“Developing a Christmas Focus”
December 11, 2005
Introduction: Today we are looking at an important aspect of Christmas and that is focus. So often it is easy to get caught up in the day to day routine of December. Christmas parties, shopping, and decorating take an enormous amount of time and energy. And all too often, it leaves us feeling exhausted, frustrated and ready for January.
Today, I want to share with you two ways to keep a Christ-centered focus on Christmas. We are going to look at a very familiar passage and one that often is used at Christmas, Leviticus 10:1-11.
“Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord spoke of when he said:
" ’Among those who approach me
I will show myself holy;
in the sight of all the people
I will be honored.’
Aaron remained silent.
Moses summoned Mishael and Elzaphan, sons of Aaron’s uncle Uzziel, and said to them, "Come here; carry your cousins outside the camp, away from the front of the sanctuary." So they came and carried them, still in their tunics, outside the camp, as Moses ordered. Then Moses said to Aaron and his sons Eleazar and Ithamar, "Do not let your hair become unkempt, and do not tear your clothes, or you will die and the Lord will be angry with the whole community. But your relatives, all the house of Israel, may mourn for those the Lord has destroyed by fire. Do not leave the entrance to the Tent of Meeting or you will die, because the Lord’s anointing oil is on you." So they did as Moses said.
Then the Lord said to Aaron, "You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, and you must teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses." Leviticus 10:1-11 (NIV)
I know what you’re thinking: “John, every Christmas I have heard this story since I was a kid, what do you have to teach me?”
Two principles that I want to share with you today will hopefully make Christmas a better time for you and your family and will draw you closer to the heart of God, and isn’t that the point of Christmas?
I. As followers of Jesus, we must take God seriously.
One thing you must understand is that the book of Leviticus is when God shared his plan of worship and sacrifice with the nation of Israel. It is how human began to learn to encounter the divine and it is given to us so that we would not misunderstand how it was that we were to come to God.
“Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, contrary to his command. So fire came out from the presence of the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Moses then said to Aaron, "This is what the Lord spoke of when he said: " ’Among those who approach me, I will show myself holy in the sight of all the people I will be honored.’ Aaron remained silent.” Leviticus 10:1-3 (NIV)
The problem Nadab and Abihu encountered was that they did not take God’s commands and requirements seriously.
There is an implication in verse 9 that they came in to perform their priestly functions while they were drunk.
"You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die.” Leviticus 10:9 (NIV)
This is not an “anti-alcohol” message. I am not here to tell you about how you are to conduct yourselves as a follower of God. However, I am here to tell you that God does not take lightly when his people behave in a certain way because they are under the influence of something other than His Spirit.
God’s desire for his children is that we think and behave under his influence.
“Don’t drink too much wine, for many evils lie along that path; be filled instead with the Holy Spirit and controlled by him.” Ephesians 5:18 (Living Bible)
As followers of Jesus, we must learn to take God seriously and not to take ourselves seriously at all.
The desire of God is that we have a heart attitude that is focused on him and his holiness.
One writer in looking at this passage noted that “no amount of oil outside will necessarily change the heart.”
The main problem with Nadab and Abihu was a heart problem.
God is holy. He is above all, he is creator of all, and he is purer than all. God is holy.
This word for holy is speaking of the nature of God himself, not a place or an idea. It is his very nature.
The word literally means “perfect, transcendent or spiritually pure.”
God’s desire for us is to pursue holiness. He calls us to seek after him and after his heart with every fiber of our being.
God’s call to his follower is to seek to live in the attributes of his character.
“But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." 1 Peter 1:15-16 (NIV)
Sometimes in our culture it is easy to see God as Santa Claus. If we do the right things we get the rewards. If we act the right way, we get the prize.
God is not Santa. God is the holy and just God of the universe and our life in him is not based on what we have done but solely on what he has done for us on the cross of Jesus.
Do not confuse societal myths for the eternal truth of God.
