Introduction: On December 17, 1903, Orville and Wilbur Wright made their first flight of an airplane at Kitty Hawk NC. On their 5th attempt, the plane under the control of Orville, embarked on a 12 second flight.
Wilbur rushed to the local telegraph office and sent the following message – WE HAVE FLOWN FOR 12 SECONDS - WE WILL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!
Upon receiving the telegram their sister, Katherine went to the newspaper office, told the editor of her brother’s new flying machine, and informed him, they would be home for Christmas, if he would like to set up an interview.
He told her that was nice, and he would be sure to put something in the paper regarding the boys.
On December 19th, the local paper placed the following headline on the 6th page of the paper: “WRIGHT BROTHERS HOME FOR CHRISTMAS”
The most important story of the year – man’s first flight – and the editor missed it!
I wonder if the same could be said about us when it comes to Christmas. Look all around us…
• The trees are decorated
• The music is festive
• The Season is Right – It is Christmas, and there are only 14 shopping days left!
In all of our rushing around, in all of our gift buying, in all the things we have to do during this season – HAVE WE MISSED THE IDEA – Jesus has come to earth!
We are in a series of messages titled “I’m dreaming of a right Christmas”
For there to be a RIGHT CHRISTMAS, there must be a right pace.
To be honest Christmas is a time when the pace picks up, there are gifts to buy, homes to decorate, parties to attend, meals to prepare, people to visit, sometimes it makes us tired just thinking about Christmas
In our rush, are we so busy DOING CHRISTMAS, we forget to CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS?
The first Christmas had a hurried pace as well.
• Mary discovered she is pregnant and runs to her cousin, Elizabeth’s home to share the news.
• Caesar Augustus demands a census of the Roman Empire; all citizens are required to return to the city of their birthplace. Suddenly all roads of the Empire are filled with travelers for this census.
• The Shepherds upon hearing the Angelic Announcement of the birth of the Christ Child “Hurry off” to Bethlehem
• Soon the Wisemen see the STAR, and begin a cross-country tip from the east
• Herod, full of jealousy and fear, believes Jesus is a thereat to his kingdom and issues a decree all boys under the age of 2, living in the vicinity of Bethlehem are to be killed. This causes a time of hurriedness, as parents flee from Bethlehem to escape Herod’s wrath.
As you can see, the Christmas rush is not a symptom of the modern man.
Yet The Apostle Paul would later write about the first Christmas -
When the right time came, the time God decided on, He sent his Son, born of a woman, born as a Jew, to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law so that he could adopt us as his very own sons. Galatians 4:4-5
Paul said when everything was right, when God’s timetable was set…
• He chose a little town called Bethlehem
• A couple known as Joseph and Mary
• The setting of a stable
• To save the world
That was a RIGHT CHRISTMAS
Maybe you feel overwhelmed this Christmas – Maybe your pace is too hurried – Maybe you are so busy DOING CHRISTMAS, you are forgetting to CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS.
This morning I want you to see how you have a right Christmas, by having a right pace during the Christmas Season. I want to challenge you to slow down and not simply do Christmas but enjoy the Christmas Season
For us to have a right pace we must experience patience – patience is not simply waiting, patience is waiting with anticipation – Listen to the words of David as he cries out to the Lord in Psalm 40, I waited patiently for the LORD to help me, and he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along. He has given me a new song to sing, a hymn of praise to our God.
Is it possible this Christmas you need a new song to sing? You can have a new song to sing, if you have a right Christmas. Remember how the first Christmas was so right?
LUKE 2:1-7 1In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3And everyone went to his own town to register. 4So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
Note the Price of Patience of the First Christmas
Do you find it difficult to wait for something?
A. We live in a world where patience is lacking.
• Instant gratification
If we see it we buy it. 90 days same as cash is music to our ears
• Waiting is not part of our culture
Hungry put the food in a Microwave oven
Need Money, ATM machine
Communication, cell phones connect us instantly with friends and family, as does email and text messaging
We have Instant rice, Instant coffee, Instant pudding
TV Teaches us no problem is too large, it cannot be handled in 30 minutes and no illness is too serious it cannot be healed in 30 seconds. PATIENCE IS LACKING
B. The price of patience became real the First Christmas.
• Joseph and Mary discover God’s plan through an Angel
Fear gives way to excitement, which leads to patience. 9 months would pass before the promise was fulfilled. Meanwhile in Jerusalem an aged couple, named Zechariah and Elizabeth are being rewarded for their faithful patience in the birth of a son named John; he would be the forerunner of the Christ Child. For 400 years God was silent and now he was moving in a mighty way the Messiah and his forerunner would be born in the same year.
• Next to suffering, patience may be the greatest tool God uses to conform us to His will. Patience requires us to wait upon God, even when he is silent. Israel had waited 400 years for God to speak and when God spoke, Joseph and Mary were ready. Joseph and Mary patiently submitted to God’s plan, they patiently waited for the birth to come, they patiently traveled to Bethlehem and when there was no room in the inn, they patiently went to a stable, knowing God had the best plan. No complaining, no doubts, no fears – simply trusting God.
