The Christmas Calendar — Jim Cymbala

The Shepherds Hear the Good News

This is called the Christmas calendar so in the book of Luke. Which gives us a more detailed story of the birth of Jesus even more so than Matthew. We find these words in chapter 2 there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby.

Keeping watch over their flocks at night and an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they were terrified. But the angel said that them do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people all the people today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you.

He is Christ the Lord and this will be assigned to you. This is the pathetic part of the passage. This will be assigned for you. You will find a baby wrapped in strips of cloth and Lying in a manger like a barn.

Persecution, Perseverance, and the Coming Judgment

That was what the shepherds were to go and look for in the book of 2nd Thessalonians. We read this this church was undergoing persecution because they believed in that baby that was born in in Bethlehem.

And they're going through real persecution not like we get some insults and societies becoming more Anti-christian all the time. Government schools whatnot, but they were facing losing jobs. Maybe being killed threatened, whatever Paul writes to this church that he started we ought always to thank God for you brothers and rightly.

So because your faith is growing more and more and the love every one of you has for each other is increasing. There's a good word for pastor Symbola, isn't it? This is what he's supposed to try to lead the congregation.

Into your faith is growing more and more and the love everyone has for each other is increasing. That's the sign of a healthy church when people are learning to trust God more and more. How many want to trust him more in 2012 than you did 2011?

Yeah, faith can grow none of us have arrived at this thing called faith. Do we love each other? Yeah, but our love can grow more and more. Therefore among God's churches we boast about your perseverance and faith in all the persecutions and trials you're enduring.

Here comes the turn all this is evidence that God's judgment is right and as a result You will be counted worthy of the kingdom of God for which you are suffering. God is just he will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and Give relief to those who are troubled and to us as well.

This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God. Jesus that one born in the manger. He will punish those who do not know God and who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power when on that day that he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be Marveled at among all those who have believed this includes you because you believed our testimony to you.

Christmas Anticipates More Than Gifts

What does that have to do with Christmas? I'll tell you Anticipating Christmas is an amazing thing to see with kids, isn't it? The countdown mommy, especially if they see the tree and the gifts, can I open that now?

How many days till Christmas please mommy? Let me open some at least my kids did that when they were growing up they always wanted to push the envelope and open the gifts earlier and When you're there real little certain gifts made them happy.

Certain gifts did not make them happy. Practical things that you appreciate as an adult mean nothing when you're a child. You want a toy you want a doll you want a gun that you can shoot at somebody with right?

You're not interested in a nice sweater. Levi's birthday was this last Wednesday and a deacon couple in this church gave him this beautiful box gift. I mean he he was so happy on the floor. We're watching me and we had one other present to open and he's ripping the thing open and his sister Helps him take off the lid and she pulls back and there's this gorgeous Pair of polo jeans for a little baby two-year-old and a beautiful sweater and underneath a sweatsuit.

But the minute he saw it was clothes and not a toy. He went no No and His sister half tormenting him holds it up. She realizes what's happening. She goes Levi look and he goes no No, and he takes the clothes and he tries to push them back into the box and push it down.

But the next present was a toy and he was going crazy for a truck. That cost a few dollars. But so anxious to open especially at Christmastime. I Thought that that was the most anxious I was for Christmas as a kid and I got some gifts like that.

You ever remember some of those gifts that you got at Christmas that you didn't enjoy. I remember one uncle when I wanted a basketball or a toy or guns or something one uncle or aunt gave me a flannel shirt and I was depressed like for the whole Christmas season.

I mean I was depressed. Like how in the world could you buy me a flannel shirt? Don't you know what life is about don't you know what I'm interested in? But then when I went to the Naval Academy Then I learned about wanting Christmas to come because I was a plebe and starting in June I was hazed and and hassled and Trained and kicked into shape one way or another by the upperclassmen.

It's bad now, but it was a lot worse when I was there. They had you under their control so they could make you do anything at any time every morning. I had a report at 620 to somebody's room to be abused and Be yelled at and to do sit-ups or push-ups or sweat a penny to the wall.

