Greg Laurie - Jesus Saves (08/15/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares the true meaning of Christmas from Luke 1 and Matthew 1: Jesus came on a rescue mission to save us from our sin—past, present, and future—so we can be born again. Emmanuel, God with us, entered our dark world as a helpless baby to forgive us, walk with us, and give us eternal life. Christmas is about receiving Christ, not just festivities, because He saves sinners like us.
Opening Prayer – Thanking God for Jesus' Rescue Mission
Father, we're so thankful to be here tonight. This night to celebrate the arrival of Jesus. Lord, we know that He was sent on a rescue mission to save us from our sin. Past, present, and future. He was sent on a mission to come into our lives and forgive us for our sin. And He was born so we might be born again. And we're so thankful for all of that, Lord. And now as we remember this story again and look at it, help us to hear it with fresh ears and see it with fresh eyes. Speak to us from Your Word, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
All right. Hey, well, let's grab our Bibles and turn in them to the Gospel of Luke. And the title of my message this Christmas Eve of 2016 is pretty simple, Jesus Saves. Jesus Saves.
You know, we're doing a lot of services, of course, today. We already did one at three. The place was packed out. We have this one, right? Excuse me, one at one. I'm already losing my mind. It is three, right? Okay. We did one at one. We're doing one here now, of course. And then one at five. And then a candlelight service at 10 o'clock.
Last year, we did a bunch of services as well. And after I got home, after preaching at all those services, my wife, Kathy, just plops into one of our chairs and says, man, I am so tired. I said, you're so tired. I did all the preaching. She said, yeah, but I had to listen to you. So that's... I get no respect, right? Yeah, okay.
Missing the True Point of Christmas
So I think a lot of times when Christmas finally comes, we can easily miss the point of it. Heard about a little boy that decided to write a letter to God and tell him all the things he wanted for Christmas. And he said, dear God, I've been a good boy now for six months. And he thought about it and thought, this is to God. And God knows everything. So he crossed out six and put three. I've been a good boy for three months. Thought about it a little bit more. Crossed out three months. Put down, I've been a good boy for two weeks. Thought about it a little longer. And then finally just set his pen down. And walked over to his nativity set, grabbed the figurine of Mary, brought it back, set it down, and wrote, Dear God, if you ever want to see your mother again, talk about missing the point of Christmas.
I'll tell you, when I miss the point of Christmas big time, I was in New York City a number of years ago to speak around the Christmas season. How many of you have been to New York at Christmastime? It's so cool. I mean, that place really knows how to do Christmas. And we're talking the most amazing displays in the department store. There's literally chestnuts roasting on an open fire sold by the vendors on the streets. You hear Christmas music all around. Even the muggers say Merry Christmas as they're mugging you. It's awesome.
But, um, so, you know, we're walking around New York and we decided to go to Macy's, right? Big, huge department store. And so the girls did a little shopping and it started to rain. And so I said to Kathy and the other couple that was with us, I said, I'll get a car for you guys. I'll get a cab. This is before Uber. So I went out. I hailed a cab. He stopped. I said, no, hold on. It's raining hard. I'm getting drenched. Hold on. Let me get the girls and my friend, okay? And the guy says, I'll wait, okay. I opened up the back door. Okay, wait, okay? Don't go, okay? He said, I will go.
So I go, come on, you guys. And the girls have their little bags, you know, and, of course, the high heels. And they're like, you know, this, you know. And come on, come on, come on. And I'm watching this car. Make sure no one else gets in there. And just as the girls are almost in the cab, some guy just jumps in the cab in front of me. Said, hey, hey, that's my cab. He used a gesture toward me. I don't want to tell you what the gesture was, but it had something to do with the bird flipping, okay? So, right on my face, I was so mad at this guy. I shoved him. I'm telling you the truth. I shoved him. I said, it's my cab! I was ready to fight that guy. And you know what? If I would have fought that guy, I think I might have beat him. I was so hopped up, man. And I felt so right. I mean, he did steal my cab. And he did use an obscene gesture, but there's no way on God's green earth I should have ever shoved that guy, okay?
So, I got in the cab. That's feeling really good. And then the adrenaline wore off, and I thought, what on earth did I just do? I mean, I'm there to preach in New York City at Christmastime. Now, what if this guy shows up? Sees me. That's the guy that shoved me for the cab. Yeah, Merry Christmas.
Why did Jesus come to this earth? He came to save sinners like me. And sinners like you. Because we definitely need a savior. And that is really one of the main messages that bubbles up about the Christmas story, is that he came to save us from our sin.
