Christmas 2009 - Stand Alone Sermon (Not part of a Series)

God's Gift to the World is God's Gift to You

Tonight we're going to zoom way out and look at the Christmas story from the beginning to now – to your life today.

We're going to look at the big picture and then say, Okay what's this look like in our lives — in our hearts. So first, turn in your bible to Genesis 1:1-3. We're literally going to start from the beginning.

But before that, let’s pray…

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light.
From there, when you read through verse 25, God makes the sea and the land. He makes vegetation and night and day and animals.

Then finally He made us, He made men and women. And from verse 26 through the end, we see that He created this world and gave it to us. It was God's first gift to man (after our existence itself).
Genesis 1:26-30

26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
27 So God created man in his own image,
in the image of God he created him;
male and female he created them.
28 God blessed them and said to them, "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground."
29 Then God said, "I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food. 30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air and all the creatures that move on the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food." And it was so.

This was supposed to be a perfect gift from an amazing creative and generous God.

Not only did we have a perfect world and dominion over it, we also had GOD walking with us; directly and unveiled.
But, you know the story. Genesis 3. First – the Fall.
Genesis 3

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

Referring to Gen 2:16-17

2 The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' "
4 "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 5 "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden.

Then, when humanity deserved nothing but a swift execution for doing the one thing they were told not to do, God instead provided immediate gifts.

Now if you've read this story before, you might not see what He did as gracious, but let's take a closer look.

God could have simply wiped them out. Stopped the whole process right there. Instead we see the promise of Jesus. We see mercy in His curse.

9 But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?"

God already knows what they did and where they are, but He still continues a dialogue with His people.

10 He (the Man) answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."
11 And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?"
12 The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it."
13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"
The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
14 So the LORD God said to the serpent, "Because you have done this,
"Cursed are you above all the livestock
and all the wild animals!
You will crawl on your belly
and you will eat dust
all the days of your life.

Now, notice this coming up. Before dealing with the Man and Woman, before any punishment is dealt out to them, God deals with Satan (above) then promises Jesus' saving work on the cross. See that here in verse 15:

15 And I will put enmity
between you (The serpent) and the woman,
and between your offspring and hers;
he (JESUS) will crush your head,
and you will strike his heel."

And then, after the promise of the Messiah, God gets to the curses on humanity.

16 To the woman he said,
"I will greatly increase your pains in childbearing;
with pain you will give birth to children.
Your desire will be for your husband,
and he will rule over you."
17 To Adam he said, "Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, 'You must not eat of it,'
"Cursed is the ground because of you;
through painful toil you will eat of it
all the days of your life.
18 It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you will eat the plants of the field.
19 By the sweat of your brow
you will eat your food
until you return to the ground,
since from it you were taken;
for dust you are
and to dust you will return."

We see God have mercy and not wipe out humanity. But, He shows us through the toil of work and the pain of giving life the damage that sin has done and the desperate need we need for Jesus, the one who will make all things right and wipe away the sin and the brokenness and the pain that sin ushered into the world.

God made it unmistakable how He views sin and that instills in our heart a desire for reconciliation.

We could go on and on, but we’re covering the whole Bible tonight so we’ve got to move on.

Now turn to Genesis 12:1. The Lord could have let us fade out, but He promised a redeemer. The plan is seen in the selection of a distinct people who will reflect the one true God and bring others to Him.
Genesis 12:1-3

1 The LORD had said to Abram, "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you.
2 "I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you."

We've been through this before, but it's important to remember, look why Abram – and by extension, the Nation of Israel - was chosen (Gen 12:3).

So that was it right? His people did what they were called to do and all of the nations of the Earth were blessed and drawn to Him.

No. If you don't know the story, from Abraham on, we see this cycle of sin and repentance, sin and repentance and sin and repentance.

This happens with whole generations of wickedness. But also, every “good” person in the Israelite history is marred by disobedience and sin. There's really no time to get into it now, but read through the Old Testament
- Abraham let his wife be taken into the harem of a king because he was afraid of the king. And then after being rebuked, he did it a second time with a different king.
- Moses disobeyed God out of frustration.
- King David slept with a married woman and had her husband killed.
- That’s just individuals, the people fall away from God and start worshiping everything except Him. That goes horrible, they turn back. Then, once they are comfortable, they turn on Him again.

Read it for yourself. You'll see it happen over and over and over again.

And throughout, God kept His faithfulness and we see promises of the coming Messiah.

Jeremiah 23:5-6

Ezekiel 37:24

Isaiah 7:14

We could go on with these, but let's move on to the next point.

The point, the one that I want you to be clear on, if not anything else tonight, is that God came down to be one of us.

