For
the last few weeks, we have been examining the purpose of Christmas; more
specifically, we have been asking “What is the Purpose of Christmas?”
Is
the purpose of Christmas found in the items pictured hereà a
Big Screen TV; a purse full of money; toy animals such as the stuffed bear or
the “my little pony” ® doll?
(Or is the
purpose of Christmas found in the item not pictured here…my iPad 2?)
As
good and fine and practical as each one of these things may be—especially the
iPad—they are only secondary to the true message of Christmas.
As
we have been examining over the last 2 Sunday’s, the purpose of Christmas is a
time to celebrate, and it’s a time for salvation:
“…the angel said to (the shepherds in the field) them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good
news of great joy that will be for all the people.
11 Today in the
town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. (Luke
2:10-11, NIV)
At Christmas, we celebrate the
fact that Jesus has come to this earth to find, and bring us back to God.
The Bible says: “When the right
time came, God sent his Son who was born of a woman and lived under the law.
5 God did this so he could buy freedom for those who were
under the law and so we could become his children.” (Gal. 4:4-5, NCV)
God
sent Jesus at just the right time to ensure that we would find our way back
home.
"Everyone who
calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13, NIV)
Christmas is a time to celebrate
the Savior’s birth and Christmas is a time to make this Savior your Lord.
Jesus
did not come “just to” save us from our sins. Jesus came to be the Lord of our
lives.
There
is at least one more purpose of Christmas, one more truth that deserves our
attention: “Christmas
is a time of reconciliation.”
To
understand the context of this truth, I would like to read again Luke 2
beginning at verse 8:
“And there were
shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at
night.
9 An angel of the
Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone
around them, and they were terrified.
10 But the angel
said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that
will be for all the people.
11 Today in the
town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.
12 This will be a
sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a
manger."
13 Suddenly a great
company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his
favor rests." (Luke 2:8-14, NIV)
One angel of the
Lord brought the news of Christ’s birth to the shepherds, and after that message
was delivered, an entire host of angels came to proclaim that Christmas is a
time for peace.
ILLUSTRATION- According to an article from
the Moody Bible Institute, “since the beginning of recorded history, the entire
world has been at peace less than 8% of the time.
In
a study, researchers discovered that of the 3,530 years of recorded history,
only 286 years saw peace.
In that time,
8000 peace treaties were made and 8000 peace treaties
Peace
is a novel idea, but apparently peace has evaded us.
Everyone is
looking for peace, but no one can seem to hold on to peace.
Author
and Pastor Rick Warren says that: “There will never be peace in the world until there’s
peace within our nations. And there will never be peace in our nation until
there’s peace in our communities.
“There
won’t be peace in our communities until there is peace in our families. And
there won’t be peace in our families until there’s peace in our individual
lives.”
“That won’t
happen until the Prince of Peace reigns in our hearts” (Warren,
2008-95-96)
Instead of
looking to the world to bring peace, we must look to the Church to bring peace,
for this is where peace was supposed to start:
“Give glory to God
in heaven, and on earth let there be peace among the people who please God.” (Luke 2:14, NCV)
The Bible says
that there is to be peace among the people of God.
Is this true? Is
there peace among the people of God? To answer this question, we have to look
no further than…..to ourselves.
Think of your
relationshipsà
your family, your friends, your acquaintances,
even the people in this very room.
Are you in
turmoil with anyone? Are you avoiding certain people because you have a problem
with them?
While you won’t
get along with everyone all of the time, you are called to be at peace with the
people of God.
This is the
directive given at the time of the Savior’s birth. Not just one
Angel proclaimed this; countless
angels proclaimed this truth: God’s people are to live in peace.
Jesus
said: “Blessed
are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.” (Matthew
5:9, NIV)
When
Jesus becomes your Savior and your Lord, you will work for peace.
Rick
Warren reminds us that “When Christ comes into your life, one of the first areas
where you see a difference is in your relationships.” (Warren,
2008, 107)
The
Bible says: 12 Does anyone want to live a life
that is long and prosperous?
13 Then keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from
telling lies!
14 Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work
to maintain it.” (Psalm 34:12-14,
NLT2)
Friends: it takes
work to work for peace. It takes work to be a peacemaker. It takes work not to
lash out at someone when they anger us.
When Jesus is the Lord of your
life, He will help you respond in a peaceful way.
This doesn’t
mean that conflicts will never come, because they will!