By pressing your forehead in this position against the wall until the perspiration. Would hopefully cement that penny to the wall and all kinds of other abusive things. Switching uniforms that man instead of getting up at 615 with everyone else had to get up at 5.

Because your shoes had to be like glass and they would look at my shoes sometimes and go you must be joking and put their foot right on top of it and Rub out all that work that I had done. But Christmas leave meant you got out of there and you could go home.

So every day when you were running no matter where you were running no matter what table you sat at and you only sat on The front three inches of your chair and you ate a square meal and you never moved your eyes.

You had to not look at your food and you had to do that. Just the plebes just the the freshman. You had to know the menu for that meal. You had to know the menu for the next meal and you had to know how many days till Christmas leave and how many days to Graduation you had to look at the menu memorize it.

They were just putting pressure on you all the time, but Christmas leave. Looking forward to Christmas leave. I didn't even know how great Christmas was until I had that kind of pressure. But it just so happens that No one in heaven looks forward to Christmas.

No angels. Nobody in heaven is counting the days. We do that and it's become very commercial hasn't it a Lot of people who are busted by January. But no one in heaven is discussing When's Christmas coming?

Because Christmas already happened. There's only one Christmas. It happened 2 ,000 years ago. So none of the angels are singing and no one's talking about Mary and Joseph. That's just us. Oh, they're talking about another coming of the Lord, but not his first one.

The Full Identity of Jesus Christ

Now the problem with Christmas is it gives you a false picture of who Jesus is. The picture of Jesus at Christmas, which a lot of people are not threatened by is this picture of a baby? Special baby born of a virgin.

God so loved the world that he gave his son and that baby was born and was Sought after by Herod to kill him. There was stress around him from the beginning but he was an innocent baby who couldn't survive unless his mother and supposed father took care of him and They had a flee into Egypt.

And then when the coast was clear and angel spoke to Joseph and said come back. The people who are trying to kill the baby are gone. Herod had died. And that's what a lot of people have a picture of Jesus.

I just want to give you a doctrinally more complete picture of who Jesus is. Because if you got to celebrate Christmas, we might as well celebrate the real Jesus. How many say amen and the real Jesus.

It's not that baby in the manger. That's how Jesus began. Sure He was born and the golden frankincense and myrrh. You know the shepherds never came at the same time as the wise men. We do that for nativity scene purposes, but they came at separate times.

We read about the shepherds coming when the baby was just seemingly born that night, but wise men seemed to come later when they were in some house Mary and Joseph and they worshipped him and. Then he grew up and people who know about Christmas and who know about the Bible.

Make a point to say the story doesn't end there. The story does not end there. The story goes to the cross. The first time I saw love it was hanging on a tree. The first time I saw life it was dying there for me.

The baby grew up and we don't know when He got an awareness of who he was. This is the miracle of the incarnation. He was fully God, but fully man. He could feel pain. He got hungry and all the rest. But he was fully God in terms of nature.

The fullness of the Godhead dwelt in him in bodily form. So how that all worked out intellectually and emotionally we don't know. But we know we had to read the Bible and study to learn it. We know he was taught.

We know that he grew in stature that he grew in wisdom. That's a mystery, but we know for sure. That when Jesus Christ came into the world at one point when he saw the sacrifice in Jerusalem and they saw the lamb being killed and let's say the day of atonement as a little boy with those little eyes looking out.

When did it dawn on him that he was the lamb? That they weren't going to kill any more of those after a while. When did it hit him that that's why I've come not to teach not to preach not to walk on water.

Those all just proved who he was, but why did he really come? He came into the world to die for you and me and aren't we happy he did. How many are happy he did and just think through dying on the cross as a substitute for us.

The baby the cross that's a good quote I accidentally read there from Amy Carmichael the cross always has to be right near the manger or you don't get the story. The story's not about a baby. Christmas is not about a baby being born.

It is but the baby grew up to become the Savior. Who died on the cross as your substitute and my substitute he died for the sins of the world. He was the one that God punished so you and I could get a free pass and Be forgiven of our sins for by the works of the law.

