December 24, 2006

All I Want For Christmas

All I Want For Christmas Is a Savior

Luke 2:1-20

Opening Words: An American Express asked, “What is the worst Christmas gift?” The Number one answer at 31% was fruitcake. It even finished ahead of "no gift at all." When asked, “How to dispose of a bad gift?” 30% would hide it in the closet, 21% would return it, and 19% would give it away. This suggests that the Christmas fruitcake you eat at a holiday party is recycled unwanted gift. People don’t want fruitcake! So what do people want for Christmas?

During the season of Advent I am going to look at five different gifts that God gave to you in the person of Jesus. They are gifts that are eternal. They are not gifts that will end up in next summer’s yard sale. During the four Sundays of Advent we looked at the gifts of hope, peace, joy and love. This evening we look at the gift of a Savior. We are in the second chapter of Luke, verses one through twenty.

Luke 2 ¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³And everyone went to his own town to register.

⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[a] the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about." ¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

In 1809 the international scene was tumultuous. Napoleon made international headlines. He was conquering Europe. He was writing history. In 1809 Napoleon was grabbing international headlines and no one cared about newborn babies.

However in 1809 some significant babies were born. Babies that would change the future. For example, William Gladstone was born in 1809. He grew up to be one of England’s finest statesmen. The great writer Alfred Lloyd Tennyson was born in 1809 to a minister and his wife. Oliver Wendell Holmes was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. And not far away in Boston, Edgar Allan Poe began his life. It was also in 1809 that a physician named Darwin and his wife named their child Charles Robert. And that same year, 1809 produced the cries of a newborn infant in a rugged log cabin in Hardin County, Kentucky. What was the Baby's name? Abraham Lincoln. The headlines were filled in 1809 with Napoleon but under the radar screen babies were born that changed the world forever.

That is what happened when Jesus was born. The headlines read: HIGHER TAXES. Within the Roman Empire a census was taken every fourteen years. They did that for two reasons. One reason was to discover who was eligible for military service. The other reason was taxation purposes. Everyone went to their hometown to registrar. It was for this reason Joseph went to Bethlehem. A map tells us it was an eighty miles trip from Nazareth to Bethlehem. In their time it was a long hard trip. What complicated the trip was this unwanted pregnancy. Mary was pregnant and the magic date was quickly approaching. As luck would have it the baby came while they were in this foreign city. The headlines read: HIGHER TAXES! The world missed the big news. The Savior of the world had been born. Jesus was born to be our Savior but what is He saving us from?

This evening I want to talk about three areas of your life where you need a Savior. Christ came to save us from our disillusionment. Christ came to save us from defeat. Christ came to save us from death, itself. So if you are ready to examine your Lord and Savior, Jesus, say, “Amen!”

Disillusionment

Christ came to save us from disillusionment.

Outside of the Bible, the most famous Christmas story ever written was by Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol. You know the story. (The theme is wonderful. However, the theology is poor.) It revolves around a man by the name of Ebenezer Scrooge. When we are first introduced to him he is greedy, selfish and disillusioned. His now famous response, “Bah! Humbug!” has become a sad symbol for a disillusioned spirit. However, A Christmas Carol is a story of conversion. By the end of the story he is transformed to a generous, loving and gracious servant of society. The reason that story is so famous is that we can all relate to Ebenezer Scrooge.

Has anyone here grown disillusioned with life? Is there anyone here who is tired of getting up early and working late? You do it to get ahead but you are barely breaking even. Is anyone one here tired of being let down by the people in your life? Your father still doesn’t respect you? Your children don’t appreciate you. Your brother-in-law still hasn’t paid you back. You are abused by neighbors and coworkers. Is anyone here disillusioned because according to your calculations retirement day will never come to you? Are the dreams you had as a young person dead?

Christ came to save us from disillusionment. Jesus came to remind us that there is more to this world then this world. The next time you feel disillusioned by your life remember this. The God of the universe, who created all this out of nothing, knows your name. I believe that when you are at your lowest God calls your name to remind you that you are people of significance. How important are you? You are so important that God sent his one and only son to die for you so God can spend eternity with you. Christ came to save us from disillusionment. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” Christ came to save us from our disillusionment but Christ also came so save us from defeat.

Defeat

Christ came to save us from defeat.

