December 18, 2011 (All Rights Reserved)
"TRUE GIFT"
(Fourth in an Advent Series)
INTRODUCTION: Song: Santa Claus is Coming to Town.
You better watch out, you better
not pout, you better not cry...
Santa Claus is coming to town.
He’s making a list and checking
it twice ... to find out who’s been
naughty or nice.
Santa Claus is coming to town.
He knows when you are sleeping,
he knows when you are awake.
He knows when you’ve been bad or good.
So be good for goodness sake.
Refrain:
The concept of reward is a great motivation for children to behave &
do their chores. But is it in direct contrast to the Message of Christmas.
If you closely read the Scripture Lessons cited above, you heard the
"Good News,"that in spite of humanities’ not being good, God gave
us the greatest gift possible, Himself.
I am amazed at how a "positive" idea is turned into reward or punishment.
"Last week late night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel asked parents to submit
videos of their children opening an early Christmas present. However, to ensure that the children would give a disappointed reaction,
Kimmel asked parents to give their children a ‘terrible’ gift.
Parents got creative with the prank, wrapping up overripe bananas,
half-eaten sandwiches, hot dogs, batteries, and even a can of black beans.
In the submitted video footage, the children eagerly ripped open their
presents only to find that they had been duped. The children were
unimpressed with the gifts and offered unexpectedly hilarious reactions.
One child named Charlie squealed, ‘I don’t like this,’ after he unwrapped
a half used bottle of juice. Another little boy cried after opening a pink
activity book and said, ‘This is the worst present I ever got.’
One child asked for a refund while he threw a temper tantrum,
running around his house screaming"- (Christian Post)
This reminded me of one of the many Christmas Specials Repeats
on T.V. entitled: "The True Gift."
A young boy wakes up early on Christmas morning & dashes downstairs
to get a sneak peek at his gift. It was a sweat shirt ...
he had asked for skates. He became so angry that wrote a note
to his parents that he was running away. He took the gifts he had made
for his father & mother & threw them in the trash.
At that moment he was transported back to a Christmas in the sixth century
Germany. There he met a lady who had chosen not to go with the Magi
to visit the "Child King." Her excuse: "I have to clean my house."
She had been traveling the through the centuries ... Christmas to Christmas,
country to country seeking the meaning of the True Gift.
The story continued ... as the woman & the boy experienced the various
Christmas legends. Each legend, in one way or another had a "Good Side,"
Father Christmas, St. Nicholas etc. rewarded good behavior. Each legend
also had a "Bad Side." Black Peter, who harangued bad behavior.
The boy was being punished (taught a lesson) for running away from home,
the woman for giving excuses for not going to see the "Child King."
After many experiences, the boy finally learns that the True Gift
is not what is given or received ...
It is the spirit in which the gift is given or received.The Message of Christmas is that God came to this earth in the form of
a baby ... offering life, forgiveness & hope. God does not offer this gift
to only those who are good ... Rather it is offered to those who are bad.
As with any gift, one must accept it, open it &
use it if one is to receive the full benefits of the gift.
God’s True Gift is what we celebrate this week, December 25.
We are not commemorating Christmas because
we are remembering some "myth or legend."
We commemorate a historical event that took place in "Time & Space."
It is an event that gives us hope & allows us to experience
God’s True Gift!
Advent is a time to focus on the Hope of Christ’s birth & promised return.
The central theme & declaration of the Good News/Gospel is:
God’s forgiving grace & peace experienced by those accepting
God’s True Gift.
In response to the Good News, Christians, wherever they go,
point to the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:2-7*), and live with
that hope & peace in their daily lives.
Hope is not a "wish." "I hope to receive ..."
Not hope "I will win the Sweepstakes & $11 million."
Not hope (your favorite college team & your choice apponent)
will play in the 2013 Bowl Championship Series ).
Not even hope "for world peace."
Hope is the certainty that God will do what God says.
Even as God fulfilled all the promises ... of which you read ...
when God came in the form of the baby named Jesus.
Titus 2:11-14:
God's readiness to give and forgive is now public.
