Charles Stanley - The First Christmas Gift (05/04/2017)
Dr. Stanley reminds us that the childlike excitement and wonder of Christmas morning should never fade, because all the symbols—trees, lights, gifts—point to Jesus, God's greatest gift to humanity. From Luke 2:1-7, he describes Jesus as the humble, heavenly, needed, sacrificial, perfect, precious, wrapped, spiritual, unchanging, universal, personal, eternal gift of love, urging believers to maintain deep joy and intimacy with Christ every Christmas and always.
The Childlike Wonder We Should Never Lose at Christmas
Do you remember when you were a little boy, a little girl, and that first Christmas, although at least the first Christmases that you remember pretty well, the thing that you were most excited about on Christmas morning is not what you were going to have for breakfast, but what about those gifts? Because you'd been rattling them all week and picking them up and looking at them and seeing what had your name on it and what was the biggest package and what was the smallest and trying to figure out what it was. There was just an awesome thrill in your heart. You didn't know what was going to happen. You just couldn't wait to open it up to find out what was there.
Well, let me ask you this. How long did it take you in your maturity to lose your sense of real joy, expectation, and a little bit of that mystique about Christmas morning? Well, whenever it was, you need to go back and think about why you lost it. Because the truth is, you and I should never lose that little boy, little girl excitement about Christmas.
Because somebody says, well, all that stuff's not about the Bible. Well, let's see if it is. Is the Bible about trees? Yes, one tree. The one that Jesus was crucified upon. Well, what about all that light business? He was the light of the world. And what about all these gifts? Because he was God's gift. It's all about Jesus. And all those symbols are absolutely legitimate.
Christmas Symbols Point Directly to Jesus Christ
And so, when you think about Christmas, all the Christmases of our life, we ought to have a sense of excitement. Because what it's about, it's about Jesus. But as a little child growing up, you have to get to that point, and your parents have to transfer your thinking to what you're going to play with, rather than who you're going to worship.
So, I want you to turn, if you will, to the second chapter of Luke. And let's read just the first seven verses together. And I want to talk about this whole idea of a gift. You and I know that Jesus Christ is the greatest gift in all of humanity. But I want us to look at it from a little different perspective.
And let's begin in this second chapter, in the first verse. Now, in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city.
Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and of the family of David, in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. And while they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him in cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
The Familiar Story That Never Grows Old
How many times have you read that story? How many times have you heard it? Just as new every Christmas, just as meaningful, because it's all about the most important thing in your life and mine, and that is the person of Jesus Christ.
Now, people have all kinds of different attitudes about Jesus and who he is, and sometimes he never gets out of the manger to some people. It's always that baby Jesus. But you and I know that he wasn't just a baby. He was far more than that.
But what I'd like for us to do is I'd like for us to look at him, this baby. And who was he? Who is he? He is God's awesome gift to you and me. And everything good about us, and all the hope and assurance and confidence that we have in life is wrapped up in the person of Jesus Christ.
So I want us to look at him as a gift, and as I think about what kind of gift he was, he certainly was a humble gift. God in his wisdom chose to send Jesus not born like a king, but born as a king, but born in such a way that every single person on the face of this earth could identify with him, because he was born this simple child.
Jesus: A Humble Gift Every Person Can Relate To
He looked like any other little Jewish boy, only he was not a sinner. And his parents looked like many other parents, but they weren't just parents. They were God's chosen parents. Now, his mother was his mother. His father was not his father. Because he was conceived by the Holy Spirit, she was born of a virgin.
Can you imagine, and I'm sure we cannot, the awesome thoughts this woman had, having listened to the angel say all these things to her, and yet here she was now on her way, and the time was coming soon. She was going to give birth to this child, which she must have had lots of questions about, because the angel said he was going to come and save his people from their sins, and Rome led, and Rome ruled, and the Caesar was God, and how could he have a kingdom, and how could he rule?
In other words, all these things would just probably went through her mind and heart in different ways, and the Scripture says she pondered them. She mulled them over in her mind and heart.
The most awesome gift ever given was a very humble gift. A little Jewish boy born in a stable or in a cave among cattle. And the fact is that when he grew up, here's what he said about himself. He said, I came not to be served, but to serve. And so, where he was born fits who he was.
