Merry Christmax (Isaiah 9:6)
Surprise! Celebrating Christmas will not take you to heaven. Many Christians believe that celebrating Christmas is very important which would help them be on the good side with God and will take you to heaven. We are living in times in which technology will help you to find scriptures in the bible for a keyword. Search Christmas in your mobile or online bible and you will not get a hit for the keyword. The title of this sermon is Merry Christmax. Yes, not Christmas. Bible does not command us to celebrate Christmas. Christmas was not a holiday in early America (Reference: http://www.history.com/topics/christmas, An outlaw Christmas section). Bible does not teach us that Christ was born on December 25th. It is silent. More important is for a person to accept Jesus Christ as personal savior than to know the birthday of Jesus Christ and celebrate.
People could take a diplomatic approach and say that, Come on don’t be a ‘Grinch’ and kill a holiday which is fun and brings cheer and charity dollars to some extent. If you have not accepted Jesus Christ as your savior, celebrating Christmas will not make you a Christian in the eyes of God. As Christians, we have to think about how to maximize Christ in your lives. The title of this sermon - Merry Christmax, is not a typo error. At least is some portions of the world, the title could be called Happy Christmax. So how can we maximize Christ in our lives?
1. Christ in you (Matthew 1:23) – C1
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”) – Matthew 1:23
Before a person accepts Jesus Christ, there needs to be an experience of repentance. A person must repent of his/her sins, accept Jesus Christ as his/her Lord and Savior and take water baptism to be saved. You will know the joy of salvation after accepting Jesus Christ. This is a joy the world cannot give or understand. There are a lot excuses that people give these days to avoid Jesus Christ:
• The bible has many versions which one should I believe: If your car has a problem, you will try to get it fixed, not worry about which version of manual is correct. In the case of spiritual life, you have to take the leap of faith and invite Jesus Christ into your heart. John 14:6 - Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
• Look at what so called Christians are doing: If you take SAT test, it is your performance that is used to label you as pass or fail. Pointing out how others are not doing well is not an excuse to get into college. You have to decide for yourself, based on scriptures, based on historical facts, if you want to accept Jesus Christ or not. If you do not accept Jesus Christ, there is no third option, but only one option left, that is the devil, which can manifest in many forms, which could appear as third option to many.
Maximizing the message of Jesus Christ starts accept him as your Lord and Savior.
2. Christ for others (1 Corinthians 9:16) – C2
"For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me; yea woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel."—1 Corinthians 9:16.
If you learn a new topic, teaching others sincerely will make sure that you will become an expert in the topic. After accepting Jesus Christ as your personal savior, we have to be beacons for Christ. A person who has not accepted Jesus Christ is like a tumor that is destined for cautery (the fire of hell). There is no other sweet way to put forth the statement.
Christ for others process start at home. As Joshua said, “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord”. A country without strong family culture will deteriorate over time. We only need to look at history to learn this lesson. A strong Christian family can lead many others to Christ. We are living in times when the spiritual attacks to divide family are higher. Preaching or scientific practice that sacrifices Christian family life in the long run is not biblical.
Maximizing the message of Jesus Christ goes to higher level by proclaiming Christ (preach Gospel) to the lost in this world.
3. Christ for the future (Revelation 22:7) – C3
“Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” – Revelation 22:7
Bible has prophecies that were fulfilled. The books of Daniel and Revelation give direction about the future of humanity. The ultimate goal of a Christian is to be in heaven at the end of times. Any distraction that leads a person away from Christ is not worth it.
Christians has a hopeful future because of Jesus Christ. There is an English song by Gaither “Because he lives, I can face tomorrow”. Hebrews 13:8 – “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Christ is forever. He is our future. True Christians will live with Jesus Christ in eternity.
Revelation 20:15 – “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”
Maximizing the message of Jesus Christ goes to the ultimate level with faith that he is our future and your name is written in the book of life.
Conclusion
This Christmas season, let us ask ourselves the question “Have we maximized Christ in our lives”? A human consists of body, soul and spirit. The wages of sin is death and a person without Christ is spiritually dead. Are we dead because of our sins or Have we maximized Christ to the extent that the gifts of Holy Spirit are present in our lives? This holiday season, let us yearn for the gifts of Holy Spirit.
For the fun of sermoncentral viewers, I have put together a formula for maximizing Christ in a mathematical context. Clearly, this is not scientific.
Maximize Jesus Christ (You x C1 + You x C2 + You x C3)
Subject to:
C1 -> Birth to Death
C2 -> Birth to Death
C3 -> Birth to Eternity
Where:
C1 = Christ in you
C2 = Christ for others
C3 = Christ for the future
