So, I got thinking this week about why Christmas is such a unique time of the year. And there’s lots of reasons, but I think mostly it’s unique because during the Christmas season we allow ourselves to be put in a different space. A different space emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually. During Christmas we want to do things like; deepen our relationships and we want to make sure that we have some time for the things that matter the most. And during Christmas we want to believe that peace on earth could really happen and perhaps more during Christmas than any other season we want to find a way to connect our souls more to God. I wondered a lot about that this week about why all that happens at Christmas time and again a word popped into my mind just like last week hope and fear this week’s word was perspective
Perspective – A clear mental view “A sense of vision that pulls all the pieces of life into place.”
Isn’t that a great word with a great definition? Folks, I believe that that’s what Christmas can bring to us perspective. Now, I don’t think it will automatically happen in our lives just because we put up some Christmas lights.
But I do believe that what we need this Christmas time is to find that word perspective. A clear mountain top view – that makes sense of all the activity and rush and events we’re involved with. Perspective that allows us to see the reality of our lives and how our faith fits into that reality - that’s perspective.
Today and throughout this whole Christmas season – my hope and prayer is that we will all, each of us have moments of spiritual clarity and life perspective as we gather together.
So, that’s what I’d like to do, I’d like to add a little perspective today, on why it is that Christmas exists and what God had in mind when He sent His son to this earth and what it may mean for our lives → in the days ahead.
Today, I want to go way back in the bible to about 1000 years before Jesus was born and I want you to listen to how the prophet Isaiah described to God’s people the Christmas gift that would someday be born.
Isaiah said Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: A virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and she will call him Immanuel.
And she will call Him Immanuel. That’s another great word.
Immanuel means, “God with us” Isaiah was saying there will come a day when God and his mercy and love will be completely accessible to us, that God Himself would enter this world and walk and talk and love and live with us.
All that was said by Isaiah using that one word - Immanuel. An amazing statement especially when you realize it was written 100’s of years before Jesus birth. Immanuel – God with us.
Then listen to what Isaiah says next,
Isaiah 9:2-6 NIV
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; and on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
The gift were gonna unwrap together today is the Love of God and really my hope is that we can learn together today how we can all position our lives in the very best spot to receive that love.
The Gift of Light
Isaiah 9:2 on screen
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
Have you ever been in the dark? I mean stumbling around – can’t find the light kinda dark. It’s happened to me a few times and I don’t think there’s anything as frustrating as not being able to find the light.
When I was about 15 my brothers and I went snowmobiling a lot and one night we decided to go late at night and it was pretty stormy and cold and my Dad didn’t want us to go, but we were 15, 17 and 19 and we were far to tough to let Dad or some storm stop our fun. So off we went and about 5 miles from home the storm seemed to get worse and we weren’t having as much fun as we thought we would be. Cold-windy-dark and so we decided that maybe Dad wasn’t so dumb after all and we turned around. The only trouble was that you could hardly tell where to go by that point and it was snowing and blowing so hard that you had to follow real close to one another just to see the other guys tail lights in order to know where to go. So, I was last in the line up following my brothers and then my skidoo started acting up cough, cough and then it died and then the light went out and then all I heard was wind and all I felt was snow and cold and all I could see was darkness it was unbelievably dark. Like I couldn’t see my hand in front of me kinda dark. The storm had blacked out any light the moon might have and I gotta be honest those were some of the most unsure – questioning – frustrating – fearful moments of my life. As I sat there in utter cold darkness just hoping one of my brothers would notice I wasn’t behind them and turn around. And so I just sat there for what seemed like a long time until through the darkness of the storm I could see a light and my brothers came back for me. And you know what?
Until you’ve been in a real dark place I’m not even sure that you know that you need the light. You certainly don’t know how vital that light really is until your caught in the dark.
Isaiah 9:2
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; and on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.
