The Meaning of Christmas

Good morning everyone, my name is Steve, Sandy Parsey here.

Welcome to St Paul's this morning.

It's great if you have your Bibles over there at one Timothy.

We've got some spare ones floating around if you want one.

And you can take them home with you if you don't have one at home.

And it's particularly mindful of the message you're coming through today.

We're coming to the end of the year.

Christmas is over.

And New Year is on upon us.

Let me pray as we launch into this text verse this morning.

Gracious God, we thank you for your love for us in the Lord Jesus.

We thank you for all we have just remembered and celebrated

and coming into this world to save sinners just like us.

We ask that as we launch into a new year,

that you would affect genuine and radical change deep in our hearts

and particularly our eternal status in him.

And we ask it for your glory.

Amen.

Andy Parke is an electrician in the UK.

He also goes by the name Mr Christmas.

It's a name that he's given himself.

He claims to have celebrated Christmas Day

every single day of the year since July 1993.

He claims that every day he eats turkey sandwich and mince pies for breakfast.

He then goes to work and then returns home for a full roast turkey dinner

before watching in the evening the recording of the Queen's Christmas speech

with a sherry in the UK.

In an interview that was published in 2006,

Mr Parke said that over the previous 13 years,

he has consumed 4,380 turkeys,

87,600 mince pies,

1,200 litres of gravy,

26,280,000 litres of gravy,

26,280 roast potatoes,

30,660 stuffing balls,

4,380 bottles of champagne,

4,380 bottles of sherry,

and 5,000 bottles of wine.

Now, it all strikes me as a little bit odd.

Although, his premise has a point,

even if I think he's entirely missed the point.

That is, his premise behind it all,

in declaring himself being Mr Christmas,

is that he thinks that Christmas is so wonderful,

why would you just leave it to one day a year?

It's something that needs to be celebrated every single day.

And I would say he's right,

even if he's got it entirely wrong.

But how?

How do we celebrate Christmas every day?

Well, if you open up that passage of 1 Timothy,

you'll see there the Christmas event

is right there in verse 15.

Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.

Christ Jesus came into the world.

That's the Christmas event right there.

Christ Jesus came into the world.

Christ Jesus came into the world.

And the coming of the eternal Son of God

into the world, Christ Jesus,

is a fact of history.

There is not a credible historian anywhere in the world

that would deny that.

It's a fact of history.

And that's what we remember we celebrate every Christmas.

But the coming of the Son of God into the world

is so much more than just an historical fact.

The historical event that we celebrate

in Christmas year in, year out,

is fundamentally a message of hope.

When you continue to read the rest of verse 15,

Christ Jesus came into the world

to save sinners.

The meaning of Christmas for you and me

from Jesus Christ

is that forgiveness and salvation

and therefore hope

is there and for our taking

every single day.

Since the Son of God lived,

died, rose, reigns, and is coming again,

God's message through him to us

is more than just remembering

an historical event.

The real meaning of Christmas

is about lives and destinies

being changed by God forever.

So what we are talking about here

is not just a celebration of a historical fact

and retelling of old stories.

There may be some questions

over the sanity and the authenticity

of Andy Park's daily celebration of Christmas,

but there is no mistake

about the impact of Jesus

coming into this world

and that impact being on a daily basis

in the lives of people across this globe.

The sentences in front of us today

are the words of the Apostle Paul.

He was one of the leaders

of the Christian church in the first century

and he's often, even to this day,

he is often features in the list

of top 20 most influential people of all time.

that's who's writing these words.

And they are the sentences,

are the testimony of the change

that Jesus Christ brought about in his life.

Have a look there in verses 12 to 14

if you've got in front of you.

I thank Christ Jesus, our Lord,

who has given me strength

and he considered me faithful,

appointed me to his service.

Even though I was once

a blasphemer and a persecutor

and a violent man,

I was shown mercy

because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.

The grace of our Lord

was poured out on me abundantly

along with the faith and love

that are in Christ Jesus.

So this is one of the top 20

most influential people of all time

and he describes himself here

as a blasphemer

and a persecutor

and a violent man

before God graciously intervened

in his life

in Jesus Christ.

This is Paul

who used to hunt down Christians

in an attempt to devastate

the early Christian church.

