Christmas: Christ Is The Ultimate Gift
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Christmas: Christ Is The Ultimate Gift
Christmas: Christ Is The Ultimate Gift
MUSIC BREAK (He Shall Reign/My Jesus)
The Gift of GOD’s Presence
The Gift of GOD’s Presence
Jesus Is GOD With Us
Jesus Is GOD With Us
God did not send an angel or prophet to bridge the gap between heaven and earth; He crossed it Himself. God desires to be near His people. He came not only to rescue us but to restore His relationship with us. Christmas is not about a date, a season, or a manger, it is about the God of the universe stepping into our world.
Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
Christmas is not about a certain date, it is about the arrival of God Himself.
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, And shall call his name Immanuel.
This prophecy, written around 700 years earlier, was fulfilled in Christ and tells us that the presence of God in the flesh was always part of God’s plan.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: And the government shall be upon his shoulder: And his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
This verse confirms that the Messiah would be GOD in the flesh.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
The Greek word for “dwelt” literally means “tabernacled” or “pitched His tent among us.” This echoes God’s presence filling the tabernacle in the Old Testament. Now God’s presence is not in a tent, but in a Person.
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil;
Jesus didn’t just appear human, He became fully human so that He could fully save us.
For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;
This shows He wasn’t just fully human, He was also fully GOD
For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
Christ coming in the flesh was the first sign of God’s ultimate goal, the end of the plan; to dwell with His people in the eternity
The Gift of GOD’s Presence
The Gift of GOD’s Presence
MUSIC BREAK (Here With Us)
The Gift of GOD’s Forgiveness
The Gift of GOD’s Forgiveness
Christ Came To Save
Christ Came To Save
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
That first phrase there “this is a faithful saying”
You will start to notice this same phrase repeated throughout the Bible, and it is there to help emphasize the truth and importance of what is being said.
Point blank the reason for Christ being sent here.
“To save sinner”
Everyone here in the flesh are sinners.
Therefore who was Christ sent into this world to save?
US
point blank,
Christ is God’s gift to us in order to be forgiving of our sins and enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Another example here, a very well known verse.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
If you notice, the reason this verse is so well “advertised” and well known, is because it is an overall summary of the gospel.
God loved the world so much that he sent Christ to be a savior.
I know we talked about it before, and it kind of ties back to James’ message last Sunday about having the right intentions, don't just do things out of repetition, do them for the sincerity of your heart.
We see this verse so much, and it is recited all over that we tend to lose the importance of it,
This verse states “that whosoever believeth in him SHOULD not perish, but have everlasting life”
It does NOT say shall.
“Shall” is a mandatory guarantee
“Should” is a probability or recommendation.
So because this verse says “should” and not “shall”, that tells us, God gave ALL the chance of forgiveness, IF we are willing to believe in His Son.
But not only believe in Him, but also fully submit through faith and our works.
I think we talked about it last Christmas, but remember, Accepting Christ in our hearts is only the beginning.
That is why it says here “should not perish” by believing in Christ, because after we accept him, now it is time to put on our work boots and get busy.
Believing in Christ is only the beginning.
But what this verse is showing us about God’s gift of forgiveness,
Is that even before Christ, man kept constantly failing God’s commandments, all the way back to the Garden of Eden. n
and like it says here, God loved the world SO much, that he sent us salvation even through our sins,
Not a guarantee tho, we still have to meet him halfway, there is still work we have to perform in His name,
But he sent us a savior even after we failed him, He still sent a shepherd to lead by example and who was the living word of God, through His love for us.
Which leads to very next verse in John chapter 3
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
Again, God did not send Christ into this world to punish or put to death,
He sent Christ to be the living word, and lead us by Example through his Gospels, his teachings, and his actions.
God did this out of love and forgiveness toward us, the sinners,
It’s up to us to meet him halfway.
and we see this repeated here in Luke 19
For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.
Son of man, Christ, come to find and save who, Mankind, the sinners, we are all lost without Christ.
We are all wondering around in the dark if we don't have the Light of Christ to guide our path.
His Birth Points To His Mission
His Birth Points To His Mission
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Again here in Matthew
What is a ransom mean?
To obtain the release of a prisoner by making a payment.
We are those prisoners, held captive by sin,
God sent his son Christ, who gave his life as that payment for our ransom.
