Sunday Morning, December 12th, 2004
Let us pray.
Welcome...
Each day we are drawing closer home. Last Tuesday night one of our church sisters from
Cleveland passed away, and on Thursday night another sister who had moved to Atlanta
passed away. We just don’t know when it will be our time...................elaborate......
Last Sunday we took a detour and we talked about whose report will you believe? but
today we will get back to the Christmas message. If you are counting, in 13 more days it
wlll be Christmas day. For some people Christmas is a one day affair. They spend time
shopping with money they can’t afford. They spend time wrapping gifts to give to others,
and sometimes to people they don’t like; and then at midnight December 25th, it is all
over. Christmas should not be a one day affair, but it should be a all year celebration for
the Savior who has come.
What would you do if one day you came to realize that all your dreams were shattered?
All the plans that you had made in life seems to have gone up in smoke. How do you feel
towards Joseph and his broken dreams? Let me share with you an article I recently read.
"Like other engaged couples, Joseph and Mary had dreams of being married and of
raising a family together.
The dream lasted until the day Mary told Joseph that she was going to have a baby who
had been conceived by the Holy Spirit. Joseph was sure she had been unfaithful. His
dream of spending life with the person he loved was gone.
It took a special message from an angel to convince Joseph that Mary’s child was going to
be special. The only way to make sense out of his broken dreams was to accept God’s will
for his life, to believe what the angel said, and to do exactly as the angel told him. Only
then could Joseph be a part of God’s plan of salvation for this world.
Broken dreams are part of many people’s lives: an empty place in our homes, caused by
death or divorce; a relationship broken because of unfaithfulness; a business venture that
has gone wrong; a terminal disease; a child who has walked away from the Lord.
The only way to go on despite our broken dreams is turn to the Savior, who came because
of broken dreams. The only way to celebrate Christmas is to ask the Savior to enter our
lives and heal our brokenness."
Today is the third Sunday of Advent, and there are many lives that are broken that needs
to be repaired. If your life is broken; if your dreams has been shattered, Jesus Christ the
one whose birthday we celebrate is here to help you.
As the year quickly comes to an end, let’s remind ourselves once again of our theme for
the year, which is, Glorifying God; which means, that in everything we do, and
everything we say should be done to glorify God. As a child of God, How well are you
glorifying God? Can others know that you are truly who you say you are by the way you
live? Our key verse is taken from Matthew 5 verse 16, which says, Let your light so
shine........
Our to-pic for today will be, "The Gift of Christmas." Please turn with me in your
Bibles to Ephesians 2 verses 4 through 10 or to page 5 of your bulletins. Let’s all stand
and read together. Please tell someone, I am looking for my gift.
Are you expecting someone to buy you a gift, or are you searching to buy yourself a gift?
Last year, I went to the Burlingon store close to where I live, and I bought myself a gift. I
wrapperd it; wrote my name on it, and placed it under the Christmas tree. If no one else
gave me a gift, I had my gift, and it was from myself.
It seems somehow we have lost the focus as to whose birthday we are cel-e-bra-ting. It
seems the focus of Christmas has been lost amongst gifts. ’The joy of the season has
become the joy of giving and receiving gifts." A wife may ask her husband, what are you
getting me for Christmas? or the husband might ask his wife what are you getting me for
Christmas? If you have children, they will make a list as to what they want for Christmas.
There is nothing wrong in giving and receiving of gifts at Christmas time. It’s alright to
look for a gift, and give a gift at Christmas time, but please note very carefully, "It does
not matter how many toys you pass out at the orphanage, or nursing home, without the
true meaning of Christmas it is all in vain."
I would like to sub-mit to you today, that there is a gift that we can share this Christmas
that is greater than any other gift you can give. I would like to talk about this gift, the true
gift of Christmas. The gift that God gave us, the gift of his son Je-sus.
If you are on a budget, and you are carefully guarding your spending, you will be always
out there looking for a good bargain. I willl go from store to store to make sure I get the
best bargain for the money I have to spend, and I am sure many of you does the same
thing. You might not go from store to store, but you might check prices over the
telephone or over the internet. It’s alright to get the best bargain you possible can.
