CHRISTMAS, HAS IT CHANGED YOU
12/20/92 Matt. 1:18-2:12 Isaiah 9:2-7 Text Isaiah 9:6-7
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Christmas, has it changed you? When asked how had Christmas
changed his life, one man responded, well I had a lot more money
before Christmas than I have after it. Christmas changes us into
frantic shoppers, busy house cleaners, talented decorators,
traveling visitors, hospitality hosts for family members and
excited young people looking forward to the gifts that we might
receive. Christmas changes businesses by brining in billions of
dollars on presents that will be given to others. Christmas
changes our work and school schedules by giving us days off.
Christmas changes our church giving, as we use what should have
been God’s money upon ourselves and our friends for presents.
Yet despite all these changes, somehow, that’s not what God
is looking for when He asks us the question, "Has it changed you
yet." The world would have us believe that Christmas is the
happiest time of the year, and that we are all going to have a
great time, with great gifts, and great get togethers. We think
that the lights, and the decorations, and the beautiful trees,
and the presents are going to transform our lives into some kind
of miraculous peace and joy and happiness.
The reality however is that when Jesus is left out of
Christmas, nothing really changes. More people will feel lonely
this week than any other time of the year. More people are going
to commit suicide this week than any other time of the year.
During the next two weeks, more people are going to lose family
members killed by drunk drivers than any other time of the year.
There will be parties and alcohol and drugs will be abundant, and
more wives and children will probably be abused this week because
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of them than any other time of the year.
You see for these reasons, the thought of Christmas is going
to bring up a lot of hurtful memories, a lot of pain, and a lot
of sadness. Some of you know what I’m talking about because you
had someone very close to you die or killed around Christmas
time. I can remember as a child, the joy I felt on Christmas
morning was shattered by the pain I felt Christmas night when my
parents returned home from the club, drugged with alcohol and
fighting accusing each other of all kinds of things. I thank God
that my parents have since came to the Lord and all that is in
the past. But for some of us, that same scene will be repeated
in our families this coming weekend.
This Christmas is going to be hard for some of us because it
will be the first one we spend without our mother, our grandmoth
er, our husband, our wife, our children, our brother, our sister
or our real good fried. The family get togethers that many of us
will have, are not all going to be pleasant. Old rivalries be
tween children who are now adults will flare up. Some of us will
have to be with those who sexually abused us. Some of us will
have to be with those who have used us, lied about us, and done
us wrong, and yet they will be there with a smile as though
nothing ever happened. Some of us know that once so and so in
our family picks up the bottle, its going to mean hell for every
body else around.
Some of us are going to go through undo tension because we
don’t have the money to get our children the things they wanted.
We hate to see the disappointment on the their faces because we
we would get it, but we now know that we can’t. Some of us
are going to be hurt because someone we love very much, is not
even going to take the time to have purchased us just a little
gift. My friends the way we celebrate Christmas, opens the door
for a lot of pain, hurt, rejection and loneliness to pour into
our lives. That hurt overshadows the gift of God, and somehow
some of us will just want the day to hurry up and be over.
God has a different view in mind when He gives us Christmas.
In our Scripture reading today it says in Isaiah 9:2 "The people
walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in
the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned." When we are
hurting , and we are lonely, and we are disappointed, God wants
us to know that the darkness around us is not all there is. A
great light has come into the world. We may feel as though we
are in shadow of death, but God wants to shine His light and give
us a new dawn. What is this light?
Jesus says, I am the light of the world. How are we going
to deal with our problems? By allowing the light of Jesus Christ
to shine upon our lives and to give us wisdom in the decisions
that we must make, we can be changed by Christmas. Let us recog
nize that the greatest change that needs to take place in our
lives is not in the size of our incomes, but in our attitudes.
Charles Swindoll gives an excellent word on attitude. I’m
paraphrasing some of his words. The longer I live, the more
important I realize the impact of attitude on my life. Attitude
to me is more important than facts. It is more important than the
past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than fail
ures, than successes, than what other people think, say or do.
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Attitude is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.
Attitude will make or break a company, a church, a marriage or a
home.
