LUKE 2 WHY JESUS IS THE GREATEST GIFT2004 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 2 Why Jesus Is The Greatest Gift

This evening, Luke chapter 2.

We're diverting from the Psalms for an evening tonight because it is coming up Christmas very soon. Today is the 22nd. We have a couple days of shopping left. That would be, well, today and tomorrow, really, and then Christmas Eve. And then Christmas Day is on Saturday. So I hope you have great plans with your family. I hope you have plans to spend time with Jesus like we talked about last week, to make time to spend time with Him and your family and recognize the wonderful gift that He's given.

Well, as we're coming upon the Christmas season, you know, we have this...

thing that we must do. It's something that comes up every year. And what we have to do is we have to give and receive gifts. Now, I don't know about you, but me personally, this whole gift giving and gift receiving thing is very awkward for me. I'm not really good at receiving gifts. What kind of expression am I supposed to have? And how am I supposed to look? And, oh, that's nice. Thank you. And am I supposed to be really excited? Should I exaggerate? Or how should I...

how should I receive it? I'm just really not good at receiving gifts very well. And giving gifts, you know, that's a little bit even harder because then you're like, well, how do you know what they really want? I was talking to the Sedotas and I guess they write a list, which, oh man, I'd never heard of that. That would be beautiful, you know? Hey, just give me a list of what you want. I'll pick something. Now, it never works like that with my family. So you got to figure out, okay, what do they want and how am I going to get it and how am I going to afford it and how am I going to present it to them? And

How's it all going to work out? And where am I going to find it at? And really, what do they want? And I'm just not very comfortable with this whole gift giving and receiving thing. Maybe it's because I'm so young and I'll get used to it as I get older. Is that true, guys, gals? No? Okay. Have you ever had a gift, though, that you've just been really excited to give?

A gift that you were just, man, it consumed you. You're like, oh, it's the perfect gift, maybe for your husband, maybe for your wife, maybe for one of your kids or a family member or friend. And you just know, this is the gift that is going to make their Christmas. They're going to be talking about this gift for months and months to come because it's just the perfect gift. And so you get really excited. You know, you start to think, oh, I can't wait to give it to them. I'm so excited. I know I'm

picturing the expression on their face and how they're going to respond and how they're going to react when they open it. They're just going to be thrilled out of their socks, you know. They're just going to be blown away. And if you're anything like me, when you have those times, you love to hint, right? Well, it's a little bit more than two pounds. Well, it's maybe, it's not really black, but, you know, you kind of give the little hints and tease them a little bit and kind of get them worked up and excited too. I do that to my wife a lot. She loves it.

But there's those times when you got the perfect gift and you know it's the right one and it's what you want to give and you get really excited about giving it. Now, as you give that gift, what kind of response do you want? What kind of response are you expecting?

Well, typically you'd be expecting something really excited, right? Because you're excited about it. You want them to be excited about it and something heartfelt and a thank you and rejoicing and jumping up and down and calling friends and family and saying, Hey, hey, just guess what I just got. Guess what Jerry just gave me or guess what so-and-so just gave me. Oh man, it was a perfect gift. It was awesome. Or another response could be an obligated, you know, oh, thank you.

Thanks. It was nice. Thank you. Or, you know, this happens a lot when you give gifts to kids. Kind of like indifference. Like, where's my next gift? Thanks. It happens a lot, huh?

But there's those gifts that you're just really excited about giving. Now, I've learned... Well, I've been told, actually. Apparently, I'm not very good at giving gifts. Okay? And my wife tells me this. Okay? I'm not very good at giving gifts. Now, not because, you know, I don't give good gifts or, you know, I only spend two bucks on it or anything like that. But...

I can never wait until the right time. I get so excited about it, I can't wait until, let's say Christmas Day, to give a gift. It tears me to pieces. I can't do it.

Well, not just Christmas, but birthdays and all that. Like, I just, it drives me insane. I get so excited, I can't wait. And of course, this year, no different, right? I'm wondering, man, what do I get for my wife? What do I buy her? Man, she hasn't really said anything, what she wants, and I don't know what she wants. And, you know, I always try to listen to the subtle hints.

But, you know, you know us guys. It's kind of hard to pick up on those things. So I'm listening and there's nothing coming. And I'm like, what's going on? What am I going to get? And finally I thought, I know what I'll get her. I know I have the perfect thing. She hasn't said what she wanted it or anything, but I know she does. I'm going to get it for her.