Salvation's available for everyone! We're being shown how to
turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take
on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting
right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day
when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears.
He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark,
rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people
he can be proud of, energetic in goodness.
It is when we accept God’s True Gift that we experience the
Transforming Power of God’s Coming in human form (Incarnation).
Two Lessons:
I. Jesus liberated us from the power & penalty of our rebellion.
Jesus purifies us so that we may live as God’s special people.
Jesus enables us to live as God’s peaceful people in the world
In Jesus we are recreated as New People – a New Creation.
The Old is left behind.
II. In Jesus we:
A. Renounce those things Separating us from one another ...
ie: lying, stealing, cheating, murder, adultery etc.
Strangling us with trivia & things which do not last.ie:
amassing nothing but material things, we must leave behind.
B. Acquire the shining virtues which:
- Marked Jesus’ life.
- Brought light into darkness.
- Allows us to live with prudence & reverence.
The dynamic of this new life is the expectation of Jesus’ return.
Advent is a time for preparing our lives & homes for the coming
of Jesus. In one way, we should always be prepared for Jesus’
coming and promised return.
CONCLUSION: When Jesus comes we will not be rewarded or
punished on whether we have been "naughty or nice."
We will be invited into God’s presence if we have
accepted God’s True Gift offered to us at:
The First Christmas & Good Friday."
God our Savior showed us his kindness and love,
He saved us, not because of the good things we did,
but because of his mercy. (Titus 3:4-5)
When God, our kind and loving Savior God, stepped in,
he saved us from all that. It was all his doing; we had nothing
to do with it. He gave us a good bath, and we came out of it
new people, washed inside and out by the Holy Spirit.
Our Savior Jesus poured out new life so generously.
God's gift has restored our relationship with him and given us
back our lives. And there's more life to come—an eternity of life!
You can count on this ... Take a firm stand on these matters so
that those who have put their trust in God will concentrate on the
essentials that are good for everyone. (Titus 3:5b-8b)
We are still Naughty/Bad. We do not always live as God desires.
There still is injustice which leads to strife ... unrest ... selfishness ...
lack of peace. So while we wait for Jesus promised return
(the blessed hope) let us strife being God’s Hopeful & Peaceful
People by demonstrating & living: The Reconciliation,
Compassion & Justice we have received,
God’s True Gift given to us in Immanuel: (God with us).
"While at the mall a couple of years ago, my then four year old
nephew, Spencer, saw kids lined up to see Santa Claus.
Having been taught as a toddler that Christmas is the holiday that
Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, he asked his mom,
‘where's the line to see Jesus’? Becky Kelly inspired wrote a song:
Where’s The Line To See Jesus ...?
"Santa brought me presents, Jesus gave his life for me."
www.wheresthelinetoseejesus.com
The True Gift: ... "Jesus gave his life for me."
Will you receive or reject that True Gift?
* Isaiah 9:2-7 (All Scriptures are from The Message)
The people who walked in darkness
have seen a great light.
For those who lived in a land of deep shadows—
light! sunbursts of light!
You repopulated the nation,
you expanded its joy.
Oh, they're so glad in your presence!
Festival joy!
The joy of a great celebration,
sharing rich gifts and warm greetings.
The abuse of oppressors and cruelty of tyrants—
all their whips and cudgels and curses—
Is gone, done away with, a deliverance
as surprising and sudden as Gideon's old victory over Midian.
The boots of all those invading troops,
along with their shirts soaked with innocent blood,
Will be piled in a heap and burned,
a fire that will burn for days!
For a child has been born—for us!
the gift of a son—for us!
He'll take over
the running of the world.
His names will be: Amazing Counselor,
Strong God,
Eternal Father,
Prince of Wholeness.
His ruling authority will grow,
and there'll be no limits to the wholeness he brings.
He'll rule from the historic David throne
over that promised kingdom.
He'll put that kingdom on a firm footing
and keep it going
With fair dealing and right living,
beginning now and lasting always.
The zeal of God-of-the-Angel-Armies
will do all this.
No comments:
Post a Comment