The Original Spirit of Christmas
The Original Christmas Spirit
Preached by Pastor Phil Layton on 12/17/2006 at Gold Country Baptist Church
Introduction
I probably don’t have to convince most of you that secular Christmas celebrations have gone far astray from the original intent and meaning of the season.
Someone has said that Christmas is when we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace by giving our kids toy rockets, machine guns, and violent computer games.
Other cynical sayings:
“Christmas is the time of the year when Mother has to separate the men from the toys.”
“What most mothers want for Christmas is the day after.”
“Nothing destroys the Christmas spirit faster than looking for a parking place.”
WHAT IS THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT?
I heard a sermon on this a number of years back that prompted my thinking and doing a study on this that I thought would be helpful to share with you. If you were to ask people to define the Christmas spirit, you would get a wide divergence of answers.
- To Scrooge, the Christmas spirit was a ghost, the spirit of Christmas past, present, and future
- To most others, the spirit of Christmas includes a positive feeling they get this time of year when the traditional festivities take place
- One person might describe this spirit as the feeling you get when you hear Christmas music in the department stores, or whatever puts you “in the mood”
- Someone else may say they really feel like they’re in the Christmas spirit when they put up the tree and lights in their house, or maybe when you watch certain seasonal movies or put stockings and other decorations up
- If you saw a house at night on your drive home that is decorated with elaborate and phenomenal lights and displays and Santa and his sleigh and lights on timer on the candy canes that go up and down, and a set for each of the twelve days of Christmas, and maybe even a nativity set if they’re semi-religious, then many would say that that house is really really in the Christmas spirit (and going to have a really, really big electric bill)
- Another person might say that the true spirit of Christmas is about being kind to our fellow man, showing goodwill or benevolence or charity toward the less fortunate
- Someone who works for the Post Office or Fed Ex or UPS could probably argue well that packages and cards expressing sentiments and wishes of well-being are the most common spirit of Christmas that is expressed
- Many others might describe the Christmas spirit as some sort of a temporary truce within their family, where they try and put aside their differences and not bring up their quarrels or issues that have never been dealt with, kind of a “can’t we all just get along” time and make momma happy at least for one day
- I’ve heard people say Christmas is all about the kids
- One little boy suggested that the Christmas spirit is really contentment because that’s what you need to be when you don’t get what you want for a present
- Someone more mature might describe the spirit of Christmas as an attitude of happiness because of fellowship, fun, friendship, and family -> any one of these could prove top candidates on a list of proposals for what the Christmas spirit is
- If you wanted to sound even more spiritual, you might say that the true spirit of the season is giving sacrificially and generously, or showing love to others
Christians who think even somewhat deeply about this question know that the Christmas spirit must be something more than chestnuts roasting on an open fire, or drinking an egg nog latte from Starbucks, or singing Jingle Bells out in the cold in front of someone’s house. But what is it? A feeling, a family peace, is it fellowship, is it love, is it giving?
I would suggest that none of those are the original Christmas spirit. I love many of those things, I am not a Scrooge or a Grinch, I enjoy Christmas parties and presents and pine trees and positive attitudes and peaceful sentiments. Certainly things like giving and love are noble and appropriate this time of year.
But I would contend that while the Christmas spirit may result in those things, it is actually something more fundamental.
Turn with me to Luke 1. I want to look at the spirit of those in the original Christmas story, the attitude of those associated with the original events. As we read these, I think you will find that there was a remarkably common and consistent spirit among these people, a reaction or heart attitude or action that will show us what the original Christmas spirit is. We often will look at just a few verses in depth, but there is also value in sometimes taking a broader look of the whole story to help us understand the theme that God was unfolding through His people.
Elizabeth’s response - READ 1:39-44 (praise, wonder, humility, joy)
Mary’s response – 1:46-47 (praise, exalting / glorifying the Lord, spirit rejoicing in God)
Zechariah’s response – 1:62-64 (praising God)
Angel’s response – 2:13-14 (praising God, saying “Glory to God in the highest”)
Shepherd’s response – 2:20 (praising and glorifying God)
Simeon’s response – 2:25-28 (blessed God, “glory of Israel” in v. 32)
Anna’s response – 2:36-38 (giving thanks to God)
Magi’s response – MATTHEW 2:1-2, 10-12 (worship, rejoiced exceeding with great joy)
Notice the diversity of people, but the common response.
- Simple unsophisticated shepherds as well as scholarly sages from afar
- the elderly as well as a young teenage girl
- people serving in the temple as well as those simply serving God in their ordinary place in the world
- common people as well as a priest of Israel –Zechariah
- not only men but angels
- even an unborn baby named John gets in on the joy and praise.
- in a culture that considered women largely excluded from spiritual truth and God’s purposes, the first two and last who respond to this story in Luke’s gospel are godly women.
The common denominator in all these people is they were glorifying God, praising God. Perhaps the best summary statement of the original Christmas spirit is by the angels when they proclaimed “Glory to God in the highest”
The true spirit of Christmas is glorifying God. The everyday spirit of a Christian is to glorify God. There are different words used of the people in the original Christmas story and used by the people in this story, but it’s the same attitude or spirit
–> The ultimate purpose of the Jesus coming to earth is even deeper than salvation, it is the glory of God.
John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and dwelt among His, and we beheld His glory”
TURN TO John 17 – read v. 1-5, 10, 13 (notice connection between joy and glory)
Read 17:22-24
TURN TO Philippians 2:5-11 -> Notice the ultimate end is to the glory of God
Why will Jesus come again in the great day of consummation?
