The Gift: The Gift of Life!

The Gift: The Gift of Life!

Opening Illustration:

Walking up to a department store’s fabric counter, an attractive young woman said, "I want to buy this material for a new dress. How much does it cost?" "Only one kiss per yard," replied the smirking male clerk.

Not to be taken back by the harassment, the woman said, "That’s fine! I’ll take ten yards." With expectation and anticipation written all over his face, the clerk hurriedly measured out and wrapped the cloth, then held it out teasingly, leaning forward to receive his "payment."

The woman snapped up the package and pointed to a little old man standing beside her. "Grandpa will pay the bill," she smiled.

Point:

Tis the season of giving after all. Hopefully you will all get some good gifts this Christmas season, even if it is a kiss from grandpa! Oh I hope that you and your families enjoy this Christmas season. It is at this time of year that we often focus on gifts. We give gifts because Jesus was a gift to all of mankind. We focus of gifts because the Magi brought gifts to the King of Kings. We give gifts to remind us of the sacrifices of giving and the joy in giving. 

Point:

This morning we are starting a 5 week series entitled “The Gift”. We will be focusing on the most unbelievable gift to all of mankind, the gift of Christ. Christ offers so many things this Christmas season and I want to use the tool of John 1 to express those gifts to you. For most, Christmas is a joyful time. For others, the Holidays are a reminder of what once was, a reminder of people gone and empty chairs around the dinner table. Well let God’s Word renew your Christmas Spirit as we see the glorious gifts that Jesus has given to each and every one of us!

Today, Jesus is offering you the gift of LIFE! The gift of physical animation and spiritual renewal! 

Fill in these blanks this morning!

Jesus Offers Life That Is Peaceful, Joyful and Purposeful!

Background and Context:

John is the last Gospel penned as it came several years after the other "synoptic" Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke were written. Like the rest of the Gospels, John covered the events of Jesus' birth and death, His teachings, works, and the plan of redemption. John wrote to a Church in turmoil, where the first generation of witnesses and Christians were dying out and the new generation was taking over. He was filling in the gaps to give more evidence and detail to prove Jesus was the Son of God--and more. He is the One True Lord God Creator and Messiah, the Eternal God who is LORD, and yet the quintessential example of living for God's glory and humble service. 

The main theme is "evangelistic," that Jesus, the One to believe and trust in for life and salvation, performed unprecedented signs and wonders and rose from the dead to prove His status. He is the "Logos," the Word, the Eternal God Creator and Redeemer who condescended from His magnificent place of preeminence in the universe to become the God-Man so to identify with us, pay our debt of sin, and give us undeserved redemption.

So, let’s read from John 1:1-4 this morning about Jesus, the Life Giver!

John 1:1-4 ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life…

Jesus Gives Life Because…

I. Jesus Is Eternally Awesome! vs. 1

John 1:1ESV

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

Point:

Jesus has always existed and will continue to exist in the future. As El Olam, He is known as the Everlasting God. The Hebrew name Olam means “forever, perpetual, old, ancient” implying that there is an infinite future and past. 

Pslam 90:2 ESV

Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

Point:

The principles of the laws of nature, the beginning of time, and the first existence of this world—all are the result of God, the Creator who possesses never-ending wisdom and power. He was before all time and all worlds. 

Point:

For those who are invested in systematic theology, consider Wayne Grudem’s take on “God’s Infinity With Respect To Time” notion. He states that “God has no beginning, end, or succession of moments in his own being, and he sees all time equally vividly, yet God sees events in time and acts in time.” This doctrine teaches us that time does not limit Jesus or change Jesus in anyway. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forevermore. 

Jesus is Totally Awesome Dude!

Point:

According to several national surveys, Millennials are more than twice as likely as previous generations to rate themselves as “gifted,” “special,” “talented,” and “likely to change the world” . Much has been made of these surveys. Perhaps this is just what youthful arrogance looks like in every generation. Or perhaps Millennials really are overly self-confident. Who knows?

You’re not as awesome as you think you are, but Jesus IS.

