God's Christmas Gifts: The Church

Intro:

Matthew 7:7–11 NKJV

7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

Today we will continue our series entitled, [God’s Christmas Gifts]. The subject of today’s message is [The Church].

Since I am on this topic of God’s Christmas Gifts, I have thought back to Christmas as a child. There was nothing like Christmas Eve in the Tidmore house.

We always went to Grandma Tidmore’s house, where we knew we would get gifts. My Grandma always tried to get us something special. I remember one year in the afternoon, Stephen, Hannah, and I were in one of the bedrooms.

We had a 19” TG&Y tv. Dad came in and said, “Your mama and I have talked about it, you don’t keep your room clean like we ask. We have decided to take your TV until you can keep your room clean all the time.”

You would have thought they wanted to take a limb. We pleaded and cried, PLEASE, we PROMISE we will keep the room clean. Give us ONE MORE chance! Dad said, NOPE!

That night I remember being sad going to Grandmas. We got through dinner and it was time for presents. Grandma told us, Stephen, Daniel, and Hannah, this year I got one thing for all three of you.

Guess what she got us? A brand new TV. I can still remember my dad laughing. I suppose he knew we were getting a new TV.

Every year on the way home we would look for Rudolph’s nose on the way home. We would look at Christmas lights. Then when we got home, we put out the milk and cookies and nine carrots in case the reindeer got hungry, then it was off to bed.

The next morning we would wake up early. Mom and dad always put a sheet up blocking the living room so we would be surprised. When we walked it, there were presents everywhere!

As a child I took this for granted. But as we got older, mom and dad explained their parents did not have much. There many years they didn’t get much for Christmas, so they worked hard to make sure we had a better Christmas than they did.

As we have established the past two weeks, Jesus is the greatest gift ever given to humanity! When we come to know Him though, He gives more gifts.

Jesus encouraged His audience, ask the Father to give good gifts, He will do it, I promise. But we must be persistent in our requests, not giving up until He answers.

There are sometimes I go to God in prayer and I know just exactly what I need. Then there are times I go to Him and ask, Lord, I want what you want me to have.

I have learned when I pray that way, He exceeds my expectations. For instance, when Jesus was born, God began to introduce an institution that was beyond comprehension.

Even if the people prayed for it, they could not have imagined how important this gift would become in history. The gift I want us to see is: The Church.

The church revolutionized the way people worshipped God. Prior to His birth, God’s people did meet, but it was in the synagogue, which is different than the church.

When they went to the synagogue, they had strict service schedule:

confession of faith

reciting specific scriptures {Deuteronomy 6:4-9; 11:13-21, Numbers 15:37-41}

Prayer

Scripture reading

Interpretation of Scripture

Opening for comments

Blessing

The synagogue was not inclusive. It required ten men to even have one. It was for Jews or Jewish converts, Gentiles were not welcome unless they prepared to follow the Law. Women were separated from men. The whole thing was founded on ritual.

I am thankful we are not a ritualistic church. Instead, we build on our relationship with Jesus and our desire for more of Him helps us grow in relationship with each other!

Jesus birth came to fulfill all the ritual and make a way for His people enter into a personal relationship with God, which occurs at salvation.

What happens after we are saved? We should want to go to church! As we focus Luke 1-2, I want us to see four things we have in the church that God revealed with Jesus’ birth.

What do we have in the church? [The People of God], [The Praise of God], [The Proclamation of God], and [The Prayers to God].

Let’s begin

1. The People of God

Luke 1:39–41 NKJV

39 Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

After the announcement by the Angel Gabriel, Mary could not wait to tell Elizabeth. Both Mary and Elizabeth were related, but they were also walking close to God.

Elizabeth was older, past they age of having children, and God supernaturally allowed her and her husband to get pregnant. Mary knew this, and now she too was pregnant.

When she walked into the house to greet Elizabeth, the baby in her womb leapt and she was filled with the Holy Spirit. Mary couldn’t hold it in, she started to share all God did for her.

As she spoke, Elizabeth’s heart was stirred and she begin to bless the Lord for His goodness to both of them. I want us to see the importance of this spiritual relationship.

