Greg Laurie - Christmas: The Main Event (12/01/2017)
- Watch
- Donate
- Become Partner
Pastor Greg Laurie shares from Luke 2 on "Christmas: the Main Event," reminding us that for believers it's always Christmas—celebrating Christ's birth, life, death, and resurrection. Amid holiday busyness, the true joy comes from treasuring family moments, reflecting on God's greatest gift of His Son, and finding comfort in His promises, especially when facing loss or hardship this season.
Always Christmas for Believers
Father we are glad to be here today. Not just because it is almost Christmas but because for us as believers it is effectively always Christmas. We are always celebrating the birth and the life and the death and resurrection of Jesus. But today as we look in the Word and think a little bit more about the first Christmas just give us insight like we have not had before. And for any who may be hurting in this holiday season who need comfort and encouragement we pray they will find it today from Your Word. We commit this time of Bible study to You now in Jesus' name. Amen.
Alright. Well grab your Bible and turn to Luke chapter 2. And the title of my message is Christmas: the Main Event.
Well Christmas is only really hours away now. How many of you have finished all of your Christmas shopping? You are all done. Raise your hand up. Very good. How many of you still have some more to do? Raise your hand up. Whoa. How many of you have not even started yet? Be honest now. You are in church. Always the guys. Isn't it?
The Real Focus of Christmas
Maybe some of you are hoping you will get what you want for Christmas. Like a little boy who actually wrote a letter to God. And in it he wrote these words. Dear God. I have been good for six months now. And he thought about it. I am writing this to God. God knows everything. So I better tell the truth. So he crossed out the number six and wrote three. I have been good for three months now. And he thought about it and crossed out three months. And he wrote But in two weeks. And he thought about it a little more. And he looked over and he saw the little nativity set his mom had set up on a table. He walked over, grabbed the little figure of Mary, came back to his letter and wrote a new sentence. Dear God, if you ever want to see your mother again.
So you know we get a little psyched about this. We want to get just the right present. Or some of us want to receive just the right present. Here is what I would suggest to you with all the busyness of this time. The best moments are the in-between ones. Not the big opening of presents. No. Really it is the in-between moments. The moments with your family and with your friends. So I encourage you to treasure those and enjoy those. And just don't sweat all this other stuff.
Because you know what? You probably can't even remember what you received for Christmas last year anyway. You might remember what you gave because sometimes we are still paying for those things. And then there is the re-gifting issue. How many of you, now we are in church. Be honest. How many of you have ever re-gifted something? You know what I mean by re-gifting? You get a gift and you give it away. How many of you have done that? Raise your hand up. Wow. How many of you have never done it on principle? Raise your hand up. I admire you.
Guess what? I have re-gifted. I don't know why but I have been barraged with boxes of chocolate from See's Candies this year. If you gave me some thank you but I am going to be up front with you I have re-gifted it already. If I ate all this chocolate I would be 800 pounds. So I just give it away. Now the problem is if I open up one of those boxes I go straight to the nuts and chews. Those are my favorites. Those other things where you bite in and strange things come out. I want to know what is in it before I bite it. Right. So if I get started I can't stop. I go into a semi feeding frenzy. Not even semi. I go into a feeding frenzy. And so I try to just oh thank you so much here. Do you want this chocolate? Take this chocolate. And I have given away a few boxes of chocolate.
The True Gift of Christmas
But the really hard thing with re-gifting is if you gave something away and two years later it comes back to you again. I have seen this somewhere. That is when it backfires. Then there are those hints you may drop especially you ladies for your husbands. Wanting your husband to know what you really want. I heard about a wife that said to her husband, Honey last night I dreamed a dream. And in the dream you gave me a beautiful diamond necklace. Christmas. What do you think that means? Content? The husband said, You will find out Christmas Eve. She said, Yes. So Christmas Eve came. She was so excited. It came with a beautifully wrapped small box. She excitedly opened it. And it was a book with the title, The Meaning of Dreams. He missed it.
Oh by the way. Hello to Harvest Orange County. I am sorry. And Harvest Orange Crest as well. Yeah. So let's sort of get our mind off of those things. Because Christmas did not be so much about the gifts we give to one another. But rather reflecting on the amazing gift that God gave to us, the gift of the Son of God.
