He Gave A Gift That Keeps On Giving
II CORINTHIANS 9: 15
JESUS CHRIST’S birth was God’s way of saying, “Merry Christmas, planet earth. I have a present for you.”
JESUS CHRIST was the reference when Paul wrote, “Thanks be to God for His unspeakable gift…” (II Cor. 9:15).
The gift is indescribable, inexpressible, marvelous, and wonderful. The gift is Jesus Christ Himself.
Our distinctive southern tongues have a way of making certain words sound alike. Two such words are presents and presence. “Presents” meaning gifts and “presence” meaning to be in close proximity. God’s present to the population of planet earth was the presence of His Son, Jesus Christ.
An appropriate gift does two things:
It reveals the love of the one giving it.
It suits the needs of the one receiving it.
Isn’t it rewarding when you give a gift for the recipient to say, “How like you to give such a thoughtful gift and it is just what I wanted and needed.”
The gift of Christ as Savior does both. Our response should be, “How like you dear God to give me just what I wanted and needed.”
A gift is an expression of the giver’s heart. The recipient gets it but not because it is earned, merited, or deserved. It is simply an expression of the loving heart of the giver.
Wouldn’t it be a magical Christmas if you placed neatly wrapped packages under the tree with names of family members on them and then set up a cash box to collect a fixed sum for each? The moment you received money for one it would not be a gift, but a purchase.
In Bud Blake’s “Tiger” comic strip two little boys were talking about Christmas. One said, “My folks got us an artificial tree this year.” The other little guy asked, “Does that bother you?”
“No,” was the response, “just as long as the gifts are real.”
The gift of God the Father is Jesus. His name evidences the scope of the gift. Jesus means, “Jehovah is Salvation.” Thus, in the end, the gift is salvation.
Suppose God had said, “You can purchase your salvation.” That would have left out millions who are too poor to buy their salvation.
Suppose He had said, “Be good enough and I will give it to you,” or “Do enough good deeds and you can merit your salvation.” Who could have done that much good or behaved that well?
Suppose God had said, “If you do sufficient penance, or suffer enough, you can deserve your salvation.” Some, having a clouded understanding of just how far their sins had separated them from God, might not have performed sufficiently.”
In Rome, Italy I have seen persons climbing stairs on their knees as an act of penance, thinking they were garnering the favor of God by their work.
In Brazil, I have seen persons walk gravel roads on their knees hoping to gain God’s favor by their penance.
There are millions who live under this misconception today.
Suppose God had said, “I am going to grade on the curve and if you score high enough you will pass and get your salvation.” When Jesus entered the earthly scene He messed up the curve.
Instead, God said, “I will give you salvation if you will receive the gift.” The gift is His presence.
I walked through the Nazi concentration camp of Dachau, and reflected on an account I had read in the book by Corrie Ten Boom entitled “Christmas Remembered.” It was her memory of her experience in such a Nazi hell hole.
It was Christmas Eve. Corrie and the other Christians in the camp had placed meager handmade decorations on a few trees in celebration of Christ’s birth. Beneath some of these trees were the lifeless bodies of fellow prisoners who had died and been thrown there.
Corrie was weary of trying to tell people of the love of Jesus and physically fatigued as she glanced out a crack to see the bodies by the light of the moon. Amid all the moaning and groaning she heard a child’s voice pleading, “Mommy, come to Ollie. Ollie is so alone.”
Corrie knew one of those bodies beneath those trees was that of Ollie’s mother. Corrie went to the bunk of the child and softly said, “Ollie, mommy can’t come, but I want to tell you of One who did come on that first Christmas and that He will come to be with you right now.” Corrie continued to tell how Jesus in love had come to earth and how He lovingly died on the cross of Calvary for our sins. She proceeded to tell little Ollie how the death and resurrection of Jesus enabled Him to provide a lovely house in heaven where there were no cruel people; only those who had love for Jesus and one another. In faith, little Ollie trusted Jesus that night and found great comfort in His presence.
A few days later Corrie saw Ollie with her sores and wounds bandaged only with toilet paper. She could tell the child was in pain but asked anyway: “Ollie, where is Jesus?” With a warm though weak smile the child said, “He is in heaven where He has provided a little house for me.”
“Is He just there in heaven?”
“No,” she said, “he is here with me and when I hurt, I let the pain remind me of His suffering and dying for me to provide that little house in heaven.”
The Nazis saw to it that the little house didn’t stay vacant long. Ollie died and went into the presence of the Lord, all because of a present from the Lord — Jesus Himself was that gift of salvation. Ollie went to heaven because of Christ’s presence.
Let’s consider some passages of Scripture as though they are correspondence delivered to us. First,I. SPECIAL DELIVERY FROM ZACHARIAS (LUKE 1: 5 – 25)
Zacharias and his wife lived in a little hillside town near Jerusalem where he served as a priest in the temple.
An angel appeared to him and told him his wife Elizabeth would have a child.
Verse 18, Zacharias’ understanding of nature prompted him to respond in a natural way and both doubt and question the angel’s message: “How can I know this is true? I am an old man myself, and my wife is getting on in years….” He was so alarmed the angel said, “Fear not…” Well, why not? Why should he not have been virtually terrorized?