Paul's biographer,

a guy named Luke,

Dr. Luke,

described him as a religious predator

who breathed out

murderous threats against Christians.

This is the Paul

who was a callous,

pious,

self-righteous,

bigoted murderer

held bent

on the full-scale extermination

of the early Christian church.

He was one of the main enemies

of Jesus Christ

and the early church.

And he lived day by day

with God at his back.

And yet,

that reality to him

in that moment

was a surprise for him.

He says here

he acted in ignorance

and unbelief.

That is,

he was totally oblivious

that his day-by-day existence

was standing opposed

to God,

his creator.

He was under the assumption

that he and God were okay.

He had religious pedigree.

He had piety

that set him apart

from all of his peers.

He was zealous

to do what was right

and obey God's law.

When he persecuted Jesus

and the followers of Jesus,

he thought he was actually

doing God a favour.

He was ignorant of the fact

that when he stood opposed

to Jesus,

he stood opposed

to the God

that he said

that he worshipped.

all of his religious zeal

in fact

made him

an enemy of God.

It's noticeable

that he twice says

in these verses,

verses 15 and 16,

he refers to himself

as the worst

of sinners.

In other bits

of the New Testament,

he refers to himself

as the chief

of all sinners.

a whole lot of people

struggle with that

kind of declaration.

He actually says

it multiple times.

Of all the people

that he knows,

of all the people

in the world,

I am the worst.

One commentator

in fact on this text,

unhappy with Paul's

self-assessment here,

says that Paul

is either morbid

or he's being

unreal.

He's not telling

the truth.

We might say

Paul is using

pious exaggeration.

This can be

a tendency

in religious circles

and even

in Christian circles.

You can call it

spiritual hype,

you can call it

spiritual hyperbole,

but it's actually

spiritual posturing.

It's spiritual pride.

How many Bible verses

I can memorise

and how pious

I've been.

But it's not that

for Paul.

That's not what

he's talking about here.

Paul is here

articulating

a well-considered

position.

This is not a bit

of spiritual

false humility

to make him

look righteous.

selfishness.

But it's also

not Paul

being morbid.

Paul is not

a person

with any

sense of

low self-image.

You can read

the rest of the

New Testament.

That is,

of course,

the common view

in our society

for Christianity.

It's a crutch

for those

with low self-esteem

and a guilty

conscience.

the argument

is that

Paul

and Paul's

type

are such

perfectionists

who are,

they just get

bent all out

of shape,

turned upside

down

over the

smallest mistakes,

over the

tiniest

failures.

They just

go to

jelly.

And so

for those

who think

Paul's

being morbid

here in

saying that

he's the

worst of

sinners,

they'd say,

oh,

come on,

Paul,

stop being

so morbid.

Goodness me.

Lighten up,

Paul.

You know,

50% is a

pass mark.

See,

he's get

degrees.

You know,

come on,

stop being a

perfectionist.

You just need

a therapist,

Paul.

That's what

you need.

Lighten up.

So why

is he

saying here

that he

is the

worst?

What's

in verse

13?

Where he

describes himself

as a

violent man.

In the

original

language of

the New

Testament,

the word

translated

violent there

in our

English

Bibles

is the

same

root

word

where we

get the

English

word

hubris

from.

Verse

13

means,

in reality,

in the

form of

verse 13,

it means

that I

am a

trampler

of people.

That's

what it

literally

means.

I'm a

trampler

of people.

So Paul's

saying here,

I'm not

being morbid.

Yeah,

it's true.

I did a

whole heap

of good

stuff.

But the

motive that

was under

all of my

actions was

driven by

pride and

a desire to

be superior

than everyone

else.

As I

pursued things

to please

God, I

trampled all

over everyone.

everyone.

In other

words, what

he's saying

there in

that verse,

everything I

did was

about me.

It was

all about

me.

At the

heart of

every one of

his actions

was a need

for him to

be the

absolute

ruler and

controller of

his world

and he

would wreak

destruction on

anyone and

everyone that

stood in

his way.

What the

New Testament

tells us,

what the

Bible tells us

is that's the

very essence

of what it

means to be

a sinner.

And Paul

recognises

that he is

the worst of

sinners,

purely because

he is a

sinner.

In that

sense, we

are all

violent people

and acting

in ignorance

in our

violence.

