Greg Laurie - The Gift! (09/18/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares a Christmas message from Matthew 2 titled "The Gift: How to Keep Christmas Happy." He highlights the greatest gift God gave us—eternal life through Jesus Christ—explaining justification, adoption, and its lasting value. We respond by giving God our worship through thanks, faithful tithing, and generosity, then share this gift with others through evangelism and service to find true joy.
Opening Prayer and Christmas Atmosphere
Lord, we have just prayed that beautiful statement of the angels to the Shepherds. Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men with whom you are pleased. Lord, I know as you look at this world right now, you're not pleased with what so many are doing. You're not pleased with all of the killing and the violence and the war. But then again, Jesus said, in the last days, we'll hear of wars and rumors of wars. We're glad you're on the throne. We're glad you're in control. But we look forward to the day when you will come back again and establish your kingdom and rule as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Until that day, Lord, help us to be peacemakers, not troublemakers. Help us to be representatives of you spreading the gospel of peace to those that need to hear it. And bless this time now as we open your word and learn more about the gift you've given us. We ask all of this in Jesus' name. Amen.
You can be seated. All right. Well, let's grab our Bibles and turn to Matthew chapter 2. And the title of my message is, The Gift, subtitle, How to Keep Christmas Happy.
Christmas Shopping and Gift Stories
Well, Christmas is on, for sure. And we're all out shopping. Or some of us are, at least. How many of you have already started your Christmas shopping? You've started it? Raise your hand up. That's quite a few of you. All right. How many of you have finished your Christmas shopping? I hate you. No. Honestly, I admire you. I wish I were more like you. How many of you have not started your Christmas shopping yet? Okay. Well, that's quite a few of you. How many of you have peeked to find out if you got the Christmas gift you hope you would get? Raise your hand up. Nobody wants to own up to that. Oh, there's a young lady there. Very good. Okay. So what'd you get? What'd you get? You raised your hand. What'd you get? Yeah, I'm talking to you. Young girl, raise your hand. Yes. What did you get? A what? An easy-bake oven. I love that. That's what I wanted. Will you make me one of those little cakes in that thing?
I already know what I'm getting for Christmas this year. Old and fat. There's just no... Hey, I just celebrated my birthday just a few days ago. Well, thank you. I'm... I'm one year away from that Beatles song when I'm 64, but the problem is the lyrics are, when I get older, losing my hair. That happened a long time ago to me. You know, when you get older, you don't look forward to birthdays like you used to when you were a kid. You just are glad when they're over with again.
But I wonder if you can think of the worst gift you've ever received at all of your Christmases. Think back for a moment. I'm sure something pops into your mind. The worst gift you ever received. I read an article in a paper about the worst gifts people ever received. Some of them were quite interesting. One person said, My sister gave me a bracelet, which was already mine, and had been gone for a while. Wow. So did she steal it or what? A woman named Julie received a toilet seat for Christmas. Hey, that's romantic. A girl named Melinda said, I received a sweater that someone had worn, stained, and re-gifted. That's disturbing. One wrote, I received a doorknob. Another said, A used spatula. Another said, One slipper. One slipper? Is that sort of a way to say, If you're still my friend next year, you'll get the other slipper? I don't know about that one. Another said, I received a bar of soap for Christmas. Hey, maybe that's a hint. I don't know.
I know this next girl received a hint from her mother-in-law who for Christmas gave her a book on etiquette. Yeah, so obviously she needs to work on her manners a bit. Another wrote, My college boyfriend was a shoplifter and every gift I ever received from him was stolen. Time for a new boyfriend, maybe? One person on my Facebook page because I posed the question to people on my page, What is the worst gift you received? One person said, The worst gift I received was a DC Origins of Superheroes comic that her brother bought her when they were kids. He knew I wouldn't like it. And so I gave it back to him. I think that was part of the plan. Don't you think?
And here's the thing. Notice that all these bad gifts were mostly given by men. So I don't know, guys, what the problem is here. But those are some of the worst gifts that people have received.
Now, how many of you have ever re-gifted? Raise your hand up. It's not a sin. Go ahead. I won't mock you. I think we've all done it. Now, a re-gift is when we take a gift we've received and we give it away. Okay, that's okay, I guess. Just be careful because you might receive it this year, hold on to it for a year, and then end up giving it to the person who gave it to you in the first place, you see? So you want to be very careful with re-gifting.
The Greatest Gift: God's Gift to Us
Well, I want to talk to you today about the gift of Christmas. This great gift. First of all, I want to talk about the gift that God gave to us. Secondly, I want to talk about the gift that we give to God. And third and finally, I want to talk about the gift we give to others.
