CONSIDER AGAIN CHRISTMAS

When Pope Julius I authorized December 25 to be celebrated as the birthday of Jesus in A.D. 353, who would have ever thought that it would become what it is today. When Professor Charles Follen, lit candles on the first Christmas tree in America in 1832, who would have ever thought that the decorations would become as elaborate as they are today. It is a long time since 1832, and longer still from that first dark night brightened by a special star in which Jesus the king was born. Yet, as we approach December 25 again, it gives us yet another opportunity to pause, and in the midst of all the excitement and elaborate decorations and expensive commercialization which surround Christmas today, to consider again the event of Christmas and the person whose birth we celebrate.

How things have changed since the first Christmas. It was angels who announced the message of first Christmas. Now it’s the Macys on November 27th they ushered in the holiday season by lighting the Christmas tree in downtown Boston; announcing it is time to start emptying our pockets on Christmas gifts; replacing Christ with Santa. At the first Christmas the shepherds came longingly to Bethlehem to see the savior of the world; today both the adults and children alike come around the Christmas tree can hardly wait to unravel their Christmas presents. When the wise men mentioned to the then King Herod about the birth of the King of the Jews; along with him all of Jerusalem was disturbed. Today the very mention of Christmas is politically incorrect. How come we have replaced the eternal truths with material things? Is it time for us to consider again the true meaning and the message of Christmas?

I. CHRISTMAS IS A TIME OF REMEMBERENCE:
Joseph perhaps is the most forgotten man of Christmas. He is Joseph the silent. In the word of God, Joseph never says a word. He is talked to and talked about, but not a single syllable comes from the mouth of Joseph, the adoptive father of Jesus. Joseph has the role of an extra. He is a character with minor credits. When we deal with our nativity scenes, he may be the last one set up and first one toppled over. Even though there are fifteen cities in the United States named after him, Joseph is the forgotten man of Christmas.

Many can identify with Joseph in the Christmas story; he is the forgotten man of Christmas; have you ever felt like Joseph lately? You may be feeling left out or lonely; thinking no one remembers you; no one seem to care enough even to send you a Christmas card; You may be surrounded by family and friends but emotionally unfulfilled, that may be your situation. The truth of the matter is that this Christmas season no one is left out or forgotten by God.

As promised, God remembered the prophecies concerning the messiah. The birth of Jesus was prophesied around 700 BC, by the prophet Isaiah. In Isaiah 9:4 “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.”
In Malachi 4:5 “See, I will send you the prophet Elijah, before the great and dreadful day of the LORD comes.” This birth was referring to John the Baptist. In Biblical history, the approximately 400 years that separate from the time of Nehemiah to the birth of Christ, are known as the intertestamental period. Some times called the “silent years” they were anything but silent. Just imagine for 400 years; No visions! No revelation? No angelic visitations from God? In other words God was silent; the heavens were shut.

Oh! what hard years they must have been? Even though nothing spectacular was happening there were people like Zechariah and Elizabeth who were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly.(Lk 1:6)
How ironic it is; today like never before in the history we have access to the best Bible teachers and preachers through TV, Radio and Internet; all the best available Christian literature. How careless and callous have we become when it comes to obeying God and his commandments?

In Galatians 4:4 “But when the fullness of time came God sent forth his son born of a woman” Paul captured God’s timing beautifully here; the Greek words “pleroma chronos” meaning complete; fulfillment; the state of being full. God’s timing is never too early neither it is too late but his timing is perfect. The arrival of Christ the messiah has changed the face of the earth. God never forgets; he remembers his promises.

II. CHRISTMAS IS A TIME OF DELIVERANCE:

In the year 63 BC Pompey the Roman general, captured Jerusalem, and the provinces of Palestine became subject to Rome. Herod was the great King over Judea. During these unhappy years of oppression and internal strife the Jewish people were looking for the messiah to come and deliver them from the tyranny of the Roman Empire. It was a long wait; but finally that wait ended when Gabriel appeared to Zachariah who was the priest at that time. He was told that his wife was going to have a baby. At first Zachariah was skeptic; but when the promise came through he prophesied Luke 1:69-74 “He (God)has raised up a horn (strength) of salvation for us in the house of his servant David)…salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us…to rescue us from the hand of our enemies..”

