MESSAGES

FROM THE

WORD

ALWAYS WINTER, NEVER CHRISTMAS

SERIES:  Christmas

December 4, 2005

            This week Walt Disney Pictures is releasing the film version of one of the most popular books of all time.  The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was the brainchild of C.S. Lewis.  One of the most brilliant thinkers of our time, Lewis had the ability to write the greatest intellectual defense of the Christian faith in the 20^th century, Mere Christianity, as well as the most popular children’s stories of all time, The Chronicles of Narnia.  Lewis sought to tell the story of God’s redemption in a way that children could picture in their minds.  In essence, it is a fantasy tale based on the truth of the gospel story.

            Narnia is a land that has been captured by the White Witch and turned into a desolation of snow and ice.  Those who oppose her are turned into stone statutes.  Into this world, four children arrive who are prophesied to bring about the return of Aslan the king who will destroy the power of the White Witch.  There is a phrase that is stated on several occasions in the story.  It is said that Narnia is a place that is “always winter and never Christmas”.  That is a good description of the world into which Jesus was born.   

            I love the Christmas season, especially the gathering of families and the giving of gifts.  When I was a child, our parents had a Christmas tradition.  Before we went to the Christmas Eve service, we would open one present from under the tree.  With few exceptions, we could choose any present we wanted.  I don't know how, but every year the present I selected turned out to be socks or under clothes.  When our children were younger they had a tradition.  Together they would sneak out to where the gifts were and our oldest daughter would somehow open a few gifts and then wrap them so well that we didn't know what they had done. 

            I don't know when the first Christmas in which people gave gifts to each other, but it goes back at least one thousand years.  The practice is patterned after the gifts of the wise men as they came to the Christ child and offered Him gifts.  Certainly in our society, the gift giving has gone way overboard.  The average American will spend almost $1000 this year on gifts and travel.  I received a catalogue several years ago from a store in Texas that offered a host of very expensive “toys”.  At the bottom of the catalogue it read, “If you don’t buy her one, her next husband will”.  I sent a letter to the company recommending that they change their advertising agency.  During the month of December, Americans spend more than one billion dollars just on wrapping paper.  It is important for the people of God to have a Biblical perspective on Christmas.  What would a Biblical perspective be?

1)                  Understand the priority of Christ during this season

2)                  Practice contentment

3)                  Give gifts that reflect love, not pop culture

4)                  Remember that things will never bring satisfaction

5)                  Keep in mind the less fortunate

With that in mind, I want to look at Christmas from the perspective of Narnia.  What would it be like to live in a world in which it was always winter and never Christmas?  What would make such a world as that possible?  If you read the papers or watch the news, it is not hard to see such a world today.  Famine, desolation, war and oppression are daily occurrences.  Let’s look at some of the issues that could create a world that is always winter and never Christmas.

A FIRST REASON IS THE OPPRESSION OF SIN.  Go back to the beginning.  The forbidden fruit was such a small thing.  Hardly anyone would have missed that one piece of fruit.  Yet, the consequences of that event led to the overpowering consequences of sin.  In just the book of Genesis we see murder, rape, slavery, theft, oppression, incest, deception and death.

The writer to the Hebrews notes this.  We read              HEBREWS 2:14, 15            Those of you who have experienced death to family members understand the oppressive reality of death.  It is through the consequences of sin that death became a reality of life. 

In addition to death, sin brought separation from God into the world.  Adam and Eve are a picture of that alienation, but it is more spiritual than physical.  This is why sin is so terrible.  It separates us from God.  We read                 ROMANS 3:23; 6:23                        The consequences of our sinful actions and thoughts is spiritual death.  That means we are in a constant inability of making contact with God. 

In addition to those two, sin brings separation between us and those around us.  Just look at the book of Genesis.  Cain killed Abel.  The residents of Sodom tried to rape the Angels, Abraham lied about Sarah, placing her in danger, Jacob stole Esau’s birthright, and Joseph’s brothers sold him into slavery.  Then, the book of Exodus opens with the Egyptians enslaving the Jews.  However, you do not need to go back 4000 years into history to know that sin brings alienation.  How many people in your life are alienated from somebody?  Even nice people have problems with people.  It is a result of sin.

A SECOND REASON IS THE POWER OF UNBELIEF.  Throughout history God has promised to defend, protect and provide for His people.  However, when we reject God, we put a cork in the hose of His blessings.  Rather than being able to bless His people, He has to bring judgment on them.  There is a great promise in Jeremiah concerning this.  We read            JEREMIAH 29:1-12             The verse that most of us know is verse 11.  We like the idea that God has plans to bless us.  The interesting aspect of this passage is that this promise is right in the middle of God’s judgment on His people for disbelieving Him.

