The Gift

The Gift

[The below text has been machine translated and may contain errors. Please listen to audio for original and integral translation]

So what I wanted to talk about is a gift and Our Heavenly Father has given us the greatest gift of all and you know Christmas is a very exciting time of year with presents family gatherings food deserts. And but it’s so much more than that and all you guys here know that. But there was this one Christmas Eve a little girl went to church and she was so excited because. After the Christmas Eve service they all gathered around the tree every year and last year she had gotten a baby doll and. So she was so excited and anticipating. What she was going to get this year and she. Went out after the service and they gather around the tree and everyone she was the last one and there was one gift she was all excited went to open it in just tears started going down her face because it was empty there was nothing in the box. And so someone had played an awful trick on her and she just cried and cried and who would really do that and play a mean trick on her so each and every day we are actually from the world given gifts and they tell us that. Even though are the names and situations may be different the results are the same Usually it’s just an empty box you know they promise wealth and fame happiness relationships. Pleasure success wealth and usually they have it wrapped up in a nice. Wrapped box with a beautiful bow on it and then usually what happens is we open it and we become very disappointed and it’s usually false like we can’t get at those things from the world and we have high expectations and we look inside and what do we find an empty box just like that little girl didn’t. There’s no hope no joy no life fame wealth relationship success or happiness in that box just huge tears of heartbreak running down our face over and over again from the world and the world does this to each and every one of us and have you guys ever opened a box like that and found that it was just empty and people tell you that they have this gift for you and it’s really just not full of hope at all now over 10000 year 2000 years ago an angel from God appeared and said to several shepherds do not be afraid I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people today in the town of David a savior has been born to you he is Christ the Lord the birth of Jesus the Such good news and it was the good news that the that there is a much greater gift giver than anyone in the whole world and that is the ultimate present the greatest gift of all is Jesus. The gift is so precious because he lives and we don’t have to be afraid the gift wasn’t just for the shepherds about 2000 years ago it really is for us now. And you know how a diamond has many facets when you look at it there’s so many different facets. And the gift of God is also full of just different facets so today we’re to talk about 3 of them the clothes when the baby when he was born. Mary and Joseph just took shreds of cloth so you know in the movies in the. In the in shows they show that this nice. Cloth with this baby was wrapped up in this in a nice cloth and actually that’s not how it was they actually took rags and to shreds just to protect him and keep him warm and protect him from the elements of the manger and it’s actually interesting as Jesus was wrapped with all types of wrappings during his life at birth the use of swaddling clothes. And then at his death he was wrapped in thorns and then when he he was wrapped with a linen shrouded in a borrowed tomb and wrapped by a rock before it was rolled away his resurrection these rags of love represent the protection that he provides for us each and every day and Jesus as a cover for our very souls however before man can put on the Lord Jesus Christ he can be clothed in holiness he needs to take off his filthy cloaks and covers of wickedness and he must be stripped of his filthy rags that he may be clothed with the spirit and graces of Christ which is evasions to $22.00 although other garments may be purchased with money the garment of Christ is freely given without a price. While other garments wear out with repeated usage the garment of Christ gets better and better the longer you use it and becomes more excellent the gift of God cannot be purchased with money clothes only provide attractiveness for men and women but Christ renders a man or woman lovely in the sight of God Another facet of this gift and I’m sorry that I’m just standing here reading just. I just felt like you wanted to share this. Another facet of this gift is a manger in the manger we received the gift of life while the manger held food to nourish mammals for animals the glorious words of Christ to stay in our soul for the bread of God he is which cometh down from heaven and giveth life onto the world in the manger we encounter the presence of God’s love and we are given the gift of life of Jesus and what a precious life it is he is an example to each of us he shows us how to live and how to have real joy in life and worship to be a b.t.n. to God and to love the unlovely to have compassion for the helpless to give joy to the hopeless and despair and for God’s enemies to love those who persecute us and to stand up against sin and when and his words try to encourage us and it says whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up to everlasting life his words comfort us. Jesus said unto them I am the brought to life he that cometh to me shall never hunger and he that believeth in Me shall never thirst his words touch our lives they give us peace and in the manger we are given the gift of life and finally the Savior Himself the idea of deliverance of being saved from terrible disaster that leads to death well history records many men that did fabulous things. Joseph Moses David our founding fathers of our great country no one can compare to Jesus the greatest savior this world has ever known was born over 2000 years ago our savior for a price more precious than gold silver or diamonds he fought for our souls for what can we give in exchange for our souls with with 3 rough nails and an old rugged cross he defeated Satan