God's Christmas Gifts

Christmas gifts sermon

To start with, let me tell you why I am delivering a Christmas sermon. Last week, I delivered the second to last sermon in the series about Israel. And it was an uplifting sermon about antisemitism, war, hostility to Israel, and the coming antichrist. This week was to be the conclusion of that series, another warm and fuzzy sermon about who the antichrist is, the rebuilding of the temple, the breaking of the 7-year peace treaty, and the final battle of Armageddon. But I saw it in your faces last week. Your faces were saying, “Please give us some good news.” So, I decided that I am simply recording that final sermon. It is already online, spoken and in transcript form. The next three weeks we are going to open up the Word around the Christmas story. And the theme this year is “Christmas gifts.”

Luke 2: 2 Now it happened that in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus for a census to be taken of all [a]the inhabited earth. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5 in order to register along with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was with child. 6 Now it happened that while they were there, the days were fulfilled for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a [d]manger, because there was no place for them in the [e]guest room.

8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night.9 And an angel of the [f]Lord stood before them, and the glory of the [g]Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened.10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.11 For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is [h]Christ the Lord.12 And this will be the sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a [i]manger.”13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men [j]with whom He is pleased.”

I came across an article this week.

What not to Buy Your Wife for Christmas: Although the only person a man usually shops for is his wife, the whole experience is a stressful one. Many a man has felt extreme frigid temperatures for a long period based on a poor present decision. As a veteran of these wars, I'm still not sure what to buy my wife, but I'll pass on what not to buy her:

1. Don't buy anything that plugs in. Anything that requires electricity is seen as utilitarian.
2. Don't buy clothing that involves sizes. The chances are one in seven thousand that you will get her size right, and your wife will be offended the other 6999 times. "Do I look like a size 16?" she'll say. Too small a size doesn't cut it either: "I haven't worn a size 8 in 20 years!"
3. Avoid all things useful. The new silver polish advertised to save hundreds of hours is not going to win you any brownie points. (This really dates this article. “Silver polish? Who polishes silver?”)
4. Don't buy anything that involves weight loss or self-improvement. She'll perceive a six-month membership to a diet center as a suggestion that's she's overweight.
5. Don't buy jewelry. The jewelry your wife wants, you can't afford. And the jewelry you can afford, she doesn't want.
6. And, guys, do not fall into the traditional trap of buying her frilly underwear. Your idea of the kind your wife should wear and what she actually wears are light years apart.
7. Finally, don't spend too much. "How do you think we're going to afford that?" she'll ask. But don't spend too little. She won't say anything, but she'll think, "Is that all I'm worth?"

Herb Forst in Cross River, NY, Patent Trader, in Reader's Digest, p. 69.

So, in summary, just get a gift card.

We all get gifts that we don’t appreciate. We’ve all given gifts that fall short of what someone might actually want, or even need. But I was thinking again this week about the Christmas story, and in particular, the announcement to the shepherds from the angels, and I was thinking about what a great gift God chose to give us on Christmas. It was all we need and want. Listen to these words again.

the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.

13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men [j]with whom He is pleased.”

Of course, we know that the big gift that came that first Christmas was Jesus; God in flesh, the Seed of the woman, and the Only Begotten Son. But just like at our Christmases, we often have one big gift, and lots of smaller ones, so is the case at Christmas. Along with the big Gift of the Child born, are many, many smaller gifts. Let me tell you what I mean.

https://biblereasons.com/benefits-of-becoming-a-christian/

1. No judgment in Christ 2. Empowerment over sin 3. Real peace 4. The indwelling Spirit 5. Eternal life 6. Abundant life 7. Adoption as God’s children 8. Delegated Authority 9. Intimacy with God 10. A priceless inheritance 11. The shared sufferings of Christ 12. The Spirit’s aid in our weakness 13. The Holy Spirit’s intercession 14. God’s working things out for good. 15. The shared glory of God 16. God with us 17. Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm 18. Jesus as our advocate to the Father 19. Victory 20. Nothing…can separate you from God

And that is really just the beginning of a list of blessings we receive when we welcome the Christ child. But the angels, drew attention to six things when they announced Christ’s birth. We are going to spend two weeks opening these gifts. It is my genuine desire that you leave here uplifted over this Christmas season.