And why do we need to be saved from our sin? Because our hearts are really dark. Did you know that? The Bible says, the heart is deceitful above all things who can know it. Or as another translation puts it, the heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful. A puzzle no one can figure out.
And so Christ came on a rescue mission to save us from our sin. Well, did you think he came so we would have a reason to go shopping? Or to wrap presents up on brightly colored paper? Or to trim trees and all that? No, he came to save us from our sin.
The Christmas Story – Gabriel's Message to Mary
Now we know the Christmas story pretty well. Most of us. Some may be hearing it for the first time. But there in Luke chapter one, verse 26, we know that the angel Gabriel was dispatched to Nazareth. It had been 400 years since Israel had heard from God. No prophets. No angelic appearances. No miracles. No messages from heaven. Just sort of an icy silence.
God broke the silence and sent not just any angel, but a mega angel, Gabriel, to Mary, a peasant girl, living in the little village of Nazareth. And this was the message. He said, greetings, favored woman, the Lord is with you. Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. Don't be afraid, the angel said. You found favor with God. You're gonna conceive and give birth to a son and you'll name him Jesus. He'll be very great and he'll be called the son of the most high. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David and he will reign over Israel forever and his kingdom will never end.
Wow, can you imagine being Mary and finding out that you were a fulfillment of Bible prophecy? I wonder if Mary ever read what Isaiah said about a virgin conceiving. I wonder if she understood that. I don't know. But whatever she knew or did not know, she was the chosen one.
And of course, she had a technical question. Okay, it sounds great. How's this gonna happen? I'm not married yet. And then the angel revealed that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and that which was conceived in her womb would be from the Lord. And so she said, yes, Lord, I will do this.
And then he went on to say to Joseph, her husband, Joseph, you go ahead and marry Mary, marry Mary, because that which is conceived in her womb is from the Holy Spirit. She'll bring forth the Son. You'll name him Jesus. And he will save his people from their sins.
I don't want us to miss this. Because sometimes I think people see Jesus as a great additive to one's life. You know, Jesus will really improve your life. Jesus will really enhance your life. Jesus will really elevate your life. Well, that's all true to some degree. But listen, here's the bottom line. Jesus has come to save your life.
See, but I don't know that I really need to be saved. Oh, no, you do. Here's the picture. It's like you're way outside in the ocean and you are running out of energy and you're being circled by great white sharks. And you know how you know they're great white sharks? Because they have their own theme song, right? Dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun, dun.
Here's your picture. Here's your story. You're in a burning building and you have no hope unless a courageous firefighter rushes in to get you out.
Here's a real story where sinners separated from God, headed to judgment, but God sent his son, Jesus Christ, on a rescue operation to planet Earth to save us from our sins. All of our sins. That would be our past sins because we have all sinned, right? We've all said things that we wish we had not said. We've all done things we wish we had not done. We've thought things we wish we had not thought. He saves us from that. But not only that, he forgives us of that. If we'll turn from our sin and put our faith in him, the Bible says, God speaking, there's sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Also, Jesus saves us from future judgment. And think of what he did to save us. Think how the Lord came to us on this planet. I mean, it seems like God could just come down in a beam of light. Like, beam me down, Scotty, right? Just, I'll just... Here he is. Hi, I'm Jesus. I've come to save the world. Well, that'd be amazing. But who could even connect or relate to a guy that just came down in a beam of light?
Or he could have been born of a normal earthly father and a normal earthly mother through the normal process of procreation. But who would ever believe that such a one was really the son of God?
So God chose to have him conceived in the womb of a woman and be born like any other child. Yet because Joseph really played no role in this, he was divine. And though he was a human being, he had a sinless nature.
This is hard to wrap our minds around. Because Jesus was as physical as you are. He had hunger. He grew tired. He slept. He felt pain. He felt loneliness. He felt happiness and joy. And all the things that you feel Jesus felt.
Well, why did he come this way? So we can understand that we have a God that knows what it's like to walk in our shoes. He's walked this earth. He's lived our life. He's felt our pain. He's died our death. And of course, he Rose again from the dead.
He came all the way from heaven to join us on this earth. The place where Christ was born was basically a cave. And it was cold and it was damp. It was about the least desirable place to have a baby. He wasn't wrapped in clean sheets, but cheap rags. And his salt where he was born would have smelled of straw and animals and feces, to be quite honest.
