Worship Him!
D.J. Chambers
Christmas Lights • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 35:51
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· 128 viewsIn this message from D.J. Chambers, one of our church members, we see the importance of giving genuine worship to the God who has given so much to us at Christmas.
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Christmas is an interesting time of year.
It is hectic and crazy and stressful for many, but also, in some ways, it feels like we go back to the way things should be.
People are more generous this time of year, giving to others and typically less concerned with themselves.
We take moments to be with our family and friends, reflecting on all the great events of the year before.
The streets are lined with lights that glow and push back the darkness of the night.
It almost feels like we are trying to recapture something we lost.
That’s what I want us to see this Christmas season together.
We are calling our series “Christmas Lights”, because Christmas is all about light coming back into the world.
We aren’t talking about physical light here, because we still have that. Instead, we are talking about Jesus as the light of the world.
This isn’t just a pretty poetic image we are using; instead, it is drawn from the book of John. Speaking of Jesus, John writes,
In him was life, and that life was the light of men.
That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
John 1:
john 1
Jesus is the light, showing us right from wrong, inviting us back into a relationship with God, and reestablishing God’s
For us to understand the importance of the light, though, we must first look back and see when the lights went out.
That is going to take us back to the very beginning, so turn with me to .
Turn with me to .
We are actually going to be looking at the first three chapters of Genesis, but the key moment is in chapter 3.
This may not seem like part of the Christmas story, but as we look at how we were created to be and what we turned away from, we are going to see how amazing the Christmas story really is.
As we walk through these events, I want to look at them in three different stages: when we lived in the light, when the lights went out, and what God promised to do next.
For us to understand what we lost, we need to first see that...
1) Life in the light was good.
1) Life in the light was good.
(; , ; )
The picture of what life was like for Adam and Eve is absolutely beautiful.
Look at the way God describes how He made us. Read Genesis 1:26-31; 2:7-9.
If you were to look back over Genesis 1, you see God’s normal pattern for creating: He simply spoke, and those things came into being.
But did you notice the care and concern He takes when it comes to us? Verse 27 tells us that God made us in His own image.
No other creature has the honor of bearing the image of God! We are the only creatures He created to live eternally, the only ones capable of knowing, worshipping, and serving Him as His image-bearers.
As an aside, that is one of the reasons we stand for life: every human being, no matter their disability, difference, or stage of development, is created in the image of God.
That’s why we support ministries like the Pregnancy Resource Center in Blacksburg, who are committed to creating a culture of life in the New River Valley.
Back to the Garden, though, you see that we enjoyed a unique relationship with God. Look again at 2:7-9…
I can’t wait to see what Eden looked like. I have seen some beautiful trees and flowers, and I have tasted some incredibly good fruits, but they will all pale in comparison to what they should have been.
In fact, as we see in Chapter 3, not only was it a beautiful place, but they had access to God literally walking with them.
3:8 tells us that they heard God walking in the Garden.
That’s how it should have been!
We should be enjoying a beautiful place with nothing to worry or fear about.
We should be joyfully tending to the garden God made for us, listening to hear Him walking so we can stop and talk with Him and see Him with untainted eyes.
It’s not that way, though, is it?
No, it’s anything but.
Look at the news this week—our world is marked by shootings, anger, and hatred.
People steal and cheat each other, lost their tempers, and selfishly hoard.
We have fallen so far from God’s design.
I wouldn’t characterize this as “living in the light”, would you?
It just doesn’t seem right, does it?
So what happened? That’s the next truth we need to look at. Turn over to Genesis 3 so we can see…
2) We turned off the light.
2) We turned off the light.
We were doing so well! We had everything we need, so what went wrong?
Sin came into the world.
Look at Genesis 3:1-7.
God gave Adam and Eve one command, and we disobeyed it.
With that, everything changed.
They had been completely comfortable, but suddenly, they felt alone and exposed.
Look again at verse 7 – Why was that the first thing they noticed?
It may be that, because of sin, they were completely isolated from each other for the very first time.
When Adam and Eve sinned, they were suddenly separated from each other because of selfishness and pride.
They were separated from even their own hearts, because as God spoke through Jeremiah, we find out that the wickedness of our own hearts deceives us so that we don’t even know our own hearts anymore.
Most importantly, they were suddenly isolated from God.
“But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.” (Isaiah 59:2, NASB95)
But your iniquities are separating you from your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not listen.
That’s explains what happened next. Look at 3:8-13.
That’s explains what happened next. Look at 3:8-13.
Sin immediately destroyed our relationship with God so we would rather run and hide than be face to face with the God who loved us so much that He made us!
We moved from enjoying his presence, following his lead, to following the path of selfishness and pain and evil that the serpent was leading.
It didn’t stop there, though. God begins to go through the effects of the fall, and He first talks to the serpent, then the woman, and then man.
