The Life Giver - Subtitles in many languages

Being a true giver of life is what Christmas and our two scripture passages are all about both both the angel of the Lord and the apostle Paul want us to capture the divine reality that the life God came to earth to give us is a life marked by change and transformation divine transformation has both a temporal and an eternal impact on our lives yes the baby that arrived on planet earth over two thousand years ago is the author of just the kind of life we are seeking to enjoy so let's begin by looking again at these two inspiring passages please open up your Bibles or follow along in your bulletin I will be reading from Luke chapter two versus eight to fourteen and second Corinthians five versus sixteen to seventeen that night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby guarding their flocks of sheep suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared among them and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them they were terrified but the angel reassured them don't be afraid I bring you good news that will bring a great joy to all people The savior yes,the Messiah the Lord has been born today in Bethlehem the city of David and you will recognize him by this sign you will find a baby wrapped snuggly in strips of cloth, lying in the manger suddenly the angel was joined by a vast host of others thee armies of heaven praising God and saying glory to God in highest heaven peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased so we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view at one time we thought of Christ merely from human point of view how differently we know him now this means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person the old life is gone a new life has begun Christmas is about change a little baby in a manger came to Change things and the change that Jesus came to offer is not a small change not a moderate change but it is a paradigm shift, a transformation a transformation that we're all looking for transformation that we celebrate each Christmas season what does that transformation looked like Luke says it's about peace Glory to God on the highest heaven peace on earth to those whom God is pleased A peace peace of mind A peace of emotion even a piece that we can feel in our bodies John records Jesus' words about this transformed life In John ten-ten Jesus says my purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life a full meaningful satisfying life isn't that what we're all looking for isn't that what we we want to experiencing and share at Christmastime Paul goes on to define a little more specifically what this transformed life looks like second Corinthians five seventeen this means that anyone who belongs to the Christ has become a new person the old life is gone and the new life has begun we are people who are on a quest for positive change, aren't we? I mean we seek out everybody from doctor Phil to doctor Oz because we want change not only on the inside but we'd like to change a little of the outside We are seeking, we're on a quest To experience positive change in our life and I would like to suggest today that that positive changes found in a baby who came to a cave a man who died on the cross that the change in the peace that we're really looking for that that resonates all the way you our soul is a divine transformation they can only come through Jesus Christ how do God transform Transform us he transforms us first by canceling the pass Christmas is really about the past isn't it it's about traditions it's about reenacting things that we experienced as children or in earlier days of our adulthood and in all the traditions the gift giving The tree trimming the celebration we are wanting to draw the past into the present we wanted to draw all the good from the past into the present but have you noticed that you can't only draw the good when you draw from the past you also you also have to draw some experiences of pain And difficulty in fact as much as we try to keep the painful back And only experience the good that pain from the past it keeps bubbling up, doesn't it it piggybacks a ride on all the great and good of Christmastime and we know this is true because in the midst of the joy and the celebration there's this underlying current of guilt and shame that we experience Bad choices bad behavior difficult circumstances in life and we've tried hard up to run away from them we've tried hard up to put them in the past but we really can't keep that in the past if we are just trying to do it under our own human power now, don't misunderstand me we need to put in a human effort it's good to seek out wise counsel on our faults and our failures that are in the past but when it comes to the substance Of guilt and shame I can tell you there's not a a human answer for that not really because I know you've tried I know you've put in a good heartfelt effort in putting that guilt and that shame cutting loose those bad memories those bad experiences But you can't really do it without divine help because at its core it's a spiritual issue as a practical one Paul writes in Colossians he canceled the record of the charges against us And He took it away by nailing it to the cross that is what we want God to do we want God to take the guilt and the shame away And He will take it away that's why he came as a baby In a cave that's why he died a man On a cross because he wants us to know that he's willing to pay the price for whatever failure or fault whatever bad mistake or bad behavior you've had in the past Jesus Christ does not want you to continue to carry it in to the present and how does he do that it's through forgiveness The Lord said that I will forgive you I will forget their wickedness and I will never again remember their sins if only we could do that Isn't that great about God God says I forgive you and all never think about it again the problem is we keep thinking about it and we're somewhat convinced that God has forgiven us but you know what we haven't been able to forgive our self and God wants us to be able to forgive forgive ourselves as he has forgiven us Jesus Christ came to this planet not to rub it in but to rub it out to cancel that debt To free us up from that guilt and that shame because when Jesus Christ forgives us we are forgiven indeed God not only cancels our past but he converts our present Jesus Christ came to give us that that kind of life that we've been on a quest for have you noticed that we're fixated on positive change just for fun I went on Amazon to the book section and I started scrolling through the titles of books having to do with change and you