"Unwrapping the Gift!" (3rd Sunday of Advent!)

"Unwrapping the Gift!"

Third Sunday of Advent 2010

Pastor Jerry Ingalls

December 12, 2010

Today is the 3^rd Sunday of Advent and our third message in a Christmas series called "The Gift!". We learned about God the Father and how He is the Architect of Christmas as the great Gift-Giver. We learned about God the Son who is the perfect Christmas gift—this gift is personal, timely, and relevant for every person on your list, whether they have been naughty or nice! Have you shared the gift of Jesus Christ with your family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers?

Today, we are learning about the third person of God—the Holy Spirit. When we are offered the gift of reconciliation with God and we ask Jesus Christ to be our Lord and Savior, then the Holy Spirit comes into our lives and unwraps the gift for all to see!

God's word for a message entitled "Unwrapping the Gift!" from Romans 8:14-17, "For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory." [Prayer]

Growing up, one of my favorite moments of Christmas morning was racing into the living room and finding the Christmas tree filled with wrapped presents and stockings full of goodies. These are wonderful memories filled with anticipation because it was not really the wrapping paper that I was excited about, it was the promise of the gift just behind the paper. The paper may look pretty, but the gift is what really matters! And more so, as I have gotten older, I realize what is really important is the love of the person who gives the gift!

Let's unwrap the gift of Jesus Christ given out of the abundance of the Father's great love for us, His children! WHEN WE UNWRAP THE GIFT WE FIND FREEDOM IN OUR TRUE IDENTITY!

You are not who you think you are! If you have allowed anything to give you an identity other than your adoption as a child of God, then your identity is built on shifting sands. Your identity is not your job title, nor is it your academic degrees or athletic accomplishments. Your identity is not in your current crisis or past failures. Your identity is not in any other person but Jesus Christ; not even your parents, your spouse or significant other, your children or grandchildren.

There is only one sure foundation on which we can build our concept of self and that is who we are through the gift of love found in Jesus Christ! When we receive the Christmas Gift, the Holy Spirit has to unwrap us, layer after layer of wrapping paper. Because we have packaged ourselves with fake ID's, over the years of life we have forgotten our true identity as God's precious children!

Why do people use fake ID's? Whether it is to drink before they turn 21 or another motivation (good or bad), the underlying reason is deception and through this deception to gain a worldly benefit that is not rightfully theirs for who they are.

Many of us have never used a fake ID to get into a bar, but most of us have experienced the deception of the world where we believed we had to be more than we are to be accepted. Whether it was intentional or not, most of us over the years of our lives we have become layered in fake ID's (wrapping paper if you will) as we try to make ourselves more comfortable in our own skin, acceptable in people's eyes, trying to fit in with the cool crowd, trying to make ourselves feel better about our short comings and mistakes, trying to be successful well adjusted people in a competitive world.

Here is the good news! God knows your true identity and He has made a way for you to find freedom in who you are! Accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is the great homecoming; peace within yourself and between all people! Accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior is the moment the Holy Spirit restores each of us into our rightful name, our rightful status to the Father, our rightful place as an heir to the eternal inheritance! This is the will of God—to take away your fake IDs so that you can be truly known by your given name. This is the magnificent work of grace!

The Gospel of John 1:12-13 states, "Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

We have been adopted into the family by believing in the Name of Jesus Christ, the name that is above every name. Through faith in Jesus Christ, God sent His perfect presence (His Spirit) into our lives and we are born to God as children of God! Jesus Christ teaches of this work of the Spirit of God in the Gospel of John 3:5-6, "Jesus answered, 'Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.'"

From the beginning of creation, we were created to be in a perfect intimate relationship with God, but that relationship was torn apart by sin (our rebellion against God and His ways). That sin was passed on from generation to generation through the flesh. Every person in every generation is born of the flesh with a broken relationship with the Father. But, through the Spirit, we who were once dead in our sin are now alive in Jesus Christ. Jesus, the perfect unblemished Passover Lamb—the final atoning sacrifice of God—took all of our fleshly sin and rebellion on Himself as He was crucified on the Cross of Calvary. The Bible teaches in Romans 6:6, "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin."

