Gifts for the Believer Today

Introduction

This morning we are continuing our Christmas series. We are in the 3rd message of a 4 message series. And so far we have seen The Great Need of Christmas. Last week we learned about The Arrival of Christmas. And we are going to end next week on the eternal benefits of Christmas, but before we get there I want us to be encouraged about the current benefits that we get being found in Christ. I mentioned last week, briefly, that sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that being saved, being found in Christ is largely a future impacting relationship. But our God is not just a God of the future, He’s a God of today too. All the days belong to Him and He is concerned with all of the days of all of His people.

I have just recently taken on a role with Corporate Chaplains of America. I’ll be the chaplain for about 6 businesses right here around the Lakeside area. And my goal is to love the employees well and share the gospel with them. So it’s kinda of a no brainer. You are going to pay me to do something I would gladly do for free?! Absolutely.

And as part of the onboarding process I’ve received all of these emails letting me know about the benefits of the “job”. Thinkgs like paid vacation, retirement account, discounted clothing for work, tax deductions, etc. And if you are found in Jesus, in a very real way—the moment you were born again—you received benefits as a result of being found in Christ. Just like when you receive new employment you will get benefits and privileges you didn’t have before—in Christ you immediately receive benefits that bless and effect your current life.

And it’s important to know what they are. When I worked at Verizon Wireless years ago they offered lots of benefits because it was a call center job and that meant that every day you’d die a little inside until you were a husk of your former self. Where life used to live in your eyes eventually there would only be cold ashes as your joy burned away little by little. And you were left questioning your own humanity....But I digress.

They would give all of these amazing benefits because of the aforementioned difficulty of the job. And I remember that HR said to really listen and take note of what was offered to us because regularly they would hear from employees that they had “no idea about some benefit” that they could have been using.

And I wonder how many believers do not have in mind all that is theirs in Jesus. I wonder how many benefits you might have this morning that you don’t regularly think about. So this morning my goal is to encourage you with 7 current benefits/gifts that Christmas has afforded the Believer. So let’s jump right in...

1. We Are Forgiven of Sin

This is a benefit that falls into last weeks sermon where I brought up the human propensity to get used to amazing things and treat them as common and everyday.

In Jesus you and I have been forgiven and are forgiven of all of our sin. And this is glorious!

Here’s the truth…follower’s of Jesus will sin. Real, true, saved followers of Jesus will sin against God—and that is very serious—so serious that the Son of God came and died to forgive sin—and yet the power of Christ’s sacrifice in our place is total over your offense.

It is not that believers are made to be sinless here on this earth—no while we are still in this body of death we will struggle with sin—but even though we sin freshly every day we are fully forgiven!

When Jesus died for you he paid for all your sins! All of them. There is not one that can damn you because the full wrath of God for your sins has already been poured out on Christ. He paid for it fully!

Romans 3:23

For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Colossians 2:13–14

13 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

The forgiveness of your sins will have it’s full effect in your sinlessness when your sanctification is complete, but it certainly has great effect on you now!

This brings us to our second benefit...

2. We Are Freed from the Slavery of Sin.

Before you and I were saved by Christ we were enslaved by sin. Our will was in bondage to sin—it was our master.

Slaves obey their masters—they are not to have a will of their own but do what they are told. And the Bible tells us that you and I born in sin are enslaved to our sin.

When our spiritual parents fell they passed onto you and I a spiritual bondage of our wills.

John 8:34 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave[a] to sin.

The person outside of Christ will sin because they are ruled by sin.

Look at what

Ephesians 2:3 says

3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body[a] and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.[b]

When we were dead, without life in Christ we lived in the passion of our flesh. We carried out the desires of our bodies. What does that mean? It means we were passionate about doing what felt good to us in our bodies and minds. It means that in our actions and our thoughts we sinned freely, unconcerned with God. We feared natural consequences, but we were not afraid of God.

We did what felt good to us and what felt good to us was rebellion against God in a thousand different flavors.

But in Jesus we don’t stay there. Delivery from sin is not just a future promise—for those in Christ it is a current reality.

Romans 6:6 says

6 We know that our old self[a] was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.

On the cross the person of death that you were—the slave to sin that you were—was crucified with Jesus.

2 Corinthians 5:17 “17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.[a] The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

This means that you have changed and now can make decisions that are obedient to God…because...

3. We are Given a New Heart

Believer’s are given new hearts—the dead heart, the sin enslaved heart is regenerated by the life that is in Christ and it begins to beat with a sensitivity to the things of God.

And this is the work of God, through and through. The Psalmist cries out to God in

Psalm 51:10

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right[a] spirit within me.

