MY EYES HAVE SEEN
Luk 2:30-32
30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;
32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.
� KJV
This day we celebrate Christmas, Santa has come the kids are playong with their gifts, we are setting back and enjoying life. But what is Christmas really about? HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT ABOUT THAT. Is Christmas more than gifts? What is it truly about? This morning I want to try to answer that question.
IILUSTRATION
History records for us an interesting footnote. It was during the dark winter of 1864. At Petersburg, Virginia, the Confederate army of Robert E. Lee faced the Union divisions of General Ulysses S. Grant. The war was now three and a half years old and the glorious charge had long since given way to the muck and mud of trench warfare. Late one evening one of Lee’s generals, Major General George Pickett, received word that his wife had given birth to a beautiful baby boy. Up and down the line the Southerners began building huge bonfires in celebration of the event. These fires did not go unnoticed in the Northern camps and soon a nervous Grant sent out a reconnaissance patrol to see what was going on. The scouts returned with the message that Pickett had had a son and these were celebratory fires. It so happened that Grant and Pickett had been contemporaries at West Point and knew one another well, so to honor the occasion Grant, too, ordered that bonfires should be built. What a peculiar night it was. For miles on both sides of the lines fires burned. No shots fired. No yelling back and forth. No war fought. Only light, celebrating the birth of a child. But it didn’t last forever. Soon the fires burned down and once again the darkness took over. The darkness of the night and the darkness of war. The good news of Christmas is that in the midst of a great darkness there came a light, and the darkness was not able to overcome the light. It was not just a temporary flicker. It was an eternal flame. We need to remember that. There are times, in the events of the world and in the events of our own personal lives, that we feel that the light of the world will be snuffed out. But the Christmas story affirms that whatever happens, the light still shines.
I. CHRISTMAS DAY IS ABOUT SEEING
A. The glory of God
1. God's creation
2. God's wisdom
3. God's justice
B. The love of God
1. In His mercy
2. In His grace
3. For man
C. The sacrifice of God
1. On the cross
2. For those who did not love love Him
3. Of His son
ILLUSTRATION
Mark Lowry, a Christian comedian observed that Mary’s silence at the cross always amazed him. If he were being crucified in the middle of town, his mother would have "Pitched a fit", but Mary never said a word. Lowry wondered if maybe what made the difference for her was remembering back to that 1st Christmas. Remembering touching his little hands and feet and counting his fingers and toes. On a serious note, Lowry says: "I wonder if she realized then that those were the same fingers that had scooped out the oceans and formed the seas. Mary probably counted those little toes-I wonder if she realized that those were the same feet that had walked on streets of gold and had been worshipped by angels. Those little lips were the same lips that had spoken the world into existence. When Mary kissed her little baby, she wasn’t just kissing another baby -she was kissing the face of God. 33 years later she’s standing on a hillside watching blood pour from His veins, from the side of her own son... and she didn’t open her mouth. What a great testimony to the fact that He wasn’t just a great prophet He wasn’t just a great preacher He wasn’t just a great teacher He was the virgin born son of God. He was our Savior. And... He didn’t just die for us, He died for His own mother. The baby boy she had delivered on that 1st Christmas was now on a cross delivering her.
II. Christmas is about prepration
A. Preparing for His service
1. Through prayer
2. Through study
B. Preparing for His worship
1. Through submission of our will to His will
C. Preparing for His return
1. Through service and worship
2. Through believing His word
3. Through living His word
ILLUSTRATION
I heard a story about a woman who was doing her last-minute Christmas shopping at a crowded mall. She was tired of fighting the crowds. She was tired of standing in lines. She was tired of fighting her way down long aisles looking for a gift that had sold out days before. Her arms were full of bulky packages when the Elevator door opened. It was full. The occupants of the Elevator grudgingly tightened ranks to allow a small space for her and her load. As the doors closed she blurted out, “Whoever is responsible for this whole Christmas thing ought to be arrested, strung up, and shot!” A few others nodded their heads or grunted in agreement. Then, from somewhere in the back of the elevator came a single voice that said, “Don’t worry. They already crucified him.” We need to remember who is responsible for the whole Christmas thing. It is all about how God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son so that who ever believes in Him might have eternal life. John 3:16 o Favorites | Add to Cale
III. IT IS ABOUT BEING A LIGHT
A. A light in the darkness of the world
B. A light that can be seen
C. A light to dispell lies and to pro claim the truth.
ILLUSTRATION
A family was out vacationing at the lake one summ Dad had been puttering out by the boat house. Two his sons, a 12-year old and a 3-year old were down playing along the dock. The 12 year old was suppos to be watching his little brother, but he got distract The 3 year old, little Billy, thought that would be a good time to check out the shiny aluminum fishing boat tied up at the end of the dock. So he went to t dock and put one foot on the boat, and one foot on the dock. He lost his balance and fell into the water which was about 5 or 6 ft deep. The splash alerted the 12-yr old who let out a pierc scream. Dad came running from the boat house, jumped into the water, swam down, but unable to anything, came up for air. Sick with panic, he went right back down into this murky water, and began t feel everywhere around the bottom. He couldn’t fee anything. Finally, on his way up, he felt little Billy's arms locked in a death grip on one of the posts of t dock, about 4 ft under water. Prying the boy's finge loose, they burst up together thru the surface to fil their lungs with life giving air. Finally when the adrenaline had stopped surging, a nerves had calmed down a little bit, the Father aske his son, “What on earth were you doing down there hanging onto the post so far under the water? And little Billy’s answer was a classic, laced with the with the wisdom only a toddler could give. He said, "I was just waiting for you dad. Just waiting for you." Friends, today we celebrate that 2000 yrs ago, the God of the universe left the glory and the splendor of heaven, a place where there was no pain and no sickness, no accidents, no hurt, and no death. And he plunged into this dark, murky world on a rescue mission, a rescue mission for all of us who are drowning, a rescue mission for all of us who are barely hanging on, a rescue mission for all of us who are lost in the darkness.
IV. WHAT ABOUT YOU
A. Are you seeing
B. Are you proclaimong
C. Is your light shinning
What will you do this morning.
