I.                    Six Ways Satan Is Steeling Christmas.  

Imagine, for a moment, that your friends decided to throw you a big birthday party. You knew who would be coming to your party, and where it would be. But when you arrive, you find the music so loud and your friends having such a good time that they can't hear or see you outside. As you press your face up against the glass, you see pictures of yourself on the tables. You overhear people telling stories about you. Everyone is having a great time while you're standing outside, pounding on the door. You can't get into your own birthday party!

As ridiculous as this may seem, it portrays our Christmas of today: Jesus is outside, trying to get in. I once read a true and tragic story about a wealthy couple in Boston who had a christening party for their new baby. They invited all of their friends and family to their magnificent home to celebrate the birth of their new child. About 30 minutes into the party, they made a tragic discovery. There was a large bedroom where everyone was placing their coats on the bed. Boston is very cold, and so everyone had an overcoat. They had piled their coats high on the bed, and they didn't realize until later that the little baby was lying underneath the coats. The baby had suffocated and died.

Sadly, Christmas can be that way as well. We'll set up our nativity sets, sing a few Christmas carols, do a little shopping, and decorate the tree. We can become involved in all kinds of activities and forget all about Jesus. In the busyness of the celebration, He is altogether forgotten. Yet His birth is so historically important that we divide human history by it: B.C. and A.D. His birth changed the world. Not only did His birth change the world; so did His death. That little baby grew into a man who went to a cross. Spikes were driven through His hands and feet. He shed His blood for the sin of all humanity. Then three days later, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, rose again from the dead. He is alive, and He is here, wanting to come into our lives. But we can miss Him.

So many miss Christmas because they allow other things to take His place. It might be money. It might be a career. It might be fame or pleasure or popularity. It might even be religion. A lot of us think Jesus will just stand on the doorstep of our lives and knock forever. Some may say, "Keep knocking. I'll get to you later." But if there was someone standing at your door, wanting to be invited into your home, don't you think that response would be a little offensive?

This is what we fail to understand. We think the gift of eternal life is something we can get around to when we're in the right mood—when we feel like it. But until then, we reject it and go on. Don't you realize that by refusing to say "yes" to Jesus, you're saying "no" to Him? Jesus is knocking. He wants you to open that door. He offers the gift of eternal life to you.

But you must reach out, take that gift, say "thank you," and enjoy it, because it's the only gift that keeps on giving. It will never go out of style. It will never get old. You'll never have to buy batteries for it.  God offers that gift of eternal life to you. Will you miss it, or will you take it? If you take this gift, it will be the most blessed Christmas you have ever experienced. Forget all the nonsense going on outside of your walls right now—all the noise, the hustle and bustle, the pressure, and the parties. Instead, think about that baby who was born in a stable in Bethlehem one cold night some 2,000 years ago. That baby grew into a man who died on the cross and rose again. He stands at the door and knocks. Will you let Him in? Don't miss Christmas this year. Don't miss Jesus this year. Make time for Him. Open the door and let Him in.

A.                 Why Do So Many Miss The Real Meaning Of Christmas?

The majority of people in the world will miss the next Christmas. But how can that be? How can anyone miss Christmas, given the amount of advertising, publicity, and promotion the holiday receives each year? Because although many celebrate Christmas every year, most don't know what it's about. In spite of all the media promotion of Christmas, the majority of people will miss it because it has become so obscured.

For those of us who know and love the Lord Jesus Christ, Christmas is a time to focus on His birth. But even we can get caught up in the swirl of activity around Christmastime and can miss it in a practical sense. Satan has so cluttered the Christian concept of Christmas with such needless paraphernalia that its true meaning is easily lost.

1.                  Ignorant Preoccupation (Luke 2:7).

a)                  The Innkeeper.

(1)                 He was unable to take in Mary and Joseph.

(2)                 "She gave birth to her first-born son,” “She wrapped Him in swaddling clothes.”  Where were the midwives?

(3)                 Why did the innkeeper miss Christmas? I think the simple answer is preoccupation. He was busy.

2.                  Jealous Fear (Matthew 2:1-3, 7-8).

a)                  Herod the King.

(1)                 Herod was afraid that someone else would take his throne. 

(2)                 Many today miss Christmas because of the same kind of fear that Herod had. 

(3)                 Today people are fearful of giving up their own plans, priorities, values, and morals. They don't want to come to Christ because He wants the throne of their life. 