The HOLY, MAJESTIC, COLOSSAL, ALL-MIGHTY, CREATOR and SUSTAINER of EVERYTHING — GOD came down to be one of us?!

There's no way to really get this into our minds and so we just skip over it and fail to grasp it. But we've go to try if we are to truly appreciate what an amazing gift the incarnation – the birth of Jesus was.

Holy Made Lowly:
Isaiah 6:1-4; Revelation 1:12-17; Luke 5:1-8; Luke 2:1-7

Isaiah 6:1-4

1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him were seraphs, each with six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying. 3 And they were calling to one another:
"Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty;
the whole earth is full of his glory."
4 At the sound of their voices the doorposts and thresholds shook and the temple was filled with smoke.

And what was Isaiah’s reaction to witnessing the Holiness of God?

5 "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the LORD Almighty."

Then in Revelation 1:12-17, John, the Apostle whom Jesus loved. One who walked the earth with God the son. The man who broke bread with Him. The one who took care of Mary after Jesus was crucified. When He caught a glimpse of Jesus in all of His glory,…Let’s just read it.

Revelation 1:12-17

12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lamp stands, 13 and among the lamp stands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.

And during His earthly ministry, Jesus gave faint hints – Just hints – at His holiness and His power and even those tiny hints rocked the lives of men.

Luke 5:1-8

1 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 2 he saw at the water's edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch."
5 Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus' knees and said, "Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!"

So, this is key to understanding what we celebrate each year. Our God, this Holy other; this GOD of the UNIVERSE. CREATOR OF ALL AND ALL did this — Listen:

Luke 2:1-7

1 In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. 2 (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) 3 And everyone went to his own town to register.
4 So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. 5 He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. 6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

Now watch these angels freak out.

8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

These angels had been around. They saw the story unfold. They saw what happened when other angels crossed God. They were cast down. No second chances.

But these men on Earth, on whom God’s favor rests; look at His patience with them. Look at His undying love. Look at His mercy.

And now He has counted them worthy enough to step down from His glory?! The angels can’t help but be amazed and sing out how wonderful and glorious is the Lord God Almighty.

That is what we need to get into our hearts tonight and this season and every moment of our lives. He loved us so much that He became one of us. He loved us so much that He set aside His position and took the form of an infant, born to a poor family in a back woods town.

He loved us so much that He said, I’ll do anything, I’ll give everything, for them.

And remember, Jesus wasn't just born to be a good teacher or a prophet or a good example. He is our replacement.

Born to live a sinless life and die in our place
We were gifted with Jesus as our once and for all sacrifice.
Hebrews 7:27

Christ's birth, sinless life, death, and resurrection were the gifts that changed the world for eternity.

This week, celebrate the birth of Jesus into the world – celebrate that with the world.

But also, celebrate when He was born into your heart.

Celebrate how your life was changed, like history and like the world.

Celebrate how His incarnation, the Word becoming flesh, the Holy One made to be the Lowly one – celebrate how that changed your present life and your eternity.

And listen, if He hasn't been born into your heart yet, what I'm saying there is,

If you haven't been born again into faith by the Spirit (John 3); then tonight can be your night.
John 3:3b-17

3 …Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."
…5 Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit…
…14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.
16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son.

(UNPACK)
Jesus points us back to a part of the Old Testament (Numbers 21), where The people had been attacked by snakes and Moses prayed for God’s help.

God told Moses to fashion a bronze snake and set it high up on a pole. And everyone who looked to that snake would be healed.

Jesus points to that and says, that historical event pointed to what has to happen for all people to have eternal life.

Instead of the isolated case of snakebites killing us; it is our sin that kills. Our sin has earned us death and eternal separation from God.

Now, like the Israelites in the desert, we have to look to what was killing us, they looked at a snake, we must see our sin.

Throughout our life we’ve seen it in part, the devastation of storm cycles, and disease, and murder, and poverty, and addiction and betrayal.

Over and over, everywhere we look in the world around us, in the people around us and in our own hearts we’ve seen the effects of the sin that is killing us.

But, like the snake on the pole, we must look to Jesus Christ. Who took our sins on the cross. Don’t just picture Him with the crown of thorns, and the whip marks from the Roman soldiers.

Don’t just picture the nail pierced hands and feet.

When you see Him on the cross, see your sin. That sin that should have killed you — That sin that should leave us condemned to die,

Instead those sins, your sins, and mine, were placed on our Savior.

Our Savior, who took the sins of the world, yours and mine, so that because of Jesus Christ there is now NO CONDEMNATION from God to you, if you will look to that cross and see your sin and say, “Yes! Jesus was enough!”

HE is sufficient. If you never have before, than look to Him tonight and BELIEVE.

Let’s pray…