When it comes to what makes someone awesome—which means, inspiring an overwhelming feeling of awe-inducing reverence, admiration, or fear—you don’t have it. No one does. There is nothing you’ve ever possessed or accomplished that made God think, “How impressive!” And God sees you as you really are. Not the self-important, self-focused, inflated ego version of yourself, but the real you in all of your un-awesomeness.

Jesus is the only way out of our spiral of death, in which we feel our un-awesomeness, and then despair and try to cover it up with self-defeating flattery and praise.

That is because the message of the Bible is essentially this: you are not awesome, in any way or shape or form, but Jesus is. His undeserved love, his complete justice, his perfect obedience, his tender compassion, his utter hatred of evil, and his radical commitment to your good is truly awesome. And, amazingly, Jesus’ love for us, and his willingness to forgive us, cleanse us, and reunite to the God we have turned away from, is not based on anything that we possess or earn or accomplish. It is offered to us freely as a gift. 

Romans 6:23 ESV

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Don’t you see what this means?

How well you sing doesn’t matter.

How good you look…

How many friends/followers you have on social media…

Your relationship status…

Your intelligence (or lack thereof)…

Your successful Etsy account…

Those things don’t make you awesome if you have them or do them well. God is not impressed with any of it, and we shouldn’t be either. And here’s why this is such good news: since having certain things or doing certain things can never impress God, then we have nowhere to turn except to the one who earned God’s approval for us. That’s the point of the gospel. We’re not awesome, but Jesus is.

Jesus Gives Life Because…

I. Jesus Is Eternally Awesome! vs. 1

II. Jesus Is Exceptionally Artistic! vs. 3

John 1:3 ESV

3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Point:

As the Eternal God, we must acknowledge the fact that God created all things and that He himself is an immortal spirit. Before the creation of the universe, there was no matter, but then God created all things.

Genesis 1:1 ESV

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Colossians 1:16 ESV

For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.

Point:

Scripture, explains that all things (both visible and invisible) in the entire universe were created through this same Jesus, the eternal Word. We may think of the universe and its intricate design as being conceived in the mind of the Father, then spoken into existence by the Son (who makes the invisible, visible). The Holy Spirit is the One who energizes and supplies life to the creation, not only at the time of creation but also moment by moment after that.

We are also told that all things were created for Jesus. He is "the heir of all things." That means that we are house guests in Someone Else's universe! This implies a future accountability for all of us-history is headed somewhere-at the end of the road stands Jesus, to whom all power and authority has already been given.

Point:

The study of physics tells us that matter, time, and space must all occur together. Without matter, there can be neither space nor time. Therefore, “time”—the succession of moments one after another—did not exist before God created the universe. But, before there was a universe or time, God always existed, without being influenced by time. 

Point:

Jesus is exceptionally artistic. He is a powerful creative force in the universe. Not only did He create all things, speak all things into existence, He also holds all things, meaning me and you, together. 

Point:

Not to bad for a kid born in a barn!

Point:

Our moment-by-moment existence depends on His gracious sustenance of every electron, every atom, every molecule and every spiritual entity as well. We are safe when we place our trust in Him and put our whole lives into His hands! Can we not then stand in awe of our great God and Creator, along with the Psalmist who wrote:

Psalm 95:1-7 ESV

Oh come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! 2  Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! 3 For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. 4 In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. 5 The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. 6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! 7 For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

Jesus Gives Life Because…

I. Jesus Is Eternally Awesome! vs. 1

II. Jesus Is Exceptionally Artistic! vs. 3

III. Jesus Is Eminently All-Powerful! vs. 3

John 1:3 ESV

3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

Point:

John 5:18 ESV

 This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

John 10:10 ESV

“I and the Father are one.”

Point:

Scripture is clear, Jesus’ message to the Jews was that God was His Father and that He often claimed to be equal with God. In Jesus’ own Words, He states that He and the Father are one. What does this mean for me and you? It means that Jesus is all-powerful. John even states that without him was not anything made that was made. Jesus is also omnipresent. 

Point:

This means that Jesus is omni-everything. He is Omniopotent. He is all powerful. While He wason earth as a man, His superhuman power was recognized. The elements of nature obeyed His simple words, "Peace, Be still." Jesus firmly claimed that "All authority in heaven and on earth" was given to Him.