So, I don't know if it was last week or the week before, but it was a while back. And I went shopping after work. I went by. She was working, so it was perfect. She didn't know where I was. I went shopping, and I went to Sam Ash in Ontario Mills, and I found the perfect guitar, and it was fantastic.

thin like she wanted and it was just perfect right as perfect as good price range and everything got a good deal on it and I got it and I walked out the door and I was like woohoo one time shopping got the gift it was a perfect one I know she's gonna love it I was I was you know just one of those great shopping day experiences you walk out of there you're feeling great you're very excited right so I'm excited I go home she's still working and she calls me on her break and says I'm having a horrible day

And I said, well, what's going on? Well, my boss is yelling at me because of my availability. He wants me to work on Sundays and stuff like that. And so I was like, oh, I'm so sorry. And so we're talking, and we hung up, and I'm like, oh, man. She's having a bummer day, and here I am. I'm just like jumping around and going, oh, my goodness. I can't believe I got the perfect gift. And I was like, this won't do. I can't do this. I'll give her the gift, and then that will make her day good, and we'll both have a good day.

Then I thought, no, I can't do that. It's like two weeks before Christmas. I mean, that's insane. My parents would kill me, you know, because they helped pay for the guitar a little bit. And so, you know, I can't give it to her for them. And, oh, man. But then I thought, but she's not having a good day. And here I am all happy. She's going to come home sad. I'm going to be happy and just make it worse and rub it in. And so I go back and forth, back and forth. So finally I say, okay, I'm going to give it to her. So she comes home. You know, I didn't

Didn't do it very well at all. I threw a towel over her head and then put the guitar in her lap and gave it to her that way. But it was one of those gifts. I was just so excited. I couldn't wait. I couldn't wait to the proper time, to the appropriate time. And you know what's neat is I really believe that God is a lot like us in that way. God was excited to give us a gift. He was extremely, he was more excited than you and I can imagine.

How do I know that? Well, think about it. What is the gift that we're talking about? Well, we know it's the Son, Jesus Christ. He gave His Son. That's what John 3.16 tells us. He gave His Son the perfect gift, the greatest gift, as Pastor Tom was sharing with us on Sunday morning. The greatest gift ever given was the Son of God. Now, God was very excited to give this gift. It wasn't something He was kind of...

really upset about or like, oh man, I've got to give my son, I've got to give him a gift, you know, it's so expensive or anything like that. He was very excited about this gift. He was thrilled. He's like, man, I can't wait for them to see this. I can't wait for them to experience this. I can't wait for them to have this gift because it is the best gift that I'll ever be given.

He was excited. How do I know? Well, because he kept giving hints. Like I give hints to my wife or those I'm giving gifts to, he kept giving hints all throughout the Old Testament, starting at the very beginning of the curse in Genesis chapter 3. God told them, prophesied, hey, Jesus is going to come. Your seed is going to conquer and reverse all that you've just done in sinning against me.

In Genesis chapter 12, when he's talking to Abraham, he said, Hey Abraham, through you, all of the world will be blessed. Hint, hint, hint, hint. I'm doing something. I'm going to give a gift. I'm going to bring something. There's going to be a wonderful thing that's going to take place as I give my son. There's a hint.

All throughout the Old Testament, there's prophecy upon prophecy upon prophecy. The Messiah, the Anointed One, the gift that God had promised for thousands and thousands of years was going to come. In Micah chapter 5 verse 2, you might remember this verse where it says that, Hey, you Bethlehem, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet shut...

Yet out of you shall come forth to me the one ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from old, from everlasting. Hint, hint. Get the picture a little bit closer, a little bit closer. You almost understand what I'm saying. You almost understand the gift that I'm giving.

Job began to understand a little bit when he cried out, man, if only there was a mediator between God and myself. If only there was someone who could go to God for me, who could relate to God for me. If only there was someone who could express to him what I'm feeling, what I'm thinking, what I need to share. And vice versa, if only there was someone who could share with me what God is thinking, what God is feeling, what God needs to share.

God is a lot like us. He was very excited to give his gift. Also like us, what does God desire? What kind of response would he want as he gives this gift? Well, obviously not the indifference, right? Well, thanks Lord. What's next? What else? No, he doesn't want the indifference. He doesn't want the obligated thank you. You know, that's, oh man.

I guess you did that, so I guess you got to do something. You know, often we respond when God does things with an obligated attitude. We say, oh, thanks God. And then we go do something, you know, something maybe that makes us feel good about ourselves, something that kind of helps us think we can repay Him.

Make us feel worthy of the gift that he gave us. You know, it's like when your family member gives you a gift and you only wear it or show it or use it when they're around. Grandma's coming home, put on the sweater real quick and let her know I used the gift. And then other than that, it's stashed in the closet. That's the obligated thank yous. That's not what God desires. Oh yeah, I'll come to church on Sunday

Christmas and Easter and Sundays and just, you know, pay my respects and give my obligated thank you. No. What does God desire? He's excited about this gift. He's just blown away and looking forward to how are you going to respond when He gives you this gift, when He shows you His Son, when He reveals to you Jesus the Christ.

And what he desires is a heartfelt response. A response that truly from the heart it says, Oh, thank you God. And is excited and calling the friends and calling the family and saying, You'll not believe the gift that I just got. You'll not believe just what happened to me. You'll not believe the gift that God has given.

