The Unexpected Gift

Big Idea:

We don’t deserve the gift of Jesus but God greatly loves us.

Intro:

Hey everyone,

After church last Sunday, Janelle came up to me and said, “You need to come home. There’s a huge box blocking the door. It’s heavy and I can’t move it.”

I’m thinking, “What the heck. I don’t remember ordering anything like that.”

So, I get home and there is indeed a large box blocking the door. The box is about 4ft x 4 ft. And I can already tell there is no way this box is fitting through the doorway. It was huged. I walk around the side of it and it says, “Laz-y-boy.” Come to find out… someone at church had bought me a brand new recliner for Christmas!

I didn’t even realize how nice a chair it was until I took a nap on it. On Tuesday (which is my day off), I sat down, activated the reclining mode, and… as my friend Vin likes to say (using the words of the apostle Paul), “I was transported to the third heaven.” I didn’t know a piece of furniture could help me have a greater experience of God!

Maybe that’s because I’ve never really had nice furniture...

Because most of my life I’ve been broke.

I have 3 boys and 2 dogs. It would not be wise to buy anything nice in this season of life.

My last recliner was from Bob’s. Hey - I’m not hating on Bob’s. Most of my furniture is from Bob’s Discount Furniture. It’s nice. But it’s exactly what Bob says it is… DISCOUNT FURNITURE.

Some of yall who have been to my Life Group have experienced this… If you sit on the wrong spot of the couch, you could fracture your tailbone because it’s cheaply made. And for my previous recliner, I not only got it from Bob’s… I went to the back of Bob’s… to the Bob’s Outlet!

This is where the already discounted furniture is clearanced because there’s something wrong with it. And I had purchased a lopsided recliner. Whenever I had watched TV in it, you have to tilt your head in the opposite direction to compensate for it. And… when you activate the recliner… would make this “spring” sound - like BONG! One time - a spring actually flew out of it!

Anyways, I ain’t never had no Laz-y-boy recliner. And I know that was NOT an inexpensive gift. And though it’s Christmas time, I don’t deserve this unexpected gift. Actually, speaking of Christmas, I wonder how many of us realize that no one deserves anything for Christmas...

...Over the next two services (this one and our Christmas service on 12/23), I want to do a short Christmas sermon series titled, “The Unexpected Gift.” And if you’ve been at The River Church for some time, you know that I don’t usually like to give the typical Christmas sermons. If you will, I like to do some unexpected things during Christmas.

And for this series, I’d like to spend some time in Ephesians 2 (not a typical Christmas passage) to help us think about Christmas. And for the first part of this series, I’d like for us to consider the statement that

“None of us deserve anything for Christmas.”

Some of us as parents understand this. Despite the influence of Santa’s naughty and nice list on our Christmas culture, most of us don’t give gifts to people because they “deserve” it.

Now, some of our kids may have an inappropriate expectation of getting a gift, but the reality is we don’t give them gifts because they deserve it. Christmas does not morally obligate us to give other people gifts. Nor should we expect them for ourselves. Christmas is about something GREATER… but that GREATER meaning does involve a gift (we’ll get to that later).

Now, for me to properly teach us about the GREATER meaning of Christmas, we need to spend some time understanding the statement, “None of us deserve anything for Christmas.”

Again, we typically don’t give Christmas gifts because people deserve them, but let’s go with this thought for a moment, especially since many of us (even as Christians) think about things through a naughty and nice list.

So kids, I’m sorry to tell you, you don’t deserve anything for Christmas.

I don’t deserve anything - even that Laz-y-boy recliner - for Christmas… AND I’m a pastor.

Why??? Because for us to truly understand Christmas , we must start by understanding that none of us are on the “nice” list. In fact, from birth, our name has been written in heavenly Sharpie on the naughty list. And even Santa’s magic can’t erase it. I know this because God’s eternal and perfect word says so. It says it in Ephesians 2… Paul speaking about our identity (who we are at our soul level)...

Ephesians 2:1 ESV

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins

Remember when you were younger, and you’d do something wrong, and your sibling would say, “Ooooo Mom is gonna kill you!” Or “You’re dead when Dad gets home.” That’s kinda like what Paul is saying here. He’s saying...