A Heavenly Gift Sent from the Father
Then, of course, when I think about the kind of gift he was, he was a heavenly gift, because here's what the Scripture says. The Scripture says that he said of himself in the sixth chapter of John. He said, speaking of where he came from first, he says, For I've come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
Then he said in the 33rd verse, For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven and gives life to the world.
Now, Jesus, somebody says, well, when did Jesus begin? And somebody might say, well, he began in Bethlehem, but he did not. Somebody says, well, did he begin in Nazareth? No, he did not. Where did he begin? The Bible says he had no beginning. That is, he was always with the Father.
In eternity past, Jesus Christ was seated at the Father's right hand. And so, what did he do? God, listen, God did the most awesome thing. He came to earth in the form of a natural born baby, but sinless. But he was sent from God, the Father, as a little boy, being God at the same time, having laid aside his glory, to be born into this world, to walk among men in order to reveal to us who the Father's like.
Jesus Reveals the Father's Love in a New Way
When you read the Old Testament, you learn a lot of things about God. It is when you and I come to the New Testament, we learn the intensity of God's love, the personhood of God, how he desires to have a personal, intimate relationship with him. Things begin to take on a whole new perspective of our view of God.
He says he was a gift who came down from heaven. As the bread of heaven sent, so the Savior was sent from heaven. So, when somebody says, well, where did he begin? He certainly did not begin on earth. He did not begin in Bethlehem. In eternity past, Jesus Christ has always existed.
Because the Father and the Son and the Spirit, three persons of the Trinity, make up the Godhead, which is one.
Then, when you think about him growing up and growing up into manhood, well, what change took place? Well, he grew up, as any young boy would grow up, but sinless. He grew up into manhood, and no doubt became a carpenter. And he operated just like any other man, but sinless.
He was special, absolutely awesome, the greatest gift God had ever given mankind. But you think about this, that those first 30 years of his life, no one saw any of that. He was just a carpenter from Nazareth.
But God sent in that little boy, who grew up to be that man, the most awesome gift the world has ever known. And it was a heavenly gift, because the Scripture says he came down from heaven.
A Needed Gift for a World Lost in Sin
Now, it was a very needed gift. Why did he come? Did he just come out of some whim? No. God the Father sent him, because the world, living in sin, needed a Savior. And all of the Old Testament was testimony to the fact. All those sacrifices, testimony to the fact that God had something in mind for mankind.
And that is that he desired to save them. And that was a foreshadowing of the coming of the Savior. And so, he came as a needed gift. Because the truth is, every single one of us have... all of us have needed him. Each one of us needs him. Every person needs him.
And many people need him who do not even believe that he is, or that he exists, or that they have any needs. It is sin within us that makes our need of the greatest gift God has ever given. The only person who can meet the sin need is Jesus Christ.
He came into this world for the primary purpose of meeting that need. And when he was introduced, John the Baptist said, He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. No gift ever known in mankind could match that. He was a very needed gift.
The Sacrificial Gift Who Gave His Life
Then, of course, as we said, he is a sacrificial gift. He said, for example, in the 20th chapter of Matthew, he said, I didn't come to be served. I came to serve and to give my life a ransom for many.
That is, he was saying, I'm willing to die in the place of all mankind. Freely, he says, I lay down my life. No one takes my life from me.
The Father sent him as this most awesome gift. And think about this. It was a sacrifice on the part of the Father, humanly speaking, that his son would come to earth, live among men, reveal him, but be treated the way he was treated.
But it was all in God's awesome plan. And if you ever think about the fact of whether God loves you or not, think about this. God loves you and me so much. In his infinite holiness and glory, he was willing to watch his only begotten son lay down his life on the cross, be crucified, suffering the same pain that any person would suffer, or only much added pain because he was dying with the weight of the burden of the sin of all mankind upon his shoulders, upon his life.
And he died that awesome, horrible death in order that you and I would not have to die in our sins. He was a sacrificial gift.
Jesus: The Only Perfect and Precious Gift
Then I think about what a perfect gift he was. And if you will notice at this season of the year when they're advertising all kind of things, usually this is a jewelry ad that says, Give her the perfect gift. Well, sir, I'm sorry. You can't do that. There's only been one perfect gift, and that is the person of Jesus Christ.
Now, the gifts that you and I give may be perfectly fitted. They may perfectly suit somebody, but they're not perfect. There's only been one perfect gift, and that is a person, Jesus Christ.
