Ugly Christmas Sweater (2)
Ugly Christmas Sweater • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 3 viewsDuring the Christmas season, we see both the best of humanity, and the worst... We celebrate the Lord with dim lighting and candles, singing "Silent Night". Then, the next day, It's "black Friday" all over again!!! People get ugly! Instead of celebrating the true meaning of Christmas, our Faith seems to be set aside for material purposes.... The Question is: WHY??? And How do we get back to a “right” Christmas?
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Transcript
Have you ever noticed that during this time of the year — during the Christmas season — we often witness the best of humanity, and the worst of humanity, ALL AT THE SAME TIME?!?!?
One moment we’re celebrating our saviour with candlelight services and singing “Silent Night”… The next, we’re joining the rest of the country in pushing and shoving and fighting over that video game, tv, ipad, etc… that our kids want for Christmas!
It’s like “Black Friday” all over again!
WHY????
— The emphasis is on getting it right!
We want the perfect Christmas…
We want it bright and white…
We want the perfect tree… the perfect decorations…
We want everyone to be happy and joy-filled… peaceful…
We want to be able to give plenty and get plenty…
And, we want our gifts to be the most liked!
We’ve all seen those holiday movies — Mom (or Dad) rushing around… frantically trying to get the perfect gifts… the perfect tree… create the perfect gatherings… everyone has to be happy and civil…
Only to have it all fall apart in the end!
I believe God wants us to get it right. BUT…
I believe that He is not as interested in us having a “White Christmas” as He is in us having a “RIGHT Christmas”!
You see… Christmas is not about the perfect tree… It’s not about the perfect gifts… or everyone acting perfect… It is about a perfect saviour!
11 “The multitude of your sacrifices— what are they to me?” says the Lord. “I have more than enough of burnt offerings, of rams and the fat of fattened animals; I have no pleasure in the blood of bulls and lambs and goats.
12 When you come to appear before me, who has asked this of you, this trampling of my courts?
13 Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations— I cannot bear your worthless assemblies.
Do you hear God’s heart right there?!?
So… How do we have a “Right Christmas”? How do we move past the tension… the stress… the ugliness, and allow the blessing and wonder of Christmas to shine through?!
Well… First, We need to Come Home.
Look at Rev 2:4-5
4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.
5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.
WE NEED TO GO HOME FOR CHRISTMAS!
That’s what Joseph had to do… He has been through a lot!
His wife has been found pregnant, and not by him!
He thought about leaving her… But the angel changed that…
He’s been given an amazing… mind-boggling… prophecy about the child… If it really is true… If it really is what the Angel said… the implications are astounding!!!
Matthew tells us that this prophecy… this promise… is what changed his mind… he decided to stick with Mary, and that was all fine — nine months ago!—…but now…
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 their 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.
Have you ever noticed that sometimes — when we just stop… and take a step back … and wait — you know, hit “pause”…
God does something amazing?!?!
That’s what God does in Joseph’s life....
Sometimes, we need a miracle, but not just any miracle…
We Need The Right Miracle.
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 guest room available for them.
Can I tell you something?
The true essence of Christmas is not in tinsel and trees… It’s not in gifts and glitter… It’s not even in family and friends…
The true essence of Christmas is found right here in verse 7.
Luke 2:7 (NIV)
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 guest room available for them.
The true essence of Christmas is in the birth of a baby!
But not just any baby… God in human flesh!
Some of us need a Christmas miracle!
Think about Joseph for a minute…
He has traveled 90 miles across rugged terrain… with a nearly 9 month pregnant girl… (yes, I said girl…) Mary was only between 12-14 years old when she gave birth to Jesus!
Can you imagine?!?!
He leads his donkey all the way, Mary riding… He walking… He gets to his home town, thinking he’s going to be staying at the Hampton Inn, and… nothing!
There’s no room!!!
(side note — the inn keeper was the first person to reject Jesus.)
Joseph is mad… He’s angry… His wife is pregnant… She’s uncomfortable… and the Baby is due soon… How dare they reject them!
What will they do now? Where will they turn? Where will they stay?
There is no doubt, Joseph is getting ugly!
He NEEDED a miracle!
God supplies it…
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 guest room available for them.
There’s room in the stables… the common place of the shepherds.... They have what they need!
It may not be fancy… It may not be perfect… but it is a roof over their heads!
Now… I want you to think about this: Did Joseph go home because of what was buried in Bethlehem, or for what was born there?
Look at Micah 5:2
2 “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.”
Joseph would have known this prophecy… He was from the tribe of Benjamin…
But…
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 their own town to register.
Joseph came home to fulfill the Law… in obedience to the king’s decree… He had no thought of a miracle birth!
(he was probably thinking the opposite!)
???: Are you going home this Christmas looking for a miracle birth, or remembering what was buried?
Are you looking for the incarnation and the implications of that miraculous event?