Many times we don't respond that way, though. Why is that? Well, I think maybe we just don't understand. We just don't understand. We must ask the question, why is Jesus the greatest gift? If that's what Pastor Tom says, or if that's what Pastor Jerry says, or anybody else says that Jesus is the greatest gift, why is that? Why do we say that Jesus is the greatest gift? Why is that?

Do we really understand? The angels understood. Turn with me to Luke chapter 2. We'll read the Christmas story very briefly, but we won't spend much time here. Luke chapter 2, starting in verse 1, it says this. And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. The census first took place while Quirinus was governing Syria.

So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.

Verse 8.

Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all people.

Verse 1.

So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, Let us now go to Bethlehem, and see the thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us. Then they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

Now when they had seen him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning the child. And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told them. The birth story of Jesus Christ.

What Christmas is all about. God giving his son, sending Jesus Christ, who was God, but who put on humanity, who took on the form of you and I, that he might die for our sins. As this is coming to pass, Mary, the mother of Jesus, her time is due. There's a census that takes place and they have to go to Bethlehem to register because Joseph was from there. They had to go to the city of David and register there, so they're traveling.

She gets there, you know the story, there's no room at the end. They go out back in the stable area and set up shop there. And she has the baby. Now, the angels, in the meantime, for 4,000 years, have been watching everything unfold. They've watched God create man. They've watched the love that God had for man, the relationship that man and God had.

Then, as man fell, they watched what took place after that. As men's hearts, as your heart and my heart demonstrates daily, they're continually evil and wicked and walk away from God. But God kept hinting throughout the time, throughout the 4,000 years, I'm sending a Savior. I'm sending a Son. I'm going to give a gift that's going to blow your mind. Now, when it finally came, you can imagine the excitement, the anticipation, really,

Because God is giving the gift. It's finally time to give it. Not like, you know, myself where he gave it early. He waited till the appropriate time. And so now there's this excitement built up. God's giving the gift of all gifts. He's giving the ultimate thing that a person can give. He's giving his own son.

As he gives his son, now the angels, they're like, man, I've got to tell someone. I can't just sit here. Look what's going on. The son, the king, the king of kings and lord of lords, he's a little baby. He's in a manger. He's born. So either on their own or God sends them, they're scrambling, they round up some shepherds and they go, hey, guys, so never believe it.

There's something going on. God's given the gift. You'll find it. A baby in a manger. It'll be the sign for you. Because the Christ is born. The unspeakable gift. The inexplicable gift. Jesus Christ. He's born. He's here. The time is now. The Messiah has been born. Then suddenly appears with this angel who's giving them this glad tidings of great joy.

Is it a multitude, it says in verse 13, with the angel, a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest. Now, let me ask you this. How do you think the angels were saying this? Glory to God in the highest. There's born in the city of David, Jesus Christ, God, he's here.

Go check them out. Were they like that? No, no, no, no. Hey, these are angels, guys. These guys are excited about the work of the Lord. These guys are excited. They're saying, Glory to God in the highest. Like that. I mean, they're just boom. Right? Just booming. Hey, everything they got, everything in them, don't you understand? Jesus Christ is born. The Messiah, the one who will save the world, He's born. Amen.

The one who will take away all sin and redeem all of mankind. He's born. Don't you understand? This is the greatest thing that has ever taken place and ever happened. You shepherds, go find him. Understand. Look, he's in a manger. Go find him. It's Jesus. He's born. He's alive. He's real. It's God who became man.

That's what John chapter 1 verse 14 says. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The angels, waiting 4,000 years for this moment, exclaimed to these shepherds, Hey, the time is now. He's here. This is the ultimate gift. This is the ultimate gift.

And we say, ah, thanks Jesus. He became a baby. Real cute. Nice. You know, it's like a computer. For some people, you give them a computer and they're like, whoa, that is like a $2,000 solitaire game, man. I mean, I could just play solitaire all day. Hey, I've known people like that, okay? My grandparents, for what? It's a $2,000 solitaire game. That's what it's used for. That's the only thing that they know how to do. But for others...

Computer, oh, it's priceless. It can do lots of things. It can be very productive. It can make you millions if you use it right. For some who receive it, who know, it's priceless. For others, eh, not so important. In John chapter 4, when Jesus was talking to the woman at the well,

He asked her for a drink of water, she said, you know, and they go on their discussion. But Jesus ends up in verse 10 telling her, Hey, if you knew the gift of God, if you knew the gift of God, if you knew the gift of God and who it was who says to you, give me a drink, you would have asked him and he would give you living water. If you knew the gift of God. And the question is,

Do you know the gift of God? Jesus Christ is the greatest gift. Do you know the gift of God? Do you know Him? Why is He the greatest gift? I'm going to give you four reasons from Scripture. Four reasons.

Why we can say for sure, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Jesus Christ is the greatest gift. I'm going to quiz you on them at the end, so be paying attention, okay? Four reasons. Reason number one is found, here we are, in Luke chapter 2, verse 11. It says this, For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord.