3.                  Prideful Indifference (Matthew 2:4-6).

a)                  The Experts, the Chief Priests. 

(1)                 Why did they miss Christmas?  Indifference. They didn't care.

(2)                 They had all the facts, but they didn't need a Messiah. Why? Because they were self-righteous-they saw themselves as perfect keepers of the law. In their minds they were all God could ever ask of them.  There was no room for the Son of God in their system.

(3)                 Jesus pinpointed their indifference in (Matthew 9:10-13).

(a)                 Many today miss Christmas because they don’t realize they are sinners.  They don't show any interest in the Savior because they don't understand their need to be saved.

(b)                They don't understand that the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23)-that sin plummets people into an eternal hell. Consequently they ignore the remedy because they don't even know they have the disease.

4.                  Religious Ritual (John 6:39-40).

a)                  The Pharisees.

(1)                 The men knew were trusting in the knowledge, about the scriptures rather than the One whom the Scriptures were about.

(2)                 Many today know what the true meaning of Christmas is, they celebrate what the true meaning is but they never have really trusted Christ as Savior.

(3)                 Religion will damn a soul faster than anything if it is anything less than true worship of the true God. A false religious system gives a person a place to hide-a place where he can mask his spirituality.

(4)                 People steeped in various cults talk about God, Christ, and Scripture, but they don't know Christ. They are lost in the midst of religion. So the people of Jerusalem missed Christmas while they were being religious.

5.                  Idolatry (Luke 2:1-2).

a)                  The Romans. 

(1)                 The Roman soldiers registered the people and took the census.

(2)                 Throughout the life of Christ we see the presence of the Romans.

(a)                 Before His death Christ appeared before Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea (John 18:28-40).

(b)                He was executed by the Romans (Matthew 27:27-36).

(c)                 Roman guards lied about His resurrection, propagating a story to cover up the reality that He rose from the dead (Matthew 28:11-15).

(d)                They all missed Christmas because of their idolatry: they worshiped their own gods.

(3)                 The world today is full of people who worship their own gods.

(a)                 Today some people worship money, boats, houses, computers, etc. 

(b)                You may receive some presents, eat a big dinner, and enjoy a beautifully decorated pine tree, but you'll miss Christmas.

6.                  Over-Familiarity (Luke 2:39-47).

a)                  The People of Nazareth.

(1)                 When Jesus returned to Nazareth, He was unlike any other child in Nazareth.

(2)                 He accompanied His parents to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover when He was twelve years old.  He proceeded to confound the doctors of theology in the Temple and even spent thirty years of His life in Nazareth, yet the residents failed to recognize Him.

Luke 4 unveils the tragedy that took place when Jesus revealed His identity to the Nazarenes: "He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book, and found the place where it was written, 'The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.' And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed upon Him. And He began to say to them, 'Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.' And all were speaking well of Him, and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from His lips; and they were saying, 'Is this not Joseph's son?' . . . . And He said, 'Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his home town'" (vv. 16-22, 24).

(3)                 The people of Nazareth missed Christmas because of over-familiarity. They knew Jesus as Joseph's son, and they didn't view that as anything special.

After Jesus finished speaking in the synagogue, the people "rose up and cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went His way" (vv. 29-30).

(4)                 I have seen many youth raised in a Christian environment who are not Christians.  When you've heard something so many times without doing anything about it, such familiarity can breed contempt.

Mark 6:6 gives us Christ's own analysis of the people of Nazareth: "He wondered at their unbelief." Matthew 13:58 adds, "He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief."

(5)                 Over-familiarity with Christmas truth can breed a stony heart. You had better respond while your heart is soft, or your heart will become hard and you won't have the opportunity to respond (Proverbs 29:1).

7.                  Conclusion.

a)                  There are many ways to miss Christmas:

(1)                 ignorant preoccupation, ritual, idolatry, and over-familiarity.  But behind all those reasons is unbelief.  Many people simply refuse to believe in Jesus Christ.

The apostle John said, "He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name" (John 1:10-12).

(2)                 If you've been missing the reality of Christmas in your life, know that if you receive the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in His name, Christmas will become real to you.

(3)                 It can happen today; and it's between you and God (2 Corinthians 6:1-2; Romans 10:8-11).

Paul was urging the Corinthians to "Not to receive the grace of God in vain— for He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now is “the day of salvation”— " (2 Corinthians 6:1-2, NASB95)

"But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed." (Romans 10:8-11, NASB95)