When the Russian comedian Yakov Smirnoff immigrated to the United States, he said that the thing he loved most about America was the grocery stores. He said, “I'll never forget walking down one of the aisles and seeing powdered milk; just add water and you get milk. Right next to it was powdered orange juice; just add water and you get orange juice. Then I saw baby powder, and I thought to myself, What a country!” (Mark Batterson, The Circle Maker, Zondervan, 2011, pp. 134-135; www.PreachingToday.com)
Don’t you wish change was that easy? Just add water and you get a new life? Well, I’m here to tell you that a new life is possible, because Jesus came over 2,000 years ago.
You say, “Phil, how? How can I get a new life today? How can I see real change in my life for the better? How can my life be turned around?” My friends, it starts when you…
REGARD CHRIST AS MORE THAN A BABY IN A MANGER.
Look beyond the Creche to the Christ Himself, the Messiah, God’s anointed King of the universe.
In 2 Corinthians 5:16, the Apostle Paul said, “Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.”
In other words, don’t just see Jesus as a flesh and blood human being. See Him as GOD in the flesh, who came to change the world! You see, the world was hostile towards God, but Jesus came to bring everything back into harmony with Him.
2 Corinthians 5:19 says that “in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them…”
Instead of condemning the world for its rebellion, God chose to save the world through Christ. Think about it. Just by His coming, Jesus changed the world!
John Ortberg, in his book Who Is this Man? Says “we take for granted the ways our world has been shaped by him.”
For example, children were routinely left to die of exposure in the ancient world, particularly if they were girls. Parents didn’t name their children until the eighth day or so, because up until then they might decide to kill their baby, especially if it was deformed or otherwise unwanted. This custom changed because of a group of people remembered that they were followers of a man who said, “Let the little children come to me.”
Jesus never held an office or led an army… And yet the movement he started would eventually mean the end of emperor worship. His words would later be cited in documents like the Magna Carta, begin a tradition of common law and limited government, and undermine the power of the state rather than reinforce it as other religions in the empire had done. His movement led to this language entering history: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.”
Jesus never wrote a book. Yet his call to love God with all one's mind would lead to a community with a high reverence for learning. Even when those in the so-called “Dark Ages” nearly eradicated all classical education, that little community of Christ followers would preserve what was left of that education. In time, the movement Jesus started would give rise to libraries, guilds of learning, and many of our major universities.
The Roman Empire into which Jesus was born could be splendid but also cruel, especially for the malformed, the diseased, and the enslaved. In that context, Jesus had said, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these, you did for me.” An idea slowly emerged that the suffering of every single individual human being matters and that those who CAN help OUGHT to do so. Hospitals, orphanages, and relief efforts of all kinds emerged from this movement, and even today they often carry names that remind us of him and his teachings: names like “Good Samaritan” or “Good Shepherd”.
Jesus consistently championed the excluded. His inclusion of women led to a community to which women flocked in disproportionate numbers. Slaves—up to a third of ancient populations—might wander into a church fellowship and have a slave-owner wash their feet rather than beat them. One ancient text instructed bishops to not interrupt worship to greet a wealthy attender, but to sit on the floor to welcome the poor.
Humility, which was scorned in the ancient world, became enshrined in a cross and was eventually championed as a virtue. Historian John Dickson writes, “It is unlikely that any of us would aspire to this virtue were it not for the historical impact of [Christ’s] crucifixion.”
Furthermore, in the ancient world, virtue meant rewarding your friends and punishing your enemies. An alternative idea came from Galilee: Love your enemies, and seek reconciliation. Thus, forgiveness moved from being viewed as a “weakness” to being regarded as “an act of moral beauty.”
Even in death, Jesus' influence is hard to escape. The practice of burial in graveyards or cemeteries was taken from his followers… It expressed the hope of resurrection… Death did not end Jesus' influence. In many ways, it just started it. (John Ortberg, Who Is This Man? Zondervan, 2012, pp. 14-16; John Ortberg, "Six Surprising Ways Jesus Changed the World," The Huffington Post, 8-13-12; www.PreachingToday.com)
Jesus was more than just that tiny little figure in the creche. He is the Christ, God in the flesh, who came to change the world! So regard Him as such. If you want to see real change in your life for the better, then 1st of all, regard Christ as more than a baby in a manger. Then 2nd…
REALIZE THAT CHRIST DIED IN YOUR PLACE.
Look beyond the Creche to the cross where Jesus paid the price for your sins (and mine).
