INTRO:
Have you ever considered how backwards Christmas is?
What if I invited you all to a birthday party for Bethany, and instead of giving gifts to her, you all came and gave gifts to each other? There would be one disappointed 9 year old, I’ll tell you that.
Whose birthday is it that we celebrate at Christmas, anyway? It is JESUS’ birthday, and if we are truly celebrating HIS birthday, shouldn’t we take a look at what HE wants for Christmas?
That’s precisely what we’re going to do for the next 4 weeks. What does JESUS want for Christmas? (And it’s not his two front teeth!)
One of the biggest things on His list is DISCIPLES.
Disciple is a word we often misunderstand – like it is something limited to the original 12 men that Jesus chose and taught for 3 years of ministry. Those men were disciples, of course, but they weren’t the only ones.
A disciple is a follower of another’s teaching. A student. An adherent to the teachings of another.
The last words of Jesus before He left the earth tell us what he wanted:
Matt. 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit…
When Jesus walked the Earth, he was looking for disciples, and I believe he still wants people to choose to be his disciples today.
Disciples drop their own priorities and follow Jesus.
Matt. 4:18 ¶ As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen.
Matt. 4:19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”
Matt. 4:20 At once they left their nets and followed him.
Matt. 4:21 ¶ Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John. They were in a boat with their father Zebedee, preparing their nets. Jesus called them,
Matt. 4:22 and immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him.
“At once they left their nets and followed him.”
“…immediately they left the boat and their faither and followed him.”
This is the response of a disciple to the words of Jesus Christ.
We don’t literally hear Jesus call us today, but if we are receptive to His voice, we can receive the prompting of the Holy Spirit to do something in His name. And we can always read the Bible and receive the Word of the Lord for how we are to live.
But the problem with too many Christians is that we hear the word of the Lord, but do not respond to it. We know what Jesus wants us to do, but we think that obeying would be “too uncomfortable” or “too extreme”.
Jesus calls people to make extreme choices for him.
Luke 14:25 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters — yes, even his own life — he cannot be my disciple. 27 And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it? 29 For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, 30 saying, ‘This fellow began to build and was not able to finish.’
31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.
Jesus had an interesting way of establishing his Kingdom. Think of it – he’s only got 3 years of active ministry to set the foundation for the church. You’d think he would want as many followers as possible. And what’s the way to draw a large crowd of people? Give them what they want – like healing them and feeding them. Well, he does some of these types of things – but at this point in his public ministry he takes a look over the crowd and understands that what he really needs isn’t a large crowd of people following Him. (In fact I believe he thought he had TOO MANY people in the crowd following Him.) What he needs are people who are truly committed to being His disciples, and are willing to demonstrate that commitment by giving up all stake they have had in their own life and future. What he needs are people who are so committed to Him and His Kingdom that it eclipses all of their earthly relationships. What does Jesus want for Christmas? He wants disciples.
What are you living for? Who are you living for?
ILLUS: Pastor Terry, returning from his time in India, told me of the type of commitment Pastor Yedidya and his three brothers have. Their father, after being a street evangelist for over 60 years, was killed at the age of 78 by a band of thugs who opposed the gospel.
His sons now carry on his legacy. 3 times a month they go to a busy section of town, set up a simple microphone and speaker, and begin preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. They have stones thrown at them. They are beaten. Yet they keep doing it for the glory of Jesus Christ.
When Pastor Yedidya leaves his home in the morning, he kisses he wife, and they have a standard interchange that goes like this. “If I do not return, it is better.” “Yes, and if I am not here when you return, it is better.”
They know that there is a very real possibility that they may be martyred for their faith – for following Jesus. Yet, they choose to live for Christ anyway. These are disciples.
And it is this type of commitment that Jesus wants for Christmas. Because it is when disciples are willing to lay everything down for their Master that “his will be done on earth as it is in heaven”. Only then will the spiritual landscape of Whidbey Island begin to change for the better.
These words of Jesus are not be glibly read over quickly and then forgotten. He says if you are really his disciple, it is going to cost you everything. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote in “The Cost of Discipleship”: When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die.”
Will you give Jesus what he really wants for Christmas this year?
If you do – if you take Him seriously enough to lay your life on the table, your hopes, your dreams, your family, your possessions, your comforts – then you’re on your way to knowing the secret of happiness in life.
It’s found in all 4 gospels – a total of 6 times:
Matt. 16:25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.
Pastor Terry had to make a decision 6 weeks ago when he was invited to participate in this trip to India to meet these brothers who want to plant churches under CTK’s banner among the poor in Central India. Would he save his life or lose it?
Saving it –
-I’ve got work to do here that I’m involved in
-It’s too dangerous to go.
-I’m too tall – the flights will be too uncomfortable.
-My wife will worry.
Losing it –
-God has given me a chance to be involved in a world mission.
-these brothers have asked for assistance, and I CAN help.
-Nothing can harm me unless it is God’s will that I be harmed.
So together, Terry and Linda decided it would be far better for Terry to go, thereby “losing his life” into God’s care, than to stay home and “save his life” in his own control.
CONCLUSION:
You and I face many choices along the way that determine whether we are Jesus’ disciples – those who are willing to lose their life for Him – or whether we are simply part of the crowd of people following Jesus for what He can do for them.
I’ll close with one last scripture. Peter was a disciple. He left everything to follow Christ. But he was also a man – who failed Jesus by denying he even knew him on the night of Jesus’ arrest.
A few days later, Peter is with some of the other disciples, and tells them “I’m going fishing”. So they go out together but don’t’ catch anything. Jesus calls to them from the shore and ends up performing a miracle by filling their fishing nets with fish. After they’ve enjoyed a fish breakfast together, Jesus comes up to Simon Peter, motions to the fish, the nets, and the boat, and asks him quite simply,
John 21:15 …“Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?”
All that fishing gear was the way he had made a living before he met Christ. Now Peter has gone back to it, not knowing exactly what else he’s supposed to do.
But Jesus asks him “Do you love me more than these?”
All of us can imagine being asked that question by our Savior. He may motion to your spouse or to your children. He may motion to your career, or your position. He may motion to your possessions or your money. He may even ask you about your dreams and hopes for your life?
Do you love Him more than these?
What Jesus wants for Christmas, is for you to respond to him, “Yes Lord, I do love you more than these. And I am willing to prove it with my actions. Even if it costs me, I will follow you. For I am your disciple.”
