"THE BIRTH OF JESUS"
It’s hard to believe that it’s almost Christmas, but it is. Let me give a top 10 list about the closeness of Christmas...
YOU KNOW CHRISTMAS IS ALMOST HERE WHEN:
10) There are more pine needles on your carpet than on your tree
9) The credit card is smoked along with the turkey and ham.
8) It’s A Wonderful Life has been shown for the 13th time
7) A trip to the mall and back is more challenging then the Indy 500
6) The Salvation Army bell ringers start accepting credit cards
5) You are pulling an all-nighter because of the words, "Some Assembly Required"
4) Your Christmas list is written in black while your check book balance is written in red.
3) Santa’s belly is not the only thing shaking like a bowl full of jelly.
2) The NFL referees are not the only ones giving away games
1) The infamous fruitcake returns from it’s 12 months of hiding.
[READ LK 2:1-20]
[PRAYER]
A chauffeur had driven the chemistry professor to dozens of speaking engagements. He’d heard the same canned speech scores of times. He said on the way to another engagement, "Professor, I believe I could give your speech myself; I’ve heard it so often." The professor said, "I’ll bet you $50 you can’t." "You’re on," said the chauffeur.
He stopped the car and the two exchanged attire. They came to the banquet. the chauffeur dressed in a tuxedo, sat at the head of the table and was introduced. he stood up and gave the speech verbatim. There was a standing ovation when he was finished.
The emcee got up and said, "You know, we are so fortunate to have such a fine resource with us tonight, and since we have a little extra time, let’s have some questions and answers. The first question was asked and the chauffeur stood there dumbfounded, clearing his throat in nervousness. Finally he said, "That’s just about the dumbest question I ever heard. In fact it is so dumb I bet even my chauffeur could answer that question."
How many times have you heard the Christmas story? I’m sure many could come up here today, and tell the story.
Mary’s unexpected pregnancy. Joseph’s perplexity. Visits by angels. Caesar’s tax. The trip to Bethlehem. Born in a stable. We’ve heard it many times. Most of you can even answer the tough questions like , "Did the wise men really see Jesus in the manger? did the star really appear over the stable? and just how many wise man were there? And that’s good. There is tremendous value in knowing the facts.
C.S. Lewis said, "we don’t need to be told new ideas so much as we need to be reminded of old truths.
I want us to look at the Christmas story today with fresh minds. Too put ourselves, into the sandals of some of those first century people. And to imagine how utterly amazed they were at some of the events that transpired. They had been anticipating the coming of the Messiah for thousands of years....they had it fixed in their minds exactly how His Kingdom would come, and WHAT HE and His Kingdom would be like... But things did not happened as expected...
As a matter of fact, probably nothing that the average Jewish person thought would happen, actually did. There were many surprises in the Christmas story.
One reason we need to look at the story fresh is because familiarity often breeds contempt... Now I’m not saying that we have contempt for Christ, but rather that we have heard the story so much, that we tend to think that it really no longer has anything to offer us. We think we see the whole picture clearly, but many times we don’t..
Just like the little girl who came home from Sunday school triumphantly waving a paper. "Mommy!., my teacher says I drew the most unusual Christmas picture she has ever seen!"
The mother took the picture from her little girls hands -- she studied it for a moment and she too concluded that this was the most peculiar picture of Christmas she had ever seen.
"This is wonderfully drawn, but why do you have all of the people riding in the back of an airplane?" The mother gently asked.
"It’s the flight to Egypt," the little girl said, with a hint of disappointment because the picture’s meaning was not immediately obvious.
"Oh" the mother said cautiously "Well, who,is the mean-looking man at the front?" "That’s Pontius the Pilot," the girl said now visually impatient.
"I see"
And here you have Mary and Joseph and the baby" the mother volunteered. And studying the picture silently for a moment, she summoned the courage to ask, "But who is the fat man sitting behind Mary?"
The little girl sighed. "Can’t you tell? That’s Round John Virgin!"
That’s a cute story -- but the reason I tell it is because sometimes we are like that little girl... We think we see things so clearly, we think we know all that there is to know about the Christmas story, gleaned all there is to glean, but perhaps we don’t see it as clearly as we think. So today let’s look at this great moment in history again, because friends in this timeless message of Our Saviors Birth, God has laid out many surprises and He has laid out many gifts under our Christmas tree...I want to talk about 5 of them today.
THE SURPRISES
THE PARENTS OF JESUS WERE SURPRISING.
