Christmas is a wonderful time of year. It is a time that we look forward to with joy in our hearts and eagerly anticipate what is about to happen. And, it was meant for us to feel that way. But, in the last few years, something terrible has happened. Somebody has stolen Christmas!
Not only have they stolen Christmas, they replaced it with something terrible! They have replaced Christmas with -- with – SHOPPING!
We are going to talk this morning about the real meaning of Christmas, and our main text is found in MATTHEW 2:1-12. Please turn to the text.
While you are turning, I’ll tell you about three small boys in a Christmas play at their school. They represented the three wise men and they were to give their gifts to baby Jesus. The one boy stepped forward, held out his hands and said, “Gold”. When he stepped back, the second boy stepped forward and said, “Myrrh”. When the third boy stepped forward, held out his hands and said, “Frank sent this”.
Let’s read our morning text. In MATTHEW 2:1-12, it reads,
1- After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod; Magi from the east came to Jerusalem
2- and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his start in the east and have come to worship him.”
3- When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
4- When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born.
5- “In Bethlehem in Judea”, they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6- ‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.’
7- Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared.
8- He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and make a careful search for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9- After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was.
10- When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.
11- On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then, they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and incense and myrrh.
12- And, having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
That was the start of the tradition of ‘giving’ for Christmas. Now, giving things to others is a wonderful way to express your love and appreciation for them, but if we are not careful, we end up with the way America celebrates Christmas today. It seems to be all about the giving, and nothing about the birthday of Jesus Christ. We need to start taking heed of what is said in Joshua 24:15
‘As for me and my household, we shall serve the Lord.’
Joshua didn’t say anything at all about shopping for presents, did he? He was saying that he and his entire household would serve the Lord. They wanted God’s presence among them.
Talking about giving gifts, there was a married couple once that really didn’t try too hard to get along with one another. So, one Christmas, she gave him a burial plot for Christmas. He was stunned, but he didn’t say anything about it.
The next Christmas she didn’t get him anything. This was more than he could handle, so he just told her that he was quite hurt that she didn’t get him anything. She said, “Why should I? You didn’t use the one I got you last year.”
To be honest, most of us like to get gifts, don’t we? It is because of this desire to please others through gifts that Christmas has turned into one giant selling spree. Parents love to buy for their children, but they cannot afford to pay cash for everything they want to buy, so they act like the cavalry and charge it. What they don’t realize is that hurts the family even more because now they are paying for it for years to come.
What do you think pleased the Lord the most? Was it the gifts the wise men brought to him, or was it the fact that they came to worship Him that counted the most?
I am not saying there is anything wrong with buying gifts for others at Christmastime. I think the desire to give shows a very Christian heart. But, I think that as we do buy things for others, we not only use common sense when it comes to our budgets, but we also try and keep focused on the real meaning of Christmas, and what it means to us as individuals.
If we were to ask each of the young men and women in Iraq what they wanted most for Christmas, I am sure they would not give you a list of gifts they want. I am pretty sure that they would simply say that what they want most this Christmas is to be home with their parents, their wives, husbands, children, etc. They would want to be in the presence of those they love.
If we were to ask the thousands of children that are left in orphanages, or that are abandoned, I am sure they would all want to have a real home with a loving family more than any gift.
We can give those around us many things this Christmas, but none of them even come close to the love we give them by merely being around them and sharing their time with you. See, your presence is the best possible gift you could ever get for someone whom you love and treasure.
Let me suggest that the most important thing you can do for your loved ones this Christmas is to …...
1. SHARE THE LORD WITH THEM
A little girl came home from Sunday school and proudly told her mother she had memorized a Bible verse. She said it was JOHN 3:16, and she began to repeat it –
For God so loved the world that He gave His only forgotten son ……
When Jesus looks down at the way we tend to celebrate Christmas today, I wonder if He feels somewhat forgotten. We have all the trappings of a celebration – the trees, the lights, the gifts, and the songs – but where is Jesus? After all, this is the celebration of His birth! We should be focused on Him. Not us! We are supposed to be joyously celebrating the presence of Jesus – not the presents under the tree.
