Gtcotr/ws122023
Sunday will be Christmas Eve. This is the time-honored season of the year in which we celebrate the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus. I want to encourage you to dedicate some time in your schedule on that day to worship Him.
I know this is a busy week but don’t forget the reason for the season. It is to honor God sending His only begotten Son to us and for us. God has not forgotten what He intended for us to celebrate in this season and neither should we.
You know, there are many ‘Pain Points’ in life. There are even pain points associated with Christmas. Pain points are common with any activity. Take home ownership for example. The common pain points of home ownership might include mowing the yard; paying the mortgage; replacing the roof; cleaning the house or purchasing insurance.
Not everything about home ownership is a pleasant or painless experience. It’s the same with any endeavor. There are pain points associated with pet ownership; driving a car; going to school; attending church; being married; raising a family; or eating ice cream.
It is important that we realize life is not always painless. There are some common challenges we all face which are natural and normal. Having a job may demand a person go to bed or get up at a time when they would prefer to do otherwise. Some moments of pain associated with work should be expected. It’s not unfair to get tired when you exercise. We should expect to have less money after we make a purchase than we did before we bought what we wanted to buy.
God expects us to accept the
responsibilities that are common in life. You cannot live a productive life
avoiding the pain associated with making a living, making a life, and making a
difference.
Our text for this evening will confirm
what the Holy Spirit wants to say to us about pain points and pats on the back.
You see, there are no pats on the back for simply doing what we should be
doing.
Don’t expect a pat on the back from
Jesus for making a living and making a life. These are common and necessary and
incumbent on each individual. The Bible says if you don’t work, you won’t eat;
if you don’t sow, you won’t reap. We shouldn’t expect to be special for being
normal.
Luke 6 confirms that when we do only
what is expected and what everyone else is doing, “what thanks have we?”
If you are the kind of person who gets
up and goes to work, go to school, do what you’re paid to do; put gas in your
car, cook, clean, mow the yard, spend time with your children, take tests,
attend church, vote, say please and thank you … don’t expect a pat on the back.
You’re just being a responsible person, doing things that are common, necessary,
and normal to making a living and making a life.
What Jesus gives pats on the back for,
is doing extra, not for yourself, but for others. In Matthew 25 Jesus said that
He would say “well-done” to people who fed others who were hungry, gave water
to thirsty people, providing clothing to those who needed, visited the ones who
are sick or in prison.
Pats on the back are reserved for
people who go beyond making a living and making a life. People who use what
they have gained from normal life to make a difference in the lives of others.
Especially the poor, the orphans, the widows, and those who are hungry.
One meal makes a difference. Every meal
makes a difference. Every person Jesus fed on the hillside that day, got hungry
again a few hours later. Yet that one meal was very important to Jesus … why?
Because the people were hungry and didn’t have any means to get food for
themselves at that time.
We will not solve world hunger in my lifetime. And I am not looking for the last hungry person I will ever see. I am looking for the next one.
And helping others has some associated pain points which are normal and common to the process.
Some pain points are to be expected.
With these things in mind, let’s look at the continuing Christmas story from the Gospel of Luke. We are picking up right where we left off on Sunday, reading from the account of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist, when he was prophesying at the birth of his son.
Luke
1 NKJV
76 “And you, child, will be called the prophet
of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His
ways,
77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people
By the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With
which the Dayspring from on high has visited us;
79 To give light to those who sit in darkness
and the shadow of death, To guide our feet into the way of peace.”
80 So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.
On Sunday we discussed the power of prophecy and the importance of us speaking the Word of the Lord over the lives of others. God intends to speak through His children to build up, encourage, and comfort people.
Last night I dreamed I was prophesying to a famous entertainer who had an opportunity to influence thousands. I told him to make sure he told everyone that Jesus loved them and had a plan for their life. I told him that God was pulling on people right now and that so many were so close to saying yes to Jesus … closer than even they realized.
In my dream the boldness and the confidence I had in the words I spoke to him moved him. The words we speak for God are moving. You can encourage, you can comfort, and you can strengthen others by telling them what Jesus would say if He was in your shoes.
The Bible says that John the Baptist grew up to become strong in spirit. He gave people the knowledge of salvation, offered them a chance to repent of their sins, and shinned a loving, merciful light in their darkness. He gave them hope. It was his destiny.
However, the last verse of Luke 1 tells us that even though John the Baptist was called by God and filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb, yet he was in the deserts until the perfect time. God had a plan and John had to wait.
We understand that John the Baptist spent about 30 years of his life preparing for ministry, and perhaps less than 3 years actually ministering. John, or his mother Elizbeth, or even his father Zacharias, could have felt John was wasting his time. We imagine John’s parents, even after their prophecies, never even got the privilege of hearing John preach.
Waiting on God can seem like a pain. But it is actually more normal and more common than anything else I can imagine. In fact the principle of waiting on God is so important, God included it in one of the most read stories of the Bible … He included it in the Christmas Story.
I’ll tell you where the real pain is … it is in not waiting on God!
If it feels
like you are in a desert, with a dream, waiting on something to happen, do what
John did. Prepare!
1. Grow.
a.
Invest
in yourself
b.
Grow
up.
c.
Work
on being the best version of you.
2. Become
strong in Spirit.
a.
Invest
in your relationship with God.
b.
So
you can’t be moved out of God’s plan.
c.
Gain
resolve to remain committed to the call.
3. Wait
on God.
a.
Don’t
take matters into your own hands and mess things up.
b.
Don’t
be impatient.
c. The Christmas desert isn’t that bad. Locusts, wild honey, and camel hair.
So what! You’re in a desert! It’s a desert with God! Things could be much worse! You could be in a palace without Him!
Believe me, according to the prophecies and prayers which have been spoken over you … “Your day is coming!” (1 Timothy 1:18)
This
is the Christmas message.
