Christmas: The Joy of the World
Christmas Message • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction
Introduction
Today is Christmas Eve, where we celebrate the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a joy to have it fall on Sunday where we remind ourselves every week of Him. However, as you know, in the midst of the cultural and generational development and direction, we lose track of why we are happy and joyful in this season. As I drove to New York for a business dinner and on the way back stopped by a Starbucks, I could not but wonder at the people all saying “Happy Holidays” as they greeted me off. So did the people at Wawa and other stores greet their customers. According to some social stigma, it has become a Taboo to use the phrase “Merry Christmas”. Imagine when on your birthday it is taboo to tell you “Happy Birthday” but rather have to say “Have a happy day”. It is ridiculous.
Of course, Dec. 25th is not the historical date when Jesus was born. We do not know exactly when He was born but the fact is that He was born and no one can dispute this historical fact. As we want to celebrate the coming of Christ, the early church has chosen this date to commemorate Christ’s birth on this earth that is truly remarkable, special and enough reason to be joyful about.
However, again, because of such developments in this culture, not only are we losing Christmas outside of the church, but because of those things, we lose the nature of Christmas even within the church. We do not know why we are celebrating Christmas anymore - it becomes a day of presentations at church, a long day of programs, one more day at church. For others, they do not even bother coming to church on Christmas, because the world feeds them the message that Christmas is about family and gifts.
This is my last Christmas here with you as your pastor. But before I leave I hope I can preach this message clearly, why we are joyful at Christmas and why we must keep Christ in Christmas - it is because He loved us and came according to the great plan of God to this world, to fulfill what we could not fulfill - to save us - all because of love. Christmas is the symbol of love that the so eternally far away God loved us so much that He sent His Son to this world to die for us. I hope all of you can remember this message as you go and be joyful on this wonderful day in this wonderful seasons.
The Definite Plan
The Definite Plan
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.
How wonderful the message is that Paul is bringing to the church of Ephesus. As he introduces himself and his message, he bring the main point of the Gospel right to the table. Why is Christ and Christmas so special? It is because Christ came and fulfilled a definite plan that was from the beginning.
Unlike pop-culture where they show how “accidental” children turn out to be the greatest gifts in their lives, Christ was nothing like that. The birth of Christ was not an accident, neither did it just happen because Mary and Joseph loved each other. Actually, Mary never had an intimate relationship with Joseph before the birth of Christ.
but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus.
The greatest of the birth of Christ, is beyond Him just being born in the little town of Bethlehem. The greatness of the birth of Christ lies in the fact that the moment when He was born 2000 years ago, it was all set up even before the world ever existed. Here in Ephesians it says “even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world...” In another passage it is said this:
He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you
Not only were we predestined but He also was planned from all eternity to come into this world to die for us! Nothing was a chance but in Christ, God upheld His promise to send a delivered
For to us a child is born,
to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon his shoulder,
and his name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
The Fulfillment
The Fulfillment
Beyond His birth, beyond the eternal nature and plan of His existence as God and Man in Christ, is the fact that He came for the fulfillment of a definite plan. Even though, He came as God, not only was He born humbly in a manger, but He came to die!
this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers were gathered together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed’—
for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
See, there is joy because He could have come to judge us all. He could have come to be served. He could have come as the great King in all of His power and majesty destroying everything and everyone and His glory would have been uphold! But He did not choose to do that - even though maybe He should have for we are worthless sinners anyways. But instead HE came to fulfill something we have not fulfilled - to make us pure again - to bridge the eternal gap that is between us and God
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
He reconciled us, even though we did not deserve it! That is why Paul in his gospel message tells us this
So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
He made us debtors as He made into Sons - an oxymoron for we cannot be debtors as sons to the Father. But that is the message he is saying: WE DID NOT DESERVE IT yet He did!
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Because of Love
Because of Love
The real question though which makes Christ’s coming even more special is the question “Why did He do all these things?” First, why did God send His Son to this world and second, why did the Son listen to the Father? Jesus was the one in whom the Father in Heaven was well pleased as we have seen in the earlier chapters of John. He was also the one in whom and through whom all things were made and sustained. In Colossians 2:9 it says
For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
The whole deity was in Him so why did He did such a blasphemous thing - dying for worthless people like us. Imagine you see someone who has wronged you - and not only a little bit, but in the worst way possible. Imagine someone who bullied you, someone who called you names, someone who has treated you unfairly, maybe even physically abused you - and imagine, your beloved Father send you to die for that person. We are all good children I hope, listening to our parents and doing all the things they say, but would you do such a thing - especially if you had all the power to resist? Christ did that all in His own accord.
Jesus answered, “If I glorify myself, my glory is nothing. It is my Father who glorifies me, of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’
He denied to glorify Himself which He could have done.
So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him,
“You are my Son,
today I have begotten you”;
He lowered Himself to listen to die for the people who hurt Him and insulted Him the most. The question is why!
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
That is why.
Let us read in Genesis 1:31
And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day.
This was what God said after He made man. Before, after making the the whole universe, the earth and its living things, He said “it was good” but when He made man, He said “It was very good”
He loved us. He loves us. He will love us till the end. He is jealous for us to the point of sending His own Son to redeem us. How foolish and stupid but that is just how much He loves you and Christmas symbolizes that for you - that God is not a God of Words only but fulfilled His Love by giving us His Son
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
Conclusion
Conclusion
What greater joy than being loved by someone whom we love. What greater blessing than true love? There is nothing greater. The Christmas season is our anniversary of seeing God’s love being fulfilled. So, this is not a family holiday, where we rather spend at home or on vacation with our families while skipping church, but it is more about spending time with family in church glorifying the Father who loved us all so much that not only are we saved, but we through His love can love Him and each other - truly blessing us with all the best blessings.
I hope that you see Christmas is not about you. You have already received everything you could have ever hoped for. I hope your joy lies in Christ in this season every year and that we can celebrate this season for the right reason and that with joy and pride we will say to all around “Merry Christmas” for God so loved us and loves us still and want more of His people to come to Him. So, lets wish everyone “Merry Christmas”