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December 28, 2010 4:32 am
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Harvest podcast featuring Pastor Greg Laurie are brought to you by harvest partners to receive Pastor Greg free online daily devotions or to become a harvest partner, please visit us online@harvest.org for all of you wanted to be defeated welcome again were so glad you're here tonight on Christmas Eve. How many of you have never been to one of our Christmas Eve services raise up your hand woke up a lot of you welcome you guys outside raise her hand so I can see you but still we have some visitors out there to how many of you been coming to our services in Christmas Eve rover say 10 years later all we have some veterans have out over 15 years, while about over 20 years, get out of here. How about 30 years and I got so there you use this illustration. So many times I apologize, but I'm using it to eligible point you to a drawing in a moment, but I've said many times that you can tell when you are in life tenant comparing it to Santa Claus. For instance, when you're really young. You believe in Santa Claus, they get a little older you don't believe in Santa Claus then you become Santa Claus and then you look like Santa Claus so I was drying the other day and so I illustrated this here I am today. This is my drawing of myself as you can see it's not very flattering. So here I am, phase 2 tomorrow get a little older.
Next day a little older white tears start to show up little bit older start to look like sand a little bit a little bit older and were almost there. And finally, there you are very Christmas so I too much time in my hand heard a story of a little boy that was writing a letter to God about what he wanted for Christmas and he wrote dear God, I've been good for six months now that I am sending this to God better tell the truth. So he marked out six months and wrote three months and thought about it, marked out three months and wrote one week and he thought about it a little bit longer and went over to his Nativity said these are Mary and Joseph and the little baby Jesus.
So I grabbed the Mary figurine walked back to his letter said it done. I wrote dear God, if you ever want to see your mother again. Talk about missing the point of Christmas you know new things in time can become all things. It's been said that familiarity breeds contempt. The more often. Maybe it just breeds indifference. The more we become familiar with something, the less we may appreciate it will lose our sense of our wonder or fascination and I hope that doesn't happen when we come to the beloved story of the birth of our Lord. Yes, it's an old, old story, but truly it is the greatest story ever told that we can get caught up in the busyness of the season and forget the wonder of it all that deity took on humanity and God became a man. One passage that sums it up perfectly as second Corinthians 89 that says for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that throat, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that through his poverty, you might be made rich by my wife wrote this this morning and I'll read it to you as you posted it on our Facebook page and when she read it. I said who wrote that she survived it really time in the use of my sermon.
Okay, here's what she wrote.
I am married to the most handsome man on her. Though he is beginning to resemble sent to every know okay, here's what you really wrote my house is comfortable and decorated his lowly stable fragrant candle scent the air, the smell of further filled his first house. My bed is soft with crisp white cotton sheets. His was rough straw accrued manger my clothes are beautiful. His poor simple strips of cloth. I will give toys and gifts to my children. He had none. We will feast in seeing he would fast and we I am rich because he became poor and that really sums it up as we think of what God went through to reach us to come into our world.
When heaven came to earth in the supernatural and baited natural.
It was a day like any other. But history was about to change. It's been said that history swings on the cans of a door of the stable in Bethlehem.
Now we all know this amazing story of how the angel Gabriel came to Mary and told her that she was going to be the most blessed woman who ever lived, and she was going to give birth to the very Messiah of Israel and then the Lord also spoke to her husband Joseph through her husband to be. I should say through an angel and so there they were waiting for the arrival of this child that it already been supernaturally conceived in her will.
Problem was they were in Nazareth and the Scripture said Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. The last thing on their mind was making the difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem, which would be 90 miles but yet out of nowhere. It seemed really according to God's plan.
Augustus Caesar give the decree that all of the world should be taxed. This little man was big in his own eyes even agreed to get more money for the government. That sounds familiar, and Mary and Joseph coming from the house of David, which was Bethlehem had to make that difficult journey back to their hometown, fulfilling the passage of microfiber to that says thou, Bethlehem, will you be little among the thousands of Judah get out of you shall come forth one whose origins had been from everlasting Caesar Augustine is most of us only know because he is mentioned in the Christmas story.
He was the most powerful man on earth at that time. Yet Jesus Christ we divide human time. From the moment of his birth.