His blood as payment for a captivity to sin.
Lets simplify it even more for another example.
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Who did God send Christ to die for?
US, the sinners.
This next verse is one of the most powerful verses in an overlook.
Take a look at
For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
That word death there isn't just to die in the flesh, it means to be done away with, eternal death,
But what is the greatest gift we receive from God through his forgiveness?
Eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; And with his stripes we are healed.
He was wounded for our sins, bruised for our immoral behavior,
That phrase “chastisement of our peace” meaning the discipline of our peace was upon Him. Christ.
and Stripes meaning wounds, bruises, WE ARE HEALED,
Again showing us Christ was sent here for US.
He is our gift from God.
Read the very next verse in Isaiah 53 here
All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned every one to his own way; And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
iniquity meaning evil morals.
Mankind, all of us, are blind sheep all turning our own way.
It is subconscious.
Mankind is ignorant, weak, evil, but all of our evil morals, our iniquities have been given to Christ to be done away with through faith and repentance.
Here in Isaiah, this was written roughly 700 years before Christ walked this Earth.
God had the gift of Christ to us planned out since the beginning.
He sent his son to be the chopping block for our sins from all the love toward us.
This shows how much of a loving and fair creator we have.
For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
His birth, in the flesh, being the first step toward our ultimate gift from God.
Christ, sacrificed for our own shortcomings. A fair chance for eternal life and salvation.
In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Conclusion:
This verse here is the ULTIMATE gift we can ever receive.
God’s gift of forgiveness for ALL who have faith and believe in Christ, Knowing, honoring, and living by His word, the word of God, and spreading his light onto others.
This is what it is all about, and like we talked about during Thanksgiving
Enjoying festivities is all fine, but when we tie man made holidays to God, Make sure that we are remembering and celebrating the true meaning,
Jesus’s birth in the manger was just the beginning of God’s gift.
Christ wasn’t sent here by God to just be a figurehead of a man made holiday,
Christ was sent here to be the living sacrifice for our forgiveness and sin and restore our relationship with God.
But just like we went into in John 3:16,
God has sent his gift of forgiveness to all, but its up to each person individually to submit to Christ in order to receive this gift.
But again, don't forget the TRUE meaning of what we are celebrating during this time of year,
It’s not about the materialistic things, we are going to see next Sunday in the last half of Matthew 6 that materialistic things will rust and collect dust,
the TRUE treasures are in heaven and being with God.
The Gift of GOD’s Forgiveness
The Gift of GOD’s Forgiveness
MUSIC BREAK (Adore)
The Gift of GOD’s Transformation
The Gift of GOD’s Transformation
Jesus Give New Life FOREVER, Not Just A Season
Jesus Give New Life FOREVER, Not Just A Season
Some people experience Christmas as a temporary emotional lift, but Christ came to offer a permanent spiritual change.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
Jesus didn’t just come to forgive us, He came to transform us. He came to make us new and to lead us into eternal life.
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Jesus offers eternal life later, and abundant life now. Remember when we studied the Beatitudes and it says “Blesse ARE” not blessed “WILL BE”. Jesus can be that light in our lives RIGHT NOW if we allow Him into our hearts.
God even said that He would do this for us in the Old Testament, again showing this was always the plan, the New Testament again being the fulfillment of Old Testament prophesy.
A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
We then see Paul teaching about this in the New Testament in his letter to Ephesus.
That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
Trying our best to live everyday as that new creature is part of the Christian journey. Christ came in the flesh not just to be a cute baby, but to become the Lord of Lords, King of Kings, our salvation that makes us new, that makes us spotless by being washed in His blood.
The Gift Is For Eternity
The Gift Is For Eternity
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
The gift of salvation is for everyone, forever.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Remember what we have seen in Matthew. Our light is meant to shine upon the world. This verse says that by transforming into that new person, saved by Christ, we can prove what is good and acceptable. When we accept the gift that God has offered us, we can spread that light, we can plant seed, so that others may receive that gift as well.
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:
Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:
But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:
Christ’s birth was humble. His life was humble. And His presence in our lives should make us humble, because we should know that one day still to come, He will return. A might King, riding a war horse instead of a donkey, with every knee bowing to His presence.
CHRIST is the gift of God’s presence, forgiveness, and salvation.
Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
CLOSING MUSIC (Mary Did You Know)