The Christmas story really starts with a tree. A very important tree. We might call it a family tree. The Christmas story begins with the genealogy of Jesus Christ. Now you need to understand that for Jewish people genealogies were very important. It was almost like what we would think of as our resume. Here are all the places I have worked. Or here are my achievements. For the Jewish person their genealogy or their family tree was everything.
So the Christmas story begins with the genealogy. So and so begat so and so. Who begat so and so. It doesn't start with the words once upon a time. Because it is not a fairy tale. It is a historical event. Having said that it has all the pageantry and the pathos and in the best use of the word the magic of the best fairy tales. We have Shepherds bowing. We have wise men worshiping. We have angels singing. We have a brilliant star.
But this is a real story. And all other stories. All other fairy tales or fables are either an imitation or a hint of the greatest story ever told.
The Announcement from Heaven
The Christmas story starts in heaven and then unfolds on earth. And an angel is dispatched. And he is not just any angel. He is the mighty Gabriel. And he appears to Zechariah the high priest who is there in the temple. And he tells Zechariah that he is going to be the father of the forerunner of the Messiah. Game on. Events are happening.
And remember it has been 400 years of silence up to this point. There has been no angelic appearances. No miracles. No prophets speaking for the Lord. And after this long time of silence, Gabriel bursts in with this message to Zechariah. And of course his wife Elizabeth, getting on in years, conceives. And she is pregnant with John.
And then Gabriel goes to a peasant girl living in a city renowned for wickedness known as Nazareth. As I pointed out, Mary was a nobody in a nothing town in the middle of nowhere. And despite the fact that she lived in a city that was known for immorality she was a moral girl. She was a chaste girl. In fact she was a virgin.
And the Lord reveals to her through Gabriel that she is to be the mother of the Messiah. And she is overwhelmed. And she is ready to obey. But there was one problem. Her husband Joseph. Because all he finds out is Mary is pregnant. And she tells him that she is going to be the mother of the Messiah. And the Holy Spirit has conceived this child in her womb. Frankly he is not buying it. Would you?
And then an angel comes to Joseph and tells him that this has been done by the Holy Spirit. And he should take Mary as his wife. And they are to call this child Jesus for He will save His people from their sins. And as I pointed out, Joseph is the unsung hero of the Christmas story. You know he doesn't get the credit he deserves.
You know it is interesting to note that we don't read of Joseph saying a single word. He didn't say one word. I mean even Balaam's donkey got a few lines in the Bible. But Joseph, we don't read of anything that he ever said. But boy his actions spoke loudly as he stood by his wife and was going to be there to be the handpicked stepfather or father figure on earth for the Savior of the world.
The Journey to Bethlehem
So now Mary is conceived. She is quite far along in her pregnancy. Presumably in her ninth month. And a decree goes out that all the world is to be taxed. And so they have to make the difficult journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem.
So let's read about that. Luke chapter 2 starting in verse 1. It came to pass in those days a decree went up from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This census first took place when Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered. Everyone to his own city.
Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea to the city of David which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and lineage of David to be registered with Mary his betrothed wife who is with child. So it was while they were there the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth their firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn.
Now we will stop there. I want you to notice that Dr. Luke, the author of this gospel, is very meticulous in his reporting. Though his gospel is written rather poetically, Luke was a stickler for the facts.
As you recall, Luke was not an eyewitness of the life of Jesus as were Matthew and John who also penned gospels. He was a physician who came to faith from a non-Jewish background. And his desire was to write a historical and accurate record of the life of Jesus. And so he is trying to show how these events unfolded. And he interviewed people.
So I think we can presume that Luke interviewed Mary. What an interview that would be. Okay Mary. Let's go back to the day that Gabriel came to you. Exactly what did he say? I am going to write this down, Mary. Okay. I want to talk to the Shepherds. And I want you guys to tell me your story again. And Joseph, explain to me how you felt about this. He got all the facts from all the main people in the story and wrote these things down.
In fact he says in Luke chapter 1 verse 3 that he was producing an orderly account. And that is why in verses 2 and 3 Luke mentions Caesar Augustus and Quirinius.
Caesar Augustus and God's Sovereignty
Excuse me. I have had a cold for like three weeks. And I still have it. I think I have had three colds. I am not sure. I am just getting over one. And then all the symptoms come back again. So I am so sick of being sick. So I apologize for clearing my throat. And I am done. Goodbye. No.
