The Greatest Gift
Hebrews 11: 6c
Revelation 22: 12
·Prayer
·Acknowledgements
(God, Pastor, Associate Ministers, Wife, Congregation)
Scripture
Hebrews 11:6c
“But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”
Revelation 22:12
“And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
Subject: THE GREATEST GIFT [repeat]
Question:
What was the most expensive gift you ever received for Christmas? Hum
What was the most expensive gift you ever gave?
Isn’t is strange -- how some people are willing to go into debt to buy gifts -- that they can’t even afford. They buy these gifts to give to people, mind you, that they really don’t like anyway.
Hum -- we will even go as far as to assign different values to the people in our gift giving. Now, I have to be honest, as for me -- my children receive the most valuable of my Christmas gifts and from there I use an imaginary sliding scale of lesser and lesser value. Some people, family member included would be fortunate to even get a Christmas card from me. Now -- I’m just keeping it real and being honest. Now I’m trying to figure out -- what formed this pattern of thinking and behavior?
The gifts -- The gifts the Magi lavished on Jesus reflected the value they placed on Him. You see -- they gave him gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The value of gold is classic. It has always been the standard of commerce. It is the most valued of all metals. You see -- it was the best you could give anyone.
Frankincense was more of a symbolic gift. It was valuable, but more so by what it represented. You see -- it was used by people of the ancient near East as an aid to their praying. You see -- the incense was fragrant and spoke of the pleasant smell their prayers had in the nostrils of God. It rose as smoke upward into the air as did their prayers. Frankincense was a gift of prayer. It was a spiritual -- gift.
Myrrh was essentially medicinal oil [which means that it had properties relating to medicine]. The Magi gave this valuable oil to the baby Jesus as a visible affirmation of prophecy found in Isaiah Chapter 60. They knew the Jewish prophets of the captivity said this child king would be for the healing of the nations. You see -- Myrrh stood for what His life would produce.
So let us take another look at our text.
Hebrews 11:6c
“... and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.”
Revelation 22:12
“And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.”
I know, I know -- Hebrews and Revelation seems -- a strange place from which to preach a Christmas message. Well -- if you are a Traditionalist you may already be frowning in your spirit at our audacity to overlook the story of the host of heavenly angels and startled shepherds, the story of Mary and Joseph, and the wise men. I will tell you from the outset -- you will hear no traditional Christmas sermon this year. There will be no Bethlehem manger; the definitions mentioned earlier will be the only references to gold, frankincense and myrrh. There will be no stories of a compassionate innkeeper. In fact, there will be no sign of the old traditional Christmas. We’re going to leave tradition -- this morning in an effort to discover the real meaning of Christmas and to discover the Greatest Gift of All.
Hum -- so today is Christmas and I’m sure that most of you finished your shopping? I’m sure that most of you would agree -- that it was pure madness out there in the malls to get it done, and to think that our country is in a recession. I’m beginning to believe that the masses have somehow been brainwashed into believing that our economy really is stable.
How could this be -- maybe this false sense of security was caused by that token income tax rebate checks mailed out by the government this year.
But if you pause to think for a moment -- most of our surplus is gone ... spent on that picnic tables at Home Depot sales, and weekends at Liberty Land and Memphis Zoo. A few smart ones used it to buy school clothes for the kids or some of you many have used it to put new brakes on your car. Bottom line -- most of us invested our unexpected return in the most predictable way ... we spent it!
And we’re still spending. Some stores were open late last night and others will be open at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning to accommodate the frenzy of buying that takes place.
But my question to you this morning is -- Why are we buying so much?
