INTRODUCTION
This week marked a transition on our calendars. On Friday, retailers hosted Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving when the mad rush of the commercial Christmas season gets into full steam. One article that I read explained that, “Black Friday gets its name from the hope that on that day merchants’ financial statements will move out of the red and into the black. The traditional start to the holiday shopping season generates as much as 40 percent of annual revenues and nearly all the year’s profits for key gift destinations such as toy stores and apparel chains.” (http://money.cnn.com/2003/11/29/news/companies/blackfriday_results_update/)
To generate those sales, many retailers opened their doors at 6AM and some very eager consumers even camped out in the parking lot to get the best early bird specials. Maybe some of you went shopping with millions of other Americans.
In case you’re wondering, by all initial indications, Black Friday was a busy and successful day. According to CNN, retail stores took in $7.2 billion in sales on Friday, up 4.8 percent from a year earlier. And the Walmart chain said that sales at its U.S. stores grew 6.3 percent to a record $1.52 billion on the day after Thanksgiving. In summary, Black Friday was good news for our recovering US economy. (http://money.cnn.com/2003/11/29/news/companies/blackfriday_results_update/)
That was Friday, the start of the secular holiday season. Today, the worldwide Christian church begins a period of time called Advent. Advent begins four Sundays before Christmas.
Hopefully, you have noticed the beautiful way that Betty Bauer and Des Weller have decorated our church for the Christmas season. And with the lighting of our first Advent candle, we are preparing for coming of Christ into our lives. And Advent points us to the real reason for the season. Christmas is about Jesus!
Over the next four weeks-- as we celebrate Advent and prepare for the coming of Christ—I want to reflect with you on the real reason for the season.
PREACHING OUTLINE
There are two traps that I want to help you avoid in this season building up to Christmas. The first trap is to get caught up in the secular meaning and practice of Christmas to the point where Jesus is largely unseen. To celebrate Christmas without Jesus is like celebrating a birthday without the guest of honor present. No one would think of doing that, so WHY is it that it can be so easy sometimes to get caught up in the secular spirit of the season. Christmas is precisely about the birth of the Savior—our Savior—and we must always keep Jesus before us in this season.
The second trap or snare is that we celebrate the birth of Jesus but fail to grasp the real significance of his coming into the world. Just exactly WHO is Jesus and WHAT does his coming into our world demand of me. To celebrate the birth of Jesus without a good grasp of WHO He really is like going to the birthday party of a stranger. You’re there at the party but you don’t know why you’re there. And so, in today’s sermon, I want to consider with you whether or not we are truly seeing Jesus for who he REALLY is.
A. The Importance of Seeing Jesus In This Season
Let me begin by offering an interesting quote from John Piper in his book, Seeing and Savoring Jesus. In that book, he says the following:
When we see Jesus for who he really is, we savor him. That is, we delight in him as true and beautiful and satisfying… Seeing Jesus saves and sanctifies… There is no more important issue than seeing Jesus for who he really is and savoring what we see above all else. (John Piper, Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ)
Will you see Christ and even savor Him during this holiday season? What does it mean to savor something (or in this case, someone)? To savor means to taste and enjoy. If you were invited to a delicious banquet and only looked at the food from afar, it could not be said of you that you savored that meal. To savor is to take in and thoroughly enjoy. And in this Adevnt season, we are called to do just that with Jesus. We are not to admire Jesus from afar but actually SAVOR (and throughly enjoy) Jesus and all his wonderful benefits in our lives.
And to do this, we need to be able to see and [ersonally appreciate just WHO Jesus is and WHAT he has done for us. There is a critical importance to see Jesus for WHO He really is!
B. The Importance of Seeing Jesus for Who He Really Is (Hebrews 1:1-14)
As we listen in to the Letter to the Hebrews, we will begin to see Jesus in proper perspective. You see, the letter of Hebrews was written to a group of Christians who had begun to loose their joy in Jesus. They were no longer savoring Him. And so the author addresses his audience (and us today) to remind us of the absolute importance and superiority of Jesus in all things!
The letter to the Hebrews portrays Jesus in three ways or functions. And we must experience Jesus (and savor Him) on each of these levels.
Listen how the Letter to the Hebrews begins:
Read Hebrews 1:1-3a
Three observations:
1) God spoke through the prophets
2) God spoke through Jesus
3) Jesus is UNIQUE spokesperson for God. Why?
Because…
a) Jesus is God’s Son
b) Jesus has a special position in the history of the world (he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe)
c) Jesus ONLY expresses the FULL glory and majesty of God because “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being…”
Jesus said: “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
In summary, Jesus speaks for and actually represents in the flesh the very person and character of God himself. Therefore Jesus is God’s final prophet!
--> Is Jesus my PROPHET (Hebrews 1:1-3a)?
+If Jesus is my Prophet, am I willing to LISTEN to Him?
+In what areas of my life should I listen and obey Jesus more?
There are some people who only see Jesus as a prophet. Did you know that the Muslim religion believes in Jesus. In fact, they even believe that Jesus was a prophet. But, they do not believe that Jesus was the final prophet. And sadly, they do not believe the second or third thing that Hebrews teaches us about Jesus. The second important aspect of WHO Jesus really is this…Jesus is a PRIEST.
--> Is Jesus my PRIEST (Hebrews 1:3a; cf. 2:17-18; 4:14-16; 8:1-2; 10:11-12, 21; 13:11-12)?
The second characteristic of Jesus is found in the middle of verse 3. There is says that Jesus “provided purification for sins…”
HEB 10:11, 21-22 Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God… 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
HEB 4:14 Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet was without sin. 16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
--> If Jesus is my Priest, am I willing to be CLEANSED by Him?
+ In what areas of my life do I need to repent and be cleansed from?
3) Is Jesus my KING (Hebrews 1:3c-14)?
HEB 1:3c After… (Jesus) he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.
--> If Jesus is my King, am I willing to SUBMIT to Him?
+ In what areas of my life do I still need to give things over to Jesus?
CONCLUSION
Christmas is about Jesus. And unless and until we are seeing jesus as he really is (and learning to savor Him), we can’t celebrate Christmas the way God intends us to enjoy it!
