Trinity Baptist Church

 

I read about a professor of psychology in a certain university who gave a word suggestion test to his class of 40 students. He instructed them to write the word "Christmas," and all the class did so. "Now," said the professor, "right after the word Christmas I want you to write the first thought that flashes through your mind regarding that day." When the papers were turned in answers were given such as "tree," "holly," "mistletoe," "presents," "turkey," "holiday," "carols," and "Santa Claus." Not one of the students had written anything about Jesus.

 

Sadly, Christmas has become more of a holiday than it is a holy day. It is more about the mall than it is the manger. It is more about fun than faith. It is more about Santa than the Savior. The reason for the season has been largely lost to many. I think of a lady that was doing some Christmas shopping and as she passed a department store window she noticed the store had put out a manger scene with figures of baby Jesus, Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, wise men, and animals. Disgustedly she was overheard to say, "Look at that, now the church is trying to horn in on Christmas."

 

There are many who think that if you bring anything of a religious nature into Christmas that you have crossed the line. Some would even agree with Dr. Leonard Peikoff who wrote: "America's tragedy is that its intellectually leaders have typically tried to replace happiness with guilt by insisting that the spiritual meaning of Christmas is religion and self-sacrifice for Tiny Tim or his equivalent.

But the spiritual must start with recognizing reality. Life requires reason, selfishness, capitalism; that is what Christmas should celebrate--and really, underneath all the pretense that is what it does celebrate. It is time to take the Christ out of Christmas, and turn the holiday into a guiltlessly egoistic, pro-reason, this-worldly, commercial celebration."

 

In our day and time, Christianity in the public life of our country may be treated like a deadly virus and the name of Jesus treated like a vulgar word, but the plain and simple fact is, Christmas is about Jesus. It is not a secular holiday, but a spiritual holy day. You can't divorce Christ from Christmas, try as you may.

 

In order to keep the real meaning of Christmas before us, I have been sharing with you a series of sermons that I have entitled The Word Became Flesh. John 1:14 says, "And the Word was made flesh." What an amazing thought, the Word was made flesh.

 

We began by thinking about the Word before He became flesh. John 1:1-3 tells us that the Word has existed from eternity past and that He is the creator of all things. The Word was God, the Word was great, and the Word was gracious.

 

Then we thought about the Word when He became flesh. There was that moment in time when the Word became flesh. That moment was a miraculous event as the Word became flesh by means of a virgin birth. The motive was to become one of us that He might die as one for us.

 

 

Today I want us to think about the Word after He became flesh. John 1:14 says that He "dwelt among us." The Word became flesh, but after He became flesh He dwelt among us. As He dwelt among us we see that:

 

 

John 1:6-9

 

John the Baptist was sent by God to introduce the world to the Word who had become flesh. John was heaven's reporter of the good news that the Word that had existed in eternity was now a part of history.

 

As John bore witness that the Word was made flesh, the Word was:

 

 

John came "to bear witness of the Light" (vs. 7). Zacharias gave the prophecy in Luke 1:79 that Christ when He came would "give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death." When Simeon saw Him, he called Him, "A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel" (Luke 2:32).

 

The world was in darkness. Ephesians 6:12 speaks of "the darkness of this world." It was and is a world of darkness created by the entrance of sin into the world. This darkness is symbolic of the sin in which mean live, the sin that man loves, and the sin that enslaves those who are in darkness. You ask anyone who has found themselves in the grip of sin's power, and they will tell you that it is a life of darkness.

But glory to God, the Word became flesh and as flesh He was the Light. Jesus said in John 8:12, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walking in darkness, but shall have the light of life." He also said in John 12:46, "I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth in me should not abide in darkness." Here is the good news of Christmas; men do not have to live in darkness. They do not have to be enslaved by sin. Jesus is the light that delivers men from darkness.

 

After the Word became flesh, He was not only revealed as the Light, but He was also:

 

 

We read in John 1:4, "In Him was life; and the life was the light of men." The world in which He came was not only spiritual darkened, but it was also spiritually dead. All men to whom Christ came were "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1). People who are unsaved are without spiritual life. They are lost without God and separated from Him.

