The Gift

Luke 2:1-20

 

December 25, 1999

Rev. Charles S. Mims

 

 

 

Luke 2:1 through Luke 2:20 (KJV)
¹And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. ²(And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) ³And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. ⁴And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) ⁵To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. ⁶And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. ⁷And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. ⁹And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. ¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. ¹²And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. ¹³And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, ¹⁴Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. ¹⁵And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. ¹⁶And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. ¹⁷And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. ¹⁸And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. ¹⁹But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

 

   Did you ever read Bret Harte's story The Luck of Roaring Camp? Roaring Camp was supposed to be, according tot he story, the meanest, toughest mining town in all of the West. More murders, more thefts--it was a terrible place inhabited entirely by men, and one woman who tried to serve them all. Her name was Cherokee Sal. She died while giving birth to a baby.

   Well, the men took the baby, and they put her in a box with some old rags under her. When they looked at her, they decided that didn't look right, so they sent one of the men eighty miles to buy a rosewood cradle. He brought it back, and they put the rags and the baby in the rosewood cradle. And the rags didn't look right there. So they sent another of their number to Sacramento, and he came back with some beautiful silk and lace blankets. And they put the baby, wrapped around with those blankets, in the rosewood cradle.

   It looked fine until someone happened to notice that the floor was so filthy. So these hardened, tough men got down on their hands and knees, and with their hardened and horny hands they scrubbed that floor until it was very clean. Of course, what that did was to make the walls and the ceiling and the dirty windows without curtains look absolutely terrible. So they washed down the walls and the ceiling, and they put curtains at the windows. And now things were beginning to look as they thought they should look. But of course, they had to give up a lot of their fighting, because the baby slept a lot, and babies can't sleep during a brawl.

   So the whole temperature of Roaring Camp seemed to go down. They used to take her out and set her by the entrance to the mine in her rosewood cradle so they could see her when they came up. Then somebody noticed what a dirty place that was, so they planted flowers, and they made a very nice garden there. It looked quite beautiful. And they would bring her, oh, shiny little stones and things that they would find in the mine. But when they would put their hands down next to hers, their hands looked so dirty. Pretty soon the general store was all sold out of soap and shaving gear and perfume and those kinds ... the baby changed everything.

   That's the way it is for those of good will. That's the way it is for those who please God. The baby enters into their lives, and he slips into every crevice of their experience, until they say "Hark! Listen, the herald angels sing! God is for us. And Christmas is forever."

 

n      Bruce W. Thielemann, "Hark! The Herald Angels," Preaching Today, Tape No. 63

 

That little girl was a wonderful gift to the men of Roaring Camp.  It was a gift that changed their lives totally.  This morning as we continue our celebration of the birth of Christ we would do well to remember that Christ was a wonderful gift to mankind. 

 

Many of you left gifts this morning to come worship.  Some of you may have already opened them, or you may have set them aside to come to church first.  Gift giving seems to be an integral part of our celebration each year.  Indeed, many would say that gift giving has become the central emphasis for some.

 

In fact, we often spend more time and energy on the secular aspects of Christmas as is evidenced by this little story:

 

During the Christmas season our large picture window displayed a lighted nativity scene. One day I overheard two small boys discussing it. One tot observed pensively, "I don't think these guys believe in Santa Claus." "No, I guess not," the other conceded, then added generously, "but they're nice people anyway."

 

n      Fran McMahon, Rochester, WA.  Christian Reader, "Lite Fare."

 

As we think of the gifts we have received and given this holiday season, may we remember the gift that God gave to us on that first Christmas Day so many years ago.  As we empty the tree of all the gifts, let us not forget to unwrap the most important gift of them all.  Let me tell you this Christmas morning about this wonderful gift.

 

It Is An Unsolicited Gift (James 1:17)

James 1:17 (KJV)
¹⁷Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.

 

This gift we are talking about this morning was a gift we didn’t ask for. We didn’t sit on Santa’s knee and beg him for God to send us a Savior, but this is just what God did.  Make no mistake, this wonderful gift we find under our tree came not from man, but from God alone. 

 

It is an Unlimited Gift (Romans 5:5-8)

 

Romans 5:5 through Romans 5:8 (KJV)
⁵And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

⁶For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. ⁸But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

 

We have all done a lot of receiving the past few weeks.  We have gotten gifts from relatives and friends.  We’ve given things to those important people in our life, and received them in return.  There is one thing in common with all of these gifts, and that is that they are all limited in some fashion.  That great new sweater you bought Aunt Suzy may be the wrong size. That wonderful box of chocolates you gave to Uncle Walt will only last for a little while.

