MESSAGES
Come this Christmas morning, many of us will take on a new profession for a short period of time. We will become a member of the Christmas day assemblers union as we try to figure out how to assemble model airplanes, trains, bicycles, wagons, swing sets, doll houses, computers, and more for our children and our grandchildren. My problem with trying to put something together is that after I'm finished, I always have parts and pieces left over. I've yet to figure out why factories always give you more parts than you need. Seriously, when all else fails, and we become frustrated because it's not coming together, what do we do? As much as I hate to admit it, we'll pull out the instruction manual and begin reading it.
It is amazing the many Christmas gifts that come unassembled and are in need of assembling before they can be enjoyed. In the same way, Christmas itself comes to many people unassembled. In order for it to be enjoyed by people, their lives need to be assembled and/or reassembled.
Let me put it another way. This time of year we'll often hear people say to one another, "Merry Christmas." Others are singing, "We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year", and so they should. The tragic part about this is that the phrase "Merry Christmas" has become nothing but a cliché to most people. In your professions, you know this is true! You observe how families will fight with one another during this season. You have to respond to the traffic accident caused by a person who decided to fill himself or herself up on alcoholic beverages or drugs just so they could have a little bit of "merriness" in their life. You know how the suicide rate goes up every Christmas season because people are lonely. You, on a daily basis, have had to deal with many of those whose lives are anything but merry. These people might say "Merry Christmas", but their lives are anything but merry.
In order for people to experience a Merry Christmas in the truest sense of the word, their un-merry, disassembled lives need to be reassembled. For this to happen there are certain instructions that need to be followed, and we will only learn these instructions as we go to the instruction manual, better known as the Bible. Just as we have to read and follow the instructions for assembling the doll house, so we need to read and follow God's set of instructions in order reassemble our house—our lives. Then, and only then, will we personally experience a Merry Christmas.
God's Word gives us five instructions for having a Merry Christmas. (Please read Luke 2:1–20). This was the night of all nights for these shepherds, as their darkness would soon be turned to light. Think about it! These humbled men who faithfully worked as they oversaw their flock, would be the first men to see baby Jesus—better known as "Immanuel, God with us" (Matthew 1:21).
Instruction number one for having a Merry Christmas tells us that we must—seek and find. Verse 15 says, "So it was when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, 'Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us'" (emphasis added).
The shepherds had seen the angels, had heard the good news proclaimed, had heard the heavenly host praising God, and now wanted to go and see for themselves what the angels had shared with them. The Bible says, "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6).
When the shepherds arrived in Bethlehem, they found the baby lying in a manger just as the angels had told them. In our human eyes and finite mind a manger would be the least likely spot for a person to experience a Merry Christmas. That God would have His Son be born in such a filthy place is beyond our understanding and comprehension. What merriment and joy could possibly be found in a stable filled with animals, and smelling like dung?
I believe that God is showing us that the merriment of Christmas is not found in Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm, Magic Mountain, the shopping malls, the office Christmas party, or a pretty wrapping under a tree. But rather, the merriment of Christmas is found in a feeding troth in Bethlehem. The Bible says, "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up" (James 4:10).
Perhaps, as Max Lucado states, "In order for the shepherds to reach the manger, they had to step over a few pasture paddies." The point is this: we all come to the Lord with dung on our feet. It's only when we do come to Him that He will cleanse us. The Bible says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
Until we humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord, recognizing Him for who He is, seeking His forgiveness, and receiving His cleansing, we will not experience a merry Christmas as God intended.
Instruction number two for having a Merry Christmas says we must—go and tell. Verse 17 says, "Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this child" (emphasis added). When they saw the Christ child they made widely known to others what the angels had said concerning the baby. They began to share their merriment by telling others the good news.
In the same respect, we are to do no less. The Bible says, "How beautiful upon the mountain are the feet of those who bring good news" (Isaiah 52:7). Jesus said, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). As Christians, we are never to keep Christmas to ourselves. If we do, we're committing a 211. In other words, we're robbing others of the chance to experience a Merry Christmas. Our attitude should always be that of the Apostle Paul, "Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel" (1 Corinthians 9:16).
Instruction number three for having a Merry Christmas says we must—hear and marvel. We read in verse 18, "And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds" (emphasis added). All those who heard the shepherds marveled at the news. They were in awe by the Christmas story. We should be continuously in awe of the Christmas story. We should never lose the excitement of Christmas.
To know that this Christ Child grew up, became a man and humbled Himself to the point of death as He paid the penalty for our sins should cause us to marvel and be in awe. To know that by putting our faith in Him and the work that He accomplished on the cross of Calvary should cause us to marvel and be in awe. To know that our sins have been forgiven, that our name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, and that we are going to heaven should cause us to marvel and be in awe.
We are to remain faithful to the Lord, and we are to show our faithfulness in the Lord by telling others about the Lord. This way they can hear and marvel and experience a Merry Christmas for themselves.
Instruction number four for having a Merry Christmas says we must—keep and ponder. Look at verse 19, "But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart" (emphasis added). Mary remembered everything that happened in connection to the birth of her son. She remembered and meditated on what the angels had told her, "Do not be afraid, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest . . . the Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God" (Luke 1:31-35).
The moment that Mary conceived is the moment that God became a fetus. The moment that Mary gave birth is the moment that God entered the world in the flesh (John 1:14). Christmas is always merrier when we take the time to ponder and remember how much God loves us, and how He demonstrated His love for us by coming in the likeness of man and paying the penalty for the sin of humanity.
Instruction number five for having a Merry Christmas says we must—return and praise. Verse 20 says, "Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, as it was told them" (emphasis added). After experiencing what I believe to be the merriest of Christmases, these shepherds returned to their flock and to their jobs, but they did so glorifying and praising God.
They went back to the same job, but not as the same men. The merriment of Christmas had changed them from being mere shepherds to being men of praise. They no longer looked at shepherding as being a job, but instead it was a joy.
They entered the presence of God one person, and went away another person. The same is true of us when we meet the Lord personally. The Bible says, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17). Christmas should always make a positive difference in our lives. We should be returning to our jobs and homes praising God for the gift of His Son Jesus Christ.
We should always be rejoicing in a Merry Christmas. But in order for us to get the most out of it, and to help others get the most out of it, it takes an effort on our part, just as it did the shepherds and Mary.
The story goes of a child who was in his very first Christmas program at church. His line consisted of six words, "Behold, I bring you good tidings." After rehearsal was over he asked his mom what the word tidings meant. She replied that it meant "news." When the night of the program came, the youngster became so stage-struck that he forgot his lines. Finally, the thought came to him and he cried out, "Hey, I got good news for you!"
If you know anyone who is lacking a Merry Christmas, try sharing with them the good news from God's instruction manual. This way their life might be assembled or reassembled the way God would want it to be. Perhaps they might come to know Christ personally and experience for the first time in their lives, the true meaning of Merry Christmas.
Merry Christmas and God bless you,
Pastor Steve |
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