Why call out to God—because the work of heart transformation is God’s work. We cannot give ourselves a new heart. We cannot take the pieces of our hearts before Christ and cobble a working heart that bows toward God in worship and obedience and so the Psalmist cries out, “Create! Create in me a clean heart!!”

Q. When your heart goes astray? Do you try to pull yourself up by the bootstraps? Or do you cry out to the one who has given you life in Christ and say, “Renew in me a right spirit?” Let’s not get it twisted.

And what sort of benefit to us are these new hearts?

Do you know what a fork is really good at? Being a fork. Do you know what it’s terrible at? Being a steak knife.

If you don’t use a tool in the right way it won’t be of much use to you. So how are we to use our new hearts? Are we to follow them like a compass?

No. Why? Because while we have new hearts we still reside in these bodies of death. We still have a fallen flesh that tempts us to live contrary to the spirit. Every saved person houses within their own person a war of flesh and spirit. And as with all wars both sides have victories. This means that you can’t always trust your heart to lead you with the surity of a compass.

We don’t follow them like a compass, we reference them like a library.

Philippians 4:8

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

How are we to know these things? To think about these things? How is it that we recognize what is and is not honorable, commendable, or excellent?

Romans 12:2 gives us the answer...

2 Do not be conformed to this world,[a] but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.[b]

What do we do with the new heart that God has given us?

Luke 6:45 “...for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

We fill it with the knowledge of God. We fill it with scripture. With Christ exalting songs. We fill it with great books written by godly men and women. We curate it and clean it. We’re careful as to what kind of books we allow on the shelves. We clean out anything left behind by our old heart.

With these new hearts we can have right desires.

Psalm 37:4 says...

“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”

Because of Christmas we have new hearts that can truly desire God. This is possible for us today, now...

God has given us new hearts that are no longer dead, but hearts that are guided by the Spirit—hearts that are trained by the Spirit.

And the result is that we can fight the flesh and have victory over sin in our lives on the day to day because Christ has already taken care of it for all eternity.

Another benefit that we currently receive is...

4. We Are Given Glorious Status

The most average believer is better than the best Cinderella story…we go from rags to riches and then some.

Before Christ we are enemies of God Colossians 1:21 says. God isn’t just neutral about us—no we are his enemies, we defy Him and his rule over us. We contribute to the brokenness of this world by serving ourselves and perpetuating sin. For this we deserve death.

But in Christ, we currently have the status of children of God!

Look at...

Romans 8:16–17

16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 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.

The rebel enemies of God become his children! And if we are his children Romans says, then we are fellow heirs with Christ.

That’s who you are today. No longer an enemy, but a child.

Also...

Where we used to live in defiance of God and his kingdom we are now ambassadors taking the message of God everywhere.

2 Corinthians 5:20 says,

20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.

Paul’s own testimony is this. Paul persecuted the church so much that when Jesus called out to him on the Damascus road he says, “Paul, why are you persecuting me?”

Paul jailed Christians, hunted them down, he approved and resided over their executions. And then God saved him. And made him an ambassador.

What Paul used to cry out against and fight against—he now suffered for. He begged peopel to be reconciled to God.

And is there any more fitting job for the child of God than to be an ambassador of God?

Your life is not meant for the menial. You are not to spend your life just going through the motions until you die and get to heaven.

God will use you for his glorious purposes, he will be glorified in you.

A benefit of Christmas for us today, in the now of this life is that we are given glorious purpose. God calls us and uses us to accomplish the good work he is doing in the world. And you and I get to be a part of it.

5. We Are Given Spiritual Gifts

Not only has God called you to a new status in Christ with a glorious purpose but he has equipped you to do the work he is calling you to do.

Before we were doing nothing of Godly import. And then God saves us, but not only that, He equips us.

Like Jesus we are to be about our Father’s work. We are to be about the kingdom of God. We are to be missionaries to this lost world.

And those are big tasks, but our sovereign God equips us to do the work.

And maybe you are thinking…I don’t think I have a spiritual gift. I don’t think God has equipped me to do anything.

If you are a follower of Jesus then I know for certain that one of the current benefits of Christmas is that you have been gifted by God the Holy Spirit in some way. How do I know? Because the Bible says so...

1 Corinthians 12:7 7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.

God the Holy Spirit gives gifts to us for the common good of the body of Christ and the mission of the church.

The question is are you seeking to discover your gifts and to use them for God’s glory?

God delights to use his children for the work of the kingdom, it glorifies God and blesses us.

The enemy wants us to be afraid of being used by God. “Man, look at Jonah! God used him and he was swallowed by a big fish!”