Now, I realize that every mother, when she looks upon that sweet baby, upon birth, very, very early, maybe the same day, the same few moments the baby's born, she thinks that's the most perfect thing she's ever laid her eyes on. She may have five more back home, but this one's still perfect.
And that's the way you ought to feel, Mom, because it's a gift from God. Now, one day, I did say to this mother, she had a newborn baby, and she came up to me and was telling me, she's just all over herself about this child, which I don't blame her. I'm all for that. You ought to just love him to death.
And for some reason, I don't know why I said it, I said, Well, you know, he still has a sin nature. She turned around, and she said, He does not. He does not have a sin nature.
I said, Well, you give him six months, and then you tell me that. And when he gets about two or three years old, and then you come tell me he doesn't have a sin from nature, and when he gets to be a teenager, I guarantee you, you're going to agree with me as a sin nature.
But not Jesus. You see, Jesus could not have been imperfect and been who he was. Because if you read the Old Testament, for example, when you offered a sacrifice, the sacrifice, the Bible says, had to be without blemish.
When the priest looked at it, couldn't have any bad spots on it, no disease, anything. And one of the things the prophet Malachi got on the case of Israel about, they were bringing sick sheep that they couldn't eat, they couldn't sell, and offered them as sacrifices.
Sacrifice had to be absolutely without blemish. The only person who could die for your sins and mine is the person of Jesus Christ, for the simple reason, if we were to die for someone, we have sin ourselves. We can only die for our own sins.
Jesus had to be the perfect, sinless gift of God in order that he could take upon himself the sin of all mankind, the unblemished, perfect son of God dying for your sin and my sin. A perfect gift.
Look what the Father gave us. He didn't look around heaven to find out, now, who's the best angel? How many angels can I give? No, he gave the best he had. In fact, the only person, the only thing in heaven that could atone for your sin and mine was his son, Jesus Christ.
That awesome, perfect gift he gave that you and I might have life and have it eternally.
A Precious Gift Worth More Than Any Treasure
If you'll think about the kind of life he's given us, he's given us that perfect life. It doesn't mean we live it perfectly, but what is it about the Christian life that's imperfect? The Word of God's not imperfect. When we get to heaven, what's going to be imperfect? Nothing.
Everything he's given us is perfect as his gift to us. And when I think about that, I think about he's also a very precious gift.
Now, precious in the light of, for example, if you think something is precious, you'd say, well, it's precious because of my view of it. It's precious because of how much it costs. It's precious because of, to whom it used to belong.
You, your grandmother, your mother hands down maybe some piece of jewelry or something, piece of furniture, whatever it might be. You'd say, my mother had that in her house. I just love that. I treasure that.
Well, you think about how precious this gift is. Think about how precious it was in Mary's sight. And that is that this baby was announced by an angel, both to Joseph and to Mary. And the things that the angel said were so awesome, as the Scripture says, she pondered them. She mulled them over in her heart.
How could this possibly be? I'm just myself. And so, this was the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born from the womb of this woman, this absolutely precious child.
Listen, precious to her because, as it should be to every mother. And this is why I cannot conceive of abortion.
Secondly, because he was the Son of God. In fact, that's what the angel said. He'll be the Son of God. He'll save his people from their sins. You're talking about precious.
Do you not think your children are precious and that you value them, you lay down your life for them? In other words, I think some people go through life and never love anybody enough to say, he's just precious, so she's just precious.
And there is something awesomely, wonderful, indescribable, but a little child, very small, and that, listen, what, for example, when you look upon the face of a very, very small child, they can't even talk. But you look at them and they smile.
What do you do? When they smile at you, what happens to you on the inside? Something just flows up inside of you. You're so, it's like a spring just cut loose.
Why? There's something wonderful and precious about the smile of a little child.
You think about a precious gift, nothing to compare with Jesus. Listen, think about people who spend their life accumulating and accumulating and accumulating. Got to have this, got to have that. And they think that the more wealth that they gain, the richer they are.
Do you realize that you can, listen, for some people, the more wealth they gain, the poorer they are. Because they have no spiritual life. It's all wrapped up in things that are tangible, that are here today and gone tomorrow that they cannot keep.
There's nothing so precious as the precious relationship that you and I have with Jesus Christ. Because that relationship is purchased for you and me, eternal life, and for all our life, and this life, and for all eternity.
