"The Greatest Gift of Christmas"

The greatest gift of Christmas. That's what I want to preach about this morning. And do you know what?

I reckon preaching a Christmas message is one of the hardest messages to prepare

and preach. Do you agree, Brad?

Angelus, yesterday morning, I woke up and I'm going, right, time to go and prepare

my Christmas sermon. And I sat there for hours.

I go, what do I preach on? How do I make this special? How do I make this passionate?

How do I make this real to everyone?

And I thought by preaching about Jesus, preaching about Jesus.

Angela said to me last night, the worship team said to me this morning,

what are you preaching about?

And I've gone, Jesus, that's what I'm preaching about.

So the greatest gift of Christmas, Isaiah 9, you read from Isaiah,

I'm going to read from Isaiah.

Isaiah 9 verses 6 to 7 says this, for unto us a child is born,

Isaiah 9:6–7

unto us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulder.

And his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,

Everlasting Father, Prince of

Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace, there will be no end.

Upon the throne of David and over his kingdom to order it and establish it with judgment and justice.

From that time forward, even forever, the zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

What an amazing scripture passage.

So boldly and so prophetically proclaiming Jesus and when he came.

You know, one thing I had learned yesterday morning while I was struggling to write this sermon.

Guess who else was born? I actually guess, no, I've already given it away now.

Guess where King David was born? Who knows where King David was born? Bethlehem.

Bethlehem, there you go. There's something for you. And I guess that's part

of the reason why Mary and Joseph had to go back to Bethlehem because that's

where the answer is. But anyway, there we go.

Christmas is a celebration of a child, of a child, God's gift to us of love.

That's what Christmas is all about. You know, when God wanted to conquer Pharaoh

and destroy Egypt, he sent Moses to smash the chains of slavery.

When God wanted to expose sin in Israel, he sent Samuel.

And Samuel, a little bit of, not trivia, because nothing in the Bible is trivia,

but a little bit of information for you.

The Bible says about Samuel that he served the Lord all the days of his life.

And that's the only person in the Bible where that's spoken of,

serving all the days of his life.

When God wanted to crush Satan, however, when God wanted to crush Satan and

his evil empire, he sent Jesus.

He sent his only son in the womb of a virgin born in a manger.

Wow. I want to get something really straight with you guys right now.

Something really obvious. Christ coming to earth was not to establish the economic

madness we call Christmas.

It's not why he came. Do you want to know why he came? Listen up. Listen up.

It was to crush the head of the serpent, Satan.

It was to break the chains that enslave us. That's why Jesus came.

It was the fulfillment of that promise that God made in the book way back in

Genesis when he said, the seed of the woman Mary shall crush the head of the serpent.

Way back in Genesis That's the

devil That's the devil Crush his head

I'm here to proudly announce That Christmas

was the beginning of a fight For your

soul And my soul And Jesus

Christ lived And died And rose from the dead Victorious over death Hell And

the grave That's Jesus That's Jesus Look at this awesome word from the mouth

of the prophet Isaiah concerning the birth of Christ.

That scripture passage that I read earlier, that's the only scripture passage

we're gonna read this morning. But oh boy, am I gonna pull it apart for you guys.

Because the prophet Isaiah said concerning the birth of Christ.

Unto us, unto us, a child is born. Us, who's us?

Who is us? Is it everybody?

Absolutely not. It's not absolutely everybody. Isaiah is speaking only to believers.

Why? Because a gift, the gift of Jesus, must be received before it's yours.

I can offer you a gift. I can buy you all Christmas presents and offer them to you.

But unless you receive it from me, you don't own it.

It's still mine. So when the prophet Isaiah says, unto us a child is born,

he's speaking to those who were willing to receive that gift, that gift.

Going to church doesn't make you a Christian. Singing a song that we sang so

well this morning, giving a gift does not make you a Christian.

God wants you to be a follower of Jesus. That's what we're called to be,

to be a follower of Jesus.

Because you receive him as God's gift to you.

You receive his redemption at the cross for you. If you have not confessed him

as your saviour and your Lord, unfortunately, there's no salvation for you. There's no hope.

There's no eternal life for you.

Unless you receive him as your Lord and saviour, he's not yours.

Let me say this very clearly. You're not living until you know Jesus Christ.

There is no authority to bind the powers and the principalities of darkness

unless you know Jesus Christ.

There's no divine prosperity unless you know Jesus Christ.

There's no claim to joy unless you receive Jesus Christ.

