is to take another look, to take a fresh look at this gift with me…
AND if you are here today and you have never in your life received, if you have never opened the gift of Christ… PERHAPS TODAY – you will figure out that the cheap, temporary and fading gifts of this world, CANNOT measure up to the greatest gift of all time…
“For God SO LOVED the world (that’s you, that’s me) that He GAVE His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have ever lasting life…”
OKAY – let’s take a look in this box – as we consider the gift of Christ…
In The CRADLE – We Receive The Gift of Jesus’ Life
Read Luke 2:1-20
What familiar words these are. And though we read these each & every year; they never lose their beauty or their power. Just think about it... God the son, willingly, because he loved us, stepped down from his heavenly throne and put on human flesh. Paul writes;
“You attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness…” Phil 2:5-7
AND LISTEN – Jesus, the King of kings and the Lord of Lords – didn’t come with a trumpet blast and great fanfare. Rather he came as a small baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manager – Almighty God, laying in a feeding trough for animals..
Though He was Literally, the fullness of Almighty God in the flesh -- there were no Royal attendants meeting his needs. Only the loving hands of his mother and the strong, calloused hands of Joseph. They were just common people. And in that manger -- lay the Savior of the world; Jesus the Christ.
But Jesus (like any baby) did not stay that way long -- Jesus grew, He took His first steps, said His first Words -- He ran -- He skipped His first stone -- He helped His dad in the carpenters shop -- He laughed -- he cried -- He fell down -- He got up -- He loved -- He cared – He lived… AND BECAUSE HE LIVED - the world for 2,000 years has never been the same.
OKAY LISTEN UP – I need you to do something… I need you to Imagine with me for a moment, the world without Jesus. Imagine what the world would be like without Him.
NOW – obviously there would be huge implications in regards to our sins being forgiven. BUT that’s not what I want to talk about here – I just want us to try to get a little glimpse, a picture of what the world would be like if that little baby never came 2,000 years ago. AND LISTEN – there is absolutely no debate (at least no intelligent debate) that our world would be different.
For one thing - LOOK at all the great works of art – by Rapheal, Da vinci and Michelanglo – that would never had been painted. Look at all the great music (Bach, Mozart, Beethoven) that never would have been written. UNDERSTAND there would be a huge whole in art, music and poetry had Jesus never lived. This Tuesday on Pax TV there is a special called “Jesus in the Arts.”
If Jesus never came - there’d be no hospital’s or people called The Good Samaritan, there’d be no salvation army out there helping people ($19 billion a year through churches for needy) – there’d be no YMCA (young men’s Christian association) – there’s be no churches dotting our landscapes – there would be no carols to sing at Christmas (no – “Joy to The World” “Away in the Manger” “Hark the herald angels sing” “O little town of Bethlehem”) because there’d be no Christmas – they’d be no crosses – not on buildings on water towers, around people’s necks or hanging from their ears…
And if there was an America, it would not be the same – BECAUSE the reason that brought our founding fathers here would no longer exist – (you see, despite the best efforts of the history revisionists we know that our founding fathers came to America in order to worship Christ freely and spread his gospel)..
AND – who knows what the status of education would be in this nation – since all public and major universities were found by the church…
AND there would be no golden rule… NO, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you…”
AND how in the world would we date our checks, our calendars and our letters – Upon what basis or method - would we mark our time if Jesus Christ never came (because all time – all of human history revolves around this man Jesus – BC/AD)…
AND where would the world be without the words of Jesus… Once when some guards were sent to arrest him and they came back empty handed, the only excuse they could offer was, “No one ever spoke the way this man does…”
LISTEN – Jesus words are NOT – time, culture or geographically bound. For 2,000 years – people from all around the world, from all culture, all races, all backgrounds, all socio-economic status have been impacted and transformed by His words…
Listen to him,
“Love your neighbor” was spoken by a man whose neighbors tried to kill him.