The angel, as he's talking to the shepherd, says, look, this is what's going on. Born to you this day, here's the gift, the ultimate gift, the best gift ever. A Savior. A Savior who is Christ the Lord. In Matthew chapter 1 verse 21, it tells us, She will bring forth a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. Why was his name Jesus? Why was he born? He was born, he was named Jesus.

That he might save people from sin. That he might save people from sin. Jesus Christ is God. You can believe that. You can know that beyond a shadow of a doubt. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But he put on humanity. He took on humanity in order to redeem us from sin. Why was that necessary? You know the story. Genesis chapter 3.

God creates man. He makes this perfect garden for him. Sets him in there and says, hey, you can do whatever you want, eat of whatever you want, be fruitful, multiply all the works, except for this one tree in the middle, you want to stay away from that. The tree of knowledge of good and evil. Stay away from, don't eat of that. Don't eat of that tree. So Adam says, okay, so him and Eve are having a great time and then, sure enough, like we all do, they fall. They go to the tree, chomp on the apple, whatever fruit it was, and they say, hey,

It's okay. God said no. I'm going to eat anyways. So they sinned. They fell short. As a result, God kicked him out of the garden. But more than that, more than just being kicked out of the garden, more than just having to experience death, what else took place? We know from Romans chapter 5 that it's because of Adam's sin. Because of that one sin, 6,000 years ago at least,

Because of that one sin, every single one of us who are here, all of you guys, you're all here. I'm here. We're here. And we've sinned. Romans chapter 5 verse 12 says, By one man sin entered into the world, and therefore we've all sinned. But not only that, with sin, along with sin, came death. Which means not only did Adam die, but you and I are dying. We're destined to die. With sin comes death.

Why do we need a Savior? Because we're bound. Without Jesus Christ, without our Savior, we're bound in sin. We cannot escape the judgment. We cannot escape the penalty for the wickedness that's within us all. You know, there's a lot of philosophy. There's a lot of socialists and a lot of people who say, hey, man is basically good.

basically good and you just need to have the right environment and do the right things and you can work out a lot of those things. That's not what the Bible teaches. The Bible teaches that we've all sinned. We've all fallen short of the glory of God. We need a Savior because without a Savior, well, what does a Savior do? He saves you.

Without a Savior, we're not saved. Without a Savior, we're lost. Without a Savior, we're without hope. Without a Savior, we're still bound in our sin. We still deserve the judgment, the penalty for our sin. So we needed a Savior. All throughout the Old Testament, God was hinting. He was hinting, Hey, there is a Savior coming. I realize. I understand your sin. Look it. I've given you the sacrifices to remind you. Yes, you do have sin. But I've also given you hints.

prophecies. I'm going to send a Savior who will take away your sin, who will take it away and wash it completely away. Romans chapter 5 verse 16, continuing on the same talk about Adam and the sin entering in and death through Adam. But in Romans chapter 5 verse 16, he turns the tables a little bit and he says, but even though sin came through that man, even though death came with that, but the gift, the gift of God's Son, he says, is not like sin.

The sin that Adam committed. The gift is the opposite. Because one man's sin brought death, but the gift, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the ultimate gift, resulted in justification. You've heard me say it before, right? Justified means it's just as if I'd never sinned. Slate wiped clean, pure and holy before God. The gift, the Savior, came that you and I

could be saved. That you and I would not have to pay the penalty for what we've done, for the wickedness in our hearts. The gift brings justification, brings holiness, brings a right standing before God. We've been cleansed. We can be free from guilt. We can be free from shame. We can be free from the sin that binds us. Jesus Christ, the greatest gift. Why? First, because God gave a Savior.

He's the ultimate gift because when God gave it, he gave us a Savior, found in Luke chapter 2 verse 11. Number two, why else is Jesus the greatest gift? Because when God gave it, he gave us his presence. Not present, presence. P-R-E-S-E-N-C-E. Presence. He gave us his presence. Turn with me to Ephesians chapter 2. The book of Ephesians chapter 2.

Ephesians chapter 2 verse 18 says, For through Him, talking about Jesus, we have access by one Spirit to the Father. Through Him, what do we have? We have access. We have access through the Spirit. To who? To the Father.

Jesus Christ is the greatest gift because he gave us his presence. Because it's through him that you and I have access to the Father. You know at my work, I work at paychecks. And so because I work at paychecks and we deal with payroll and checks and all that, they have to take security precautions.

You can only go to certain places. You can only go to places you're allowed to go. And so on all the doors, they have codes. And you have to be able to punch in the right code in order to be able to go in the door. Well, I used to have a lot of access before they started changing things. I could go anywhere. I could be anywhere. I could do anything I wanted in any part of the building. I had access to completely everything.

But then they began to put down some structure and rules and all this stuff and put these things down. So now I only have access to get in and go home and that's it. I don't have access to all the other stuff I used to have access to. Jesus Christ, he gives us the access, the authority, the right, the ability to go before the Father. He gives us the ability to spend time in his presence. He gives us the ability. He gives us the access codes and he says, look, this is...

