CHRISTMAS EVE SERVICE
12-24-12
Immanuel. God with Us.
Redeemer. Messiah.
He is all that and
more. By all means have your baby in the manger but He is more than a
baby in a manger. He is more than a miracle of life.
He is the miracle of the Ages. He is the Answer to every
question-
the solution to every problem. Explanation to every enigma.
He is the first and final word. He is the doxology.
If we are to believe what His earliest followers thought of
Him, He is the One in whom are hidden all of the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge.
He is the One that is holding it all together.
The beauty of Christmas is not to be found in the
humble setting of His birth or the cradle; the glory of Christmas is to be found
in the heart and plan of an infinite God who made man, not so that we could
love Him but so that He could love us. The GLORY of Christmas is Christ
Himself. Jesus.
The One whose beginning never was---grants to us a
life that never ends.
Christmas is not just about a setting in a little town to
romanticize.
But the inventor of life. The One who caused you to come
into being, The One who came to invest His life into you, The One who likes
you.
John 1:4-In Him
was life-and that life was the light of men.
A LIFE THAT MAKES SENSE OUT OF HUMAN EXISTENCE.
This is what John means when He says, this life was the
light of men.
Christmas is about the offer to you of a life that never
ends.
John 10:10-I have come that you might have life in
overflowing abundance.
Jesus did not come merely to give life.
He came WITH life to make sense out of our life.
Just life alone is not sufficient.
Don’t you desire something that will make sense of it all?
THE WORD. JESUS. He came with life in His grasp for us.
And He is the only one who has it, and He has all we
need.
Christmas is about the One who invaded human history and
established a beachhead of Divine Life. To Dwell In you and to overcome evil
with the good of His people.
This is the grand conspiracy of which we are called
to be a part.
A race of people who have indwelling them the very life
of the Creator!
This is Jesus beyond the cradle:
Coming to see this Indwelling Word as the light of men. All that we need.
He is called over 250 names in the Bible-He is simply
everything we need-He doesn’t give us all we need-He IS all we need.
This is Jesus beyond the cradle.
Hungry-He is the
Bread of Life
Thirsty-fountain
of living water
Ignorant-He is
the truth
Sick-Balm of
Gilead
Death Bed-He is
the Resurrection and the life
Lost-He is the
Way
Geologist-rock of
ages
Botanist-sweetest
rose of Sharon, the lily of the Valley
Astronomer-Bright
and morning star
Zoologist-Lion
out of the tribe of Judah
Outcast and lonely-He
is the friend of sinners
Soldier-Prince of
Peace
Author-alpha and
omega
We believe in HIM,
this child of Christmas.
But living beyond the
cradle means that we take Him for ALL HE is, and all HE IS, is sufficient for
all you need.
This is the very thing that saves a man from the futility
of self-effort.
This is the gospel.
As I learn dependence I am freed by His grace to be
independent of my own fleshly wants and desires. Emancipated.
Released.
This raises us above being a victim of our own self-pity.
It gives us purpose and reason and meaning.
A co-conspirator of God in the fulfillment of His Divine
plan for humanity.
We are the human vehicles of divine life. What divine
life?
The very life of Christ Himself. This Word that co-existed with the
Father before Time was even set in motion. A Divine life that is the light of
men.
A life that makes sense out of human existence.
We find in Him our satisfaction. AND-He finds satisfaction
in us.
We are never going to
stop existing and there is nothing we can do about it except to join in
the Creator’s Conspiracy to bring us into fullness of life.
So, He came, not to sacrifice for us and regret it.
Not primarily because we need it-which of course we do
desperately.
But because in His Divine Sovereignty He has chosen to
need us-
to revel in us-to enjoy us. We are His
unique creation.
And He has Life for US. Life that makes sense out of our human existence.
A life beyond the cradle. A life
that never ends.
I lift up to you Jesus beyond the cradle.
He invites you into His life.
What a gift. Welcome to Christmas beyond the cradle.
Jesus Beyond the Cradle.
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