“Because of your sins - all the times you’ve broken God’s law, all the times you’ve rebelled, rejected, or ignored God, all the times you’ve hurt other people who are made in God’s image and hurt people He loves - because of all those sins… God’s gonna kill you. You’re gonna be in trouble. You’re dead!”

It’s kinda like Paul’s saying you’re in trouble, but INFINITELY GREATER.

My mom is here visiting for Christmas. And as a single mom raising two boys, she had to be strict to keep us in line. And she was scary! I still flinch when she lifts her hand. My mom’s favorite Bible verse was...

Proverbs 13:24 NLT

Those who spare the rod of discipline hate their children. Those who love their children care enough to discipline them.

But as scary as my mom was, God - the Holy One of Heaven - is scarier. His eternal wrath against sin if infinitely more intense than my mom. And when Paul says we’re dead...

He’s saying we’re dead as in “we’re in trouble.”

But he’s also saying, “we’re dead as in doomed!”

He’s reminding us there’s a very real FUTURE judgment where God will gather all people before His throne and judge them. We read about it in the book of Revelation...

Revelation 20:11–12 NLT

And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.

Revelation 20:15 NLT

And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Bro - that’s scary. God’s judgment is scary.

Now, you might be thinking...

“But wait… I’m a good person. I’ve done a ton of good things in my life. Like right now… I’m sitting in church! That’s a good thing, right? And I know I’m not perfect, but I’m pretty confident that my good works outweigh my bad works. And if Santa had a naughty and nice list… I think I’d make it on the nice list. Therefore, I’m probably on God’s good list too!”

So, let’s talk about that for a second… 2 things:

While Santa’s pretend naughty and nice list might work that way, that’s not reality. God’s justice doesn’t work that way. And honestly, I don’t think we WANT it to work that way. Do we want that kind of justice for criminals? “Oh, I only murdered that person that one time. But I let everyone else live!” Your good works don’t erase the severity of your sins when it comes to God’s holy judgment.

We might be giving ourselves too much credit when it comes to what list we’re on or whether our good works ACTUALLY outweigh our bad works. So, let’s do a group test.

And we’re going to do a test using God’s law - or the 10 Commandments.

Psalm 19:7 NKJV

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;

In other words, the 10 Commandments can help us understand if we’re on God’s naughty or nice list. Let’s start with an easy one...

Exodus 20:16 ESV

“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

[By a show of hands] How many of you have lied before? And if you’re not raising your hand, you’re___[lying]___.

...Okay, no raising hands on this one, but the 7th commandment says...

Exodus 20:14 ESV

“You shall not commit adultery.

And some of yall are like, “I’m good with that.” Hold on… because Jesus clarifies this commandment for us...

Matthew 5:27–28 ESV

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Uh oh. If we were doing hand raising, it’d be visible that we’re all in trouble.

…how about the 4th commandment?

Exodus 20:8 ESV

“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

At The River Church, we’ve talked a lot about Sabbath rest lately. But some of yall forgot that it’s actual a commandment from God that we’re talking about. And when we completely ignore it, we sin.

Alright… that’s only 3 out of 10. How are we doing? I’m pretty sure we’re all in trouble. We’re all dead. None of us deserve anything for Christmas.

And Paul makes this abundantly clear in what he goes on to write in Ephesians 2...

Ephesians 2:1–2 ESV

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—

We’re all on the naughty list because... whether we realize it or not… there’s only two ways to live:

You follow Jesus.

You follow the Satan.

Because that is what is actually happening... even if we don’t intentionally say, “I’m choosing to follow the devil.” When you just go along with culture (the course of this world), you’re actually following the devil because he’s the “prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in this world...”

All of a sudden… the fact that we’re not good, nor do we deserve anything for Christmas… became real. We’re all in trouble. We’re all doomed. We’re all dead.

That’s why Paul says in verse 3...

Ephesians 2:3 ESV

among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Is this message filling you with Christmas cheer yet?

But here’s the thing… though all of this “bad news” may feel foreign to our personal views of Christmas, if we PAUSE to think about it… it’s NOT FOREIGN to all the best Christmas stories:

The wealthy scrooge must FIRST understand HOW BAD he is before he can fully appreciate Christmas...

Charlie Brown must FIRST get sick of HOW BAD the commercialization of Christmas has become before Linus helps him understand what Christmas is all about...

The bad, work-obsessed dad must FIRST realize the errors of his ways before he understands the true meaning of Christmas as the new Santa Clause...