Nobody is going to go to heaven. Nobody's good enough here to earn God's gift of eternal life. Nobody's good. There's none righteous not even one. All we like sheep have gone astray. But the baby was born so he could grow up and then at just 33 and a half years old.

He never saw his 34th birthday. He was killed on a cross and They buried him in a tomb and to prove he was the Son of God. He was raised from the dead on the third day and the disciples saw him now. They must have seen him.

They didn't make that up because who would be chased and persecuted and lose your life because you keep saying he's alive. He's alive. I mean if it was a lie, you'd say all right, it's a lie, but don't kill me.

He didn't raise from the dead. No. These people went into flames and were fed to gladiators and animals all because they said he died but he's alive. He's alive. They tried to pay off the guards or anyone they could find.

Not to try to cover up the story of the stone that was rolled away. I want to present to you the whole Jesus. I don't want you looking at some tree and saying oh, yeah. The baby in the manger. I want to give you the whole story.

He grew up and died for you, and I he loves us. He loves us so much that he took the the blow for me. What kind of love is that? He has loved me when I haven't loved myself anybody here with me. He has loved me when I haven't loved myself.

He's comforted me. He's helped me. He's led me. He's guided me. How about you? He's everything to us right so this Jesus is not just the manger Jesus this Jesus is The one who died on the cross and rose again, but oh after he rose again from the dead he appeared off and on For about 40 days, and he talked to the disciples it was odd he had this Resurrection body a glorified body yet.

He could sit and eat with them. Nobody understands that he was sitting eat food in fact one time he told him make me some fish and He appeared with them. And he told them what to do and he explained what the kingdom of God was all about and then after 40 days he ascended.

They saw him go up vertical as in vertical and they saw him go up and he ascended and the Bible tells us Jesus is only here with us today. We sense his presence don't we but that's through the Holy Spirit Jesus himself the glorified Jesus.

He's seated at the right hand of the Father. He's in heaven now. He's not here. He's not here. He said I'm gonna go away, but I'm gonna send another one in my place, and that's the Holy Spirit. So where he said where two or three are gathered.

I'll be there. He didn't mean himself in his glorified presence. He meant my spirit the Holy Spirit who is called the Spirit of Christ. He will be there with you. But right now to be in the body Paul says is to be absent from the Lord.

Why. Because when you're here on earth, and you're in your body, and you're living the Lord is in heaven. So you're absent from him, but when you die you go to be with him. To die is to be present with the Lord.

But we feel his presence and his spirit lives within us doesn't it. That's how we're born again. So that's a little fuller picture of Jesus. So you just don't get hung up on that, but that's not the full full picture of Jesus not at all.

The Second Coming as the Church’s Blessed Hope

I Told you heaven's not interested at all in Christmas celebrations, and no one's counting the days. You know in late November Gabriel doesn't say Michael Archangel how many days now to Christmas they don't talk about that.

Oh, but they're talking about some days. But they don't know the day. They never talk about his first coming except to worship. It's the second coming that Jesus is coming again. There's more promises and verses about his second coming and what he's going to do then his first coming.

If you believe in Christmas you better believe in the second coming. Because Jesus said to his disciples look I go to prepare a place for you. Don't be sad don't be troubled. Let not your hearts be troubled.

Don't be discouraged and dismayed for I go to prepare a place for you. Why so that where I am you can be also? I'm going away, but I'm gonna come back to get you so that we can be together forever and ever.

Let's put our hands together. And just thank God for that. We're living in between his first coming baby in a manger, and we're living now. Not yet has he come for the second time. He's coming again. Jesus is coming again.

And the Bible warns us that ministers who don't preach that are not preaching the whole counsel of God. If you only preach about the baby in the manger. You're really not doing a good job if you preach about the baby in the manger.

And you take it to the cross you're doing a better job. But you're not doing a full job unless you tell people the real truth that the one who died and rose again and Ascended he's coming again. That's the blessed hope of the church.

