#4 – The Person of Advent

The Gift of God

John 1:1; 14
In recent years, a growing number of public officials and bodies have worked to
reduce Christmas to a secular holiday, obscuring and at times even denying its origins.
This is why it is always inspirational to recall the words of leaders from previous
generations during Christmas.

For example, in his Christmas Eve address of 1949, President Harry Truman
told the nation:
“Since returning home, I have been reading again in our family Bible
some of the passages which foretold this night…We miss the spirit of
Christmas if we consider the Incarnation as an unclear and doubtful, far-off
event unrelated to our present problems.”
And on Christmas Eve, 1952, he declared:
“Through Jesus Christ the world will yet be a better and a fairer place.
This faith sustains us today as it has sustained mankind for centuries past.
This is why the Christmas story, with the bright stars shining and the angels
singing, moves us to wonder and stirs our hearts to praise. Now, my fellow
countrymen, I wish for all of you a Christmas filled with the joy of the Holy
Spirit, and many years of future happiness with the peace of God reigning
upon this earth.”
At the lighting of the Capital Christmas tree this year, Speaker of the House John
Boehner reminded the nation:
“…That life and light, of course, is Christ, whose birth to Mary fulfilled a
prophecy of joy and salvation. Out in the fields where the shepherds slept,
the angels broke the silence by singing, “Glory to God in the highest, and on
Earth peace, goodwill toward men.”

I want us to look at that “…life and lite…” that both John apostle and John
Boehner spoke of in addressing the “Person” of Advent this morning. You know Him
well but allow me to introduce you properly.

When you think of Christmas one thing that stands out, both in the events of
that 1st Christmas and in the 2000+ years since, is gift giving; from the wise men and
their gifts to Jesus to gift giving around our own living rooms.

Opening gifts on Christmas morning was one thing that excited me as a child. To
come out of my bedroom and see the room lit up; caused the gifts to have a different
glimmer to them. It was as if they almost came to life with the new exhilaration that
Christmas morning had to add to them.

John tells us in verse 14 that God has prepared a gift for mankind and His name
is Jesus. Jesus is God’s gift to you and me.
That first Advent the wise men came and experienced that gift and brought their
offerings to this “…new born king…”

Later during His ministry Jesus tells the woman at the well, John 4:10, “… If you
knew the gift of God, and who it is that said to you, Give me to drink; you
would have asked of him, and he would have given you living water .”

He is an:

1) Uncommon Gift – Perfect gift – Verse 1

Everyone wants to give “that Perfect gift” this Christmas; that is probably why
people spend so much time browsing/shopping in the stores.

The Jewish people were asking for and anticipating that “Perfect gift” from God
in the form of a king to relieve them of the oppression from the Roman government
and yet God gave them Jesus. To the Jewish people Jesus was an “ Uncommon Gift”.

Even to you and I Jesus might also seem like an “Uncommon Gift” as well. Not
only was He “…in the beginning…” and YET He came to earth to become “… a
newborn King…” Jesus is God’s “Perfect” gift.

That might sound almost like a cliché but the truth in the matter is that Israel
along with you and me needed God’s gift of salvation more than anything else and it
came in a small package lying in a manger; called Jesus.

[Last line of the Song “Rudolph the red-nose reindeer” – “… you’ll go

down in history”]

Jesus’ birth was so significant that it changed all of History. Timekeeping & even
our constitution is dated in relation to this one event –if I can use the words from the
song “Rudolph the red-nose reindeer”, it’s all about His-story (a play on words –
History = His-story)

Jesus left His glory above, with all the glory He possessed before time began, to:
 Come to; NOT Jerusalem but an out-of-the-way place (Bethlehem)
 Micah 5:2, “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you be little among
the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall he come forth unto me that is
to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from
everlasting.”
 Endure the sufferings of human life experiences;
 Be born into meager surroundings (2 doves for sacrifice instead of a
lamb)
Leviticus 12:6-8, “And when the days of her purification are fulfilled, for a
son, or for a daughter, she shall bring a lamb of the first year for a burnt
offering…And if she be not able to bring a lamb, then she shall bring two
turtledoves, or two young pigeons; the one for the burnt offering, and the
other for a sin offering: and the priest shall make an atonement for her, and
she shall be clean.”
 Work with His hands to reach out to you

The wise men came to bring Him gifts to crown the “…newborn King…” and
yet He was King even before His coronation.