We owe it all to Him. For the simple reason, no one could provide for us what He's provided for us.
The Wrapped, Spiritual, and Unchanging Gift of Christ
Then I think in terms of this gift a little differently, that it's a wrapped gift. And you say, well, how can it be wrapped? Well, think about this. This is God wrapped in the body of the Virgin Mary. This is deity wrapped in human flesh.
And this is what Paul was talking about in the second chapter of Philippians when he was talking about Jesus laying aside His glory, coming nearer, taking upon Himself the form of a servant, of a bondservant, and walking among men.
That's what Jesus did. He came as the Son of God, but He came in a way that nobody knew what was going on. For example, when He was born and the angels said, look, you need to go to Egypt and flee because there's going to be tragedy among small children. The King is going to kill them all.
No matter what happened, God the Father watching over His gift to mankind, His precious gift to mankind, because what He had in mind is He had every single one of us in mind. He came to save us.
And the Father was not about to let anything, no matter what was going on and how great Rome was, nothing touched this absolutely precious gift.
So, when people start talking about Jesus and they're being critical, for all of us who believe us, that's a little tough on us, because it would be like somebody criticizing... Listen, you really love your wife with all your heart, and somebody's criticizing your wife, you're just going to stand there and take that, I doubt it.
Or criticizing your husband, something within you rises up to defend them. Well, the same thing is true of those of us who believe us. We know who Jesus is. We know what He's doing in our life. We know what He can do for them.
And I see people, for example, marching and carrying on and being critical of Christians and so forth. And deep down inside, I really and truly have sympathy for them, because here's the problem. They are ignorant.
If they knew who Jesus Christ was, genuinely knew who Jesus Christ was, they would not in any way criticize Him, make nasty comments about Him, or build some kind of statues or signs beside the manger scene.
Because for all of us who believe, the manger scene represents something holy, righteous, sacred, and eternal.
And so, for all of us who know Him, all of us who believe in Him, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, there's nothing in the world that is like Him.
And so, somebody says, well, if He's a wrapped gift, how do you unwrap that? Well, here's what happened. On that night in Bethlehem, that's what God did. God the Father unwrapped this precious gift when Jesus Christ was born there before Mary and Joseph.
God had just unwrapped the greatest gift the world will ever know. And you see, the interesting thing is, He looked just like any other little Jewish boy. But then He grew up. He became a little lad. Then He became a teenager. Then He became an adult man.
And then He walked away from His skills of being a carpenter to do the work that the Father called Him to do.
There's something awesome about Jesus when you begin to think about how He came into this world and who He was. And knowing very early in life, as He said in the temple, talking to the professors there, He said, and when His parents couldn't find Him, He said, don't you know that I must be about my Father's business?
And the Bible says that He was not only asking questions, He was answering questions to these men.
The Son of God that you have living on the inside of you, don't ever take it for granted. This is not a Sunday school lesson. We're talking about a relationship that you and I can have with Almighty God.
A relationship that exceeds every relationship in all of life. There is nothing to match it because there's nothing to match Him. It's not about us. It's all about Him.
No Room in the Inn – A Warning for Hearts Today
And when I think about this gift that the Father unwrapped there in Bethlehem in that stable or that cave and from that place, can you imagine if years and years later, if Jesus had gone back to that motel, shall we say, He knocked on the door and said, I'd like to speak to the manager if he's still here.
And said to him, Sir, do you remember one night when this man and woman came by and the lady was pregnant and you asked for a room and you said there's no room in the inn?
He'd probably say, yeah, I remember that. He said, well, I just want you to know that that was my parents. That was my mom and dad. That's what he would say.
And then he would say maybe, I just wanted you to know that I made it. And I've been a carpenter all these years and I just want to thank you for letting us have the stable.
And then, suppose that gentleman happened to be in Jerusalem the day they crucified Jesus. Or maybe he'd come through one day and people were saying, that's the Son of God.
Now, he couldn't be the Son of God. That was a kid who was born in my stable. No, that's the Son of God.
Can you imagine how he would have felt if he'd have said, you know, he's the Son of God and I put him in a stable to be born.
You know that little phrase that says, there is no room for them in the inn? A lot of people would have to confess that they have declared, there's no room in my heart for him.
That is the worst eternal decision you could ever make. It's to face the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ and say, there's no room in my life for him. There's room for others, there's room for things, but there's no room for him.
