The Gift of Christmas

We're going to take a break from our weekly look at 1st Corinthians where we've had a lot of introspection and a lot of time to self reflecting as I shared last week. It's felt like a punch to the gut as of late in 1st Corinthians send as much as I deeply enjoy getting a punch to the gut. It's nice to take a break right into 2nd Corinthians chapter 9.

And we're going to look right there towards the end at verse 15. Cuz I go ahead and find what I'm looking for here.

And here has helped all kind of ends this thoughts before he moves into chapter 10. It's a very short he says thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift. Guests only think about Christmas one of the common thoughts that enters our mind is gift-giving, isn't it? Now interesting enough gift-giving really didn't come about until around the 18 hundreds that you might go. Well Brett the wise men they sort of gave some things to Jesus and I would agree with you on that. However, it didn't become a part of Christmas and this massive tradition until around the 18th or so and I do want you to go take a moment to kind of capitalize on this idea of gift-giving and for a moment. I want you to think about the greatest gift you have ever given or the greatest gift you have ever received and what made it so great. What made it so wonderful what made it so spectacular as I began to reflect on this I thought back to the day that I got engaged to my wife. You see a couple months earlier. She was sniffing at marriage when we were dating and I did everything I could to throw her off at Trail by specifically taking her brother out and saying there's no way I'm like 25. I was just living at home like 2 years ago or a year ago. I'm not I'm barely a man and I threw him off this, you know, make sure he went home and talked to her and she would kind of kick it around with me and I just no no no, no, no, no no and we went on this trip and there we were in Jacksonville, which is my hometown and we were at the Britt Gardens and I took her on this walk and we got to this bench and I got down on one knee and you could just see her face like all my goodness. He's doing it finally doing it and there's a ring in my pocket and man if you been engaged you understand, it's just like burning a hole in you and I trembling pull this thing as a crew. Will you marry me a call right as if she's going to say no. Hopefully she wasn't at that point and and the look on her face was thrilling was shocking because she had no idea no glue. No, In the years of past I become a really really poor Gift Giver. In fact, my wife and I typically eat throughout the months leading up we guide each other along into what we would like for Christmas in the past at least used to hit click and it come to the door in a pre wrap a box that I can then stick under the tree and put a bow on this year. It's come to its lowest point where I said, here's the money go by the fing.

We were in the middle of moving. There's been a lot going on in the house. She did the same to me and stuff. So here's the deal if it's like a cool, but there is no surprise. There is no shock. In fact when some people drop some fudge and cookies off. She was more excited about that than the new perfume. I bought her. What is the greatest gift you give in and what is the greatest gift? You received their typically gifts. We don't expect right? Even if it's very small in minut. Even if it might seem somewhat like I have no idea this wasn't this big extravagant thing like an engagement ring. But hey, this is fantastic. Why because the unexpected it when you meet somebody this time of year. It's really wise in your car and travel with a bunch of presents because you never know who's asked you out to Coffee to give you something and As Americans we hate when people give us something and we have nothing to give back to them. And so you're sitting there with them at coffee and they go here I got this for you. I didn't know we were doing this I didn't get you anything right? We're not I am doing this and you go. Thank you. and expect this Wow, I can't believe you got this for me. The best gifts are always surprised and Isaiah. You can read this passage right around chapter 9. We're talks about For unto us this day a son is born he is given to us. And this morning I want to argue that Jesus didn't just come but that he was a gift given to each and every one of us. And if Jesus is a gift given to us. What is this? Tell us about Christianity? What is the tell us about reality? What is this? Tell us about God and what does this tell us about ourselves know in order to look at this unexpected gift. I want to flip us to do a few passages in the Christmas narrative beginning in Matthew chapter 2. We're going to read a little bit. Pardon me Matthew Chapter 1 Verse 18. We're going to skip the genealogy. That's another story. This isn't first a team. Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When is Mother Mary have been betrothed to Joseph before they came together. She was found to be with child from The Holy Spirits and her husband Joseph being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame resolved to divorce her quietly. What is it considered these things you hold an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream st. Joseph son of David do not fear to take Mary as your wife for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son and you should call his name Jesus for he will save his people from their sins and all this took place to fulfill with the Lord has spoken by the prophet Mary's husband for husband-to-be Joseph the one who she is betrothed to find out she's with child and really in that culture. He had every reason Put her away, even if he had wanted to push the issue, I'm too deaf. So rather than doing that he was a righteous man and thought I'll just put her away quietly and then the angel appears to Joseph. It's unexpected. It's the surprise, but nobody saw it coming. And the angel speaks and says there is something special going on not only to Joseph not know this was happening in Chapter 2. Not after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king the whole the wise men from the East came to Jerusalem saying, where is he who has been born King of the Jews for we saw his star when it Rose interesting. I want you to remember that line. We saw his star when it Rose and I've come to worship him when Herod the king heard. This was troubled all the Jerusalem with him and assembling all the chief priests and scribes of the people. He inquired of them for the Christ was to be born. They told him in Bethlehem of Judea for his written by the prophets and you will Bethlehem in the land of Judah by no means least among the rulers of Judah for from uchicago a ruler with him the shepherd my people who will Shepherd My People Israel once again, Herod no idea you've got the Pharisees the rulers of Israel. No clue what they're surprised and caught off guard the same thing happens in when the angel comes to Mary and she thinks no not me. We looked at that indepthly last year. There's no way that this could be happening to me and then she received it in faith. And burst out in this song and what you read from the narrative in the gospels about the birth of Jesus is nobody really saw it coming. Absolutely unexpected around every corner you get the sense that God is wildly surprisingly in a way that none of us could have dreamed of assistive how the world of you a leader to come into the world. He comes and completely opposite and contrary to our ideas of somebody is going to redeem Rescue & restore. This world becomes in obscurity and loneliness he comes as a baby and what's interesting is during this time and Luke Chapter 2 Verse 1 you read of a Caesar. His name is Augustus and Augustus previously known as Octavian has a bit of an interesting story. His father was not his biological father. But what's his adoptive father? His name was Julius Caesar and Julius Caesar had passed away while Octavius or Augustus was away at War. He found out that he was going to be the one that was going to inherit the Kingdom that was wrong. And as she found this news out, he went to battle with some of the you know, Shakespeare writes about a can't even draw their names right now, but the different leaders of that day and they have these two battles Mark Antony and those guys are going at one another and Augustus Rises to power in the midst of this and he does a couple of things Rome is becoming a super power of that day. NH. In fact, if we were to be sitting in the Roman Empire As Romans, we would be saying the kingdom has come peace. The Pax Romana is being restored their roads that we can travel on and there's safety and theirs government or control. Yes. We're expanding the kingdom. This is wonderful. This is great and Caesar Julian. He passed away the even GFI this man and they said he was more than a man. He was a God man. And Augustus last onto this because he didn't want just a piece of the Kingdom on Earth. Do You Want a Piece of Heaven as well and just by happenstance?

