Unwrapping Christmas #1

Intro:

Me - I love Christmas. Nobody does Christmas like the church. I grew up in church.

Me - I love Christmas. Nobody does Christmas like the church. I grew up in church.

Ill - 3rd Grade Bible Teacher - What is the best part of Christmas? PRESENTS!!! When my mom came to check me out she pulled her aside… Car ride home. Mom asked same question. PRESENTS!!! What should be the best part? Jesus’ birth.

You know what my favorite part of Christmas is now that I’m 44 yrs old? PRESENTS! But they look different now. I get excited about what the birth of Jesus means to me and the world. Salvation! Eternity and earth...

I’ve discovered since then just what Christmas means. I know that because of Christmas I have amazing gifts from God that I can unwrap daily. I also have understood that most times I get up and I don’t unwrap His gifts. When I unwrap Christmas then I experience their benefits. When I don’t unwrap them dysfunction reveals itself in my life.

I also have understood that most times I get up and I don’t unwrap His gifts. When I unwrap Christmas then I experience their benefits. When I don’t unwrap them dysfunction reveals itself in my life.

We - As we look at the coming days of this Christmas season most of us don’t see delight we see dysfunction. T

We love dysfunction in Christmas movies. Cousin Eddy is hilarious. When we see it in the people we love we cringe. When we see it in ourselves we shutter. So what is your dysfunction? Can you name it?

Dysfunctions create a Christmas cocktail that is very hard to swallow. Most of us are not looking forward to Christmas gathering because of the deep dysfunction. This Christmas will be no different than any other Christmas.

Acceptance and we try to please everyone.

Security and we will control everything.

Significance and we can wait to preform.

These dysfunctions create a Christmas cocktail that is very hard to swallow. Most of us are not looking forward to Christmas gathering because of the deep dysfunction. This Christmas will be no different than any other Christmas.

95 percent of people in our society have a strong sense of inadequacy, Inferiority, and insecurity. - Maxwell Maltz

God - This is not a new problem. When you look at the biblical account of Christmas we see major dysfunction. The Christmas story was chaotic.

God sent Jesus to earth at Christmas to be our messiah. Jesus wasn’t sent to a fancy, formal family but His first coming environment was dysfunctional and dirty.

Jesus family had no money, no name and no influence. Out of that mess Jesus was going to rise us to be King of Kings. This story involves a virgin birth. Can you imagine the looks and the gossip. The emotions Mary and Joseph had to navigate they were not accepted and experienced rejection from society. Their lives were completely out of control so security was tough to grasp. This unwed teenage couple felt very insignificant.

Did you ever notice that the very first visitors to Jesus birth were not family. Was there absence their dysfunction disapproval? Who was there? Shepherds. Stinky, lowly sheep herders. The biblical Christmas story was every bit as dysfunctional, chaotic and messed up as our situations. It was exactly the way God wanted it! He did this for our benefit because He loves us. God knew we needed rescued from rejection, control, and insignificance.

Never unwrapping Christmas and it’s message, ensures we will never recover from the mess.

If we don’t use the gift of Christmas to deal with sin, negative patterns pleasing, controlling and performance we will stay in the chaos and mess. God also knew that we couldn’t rescue ourselves. That healing and the vicious cycle wouldn’t start with us. God knew that He had to send Jesus to experience the exact same dysfunction so that we would listen.

John 3:16–17 NLT

16 “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

John 3:16-

He gave

God gave us a gift to unwrap and that gift rescues and points the way to recovery. I love Eugene Petterson’s paraphrase...

John 3:16–17 The Message

16 “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life. 17 God didn’t go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again.

whole and lasting life

We need to unwrap that God sent Jesus to save, everyone spends forever somewhere, but also to set free. It’s not more pleasing, controlling and preforming that give us a whole and lasting life. We long for our world to be made right. But we don’t experience that desire. How do we unwrap this message and truly recover from the mess?

Sure God sent Jesus to give you heaven and eternal life BUT he also sent Jesus to save you as you are confronted with chaos at gathering this Christmas season.

