Introduction:
“They were too busy. The day was upon them. The day’s bread had to be made. The morning’s chores had to be done. There was too much to do to imagine that the impossible had occurred. God had entered the world as a baby. Yet, were someone to chance upon the sheep stable on the outskirts of Bethlehem that morning, what a peculiar scene they would behold. The stable stinks like all stables do. The stench of urine, dung, and sheep reeks pungently in the air. The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling and a mouse scurries across the dirt floor. A lowlier place of birth could not exist… Meanwhile, the city hums. The merchants are unaware that God has visited their planet. The innkeeper would never believe that he had just sent God into the cold. And the people would scoff at anyone who told them the Messiah lay in the arms of a teenager on the outskirts of their village. They were all too busy to consider the possibility. Those who missed His Majesty’s arrival that night missed it not because of evil acts or malice; no, they missed it because they simply weren’t looking. Little has changed in the last two thousand years, has it?” (Max Lucado).
It’s the same old story – virgin birth, no room for Joseph and Mary in the inn, while shepherds watched their flock by night, suddenly a host of angels appeared with the announcement. We cannot change the story. Maybe we can rewrite it to fit our own hi-tech world. But this old story of the birth of Christ is absolutely amazing that it offers new meanings, every year, and every time we look ahead to it. It is because the meaning of Christmas is forever relevant to the lives of everyone in any situation at any given time. The infinite meaning and significance of Christmas are drawn, not on the world’s ever-changing make up, but from the descriptions written by the prophet Isaiah hundreds of years before.
While going through the grueling effects of global crisis and recession; while struggling to muster the emotional pangs of war; while wrestling against the effects of our domestic problems; what does Christmas 2009 mean to you? Look again to the prophecy of Isaiah (9:6) and you can find what Christmas really means, in the heart of God.
Proposition:
1. Christmas is a Time of Sure Relief
2. Christmas is a Season of Safe Refuge
3. Christmas is a Moment of Solemn Reverence
4. Christmas is a Chance for Sound Rest
The world has commercialized the one event in history that changed the whole of humanity. Around the globe, billions of dollars are spent every year for gifts and props. People are moving in a fast-pace rhythm trying to cope up with the urgencies and expediencies of the occasion. Men and women, young and old, rich and poor, their eyes are glued with anticipation on that day, and the night before it. God came into the flesh in the person of that baby born in a manger that night. His names give us the infinite meanings of Christmas.
1. Christmas is a Time of Sure Relief
"He will be called Wonderful Counselor"
Medical researchers prove that one of the main causes of life-threatening illnesses is STRESS. We are living in a sin-stressed world. We are trying to cure the effects of stress but the root of it can only be healed by the saving and transforming grace of God. Counselors and psychologists, the likes of Dr. Phil., are undoubtedly helpful people that we can approach. But the Christ of Christmas, the Wonderful Counselor, is beyond compare, because:
a. He is always Available.
He is so much dedicated to us. Jesus has all the time for us and we do not have to wait even for a short while if we want his counsels. He waits for us and is always with us, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." Matt. 28:20. If you feel neglected and abandoned by people you trusted and depended upon, come to Jesus Christ – He is the Wonderful Counselor.
b. He is always Attentive.
One of most important qualities of counselors is the ability to listen. A person who is empathically interested in you always spares time to listen. God loves to listen to us. He says, "Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool." Isa. 1:18. Jesus is very much interested in our well-being. He says, "Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete." Jn 16:24. If you feel ignored and underestimated by the ones you loved and respected, come to Jesus Christ – He is the Wonderful Counselor.
c. He is always Accommodating.
Even at his birth, Jesus already faced an inhospitable world. Mary was not even spared a place to deliver her child. There was no room for them in the inn. When Jesus grew and started his earthly ministry, he was not accepted in his own village. He was rejected by social leaders, and regarded as heretic, even demonic, by the spiritual leaders. But his delight is to help you in your moments of misery and times of trials. Listen to his forgiving words, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." Matt. 11:28-30. If you feel rejected and resisted by people you lavished with your time and commitment, come to Jesus Christ – He is the Wonderful Counselor.
In this time of year, everyone is busy doing his or her own things in his or her own way for his or her own purposes. It is just like the night when Jesus was born in Bethlehem. If you feel hopeless, helpless, depressed and alone, come to the Christ of Christmas. He is the Wonderful Counselor. He is always available for you, very much interested in you, and forever delighted to help you.
2. Christmas is a Season of Safe Refuge
"He will be called Mighty God"
In the Old Testament times, men’s daily chores and ventures, wars and works, are associated with a notion of their God. God is interwoven into the fabric of their culture and tradition. Prosperity and poverty are consequences of their compliant obedience and blatant defiance to their God. The modern man is trying, and marginally succeeded, to disassociate the notion of God from his daily life. This he did, to his own predicament. The world is sliding into the pit of moral and social decadence. Look to the Mighty God:
a. He is our Strong Protection
We wage our wars purposely to protect ourselves but it’s exposing us to more precarious situations. We build sophisticated weapons, even deploying our defenses in space, but there is still no guarantee to our security. Moses encouraged the Israelites, "The Lord will fight for you; you only need to be still" Exo. 14:14. The apostle Paul describes the magnitude of God’s protection, "And the peace of God will guard your hearts". Phil. 4:7. He used the Greek word, "phreroureo" (will guard) to signify the deployment of the whole battalion of God’s army for our protection. If you are stressed-out, not sure of what would happen to you this Christmas, remember the name of Jesus Christ – He is the Mighty God.