Do you know what gifts the angel said were coming that first Christmas?

The gift of no fear. The gift of good news. The gift of great joy. The gift of glorifying God. The gift of peace. The gift of God’s pleasure.

But before we dive in, let’s go to the Lord in prayer.

Before we get into the gifts, let’s just reset the scene of this angelic encounter a little bit.

This is a very familiar story for most of us.

2 Now it happened that in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus for a census to be taken of all [a]the inhabited earth.

Italicized text was copied from:

https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/why-was-there-a-roman-census-at-the-time-of-jesus-birth.html

Caesar Augustus was fond of censuses. It took a lot of taxes to keep the enormous Roman army going, to build roads, and to finance military campaigns to continue conquering the known world.

Augustus nearly doubled the size of Rome.

Caesar Augustus was also just generally a luxurious emperor.

that he ordered widespread censuses of Rome at least three times in 28 B.C., 8 B.C., and 14 A.D. More localized censuses also took place regularly in certain areas of the Roman Empire; Judea faced at least three censuses around the time of the birth of Christ, in 8 B.C., 2 B.C., and 6 A.D.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David,5 in order to register along with Mary, who was betrothed to him, and was with child.

Though it flies in the face of Christmas tradition, the truth of the matter is that Mary and Joseph probably stayed with family in Bethlehem. The Bible never says Jesus was born in a stable; it simply says he was placed in a manger: “She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them” (Luke 2:7).

Note that there was no “guest room” available for them; Mary and Joseph probably stayed on the crowded ground floor of a relative’s house, writes Tim Chaffey for Answers in Genesis. The idea of a fruitless search for an inn comes from a translation of the Greek word for guest room getting turned into “inn” in some English Bibles.

Because they probably stayed with family, it is likely that Mary and Joseph remained in Bethlehem for some time.

6 Now it happened that while they were there, the days were fulfilled for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a [d]manger, because there was no place for them in the [e]guest room.

Forty days after the birth of her son, a Jewish woman was to go to the temple for purification, which Luke records that Mary and Joseph did, after which they appear to have returned to Bethlehem. The wise men came at some point while Jesus was “a young child” and visited him at a house in Bethlehem.

Now, that’s the background to what happens next; the angelic birth announcement to the shepherds. On the same day that Jesus is born, angels choose to announce that birth to a certain group of people.

Now it is here that I could talk about another God-given gift. It is the gift that “whosoever will may come.” The announcement of the Lord’s birth came to shepherds. Shepherds were on the bottom as far as stature in 1st century Jewish society. I’ll not elaborate on that now. But that means that God chose to send His announcement to the lowest of people. What that indicates to us is that God is not a respecter of persons. He doesn’t limit His blessings or revelations to the rich, or educated, or aristocratic. He gave His Son that whoever will believe in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.

And it is here that we get a description of the gifts that God was giving to humankind 2000 years ago. And let me tell you, God is a great gift-giver.

The gift of no fear. The gift of good news. The gift of great joy. The gift of glorifying God. The gift of peace. The gift of God’s pleasure.

I. The gift of no fear.

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.11 For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is [h]Christ the Lord.

God wants His children to have no fear.1 John 4:17-18 Legacy Standard Bible

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear [a]involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

One thing that you will hear repeatedly in the Christmas narrative is the phrase, “Do not be afraid.” The angel told Joseph in a dream not to fear to take Mary as his wife. The angel Gabriel told Zechariah not to fear when he appeared to him in the temple. Gabriel also told Mary not to fear. And the shepherds are told not to fear.

Why are they fearful?

