The Christmas Dragon

12, December 2004

Dakota Community Church

The Christmas Dragon

Introduction:

For many of you this is the only time you will come to church this year.

The marketing experts say I should make this a sugar coated non-offensive message so you will want to come back again, but I don’t really take to that whole "tone down the message" stuff.

If you want to be offended by the message of Jesus – have at it. I am going to preach it as it is.

My objective tonight is to get you thinking.

I want to get you asking important questions.

I want to challenge you to take a serious look at the claims of Christ.

In order to that I am going to try to answer one of the most common reasons I hear as to why people reject God and Church.

“If there really is an all powerful, all knowing, all loving God in heaven, why is the earth so full of all this terrible crap?”

Revelation 12: 1-9

1A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

7And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

So again:

“If there really is an all powerful, all knowing, all loving God in heaven, why is the earth so full of all this terrible crap?”

1. Because the Christmas dragon is real.

In the same time the angels announced peace on earth, good will to men these events were also unfolding:

Matthew 2: 16

When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.

Well I believe in God but I don’t believe in the devil.

Jesus believed in him.

He is in control on this planet according to the scriptures and according to natural observation!

Matthew 4: 1-11

1Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. 2After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread."

4Jesus answered, "It is written: ’Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ "

5Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. 6"If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written:

" ’He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ "

7Jesus answered him, "It is also written: ’Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’ "

8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9"All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me."

10Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ’Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’ "

11Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.

John 8: 39-47

"If you were Abraham’s children," said Jesus, "then you would 40 do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. 41You are doing the things your own father does."