Well, he was a spiritual gift. And the wonderful thing about being a spiritual gift is this. For example, in those days when he was born, you could touch him, and you could feel him, and you could see him, and you could talk to him, and he could talk back to you.
And imagine his parents and the wonderful times they had. And think about him now that he's God's gift to you and me, and he's a spiritual gift.
Now, suppose on Christmas morning, suppose I said to you, now look, I have a gift for you. It's under the tree. It's got your name on it. And you went looking for it, and you couldn't find it.
And I said, oh, I forgot to tell you that it's invisible. Well, you wouldn't be very happy about that. It's a precious gift, but you can't see it, and you can't touch it.
Well, you probably wouldn't be very interested in that kind of a gift.
But I want to tell you, the greatest gift ever given is on the inside of you, and you can't touch it, and you can't see it. It's not an it. It's somebody, and that's Jesus Christ.
He's God's awesome gift for us. And you see, the reason the Father did it the way he did it, sending him as a babe, revealing the Father, growing up, dying on a cross, going back to heaven, so that every single one of us could have him.
And you think about the fact that he is a spiritual gift. Listen, he's the one gift that you and I have that no one can take away from us, no matter what. Can't be bought. Can't be remade. Can't be cloned. Just one.
Nobody can take him away from us.
Think about this. He's the one gift that you and I have that we can give away and still have. That no matter how many times we give him away to someone else, and talk to them about him, and introduce them to Jesus, and shall we say, give them the gift of Jesus in their life, we still have him in ours.
There's no gift like that. He's the eternal Son of God.
And when I think about the fact that he is a spiritual gift, I think about this light also. He's the one gift, and the only gift I have, that I have a right to worship.
All of the gifts should make me an idolater. But he's the one gift that you and I have that we can worship. Because he's God, cloaked in human flesh, and now seated at the Father's right hand.
You and I have him because we received him by faith as our personal Savior. And now he sits at the Father's right hand.
And while he walked on this earth, he could be seen and felt and touched. And now, somebody says, where is he? All of us are in his presence.
And all of us who have accepted him as our Savior have him living on the inside of us. And he is the gift that we can worship, and the only gift that we have a right to worship.
There are a lot of people, for example, who worship their money. They worship things that they think that they can't live without. But you and I know that they can.
There's no gift like him.
Unchanging, Universal, and Personal – The Gift That Lasts
Well, he's also an unchanging gift. Think about this. Your folks maybe gave you something years and years ago, and you treasure it. Very precious to you. And maybe you Polish it every once in a while.
Or if it's some silver, or maybe it's a ring, or maybe it's furniture, whatever it might be. But here's the thing about it. The difference between those gifts and the real gift is, after a while, time is going to take its toll on it.
Some things are going to be outdated. Some things are going to wear out. And some things you just, you know, you just toss them after a while and you don't want them.
One, this gift is never outdated, never wears out. And there'll never come a time when it is less than it has always been.
Jesus Christ said, through Hebrews, the same yesterday, today, and forever. Always the same.
He loved then, he loves now. He forgave then, he forgives now. He healed then, he heals now. He supplied needs then, he supplied needs now.
He talked to the Father about us then, he talks to the Father about us now.
There's no gift in all of life to match him. Because he came for the purpose of transforming our life. And there's no one else in all of life and no one else in all of history who could possibly do that.
Unchanging, there's not anything about him that changes. Somebody says, well, wait a minute now. He was a little child, and he grew up. Didn't he change?
He changed physically. Yes, changed physically. But, remember this, that in that physical body of his was Almighty God.
And he allowed him to grow. As he said, the scripture says, he grew in stature, and understanding, and wisdom. And he understood those around him.
He grew in those days, in those times. But, having reached that manhood, having ascended in the presence of the Father, the truth is, he is all he is today, what he always was.
He laid aside his glory for that brief moment of time in those early years in order to become the kind of person that you and I could relate to.
If you eliminate the New Testament, again, I say, eliminate the New Testament, and then come to say, tell me what God is like. Look how much more personal and intimate you and I understand who God is.
It's because of Jesus, and how he operated, and how he loved people. And he said, the woman caught in adultery, neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.
He said to Zacchaeus, up the tree, come on down. I'm going home, and I'm going to eat with you today.
