CHRISTMAS
DAY
December
25, 2016
Pastor
Timothy J. Spaude
Text:
Galatians 4:4-5
“JESUS: GOD’S GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING!”
1.
Jesus
gives patience.
2.
Jesus
gives trust.
3.
Jesus
gives blessings that last.
Galatians 4:4-5
(NIV 1984) “But when the
time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law 5to
redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons.”
This year the Christmas service
prepared by our Early Childhood students was titled “The Best Gift of All.” To
introduce the service I asked those present what would make something the best
gift, what makes some gifts better than others? I ask you that today. Think of
gifts you received. What about them makes some better than others? Well one
reason might be the joy that a particular gift gives you. As a child I remember
going through the Sears and Penney’s Christmas catalog and circling my
favorites. I remember the joy when I got what I wanted. Maybe, though, you are
more on the pragmatic side. So for you it is when you get a useful gift,
something you really need, that tool or kitchen appliance that will make your
work easier. This year a snowblower! Socks or underwear usually don’t make that
list but I remember a time when they did. When you are a grade school boy going
to school at a time when you have to change in the locker room with all the
other boys for every gym class and practice and your mom accidently washes your
white underwear with a deep maroon fringed bedspread with the result that all
your whitey tighties have now turned
pink there is great joy in getting some useful new white underwear for Christmas.
I guess the best gifts that we receive are the ones that bring joy and are
useful. Today I’d like to add one more characteristic for a great gift. It’s
one that keeps on giving, that doesn’t wear out, that lasts and keeps providing
more and more joy. The only gift that fits is Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, if we ponder
Christmas all year long we’ll see that Jesus keeps giving us patience. Paul
reminded the Galatians, “But when the
time had fully come.” What made the time when Jesus was born the right
time? Some people have looked back at history and tried to get into God’s mind
and guess a little bit. For instance they note it was a time in history where
there was a common language. After Alexander the Great had conquered much of
the western world it became cool to be like the Greeks. Greek influence spread
and Greek became the common language of commerce. That would make it easier to
communicate the good news of great joy that would be for all people. They also
note that at that time the Roman Empire was in charge and they built good roads
and were ruthless in stamping out crime so there was relative peace and safety
for travel. That all may be part of the big picture looking back but the real
answer to why it was the right time was God said so. He knew. He knows all
things.
He knows all things in your life too.
There are some things in life that God puts into our control, some timing
issues we are in charge of. If you get an assignment at school like a research
paper you are expected to get it done. Deadlines at work are like that too. But
there are many things in life that are out of our control. God has reserved
control of those things for Himself. Don’t sweat the timing. You don’t have to
stress out about what is out of your control like when a job you wanted falls
through or someone else buys the house you wanted. You don’t have to get all
upset if some of your plans don’t happen because something out of your control
stopped it. When the time had fully come, Jesus was sent. God knows for the big
things and little things. Remember that about Jesus and get patience. Jesus
keeps giving.
The gift of Jesus also keeps giving us
trust. “But when the time had fully come,
God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law 5to redeem those
under law.” But why? Have any of you ever gotten into one of those
discussions with a younger child? The one where no matter how you answer or
what you explain they just keep asking why? Did you ever do that with God’s
plan of salvation? But why? Why did God do it that way? Why did God’s Son
become a man? Why did He have to die? In the few words I just read to you from
Galatians 4 we get that glimpse of the glory and wisdom and power of God. He
sent His Son. His one and only Son. While there are and have been billions of
people there is only one true Son of God. Value. Born of a woman, born under
law. That one and only Son of God became also fully truly human. This was no
fake, no shell game. Jesus started in the womb and by natural birth saw the
world outside the womb for the first time, drew his first breath, ate and grew
like every other human being. By so doing Jesus was under law, that means
subject to the law, obligated to obey God’s laws for mankind just like every
other human being. And to what the Devil thought was his delight able to die
like every other human being.
What was God doing here? To the Devil
this didn’t make sense. But God’s plan was perfect. He is God and one aspect of
being God is that He is just. When He says something, He means it. The guilty
get punished. The innocent go free. How could God remain just about the soul
that sins shall die and in love spare the people He loves so much? A
substitute. Someone would have to be punished to maintain God’s justice.
Someone would have to be perfect. In a brilliant exhibition of His love and
wisdom God came up with a plan to redeem those under the law. He wrapped His
Son in human flesh and lay Him in a manger so that He could live a perfect life
as our substitute and then get wrapped in cloths and laid in a tomb after
giving his life as our substitute. Brilliant. God knows what He’s doing.
And that’s another way that Jesus is
God’s gift that keeps on giving. As we look at what God did with Him we keep
getting trust. How will this ever work out? A loved one falls and breaks a hip.
A loved one is diagnosed with cancer. The layoff notice comes. Look at Jesus.
Learn to trust. See the helpless baby lying in a manger. Do you doubt God’s
wisdom? He is so vulnerable. No, He’s part of God’s plan. See He walk to the
cross. Watch Him suffer in silence and refuse to come down. Look at Jesus.
Learn to trust. God’s plans are perfect and they always work out for the good
of those who love Him just as He promised.
Jesus is God’s gift that keeps on
giving. He provides blessings that last. Most gifts we receive don’t last.
Clothes wear out and don’t fit anymore. I asked the 8th grade
students about how long a new video game that just came out and every had to
have would hold their attention. Answers ranged from a couple of months to a
week. They don’t last. Even if you got that brand new Lexus with the red bow on
top, it wouldn’t last. Door dings, corrosion from salt all take their toll.
Eventually that new car smell goes away and even the new car air freshener can’t
really match it.
In Jesus we receive gifts that last.
Paul put it this way: that we might receive the full rights of sons.”
To the ears that first heard this people who thought they could never inherit
and could never be any more than slaves or third class citizens this was
exciting news. Full rights of sons meant protection, legal rights, inheritance.
God is pointing out that by giving the gift of Jesus we have blessings that
last. We have the right given by God to call him Father, Abba, and to know that
he hears and answers our prayers always and only for our good. We have the
right to the protection of his guardian angels, ministering spirit sent to
serve those who will inherit salvation. We have the inheritance of heaven
awaiting us. Heaven where the best this earth has to offer pales. What are gold
and diamonds worth in heaven? Who needs a new car or money? Heaven where
nothing wears out and our bodies work perfectly and where we enjoy eternity
with all be believers around the throne. Heaven where we see Jesus face to face
and we won’t have to ask “But why?” because we’ll know.
Our gift giving at Christmas is meant to
be a reminder of what God gave us. I hope you receive some things that you need
and things that you want. Some things that will give you joy and that joy will
last beyond a day or two. But when you are saying or writing your thank yous,
remember to thank God for Jesus, His gift that tops them all, His gift of which
the others are just pale reminders, His gift that keeps on giving. Amen.
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