Suppose God gave us the job of selecting the parents for the Messiah -- if we are honest we would have to admit that we would not have chosen Mary and Joseph in a million years.
We would have selected wealthy parents, so that the Christ child could have the best of everything. We would have selected parents who were mature, so we could have been sure of protection and wisdom. The parents we would have selected, would have been people of culture, poise and influence, So that the Messiah would have the right education and be trained in the right manners. Look around at the people who make an impact on the world. Usually they are wealthy and influential people.
Many great Americans of the past and present came from wealthy families: George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John F Kennedy, George Bush. Now there are exceptions and Sometimes, a rail spitter becomes president but that’s rare.
Remember when the wisemen came to Jerusalem searching for the Messiah? Where did they go? They went immediately to the palace and the said, "WHERE IS HE WHO IS BORN A KING?" That was a normal response/an obvious place to look -- after all, Royalty begets royalty, AND AN OBVIOUS PLACE TO LOOK FOR A KING IS IN A PALACE, RIGHT?. But the first Christmas presented an incredible surprise. God selected 2 unlikely people, a teenage girl named Mary and a poor blue collar worker, named Joseph? Joseph was just a carpenter from the backwoods uncultured town, of Nazareth (not known for it’s greatness)... Do you Remember what Nathaniel said when he was first told by Philip about Jesus, "CAN ANYTHING GOOD COME OUT OF NAZARETH."
The parents of Jesus were surprising; Mary a teenage girl... and Joseph a poor blue collar worker, from a town with a bad reputation.
THE TIMING OF JESUS BIRTH WAS ALSO UNEXPECTED.....
In verse 1 we read: "IN THOSE DAYS CAESAR AUGUSTUS ISSUED A DECREE THAT A CENSUS SHOULD BE TAKEN OF THE ENTIRE ROMAN WORLD."
If we were in charge we would not have chosen the time of Caesar August. We might have chosen the time when David was King, a time when the Jews became the world’s super power. They had momentum, wealth, influence and opportunity. Wouldn’t it seem natural ,after David died for the Messiah to be the successor?
Or Maybe we would have chosen the 20th century... With air travel and satellite communication in space and television... it seems like it would have been the perfect time for Christ to come.... His message could almost instantaneously be seen around the world... His miracles captured by CNN.. He could even be interviewed by Barbara Walters... Have his picture on the cover of Time magazine....
If we asked a public relations expert they would say, that the 20th century would have been the perfect time for Christ to come... Mass communications, fast travel, and the world just crying out for true leadership. But God came to dwell with men in first century Palestine. In Galatians 4:4 we read, "WHEN THE TIME HAD FULLY COME, GOD SENT HIS SON, BORN OF WOMEN, BORN UNDER THE LAW...."
If we take the time to think about and study it, we will see that God’s timing was perfect. God is control of history and he sees things that man can not see..and God knew the exact moment that would bring about the greatest impact... first century Palestine... Let me give several reasons why this is so:
1) 300 years before Christ came, Alexander the Great when he conquered the world established the Greek language as the universal language...So when Jesus came into the world, it was one of the rare times in history when the people of the world could communicate with each other...There was a universal language.
2) After Alexander the great, Rome became the new world power...And Rome built roads...built garrisons...Rome kept a strong military presence throughout her empire, all of this made travel much easier and relatively safe... There was order in the world that had not been seen before.
3) After 400 years of silence from God... mankind found out that it could not make it without Him....this led to a wide spread expectancy of the coming of the Messiah.
4) And 4th the Old Faiths had worn out... The Jews were convinced as they watched the corruption of their leaders and their own failure at keeping the law, that they needed a Savior and that the Law could not save them.. And the Gentiles likewise were becoming disillusioned with their many gods who offered them little help or assistance.
It wasn’t a time that we would have expected, or planned, but all of these events were perfectly synchronized by God. The Bible says Jesus was crucified from the foundations of the world.. It wasn’t an accident... God picked out the perfect time in history. And God was right it was the perfect time... The Gospel message spread throughout the Roman Empire and the World like wild fire, Paul writes in his letter to the Church at Colossae,
"THIS IS THE GOSPEL THAT YOU HAVE HEARD AND THAT HAS BEEN PROCLAIMED TO EVERY CREATURE UNDER HEAVEN AND OF WHICH I, PAUL, HAVE BECOME A SERVANT."