At the

deepest level,

we want to

make sure

that no

one,

including

God

himself,

tells us

how to run

our lives.

That's the

very essence

of sin.

Sin differs

in its

objects for

each of

us.

It will

look different

for each

of us,

but it

won't differ

in its

nature.

Imagine

two

eucalypse

seeds.

One falls

onto the

ground where

there is no

soil and

there is no

moisture.

The other

seed falls

into a

place of

really rich

soil and

lots of

rain.

The first

one rots,

the other

one grows

into a

great tree,

which

eucalypt

seed had

more

vitality

and

strength.

Neither.

There's no

difference in

the seed.

It had

everything to

do with

the

environment.

the Bible

says that

most of

us do

not grow

up to

be

Ivan the

Terrible or

Adolf Hitler,

God.

But it

isn't for

a lack

of talent.

It's not

because of

lack of

talent.

Underneath

the religious

self-righteousness

sorry,

underneath the

religious

self-righteous

to the

hardened

criminal

is a

violent

pride

that

elevates

the self

over

everyone

else.

Some

use

religion

and

morality.

Others

use

irreligion

and

immorality

to achieve

the exact

same

end.

And Paul

is saying

that his

heart

is no

different

in its

principle

and power

than the

very worst

of sinners.

That's what

he's saying

here.

Don't look

at my

actions per

se,

look at

my heart

and my

heart is

in its

principle

and its

power

exactly the

same as

the worst

of sinners.

And it's

only by

the grace

of God

that he

is who

he is.

That is

the message

of Christmas

right there.

That Jesus

Christ came

into the

world to

save Paul

and you

and me

from the

deepest

recesses

of our

hearts.

That's the

hope of

Christmas.

See it

halfway down

in verse

13.

I was

shown

mercy.

Verse

14.

The grace

of our

Lord was

poured out

on me

abundantly.

See what

he's saying

here is the

hope of

Christmas,

the message

of Christmas

is that

it's the

grace and

the mercy

of God

that has

transformed

him.

God's

undeserved

favour to

him has

transformed

him.

God did

not give

Paul what

he deserved

or what

he had

coming to

him.

That would

have been

rejection

and death.

Instead

he was

shown

mercy.

That is

Paul's

first hand

account of

the impact

of Jesus

coming into

the world

to save

sinners.

So why

is Paul

here in

this moment

telling us

about his

experience of

God's radical

change in

his life

through Jesus

Christ?

Why is he

doing that?

Verse 16.

For that

very reason

I was

shown

mercy so

that in

me the

worst of

sinners Christ

Jesus might

display his

unlimited patience

as an example

for those who

would believe

on him and

receive eternal

life.

What Paul's

saying there

is Jesus

Christ changed

me, Paul,

the chief enemy

of the church

in its infant

days and Paul

tells us

about that

change so

that in

here on

the last

day of

2023 you

and I

could grasp

the meaning

of Christmas

on the other

side of the

world two

centuries later.

The word

example there

in verse 16

means that

Paul is not

just a

pattern but

that he is

the ultimate

pattern.

He is the

ultimate type

of what a

Christian is.

Jesus Christ

picked the

chief of

sinners to

demonstrate to

you and to

me today in

2023 what his

mercy and his

power can do

in your life

now.

That's what he's

saying in verse

16.

There is no

sinner that the

grace of God

in Jesus cannot

overflow to and

deal with.

And so when

you're sitting

here and you've

lived a long

life and

particularly when

you're cynical,

do not

belittle the

mercy of

God at the

end of this

year saying

well I am

who I am and

I just can't

change.

That is

nonsense.

What

happened to

Paul can

happen to

you.

Notice it

there in

verse 15.

Here is a

trustworthy

saying that

deserves full

acceptance.

Christ Jesus

came into the

world to save

sinners of

whom I am

the worst.

To save

sinners.

Paul's

personal reason

to give

thanks to

God is

now widened

to the

praise of

the universal

significance of

Christmas.

Jesus came

into the

world for

the world.

For you.

Not just

Paul.

Purpose of

Jesus coming

into the

world to

save sinners

has been

welcomed by

2,000 years

of human

beings from

every culture

and tribe

who conscious

of their guilt

before God

have gratefully

accepted what

the saving

death of

Jesus Christ

has accomplished

for them in

bringing them

back into

relationship with

God.