The hope of the church is not in the UN or the White House or the Republicans or the Democrats or the mayor's office. That's your hope. You're in a lot of trouble. Our hope is in Jesus. Coming again as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

That's the full picture of Jesus. Do you have a full portrait of Jesus? Or do you just have some dabs of a brush and do you have like a stunted picture of Jesus? Who's Jesus to you? Do you understand the doctrine of Jesus from the Bible?

We're doing a little Christology today the study of the person of Christ prophesied in the Old Testament. Came in the New Testament born in a manger died on a cross. Ascended to the right hand of the Father after he was raised from the dead and now is waiting.

For a moment that no one knows when he will split the sky and come down here and then the Bible says Salvation will be completed. We don't have complete salvation yet. So let's let's pursue that a second.

We're saved, but we're not fully saved. Yeah. Oh, no. No. No, that's not happening until he comes. Let's just compare his first coming and his second coming. Because there's much more in the Bible about his second coming than his first coming.

I'm all for the Christmas tree and I'm all for Remembering the baby, but it's a shame. We have no day to celebrate a second coming. There's Christmas, but no second coming day. Let's start a new holiday all in favor say aye let's make it in June when it's warm and We'll call it second coming day.

And we'll celebrate all these verses about the second coming. So let's just compare. Why did he come the first time and then we'll ask why? Let's just do a couple of analysis here. Why did he come the first time?

Christ’s First Coming Provides Salvation

He came the first time to provide For our salvation and to invite us to receive that gift of eternal life. Why did he come the first time he came to provide Salvation why he needed to die. No one else could die for my sins.

No angel could die. It took the precious blood of the Son of God. Jesus is the only one who could take human form and his blood would be of such value to God that when God said in The Old Testament when I see the blood I will what?

There's only one blood that will pass over all your sins and my sins. You can shed your blood and cry a river of tears means nothing to God in terms of forgiving any sin. No, no, God didn't say when I see your tears or when I see an animal.

It's when I see the blood and the blood of his Son. That's why he came he came to provide salvation and then he came to call people. He would say come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden follow me.

I'll give you rest if you believe in me though. You are dead. You'll live. And if you believe in me, you'll never die. Speaking of the resurrection life the gift of eternal life. That's what Jesus went about doing.

He provided salvation and then he called people to salvation and he told the disciples. What's the last thing? He told him go into all the world and preach the gospel. What's the good news? Do you all know the good news, you know?

I did a pastor's conference in another country this year and I asked people this is a good question for you to analyze. Somebody's had an accident and they're dying and they have three minutes to live 180 seconds and they're not a Christian.

What do you tell him? What do you tell him to get him saved? What do you tell him that they could believe in that their soul could be saved like the thief on the cross? What would you tell him it was amazing even the ministers who stood up they started rambling, you know God is on the throne that won't save anybody.

God is on the throne, but that's not what you tell people if they're got a three minutes to live. You got to tell him the good news. What's the good news that God so loved the world that he gave his son that if you believe in him your sins can be Forgiven you can have a new beginning and you'll live forever.

And you are a sinner sir. You are a sinner man. We've all sinned. We've all broken God's law. That's interesting. What do you tell someone? He only got three minutes. You don't tell him join the Brooklyn Tabernacle that won't help him.

He provided salvation and he called people salvation and he told people to go out and invite people to be saved. When he comes the second time, what's the reason why is he coming the second time? He's coming to complete our salvation.

The Completion of Salvation at Christ’s Return

What's not complete oh our sins are gone. We're justified before God, but we're dealing with a lot of luggage that he's going to get rid of. So that we can spend eternity with him. Those that have already died already with the Lord who are Christians.

To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, but they don't have their resurrection bodies yet. That glorified body that's going to spend eternity. No, they're gonna get at the same time.

We will if we're living when he comes. We'll be caught up to meet him in the air and will be changed in the twinkling of an eye. Now listen with that new resurrection body. We'll have no more sinful nature to deal with.

No more temptations. No more devil. Whoo? No more devil. No more temptation. No more selfish tendencies. How many have a troublesome little person inside of you that wants to break out from time to time lift your hand?

Oh, I'm the only one huh, yeah. God's gonna change all that. He's gonna wipe away every tear. He's gonna complete the work that he's begun. It's like this. We were saved. We are being saved and we will be saved.