In 1999, the average family spent over $1,000.00 for Christmas. Between Thanksgiving and Christmas, America spends over $130. BILLION on credit cards. Wal-Mart, reported that on Friday, the day after Thanksgiving last year, they saw $143. BILLION dollars in gross sales – just on that day alone! Who does this exalt; the Son of God or our commercial society?
Our schools now have “winter breaks” instead of “Christmas Break” because they fear that somebody is going to be offended and sue them. Nativity scenes have been all but completely banned on most governmental properties for fear of the same thing happening. The Post Office’s official statement was that if Christmas offends someone, there would not be any celebration of Christmas at the Post Office. They sell a stamp that celebrates the birth of Christ, but they will only refer to it as the “Religious Stamp”.
I think it is time to make it very clear that we are Christians, we believe in Jesus Christ, and if that offends somebody we are sorry – we are sorry they get offended, that is. We are not sorry that we worship the Lord and we do not plan on NOT worshiping the Lord. Let us make it perfectly clear this year what the “reason for the season” is: To celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
The greatest presents that we can give to our kids, our families, and our friends is to share with them the presence of the Lord.
In DEUTERONOMY 6:6-9 it tells us to share God’s Word with our families.
6- These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.
7- Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.
8- Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads.
9- Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
Let us make sure that our family and friends celebrate the true meaning of Christmas this year. Celebrate the birth of Jesus, and not the race to see who can buy the most. Share the Word of God with them this Christmas, not the word of the world.
In 1 JOHN 2:15, it says,
"Do not love the world or anything in the world."
Share with others about how Jesus came to literally sacrifice His very life – for them, because He loves them, too. See, the cradle without the cross means nothing. Without the cross, Jesus would have been just another baby. Tell them that without Jesus dying on the cross, none of us would have a way to get to Heaven. Tell them that God loves us – enough to sacrifice His Son.
Share with them the story after the cemetery. The Christmas story does not end after the birth, nor does it end after the cross. If Jesus had stayed dead and buried, He would be no more than the other leaders of other religions.
The only thing that separates us from all other religions in the world, is that their founders, their leaders are all still buried where they died. Ours isn’t. Our leader arose from the grave and ascended into heaven to be at the right hand of God, where He sits to this day.
This Christmas, give your loved ones the most important gift of all.
2. GIVE THEM YOUR LOVE
If you would ask a young child which they would prefer for Christmas, a new bicycle, or one hour playing with mom and dad on the floor, they would immediately say the bicycle.
But which would mean the most in their lives? Twenty years later, they will not remember the bicycle, but they would remember that one-hour with mom and dad playing with them on the floor until the day they die.
My most memorable Christmas as a small child was in Jonesville, VA. We lived in a holler, in a house that my dad’s dad built in 1896. We were poor. And, that Christmas, I was sick. I remember lying in my mom and dad’s bed, next to the fireplace that Christmas morning. My brother and sister were busy playing with their presents, but I didn’t feel like playing.
My mom and dad came in and sat at the edge of their bed, and talked to me and took turns hugging me. I don’t really know how long all that was, but it was long enough to stay in my mind for over 50 years – without losing one detail! And, I have long since forgotten what I got that Christmas in the way of gifts.
My parents gave me a very wonderful gift that year. They gave me their love. They gave me their love all wrapped up in the wrapping of the attention they paid to me. They listened. They acknowledged me. And they loved me.
Give your family the wonderful presence of your love. Give your friends the wonderful presence of your love. In 1 JOHN 3:18, we read,
‘…Let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions….’
There’s the story of a family who went to see Grandma for Christmas. The little boy and the little girl were told to be sure to wipe their feet before they went inside, because Grandma had a brand new carpet.
When they got there, the kids did as they were told. Soon, Grandma gave them each a glass of Kool-Aid. As you would guess, the little boy ventured into the living room with his and promptly spilled red Kool-Aid on the light beige carpet. He tried to clean it up with his shirttail, but when he saw that wasn’t working, he started to cry.
The grandmother came in and put her arms around him and said, “That’s okay, honey, Grandma will get you another glass of Kool-Aid.”
That is how you show love to someone. By really caring what they are going through. By caring enough about somebody to sacrifice something that has value to you. And sacrificing it willingly – just like Jesus did His life upon the Cross of Calvary.