Christmas is a time of gifts, and that means it is a time of shopping, It is a time when
many of us will be saying quite often, charge it, because we have no money to spend.
Ever since the wise men from the East brought their gifts to Je-sus people have been
exchanging gifts ever since. It is alright to give and receive gifts, but please be careful in
your spending, and please do not use your tithes and offerings to purchase
gifts......elaborate.. some of you might have to get caught up with your tithes before the
year comes to an end, that’s another story................
This year, like many other years, millions of people both children and adults will open
millions of gifts. Some wont fit, some will be the wrong color or size, some will be stored
away in the basement, or in the attic, some gift you wont like, and so the day after
Christmas many will be back at the store to return or exchange their gifts.
I am sure many of us here today could tell stories of gifts gone bad at Christmas time. I
want you to know that there is one gift that meets everyone’s need. This gift I am talking
about will never wear out, it will never break, it will never need repairs, this gift comes
with an eternal war-ran-ty. It does not matter who you are, boy or girl; man or wo-man;
rich or poor; black or white; short or tall; fat or slim; this gift is ap-pro-pri-ate for you.
This gift is the gift that we all need, the Gift of Christmas who is Je-sus Christ our Lord.
This gift is worth more than any other gifts you have been given; ................elaborate.
Let’s look at our text for today starting at Verse 4, But God who is rich. That word rich
means having an abundant supply. And the God we are talking about has an abundant
supply of mercy. He has more than enough mercy for you and for me. There is enough
mercy because he loves us so much. Love is one of God’s at-tri-butes, "but when this love
is related to sinners, it becomes grace and mercy." God is rich both in grace and mercy.
We all deserve to die, but in His mercy God did not give us what we deserve, and in His
grace He gives us what we do not deserve. All this is made possible because of the death
of Je-sus Christ on the cross, the one who is our gift of Christmas. When we were
spiritually dead, lost in our sins, doomed in our sins, the God who is so loving quickened
us together. That word quicken means to restore to life. God made us alive even when we
were dead in our sins. We might have thought we were doing fine, but we were spiritually
dead until God gave us back our lives, and made us alive through the gift of Christmas
who is Je-sus Christ our Lord......elaborate....
Look at verse 6 of our text (read) We who were dead, grave-yard dead, lying in the grave,
could not help ourselves, God lifted us up, he exalted us, he raised us up from the grave,
and now we are sitting in heavenly places along with Christ Je-sus, the gift of Christmas.
God did not raise us up and left us in the grave-yard, but He made us to sit in heavenly
places. Yes we are physically here on earth, "but our spiritual position is in heavenly
places in Christ Je-sus," and one of these days we shall be with him. Because of Je-sus
Christ, the gift of Christmas, we are now somebody, we are now children of the king, and
now we can be seated in heavenly places. We all should be thanking God for the gift of
Christmas, Je-sus Christ our Lord......elaborate... I have my Christmas gift, because I have
Je-sus. I have a friend that no one can take away from me. Friends on earth may forsake
me, friends on earth may push me aside, but thank God my friend will be with
me........"What a friend we have in Je-sus.......
Let’s look at verses 7 through 9 of our text (read) It is said that "God’s purpose in our
redemption is not simple to rescue us from hell, as great a work as that is. His ul-ti-mate
purpose in our salvation is that for all eternity the Church might glorify God’s grace."
When we say grace, we are talking about salvation completely apart from any merit or
works on our part. We are talking about the free undeserved favour of God. The apostle
Paul insists that it is by grace that we are saved. We can do all the good works that we
can, but the fact still remains, it is by grace that we are saved. We have nothing to do with
our salvation, but simple to accept Je-sus the gift of Christmas. We have not earned it,
and we could never have earned it, it is simple a free gift from God, and all we have to do
is accept it. If someone came to you this Christmas and gave you a package and say this is
your Christmas gift, and said that you owed them some money, then that would not be a
gift, because a gift is always free. Salvation is God’s gift to man, it is God’s Christmas gift
to you......
If salvation was by works there would be a lot of people boasting about what they have
done, or what they are going to do; but thanks be to God works has nothing to do with our
salvation. When Je-sus Christ our gift of Christmas died on the cross, the veil of the
temple was torn in two, from the top to the bottom, making it known that the way to God
was now open. As a result, there would be no more need for earthly sacrifices. Je-sus
Christ, the gift of Christmas paid it all, and he has finished the great work of salvation.
