Taste and See...
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Christmas is a wonderful time of year. Full of goodies, treats and surprises!
I have a surprise for you tonight. We are going to pass the offering plates tonight. So if you men would come forward please.
However, tonight is special, instead of putting something into the plate, I would like you to take something out. The offering plates are filled with Hershey Kisses. Please take one per person.
Please Take a Kiss and Enjoy It!!
Please Take a Kiss and Enjoy It!!
I love Hershey kisses, don’t you? What other treats do you enjoy? Anything special this time of year?
Chocolate stars! Nonpareils. My mom’s fudge. Gingersnap cookies. Chocolate Chip Cookies! They work any time of year. One year I made Chocolate Chip cookie dough, added in Green food coloring to one batch, and red food coloring into another batch, and made Christmas Wreath cookies! Best Wreath ever! I don’t really care for non-cookie wreaths, but those wreaths were great!
I know Drew Klees gave me one of his cookies that won first place at the cookie exchange. I told him I would need another to really judge if they were truly worthy of that honor.
I struggle with that, don’t you? When I get something sweet like a Hershey Kiss or a cookie, I have a hard time stopping. I just want to eat one after another, after another, after another, after another… you get the idea.
See, when we get the taste of something, and we like it, we crave more of it don’t we. And when it is really good, we just cannot get enough of it, can we?
Go ahead and savor those Hershey Kisses.
Now that you have some, do you want another?
It reminds me of a verse.
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
As I think about that verse, and how I so enjoy having a taste of something special like a Hershey Kiss, I think that is what Christmas is all about.
Christmas gave us a TASTE of the Lord, and how Good He truly is! By Jesus coming to Earth, we got to see that the Lord is good. But it was just a taste!
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
Phil
It was at Christmas, 2000 years ago that Jesus was born. As the angel said,
Luke 2:11
Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.
Jesus came and was born as a man. Jesus is truly, eternally, God-the-Son. He was in the beginning. In the beginning He was with God, and He was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made that have been made.
He is the Almighty Creator and Lord of the universe. Yet, He came and was born into this world full of sinful people that did not want Him, and who live in rebellion against Him. People do not really want Him as Lord.
Yet, He came anyway. As Paul wrote to the Philippians,
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Jesus, in very nature, being God, did not hold onto His authority. He did not grasp His power and status. Instead He willingly laid aside His right to live exalted as God, and instead came here to Earth as a man. And not as an important man. He came as a nobody, and became a servant to all.
He came to give us a taste of who He is.
Jesus
He gave us a taste of His gentle nature as He lived in submission to His parents.
He gave us a taste of His goodness as He lived a perfect life.
He gave us a taste of His compassion as He cared for lepers, sick, and lame that everyone else discarded.
He gave us a taste of His tenderness as He took the little children into His arms.
He gave us a taste of His authority as He cast out demons.
He gave us a taste of His dominion as He calmed wind and waves.
He gave us a taste of His grief over mankind dying because of sin at Lazarus’ tomb.
He gave us a taste of His stalwart purpose as He resurrected Lazarus!
He gave us a taste of His humility as He washed the disciples feet.
He gave us a taste of His wisdom as He answered and navigated the traps of the Religious Leaders.
He gave us a taste of His loving concern for us in His prayer for us before His suffering.
He gave us a taste of His mercy as He took the lashes and death that you and I deserve.
He gave us a taste of His love as He thought of others, crying out from the cross on which they hung Him, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing!”
He gave us a taste of His agony in our place as He cried out to the Father from the cross.
He gave us a taste of conquering power as He rose Triumphantly from the Grave, crying out...
“Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”
He gave us a taste of conquering power
1 Cor 15:5
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus came to give us a taste of who He is.
She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
He is the only One good enough, loving enough, compassionate enough, merciful enough to be our Savior, the One who died in our place, taking the punishment for our sins as we rejected Him.
He is the only One gracious enough now to forgive all who will believe that He died for them and rose again to live a new life!
Jesus came to give us a taste of who He is.
“The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).
Matthew 1:23
He came to give us a taste of what it would be like to live with God.
His coming to Earth and living as a man was just a taste!
That is what it was like when He only gave a taste!
Imagine what it would be like to get more than a taste! Imagine what it would be like to have Him dwelling with us permanently, in all His power!
Have you tasted? Have you seen that the Lord is good?
That is only a taste!! That is what we got when He veiled His power, authority and glory!
Now, God has exalted Him! Now, He has all power and authority!
Now, He has promised to ever be our Immanuel, for He has promised to have all His fullness dwelling in those of us who believe in Him!
He promised to work in us, changing us from the inside out to be more and more like Him, until that day when we see Jesus face to face, and we are truly changed to be like Him!!
Before, He came and gave us a taste, He saved us from the penalty of our sin! The punishment we deserved for all of the sin in our lives.
Now, He want to use that full power to work in us and save us from slavery to sin! Sin wants to be our master. As God warned Cain so long ago,
“Sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
Imagine, picture in your mind Jesus arriving on the shore where the man who had the legion of demons tormenting Him. This man was naked, raving mad, running aimlessly among the rocks of the tombs. He was cutting himself with jagged rocks. He screamed in torment. He had no peace.
Then, came Jesus. At the sight of Jesus, this man, full of the demons came and knelt as Jesus’ feet, the demons begging Jesus for mercy. Jesus, giving just a taste of His power said, “Go.”
He just gave a taste of His power and authority. He said, “Go,” and that legion of demons fled!
I don’t care how bad you are.
I don’t care how badly you have acted.
I don’t care how much of a hold anger, bitterness, rage, malice, self-centeredness, pride, gossip, slander, immorality, perversion, gluttony, drunkeness, addiction or any other sin has on you.
Jesus gave us a taste when He was here as a man.
Now Jesus is exalted far above every ruler and authority. He has mastery over all. And He promised to be Immanuel. He promised to be with you, and when you turn to Him, and cry out for mercy, when you will humble yourself and cry out that you are a sinner needing mercy and grace; when you get to the end of trying to do it your way, and cry out for Him to give you a new heart, He will forgive you! He will cleanse and restore you! He will take away that hardened heart of yours and give you a heart of flesh to love Him, and to finally love others around you instead of being the miserable monster you have been!
If he can change that man by giving a taste, just wait to see what He can do in you if you will humble yourself before Him!
If you do, then this Christmas you will be able to cry out like David,
I will extol the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.
I will glory in the Lord; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together.
I sought the Lord, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame.
This poor man called, and the Lord heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.
The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.
Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
This Christmas, Taste and See that the Lord it good! Then, keep going back for more! He has so much more to give!