So let's start with point number one, The gift that God gave to us. I heard about a postal worker who was working in the main office and was sorting through mail. And they came across a handwritten envelope addressed to God. Clearly that wasn't going to make its way to heaven. So the postal worker was curious and opened it up. And here is this letter scrawled out from an elderly woman telling God that her $200, all that she had in savings, had been stolen. And as a result, she would have nothing to eat that Christmas.
So this postal worker was really touched by that and got the other workers together. And they took up a collection and raised $180. So they put it in an envelope and they put her name on the envelope and delivered it when she wouldn't see and hoping she would be really surprised. And they felt very good about that thing they'd done. And so Christmas came and left. And another envelope comes in. It's that same lettering, clearly from the woman. Again, addressed to God. They thought, oh, it's a thank you note to God. Let's see what she said. And they opened it up. And the lady says, dear God, thank you for the $180 you sent for Christmas. Otherwise it would have been so bleak. But then the old woman wrote down, P. S. It was $20 short. And it was probably one of those thieving workers at the postal office.
You know, sometimes we just don't appreciate the gifts that we receive. And that can be true of the greatest gift of Christmas. And that is the gift that God has given to us. No, it's not under a tree. No, it's not an easy bake oven, as awesome as it is. It's a gift that's greater than all those things. In fact, if you're a Christian, you already carry this gift in your heart. And if you don't have this gift yet, I'll tell you at the end how to receive it. I'm talking about the gift of salvation. The gift of eternal life. Romans 6:23 says, the gift of God, which is eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Listen, this is the greatest of all gifts. Others gifts you may receive this year. It's the latest gadget. You know, drones are very popular this year. Clothes are always popular. But listen, long after that drone is out of date and those clothes are out of fashion, this gift will only grow in value.
Gifts That Grow in Value Over Time
Some gifts grow with time in value. Maybe a family heirloom. Something that was given to you as a young person and you thought nothing of it and you threw it into a drawer. Maybe it was your grandfather's watch. But then when your grandfather died, that watch became precious to you. Maybe it was a drawing from your child. And our kids draw so much. And maybe we save some of them. Maybe we don't save all of them. But then you come across one of those old drawings. And it's so important.
And I was going through a box upstairs before the message. And I came across a drawing that my son Christopher had done when he was, well, this is a, he was 30. So it's no, he was five. And I was on a radio program with a man named Rich Bueller. Do any of you remember Rich Bueller? Well, he's in heaven now, Rich. And my son is in heaven as well as you know. But so Christopher did this little drawing for Rich and I sent it to Rich and had my son sign it. And then Rich wrote me back a little note. And he did a program after our son went to be with the Lord and sent this drawing back to me again. So you know what? This, this piece of paper, this is precious to me. So if my house was on fire, I'm going to grab this piece of paper because of its value.
Now how much value is in the paper? Not even a penny, but it has what they call sentimental value. It's an important thing. And that's how certain gifts are with the passing of time. Something you may not have appreciated when you were younger now becomes important to you. Maybe that money your grandparents put into some account in your name seemed like a really bad gift when all the other kids were getting cool toys. But then after 25 years passed, a little bit of money has grown there and it's collected some interest. And you're saying thank you to your grandparents.
Some gifts grow more valuable to you with the passing of time. Now there's toys that are quickly out of date, unless you keep them in their original packaging. I read that an original Barbie doll in its packaging, original, unopened is worth eight to $12,000 on the market today. Now I collected hundreds of them when I was a young boy and probably shouldn't have shared that. Actually, it's not true. However, I wish it was true, but it isn't because of the value they would have. A Star Wars Darth Vader in an unopened package is worth $6,000 today. Okay.
So here's the gift that God has given to us. This gift is never out of fashion. It's never out of style. The tech is never old. It grows more valuable with the passing of time. Yes, it's the hope of heaven. Yes, it's the hope of eternal life. But as they say in the commercials, but wait, there's more. Because there are aspects of this gift we can enjoy now.
Justification: Forgiven and Declared Righteous
One of them is a word, justification. You've probably heard that word before. Maybe you didn't know what it meant. Romans 5:1 says, we've been justified by faith and we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand.
Now, justify. The word justify has a two-fold meaning. First of all, it carries the idea of the forgiveness of all of your sin. Maybe you've come here today haunted by your sin, mulling over your sin. Let me say this to you on the authority of God's Word. If you have asked God to forgive you of that sin and you have repented of that sin, you are forgiven. Okay? Well, Greg, you don't have the power to absolve people. No. Nor does any priest. But God does. And He has forgiven you of every sin that you've confessed and turned from. So accept that. God says there are sins and iniquities. Well, I remember no more.