THE PLACE OF JESUS BIRTH WAS ALSO SURPRISING
Jesus was born in a small village town called Bethlehem... we probably would have chosen a powerful and influential city like: Jerusalem, Rome, Athens or Alexandria... Bethlehem was so small and insignificant that when Joshua (after conquering Canaan) allotted the towns to the various tribes it was not even mentioned... But the prophet Micah 700 years before Christ mentioned the town of Bethlehem, in Micah 5:2, "BUT YOU BETHLEHEM ... THOUGH YOU ARE SMALL AMONG THE CLANS OF JUDAH, OUT OF YOU WILL COME FOR ME ONE WHO WILL BE RULER OVER ISRAEL, WHOSE ORIGINS ARE FROM OLD FROM ANCIENT TIMES."
Micah proclaimed that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem...but a week before Christ’s birth, Mary was still in Nazareth... 80 miles away from Bethlehem... And in a day where they walked everywhere they went, that was a long way.
But God was in control and He took care of that. Caesar Augustus order a census be taken, and this census required that Joseph be register in the city of his families roots (David’s).... Bethlehem.
So Mary and Joseph at just the right time made the four day journey to Bethlehem...You ladies who’ve had children how would you like to take a four day trip on the back of a donkey about that time? (I bet it was a lot of fun)
Not only was Jesus born in an insignificant town... but he was born in a stable... The King of Kings -- the Savior of the world born in a stable. But when the inn keeper turned Mary and Joseph away it also reveled the plan of God. You see the hotels in that time were not private rooms (no private bathrooms and cable TV). They were more like a rowdy bunkhouse where people WERE jammed together. One writer says of them.. "INNS IN THOSE DAYS WERE WILD AND NOISY PLACES, PUBLIC BAZAARS, THE BUTCHERING OF ANIMALS, THE SELLING OF WINE, DRINKING, AND THE NOISE OF WILD LIVING THROUGH THE NIGHT WERE COMMON PLACE..."
You see God did not want His son to be born among the leering eyes of the curious and ungodly, He did not want Jesus to be born in that kind of environment... So God took Mary and Joseph and lead them to a quiet stable.
A 4TH SURPRISE IS
THE SEEMINGLY UNEVENTFUL NATURE OF JESUS’ BIRTH
I mean, we are talking about God’s son being born to a virgin... Almighty God, coming down to earth and living with man... This is not something that happened everyday. This is big news. Yet, listen to how scripture describes this event, "THE TIME CAME FOR THE BABY TO BE BORN AND SHE GAVE BIRTH." That’s it, all so ordinary. The same wording could be used of any baby.
Listen to how one writer describes this seemingly undramatic event, "HE LOOKS LIKE ANYTHING BUT A KING. HIS FACE PRUDISH AND RED. HIS CRY THOUGH STRONG AND HEALTHY, IS STILL THE HELPLESS AND PIERCING CRY OF A BABY. AND HE IS ABSOLUTELY DEPENDENT UPON MARY FOR HIS WELL-BEING. MAJESTY, IN THE MIDST OF THE MUNDANE. HOLINESS IN THE FILTH OF SHEEP MANURE AND SWEAT. DIVINITY, ENTERING THE WORLD ON THE FLOOR OF A STABLE, THROUGH THE WOMB OF A TEENAGER AND IN THE PRESENCE OF A CARPENTER. MEANWHILE, THE CITY HUMS. THE MERCHANTS ARE UNAWARE THAT GOD HAD VISITED THE PLANET. THE INNKEEPER WOULD NEVER BELIEVE THAT HE HAD JUST SENT GOD OUT 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."
THE ONES WHO RECEIVED THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF JESUS’ BIRTH,
IS THE LAST SURPRISE WE WANT TO LOOK AT TODAY.
Now, shepherds weren’t the most influential people of the day. As a matter of fact, they were among the lower class of the day. Many were migrants, who ate and slept with the animals, and no doubt smelled like them too. The sophisticated peopled, rolled there eyes and kept their distance whenever they came walking down the road.
If we were asked to send the angels somewhere to make this announcement to: we probably would have chosen someone like: the great theologians of the day, the Pharisees, to the Sanhedrin or maybe have the angels appear and make the announcement to the Emperor of Rome/King Herod -- and let them know that they better bow their knee because the true King had come...
But on that blessed night THE GREAT announcement came to Shepherds, LISTEN AGAIN TO [LUKE 2:8-14]
5 SURPRISES -- 5 THING THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT IF YOU OR I WERE THE ONES IN CHARGE.
NOW LET’S UNWRAPPED THESE SURPRISES AND LOOK AT THEM AND BEHOLD THE GIFTS/LESSONS/TRUTHS THAT GOD HAS GIVEN TO US/YOU.