All creation was and is focused on this small child:

 Angels – announcement
 Shepherds – amazement
 Wise men – adornment of gifts
 Kings/governors – acknowledgment
As He grew the attention did not decrease but instead increased.

Ill. Everyone loves a newborn but as they begin to grow and mature they
seem to get lost in the crowd of those around them except for their family

Jesus on the other hand was focused on by all and that focus will continue to
increase when “…every eye shall see Him and every knee will bow and honor
Him…”

[Song – “O Come Let Us Adore Him”]

[Song – “O Little Town of Bethlehem”]

On that night even God’s creation = angels had but 1 task to perform = to draw
man’s attention toward that one event – Jesus’ birth – God’s “ Uncommon” gift to us.

2) Unselfish Gift – verse 14

John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us…”
 This echoes John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only
begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
everlasting life.”

God the Father “Unselfishly” gave a gift to you and me. Jesus is His only
begotten Son and yet He is giving Him to you and me with the only stipulation that we
accept His gift. This gift to you is a VERY expensive gift because of the gifts:
- Worth – He is the King of kings
- What it cost God – He gave His only begotten Son to die

What does this word “…begotten…” mean? Some might glibly say that it
means “…the only one of His kind…” and that is true but it means even more than
that.

Begotten – speaks of Jesus’ uniqueness. I want us to notice 3 statements

from John 1:1 and John 1:14:
In the beginning was the Word – John 1:1a – divinity
And the Word was made flesh – John 1:14a – humanity

And the Word was with God – John 1:1b – divinity

And the Word dwelt among us – John 1:14b – incarnation

And the Word was God – John 1:1c – divinity

Full of grace and truth – John 1:14c – declaration

When was Jesus begotten?

The phrase “…begotten…” is NOT referring to Jesus’ birth but to His death and
more so His resurrection – that God had raised Him from the grave.
Romans 1:1-4, “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle,
separated unto the gospel of God, (Which he had promised before by his
prophets in the holy scriptures,) Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord,
who was made of the descendants of David according to the flesh; And
declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of
holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:”

How was Jesus “…declared to the Son of God…”? He was declared to be

the Son of God “…by the resurrection from the dead.”

God “Unselfishly” offers Him to us.

 3) Unspeakable Gift – greatest gift

2Corinthians 9:15 “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” – VS the
ugly sweater or scarf that is returned the day after Christmas.

When Paul uses this phrase “…unspeakable gift…” “The idea is that no
words can properly express the greatness of the gift thus bestowed on man.
It is higher than the mind can conceive; higher than language can express .”

This speaks to the Greatness of the gift.

[Song – “Joy to the World]

[Movie – “Miracle on 34th street”]

[Movie “Scrooge” – the miracle of the boy who couldn’t talk throughout the
movie]

If you are looking for a miracle this Christmas season look to God’s
unspeakable gift – Jesus.
Jesus’ birth was a miracle – that God could be born
His life was filled with miracles
His death was miraculous – that God could die
His resurrection – come back to life – was a miraculous
BUT the most amazing part is that His is able to save to the uttermost –
1Timothy 1:15, “This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptance, that
Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”

4) Conclusion

The best gifts are those that are given with much thought as to what is truly
needed – those gifts that thought was put into to complete a need. That is what God
did; He gave us a gift that fills that greatest need which we have – a savior

Jesus is an:
 Uncommon Gift – even though He was “…in the beginning…” He came into this
world to be “…born King of the Jews…”
 Unselfish Gift – God allowed Him to be born that you and I could be born again
 Unspeakable Gift – words cannot properly express the greatness of the gift

Jesus is God’s gift to you and me and the only way that we can experience that
gift is to accept and receive Him by faith.