Psalm 139:7-12 ESV

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! 9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me. 11  If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night,” 12  even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you.

Jesus’ presence is wherever He wants it to be. Advocates of the Kenosis Theory argue that as a man Jesus was limited to the location of his physical body.They argue that He had to have divested Himself of this attribute of Deity, or severely "limit" it so that he virtually did not have it. Read this statement of Jesus. "And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man, which is in heaven"(John 3:13). How do you explain His statement that while in the flesh He was "in heaven." Jesus is everywhere all at once, even when He was living amongst us some 2000 years ago. 

This means one has all knowledge. 1 Chron. 28:9 says of God that He "searches all hearts and understands all the imaginations of the thoughts." In Acts 15:8 He is described as "knowing the hearts." Literally this means, "the knower of the hearts." This is said of Jesus (John 2:23-25). Deity "knows all things" (1 John 3:20). It follows that since Jesus was Deity"before, during, and after His time on earth," He has all knowledge. He did not divest Himself of this attribute. He knew the hearts of men (Matt. 9:1-6). He knew what was being discussed far from His presence (Matt. 17:24-27). Peter recognized this attribute in Jesus when heexclaimed,"Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee"(John 21:17).

Point:

Why is this a big deal? Brothers and sisters, this all powerful, omni-everything Jesus loves you and has great affections for you. You are on His mind and heart every second of every day. He is aware of your problems, cares about your circumstances, longs to have a relationship with you and sprints after you! Your problems will not knock Him off His throne or intimidate Him. Jesus is not just all powerful, He is all powerful for you!

I. Jesus Is Eternally Awesome! vs. 1

II. Jesus Is Exceptionally Artistic! vs. 3

III. Jesus Is Eminently All-Powerful! vs. 3

IV. Jesus Is Extremely Alive vs. 4

John 1:4 ESV

4 In him was life…

Illustration:

The story is told of an artist who sculpted a beautiful angel and wanted the master artist, Michelangelo, to inspect it and offer his opinion. So Michelangelo was called in. The master artist carefully looked at the sculpture from every angle.

Finally, he said, "Well, it lacks only one thing." Then he turned around and walked out.

The artist didn't know what it lacked, and he was embarrassed to go and ask Michelangelo. So he sent a friend to Michelangelo's studio to try and find out what his statue lacked.

The great artist replied, "It lacks only life."

Point:

The same could be said of a lot of people today. They have the house, the car, the spouse, and the kids. They have the career. They have money in the bank. They have everything going the way that things ought to go to supposedly live life to its fullest. But there is that is something still lacking. They are still lacking life.

Jesus has something to say about that, and in John's Gospel, He tells us what our lives ought to be about: "The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). Jesus was contrasting what He offers with what the devil offers. The thief mentioned here speaks of the enemy of our soul, Satan. He comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. But Christ has come that we might have life and that we might have it more abundantly. And there we have a choice.

Illustration:

Life changes. Our marriages change. Our children change. Everything is in the flux of change. Even our bodies change – as much as we hate to admit it.

I was reading recently of the four stages of life. They are simply:

1) Lemonade

2) Gatorade

3) Medicaid

4) Hearing-Aid

Point:

It’s true that life changes quick. Isn’t it great that while things seem to decline here on earth, Jesus offers us new life daily. While things break down physically, with Jesus we have new spiritual life being renewed each and every day. Jesus claims in Scripture that anyone who hears His message and obeys it will have life. Jesus claims to be the bread of life, the living water, the light of life. The Bible tells us that in Jesus we have our life, our breath and being. 

Point:

One of the things that I love most about Christmas time is that I am reminded that Jesus came to earth, born of a virgin, born in a barn, to give me life. Everlasting eternal life for me. He came to awaken my dead spirit and open my closed eyes. Jesus, in all of His power and majesty, came for me and for you with forgiveness and grace in His hands. 

Closing:

Do you know the Jesus that I am talking about this morning? The Jesus that desires to know you, runs after you, is not afraid of your problems, holds all things together, and offers you life through the cross? 

Romans 8:10 ESV

If Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness.

Embrace The Gift of Life Today!