You might notice that every time someone is told not to fear, the statement comes from an angel who is announcing Jesus’ birth. Of course, the obvious reason they say that is because it’s not every day that a person encounters one of God’s heavenly host. We know that at least with the shepherds, they saw the angels brightly light up the night sky. So, it would be a fearful occurrence.

So, they were likely fearful because they are seeing an angel in shrouded in the glory of God. But, in addition to that, if these people were acquainted with the Scripture, they knew that angels are not always good omens. All the way back in Genesis, one of the earliest stories of angels coming to earth had two of them going into Sodom, to drag Lot and his family out before the city was destroyed with fire and brimstone. On another occasion an angel stood in Balaam’s path with a drawn sword, ready to kill Balaam for his disobedience. In the book of 2 Kings, the angel of the Lord, killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night. The Angel of the Lord slew a huge part of the population of Israel when David sinned by performing a census.

So, if these people see angels and are afraid we can understand why. But the angels respond to that fear from the shepherds and tell them, “Do not be afraid.” “We are here with good news, not bad news.” “We are hear to announce joy not sorrow.” And, my friends that is the first gift imparted to the shepherds; the gift of no fear. How many of us would like to be able to live life with no fear? Jesus came to give you the gift of no fear.

You wonder if that is even possible in the world today. Not only do we all have our own personal reasons to fear, the whole world is full of frightening things. And we get a daily dose of it from every angle. We not only know about our own tornados earthquakes wars and disasters, we know about everyone else’s as well. There’s a good word for what we are experiencing today.

Collins dictionary chooses a word of the year every year. In 2022, the word of the year was “permacrisis.” It is the combination of two words; permanent and crisis.

https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-63458467

Permacrisis - a word describing the feeling of living through a period of war, inflation, and political instability.

It describes a circumstance where it feels like we were just shocked to learn of one crisis, and before we have time to absorb that, another one comes along. With world events, family instability, the massive shifting of long-held cultural values, financial instability, and the crumbling of long-valued institutions, many people are feeling a sense of unease; The ground is shifting beneath their feet. They are in a state of “permacrisis.”

We think we are in permacrisis, 1st century Israel was more so. They were really in a permacrisis. Most people back then were.

But yet, the angels had the audacity to say to them and us, “Fear not.” “You don’t have to fear.” “Don’t be afraid.” How could they say that? Well, throughout the Scripture, when someone is told, “Fear not,” there’s a reason given that they shouldn’t fear.

Genesis 15:1 After these things the word of Yahweh came to Abram in a vision, saying, Do not fear, Abram, I am a shield to you;

Genesis 26:24 And Yahweh appeared to him that night and said, “I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you.

Exodus 14:13 But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear! Stand by and see the salvation of Yahweh

Numbers 14:9 Yahweh is with us; do not fear them.”

Deuteronomy 3:22 Do not fear them, for Yahweh your God is the one fighting for you.’

2 Kings 6:16 So he said, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

2 Chronicles 20:15 ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.

Psalm 46:1-3 God is our refuge and strength, [b]A very present help in [c]trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains shake into the heart of the [d]sea;
3 Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its lofty pride. [e]Selah.

Psalm 118:6 Yahweh is for me; I will not fear; What can man do to me?

Isaiah 40:9 Get yourself up on a high mountain, O Zion, bearer of good news, Raise up your voice powerfully, O Jerusalem, bearer of good news; Raise it up, do not fear. Say to the cities of Judah, “Behold your God!”

Isaiah 41:10 Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will make you mighty, surely I will help you; Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

Revelation 1:17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not fear; I am the first and the last,

God’s first gift to you is freedom from fear. Why? Because the only One that you should fear is God. Jesus said “Don’t fear them who can only destroy the body, but fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in Hell.” He holds eternity in His hands. The only reason you have to fear Him is if you have not been forgiven. You fear God because you fear His judgment for sin. You fear eternal punishment. But the angels came to tell these people, that God was sending the Savior from sin. So, the gift is that the only real thing that you should fear; God’s judgment is taken away. Sin’s punishment is nothing to fear anymore. And Everything else is momentary,

Romans 8:31 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

What a great gift. You know, most Christmas gifts that I have received, were “okay.” Some were lame. Most were “okay.” No need for fear is a great gift.