This is what I want to give you. I want to give you the opportunity to spend time with me. Look down just a little bit in Ephesians chapter 3 now. Starting in verse 8, it says this. To me...

Verse 1.

Notice this, verse 12. In whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in him.

Paul says, look, it's through the riches of Christ I've been given this opportunity to tell you, to let you know that we have boldness

In coming to Jesus Christ. The book of Hebrews also tells us this. In Hebrews 4.16. You also might be familiar with Hebrews chapter 10 verses 19 through 25. Which tells us to enter in to the presence of God. Enter in as we pictured. We did this last week as we pictured. We understood the holiest of all. In the tabernacle there was the holy place where the priest would go and minister. But there was this thick curtain. 18 inches thick.

that covered the whole length of the room, that guarded the holiest of all. Because if God's presence ever got out, man, the people in there would be wiped out. We cannot stand God's presence on our own. It's only through Jesus Christ. Because when He died on the cross, that veil was ripped from top to bottom. God was saying, look, I'm giving you access.

to my presence. I'm giving you access to the Holy of Holies. I've taken away your sin. I've justified you. So now, come and spend time in my presence. And that's what Hebrews 10, 19-25 tells us. To go in. He's paved the way. He's prepared the way. He's went in before us. So follow him. Spend time with the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. What did God give us? Why is the gift so great? Because he gave us his presence. Now,

I could give you my presence, but it wouldn't be a really big deal, right? If I came and said, hey, for Christmas this year, I'm going to give you me. Ta-da, here I am. And it's not very exciting, but we're not talking about me. We're talking about God, the Father. He says, I want to give you, you, you, you, and you, and you, and you. I want to give you the right, the ability to come and have a relationship with me. That's what this word reconciliation is all about.

Maybe you've heard that word before. It's a long word. We don't use it very much. What does it mean? It means to restore a relationship. God says, I want to restore a relationship between you and me. I want to give you access. I want to give you the right to come into my presence. I want to give you the right to pray to me, to speak to me, that you don't have to have anybody else in between.

But you and I, we can have a personal relationship. You and I, we can spend time together. You can get to know me. I can hear what's on your heart. God says, I want to have a relationship with you. In Romans chapter 5 verse 11, he says, We also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation. It's through Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ says,

is the greatest gift. Why? What was the first reason? Because God gave us a Savior when He gave us Jesus Christ. He's the greatest gift for the second reason. What's that? Because God gave us His presence. He gave us access to Himself when He gave us Jesus Christ. I think like two of you guys have got this, so I think we're pretty good so far. Let's move on to... No. What's the first one? The Savior. He gave us a Savior. He saved us from our sins. We need to respond like the...

angels responded or like the shepherds responded they were so excited they went they saw the baby they're like oh my goodness it's real it's true what the angels told us is true the savior's been born what did they do now let's go tend the sheep

They ran around praising God and talking to people and saying, hey, you'll never guess what happened. An angel appeared to me and said this and that and it was true and I went and looked and there the baby was. It was the Savior, Jesus Christ. He came to die on our sins. He's the Savior, guys. What's the second reason?

He gave us His presence. Now, we talked about this last week. If you weren't here, get the CD. Man, what a privilege, what an awesome thing that God has given us in giving us access to His presence. Something that the nation of Israel never had, never had, until Jesus Christ died. Something that mankind had not experienced since Adam. Because of sin, because of that separation, they could not experience the true presence of God like you and I can. Get the CD.

Psalm chapter 84. It was awesome. So, reason number three. Let's move on. The third reason that Jesus Christ is the greatest gift is that in giving Jesus Christ, God gave us eternal life. God gave us eternal life. Romans chapter 6. Turn there with me. The book of Romans in the New Testament, chapter 6. Romans chapter 6. Anybody know what verse I'm turning to? I can't hear you.

Romans chapter 6 verse 23 says this, For the wages of sin is death. We talked about that. We needed a Savior. Because the penalty, what we deserved for the way that we live, the way that we think, for desiring our own will and not His, what do we deserve? Death. But, he says, the gift of God. What is the gift of God? Death.

is eternal life. The gift of God, he says, is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. The gift of God, the gift of Jesus Christ to us, is the greatest gift because it gives to us eternal life. Now that might not mean a whole lot to us right now. We might not completely understand what that means. In 1 Corinthians chapter 13, verse 12, Paul says, For now we see in a mirror dimly,

but then we'll see face to face. For I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. Paul says, look, there's this temporary veil or this dim mirror that we're looking in. And we're looking towards eternal life. We're looking towards eternity and I can't quite grasp it. I can't quite really catch on to all that heaven entails, all that eternal life is about. I can't really grasp it.

