Unwrapping Christmas

We all know that it's the BIRTH OF JESUS that is celebrated at Christmas, but if there would be ANY truth in that celebration......then we have to understand why we're celebrating...Of WHY He even came to earth...

HERE'S WHY....

In the very beginning, in the first Book of the Bible...Genesis chapter 1...we see God CREATE...

And we see that ALL that God had created was GOOD!

The relationship between God and man was one of PURE LOVE...There was UNHINDERED Worship!

SOOO Unhindered...that you had MAN and WOMAN....next to each other....naked...YET - they weren't FOCUSED on each other...RATHER......it was all about WORSHIPPING God!

There was NOTHING between God and man EXCEPT for - 'LOVE for God'!

BUT THEN...something happened....DISOBEDIENCE happened.

SIN happened...

Sin entered the world through one man - ADAM...and the consequence of that SIN reached through time and KILLS all of us...

Why?

Because we ALL sin...

Romans 5:12 ESV

12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—

Sin entered the world...and it shattered creation (which was good)...

Shattered the unhindered worship of God...

AND NOW, man was separated from God.

Physical death and Spiritual death now came into the world...LISTEN - FOR ALL MANKIND.

From this point on...man is NO LONGER ABLE to please God.

NO LONGER able to worship Him

NO LONGER able to believe in Him

NO LONGER able to come to Him...see Him...pursue Him...love Him...to have FAITH in Him....to place our trust in Him.

1 Corinthians 2:14 ESV

14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

Romans 8:7–8 ESV

7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Romans 3:10–12 ESV

10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; 11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. 12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.”

The very moment that sin entered the world, total depravity saturated mankind......and hopelessness before God became reality.

And so you might say - WOW - that sounds REALLY BAD!

You're RIGHT....it is REALLY BAD news....eternally BAD news...

MANKIND HAS a problem that MANKIND can’t fix!

We can’t YOUTUBE that thing in order to fix it ourselves!

SO - SIN is on the table…and it’s SET to DESTROY us…!

OK - the pieces are starting to come together!

If SIN is our problem … which it is…and WE can’t FIX it ourselves...

HOW DOES IT GET FIXED?

WELL - the Bible says that SIN can only be FORGIVEN - ONE WAY!

Hebrews 9:22 ESV

22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.

Well this tells us that FORGIVENESS can only happen through the - SHEDDING of BLOOD!

AND SO WE SEE WHY JESUS - CAME IN THE FLESH....

He needed to come to earth as a human so He could live a perfect life..

so He could suffer…and SHED HIS BLOOD for our SINS...

He put on flesh that it might be pierced...

He had a beard that it might be pulled out from His face

He had eyes so that they might be spit on

He had feet - that they would be nailed to the cross

He took on a body...that it might be destroyed

He put on flesh that He might become our sacrifice...

And so we SEE WHY He was born...

Jesus was born – so that we might be FORGIVEN

And so if we’re going to CELEBRATE Christmas - then we must KNOW the target of our CELEBRATION...

**Ever show up at a party NOT KNOWING what the party was for??

And so we SHOULD KNOW what “Christmas” is all about...

So do you see how Christmas has to do with SIN…

- And the remedy to that SIN…

SEE – there’s a BIGGER PICTURE here to see...when it comes to Christmas

Christmas is ACTUALLY just a small PIECE of the puzzle...

SO LET’S RIGHT NOW - look at the back of the PUZZLE BOX...

What’s USUALLY on the back of the puzzle box? A COMPLETE picture of the puzzle!

Ok, here it is… Here’s a LOOK at the COMPLETE PICTURE...

Colossians 1:19–20 ESV

19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

Do you see?

the COMPLETE PICTURE is this = Reconciliation!

The AIM of Christmas is - Reconciliation

· The birth of Christ was a necessary EVENT – but just a piece of the larger picture of RECONCILIATION…

What is reconciliation?

· It’s the restoration of – relationship

And the verse speaks to this RESTORATION when it says… “making peace by the blood of his cross”

· So reconciliation POINTS to the PEACE that God extends….on the basis of WHAT?

· The BLOOD of Jesus!

· And so - Reconciliation can also be viewed as a RECONCILING of ACCOUNTS…

· The DEBT we OWED due to SIN – PAID for by the BLOOD of the CROSS…

Jesus MAKES peace – by the Blood of the cross!

· This is the REASON that Jesus came – IN THE FLESH!

· To RECONCILE all things – to HIMSELF!

And if you are a FOLLOWER of Jesus Christ – then you’ve received the GIFT of RECONCILIATION!

What does that really mean?

It means – YOU NOW HAVE *Peace with God

The gift we now have is – the gift of Reconciliation! Which is...

PEACE with God:

Romans 5:1 ESV

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

• An eternal sacrifice...

• with an eternal reward...

• brings eternal peace...

• IF you have been justified BY Faith in Jesus Christ... • ...YOU WILL FOREVER BE AT PEACE WITH GOD...

• verse 1 says - ...since we've BEEN JUSTIFIED by faith, we HAVE peace with God...

• this phrase "we have peace" is in the present tense...

• The verb tense where the writer portrays an action in process or a state of being with no assessment of the action’s completion

• Eternally at peace with God...

• And so this impacts us in our lives... • Being at peace with the creator of the universe impacts how we live...

IF WE NOW HOLD THE GIFT OF “PEACE WITH GOD” / RECONCILIATION – then we ALL ARE NOW CALLED TO BE – RE-GIFTERS!

· we must KNOW this as Christians…

SLIDE: We are called to PROCLAIM what we POSSESS!

