FOR GOD SO LOVED - HE GAVE

“FOR GOD SO LOVED, HE GAVE”

ISAIAH 9:6 – “UNTO US A SON IS GIVEN”

Our God is a loving, giving God. “For God so loved the world, He gave His only Son” (John 3:16).   In Jesus Christ, God gave us the opportunity for the forgiveness of our sins.

God says, "Here’s my gift. It is not just the gift of a baby, but it is the offer of forgiveness and salvation."  Christmas made the difference. God wrapped up a gift and gave it. Now He stands back and waits to see what we will do. Will we receive it with joy? Or will we treat it with indifference and rejection?  God waits to see, because what we do with the gift is also what we do with Him. If we accept the gift, then we receive Him, His forgiveness, His help and His hope. But if we reject it, then we also reject Him.

He has many things to give His children.  If you are His child and are “born again”, you have the Holy Spirit which was “given” to you. “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the children of God, even to them that believe on His name”: {power: or, the right, or, privilege} (John 1:12).  You may not understand this wonderful gift at first, but as you grow as a Christian, you will understand that the Holy Spirit is a person and part of God that lives in you.

God has also given us His “Record”.  The Bible tells us Who God is, about His love and plans for us, and about our future with Him. “The record that God has given to us eternal life” (I John 5:15).  We have all the instructions we need to live a happy and successful life written in His “record”.

He has given us His beautiful creation. 
“The heaven, even the heavens, are the LORD's: but the earth has He given to the children of men.” (Psalm 115:16)

God has given you His blessings if you love Him and follow Him.  You need to be thankful for those blessings. “Oh that His children would praise the Lord for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men”  (Psalm 107:15).  Here are only a few blessings He has given to them that love Him:

“Bless the Lord, O my soul;  And all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,

Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103: 1-4)

One final thing that God gave at Christmas time when He gave Jesus is hope for the future.  And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. "And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." (Revelation 21:1-4).  One day heaven is going to open, and God will come back, and the dream will be fulfilled of “peace and good will for all men.”

The application of this message to you and I this Christmas is that since God is such a great giver, and we are His children, we should also be great givers.  God has blessed you and I not just to make our lives more comfortable, but that we might use our abundance to help others.

God has given you His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that you might share Him with the world.  “Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven.” (Matthew 10:32-33)

God has given us a spiritual principle of giving so that we might be blessed even more, so in turn we can give more.  “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.” (Luke 6:38).

Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” Haggai 2:8 adds, “The silver is mine and the gold is mine, declares the LORD Almighty.”  He has the rights, and I have the responsibility. He is the Master and I am the manager. I am the servant; He is the sovereign.

Have you allowed this basic principle to permeate your personhood? You don’t really own anything. Everything belongs to the Lord. Until we recognize this truth, we will not be good managers of what has been entrusted to us. Our days are in His hands. Our gifts and abilities are on loan from Him. Our money is an “advance” from the Almighty. Our houses, cars, clothes, and every possession we have doesn’t belong to us. We really don’t own anything. 

You have what you have because God gave it to you. And He expects you to manage His gifts within the boundaries of ability that He has wired into you.  Our potential is God’s gift to us. What we do with it is our gift to Him. You are the only person on earth who can use your ability.

Whether rich or poor, strong or rich, educated or not, God has promised us that if we will use what He has given us to help others, He will bless us when we are in need.  You can’t out give God.  He loves you and wants to give you everything you need and more.  If you choose not to give of your abilities and resources to help Him help others, then you are limiting Him in blessing you.  “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7)

This Christmas, be a giver.  You may not have much to give, but you have something to give.  You can make a visit to a sick person who cannot go any where because of their sickness.  You can have a prayer with them and ask God to bless them.  You can share your food with people who are hungry.  You can be kind to a homeless person or someone in a nursing home or prison.  Ask God how you are to be a giver this Christmas.

Merry Christmas!!

JOY TO YOUR WORLD

VIDEO LINKS TO SERMON  "JOY TO YOUR WORLD"

JOY TO YOUR WORLD - PART ONE

JOY TO YOUR WORLD - PART TWO

JOY TO YOUR WORLD - PART THREE

JOY TO YOUR WORLD

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” (Philippians 4:4)

I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness” (Isaiah 61:10).

The Lord wants you to have joy and be happy at Christmas.

Joy and happiness are often used to mean the same thing.  I think we can have joy all of the time even if we are not happy.  But I think that happiness is a choice.  I think that joy is that gift that God gives you to have peace in times of unpleasant circumstances when you may not feel happy.  For instance, when you lose a love one you are sad and unhappy, but you can have joy that you will see them in Heaven and that they are better off there than they would be here. He that goes forth and weeps, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.” (Psalms 126:6)  “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” (Psalms 30:5)

Christmas can be a discouraging time of the year when people think of the deaths of their love ones, loss of finances or a job, or a relationship that did not work out.  But God's will for you is to be happy and celebrate the birth of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

I would like to talk to you about happiness that will in turn add to your joy.  Happiness is a decision you make, not just an emotion you feel.  When you get up in the morning, you can choose to be happy and enjoy that day, or you can choose to be unhappy and have a bad day.

Happiness is not always displayed in the same way by everyone.  God has given each of us different personalities.  Some people have a bubbly personality that shows when they are happy and when they are not.  But other people are more reserve and even shy and they may not always demonstrate their happiness by laughing or smiling.  But we should all learn how to smile more and laugh more.  “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit dries the bones (Proverbs 17:22)

Here are some principles to apply in order to have the happiness or joy that God wants to give you, 

To be happy you need to learn how to live one day at a time.  By an act of your will, you need to choose to forget about yesterday and tomorrow and think about today.

Life is to short not to enjoy every single day. “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” (Psalms 118:24)  Learn to enjoy your family, your friends, your health, your work, your church, and everything God gives you. 

 Jesus said: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

 (John 10:10).  An abundant life is a happy life. He also said: “Take therefore no thought for  tomorrow: for tomorrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. (Matthew 6:34)

To be happy you need to learn not to let life’s little things get you upset.  When negative things happen to us, no matter how much we rant and rave, it’s not going to change anything.  No matter how much we murmur and complain, it’s not going to make anything better.  You can decide not to let little things get the best of you. 

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” (Philippians 4:8)

To be happy don’t wait on some event or person to make you happy.  Not even Christmas.   Big events will not keep you happy.  People cannot keep you happy.  Having  the right relationship and fellowship with the Lord can make you happy: “For the joy of the LORD is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)

To be happy, learn how to content where you are in your life today.  If you will make the decision to stay faithful and be content, at the right time God will change your circumstances.  The Bible says: “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” (1 Timothy 6:6)  “For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” (Philippians 4:11).  Notice that it is a learning process.  Ask the Holy Spirit to give you wisdom on how to look at your life as someone who has been blessed and is being blessed everyday.  If you are always discontented, something is wrong.  If you get up each morning dreading your day, you need to ask the Lord to change your attitude.

To be happy, understand that God has your best interests in mind as you go through trials and difficulties.  “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delights in his way.” (Psalms 37:23)  There is a reason why you are where you are and God will direct your steps until he leads you through the valley.  Remember change is by steps, not giant leaps.

If you will apply some or all of these principles to your life during this season of the year, you will have a “Merry Christmas”, regardless of what you have or don’t have. “If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them. (John 13:17)

The greatest gift you have is God’s love and that should make you happy.  

“These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. (John 15:11)   For I am the LORD, I change not” (Malachi 3:6).

“Rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.” (Luke 10:20 KJV)

“I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repents, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.” (Lk 15:7 )