Jesus Christ came to the cradle for the Cross! Through faith, we are set free! We are justified in a moment, but our discipleship takes a lifetime. In other words…

Though we are saved by faith in the blink of an eye, it is a long and painful journey for us to be free of our old ways of thinking, of acting, and of relating to ourselves and other people. And the Lord knows we don't like to change, so there is an essential ingredient on this spiritual journey that makes all things new—the active indwelling of the Holy Spirit working in and through our painful circumstances. The Lord Jesus Christ heals the lame, He gives sight to the blind, He casts out demons and sets the captives free! He makes all things new in Him!

Let's read from the epic series, The Chronicles of Narnia written by the famous 20^th century Christian author C. S. Lewis, an excerpt from his 1952 work, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which was just released this weekend as a major motion picture. Here's a little context, most of this book revolves around the personal growth of a young boy named Eustace, as he is drawn into Narnia and aboard the ship along with Lucy and Edmund, and into adventures that bring him to realize how self-centered and ugly his attitudes are. Right before this point in the story Eustace has wandered off by himself when the ship puts ashore on the unexplored Dragon Island. Upon finding a treasure he finds himself physically transformed into what he is on the inside. Listen to His encounter with Aslan, the Christ-figure of Narnia. Read from book.

What layers does God have to cut through in your life so that you may live in freedom as a child of God?

The Spirit proclaims in Galatians 5:1, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."

God has unwrapped you through the Spirit and given you full access to His presence. He has called you His own and adopted you into His family. This is the Christmas gift available for all humanity to receive! God humbly came to the earth and for love's sake became poor by setting aside His rightful place as God and taking on the form of a slave; he become a human baby. This is the Christmas miracle—Emmanuel, God is with us!

Why would God go to such great lengths? Because He's your daddy and He loves each and every one of His children. Our freedom to know God and to know our true identity in Him is found in Jesus' obedience to take on flesh as a helpless Jewish baby boy born in a stable that first Christmas morning over 2000 years ago! He did it so you can know who you are.

He knows you by name! Do you know Him by name?

Jesus Christ came to the cradle for the Cross! God is inviting you this morning to allow Him to cut through the deep layers of false identities you have put on. Today is the day of freedom! It is only when you walk in this freedom that people will see and experience the gift of love in and through you. Your true identity is intended to bear the image of God, to reflect His love and His life to everyone you encounter!

Please pray this simple prayer with me…FATHER, PLEASE REMOVE THE WRAPPING PAPER FROM MY LIFE SO THAT THE WORLD MAY SEE YOUR GIFT OF LOVE AND LIFE IN AND THROUGH ME. PLEASE TEACH ME WHO I AM IN YOU SO THAT I MAY BE FREE IN YOU. IN JESUS' NAME. AMEN.

God not only wants us to experience the freedom of our true identity, He wants you to know the security of His all encompassing love no matter our circumstances. WHEN WE UNWRAP THE GIFT WE FIND SECURITY TO LIVE FOR JESUS CHRIST!

Romans 8:14-17 describes the Spirit-filled life as a life of freedom; we are no longer slaves! But the Spirit-filled life is also a life of security, as we no longer have to fear because we are children of God. We have been adopted into 'sonship' and this means we can never lose the promises of God—the full inheritance of God is ours and it can never be taken from us because we are called sons! Ladies, this is not gender bias; this is a legal declaration of our right to inheritance!

Listen to the Prophet Ezekiel 46:16-17 "This is what the Sovereign LORD says: If the prince makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his sons, it will also belong to his descendants; it is to be their property by inheritance. If, however, he makes a gift from his inheritance to one of his servants, the servant may keep it until the year of freedom; then it will revert to the prince. His inheritance belongs to his sons only; it is theirs."