But often we'll dig those sins up and go over them again and beat ourselves up over it. And here's the thing we need to remember. We should not choose to remember what God has chosen to forget. You have been forgiven of your sin. One way to translate the idea of justification is just as if it never had happened. Yes, you did that bad thing. God forgave you of that bad thing just as if it never had happened.
On my computer keyboard, I have a key. It has the word delete on it. And if I'm working on a Word document and I have some text I want to remove, I highlight it and I hit the delete key and it goes away. I don't know where it goes. I don't care where it goes. It probably goes to the same place that all those socks go to. Why do we only lose one sock? You know, this morning I was getting up and I found one sock. Where did the other sock go? I was walking down the street a while back. I saw a sock in the gutter. I thought that's where they go. They go into a life of sin somewhere and end up in the gutter. Take that old muddy sock, bring it back to the other. Let this be a warning to you.
I don't know where the socks go. I don't know where the text goes. I don't care. It's gone. The same with my sin. I don't know where God puts it. I'm just glad it's not on me anymore. That's part of the gift that God has given to each of us.
Now, if God just removed my sin, and maybe right before him, that'd be enough. But then there's a positive side of justification, which means to put to one's account. To put to one's account. When God justifies a person, he places the righteousness of Christ in their account, and that balances the moral and spiritual budget for us.
In Acts chapter 13, verse 38, we read, Listen, brothers, there's forgiveness of your sins. Everyone who trusts in him is free from all guilt, and declared righteous or justified. Declared righteous.
Chuck Swindoll gives a great definition of justification, which goes as follows, quote, Justification is a sovereign act of God, whereby he declares righteous the believing sinner while he is still in a sinning state. See, I stand before you today righteous. Say, I don't know, Greg, you don't seem so righteous to me. Well, I didn't say I always do righteous things. But I've been declared righteous.
Let me take it a step further. I stand before you today as a living, breathing Saint. You want to know what a Saint looks like? And I'm looking at a bunch of saints too. Because all the word Saint means in the Bible is true believer. If you're a real believer, you too are a Saint. We're all saints. You don't have to call me Saint Gregory. I don't know that I'd even answer to it. But we are saints. We are justified. We're made right before God.
This is not a gradual process. This is something that happens immediately. But wait, there's even more.
Adoption into God's Family
Not only am I justified, not only is my sin forgiven, not only is the righteousness of Christ placed into my account, but I've been adopted into the family of God. Adopted. Galatians 4:4 says, when the time was just right, God sent forth his son, made of a woman, made under the law, that he might redeem those that are under the law, and that they might receive the adoption of sons.
This word redeem is interesting. It means to buy out of a slave market. So go back to first century times for a moment in your imagination, and here you are, a slave on the block. You're going to be sold as a possession for someone to buy, to do their work. So people are bidding on you, and frankly, the bidding isn't all that high. And along comes Jesus Christ. He pays the highest price. And you're glad because you've heard a lot about him, and you know he'll be a great master. And he says, come on, okay, master, where do you want to go? He says, I want you to go with me to the courthouse. Say, why are we going to the courthouse, master? Because I'm going to adopt you as my son. Well, I'm happy to just be your slave. Well, you're that, but more. You're also my son. You're also my daughter.
I mean, it's amazing. I have this access to God, but now I have this relationship where I am his child. I was adopted. I told you that before. And I was going through this box where I found that drawing by my son, Christopher, and I came across my adoption papers. I didn't even know I still had them. It's like an ancient document from the first century here. And it says, uh, having considered the complaint, the written report by the state board of child welfare of the state of New Jersey, is that evidence presented that in the best interest of Gregory Mitchell, wholesome back. That was my name. I'm glad I'm not pastor wholesome back. I mean, nothing against the name. I guess I've just grown used to Greg Laurie. If you're named wholesome back, sorry. Um, sure you have a very wholesome back.
Um, by the way, I went through life with a girl's name. Okay. So that's why I'm so tough today. It's like a boy named Sue. Remember that Johnny Cash song? But it was in the best interest of Gregory Mitchell, wholesome back to become the son of Oscar Laurie. And he didn't just adopt me, but he treated me as a son.
This is another one of those things I'd grab if my house was on fire. But, uh, you've been adopted into God's family as well. And this is such a great joy to know that we have been adopted. See, by adoption, God is saying, don't merely stand in awe of me. By adopting us, God is saying, come close to me. I want you to be my servant. Yes. But I want you to be my child. You have access to me anytime.
The other day I was, well, actually last night I was finishing up my message. I had some important things to do and income to my grandchildren. Well, they don't care about my sermon. They want to play with Papa. So they climb up on my lap and Christopher's pounding on the keyboard. I have an open document. You know, I don't want things to be deleted, right? Whoa, careful. And, uh, my granddaughter Allie's grabbing things and they make a little mess and mess around and walk out. And you know what? They can do that because they have access to me because they're related to me. They're my grandchildren. And we can do that with God.