Haley's comets lasted 7 Days right around the death of Julius Caesar and Augustus left onto this and said, this is my father's Spirit ascending into the heavens as an accepted God. Therefore. I am the Son of God Rome had its ruler Rome how to draw leader. This man Augustus begin to unite ROM through the worship not only of the gods and goddesses. They adopted when they conquered countries. They said you can worship your deities. We're going to have an abundance of deity that we praise and you can also worship our deities But ultimately became the pontifex Maximus which is his idea that he was the chief priests the god-man that people would look to this is the kind of King we want today. This is the kind of King that we would vote for today. The one that can step into power and bring kind of pee through 4th that he could have his wish and he's visible and present and before us but Jesus his birth interesting the enough is correlating during the reign of the Caesar Augustus, and he's completely opposite. There is the false god man, which is Augustus who claimed it himself. Who tried to conquer through Power and force then is the true God man, which is Jesus Christ in an unnoticed Corner in Caesars Kingdom. There in a simple stable a feeding trough latest Son of God and humility. Getting Glory we look at this infancy of Jesus it teaches us about how his weakness and how he came and weakness and it teaches us something about God, but every Christmas we celebrate not Caesar's triumphal. Simple entry, but that is Emmanuel God With Us. It back in the New Testament the same Jesus is Lord runs absolutely contrary to the stain Caesar is Lord. Jesus is not Caesar is King. Jesus is the true king in Jesus came in a completely opposite way. It is not Augusta to as the savior of the world is not Augustus. Who is Lord with the son of David you can look at Luke Chapter 2. It's not a gossip. But Jesus was the son of God and it's not a gustus. The turning point of the ages has come in Christianity in Jesus in the birth death resurrection of Jesus the world an entirely different place because of what he has done. It was a turning point not because of a gustus his kingdom has come and gone, but the kingdom of God reigns forever this son. Jesus is born Emmanuel God With Us. Can just come he was given to us but not in the way we would want not in the way. We thought not in the way the world expects. He came and weakness as a baby in a Manger. He came and was rejected. The world did not want to look on him because he was not what they were looking for know if you know the gospel stories those written about Jesus you saw and blips of the power of this Jesus, right? You saw that he could feed the 5,000 you saw that he can heal those that were lame. You saw that he could give The Blind Side and every time you see Jesus exercising operate these ways his crowd's begin to grow behind him. It was as if some social media influencer posted him and all of a sudden he's blowing up on Instagram. They're in town and everybody is following after him and every time that begins to happen Jesus then says something very difficult are very hard. Like less you eat of my body and drink of my blood you're having a part of me and they all went away. Is it give us bread give us more you just want what your father's had in the world Ernest. I am the bread of life. I have something for you. Azle Everlasting unnecessary glimpses of this rule as he did the thing and it would latch onto that but then the moment Jesus didn't fit the category of the Savior the Lord the king they wanted studia people that would disperse they would leave him and it's everyone know part of you. Not much different than modern-day evangelicalism is it I'm unhappy I'm unhappy because I'm unhealthy. Maybe Jesus will get me how I'm unhappy because there's some Brokenness in my life as Brokenness in my family is broken is in my children. Maybe Jesus will fix this there. If you're a Jew being oppressed in the Roman Empire. I'm unhappy because we don't get to rule and reign in the very country that God has given Jesus do something. And as long as Jesus look like what the world wanted. He'd ruin Fame and popularity but the moment he went left where they went, right? They turn their backs on him and left him and what we see and hear is Jesus started and weakness. And there on the cross it appears he dies and weakness, but only to raise in power only to rise in power. All is around said forget. It couldn't be our Salvation. It would have looked much more like Augustus somebody in power somebody in control. Here's a question. Jesus wasn't on their Christmas list. He just wasn't that what they wanted what they needed and not what they wanted. What is your ideal savior today? You walked in here maybe a Christian maybe not a Christian because even Christians can have this kind of faulty thinking we go. I love you Jesus. I receive you Jesus and are they Praise You Jesus hears my wishlist Jesus. You want to have any sugar daddy to give you what you want as long as you're going to follow along and bring them with you wherever you go, you want the Jesus that rides on a sleigh that gives you Turkish delight that brings you whatever would warm your hearts by Messiah that gives us goal. The Messiah that gives us children the Messiah that comes in every time we're in trouble me cry out he fixes everything is so often when we come to this time of the year and we're thinking about Christmas with thinking about generosity was thinking about the meaning of Christmas. I'm down to this idea of what am I going to get out of this? What are things going to save me when I think is going to make me a happier person. Who do I think is going to make me rescued. What is your ideal messiah in here? Maybe in Christianity even promised that he would come forward at the end of this teaching. He's going to fix your marriage. He's going to fix your children's going to fix your joblessness. He's going to fix whatever is broken in your life your health. And just quickly hasn't happened. Too often we come to Jesus with an expectation of what we think needs to be done rather