The Greatest Gift, Part 6.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] Welcome to Village Church. [0:01] Merry Christmas to everybody. [0:03] And I hope a theme that we can establish just for our evening is that this is a season [0:09] of celebration. [0:10] There is much to be celebrated during the Christmas season. [0:14] And people around here know that I love Christmas.

[0:17] And it’s not, you know, the typical, you’re a pastor so you love Christmas because it’s [0:22] about Jesus. [0:22] I do love that, but I love everything about Christmas. [0:26] I love the cheesy movies. [0:28] I love the songs. [0:29] I love shopping.

[0:31] I love going out on Christmas Eve just to experience the insanity. [0:36] I love those of you that started your shopping this morning and you all just crowded into [0:41] the mall. [0:42] I was talking to somebody last night that told me Kohl’s has been open for 24 hours [0:46] a day, I think all week. [0:48] And I want to know who in here was there at 3 a.m.

[0:52] What’s wrong with you? [0:53] Why are you doing that to yourself? [0:56] You know, we just fill these shopping centers. [0:58] And I just love every part of it. [1:00] I love the traffic that’s even involved. [1:02] I mean, everything about Christmas is just something worth enjoying during this season.

[1:08] The reality is, is that the trees are all going to be taken down next week. [1:13] The wrapping paper is all going to be thrown away. [1:16] Your food coma is going to be over and you’re going to quickly move towards a new year. [1:23] And all of that stuff, all of the fun songs, all the fun movies, all the hustle and bustle, [1:29] it’s just going to dissipate. [1:30] It’s going to go away.

[1:31] All of that is fleeting. [1:35] If you think this is a joyous season, I want us to kind of spend a few minutes today just [1:41] kind of focusing in on is there anything during this season that we can focus in on that [1:47] isn’t fleeting? [1:48] Is there anything that we can take that can become a joy, and I’m hoping that this is [1:55] a season of joy for you, but that becomes something that’s complete.

[2:00] It becomes something that lasts till the new year. [2:04] It becomes something that goes through the rest of every day of 2017. [2:10] I love giving gifts. [2:11] I love even more getting gifts. [2:14] I mean, they’re wonderful things. [2:15] We try to, in a tangible way, kind of sum up how we feel about someone.

[2:22] We try to take that which is intangible and we try to make it into a material thing that [2:27] we can give to someone. [2:30] And I think it’s a wonderful thing because Christmas teaches us both about giving, but [2:35] it also teaches us about receiving. [2:38] So I want to talk really tonight about the greatest gift that’s ever been given, the [2:42] greatest gift that could ever be received.

[2:45] And it’s that thing that which can become not just a temporary joy, not just something [2:51] that’s going to fade and go away as the new year approaches, but something that you can [2:55] apply to your life that’s going to give you joy that never fades away. [2:59] The thing that can give you joy that can last for the rest of your life, and that is salvation [3:04] from Jesus Christ. [3:06] Because really as Christians, we know that the Christmas season is a time in which we

[3:11] reflect specifically on the birth of our Lord and Savior, the birth of the King of [3:16] Kings, the time when God himself became a human being, when our creator God decided [3:24] for us to receive a gift that can give us an eternal joy that never fades away. [3:30] And here’s how Luke 2 records that narrative. [3:34] It says, [3:34] Because in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should

[3:38] be registered. [3:40] This was the first registration when Corinthians was governor of Syria. [3:43] And all went to be registered, each to his own town. [3:46] And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth to Judea to the city [3:51] of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, [3:56] to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

[4:00] And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. [4:03] And she gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling cloths, laid him [4:08] in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. [4:12] And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their [4:16] flock by night. [4:17] And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them,

[4:21] and they were filled with great fear. [4:24] And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy [4:30] that will be for all the people. [4:32] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, whose Christ the Lord. [4:38] And this will be a sign for you. [4:40] You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.

[4:45] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts, praising God and saying, [4:51] Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. [4:57] You see, in that narrative you have number one this evening, and that is that Christmas [5:02] is about the gift of God. [5:05] Christmas is about the gift of God. [5:08] Over the last few weeks we as a church have been talking about the four key themes that

[5:13] most people talk about during the Christmas season. [5:16] It’s the theme of love, the theme of peace, the theme of hope. [5:20] And tonight we want to talk about the theme of the gift of joy. [5:23] And as we read through the record of Luke 2, 1 through 14, we see that it is treated [5:28] as a gift of God. [5:30] That’s why the angels ultimately appeared to the shepherds, the most unlikely of recipients

[5:35] of such amazing news. [5:37] The reason that God did it that way is because he’s revealing that this is a gift not just [5:42] for the family, but this is a gift for all people. [5:45] And this is no ordinary birth. [5:47] Instead, it’s the fulfillment of everything that God had promised to do in saving his [5:53] people.

