What are you searching for at Christmas this year?
LK 2:12, 15, MT 2:1,2, 7:7 LK 2:25-38
There are ways that little boys know how to get through even though the way is hard. There is story about a little boy who wanted a watch for Christmas. It seems he brought it up a lot and his dad said “do not mention it again because that will mean you will not get it.” At the meal time the little boy was asked to pray. He said he would like to quote a scripture before he prayed. MK 13:37 “I say unto you what I have already told you before--- WATCH.
At this time of the year many give presents and so they are searching for just the right gift. I have been to parties where there are exchange gifts and there are times one gets not only what they do not need but do not even want. As we search for gifts we try to find the best bargain. My little brother one year would buy a gift. Later he would go into another store and find it was less expensive so he would take the gift back get his money and go to buy it for the cheaper price. Some are looking for the neatest decorations to show off their houses. In our searching we also look for the parking spot closest to the store. We are a searching people. So in our search what are we looking for this Christmas? One person I heard this week talked about the fact we have Christmas on the wrong date. To me the date is not so important as the fact that we take one time a year to celebrate that God came into our world as a baby.
So this brings up the fact that many at that first Christmas many were searching but missed the meaning of Christmas and they had the right date. There were the politicians who were looking for a supreme ruler. There were business men who were looking for a kingdom in which their profits would increase. The Innkeeper did not need a pregnant teenager and poor carpenter but looked for those who could pay a good price for a room. Those in the church were looking for a Messiah that would bring peace and set up an earthly kingdom of which they could rule with Him.
We do find those who were searching and looking for the right thing at Christmas. The shepherds, Anna, Simeon and the wise men were looking for a baby.
MT 7:7 says “seek and you shall find.” If you follow this verse you will find what you need for Christmas.
It appears that society is seeking spiritual truth. Time, Life, Newsweek and U. S. News have been running articles that show this. On their covers have been such topics as, “Life After Death,” “Clear View of Heaven,” “Who is He?” with a picture of Jesus. “Who wrote the Bible,” “The Search for the Sacred” are on the magazines that want people to read them. They put in their articles things that they believe would interest people so they can sell them.
People have been asking, “Is there a meaning to life? Does my life count? Is there a God? How can I know Him?” In the Bible God has a response and it is something like this, “I know about you, the good and the bad, the ugly, your past, present and future.” “I want you to know me.”
So we would ask: “Why am I here? What is my purpose? Why do I exist?” “Why should I get up in the morning eat breakfast, go to work, come home, watch TV and go to bed just to get up and do it again?” Where do those questions come from? Believe me they come from God who created you and made you for His purpose. I want us to look at three gifts that you will find if seek them.
1. If you seek you will find forgiveness. He was born the Savior, Christ the Lord. Now the Bible speaks of a place called heaven. It is a perfect place and only perfect people can go there. Now if God let imperfect people in it would not longer be perfect. So what chance do you and I have of getting into heaven? When ever you discovered you were not perfect you were no longer able to go to heaven. You really do not have to discover it for you were born with sin in your life. God looked down and saw our trouble so gave us a plan that no man could come up with. He sent us his Son that He would pay the price for our getting into heaven. It is by His righteousness that we can get in. Maybe you could have written a letter like this?
“Dear Santa: There are three boys living in my house. Jeffery is two, David is four and Norman is seven. Jeffery is good some of the time and David is good some of the time but Norman is good all the time. I am Norman.” Who of us could say we are like Norman, good all the time? Let me ask you if we had a big screen up here and it could show what you have thought, said or done would you be comfortable? Most of us, if not all live with a sense of regret for our past lives. God knew this and sent Jesus. A Savior was born to save us from our past sin and it is a gift from God. How does this happen? Acts 10:43 “In addition, all the prophets testify that people who believe in the one named Jesus receive forgiveness for their sins through him." To get this gift we need simple believe in the name of Jesus. Many of us know that when one is drowning he needs help form a life guard to help them. Those who have been lifeguards know that they can not be of help until the person who needs helps surrenders. As long as they try to save themselves little can be done to help. Mankind has tried many ways to please God and save himself but all fall short. We need forgiveness of our sins and that can only be found in the Savior. We have to surrender to receive this gift.
2. IF YOU SEEK YOU WILL FIND PEACE OF MIND. Psalm 119:165 “Those who love your law have great peace and do not stumble.” Peace seems to be word that is used a lot today. The trouble is most people have no clue what it means. Some think peace come from drinking until they are numb. For others it’s going from one relationship to another hoping a person will fulfill the empty space in their life. Others it’s staying busy to give them peace for when the day is over they fall into bed exhausted from what they have done but when all gets quiet and they think about their life they feel so lonely. Others seek peace from working and working. They have the attitude if they become a success they can prove they are somebody. With all they do they still come to the thinking, “I really don’t feel I am worth anything.” Recently there have been those who chase after New AGE. I can make myself better by sitting with my knees crossed and humming some chant. Ultimate peace for many is that we have no more wars.
