The Gift Of Christmas

The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17)

God tells us 3 things at Christmas:

(1) He is WITH us, (2) He LOVES us, and (3) He is FOR us.

• He is not out to condemn us, although it is just and fair for Him to do so. We are sinners, we have rejected God. But He has chosen to come for us.

(1) GOD IS WITH US

God exists. God wants us to know He exists, and He is our God.

• This is not something for you to decide on, it is something for you to accept.

• We cannot choose and decide what is true. We can only discover and accept the truth.

• In science, we study what is there and accept it. We cannot change nature. We simply discover what is present, what is real and what is true.

Many things we do not decide, God decides.

• You did not decide to be born in Singapore. You did choose to be male or female.

• This is the reality presented to you, and you accept it and live with it.

God reveals Himself through the Scriptures, and then in a clearer way, through Jesus Christ when He steps into our world.

• Even before Jesus’ arrival, He has already started revealing this event to the prophets. We have over 300 prophecies in the Old Testament pointing to Christmas.

• And then He came, and we are called to trust the truth as it is revealed.

No man can know God unless God chooses to reveal Himself. And this is what He did at Christmas.

• Jesus says, “No one has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only he has seen the Father.” (John 6:46)

• When one of His disciples Philip asked Jesus to show them the Father, Jesus says, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)

• God did not leave us in the dark, guessing or speculating, nor did He want us to be our own god or invent our own gods.

God did not create this world, left it running and went into hiding.

• If that is true, the He is with you today. You may not see Him or feel Him, but that won’t change the truth.

• Your senses can only discover the truth but not change it. No wonder He needs to take on human flesh, He needs to come.

With Christmas, we now know who God is. You don’t have to search for Him; He has come.

• The Bible says His name is Immanuel, which means, “God is with us.” God says, “I will never leave you, and I will never forsake you.”

• It has nothing to do with how you feel. The truth is, God exist, He loves you and He is with you today.

One of the ancient kings of Persia loved to mingle with his people, but he has to do it in disguise because people will recognise him.

Once, dressed as a poor man, he descended to the village, and visited a tiny cellar where a fireman, seated on ashes, was tending the furnace. The king sat down beside him and began to chat. At meal time the fireman produced some coarse bread and a jug of water and they ate and drank.

The king went away but returned again and again, for his heart was filled with sympathy for the lonely man. They became very good friends as time passed.

At last the king thought, “I’ll tell him who I am, and see what gift he will ask.” So he did, but the fireman didn’t ask for a thing.

The king was astonished and said, “Don’t you realize that I can give you anything—a title, a house?”

The man gently replied, “I understand your Majesty. You have already given the greatest gift a man could receive. You left your palace to sit with me here in this dark and lonely place. You could give nothing more precious. You have given yourself and that is far more than I could ever deserve.”

Do you feel lonely sometimes? Do you feel that you are alone, or no one really understands you? Well, the truth is you’re not.

• God says He is with you and He will never leave you. He wants you to know that. God says He knows you and He loves you.

• You need Him in your life. The reason you feel lonely and lost is because you are not connected to God.