Christmas Despite the White Witch
Reception Grade (how my people responded; alertness, compliments, relevance, etc.): c+
1. Some of you have already seen The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe.
2. C.S. Lewis, one of Christendom’s great thinkers, wrote the Chronicles of Narnia for children…but soon adults of all ages were picking them up.
3. In The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, we find that the White Witch, symbolic of Satan, is ruling Narnia. It is always winter in Narnia, but never Christmas.
4. But C.S. Lewis was an Anglican, and he believed that when Christ, Satan was not only legally defeated, but bound. We understand that Satan will not be bound until Christ returns. We believe that we are living between the Resurrection of Aslan and the destruction of the White Witch.
5. And so we celebrate Christmas even while the god of this world, Satan, is on the loose.
6. In our society, many forces seem to be trying to eliminate Christmas in our nation. Why?
7. Because Christmas observance is another blatant evidence that the American heritage is to favor Christianity while tolerating other religions. History is being re-written to support the idea that Americans have always treated all religions equally, something blatantly untrue.
8. But beyond the political correctness, there is a spiritual agenda here, like that of Psalm 2:
9. Although we might get upset about some of these things -- and should speak out against them as Americans-- as Christians we need to remember that these are really token issues. We should be more amazed that millions of people who do not have a personal saving relationship with Jesus Christ want to celebrate his birthday in any way!
10. John Leo writes:
The “winter program” at Ridgeway Elementary School In Dodgeville, Wisconsin, changed the lyrics of the Christmas carol “Silent Night” to the more inclusive “Cold in the Night.” (“Cold in the night, no one in sight, winter winds whirl and bite.”) After this success, the program’s next step will obviously be:
?A) Changing “O Holy Night” to “Uh-oh! Wholly night!” a song about a lunar eclipse ?b) Singing “O Little Town of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.” ?c) A song celebrating the comeback of the American auto industry, “Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Ford.”?D) A ditty about hoping for snow at the Panama Canal, “I’m dreaming of a white isthmus.”
The modern name for Christmas trees is now:
a) Giving trees ?b) Trees of color ?c) Seasonal conifers ?d) Inclusion bushes ?e) Tall lit-up flora ?f) Those pointy green things with needles and lights
Some schools have ruled that red and green cookies cannot be brought into class in December because the color combination strongly suggests the divisive sectarian feast day of Christmas. Therefore"
a) Red cookies may be brought to school. Green ones too. But, please, not on the same day ?b) A fruit bowl containing just pears and cherries is a serious constitutional matter and should be reported immediately to the ACLU, care of the Christmas erasure desk. c) In December, the San Francisco 49er may not be shown playing the New York Jets, except on black-and-white TV sets. ?D) All traffic lights must be turned off until January 1.
The three wise men in the Nativity scene are objectionable because
a) They fail the multicultural test--though one is black, neither of the other two is a disabled lesbian, wiccan or vegan.
b) “Wise Men” should be “Persons of Wisdom” ?c) Describing the first people to come to see Jesus as “wise” implies that idiots can’t become Christians, which experience tells us is just not so.
John Leo is a columnist and editor for U.S. News & World Report and a contributing columnist on Townhall.com.
MAIN IDEA: Celebrating Jesus Christ, whether His birth or His resurrection, does not depend upon society’s recognition or the binding of Satan, but, rather, our convictions.
TS------- Absurd movements can attempt to remove Christmas from the public arena, but God is greater and He can make Christmas happen in our hearts and families.
I. We Are Part of An UNSTOPPABLE Kingdom
Gates of hell shall not prevail…
A. The DEVIL Could Not Keep Jesus from Being Born (Rev. 12:1-6)
1. Nephilim
2. Haman
B. God Saw to It That the Shepherds FOUND Jesus
Recall: three types of prophecy: (1) direct, (2) shadows, (3) providential patterns
--- it is rather ironic that simple shepherds were the first to see the Messiah, while the religious intelligencia were not involved at all…
---prophetic in a way: not many noble….
C. Herod Could Not PREVENT the Wise Men from Worshipping Jesus
--- it is rather ironic that non-Jews came to worship Jesus
---prophetic: Jesus would be a light to the gentiles
---gold, myrrh, and frankincense
D. Herod Could Not DESTROY Jesus
Celebrating Jesus Christ, whether His birth or His resurrection, does not depend upon society’s recognition or the binding of Satan, but, rather, our convictions.
But don’t worry about how others do or do not celebrate Christmas. Take care of yourself and your family….!
II. Right Now, Christ Reigns in the Believer’s Heart; One Day, He will Literally REIGN on Earth
A. Isaiah 9:6-7 is separated by thousands of years…
B. 2 Peter 1:16-18. "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power & coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitness of His majesty.
"For He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to Him from the Majestic Glory, saying, `This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am well pleased.’ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with Him on the sacred mountain."
C. Christ is reigning NOW but NOT YET
D. C.S. Lewis made this statement: " We really celebrate two holidays on December 25th. One we call ’Xmas’ & the other we call ’Christmas.’" (source: Sermoncentral, Melvin Newland)
He went on to illustrate, using Easter:
"There is a stage in a child’s life at which it cannot separate the religious from the merely festal character of Christmas or Easter. I have been told of a very small and very devout boy who was heard murmuring to himself on Easter morning a poem of his own composition which began ’Chocolate eggs and Jesus risen.’ This seems to me, for his age, both admirable poetry and admirable piety. But of course the time will soon come when such a child can no longer effortlessly and spontaneously enjoy that unity. He will become able to distinguish the spiritual from the ritual and festal aspect of Easter; chocolate eggs will no longer seem sacramental. And once he has distinguished he must put one or the other first. If he puts the spiritual first he can still taste something of Easter in the chocolate eggs; if he puts the eggs first they will soon be no more than any other sweetmeat. They will have taken on an independent, and therefore a soon withering, life.
C. S. Lewis" (source: www.higherpraise.org)
Celebrating Jesus Christ, whether His birth or His resurrection, does not depend upon society’s recognition or the binding of Satan, but, rather, our convictions.
But don’t worry about how others do or do not celebrate Christmas. Take care of yourself and your family….!
III. Those Of Us Who Know Christ Have Seen The Great LIGHT
A. Isaiah 9:2, "The people who walk in darkness? Will see a great light; Those who live in a dark land, The light will shine on them."
B. This "light" is the heart of Christmas; Christ is that light, and if we have Him, we have what matters most about Christmas
C. In Saudi Arabia, a man has believed in Christ but dares not share it with his friends…or even his family…otherwise he will be put to death…but he can celebrate the light…
Celebrating Jesus Christ, whether His birth or His resurrection, does not depend upon society’s recognition or the binding of Satan, but, rather, our convictions.
CONCLUSION
1. Two women who were having lunch in an elegant hotel were approached by a mutual friend who asked the occasion for the meal. One lady replied, "We are celebrating the birth of my baby boy." "But where is he?" inquired the friend. "Oh," said the mother, "you didn’t think I’d bring him, did you?" What a picture of the way the world treats Jesus at Christmas. (source: www.higherpraise.org)
2. But don’t worry about how others do or do not celebrate Christmas. Take care of yourself and your family….!