2 Thessalonians 1:9-10, "Those who do not obey the gospel will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction and exclusion from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might, when he comes on that day to be glorified in his saints and to be marveled at in all who have believed... "
I did a word study on how often the word “glorify” is used in the Bible, and the vast majority are in the gospels, when Jesus was here on the earth, miracles, etc.
The ultimate purpose of Jesus coming to earth was not salvation or any benefit to us – the ultimate purpose is that God would be glorified. The angels did proclaim peace toward men that God is pleased with, but the first statement was “Glory to God in the Highest.” God’s glory was manifested in the highest degree, or in the highest place, or to the greatest degree, when Jesus came to earth.
I remember seeing an advertisement for a church where it said “come this Sunday and learn how the good news of the gospel is all about you.” Well, actually, the gospel is all about God and His glory, and you can be thankful you benefit but it’s not about you.
WHAT SHOULD BE OUR RESPONSE – HOW DO WE GLORIFY GOD?
- Submitting to Lordship of Christ
Phil. 2, Rom 3:23 vs. 10:9
- Jesus did not call for intellectual decisions, He demanded disciples.
- It’s not so much a matter of walking down an aisle, as it is following Jesus and walking in faith, not by sight
- The gospel call is not add Jesus to your life, He must be Lord of your life
- It’s not say a formula prayer and then you can have assurance of salvation, even if your life stays the same way, the Bible says “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. Old things have passed away, new things have come” (2 Cor. 5:17)
- It’s a little dangerous to assure people God loves them just the way they are, if we don’t explain that God loves them too much to leave them the way they are in sin
- We need to make sure we present a God-centered gospel rather than a man-centered gospel, if we would glorify God.
Jesus is more concerned about the glory of God than about us. The gospel message is not self-improvement, it’s self-denial. Jesus said that if you would follow Him, you must deny yourself, count the cost, to not look back like someone plowing, to take up your cross, to be willing to die to self for him, it’s an end of self in pursuit of Christ.
Jesus came to save those who recognize their utter sinfulness and hopelessness and who in humble repentant faith are trusting 100% in Jesus Christ ALONE as their Lord and Savior. It is only by grace, not grace plus what we do, grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, plus nothing, minus nothing. The only works that please God are the works of Christ in His life, death, and resurrection.
Without faith it is impossible to please God or glorify God, but with faith we can.
Rom. 4:20 “Abraham did not waver in unbelief, but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, being fully assured that what He promised, He was also able to perform”
Charles Spurgeon said “One thing is past all question: we shall bring our Lord most glory if we get from Him much grace. If I have much faith, so that I can take God at His word … I shall greatly honor my God and King”
- By True Worship and Praise
This is the consistent response we see in the original Christmas story, that everyone had the spirit or attitude of glorifying God by their praise or worship (Elizabeth, Mary, Zechariah, angels, shepherds, Simeon, Anna, Magi)
Ps 50:23 “Whoever offers praise glorifies me” (NKJV)
Ps 86:9 “All nations whom You have made Shall come and worship before You, O Lord, And shall glorify Your name.”
- By Telling others the good news
It says in Luke 2 that the shepherds went and told about the good news of great joy that they were told
Anna is a wonderful example as well – READ 2:38
If you’re 84 + years old, you can still be a witness for Christ. What is our excuse for not telling the gospel?
Being a good witness is not just a matter of words, but is also how we walk / live
Mt 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven”
I Pet. 2:12 “Live such good lives among the pagans that though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God”
- By Being Joyful and Happy in God
Lk 1:46 “My soul glorifies the Lord, my heart rejoices in God my Savior”
Angels: “I bring you good news of great joy … [then] Glory to God in the highest”
Magi: “When they say the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy … and they fell down and worshipped him”
Jesus in John 17 in His God-centered glory-driven prayer that is about God the Father and Son being glorified, he prays for His disciples in v. 13 “that they may have my joy made full in themselves”
Isa 41:16 “You will rejoice in the Lord, you will glory in the Holy One”
Isa 44:23 “Shout for joy ... shout joyfully ... break forth into a shout of joy … for the Lord has redeemed Jacob and in Israel He shows forth His glory”
God’s glory and our joy are very closely connected.
The old Puritans had it right when they said as the first line of their confession:
“The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever.”
Doing Christian duties without joy in God does not glorify God. That can be legalism.
We are commanded to “Serve the Lord with gladness” (Psalm 100:2)
We are commanded to “Rejoice in the Lord always” (Phil. 4:4)
We are commanded to “Delight yourself in the Lord” (Psalm 37:4)
The Puritans had the aim to know God so well that one could say "delighting in him, may be the work of our lives," because they knew that this joy would "arm us against the assaults of our spiritual enemies and put our mouths out of taste for those pleasures with which the tempter baits his hooks."
Jonathan Edwards taught that "the happiness of the creature consists in rejoicing in God, by which also God is magnified and exalted." "The end of the creation is that the creation might glorify [God]. Now what is glorifying God, but a rejoicing at that glory he has displayed?" (quote from Puritans and Edwards as cited in The Dangerous Duty of Delight, by John Piper)
God’s glory should make us rejoice. And in turn, when we rejoice in God, we give Him more glory than if we just have a right theology. Where are we seeking happiness or satisfaction in places other than God? Are we truly finding our joy in Him and Him alone? Anything less misses the original spirit or attitude of Christmas.