Now, look, if you come to my house and come up to my office and you start playing with my keyboard, I might hit you. I don't know, but you don't have that access. I'm sorry, but my children do my grandchildren do. And we do too with the Lord. Okay.
So that's the gift God has given to us. That's why Paul calls it in 2nd Corinthians 9:15, the unspeakable gift or a better translation, a gift too wonderful for words. And then there's the afterlife. Listen, if all there was as a Christian was the before life, meaning this life we have now with Jesus, if this was it, and when we died, we just ceased to exist. I would still be a Christian, wouldn't you? Just for this life. But listen, it's going to get way better. The afterlife will be better than the before life. The best is yet to come.
So that's God's gift to you. Open it. Enjoy it. Love it.
The Gift We Give to God
But then there's the gift we give to God. Point number two. If anyone has ever given you an amazing gift, you usually want to reciprocate. Ever had that happen? Someone says, I got you this gift. And you didn't know they would get you a gift. And the fact is, you didn't get a gift for them. And you look at this gift, and it's really valuable. It's expensive. I got this for you. Merry Christmas. They say, wow. Oh, thanks. Hey, your gift's in the trunk of my car. Okay, hang on. You run into the trunk of your car. All you have is a gift you bought for your wife, but you give it to them anyway. But dude, I'm a guy. Well, it's for your wife. Merry Christmas. You know, you didn't get them a gift. You want to reciprocate.
Well, this is the gift that God has given us. Can we reciprocate? Well, not really. And there's nothing I could ever give that would be even close to being equal to the gift that God has given to me. But there are things I can do for him to show my thanks, starting with saying thank you.
When someone gives you a nice gift, say thank you. When someone gives you a small gift, Say thank you. When someone opens a door for you, say thank you. You ever open a door for someone, you wait, it takes a long time to get, they don't say thank you? They say thank you. So you kind of kick them. No, you don't, but... It's rude. If someone does something for you, say thank you.
God is giving you this gift. So we say thank you, Lord. David wrote, what shall I return to the Lord for all he has done for me? How can I pay God back? How can I show God? How thankful I am. He goes on to say, I'll offer you a sacrifice of Thanksgiving and I'll call upon the name of the Lord.
Well, that brings us to our text. One of the most well-known stories in the Bible is the story of the wise men that came to visit the child Jesus. Now, there's a lot of misunderstanding about the story. I've brought this up to you before, so I won't go too much in depth. It's just to simply say that we call them kings and I don't really know that they were kings. The Bible calls them magi. And that's a root word of the word magician. And these men were advisors to the king. They were more like king makers than kings. They were very powerful. And they studied the stars. They were into astronomy and astrology. And so they looked that way. They were more like Jedi knights than they were like kings.
But the point is, is that these were men of power who had grown disillusioned with their king. These were pagan men that did not believe in the Lord God of Israel. So God came to them in a way that they would understand with a star. He went to the Shepherds, keeping watch over their flocks by night with angels. But he went to these stargazers, these magi, these wizards, if you will, with a star. And that star brought them to the child Jesus, who had been already born at this point.
First, they came through Jerusalem. They met the paranoid King Herod. And they told him they had come to worship the king of the Jews. They found their way to Bethlehem. And that's where our story picks up. Matthew 2:9. The star that they had seen in the east went before them, till they came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy. And when they had come into the house, they saw the young child and Mary his mother. And they fell down and worshipped him. And when they opened their treasures, they presented gifts to him, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then being divinely warned in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed for their own country another way.
They came to worship the newborn king. And how did they express their worship? Verse 11, they opened their treasures. They didn't give him their leftovers. The leftovers, they were meeting the living king. And only the best would do.
Now, one of the problems we have is taking the word worship and limiting it too much. You know, when we have our time of singing early in the service, we call that our worship time. We call this group our worship band. And that's all true. But then when the singing is done, we say, well, we're done with worship. Now it's time for a Bible study. Well, wait. Hearing a Bible study is an act of worship. Then we receive an offering. Giving an offering is an act of worship. Then leaving the sanctuary and sharing our faith with someone, that's an act of worship. Serving others, that too is an act of worship.
I remember being in Billy Graham's house years ago. And over the sink where Ruth, his wife, would wash the dishes was a sign that said, divine service done here three times daily. See, all this can be an act of worship. So let's not limit worship to singing.