It's all happening past present tense and future. We were saved when we put our faith in Christ. We are being saved. He's changing us from glory to glory, but wait till you see the finished product. Oh my goodness.

How many are looking forward to that day? Come on? That's where the comfort comes in. Paul says now I know a lot of people are troubling you but guess what you're enduring it and you're you're holding your chin up high and you're Keeping your faith in Jesus and that's proof that you're the real thing.

And guess what when he comes he's gonna take care of those who trouble you he'll trouble them. How about that? You don't have to get back at anyone. Jesus is gonna settle all the accounts and all the people are troubling Christians and mocking Christians making fun of Christians making fun of anyone who is a Christian.

God's gonna handle all of that. Only then will it happen. No revival will do that. No miracle from heaven will do that. Paul says you will be comforted when when the Lord is revealed. But the final comfort for all of us doesn't come on earth.

The final comfort comes when the Lord says come on home. You live for 70 80 years now. You're going to live for billions and billions and billions and billions and billions of years. The reward is not fully ever understood here.

That's the wrong thing with the prosperity and the wrong faith teaching. They want to make it all here. It's not all here if it's all here. It's a sad thing to be a Christian. People getting killed for the Lord in Pakistan people being persecuted.

Burning down churches in Egypt people being martyred for Christ. Underground church I met people have been locked up for 10 years in mainland China for their faith. That's the reward. That's joy unspeakable full of glory.

Yeah, he'll bring you through all of that, but the real payoff is coming when Jesus comes we're living look we're living in the The the pause between the comma of when he came baby died and now we're living in this long period of time and now not long to him because a thousand years is like a day and The day is like a thousand years and then he's gonna come again to complete what he's begun in all of us so that I can spend eternity without a fallen nature and a temper and Selfish tendencies and all of that.

Oh, can't you just wait for that you talk about waiting for Christmas? The last thought of the Bible was this even so come quickly Lord Jesus. We're so materialistic in America and American Christianity has become so perverted in ways that a lot of American Christians.

The thought of Jesus coming today is gonna ruin your party. Oh Yes, it is. I had a friend who wrote a whole musical about the second coming of the Lord. And the publisher in Nashville turned it down. Why.

Because the name of the musical was behold he cometh and they said to him. No one wants to hear in church that Jesus is coming again at any moment. Don't you get it? I want to try out my new iPhone and my new whatever.

That's what people are into. But even so come quickly Lord Jesus. But I'd rather live waiting for the Lord to come any day. Then all caught up with this world and Jesus said over and over again stay awake.

Stay alert keep watch for no one knows my coming will be like a thief in the night. No thief in the night sends you a fax and or email and goes hey yo yo about two weeks from now I'll be stopping by. I'm gonna hold you up have a lot of money in the house, please and Leave some cookies and milk out for me.

I get hungry on the job. So now no one does that. No one does that. Listen it comes like that. So he's coming suddenly and he's coming to complete what he began. But if you're looking for the payoff in this life, you'll be frustrated your whole life.

Here we suffer, but if we suffer with him, we will also reign with him in What manner will he come? How did he come the first time in a manger? Humble. So poor that they didn't have a blanket. They had to take strips of cloth and wrap it around him.

His parents were so poor that when they dedicated him in Jerusalem and presented him to the Lord instead of a real animal to offer. They offered the animal that Moses provided for the poverty stricken people some birds.

You could bring some live birds and they'll give their life as part of the offering. Everybody had any kind of money would bring a lamb or a goat a real animal. They brought birds. That's us where his parents were.

That's who God picked for the parents of Jesus to be. Born in a stinking manger and nobody was impressed if you were a carpenter. Carpenter was a lowlife job. That's what Jesus came humble unnoticed. Imagine people would be walking in Jerusalem or in Nazareth and Galilee and bump into this young guy.

Let's say 26 and bump into him to say excuse me, and he would say excuse me. I didn't mean to bump into you and they were talking to God in the flesh and didn't know it. This thing God in the flesh was right there in front of them.