death and the grave he now resides in Heaven sitting in the right arm of the Father and he just longs to hear from his children and as the firstborn from the dead he saves us to live with God eternally He saves us to be the citizens of the new haven’t an earth and for those filled with His grace he saves us to rule and reign over the universe with him for all of eternity. So I guess what what are we looking for when we get a gift we’re looking for hope. And I think that you know we don’t find that in the world and we are called new hope and people don’t understand that like for instance my friend Allie. Her mom passed away suddenly pastor Steve’s that passed away suddenly like if if you guys didn’t. If they didn’t have Jesus like what do they hope for like what do they have. To look forward to you know I’m sure that like Allie shared with the fire department Wednesday night. Allie. Obviously was very heartbroken that she lost her mom suddenly at 54 years old. But she is peace because she has hope in Jesus and they see what the enemy made for bad in this family he turned around for good and she was able to they were able to get her pulse back when they did c.p.r. so she was able to breathe on her own but her pulse was back so her organs were still good so she is praising God and she said she has never felt closer to God than she does in this moment. She was able to donate her organs so she said somebody this Christmas is going to be able to see somebody is going to be able to have new lungs and new heart and you know whatever else she was able to donate so I mean for Allie and her dad. And I don’t know her brother very well said don’t know how he was really coming with all this but I talked to obviously her and her dad and. Like it’s just a wonderful thing to have hope in Jesus and I you know I think this. Was a lot for me personally because when I was doing this last night I. Really felt convicted that you know he has a plan and a purpose for each and every one of us and I believe that we’re not. Stepping out into what he has planned for us. And. Me being kind of psi I when I offered to do this I wasn’t nervous at all I was like God has this I don’t really need to do anything and. When I was working on this last night you know we had several visitors over at the garage and you know I wanted to be over there but I knew I couldn’t be I needed to be home and just listen to worship music and work on the and. I just think that God has so many plans for us each and every one of us and it’s really time that we kind of this stuff out and do what we’re called to do and so when we look at the nice wrapped up boxes with the pretty bow that Tammy brought me thank you. They promised us a lot and we take that many times with excitement in anticipation hoping that we have finally found what we’re looking for but when we open them they are usually empty worthless and hopeless God has given us a gift the greatest gift of all Jesus has one and only son when we look into the stall on the day of his birth we see the gifts of God wrapped around him we see the close of love the manger of life and the Savior resting within as a parent you find it exciting when your kids come out Christmas morning at 5 in the morning or sometimes 4. But how would you feel if you if they didn’t wake up like you had to go wake them up then you drag them out in front of the tree and they are excited at all and you make them open up the presents and then they’re like Yeah thanks mom and dad and they go put it in the closet. That would hurt your feelings you know you put a lot of time and effort into. Doing this while our God gave his one and only son and a lot of times we put him up on a shelf we them away in a closet until we need it. And I really think that resonated with me. Because I don’t think I put him on a shelf but I don’t think I’ve utilized. And given him enough thanks for what he’s done in my life. So he’s off the shelf now though. And. Maybe you are here today and you’re a Christian who has the gift of God’s Son in the closet you opened it up several years ago but you haven’t really done much with that and we really need to not forget about it and we need to take out of the closet and use the gift that God has given to us and don’t take it for granted because I know that God doesn’t leave us but when we walk away from him we’re not under the umbrella of protection anymore you know we’re kind of out in the world and we can be out in the world but we’re not supposed to be of the world. So. Don’t just put aside. That gift and open up all the world gifts because you’ll be really disappointed. And if you have put God’s gift to the side chances are your life isn’t going to well and on this Christmas why don’t we all just get the gift out of the closet. Find the box that he’s given you and read New your relationship with him it’s a gift God knows you need and will enjoy He’s been waiting a while for us to use it. Maybe you are here today and have never opened the gift of God. Maybe with the hustle and bustle and opening the empty boxes. The world has given you God has given you his son the greatest gift of all I can that you may have life and have it more abundantly and remember that little girl and someone played a trick on her the box was empty which box where you open this Christmas an empty box that the world gives you or the box that God has given you the gift of Jesus for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son So I would like. You know I want to play a song that’s very special to me. And I really think there. Has laid my heart for the past couple weeks actually and it seemed like a opportune time to play it today and the altar is open you can stay in your sea you can come up to the altar but really just to use this as a time to know that you’re going to you know use this day this don’t let it just be a song but it really be just a way to say God you know I want to open that gift I want to take out of the closet you know I want to be able to be used by you to say I’m here you know use me. And just give him. The gift back like. Give him the gift that you’re opening his gift of Jesus.

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