 

The Christmas turkey and his friend the ham will only provide sandwiches for a few days.  The pies will be gone, the cakes will be gone.  The supplies are limited.

 

Yet there is no limit in the love of God.  God died for the ungodly, even when they did not yet know Him.  God sent His son that we might be able to live even while we were still unrepentant sinners.  Jesus is a gift that is unlimited in scope. 

 

Many people try to buy the hottest new Christmas gifts, and often come up short.  I remember a few years ago when a $29.95 Tickle Me Elmo doll was going for hundreds of dollars on the secondary market because of the demand for them.  This year people wanting Color Game Boys or Millennium Barbie’s are out of luck because they are scarce!  The gift of Jesus is not limited in availability though.  This gift is available to everyone no matter where they are in their walk of life.

 

It is an Unchanging Gift  (Hebrews 13:8)

 

Hebrews 13:8 through Hebrews 13:9 (KJV)
⁸Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever. ⁹Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines. For it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace; not with meats, which have not profited them that have been occupied therein.

 

 

My how things change.  We live in a changing world.  Someone come from the last turning of the century would scarcely recognize us.  It’s refreshing to know that as much as things change, there are some things that will never change.  The gift of Christmas is one of those things.  Christ is the same today as he was yesterday and 2,000 years ago.  His mission for coming has not changed one little bit.  Jesus still is the hope of the lost, the light of the world, and the only way to get to heaven. 

 

 

It is an Undeserved Gift  (Luke 2:10-11)

 

 

Luke 2:10 through Luke 2:11 (KJV)
¹⁰And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. ¹¹For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.

 

To: All People

From:  God

 

This is what the gift tag read that very first Christmas morning.  To:  All People!  Not to a select few, or not to the specially picked out ones…but to everyone.  This gift was given even to those that didn’t earn it.  It was totally undeserved.  By our sins we have earned death, but by the gift of God we have earned eternal life!

 

   At the 7:00 service, a little girl came out an pulled on my robe, and I said, "What can I do?" She said, "It's for you, Dr. Harrington." I said, "What?" and she had a little note. I opened it up, and it said, "I love you." Well, it made my Christmas Eve. "It's for you"--very personal. While the love of Christ is for the world, it's also for you and for me.

 

   -- W. Frank Harrington, "The Love That Brought Him," Preaching Today, Tape No. 51.

 

Many years ago the Puritans thought that they were ruining Christmas with all their pagan rituals. They especially objected to the fact that the holiday usually came on a week day, therefore distracting people, they thought, from the Lord's Day of Sunday. But they did more than annually complain about it as we do. They took action and got rid of Christmas altogether. In Puritan settlements across 17th century America a law was passed outlawing the celebration of Christmas. The market place was ordered to stay open for business as though it were no special occasion and all violators were prosecuted. It was against the law to make plum pudding on December 25th. The celebration was not referred to as Yuletide but as fooltide.

So we want to reform Christmas and clean it up do we? Well, is this how far we want ot go? Do we really want to be rid of it altogether. Then will Christmas, as the Puritans thought, be saved from us and our sinful ways. So what if we spend $40 billion annually on presents. Can you think of a better way of spending all that money than on gifts of love. And most of them are just that. And so what is all the lights and tinsel does create a fairy tale setting that soon disappears as does the so called Christmas spirit. At least it lets us know, if only for a brief time, what life can be like if we only try.

So let the message ring out this day, not that we are destroying this holy day, but rather, that we can never destroy this day. Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be for all generations. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord.

Sermon Illustrations, 1999

 

  The spirit of Christmas needs to be superseded by the Spirit of Christ. The spirit of Christmas is annual; the Spirit of Christ is eternal. The spirit of Christmas is sentimental; the Spirit of Christ is supernatural. The spirit of Christmas is a human product; the Spirit of Christ is a divine person. That makes all the difference in the world.

 

n      Stuart Briscoe in Meet Him at the Manger. Christianity Today, Vol. 41, no. 14.

 

 

Let’s make the difference today.  Let us keep the true Spirit of Christmas by understanding God’s gift to us.