• Are you willing to pay the price of patience this Christmas? Are you seeking God’s will in your life, your schedule, your spending decisions? Are you practicing patience with other people this season? Remember the words of Paul - Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2
• In the hurriedness of the season, God may want you to wait to discover His will for your life. Joseph and Mary were patient and God used them to fulfill His divine plan.
C. Patience reminds us God is faithful
• Mary and Joseph knew at the end of nine months their patience would be rewarded with a son.
• The Wisemen’s search would lead them to a place of worship
• Christmas should always remind us God is faithful to His word and to us, but it is always according to his timetable.
The price of patience leads us to…
2. The Pursuit of Patience
One of the most difficult lessons to learn at Christmas, or any other time of the year is the pursuit of patience. We pray god give us patience – and give it to us NOW!
The Apostle Paul told the Galatian church their life was to be characterized by the “Fruit of the Sprit”, one of which is patience. PATIENCE IS A LEARNED ACTIVITY
Have you every wondered why God chose to come to the world in the form of baby? Maybe it is because babies move at their own schedule. No matter how much we long for the baby to come, it still takes 9 months for a healthy baby to be born. After the birth of a baby, patience is needed to help the baby, talk walk, and eat. In fact, a baby’s survival is based on our patience. Patience is necessary when caring for a child. Yet with all the work, all the time and sacrifice one gives to a child, we still call the birth of a child a blessing. Why? Because the pursuit of patience is always rewarding
The first Christmas was a Christmas of patience. From the announcement to Mary to the presentation of Jesus at the temple, several people pursued patience and were rewarded. There are several lessons we learn from the first Christmas regarding the pursuit of patience.
A. Waiting is easier when you are with someone
The first Christmas, you seldom see anyone alone
• We find Joseph and Mary together in the manger
• There are several shepherds in the fields
• The Wisemen travels in a caravan
• THE ONLY PERSON ALONE IN THE CHRISTMAS STORE IS HEROD
Matthew’s gospel tells us Herod met with the Wisemen in secret to discover the birth of Jesus. I believe, Herod left alone with his thoughts began to distort the situation, his fears soon led him to issue the decree which brought the death of many innocent children.
It is always important to have someone with you while you are waiting. The Hebrew writer notes Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-- and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25
As believers we wait for the appearance of Christ, but in the waiting time, we are to encourage one another for the purpose of growth and discipline.
B. Waiting is easier when you know the end is near
While Joseph and Mary did not understand all of what was happening in their life, they knew enough to know God was bringing about salvation to all mankind. When the angel visited Joseph, the angel gave him specific instructions which would tell Joseph salvation was at hand.
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins." All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: "The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"-- which means, "God with us." Matt 1:21-23
Why was it easy for Joseph and Mary to pursue patience – they knew salvation was near.
As believers; our lives should be less stressful as well, for we know everyday draws us closer to the return of our Lord. One day all pain and suffering will give way to glory. Just as the participants of the first Christmas pursued patience, may we pursue patience as we wait for his return.
The pursuit of patience is about God keeping His promises, Psalm 33:4, For the word of the LORD is right and true; he is faithful in all he does.
God was faithful on the first Christmas, and he will be faithful to us, if we pursue Him this Christmas by having the pace.
3. Practical Patience Pointers
Understanding God works through his timetable and is faithful to bring about His will, what are some practical ways we have a RIGHT PACE THIS CHRISTMAS?
A. Take Inventory of your schedule
Take some time to think about what you are doing and you are doing something this Holiday season. Is the activity necessary or are you trying to fulfill someone else’s expectations
Are you so caught up in the pace of Christmas, you feel like you need a pacemaker?
Ask yourself “Am I so busy DOING CHRISTMAS, that I am forgetting to CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS?”
Follow the words of the Psalmist “Be still and know I am God”
B. Prepare for Christmas
Christmas can be a particularly stressful time for everyone. There’s the cleaning and decorating to do, the relatives and friends to invite, the menus to plan, the cookies and cakes to bake, the gifts to buy and wrap, the children to get dressed. Under these conditions who wouldn’t feel stressed? Allow me to give you a few tips to prepare to have a right pace this Christmas
• Before opening, the gifts on Christmas day, read the Christmas story of Luke 2 (verses 1-19) to your children, help them to slow down and remember it is not about the gifts, but about God. Remember, he who does not have Christmas in his heart, will not find Christmas under a tree.
• A minister friend of mine in Louisville has a family tradition of reading the Christmas cards they receive in the mail and praying for the family who sent the card before they eat dinner.
• Maybe your family could stop going your separate ways and spend one hour together worshipping God at our Christmas Eve service. Why not sit together as a family as a reminder God came to earth so we might be part of his family
• Determine in your heart not to be over-booked or overwhelmed in setting a right pace this Christmas.
Friends, if we do not have a right pace this Christmas, a Christmas marked with Peace, how can we expect the world to honor the One who brought Peace on Earth 2000 years ago?
I’m dreaming of a right Christmas, a Christmas marked with a Right Pace. In this season that is at times marked with a Christmas rush, let us remember, God was faithful moving at his timetable to bring us a Right Christmas
PRAYER