God had promised to bless His people if they would obey Him.  However, the people kept running after false God’s and God finally said “enough”.  The Babylonians came in, destroyed Jerusalem and took the best and the brightest into captivity.  God promised through Jeremiah that the captivity would only last 70 years.  It is this chapter that Daniel was reading when he had his vision of the 70 weeks.  In the middle of God’s judgment, there is mercy and the promise of hope and blessings.  This is always God’s plan.  In judgment, He wants to remind His people that blessings can come if they will return to Him. 

Most of us have lived out this pattern at some point in our life.  We receive God’s blessings, struggle with doing it His way, reject His authority, fall into sin, receive His judgment, return to Him, and get back in on His blessings. 

A THIRD REASON IS THE FAILURE TO ANTICIPATE.  One of the joys of Christmas is watching children almost unable to hold their anticipation until Christmas morning.  How many children have begged their parents to allow them to open just one present?  Or, they have opened up one of their presents when no one was watching.  The sad part of the original Christmas was the lack of anticipation.  There was a reason for this.  Malachi was the last prophet to speak in the Old Testament and he was 400 years before the birth of Jesus.  The Jews knew of a coming Messiah, but 400 years of silence can dampen your anticipation just a bit. 

There were a few who did anticipate.  Men came from the east called Magi.  There were the wise men from the area of Babylon.  They were the spiritual descendents of the prophet Daniel.  They studied his words and were fascinated by this one who was to come, destroy the enemies of God, and lay claim to the Messianic ministry.  When these stars began to appear over the Holy Land, these men needed to make their way to see what was taking place.  There were two people who anticipated this birth.  Their names were Simeon and Anna.  We read                        LUKE 2:21-38          As you read the story, though, almost everyone else slept.  The religious leaders, the shepherds, the inn keeper, the residents of Bethlehem all had the opportunity to welcome in the Savior of the world.  Rather than anticipate this incredible event, they went on with life.

This is why many people never see God work in their life; they are not expecting Him to do anything.  If we want God to send us a blessing and we walk around with our eyes closed, will we see anything good?  We read                    JOHN 9:1-7             The disciples struggled with the same concepts we have today.  If a tragedy happens, it must be because of a sin in the person’s life.  Jesus had a different understanding.  While tragedies may be a result of sin, another reason for them is to give God an opportunity to do a great work.  Jesus brought sight to this blind man.  We read                  VERSES 13-16            Here was God in the flesh walking among the people doing an incredible work and they were totally oblivious to His deed.  How many times does God do a great work in your life and you miss it because your mind is focused on trivial matters?  Let me give you a suggestion for a Christmas gift to give yourself.  Begin to look every moment for God to bless you.  If you are constantly on the look for His great work, you will see His blessings everywhere.

Have you ever gone out to watch the sun rise?  If you have, it is hard to miss the very first glimpse of that great event.  One of the reasons it is hard to miss, is because you are waiting and watching for it to take place.  There is a great anticipation.  It is like the countdown on New Years Eve.  It is hard to miss the exact moment because everyone is focused on that single moment.  We miss things because we don’t look for them.  When we anticipate God’s great deeds, we find them at every corner.

Oppression is a terrible master.  It comes in many forms.  It can be a result of sin, depression, the cares of life, or a dozen other causes.  Oppression is real and it is powerful.  It almost always leads to hopelessness.  That is why God concluded those words in Jeremiah by saying             VERSE 11           The greatest gift God will ever give to His creation is the privilege of spending eternity with Him.  However, there are other gifts that God gives to His creation.  This is just my opinion, but I believe that the greatest gift that God has given to the human race is hope.  We read           ROMANS 15:4-6             I don’t know if you have ever thought about this, but without hope it is impossible to glorify God.  This is why I spend so much time teaching you the scriptures.  It is as I teach you the examples of the Old and New Testaments and it is through the instructions of the character of God that you learn that God is a God who can be trusted and always comes through at the right time.

It might be that you are going through one of those “ALWAYS WINTER…” moments.  Can I remind you that God walks through the “Valley of the Shadow of Death” with you?  You are never alone, even when you may feel like it.  The sun still shines even when the clouds hide its light.  It was Charles Spurgeon who stated, “When you cannot see God’s face, you can always feel His heart”.  If you are going through a winter moment, be encouraged.  As Mr. Beaver states, “Aslan is on the move”.  In the darkest of Winters, Spring always comes.  The disciples had the winter of all winters on Good Friday, little realizing that the greatest work of God in history was being produced.  To quote Tony Compolo, “It was Friday, but Sunday was coming”.  God is there upholding you.  We read GALATIANS 4:4          The Lord may have allowed a trial to come into your life.  You may be experiencing a Winter moment, but be of good cheer, for in the fullness of time, God came into the world to break the power of sin, give us victory over unbelief, and give us hope.

This message is from the teaching ministry of Glen Jackson, pastor of Faith Christian Church in Simi Valley, CA.  All rights are reserved.