There's no peace that surpasses all understanding.

Who needs some peace in their life? There's no peace unless you receive Jesus Christ.

There's no claim. There's no love that's unspeakable.

There's no home in heaven unless you receive Jesus Christ The greatest gift

of all My question to you is this The greatest question you will ever have to

answer Is have you received the gift of Jesus Christ into your life?

Have you received the gift of Jesus Christ into your life?

If you have, you're on your way to heaven If you have not, you're not going to heaven.

It cannot be said more clearly than that. Unto us, a child is born.

It speaks of Christ's humanity.

He began his life like any human, an infant born naked in a manger.

Actually, I don't know of any other infants that were born naked in a manger.

But anyway, that's how Jesus was born.

Hebrew 4 says this about Jesus. He was tempted with every temptation common

to man Yet he lived a sinless life This is Jesus,

the greatest gift of them all He wept like we weep That's Jesus He experienced

scandal He experienced scandal in his life.

His birth was questioned then and now, still is questioned.

Religious persecution, he had that. Jesus had religious persecution.

Racial hatred, he had that as well. You know what?

He was a Jewish person living in a Roman Gentile world. He had that.

Betrayal, he had that too. Peter denied him often as others did.

Injustice, he had some pretty big injustice in his life.

The judicial system failed him when Pontius Pilate said, I find no fault in him.

According to Roman law, the trial should have been over there and then.

But Pontius Pilate was not seeking the truth. He was seeking to please the people.

And he handed Jesus, he turned Jesus loose into the hands of men who wanted

to kill him. So Jesus suffered injustice.

Understatement. He experienced rejection. He experienced shame.

Yet he was loyal to his father and in the darkest moment of his life,

representing us in the garden of Gethsemane, he said, not my will, but yours be done.

Then he walked to the cross as the champion of Calvary.

That's the greatest gift of all He hung his head and he died So that God's gift

to you can bring you everlasting life And peace that passes all understanding

In the darkest valley you will ever live in Jesus'

light will show up for you Whenever you call,

he appears Because he's awesome, mighty, all-knowing, all-powerful He's the

resurrected Son of God So when you call, he shows up. Wow.

Listen to the next phrase in our scripture this morning. It says, unto us, a son is given.

Unto us, a son is given. Not born, but given.

Why? Why is that word there? This speaks of the pre-existence of Jesus Christ.

He existed before his birth. Therefore, he was given to us.

God so loved the world that he gave his only son.

Jesus was there at the beginning of creation when God's, it's not up there at

the moment, but when God spread the stars across the dark universe, Jesus was there.

He was there when the angels drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden of Eden for

eating the forbidden fruit.

Jesus was there. He was there when Abraham climbed Mount Moriah and lifted the

razor-sharp dagger to sacrifice the life of Isaac, the son of covenant.

Jesus was there. He loved God.

Abraham loved God. He was there when Moses placed his rod into the Red Sea and

God caused the waters to split and the children of Israel walked across on dry land. Jesus was there.

Here's a place where we know he was at or where I believe he was definitely at.

He was there when three Hebrew children walked into a fiery furnace.

And they walked out without a smell of smoke on them because Jesus was the fourth

person in that fire that day. Jesus was there.

They did not bend. They did not bow.

They did not burn in that fire because Jesus was there.

He was there last night, perhaps when you wept with a broken heart.

He was there when tears ran down your cheeks. He was there.

He was there. When you walk to

the grave of your dearest friend or your relative Jesus was there with you.

He felt what you feel. He feels what you feel.

He was there because you know what his name is? His name is Jehovah Shammah.

Shammah means the Lord who is there.

He'll be there when you need him. Call upon me, he said, and I will answer you

and I will show you mighty things.

Whisper the majestic name of Jesus. And you know what happens?

The angels flock to your defense.

He stands there in the highest heavens, prepared to meet your every need.

That is the greatest gift of all.

Daniel 2, 24 says, and the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never

be destroyed, and it will stand forever.

The Lord's prayer, Say it after me For yours is the kingdom The power and the

glory Forever and ever Amen.

It's never going to end. When Christ returns to earth, when Christ returns,

he's going to set up his kingdom in the Temple Mount, on the Temple Mount in

the city of Jerusalem in Israel.

Kings and queens will come and bow before him because the Bible says every knee

shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

It's not if you're going to bow.

It's when you're going to bow. What we hear, what do we, I mean,

my imagination ran loose yesterday morning about what we will hear when his kingdom comes.