Folks, we can be in a dark place spiritually as well and not really know that we need the light. Lots of us have spent seasons of our lives walking away from God’s light and most of us didn’t even know when we were doing it – it just got kinda darker spiritually. Maybe we just started focusing on ourselves and our ambition and our work or our play and maybe we started focusing on our money and our pleasure and our comfort and we didn’t realize that, as we got more and more self-oriented. Our soul began to shrink and you know that that is sometimes a slow process the shrinking of a soul. Others of us found the darkness quickly as we walked away by getting caught up in addictions or affairs or a bunch of other broken life kinda stuff.
And then we were in the dark and alone and some turned back to the light at that point because it was just to painful to stay in the dark. Others of us are still walking away from the light and we can’t see the darkness envelop us because we’re successful and comfortable and we don’t really need God .
Now hear this there’s nothing wrong with being successful or comfortable it’s just that success and comfort sometimes fool us into thinking we won’t need God, but I’ve met a lot of successful and comfortable people who felt pretty empty on the inside and who found out too late that money and stuff and success couldn’t fill their souls.
So . . . whether it’s things like addictions and affairs that lead us into the darkness or whether it’s success and comfort that gets us there either way trust me on this one. There will come a night even if you’re not there yet. There will come a night when your soul will sense that you’re in the dark and it will start to search for the light. And that thing your soul searches for in the dark, is God’s love, and nothing else really. Love is the light that shines in the darkness.
God’s love is the thing that our souls search for and hear this, ever since the moment your were created your soul has longed to connect with God’s and to feel his light and life and have inside of you.
What did Isaiah say? God’s love is the light that dawns on all of us who are living in the land of the shadow’s.
His love is the answer to our soul’s need.
So, hear the promise of God. If you find yourself in a dark place spiritually right now where life is over taking you or maybe you’ve fallen down into things, like addictions or affairs or maybe you’ve just started to realize that success doesn’t warm your soul. Either way hear the good news of Christmas. There is a light shining in the darkness and His name is Jesus – He is Immanuel – He is God with us and because He came to earth that first Christmas you and I don’t need to remain in the dark spiritually - we don’t! We can come into the light and it can happen in a moment – folks God’s love is one of the greatest miracles of Christmas and it’s a gift waiting for you to receive.
And you know what? It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been in church or not, if you’re in the dark reach out for the light. Receive the love of Christ this Christmas and during these moments open up your heart to God.
The Gift of Change
Now, let me take this one step further and say this. When we step fully into the light, when Immanuel, when God’s love sweeps into our life everything changes nothing is the same. Dark is dark, but all it takes to dispel that darkness is just a little bit of light, darkness runs when the light hits it and the bible says that when God’s love washes into our souls when Immanuel touches our soul.
His love transforms our lives the apostle Paul puts it a couple different ways. Listen to this, he says,
Therefore, if anyone is in relationship with Christ Immanuel, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
And folks, as just a little bit of light dispels the darkness also just a little bit of Jesus can change everything. Then listen to this,
The apostle Paul says goes on to say,
I pray that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith
And that you may have power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God
He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
Folks Paul is saying here that when Christ lives in our lives by faith – we become new inside and when His love that surpasses knowledge fills up our souls then God is able to do immeasurably more in us than we could ever ask or imagine.
Think about those words, I can imagine and ask for a lot.
Folks the love of God is a powerful thing, it can change a heart that is cold and unforgiving into one that is loving and full of grace. The love of God can change the most bitter and hate-filled heart into one that is thankful and warm, I’ve seen it happen. The love of God can change a selfish heart into a giving one ad a weak and addicted heart into a strong and able one.
The love of God can take lack of confidence and poor self-esteem and turn it into strength and assurance. The love of God can take a marriage that is full of anger and blame and selfishness and turn it into love and peace and selflessness.
The gift of God’s love is a very powerful thing it changes everything and hear this folks, God’s love is at the very centre of the Christmas story. Immanuel, God with us, is all about the love of God being with us today in this moment - transforming us into the people we were created to be.
Folks, hearing and sensing and knowing the love of God is what Christmas is all about.