 

But then the "Word was made flesh." Jesus said in John 10:10, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." He said in John 11:25, "I am the resurrection, and the life." He said in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life." Jesus not only gives light to those in spiritual darkness, He gives life to those who are spiritually dead.

 

After the Word became flesh, He was not only revealed as the Light and the Life, but He was also:

 

 

 

There was a day when John, who was sent from God to bear witness of the Word, saw the Word in flesh and declared in John 1:29, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." As the Light, He delivers us from darkness. As the Life, He delivers us from death. As the Lamb, He delivers us from depravity, for as the Lamb of God He takes away the sin of the world.

 

Someone has said:

 

To the artist the Lord Jesus Christ is the One Altogether Lovely.

To the architect He is the Chief Cornerstone.

To the baker He is the Living Bread.

To the banker He is the Hidden Treasure.

To the biologist He is the Life.

To the builder He is the Sure Foundation.

To the carpenter He is the Door.

To the doctor He is the Great Physician.

To the educator He is the Great Teacher.

To the engineer He is the New and Living Way.

To the farmer He is the Sower and the Lord of the Harvest.

To the florist He is the Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley.

To the geologist He is the Rock of Ages.

To the horticulturist He is the True Vine.

To the judge He is the Righteous Judge, the Judge of all men.

To the juror He is the Faithful and True Witness.

To the jeweler He is the Pearl of Great Price.

To the lawyer He is Counselor, the Lawgiver, the Advocate.

 

To the newspaper man He is the Good News of Great Joy.

To the philanthropist He is the Unspeakable Gift.

To the philosopher He is the Wisdom of God.

To the preacher He is the Word of God.

To the sculptor He is the Living Stone.

To the statesman He is the Desire of all Nations.

To the student He is the Incarnate Truth.

To the theologian He is the Author and Finisher of our Faith.

To the laborer He is the Giver of Rest.

But to the sinner He is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.

 

In the Lamb of God we see the heart and soul of why the Word became flesh. As the Lamb of God He became flesh--became man--that He might offer Himself as a sacrifice for our sin. Many a lamb had been offered through time to make atonement for the sins of the people. However, those sacrifices pointed to one Lamb, a heavenly Lamb, Jesus the Lamb of God. When the Word became flesh, that Lamb had come.

 

The Word in the flesh as the Lamb of God came for one purpose and one purpose only and that was to take away our sins. The word "take" is interesting for it means "to take up" or "away." As the Lamb of God He took upon Himself our sin and as the Lamb of sacrifice He took away our sin. If you have been saved, your sins that He took upon Himself as the Lamb of God have been taken away.

 

The Word in the flesh was revealed as the Light, the Life, and the Lamb.

 

 

Secondly, think with me of not only the Word in Flesh was Revealed, but also how:

 

 

John 1:10-11

 

John says that as He dwelt among us, He was in a world that He had created by His own power. Yet the very world and people He created did not realize that He was in the world. Even sadder, He came to His own and was rejected by those to whom He came.

 

The Bible tells us in Luke 2:7 that when it was time for the Word to become flesh, "there was no room for them in the inn." The absence of room in the inn would serve as a precursor of the rejection He would receive from the world into which He came.

 

Over 2,000 years later nothing has changed. The world by and large still rejects Him. Sunday after Sunday in this place, He is spurned, ignored, and rejected. Isaiah prophesied hundreds of years before He came that, "He is despised and rejected of men" (Isa. 53:3).

 

I find it interesting that Isaiah did not say that He WAS rejected (past tense), but rather He IS (present tense). It was as if Isaiah saw that He would come unto His own and they would reject Him, as would those of each generation that would follow.

 

I want you to think with me for a moment about His rejection. First, I think of:

 

 

I draw your attention to the two words, "He came" in verse 11. John tells us that He came as the creator of the world and all therein. The "world was made by Him" (John 1:10). Imagine, the creation rejecting its very own Creator; the very One who they owe their life and existence to.

 

Even worse, they were doing more than rejecting their Creator; they were also rejecting the Savior. The "Word was made flesh and dwelt among us" that He might become one of us in order to die for us. When you consider the eternal truth that "sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Rom. 5:12), and sin separated man from God, and brought condemnation upon man; you would think that this world would gladly and gratefully open their arms and heart to Him.