What are the other gifts?

The gift of no fear. The gift of good news. The gift of great joy. The gift of glorifying God. The gift of peace. The gift of God’s pleasure.

II. The gift of good news.

Denise and I watch “The Great British Baking Show.” It’s a baking competition produced by the British Broadcasting Company. They start each season with 12 amateur bakers who, each episode have to bake 3 separate challenging dishes. They are judged on the quality and taste of their work. And each week, at the end of the episode one host says, “This week I get the privilege of announcing this week’s “star baker.” After that announcement, the other host will say, “Now I get the unpleasant task of announcing who is going home.” With every celebration, there is also some sadness.

There’s rarely a time that all the news is good. I remember during Covid, somebody put together an internet program called “Good news.” Every day they just told us about good news, in contrast to the regular news which is usually bad news. Where is that show now? It didn’t last.

But when the angels announced the birth of our Lord, they said, “We have good news.” It was the good news that the Savior was born. It was the good news of no fear. It was the good news of peace on earth. It was the good news of God being glorified in the events of this world. It was good news upon good news upon good news.

It is such a wonderful thing when the good news is just good news. There is no “Yes, but.”

We get some examples of that kind of good news in the other places that that phrase “good news” is used in the Bible. These are times that the Bible called something “good news.”

You might remember one such story in 2nd Kings. King Benhadad of Aram had surrounded Samaria with his army. He stopped all food, water, supplies from going into the city. This was a common tactic in the day of walled cities; just starve them out. This went on for so long that the inhabitants of the city were starving. It was so bad that some resorted to cannibalism. But Elisha, God’s prophet told the king that the very next day, God was going to provide an abundance of food. The famine would be over. And this is how it happened. The following day, there were four men afflicted with leprosy sitting outside the gates of the city. Because of their disease they were not allowed in the city. So, they are starving just like everyone in the city. But they get to thinking. “Why don’t we go out to the enemy army camp that surrounds the city? If we go to the enemy, they will do one of two things. Either they will take us captive, where at least we may get something to eat, and live, or they will kill us. And we are already dying of starvation.” So that’s what these lepers did. And, unbeknownst to them, God had already dealt with the army.

5 So they arose at twilight to go to the camp of the Arameans. Then they came to the outskirts of the camp of the Arameans, but behold, there was no one there.6 Now the Lord had caused the camp of the Arameans to hear a sound of chariots and a sound of horses, even the sound of a great military force, so that they said to one another, “Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of the Egyptians, to come upon us.”7 Therefore they arose and fled in the twilight, and forsook their tents and their horses and their donkeys, even the camp just as it was, and fled for their life.2 Kings 7:8-10 Legacy Standard Bible

8 So these lepers came to the outskirts of the camp and entered one tent and ate and drank. Then they carried from there silver and gold and clothes, and they went and hid them; and they returned and entered another tent and carried from there also and went and hid them.

9 Then they said to one another, “We are not doing right. This day is a day of good news, but we are keeping silent; if we wait until morning light, punishment will [a]overtake us. So now, come, let us go and tell the king’s household.”10 So they came and called to the gatekeepers of the city, and they told them, saying, “We came to the camp of the Arameans, and behold, there was no one there, nor the voice of man, only the horses tied and the donkeys tied, and the tents just as they were.”

It was good news. The lepers had good news to bring to Samaria. What was the good news? The enemy has fled. The siege is over. The war is over. The famine is done. Salvation has come. God has rained down bread from heaven.

The words “Good news” were often associated with times of war. The armies would go out to war. They either went out to a distant conflict, or they went out to fight against an aggressive force that was trying to enslave the land and its people. Once the army left, there was the long period of quiet before you got news of the battle. You had no word, good or bad for some time. Then you would see a lone messenger come running up over the horizon. And as you saw them running toward the city, you might try and guess what the news was going to be. The news came down to two kinds; bad news was that we lost the battle, or were losing the battle. Which meant that the city faced further violence, famine, disease, sorrow, death and enslavement. Or, if it was good news, the army successfully turned the tide. The enemy was defeated, you were saved.