How wonderful, how awesome it's going to be. Paul says, I kind of see it. I see the image. I see the silhouette. I see the hints of it, but I don't really grasp it. But we can rest assured that the gift of God is eternal life. The

The gift of God is eternal life. John 3.16, come on, the most famous scripture ever. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. What did He do? He gave it. It was a present. He gave His only begotten Son that whoever would believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Life that goes on and on and on. Eternity with Jesus Christ. In 1 Peter 1 verses 3 through 5, Peter describes to us an inheritance. That's something that we get.

The inheritance that we get is incorruptible, it's undefiled, that does not fade away and reserved in heaven for us. We have an inheritance. We have eternity waiting for us because of what Jesus Christ has done. We looked at that a couple weeks ago at 1 Corinthians chapter 15 as we've been talking about Jesus' resurrection and how Jesus' resurrection guarantees that you and I will also be resurrected.

You and I will be resurrected to spend time with Him for eternity if we've accepted Him as our Savior and Lord. Heaven, eternal life, where we get to spend time with Jesus like never before. Without the hindrance of our sinful nature. Without the hindrance of the things that bind us in this flesh. Without the hindrance of these earthly eyes. Without the hindrance of the physical things, the material things, the distractions that we have.

eternal life with Jesus Christ is going to be incredible. If you want to look up later on your own a little bit of a description of heaven, look up Revelation chapter 21 and 22 and you can check it out. What is heaven going to be like? It's going to be awesome. Can I really explain it? No, not at all. Not even close. Paul, who

was caught up into heaven. He says, I don't know if I was dead or alive, but I was there. And what I saw was so wonderful, I couldn't even, it would be a crime to even begin to try to explain what heaven was like. But it's going to be awesome. Eternal life with Jesus Christ. Is that not exciting enough? Well, maybe we should think about the alternative. Eternal life without Christ. Eternal life without God.

That's not going to be pretty at all. God is good. What's eternity without God going to be? Nothing good, that's for sure. God is light. What's eternity without God going to be? No light. It's going to be darkness. God is love. What is eternity without God going to be? The absence of love. That's enough reason for me to know that I want to spend eternity with God, where everything is good, where there's light, where there's love.

With Jesus Christ. Because He gives us, in the gift that He gave, the ability, the right to have access to Him. But not only that, not just for this life, but to spend eternity, the rest of eternity, forever and ever and ever and ever with Him. Jesus Christ. The greatest gift. The ultimate gift. For three reasons so far. Number one. Savior. God gave us a Savior in giving us Jesus Christ. Number two. He gave us His presence. Number three.

Eternal life. Savior, presence, eternal life. The fourth thing we find in 2 Peter chapter 1. Turn with me there. 2 Peter chapter 1. It's right before the book 1 John. Right after 1 Peter. 2 Peter chapter 1. Reason number four. Why is Jesus the greatest gift? Because in giving us Jesus, God gave us the answer to every problem.

God give us the answer to every problem. 2 Peter 1, verse 3. Let's start in verse 2, actually. Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

As his divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him who called us by glory and virtue. Verse 4. By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

The fourth thing, God gave us the answer to every problem because in verse 3 it tells us that His divine power has given us all things. How many things? All things. Everything that you need for what? For life? What's life? That's the thing that we live, right? What does it include? Everything that you do, whether it be school or housework or job or family or whatever it might be. That's life.

All things that pertain to life and what? What's godliness? How to walk with God. Things about God. Things of God. He says, everything that you and I need, everything that we need for life and for godliness is found in what? In the knowledge of Him. In the knowledge. Jesus asked the woman at the well, or told the woman at the well, if only you knew the gift of God.

And that's true for you and I. Because in knowing Him, we find everything that we need. Every single thing. I don't care if it's big or small. I don't care what the problem is, what the situation is, how long it's been going on. The answer is found in Jesus Christ. His divine power has given us everything that we need. All things that pertain to life and godliness in our knowledge of Him. Whatever the problem is,

whatever problem you have, Jesus is the answer. Now, that's pretty exciting if it's true. Is it true? I can tell. You guys are excited about this, that Jesus is the answer. Everybody's looking for the answer to all these different problems in the world. Everybody has all these situations and things and they're going, what in the world am I going to do? How do I fix this? How do I fix that? How do I deal with this? How do I get through that? Why is this going on?

They have all these questions, all these problems. The entire world is full of people with problems, including you and me. What is the answer to those problems? Jesus Christ. Is it true that He is the answer? There you go. Thank you. Do you believe it? Do you really believe that Jesus is the answer? Your neighbors around you? Thank you. Your family?

He is the answer. He's what they need. He's what they're looking for. He's what they desire. Sometimes they know it, sometimes they don't. But He's it. He's the answer. Jesus Christ, when He was given to us, God gave us the answer to every problem. So let's tell the world we have the answer. Hey, you got a problem? I got the answer. It's Jesus Christ. It's Jesus Christ.