Let’s not go through the motions again. What if we believed Jesus could make our lives whole and functional. Each week we are going to take one dysfunction and be rescued and recover from the mess.

Unwrapping The Gift Of Security

Ex: Man was secure in the garden. In their original home was perfection until the enemy lied to them and they turned away from God and His perfect plan. They were no longer secure in God. They needed to be rescued and recover from disobedience. Anxiety entered the world and this huge dysfunctional desire to control and manipulate people and situations started dominating thoughts and actions. Man stopped having faith in God and started trying to control. Mess. Chaos. We are still dealing with this today.

95 percent of people in our society have a strong sense of inadequacy, Inferiority, and insecurity. - Maxwell Maltz

Ill - My insecurity (ride to Fruitland with pastor Greg)

The longer I don’t unwrap the gift of security, ensures that I will stay insecure.

Ill - My insecurity (ride to Fruitland with pastor Greg)

Dysfunctional Lie We Believe:

The more I can control, the more secure I feel.

I wonder if any of you have not unwrapped security. Do you have areas of your life do you battle to be in control? Do you try to manufacture, manipulate every situation to come out to your desired ending?

TRANSITION: I want to unwrap two stories, three signs and a solution for insecurity.

We see two stories in Scripture of security and insecurity. & 2 reveal these peoplw. The gift of Jesus disrupted these two guys and the control they had. Again, one didn’t unwrap the gift and the other one did. Let’s take a look.

We see two examples in Scripture of security and insecurity. & 2 reveal these characters. The gift of Jesus disrupted these two guys and the control they had. Again, one didn’t unwrap the gift and the other one did. Let’s take a look.

King Herod’s Reaction

King Herod never unwrapped Christmas and it’s message and never recovered from the mess.

He was the ruler of the day and the idea of a new King threatened his security. He didn’t think this could be a miracle. This could be the answer that our efforts have not been able to fix.

Matthew 2:1–3 NLT

1 Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, 2 “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.” 3 King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.

deeply disturbed you feel this when insecurities rise up

Matthew 2:16 NLT

16 Herod was furious when he realized that the wise men had outwitted him. He sent soldiers to kill all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, based on the wise men’s report of the star’s first appearance.

furious - when we are disturbed, out of control, it turns into rage.

The more I can control, the more secure I feel. We react and pay no attention to the carnage it creates.

When we listen to our feelings and react good things don’t happen. It ensures that rescue and recovery are still a long way away.

Joseph’s Reaction

Joeseph unwrapped Christmas and it’s message and recovered from the mess.

Joseph was Jesus step dad. He was his earthly father. There where similar circumstances to Herod but a totally different reaction. The pattern of feelings were the same. Inside the emotions where the similar.

Matthew 1:18–21 NLT

18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. 20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

v.20 considered

Matthew 1:18–19 NLT

18 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.

v. 19 quietly

Matthew 1:

Ex: Imagine what Joseph felt… do you know what people are going to say? God wouldn’t do this? God? Furious, yes. When the unpredictable happens we FEEL something. The new thing in our life causes us to react.

Matthew 1:20–21 NLT

20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

v.20 considered

v.20 considered

The key to rescue and recovery is the PAUSE to consider.

Matthew 1:24–25 NLT

24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Matthew 1:24-25

v. 24 he did as the angel of the Lord commanded

Very different than Herod. He didn’t react in the moment because he felt a certain way. Because of Jesus we don’t have to be controlled by our feelings and react to every little circumstance.

To stop and consider faith is the gift we need to unwrap. It is the difference in the dysfunction.

This is hard! This takes work and effort - learning to respond with discipline and not by how you feel takes empowerment of this Jesus. It is not a formula is is faith. Not feeling but faith in God is the first step to a whole and lasting life.

You cannot have faith and control. You’ve got to choose.

What We Must Remember:

When it comes to insecurities, our feelings are great servants, but never great masters.

The Truth that we unwrapped today that will make this Christmas different. The Truth that we rescue and recover us from the mess and dysfunction is that YOUR FEELINGS LIE TO YOU.