SO – if we POSSESS – PEACE with God…

· If we have been RECONCILED to God – then we are called to PROCLAIM…

Mankind’s NEED to be RECONCILED to God…

And the Bible speaks directly to this – In case you think –

Yeah I don’t know about that!

I think I’m fine just Believing in Jesus and calling it a day!

2 Corinthians 5:17–21 ESV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 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.

SLIDE: QUESTION 2:

What [effect] does Jesus’ birth, and consequently His purpose in being born, have on us as followers of Him?

· Every believer – past – present- and future – shares in a common MINISTRY…

· The Ministry of Reconciliation!

· The effect it has on us is that we HAVE NOW BEEN ENROLLED in a MINISTRY…

No sign-up sheet required

We’re all in this ministry…THE MINISTRY of RECONCILIATION

· And OH what a privilege it is!

· Reconciliation – TO GOD – is the greatest gift we could ever GIVE someone!

And that’s where this verse comes into play –

*PEACEMAKERS – Blessed are the peacemakers

Matthew 5:9 ESV

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.

- Now, you might be thinking – this verse just has to do with BEING NICE to people – and not getting into FIST FIGHTS with them…

• Blessed are the Peacemakers....now, the Greek word translated to peacemakers is only used 1 other time in the NT...

• Let's go to it...

• Let's look at Colossians 1:19-20

Colossians 1:19–20 ESV

19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

• Here we see the GREAT peacemaker....making peace - how?

• Jesus Christ came to earth....and His job description read this - PEACEMAKER!

• Jesus Christ came to seek and to save the LOST...

• He came, as the verse says - to RECONCILE ALL things to Himself!

QUESTION: Are we called to live like Jesus?

SLIDE:

We are called to mimic the great peacemaker

• We looked at it earlier...

Being separated from God because of sin, mankind is IN REBELLION against God...in a WAR against God...

• ALWAYS on the opposing side...

• If God's on OFFENSE....well then man is on defense...trying to STOP Him...trying to KILL Him...

• If God's on DEFENSE...well then man is on offense...trying to OVERTAKE Him...to CONQUER Him...

• And so WHAT does Jesus Christ do?

• He lives the perfect life...

• FULFILLING the righteous requirement of the Law...

• He GOES to the cross...

• HE who KNEW NO SIN - BECAME sin on our behalf...

• Dies - takes the wrath of God upon Himself...

• SO THAT ALL WHO BELIEVE would receive PARDON...

• WHICH IS exactly what verse 20 says...

through Him to reconcile to Himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of His cross

• This is what it means to be a PEACEMAKER

• The WRATH of God awaits ALL of MANKIND...

• WHY?

• Because as Romans 6:23 says, "The wages of sin is death"

• But for ALL those who believe on Jesus Christ (Jesus Christ being the ONLY WAY to the Father)...

• the WRATH of God removed...and put in it's place - PEACE

Romans 5:1 ESV

1 Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

• NOW - as we know - THIS PEACE can be yours - IF you believe!

• THEREFORE....we go and share the GOOD news!

· And in doing so, in OUR PROCLAIMING of the Good News…

· GOD works in and through us…

· And WE end up CARRYING OUT the work of God…

Let’s look back at Romans 5:1-5…

We’re going to see that…

SLIDE: Sharing Our Gift: We Empower the Powerless

Sharing Our Gift

Romans 5:6 ESV

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

• While we were still weak...

• While we were still powerless...to do anything about our relationship with God...

• ...God did something.

• Does God wait for us to become righteous before He redeems us?

• No!

• We're powerless to move toward God.

• ...Powerless to seek after God...

· If you are a follower of Jesus in here today – it’s because God GAVE life to your deadness

· He EMPOWERED your Spiritual Deadness...

· And in Sharing the Gift of Reconciliation with others, we (do the same) EMPOWER the Powerless

SO GO!

· Share the gift you’ve been given!

· AND

· Be CONFIDENT – with FULL ASSURANCE – that the gift you’re sharing – is FULLY GUARANTEED!!

I get it – there’s not much in this world that comes with a full guarantee…

But THIS DOES!

How do we know?

SLIDE: The Gift We Share: Is Secured by God

The Gift We Share

Romans 5:9–10 ESV

9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

• So we can see here that Christ's work on the cross...

• ...not only justifies, but saves.

• justified by His blood

• saved by His life

• verse 9 tells us that we need rescued from the wrath of God.

Romans 5:9 ESV

9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.

• We need rescued from His wrath...

• And the rescue plan is Jesus Christ.

• Justified by His blood (delivered up for our trespasses, and raised for our justification)

• and saved by His life

• We talked about it a couple weeks ago...

John 10:11 ESV

11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

2 Timothy 1:12 ESV

12 which is why I suffer as I do. But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me.

• Who guards what has been entrusted to us?

• "I am convinced that He is able to guard what has been entrusted to me."

• And unless we think God is able, but UNWILLING to guard this...

Romans 8:38–39 ESV

38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

• As parents, is there anything you can think of that would remove your love for your kids?

• We know we're not perfect creatures, but I can't think of anything...

• God secures the promise...and...

• It all filters back to Christ.

Once Reconciled to God - ALWAYS Reconciled to God

• Eternal Peace AWAITS all those who BELIEVE!!

• THIS is the Good News...and so as we come to ANOTHER Christmas season in 2019...

This Christmas - let’s UNWRAP all the fluff....

Get through all the cliche

All the marketing

All the glitter and shiny ornaments...

And get to the POINT...

SUMMARY

Receive the Gift of Reconciliation (Why was Jesus born?)

Give the Gift of Reconciliation (Effect of His birth?)

Let’s pray

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