The challenge to leave family for the gospel was issued by one who kissed his mother goodbye in the doorway.
“Pray for those who persecute you” came from the lips that would soon be begging God to forgive his murders…
LISTEN – Jesus’ words satisfy the deep hunger of man…like no other words ever written;
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” Mt 5:6
“If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink..” Jn 7:37
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give Him will never thirst..’ Jn 4:14
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.” Mt 11:28
Checkout what Bernard Ramm said about the words of Christ;
They are read more, quoted more, loved more, believed more and translated more because they are the greatest words ever spoken. And where is their greatness? Their greatness lies in the pure, lucid spirituality in dealing clearly, definitely, and authoritatively with the greatest problems that throb in the human breast; namely, Who is God? Does he love me? Does he care for me? What should I do to please him? How does he look at my sin? How can I be forgiven? Where will I go when I die? How must I treat others?
No other man’s words have the appeal of Jesus’ words because no other man can answer these fundamental human questions as Jesus answered them. They are the kind of words and the kind of answers we would expect God to give…”
Question – AND where would we be without the example of Jesus…He showed us how to love our enemies, how to pray for those who persecuted us, how to be humble, how to be a servant and wash the feet of others, how to reach out to the hurting, to touch the untouchable, to comfort the broken hearted, to lift up the fallen, to love God with a passion, to finish the work and to lay down our lives for our friends…
LISTEN JESUS lived to show us what life is all about… and his life has sent ripples through the seas of time – for 2,000 years…
AND LISTEN – another reason that Jesus lived was to bring God, as one of may favorite author says, to bring God, NEAR….
Jesus was touchable, approachable, reachable. And what’s more he was ordinary. If he were here today you probably wouldn’t notice him as he walked through a shopping mall. He would not turn heads by the clothes he wore or the jewelry he flashed.
“Just call me Jesus,” you can almost hear him say. He was the kind of fellow you’d invite to watch the Rams-Bucs game at your house. He’d wrestle on the floor with your kids, doze on the couch and cook steaks on the grill. He’d laugh at your jokes and even tell a few of his own. And when you spoke, he’d listen to you as if he had all the time in eternity.
THINK about the implications. When God chose to reveal himself to mankind, what medium did he use? A book? No, that was secondary. A church? No that was consequential. A moral code? No. LISTEN - to limit God’s revelation to a cold list of do’s and don’ts is a tragic as looking at a Colorado road map and saying you’ve seen the Rockies.
UNDERSTAND - when God chose to reveal himself, he did so through a human body. LISTEN - The tongue that called forth the dead was a human one. The hand that touched the leper had dirt under its nails. The feet upon which the woman wept were calloused and dusty. And his tear…oh don’t miss the tears…they came from a heart as broken as yours or mine has ever been. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness…” (Heb 4:15)
AND – the result people came to him. Man, how they came to him! They came at night; they touched him a she walked down the street; they climbed trees to see Him, took off roofs to brings friends to him, they followed him around the sea; they invited him into their homes, they placed their children at his feet? Why? because he refused to be a statue in a cathedral or a priest in an elevated pulpit. He chose instead to Jesus… He choose instead to get close…
Jesus what a life he lived… What a gift we receive from his coming to this earth. Let me conclude this part of my message with some power words written about the life of Jesus;
“He never wrote a book, and yet all the libraries of the country could not hold the books that have been written about Him. He never wrote a song, and yet He has furnished the theme for more songs then all song writers combined.
He never founded a college, but all the schools put together cannot boast of having as many students.
He never practiced psychiatry, and yet He has healed more broken hearts than all doctors near and far.