[5:54] And as we’ve reviewed a text in Isaiah chapter 9, it was written 400 years before the birth [6:00] of Jesus, we see that the promise was that there would be a child given to us, that there [6:07] would be a son given. [6:08] The government will be upon his shoulder. [6:10] The name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince [6:17] of Peace.

[6:18] He would literally be a savior for us who are dying in sin, anxious with confusion [6:25] over what to do with life, we who are constantly in need of strength, struggling with a sense [6:31] of abandonment, and waiting for the peace of someone to relieve the burdens that this [6:37] life brings. [6:39] That is exactly why Jesus was born. [6:42] It is exactly why God, at that point in time, entered into the creation that he had spoken

[6:50] into existence, became one of us, human beings, the people that he had formed with his own [6:57] hands. [6:59] Jesus became the greatest gift for us. [7:02] You know, as the angels revealed to the shepherds in that field, and as had already been revealed [7:06] to Joseph and Mary earlier in the narrative, Jesus was the fulfillment of that promise [7:12] made in Isaiah.

[7:13] You know, just for a moment, I want you to understand what that means. [7:18] It means that there is a God. [7:21] If you are like me, there are moments in life, maybe even seasons, and maybe your life is [7:27] actually defined by a neglect of living in light of that fact. [7:32] God is there, and he is not silent. [7:37] This God that we ignore, this God that we disobey and sin against, he made a promise

[7:44] to save us from our sin, and the craziness of the sin all around us in this world. [7:50] And Jesus is the fulfillment of that very promise. [7:55] You know, during this season, as we reflect on the birth of Jesus, I want you to understand [8:00] that what we are reflecting on is not because he grew up to be really smart. [8:04] It’s not because he was such a good teacher. [8:07] It’s not because he was such a wise philosopher, or even the fact that he had great leadership

[8:13] skills with what we are dealing with, what you have going on in your life, with the real [8:19] sin that you’ve committed, and with the real sin that affects you from outside. [8:24] Those things would be only a temporary solution at best. [8:29] The reason that Jesus was and is such a wonderful gift is because he was literally God stepping [8:35] into the world that he created in order to save us from our sin. [8:41] He wants us to trust him and turn toward him, and he wants us to follow him.

[8:48] And that is the pathway of joy. [8:52] You know, because of God’s gift, we can have real joy. [8:58] Maybe Christmas isn’t something that you enjoy. [9:00] Maybe you’re hearing me describe everything that I like about Christmas, and you’re like, [9:03] oh, what a drudgery. [9:04] I hate everything you’ve been talking about.

[9:06] What is there to be so happy about during the Christmas season? [9:11] Maybe you’re the one they made a movie about, bah humbug. [9:14] Maybe you’re Scrooge. [9:16] You know, like, what in the world do I have to have joy about? [9:22] I tell you that because of Jesus, faith in him, you can have the gift of real joy. [9:28] And here’s why.

[9:29] Because you can have the joy of God’s love. [9:33] You know, the gift of Jesus is a gift that makes every theme of Christmas something that [9:37] can become a reality for your entire year and for your entire life. [9:43] A lot of hard things happen in this life. [9:46] Some of them will make you question God. [9:49] No matter what you are enduring, though, you can know that God loves you.

[9:54] How? [9:55] How can you know that? [9:56] Well, friend, because of Jesus. [9:58] In a world cursed by sin, God literally became one of us and experienced every single hardship [10:07] that this world has to offer. [10:09] And then he showed us that his mission was to die for the penalty of our sin.

[10:15] Jesus died for you. [10:17] You can know the joy of God’s love. [10:21] And even though there’s going to be many moments in life where you question why, where you [10:25] don’t understand why things are happening, I can tell you one thing’s for certain because [10:29] of Jesus. [10:29] In that moment, you can know for certainty it’s not because God doesn’t love you.