THE GIFTS.....
From the parents of Jesus we learn or are reminded, that;
God Uses Ordinary People.
Listen - God is a master at using the unlikely, he is an expert at turning the ordinary into the extra-ordinary, time and time again in scripture, we see God’s power manifested in the lives of someone who on the outside may not look all that impressive, but on the inside, has submitted and surrendered his or her life completely to God.
That’s why God used Mary and Joseph, because that’s the kind of people they were. After Mary was visited by the angel she said, "MAY IT BE AS YOU HAVE SPOKEN." And Matthew writes that Joseph was a "RIGHTEOUS MAN."
UNDERSTAND - IT IS NOT EDUCATION, VOCATION , ECONOMIC STATUS OR EVEN GREAT "NATURAL" ABILITY, THAT GOD IS LOOKING FOR... LISTEN - GOD DOESN’T USE SUPERSTARS (AND I’M GLAD BECAUSE MOST OF US AREN’T) -- GOD USES PEOPLE WITH A HEART OF A SERVANT (BECAUSE SUPERSTARS, ARE TOO BUSY SHINING FOR THEMSELVES, TO SHINE FOR GOD)..
AS LUKE SAYS IN ACTS 4; GOD USES UNSKILLED & ORDINARY MEN & WOMEN WHO HAVE BEEN HANGING OUT WITH JESUS....
SOMEONE HAS SAID, "IT’S NOT YOUR ABILITY THAT COUNTS WITH GOD. BUT IT’S YOUR AVAILABILITY." HOW AVAILABLE ARE YOU TO GOD??
WE MAY BE SURPRISED AT THE SELECTION OF MARY AND JOSEPH, BUT THEY ARE JUST THE KIND OF PEOPLE GOD WORKS THROUGH... ORDINARY PEOPLE WHO HAVE GIVEN THEIR LIFE TO THE KING... AND WHO HAVE BENT THEIR KNEE BEFORE HIM, SAYING, "I’M YOURS - USE ME LORD ANYWAY YOU CAN!!"
The 2nd gift is that God has for us in the birth of Christ is that;
GOD IS IN CONTROL....
Listen - All timing is God’s timing --- nothing in this World, in History or in our lives - has yet happened or will ever happen without God’s knowledge and approval (nothing) ...
God is in control and his plan has been and is being, carried out. Augustus thought he was in control when he order a census to be taken... He thought it was his idea, But God knew about the census before the creation of the World... Later Herod, thought he could stop God’s plan by having the Christ child murdered... But he was unsuccessful. Everything happened just as God planned....
"The Lord Almighty says, `surely as I have planned, so it will be and as I have purposed, so it will stand’’ Is 14:24
What God said would come to pass, came to pass (and God is the same yesterday, today and forever) -- AND no matter how wicked this world gets, no matter how out of control things may look & feel in your life or mine.... What God has said will happen - will...
He will forgive our sins
He will build His church
He will defeat our enemies
He will give us His peace and power
we will be victories,
all things will work out for the good,
and Christ will return and we will live with Him in heaven....
BUT REMEMBER IT WILL BE GOD’S TIMING AND NOT OURS...
"At the time I have decided, my words will come true. You can trust what I say about the future. It may take a long time, but keep on waiting it will happen..." - Hab 2:3
Talk about some awesome gifts - God uses ordinary people and God is in control...
In the place of Jesus Birth God gives us another great gift and that gift, is
That Jesus Christ Is What Give Us Significance
Listen - no place is insignificant as long as Jesus is there.
One of the most popular Christmas Hymns is "O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM,"-- HOW STILL WE SEE THEE LIE.... How many other Bible towns do we sing about today? -- I can’t think of any other...
Bethlehem was to the world a small insignificant village full of blue collar workers, nothing special... But Bethlehem was significant and the thing that made it special and the reason we still sing about Bethlehem today is, that Jesus Christ was there.
Here this!! No place, No Person - is insignificant as long as Jesus is there, as long as the King is on His throne that place at the person IS significant.
Now, I’ve been to some really big and beautiful churches in my life, churches with magnificent buildings, thousands of people... incredible drama, full orchestras... and those things are great, But the thing that makes any church significant is not the buildings or the programs... But it is the simple fact that Jesus Christ is there.
It is because the King of Kings and Lord of Lords is present.