But I bet you if Jonah had joyfully been obedient to God’s call on him that he would have had a more comfortable ride to Ninevah.

So pray about your gifts and serve in the church. I’ve yet to meet one person who got a letter in the mail from God telling them what their gifts are. People find out by doing. Gifts are affirmed within the body of Christ. They are cultivated in the soil of the church.

That doesn’t mean you can’t pray and think about what gift or gifts you may have received from God.

And as you think about our spiritual gifts, there are quizzes and surveys you can take, and those can be helpful, but I find it’s better to think about how God has shaped you.

Who you are. What you’ve been through. Your passions are not an accident and they are not inconsequential to your place in serving the church. Thinking through these things can help you figure out where you should be serving.

What is your heart? What do you care about? What has God burdened you with? How can you get involved in that?

What are you abilities? What are you good at? Are you entrepeneurial? Are you good teacher? Do you love people well? Are you a gifted organizer? Thinking about what abilites God has given you can help you locate your spiritual gift.

What’s your personality like? Are you task oriented? Are you people oriented? Are you both?

And what experiences have you had? Have there been definint moments in your life that have equipped you to speak into or serve a specific area of need?

These are some ways that you can start to think about what spiritual gifts you have been given by God.

God will enable you to do what God calls you to do . This is a benefit to the follower of Jesus.

Also, God has equipped you for the good of the what? The body.

6. We Are Placed in a Family.

One of God’s greatest gifts to those who belong to Christ is the church of Christ.

The body of Jesus is a great blessing.

In the church God provides for us other follower’s of Jesus who are striving after Christ.

You can’t tell it now, but I actually like to run. Well I like once I am in running shape to run. But the problem with being an inconsistent runner is that you don’t stay in running shape when you stop running. And getting back into running shape is not what I would call a pleasant experience.

But it is infinitely easier when you have someone running with you. When someone is lacing up their shoes and pounding the pavement next to you it encourages you. When you start to tire they can motivate you to run just a little farther. When you don’t want to run and you want to skip a day they can hold you accountable.

When you are doing something hard a partner is a great gift.

Friends, this is what the church is.

We are striving together to be a body of Christ that glorifies God in our lives and is on mission with God for his glory.

And it’s not easy. Our flesh fights us, the devil is our adversary, and sometimes we are our biggest problem.

But God has graciously placed us within a body of Christ that we would lift each other up and spur each other on to faithfulness in Christ.

We meet in our MC’s and we study the word together, we pray together, we should be confessing sin together.

We walk alongside others who love Jesus so that when we feel tired, when we want to stop, our brothers and sisters are there to pray for us, remind us of scripture, and to a spur us on.

I hope you are thankful for the body of Christ. Sometimes you hear people bad mouthing the church and that’s wild because Jesus loves the church. The church with all her flaws is the bride of Christ whom He loves greatly. He loves the church so much he died for her.

One of the benefits to those found in the body of Christ is the family of God that they are saved into—the local church.

Now finally we come to the greatest gift of Christmas to the beleiver...

7. We Are Given God Himself

God gives us many great gifts as believers. We receive forgiveness of sin, freedom from slavery, a new heart, glorious purpose, spiritual gifts, a family that we belong to—and even more than this—In Ephesians 1 we are told that we have every spiritual blessing in Christ. In Christ we are told, in 2 Corinthians 2:10 we are told that in Christ all the promises of God find their “yes” and “amen” in him. We are a people abundanty blessed, but the Greatest gift that God has given is Himself.

God calls us out of darkness into His glorious light. He adopts us. He makes us His family. We aren’t just creatures that have been saved, but we have been made the objects of God’s great love.

And God’s desire is that we would know Him.

Matthew 27:50–51 (KJV 1900)

50 And Jesus Cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.

When Jesus died on the cross the temple veil was torn and God was saying dramatic fashion—the barries has been torn down in Christ. There is no separation between you and me any longer. I have taken care of it.

You are mine; and I am yours. Enter into deep relationship with me. Find your peace in me. Find your joy in me. Live and rest in my presence. I am your healing. I am your comfort. Come and taste and see that I am good.

The gifts of God are excellent, but for those of us found in Christ—knowing God and being known by God is our greatest treasure.

Conclusion

The miracle of the first Christmas morning has absolutely secured for us an amazing eternity. In Christ we have blessings waiting for us in a sure eternity and next week that’s where we’ll end our Christmas series, but as we close this morning I hope that you see that there are amazing gifts that God gives in this current daily life. And our prayer this morning is that we would cherish and value these things in such a way that our lives are transformed as we head into the new year. Will you pray with me?

Discussion Question: What gift of Christmas do you take for granted the most?