[Illustration] A little boy was standing by his father watching him trying to put a floppy disk into his computer. The father was having trouble getting the disk to go in all of the way. The little boy said to his father, “Maybe it has a penny in it?”
Sure enough, when the father fished around inside where the disk was inserted, out came a penny. The father tried again, but the disk still would not go all the way in. The little boy said, “Maybe it has whole lot of pennies in it.”
When God tries to put love in our lives, it can be just like trying to put a floppy disk in your computer when there are a whole lot of pennies in it.
One of the pennies in our hearts which keep out God’s love is GUILT. And just like those pennies, GUILT can go unnoticed, until you try to use it. Guilt wears camouflage and undiscovered guilt will rob a heart and a life of the healing and joy God has for it
Guilt is what you feel when you know you have DONE something wrong. It can be paralyzing when approached with change.
The good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is you can change! Things don’t have to stay the same. You can choose to be different, act different, and feel different.
"Fa-who-for-ay; da-who-dor-ay; welcome, Christmas, come this way; Fa-who-for-ay; da-who-dor-ay; welcome, Christmas, Christmas day."
They continued, singing,
"Christmas day is in our grasp so long as we have hands to clasp."
The Grinch could hardly believe his ears.
He begins to get furious, but then something happens.
He suddenly “puzzles” how Christmas came.
"It came without ribbons. It came without tags.
It came without packages, boxes, or bags."
Suddenly the Grinch realizes that Christmas is about more than presents, or decorations, or a feast.
He has a thought he’s never thought before:
"Maybe Christmas," he thought, "doesn’t come from a store; Maybe Christmas perhaps means a little bit more."
SOURCE: "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Suess
I think some of the guilt we can feel at Christmas comes when we’ve tried to purchase Christmas from a store.
What God gave us that first Christmas can heal us our guilt!
It can be seen in a path I call “from History to Hallelujah!”
From History To Hallelujah!
I. From History
The angel said, “Joseph, Son of David”
a. Abraham, David, Joseph
b. We all have a history = sin
Our conscience: the inner God-given light that shines BEFORE our hearts to guide us into doing right things. It also shines IN our hearts revealing what we OUGHT to have done and been.
Where in the Bible it says, “Let your conscience be your guide”? It doesn’t. Jiminy Cricket said it!
The conscience is a gift from God though. But the conscience alone is not a good guide for righteousness. But the conscience properly trained, can HELP us make morally correct decisions.
I haven’t been a father for very long, but I can tell you that my kids were not born with the Ten Commandments already installed on their heart-drive! They need to be taught right from wrong. With each, “Stop that! Don’t! No-no!” and “That’s not good for you!” “Come over here…try this instead…keep going!” a child’s conscience is developed.
The more we are trained in what pleases God, the stronger or more sensitive our conscience becomes…and the more our conscience bothers us when we have done something wrong. That feeling when we have done something wrong is called GUILT.
Preaching the Word of God by the Pastor and the giving of testimonies by the congregation raises the level of faith AND GUILT awareness in the hearts of listeners.
So is guilt a good thing? Yes and no. The writer of Hebrews states that the law could not do for us what Jesus Christ could. The law could not clear your conscience. The sacrifices of bulls and lambs couldn’t. The priest couldn’t. But the blood of Jesus Christ can!
It isn’t Abraham’s name, David’s name, Joseph’s name or anyone’s name in here that heals us! Jesus is the One Who came to save us from the punishment of sin, rescue us from an eternity in hell, and heal us from our guilty conscience! Some of think TIME will heal us.
CS Lewis remarked that "We have a strange illusion that mere time cancels sin... But, mere time does nothing either to the fact or guilt of sin. The guilt is washed out not by time but by repentance and the blood of Christ."
[Illustration] One Pastor performed a baptism service in sort of a special way. He told the people before they came up to the platform to be baptized to take a piece of paper, write down a few of the sins they’ve committed, and fold the paper. When they came up to the platform, there was a large wooden cross on the stage. They were to take that piece of paper along with a pin, and pin it to the cross, because the Bible says our sins are nailed to the cross with Jesus Christ, and fully paid for by his death. Then they were to turn and come to the pastor to be baptized. I want to read you a letter a woman wrote who was baptized in one of that service. She said:
I remember my fear. In fact, it was the most fear I remember in my life. I wrote as tiny as I could on that piece of paper the word abortion. I was so scared someone would open the paper and read it and find out it was me. I wanted to get up and walk out of the auditorium during the service, the guilt and fear were that strong.
When my turn came, I walked toward the cross, and I pinned the paper there. I was directed to a pastor to be baptized. He looked me straight in the eyes, and I thought for sure that he was going to read this terrible secret I kept from everybody for so long. But instead, I felt like God was telling me, I love you. It’s okay. You’ve been forgiven. I felt so much love for me, a terrible sinner. It’s the first time I ever really felt forgiveness and unconditional love. It was unbelievable, indescribable.
Do you need to get rid of a guilty conscience? In the Name of Jesus Christ, you can be saved and healed and your sinful history brought to a hallelujah!