57.28

I have all kinds of feeling that I know I can’t react to. Yell, Argue, Scream or Punch. Responses out of disturbance are not good masters. They serve your feelings and not faith. They fuel feelings and not faith.

When it comes to insecurities, we must pause proactively, and not respond re-actively.

Learning to pause protectively is hard. Responding restrictively is easy. Don’t trust your feelings just do what is right. YOUR QUICK REACTIVE RESPONSES DON’T SERVE YOU WELL.

King Harod’s control and insecurity led to more chaos. Joseph’s faith and security led to more faith.

TRANSITION: I want to unwrap two stories, three signs and a solution for insecurity.

Signs of Insecurity

Competitiveness - One of the biggest problems of insecurity is competition. When I see people as someone to beat its a bad sign. This is were jealousy and resentfulness dig into your soul.

Solution: My competition is the world, the flesh and the devil; not other people. Remember who you are in Christ.

Combativeness - The need to have my way all the time causes me to fight. I can do the right thing in the wrong way.

Solution: Make your goal to always be like Christ, not to always be right in the eyes of others.

Complaining - This is one of the least attractive signs of insecurity. If I vilify a person I can vindicate myself.

Solution: Speak with people not about people.

TRANSITION: I want to unwrap two stories, three signs and a solution for insecurity.

When things seem out of control Scripture is a “shock absorber” for your soul.

Philippians 4:6–7 NLT

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

This is why Christmas is such a big deal! Jesus came on a rescue mission to save us from our sin and rescue us from insecurity. Isaiah written 700 years before....

Philippians 4:6 NLT

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Isaiah 9:6 NLT

6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Isaish 9:6

Prince of Peace

He is the peace giver let’s unwrap PEACE this Christmas! Let’s allow the gift of the Gospel and the security that it brings make this Christmas different! Let’s be like Joseph and pause and consider that God is in control and have faith in Him. He is who He says He is and He will do what He has promised He is going to do.

Ill: Not to many Christmas’ ago I was going through treatment for Male Breast Cancer. Yes, I was shocked too. I had been a pastor for over 20 years and I had to deal with the lump. I felt very insecure in a Breast Care Clinic with a smock on getting ready to have a mammogram. (Hey pastor Mark)

I was tested and the doctor gave the diagnosis. Breast cancer… that was disturbing new. But I paused proactively instead of responding re-actively. We didn’t know what to do. I met with a breast cancer navigator. Her name was Kristy. Sitting there in my insecurity Kristy walks in and I lost it. I lost it because Kristy had been a student of ours when I was a youth pastor. She was Jesus to me that day. Because of Christmas Kristy was able to walk me through surgeries and treatments. A PEACE came over me I can’t describe. It was the security that the Gospel brings. I knew that I was loved by God and no matter what I was going to be ok.

I received peace. I considered that God could use this as a megaphone in a world of noise.

BTW there are close to 30,000 unchurched people within a 20 mile radius of Brevard. Every church building in TCounty could do 10 services a week and still not seat the people.

I want to pause and be led by faith. God is who He says He is and will do what He has promised to do.

You don’t want to be an insecure dad, boss, friend that causes insecure families, employee and relationship.

App: Let’s make this Christmas different. As you approach having to face those people and situation that make you feel insecure know who you are in Jesus. You are secure. As you pack the truck to go to that family gathering don’t forget to pack the present of security.

Conc:

Next Move Prayer: Will you commit to a NEXT MOVE today. I desire to see you move into a more dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ.

Imagine what your life will look like if…

If you commit to praying this BOLD prayer everyday this week would you lift your hand up. I’m thankful for you.

Prayer for those that made this commitment. Pray through the Truths.

First Move Prayer: For some of you your NEXT MOVE into a more dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ will be a FIRST MOVE. If you’ve never asked Jesus to be the forgiver of your sins and the leader of your life I want to give you that opportunity today. Sinner’s prayer. Repeat.

Would you lift your hand right now and say, “I asked Jesus to be the forgiver of my sins and the leader of my life.”

Let’s celebrate these NEXT MOVES and these FIRST MOVES.