know we want all kinds of change we want mental change we want emotional change we want physical change and you know we are willing to pay Pretty nice penny for that, aren't we? for the right diet pills We want to lose those those fifteen pounds one way or the other We want to cut loose of our bad habits that have been holding us back we want change positive change and Jesus Christ came to give us that full and satisfied life that was his purpose He purpose is to change us in real time not in the past not just in the future but he wants to bring transformation to our life in the present Listen to what Paul says in Ephesians chapter four with regard to your former way of life off your old self To be made new and put on the new self created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness yes God wants to change us he wants to transform us from the inside out and he has A no fail plan for transforming us the first element of that plan is the Holy Spirit now you know the Holy Spirit the third person of the trinity the one who's presence and power we feel when we gather together and worship he's the one that's working on a side the inside he wants us to to grow abundant fruit when it comes to his Holy Spirit fruit he's the one that guides us and directs us as we read his Read God's word and as we make our way in this world, he's the one that you know every at least once in a while you feel this kind of inner tap and you have the sense that you should do this and not do this That choosing this would be better than choosing that that heading in this direction is better than heading in that direction now that's the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit wants to lead our lives Paul says in Romans eight nine but you are not controlled by your sinful nature anymore if you want to be now if you want to be controlled by your human nature, your sinful nature you could keep on doing that but the Holy Spirit gives us a choice And Paul says you are not controlled by your sinful nature you are controlled by the spirit of God living in you the Holy Spirit takes up residents in your life when you asked Jesus to be the leader of your life and it is as Nicki Gumbel has pointed out a little bit like the pilot light on a gas or propane stove the pilot light is lit but we must do things to make the flame full and yes there are things that we do that make the flame full and well there are some things we do that turn down the flame of the Holy Spirit in our life the Holy Spirit is there primarily transform our life the second element is the Bible It is the word of God and it's not just the word of God read it's the word of God Applied to our life we have to apply it second Corinthians chapter three all scripture is inspired by God and it is a useful tool to teach us what is true we love that part God always shows us what's true it's this next part we have trouble with and making us realize what is wrong in our life you know we like our wrongs have you noticed that am I the only one you know there are some wrongness in me and every once in a while I just like it and we have to realize that we like the wrongness in our life we've learned wrongness along the way and we need to hear that well there some things that we're doing that are wrong don't misunderstand me the Bible has a lot more to say about what it's doing what we ought to do that is right than it does pointing out everything that's wrong yes God gave us the ten commandments he didn't give us and they're not the ten suggestions by the way but he only gave us ten one for each finger he didn't get us fifty, a hundred, a thousand The Bible describes in very positive terms how to live life and part of that that description or the things that we ought to stay away from the things that are not productive Or positive in life it corrects us when we are wrong and it teaches us to do what is right if we will apply it to our life the Bible is a great gift you're going to get some gifts hopefully in the next couple of weeks and as you get a gift you don't just take the wrapped present and put it on the shelf and go wow that is a beautiful present No, no that's a beautiful wrapping not a beautiful present the beautiful present is inside the beautiful wrapping and you've been given a gift so that you can unwrap it take it out and apply it To your life because when you apply it to your life then you enjoy the gift that's given to you and the Bible is a gift and we get the most out of the Bible when we apply it to our day to day life Why? because that changes us for the better that transforms us A third element is praying to God Prayer is simply having a conversation with God and when we check in with God it's amazing what happens in our lives and there's lots of ways to pray to God one of those is confession first John one nine but if we confess our sins to him he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness I don't know about you but it seems like some days wickedness is following me around I've got like wickedness in my back pocket and I try to unload my pockets in the morning when when I pray to God but you know it it's amazing how it just shows up again during the day and as I pray to God he has the opportunity to remind me who he is who I am and what God is all about in my life and sometimes we just thank God sometimes we adore God and say your great, you're awesome sometimes there are some things to confess after a long day sometimes as we go throughout the day there are those circumstances and settings and relationships in life that we want some some divine help with Send God over here send God over here And God hears it all he wants to hear it all Big and small simple and complex and as we pray to him throughout the day he transforms and changes us for the better and then finally we need the support in the encouragement of other people To change us kind of a verse for december Hebrews ten twenty four let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works and thank you for all the acts of love and good works that you're doing with the staff here's the fun one from last week somebody darted in drop something into the hand of one of the staff and then darted out and I just happen to be coming into the office as all of that took place and the staff person says did you see that person who was that and I said I don't know I said all I saw was a dark coat and dark hair flash out the door they drop something fun off something loving off something encouraging off to a staff person we all want to be encouraged at Christmas time don't we? and when we gather together that's a great experience who wants to go to a church where people don't encourage