We see what God has to say about love in 1 CORINTHIANS 13:13,
‘And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Most people will not pay attention to the Lord by themselves. It seems that everybody who is a Christian was brought to it by someone who cared for them; someone who led them. This Christmas, care enough about someone else to …
3. LEAD THEM TOWARDS CHRIST
I know that you are sitting there and you truly believe that there is no way you can share the story of Christ with someone much less lead them to the Cross. Am I right? But, I am going to tell you something that will probably surprise you.
Just because you are sitting here each Sunday, you have picked up more knowledge than 95% of the American people have about Jesus and the plan of salvation. If you take all the churches in America today, and fill them all to capacity, that is still less than 5% of all the people in America. Is that sad, or what? And how much do you think that 95% knows about the real story of Christmas? Pretty close to nothing! So, look at things in its true light. You have information that most people do not have.
We all know people that are on the verge of seeing their families crushed under burdens they cannot bear alone. These people need you. They need the information that you have. They need to know about Jesus. Not just from a storybook, but from a person who has really felt Jesus in their hearts. They need to hear from YOU! You only need to decide whether you care enough about somebody to share that information with them or not.
Lead by illustration. Your children will not do everything you say, but they will eventually do most everything you do. I remember when my son was about six or seven years old. He was throwing some kind of tantrum because he had not gotten his way about whatever was happening at the time. After a few minutes of telling him to calm down, I swatted his hind end to get his attention. He said he would never treat his kids like that.
We went back to Arizona to visit the kids earlier this year. We were at a restaurant and a small boy was acting up at another table. My son told me that he needed to have his rear end swatted to get his attention. MY SON HAS TURNED INTO ME!
What is the point? The point is what I said a moment ago. When your children are younger, they may not want to do everything you do, but as they get older, they start following your example more and more. So, should you go to church with your family? You may not want to sit in church every week, but for the sake of your family, you need to. Do you pray where your family can see you? Should you?
Lead by example. Also, lead by instruction. It might be worthwhile to tell your family or your friends that they need to go to church too. Plain and simple! They need to. You’d be surprised at what you will see several months down the line after you tell someone this. But you need to say it with conviction.
We need to lead by intercession. Intercession is when you pray to the Lord for another person’s sake. When you bring another person up to God so that God can help that other person. When is the last time you brought individual members of your family up before God in prayer, asking Him to help them in specific areas? When is the last time you cared enough about a friend to really pray for him?
During the Great Depression, a couple had one child. Their 6-year old boy asked if would get any presents for Christmas, and the father had to explain to him that there was no money to do so. The father told the boy, though, that instead of buying each other presents, they could draw pictures of the presents they would like to give to each other and that would be their Christmas.
It was a very busy week as each drew presents that they would like to have been able to give to the others. Then, on Christmas morning, they all assembled by the skimpy branch of a tree they had made into a Christmas tree.
The mother gave the father a picture of a shiny red speedboat, and the father gave the mother a picture of a nice diamond necklace. They gave the son pictures of wagons and tricycles. When it came the boys turn to give, he gave them a drawing that simply said “US”, and had a picture of the three of them in a group hug.
Don’t you think that Christmas was the most special Christmas they ever celebrated as a family? They knew what the true meaning of Christmas was. And, they shared it with one another.
Christmastime can be a very hard time to get through for most of us. There are many demands on us, including our finances and our time. One lady was having a very hectic day shopping, when she pushed the button for the elevator in a department store. She was tired and frazzled.
When the elevator door opened, it was already filled and she had to squeeze in. When she got in, she muttered, “Whoever started this whole Christmas thing should be hung.” A voice in the back of the car quietly said, “It’s okay, Lady, He already was.” From that point until the last stop the elevator made, nobody made a sound.
This year, let us keep the true “reason for the season”. Let us shop and let us give gifts, but let us do so without taking our focus away from Jesus Christ.
As we go into our invitation, let me ask you one question. How can you share the Lord with someone if you aren’t right with the Lord in your own heart?
We are entering one of the three most holy days in Christianity. Isn’t it time? Isn’t it time for you to finally take the stand and take a step closer to our Lord Jesus. Won’t you come up this morning as we sing?
INVITATION