What we remember of Caesar is a very good silent. Not a lot more and so how is this message announced to the most important thing that is ever happened. The most significant event in human history, did the Angels go and announce it to Caesar Augustus or to the religious leaders know they went to shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night Luke two says now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night; angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. And the angel said do not be afraid, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people, for there is born unto you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
And this will be the sign you will find the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in the manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and earth peace and goodwill toward men and it was so that when the Angels got away from them and they haven't, the shepherds said one to another, let us now go to Bethlehem and see this great thing that is come the past which the Lord is made known to us, we hear this passage because it's so familiar. Maybe our minds begin to wonder or maybe we see the shepherds through stained-glass we think of them as one-dimensional characters understand who these guys really were in the social order of the day they were below the bottom wrong. They did the job that no one else really wanted to do their work, hard-working men, they whatever dirt under their fingernails are they what they watched over these flocks some tradition tells us that they were keeping watch over the sheet that would be used in the sacrifices in the temple about whatever the case here.
They were faithfully executing their duty, but culture justifies the shepherds of that day because they could not observe the ceremonial handwashing's of the religious leaders and so it was so bad that the only thing lower on the social scale than a shepherd was a leper and the testimony of a shepherd was not even allowed in accord the law. So the Lord comes to them. No, I don't with the parallel would be the day we might read that there was in the same country telemarketers working at their phones at night. Suddenly a message came more. There were a bunch of outlaw bikers cruising down the highway in the angel gave them the message, or a bunch of attorneys getting ready to follow. I don't know who fits the category best. But my point is simply this, God went to those that were not the most love and he gave them the most important message in human history and what was that message. It was simply that there is born unto you in this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Everything that were announced to them that we need to remember tonight. Number one, we have a Savior. There is foreign to you in the city of David a Savior, Christ the Lord. He came to save us from the power and penalty of our sin. Why do we need a Savior because were drowning. That's why number of years ago I was done at the beach of my son Jonathan was quite young at that time and I was helping them catch Wayne send as it turns out, a little riptide, got hold of me and and I was no longer able to touch the bottom and I realize I was getting pulled by the surreal type of the thing that was frustrating was I was so close to the shore. I mean there were people right there and there was a lifeguard a few feet behind them and it would've been the most humiliating thing for me, a guy who's been around the beach. My whole life that cry out for help so close to the shore so I didn't say anything and knowing, holding Jonathan above the water and getting pulled out a little bit more and I feel like guards, looking at me, probably waiting for me to say help. I'm too proud to go for help, not getting pulled out a little bit further a little bit deeper. Finally, the like at that one an idiot. I wanted to save this guy.
They start swimming toward me and just as they got to me. I got my feet on the ground again. Okay, it's all right but why would not cry out for help. Too proud and we don't like to say I need God's help we want to say I'm a good person. I'm a strong person really let me tell you some hate to break this to you.
Your sinful person. And though you may be a good man or a good woman. Everyone of us have sinned in one sense enough to keep us out of heaven.
That's why we need a Savior. That's God's gift to the gift of eternal life, no batteries require no assembly required. You know, a lot of us are going to spend a lot of time tomorrow putting things together was funded by those things in the toy store just to get deported together now. And of course you can realize you don't have enough batteries. I ordered a dollhouse for my granddaughters and this is a fairly elaborate little thing that had to be put together and so I gave it to my son Jonathan to do and Haley. Here is what the direction said I meant this is a direct quote from the directions of the dollhouse tools you will need screws included a Phillips screwdriver tweezers and finally these words, the ability to remain calm. You know that's going to be hard and it was thank God we don't have to assemble our lives alone. There is born unto you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. Number two, we have a Christ. What is that mean, by the way Christ was not the last name of Jesus. Some people know that Willey was Jesus Christ.
No, he was Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus the son of Joseph and Mary, but we don't know his last name Christ was not a name. It was a title Christ means the anointed one.
He was the anointed one from God or another way to put it. He was the Messiah, but the people of Israel were not so much looking for a Messiah is much as they were looking for a warrior. They didn't want to Messiah who would die for their sin. They wanted someone who would overthrow the tyranny of Rome. See they didn't always understand or appreciate God's gift to them and sometimes we don't appreciate the gift God has given to us. You know nothing is more disappointing than getting a gift for someone that you think they will like and when they open it or not that excited and there's taking it well know right because we have faith in ourselves, hold a I've never seen anything quite like this you you're looking for that diplomatic way this s�ance listen God's given us what we need. Maybe not necessarily what we want or chunks one dollar why think is one of the best preachers out there today.