Nadab and Abihu were struck down because they came before God in their own agenda and in their own way. I submit to you that often our society, especially at this time of year, does the same thing. We forget the holy nature of God and we integrate our cultural view and habits with God’s eternal design.
“Holy is the word that sets God apart and above our attempts to enlist him in our wish-fulfillment fantasies.” Eugene Peterson
How are you doing at keeping God in the right perspective? Do you recognize God as holy, or is he just around to meet some kind of philosophical void in your life?
After this section, there is a section where Moses instructs Aaron to not morn, but to instead be focused on the worship of God and the holiness of God. It was unlawful for the High Priest to personally mourn for their family or any other individual because the priest was supposed to be focused entirely on God.
II. As followers of Jesus, we must develop a “Sacred Compass.”
As I stated before, there is an implication that Nadab and Abihuu were drunk as they came before God. I don’t want to focus on that, but on what God is teaching Aaron, the priest of the nation.
It is of some interest that this is the only time that scripture records God speaking directly to Aaron without Moses being a mediator. I believe that it shows the importance God is placing in the life of the priest and the worship system that he does not want to take any chance that Aaron would miss the message.
Here’s what he tells Aaron
“Then the Lord said to Aaron, "You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, and you must teach the Israelites all the decrees the Lord has given them through Moses." Leviticus 10:8-11 (NIV)
This has been referred to in Jewish tradition as the “sacred compass.”
Basically, God has charged the priests with determining what is holy and what is not and passing that knowledge on to the people.
Starting with the Holy of Holies, the very presence of God in the Tent of Meeting, holiness was centered. At that point, complete holiness existed. Radiating out for there in varying degrees was holiness. In other words, the farther away from the presence of God you get, the less holy things are.
Each zone away from the center had it’s various levels of holiness and the role of the priests was to establish and enforce it’s proper rules for holiness.
Now, how does this apply to us?
“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”
1 Peter 2:9 (NIV)
Peter tells us that as followers of Christ, we are priests.
We now have the authority of Christ to determine what is holy and what is not.
The problem for Christians is that we all too often view our priesthood as a divine right not to make any value judgments or any declarations of holiness and right. That is not how God intended for us to live.
In our world today we have become controlled by the expedience of “political correctness.” We have gone form being judgmental and harsh in the past from now being afraid to say that anything is wrong. What a disgrace.
There is a word that we use to describe things that are inherently wrong in the eyes of God. The word is sin.
The bible says that mankind chooses to do what is wrong because it feeds our desires and our self-importance. And the bible says that is sin. And yet today, even the church is afraid to call sin what it is.
People get offended when they tell me about what is going on in their lives and I tell them that there is a simple explanation for it. They don’t think that anyone else should point out sin in their lives. And yet, that is exactly the idea that we as followers of God should hold a “sacred compass.”
Some things are just wrong and they are sin and until we as followers of God are willing to call the things that go against the teachings of God sin, we will never live the life God intended us to live.
Our society will not provide our children and those seeking a compass for life with true answers. Our society is not pointing the way back to God, but we are pointing God the way out.
Don’t believe me? When was the last time someone in a store you were shopping in wished you a Merry Christmas? I am sick of Happy Holidays.
Why are there lawsuits to put a nativity scene up in the public square?
It is a plan of the enemy of God to work through misguided individuals to eliminate God from society. Don’t blame the media or the ACLU or the judges. Look at the scripture and see who is to blame.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:10-12 (NIV)
Satan has a desire and a plan to defeat God, and since he cannot do that he will do whatever he can to confuse humanity from hearing God’s message.
Christians must be bold enough to speak the truth about what is right, we must also speak the truth about what is not right.
Conclusion:
Today more than ever, a God-filled focus is what is needed at Christmas. We must develop a focus to desire the holiness of the one true God. And, we must have the courage to live by the “sacred compass” that God has established for our lives. How are you doing in those areas? Have you bought into the culture of relative truth and non-judgmental holiness? Or, are you wiling to stand and let God be God and allow you life to be a reflection of his divine will for you and the world around you?