There is an old song that says, “I love the thrill that I feel when I get with God’s wonderful people.”

As the people of God, we need to come to church!

Hebrews 10:25 NKJV

25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

When the people of God come together in the church, we should encourage and build up each other. The church is not a social gathering, it is a place where we come to worship the Lord.

Part of our worship is sharing what God did in our lives with each other. How can we do this? By remembering we are the people of God EVERY DAY, not just Sunday!

Mary and Elizabeth shared what God did in each other’s lives. When we walk with God on a daily basis, then we can meet together and share what God did for us the past week!

Who is thankful for the church? In the church are the people of God.

2. The Praise of God

Luke 1:46–47 NKJV

46 And Mary said: “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.

After Mary and Elizabeth shared God’s blessings, Mary began to praise the Lord. Mary’s song is called the Magnificat. There is a biblical precedent for praising God.

Let’s look at the details of Mary’s praise:

She praised God for noticing her. She rejoiced in God because He paid attention to her. We have to think of how awesome this was for Mary.

As a woman, she was all but ignored in the synagogue. But God took notice on her. He saw her faithfulness and determined to bless her.

She praised God for His holiness. There is no God like our God. He is set apart, for He is might and does great things.

She praised God for His mercy. She was undeserving, but God had a track record. He has been merciful from generation to generation.

She praised God for His power. His strength is unmatched for it is supernatural. Think of what just happened to her. As a teenager, the Holy Spirit overshadowed her and the power of the Most High was upon her, and now she carried the Savior of the word.

She praised God for His sovereignty. He is beholden to NO ONE for He is the creator of everything. The earth is the Lord’s and everything around us!

She praised God for His faithfulness. He never forgot His promise to send a Savior. He has helped and will continue to help His people!

After praising God in this eloquent song, she stayed with Elizabeth for three months. Then it was time for her to give birth. Joseph and Mary went to Bethlehem.

As Jesus was born, all of heaven joined in the praise. Some shepherds watched their flocks when suddenly the skies filled with angelic hosts.

Luke 2:12–14 NKJV

12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”

Praise is such a vital part of our lives. I want us to always remember what happens when we praise God:

Psalm 22:3 NKJV

3 But You are holy, Enthroned in the praises of Israel.

When we praise God, we make room for Him to come near to us. God does not require skilled singing or beautiful voices, but He does require praise.

We can praise Him with singing, clapping, raising our hands, or even dancing. I doubt Mary knew the precedent she set, but the angels did.

Whenever Jesus is involved, the people of God need to praise Him! What a gift we have in the church, His people get to praise.

3. The Proclamation of God

Luke 2:27–33 NKJV

27 So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, 28 he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: 29 “Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, According to Your word; 30 For my eyes have seen Your salvation 31 Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, 32 A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.” 33 And Joseph and His mother marveled at those things which were spoken of Him.

Eight days after Jesus’ birth, Mary and Joseph took Him to the temple. I think this is probably my favorite part of the whole story. I love how it all seems like happenstance.

Mary and Joseph held the baby, and it just happens that the Simeon passed them. Happenstance, we read that the Lord directed him to Jesus.

When he held Jesus, he started to proclaim what God would do through the child. He declared that Jesus is the Messiah. He would save the world from their sins.

But I want us notice verse thirty-two, it is a good scripture to underline. Jesus is a LIGHT to bring revelation to the Gentiles.

What did Simeon proclaim? The gospel, the good news of Jesus.

What is the good news? Jesus came to this earth to stand in as our substitute. We owed a debt to God, but Jesus came to cancel the debt.

Simeon might not have known the whole story. I doubt he knew Jesus would die on a cross or rise from the dead, but this much he did know: that baby is the Savior of the world.

Proclamation is defined, a public or official announcement, especially one dealing with a matter of great importance:

When we think proclamation, we can also think preaching. I am of the opinion according to scripture, praise and preaching are vital.

Praise is all about God. It is us giving honor to Him.

While preaching is about proclaiming who God is to us!

Did God need to hear Simeon’s prophecy? No! He already knew. But He anointed Simeon to proclaim for all who would listen, if they will place their faith in Jesus, they can be saved from their sins!