2 Corinthians 5:21 says, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
When Jesus died on the cross, a great exchange took place. God treated Jesus as a sinner, so He could treat you as righteous. God treated Jesus as a criminal, so He could treat you as virtuous. God treated Jesus as a bad man, so He could treat you as a good person. Even though Jesus was without sin, your sins were applied to His account, so God could apply His righteousness to your account. On the cross, God punished Jesus for your sins, so He could truly and justly forgive you of your sins no matter how bad they are.
But why did Jesus have to die? Couldn’t God just forgive people without requiring a payment for sin? Well, here’s the problem: someone always has to eat the cost of sin.
Joshua Butler, in his book The Pursuing God, gives the example of a neighbor crashing his car through your fence. When you discover the shambles, you forgive him: “Don't worry about the fence! All is forgiven.” But forgiving your neighbor doesn't do away with the bill or dissolve the damage; it means you eat the cost.
Now consider a more complex example. During the U.S. housing crisis, shoddy banking practices, fat-cat executives, and corporate corruption threw a sledgehammer into the global economy. However, the government deemed certain banks “too big to fail”, so it forgave their debt, covering the most expensive bailout in human history. Even though the banking industry had caused massive damage, the debt was forgiven, but that debt didn’t go away. Bank of America alone owed people $17 billion. Do you know what happened to that debt? Someone else covered it – in this case, you did, the American people. You see, someone always eats the cost.
Well, at the Cross, Jesus was eating the cost of your sin (and mine). Instead of you and me paying for our own sins, a debt we could never pay, Jesus paid for those sins. He personally covered the cost. It was the most expensive bailout in human history, not what the White House did for Wall Street. What the government did for the banks pales in comparison to the price Christ paid for your sins and mine on the cross. That was the most outrageous debt-forgiveness plan the world has ever known. (Joshua Ryan Butler, The Pursuing God, Thomas Nelson, 2016, page 100; www.PreachingToday.com)
Jesus was more than just that tiny little figure in the creche. He is the Christ, who died on a cross to eat the cost of your sin. Only He didn’t stay dead. The Bible says three days later he came out of the grave alive! And now, he offers eternal life, a new life to anyone who believes in Him
So, if you want to see real change in your life, 1st, Regard Christ as more than a baby in a manger; 2nd, Realize that Christ died in your place; and 3rd…
RELY ON HIM TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE.
Look beyond the Creche to the change God wants to do in your heart if you let Him. Depend on Christ to do for you what you cannot do for yourself.
2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
You see, Jesus not only wants to change the world; He wants to change YOU! All you have to do is immerse yourself in Him. Trust Him with your life, and He will transform it! He’ll take away the old, destructive habits, and replace them with a new righteousness, making you useful in His Kingdom.
One of the most loved Christmas songs started out as an advertising gimmick. In 1939, Montgomery Ward tapped advertising executive Robert May to write a poem that their store Santa Claus could give away to children who came to visit him. That poem was “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”, which first appeared in a little booklet published by the department store chain. They handed out more than 2.5 million copies that year; and by 1946, they had distributed more than 6 million copies.
Rudolph's story was made into a song in 1949 when May's brother-in-law, Johnny Marks, added music to the poem. Bing Crosby and Dinah Shore turned it down, but singing cowboy Gene Autry recorded it, and the rest is history. Today, “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” is the highest-selling Christmas song, at more than 25 million units.
Why is the song so popular? Well, I believe it’s because the real beauty of the story focuses on grace. By grace, Santa chooses Rudolph even though he has been rejected by everyone else. Rudolph has a defect – his big, annoyingly shiny red nose – that disqualifies him from participating in all the “reindeer games.” But when the fog rolls in, Santa chooses the one with the weird, shiny red nose to lead his sleigh. He turns Rudolph’s “weakness” into a “strength”, which he used to accomplish his mission. (Kristen Parrish, No Cape Required, Thomas Nelson, 2013, pp. 219-220; www.PreachingToday.com).
Oh, dear friend, are you tired of being labeled a “reject” and a “failure?” Then turn your life over to Christ and let Him use you for His glory! He’s the One, the only One, who can transform your weakness into a strength to accomplish His mission in this world.
If you want a new life today, regard Christ as more than just a baby in a manger; realize that Christ died in your place; and rely on Him to change your life. Look beyond the Creche to the Christ, who died on a cross to change you from the inside out. Please, trust Christ with your life, and gain a whole new life today!
Make these words, the words of our next song, your heart’s prayer tonight:
O holy Child of Bethlehem!
Descend to us we pray;
Cast out our sin, and enter in;
Be born in us today. (Phillips Brooks)