than what he has actually done for us and I'm here to tell you the true gospel story. Yes, Jesus comes in weakness and it appears that he dies and weakness but he rises and absolute power and what a gift this Jesus is. What a surprise. This Jesus is just like my wife getting the cookies and 5 if you want to call my goodness, I mean sitting there is nothing that I just given her kind of and the fudge and yes, yes. What is the prize this this because of the way it was given and came to me? I did not expect this. This is Jesus and he's checking all of these boxes. He is Emmanuel God With Us Christmas is about the doctrine of incarnation. That is God becoming man. God becoming human and you'll have to be whatever you see God appear during The Exodus story. He's in a cloud and it's smoking and it's booming. It's Thunder is red a song that talks about that. It's roaring. It's loud. It's in your face, but here he comes as an infant. as a baby what what does it mean when a baby is absolutely accessible. I made a new friend this Retreat and we went out in the course we got tacos cuz that's what I do. If you're new here, I take you to Tacos in different wonderful right written you love those and I see their baby and it's safe. I can talk to them about their baby and she looks so precious and cute. You're getting called out of Joni or third week here man. You're in trouble my goodness. We can come near we can come close. Baby is safe. What this means for us is that we can draw near in the way that Jesus came and wrote himself. You weren't getting near Augustus. I can tell you that you weren't even going to get their hair red and get some devious plan to murder one of these guys. No, it's not a Smoky Mountain. It's this God who became man and infant and grooms raised and he died on the cross for our sins and it brings life transform power into our life. Now. What does it say about Jesus in Matthew 1:23, it says that he will be great. He will be great. These words are about the Redemption that Jesus is going to accomplish for each and every one of us and Luke chapter 2 verse 10. It says fear not behold. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. The point is that Jesus is claiming all throughout the gospels. Is that key is King that he is Lord. He is God if you look at this idea of the gospels is how God became king. Thank u n t Wright for that title how God became king and is highly political that's why he finds himself in huge trouble because he is the king of the people don't want but if they need he's the king of they reject the murder and they kill because you didn't come now they want him to come everybody has an idea of the Messiah and how they want him to be. And he comes in humility. And I'm like any other founders of any other religion unlike figures other figures in the Bible, even the prophets in the priest that came before him this God comes and he gives that he does not take any lays down his life for us and this forces our hands here this morning. Jesus make some pretty radical claims of yourself. You'll hear me say this over and over again to CS Lewis wrote it and he is brilliant liar lunatic or Lord who is Jesus you don't get to go. Can I just answer that in 10 years 20 years 30 years because by doing that and taking the passive stance towards Jesus you're essentially saying he's a liar or he's a lunatic your silence is your response or you have to come right out and say Jesus is a lunatic anybody ever heard anybody say that about Jesus. I certainly haven't the world love Jesus. They just hate the church and Christians. Her height and we probably given them some reason to have that attitude at times.

He's not a liar and a check then. What is he what he made absolute claims that he's absolutely lower than absolutely God. Has this issue any forces our hand he says are you going to come underneath of who I am and why would I need to do that for the Bible tells us a very Grim picture that man has rebelled against God. That's why the world is the way that it is today. When you look around you go. This world is screwed up. This world is messed up. There's people who hurt each other those people who fight for power. There's Pride there's Eagles slavery. There's problems what gives why can't we all just get along and have a Utopia? Why can't we all find some common belief system that unites us? Why can't we be more like Rome and what they were doing and trying to encourage. Peace and please wrong not a lot of Peace unless it was by the force of the sword in the hand of violence. Jesus comes in a completely opposite way. Time does a baby he doesn't take power. He gives away power doesn't take lives. He gives up his life and then he invites us into newness of life and in so doing Jesus deal with this problem. It is a sin problem in the same problem is not a problem. Just give the devastation. It causes on a human platform to one another but it's in problem is a problem and it's your problem because it's against a god at the loves you and wants to graciously give himself to you deeply cause an offense and he can't just simply look at your sin and Gomorrah not a big deal just brush it under the rug he came and he died and he suffered for that and we might respond to this message of the gospel and receive him worse than radically transformed our entire lives radically transform the communities that we live in it was just a gospel communities that impact our neighbors in the world around us. That is what it does. It makes us right with God and then the Holy Spirit empowering us to live In such a way that we are light in this world for the kingdom of God. He is an absolute gift and he came to give himself for us because he's a gift all of the Christian religion is one of Grace. I'm coming here today because it's the Christmas Sunday the one a few days before and mom or dad made your uncle or Aunt trick you into coming or promised brunch or whatever. The deal was to get you in here and this is part of me that goes I just don't belong in there. I was talk to somebody years ago and after church, they said I'm surprised they didn't burn for setting foot in there.