I am thankful for the gift of the church. God set it up for His people to praise Him and hear His name/story/message proclaimed. What do we do next?

4. The Prayers of God

Luke 2:36–38 NKJV

36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; 37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And coming in that instant she gave thanks to the Lord, and spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

As Simeon proclaims Jesus’ destiny, the prophetess Anna comes into the picture. She was 84 years old and devoted her entire life to prayer and fasting.

When she saw Jesus, she started to pray, thanking God for what He would do for people. To her, Jesus was the answer to all of Israel’s problems.

They were enslaved because of the great debt they owed God, but Jesus came to redeem them. Notice her response upon hearing about Jesus, she started to pray.

I want to emphasize something, there is a reason we conclude our services with an extended time of prayer. When we pray, we give God an opportunity to confirm in our hearts what we heard proclaimed.

I almost look at it like this. If we take these four parts and apply it to this morning:

We, the people of God, came together and encourage each other during Sunday School. We study God’s word, but it also a time to talk and exhort each other.

THEN we meet in the sanctuary. It is important to gather together, why? Because we need to praise God in unity. There is power when we each bring our worship to the Lord!

I have proclaimed God’s word now for about twenty minutes. This isn’t like Sunday School. We don’t talk during the message… UNLESS IT IS TO SAY AMEN, THAT IS GOOD, KEEP PREACHING, DON’T STOP NOW!!! You get the picture.

I am about done, but there is one more step, we need to pray together. We need to come to the altar.

Praise is all about God

Preaching is for us, nothing I say is new to God

But Prayer, that is where God and us meet. It is the moment when heaven and earth collide.

I am so thankful that when we pray, God meets with each of us individually. This was not so before Jesus’ birth. Can we see why it is such a gift. His birth revolutionized everything!

Close:

One more time, Jesus is the gift, but He gives us another gift, our church. What do we have in our church? The people of God, the praise of God, the proclamation of God, and the prayers of God.

What a gift. Who is thankful for the church. That word has two meanings, the corporate church and the local church.

The church is not a building, who is the church? We are! As born-again people, we make up the church. We are a part of a group of people worldwide.

The church is made up of different cultures, languages, and backgrounds, but it has one thing in common, the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

We are a part of the WORLDWIDE church, but what about the Local church? Who is thankful for our local church?

I want to conclude where I started. My parents gave us better gifts and Christmas’ than they had. But there is something else they gave us that far outweighs any Christmas present.

They made it a point to raise Stephen, Hannah, and me in church. We were not casual church attenders. They instilled in us the importance of being in God’s house.

They got us to Sunday School and Kid’s Church. They prayed with us in the altars on Sunday Nights. And both my parents taught on Wednesday nights.

They weren’t raised in church, so they knew the gift of having a church family. Now, I am about the age my parents were when they started having children.

I want to take this gift, my heritage in church, and I want to pass it to the next generation.

Who, as the people of God, wants to instill the power of praise, proclamation, and prayer to the next generation?

As a pastor, I want to lead our church with excellence, just as it was modeled to my by my pastors when I was a child!

And when Jesus comes back and we stand before Him, will He say, you made full use of the Church. It is a gift I wanted to give my people for thousands of years, but first I had to die!

I do not take God’s house lightly, it cost Jesus His life!

Therefore, we must take care of this gift, how?

Through our faithfulness

praise

prayers

giving

commitment

and determination to be a part of His church and to do all we can see it succeed!

And until Jesus returns, I believe that will always be a thoroughly Pentecostal church in South Iron County!

So this morning, let’s come and prayer for our church. I love praying for our church, because it means I am praying for me.

When I pray God bless our church, I am praying God bless me!

When I pray God strengthen our church, I praying for God to strengthen me.

When I pray God to heal people in our church, I am praying for God to heal me.

When I pray God to empower our church, I am praying for God to empower me!

For the church is not he building, the church are the people who occupy the building!

And as recipients of this great gift, let’s pass it on to the next generation! I am not speaking of ages, but of THIS generation of Vulcan Assembly of God, let’s not take advantage of the gift, but let’s give God thanks for the Gift!