But they brought gold. That was their first gift. And this shows they were bringing of their financial resources. And they were giving them to the child king. If a person has really met God, their finances will be affected. Martin Luther once said, and I quote, there are three conversions necessary. The conversion of the mind. The conversion of the heart. And the conversion of the wallet. Now he said purse, but that was a long time ago. But the idea is, your wallet, your pocketbook, your purse, whatever. Your checkbook. Has that been converted yet? For a lot of people, that's the last thing to go.
There was a man named Zacchaeus. He was very wealthy because he had taken advantage of others as a tax collector for Rome. One day Jesus came over to his house. They had a meal together. And Zacchaeus came out of that meeting, thoroughly converted. And he said, half of my goods I'll give to the poor. And if I've taken anything deceitfully, I'll give him back four times as much. And Jesus said, truly salvation has come to this house. Why? Because this man was affected in his finances. And for Zacchaeus, money was the most important thing in his life. And for him to offer those things so tangibly showed he had really been impacted by Christ. His new approach to money proved his heart had been transformed.
Because when a person allows God to work in their finances, it's super significant. There's a fundamental connection between our spiritual lives and how we think about and handle money. Let me repeat that again. There's a fundamental connection between our spiritual lives and how we think about and handle money. We may try to divorce our faith and finances, but God sees them as inseparable.
And every Christian should faithfully give to the Lord. Because when we give to God, we're only giving back that which already belongs to him. And Haggai, God says, the silver is mine and the gold is mine. You say, well, no, it's mine. I worked hard. I earned it. Maybe that's true. Newsflash, you belong to God too. Because we're told in 1 Corinthians 6:20, you are not your own. You've been bought with a price.
It is my belief that every Christian should tithe. Say, what do you mean by tithe? It's not mysterious. It means a tenth. It means every Christian should take a tenth of their income and give it to the Lord. I saw a bumper sticker a while back that said, tithe if you love Jesus, anybody can honk. It's a good point.
But the fact of the matter is, is probably around 10 to 25% of Christians tithe. I'll be honest with you, in this church, we have some really generous people that give faithfully to the Lord. But it's not three quarters of this congregation. It's not half of this congregation. It would probably be under one quarter of this congregation. Because of their faithful giving, we are all blessed and able to enjoy all these facilities and all that we have here for us every week.
But I would just like to see more people enter into this. We say, because it's our duty? Well, I guess you could say that. But really, it's your privilege. Because God promises to bless the person who gives. Yes. That's in Scripture. Hey, I'm glad you clapped for that.
Matthew, or excuse me, Malachi 3. God says, will a man rob God, yet you're robbing me, the Lord says. You say, but how have we robbed you? The Lord says, in tithes and contributions. So put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven and pour down a blessing until there is no more need.
See, the gifts of God are to be shared, not hoarded. Some might say, well, I don't believe in tithing. That's part of the law. We're not under the law. Well, hold on. Tithing was done before the giving of the law. And it was done after the giving of the law and the New Testament as well. See, tithing is not where we end. Tithing is where we start. You start there. Because then the Bible talks about tithes and offerings. So we give that and we even give more. God wants us to do this and he'll bless us. Because Jesus said, it is more blessed to give than it is to receive. Or a better translation, it's more happy to give than it is to receive. You will be a happier person if you are a giving person.
But here's the thing we need to know. Jesus said, don't store up for yourselves treasures on earth. You say, why not? Because earthly treasures are bad? No, they're not bad. It's not a bad thing if God has blessed you. It's a good thing. All he's given you, you can give him thanks for. But the reason that it's not a good thing, the only store up treasures on earth, is because they won't last. Proverbs 23:5 says, In the blink of an eye, wealth disappears. It will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle.
What an accurate description. I said, I used to have a parakeet named Popcorn. Just wanted to share that. Okay, point number two. No, I want to tell you a story about Popcorn, the parakeet. So I had him in my room in his little cage there. And I would open up the little door to the cage. And I would stand on the other side of the room. And I'd say, Popcorn, come. And he'd fly and land right on my shoulder. I love that. And so I'd walk around the house with Popcorn. He never flew off. Always stayed right there on my shoulder.
So one day I was out. And I saw a man walking around with a parrot on his shoulder. And I thought, wow, look at that parrot. And I talked to the guy. And I said, why doesn't your parrot fly away? He said, well, he's my pet. He won't leave me. I said, wow, I'm going to try that with Popcorn. So I went home. And I took Popcorn. I opened the door to his cage. He flew to my shoulder. Walked around the house for a while. You know, just get him used to being on my shoulder. Walked out the front door. And Popcorn flew away. And I never saw him again. No, but... That's what our wealth is like. Just goes away.
