Christmas Message

Christmas Message - IN SUCH A TIME AS THIS (12-18-2011)

So,…How are you feeling about Christmas right about now?? Some of you by now are thinking you are doing pretty well, you are right on track and if nothing goes wrong it is looking pretty good…things are going to turn out great. Some of you by now are operating on faith, operating in panic mode, hoping and praying for a miracle because if anything good is going to come out of this season it is going to take a miracle. Others may be honestly thinking down inside that you wish it was all over. Christmas has become something other than what you think it should be and you are finding it hard to get into the spirit of the celebration.

It happens every year, Christmas. What will this Christmas season for 2011 shape up to be for you and yours? By now you have a pretty good idea whether the 2011 Christmas is headed toward success or is looking like potential disaster, or is just looking ho hum- going through the motions, hoping to get some holiday cheer somewhere, but in reality waiting till it is all over.

So what will Christmas be to you this year?? What are your expectations? What is Christmas to you? What are you looking for this Christmas?

Is it family, or is it friends that mean most to you at Christmas? Is it the decorations, or…the good food? Is it giving something special to someone that you love,…or receiving that special gift? Or do you look for and hope to get that quiet moment during this season where you can drink in that  special spirit of peace that sometimes comes this time of year…looking for a moment of peace …the peace that you haven’t had all year. Well, whatever Christmas is for you, one thing that I think we will all agree  with is that it is hard in all the trimmings and trappings to look straight at and contemplate the real reason of this season, which is in actuality celebrating the coming of Christ at His first advent.

Can you win this Christmas? Is it possible? Are there too many expectations? Some would say that it is impossible to win at celebrating Christmas. Others would say that it is possible, and then die trying… It has been said that the definition of happiness is ‘when reality exceeds expectations’. What do you expect out of Christmas?

All too often the expectations are too high.  Winning at the expectations we have set for Christmas is indeed near impossible. So, I throw out a couple of questions to you, ‘Is it time for us to refocus, this Christmas season...Christmas 2011, as Christians, on what our celebration is really all about? If we were to make a change this Christmas what would we base the reason for the change on? I would like to clarify one thing right here, this is not going to be a message listing all of the evils of modern day Christmas celebrations. Christmas is a ‘Celebration’ and a celebration can be celebrated in many ways.

We have been talking and focusing this Christmas season at Seacoast on the meaning of Advent…which is Christ’s coming. During this season we normally focus on Christ’s first advent or coming. During Christmas we tend to put most if not all of our focus on His first coming, the Christ child coming, being born in a manger and the miracles that happened surrounding His birth.

But, did you know that there are two advents talked about in the Bible concerning the Messiah’s coming? One has already happened and is the one that we usually focus on during the Christmas season. But, the second advent of Christ is yet to occur. Many of the songs we sing and the traditions that we celebrate during this season include aspects of both advents mentioned in scripture. But for some reason we tend to focus mainly on His first advent,… i.e. the baby in the manger. We talk about worshiping the Savior… and we even sing Christmas songs and carols honoring and worshiping the Savior King. But, which savior do we focus on here in 2011, in our era, today? Do we see a baby in a manger or do we see a coming King? Which savior do we worship during this Christmas season if we take Him into consideration at all?

At His first coming Christ came in a most unusual way and He appeared at a most unlikely time in history. In reality, it was a time that was not too unlike our day today. The time of His first coming had many similarities to our world today. He came into a world that was extremely busy. There was plenty of hustle and bustle. It was a world that was going so fast that there was not a moment of peace. It was a world that was going somewhere. It had a direction. It had a purpose.

However, much like our world today not everyone was happy with the world’s direction and its purpose. They shared our frustration that even though they did not like the direction that the world was taking there was not much that they could do about it. Rome had captured the world and like it or not everyone was made to participate in the world that was placed before them. They were not allowed to just sit on the sidelines and watch the world go by. It was a world of dominance and exploitation and, like it or not, everyone had to participate.  

It was onto this scene that Christ appeared. If you think about it, He, Christ, literally intruded into this world. He was not welcomed by most. (John ch. 1:9-11)He came in fashion much like a strategic military maneuver, **appearing in the center of enemy territory, appearing out of nowhere to the surprise of many, revealing His plan only to those He had came to rescue.

However, not everyone was looking to be rescued. There were those as we read in Jn. 1 that were ok with and actually embraced participating in the direction of this world system of dominance for, if you plugged into the system in the right way, you see, there were benefits offered.

So Christ did not come in reality to be popular in our world even during Christmas. He came in reality

·        to rescue,

·        to save,

·        and to judge (Jn. 3:17-9) although at His first advent He came as a Prince of Peace in a world that did not welcome His intrusion.  In reality His coming here was a threat to many.