Christianity is a religion all of Grace. Right. You didn't come in here. Good enough. Quite frankly. Neither. Did I I didn't have an A+ week. I wasn't perfect with my kids last night at 11. We had a little accident upstairs. My wife had to have a little talk with me. Okay and tell me yeah, you were not trying. None of us come in here in a perfect way. That's not what God is asking of us kissing I gave myself for you. Here is my grace and because I've given myself for you Christian and Christianity and Christians. We don't just believe that Jesus was a good teacher, but we believe that he gave himself for us on the cross. We recognize that he was much more than a teacher that want us to do the right thing. He live the right way in order to redeem us because we could not live that way. Jesus is a gift Christianity the religion of all Grace and then that means Jesus our help because in him there is salvation. There's no other means there's no other way. Every other system tells you here's how to work your way to God will never leave you down a rabbit Trail where your cousin trying to do more and more and more to appease. Whatever God it is. You believe ultimately save you justify you or make you right bro living in this we all live as we saw last week in the proverbial courtroom the one in which were going if I do this, how is some deity or something out there going to respond to me whether the karma or some belief in another God is going to give me what I deserve. We live in a way in which we believe there's going to be a ultimate Justice and here we see ultimate Justice is going to complish you the cross of Jesus Christ, and there's hope in that salvation. So what does that mean for me practically were going to finish out here this morning? when we look at Christmas and think about Christmas in my house is one word that comes up a lot and it's the word cozy anybody else. Think about Cozy when I think about Christmas you think about sipping cocoa. I had some killer cocoa from Trader Joe's last night. It was awesome. But also it's my stomach. I feel horrible. All right. You think fireplaces? Gratis house and it's the first house that has a real fireplace in it. And I think my wife is just thinking white stockings Jack Frost and Snow hopefully is coming and we're going to have Christmas music on and we think of this term we think of this idea Christmas is all cozy and Frank Sinatra serenading us in a holiday hams and Cindy Lou Who may go through the list of things that make us so warm at Christmas. The idea of Christmas is transformed into a personal Comfort holiday. There was nothing comfortable about the first Christmas. Ladies. Correct me if I'm wrong, but there's nothing comfortable about birth. There's nothing comfortable about birth in a cage because there was no room for you in the end and there's your husband who may be a 16-17 year-old. You're like an immature man. Think about Mary for a second you like baby. I just got stupid ahead. There's no way that's get the Midwife down here and handle this thing there would have been screaming and excreted there would have been pain and difficulty. There is nothing comfortable about that first Christmas. And you see this God man who emptied himself? Becomes human subjects himself to the pain of Life, you've experienced physical pain. So has he ever experienced emotional pain? You've been backstabbing the trade. So I see you've experienced spiritual pain. He was separated from the father know what this Christmas idea Christmas is anything but cozy because what the manger means is the exact opposite of cozy it meant that this God loves you so much that it came to suffer, but it came to die so you could have life. That's what Christmas is about. Jim and I were talking before the Gathering. I said a lot of the crosses up here. Because you don't get Christmas if you don't get the cross. Cross death and Resurrection. No, hope for any of us. Yes, we celebrate that. He came as an infant and what that means for us is incredibly significant the best greatest gift you could ever have in your life, but what if he came as an infant and that's great and then he decided in well, you know that passage Mark chapter 2 Matthew chapter 4 Luke Chapter. I think three ways in the wilderness and what have you said, you know, what saying that's pretty good deal. I think I'll just go ahead and take the keys to the earth now. We'll just call it good to know how The birth signify something incredible something significant. He came in weakness. He died in weakness, but he rose and power and you have that same hope that's what Christmas is about, being cozy about Christ. in King of Prussia why thank you for this Ultimate Reality that we can ground our help in. For without it. We'd be utterly lost and devastated. And we need it. Gummy you encourage our hearts now through song through worship. May you be glorified and exalted as we celebrate you. We love you and give you thanks in Jesus name. Amen.