So when Jesus says, don't store treasures on earth. It's not because wealth might be lost. It's because wealth will always be lost. Either it leaves us while we live. Or we leave it when we die. Either it leaves us while we live. Or we leave it when we die. You can't take it with you. But you can send it on ahead. And you invest in the work of the kingdom.
So do your giving while you're living. Then you're knowing where it's going. Right? Just so you know, your investment is secure. Everything we give for the glory of God is insured by the FDIC. It's true. The Father's Deposit Insurance Corporation. So it's all safe there waiting for you in heaven.
Listen to this. You're sitting in someone else's sacrifice. Does that make sense? You're sitting in someone else's sacrifice. See, our ministry has been around over 40 years. And 40 years ago, 30 years ago, 20 years ago, someone gave and helped to put this building up and put that pew up or put that seat up or wherever you are. And because of their faithfulness to the Lord, we're benefiting from it. We come into this facility today and we have all this parking. We have all these buildings. We have all of these things we can do for your children. We have all of this technology we can use to get the gospel out. Well, excuse me, that's all fantastic. But you know, others gave. They invested in their future. And we need to do the same thing. We need to invest in our future. We need to invest in the next generation.
You might say, well, Greg, I didn't really give this year all that much, but I'll change my ways and start next year. Well, okay, that's good. Do that for sure. You'll be blessed if you do. Others will be blessed as well. Well, why not give a gift at the end of the year to sort of make up for last year. I would like to challenge you to give a gift this year above and beyond as a way of saying thanks to God for all that he has done for you.
Because listen, we want to hit this next year fast. We want to hit the ground running. As soon as Christmas ends, we're coming right up on Harvest America. Did you know that Harvest America, which is going to be at the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. I should probably say Arlington to be technical because Arlington's near Dallas. But if you live in Texas, you know, that's important. But anyway, it's in Dallas, Texas. No, I'm kidding. But it's there in Texas. And it's one of the biggest stadiums in the country. They spent a billion dollars to build this thing. Literally. And this is the biggest thing we've ever undertaken. And it has the potential to be one of the largest evangelistic events in American history. That's not an exaggeration.
And as we go into this, you know, this is a big undertaking. And so we want to see God bless. Because this last year alone, listen, as you've given faithfully, I want you to know what your giving has produced. We know of 20,000 people that have come to Christ in this year alone. This year alone. So, you all share in the fruit of that. That's fruit to your account. I'd like to double that next year. I'd like to see 40,000 people come to Christ.
Because when you get down to it, yeah, why not? When you get down to it, what is the value of a soul? How much is the soul worth? Let's say you were on your deathbed. And someone came to you and said, if you want to go to heaven, this is how much it will cost. And they told you, you would have to sell everything that you had to get in. Will you do it? Wouldn't you? I mean, what do you need the stuff for anyway? It's gone. It's behind you. It's left. But the good news is, is we don't have to buy our salvation. It's already been purchased for us by Christ at the cross.
But when we invest in ministry, we're investing in souls. Let me personalize it. How much would you pay for the soul of your child to be saved? I suppose you'd pay anything. How much would you pay for the soul of your grandchild to be saved? How much would you pay for the soul of your husband or your wife or your mother or your father or your best friend? Well, there's no cost there that we can buy souls. But we can invest souls. And when you invest in this ministry, know you're investing in souls.
Listen, our objective in this coming year is not to just hold ground. Our objective is to gain ground. It's to move forward with the gospel because that is America's only hope.
The Gift We Give to Others
So, there's the gift that God has given to us, the gift of eternal life. There's the gift that we give to God, finally. Number three, there's the gift that we give others. Now, here's when you can re-gift. It's okay. You know, sort of like fruitcakes. I only think there's one fruitcake on earth today. I just think we've been re-gifting it for decades. Same fruitcake. Oh, you laugh. Have you ever seen two fruitcakes next to each other? There's only one. And you know, well, anyway. So, this is okay to re-gift.
Fortunately, I don't have to give my gift of eternal life to someone else. I have it. I can keep it. But I can share it. Re-gift, if you will. And I'll tell you what. People in America are so afraid right now because of all that's going on. I just read that 79% of Americans believe a terror attack is imminent. There are opportunities to engage people with the gospel, especially because it's Christmas. Because this is that, well, one of two times of the year when people will actually entertain the thought of attending church, right?
Here's two great opportunities coming up. Next Sunday, I'm going to give a Christmas message. I'll give an opportunity for people to come to Christ. We have an amazing guest musician. Phil Wickham's going to be with us as well. It's going to be great. Then we have our Christmas Eve services. They're at 1 o'clock, 3 o'clock, 5 o'clock. And for the first time, we have a 10 o'clock candlelight service. So take advantage of it because you know what? There's a lot of depressed people out there right now. There really are.