So anyway. So he is very specific in putting details in his record. He mentioned Caesar Augustus and Quirinius. Now we know historically that Caesar Augustus was the first real Roman emperor. His actual name was Caius Octavius. He was the great nephew of Julius Caesar. Octavius was a born fighter. He sort of clawed his way to power defeating Antony and Cleopatra. And the Roman Republic has now gone to become the Roman Empire. They are the most powerful nation on the face of the earth. They have effectively bludgeoned all other nations into submission. And they have established what is called Pax Romana. The peace of Rome which was really a forced peace. Everyone bowed before Rome.
So now Caius Octavius is the Caesar. Now Julius Caesar was the first Caesar. And that was his actual name. But after Julius Caesar died the others that followed took the name Caesar on. So Caesar goes from being a name to a title.
So here we have now Caesar. But he decides to add another word to his name. Caesar Augustus. And we just read over that and don't know what it means. Well Augustus means of the gods. You see Caesar Augustus a.k.a. Caius Octavius is the first emperor of Rome that declared himself a deity. He believed that he was a living god and he wanted people to worship him. Amazing.
In fact there is an inscription they found that actually said of Julius Caesar that he was the Savior of the whole world. That is how he saw himself. The Savior of the whole world. So that sheds a little light on the interesting statement given to the Shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night that we will deal with in a moment in Luke 2 where it says, There is born unto you this day in the city of David, Bethlehem, a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
This will be the sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes or to simplify a babely. So here is what was being said. The angel was saying, check this out. Augustus is not the Savior of the world. Jesus is. The Savior of the world is not ruling from a throne in Rome. He is laying in a cave in Bethlehem. That is the real Savior of the world.
Jesus does not have what we would call a rags to riches story. Rather His is a riches to rags story. He went from being a sovereign to being a servant. From the glory of heaven to a stable for animals.
I read that when Queen Elizabeth from England last visited the United States, she brought 5,000 pounds of clothing. And I don't think they charged her extra for that either. She had two personal valets and a hairdresser on board as well. And the Queen had special leather covers for the toilet seats that she would use. Hardly traveling light.
Well here comes now the ultimate sovereign. The King of Kings. And He leaves everything to come to us.
God's Control Over History
Now Caesar thinks He is in charge. He has given a decree that all the world should be taxed. And this shows you the power that He has that He could give an order. And everyone under the rule of Rome now has to go to their hometown.
But in reality Caesar, he was just a pawn in the hand of God Almighty. Reminding us that Caesars and kings and queens and emperors and prime ministers and dictators and presidents come and go on the world stage. But God ultimately is in control.
Proverbs 21.1 says, the King's heart is like a stream of water directed by the Lord and He guides it wherever He pleases. So God takes this little man who is big in his own mind and He directs him.
We would not even know the names Quirinius and Caesar Augustus if it were not for the Christmas story. They would have been forgotten. But because they were in power at this time we remember them. I mean at this moment in time there was no powerful man on the face of the earth than Caesar Augustus. Now he is just a footnote in the greatest story ever told.
You wouldn't even know about Caesar Augustus if it wasn't for the Christmas story. And now who is Caesar? Oh yeah. He has a great salad, doesn't he? These guys come and go. But here is now the great story. And it reminds us that history is His story.
As I said before, history swings on the hinge of the door of a stable in Bethlehem.
So now here are Mary and Joseph going to Bethlehem. And by the way I don't think they went there to fulfill prophecy. I don't think that Joseph said to Mary, Mary you know Messiah is supposed to be born in Bethlehem and therefore we have got to get over there before you give birth so we can fulfill prophecy. I mean if that had been the case I think they would have gone a little sooner. Don't you? Not in her ninth month of pregnancy.
But because this decree is given they are making the journey. I don't think they realized that God was directing their steps at this moment. And so now they arrive in Bethlehem for a rude awakening. There is no room for them in the end.
That was indicative of the treatment Jesus received throughout His entire ministry. There is a telling passage in the Gospel of John where it says, Everyone went to his own house. And then in direct contrast it says, And Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.
