Rev. David Holwick ZP CHRISTMAS REFLECTIONS
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
December 24, 2017
Matthew 2:1-12
DON'T MISS CHRISTMAS
I. Christmas is not a day that creeps up on you.
A. Veterans Day or even Valentines Day can swoop right by.
1) Not Christmas - the season pounds on you for over a month.
National Public Radio interviewed psychologist Linda Blair
who studies workplace environments.
She found that many workers in stores have to listen to
Christmas music all day long, from October to December.
And some of the store owners are so cheap they own a single
CD with 25 Christmas songs on it, and put it on
perpetual repeat.
Alvin and the Chipmunks singing "Here Comes Santa Claus."
Even Nat King Cole can grate on you after the 100th time.
[1]
This is why when you do that last-minute Christmas shopping
the person at the cash register has the dull eyes and
the drool dripping down their cheek.
2) The danger is being drowned by Christmas, not missing it.
B. There are some rare cases where it has been missed.
A number of years ago, MOODY MAGAZINE told the story of a guy
named George Mason whose life was consumed by his work.
He lived alone, which only contributed to his work addiction.
Although he had few friends, each Christmas he received
several invitations to spend Christmas Day with a family.
George always declined the offers.
This particular Christmas was no exception.
On Christmas Eve, after all his employees left, George Mason
went into the office vault to get a little extra cash.
To his shock, the heavy door of the walk-in safe shut behind
him.
Desperately, he pounded on the steel door, but no one was
around to hear.
Even the custodian had left early to do some last-minute
Christmas shopping.
The lonely miser consoled himself, "I can make it all right
until morning."
But suddenly he recalled, the next day was Christmas.
No one would be coming in for TWO DAYS.
He panicked as he tried to figure out if there would be
sufficient oxygen.
Then he remembered: The vault had recently been installed and
was supposed to have a safety air-hole built in somewhere.
He felt around in the dark and eventually found the emergency
feature in a corner near the floor.
On the day after Christmas, early in the morning, the chief
cashier arrived.
As was his routine, he unlocked the vault but didn't bother
opening the door.
George Mason, exhausted, faint, hungry, and thirsty, exited
the human-size safe without being spotted.
And by the time he went home, showered, dressed, and returned
to the office, no one suspected a thing.
Life went on as usual - except for one thing: George Mason
had missed Christmas.
Can you believe it? He missed Christmas because the door to
the safe closed on him.
He's the only person I've ever heard of who had that happen.
But do you know what is more common?
People who "miss" Christmas year after year.
You understand what I mean by that, don't you?
People who buy and receive presents
and decorate their homes and trees
and make an appearance at the appropriate number of parties
and church programs,
but who miss the opportunity to savor the splendor and
contemplate the mystery of God's love made visible.
#5073
C. In reality, many people miss Christmas completely.
1) They celebrate the season, but miss the Savior.
2) How can you make sure you don't miss Christmas?
II. Much of it depends on what you focus on in life.
A. King Herod was a typical politician.
1) He loved power. He loved attention.
2) He was one of the greatest builders of the ancient world
and some of those impressive monuments still stand today.
3) But he was also exceedingly cruel and ruthless.
a) He killed many members of the Sanhedrin when he came
to power.
b) Later he slaughtered 300 court officers.
c) He murdered his wife and her mother.
d) He assassinated his oldest son and two others.
4) Anything or anyone that got in his way was eliminated.
B. One little baby was enough to unhinge him.
1) The fact that foreigners were seeking a new Jewish king
meant that Herod had a rival.
2) He says he wants more details so he can worship the child,
but he really intends to kill him.
C. Herod had religion but not God.
1) All the religious experts were at his fingertips.
2) He found out where the Messiah was predicted to be born.
3) He even knew the proper attitude to have - worship.
4) What he didn't have is a genuine spiritual desire to
know this king and bow before him.
5) Many Americans are in the same boat.
III. How many really believe?
A. Vast numbers claim to believe in Jesus.
1) Wikipedia estimates there are 2.4 billion Christians
around the world, or around one out of three humans.
2) Yet even in our own country we know plenty of people who
believe in God and claim to be Christians, but their
lives give almost no evidence of it.