According to the National Institute of Health, Christmas is a time of year that people experience a high incidence of depression. Hospitals and police reports show incidences of suicide and attempted suicide rising. Psychiatrists and psychologists report a significant increase of people complaining about depression. One North American survey reported that 45% of respondents dreaded Christmas.
You hear that song? It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. You know, yeah, it's nice. But there's a lot of people that are depressed and we need to reach them. But maybe some of you are depressed. Maybe even some of you who are Christians are depressed. Why is that? Maybe you haven't been thinking enough about the gift that God has given you and you haven't been doing enough to give this gift to others. Maybe one of the reasons you're depressed is you're just not thinking of the needs of others right now.
Well, listen, I've got good news. I have a 10-step solution for depression today. So get out your pens or get your finger ready to enter it on your tablet device or your smartphone. This is my 10-step solution for depression.
Step number one. Do something for someone else who has a greater need than you. Again, number one. Do something for someone else that has a greater need than you. Step number two. Repeat step number one nine more times. That's it.
Now, I understand there's clinical depression and I'm not making light of that. But I'm talking about just when we get down in the dumps a little bit. Do something for someone in need. It will actually elevate your mood. Do you know that there has been scientific research that has revealed that volunteering elevates the mood in most people. This phenomenon has been dubbed the helper's high. It's actually been assessed, excuse me, biologically in brain imaging studies. And they've looked at research on endorphins and said that when a person volunteers or gives or puts others first, there's actually a release of endorphins and they call it the giver's high.
Isn't that interesting? I've heard about runners who say the endorphins are released and they get the runner's high. I've run. I've never been high on any endorphin. But I know that giver's high. I know when I've given to someone else the joy I experience.
So next time someone asks you, what are you going to do on the weekend? Say, we're going to go to church and get high. You say, what kind of church is that? It's a biblical church. And when we give to the Lord and we serve others, we're blessed. And there's an endorphin release. But that's not why we do it. But Proverbs 11:25 says, those who refresh others are themselves refreshed. You'll find that's true.
Stop thinking about yourself so much. Stop worrying about yourself so much. Stop thinking about what others are going to give you. And start thinking about how you're going to help others. What you're going to give to others. And you'll find the joy come back into your life again.
And that's also true of sharing your faith. Telling others about Jesus Christ. There's joy in that. Psalm 126 says, those who go out weeping, carrying seed to sow will return with songs of joy. Carrying their sheaves with them. There's a happiness in leading people to Christ.
Here's what I've discovered. The happiest Christians I know are evangelistic ones. And the unhappiest Christians I know are the nitpicky kind. The ones that always want to argue. They want to delve into theological minutia. But the ones I know that are serving the Lord, are volunteering their time, are sharing their faith, they are the happiest Christians of all.
I mean, think of this. Put the pattern together. Giving, helping, thinking of others. These are things a lot of Christians don't do. When you bring up the topic of money, some believers, oh, they throw a wall up. Don't want to hear about money. Preacher's talking about money. Don't want to hear about money. Why? God wants to bless you. It's a happy thing to give. Don't you want to be blessed?
Or you talk about evangelism. Don't want to evangelize. Don't want to tell others. I don't want to... Wait, what's wrong with you? Is it possible the devil is robbing us a blessing that God wants to give? I think it is. And so I think we need to get down to doing these things again.
It's a gift God gives to us. It's a gift we give to God. And finally, that gift we give to others. Listen, some of you may have joined us today and you expect Christmas to make you happy. Listen, it's not going to happen. Christmas can only do so much. The real happiness you're looking for is not in Christmas, it's in Christ. It's not in presents under a tree. It comes from his presence in your life. That's the message of Christmas. Emmanuel, God is with us.
Receiving God's Gift Today
So let's come back and close with this idea, the gift that God gives to us. Look, if I went out and bought you a very expensive gift and I delivered it to your door, let's say I knocked and you didn't answer, so I set it on your doorstep, I texted you, I sent you a gift. I left you a voicemail, I left you a gift. I followed up with an email, I left you a gift. But I never heard from you. See, the greatest gift I can give to you is worth nothing if you don't reach down, pick it up, open it, and enjoy it.
Well, God's saying, look, my son left heaven to bring you the gift. He died and suffered on the cross to give you the gift. He rose again from the dead so you can receive the gift, but now you've got to take the gift. And until you take it, it's not going to do you any good.
Let me take this a step further. To not accept the gift is to reject the gift. Well, I'm not rejecting it. I'm just saying I have other things to do. No, it's a rejection. If I go out and buy you a wonderful gift and I present it to you and you just look at me and ignore me and go about your business, that's a rejection of my gift.
