The Purpose of Christmas I: God's First Birthday
Isaiah 7:10-14, 1 John 4:15-18, Luke 2:4-10
Here we are, already in the second week of
Advent: the second week of preparing to
celebrate the one holiday of the year we virtually celebrate for an entire
month: We make plans with our families for Christmas, attend Christmas concerts
and special events, Sunday School Christmas programs, and attempt to muscle in
Christmas shopping, wrapping, shipping, cookie baking, tree trimming and
decorating in already bulging agendas. All of this fuss, hustle, and expense. So
what's the big whoop? What is it all for. For three weeks this fall, some of us
got a head start on Christmas prep through Rick Warren's Bible Study
The Purpose of Christmas. I
thank the Lord for those who were able to come and for them, this will be an
enhancement of what they have already received. And, for those who were not at
the Bible Study, for whatever reasons, Rick Warren lifts up things to rich not
to share. So for the next three weeks we are going to consider the Purpose of
Christmas.
Christmas is the celebration of a birth day.
The announcement of a baby's birth are very special invitations to share in the
joy of the parents. We had very little when Chris our eldest was born:
announcements were hand drawn and run off a mimeograph at the School where John
taught. When Jesus, God's only Son was born, no postage stamps were necessary.
His birth was announced by an angel, a messengers of God. In that announcement
we discover the purpose of Christmas. The
angel said to the shepherds:
Do not be afraid, I bring you good news of great
joy that will be for all people. Lk 2:10
From the get go we hear that the announcement is personal: I bring you. It is
positive: Good News of great joy, and it is universal: for all people.
All people, means all people no matter who you are, where your
from, where you've been. This joyous message is brought to YOU by God. It's one
of the reasons we celebrate Christmas.
It's not just good news, it's the best. Here's
why. We celebrate that God loves us. God loves human beings so much He became
one! Hit pause a moment and think about that.
If you have a pet dog, would love
that dog so much that to help that dog you would be willing to become a dog?
Or do you have a cat? Or a hamster? A gold fish? Yet from the beginning of the
world, that's precisely what God intended to do: to become one of us to save us.
What
spiritually separates you from your pet dog, cat, or guppy is that God created
you in for relationship with Him. Unlike the animals, God created you in His
image. He has given you the capacity to know Him, to enjoy a dynamic and
rewarding relationship with Him. We can learn something about God from His
creation. By observing it's rich diversity in colors, textures animals, plant
life and topography, we know God loves variety: He doesn't xerox or clone any of
His creation. Every person is an individual, unique, an original prized by God.
God is also big on beauty. His paint box splashed on earth. What
does the power of a thunderstorm, flash of lightening, or force of a cyclone or
hurricane tell of of our Creator? God gave us the ability to touch, taste, see,
hear and smell so we can enjoy His creation. What good would good things be if
we could not perceive them: the smell of fresh baked apple pie, the songs of
birds, the palette of autumn color, warmth of a child's hug, and the touch of a
loved one. The fact that we can enjoy these things demonstrates God's love for
us. Yet,given only these our knowledge and experience of Him would be sorely
limited. God wanted us to know His and experience His love first hand.
From thousands of options, God chose to come down to earth Himself to
communicate with us face to face. In the last hundred years means of
communication have greatly changed: from pony express, to the telegraph, to the
telephone, to satellite telecommunications and the world wide web.. But think of
this:. when you want to cheer some one who is ill, you can send a note or card
by the mail, or an e-mail, or you can call them on the phone. But the best way
to communicate your concern for them, is to visit them in person. That is
precisely what God did. In Jesus we can clearly see in the flesh God's very own
Self loving each of us.
That love for us is based on who God is, not
on what we do. God is love, and will always love. Nothing changes God. No matter
what people did to Jesus, He still loved them. No matter what we do, God still
loves us and desires our love in return. God loves us so much He became one of
us and died for all of us. He would rather die on the cross than live without
you. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us.
1John 15:16. . That love is something to celebrate.
Secondly, we celebrate because God is with us
just as God had promised. Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give
you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and
will call him Immanuel. Immanuel
means GOD WITH US. Well, how can I know that? I don't physically see God or
audibly hear God. He's not one of my fav five or even a friend on facebook. But
that doesn't mean He is not here.