b. He is our Sufficient Provision
How needlessly we measure ourselves within the limits of our credentials and capabilities. The level of our contentment determines the degree of our life’s fulfillment. God’s provision is not released to us as compensation to the level of our faith. "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:19. Perhaps you are in a financial lack. Christmas is not about how much you can give and receive this season. It is how much you can thank God for what you will give and receive. And if you are in a financial turmoil, come to Jesus Christ – He is the Mighty God.
c. He is our Sure Prosperity
How lovely is our greeting, "Wishing you a Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year!". Productivity does not always mean prosperity. The world has become ultra-productive in terms of material things. We have discovered how to produce more and better, to the extent of exploiting our natural resources, with an aim to secure the future. But generally speaking, have we prospered? All of man’s effort to prosper himself has backfired to his own predicament. Prosperity can be determined when we stay in the will of God, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." Jer. 29:11. Are you struggling and stressing it out to make life easier but you found yourself at the end of the rope not seeing any sign of prosperity? Come to Jesus Christ – He is the Mighty God.
3. Christmas is a Moment of Solemn Reverence
"He will be called Everlasting Father"
For us to understand clearly the fatherhood of the Messiah, we must delve into the eastern culture of that time. Fatherhood, in the eastern culture, is regarded more as a title, while fatherhood, in the western culture is regarded more as a responsibility. In the middle-east, if a man whose name is Peter begets a son and he names his son John, the father can be called, "father of John". It was on this concept that the name "Everlasting Father" was attributed to the Messiah. The title, "abi" or "abba", which is translated "father", embodies the work of procreation, protection and provision.
a. He is the Author of Physical Life
Man was created by intelligent design. "For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him." Col. 1:16. On that night in Bethlehem, the creator became one in the like of his creation, let alone a helpless and fragile infant born in an unpleasant manger because his creation did not recognize him. If we fall sick, weak, tired, in our life’s struggles, come to Jesus Christ – He is the Everlasting Father.
b. He is the Sustainer of Spiritual Life
"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Gen. 2:7. This makes human being the crown of God’s creation. We are created in the likeness of God. But the entry of sin distorted our spiritual life. Fellowship with God had been broken as a result of Adam’s disobedience. But God, in His mercy and grace, gave us Jesus on that night to restore our relationship with God and repair our spiritual life. If you are depressed and devastated as you look ahead to Christmas day, come to Jesus Christ – He is the Everlasting Father.
c. He is the Giver of Eternal Life
Life is more than just living in this world for few decades. It culminates to the hands of God who gave it. Every person born in this world will, in the end, have eternal life. But a person’s destination is determined not by what he has done during the days of his life on earth, but by whom he has given his life and trusted to take him there. "And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life." Jhn. 5:11, 12. If you have not surrendered your life to God, come to Jesus Christ – He is the Everlasting Father.
In the time of Isaiah, fathers get killed in war. Children were orphaned and women widowed. It’s even worse in our times. Fathers not only get killed in wars, they also leave their families for trivial reasons. If you are in a fatherless home, because your earthly father had been overtaken by the inevitable or simply walked out, remember one thing this Christmas. Jesus Christ is the Everlasting Father.
4. Christmas is a Chance for Sound Rest
"He will be called the Prince of Peace"
There was no peace in the time of Isaiah. The Assyrians have trounced like falling domino most of her opposing kingdoms including the northern kingdom of Israel. Fear of death, worry about the future, and anxiety over what life would bring tear up the heart of everyone in the kingdom of Judah. The proclamation of the coming of the Prince of Peace is timely and appropriate, in the time of Isaiah, as well as in the present time.
a. His peace Releases our Deliverance
"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Rom. 5:1. The Prince of Peace has freed us from the clutches of sin and has released us into friendship with the Father. The animosity between man and God has been broken giving us free access to God. If you are trapped into a habit that is restraining you from your fellowship with God, implore the Prince of Peace.
b. His peace Re-affirms our Assurance
How often we trip our feet and fall into spiritual and moral failure and we loose the joy of being a friend of the Prince of Peace. Even then, his peace will restore us into his presence as we contritely bow down before his grace in confession. "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom. 8:38, 39.
c. His peace Reforms our Performance
The world is getting busier everyday. To many, double job is a necessity to survive. To some, it’s an alternative to save for the future. But boy, this trend is robbing us from a godly moment – rest. God even rested on the seventh day after creating the universe. But take note of this; Cessation from an arduous activity, whether it is physical, mental or emotional, is not the basis of a sound rest. Peace is the solid ground of a sound rest. But take note again; peace is not guaranteed by the absence of conflict; it is guaranteed by the presence of God in our lives. Jesus said it plainly, "In me you will have peace, in this world you will trouble." Jhn. 16:33.
Conclusion:
Christmas has always been the same, old story. But whatever situation you are in right now, the meaning of Christmas is always relevant. The impact of this year’s Christmas story is drawn from the infinite names of Jesus. His names cater to all our needs. When you need relief, He is the Wonderful Counselor – your burdens will be broken; when you need shelter or refuge, He is the Mighty God – your faith will be fortified; when you need someone by your side, He is the Everlasting Father – God will be glorified; and when you need rest, He is the Prince of Peace – you may claim your calm. Merry Christmas!