And if Jesus Christ is here.. If Jesus Christ rules in this place - if He is on the throne at Central - (if we are seeking to worship, serve and lift Him up) then we are significant (very significant) in the eyes of God.... And if someday it is God’s will that we have those other things (huge building, 1,000’s of people..etc) it will not make us any more significant... In fact we can have all those things and not be significant at all if Jesus isn’t really here)..
HERE THIS! NO PLACE -- NO CHURCH - NO HOME - NO INDIVIDUAL, IS INSIGNIFICANT IN THE EYES OF ALMIGHTY GOD IF JESUS CHRIST IS RULING THERE!!! JESUS CHRIST, GIVES SIGNIFICANCE TO LIFE!
Listen to one of God’s descriptions of Christians found in the bible....
"You are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation a people belonging to God"
A 4th gift from the birth of Christ is that
GOD OFTEN DOES DRAMATIC THINGS, IN UNDRAMATIC WAYS.
An ordinary child, an ordinary place, an ordinary way. But the most important event in History... God coming to dwell with man.
God usually does dramatic things in undramatic ways. there are exceptions. Now, there have been dramatic miracles like the parting of the Red Sea, the walls of Jericho crashing down or Saul being struck down by a great light, but those are remembered because they are rare and not commonplace.
One of the most dramatic events of the OT was when Elijah called down fire from heaven to consume an altar of Baal, but several days later we find Elijah in a cave depressed because that dramatic miracle had not converted Jezebel. Then all of the sudden there was a violent wind, but God was not in the dramatic wind. Then there was a terrible fire but God was not in the dramatic fire. Then there was a thundering earthquake, but God was not in the dramatic earthquake. THEN God came and spoke to Elijah in a still small voice...
One time the Pharisees told Jesus to do something dramatic to prove that He was the Son of God -- and Jesus said that the only sign that they would get would be the sign of Jonah...
And what Jesus was talking about here was His death, burial and resurrection... And if the Gospel of Jesus Christ was not enough to convince them of who he was then neither would a dramatic sign in the heavens....
Question - what could be more powerful then - a Holy God dying for a sinful people, and the changed life that He brings....
Tragically things haven’t changed too much, In our society people still crave the dramatic, the sensational (look at the TV talk shows and some of those huge religious gatherings... where people feel they have to go to experience God - Understand - we don’t need that to experience God - In fact some of my most powerful life changing encounters are when it’s just the 4 of us - Me, God the Father....
Listen - because some people crave the sensational & dramatic - they often - miss out on having God working in their lives. For far too many people today - the great sign of Jonah - the death burial and resurrection of Jesus - that simple but all powerful truth - is not enough to excite them, empower them, motivate them, encourage them or give them hope or joy.... Listen - if that does catch your wood on fire - running form event or service has no chance either..
THOSE WHO 2,000 YEARS AGO WERE LOOKING FOR A DRAMATIC AND SPECTACULAR COMING OF CHRIST MISSED IT -- AND THOSE TODAY WHO ARE WRAPPED UP IN THE DRAMATIC AND SENSATIONAL (GOD TO SPEAK TO THEM OR SEND DOWN LIGHTENING BOLTS) WILL MISS OUT TOO, THEY WILL NOT BE ABLE TO HEAR THE STILL SMALL VOICE OF GOD OVER THE ROAR OF THE SENSATIONAL.
THE FINAL GIFT COMES FROM THE SHEPHERDS, WHO TEACH US;
That God Accepts All People
The shepherds are a symbol of God’s acceptance of all people. When nobody wanted to associate with them, God’s angels appeared to them and announced the birth of the Savior. Unto the lowest, God gave His highest. Unto the neglected, God gave His attention. Unto the poor, GOD gave his riches.
Listen - The Gospel is for all people... The poor, the uneducated, the despised..
NO scripture better declares this than John 3:16.
JOHN 3:16 (HAVE THEM SAY IT)
The shepherds illustrate the great truth that there is room at the manger for all PEOPLE, understand - that the ground is level at the foot of the cross (no one stands higher than another)... We are all the same... We All need Jesus, and he died for all of us.
Now there is another gift in the shepherds - IN GOING TO THE SHEPHERD FIRST GOD WAS UNDERSCORING AND ANNOUNCING JESUS’ PURPOSE IN COMING... YOU SEE, JESUS CAME INTO THE WORLD TO BE THE LAMB OF GOD WHO WOULD TAKE AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD. AND THOSE, WHO WERE LOOKING AFTER LAMBS WERE THE FIRST TO LOOK UPON THE LAMB OF GOD....
