“After Christmas – Then What?”
December 26, 2010
Matthew 2:12-15
12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
Christmas is over. Wrapping litters the floor. The kitchen sink is piled high with Christmas dinner dishes. The kids are already breaking some of the new toys. Things are back to normal – right?
Well, not exactly. Things will never be quite the same again - because in the City of David a Savior was born. Things will never be the same again. That magnificent, world changing, happy event is over. In its wake is a let down. The angels are gone. The shepherds have returned to their sheep. The wise men are sneaking home – headed toward where the sun rises. And maybe that is a sign in itself. The event isn’t over. They are not riding into the sunset. They are headed for a new day! But at our house, the Christmas tree is drying out and the fridge is crowded with leftovers.
Depression, discouragement, worry, anxiety, dread, fear – it is all there. We are concerned because of the work to restore the house to normal. Mary was concerned that the king may find them and kill her baby. We are anxious about our coming bills – Joseph and Mary were anxious about settling in a new country. We are discouraged because Christmas wasn’t quite what we had hoped for. Joseph and Mary are discouraged because this event changed their lives. New home, new country – family gone, good thing they got that gold from the Wisemen to pay the bills. We look ahead and see a fist full of bills – and it concerns us. They looked ahead and saw a cross – and it concerned them.
Now what do we do? Well, we just keep on living. We take each day one at a time. We face each obstacle one at a time. And we seize the hope of Christmas. Because of Christmas – we have hope. I’m talking about ‘biblical’ hope. I remember someone commenting in a community meeting one time, that they had the ‘hope of eternal life’. One of the next speakers, showing his ignorance, says, “I don’t ‘hope’ I have eternal life – I KNOW!’.
Well, that sounded good. But hope is not a wish. Hope is an expectation. Specifically, hope is the trusting expectation that God will keep His Word. Hope is trust. Hope is expectation. Because of Christmas we have the expectation of certain things.
First of all, we have hope of Salvation. The angel said,
“She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21
Jesus came to save us from our sins. This is two fold. First, he came to pay the penalty for our sin. The result of sin is death.
“When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Colossians 2:13-15
Because of the cradle – we have the cross. Because of the cross – we have the means of forgiveness of our sins. The result of sin is death – but the wonderful gift of God, provided by the precious Gift of His Son, is forgiveness of sin.
Aren’t you glad your sins can be forgiven? What if no one ever forgave or forgot the bad things you did. That would be pretty horrible. Life would be pretty hopeless. But we have hope of forgiveness of sin – because of Christmas.
We also have hope of freedom ‘from’ sin. The angel didn’t say ‘He will save His people ‘in’ their sin.” He said Jesus would save us ‘from’ our sin. That little word makes all the difference in the world. If we could not be free from our sin, we would continue to go on sinning. We could never be free from our addictions. We would be saved – when we die. But we would have to live defeated, miserable, painful lives. Life would be unbearable. But Jesus came to free us from our sins. He came to give us power over sin. He came to liberate us from sin. We are overcomers. We are victors! We are MORE than conquerors. Conquerors defeat the enemy. Friends, you have tremendous power at your command. You have the unleashed forces of heaven available to you. But if you don’t believe it – you won’t use it. Believe the tremendous power available to you as a child of Almighty, omnipotent, God. Because of the cradle and the cross – you have the sure hope of salvation from your sins.
Secondly, we have the hope of God with us. We can expect and trust that God is with us. The angel said,
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). Matthew 1:23
Because of Christmas – God is now with us. Yes, He was born in a stable and walked the dusty streets of Judea. But more than that, because of the empty tomb – He lives with in our hearts today. The Scripture says,
“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.: 2 Corinthians 3:17-18
This is a wonderful Scripture that reveals that we are morphing into the image of Jesus. We are being transformed into Christlikeness. If you are a Christian, you should know this is what God is doing in your life. He is changing you into Christlikeness. But, as a little side bar, we have the important truth that Jesus and the Spirit are one. When we have the Holy Spirit in our hearts, we can just as easily say that it is JESUS in our hearts. That’s why Jesus could say,
“And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt 28:20
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified… for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deut 31:6
In the days ahead, as we face a new year – I want you to know – GOD wants you to know – He is, and will be, with you. No matter what happens; no matter what the future holds; no matter what doomsdayers are predicting – even if it is all true. Why should we worry or fret? Jesus is with us. The Savior is with us. The King of kings and the Lord of lords will be with us and will see us through.
I think we would be wise to prepare as much as we can. The wise man has savings and stores of supplies, Proverbs 20:21 tells us, but Jesus ultimately is our Hope and our Salvation. He will be with us to the end. That first Christmas God sent an angel to warn Joseph and Mary to leave Bethlehem. God provided for them, God led them, and God protected them. He will do the same for you and me.
Thirdly, we have hope of eternal life. The Scripture says,
“But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:10-11
The Jews had been waiting a long time for the Messiah to come. The Messiah would save them and would empower them. They would rule and reign with Him. Unfortunately, many missed Him. They were looking for a conquering King, which Jesus will one day come as, but they missed the ‘suffering servant’ part of the prophecy. Jesus first came as the suffering servant, born in a manger - to die on the cross. That is part of the process. That is part of the plan. Then, one day, Jesus will come as the victorious, conquering King. He said,
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:1-3
Jesus is coming back for His own. He is preparing a place for us. What a wonderful thought. Christmas made that possible. Jesus said,
“Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.” John 5:24-25
Did you get that? Whoever “hears my word and BELIEVES him who sent me has ETERNAL LIFE…” And listen to this: and they “will not be judged but have crossed over from death to life.”
We don’t have to fear the judgment. Jesus paid the penalty for our sins. We already have eternal life – if we believe. Do you believe?
Well, Christmas is over. Everyone is a little tired; a little wore out; a little down. But take courage! There is hope! After Christmas, we have, 1. the hope of salvation from our sins; 2. We have the hope that we are never alone; 3. we have the hope of eternal life.
Ya know, I don’t know what the future will bring. Some think we are in the beginning of the tribulation period right now. Others think it is a few years off. I don’t know. I do know this: Jesus is here, right now – and He will be with us to the very end. Be of good courage! Take Hope! Let’s pray,
Jesus, thank you for your prescense here today. Thank you for your promise of eternal life. Forgive me for my unbelief and lack of faith. Forgive me for doubting and rebelling. I surrender my will and my heart to you. Come dwell in me. See me through to the very end.
SONG: “God will make a Way”