Being a person
of peace means that you will do whatever you can do to ensure that your
relationships are on the up and up, instead of on the down and out.
With Jesus as the Lord of your
life, it is possible to walk hand in hand even if you don’t always see eye to
eye.
You see peace
starts at home, peace starts with me. God is calling each one of His children
to be a peacemaker.
According to the
heavenly hosts, peace is supposed to start with the family of God first.
So I wonder
today, who do we need to approach and make amends with? Who has been hurt by what we said, or what we
didn’t say?
Who has been
hurt by what we did—or didn’t do? Who do we need to make peace with?
This is the 3rd
purpose of Christmas; it’s
a time to make wrong relationships
right.
Peace is what we
have received from God, and peace is what we must pass on to others.
The Bible says: “If it is possible,
as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” (Romans
12:18, NIV)
If you are a
child of God, you have a responsibility to be at peace with your fellow man,
especially with those who belong to the family of God.
So again, I ask
you to consider the people in your life: are you at odds with any of them?
If you want to
receive all that God has for you at Christmas—and every other time of the
year—you must take steps to repair the broken relationship.
You must go and
speak to them, you must say “I’m sorry I hurt you, can we talk about this…?”
Understand
friends that it won’t be easy! It will probably be one of the hardest things
you’ll ever do. You might even scratch your head and ask yourself if repairing
a broken relationship is worth it…
ILLUSTRATION- I am in the midst of
repairing a broken relationship. More than once I have wondered if taking the
time to repair this relationship was worth it—is worth it….
But then I read
this pronouncement from the angel and I am convinced that reconciliation is
God’s plan for the human race.
You
see peace begins with God’s people first. Peace begins with you, peace begins
with me; peace begins with the people of God.
Is
there someone whom you haven’t spoken to in years? Is there someone—perhaps
someone in this room—who aggravates you? Is there a strain on your
relationship?
The
Good News of Jesus Christ is that you can repair this broken relationship: you
can fix what is broken.
The
Bible says: “…if
you are presenting a sacrifice at the altar in the Temple and you
suddenly remember that someone has something against you, 24 leave
your sacrifice there at the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then
come and offer your sacrifice to God.” (Matthew
5:23-24, NLT2)
Fixing
a broken relationship is of such importance to God, that Jesus reminded us that
if we in the middle of church and an offence comes to mind, we must stop what
we are doing and be reconciled to the offender and then we can come back and
worship God again.
Our God wants
His people to be a people of peace. So who needs to hear from you this week?
Who do you need to have a discussion with? Who do you
need to be reconciled to?
ILLUSTRATION- In 1965, a show premiered at
Christmas time on television and this show has appeared at Christmas time on
television ever since. The show is called “a Charlie Brown Christmas.”
It was on TV as
recently as this past Thursday night. My wife and I stayed up to watch it…
This
show addresses the “what purpose of Christmas” question in a wonderful way.
Charlie
Brown is confused as to the true meaning of Christmas. The
over-commercialization of Christmas is getting the best of him.
His
dog, Snoopy, is busy decorating his dog house in an attempt to win a prize in
“a neighborhood Christmas lights and display contest”.
Charlie’s
sister, Sally, is asking Charlie if he could write a letter to Santa and wanted
to make sure that he included in this letter the fact that she wanted “large
sums of money”, causing Charlie even more heartache.
When
Charlie Brown arrives at the school, he finds that his friends want to
“modernize” the Nativity story with glitz and glamour.
Thinking
that all the play needs is a Christmas tree, Charlie Brown sets out, and finds
the worst looking Christmas tree you have ever seen.
Bringing
the tree back to the school, his friends laugh at the tree, and Charlie brown,
in a loud voice asks:
Charlie
Brown heard for the first time the message of Christmas. Charlie Brown heard that
Christmas isn’t about the letters to Santa; Christmas isn’t about the “neighbourhood Christmas
lights and display contest.”
Charlie Brown
heard that Christmas is about Child that has been given to and for us.
Christmas is a
time to celebrate the “…good news of great joy that will be for all the people.”
(Luke 2:10, NIV)
Christmas is a
time to make this Jesus our Savior and our Lord: “Today in the town of David a Savior has been
born to you; he is Christ the Lord.” (Luke 2:11, NIV)
And Christmas is
a time to make things right with our brothers and sisters in the Lord: “Give glory to God
in heaven, and on earth let there be peace among the people who please God.” (Luke 2:14, NCV)
Have you
received the message of Christmas?
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