And BAD NEWS certainly wasn’t foreign to the first Christmas...

Luke 2:1–9 NLT

At that time the Roman emperor, Augustus, decreed that a census should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. (This was the first census taken when Quirinius was governor of Syria.) All returned to their own ancestral towns to register for this census. And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child. And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them. That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,

Now, before I start, I know I always talk about this during Christmas. So, for our River Church family that has heard me preach on Christmas before… I apologize. But it’s honestly my favorite part of the Christmas story!

But let me ask, why are the shepherds greatly afraid?

One answer is because angelic beings appeared out of no where... AT NIGHT. We’d be scared too. You know I would because I’m scared of the dark. But imagine: just minding your business, counting sheep, when all of a sudden they appear. Wings spread out. Feathers getting everywhere. We’d be like, “Hey! Agh! Back up banana hands.”

But there’s actually a more theologically accurate reason. At that time, shepherds weren’t good dudes. Being a shepherd wasn’t like when King David was a shepherd. In the first century, being a shepherd was a job only the lowest of lows did. It was like the prison-release program. Therefore, when the angel of the Lord showed up, they were likely afraid because they thought, “I’m a bad dude. God’s justice has finally caught up with me. The angel of the Lord is here to execute judgment. I’m dead.”

In this first Christmas story, the shepherds fully understood they deserved nothing. Bad news is part of the Christmas story. It’s required for us to understand what Christmas is all about!

And hopefully by now, you understand the truth about this bad news: You understand why you don’t deserve anything for Christmas!

… but here’s the beauty of the GREATER meaning of the Christmas… The beauty of the gospel - the beauty of the message of the Bible… the beauty of the message of our Christian faith.

What’s beautiful about our message is it doesn’t stop at the bad news. It doesn’t stop with, “We’re dead!”

Because after Paul gives us the bad news in Ephesians 2, he also says this… “We were dead…and by nature children of wrath... but verse 4… BUT GOD, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us...”

Say, “That’s good news.”

And the Christmas story doesn’t stop with the bad news of the shepherds… after the angels appeared and they were filled with great fear… because they new the BAD NEWS… verse 10...

Luke 2:10 ESV

And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

Say, “That’s good news.”

That’s the beauty of Christmas. It doesn’t hide the bad news. But it also doesn’t stop at the bad news. Because there’s good news of great joy coming… that will be for all people… including us today.

Response:

As we close, I’m gonna try something different today.

As we discussed the truth that we deserve nothing for Christmas, because by nature, we’re all on the eternal naughty list because of our sins.

But yet, the story doesn’t end there, because GOOD NEWS is coming...

However, I’m gonna tell you all, “That’s exactly where we will pick up next week - at our Christmas service.”

I know for some of you… you may not be a fan with me leaving you (or other people) hanging, especially when it comes to the presenting the gospel… but here’s a few reasons why I’ve chosen to do this today...

I recently heard Andy Stanley (pastor in Atlanta) say this on a podcast and it was a good reminder for me… while pastors and preachers have many responsibilities in the Kingdom of God… one of them is NOT saving your soul. I don’t have the ability to do that. Only God can do that.

Do I play a part in that? Maybe. If God chooses to use my words or life in partnership. But the truth is… God alone saves. The transformation of hearts, the saving of souls is a supernatural work. And the work God wants to accomplish in your life does not depend on me fitting everything in today.

Is tomorrow promised? No. Is there an urgency regarding salvation? Yes. That being said, it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment. Therefore, if God wants to do something in your life today, He will.

And I’ll throw this out too. If you believe God is stirring in your heart today. If you realize you’re on God’s naughty list and you need to get right with God today. Come talk with me today.

That being said… I also want you guys to prioritize coming to Christmas service next Friday. Come listen to the rest of the Christmas story. Come hear the good news about the unexpected gift that is coming… because that’s what Christmas is all about...

The prophet Isaiah said… “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given...” (Isaiah 9:6a). Christmas is about the fact that although we deserve nothing, God has gifted us His Son Jesus - the GREATEST GIFT.

And I’ll give you a sneak peek… only because we already read about it in Ephesians chapter 2. God doesn’t give us this gift because we deserve it. He gives it because He loves us… in the same way most of us will exchange gifts with people - not because they deserve it - but because we love them.

… but again, we’ll pick up there next time.

Let’s pray...

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