Now, when you go home tonight for your Christmas Eve dinner that maybe is waiting, your house will smell like whatever it is you're cooking. It'll smell great. Or maybe you have those scented candles, you know. I don't understand scented candles, honestly. Someone gave me a candle for my birthday. And I was like, oh wow, okay, here, Kathy. And I mean, I don't know what to do with them. But I did, I did see a candle the other day. And I'm not making this up. It had the scent of Krispy Kreme donuts. This is true. And I smelled it. And it smelled like Krispy Kreme. So I ate it. And I feel really sick. No, I don't.
But the stable where Christ was, the cave, the barn, if you will, was not sanitary. It was not warm. It was not cheery. It was not bathed in blue light. There weren't angels singing in the background. It was a very awful place for a baby to be born. But he made that sacrifice intentionally.
I love the words of commentator R. Kent Hughes who described it this way, and I quote, It was clearly a leap down, as if the Son of God Rose from his splendor, stood poised on the rim of the universe, irradiating light, and dove headlong, speeding through the stars over the Milky Way to Earth's galaxy, where he plunged into a huddle of animals. Nothing could be lower, he concludes. God entered our world, not like a baby, but as a baby.
Jesus was not like a human. He was a human. And as we sing, Veiled in flesh, the Godhead see, hail incarnate deity.
I love little babies, especially newborns. They're so helpless. They're so dependent upon their parents. And when you hold a little baby, you have to support them. Oh, so carefully.
Jesus came to this earth as a helpless little baby. I was telling the Christmas story to my grandkids. It's actually on our website if you want to look at it. But, and so I said, do you think when Jesus was born, he needed his diaper changed? They said, no, Papa. I said, oh, no, he did. I said, do you think when he was a little baby, he just sort of sat up and said, hello, Mary and Joseph. I'm Jesus, you know, and started talking. No, Papa. No, he didn't do that. He was like any other baby. He had to learn how to speak. He had to learn how to walk. He grew like any other child would grow. But, of course, he would soon realize that he was the very son of God. It's incredible.
Spurgeon, the great British preacher, put it this way, and I quote, infinite, yet he was an infant. Eternal, yet born of a woman. Supporting a universe, and yet needing to be carried in a mother's arms. King of angels, and yet the reputed son of Joseph. Heir of all things, and yet the carpenter's son. The almighty God who made heaven and earth became a helpless little infant. It's hard to believe. And he did this for us.
Emmanuel – God With Us
Jesus saves. He's come to save you. And then also, the angel said to Joseph in Matthew 1 that the virgin will conceive and bear a son. They'll call his name Emmanuel, which is God with us. Emmanuel. Notice it doesn't say Emmanuel, but Immanuel. It's one word.
I think sometimes people think the Bible is Emmanuel. This is the manual of life, and if we follow the rules of the Bible and try to be good Christians, we'll get to heaven one day. That is not Christianity. Oh, the Bible is Emmanuel, but it's a lot more than that. It's God's written word given to us. But really, the Christian life is not about things we do to get to heaven. It's about what God has done.
You could sum up every other religion of the world with one word, do. You know, do this, and you may reach nirvana. Do that, and you might find inner peace. Do this other thing, and you might get to heaven. It's do, do, do. Really, it's doo-doo.
But Christianity could be summed up in one word. Done. It's done for us, completed on the cross, paid in full by the blood of Jesus Christ.
So it's not really a manual, like a book that we open up, but it's Emmanuel, God himself. That's what we long for at Christmas.
You know, Christmas is like a promise that can't fully deliver. You know, and I like a lot of aspects of Christmas. I actually like lights, you know, on homes. I think it's beautiful. If you don't have lights on your home, I just feel like, come on, let's get with the program here. You know, I like Christmas trees. I like brightly wrapped packages. I enjoy the festivities and getting together with family and friends. I think it's all great. And I like the way that we at least try to be nice to each other. We try. We say Merry Christmas to one another.
To me, it's just sort of a little glimpse of what can come one day in heaven. You know, when instead of little fake angels, we'll have real angels. Instead of a plastic figure in a manger, we'll have the King of Kings and Lord of Lords to worship. Instead of little lights that we plug into the wall, we'll have the light of heaven.
But it's a promise of things to come. But here's the promise of Christmas. It can't deliver on its own promises. And really, when I long for a wonderful Christmas, I think I'm longing for something more. It's not merriment, it's the Messiah. It's not goodwill, it's God. It's not presence under a tree. It's His presence in my life. That's what I'm longing for. It's Christ Himself.