 

God’s offer to all men is to take away their sin and deliver them from condemnation, yet multitudes surprisingly reject His great offer. Even more surprisingly is how lightly they take God's offer and the contempt they often show for the offer.

 

Some of you may recognize the name Ozzy Osborne. He was a member of the 70's rock band called Black Sabbath and more recently had his own reality show called The Osborne's. In an interview he told this story: "One time, I got on my tour bus after a gig and we drove for seven or eight hours. We stopped at a truck stop in the early hours of the morning for a cup of coffee. We were out in the middle of nowhere. And this guy walks up to me and gives me one of these leaflets: "Jesus saves." And I say to the guy, "Where did you come from? There's nothing for miles and miles around here."

He says, "I've been following you all night." I says, "You been following the bus all night just to give me this blank piece of paper? You don't need to go a church, my friend. You need to go see a blank psychiatrist."

 

If you want to get some people upset, try to talk to them about what Jesus has done for them. After all Jesus did to save people from their sins, they say no to His great offer.

 

I think of not only how surprising this rejection, but also:

 

 

In the 1950's Walt Disney tried to convince his close friend, Art Linkletter to believe in his dreams. Linkletter, a pioneer in early television was urged by Disney to purchase some land miles from the nearest town. Disney explained that he intended to build an amusement park, one that would be like no other amusement park. It would contain Fantasyland and Tomorrowland, and would be called "Disneyland".

 

Disney painted a visual picture for his friend. He explained that while it would take everything he had to make Disneyland a reality, he didn't have the funding to purchase the land surrounding his dream park. He urged Linkletter to purchase the property--property that would be filled with motels, gift shops, and restaurants. Disney told his friend he would have to move fast. Linkletter told Disney he would look into it later. Disney said, "Later will be too late. You had better move on it right now." Linkletter passed on Disney's offer.

 

Linkletter later figured that every step back to the car cost him about one million dollars per step.

 

Art Linkletter lost millions of dollars because he rejected an offer made to him. But when a person rejects God's offer of salvation they loose their soul. Salvation is not something that one should take lightly. The end of a life that rejects Jesus Christ is an eternity in hell.

 

Jesus is no joke, salvation is not a game, and hell is no laughing matter. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. He came unto His own and was rejected. How surprising this rejection! How serious this rejection!

 

Thankfully, this rejection does not apply to everyone, for lastly think with me of how:

 

 

We read in John 1:12, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." There have been many who have rejected Him, but all those who have received Him bless the day they did so.

 

Those who have received Him rejoice that the "Word was made flesh." They celebrate the glorious hour when He "came unto His own." They have "beheld His glory" and found that He is indeed "full of grace and glory."

 

To them it gives them a reason to rejoice because their sin has been taken away.

 

 

Those who have received Him echo the words of the poet:

 

Praise God for Christmas.

Praise Him for the Incarnation

for Word made flesh.

I will not sing

of shepherds watching flocks

on frosty night or angel choristers.

I will not sing of stable bare in Bethlehem or lowing oxen

wise men

trailing distant star

with gold and frankincense and myrrh.

Tonight I will sing

praise to the Father

Who stood on heaven's threshold

And said farewell to His Son

As He stepped across the stars

To Bethlehem

And Jerusalem.

And I will sing praise to the infinite eternal Son

Who became most finite a Baby

Who would one day be executed

For my crimes.

Praise Him in the heavens.

Praise Him in the stable.

Praise Him in my heart.

 

Oh what a night when the Word came to dwell among men. Oh what a day when the Word came to dwell in my heart!

 

In closing let me say just a word about receiving the Word Who became flesh. First, let me say that receiving Him is:

 

 

He is received by "them that believe on His name." It is a simple act of faith. To "believe" is to trust in Him, to accept what He did for you. Have you believed on Him? Have you put your trust in Him? Receiving Jesus is a faith matter.

 

It is also:

 

 

To receive Him is to be given "power to become the sons of God." The word "power" simply speaks of the right to become a child of God. To receive Him is to be brought into God's family. It is to become a son of God.

 

What is Christmas? In the words of John:

 

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." That is what Christmas is all about.

 

The message of Christmas is best summed up in the words of the Christmas hymn:

 

Joy to the world, the Lord is come,

Let earth receive her King.

Let every heart, prepare Him room!