The remarkable thing is that we have a choice everyday
regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot
change our past. We cannot change the fact that people will act
in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only
thing we can do is play on the string we have, and that is our
attitude. Life is 10% what happens to us, and 90% of how we
react to it. We are in charge of our attitudes.
A lot of useless arguing and complaining is going to take
place in the next week. "You spent too much on that. Why can’t we
go over there this time? How come you took so long shopping? Why
did you spend so much time with them? and the list goes on. " Can
we resolve to make this Christmas as enjoyable as possible for
those in our family and in this church? Can we agree to accept
the light that Jesus Christ wants to pour into each of our lives?
A joyous Christmas is not going to be determined by the size
and the number of gifts. It’s going to be determined by how much
we allow Jesus to be Lord of our tongues and our actions. A kind
word all day on Christmas day is priceless. An ill spoken word
or an unkind deed can spoil the gift of a diamond ring. You see
life is not found in things, as nice as things may be. The Bible
tells us that life is found in Jesus Christ. There is no greater
celebration of Christmas anywhere, than to be in a home where the
presence of Jesus Christ is. You may be the only one in your
family that’s a Christian. That’s enough to make Christmas a
Šbetter day for everyone else in the home.
Saints every day is a gift from God. We should not squander
it. We should not waste it by being angry with anyone. We
should not let it slip away by feeling sorry for ourselves. God
wants us to know joy in life. Let us be grateful for this
precious gift of live and spend it by being as happy and as
thankful as we possibly can. Let our minds dwell on the good
things that have happened to us. As we remember our loved ones
who are not here this Christmas, let us dwell on the jewel of
moments that the Lord blessed us with, rather on the sorrow of
being left behind. Let us take control of our attitudes so that
no one can completely spoil the day for us. We can add to the
joy of each day by making someone else happy.
God has already made provisions for our change this Christ
mas season. We find in Isaiah 9:6-7 "For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoul
ders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. {7} Of the increase of his
government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on
David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding
it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."
This prophecy of the birth of Jesus Christ came hundreds of
years before Jesus was born. Surely if God could plan hundreds
of years into the future with detailed accuracy, God can effec
tively plan to see us through our problems and our difficulties.
Some of us didn’t know how we would make it this far, but we’ve
made it. Some of us lost our jobs this year and was scared in it
all, but we’re still here and God has not forgotten us. Some of
us went through the pain of divorce, and others the agony of
abortion, but God has not left us. His love is still here.
Christmas should change us by giving new focus and direction
in our lives as we ask God, "Lord, what would you have me to do."
We are never going to know what life is until we ask "Lord what
would you have me to do?" And then my friends, we must be will
ing and go forth and do it. I can tell you now, it is not God’s
will for any of us to get drunk this holiday season. The bible
says drunkards shall not inherit the kingdom of God. It is not
God’s will for any of us to walk around with an attitude this
Christmas. The Bible says, let this attitude be in you which was
also in Christ Jesus.
It is not God’s will, for any man to abuse his wife this
Christmas, for the Bible says Husbands love your wives as Christ
loved the church. It is not God’s will for any of us to cuss out
any body this Christmas, for the Bible says, Let no unwholesome
words come out of your mouth but only what is helpful for build
ing others up according to their needs. It is not God’s will for
any of us to have sex with anyone who is not our husband or wife
this Christmas season. The Bible says no one who practices
sexually immorality will inherit the kingdom of God.
It is God’s will for us to be kind to each other this
Christmas for the Bible says love is kind. It is God’s will for
us to be forgiving this Christmas, for the Bible says forgive one
another as God in Christ forgave you. It is God’s will for us to
give to those who have nothing this Christmas for the Bible says,
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of others. My friends, God wants Christmas to change us. God
knows that the changes can only be done by allowing Jesus to have
control over us. God is not simply interested in a change for
Christmas, God wants to change us for a life time.
The funny thing about Christmas is that the change can be
risky. Mary and Joseph lost their good reputation because of
Christmas. Very few people believed that she was pregnant by the
Holy Spirit any more than we believe some young girl got preg
nant by the Holy Spirit today. When Jesus got to be an adult,
the religious leaders went back into his past, and brought the
fact that He had been conceived before Mary and Joseph got mar
ried.