The Pharisees and the Sadducees said about him, well, he's eaten with sinners. Who is this man?
And this is the same man who would walk over to someone and touch them and heal them, or speak the word, and they had their sight.
Who took the time to sit down with children and put his arm around them and talk to them and love on them and them love on him.
That's the kind of person he is. Because that's who God is. God loves us just like Jesus loved the children.
He takes time with us just like Jesus took time with them. That's who he is.
And there's never been anyone who could take his place. There's no one like him.
And yet, many people do not understand that you can have a personal, intimate relationship with him far deeper, far greater, far more rewarding than any human relationship two people could possibly have.
Somebody says, well, but what about husband and wife? Husbands and wives are both sinners. Husbands and wives make mistakes. Husbands and wives have limited knowledge and understanding of each other.
Husbands and wives bring from their background all kind of stuff. But when it comes to Jesus, he is the perfect friend. Perfect relationship.
And think about this. He never has to ask us any questions to find out anything. We never have to worry about whether he's going to change his attitude toward us or not.
We never have to worry about whether he's going to do what he said. In other words, here's what he promised.
But now, but suppose I do this and suppose I do that. He never changes.
Listen to this. Your sin can never change God's attitude of love toward you no matter what. Will you suffer the consequences of your sin? Yes.
Does that mean that God doesn't love you? No, it does not.
He is always the same, eternally the same. Willing to save you. Willing to forgive you. Willing to cleanse you. Willing to pick you up when you fall down.
Willing to forgive you when you make mistakes. Willing to forgive you when you just act absolutely ungodly.
If you're willing to ask him, he'll restore you in the right relationship, perfect relationship. He wants that relationship.
There's never been someone like Him. Because He's God.
Then I think about the fact that He's a universal gift. God gave Him to all the world. The gospel of Jesus Christ is to be spread all around the world. In every generation.
He's a universal gift. He said, listen, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life.
God is not prejudiced. He doesn't see color. He doesn't see culture. He doesn't see language. He doesn't see education. He doesn't see wealth. He doesn't see poverty.
He sees people who are sinful who need His forgiveness. The offer of Jesus Christ is offered to everyone.
And you know, when I think about how God made no mistakes and didn't forget anything, how did He die? They could have stood Him up against a wall and fired arrows into His chest and killed Him.
They could have thrown a javelin to kill Him. They could have beheaded Him.
But look how He died. And I, if I'll be lifted up, I will draw all men to Me, He said.
He died with His hands outstretched as if to say, all the world, I'll take you in if you'll come and place your trust and hope in Me.
And that's exactly who He is. He's this awesome, universal gift of God.
The Personal, Intimate Gift We Experience Daily
But likewise, He is more than that. He's a personal gift. And this is what makes Him so awesome to me.
When I think about it, and you know, in my own life, I can tell you, in any given common day of just doing the things that I do and things that you do, how often I see God just, it's like He's there.
He took care of that when I didn't know how to take care of it. He reminded me of this when I was about to forget.
In other words, God, God isn't working your life and my life in so many ways. We just overlook Him.
And here's what happens. If you're married, you have a relationship, and your wife's always doing something good for you, and you just overlook it and overlook it and overlook it and overlook it and overlook it, in her humanity, she may say, well, you know, you don't have any appreciation for me at all, and I'll give you a dose of that, and I'll start neglecting you.
Well, God doesn't do that.
What I want you to see is this. When you love someone, you don't overlook those things.
If you will stop and think this given week, When things come along, and I can't describe it for you really, except to say, if you ask God, make me sensitive to your presence in my life, something will happen, somebody will say something, you needed to hear it at that moment, or you're looking for something, He showed you exactly what you were looking for.
You can't find it, He showed you where it was. Something you forgot, He reminded you of something going on.
That's who He is. We think that's all us. That's not all us.
And one of the things that I prize about having a personal relationship with Him is He is so personal, and intimate, and caring, and loving, and the wonderful thing is that He never forgets.
I forget, He doesn't. He doesn't forget you.
Now, there have been times in all of our lives where we've probably said, Lord, where are you? What did He say? Right where I've always been.
I know you probably didn't hear that, but that's the truth. He's where He's always been. Where? In your heart, in your heart, loving you, giving you direction and guidance in your life, and showing you that this is not the right path, or that this is the path in life.
He's that kind of awesome, personal Savior and Lord and Master.