Just bumped into their shoulder and they didn't know it. Just think how blind we can become. How Jesus can be so close to us and we don't even know it. He was born humble. He was born a non-entity. He's born of no one.

He came in in the still of the night. He came in unannounced to the world. Caesar was not notified. King Herod was not notified of what happened that night. Now some shepherds another lowlife job humble unnoticed and Then revealed to the public at 30 years old.

How's he coming the second time? Oh. It's coming with angels. It's coming with fire. He will be revealed with angels and fire. Every knee will bow every tongue will confess. All the smart Alex who mock Christianity they will kneel when when he says it's time for them to kneel they will kneel.

Before they're cast away into their judgment. They will kneel but everyone will kneel. God's gonna honor his son after what his son did on the cross for us. Every knee will bow every tongue will confess.

All his enemies are going to just shudder in fear, but he's coming with great glory. He's coming in immense Manifestation. We don't know how it all works and how every I will see him, but this will be no secret coming.

No manger. Nobody's ever gonna touch him again and put a nail in his hand. He still has the nail prints in his resurrection body. There are still nail prints and there's a mark in his side. He still has that so that in eternity like seven billion years from now.

We'll just he'll lift up his hand and we'll just see it and we'll start praising him again. But no one's touching him when he comes again a crown of thorns. Are you kidding? That's one time only. Nobody's putting a crown of thorns on him.

People gonna run from him that his enemies are gonna run into the caves and say rocks. Fall on us and hide us from the wrath of the Lamb. Because He's coming different. His second coming is totally different than his first coming.

It will not be hidden and secret. It's gonna become. It'll be the end of time. It'll be the end of the earth. The earth will end. Peter says. Everything is gonna be consumed by fire. You think global warming is real or not real?

There's a real global warming coming according to Peter not by water. It's going to be all destroyed by fire your house all your clothes all your gadgets all your TVs. Everything you own it's gonna be destroyed like this.

Look like this the earth the elements in the earth destroyed God in a second. God's gonna say in some way that only he knows enough is enough. It's over. How about people who don't know him? When he came the first time He chased after sinners.

He gave parables like the 90 and the 9 the one lost sheep. He talked about the shepherd going after the one lost sheep that sheep is wandering and the shepherd goes after the sheep like he's going. After some of you, you know, you're in church today.

But the truth is the Lord's on your case. I Counsel enough people here and I learned what's going on in their life. And as I said to a woman yesterday, don't you get it while you're here today? And you've been going off and on to church most of your life.

Don't you know why you're here today and why you're crying and why the Holy Spirit is speaking to you? Because you're the one lost sheep that he's after because he loves you so much and You're practicing things and doing things that hurt you that hurt you not only offend him.

It's hurting you. It seems right but it leads to destruction and you're doing it and just like in Jesus's day He would go after people and say come and follow me and they would say to him get out of my face.

I'm gonna live my life my way and for some of us I don't mind going to church once in a while, especially around Christmas. But nobody's running my life. And then if you don't want anyone to run your life, you you'll never have an experience with Jesus.

Because he's not coming in to help anybody. He's coming in to run the show. This is why so few people know his power in their lives. He only comes to run the show. You think he died and rose again? He's the son of the Living God and he's gonna live in some position little compartment that you and I put him in impossible.

He's coming as Let me take over. Haven't you messed up enough? Jim haven't you wrecked and ruined your life enough? Give the reins to me and I'll show you how to live. I'll live through you. So he came the first time beseeching people.

Jesus Seeks the Lost and Calls for Surrender

Parables the prodigal son the one lost coin the one lost sheep. Oh He he went over Jerusalem. What did he do over Jerusalem? Anyone know he wept over Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. How many times I would have gathered you?

Like a mother hen gathers her chicks and I would have comforted you and I would have protected you. But you didn't want to know about me and now you didn't know your day of visitation and now it's too late.

Jerusalem was going to be destroyed in 70 AD about 40 years after he died on the cross. That's how he came the first time providing a sacrifice for sinners and chasing them all over the place. Although I must admit some people got so hard.