[10:36] He does. [10:37] And he’s shown it through Jesus Christ, who died on the cross as a substitute for your [10:42] sin. [10:43] The record tells us he lived a perfect life, no sin, completely righteous. [10:47] Therefore, he had no sin of his own to die for. [10:50] So he could die for you.

[10:52] Friend, that’s the greatest love I could ever be now. [10:55] But you can also know because of that the joy of God’s peace. [10:59] The shepherds were told, don’t be afraid. [11:01] I have good news of great joy for you. [11:04] Friends, sinners receiving good news from God is a crazy idea. [11:09] I mean, that’s wild.

[11:09] If you are a sinner against God and God shows up or sends a messenger, you don’t expect [11:14] him to bring good news. [11:15] But that’s exactly what they brought. [11:17] That’s even understating it. [11:18] This is great news. [11:20] This is the best news that could ever be received because Jesus came on a mission to reconcile

[11:26] our relationship with God forever, to give peace between me and God, between you and [11:32] God. [11:33] And in that, you can have an understanding that because no matter what chaos happens [11:37] in this world, we know that God is for us and we know that God has peace for us, eternal [11:44] peace because he fulfills promises and offers real forgiveness. [11:48] Why?

[11:49] Because Jesus paid the price for sin and gives us a real, reconciled, peaceful relationship [11:57] with God where the barrier of our sin is completely taken away because of his wonderful gift [12:03] of grace. [12:04] And because of that, you can know the joy of God’s hope. [12:08] You see, love and peace are wonderful things. [12:11] But I believe that God wants us to realize that the capstone for it is the hope that

[12:16] Jesus gives us. [12:18] Let me ask you a question. [12:20] Where are you going in life? [12:22] What’s ahead of you? [12:24] Do you know? [12:26] I struggle with that.

[12:27] I don’t know what’s ahead of me. [12:28] I don’t know what tomorrow or next year will bring. [12:31] But Jesus wanted us to live with a kind of certainty as to what lies ahead of us. [12:37] And so after he died on the cross, he literally rose from the dead. [12:43] Now this ultimately is the greatest hope that any of us can have, that Jesus actually has [12:49] the power over sin and death.

[12:52] Nothing can defeat him. [12:54] The greatest hope is the hope of trusting God with your life and your ultimate eternal [13:00] destination. [13:02] And because of the resurrection, Jesus gives us the joy of hope for the future. [13:09] But you must understand in all of those things that this is a gift for you to receive. [13:16] It’s not something for you to earn.

[13:18] It’s something for you to trust that God has for you. [13:21] It’s a grace that God desires to give into your life as a free, eternal gift. [13:26] That’s why the Bible in 2 Corinthians says, thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift. [13:35] And tomorrow when I get hopefully lots of gifts, I’m going to have an expression for [13:43] each of them. [13:44] Some of them will be false expressions as I pretend to like them.

[13:49] But I’ve never received a gift on this earth that has been inexpressible. [13:54] But God says that the gift of Jesus is an inexpressible gift. [14:00] It’s inexpressible because it’s the greatest gift. [14:02] It’s inexpressible because it’s the gift that requires faith. [14:05] It’s a gift that requires trust, even to believe that you’ve gotten it from him. [14:09] And we believe that Jesus came into this world, died for our sins, rose from the dead.

[14:16] And it’s an inexpressible gift because it tells me that no matter what enters my life, [14:20] there’s coming a day where even on the other side of death, because of the power of God, [14:27] I will rise again to a kingdom where I’ll see God face to face and he will look at me. [14:36] And I’ll see nothing but love. [14:38] And I’ll see nothing but peace. [14:41] And I’ll have perfect joy because it’ll no longer be something that I hope for.

[14:47] Because it’ll be something that I have. [14:51] Friend, that is something worth celebrating. [14:56] That is joy that’s unshakable and will last forever. [15:03] So if anybody, friends, asks you during this season, what in the world do you have worth [15:08] celebrating? No matter what’s going on in your life, you can look at them and you can say,

[15:15] Jesus, pray with me. [15:17] Father, you are so good.

[15:22] Lord, I do not deserve your gifts, but you give it anyway. [15:28] Lord, my prayer this evening is that we will enter into every day of the rest of our lives. [15:32] While we may struggle, we will know that we have joy because we have you. [15:38] Lord, may we be a people who celebrate your wonderful gift. [15:44] In the name of Jesus, amen.