See Jesus spent a lot of time on the Mount of Olives. That is the area right around the city of Jerusalem. And He spent many a night there in the open air. As our Lord Himself said, Birds have nests and foxes have holes. But the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.
And here there is no room in the inn. It seemed like the only place where there was ever room for Jesus was on a cross. Ironically, though there was no room for Jesus, Christ Himself said, In my Father's house are many mansions.
Yeah we don't have room for us. But He has plenty of room for us. We don't have room for Him I should say. But He has plenty of room for us. And by the way, I hope you have made your reservation. Because He has a room waiting for you if you believe in Him.
You know you can't just walk into a hotel and go move into someone's room. Well I guess you could, but you will be arrested. You have to make a reservation. There is a check-in time, a check-out time. Well God has a reservation made for you. It is already paid for. You can check in and you never have to check out.
The Humble Birth of the King
Well we come to this innkeeper. Now the Bible doesn't tell us anything about it. It just says there was no room in the inn. And you know didn't He know this was the Holy Family. I mean after all, if we think of religious art and most depictions and films we know that Mary always dressed in blue. Right? I don't know where that started from but she is always rocking the blue. She has got the white and the blue going. Everybody else is in rags. Here comes Mary. She is in blue. And of course she is riding on a donkey. And she has a halo. You can't miss a woman dressed in blue with a halo.
Joseph has a halo too. Soon the baby Jesus will have a little miniature halo. Well of course that is not the way it was. Did you know the Bible never says Mary rode a donkey? We just assumed she did. But she may have walked.
So secondly, we know she didn't have halos. I don't know where the blue came from. They just looked like any other poor young family. She was very young. As young as 12. Not much older than 14. Joseph, he was a young guy too.
Here are these impoverished young people probably dirty from their journey. Dressed in what would appear to be rags. Saying, do you have a room for us? She is obviously very far along in her pregnancies. She is in the ninth month.
He can make room in his inn. And by the way, just a word about the inn. Don't think of a nice hotel. They had two kinds of inns back in those days. There are two words translated inn in the New Testament. One speaks of what we might call a hotel, though it was still very primitive. There would be food. There would be fire. There would be a roof over your head.
But the other kind of an inn was a mirror enclosure. Just walls to bring your animals into. No roof. No food. Just the very basics. Ironically, this is the word that is used. Which means not only did he not have room in his hotel, so to speak, for Mary and Joseph, he didn't even have room in the corral. He didn't even have room in the backyard.
The only place he had room was, well, you know, there is a cave out there. You can go out there if you would like. Wow. How could he be so heartless? Well I don't know that he is a villain. But he is just like a lot of people today. You know they are just so preoccupied with their life and what they are doing that they don't have any time for God.
And we rush around like crazy people. Especially this time of the year. You can write on the tombstones of many Americans, hurried, worried, buried. We are the only nation on the earth that has a mountain actually called Mount Rushmore. Right? And we can be so busy we don't have time for God.
Oh you know I would like to go to church, but I am so busy this time of year. Oh I would like to pray, but there is so much going on and so many responsibilities. And I would like to invest in the kingdom of God, but I have other financial commitments. No time for God. No room in the inn. That is the story before us now.
You know this is a time when we can lose Jesus. Ironically during the time we should be celebrating His birth. A lot of people put up nativity scenes. We have a little one in front of our house. No one has stolen any of my figures by the way. But apparently this happens quite often when churches put up nativity scenes. The baby Jesus is often stolen.
I am wondering, what is the mentality of stealing the baby Jesus figure? I actually read an article about a church in Old Bridge, New Jersey that put GPS in their little Jesus figure. And they were quoted in the article as saying, there has been no attempt of theft since we announced we are tracking our Jesus.
I read that and I thought, really? Couldn't you just say we are tracking the little figure? No. We are tracking our Jesus. News alert. It is just plastic. But here is the good news. The real Jesus cannot be stolen or lost. And if we will make time for Him He certainly has time for us.
I think it is because we don't have time for Him that so many are depressed this time of year. They are expecting Christmas to do what only Christ can do. Depression rates soar during the holidays. Suicide rates go up.
I am a chaplain for the police department and I was called late Thursday night to go to where a person committed suicide. And I went to this site, this scene, and it was so sad and so tragic. And I was talking to the police officer there. And I said, do suicide rates go up this time of the year? They said, oh absolutely. No question. People are very depressed.