The names of the past proud statesman of Greece and Rome have come and gone. The name of the past scientists, philosophers and theologians have come and gone; but the name of this man abounds more and more…”
Nineteen long centuries have come and gone and today He is the centerpiece of the human race and the leader of the column of progress. I am far within my mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever were built, all the parliaments that ever sat and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as powerfully as has that one solitary life…
AND – it’s in the cradle that we receive the gift of Jesus life…
In The Cross – We Receive The Gift Of Jesus’ Death
NOW - we don’t know exactly when it happened BUT we do know that one day Jesus stood in the carpentry shop for the very last time. It was time for him to leave. He had heard something that made him know that it was time to go. SO Jesus came one last time to smell the sawdust and the lumber, to run his fingers across the sharp teeth of the saw, to pat the old worn wood of the sawhorse, one more time.
You see, Jesus had grown up in this place – first as toddler playing as his dad worked.. And later as a young boy, It was in this shop that Joseph taught Jesus how to grip a hammer and how to cut wood… It was here Jesus built his first chair and table. Think about it there had to be a lot of good memories in this old shop – working with his dad, building his mom a birthday present, hearing his mom call them from their work to the dinner table, and sometimes coming out to bring them a cool drink…
I wonder what was it like for Jesus after so many years to go into that carpentry shop for the last time… It had to be hard to leave – he had spent some of the best days of his life in that shop. AND the thing that had to make especially difficult was Jesus knew exactly what was up a head – for you see he himself had written the last chapter of his earthy book.
Jesus knew that the wood he had worked with everyday for years, would one day hold his beaten and bleeding body… AND Jesus knew the nails that he driven – (there must have been thousands) would one day be driven through his hands and his feet… It had to be hard to walk out of that door – knowing that his feet would not rest till they lay pierced on a Roman cross… AND UNDERSTAND - this Jesus didn’t have to go… Jesus could of stayed… Carpentry was a good life a respected trade… The choice was his – and though it had to be hard in the end Jesus couldn’t stay – No matter what was up a head, he had to go because of his intense love for you and me…
SO one day – we don’t when – Jesus – shut the shutters to the windows of the shop, hung up his apron on the wooden peg as he had done hundreds of times, put his hammer in the tool rack for the last time… walked out the door – and went to do what he came to do…
It was early Friday morning. he had been up all night. He was tired/weak. the last 12 hours had been hours of intense suffering.
They hit him in the face with their fists...
They spit on him
They made fun of Him
They pushed Him around/threw Him to then ground
They ripped off His clothes and tied him to scouring post...
Whipped His back raw
Put a purple robe on His back...and ripped it off when the blood had dried to it..
And now they are leading Him through the streets of Jerusalem... Up and down nearly every street -- the streets are lined with thousands of people -- most are screaming at Him -- mocking him -- But some are rather quiet, you see - they know Jesus -- He had healed their leprosy, cured their blindness, made their lame legs walk again -- and as Jesus passes by, they looked away -- fearing the pain that looking into his eyes would bring... He was weak, the cross was heavy, and the streets were steep and rocky -- the blood was pouring off his body into the sand... Eventually someone had to carry the cross for him.... And when they arrived on the hill just out side the city gate -- the nailed him to the cross..
Read John 19:18-30
Question – why did Jesus have to die?
HE WAS INNOCENT -- HE DID NOTHING WRONG -- HE NEVER HURT ANYONE -- HE HEALED AND HELPED MANY.
WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO DIE....?
MY COUSIN YEARS AGO, PAINTED A PICTURE OF JESUS AS A BABY BEING HELD BY A PAIR OF STRONG HANDS... AND IN THE BACKGROUND IS A CROSS... AND THE CAPTION READS BORN 2 DIE
WHY DID JESUS HAVE TO DIE, BECAUSE HE WAS BORN TO DIE...
Check out these verses…
“But it was the Lord’s good plan to CRUSH Him…” Is 53:10
“But you followed God’s prearranged plan. With the help of lawless Gentiles, you nailed Him to the cross and murdered Him…” Acts 2:23
LISTEN – the cross was drawn into the original blueprint. It was written into the script. Understand THAT - The moment the forbidden fruit touched the lips of Eve, the shadow of the cross appeared on the horizon. And between that moment and the moment the man with the hammer placed the spike in the wrist of God, a master plan was fulfilled.
Question - What does that mean?
It means that Jesus planned his own sacrifice. It means Jesus intentionally planted the tree from which the cross would be carved. It means he willingly placed the iron ore in the heart of the earth from which the nails would be cast. It means he voluntarily placed Judas in the womb of a woman. It means that Christ was the one who set in motion the political machinery that would send Pilate to Jerusalem. It also means he didn’t have to but he did…
LISTEN - JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD TO SAVE THE WORLD.... AND ONLY THROUGH HIS DEATH -- A SINLESS MAN A LAMB W/O BLEMISH, COULD the sin of mankind BE REMOVED...
AND AS JESUS’ BLOOD FLOWED -- THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS BECAME AVAILABLE..
IN THE CROSS WE SEE THE PRICE OF GOD’S LOVE AND WE RECEIVE THE GIFT OF JESUS DEATH.. THE FORGIVENESS OF OUR SINS...
LISTEN - GOD’S LOVE HAS PROVIDED A WAY FOR EVERY ONE TO BE FORGIVEN... TO HAVE A DEBT PAID THAT WE COULD NEVER PAY OURSELVES... ROMANS 6:23 READS; "FOR THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH -- BUT THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE IS CHRIST JESUS.."
“BUT NOW IN CHRIST JESSU YOU WHO ONCE WERE FAR AWAY HAVE BEEN BROUGHT NEAR THROUGH THE BLOOD OF CHRIST…” EPH 2:13
You used to be far from God. Your thoughts made you his enemies, and you did evil things. BUT His son became a human and died. So God made peace with you, and now lets you stand in His presence as people who are holy and faultless and innocent” Col 1:21,22
AND IN HIS WORD GOD TELLS US HOW EACH OF US CAN HAVE OUR SINS WASHED AWAY... WHICH IS WHY JESUS CAME TO THAT MANGER AND LATER HUNG ON THAT CROSS.. AND IF WE:
. BELIEVE IN CHRIST AND WHO HE IS
. REPENT OF OUR SIN -- "AFTER UNDERSTANDING" A CHANGE OF WILL...
. CONFESS AND DECLARE HIM AS LORD
. IMMERSED INTO HIS NAME PUTTING ON CHRIST AND HAVING OUR SINS WASHED
AWAY...
IN THE CROSS WE RECEIVE THE GIFT OF JESUS DEATH -- WHICH GIVES US ETERNAL LIFE...
“THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS…”
In The Crown – We Receive The Gift of The Resurrection
“Then I saw the Son of Man sitting on a white cloud. He had a gold crown head…” Rev 14:14 (NLT)
JESUS WAS BORN IN A CRADLE -- BUT HE DID NOT REMAIN A BABY... JESUS DIED ON A CROSS FOR OUR SINS AND WAS BURIED -- BUT HE DID NOT REMAIN IN THE GROUND. THERE WAS A RESURRECTION...
AND PAUL IN TALKING ABOUT HOW IN BAPTISM WE CONTACT THE DEATH OF CHRIST WRITES IN ROMANS 6:5,
"IF WE HAVE BEEN UNITED WITH HIM IN HIS DEATH, WE WILL CERTAINLY ALSO BE UNITED WITH HIM IN HIS RESURRECTION..."
WHEN WE ARE IMMERSED INTO CHRIST WE ARE UNITED WITH CHRIST NOT ONLY IN HIS DEATH BUT AND WE ARE UNITED WITH HIS LIFE -- AND WE WILL THEREFORE NOT DIE -- BUT RATHER LIVE FOREVER IN HEAVEN...
When John was about 4 years old HE got a candy stuck in his throat at school, he began to choke and struggle for breath, and his teacher popped it out, warning him about being careful with candy because you could die if it got caught. And John said to her, "BUT IF I DIED I WOULDN’T STAY DEAD -- DOGS AND CATS STAY DEAD, BUT I WOULDN’T, BECAUSE JESUS WOULD MAKE ME ALIVE AGAIN..."