3) Consider your own pew...
a) Do you think the person on your left really knows what
it is about?
b) How about the one on the right? At the end of the pew?
1> First of all, shame on you for judging them!
2> (and for me, for asking you to judge them)
c) None of us really knows the spiritual destiny of those
around us.
1> All we can do is assess their fruit and make a guess.
B. You can love Christmas and not know Jesus.
1) I loved Christmas as a kid.
a) The decorations and food and especially the gifts got
my full attention.
b) But it wasn't until I was a junior in high school that
I realized the little wooden baby in the manger
scene demanded something from my heart.
1> He wanted to be my master and Savior.
2> He wanted much, much more than most people give him.
2) The essence of Christmas is encountering God.
a) The shepherds got it, and the magi got it.
b) Do you get it?
IV. Find Christmas in Jesus.
A. You have to look for him.
In the movie "Forrest Gump," Forrest's bitter, disabled Vietnam
veteran friend, Lieutenant Dan, was watching a church choir
sing on television.
In a sarcastic tone Dan asked Forrest, "Gump, have you found
Jesus yet?"
Forrest's innocent reply was, "I didn't know I was supposed
to be looking for Him."
Many people think like Forrest Gump.
They do not know that they need to find Jesus or that He is
seeking to find them. #4723
1) I didn't know I was supposed to look for Jesus until three
things happened:
a) I was dissatisfied with my life.
b) Someone told me about Jesus and what he had done for
them.
c) I read the gospel of Matthew to find out what Jesus
says about himself and what he wants me to do.
2) What does Jesus want us to do?
a) Repent of our sins.
b) Believe in him.
c) Follow him and live a different kind of life.
B. Have you ever looked for Jesus?
1) You have probably been told about him at some point, and
dragged to church to be exposed to him, but have you
ever actually looked? Made a search?
a) I am talking about having a genuine spiritual hunger
to find the truth about life and where God fits
into it all.
b) Many people in churches never do it.
c) You might be satisfied with yourself just as you are,
or maybe not that impressed by people who claim
they have really found Jesus.
1> (not everyone who claims it really has it)
2) It is often not an instantaneous event.
a) I myself had lots of questions and doubts and changes
of mind before I settled on my faith.
b) Even after you believe in him, your level of
understanding can change dramatically.
3) But you do have to believe, to come to a point where you
make a commitment from the heart.
V. If you have found him, acknowledge him.
A. Communicate your faith during this season.
1) When people tell me "Happy Holidays" I don't sneer at them
or beat them up.
a) Instead, I respond, "Merry Christmas" and smile.
b) I don't have to make it a "culture war," but I can make
it an opportunity to remind people of Christ.
2) Your Christmas cards and presents can also express what
you believe.
B. Focus beyond yourself.
1) The Bible's Christmas story has prophecies on the Messiah's
mission to lift up the outcasts and the people on the
margins of life.
a) Read the words of Zechariah and Mary in the Christmas
story.
b) It has influenced our culture in a profound way.
2) A movie this year is called "The Man Who Invented Christmas."
a) It is about Charles Dickens and how he was inspired
to write his classic story "A Christmas Carol."
b) We all know about Scrooge and Tiny Tim and the ghosts
of Christmas Past, Present and Future.
c) But Dickens did not invent a Christmas that has
compassion for poor people - this has been a focus
since the beginning.
1> The poor, the sick, the discouraged all have a
friend in Jesus.
2> You do, too.
3) Because Jesus is your savior, be generous with others.
a) Something like one-third of all giving happens this
month!
C. Spend time looking to Jesus.
1) The main focus of the first Christmas was Jesus himself.
2) There was no tinsel, gingerbread cookies or colored lights.
3) There was just a baby that everyone was drawn to.
4) Have you been drawn to him?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
[1] “Stores: Stop Torturing Your Employees With Christmas Music,” Morning
Edition of National Public Radio, November 8, 2017; <link>.
#4723 “Are We Supposed To Be Looking For Him?” by Rev. Scott Bennett,
Hickman Baptist Church of Hickman, Texas; December 3, 1995;
<link> [dead link].
#5073 “The Man Who Missed Christmas,” by Rev. Greg Asimakoupoulos,
1999 Advent Adventure #4A, Mainstay Ministries, December 19,
1999.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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