Because they have this sort of romanticized idea of what Christmas ought to be. And they look at their life and it is not anywhere close to that. And so they are deeply depressed. They allow the clutter of X-mas to take the place of Christmas.
And then to think that Jesus was born in a stable. Now we have sort of romanticized this. Especially in our nativity scenes. But I just want you to know what this is really saying. The stable or barn or probably more literally the cave Jesus was born in was cold and damp. The least desirable place to have a baby.
He is not wrapped in clean sheets but in cheap rags. The stall or the cave where He was born is where animals were kept. It would smell of straw, feces. You get the idea. God incarnate was born on the dirt floor of a filthy cave.
Now this does not cause me to not appreciate the story. I appreciate it more when I think of the sacrifice Jesus made to leave heaven to come to us.
The Humility of the Incarnation
Arkant Hughes, an excellent commentator, wrote these words 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, irritating 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.
I mean it was a conscious decision. God said, I am going to go to the earth. Now He came to the earth. But He could have come on a shaft of light. No. He comes to the dirtiest, most undesirable place of all.
And then He comes as a helpless baby. God became a fetus. Deity was in diapers. He who was larger than the universe became an embryo.
You know babies. They are so amazing. We have a little grandson, Christopher, who is about seven months old now. And I was just holding him yesterday and looking at him. And he is starting to look around and really react a lot more. In fact my wife was holding him. And I started singing some Christmas Carols. And he looked right over at me. I said, Kathy, look. He is looking at me. Look at him. He is looking at me singing. So I sang even louder. Everyone is like, stop singing, walking out. Christopher is like, I like this. At least that is my interpretation of the way he was looking.
But a helpless little baby, you have to help them. You have to watch over them. You have to be careful with them. And God humbled Himself in that way.
Chesterton wrote, and I quote, The hands that made the sun and stars were too small to reach the huge heads of the cattle that surrounded him. Too small to change his own clothing or to put food into his own mouth. Amazing God in infant helplessness. End quote.
Augustine wrote, He was unspeakably wise, yet he was wisely speechless. The Word. came to us without a word.
Now, I think sometimes we think that, you know, Jesus was laying there in the manger thinking, I am the creator of the universe. I know everything about everyone. Maybe he even talked, Hello, Mary. Joseph, how are you? I am Jesus Christ. God Almighty. I would appreciate it if someone would get me out of this straw. And he is like this big and he walks out. You know, not like, I am not being a reverend. I am just sort of poking holes in misconceptions.
He was a baby with baby thoughts. So did he not know he was God? Look. He was God, but he made the decision to come and not void his deity but to veil it. Veiled in flesh the Godhead see. Hail incarnate Deity. Pleased as man with man to dwell. Jesus, our Emmanuel, the Christmas song says.
It is just mind boggling. And they wrap Him in rags effectively. That is what swaddling cloths are. Just strips of. rags wrapped around Him. And this really symbolizes whole life on earth from the cradle to the cross.
He could have been born in the most elegant mansion on the ritziest boulevard in Rome. He could have had aristocratic parents. He could have had the finest clothes from the most exclusive shops. He could have had legions of angels as an army of servants to respond to His whim. But He laid all of that aside for us.
2 Corinthians 8 and 9 says, "'Though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, and through His poverty you might be rich. '"
So God has come. Who do we tell first? If you have ever had a child you can remember who you told first. Who did you get the message out to? Probably called mom and dad. Maybe a brother or a sister. You called your close friends. The baby is born. You gave the weight of the baby. You gave the date of the baby's birth. Even the hour when they were born. You recorded all that information.
But you announce it to people who are close to you. God says, "'All right. I have an announcement to make.' Who does he tell first? ' Seems like he would have gone into Caesar Augustus. St. Gabriel down there. Appear in Caesar. He's going, "'Hey, Caesar Augustus.' Oh yeah. What does that mean? Of the gods. " Check it out, buddy. You are not God. The Savior of the world is awry. You are a loser. You know. That didn't happen.
Or they might have appeared to the religious leaders. Hey religious leaders. Wake up. The Messiah has come. The one you talk about. The one you pray for. He's here. No.
