Greg Laurie - The Promise of Christmas (03/05/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie shares the promise of Christmas through Isaiah 7:14 amid the heartbreak of the 2012 Sandy Hook tragedy and personal losses. He emphasizes that while this world brings tragedy and unanswered "why" questions, the true message of Christmas is "Emmanuel—God is with us," offering hope, comfort, and eternal reunion through faith in Christ, calling people to receive Him.
Finding Hope in Tragedy This Christmas
Well I want to talk tonight a little bit about the promise of Christmas. So grab your Bibles and we are going to look at a verse, Isaiah 7:14. I think our hearts are all broken this Christmas season of 2012. It is one of the darkest Christmases in memory. This unthinkable tragedy that took place there in Connecticut, Newtown. The Sandy Hook School of these beautiful little children being gunned down. Twelve little girls, eight little boys having their lives cut short. Just really unthinkable. It is so unfair. It is so wrong.
I have to tell you that the death of a child for a parent is a fate worse than death. Any parent would gladly trade places and die in the place of their child. So I know a little about this having had our son go to be with the Lord and our hearts go out to these parents that are grieving right now.
Now a question comes to mind when a tragedy like this happens. And that question is, why? Why would God allow such a horrific tragedy? Some have even opined and said, well you know this is God's judgment coming upon our country. He has removed His protective hand from us. And this is why this is happening. I do not really agree with that view by the way.
What Jesus Said About Why Bad Things Happen
You know Jesus actually brought up an interesting topic in Luke 13. He talked about a tower that fell on a group of Gentiles, or non-believers. It was a well known story. A tower fell, a number of people were killed, and He asked the rhetorical question, were they the worst sinners in Jerusalem? No, I tell you that unless you repent you will also perish.
You see the reason Christ brought this up is He was addressing the question of why do bad things happen. And someone was implying that, well that bad thing happened to them because you see they were unbelievers and God was judging them. Jesus said, what are you talking about? Were they the worst sinners in all of Jerusalem? And then He says, unless you repent you will perish.
Here is what He is saying. Look, bad things happen. Inexplicable things happen. Evil is allowed in a world because God has given to each of us free will. And the point Christ was making was, look you don't know when the end is going to come, so you need to repent and be ready.
But it is hard because when we see a child suffer it just doesn't seem to be fair. We see bad people do well. We see good people face tragedy. And we just scratch our heads and wonder, well you know what I think it is sort of an exercise in futility to spend too much time asking why. I think instead we need to be asking what? What do I do now?
Here is the answer. You need to turn to God. If tragedy has befallen you you need to turn to God. Psalm 119:114 says, You are my refuge and my shield. Your word is my only source of hope.
The Bible says in Romans 15 for the things in Scripture were written for us to give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God's promises. So we need to go to the Word of God to find the hope to sort of ground us in times like this.
Grasping the Leash of God's Word in Grief
You know grieving a loved one that has left you is a little bit like wiping out on a wave. And I have wiped out on a few waves. It is never something you look forward to. But when that wave sort of picks you up and you go over the falls and you are caught in the white water. And more than one person in white water has drowned because they swam in the wrong direction. Because they lost perspective and they didn't know which way was up.
And so one thing to remember if you are ever out surfing or out on your boogie board or whatever and you go over the falls and you lose direction, grab your leash. Your leash is attached to your ankle and to your board which effectively is a flotation device. Follow your leash because your board will always go to the surface. No matter where you are the board goes to the surface. You follow the leash and you will get your head above water.
Well you see the leash is a little bit like the Word of God. We grab hold of it and it pulls us above the waters of grief and we sort of get perspective and remember God is in control. But it reminds us that life on earth is not all there is. There is an afterlife. And in the afterlife wrongs are going to be righted.
I have no question whatsoever that those sweet little children are all in heaven right now, safely in the arms of Jesus Christ. I know this. Jesus said, let the little children come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of heaven.
And there is comfort available to all of those parents that are grieving right now. If those parents who have lost their children will put their faith in Christ, they can have the absolute assurance that they will be reunited with their children again. Because those kids are with the Lord. As David said when his son died, he cannot come to me, but I will go to him.
Remembering Friends and Loved Ones with the Lord
So yeah, life is filled with tragedy and sadness and sin and wrong. A very good friend of mine went to be with the Lord just this last Monday. Frank Pastore. Frank was the host of the Frank Pastore Show on KKLA. I heard five days a week. And he was just a wonderful ally of our ministry and gave me so many opportunities on his program to share the gospel.