YES, JESUS WILL MAKE HIS PEOPLE ALIVE AGAIN.. JESUS’ HALF BROTHER JAMES IN HIS BOOK, SAYS
"BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO PERSEVERES UNDER TRAIL, BECAUSE WHEN HE HAS STOOD THE TEST, HE WILL RECEIVE THE CROWN OF LIFE THAT GOD HAS PROMISED TO THOSE WHO LOVE HIM..."
PETER THAT GREAT FISHERMAN WRITES IN I PETER 5:4;
"AND WHEN THE CHIEF SHEPHERD APPEARS, YOU WILL RECEIVE THE CROWN OF GLORY THAT WILL NEVER FADE AWAY.."
PAUL SAYS IN I CORINTH 9:24FF;
"DO YOU NOT KNOW THAT IN A RACE ALL THE RUNNERS RUN, BUT ONLY ONE GETS THE PRIZE? (THAT’S HOW IT IS IN THIS WORLD) RUN IN SUCH A WAY AS TO GET THE PRIZE. EVERYONE WHO COMPETES IN THE GAMES GOES INTO STRICT TRAINING.. THEY DO IT TO GET A CROWN THAT WILL NOT LAST, BUT WE DO IT TO GET A CROWN THAT WILL LAST FOREVER...."
JESUS SAID IN REV 2:10;
DO NOT BE AFRAID OF WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SUFFER. I TELL YOU, THE DEVIL WILL PUT SOME OF YOU IN PRISON TO TEST YOU, AND YOU WILL SUFFER PERSECUTION FOR 10 DAYS... BE FAITHFUL EVEN TO THE POINT OF DEATH AND WILL GIVE YOU THE CROWN OF LIFE..."
YES THERE WILL BE DIFFICULT TIMES IN THIS LIFE -- WE WILL SUFFER -- JESUS SAID FOR TENS DAYS ( A SHORT BUT SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF TIME). BUT BECAUSE OF THE GIFT OF JESUS RESURRECTION, WE WILL NOT DIE -- WE WILL, RISE ONE DAY TO MEET HIM IN THE AIR -- WE WILL SHED THIS MORTAL BODY AND LEAVE BEHIND THIS SINFUL/PAINFUL WORLD -- AND WE WILL BE CHANGED IN AN INSTANCE -- IN THE TWINKLING OF AN EYE AT THE FINAL TRUMPET CALL OF GOD.. NO MORE SORROW/PAIN/HEARTACHE, NO ONE WILL HURT, NO ONE WILL EVER BE ALONE, NO MORE FEAR/WORRY/DISAPPOINTMENT , AND WILL FINALLY LIVE, IN THAT PERFECT WORLD WE HAVE ALWAYS LONGED FOR. AND JESUS WILL COME AND WE WILL FALL AT HIS FEET AND WE WILL BE HOME...
YES WE WILL SUFFER FOR 10 DAYS, BUT BECAUSE OF GOD’S GREATEST GIFT..WHEN WE HAVE BEEN THERE 10,000 YEARS, BRIGHT SHINING AS THE SON WE’VE NO LESS DAYS TO SING GOD’S PRAISE THAN WHEN WE FIST BEGUN..."
IN THE CROWN WE ARE GIVEN THE GIFT OF JESUS’ RESURRECTION AND THE PROMISE OF OUR OWN RESURRECTION...ETERNAL LIFE!