The same words used by the angels to the shepherds. And so the angels tell the shepherds that there is good news. What was that good news? The enemy has been defeated. The siege is over. The war with sin is over. The famine of the Spirit is done. God has rained down the Bread of heaven. Life has come.

Psalm 96:2 Sing to Yahweh, bless His name; Proclaim good news of His salvation from day to day.

Isaiah 52:7 How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who proclaims good news, Who announces peace And proclaims good news of good things, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

God gave the shepherds, and us, the gift of good news. We get good news sometimes. We are informed that we got the promotion. We are told that we have an inheritance coming. We are told that the illness is over. We are told that somebody stepped in to save us. This is all of that- God’s gift of good news.

The gift of no fear. The gift of good news. The gift of great joy. The gift of glorifying God. The gift of peace. The gift of God’s pleasure.

III. The gift of great joy.

10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people.

Great joy: charas megalas

Joy is that feeling of pleasure and happiness. It is euphoria. It is bliss. amusement bliss cheer comfort delight elation glee satisfaction wonder

It is the wonder drug of emotions. If there is one emotion that we could pick to be experienced the rest of our lives, it would be joy. The reason I would pick it is that it is experienced regardless and in spite of what is happening in your life.

We often say, “That person made me angry, that person made me sad, or they make me happy.” We are saying that when we are in their presence, their presence, demeanor, attitude, or positive actions move our emotions toward happiness. But joy comes, not from the outside, but from the inside. It is happiness from an inside source. It is as Jesus said to the woman at the well, “a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

It comes from the source of joy being in us; God’s Spirit. So, at Christmas, God gave us the gift of joy. When God comes, He brings joy.

1 Chronicles 16:27 Splendor and majesty are before Him, Strength and joy are in His place.

1 Chronicles 16:33 Then the trees of the forest will sing for joy before Yahweh; For He is coming to judge the earth.

Nehemiah 8:10 Then he said to them, “Go, eat of the fat, drink of the sweet, and send portions to him who has nothing prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not be grieved, for the joy of Yahweh is your strength.”

Psalm 16:11 You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.

Psalm 30:5 For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.Isaiah 12:2-4 Legacy Standard Bible

2 Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not dread; For [a]Yah—Yahweh Himself—is my strength and song, And He has become my salvation.” 3 Therefore you will joyously draw water From the springs of salvation. 4 And in that day you will say, “Give thanks to Yahweh, call on His name.
Make known His deeds among the peoples; [b]Make them remember that His name is exalted.”

And not only did the angels say that God was sending joy, but great joy. Mega joy. The word for great here is used in other places for size and volume. The joy is gargantuan and loud. It is all-encompassing. It is a positive emotion and feeling that fills the room and pushes out all sorrow, worry, fear, and hate.

That’s the gift God wants to give you this Christmas.

As a third-century man was anticipating death, he penned these last words to a friend: "It's a bad world, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people are the Christians--and I am one of them."

Today In The Word, June, 1988, p. 18.

The gift of no fear. The gift of good news. The gift of great joy. The gift of glorifying God. The gift of peace. The gift of God’s pleasure.

IV. The gift of glorifying God.

13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men [j]with whom He is pleased.”

The gift of no fear. The gift of good news. The gift of great joy. The gift of glorifying God. The gift of peace. The gift of God’s pleasure.

V. The gift of peace.

13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men [j]with whom He is pleased.”

The gift of no fear. The gift of good news. The gift of great joy. The gift of glorifying God. The gift of peace. The gift of God’s pleasure.

VI. The gift of God’s pleasure.

13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men [j]with whom He is pleased.”

The gift of no fear. The gift of good news. The gift of great joy. The gift of glorifying God. The gift of peace. The gift of God’s pleasure.