Or, Are you just going through the motions?
I think sometimes, we are just like Joseph… We’re going through the motions of fulfilling the world’s requirements for the season…
We NEED a miracle!!!
So did Joseph…
19 But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.
I guarantee you that Joseph did too!
He traveled all that way… just to fulfill a royal decree… He just wanted to get it over with… He was going through the motion…
And God gave him a miracle!!!!
He’s done the same for us!
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
You see Christmas is not about gifts… and trees… and lights… and family… It’s not even about being kind to each other…
It’s about the birth of our Saviour!!!
It’s about the birth of the ONE who has made us right with God!
It’s about the One who has rewritten our story! Who has changed the ending!
We need to see that miracle!
But sometimes… that means
We Need the Right Message.
And that’s what this part of the story is all about!
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 that will cause great joy for all the people.
11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
I think sometimes we miss part of this story… It has been told so much… It has been talked about so many times, that we’ve become numb to it…
These shepherds were not calm… They were terrified… but the angel offered them a message of grace, peace, hope, blessing, joy, and salvation.
Look at their message again:
Luke 2:10–12 (NIV)
10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
It was a PERSONAL message. “to you” a child is born…
It was a POWERFUL message, to you “a Saviour” has been given…
It was a PROFOUND message, “he is the Messiah”…
It was a POINTED message, “this will be a sign to you”…
This message is a message of Faith over Fear.
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,
27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.
28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”
Gabriel calls Mary a “favored woman”… But look at the next verse:
29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.
Mary was afraid.
Verse 34 says that Mary asks, “How can this happen? I am a virgin.”
Mary’s fear threatened to overcome her faith.
I wonder, are we doing the same thing? Are we putting our fear over our faith?
We may not be facing the same thing Mary was, but we are all facing things… Are we allowing our fear of those things overcome our faith in the promises of God?
You see… Faith can feel like interference and interruption.
It can feel out of place.
But…
There is a relationship between Fear and Favor.
Think about it… Before every major character in the Bible experienced a miracle, they were afraid?
— The shepherds were afraid of the angels
— Mary was afraid of the message
— Abram was afraid of the promise
— Paul was afraid to preach in Corinth
— John was afraid of the risen Lord
— Esther was afraid to go to the king
But they ALL experienced miracles!
Until you feel fear, you haven’t really found faith.
Let me explain… Fear tests Faith.
If you hear nothing else today, I want you to hear this message: You are highly favored — STOP LIVING IN FEAR!!!
You see… We struggle to receive the Word.
We hear it, but then we say: “How can these things be, I am a virgin?”
That’s our biggest problem… We seem to be hooked on the validation of other people.
If we don’t get validation, we have trouble believing God’s favor over us.
Think about it…
Mary said, “How can this be? I’m a virgin?”
We replace “virgin” with “ADDICT, BROKE, UNEDUCATED, DIVORCED, LAZY, LIAR, ....”
We say:
How can I be rich when people say I’m poor? How can I be strong when people say I’m weak? How can I be the head when my friends say I’m the tail?
How can I be above when my situation looks beneath? How can I be an overcomer when it looks like everything has pressed me down? How can I have peace when I feel so confused? How can I have joy when I’ve been going through a season of depression?
How can this be?!?
The Angel said: “That’s why I came WITH THIS MESSAGE! To tell you that your circumstances are lying, your conditions are not true… What you feel doesn’t matter. Your flesh will not confirm it… Your emotions will not validate it… Your friends will not collaborate it… Humanity will not condone it…but you ARE highly Favored!!!!
And what God is getting ready to do in your life, He will not need a partner, a board, a committee, to do it… He doesn’t need man’s help…
He’s going to do it through your lonely… empty… lacking… troubled self…”
That ought to be our message all through out the year!
“God help us to go and tell this lost and dying world that they are highly favored!!!!”
Help us to tell them about a living… loving Saviour.... Who can give them grace… peace… hope… blessing… joy… and salvation.
That’s the real meaning of Christmas!
You are HIGHLY FAVORED by a living and loving Saviour!
Is that the message others are receiving as they watch your life?
Do you believe that message?
Are you sharing that message?
When Joseph walked out of that Inn’s office, he had 2 choices: Be bitter and ugly, or put on his coat and trust God.
The worst possible moment, became his greatest opportunity.
Our worst possible moments can become our greatest opportunities, IF WE TRUST GOD!!!
12 Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
The Greek word used for “clothe” is “endyo”.
Endyo - “dress oneself” to “sink into a garment” or “to cover yourself.”
If we are going to love people well, and not act like an ugly Christmas sweater… We must intentionally put on new… better kinds if actions.
… COMPASSION… KINDNESS… HUMILITY… GENTLENESS… PATIENCE.
Christmas is not about what you can get or how much you can give… Or how much control you have… It’s about how you can glorify God…
That’s how we have a right Christmas.