You know when I was a kid, Christmas was a big deal at our house and not in ways you might think. I grew up on a farm in rural Sask. and lots of years on that farm were pretty lean – money was often tight for our family and so Christmas wasn’t so much about presents as it was about – people and food and faith. We would eat well and we would have as many people as we could come through our home and we would laugh and enjoy being together as a family. And we would celebrate big and love much and it was an amazing time really and in the very centre of all that was Jesus and His love. My brothers and I grew up knowing that we were loved by God, not thinking we were – but knowing it.
And we knew that that love changed everything. And - so the amount of stuff you bought or had or got at Christmas wasn’t the issue because all that stuff was just add-ons.
The real gift was Jesus because that gift could take poor humble little farm kids and make them children of the King and you can’t buy that.
Folks the love of God changes everything.
The Gift of Reflection
Let me give you one more idea. You know at Christmas time everyone talks about spreading joy to other people and being kind to one another and about giving to the less fortunate. You know the whole peace on earth and good will to everyone deal. Well you know what? That’s all good stuff and most of us can rise up for December and get all that stuff done in some way at Christmas. It takes some effort, but we at least try and give it a whirl at Christmas. But what about the rest of the year and what about the rest of our lives. Here’s where I’m going with this. See, I can get fired up about loving and giving and spreading joy for a season, but if I want it to become a lasting life long kinda thing then God’s got to get involved with me.
Now I don’t know if your like me or not, but I’ll be up front with you, I’m a pretty selfish guy and I know, that left to myself . . . over time – I just won’t love other people like I should – and I just won’t spread peace and joy and good will as much as I would like to.
I just know that’s the way it goes. But I also know something else - I know Emmanuel - I know that God lives inside of me and I know that He’s got plenty of love and plenty of peace and lots of joy to go around. So, here’s how I look at it I think my life is to be kinda like a mirror – a reflection – of God and His love to other people I think that’s the only way peace on earth is gonna wor.
I John 4:7 & 8 & 11 & 12 NIV Listen to the words from the bible,
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God Immanuel. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
I think that describes a mirror. It says Dean; you align your life in such a way so as to soak up as much love from God as you can. To get as much in the light and in the love of God as I can, to walk in step with God as closely as I possibly can and then Dean it says turn and shine. Shine that love and light and joy and peace to other people and I think folks that that really is the goal. To “God position” our lives and then to soak up as much love and as much light as we can, and then turn and reflect big time. See, I think that that is what the light of God’s love is all about. God’s love is not just for me to get out of the darkness and it’s not just for me to be transformed and changed, but its also for me to give away. To shine and reflect as much of God as I can to the people around me so that their lives can be lit up as well - so that their souls can find the light also.
So that’s the message folks the love of God is a powerful thing, it can move you and I from darkness into light and when that happens, when the love of God shines inside of us it changes everything from old to new – from darkness to light. And when we position our lives to receive that love from God, well then His love will not only fill us up but will spill over from us to everyone around us That’s the gift of God’s love this Christmas.
But folks, a gift is not a gift until it is received. Say I had a gift and wanted to give it to you, it really is meaningless until you receive it – that’s when the fit becomes real. All this week God has been pointing me to give you an opportunity to receive the gift of His love – by faith and make it real. So this is your opportunity to receive.
If you’ve been following God for a while, but haven’t sensed his love lately receive ask Him for it. Or maybe you’ve been following God for years, but still have part of your life in the dark and you’re caught up in sin. Receive His love and step fully into the light.
If you are lonely and alone or stressed and busy or addicted or successful and you life feels dark receive His love and light in this moment.
If you have never received Christ into your life and you want to know Immanuel and you want God with you then receive tonight.
Dean – how do I receive? It’s as simple as a prayer - open your heart and mind to Christ and ask Him in this moment to come in to be Immanuel - God with us – God with you, say “God I want to receive.”
Fill me – Use me – Forgive me - Help me – Heal me – Love me
I receive. |