Christmas

declares

your

marriage is

going to

work so

put it here

in the

confused children, cynical teenagers, the poor, the outcast, the guilt-ridden, the tired parents,

the financially stressed, the aged, the lonely, the preachers, for lovers, for haters, for you and for me.

Paul, in these verses, calls across the centuries to celebrate Christmas in 2023.

Don't despair. He saved me, the worst of sinners. He can save you too and he can change you too.

There's one more thing. Because Jesus came into this world to save sinners,

what is most precious to us doesn't need to ever be lost. This is the greatest hope of Christmas.

Verse 16 again.

I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience

as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

The deepest hope of Christmas is eternal life.

And life is good. Life is precious. And we don't want to ever lose it.

We can talk all we like about all the good things of life.

But if you don't have life, you don't have anything.

And the promise of Christmas is that you need never lose the most precious thing in your life.

Your life.

Your life is precious and can be saved.

Jesus Christ came into the world to save us and to change us forever.

He came into this world to change our eternal status.

And so that's got to be one of the biggest motives for allowing him to change us right now.

Right now, each day.

And I think that's how we celebrate Christmas.

By holding on to the good news of the mercy and the grace of God.

And allowing that news to change us day in and day out.

That's how you celebrate Christmas.

Every day of the year.

And I happen to think that it's a really happy connection.

That every year, one week after celebration of Christmas and the great salvation event,

we enter into the new year.

We move from the celebration of God's salvation for all of humanity in Jesus Christ

to the dawning of a new age, a new era, a new year.

The promise of a reset.

Resolutions of change.

And these verses are declaring that real change is possible.

The meaning of Christmas.

God's mercy to sinners through Jesus Christ

should be pushed down into our hearts day by day

and it should rise again in change day by day in our lives.

What God did on that very first Christmas

and what he did in changing Paul's life forever

and what he does in forgiving and changing people across the globe

nowadays is utterly free mercy.

So let me just first of all say

if you're not a Christian and you're here today,

you're tuning in online,

mark this year,

mark this year

by coming to Jesus today.

recognise that through the actions of your life,

even though they may not warrant you being declared the worst of people,

but the actual motive of your heart,

if you allow yourself a moment of silence to dig deep enough,

the motive of your heart declares that you do need saving.

You do need rescuing.

And the good news of Christianity is that though we are worse

than we could possibly even imagine,

in Jesus Christ,

we are more loved and affirmed

than you could ever possibly dream.

That's the wonder of Christmas.

Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.

That is God's gift to the world.

It's his gift to you this Christmas

and it's worthy of full acceptance today.

If you are a Christian,

how has God changed you this year?

Because that is the reason he has saved you.

How has he changed you?

Can you actually mark how he's changed you?

Can you actually mark how he's changed you?

Paul is the ultimate example of a life changed.

In this past year at St. Paul's,

we have constantly been asking you,

what is your next step?

Another way you might want to put that,

what is your next step of change and transforming

to become more like Jesus

as you cling to the grace and his mercy to you?

We began this year looking at the example of others

who have been changed by God's mercy

and have run the race of faith,

focused on Jesus alone.

And then we spent a whole term

looking at Jesus and the good news of Christianity

and why that news today is still plausible,

why it is still relevant

and why it is so immensely good.

From there we got glimpses of God's glory and majesty

in term two as we jumped into the book of Isaiah.

In term three we again soaked in God's generosity

and his grace and his mercy to us

and the way that it transforms our life

in every sphere of life

as we walk through the latter sections of Luke's gospel.

And then we just finished out just before Christmas

discovering again the abundant life

on offer in Jesus in John's gospel.

The constant theme throughout this entire year

has been the goodness,

the plausibility and the relevance

of the gospel of Jesus Christ,

the good news

and the change it must bring into your life now.

Right through the year we have used virtually every Sunday

the word what is or the statement what is your next step?

How has God changed you in 2023?

Jesus Christ came into the world to save you

and to change you forever.

How has that been evident?

And if you say that you're Christian

and that is not evident,

how might you be taking your next step

in celebrating the meaning of Christianness

tomorrow and every day of 2024?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.