And Frank and I had fun together. We hung out some. We rode motorcycles together. We talked a lot. And he was always there to help our ministry out. And when I heard that he had been in an accident on the freeway, I went to see him not too long ago. And I was there with Pastor Steve Wilburn, who used to be our youth pastor. Now he's a pastor in LA of a church called Core Church. And my son, Jonathan, we walked into that room where Frank was.
And he had been in a coma now for almost a month. And he just looked like he was sleeping. His skin color, his tone was good. His skin was warm to the touch. And he was breathing on his own. And so we prayed that the Lord would wake him up. And the Lord answered our prayer. But he didn't wake up here. He woke up there on another shore.
So Frank is with the Lord. Frank is with the Lord. But still, you know, I miss him. And that is how we feel when we think about this. Maybe you have lost a loved one recently. And if that is the case, I know that the holidays are a very hard time for you. There may be someone that was with you last year that is not with you this year. And so while everybody else is celebrating you might be a little bit down in the dumps.
But I want you to keep one thing in mind. They are celebrating Christmas in heaven right now. And I guarantee there is no malls in heaven and overcrowded parking lots. And if there are, there are lots of parking spaces. I am sure of that. And free gift wrapping no doubt. But remember they are with the Lord if they put their faith in Christ.
You know they don't have the little twinkling lights that we have in our trees. But they have the glory of God in heaven. They don't have the little angels that we might have hanging from a wall. But they are looking at real angels of the Lord.
The First Christmas Was Also Marked by Sorrow
By the way, this is not the first time that things have been bleak at Christmas. We must remember the first Christmas 2,000 years ago. Rome was ruling the earth with an iron fist. Violence and killing was in the air. In fact when those mysterious wise men from the east came looking for the one that had been born known as the King of the Jews, Herod took action to kill all of the baby boys in Bethlehem.
And Matthew 2 says that Herod's brutal action fulfilled the prophecy of Jeremiah. A cry of anguish is heard in Ramah. Weeping and mourning unrestrained. Rachel weeps for her children, refusing to be comforted for they are dead.
It reminds us of the mourning that is happening in Newtown right now. Heartbroken. Missing their children. So you know it can make the celebration seem a little bit pointless at times. When you think of the suffering of people like that. Or you think about other folks that are going through hard times.
Canceling the Hijacked Version of Christmas
And so here is my reaction to all of it. I have decided to cancel Christmas altogether. No Christmas. As of right now. Now don't go home and tell your mom, Pastor Greg, we are going to cancel Christmas. We are going to call him Pastor Grinch from now on.
Don't get me wrong. I am not saying you have to tear down your trees or unstring your lights. I am not suggesting we not give gifts to one another. I am saying let's take this twisted, watered down version of Christmas and be done with it. The one that says Merry Xmas instead of Merry Christmas. The one that has no place for God. I don't want that Christmas. I want the real Christmas. I want what the Bible talks about.
One thing I would like to do away with no matter what is fruit cakes. How many of you like fruit cakes? Wow. Interesting. How many of you don't like fruit cakes? Nah. Thank you. How many of you have never tasted a fruit cake? You have never tasted one? Interesting.
Well, I have a theory, and I brought this theory out before, that there is only one fruit cake on earth. For instance, I have a fruit cake right here. There it is. A classic fruit cake. There it is in all of its glory. It weighs about 30 pounds. It's so gross.
I am going to open it up, and I am going to give this away. But first, Vince, you have never had fruit cake? Come on and try your first piece. Come on. Come on. Come on right here. Oh. Tony, try that. You don't beat that much. Tell me what you think. How is it? Tastes like it's been around for a long time. Yeah. That's yours. Merry Christmas. It's okay. You don't want it? No.
Who would like fruit cake again? You want me to throw this? This is church. What are you doing? No. We are going to just lay this to rest. You know the drag is I have the soul over my hands now. So gross. Ah. Perfect.
One person said reality is like a fruit cake. Pretty enough to look at, but with all sorts of nasty things lurking beneath the surface. I think that's true.
The True Promise of Christmas: Emmanuel
See, here is what I am suggesting. Let's cancel the hijacked version of Christmas. The very word Christmas has been pirated, emptied of its meaning, dragged to the gutter, and given back to us minus its power. We don't need that Christmas. But I think there is something to be said to support Christmas and our celebration of it.
Now look, I know that Jesus was not born on December 25th. We don't know exactly when he was born. So I am not making a case for him having to be born on that particular date. But I like the idea of the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.
I mean really what is Christmas at its very best? It is gathering together with family and friends. It is enjoying meals, laughing together, worshipping together. And really all of these are glimpses of things to come.
You see Christmas is a promise. It is a promise that has not been fully kept. And ever since I have been a little boy I have always believed in the promise of Christmas. In fact you can sort of look at your life over the years symbolized by how you view Christmas.
In fact I did a little illustration here for you. I drew this a while back. I just added color to it today. But these are the four stages of Christmas. Number one you believe in Santa Claus. That is me as a little kid. Number two you don't believe in Santa Claus. That is me as a teenager. Number three you become Santa Claus. That is me now. And then number four you look like Santa Claus. That is one month from today.
A Personal Christmas Memory and the Hope of Better Things
Who wants this drawing here? No it is on a screen. But you know I wasn't raised in a family that was together. My mom was married and divorced all these times. And one Christmas still lingers in my memory. It was a really bad one.
I woke up. And my mom was passed out from a night of drinking. The house smelled of stale smoke and alcohol. We had one of those artificial Christmas trees. It was white. With one of those little turning things with the colored lenses you know. And it was turning. And some musical thing was playing from it.
And I looked around. I looked at my mom there and I thought, it has got to get better than this. And it did. But I thought, you know I believed in the idea of Christmas which was, it is going to get better. It is going to be good. It is going to be fun.
And I think it can change for you if we get back to the essential message of Christmas. And that brings us to our text. It is Isaiah 7:14. It is the prophecy of Isaiah about the birth of our Lord.
It says, the Lord will give you a sign. The virgin will conceive, bear a son, and call his name Emmanuel. That is the message of Christmas. Emmanuel. Which means God is with us.
The message of Christmas is not, let it snow. Nor is it, let us shop. The message of Christmas is, let us worship. Because God is with us.
The First Christmas Gift: The Gift of a Child
We all remember the gifts of the wise men that were brought to the child Jesus. But the first Christmas gift was not the gift to a child, but the gift of a child. John 3:16 says, For God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son. Emmanuel.
I mean that is a staggering thought when you try to wrap your mind around it. Emmanuel. God is with us.
Without question. One of the most remarkable teachings of the Bible is that Jesus Christ Himself comes and actually lives in the human heart. He lives inside of us. It is not like we are just trying to emulate Christ or imitate Christ or even admire Christ. Christianity is Christ in you. The hope of glory. Christ living through you.
Jesus said in John 14:23, If anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my Father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him. God the Father and the Son want to make their home with you and me. Emmanuel. God is with us.
Jesus said, Lo, I am with you, even unto the end of the age. That is not just a promise for short people. Lo, I am with you. It is to all people. It means you are never alone. Christmas is about undoing loneliness.
God's Presence in Every Trial and Sorrow
Jesus said, I will never leave you or forsake you. Isaiah 43:2 says, When you go through deep waters and great trouble, God says, I will 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. God will be with you.
That is the essential message. And that is important to remember. Because some are hurting this Christmas. Maybe your marriage has fallen apart. You were with your spouse last year and now you are alone. Listen, you are not alone. God is with you.
Maybe your children. Maybe your children have forgotten about you. God hasn't forgotten about you. He is with you. Maybe your parents have forgotten about you. Well, God hasn't. He is with you.
You know, when you lose a loved one this time of the year, you wonder how you can cope. I have had people say to me, is there a book I could read that would get me through these hard times. Listen, you don't need a book. You need Emmanuel. God is with you. That is the answer.
Some people turn to drugs. Others turn to drink to help them cope. You don't need the spirit. You need the Holy Spirit. You need God with you. That is the message of Christmas. And we need to keep our focus on that.
The Story Behind "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day"
You know, there is one song that we sing this time of the year. It is really one of the most beautiful songs out there. It is called I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. You know that song?
I read an interesting article about the background of that song that I did not know. It was written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. And he was a very successful and well known poet. In fact, in 1860 he was at the peak of his career. Abraham Lincoln had just been elected president, giving hope to many.
But things were turning dark for America as the Civil War was breaking out. And then Longfellow's own wife died in a tragic accident in their home. She, their home caught on fire and she burned to death. In his attempt to save his wife, he was severely burned. So badly, in fact, he could not even attend her funeral service.
And in his diary for Christmas Day in 1861, he wrote these words, quote, How inexpressibly sad are the holidays. In 1862 the toll of war dead began to mount. And in his diary for that year Longfellow wrote, A Merry Christmas, say the children, but that is no more for me.
Then in 1863 his son who had run away to join the Union Army was severely wounded and returned home in December. There is no entry in Longfellow's diary for that Christmas.
From Despair to Eternal Perspective in Longfellow's Poem
So he decided he wanted to write about it. So he wrote these words, I heard the bells on Christmas Day, The old familiar Carols play, And wild and sweet the words repeat, A peace on earth, Goodwill to men.
As he came to the third stanza he was stopped by the thought of the condition of his beloved country, how dark things were looking. He was probably thinking, How can I write about peace on earth and goodwill toward men in these times of war?
And so he kept writing. And in despair I bowed my head. There is no peace on earth, I said, For hate is strong, and mocks a song of peace on earth, Goodwill to men.
But then sort of catching an eternal perspective, And the real meaning of Christmas, And Christ himself, Longfellow, changes his perspective and writes, Then peal the bells more loud and deep. God is not dead, nor does he sleep. The wrong shall fail, the right prevail, With peace on earth.
You know, one day all of these wrongs are going to be righted. One day the promise of Christmas is going to be fulfilled In heaven.
What Christmas Cannot Deliver—But Christ Can
But here is the problem for now. Christmas cannot deliver on its promises. In other words, people get all psyched up for this time of the year, but it is always going to fall short. Christmas cannot bring peace on earth. Christmas cannot bring happiness. But Christ can do all of that and more.
So here is what we need. Not Christmas, but Christ. Not merriment, but the Messiah. Not goodwill, but God. Not Christmas presents, but His holy presence in our life. We need God. Emmanuel, God is with us. That is the essential message of this holiday.
Only Jesus can help us and others who hurt this time of the year, because He is with us. Because there is going to be disappointment. Especially when those bills come due. Or you give that present to someone and you are so psyched that they are going to love it. And they are sort of underwhelmed just a little bit. Right? And it can't be returned. Even worse.
Or the gifts you give to your children, they are so happy. And then an hour later they are fighting with each other and have walked away from their toys and really don't care all that much.
We get so tied in to this event and we miss the whole picture and we miss what it is about. You see, Jesus came to this earth, He entered our world, He breathed our air, He lived our life, He died our death, then He Rose again from the dead.
The Purpose of the Manger: The Cross and Atonement
The reason the babe was born in the manger was to go to the cross and die for the sin of the world. The incarnation was for the purpose of the atonement. The birth of Jesus was so there would be the death of Jesus.
I know it is hard for us to consider that sweet little baby growing to be a man and dying on the cross. But that is exactly why He came. So that is what we need to remember this time of the year.
Isaiah sums it up perfectly. Unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is given. That gives both heaven's and earth's perspective at the same time. From heaven's perspective a son was given. From earth's perspective a child was born.
But remember, though He was that helpless little baby in the manger there in Bethlehem, a decision was made in eternity that God the Son would come to us. God sent His Son and the Son willingly came.
God's Own Experience of Losing a Child
I mentioned earlier that one of the hardest things to face is the death of a child. God knows all about that. Because God the Father sent His Son to die for us. And God the Father watched as they mocked His Son and as they insulted Him and ripped the beard from His face and ripped His back open with the Roman cat of nine tails.
God the Father watched in heaven as His Son bore all of the sin of the world. And not only was that hard for Jesus, it broke the heart of the Father. But He did all of that because He loves us and He wants us to know that we don't have to be alone in life. God will come and live in our hearts.
Receiving the Greatest Christmas Gift: Christ in You
And I want to just ask you in closing, does He live inside of you right now? Do you know God in a personal way? Maybe you have been trying to fill that void and that hole in your life with all the things this world has to offer and it has just come up short time and time again. And maybe that is even more exasperated in the holiday season.
But here is what you need to know. God will forgive you of all of your sin. And He will come and take residence in your heart. And you can know with confidence that when you die you will go to heaven.
You know we live in such a sad world. And tragedy happens. And I don't know how people get through it without God. You know my friend Frank was just about his father's business, headed home for another dinner with his wife Gina, and suddenly he was called home.