The text answers, “Thy prayers have been answered.”
Because of his doubt, God sealed his lips until the birth of his son, John the Baptist. This should be a clear indication to us that God doesn’t like His children going around sowing discord and stirring up dissension.
When his son was born Zacharias began to praise the Lord.
To some, faith comes after hesitation. When it does come, then comes praise.
II. PERSON TO PERSON FOR MARY (LUKE 1: 26 – 55).
In Nazareth a young virgin received an angelic message regarding having a baby. Normal child birth is exciting but this is something special. Husbands often get more excited than wives. Such an excited husband spoke excitedly over the phone, “My wife is pregnant and having contractions every two minutes.”
The operator questioned, “Is this her first child?”
“No, you dummy, this is her husband.”
Parental arrangements for marriage were made for children when at a very young age. This was considered both an engagement and marriage. As they approached marriageable age, they entered into a one year period of betrothal. During this time they lived apart but were legally married. Unfaithfulness during this time was punishable by death.
This process of marriage is the reason secular writings referred to virgins who were widows.
Six months after visiting Zacharias, Gabriel was sent to Nazareth with a message for a teenage girl named Mary.
Mary was frightened and the angel again spoke that familiar line: “Fear not…”
Why not? Because, “You have found favor with God.”
A. Mary said of her son, He was her “savior” (Vs. 47).
Mary was special. She was “blessed” (Vs. 28). What Jesus thought of her and what she thought of Him can be learned from the Scripture.
Christ and Mary must each be acknowledged for what they are.
Some failing to understand the Scripture try to attribute to Mary the work of Christ. Only He saves; not His mother.
Mary never hinted she was savior.
Jesus never hinted Mary was savior.
Mary stated Jesus was Savior. In verse 47 she called Him “my savior.”
Jesus stated He was savior. He said of Himself, “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
A Christian receptionist in a doctor’s office tried several times to explain to her friend this basic principle. Over and over she tried to communicate that Mary, His wonderful and blessed mother, could not do what only Christ could do.
One day the lady called and asked to speak to the doctor about a medical problem. The receptionist said, “He isn’t in, but his mother is. Will she do?” Further explanation of this parallel helped the caller understand this truth.
After calming the fears of Mary, that angel told her she was going to have a baby. She never questioned the fact.
She simply asked “How?” (Vs. 34).
The supernatural nature of what was to happen never puzzled her. The Holy Spirit would supernaturally invest an ovum with the germ of life, and the child to be born would be divine.
This clearly teaches Christ was conceived of a virgin. If you deny that, you have an inadequate concept of God. If God couldn’t do that, He couldn’t save anyone. If your view of God is of One who couldn’t do that, in the view of a book authored over thirty years ago by J. B. Phillips, Your God Is Too Small, he writes, ” My God, the God of the Bible, could handle that easily, and He did.”
The angel greeted her, “Hail.” The word was CHAIRE which means “rejoice.” She did so in a big way. She did so because she chose to.
The fact that as a single pregnant girl she might lose her beloved Joseph and even be stoned did not repel her. She disregarded the possible social stigma.
Mary then made one of the most courageous statements ever recorded: “Let it be to me according to your word” (Vs. 38).
Her response: “I belong to the Lord, body and soul. Let it happen as you say” (Vs. 38). Self had been brought under God’s control.
How you respond to the Lord determines the direction of your life. You are a sum total of your choices.
Later in life, under different circumstances, Mary said to Christ’s disciples, “Do whatever He says for you to do” (John 2:5). She was urging them to respond as she had responded.
When I left for college, my cousin who had played basketball in college with the man who was to be my coach said, “Whatever he tells you to do — do it. He did twice as much in college as he will ever ask you to do.”
In effect Mary was saying, “Do as I have done.” That is her message to us.
Remember we pray: “Thy will be done…” Not, “Thy will be changed…”
B. Of Mary’s soon-to-be born Son, it was said: (Vs. 32)
“He shall be great…”
“…called the Son of the Highest.”
C. Of Him she said:
“My soul does magnify the Lord” (Vs. 46).
“Magnify” comes from the word MEGALUNEI, which means to laud, to celebrate.
I am sometimes asked, “Don’t you ever get discouraged?” Yes, but I am never going to tell you when I get discouraged because that might discourage you and that would discourage me and I can hardly stand my present discouragement.”
“My spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior” (Vs. 47).
The coming of God to her as Savior was the cause of her rejoicing.
Some persons sigh, “I just love Jesus.” If you do, notify your face.
Joy is the banner that flies over the castle of the heart when the King is in residence.
III. RETURN RECEIPT REQUIRED FROM YOU
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast” (Ephesians 2: 8, 9).
Christmas was the time of Christ’s birth. He was the gift, salvation embodied. For the gift to be yours, you must receive it.
Three responses are potential. They are:
BELIEVERS, NONBELIEVERS, MAKE BELIEVERS.
Which are you?
Do you rank among those who say there is “a” Savior or perhaps even Jesus is “the” Savior?
Can you truthfully say, “Jesus is MY Savior?”
“The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23a).