Let me invite you into the theater of my mind as I read this out to you.

We bring you the news tonight from Jerusalem, Israel.

King Jesus is sitting on the throne of his father, King David,

and has announced a kingdom that shall never end, a kingdom of absolute peace

and tranquility for every man and woman on planet earth.

He's just defeated. Have a listen to this bit of news.

He has just defeated all the enemies of Israel at the Battle of Armageddon.

Wow. The Antichrist and the false prophet have been cast alive into the lake of fire. Happy day.

Happy day. the armies you don't

know what's in my head happy day

the armies of the world are dismantling and

dismissing because there is no war there's no need for an army anymore because

there is no war there are the the jails are empty the hospitals are vacant there's

no sickness there's no disease because the great physician, Jesus Christ,

rules and reigns from the city of Jerusalem.

There are trees, have a listen to this bit. There are trees whose leaves,

when you eat those leaves, gives you eternal health.

That's in the book of Revelation.

Did you know that? That's in the book of Revelation. For those of you who are

wondering about that, I got it from the book of Revelation.

He sits on the throne of his father, King David, and the word of God will go

forth from Jerusalem to the ends of the world every day. That's in the Bible too.

All other telecasts, television shows will be permanently suspended.

Come on, the media, gone. King Jesus is going to have the first and the last word.

He will be King of kings and Lord of lords. Merry Christmas.

That's on the way. That's on the way for us. I love it.

His name shall be called Wonderful. That's the next part of that scripture passage.

His name shall be called Wonderful. And that phrase translates full of wonder.

Go figure, wonderful, full of wonder.

Jesus was full of wonder at his birth. Jesus was born of a virgin.

He was announced by angels. That's pretty wonderful. He was feared by demons.

He was surrounded by shepherds and kings bringing boxes of gold,

frankincense and myrrh. Amazing.

That's a birth that's full of wonder. Did Levi have any of that?

He deserved it though. He deserved it. He was wonderful in power.

Jesus was wonderful in power. He commanded the winds and the waves of the Sea

of Galilee and they obeyed him.

He commanded demons to come out with a word.

He looked at the sick and said, rise and be healed.

And whatever they were suffering from, they immediately became whole.

He walked to the cave or the tomb of his friend Lazarus.

And he said, Lazarus, come forth.

And a dead man walked out of that grave because Jesus is full of wonder.

And that's the God that we serve right now. He is still full of wonder.

He still has all power in heaven and earth. He still is the way maker in our lives.

He's still the King of kings and the Lord of Lord.

When he saved you and me from the gutter of sin, he was full of wonder.

When he blessed you with prosperity, he was still full of wonder.

When he made a way when there seemed to be no way, he was full of wonder.

When he took your shattered life and your shattered dreams and rebuilt your

life into a thing of majestic beauty, it was wonderful.

It was wonderful. And he still is wonderful. Merry Christmas.

His name shall be called Counselor. Scripture.

His name shall be called Counselor. A counselor is someone who has the answer

to the greatest questions of life.

Jesus said in John 14, verse 6, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

John 14:6

Are you looking for answers in your life? Let me give it to you.

Let me give you the answer very simply.

Jesus Christ has the answers for your life.

He is the answer to all of your problems.

Everything you're looking for, every secret of life, every secret of health,

every secret of family unity, every secret of survival is Jesus Christ.

It's in your Bible, your new Bible.

His name is above every other name by accomplishment.

By accomplishment. All high-standing titles which earthly commanders give to

each other are full of vanity and ego.

Have a listen to this. Alexander the Great. There's a lofty name,

Alexander the Great That's a high sounding title for a man Who died at the age

of 33 with syphilis Alexander the Great.

He was not great. He couldn't even conquer himself. Herod the Great.

Have a listen to this character. See if you want to marry this guy.

Herod the Great is a lofty title for a man who murdered nine out of his ten wives.

How would you like to marry that guy? Have a listen to this bit, though.

Herod demanded that on the day of his death, his only son be executed so Israel

would have a reason to mourn.

Nice guy. Herod the Great.

Herod the Great is a lofty title, but what he was was a cold-blooded killer. He was a monster.

Today, he screams from the lakes of hell.

There's one man who walked across the stage of history, whose greatness is greater

than the human tongue can tell.

He is the great I am. He is the great physician.

He is the great shepherd of the sheep who guides and provides.