"God did it all, and He did it by His grace," and salvation is offered to the who-so-ever
will that will accept it.
In verse 10 of our text it reads like this (read) That word workmanship means, "that
which is made, a man-u-fac-tured pro-duct." We who are saved are now a part of God’s
"new creation" and God continues to work in us to make us what He wants us to be.
Those rough edges He has to chip away. Those bad attitudes He has to control. Those
nasty temper and unforgiven Spirit, He has to put under control through the work of the
Holy Spirit. Thank God, He is still working on me, to make me what I ought to be. Yes,
God is still working on me. I might be a slow learner, but God is still working on me, and
my desire each day is to be more and more like Christ. God’s purpose is to make us more
like Christ, our gift of Christmas. In 2 Corinthians 5 verse 17 it states, "Therefore if any
man be in Christ........" Sad to say, there are so many who are saved, but the old man is
still in control; they must have it there way at all times......elaborate...
Sometimes it might take a long time for God working in us, for some it might be a life
time. God spent 40 years working in Moses before he could work through him. Moses
started off his ministry depending on his own strength. He killed an Egyptian, and he left
town. Away from home, away from friends, "as a humble shepherd in the desert, Moses
experienced God’s working in his life, a working that prepared him for 40 more years of
magnificent service."
For 13 years Joseph suffered "before God put him on the throne of Egypt, second to
Pharaoh." As a youth David was anointed king, "but he did not gain the throne until he
had suffered many years as an exile." Saints of God, the great Almighty God "has to work
in us before He can work through us." As a Christian are you going through trying times?
Maybe God is just working in you. Do you sometimes feel you are severely tested?
Maybe God is just working in you. Do you feel sometimes feel people are running all
over you? Maybe God is working on you. Do you feel sometimes you are going in
circles, and it seems nothing is being done? Maybe God is just working in you. Does it
seems sometimes the world has turned against you, and those who are close to you have
turned their backs on you? Maybe God is just working in you. God cannot work
through us unless He works in us. It is important for us as Christians to find the time
daily to spend in the Word and prayer, and to yield to Christ during times of suffering. It
is through the Word, prayer and suffering that God works in us...........elaborate...
We are created in Christ Je-sus unto good works. We are not saved by our good works,
but saved unto good works. The good works that we do is not to glorify ourselves but to
glorify God. All the good works in the world cannot put us right with God; good works
cannot earn salvation, but once we have been put right with God, once we have been
saved there should be good works. If we are saved, if we are children of God, and there is
no good works being produced or manifested in our lives, then something is wrong.
Please note very carefully, we cannot man-u-fac-ture these good works, they "are the
results of the work of God in our hearts." Paul writes in Philippians 2 verse 13, "For it is
God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." The evidence of
our good works is that we have been born again. In Matthew 7 verse 21 we read, "Not
every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he
that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
These works are not only good, but they are prepared; good works which God hath
before ordained or prepared that we should walk in them. The unbeliever, that
unsaved person walks according to the course of this world, but the believer, the child of
God walks in the good works God has ordained or prepared for him.
Are you still looking for your gift, if so, I present to you Je-sus, He is the gift of
Christmas. It is said that, He is the comforter who brings comfort in times of trials. He
is the Holy One whom we can put all trust and find all peace. He is the redeemer who
erase all our sins. He is the I am that is all-powerful God who is greater than any
problem. He is the Son of God who destroys the works of Satan. He is the teacher who
taught us how to live as overcomers. He is the man of sorrows who was broken for our
healing. He is our advocate who takes our pe-ti-tions to God. He is our Savior who has
saved the whole world. Just like any other gift that you are given, it has to be received,
and so on this third Sunday of Advent, I give to you Je-sus, the one who is my Lord and
Savior, and the one who is The Gift of Christmas, will you receive Him? God is rich in
mercy, and even though we all deserved to die, in his mercy God did not give us what we
deserve, but he gives us what we did not deserve, his grace. It is available for you right
now, will you accept it?.
Let us stand
Call to Discipleship
Closing song/prayer