God gives the announcement of the birth of Jesus to Shepherds before anybody else. Now we sort of romanticize the Shepherds along with everything else and we don't understand who they were. In this culture Shepherds were at the bottom of the social ladder. They were actually despised. Because of this the testimony of a Shepherd was not even allowed in a court of law. Why? Because it was assumed that they would lie.
If this announcement were to come today it might go as follows. There were certain used car salesmen watching over their cars at night. Or maybe there were certain people who telemarketers calling up people at night and an angel appeared. You get the idea.
Shepherds did the work that nobody else wanted to do. They had dirt under their fingernails. They were hard working. And they were perceived as unclean because they could not observe the ceremonial hand washings. They were the outcasts. The only one lower than a Shepherd was a leper.
And yet God says, Okay. Who can I announce this to first? I know. Shepherds. Keeping watch over their flocks by night.
This gives hope to ordinary people like us. The Shepherds were nobodies. But that was the mode of operation of Jesus from birth to death. He always appealed to the outcasts, to the common, to the ordinary. People like Zacchaeus, the despised tax collector, the woman caught in adultery, and the Shepherds.
He had time for little kids. You let those children come to be. And you don't forbid them. For of such is the kingdom of God.
And what was announced to the Shepherds? Let's keep reading. Verse 8 of Luke 2. There were in the same country Shepherds living out in the fields keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold an angel of the Lord stood before them. And the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they were greatly afraid.
And the angel said, Do not be afraid. For behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you. You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling cloths lying in a manger.
Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God on the highest and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.
And so it was so. When the angels had gone away from them into heaven the Shepherds said one to another, Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass which the Lord has made known to us.
Good Tidings of Great Joy
See the real message of Christmas is good news. It is worth celebrating for three reasons. Number one, it is personal. It is personal. The message was I bring you good tidings of great joy.
Number two, it is positive. I bring you good tidings of great joy. And thirdly, it is universal. It is for everyone which will be to all people.
Now as I already said, sometimes Christmas is very hard because it seems to amplify our problems a little bit. Maybe you are not able to buy the things you would like to buy this year. Maybe you have lost your job. Maybe you are having problems with your marriage. Maybe you are separated from your wife or you are divorced. Maybe a bunch of weird relatives showed up and they are at your house and you can't get rid of them.
On a serious note maybe you have lost a loved one. And if you have lost a loved one Christmas is very hard because you have all those memories of them.
This last Thursday night our friends Levi and Ginny Lusko faced an unspeakable tragedy. Their little daughter Lenya, age 5, died of a severe asthma attack. As I have said to you before, for a parent to lose a child is really a fate worse than death. Let me explain that. It would be easier for a parent to die than to watch their child die. That is what I am saying.
And little Lenya had always been fragile in her health. She had a lot of severe allergies. But she was actually doing quite well. But this horrible asthma attack came and her little heart stopped. And actually Levi sent a text to us. We had just finished our service. And they had come home and we got this text. Pray for Lenya. Her heart stopped. But they were in the hospital. So we thought, well, they will know what to do.
And then I got a call 20 minutes later. And it was Levi. And I just, before I answered, oh, let this be good news, good news. And he said, Greg, Lenya is in heaven right now with Jesus. And she is with Christopher. That is our son's name who left us four years ago.
And, you know, what do you say at a time like this? It is so heartbreaking. She died in her father's arms. But we are told in Scripture that when Lazarus died he was carried by angels to Abraham. And now we know that when a Christian dies we are carried by the angels straight into the arms of Jesus Christ.
We know that little girl is safe. We know that little girl is just fine. But boy, there are those parents who are grieving and who are suffering and who are mourning and facing something. As Levi said to me, it is like a bad dream. I want to wake up. I understand that. I know that feeling well.
We have been talking with them, praying with them. And we are going to go back and have her service there in Montana this coming Thursday. And this is on the heels of my friend Frank Pastore going into eternity on Monday of this week after being in a coma for a month because of a motorcycle accident. And Frank was called home. Big Frank. You know the baseball player. And little Lenya. Both in eternity now. It is mind blowing.
And there are other friends I know that have passed this week as well. And this is all on the heels of that horrible tragedy there in Newtown, Connecticut. It has just been an unbelievable week.
But here is what I think about all these people. They are all in heaven. And they are having the best Christmas they have ever had. Their first Christmas in heaven. It is glorious for them.