Christmas is a time of deliverance; It was not only meant for the Jewish people then but it is also for us today. The culture we live in today gives prominence to self reliance and self actualization. As a result there are a lot of “self help” and “do it yourself” books out there. This in itself is not necessarily bad but some times these books make us think we are invincible; we can do any and everything. We become gods in our own eyes. No doubt there is definitely place for taking personal responsibility when it comes to dealing with life; but certain situations are too hard; they are beyond us, that is when we must cry out for outside help.

In the Celebrate Recovery a twelve Step Christ centered recovery program by the way our church offers such a program right here; they begin their process of recovery by reminding people with addictions: “we were powerless over our addictions and compulsive behaviors, that our lives become unmanageable” Secondly, We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” I like this approach in recovery because it is a cry for help; a cry for a deliverer who can come and deliver people from their addictions and compulsive behaviors. We need a deliverer who is much stronger than ourselves.

When the Israelites faced the Red Sea in front of them and their enemies were fast approaching behind them Moses said to them: Exodus 14:13"Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.” Psalm 33:17 “A horse is a vain hope for deliverance; despite all its great strength it cannot save.” Paul learned not to rely upon himself but entrusted his life to some one who can deliver him from his troubles so that he could say, 2 Corinthians 1:9-10 “Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us,”

John Paton (1824-1907) was a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands New Hebrides was the colonial name for an island group in the South Pacific that now forms the nation of Vanuatu.. One night hostile natives surrounded the mission station, intent on burning out the Patons and killing them. Paton and his wife prayed during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see their attackers leave. A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Christ. Remembering what had happened, Paton asked the chief what had kept him from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, "Who were all those men with you there?" Paton knew no men were present--but the chief said he was afraid to attack because he had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords circling the mission station.”

God is our strong deliverer. Psalm 34:7 “The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them.”

III. CHRISTMAS IS A SEASON OF JOY:

C.S Lewis once said, “Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered to us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
Men and women have pursued joy in every avenue imaginable. Some have successfully found it while others have not.

Perhaps it would be easier to describe where joy cannot be found:
Not in Unbelief -- Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: "I wish I had never been born."
Not in Pleasure -- Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: "The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone."
Not in Money -- Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: "I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth." Barney Madoff might say the same
Not in Position and Fame -- Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: "Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret."
Not in Military Glory -- Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, before he said, "There are no more worlds to conquer."
Where then is real joy found?

Did you know that there are more scriptures in the Bible speak of joy than sorrow and misery? Sad 9; Sorrow 34; Misery 34; Pain 39, Joy 210;. If these numbers should say any thing they should say that our God is a God of joy and not of sadness and misery. If God is not the source of sadness, sickness and misery then who else could be the source?

How can we differentiate joy from happiness? According to Webster: “Happiness is the pleasurable experience that springs from the gratification of desires; enjoyment; good fortune; luck; prosperity.” It is based on luck or good fortune. Joy on the other hand is described as a vivid emotion of pleasure. Thus happiness depends on circumstance; joy on our emotional well being. When we win a lottery we feel happy; but we feel joy when we look at our children or grand children. The following Alive website article reads:

“One way to understand the differences between joy and happiness is to think about their opposites. While the opposite of happiness is unhappiness, the opposite of joy is fear.
William Blake showed us the dichotomy between opposites. He wrote that two opposing emotions such as fear and joy expand and contract in direct relation to the presence of the other. We cannot feel total joy and total fear at the same time. This is why real joy is the absence of fear. Happiness happens when things go well. Joy on the other hand comes from a swell of emotion within us and sometimes has to be learned.”

If Joy is the absence of fear could it be for that reason when the angels visited Zachariah, Mary; Joseph; and the shepherds the first thing they said was “Do not be afraid”? Because the news followed afterwards would no longer be good news because if they were afraid. During his earth several times Jesus assured his disciples saying “fear not”; After, his death and resurrection the angels told the frightened women don’t be afraid Whenever God appeared to his people in the Bible and even today the first thing he wants to take care of is fear because you can not have fear and trust God at the same time.

The Bible is full of scriptures that say; do not be afraid.
Do we dare to let go of our fears and rejoice that the Savior has come? Or are we like the Presbyterians at a conference in Omaha who were put to a little “Joy test”. People were given helium filled balloons and told to release them at some point in the service when they felt like expressing the joy in their hearts. Since they were Presbyterians, they weren't free to say "Hallelujah, Praise the Lord." All through the service balloons ascended, but when it was over 1/3 of the balloons were unreleased. Let your balloon go! Lift up you head and let your heart sing. Joy to the world the Lord has come… Let earth rejoice his