Doesn't matter what the problem is. And you say, come on, Jerry. Sometimes there's real bad problems or complicated problems or really difficult or hard problems or things that really just don't involve the Bible. You know, it's just not part of that. It's something else. Can't be the answer to everything. Let me tell you, Jesus Christ is the answer to every problem. He's given us all things.

that pertain to life and godliness through the knowledge of him. Turn with me to one last portion of scripture, Isaiah chapter 9. I think it's the last portion of scripture, maybe not. Isaiah chapter 9. Isaiah chapter 9, it's in the Old Testament, right before Jeremiah. Isaiah chapter 9, verse 6, tells us this. For unto us a child is born. Sound familiar? Yeah. Unto us a child is born. Unto us a son is what?

He's a present. Okay, son was given. And the government will be upon his shoulder. And his name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. This is the son that God gave. This is the gift that God has given. And he gives us six very quick characteristics of him.

He says, number one, the government will be on his shoulder. We talked about this last week, or two weeks ago, actually, in Psalm chapter 83. The government is upon whose shoulder? Jesus' shoulder. Jesus Christ has all authority. He is in control. The answer to the problems, as we talked about a couple weeks ago, problems with your bosses, problems with the government, problems with the president, problems with the world, all government problems.

is established by God. The government is on His shoulder. Whose shoulder is it on? So whose problem is it? It's His problem. It's His deal. The government's on His shoulder. He has all authority and He's in control. He's the one with the master plan. He's the one who can make a difference. Now I'm not saying we don't do anything and obviously we do want to take part in voting and things like that as we talked about at that time. But

The government ultimately is upon his shoulder. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Another characteristic he gave us is that his name is Wonderful. His name is Wonderful. You want to know what the answer to ugly situations is? Ugly situations need Jesus. That's what they need. Hard situations need Jesus.

boring situations, horrible situations. They just need a little bit of wonderfulness. They need the name of Jesus involved because he's wonderful. The word wonderful literally means hard to understand. You know, if you're struggling with your mind, thinking thoughts you shouldn't think, understand Jesus.

Why? Well, because He's hard to understand. And you're going to learn how wonderful He is by dwelling on Him, by thinking about Him. If you're in the midst of a tough situation, an ugly situation, a family feud or whatever, hey, bring the wonderful name of Jesus into that. Share the wonderful name of Jesus in that situation. His name. What's His name? His name. What's His name? Wonderful and Jesus. They're the same. Jesus, His name is Wonderful. His name is Wonderful. Wonderful.

The next thing he also shares with us about the name of Jesus. He will be called Wonderful, also Counselor. Counselor. Now this is interesting. What is the answer when I have personal problems? Well, I need to go see a counselor. But, the question is, who's the counselor that I need to go to see? If I have a relationship problem, if I have, you know, something in my past that I think I need to go see a counselor, who do I need to see? Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ.

Yeah, but Jerry, there's professionals and there's those who have been trained in psychology and all of that stuff and psychology and then there's psychiatry, something like that, okay?

There's these guys who've been trained. That's what they did their whole life, Jerry. I mean, come on. These guys got to be useful for something, right? I need to go see a counselor. I need to see a professional. Someone who can deal with this personal situation I have or this relationship thing that I'm going through. Come on, Jerry. Some problems are really hard. They're not in the Bible. They're complicated. Hey, all the more reason to go to Jesus because His ways are far above our ways. Jesus Christ is the counselor.

Yeah, you might go to see someone, and I'm not saying that you shouldn't go to see anybody, but only go to people who point you to Him, because He's the answer. He is the counselor. And only if those counselors are receiving counsel from Jesus Christ are they sharing things that are good and right and true and will last, that will help you. Jesus Christ is the counselor. As we go down, the government, He's wonderful, He's counselor.

God gave us in giving Jesus Christ the answer to every problem, every situation, everything in our life. What's next? He's the mighty God. The mighty God. What is the answer to tough situations, to hard places, impossible odds?

Oh, Jesus is. He's the mighty God. He's the all-powerful God. He's the one who has the cattle on a thousand hills. He's the one who could hold the whole world in His hands. He's the one who's in control of everything. He can do whatever He wants, whatever He wants to do it. Nothing is impossible with who? With God, with Jesus Christ. He is the mighty God. Don't let anybody tell you that Jesus Christ is not God. He is the mighty God. Not only that, He is Everlasting Father.

Everlasting Father. What is the answer to heartache? What is the answer to hurt? To feelings? To loneliness? Broken families? Jesus Christ is. He's the Everlasting Father. What is the answer to those who are hurting? Who don't have a father? Jesus Christ is. What is the answer to those who need counsel? Who need encouragement? Those who need to be lifted up and encouraged? Jesus Christ is. He's the Everlasting Father. He's the Everlasting Father.