And the message is Emmanuel. I'm not alone anymore.
You know, Christmas is a hard time for some people. Because they've lost a loved one. There are some of you listening to this message right now that had a loved one with you last year. Last year at this time. That is not with you now. And that has made Christmas very difficult for you. And you feel alone.
Or maybe some of your family has forgotten about you. Maybe the kids didn't remember to call. Or bother to come by. And they have no plans to. Maybe your mom and dad have broken up. Or there's other conflicts. And so it's hard. You feel alone.
I want you to know something. The one who came to stand by your side was the loneliest man that ever lived. You say, how could Jesus be the loneliest man who ever lived? He had His disciples that hung out with Him all the time. Yeah. But when He was tried on false charges, His disciples abandoned Him. Oh sure, Peter followed at a distance. And John was around. But they weren't really there with Him.
But Jesus could always depend on the Father's presence. He said, I and the Father are one. I always do the things that please the Father. He could always be assured the Father was with Him. But when He hung on the cross, and the sin of the world was placed upon Him, even the Father momentarily had to turn His face away from the Son. And that is why Jesus said, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
But why did He do that? Listen, He was alone, so you never have to be. He was forsaken by God for a time, so you never have to be forsaken at all. He entered the darkness that you might walk in the light. He died so you could live. Jesus was born so you could be born again.
Again, you're not alone this Christmas Eve of 2016. God is with you, and He wants you to know no matter what you're going through, He'll walk with you through it.
I love that statement in the book of Isaiah. God says, when you go through the deep waters and great trouble, I'll be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. When you walk through the fire of oppression, you will not be burned up. The flames will not consume you.
Sometimes God delivers us from problems, and sometimes God delivers us in problems. But no matter what you're going through, Jesus is there because He promised He'll never leave you or forsake you.
I think of the story of those three guys, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, in the book of Daniel, who were thrown into a furnace because they wouldn't bow down before the golden image of the ego-driven King Nebuchadnezzar. And he was so ticked off, He said, I'm going to throw you into basically a fiery pit. In fact, the flames were so hot, the guys who threw them in died from the flames.
So he never thought he'd hear from them again, but the Bible tells us that as Nebuchadnezzar looked in, he said, look, I threw three people in there, and there's a fourth one in there, and it looks like the Son of God.
There was Jesus who appeared in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, walking around with them, and when they came out, there was no smoke on them. Their clothes were not singed, and Nebuchadnezzar realized that this was a miracle.
But when you go through your fiery trial, God is with you. Whatever you're facing, He is with you.
Some people will hear this message or see it in a prison cell because I get letters from them. Others will watch it in a hospital bed. Or whatever you're facing, you're not alone. Emmanuel is with you.
I love that song we sing this time of the year. O come, O come, Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel that mourns in lonely exile here until the Son of God appears. Rejoice, rejoice, Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel.
Come, thou dayspring, come and cheer our spirits by thy advent here. Drive away the shades of night and Pierce the clouds and bring us light. Rejoice, rejoice. Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel.
Do you really want Him to come into your life? Do you really want Him to be a part of your life? Not just on Christmas Eve, not just on Christmas Day, not just on Sunday morning, but Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Every other day. That's what He wants. That's what this is all about.
Not just a rare occasion where we get together and think about Him, but He wants to be a part of our life each and every day. Because you know what? In just a matter of hours, Christmas will be over, and there'll be the big buildup, and then it will look like a hurricane swept to your house. All that wrapping paper, all those ribbons that you worked so hard on wrapping those presents, and then there'll be the boxes that the gifts came in, and there'll be unhappy kids. They'll be fighting over a gift He gave to another kid. Some will be playing with a box more than the toy it came in. Right? Some you'll be trying to figure out how to assemble till next year. Some things will be being returned because they're broken, all the drama that comes with Christmas.
And if that's not enough, the bills will come too, like, one day later. It seems like they really come fast now, doesn't it? So that's sort of the reality of it, hits. That's okay, because that's not what it's all about. We can enjoy that along with everybody else. But we know what really matters, it's Emmanuel. Because he never gets old. He never goes out of style. He's never discarded. And the more we know him, the more precious he becomes each and every year. Isn't that true?
God is with us. And he came to save us. And he'll save you tonight.
Say, well, I don't know, well, saved. You have to use that word, saved. It's actually a really excellent word. He wants to save you from your sin. Save you from yourself. Save you from a future judgment.