Tell a story about his boyhood Christmas and he badgered his parents telling them he wanted a basketball for Christmas and with Christmas is approaching.
There was a box under the tree anything. I think that's why basketball even went to the box and shook it and heard it rolling around that yes, Christmas morning, he opened the box and it was all world glow by what he was hoping for. I always felt a little bit ripped off at Christmas because you see, my birthday is on December 10 shameless plug for my birthday there and what the problem was, someone would get you a Condensate. This is for Christmas and your birthday right Saul man I was in the sports and it is those kids what birthdays in June or July. I got more presence. I member. One year I asked my mom to get me a Schwinn 10 speed bicycle in blue. I even took her down to the start. This is the bike right here. This is what I want progress as I was certain she was going to get it. I was so excited, I was already envisioning myself cruising along my Schwinn 10 speed in blue and Christmas morning came and I walked out and there was a bicycle, a no-name bicycle.
I think she bought it drugstore and it had read entire rent tires now today you'll see people with tires in different colors. In those days you didn't have red tires. I was so embarrassed riding around on it. He would point tires so and so I got out some spray paint and black and I spray painted them black and then I wrote for another hour and now they were red and black tires because the pain came up, and then the sun sort of bleach them out and soon they were peeing tires. Somebody said them.
I will you gotta get me the pollutants Schwinn by the way, and so she finally got it for me.
I was so excited after a few days I got stolen some. That's life.
God does not always give us what we want, but always what we need the people wanted a warrior king that God sent them a humble Savior, but they needed is forgiveness and we do as well listen.
One day he will come back as a warrior king you know when the angel said glory to God in the highest peace on earth literal translation among men with whom God is well pleased that I was speaking of a future event because as we open our newspapers today we say where is the peace I see a potential war could break out herein between North and South Korea, and I see I ran building nuclear weaponry and I see the continued conflict in Afghanistan and Iraq and and I see this can enough we see a war a world filled with forwards the peace it's coming it's coming when Christ returns and establishes his kingdom as King of Kings and Lord of lords. The first time Jesus came he could build in the form of a child star marked his arrival wise men brought him gifts. There was no room for him in the end, and only a few attended his arrival the next time Jesus comes to be recognized by all heaven will be lit up by his glory will bring rewards for his own and the world will not be able to obtain his glory was the message to the shepherds.
What is a message to us. We have a Savior we have a Christ. Finally, we have a Lord, what does that mean that means that we have a God who was a plan for our life. A God that wants to lead us in life, a God that will protect us and live in a God that will one day welcome us into heaven, will we have completed our task. This was a joyful day and Christmas should be a joyful time but not everyone feels that way. You might say, well, I'm not feeling a lot of joy tonight and there's a lot of reasons for that.
Maybe your family has unraveled and urine divorce proceedings are you've had a spouse leave you or you just have a lot of friction in the home son a happy place to be. Maybe your estranged from one of your children or your parents. Maybe you've just gotten really bad news from the doctor.
Why does it seem bad news always comes in December you found out that you have cancer or maybe a loved one that was with you last year is not with you tonight and you feel deep sadness and so when you watch other people having a good time and actually makes it harder for you while they're rejoicing your weeping and the happiest time of the year is actually the saddest time of the year for you. We here's the thing that you need to know. Here's the thing I need to know because I understand all those emotions myself. We need to realize that the great hope and joy is not in Christmas. It is in Christ himself. That's where the joy comes. Christmas cannot deliver on its promises. We get so built up in our mind is owed to be the second coming or something pleasant Christmas. Cannot bring harmony to your home. Christmas cannot bring peace on earth. Christmas cannot bring happiness. But Christ can do all of this in more when you get down to it that's were longing for deep inside, not Christmas, but Christ, not merriment, but the Messiah not goodwill but God.
Christmas is a promise of things to come.