The wise men lost their comfort of being at home with their
families and friends. They may have followed that star for
months. Traveling in those days was anything but easy and but
pleasant. Christmas changed their lives. They were a lot poorer
materially when they left Jesus, put they were spiritually rich
er. When they first came through the city, King Herod was glad
to see them and welcomed them in. But when it was time to leave,
that same King was ready to torture them to the point of death if
necessary to force them to tell him where Jesus was so that he
could go and kill the child. Christmas changed them by giving
them a new sense of hope while at the same time putting their
lives in jeopardy.
The shepherds were changed by Christmas. Now shepherds were
not little boys in their daddy’s house robes with a nice stick
with a curve at the top. Shepherds were the rough, foul lan
guage, red necks of the society. They carried clubs that could
smash the skull of a lion or of a thief. It didn’t matter much
to them which one it was because both were trying to take their
property. When this colossal angel appeared to them they were
terrified. They probably felt that God’s judgment was about to
hit them, because the only time they used God’s name was to cuss.
Now their sheep was the same as their bank account. Their
money was completely tied up in their sheep and if they lost
sheep, that was money down the drain. Yet after the angel told
them about a Savior being born in Bethlehem, they said to one
another, "Let’s go to Bethlehem and see thing this thing has
happened, which the Lord told us about." Then they hurried off
and found Mary and Joseph. Christmas changed them so much, they
left all their possessions at risk in order to see Jesus. There
may not have been any sheep left when they got back to the
fields.
Herod was changed by Christmas. He had been a king who felt
secure in his thrown until one day the wise men showed up asking
where is this new king who is to be born for we have seen his
star in the east. The wise man naturally thought that the King
would be born in the King’s palace. But Herod learned the proph
ecies said the king was to be born in Bethlehem. Christmas
changed Herod’s ability to sleep at night. He could not allow
this new born king to live and challenge his authority to rule.
At first he was only going to kill Jesus. But instead he changed
his mind and killed every male child in Bethlehem under two years
of age to make sure he got Jesus in the process.
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Š Where are we today with the changes of Christmas? Are we
like Mary and Joseph, willing to risk being made fun of at being
a Christian in our family, at school, or on the Job? Are we
like the Shepherds, our lives being in a mess, without much
intention of serving God at all, yet open to the call of God on
our lives? Are we like Herod, refusing to allow Jesus to do
anything that might upset our authority to do what we want to do,
how we want to do it and when we want to get it done?
There was one other person changed by Christmas and his
name was Simeon. Simeon was a righteous and devout old man who
had been praying for the Savior to come. God had told him that
He would not die, until he had seen the Savior. Moved by the
Spirit, Simeon went to the temple court at the same time Mary and
Joseph was there. He went and took Jesus in his arms and praised
God saying ,Luke 2:29-32 "Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
you now dismiss your servant in peace. {30} For my eyes have seen
your salvation, {31} which you have prepared in the sight of all
people, {32} a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory
to your people Israel."
When Simeon saw Jesus, he knew Jesus was enough for joy,
reconciliation and happiness to take place. The greatest gift
that we can give to others, is to become a disciple of Jesus
Christ. That’s truly the gift that keeps on giving. Can we be
changed like Simeon by Christmas in knowing that having Jesus is
enough for joy and reconciliation to take place.
I close with a paraphrase of a prayer my mother gave me this
Christmas. Let us pray. Our Lord and our God, help us to be
grateful be being alive right now. Help us to realize that no
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matter what our problems may be, where there is life, there is
hope. Help us to have faith and to realize that thousands of
miracles are happening every day. Help us to pray and to remem
ber the times when prayer brought us through. Let us be better
listeners and less self centered. Help us to realize that If we
get our minds occupied by helping and cheering up other people,
we will be healthier than if we were always checking our own
pulse.
Let us realize that we cannot change others. Only by living
for Jesus Christ and setting a good example may we influence
someone to change their behavior. Let us realize that You have a
plan for each of our lives, and that You are always with us to
guide us and comfort us. May we allow your love to flow into our
lives, that we may in turn pour it upon others. For it is in the
name of Christ that we ask it. Amen
Our invitational hymn is Just As I Am page 478