CONCLUSION
DO YOU FEEL ORDINARY -- GOOD BECAUSE GOD USES ORDINARY PEOPLE
DO YOU EVER LOOK AT THE WORLD AND AT TIMES LOSE HEART... DON’T WORRY, DON’T LOSE HEART -- JESUS HAS OVERCOME THE WORLD AND GOD IS IN CONTROL... HIS PLANS/WORD - WILL COME TO PASS!!!
DO YOU WANT TO SEE THE KING -- THEN TAKE YOUR EYES OFF THE CLOUDS/SENSATIONAL AND GO TO BETHLEHEM -- AND MEET HIM IN EVERYDAY LIFE - WORD/PRAYER..
HAS THE WORLD OR SOMEONE MADE YOU FEEL UNACCEPTABLE - KNOW THAT GOD’S ACCEPTS YOU.... HE LOVES YOU....
ARE YOU A SINNER -- WE ALL ARE -- IS THE GUILT OF SOME SIN WEIGHING YOU DOWN - DO NOT BE AFRAID FOR A SAVIOR HAS BEEN BORN WHO IS CHRIST THE LORD..... THE LAMB HAS COME TO TAKE AWAY THE SINS OF THE WORLD.. THAT INCLUDES YOUR SINS & MINE....
FINALLY DO YOU WANT TO BE SIGNIFICANT -- I DON’T IMAGINE ANYONE ANYWHERE DESIRES TO BE INSIGNIFICANT... EVERYONE WANTS TO FEEL THAT WHO THEY ARE, AND WHAT THEY DO MATTERS..
BUT PERHAPS YOU HAVE FOUND THAT THIS WORLD IS NOT JUST KIND TO THOSE SEEKING SIGNIFICANCE.. HER STANDARD ARE TOUGH AND FEW CAN MAKE IT , AND EVEN IF THEY DO SHE CHANGES THE RULES AND LEAVES THEM STILL EMPTY.
LISTEN - IF YOU WANT TRUE AND LASTING SIGNIFICANCE, IF YOU WANT YOUR LIFE TO MATTER, IF YOU WANT TO BE INVOLVED IN SOMETHING THAT WILL OUTLAST TIME....THEN REALLY SUBMIT TO JESUS, LET HIM LIVE IN YOU AND LIVE THROUGH YOU AS YOU BUILD UP AND SERVE HIS BRIDE - THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST...
REMEMBER - NO ONE IS INSIGNIFICANT IN THE EYES OF GOD IF JESUS IS ‘THE’ KING OF THEIR LIVES...
TOMORROW IS CHRISTMAS - HAVE YOU’VE GOTTEN ALL YOUR GIFTS YET? WHAT IF I WERE TO TELL YOU THAT YOU HAVE OVERLOOKED A GIFT YOU NEED TO GIVE THIS YEAR.
IT’S JUST ONE MORE GIFT... AND YOU DON’T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT THE CROWDS AT THE MALL....
QUESTION - AS YOU RAN THIS YEAR HERE AND THERE - BUYING GIFTS; MAKING YOUR LIST AND CHECKING IT TWICE TO MAKE SURE YOU GOT EVERYONE COVERED... LET ME ASK YOU WAS GOD ON YOUR GIFT LIST?
AFTER ALL IN THE FIRST CHRISTMAS - THE MAGI CAME AFTER JESUS WAS BORN BRINGING GIFTS TO HIM...
QUESTION - WHAT ARE YOU GIVING GOD THIS CHRISTMAS? DON’T YOU THINK YOU SHOULD GIVE HIM SOMETHING?
AND AS I ASK THAT DO YOU KIND OF FEEL LIKE THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY - "I HAVE NO GIFT TO BRING --...........- THAT’S FIT TO LAY BEFORE A KING"
I MEAN - WHAT COULD YOU OR I GIVE TO AN ALL POWER GOD WHO ALREADY HAS EVERYTHING... WHAT COULD YOU POSSIBLY GIVE TO GOD THIS CHRISTMAS THAT HE DOESN’T ALREADY HAVE? NOT A CHEA PET.....
HOW ABOUT YOU?
HOW ABOUT GIVING YOURSELF TO GOD THIS YEAR?
I CAN GUARANTEE THAT IT IS SOMETHING HE REALLY WANTS...
AND I AM TALKING TO EVERYONE HEAR....
TO THE CHRISTIAN.....
TO THE NON CHRISTIAN....