Nawl, Nawl -- please don’t tell me that it’s because the Wise men brought gifts to the infant Jesus! That argument just doesn’t hold water anymore. Nawl -- that dog won’t hunt. Besides, contrary to secular belief an unlike us -- the Wise men weren’t trying to outdo the shepherds with their gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Hum -- I asked my neighbor if he had completed his shopping. He told me that he bought his wife a diamond ring. My wife told me his wife had her heart set on a new car ... a Cadillac Escalade. So I asked him, “Didn’t your wife want a new Cadillac?” My neighbor replied, “Reverend, Where am I goanna get a fake Cadillac?” [Don’t worry about it -- you will get it when you get home]
My point is -- we’re so caught up in this “gift-giving” thing that we think we have to somehow honor every lavish request ... every foolish desire ... every whimsical wish of our loved ones. The unfortunate thing is that this trend has begun to affect our expression of Christmas love. Yes our expression of Christmas love has boiled down to the cost of our gifts.
But what is our motivation? Are we seeking to express our genuine love?
Hum -- The Christmas List. I don’t know about you, but I have a few people on my list that I feel compelled to include, not out of any sense of gratitude [repeat], but simply because of tradition. And for years, I have cut back on gifts for my own family in order to include these “extra” folks on my shopping list.
Ya’ll know the ones I’m talking about.
You know -- like that mandatory $25 gift for a co-worker ... you know the same one who wouldn’t work your night shift for you when the kids were sick. Yeah -- that one.
You know -- the one for the neighbor who’s never available when you need him, but always shows up on the night of your family’s barbeque. YEAH -- that one.
You know -- the one for the boss who refused to give you a raise ... but he put a little something in your paycheck for the holidays ... a REAL LITTLE SOMETHING. Yeah -- that one.
Ya’ll get the picture. I’m sure that most of you would agree that we have allowed our gift giving to get out of hand. This is evident by the fact that -- we even buy extravagant gifts for disobedient children, in the hope that they will somehow turn the corner in their behavior and one day say, “Wow! Mom and Dad really do love me. I’d better get my act together and remember to do my chores!” Well I came to tell you this Christmas morning -- Don’t hold your breath!
So here’s our Christmas message -- to those who are interested in three new perspectives on this gift-giving fiasco -- let us look to the scriptures for answers.
First, I think it safe to say the scripture encourages us to pare down our list. If we are to follow God’s example of giving, Hebrews 11:6c says He is “a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” So that means to me that we have authorization to scratch off the names of those who are not of the household of faith. And while you’re scratching, scratch off the office Christmas party. Now I know that not all office parties are the same -- but Christmas is, after all, a celebration of the Birth of Christ, our Messiah and our Lord. How can we celebrate it in such a manner with office discos and drinking binges?
Next we can go to work on your spending budget. Revelations 22:12 say the Lord will give “every man according as his work shall be.” If God will give according to our demonstration of obedience and sacrifice, question -- shouldn’t we? If the giving of gifts is an earned reward system, we may be able to get our shopping done with substantially less than we’ve been shelling out in the pass.
Now don’t get me wrong -- I’m not trying to run nobody household except my own -- but if our kids never remember to take out the garbage, clean their room, do the dishes, wash the car, cut the lawn, or make their beds ... we may want to consider to pare down our budget!
If the boss -- buys a new Infiniti for himself and a Lexus for his wife, but pleads poverty to his employees at raise time ... we may want to consider paring down your budget.
If the neighbor is always taking ... and taking your lawnmower ... taking your garden vegetables ... taking advantage of your generosity, but never giving when you have need ... Hum -- you may want to consider paring down -- your budget.
God’s universal plan for us is one of “obedience and reward”. Yes it is -- this is evident from the moment Adam and Eve fell from grace in the Garden of Eden; there has been clear evidence of God’s reward system.
Adam and Eve’s disobedience-- uh ha -- netted them a lifetime of hard labor.
Well -- lets move forward in history -- the Hebrew nation’s disobedience netted them 40 years in the wilderness.
Moses disobedience -- got him a burial plot outside the Promised Land.
God promises to reward each of us accordingly ... and no one would argue His right to do so.