God says that he's the father to the fatherless. He takes care of the poor, the weak, the widows, those who are not able to help themselves. He's the everlasting father. What is the answer in those situations? Jesus Christ is. And lastly, he's the prince of peace. The prince of peace. What is the answer to anger, to wrath, to your bad temper? What's the answer?

to violence within your family or your neighborhood or your friends what's the answer to war Jesus Christ is Jesus is the answer he is the prince of peace he's the only one who can bring peace in your heart first first your heart we need the peace of God that passes all understanding what is the answer

to turmoil, to trouble, to wrath, to anger within us? We need the Prince of Peace. We need Jesus Christ. What is the answer to the situations and the family problems that arise from wrath and anger? We need the Prince of Peace. How about worry? Worry. What do we need? The Prince of Peace. Jesus Christ. He is the answer to every problem. The answer to everything that we need. So what was the greatest gift ever given?

Jesus Christ was. There's four reasons why that we've looked at tonight. I know there's many more that we could talk about, but I'm sure you want to go home sometime tonight, right? What are the four reasons? Number one, He gave us a Savior. Someone to redeem us, to save us from our sins. Number two, presence. He gave us His presence. Access to His throne. Access to spend time with Him. Access and an invitation to have a relationship with Him. Number three,

Eternal life. He didn't just say, hey, I want to help you out while you live here on this earth and then see you after that. No, no. He said, I want to do more than that. I want to spend the rest of eternity with you. How long is eternity? It's a really, really long time. Fourth thing.

The answer to every problem, to everything, every situation, is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the greatest gift that could ever be given because He saved us, because He gave us the presence of God, because He invites us to eternal life, because He gives us the answer to every situation, every problem, anything that we can imagine that will come up in our life. He's given us the greatest gift that could ever be given. And so what should our response be?

The heartfelt response. The thanksgiving response. The response like the shepherds that goes from house to house, from neighborhood to neighborhood, from town to town, and city to city, and says, hey, guess what? Jesus. It's all about Jesus. With a computer, for some it's a $2,000 solitaire game. Yeah, thanks God. But in order to really appreciate it, in order to really use it, what must you do?

Spend time on it. If you want to get to know how to use a computer, you spend time on it. What do you do? Maybe you don't understand the greatness of the gift that God has given. What do you need to do? Spend time with Jesus. And I can tell you, okay, for all of us here, young and old, we don't understand enough, well enough. We haven't even begun to understand the gift that God has given. So what must we do? Spend time with Jesus.

Spend time with Him. Learn why this is such a great gift. Why it is such a great gift that God has given us. Spend time. Now, not obligated time. Okay, Lord, I'll go to church. I'll go to church on this day or that day. I'll go there. Not obligated time. But give Him time. Just give Him some time. Learn His features. You know, we talk about computers and learning their features. Learn His features. Learn all the intricacies. Learn all the things, the blessings that He has.

Paul told us in Ephesians that he's blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. Every spiritual blessing. What are those? Spend time with him and find out. Get to know why is the gift of God so inexplicable, so inexpressible? Why is the gift of God so great? Explore his graces and his goodness. He is the greatest gift ever given.

And he gives himself to you and I tonight. And he says, will you spend time with me? Will you get to know me this holiday season as you celebrate Christmas? Will you remember? Will you recognize that it's all about me? No matter how great the gift is that you're giving to your loved ones and family, God gave the greatest gift. And that was his son. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you. Lord, may it not be just an obligated thank you. But Lord, from our hearts, we thank you, Jesus.

for your gift, for your goodness, for your greatness. Lord, we thank you that you sent your Son to die for our sins. You sent us a Savior. Lord, that we might have access to your throne room, to your presence, God. That we might spend eternity with you. And Lord, not only that, but you cared enough to give us the answer to every problem, every situation in our lives right now. So Lord, we ask that you would help us to put Jesus in the middle of our lives.

Lord, that we would center our hearts and our thoughts and everything that we do around Jesus, God. That we would have everything that pertains to life and godliness as we get to know Him. Lord, I pray if there's any here who have not known Jesus, who have not accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior, Lord, I pray that you would speak to their hearts right now. And if that's you this evening, if you've never been born again or

You've never accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, but you would like to. You would like to receive this gift that God has given that is inexplicable, that we've only touched on, that we've only began to understand. If you would like to receive that, I'd like to pray for you. So be bold right now, if that's you, and raise your hand. Raise it real high. Allow me to pray for you that you would receive the gift that God has given. Heavenly Father, we do thank you for the wonderful gift that you've given.

We thank you that you are called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, the Prince of Peace. God, we ask that you would bring your heart, your life, your name into our lives. Lord, may this Christmas be a special Christmas, Lord, as we spend time with you. Lord, may we be like the shepherds who shared with all those around them the wonderful things that God had done, the wonderful gift that God had given.

Lord, like the angels, may we not be quiet about it, but may we shout it from the rooftops, God. Glory to God in the highest. He's given the greatest gift ever given, and he makes it available to you and I. Thank you, Jesus. We praise your name. We lift up your name. We think about your name. We talk about your name. Help us to share your name with all those around us. And it's in your name we pray.

Amen.