Dedicated To The Men of God Who Preach the Word of God As It Is To Men As They Are

"Preach The Word"

Text:

Luke 2:11: "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

2 Corinthians 9:15: "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift."

Christmas is a time of gift-giving. It is a good thing to give gifts as long as we do not over-obligate ourselves financially. You can create almost unbearable problems for yourself and for you loved ones, by not being wise with the money that God lets pass through your hands. It is easy to use a plastic card, but if it is getting you in debt, then beware, lest all of your money is being sent to credit card companies.

We would we wise not to overlook the fact that we can give all kinds of objects and things and never really give ourselves. This Christmas just do not give gifts to your family, but make sure that you give yourself to those you love and appreciate.

There are some who criticize the giving of gifts at Christmas as pagan and worldly, but they obviously do not understand what we are communicating as we give gifts to one another. Each time we give a gift to another, it should remind us that God has an even greater gift for them, if they will only turn from sin and turn to Christ. As well, it should remind us of the great gift of His Son that God gave to me and to you.

We could summarize gift giving in three ways: 1- It teaches the lesson that God has a gift for everyone 2- It shows our love and appreciation of others (it is not how much we spend on a gift but the kind deed of thinking of others that counts). 3- It expresses unselfishness. We are living in a selfish generation, where about every man is out for himself. Instead of thinking of others we focus on our own needs.

What an unspeakable gift is Christ! An "unspeakable" gift implies that what God gives is something that we cannot fully explain and describe with our limited, human vocabularies.

Let’s think together for a few minutes in this message on the Greatest Gift of All. I am speaking of what God gave when He sent His Son to become the "incarnate" Son of God. Of course that would some 33 years later lead to that time when God would give His Son as the supreme sacrifice for the sins of the whole world ( Heb.2:9).

It would be necessary that God give the gift of His Son in "incarnation" and "crucifixion." Never forget that Jesus was the "Darling" of heaven. Christ did not begin in Bethlehem, for He said on one occassion, "Before Abraham was, I am" (Jn.8:58).

Abraham was born hundreds of years before Christ, but Christ existed long before Abraham did. In the virgin birth, He indentified with us in that He assumed human flesh.

God knew mankind would fail Him, long before Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. God was not surprised at all when that happened!

The Bible says of Jesus 1 Peter 1:20-"Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you." That means God has the sacrifice for sin ready before the fall ever occurred. You can never surprise God. He knows everything that has happened, is happening, and that will happen. He is "omniscient" or all knowing. If you know it all, then you have nothing else to learn.

In Jn. 17:24 the Father loved the Son before the "foundation of the world."

In Eph. 1:4 we were chosen in Jesus "before the foundation of the world." It was God’s plan that you and I would holy and without blame in our living. Did God chose us on the basis of what He knew we would do, or is there more to it that that? I would say there is much more than meets the eye. As Jonah said, "Salvation is of the Lord"(Jonah 2:9)----from the start to the finish.

In 1 Pet. 1:20 the Bible tells us that Jesus was foreordained before the "foundation of the world." It does not say he "began" before the foundation of the world. It simply says He was "foreordained" to be the sacrifice for sin before the foundation of the world. Don’t sing that song to me that says, "Just suppose God searched through heaven and couldn’t find one willing to be, the supreme sacrifice for sinners, to buy eternal life for you and me." No! There was no search that would have to possibly be made, because Jesus was foreordained. There was no search because only "ONE" was qualified to be the sacrifice for sinners.

What a joy to know the Christ died "for our sins" according to the Scriptures (1 Cor. 15:3). It says in Gal. 1:4 that He "gave Himself for our sins." Ten thousand times ten thousands of "hallelujahs" are due to Him because of what He has done for us.

What was it that moved God to send Jesus down to this world to be the "Greatest Gift" ever given? It was His love and passion for mankind.

It certainly was not anything good He saw in me. God knew what I could be through Jesus’ love and power. He simply wanted you and me to be saved through His grace and power.

Love brought Jesus down, love sent Him to the cross, love brought him forth from the tomb, and it is God’s love for us that will bring Jesus in the rapture one day to snatch us out of this ungodly and unfriendly world.