Even in Old Testament times, God sent Azariah, the son of the prophet Oded, to remind Asa and the tribes of Judah and Benjamin of God’s reward plan. I hear him saying in 2 Chronicles 15:7, “Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded.”
Third, we must examine the motivation behind our giving. God gives out of love. Does not the most quoted scripture in the Bible say, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only Begotten Son...” (John 3:16)
Well -- when we give out of love, pure and undefiled, as Almighty God did on the cross of Calvary, then and only then will there not be any deficiency in our giving.
Brother and sisters I said all of that -- to say this -- The gift of love is the most powerful and expensive gift of all. The only thing about LOVE is that it is free -- it doesn’t cost you a thing to receive it or to give it.
Though it is inexpressible [yeah it is beyond words] -- but it can bless and benefit someone’s life
Though LOVE is immeasurable [yeah -- beyond measure] -- but it can penetrate and saturate someone’s life
Though LOVE is indescribable [yeah -- beyond word, beyond description, unspeakable] -- but it can glorify and magnify
Though LOVE is incomprehensible [yeah -- beyond your understanding] -- it can encourage and inspire somebody.
If we give the gift of love this Christmas, we will give a gift that is higher than the heavens
If we give the gift of love this Christmas, we will give a gift that is Deeper than the oceans
If we give the gift of love this Christmas, we will give a gift that is Greater than the Universe
If we give the gift of love this Christmas, we will give a gift that that will have real meaning for this Christmas season.
I’m talking to you this morning about the Greatest Gift -- which is God Love.
His love that is so great, it consumed Elijah’s sacrifice on Mt Carmel.
God’s love is so immense; it replenished the widow woman’s oil vessel.
It’s a love that is so vast, it granted David the strength to defeat Goliath.
I’m talking about the greatest gift -- God’s love it’s a love that so colossal [yeah -- so massive, so huge, so gigantic] that it found its way into the womb of a betrothed Virgin, that she might bear the Son of God!
Brother and sisters I came to tell you that in all of your giving -- give the gift of Christ’s love this Christmas Season! It is not about how much money you spent. It is not about how much somebody spent on you -- it about the greatest gift -- The LOVE of God who gave us His only begotten son.
Jesus is our greatest gift -- Why -- because His love unlike our new clothes will never grow old.
His love unlike our new materialist gifts under the tree -- will never wear out.
His Love -- will never become outdated.
The more you rely on it -- the more reliable you discover it to be.
The more you trust it -- the trustworthier you find it to be.
The more you depend on it -- the more dependable you realize it to be.
I’m talking about the greatest gift.
The gift of Christ’s Love, which was given not to assist us -- but to assure us.
It was given -- not to thrill us -- but to transform us.
It was given -- not to please us -- but to perfect us.
Christ Love -- it was given -- not to satisfy us --
but to save us.
Christ Love, Christ Love, Christ Love -- It was given --not to comfort us -- but to change us!
So when you go home and unwrap your gifts -- don’t forget to unwrap Jesus
Unwrap the LOVE of Christ and wear Him freely. Yeah wear Him everywhere you go.
Wear the LOVE of Christ -- in your conversation.
Wear the LOVE of Christ -- in your actions.
Wear the LOVE of Christ -- in your relationships.
Why -- because When Christ comes to claim His own [repeat], He’ll be looking for those who are wearing His label.
Nawl -- not the Union label
Not Guess [Nawl, you guessed wrong]
Not FUBU [Nawl, fu blew it]
Nawl Tommy Hillfigure will not do
When Christ comes to claim His own [repeat], He’ll be looking for those who are wearing His label.
He’s coming for a church without spot or wrinkle. He’s coming to give every man according to his works. So -- Let Him find you faithful!
God truly is the greatest lover. He gave the greatest gift that could be given all because of the value He placed on you and me.
This Christmas Season -- give the most powerful and most expensive gift that could ever be given -- the gift of LOVE.