I'm blind in the left eye and have no
peripheral vision. If you stand right about here, I can't see you. If you stood
there and said “Pastor” I won't hear you either. I'm deaf om the left ear.
Because I neither see nor here you, I may not feel that you are there. Does that
change the fact that you exist and, in fact, with me? No. Likewise, you may not
feel holy, pious, or particularly religious, but that does not change the fact
that God is with you. Now if I were to look around, “OH! There you are.” You
didn't move, I looked. So when we look, seek God, He's already there seeking us,
waiting and wanting us to find Him. Living with fear is living without the
confidence that God is truly with you.
Hear what Rick Warren says about Fear.“Fear
is False Evidence Appearing Real.” When we trust God's love is greater than our
anxiety, we don't need to fear. God is with us everywhere: on the job, in
the home, in school, on the road, in hospital, at the graveside of a loved one.
He is with us in our joy, and in our despair. Psalm 139:7 Where can I go
from Your Spirit? Where can I flee from Your presence. Read the rest of the
Psalm and you know the answer is no place. God chooses to be with you everywhere
in all circumstances and every situation. No wonder the angel announcing the
birth of Jesus, Immanuel, God with us, assures the quaking shepherds, “Fear
not.” Fear not or “be not afraid”occurs 365 times in the Bible. That's a “fear
not” for every day of the year. God's Presence melts our panic not just on
Christmas, but every day of the year. We simply must choose to believe God
rather than the False Evidence that Appears Real.
God's presence is for real and for keeps. He
promises, Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you. Heb. 13:5.
If you are facing difficult times, if you are feeling overwhelmed, or taking
the heat, know that God is in it with you just as He has promised in Isaiah
43:2 Fear not, I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name, you are
Mine. When you pass through the waters I will be with you; and when you pass
through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the
fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. The
first purpose of Christmas is to celebrate: God loves us, and God is with us.
We can celebrate that God is for us. When
people approached Jesus most often His response was
“What do you want me to do for you?” Imagine every time some one
addresses you, or when you answer your phone, you reply “what do you want me to
do for you?” That is the heart of a servant. That is Jesus' heart, and that is
God's heart for you. When Jesus anticipated His death at the last Supper,
He gave thanks then broke the bread and gave it saying, “This is my
body given for you.” The whole purpose of Jesus birth, life, teaching,
and death was for us -for us to come to God through Him. After His resurrection,
Jesus addressed Peter who had three times denied Him. Jesus didn't say, “Ha, You
denied me just as I said you would. Gotcha!” No, He asked Peter to search his
heart. “Simon, son of John, do You love
Me?” God is not out to trip us up. God is out to take us in – into His love,
mercy, forgiveness, healing and grace. So why are we so afraid? Why do we sit as
far from the altar as we can? Why do we rush out of church, away from worship,
away from consciousness of God's Presence?
Rick Warren suggests two sources for our fear:
1.A guilty conscience. 2. Ignorance of what God is like. I would add 3. Doubt.
You may be ashamed of things your past, or harbor guilt about some secret sin.
All of us tend to entertain doubts about God, God's love for us, the reality of
Jesus. Do not fear,God says, “Bring it on”. Ask God to show you, lead you in the
truth. If we truly knew God, truly knew God's love for us we would not be afraid
because There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear
because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in
love. 1John 4:18. Guilt, ignorance and doubt make us fearful. God's
answer? Live in honest loving
relationship with Jesus Christ. John 3:17 God did not send His Son into the
world to condemn the world, but to save it.
My first year in college was brutal..
For some reason I imagined I was failing my Italian course. Ashamed I started
to skip class. My professor called several times at the sorority house, but
fearful, I didn't return the calls. Finally my parents called me. “Dr. Palanca
just called us. He wants to know why you haven't been in class.” I told my
parents, I felt that I was failing. “Failing? He said you're one of his best
students!” Our feelings of shame, or guilt, our struggles with doubt, are the
very things for which Christ came to heal us, forgive us, and free us. That is
reason to celebrate!
The first purpose of Christmas is Celebration because God loves us, is with us,
and is for us. God loves human beings so much He became one. Christmas is God's
first birth – day. The day that God in Jesus was born was His first birthday of
many millions. Each time a person receives Jesus, God is born anew in that
heart. Happy Birthday Lord, again, and again, and again. That is reason to
celebrate!
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