Jesus Christ spoke of the security of our inheritance as He teaches about eternal life. From the Gospel of John 10:28-30, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and the Father are one." This is the deep truth of God's love and grace. YOU ARE SECURE IN JESUS CHRIST! Later in Romans 8 we learn that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. God is faithful to keep His promises!

We live in an anxious world filled with insecure people. It is a dangerous day when insecure people get into positions of leadership and power because they wield their power and influence for their own selfish gain and self image. And friends, that is the world we live in! Insecure people trying to prove they are something because they do not know their true identity in Jesus Christ! Their self concept is a false one packaged behind power and success when what lies underneath is an insecure broken person who needs the forgiveness, acceptance, and security of God more than they need the air they breathe.

Insecurity is the terrible bitter root of so much of life's pains and interpersonal struggles. Insecurity is a poison that spreads like a cancer in our own hearts and souls, as well as through our marriages, our relationships, and even in the body of Christ when God's people lose touch with who they are in Christ and the eternal securities afforded to them by God through Jesus Christ! Insecurity destroys!

Personally, I have experienced the healing and delivering power of Jesus Christ. God took me from a place of deep insecurity, to a place of powerful freedom in who I am as a man of God and a deep abiding security as His beloved son. This truth is planted in my soul and I know today that I do not have to work or perform for His or your approval because I have been set free. But, I am still on the journey and there are still days and moments when I lose sight of these great victories. Thank you to God for sending the Holy Spirit to live in me to constantly return my prodigal heart back to Him!

Jesus Christ did not die on the cross so that we could live compromised lives of lukewarm obedience and misguided loyalties! Jesus Christ died on the Cross to forgive us of our sins so that we may receive power and authority to do even greater things than He did. This is the Holy Spirit unwrapping the gift in our lives and faning into flame the gift of God! This is the work of the Holy Spirit actively indwelling in us so that we should live passionate focused lives for Jesus Christ, regardless of our circumstances!

As Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:6-8, "For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. So do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord or of me his prisoner. Rather, join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God."

The gift of salvation changes your heart and perspective, not your circumstances! Our circumstances are but a testing ground for our faith. Do not be deceived, your circumstances are not what matters the most; it is how you walk through them that matters. It's the focus of our lives that makes the difference! Paul stated in 2 Corinthians 4:17-18, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." Who are you focusing on?

Only when you know, a deep secure knowing, that God loves you and has you in the palm of His hand can you keep your focus on Jesus, especially in the midst of life's storms. You are secure in His embrace!

Pray this simple prayer with me…FATHER, PLEASE REMOVE THE INSECURITIES OF MY LIFE THAT I MAY LIVE FOR CHRIST ALONE. PLEASE TEACH ME HOW TO BE YOUR GIFT OF LOVE AND LIFE IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES. IN JESUS' NAME. AMEN.

The Holy Spirit is working in you because in receiving the Christmas gift you become the gift; you are a messenger of reconciliation to your family, your neighbors, to the world. Who are you giving for Christmas?

Have you received the precious gift of Jesus Christ yet? Today, the Christmas miracle can be yours by joining me in this prayer. Let us pray.

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

1. Read Titus 3:1-7. Meditate on what God has done for you through the gift of Jesus Christ and the fresh outpouring of His Holy Spirit. Discuss your identity in Jesus Christ (who are you?) and the freedom of life He has given you. How do your thoughts, words, and daily actions demonstrate who you are in Jesus Christ?

2. Discuss Jesus' teaching and promise found in John 10:10. How do you walk through difficult circumstances and times of suffering? Do you allow the Deceiver (or your own insecurities) to mislead you in the midst of life's circumstances? How do you keep your eyes on the promises of God on a daily basis?

3. For further meditation on God's rich inheritance, please read the Parable of the Prodigal Son found in Luke 15:11-32. For a wonderful devotional study of this parable you can read Henri Nouwen's The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming (1994). A pastor's recommended reading. J