You say, well, how can I experience this salvation? There's a story in the book of Acts of a very cruel man who ran a jail and he imprisoned the great apostle Paul and Silas. Their crime? Preaching the gospel. So he just made sure their stay there was as miserable as it could be so he whipped him for good measure. Put him in this dungeon, a hellhole, if you will.
And the Bible says, at midnight, Paul and Silas began to sing praises to God. I love that. And the Bible tells us the other prisoners were listening. And by the way, that word that is used there for listening means they listen with pleasure. They probably never heard a two-part Harmony like Paul and Silas. Wow. What are those guys singing about? So they were moved by the fact that Paul and Silas could sing in a place of misery.
Then a great earthquake came and it was so powerful it shook the walls which collapsed and the Roman jailer knew he was dead because the Romans executed you if you lost your prisoners. He pulled his sword out. He was ready to kill himself. Paul and Silas says, don't hurt yourself. We're still here.
And that jailer threw down that sword and said, sirs, what do I need to do to be saved? I want what you have that can cause you to sing in a place like this. And Paul said, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved and that goes for your house too.
And he did. That hardened man believed right there and you can believe right now as well.
Invitation to Receive Jesus Tonight
Now maybe you come to church once in a while. Maybe you're a CEO Christian. You know, CEO Christmas and Easter only. Maybe you come a little more often than that. You know, you believe in God. You believe in Jesus. But he didn't say, admire me or think about me or believe I existed. He said, follow me.
And my question for you is have you asked Jesus Christ to come into your life? Let me put it another way. If you were to die tonight, would you go to heaven? Let me put it even another way. If Christ himself were to come back tonight, and he could and he will one day. Would you be one of those ones who are ready to meet him?
If not, why don't you believe in him right now? Because this is why he came to save you, to rescue you, to walk through life with you and one day to welcome you into heaven. But you must ask him to come into your life.
as that old Christmas song says, let every heart prepare him room. You gotta make room for Jesus. Man, he gave up everything for you. Will you believe in him?
In a moment, we're gonna close in prayer and I'm gonna extend an invitation to any of you that want Jesus Christ to come into your life because you don't wanna walk through life alone anymore. To any of you that need to be saved from your sin, that's all of us, who wanna be free from your past, that want a fresh start, that wanna know God in a personal way, Jesus, who was born, who died, who Rose, who ascended, who's coming back again, stands at the door of your life right now and he knocks and he says, if you'll hear his voice and open the door, he will come in.
Would you like him to come into your life right now? I'm gonna give you an opportunity to believe in him and be forgiven of your sins.
Let's all bow our heads and pray together. Father, thank you for sending Jesus. And Lord Jesus, thank you for coming. All that you gave up. The sacrifice you made for us. And now I pray for those here, those watching, those that do not yet know you, help them to see their need for you and help them to come to you. Now we pray.
Now when our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we're praying together, how many of you would say today, Greg, I want Jesus Christ to come into my life. I want him to forgive me of my sin. I want to know that when I die, I will go to heaven. I want my sin behind me. I want that fresh start in life you've talked about. I'm ready to say yes to Jesus. Pray for me.
If that's you, if you want Jesus to come into your life, if you want him to forgive you of your sin, if you want to go to heaven when you die, would you raise your hand up right now wherever you're sitting and I'll pray for you. God bless you and you. God bless you. Anybody else? Raise your hand up higher where I can see it. Let me pray for you. God bless you. God bless you. Many hands are going up. I hope yours is one of them. Raise your hand up. Let me pray for you. God bless you and you.
Hey, you're not too young to do this. If you've understood what I've said, you can take this step toward Christ. You're not too old to do this. Christ can change you. Anybody else? Raise your hand up. Let me pray for you now. Wherever you are. God bless you. Anybody else? Raise your hand up. I can't see you there. But the Lord sees you. Would you raise your hand up as well? Saying yes, I want Jesus Christ. They're at Harvest Orange County. Raise your hand up. Let me pray for you too. I know some of you are responding. So God bless you as well.
One more moment. Anybody else, if you haven't raised your hand yet, you want Christ to come into your life? You want him to forgive you of your sin? Raise your hand up right now. God bless you.
Now you that have raised your hand, I want you to pray this prayer right where you are. In fact, you can even pray it out loud. Again, as I pray, you pray this prayer after me. Pray this right where you said out loud. Pray, Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. But I know that you're the Savior who came to this earth for me and died on the cross and Rose again from the dead. Jesus, come into my life. Be my Savior and be my Lord. I choose to follow you from this moment forward. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.