And you see, and I think about this often, people go to church, and they sit in church, and maybe they carry their Bibles, but most people who believe what I'm about to say probably don't.
They go to church. They go to church, and they listen to a sermon of some sort, and then they go home, and what happens is, unless something dramatic happens during the week, they don't give Him a lot of real time, or interest, or thought.
Unless they hear bad news, then it's all, oh, God, where are you?
But you know what? When you love Him, you think about Him all the time.
Listen, when you love Him, you look at every circumstance of life in light of who He is. When you hear tragedy, you think about Him. When people are happy, you think about Him.
When you're faced with trials, you think about Him. When things are just normal and peaceful, you think about Him.
In other words, that's who He is.
I can't...when I think about people who just go to church and think, somehow, I've done my duty, and do you know God? Yes, I go to church, so-and-so church every week.
I give a little money, and I bow my head when I pray, and I read a little bit of a Bible.
We are talking about a personal, intimate relationship with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, whom the Father sent in order that you could have that relationship.
But you've got to want to. You've got to, listen, open your eyes and see His presence.
You say, well, physically, no. Sometimes I think it's far bigger than physical and far more evident than physical.
God is not about to limit Himself to being physical because He's infinite, immeasurable, and fathomless, indescribable.
Do you hear me trying to come up with some more words? You can't come up with enough words to describe this awesome Christ.
And so, when people living in their ignorance and in their sin want to criticize Him, I just think, "Dear Lord, I'm sorry they're so ignorant." And living in sin and having to live the kind of life they're living.
An Eternal Gift of Love That Never Disappoints
Then there's the fact that He's an eternal gift. One thing about Him, He's always the same as we said. He's always been here. He always will.
And no matter how many trials and heartaches and difficulties we face, He's there.
Think about this. Never changes. Never changes. Eternal. Eternally the same.
And that is, you and I are going to live in heaven with Him for all eternity. What a gift.
Every other gift you've ever received will pass away sooner or later. This is one that will not.
Because He is God, God's gift to us to make life worth living and to make it the way He wants it to be.
Then, of all the things, of course, He's a love gift. It's all about how much He loves us.
Prophesied in the Old Testament that He was coming. And listen, God kept every single prophecy right in line.
He moved kings, rulers, dictators, emperors. He changed nations. He moved people. He moved whole nations.
He has kept His prophecies absolutely perfect. And a God who can keep all of those that perfect, down through those centuries and even today, you can bet your life, He's going to keep His Word through the last day.
He's a God of love.
And let me just say this. All of us, no matter who we are and how hard we may try, we're going to disappoint each other at some point.
And we may be wrong in our accusation or wrong in our viewpoint or even right. We're going to disappoint people.
Let me assure you of something. There is no disappointment in Jesus. None.
He's always what He's always been. And that is the one who loves you and desires to love you into life eternal. That's His desire for you.
And you know, if you're willing to ask Jesus to forgive you of your sins and tell Him that you believe that He went to the cross on your behalf, and you accept not this baby Jesus, but Jesus, the Son of God, as your personal Savior, all these things we've said, you'll begin to realize in a whole new way, and you'll begin to realize what eternal life's all about.
Now, you're going to get a lot of presents at Christmas, but look at this. This is who Jesus is.
So, why don't you join me in saying this, alright? He is a humble gift, a heavenly gift, a needed gift, a sacrificial gift, a perfect gift, a precious gift, a wrapped gift, a spiritual gift, a changeless gift, a universal gift, a personal gift, an eternal gift, and a gift of love. You know what all that equals? That's who He is.
You can't match it. You can't beat it. Nothing ever has been, never will be, to match the person of Jesus Christ, and you and I have the awesome privilege of living for the rest of our lives and for all eternity with a personal, intimate relationship with this Jesus who is the Son of God. Amen? Amen.
Father, how grateful we are this morning. Thank You that You let Him be born as a little boy. Thank You that You grew Him up as a young man. Thank You that You took Him to the cross and paid our sin debt in full. And may we at this Christmas season rejoice in our heart that all of us have the privilege of possessing this gift, the most precious gift ever given, a gift that we possess because that gift possesses us. And I pray the Holy Spirit will create within all of us an even deeper yearning and hunger to know Him more personally, more intimately, all the days of our life. In His precious name, Jesus, we pray. Amen.