THE WORLD HANDS US A LOT OF BOXES. AND THEY LOOK NICE, ALL WRAPPED UP WITH PRETTY BOWS/PAPAER. THEY PROMISE US A LOT. AND WE TAKE THEM, MANY TIMES WITH GREAT EXCITEMENT AND ANTICIPATION, HOPING THAT WE HAVE FINALLY FOUND WHAT WE WERE LOOKING FOR. BUT WHEN WE OPEN THEM, THEY ARE EMPTY, WORTHLESS, USELESS, AND HOPELESS... GOD HAS GIVEN US A GIFT THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL -- JESUS HIS ONE AND ONLY SON...
MOST PARENTS GET EXCITED ABOUT GIVING PRESENTS TO THEIR KIDS. IT IS JUST SO MUCH FUN TO GIVE THEM SOMETHING THAT YOU KNOW THEY WILL LOVE AND ENJOY... AND IT IS REAL HARD SOME TIMES, TO WAIT TO GIVE THEM THEIR PRESENTS..
QUESTION - HOW WOULD YOU FEEL, IF ON CHRISTMAS DAY YOU WOKE UP YOUR KIDS AND THEY DIDN’T WANT THEIR PRESENTS, I MEAN THEY WON’T EVEN OPEN THEM... "NO DAD I DON’T FEEL LIKE GETTING ANY PRESENTS TODAY.."
YOU KNOW THEY WILL LOVE THEM -- AND ENJOY WHAT YOU HAVE FOR THEM, BUT THEY REFUSE TO EVEN OPEN THE BOX? HOW WOULD YOU FEEL?
AND HOW WOULD YOU FEEL; IF THEY OPENED IT UP, SAID THANKS, BUT IMMEDIATELY PUT YOU GIFT TO THEM IN THE BACK OF THEIR CLOSET... AND THEIR IT STAYED, COLLECTING DUST NEVER TO BE SEEN AGAIN..
MAYBE YOU ARE HERE TODAY, AND YOU ARE A CHRISTIAN WHO HAS PUT THE GIFT OF GOD’S SON, IN THE CLOSET... YOU OPENED THE BOX MANY YEARS AGO.. BUT REALLY HAVEN’T HAD MUCH TO DO WITH IT SINCE. CHRISTIANS DO NOT FORGET ABOUT THE GIFT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU...DON’T TAKE IT FOR GRANTED -- (JESUS LIFE IS AN AWESOME GIFT – HIS DEATH GIVES YOU ETERNAL LIFE AND HIS RESURECTION SEALS YOUR PLACE IN HEAVEN…)
DO NOT PUSH THIS GIFT ASIDE (THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL) JUST TO SCRAMBLE AROUND TO OPEN UP OTHER BOXES, BOXES FROM THE WORLD THAT HAVE NO REAL ANSWERS...IF YOU HAVE PUSHED GOD’S GIFT ASIDE, CHANCES ARE YOUR LIFE IS NOT GOING TOO WELL –
WHY DON’T YOU ON THIS CHRISTMAS -- BEFORE YOU OPEN ANY OTHER GIFT -GO TO YOUR SPIRITUAL CLOSET -- FIND THE BOX GOD HAS GIVEN YOU AND RENEW YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM.. IT IS A GIFT GOD KNOWS YOU NEED AND WILL ENJOY AND HE HAS BE WAITING FOR QUIT AWHILE FOR YOU TO REALLY USE IT..
OR MAYBE YOU ARE HERE AND HAVE NEVER EVEN OPENED THE GIFT GOD HAS GIVEN YOU. (YOUR TO BUSY OPENING THE EMPTY BOXES THE WORLD IS HANDING YOU). GOD HAS GIVEN YOU HIS SON (THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL).. AND FOR MANY YEARS HE HAS WAITED FOR YOU TO OPEN THE BOX. TO RECEIVE CHRIST AS YOUR LORD AND SAVIOR. GOD YOU FATHER KNOWS THAT THIS GIFT, IS JUST WHAT YOU NEED... HE KNOWS THAT YOU WILL LOVE AND ENJOY THIS GIFT FOR YEARS TO COME... THAT IT WILL GIVE YOU LIFE THAT IS TRULY LIFE..