And God comes and says, here it is, Jesus standing at the door of your life and he's knocking. And if you'll hear his voice and open the door, he'll come in. And I don't answer that door? That's a rejection.
Do you want this gift in your life? Listen, the gift of eternal life, it's the only gift that keeps on giving. And God offers it to you now. Will you accept it?
We're going to close in prayer. And if there's anybody here, maybe you've come here depressed. Maybe you've come here under the weight of your sin. Maybe you've come here with a fear for the future. Here's Jesus Christ who says, I've got a gift for you that will change everything. You need to accept the gift. I'll give you an opportunity to do that.
Let's all bow our heads and everybody praying right now together. Father, we thank you for sending Jesus to be born in that manger and then to live the perfect life and then to die on the cross and then to rise from the dead. Now, Lord, we pray for any here, any watching, any listening that do not yet know you. Help them to see their need for you, Lord. Help them to come to you now and receive the gift. The gift of eternal life. Speak to their hearts, we pray.
While our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we're praying, how many of you would say right now, now, Greg, I want the gift. I want my sin forgiven. I want to go to heaven when I die. I want to know God in a personal way. Excuse me. I want to be adopted into his family. So pray for me right now. Listen, if you want Christ 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 are and I'll pray for you. Raise your hand up and I'll pray for you saying I want Christ in my life. I want his forgiveness. Just raise your hand up. God bless you. God bless you. Wherever you are, raise your hand. Now some of you are watching this screen and obviously I can't see you. But that doesn't really matter because this is a little step you're taking that the Lord will see. Wherever you are, if you want Christ to forgive you, if you want to receive this gift of eternal life, raise your hand up wherever you are and I'm going to pray for you. Raise your hand up. God bless you. Wherever you are saying, I want this gift, await another moment. You want God's forgiveness. You want Jesus to live in your heart. Raise your hand up. Let me pray for you. God bless you. God bless all of you that have raised your hand.
Now, you that have raised your hand, I'm going to lead you in a prayer. And I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. Wherever you are, pray this prayer. And God will hear you. This is a prayer where you are asking Christ to come into your life. Pray this with me now if you would. Right where you are. Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner. But I know that you are the Savior who died on the cross for my sin. I turn from my sin now. And I choose to follow you from this day forward. Be my Savior. Be my Lord. Be my Lord. Be my God. Be my friend. Thank you for calling me. And accepting me. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
Listen, if you prayed that prayer, you just received the gift. God gave it to you. I have another gift for you. It's not as nice as the gift we just talked about. But this is the New Testament with some notes that I wrote that will encourage you in this commitment you've made to follow Jesus Christ.
So here's what I would like to do. All of you here, I'm talking to Harvest Riverside for a moment. Then I'll talk to you guys at the Satellites in Harvest Orange County. You guys here at Harvest Riverside, over in the corner of our building, there's a room with a red sign with a white arrow. I want all of you that just prayed that prayer with me to get up out of your seat and walk over to this room and get your Start Bible. We're going to give it to you. Some folks are going to share with you what it means to follow Christ. So wherever you are, just get up out of your seat right now. Go on over to that room. Get your Start Bible. If you're a counselor, you can go over to the room as well. Go over there now and get your Bible. Up in the balcony, go on over there. If you're outside in the amphitheater, come around to the back of the sanctuary and get your Start Bible. Okay, now to you guys in the court building. I'm still in Riverside. You go to the front to where the screen is. We'll give you this Bible.
Now to you guys watching the screens, Harvest Orange County and the satellites. I want... you'll see somebody standing there holding a Bible. Walk to that person right now. We'll give you the same Bible. You guys at Harvest Orange County, you go to the right of the stage. We're going to take you back there and give you this Bible and talk with you about what it means to know Jesus Christ. And God bless all of you. You've made the right decision to receive the gift today. Amen.
Closing Offering and Benediction
We're going to receive our morning tithes and offerings now. You say, well, Greg, we've been doing it earlier. I know. But doesn't it seem logical to receive an offering after I talked about giving a gift to God? You think I'm stupid? No, but seriously, you're under no pressure. You can do whatever you want to do. But if you've been touched by this and you say, I want to bring a gift to Him. And I'll bring it next week. Before the year's over, that's a joy you're going to have in your life. And you're going to experience the happiness of giving. So let's do that now. And then Pastor Jeff will come out with a closing announcement. Let's pray.
Father, thank you for your word to us. Thank you for the gift you've given to us. And now we bring a gift to you. Like those wise men, we open up our treasures. And use these resources. Use these finances. So more souls can be saved. So more people can hear the gospel. So we can continue to be taught the word. And be blessed. And think of the future and the next generation. So bless this time of giving, we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen.