I’M SURE MOST OF YOU CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS IN THE TRADITIONAL FASHION WITH PRESENTS, FOOD, AND FAMILY. SOME PUT UP BIG CHRISTMAS TREES AND HOUSE LIGHTS, AND YOU MAY EVEN HAVE A “KEEP CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS” MAGNET ON YOUR CAR. A SEASON FILLED WITH PREPARATION AND ANTICIPATION OF SHOPPING IN CROWDED MALLS, WRITING AND MAILING CHRISTMAS CARDS, AND DECIDING WHICH FAMILY GATHERINGS TO ATTEND. AND OH YEAH, THERE’S THE BABY JESUS, THE CELEBRATION OF THE BIRTH OF OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST. MANY PEOPLE PULL OUT THE CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS DVD AND PLAY IT TO SEE THE SCENE WHERE LINUS QUOTES FROM LUKE 2:8-14, TERMED THE TRUE MEANING OF CHRISTMAS. BROTHER TERRY READ THESE VERSES LAST SUNDAY. AN ANGEL APPEARED TO THE SHEPHERDS. NOW THE SHEPHERDS RECEIVED A SURPRISE GIFT BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT SEEKING THE MESSIAH. AND YET THIS UNEXPECTED GIFT CAME TO THEM. THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW CHAPTER ONE BEGINS WITH THE GENEALOGY OF CHRIST AND THEN GOES INTO THE BIRTH OF CHRIST, AND CHAPTER TWO BEGINS WITH A VISIT OF WISE MEN. THE GOSPEL OF MARK CHAPTER ONE READS, “THE BEGINNING OF THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD,” AND THEN SPEAKS OF WHAT IS WRITTEN IN ISAIAH, BUT FIRST IT ALSO QUOTES FROM MALACHI CHAPTER 3:1, “BEHOLD, I SEND MY MESSENGER AHEAD OF YOU, WHO WILL PREPARE YOUR WAY;” AND THEN FROM ISAIAH 40:3, “THE VOICE OF ONE CRYING IN THE WILDERNESS, MAKE READY THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS PATHS STRAIGHT.” THE GOSPEL OF LUKE IS SIMILAR TO THE GOSPEL OF MARK IN THAT IN CHAPTER ONE IT ANNOUNCES THE BIRTH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST, AND THEN THE MIRACULOUS BIRTH OF MARY’S CONCEPTION WITH CHAPTER TWO ANNOUNCING CHRIST IS BORN. IN THE WORLD TODAY, FAR TOO MANY ASSOCIATE THE BIRTH OF CHRIST AS HIS BEGINNING. THEY BELIEVE THAT BEFORE THEN, JESUS CHRIST DIDN’T EXIST. IT HAS LED TO MANY PEOPLE FROM OTHER FAITHS AS WELL AS NON-BELIEVERS AND AGNOSTICS TO DENY THAT CHRIST COULD BE GOD.
IT IS TRUE THAT JESUS CHRIST WAS BORN IN BETHLEHEM, BUT IT IS ALSO TRUE THAT THE SON OF GOD, THE LORD WHO CAME INTO THE WORLD IN HUMAN FORM DID NOT BEGIN AT BETHLEHEM. YES, THERE WAS A BIRTH AND BEGINNING OF THE GOD-MAN, BUT THE SECOND MEMBER OF THE TRINITY WAS BEFORE BETHLEHEM. HE JUST TOOK ON HUMAN FORM. THE ONE WHO SPOKE AND SAID, “MOST ASSUREDLY, I SAY TO YOU, BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS, I AM” (JOHN 8:58). BUT WE STILL SEE THE ABSURDITY OF THE SECULARISM OF CHRISTMAS IN THE WORLD. AND EVEN MORE HOLLOW, IS THAT THERE ARE DENOMINATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES THAT ROUTINELY WRITE ABOUT SANTA CLAUS IN THEIR NEWSLETTERS ACROSS THE YEARS. NOW SOME OF THESE FOCUS THE AMERICAN SANTA WITH THE HISTORIC ACCOUNT OF SAINT NICHOLAS, WHOM IT IS SAID WAS BORN IN WHAT IS NOW MODERN DAY TURKEY. IT IS ATTRIBUTED TO ST. NICHOLAS THAT HE WAS BORN TO WEALTHY PARENTS, BUT WAS ORPHANED AT AN EARLY AGE. IT’S BELIEVED NICHOLAS USED HIS INHERITANCE TO AID THE LESS FORTUNATE. AND THE STORY AND TRADITION OF GIFT GIVING MOVED FROM THERE TO EUROPE. NOW, HERE IS HOW A CLERGY OF THE DIOCESE OF LOS ANGELES, IS ATTRIBUTED WITH WRITING THE FOLLOWING ABOUT SANTA CLAUS. – – THERE ARE FEW CAUSES TO WHICH I AM MORE PASSIONATELY COMMITTED THAN THAT OF SANTA CLAUS. BECAUSE SANTA CLAUS DESERVES NOT JUST A PLACE IN THE CHURCH, BUT THE HIGHEST PLACE OF HONOR, THE DIVINE AND HOLY ONE WE CALL GOD. SANTA CLAUS IS GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON, GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT. – – NOW, THIS IS A MEMBER OF THE CLERGY WRITING THIS IN A NEWSLETTER IN 2001. UNBELIEVABLE! WHAT CONFUSION, AND FROM A CLERGY NONE THE LESS. BECAUSE OF THE NON-BIBLICAL CELEBRATION OF CHRIST AND CHRISTMAS, IT HAS BECOME A MUDDLE OF CONFUSION. THIS BRINGS THE PROBLEM THAT MANY ARE JUST MATERIAL OR MARGINAL IN THEIR SPIRITUAL LIFE BY THE CONSTANT SECULARIZATION OF CHRISTMAS. TODAY
PEOPLE SEEK HAPPINESS AND RELIEF FROM THEIR BURDENS IN BLINKING LIGHTS, GIFT EXCHANGES, OR THE MERRY OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON, RATHER THAN IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. I AM GOING TO TAKE US ON A DIFFERENT VIEW OF THE PERSON OF CHRISTMAS; JESUS HIMSELF. TRULY, THE SURPRISE GIFT THE JEWS, THE GENTILES, THE ROMANS WEREN’T EXPECTING. NOW, WE COULD DISCUSS CHRISTMAS FROM THE VIEWPOINT OF MARY OR JOSEPH, WE COULD DISCUSS IT FROM THE REGARD OF THE ANGELS, THE SHEPHERDS, THE WISE MEN OR EVEN THE INNKEEPER. BUT I WANT TO LOOK AT IT FROM A DIFFERENT PERCEPTION. WE WILL LOOK AT JESUS FIRST FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN. THE GOSPEL OF JOHN WAS WRITTEN WITH AWARENESS OF THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS OF MATTHEW, MARK AND LUKE. AND WE WILL TAKE A FRESH AND ORIGINAL LOOK AT CHRISTMAS THROUGH THE APOSTLE JOHN, THEN LOOK BACK INTO THE OLD TESTAMENT, AND WE WILL ALSO USE NEW TESTAMENT VERSES THAT ARE NOT TRADITIONALLY CONSIDERED CHRISTMAS, OR TELL OF THE BIRTH OF JESUS. THIS ISN’T THE TRADITIONAL CHRISTMAS SERMON OF THE GOSPEL’S OF LUKE AND MATTHEW. THIS WILL BE A SERMON WITH NO DIRECT FOCUS ON BETHLEHEM, THE MANGER, THE SHEPHERDS, OR OF JOSEPH AND MARY. WE WILL LOOK AT THE TRUE CENTER OF CHRISTMAS, WHICH IS CHRIST HIMSELF. GOD THE SON. LET US LOOK AT JOHN CHAPTER 1. “IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD, AND THE WORD WAS GOD. HE WAS IN THE BEGINNING WITH GOD. ALL THINGS CAME INTO BEING THROUGH HIM, AND WITHOUT HIM NOTHING WAS MADE THAT WAS MADE” (JOHN 1-3). THESE VERSES ARE AN ABSOLUTE THAT REFER TO THE BEGINNING OF THE TIME-SPACE-MATERIAL UNIVERSE. IT HIGHLIGHTS THE ETERNAL PRE-EXISTENCE OF THE WORD, JESUS CHRIST, AS THE SECOND PERSON OF THE TRINITY, HE ALWAYS WAS WITH NO BEGINNING. IN TERMS OF HIS DEITY, HE HAS NO GENEALOGY, WHICH IS WHY JOHN DID NOT INCLUDE HIS HUMAN GENEALOGY LIKE MATTHEW. JOHN PARALLELS GENESIS 1:1, “IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVENS AND EARTH.” JOHN CREATED AN ABSOLUTE SENSE IN JOHN 1:1, “IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, AND THE WORD WAS WITH GOD, AND THE WORD WAS GOD.” THE WORD “WAS” HIGHLIGHTS THE PRE-EXISTENCE OF THE WORD, JESUS CHRIST. BEFORE THE CREATION OF OUR UNIVERSE, JESUS, THE SECOND PERSON OF THE TRINITY ALWAYS EXISTED. HE ALWAYS WAS IS USED IN CONTRAST TO THE PHRASE IN VERSE 3, “CAME INTO BEING,” WHICH INDICATES A BEGINNING IN TIME. JESUS HAD A HUMAN GENEALOGY IN HIS HUMANITY, BUT IN TERMS OF HIS DEITY, HE HAS NO GENEALOGY. HE COMES OUT OF ETERNITY TO MEET US. OUR WORLD WAS AND IS IN A DESPERATELY DARK SINFUL CONDITION, BUT GOD THE FATHER, SENT US HIS SON, JESUS, THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD. NOW, THERE IS A STORY THAT I READ SOMEWHERE, NOT SURE WHERE IT CAME FROM, BUT IT IS OF A LITTLE GIRL WHO WAS PASSING OUT THE CHRISTMAS GIFTS TO HER FAMILY ON CHRISTMAS MORNING. AFTER SHE HAD PASSED OUT THE GIFTS TO EACH MEMBER OF HER FAMILY, SHE BECAME PUZZLED THAT THERE WASN’T A GIFT FOR JESUS, THE REASON FOR THE SEASON, THE ONE WHOSE BIRTH OF THE DAY OF CELEBRATION THEY WERE COMMEMORATING. “I GUESS EVERYONE FORGOT ABOUT JESUS,” SHE STATED. YES! FORGET ABOUT JESUS, THEN WE MISS THE TRUE MEANING OF THE CHRISTMAS SEASON. BUT OUR NATION HAS BECOME SO FOCUSED ON WHAT WE WANT AND WHAT WE RECEIVE, WE HAVE MISSED THE ACTUAL GLORIOUS POINT OF THE CELEBRATION. WHAT A SIN WHEN WE FORGET TO PRAISE HIM AND CONFESS HIM AS LORD. AND THE CHRISTMAS SEASON IS A REMINDER THAT JESUS CAME TO REVEAL SIN. HE WAS PROPHESIZED TO COME TO PAY FOR OUR SINS. THIS IS THE TRUE MEANING OF WHY JESUS CAME TO BE WITH US. NOW MANY ARGUE THAT JESUS WAS JUST A GOOD PERSON, A GOOD TEACHER, OR A PROPHET, AND SINCE HE WAS A MAN, HE COULD NOT BE GOD. BUT HE WAS THE SINLESS SAVIOR. TRY AND FIND A SINLESS SAVIOR IN ANY OTHER RELIGIOUS BELIEF. YOU CAN’T DO IT. IN JOHN 1:1, THE GREEK PHRASE “WITH GOD” IS “PROS TON THEON,” WHICH MEANS FACE-TO-FACE, STATING IT IS THE ABSOLUTE FULLNESS OF EQUALITY WITH GOD THE FATHER.
THE BEST WAY TO UNDERSTAND AND EXPRESS IT TO OTHERS, IS JESUS GAVE UP HIS PRIVILEGES. HE EMPTIED HIMSELF OF HIS GLORY, AND HIS GLORY WAS VEILED WHILE HE WAS IN THIS WORLD. BUT REMEMBER, ON THE MOUNT OF TRANSFIGURATION HE TOOK PETER, JAMES AND JOHN PRIVATELY, HE PULLED BACK HIS FLESH AND GAVE THEM A GLIMPSE OF HIS GLORY. WHY DID HE DO THIS? TO CONVINCE THE DISCIPLES BEYOND ANY DOUBT THAT HE WAS GOD THE SON. REMEMBER, THE DISCIPLES WERE IN THE PRESENCE OF MOSES AND ELIJAH WHO HAD BEGUN THE AGES OF MIRACLES OF THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. THEY WITNESSED THE GLORY AND HEARD THE VOICE OF GOD, AND THESE DISCIPLES SAW THE PRESENCE OF MOSES AND ELIJAH, AND IT WAS AN AFFIRMATION BEYOND ANY QUESTION THAT JESUS WAS GOD HIMSELF. SO, WHEN YOU LOOK AT CHRISTMAS, YOU DON’T SEE JUST THE BIRTH OF A CHILD, BUT THE GLORY OF GOD, THE GLORY OF THE LORD, IN HUMAN FLESH. YOU SEE CHRISTMAS THROUGH THE EYES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. GOD WAS REVEALING HIS GLORY. HE CREATED TIME, AND SPACE, AND ENERGY, AND MATTER. HE CREATED EVERYTHING OF WHICH ALL THE PHYSICAL CREATION IS MADE FROM BEFOREHAND AS WELL AS FROM ALL WE KNOW READING THROUGHOUT ALL OF SCRIPTURE.
BUT HE GAVE UP THE USE OF HIS OMNISCIENCE AND HIS OMNIPOTENCE. JESUS, THE SON OF GOD, CHOSE TO SET ASIDE HIS PRIVILEGES TO SERVE SINNERS. LIKE A KING TAKING OFF THE CROWN AND ROBE TO PUT ON THE RAGS OF A SERVANT AND A SLAVE TO BE AMONG AND HELP THE POOR. IT’S HARD FOR US AS INDIVIDUALS, ESPECIALLY IN THIS BLESSED NATION WE LIVE IN, TO GIVE UP OUR PRIVILEGES OF HOW BLESSED WE ARE. SO, IF YOU WANT TO FIND OUT WHAT A PERSON IS REALLY LIKE, IF YOU TRULY WANT TO TEST A PERSON’S CHARACTER, WATCH THEM WHEN THEY RECEIVE PRIVILEGES, LIKE HIGHER POSITIONS, PROMOTIONS, OR PAY INCREASES. THE MORE PRIVILEGES THEY GET, THE MORE IT WILL REVEAL THEIR CHARACTER.  A GRACIOUS, HONORABLE AND JUST PERSON WILL SOMEHOW USE HIS PRIVILEGES TO DEVOTE THEM ON OTHER PEOPLE. A LESSER PERSON WILL USE HIS PRIVILEGES TO INCREASE OR SEPARATE HIMSELF FROM OTHERS AND TO ELEVATE HIMSELF. JESUS HAD ALL THE PRIVILEGES OF BEING GOD, AND HE CHOSE TO SET THOSE PRIVILEGES ASIDE TO BE THE SURPRISE GIFT WE (JEWS AND GENTILES) WEREN’T EXPECTING. SO, THE STORY OF CHRISTMAS BEGINS WITH THE SON OF GOD SHOWING HIMSELF IN SEVERAL AREAS AS THIS SURPRISE GIFT WE WEREN’T EXPECTING. FIRST, HE ABANDONED HIS SOVEREIGN POSITION WITH GOD THE FATHER. SECONDLY, HE TOOK UPON HIMSELF A SERVANT; A SLAVE’S POSITION. PHILIPPIANS 2:6-7, “WHO, AS HE ALREADY EXISTED IN THE FORM OF GOD, DID NOT CONSIDER EQUALITY WITH GOD SOMETHING TO BE GRASPED, BUT EMPTIED HIMSELF BY TAKING THE FORM OF A BONDSERVANT AND BEING BORN IN THE LIKENESS OF MEN.” JESUS TAKES ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A SLAVE. “FOR EVEN THE SON OF MAN DID NOT COME TO BE SERVED, BUT TO SERVE” (MARK 10:45). THIRDLY, HE CAME FOR SINNERS. LUKE 19:10, “FOR THE SON OF MAN HAS COME TO SEEK AND TO SAVE THAT WHICH WAS LOST.” AND FOURTHLY, HE HUMBLED HIMSELF BY ADOPTING A SELFLESS POSTURE. PHILIPPIANS 2:8, “AND BEING FOUND IN APPEARANCE AS A MAN, HE HUMBLED HIMSELF AND BECAME OBEDIENT TO THE POINT OF DEATH, EVEN THE DEATH OF THE CROSS.” HE KNOWS ON THE CROSS; HE’S GOING TO BEAR THE WEIGHT OF ALL THE SINS OF ALL THE PEOPLE WHO WOULD EVER BELIEVE THROUGHOUT ALL HUMAN HISTORY. MANY ASK HOW COULD JESUS ABSORB AND PAY ALL THE NECESSARY PUNISHMENT FOR ALL THE SINS OF ALL THE PEOPLE IN THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD IN JUST THE FEW HOURS HE WAS ON THE CROSS? BECAUSE JESUS GOES BEYOND COMPREHENSION, WHICH MEANS JESUS IS AN INFINITE PERSON AND HAS AN INFINITE CAPACITY TO TAKE ALL OUR SINS FOR THE WRATH OF GOD. HE IS SUPERNATURAL.
SO, HE ABANDONED A SOVEREIGN POSITION, HE TOOK THE PLACE OF A SLAVE, HE SOUGHT SINFUL PEOPLE, AND HE HUMBLED HIMSELF FOR THE GLORY OF GOD THE FATHER.
LOOKING AT EXODUS 3, THE BURNING BUSH, “NOW MOSES WAS PASTURING THE FLOCK OF HIS FATHER-IN-LAW JETHRO, THE PRIEST OF MIDIAN; AND HE LED THE FLOCK TO THE WEST SIDE OF THE WILDERNESS AND CAME TO HOREB, THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD. THEN THE ANGEL OF THE LORD APPEARED TO HIM IN A BLAZING FIRE FROM THE MIDST OF A BUSH; AND HE LOOKED, AND BEHOLD, THE BUSH WAS BURNING WITH FIRE, YET THE BUSH WAS NOT BEING CONSUMED.” NOW THIS IS NO MERE CREATED ANGEL, BUT CHRIST HIMSELF, WHICH IS EVIDENT FROM THE CONTEXT OF THIS CHAPTER. IN 1 KINGS 19, ELIJAH RUNS FOR HIS LIFE AND ASKS THE LORD TO TAKE HIS LIFE, AND IN VERSE 7, THE ANGEL OF THE LORD VISITS ELIJAH AND SAYS, ARISE, EAT, BECAUSE THE JOURNEY IS TOO GREAT FOR YOU. THEN ELIJAH WENT TO HOREB, THE MOUNTAIN OF GOD. AFTER EATING, ELIJAH WAS TO SPEND 40 DAYS TRAVELING IN THE DESERT TO HOREB, JUST AS MOSES SPENT 40 DAYS ON THE MOUNTAIN WITHOUT BREAD AND WATER, SUSTAINED ONLY BY GOD. SO JUST AS MOSES HAD SEEN THE PRESENCE OF GOD, ELIJAH EXPERIENCED A MANIFESTATION OF GOD. AGAIN, THE SURPRISE GIFT MOSES AND ELIJAH WEREN’T EXPECTING. NOW, IN ISAIAH CHAPTER 40 VERSES 3 AND 5 IT SAYS, “A VOICE IS CALLING, CLEAR THE WAY FOR THE LORD IN THE WILDERNESS; MAKE SMOOTH IN THE DESERT A HIGHWAY FOR OUR GOD. THEN THE GLORY OF THE LORD WILL BE REVEALED, AND ALL FLESH WILL SEE IT TOGETHER; FOR THE MOUTH OF THE LORD HAS SPOKEN.” A PROPHETIC ANNOUNCEMENT INFORMED ISRAEL TO PREPARE FOR THE REVELATION OF THE LORD’S GLORY AT THE ARRIVAL OF THE MESSIAH. A ROLE FORESEEN AS JOHN THE BAPTIST. JERUSALEM’S MISERY IS TO END WITH THE LORD’S GLORY REPLACING IT, AND EVERY PERSON WILL SEE GOD’S GLORIOUS SALVATION IN HIS FUTURE KINGDOM. ISAIAH’S MESSAGE WAS THE BIRTH OF CHRIST WAS THE REVELATION OF THE GLORY OF THE LORD, WHICH IS THE CHRISTMAS STORY. NOW, TO UNDERSTAND THIS AS THE CHRISTMAS STORY, LET US LOOK AT THE BOOK OF ISAIAH. THE FIRST 35 CHAPTERS TELL OF DOOM AND JUDGMENT. THESE CHAPTERS ARE WHERE GOD SPEAKS WORDS OF WRATH, VENGEANCE, CONDEMNATION, AND JUDGMENT. THERE IS A LIGHT OF MERCY AND A GLIMPSE OF GRACE AS GOD’S JUDGMENT IS ALWAYS TEMPERED WITH HIS LOVE, BUT MAINLY THESE CHAPTERS ARE OF JUDGMENT. THE NEXT SECTION ARE CHAPTERS 36-39, WHICH REVEALS THE HEART OF PROPHECY. THE PROPHET DESCRIBES WHY GOD MUST BRING JUDGMENT. AND THE LAST SECTION CONTAINS CHAPTERS 40 THROUGH 66, WHICH SPEAKS TO SALVATION. CHAPTER 40 BEGINS WITH, “COMFORT, O COMFORT MY PEOPLE.” CHAPTER 53 INTRODUCES THE MESSIAH, THE SUFFERING SERVANT. SALVATION IS COMING. THE MESSAGE IS OF HOPE. NOW, LET’S FOCUS BACK ON CHAPTER 40 VERSE 5. THE GLORY OF THE LORD IS THE EXPRESSION OF GOD’S PERSON. IT IS A MANIFESTATION OF GOD’S CHARACTER. IT IS HIS PRESENCE, THE REVELATION OF HIMSELF. ISAIAH IS EXPRESSING GOD’S MESSAGE OF COMFORT, TELLING THEM THEIR INIQUITIES ARE PARDONED, THE MESSAGE OF GLORY. THESE MESSAGES ARE TELLING ISRAEL THE SAME THINGS CHRIST TELLS OF HIMSELF IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. A DAWNING OF A NEW DAY FOR ISRAEL IN ISAIAH AS WELL AS FOR US IN THE GOSPELS. IN LEVITICUS CHAPTER 9:6 IT SAYS, “THEN MOSES SAID, THIS IS THE THING WHICH THE LORD COMMANDED YOU TO DO, AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD WILL APPEAR TO YOU.” IN LEVITICUS 9, WE SEE THAT INSTEAD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT SACRIFICES, OUR NEED IS FOR US TO BE WASHED IN THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. THE GLORY OF GOD APPEARED TO THEM IN LEVITICUS 9 VERSES 23-24 AT THE ALTER OF THE TABERNACLE OF MEETING. WE HAD THE GLORY OF GOD DWELL WITH US IN HUMAN FORM IN JESUS CHRIST. ADDITIONALLY, IN 1 KINGS 8:11 IT STATES, “FOR THE GLORY OF THE LORD FILLED HIS TEMPLE.” THIS WAS TO REMIND THEM TO APPROACH GOD WITH HUMILITY AND REVERENCE FOR HIS GREATNESS AND THEIR DEPENDENCE ON HIM. JUST AS WE ARE TO BE WITH OUR LORD AND SAVIOR TODAY. IT TELLS US IN 2 CHRONICLES 7:1. SOLOMON PRAYS AND GOD ACCEPTS THE TEMPLE SOLOMON BUILT, AND IT STATES, “AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD FILLED THE HOUSE.” FIRE FROM HEAVEN CONSUMES THE SACRIFICE, WHICH MEANS THE JUDGMENT OF GOD HAS FALLEN UPON SIN. THE BASIS OF THIS ACCEPTANCE OF THE SACRIFICE IS POINTING TO CHRIST. IN THE OLD TESTAMENT THE MYSTERY OF GOD’S GLORY COMES AS A CLOUD, A PILLAR OF FIRE, AND A BLAZING LIGHT. IT IS VERY DIFFICULT FOR US TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS MUST HAVE BEEN LIKE FOR THE ISRAELITES TO HAVE THIS VISIBLE PRESENCE OF GOD. IN EZEKIEL CHAPTER ONE, EZEKIEL GIVES A PROPHECY DESCRIPTION OF WHAT IT WAS LIKE TO SEE THE SHEKINAH, THE DWELLING OF THE GLORY OF GOD. IN VERSE FOUR IT DESCRIBES A GREAT CLOUD WITH RAGING FIRE ENGULFING ITSELF, AND BRIGHTNESS ALL AROUND, AND RADIATING OUT THE COLOR OF AMBER, OUT OF THE MIDST OF THE FIRE. IN VERSE FIVE IT TELLS, “WITHIN IT CAME THE LIKENESS OF FOUR LIVING CREATURES. AND THIS WAS THEIR APPEARANCE: THEY HAD THE LIKENESS OF A MAN.” THIS LIKENESS OF MAN SPEAKS OF THE INCARNATION OF CHRIST, WHICH IS THE FACT THAT GOD BECAME A MAN.
NOW, IN HABAKKUK CHAPTER 2:4 IT TELLS US, “FOR THE EARTH SHALL BE FILLED WITH THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GLORY OF THE LORD, AS THE WATERS COVER THE SEA.” BUT UNTIL THAT DAY, WHICH I BELIEVE IS WHEN CHRIST RETURNS, WE ARE DEALING WITH LIMITED INSIGHT AND AWARENESS. WE DON’T HAVE A COMPLETE KNOWLEDGE BECAUSE OF THE FATHOMS OF HIS MYSTERY. NOW LET’S LOOK AT WHEN GOD SPEAKS TO JOB, “CAN YOU FATHOM THE MYSTERIES OF GOD? CAN YOU PROBE THE LIMITS OF THE ALMIGHTY. THEY ARE HIGHER THAN THE HEAVENS ABOVE – WHAT CAN YOU DO? THEY ARE DEEPER THAN THE DEPTHS BELOW – WHAT CAN YOU KNOW? THEIR MEASURE IS LONGER THAN THE EARTH AND WIDER THAN THE SEA” (JOB 11:7-9). BUT GOD WANTS US TO KNOW HIM. AND ISAIAH SAYS THE GLORY OF THE LORD SHALL BE REVEALED (ISAIAH 40:5). THERE WILL BE A GREATER DISCLOSURE AND UNDERSTANDING. LET’S LOOK AT HEBREWS CHAPTER ONE VERSES 1-2, “GOD, WHO AT VARIOUS TIMES AND IN VARIOUS WAYS SPOKE IN TIME PAST TO THE FATHERS BY THE PROPHETS, HAS IN THESE LAST DAYS SPOKEN TO US BY HIS SON.” THE MAIN POINT IS GOD SPOKE. GOD REVEALED HIMSELF. LOOKING BACK TO THE GOSPEL OF JOHN CHAPTER ONE. LOOK AT VERSE 14, “AND THE WORD BECAME FLESH AND DWELT AMONG US, AND WE BEHELD HIS GLORY, THE GLORY AS OF THE ONLY BEGOTTEN OF THE FATHER, FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH.” IN COMPARISON, THE GLORY IS TO GOD WHAT BRIGHTNESS IS TO THE SUN OF OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. ANYTIME GOD DISCLOSES HIMSELF, IT REFERS TO HIS PRESENCE. THE HEAVENS DECLARE THE GLORY OF GOD. EVERYTHING HE EVER DID SPEAKS OF HIS ESSENCE, AS SUCH THE WHOLE OF ALL CREATED THINGS AND ALL THINGS IN EXISTENCE ARE REVELATIONS OF GOD’S GLORY. HERE COMES GOD OUT OF ETERNITY TO DWELL AMONG US. BECAUSE WE ARE FLESH AND BONE, HE TOOK UPON HIMSELF HUMAN FORM FULL OF GRACE AND TRUTH. IN THE FIRST SENTENCE OF VERSE 14, THE WORD “BECAME” MEANS THE INFINITE BECAME FINITE, AND HE WAS PLACING HIMSELF TO BE CONFORMED TO TIME. THE INVISIBLE BECAME VISIBLE. THE WORD “DWELT” MEANS TO PITCH A TABERNACLE OR LIVE IN A TENT. THIS IS WHERE GOD MET WITH ISRAEL AT THE TENT OF MEETING BEFORE THE OLD TESTAMENT TABERNACLE (EXODUS 25:8). IN THE GOSPEL OF JOHN, THE CHRISTMAS STORY IS A BIT MORE INTIMATE NOW BECAUSE GOD CHOSE TO DWELL AMONG HIS PEOPLE IN A MORE PERSONAL WAY. WHEN THE WORD BECAME FLESH, THE GLORIOUS PRESENCE OF DEITY WAS EMBODIED IN HIM. THE WORD “FULL” MEANS YOU COULD NOT HAVE ANY MORE OF HIM, IN BOTH GOD AND MAN, WHICH YET AGAIN SHOWS US HE BROUGHT HIS FULL DEITY WITH HIM. IT SHOWS US THESE QUALITIES AND CHARACTERISTICS OF GOD’S GLORY IN RELATIONSHIP OF JESUS AS YAHWEH OF THE OLD TESTAMENT, WHERE “I AM” TABERNACLED AMONG MEN. NOW LET’S PULL TOGETHER WHAT WE’VE LEARNED UP TO NOW. GOD WAS NOT MAKING HIMSELF INVISIBLE. GOD DID NOT LEAVE HIMSELF HIDDEN IN THE DARKNESS, RATHER HE SHOWED THE LIGHT OF GLORY. HE DID IT IN HIS CREATION, HE DID IT BY SPEAKING THROUGH THE PROPHETS, AND THEN HE SPOKE TO US BY HIS SON. HE IS THE BUILDING BLOCK OF ALL THINGS THAT WE SEE FROM GENESIS TO REVELATION. HE CONTINUALLY HOLDS EVERYTHING TOGETHER. READING IN THE WRITINGS OF JOHN MACARTHUR, HE GIVES AN INSIGHT OF JUST HOW GOD’S GLORY IS YET AGAIN THE SURPRISE GIFT WE WEREN’T EXPECTING. IN IT HE WRITES, IF THE EARTH’S ROTATION SHOULD SLOW DOWN JUST A BIT, WE WOULD THEN IN-TURN FREEZE AND BURN. THE SUN’S SURFACE TEMPERATURE IS APPROXIMATELY 12,000 DEGREES FAHRENHEIT, AND IF IT WERE ANY CLOSER OR FURTHER AWAY, WE WOULD FREEZE OR BURN. THE EARTH IS TILTED AT EXACTLY 23 DEGREES, AND IF IT WASN’T AT THAT EXACT ANGLE, VAPORS FROM THE OCEAN WOULD MOVE NORTH AND SOUTH TO PILE UP MASSIVE CONTINENTS OF ICE. IF THE OCEANS WERE JUST A COUPLE OF FEET DEEPER, THEN CARBON DIOXIDE AND OXYGEN IN THE EARTH’S ATMOSPHERE WOULD BE COMPLETELY ABSORBED AND NO VEGETABLE LIFE COULD EXIST. (JOHN MACARTHUR) IT IS SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT THAT WHILE JESUS WAS WALKING THROUGH THIS WORLD IN HUMAN FORM, HE WAS STILL UPHOLDING THE WHOLE UNIVERSE. AND THEN BEFORE HE RETURNED TO SIT AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE FATHER, HE PURGED OUR SINS ON THE CROSS. THAT’S GREATER WORK THAN CREATION. THE CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS IS SEEN THROUGHOUT THE OLD TESTAMENT. IT IS SEEN IN THE GLORY OF THE LORD. THE MESSAGE OF CHRISTMAS IS THAT GOD CAME INTO THE WORLD IN ALL HIS GLORY. “FOR EVEN WHAT WAS MADE GLORIOUS HAD NO GLORY IN THIS RESPECT, BECAUSE OF THE GLORY THAT EXCELS” (2 CORINTHIANS 3:10). THIS MEANS THE NEW COVENANT IS WHAT REMAINS BECAUSE IT IS THE CONSUMMATION OF GOD’S PLAN OF SALVATION FROM THE BEGINNING. IT HAS PERMANENT GLORY. AND SO, WHEN IT SAYS “EVEN WHAT WAS MADE GLORIOUS HAD NO GLORY,” IT IS SAYING THAT THE MINISTRY OF THE GOSPEL THROUGH THE GRACE OF CHRIST SURPASSES THE OLD COVENANT.  WITHOUT JESUS GIVING UP HIS SOVEREIGN POSITION AND GIVING UP HIS PRIVILEGE, WE WOULD NOT HAVE RECEIVED THE SURPRISE GIFT WE WEREN’T EXPECTING. THE GIFT OF THE GOSPEL OF GRACE THROUGH EMMANUEL, GOD WITH US. THE GOSPEL EXCEEDS THE OLD COVENANT LAW. THE OLD COVENANT DID HAVE GLORY AT ONE POINT. IT WAS THE REVELATION OF GOD THROUGH THE LAW. BUT NOW, IT HAS BEEN SURPASSED BY A FAR GREATER GLORY IN THE NEW COVENANT. THAT OLD COVENANT DID HAVE GLORY AT ONE POINT, THOUGH. IT WAS, AFTER ALL, THE REVELATION OF GOD ON EARTH. THE GLORY WAS REFLECTED IN MOSES’ FACE (2 CORINTHIANS 3:7). NOW, THOUGH, THAT GLORY THAT CAME WITH RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD THROUGH THE LAW AND THE SACRIFICE OF ANIMALS TO COVER SIN HAS BEEN SURPASSED BY A FAR GREATER GLORY. THIS IS THE GLORY OF THE NEW COVENANT. THIS COVENANT IS GOD’S OFFER OF GRACE AND MERCY TO ALL WHO TRUST IN CHRIST AND RECEIVE THE GIFT OF ETERNAL LIFE. GOD FORGIVES THE SIN, ONCE AND FOR ALL, OF EVERYONE WHO BELIEVES THAT CHRIST’S DEATH COVERS THEIR SIN PERMANENTLY. HE GIVES THE HOLY SPIRIT TO EACH BELIEVER, AS WELL, AS A PROMISE OF ETERNAL GLORY TO COME. NOW THAT CHRIST HAS COME AND LIVED AND DIED AND HAS BEEN RESURRECTED, THE OLD COVENANT IS FULFILLED. IT OFFERS NO GLORY, AT ALL, ANY LONGER. THE GLORY OF THE NEW COVENANT OUTSHINES IT SO BRIGHTLY AS TO MAKE THE REFLECTED GLORY OF THE OLD COVENANT COMPLETELY DISAPPEAR. AND AS WE REFLECT ON THE GLORY OF GOD, WE SHOULD SEE CHRISTMAS, NOT ONLY WHEN CHRIST CAME TO BE WITH US, BUT IN ALL THE MYSTERIES WE READ IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS. SO, AS WE REFLECT AS BELIEVERS ON JESUS CHRIST THAT WE KNOW FROM THE GOSPELS OF MATTHEW AND LUKE, WE CAN SEE HIM AS THE CHRISTMAS GIFT THROUGHOUT THE MESSAGES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT. THIS GIFT CALLS US TO EMBRACE THE OPPORTUNITIES WE HAVE TO SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH OTHERS WHO ARE LOST THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON BY NOT ONLY WHAT WE KNOW OF HIM IN THE NEW TESTAMENT, BUT WHAT WE KNOW OF HIM IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. CHRIST WANTS US TO HAVE A SPIRIT-FILLED CHRISTMAS, NOT A SENTIMENTAL CHRISTMAS. LET US ENTRUST OURSELVES TO COMMIT TO SHARE THE GLORY OF THE LORD, AND BE UNASHAMED TO COMMITTING OURSELVES TO SEEK OUT THE LOST. JESUS IS THE ONE OF GENESIS 1:1 AND THE ONE WHO CAME AS A MAN TO BE WITH US ON EARTH, SO THAT WE MIGHT BE WITH HIM AGAIN WHEN HE RETURNS. ISN’T IT A WONDERFUL THING TO KNOW GOD REVEALED HIMSELF TO US! THIS CHRISTMAS SEASON WITH ALL THAT GOES ON IN THE HUSSLE AND BUSSLE, DO NOT FORGET THAT YOU HAVE BEEN COMMISSIONED BY THE LORD TO BE HIS WITNESS. YOUR MESSAGE IS THE GOOD NEWS, AND YOUR GOAL IS TO PLANT THE SEED IN SOMEONE TO PLACE THEIR FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST. BE THE SURPRISE GIFT TO SOMEONE THIS CHRISTMAS THAT THEY WEREN’T EXPECTING. TELL THEM OF THE ONE THAT CAME SEEKING WE THE LOST. AND LET THEM KNOW THEY CAN SHARE IN THE EXPERIENCE OF THE SURPRISE GIFT THEY WEREN’T EXPECTING THROUGH THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. SO, JUST AS THAT LITTLE GIRL ASKED WHY THERE WAS NO GIFT FOR JESUS, LET US BE THE SURPRISE GIFT YOU WEREN’T EXPECTING TO BE TO SOMEONE ELSE. LET US FULFILL THE GREAT COMMISSION. LET US REMEMBER THE TRUE GIFT, WHO WAS AND IS JESUS CHRIST. AND LET US BE MINDFUL OF THE SACRIFICIAL GIFT HE GAVE TO US BY REDEEMING OUR SINS UPON HIMSELF. WE DO THAT BY CHOOSING TO SET ASIDE OURSELVES TO BE A LIGHT TO OTHERS AND SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH EVERYONE WE COME ACROSS NOT ONLY IN THIS TIME OF THE CHRISTMAS SEASON, BUT EVERYDAY. THAT IS HOW WE KEEP CHRIST IN CHRISTMAS.

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR HARMONY!