I heard this statement today, and I quote Christmas for the nonbeliever to think Christmas is for the nonbeliever to feel for one day. What the Christian feels every day. It's a good stable business know I would qualify it in safe on about how we feel, but let's just take that at face value Christmas is for the nonbeliever to feel one day with the Christian feels everything what is Christmas at its best.
We noted this at its worst. What is it at its best. It's a time of talking about God. I mean, I love it when I'm in a department store wherever and I hear a song that says the name of Jesus Christ.
Now I know it's good to be followed by I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus or whatever else but you know it just to hear the name of Jesus spoken or sung that to me is a wonderful thing even if he married Christ must deceive that name that is above all names and what else is at once a time where we get together with family and friends spend time together. We express love one to another, often Christmas is a time of reconciliation work we lay hostilities aside and we try to get along Christmas is a time of giftgiving and I like the idea of giftgiving. By the way to get something for someone to say you know I really appreciate you. I really love you and so you take all these things in there. Just a glimpse of what it is to be a Christian to have a relationship with God not to help. One day a year, but they have every day of every year as you follow him. The joy doesn't come from Christmas.
A comes from Christ himself, and that's what we want to focus on as we think about that tonight. The incarnation was for the purpose of the atonement, the birth of Jesus was so there would be the death of Jesus. Jesus did not come to this world and be born in a manger so we could all go shopping. He was born to die, that we might live from the moment of his birth. Through his life to his and that Calvary and then his resurrection, he was always headed toward the cross. That's why he came to forgive us of our sins, and give our lives purpose and meaning to make us right with God. That's what Christmas is about not tinsel or shopping or even presence under a tree. Christmas is not the gifts under the tree but the gift that was given on the tree. The tree called Calvary that Jesus died on it when unit three well, the Bible says curse. It is every man that hangs on a tree and Jesus one and died on the cross for us so we could be forgiven of arson and never relationship with us. Emmanuel, God is with us is God with you.
More to the point is God in you is Christ living inside of you right now. Do you have the assurance tonight that if you were to die, you would go to heaven. Do you know that your sin is forgiven in your life is right with God. If not, I want to give you an opportunity to get right with God. You have a prayer together and I want to invite you to believe in Jesus to follow Jesus to know him in a personal way and be forgiven of all of your sins. I know you might be a little proud like I was when I got caught in the riptide you don't want to say no, listen you have to say it. There is born unto you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. There's a Savior waiting for your cry. The Bible says if you will call upon the name of the Lord. You'll be safe if you like to do that. I want to give you an opportunity to do it now is closing prayer tub our heads if you would please and father I pray for any that have joined this year. This night may not know you who may not know that peace that you offer that hope that we have in you and that assurance of heaven, Lord, help them to see their need for Jesus and help them to come to you tonight. We pray now what I had said about her eyes are closing were praying. Maybe you would like Jesus Christ to come in your life you would like to be forgiven of your scent will listen if you want Christ to come in your life tonight if you want to know that when you die you will go to heaven or if you fallen away from the Lord, and you want to come back to him this evening.
Right now, wherever you are.
I want you to stand your feet and I'm in the lead you in a prayer right where you stand again just stand up if you want God's forgiveness deny you want Jesus Christ to come of your life, stand up and nominally join a prayer of commitment or prayer of recommitment. God bless you up there. God bless you. Just stand your feet out there in the amphitheater. You just stand up if you want Christ to come in your life you want to recommit your life to the Lord. If you're up in our court building. You stand to lead you in this prayer anyone else. I think some of you want to make this commitment. God bless you. Don't be embarrassed.
This is the perfect time to do it the perfect night to do it Christmas Eve or we remember his arrival. Anybody else stand your feet. Now, lead you in this prayer.
God bless you there in the balcony. In this final moment. If you can understand stand. Now, bless you. Anybody else arrived you that are standing. I want to lead you in this prayer and not ask if you would prayer out loud after me, wherever you are if you can hear what I'm saying. Pray this prayer out loud after me. Let's pray now pray this out loud, Lord Jesus, I know I'm a sinner but you were born in a manger and you live the perfect life. He died on the cross for me. I churn from my sin. Now and I choose to follow you, Jesus. From this side forward. Thank you for loving me and calling me and forgiving me in Jesus name I pray, amen