Jesus: God's Indescribable Gift

Jesus: God’s Indescribable Gift
Christmas will be celebrated all over the world next Thursday. For some people it will just be another gathering of family and friends to eat a good meal with no reflection at all about Jesus. Other families will meet to eat and exchange gifts among each other with little thought or no thought about God’s most awesome gift to the world his Son Jesus the Messiah. Many of the gifts that will be given will be returned to the store for a variety of reasons, other gifts will be accepted but not really appreciated because they were not what the people really wanted. I remember when I was in Junior High and I received a gift from my parents that I did not want and I was so disappointed. My parents did not have a lot of money to buy lots of gifts and I am sure it was disappointing for them to see my disappointment in what they thought was something I would want and enjoy. I wonder how disappointed God will be this year when so many people reject the gift that he has given to them because they are looking for something else? I wonder how many people will celebrate Christmas and not even open up the gift God has given to them because they either have rejected him or are not even aware that the gift has been given to them?
For those of us who are Christ followers this time of year is precious to us because we understand how important and valuable the gift of Jesus is to each one of us. Paul the apostle lived many years of his life in opposition to Christ, a persecutor of believers in Christ because he had rejected Jesus as the Messiah and was waiting for another messiah to come to rule on the earth. His ignorance and doubt kept him from receiving God’s gift. But one day his life was changed when he heard Jesus speak to him and he understood that he truly was the Messiah and that the years he had spent in doubt, unbelief and rebellion against Christ were all a waste. As Paul embarked on his new life as a Christ follower he began to discover all the riches that God had given him in Christ. He was constantly overwhelmed by Christ to the point that he wrote, “thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” Paul could not even put into words the supreme value of this gift. Christ was everything to Paul and as you read his testimony in Acts and any of his letters you will see how much Paul loved Christ and how grateful he was to know Christ and how much he realized Christ had done for him.
In Acts 26 Paul in his testimony to King Agrippa recounted how Jesus spoke to him on the Damascus road.
15“So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16‘But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. 17‘I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18‘to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.
Paul had a revelation of Jesus. For the first time in his life he understood who Jesus was and that he was working against God’s will. Paul received the gift of revelation of Christ and this is the cry of God today for the world that they will receive the gift he has given to them that they will have a revelation of Jesus and know that he was and is God’s gift to mankind. Jesus is revealing himself to the world through the preaching of the gospel message yet 1/3 of the worlds 6 billion people have yet to have the message clearly presented to them. Paul had it right in Romans 10:13-15
13For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
14How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
“How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
Who bring glad tidings of good things!”
It is in the preaching of the gospel that the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of the people to understand who Jesus is and what he has done for them. Paul had a direct revelation and there are numerous testimonies today of how Jesus is revealing himself to people in their dreams. I listened to a testimony from Larry Poland who is the founder of Mastermedia International which reaches out to decision makers in Hollywood. He reaches out to all kinds of people with all kinds of problems that are prevalent in Hollywood. One Jewish man was investing in global pornography industry heard a voice in the night directing him to 4 different Messanic Scriptures that revealed Jesus as the Messiah. He gave his life to Christ and thirty days later he met with Larry and withdrew his support of the investment in pornography. God wants the world to know of his gift to them and he is actively involved in revealing himself to a lost world. He is also calling each of us to be heralds like the angels who announced the birth of the Messiah to the shepherds. God’s passion is saving human beings from sin and its consequent death. This passion must also be our passion if we want to truly reveal God’s heart for people.
Mark Canada works with youth and young adults in Colombia, S.C. He has a passion for souls and boldly witnesses to the lost. He related one incident that I found very inspiring. He drove into his driveway and he saw two guys going door to door and he thought they were Mormons. He went into his house and prayed on his knees at his door that God would send them to his house so he could talk to them and share the gospel. The two men passed his house and when he finally looked out the door he saw them driving away in their vehicle. He took off running after them as they began to drive away. They stopped in the middle of the street and he approached them and asked them if they were Mormons. They said no we are selling vacuum cleaners! It was an awkward moment but he said, “I was wondering if I could tell you about Jesus.” They said okay and he shared the gospel message with them. How passionate are you about sharing God’s most precious gift with the lost?
Paul received his mission and purpose and that was to reveal Christ to a world lost in darkness. The revelation of Christ was going to increase in his life and Paul’s ministry was to impart this revelation of Christ to others. This is our ministry as well, to impart the revelation of Christ to others. This revelation should be increasing in our life just as it did with Paul. There is so much more of Christ that we can receive as we pursue him. Our relationship with Christ must become more intimate as we receive more revelation from Him. Is your relationship with Christ marked by increased revelation of him and from him or are you at a point of plateau or decline in your relationship with him? It is the revelation of Christ that will bring vibrancy to your relationship and motivate you to preach the gospel message that will turn people from darkness to light. Only Christ can liberate the lost from the darkness that they live in every day. Many of you here tonight can testify what God has done in your life to set you free from darkness. Physical darkness is a frightening thing but spiritual darkness is even worse. Have you ever been in a place that was totally dark? I was in a cave one day with a group of young people and our tour guide warned us that he was going to shut the lights off for a little while so we could experience complete darkness. I will never forget the sensation when the lights went out. You could not see your hand in front of your face. The guide said that after 15minutes in total darkness you will lose your sense of direction and you would fall to the ground because of the disorientation. This is the darkness that the world is in today; it has lost its way and is in complete disorientation. People are literally groping in darkness but many of them do not even realize it, they think it is normal. I remember when the lights came back on in the cave and what a welcome sight it was to all of us. We could see our way and walk without stumbling toward the exit of the cave. Jesus is the light of the world, he is the one who lights our way and helps us arrive at our destination. What an awesome gift God has given us in Christ.