Is it any wonder that, even in our world, today, many would much rather remove Christ from the celebration of His own birth? Everyone wants to come to His party, but no one wants to Honor the Guest. What’s up with that?? In reality what our world is doing is asking us to leave one party…His party and attend another. In other words they are asking us to leave our celebration of Christ in Christmas and attend a holiday. This is in essence what the world is offering us…the choice is in reality still up to us. This of course will never do.

But, there is really more to it than this. It is very easy to be concerned or angry with and blame those around us for all the confusion concerning this holiday. But if we were to be honest we need to ask another question. And this question is for those who believe that Christ is indeed the reason for the celebration. Here is the question…are you ready?

·        Are you participating in the celebration of our Savior or are you participating in a holiday? (Repeat)You see maybe part of the problem may lie with us.

·        If someone was looking from the outside what conclusion would they come to? Would they call our observance a holiday or a celebration?

·        So we are back where we started at the beginning of this message.

·        What is Christmas? What is the celebration of Christmas really all about? What is the message that we send to our world around us in how we celebrate this holiday?

Maybe one of the problems with our observance as Christians is that we do not often tell the whole story of His coming. Somehow I think that we all too often tend to only focus on His birth or the baby in a manger. If you sing Christmas songs you will get a more complete view of the Christmas story. Yes, at His first coming or advent He did come as a baby. This is important. And, you can’t get to Christ without coming through His birth. But we often forget that He also grew up. We all know the Christmas story. The events that followed His coming included His life and are as important as His birth.

Those at Christ’s first advent had a similar problem. Even though the Jews knew of His prophesied first advent, many or most of them were not in reality believing He would appear. They were still back in Egypt in their mind and observances. They were revering the acts of God instead of the God of the acts. They were stuck in the past only. The problem was that, as important as God’s past works were, He was not there anymore. He was about to appear before their very eyes and they were about to miss Him.

When you look at scripture in the OT it was plainly predicted that He would come and most Bible expositors believe that these predictions were so precise that His coming could not be missed. It was clear. Some believed that these prophecies pointed to the exact year of His coming and the exact location of His arrival, i.e. Bethlehem. This is unlike His second coming about which we are told that we will not know the exact time, but instead the season of His coming. This is why those who, during His first advent, who not only knew of the prophecy, but also believed them, were actually looking for Him when He showed up!!

Only a few were actually actively waiting and looking for Him though. Not unlike today, His people then in general, were stuck in life…living it out, having a religious base, but typically not an active right-now faith. The world had conquered them and put them in a manageable place, giving them a directive, telling them that they could have a religion, so to speak, but they drew the line as to any influence or interference on the society that they were making here.

(Line drawn in the sand) In that time the government led by Herod sanctioned and allowed, actually encouraging their so called religious feasts, but they were not allowed to prepare for the coming Messiah… the coming King.

Christ came at such a time as this…Such a time as we are in now…not much unlike Today. At His first coming Rome dominated the world, today the new boss is an economic world system which like Rome includes many nations. **It was not much different then. After His first coming or advent he walked through the streets, the world, reclaiming and gathering His sheep…those who would or did already truly believe in Him. This was no baby in a manger. But, a Savior King making a statement that He was Here. He had finally arrived. By virtue of His obedience to His Father He did not fit into this World. He said that we would not fit either.

This truth and message has nothing to do with the fun and enjoyable traditions of Christmas. No matter how you look at Christmas, in reality it is a celebration! But, this message has everything to do with the Spirit in which we do them. Most would admit that our observance of Christmas has too much activity and flash, but truly little of the actual substance of those things that Christmas should hold…Hence our frustration with this holiday season. When it is all over we would like more lasting meaning out of the Christmas celebration.

To those who are following or are attempting to have the notion of truly following God in life and this season the world says NO! You cannot. You MUST do it this way. We have it all laid out for you. Acceptable behavior…

But, God is speaking different words to us. He is saying come follow Me,*** I am speaking if you can be quiet enough to hear Me. I will show you the way if you will follow Me. If you truly want to win at Christmas this year and every year here is where it is found! If true worship is not part of your Christmas you can never win at Christmas.

One such winner at the Christmas celebration was Simeon. READ Lk. 2:25-32 In actuality, Simeon also was celebrating Christmas in principle even though it wasn’t in actuality the Christmas season or time of the year. Christ, being God, had shown up many times to His people in the past. Simeon recognized and remembered his God’s past works. They were important to him.

God’s past works concerning his people prompted him to worship his God. But, Simeon’s focus of worship was not so much with the past, but with the present and the future. His focus was on the present and things soon to happen and appear.

·        The past laid the foundation for his worship in the present.

·        His worship was present right now, not worshiping a historical fact, but a REAL God who was presently at work!