None of these are the peace of mind God has for us as a gift. Real peace comes through a relationship with Jesus Christ. One man in prison said, “Thank you prison for it made me know that I could find God when I had nothing.” He found a relationship with God that he had missed with his life before prison. Real peace is, knowing that God loves me no matter what happens to me. That no matter what I do, God will never stop loving me. Real peace comes from knowing God’s word. It is the Word of God that will direct me from avoiding things that will hurt my life.
I have read there are three things that rob us of peace of mind. Do you know them or have you experienced them? They are remorse, misery and bitterness.
The first is remorse which means we walk around with guilt. Jesus came to give us a clear conscience. He takes away our sins like when one uses an Etch-A-sketch. Just turn them upside down and all is wiped away and you can start again.
The second is misery. When we are in the pain of things that have hurt us we do not have peace. It is at Christmas we have many memories that can affect our lives. This will be my dad’s and my aunt’s first Christmas without their spouse. If they do not have Jesus it is going to be a hard time for they have lost one that they counted on for many years and they will not be there this year. That is one example but it might not be one that bothers you. I want you to know I am sorry you are hurting this time of the year but I do want you to know that God cares and loves you. He tells us to cast all our care on Him. Give up to Him your fears, troubles and pain in your heart and He will give you peace of mind.
The third and one that hangs on many people is bitterness. This comes from not letting go of the past. If there is one thing I know well is that this is the one big thing that keeps people from having freedom to live as Christ wants them to live. Not one of us comes from a past that was pleasant. My wife had to move often for her dad would get mad and just leave a job travel some where else and get another job. She had to go to three schools in one year. She never had any close friends for she did not stay in one place long enough. I am glad I found her for she has been the best friend I have ever had. She has let go of the past and lives for today. Last Wednesday she served the Kiwanis and she was a delight to be around all day. She could keep bringing up the past and be bitter but she has chosen rather to live to make others happy. I sometimes tell her when she does some things, “They do not deserve you doing that for them.” She says yes but they need to be shown love. Bitterness robs us of peace because they cause one to be resentful. Resentment leads to grudges that wear at one’s life. Hear this “how you respond to a hurt will be the determining factor of your happiness in life.” Resentment does not hurt that one that hurt you it hurts you. Bitterness makes you miserable while that other one is living their life without it. I have good news, the best news you will ever hear, Jesus Christ came with power to help you let go of your past. I also want to let you know you do not deserve this. Jesus does this because he does not want you be stuck in your past with a grudge, hurt or resentment. So He gives us forgiveness of the past so we can live life to the fullest. Somebody say AMEN!
3. IF YOU SEEK YOU WILL FIND never-ending LIFE. Here are some things worth considering: 1. You are going to die someday. Jesus came to die for our sins. We do not think we came to die and do many things to keep a live. We do not know the day or the hour of our death but it is coming. 2. You are going to spend more time on the other side of death than we will spend on this earth. How many years will one get? Maybe sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety years of life in this body. The rest of your life will be spent in eternity. So why would one go though this life not preparing for something for what they will be doing for eternity? If you are not ready to die then living is a waste of time. This what Christmas is all about? We find never-ending life by trusting in Jesus Christ. For He would say to you today “I will care for your regrets, your problems and your fears.” No one else can tell you that. He only can bring you salvation which brings a clean past, care for the present and secure future. You will not find that under the Christmas tree but only by the One who died on the cross.
It seems that a problem that people have today is that they do not know what they are looking for in life. So we seek happiness, love and success and wonder why the disappointment when they are not found. We need to refocus our looking to see God. That takes time to be alone with Him. The real joy here is that I can tell you that in all our looking that God was all the time reaching out to us and it is even He who put the desire in our hearts to seek Him.
Christmas is a celebration of an invasion of God into man’s world that is lost and dying without Him. Every time you write a check or put a date on a letter there is a reference point to that time that God entered our world as one of us. God is not an impersonal force in the universe but came as a man born of a virgin. Did Jesus ever have diaper rash, or did he have to be burped, did he have to let some dress him, did he have to let some one feed him? Yes for He was a baby dependent on others. He came that way so we would not be afraid of him. You matter to God. Your problems He wants to help with. Your pain He shares. What you become matters to Him. He is Love.
Thousands of years ago God knew you were going to be here to hear this message. He says to you at this time, “I want you to know I really care about you. I was there when you were born. I know the day and hour you will die. I know all that is in between and I have a purpose for you. Life has meaning when you are involved in my plan and have a real relationship with me. I sent my Son into the world of which you call Christmas to show you what I am like. This is so you can Know Me and become part of my family that will live forever in heaven.” Now this is not talking about a religion but a personal knowing Jesus Christ for He died but rose from death and lives forever.
The final question we have for you today is, “Can you imagine being given a gift at Christmas and not even opening it?” if you gave me a gift and came over to see me in July and that gift still was left unopened you would wonder about me. “Why did you not open the gift?” You would ask me. As we gather for Christmas this year will you leave unwrapped God’s gift to you? This is the gift of forgiveness, peace of mind and never-ending life. Let us be like children and rip open that package from God that life from this day on will be all that it should be