We move from history…
II. To the Holy Spirit
“What is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit”
a. Jesus Christ was a better man = the Bible says he was tempted in every way as we are yet sinless
b. Jesus was a better sacrifice= for he could do for our conscience what nothing else could! He could free it from guilt!
It is not our past that determines our future, but what we do with Jesus Christ! Listen to that again…
Do you remember why Mary had to lay Jesus in a manger?
c. And your heart is a better inn
The inn in Bethlehem was TOO FULL to have the Christ child born inside! Is your heart TOO FULL to have the Christ child born in you?
Jesus told a man named Nicodemus that he must be born again, but Nicodemus didn’t get it. Nic was too full of religion to hear God’s truth.
The inn was too full to hold Jesus! What do you have in your inn = is your heart and your life to full that it crowds out the Son of God? Is there some guilt you’ve sought forgiveness for but it keeps coming back to haunt you?
My middle brother had his leg amputated just below the knee due to a car accident. "Amputees can experience a sensation of a phantom limb. Somewhere, locked in their brains, a memory lingers of the nonexistent leg, sometimes it feels like it itches my brother told me.
[Illustration] Phillip Yancey tells about his medical school administrator, Mr. Barwick, who had a serious and painful circulation problem in his leg but refused to allow the recommended amputation. As the pain grew worse, Barwick grew bitter. "I hate it! I hate it!" he would mutter about the leg. At last he relented and told the doctor, "I can’t stand it anymore. I’m through with that leg. Take it off."
Surgery was scheduled immediately. Before the operation, however, Barwick asked the doctor, "What do you do with legs after they’re removed?" "We may take a biopsy or explore them a bit, but afterwards we incinerate them." Barwick proceeded with a bizarre request: "I would like you to preserve my leg in a pickling jar. I will install it on my mantle shelf. Then, as I sit in my armchair, I will taunt that leg, ‘Hah! You can’t hurt me anymore!’"
He got his wish. But the despised leg had the last laugh. Barwick suffered phantom limb pain of the worst degree. The wound healed, but he could feel the torturous pressure of the swelling as the muscles cramped, and he had no prospect of relief. He had hated the leg with such intensity that the pain had unaccountably lodged permanently in his brain.
Do you suffer from “false guilt”? A phantom pain connected to the memory of some sin committed years ago. You’ve been forgiven, but it doesn’t leave you. Instead you find it crippling your church involvement, your devotional life, and your relationships. Do you live in fear that someone will discover your past? Do you work overtime trying to prove to God you’re truly repentant. These things can serve to barricade yourself against the embracing grace of God.
The truth is, 1 John 3:19-20 "God is greater than your conscience!" Don’t be someone who sits and shakes a fist in fury at the pickled leg on the mantle. [book: Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, Dr. Paul Brand and Philip Yancey]
Instead, believe these words, “In the name of Jesus, your guilt is removed, your sin forgiven, your debt paid, your conscience cleansed! The promise of freedom is yours!”
Let Jesus come in and not just be your Savior, but your Love too?
The Bible says, “Those who trust in Him will NEVER be put to shame!”
From history, to the Holy Spirit…
III. To Hallelujah!
“You shall name him JESUS, for he shall save his people from their sins.”
a. From sins = Both Adam’s Sin and sinful acts.
b. “His” people = Jews vs. believers
c. He will save = it’s a promise!
There is no other name given under heaven given by which men and women can be saved except the name of Jesus!
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life—no one comes to the Father but through me!”
Those who trust in Him will NEVER be put to shame!
Jesus is the name that saves, rescues, and heals!
[Illustration] A recent e-mail asked readers to reflect on the following questions: See how well you do: 1. Name the five wealthiest people in the world. 2. Name the last five Heisman trophy winners. 3. Name the last five winners of the Miss America contest. 4. Name ten people who have won the Nobel or Pulitzer Prize. 5. Name the last half dozen Academy Award winners for best actor and actress. 6. Name the last 10 World Series winners.
Here’s another set of questions:
1. List a few teachers who aided your journey through school.
2. Name three friends who have helped you through a difficult time. 3. Name five people who have taught you something worthwhile. 4. Think of a few people who have made you feel appreciated and special. 5. Think of five people you enjoy spending time with. 6. Name six heroes whose stories have inspired you.
The point of the e-mail is this: “The people who make a difference in your lives are not the ones with the most credentials, the most money, or the most awards. They are the ones that care.”
Has anybody ever laid down his life for yours personally? Has anyone died so you might live? Has anyone sacrificed so you could be free? Yes, Jesus did.
You can leave your past behind you and start over again. Why? Because there is a name that heals you!
Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord Jesus shall be saved!
Do you need to make room in your heart’s inn for Jesus to be born in you? You can!
1 John 1:9
Have you met this Jesus who saves from sin? Leave your past behind, confess your sins and your guilt, be filled with His Spirit and let Jesus come in to your inn, into the very throne of your heart
Surrender to this Jesus! Are you needing a deeper work in your life?! You need Jesus! You need Jesus!
It is a simply thing to move from history to hallelujah! Wouldn’t you rather be singing praise to God this Christmas than fighting off your guilt!
Those who trust in Him will NEVER be put to shame!
There was a name given that first Christmas. And it still heals people of their hurts. Let’s sing our closing song, "There’s Something About That Name."