This gift of Christ also turned people from the power of Satan to God. The whole world lies under the power of the evil one. All men are either under the control of Christ or the control of the devil. While in India I witnessed people possessed by demonic power. The demons took control of their bodies and their voices. They threw the people to the ground, caused them to writhe in pain and crawl on their stomach like a snake. One person said, “Do not say the name of Jesus.” The demons knew the power of the name of Jesus and they did not want to submit to him. I witnessed the power of the name of Jesus turning people from the power of Satan to the God. Only Jesus can set people free from demonic power. He has destroyed the work of Satan and rendered him powerless. Only Jesus can set men from the power of Satan and the power of sin. Only Jesus can liberate the soul of man from serving Satan. We live in a time when many deny the reality of a devil and demonic powers. Yet this is one of the main strategies of Satan is to make people think that he does not exist so he can continue to control and influence their lives. He is as real as gravity and everyone who is not under the power of Christ is under his power whether they acknowledge it or not. God has given us power over Satan and we must continue the mission He has given us of destroying the work of Satan in people’s lives.
The gift of Christ also brought forgiveness to mankind. God has built within all people a moral code. Everyone knows what others “ought” to do yet everyone violates this moral code. Consequently mankind has a huge problem of dealing with guilt. Guilt is probably the leading cause of many illnesses both physical and mental. Guilt is linked to sin, violating God’s laws and all of mankind has done this. All of mankind is born with a sin nature, it is part of our DNA we inherited from Adam. Only in Christ can we receive true forgiveness from sin. Christ is the only acceptable sacrifice that met the requirements of a righteous God that would appease him. Sin required a sacrifice. Virtually every culture recognizes that whatever god they worship must be appeased by some type of sacrifice. The Mayan Indians have a history of human sacrifices given to appease their gods. These sacrifices did not remove the guilt of the people. The only sacrifice that meets God’s requirements was Jesus who lived a sinless life and freely gave himself as the sacrifice to God for our sins. Only Christ can set us free from the guilt and penalty of sin which is eternal death and separation from God.
The final aspect of the gift of Christ Paul recorded in his conversation with Christ is the gift of the inheritance for those who believe in Christ. Part of the inheritance we have in Christ is given to us while we are living on the earth and part of our inheritance will be given when we get to heaven. While we are on this earth we are given the indwelling presence of Christ in the form of the Holy Spirit. This is the transforming power that is at work in each of us daily to conform us to the image of Christ. God is daily at work in us to impart His nature in us. Peter stated that God has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness.
3as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
In Christ we have everything we need, we lack nothing, God is not withholding anything from us to enable us to become like Christ. This is an exciting part of our inheritance as we witness God changing us from glory to glory. At times the process seems slow but God has promised that he will finish the work he has started in each one of us. God is with us, in us and for us! The other part of our inheritance will be received when we arrive in heaven. God is preparing a special mansion for each of us. In the Jewish wedding process after the official betrothal the bride and groom where not to see each other for a year. During this year the bride made her dress and prepared herself for the wedding day. She kept herself pure. Meanwhile the groom worked and prepared a house for his bride. When the father of the groom said the home was ready, the groom went to get his bride and the wedding ceremony took place. Jesus is preparing a place of his bride right now and he is eagerly waiting until his Father tells him it is time for his bride to join him. This is the inheritance we all anticipate, being united forever with Christ, ruling and reigning with him throughout eternity. When you think about other religious beliefs and what they promise they cannot compare too what Christians have waiting for them. The Muslim men if they make it into heaven will receive 70 virgins as their reward. If you are a Hindu you may be reincarnated as a cow or an insect when you die depending on how you lived on earth. I don’t know about you but these things do not motivate me to look forward to life after death. For the many people the life they are living right now is as good as it will ever be for them. Paul said that eye has not seen nor ear heard neither has it entered into the heart of man what God has prepared for us. Our inheritance will be greater than we could have ever imagined.
As we celebrate Christmas this year I pray we will remember the indescribable gift we have in Christ.
We have been given the gift of the revelation of Christ as our Messiah and Savior.
We have been given the gift of a mission and purpose to declare this revelation to others.
We have been given the gift of power over Satan.
We have received the gift of forgiveness of our sin.
We have received the gift of an inheritance now in the gift of the Holy Spirit and an inheritance as the bride of Christ and the eternal union we will enjoy with him.
We of all people have something to be celebrating this Christmas.

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