Never in human history was there a child who was born a living God from the

womb of a virgin, but Jesus was.

Never in history was there a man who was wounded by Satan, wounded by Satan

yet who crushed the head of Satan, but Jesus did.

Never in history was there one who was the saviour of men, yet he was crucified by men, Jesus did.

I'm talking about what makes

Jesus great Never in history was a man who died And was buried and rose on the

third day Just like he said he would He said that He's our joy He's our hope

He's our salvation The question is, do you know him?

The question is, do you love him? The question is, have you accepted him as

your Lord and Saviour, and do you serve him?

His name is a precious name.

He's not precious to unbelievers, by the way. He's not precious to unbelievers.

He's an aggravation and a bit of a nuisance to unbelievers. To those who believe

him, though, he is precious, and he is precious for what he has done.

Jesus once said, Upon this rock I have built my church And the gates of hell

shall not prevail against it At Calvary he conquered the powers of principalities

When he shouted, It is finished.

What happened then? Well, I'll tell you what happened. He descended,

the Bible says, into hell.

He introduced himself to all those in hell as the lion of the tribe of Judah.

This is what he did, the lion of the tribe of Judah.

And he introduced himself to the prince of darkness and to every demon in hell

and said, I am the conqueror from Calvary.

I have just defeated you. That's what he said to them. I have just defeated you.

From this day forward, you are defeated.

From this moment for all eternity, when one of my children,

when one of my children comes to the gates of hell and uses the authority of

my name, you have to do exactly what they say because they are covered by my

blood and I will destroy you if you touch them.

That's us. What a gift. Merry Christmas.

We have that kind of power you know we have

that kind of power he is precious because he

has adopted us paul paul the apostle paul i'm talking about gentiles now paul

said we the gentiles were without hope without god cut off from the blessings

of abraham yet he grafted us into the family at the cross. You are royalty.

We are royalty.

The royal blood of heaven is flowing in your veins.

You are sons and daughters of the Most High God. You are sons and daughters of the King. Wow.

His name is a saving name. The angel said to Mary, you shall call his name Jesus,

for it is he that shall save the people from their sins.

What does it mean to be saved?

It means you have accepted the gift of Jesus Christ in your life,

And you might say, well, you've already said that, Tim. Yeah,

that's exactly what I'm saying in this message.

That's exactly what I'm saying here. Until you receive the gift of Jesus Christ,

there's no Merry Christmas.

Not now, not ever, for it is he that saves us.

Abraham can't save you. Buddha can't save you.

Muhammad can't save you.

Humanism, it can't save you.

Socialism can't save you. Only Jesus can save your soul. That's the gospel. Merry Christmas.

Isaiah 45 verse 22 says, Look unto me and be saved, all the ends of the earth.

Isaiah 45:22

Hear that phrase? All the ends of the earth. And that's not a geographical term either.

That does not mean geographically. It means those who are removed from God.

It means the prodigal in the pig pen.

The Bible says, though your sin be like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.

Blood has a strange chemistry. Did you know this? Blood has a strange chemistry.

Human blood stains, you can't get rid of them. You can't get rid of that stain.

When I was in the police force, they taught us, you could tell exactly what

happened at the murder scene by the blood stains because they cannot be removed.

But there is the blood of Jesus Christ that washes away all the stains in your life.

You became white as snow, buried in the deepest sea, never to be remembered

against you anymore. Your sin is gone.

You're as pure as the blood of Jesus Christ can make you.

Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas. Come on up, Josh.

He'll be back soon. He'll be back soon. All right.

So, soon and very soon, the trumpet of God is going to sound.

The most high God is coming. Merry Christmas.

The King is coming. Merry Christmas. the Lord of Lords, the Lord of hosts.

He is the Lord and there is none like Him.

Bless His holy name. Bless His holy name.

I wonder if there's anybody here this morning who can say, I've not received

the gift of Jesus into my life.

I've not allowed him to be the Lord of my life.

And today I want to make him the Lord of my life.

I want to receive the gift that was offered in a manger.

What I want to do right now, I want you to pray this prayer with me.

Repeat after me, every one of you.

Lord Jesus I ask you to forgive me of all my sin,

cleanse me from all unrighteousness I receive Jesus Christ as the gift of my life,

that cleanses me that lives within me to whom I love and adore and worship in Jesus' Name.

Amen. If you've said that prayer this morning for the first time,

or perhaps you've said it after being gone for a little while, please come and tell me.

Please come and tell me and let me celebrate with you.