Now we think, you know, well wait. What was the message of the angels? I bring you good tidings of great joy. We look at our world. And maybe some of you are having your own personal suffering. You have lost a loved one. And you are saying, yeah where is the joy? It is almost like the angels are mocking us.
But wait. What is the joy about? Is the joy about an opportunity to go shopping? Is the message of Christmas, let us shop or let it snow? No. The message is let us worship. And the message is Emmanuel has come to us. We are not alone.
Why? Well according to the angels number one we have a Savior. He came to save us from the power and penalty of sin. Whatever you are going through in life if you are a Christian remember you have a Savior. He has put your sin as far away from you as the east is from the west. And when a Christian leaves this earth we go straight to heaven.
So with the angels coming to the Shepherds they were celebrating this first Christmas. It is sort of like heaven and earth were celebrating it together. Like a portal was opened up to glory. And these Shepherds are seeing the supernatural world. The heavenly world.
Sometimes we think heaven is millions of miles away. I think it is much closer. Just a thin veil separates us from this place. And it is like the veil is pulled back and the Shepherds can see. And there is this big celebration in heaven and on earth about the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We have a Savior. That is the most important thing. Because when we are missing someone we think, man I wish they could be here with me right now. Maybe it is a fun moment. Oh. If only they could see this. The beautiful lights on the trees. If they could see this. This present. And if they could see that. This little angel over here. If they could see it. Oh. Excuse me.
They are looking at God in His radiant glory. Not your cheap Christmas lights. They are looking at real angels. Not plastic ones. They are in God's presence. Not just opening a present. I think instead they are sitting in heaven thinking, Oh man. I wish they could see this. And if we put our trust in Christ one day we will. With them. We will be reunited.
We have a Savior. Number two. We have a Christ. Verse 11. There is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Christ means anointed one. Another word for that is Messiah. Jesus was the fulfillment of God's promise to send His Son as the Messiah. And this is a simple reminder that God keeps His promises. God said, I will send the Messiah. The Messiah came. God has made promises to you. He will keep them.
In the aftermath of our son going to be with the Lord. Warren Wiersbe wrote me a beautiful letter. Warren Wiersbe was. a pastor for many years. He has written some fantastic Bible commentaries. Among other things he said to me, we live on promises not explanations. And I like that.
Because the thing that comes to your mind at a time like this is why? Why? Why would God allow this? Why would this happen? And of course the answer is we don't know. But then there are the promises. And what are the promises? Well Jesus promised He will never leave us or forsake us. God promises in Romans 8.28 He will work all things together for good to those that love Him and are called according to His purpose.
That doesn't say He will make bad things good because bad things are bad things. But it says despite the bad things good things will happen in your life. Jesus promises that He will come again and receive us unto Himself. And the Bible promises we will see our loved ones again.
We have a Savior. We have a Christ. And lastly we have a Lord. Now what does that mean? A Lord means we have a sovereign God who is in control of our lives.
Listen. God decides the date of your birth. God decides the date of your death. You have nothing to say about it. And sometimes we just don't get it. Someone lives to be 90. We say, well that's good. They lived a nice long life. Someone lives to be 9 or 9 months or 9 minutes. And we say, no that's just not fair. That's just not right.
Well I understand those statements and those thoughts. But God is in control. He is in control of my life. And guess what? I am indestructible until God is done with me. But when that date comes for me to go I am going to go. And when that date comes for you to go you are going to go too.
But the good news is as a Christian the angels will grab you and they will take you right into the presence of the Lord.
So here is something I would say to you on a practical note. You may not be able to give everything you can give this Christmas. And you may not get everything you hope to receive this Christmas. But enjoy those in-between moments. Take lots of pictures. Take lots of video. Because right now I know that Levi and Jenny are pouring over photos. And they are like gold to them. And I know that because I have poured over photos of my son many, many times. And still do. And those things you click, click, click. Even the blurry ones. You know that maybe you didn't delete or throw away. Another picture. Another memory.
At first it is hard frankly. But in time it brings a sense of comfort. You know that picture is not them. But it is a record. And so don't take for granted your grandparents, your parents, your husband, your wife, your sons, your daughters, your grandchildren. You know, you have no guarantee they will be here next Christmas. You have no guarantee you will be here next Christmas.