Now I don't know if he went to heaven immediately, or if he lingered here. I don't know if he heard what I said to him in his hospital room, but I know where he is right now. I know the moment he breathed his last breath on earth, he breathed his first breath in heaven. And I know I will see him again.
But that is the hope of the Christian. But that is not the hope of the non-Christian. They don't have that promise. In fact the Bible says that we are all separated from God by our sin. But God loved us so much He sent His Son to die for us, and to absorb the wrath of God in our place, and then to rise again from the dead.
And if we will turn from our sin and believe in Jesus we can be forgiven. Has that happened for you yet? Have you asked Christ to come and live inside of you? Do you have that confidence that if you were to die tonight you would go to heaven? Are you walking around with a load of guilt that you are trying to get rid of?
Listen. Christ can change you right now. He stands at the door of your life and He knocks. And He says if you will hear His voice and open the door He will come in.
Invitation to Receive the Inexpressible Gift
And I would like to give you an opportunity before we continue on tonight with more great Christmas music to get right with God. An opportunity to have your sin forgiven. An opportunity to receive the greatest Christmas gift ever. Much better than a fruitcake. The gift of eternal life that the Apostle Paul described as the inexpressible gift. He says I can't even put into words how awesome this gift is.
And God is offering it to you right now. And all you need to do is receive it. The Bible says for as many as received Him He gave them the power to become sons of God.
So in a moment we are going to pray. And I am going to give you an opportunity to receive the gift of eternal life. To believe in Jesus. To have your sin forgiven. To find the assurance that you will go to heaven when you die.
If you have not done this yet do it right now. As we all bow our heads if you would. Let's pray.
Father I pray for every person here right now hearing these words. If they do not yet know you. If you are not living inside of them. Lord would you help them to see their need for you and help them to come to you and believe in Jesus Christ right now.
Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying. How many of you would say tonight, Greg, I am ready to say yes to Jesus. I want Him to forgive me of my sin. I want to know that when I die I will go to heaven. I want Christ to come into my life right now. Pray for me.
If that is your desire. If you want Jesus to forgive you of your sin. If you want to go to heaven when you die. If you want your guilt taken away. Would you just lift your hand up wherever you are and let me just pray for you. Just lift your hand up where I can see it. And I will pray for you tonight.
You want Christ to come into your life. You want your sin forgiven. God bless you. God bless you. Just lift it up where I can see it. You want God's forgiveness tonight. Let me pray for you. God bless you. And God bless you.
Now you that are watching over there in the court building. You can raise your hand as well. I can't see you there but you raise your hand. You in the loft, raise your hand as well if you want to make this commitment to Christ.
Anybody else, raise your hand up where I can see it now, please. God bless you. God bless you.
Invitation for Prodigals to Return Home
While our heads are still bowed, maybe some of you would say, I've fallen away from the Lord. I've pushed God out of my life. I've kind of forgotten about God. But here's the good news. God has not forgotten about you. And He will welcome you home tonight. if you'll make a recommitment to Him.
If you need to come back to the Lord, if you are a prodigal son or daughter, would you raise your hand up and let me pray for you. You want to make a recommitment to Jesus Christ because you've fallen away. I pray for you right now. God bless you. Anybody else? Raise your hand up right now. God bless each one of you.
Father, I pray now for each one of these. I pray you give them the strength to stand up and follow you and receive all that you have for them. For we ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.
Public Commitment to Christ
Hey, listen. Those whom Jesus calls, He calls openly and publicly. And we're going to do that right now. In a moment, Phil and his band are going to do a song of invitation. And I'm going to ask if you'd just raise your hand during that last moment of prayer saying you want Christ to come into your life.
If you want to make this commitment, I'm going to ask when the song begins, you would get up out of your seat, walk down these aisles, stand up here in the front. And when you get here, I'm going to lead you in a prayer.
Now why do I ask you to come publicly? Because those whom Jesus calls, He calls openly and publicly. He says, if you will acknowledge me before people, I'll acknowledge you before my Father and the angels in heaven.
But then he adds, if you deny me before people, I will deny you before my Father and the angels. So this is a way to acknowledge Him in an open, public way.
So if you raise your hand, even if you didn't, but you want your sin forgiven, you want Christ to come into your life, you want to go to heaven when you die, or you've fallen away from the Lord, you want to come back to Him. Right now as Phil sings, you get up out of your seat, come on down here and stand up here in the front. And when you get here, I'll lead you in a prayer. Get up and start coming right now. Come on.