In 1939 a man by the name of Robert May worked for Montgomery Wards department stores. For marketing purposes he was asked to generate a new Christmas story. So he combined two famous stores, Santa Claus and the Ugly Duckling. He called his story Rudolph, the Red Nosed Reindeer. It was about a misfit reindeer, who went from being rejected to being a hero. His new story caught on and became a new Christmas tradition. Except for a few “Bah Humbug” people everyone loves that story. Do you know why? We all relate to Rudolph. We all feel like a misfit. We dream of being the hero.

In 1960 Wilma Rudolph became the first American woman to win three gold medals during the Olympic Games. Millions of Americans were glued to their Televisions that summer and recognized her as the greatest female athlete of all times. What made Wilma Rudolph’s story resonate throughout our country was her story. For the first three years of her life she couldn’t walk without heavy braces. Her left leg was paralyzed! The medical experts said there was no hope. She didn’t listen to the experts. She listened to her heart. She worked with those long legs in Clarksville, Tennessee and beat the odds. She became the fastest woman in the world.

Christ came to save us from defeat! I am not going to lie to you this evening. I have known too many good people who have not beaten the odds. They lost. However, I will say this. The nativity stands as a reminder that God came into this world to stand by our side. Jesus was not born in the middle of the aristocrats. Jesus was born in a stable surrounded by common people who had a mountain of problems. Sometimes we experience victory from our problems. Sometimes we experience victory when our calendars no longer matter. As a Christian people we know it is true. God is always by our side and in the end we are all going to experience victory! In the end we are going to heaven. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” Jesus came to save us from disillusionment. Jesus can to save us from defeat. Finally, Jesus came to save us from death.

Death

Christ came to save us from death.

Someone once said, “Death is not extinguishing the light from the Christian; it is putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.” I thought of my own grandfather Roger Adams when I read that quote. He was the greatest man I have ever known. He had the ability to take any situation and make it fun. He had the gift of making the people in his life feel special. He was born in Pierpont, Ohio, just south of Conneaut. He was the first Adams to leave the farm for the bright lights. He lived in Ashtabula. The only job I remembering him having was on the docks of Ashtabula harbor. It was a good job but what he really wanted to do was go in the ministry. He never went in the ministry because he never had the opportunity. When I went into the ministry I was fulfilling my dream and his. In the eleventh chapter of Hebrews it says a great cloud of witnesses, saints, cheer for us to do our very best. One of those saints cheering me on this evening is my grandfather. If I one wish this Christmas Eve it would be to talk him and tell him how wonderful the ministry really is. Do you have anyone who has passed that you wish you could talk to this evening? Statistics tells us 5417 people die every hour. There must be someone that you miss. There must be someone that you can’t forget?

Christ came to save us from death. As sure as I am here this evening I know someday I am going to heaven. Not because I am a great person or a perfect person. I am going to heaven because I worship a perfect Savior. I am going to heaven because of Jesus, who was the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. Salvation is a gift! All you have to do is accept it by accepting Jesus. When I get to heaven the first person I am going to look for is Roger Adams, the greatest person I have ever known. I don’t need a physic. I don’t need a spiritualist. I don’t need a medium. All their power is rooted in Satan. All I need is Jesus. Christ came to save us from death. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!” I end with this story.

In December 1903, after many attempts, the Wright brothers were successful in getting their "flying machine" off the ground. Do you remember your history? It happened in North Carolina. Thrilled, they telegraphed a message back to their sister Katherine in Dayton. The message simply said: "We have actually flown 120 feet. Will be home for Christmas." Katherine hurried to the editor of the local newspaper and showed him the message. He glanced at it and said, "How nice. The boys will be home for Christmas." He totally missed the big news!

I hope you don’t miss the big news! In the past few weeks you have been busy. In addition to your normally busy schedules you have added all those Christmas activities. You have decorated your home for Christmas. You have sent out Christmas cards. You have bought family and friends a gift. You have attended Christmas parties. You have made your plans for Christmas morning and Christmas dinner. You have been on the run the past few weeks so I hope you haven’t missed the big news. The world’s headlines read: CHRISTMAS PRESENTS! The headlines read: FAMILY! The headlines read: TRADITION! The headlines read: CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS! The headlines read: CHRISTMAS DINNER. Don’t misunderstand me. They are not bad things but they aren’t the big news. The big news is under the radar.

Let me say this clearly. The big news is Jesus. Christmas is about the birth of a baby, Jesus, God incarnate, our Savior. Christmas is about a Savior, who saves us from our own disillusionment. Christmas is about a Savior who saves us from defeat. Christmas is about a Savior who saves us from death. Christmas is about Jesus! And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”