He knew his Savior was coming. His arms were expectant and anxious to hold Him. His prayers to God were filled with anticipation. He believed the prophecies that God would show up at the appointed time which he knew to be any moment now.  His actions reflected his beliefs.

The Christmas season is supposed to be a time when we take  time out of our busy life to focus on our God who came to earth for us. Supposedly it is a time to reflect on the past works of God prompting us to worship Him here in 2011 for who He is and His continuing works on our behalf. Simeon did not throw out or push aside the past. He used it to prompt worship of the God of the present. The past works of God are not just historical facts, they a part of His continued revelation. The end of the Bible shows us this. The entire Bible and all the works of God are summed up at the end of the Bible with what book?…The Book of Revelation…this is our God…the Revelation of Jesus Christ and His continuing works which one day on this side of eternity will be completed and done. Past historic acts point to a God that is on the move.

All too often at Christmas we get caught in the past…our remembrance becomes ritualistic instead of being present, alive and real. We have the right stuff to prompt proper worship in 2011: the Bible, Christmas Hymns, His work in our lives, they all point to not only the God who came as a baby, identifying with our humanity, but also to the coming King and His continued work which we see today.

When was the last time you paused to think about those words you are singing during Christmas and stopped in wonder, taking a moment not to acknowledge just a historical fact, but to worship a Present God for His work! We tend to visit the past instead of finding the God of Christmas in the present. Living in the past without applying the past to the present will have the outcome of making Christmas ho hum at best.

I think Simeon had it right. In his day he did not miss his Savior when the Savior showed up. He took seriously what was told him about God’s progressive work. Do we do the same? What do you see in the Christmas celebration? Do you just see the past? Do you just throw up some tinsel and a few lights…buy a gift and make the routine rounds or is this a celebration of the God in your life who is at work today in the world around you!

If you have become ritualistic in your celebration only focusing on God’s past works don’t feel so bad. Even the disciples got it wrong. It is all too easy to visit the past and be done with the celebration. After Christ’s death on the cross we see the disciples in essence doing what we do. We find them after His crucifixion at the grave looking for the Savior who had died. When they got there they were met by an angle sent from God with a message for them. Do you remember what the angle said? He is not here He has risen…why do you seek the living among the dead? They were acting on the past.

If God were to send a message to us during this Christmas season 2011 I think this is what it would be. I think that He would say, ‘I am not back there. I am here… and I am continuing to make preparations for My Return and am actively at work in your world today…look around…you will see Me.’ Then His message to us might continue by Him repeating His words and parable that He said to His disciples found in  Matt. 25:31-4 concerning the separation of the sheep and goats. (READ)

What are your expectations at Christmas? Remember the definition of happiness? Reality exceeds expectations. If your Christmas has become a routine celebration attempting to outdo last year then all that you can expect is a Ho Hum outcome or return. But, if your celebration includes a Savior that is at work today then maybe your Christmas celebration will have meaning that will last and build with anticipation as God continues to unfold His plan. You might hang that tinsel and stop for a moment and acknowledge the presence of your God, or in putting up the tree you might stop and read the Christmas story, or you might change the way you decorate your house to more adequately reflect your attitude toward the Savior, or you may just sing a few more carols, but this time contemplate the meaning of the message contained in them.

So what are you looking for out of this Christmas…Christmas 2011? Is Christmas 2011 looking like it is going to turn out Ho hum or Ho Ho Ho!! Are your expectations not only impossible to obtain, but also focused on the wrong thing? Maybe it is time to refocus our Christmas expectations and focus on the One that the Christmas season is all about. Take time this Christmas season for those things that really are most important which will include moments of worship, fellowship with God and others and praise for your God.

There is a second advent of Christ. It is His second coming… Is it the season for His next coming or visitation? Many would think so. At any rate God IS at work today! Simeon if he were here would be watching the signs and biding his time till Christ’s return by following and worshiping the present I AM God.

So how is Christmas 2011 going for you? Don’t let this surprise you, but if you haven’t had any Christmas yet this year there is a good chance that you just might miss it. Saving Christmas for one day that we put on a calendar is no guarantee that you will get a little Christmas this year. You can start your Christmas today and the Christmas that we speak about here can last well into the future including the New Year!

At Seacoast we like to offer opportunities to have that Christian as well as Christmas experience…our worship services and gatherings and fellowship times are geared toward those experiences. So we want to offer you an opportunity today since it is so close to Christmas to be sure that you don’t miss Christmas this year. We are going play a song of contemplation giving you an opportunity to respond to God’s prompting this morning. You may remain seated. God may be speaking to your heart and we want to give you an opportunity to respond. You may stay right where you are and say a prayer to Him, you may come forward …the alter is here…the elders will be up here if you would like to talk to someone. This is an opportunity to celebrate Christmas right now…

 (Simeon's Lullaby) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JswoKe27XsQ&noredirect=1