One thing can never be rightly question–that is, the love of God for mankind. He could have let us perish in our sins, but that was not His plan. His plan was not to doom but to deliver. His plan was not just to look down, but to reach out and bring the dead sinner out of sin’s bondage and from sin’s penalty.

Oh what love that brought Him down to earth!

Oh what love that took Him up to Calvary!

Oh what love that held Him to the cross!

Oh what love that brought Him out of the tomb!

Oh what love that will bring Him back again to planet earth!

God wrapped His Divine Gift in a form of humanity. He partook of flesh and blood that He might by experience know the problems of man and that He might die as the sin-bearer for mankind. His humanity is very real. There were human limitations He experienced in this life. It is difficult to imagine "Holy God" willing limiting Himself, but we see that in the Lord Jesus Christ.

He was hungry, but He was the "Bread of Life."

He was in agony, but He was the "Great Physician."

He thirsted yet He was "The Water of Life."

He grew and waxed in spirit, but He was from all eternity.

He was self-limited in knowledge, but He was the wisdom of God.

He grew in stature and wisdom, yet He was the all-wise God in eternity past.

He said, "My Father is greater than I, yet He also said, "He that hath seen me hath seen the Father."

He walked a two days journey to Bethany, but He know the very moment Lazarus died.

He wept at the tomb, but caused the dead to rise.

He was hungry, yet He could turn stones into bread.

He confessed He would be put to death, but also declared he was the Son of the Living God.

He died but yet He was life eternal.

All Christmas presents have beautiful and often multicolored wrappings. God’s Son was wrapped in human flesh, but, He was not just another human. He was perfect, sinless humanity.

A. That Wrapping Was Expressive

Thank God did not shrink from indentifying with mankind. He could have remain aloof from us, but He did not choose to do so.

Man was a sinner and yet God would take on His same form.

B. That Wrapping Was Eternal

That wrapping is eternal. When we get to heaven we will see Christ is a glorified human form, forever as the God-man.

This is a gift that is totally provided on God’s part. All the cost is on God’s part.

A. Departure-

One day Jesus left heaven to come to earth. I cannot imagine what a day in heaven like that would be, that is, if the angels were aware of what was about to take place. I somehow believe they knew, because it was angels that announced his birth to the shepherds who were abiding in the fields. They would have had to have known if they were to announce the birth of Christ.

B. Denial-

Phillippians 2: 6-8 says, "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

At times he laid aside the "independent exercise" of His divine attributes. He did not regard his equality with the Father as something to be selfishly grasped, but temporarily laid it aside, and took on the nature of a slave and became like other men.

C. Death-

God’s free gift mean death for Jesus became the sacrificial lamb for the sins of every man upon planet earth.  He died, "The just for the unjust, that He might bring us unto God"

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ the Lord" (Lk.2:11).

A. The Provision

I believe that Jesus made salvation possible for the entire human race. Provision was not just made for a select elect, but for every person born of Adam’s race. I do not believe in a "limited atonement." None of Christ’s blood was wasted, though He died for men who would never receive Him.

B. The Application

When it really goes to work is when the gift is applied to your life. Saving faith in Christ brings the heart in touch with God. Where works fail, grace succeeds. Hallelujah for grace!

C. The Satisfaction

God’s gift is just right for everyone.

Note:
You man receive some gifts this Christmas that you might wish you could change—but not so with God’s gift. It is designed by God to meet every need of every person in this whole world. It is like the gift is designed to meet the need of every individual. Though it is to the entire world, it is still personal.

V. The Communicator of the Gift

Who is it that communicates the gift that the Father planned and the Son provides? The Holy Spirit of God brings us into contact with and lifts up the Lord Jesus Christ.

Matthew 1:18- "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

The invisible spirit did the work within Mary’s womb that cause her to be with Christ. She had know known a man, sexually speaking. She was a virgin.

B. The Bounty-

The gift of life eternal is that bounty. The Holy Ghost brings us into contact with the Father through Christ.  It is "He" who convinces us of our sin and draws us to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Thank God for His gift. God sent his angels to those shepherds in Bethlehem and said in so many words, "There is a gift for you in Bethlehem." They arose and went to see the Lord Jesus.

Have you met Him? If not come to Him today. If you have be like the woman at Jacob’s well, when she met Jesus she went into the city and told them to "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?"

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