Look with me at what He says to man. (17-19)
Even the very ground itself is cursed because of sin!
Why are earthquakes, hurricanes, and the like so destructive? Because all of Creation fell under the curse of sin!
Our sin brought death into the whole world.
Paul explains that in greater detail in Romans 8:18-23:
For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us.
For the creation eagerly waits with anticipation for God’s sons to be revealed.
For the creation was subjected to futility—not willingly, but because of him who subjected it—in the hope
that the creation itself will also be set free from the bondage to decay into the glorious freedom of God’s children.
For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together with labor pains until now.
Not only that, but we ourselves who have the Spirit as the firstfruits—we also groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for adoption, the redemption of our bodies.
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” (Romans 8:18–23, NASB95)
That’s why we look at the world around us and say, “That just isn’t right,” or “It shouldn’t be like that!”
That’s why we look at the world around us and say, “That just isn’t right,” or “It shouldn’t be like that!”
Because through sin, we left God’s design and entered a place of brokenness as people and as creation!
We turned off the light, and suddenly, we knew what it was like living in the dark.
Ever since then, we have tried to find our own ways to create light, and it has never worked:
For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened.
Claiming to be wise, they became fools
and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.
romans
We traded the light of the world for the darkness, and we have never been right since.
We walked in the light, literally walking with God.
We turned off the light when we chose to do life on our own, rejecting God as our king, and trying to put ourselves on the throne of the world.
Here’s what is amazing: God could have ended the story there. We chose to turn our back on him, we pushed him away, and he could have left us alone to stay separated from him forever.
However, in the middle of explaining the effects of sin, God makes an incredible promise:
Where does that come in?
Christmas is joyful because of the third truth we see:
3) The light is coming back.
3) The light is coming back.
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Jesus came to make it right again.
Look at Genesis 3:15
Here, we find that God says for the very first time, after the very first sin, that one day, someone would come and save us from sin.
That promise was reiterated to Abraham, Isaiah, and many more throughout the Old Testament.
Finally, it was fulfilled through a baby born in a manger to a virgin and her hard-working husband.
When the angel came and spoke to Joseph about this baby in Mary’s womb, he gave him very specific instructions:
She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet:
See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.”
““She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”” (Matthew 1:21–23, NASB95)
Jesus came to make it all right again.
Did you see it? He came to save us from our sin!
God came and walked with us again!
He is Immanuel, God with us!
He knew we were separated and couldn’t get back, so He came to rescue and ransom us!
Jesus would say that when He publically started His ministry. Quoting from Isaiah:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him.
He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”
And Jesus answered him, “It is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.”
So he took him to Jerusalem, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here.
For it is written: He will give his angels orders concerning you, to protect you,
and they will support you with their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”
And Jesus answered him, “It is said: Do not test the Lord your God.”
After the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time.
Then Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread throughout the entire vicinity.
He was teaching in their synagogues, being praised by everyone.
He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As usual, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up to read.
The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him, and unrolling the scroll, he found the place where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And the eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fixed on him.
He began by saying to them, “Today as you listen, this Scripture has been fulfilled.”
““The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, And recovery of sight to the blind, To set free those who are oppressed, To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”” (Luke 4:18–21, NASB95)
When Jesus was born, he was bringing about the reconciliation that had been hinted at in .
He was establishing God’s kingdom on earth, pushing back the darkness, and bringing back the light.
To quote Linus from “A Charlie Brown Christmas”, that’s what Christmas is all about, Charlie Brown!
Jesus came to make it right!
He came to remove the stain of sin from our hearts and eventually, He will come again to remove it from our world.
“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat!” (2 Peter 3:10–12, NASB95)
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief; on that day the heavens will pass away with a loud noise, the elements will burn and be dissolved, and the earth and the works on it will be disclosed.
Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, it is clear what sort of people you should be in holy conduct and godliness
as you wait for the day of God and hasten its coming. Because of that day, the heavens will be dissolved with fire and the elements will melt with heat.
He is going to purge every trace of sin from the earth, and once again, we will be able to enjoy life with Him again!
He is going to purge every trace of sin from the earth, and once again, we will be able to enjoy life with Him again!
So why are we joyful at Christmastime?
That little baby, laid in a feeding trough in a nasty stable in a little town on the backside of the world, was God in the flesh, coming to walk with us because we couldn’t walk with Him.
To borrow a line from J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Jesus was coming to make the sad things untrue.
Have you ever paid attention to the song “Joy to the World”? The third verse goes like this:
No more let sins and sorrows grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make
His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found
(“Joy to the World”)
Jesus came to make the sad things untrue—to reverse the curse, the isolation, the destruction that sin has wrought.
Have you allowed Him to do that in your heart this Christmas?
If not, then he is inviting you to himself this Christmas. Why not come out of the dark and into the light?