and support one another I don't want to that kind of church and we need that, don't we? that's what small groups are all about we often think that we have to be like a perfect saint go to a small group and that's not the case at all in fact one of that the great experiences of being in a small groups is the chance to share what's not going right in life what problems there are in life what challenges there are in life and and it does a lot for us just to have someone else nod and say you know I really know how you feel I've struggled with that, I've been challenged in that same way in my life and then there's the helpfulness sometimes that's a helpful word sometimes that's a helpful action and you know when we are encouraged and we're supported to live out our faith It changes us And it changes us for the better allowing the Holy Spirit to lead in our life applying the Bible in our life Praying to God throughout the day hanging out with other people who are trying to to live out their Christian faith if you do those things you can help but change for the better to be the Man or the woman that God Fashioned you Created you to be because God converts our present circumstances in life he also changes our future destination now here's a really good question for you this morning what is it that you like best about Christmas the gift buying gift-giving some of you even like the gift wrapping which I would just as soon pay somebody to do we like trimming the tree we like baking cookies, eating cookies We like gathering together with family And friends we like Travel, whatever it is that you like about Christmas whatever is best about Christmas in your mind, heart and soul that is what heaven is going to be like wow there's a thought for you now I know some of us think heaven is up there somewhere I know we think that and the Bible does talk about that to some degree but you know if eternity is about getting wings and a halo and parking myself on a little fluffy white clouds and singing here comes Jesus on a lyre for all I am not sure that is where I would like to go and that is not your final destination your final destination is right here on earth because as God transforms us one day he will return and transform this world and all those things that you like about Christmas will be an everyday occurrence You will eat cookies and you won't get fat you will meet people and everyone of them will have a smile on their face wow The Bible describes heaven for us in the best terms for us to understand we can't totally understand what heaven is going to be like but but just like Jesus yes, there is a mystery to it but there's also something very concrete the first thing is that when we get to heaven we are going to have transformed bodies yes! Man, I have been trying almost sixty Years to transform this body and I've only done a mediocre job of it and now gravity and inertia are taking over and now I wake up and I just hurt when I get out of bed I know for some of you I'm whining a transformed body we get a body like Jesus had after he resurrected you could recognize him, he ate right/ had the little barbecue with the disciples on the on the beach a little fish fry people saw him walking around talked with them yet there was that occasion when he went through the door without opening it first into the prayer meeting I call that transformed body, would you? Bible says Paul makes it clear Philippians we're going to have a transform Body, a changed body he also says that heaven will be a beautiful place John tells us that pretty quite specifically and yes there is a limit to how human words can describe the grandeur and splendor of heaven But John put it this way it is like the Splendor of a rare jewel and I don't know if you've ever seen some rare jewels but they are splendid spectacular Beautiful, priceless heaven will be that it's also a place of glory John gets a vision of this great scene of everybody gathered around Jesus and we're all singing to him it's a single hymn glory' glory' glory to our Lord God almighty you get to sing it to a piano or organ those over their on the other side they're singing it with drums electric guitar but we're all singing same hymn we're all having the same glorious experience and we know that because we feel the presence God when we gather together each Sunday it's also a place of freedom if you don't read the whole book of Revelation when you get home just pickup chapter twenty one every chapter twenty one because there John makes it clear that we go to have a great freedom all the suffering and all of the pain and all of the crying and all of the difficulty all of the death of this world will be transformed it will be no longer, John states and if only we could be free from all that in this life that would be what? A heavenly experienced wouldn't it? and finally it's a place of fulfillment heaven is the place that we were really design to be Yeah, it's going to be a little bit like the garden of Eden it's going to be a of place of plenty and John describes it this way it would be like walking down a road and discovering that every tree you pass is laden with sweet refreshing nutritious fruit you go along and every month there's apples and there is oranges There is peaches and passion fruit pineapples even coconuts that are easy to open it's a harvest John said a harvest of the human experience the fulfillment that we yearn for in this life that we get to experienced yes In profound part as God transforms us Jesus Christ is the life giver he came to give us life in this life he slated us for life eternal that is the love of God That came as a child in a cave God's love expressed in great forgiveness is the man who died on the cross and yes he is the way the truth and the life when it comes to eternity God does want to help you to cancel the past he does want to convert and change your present circumstances of life and yes he's slated to you To spend eternity with him Let us pray Lord we're so thankful for all that We're reminded of at Christmastime and Lord we are thankful that you're the giver of life that you came to give us a full and satisfying life that that Lord you desire that none of us would perish but that we would spend everlasting eternity with you and Lord we realized that that we haven't earn it that we don't deserve it just like most of the Christmas gifts will get the season but Lord you come as the divine gift for us to give us the transformation that we yearned for and we desirer that Lord each and every day we might be a a living breathing speaking testimony to the fact that you are the savior of the world that came to bring peace we pray your name Amen.