So let's savor the moment and remember the real message. And sort of set aside all these other things that we become preoccupied with and say, Hey man, I have a Savior. I have a Lord. I have a Christ. I have His promises. And I will see Him one day soon. And I will be reunited with all of those loved ones that I have been separated from.
Invitation to Receive Christ
Now this message I have given today is for believers only. If you are a visitor here and you have never put your faith in Christ, all these promises I have shared, they are not for you. They don't apply to you. But they can apply to you.
Back to an earlier statement, God has a room reserved for you in heaven. Would you like to move in? How do I get in? How much will it cost? Well you couldn't afford it. But good news. He paid the price. His blood was shed. He died on the cross. Yeah that sweet baby in the manger went to the cross and died for the sin of the world and Rose again from the dead.
And now He stands at the door of your life and He knocks and says if you will hear His voice and open the door He will come Amen. And then you can know that you have your eternal future taken care of.
Big Frank, Little Lenya, they are home for Christmas. And they are heavenly home. Heaven is our home, not earth. We are just passing through. Our life, it is like a vapor of smoke that appears for a moment and vanishes away. It is like a story that has already been told. Let it be a good story. Let it be a story that glorifies God for the time you have. And then you have that hope of your future home.
But if you have not believed in Jesus I am going to give you an opportunity to ask Him into your life right now. Because He is here with us in this place. And He is ready to come into your life and forgive you of all of your sin.
If you have not done that you can do it right now. And if you have fallen away from the Lord and you want to come back to Him you can do that as well.
So we are going to bow our heads and we are going to pray. And if you need to make a commitment or recommitment to Christ respond to this invitation right now.
Father thank You for Your Word. Thank You for sending Jesus. Lord Jesus thank You for coming. And now I pray for these that are hearing this message that may not yet know You. Help them to see their need for You. Help them to turn from their sin and put their faith in You. Help them to come to You now we pray.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying. How many of you would say today, Greg, I want Jesus Christ to come into my life. I want to know that when I die I will go to heaven. I want my sin forgiven. I want Jesus Christ to come and live in me. Pray for me. I am ready to say yes to Jesus.
If that is your desire. 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 will pray for you.
Raise your hand up. Let me pray for you. God bless you. Here in the front row. God bless you. God bless you in the balcony. Just raise your hand up high where I can see it please. You want God's forgiveness. You want your guilt taken away. You want Jesus to come into your life. Raise your hand up. God bless you and you. God bless each one of you.
Now others that are watching. I can't see you at Harvest Orange County or Harvest Riverside or excuse me Harvest Orange Crest or outside here in the amphitheater or the court building. But God sees you. Would you raise your hand up as well. You that are watching this. God is speaking to you. If you need to make this commitment or recommitment to Jesus raise your hand now.
Anybody else now. If you haven't raised your hand yet lift it up. I will pray for you. You want Christ in your life. You have fallen away from the Lord and you want to come back to Him. Raise your hand up. Let me pray for you. God bless you.
Now I am going to ask all of you that have raised your hand wherever you are to stand to your feet. And I am going to lead you in a prayer where you will be asking Jesus to come into your life. Just stand up. That is right. Stand up. You won't be the only one standing. God bless you. Others are standing right now. Are you one of them? Stand up. Stand up. Wherever you are stand. Even if you did not raise your hand but you want to make this commitment to Christ stand up and I will lead you in a prayer.
You guys watching this right now stand to your feet right where you are. Just stand up. Anybody else stand now. Outside there in the amphitheater stand up. I will wait another moment. You want Jesus Christ to come into your life. You want to be forgiven of your sin. Stand to your feet. I am going to lead you in prayer.
God bless you. Anybody else? There might be a few more. I will wait one more moment. We are going to pray together. The Bible says whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved. We will be doing that in our prayer.
One final moment. Stand now. God bless you. All right. All of you that are standing I want you to pray this prayer out loud after me. This is where you are asking Christ to come into your life. Again, as I pray, pray this out loud after me right where you stand. Okay? Pray this now.
Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. But You were born in the manger. And You died on the cross for my sin. I am sorry for my sin today. I turn from it now. Come into my life. Be my Savior. Be my Lord. Be my God. Be my friend. I choose to follow You, Jesus, from this moment forward. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.