Submitted by admin on Thu, 12/17/2009 - 9:51am
MP3 File:
"Well, of course!" you say. "Celebrate. Who wouldn't celebrate?"
That's what we hear all the time, isn't it? Celebrate Christmas. Celebrate the Savior's birth. Celebrate Jesus.
So how can this word—which we hear connected to Christmas so often—actually make a difference? How can the word "celebrate" change your Christmas?
It's a fair question. And it deserves an answer.
I don't think it's the word itself that we need to get a handle on. We understand "celebration"—and to some extent we "celebrate." We understand the concept of celebrating, but we're not really that good at actually doing it. I think we need to work on the way we celebrate.
Some people are better at celebrating than others. Some people know how to really cut loose and whoop it up. Some people know how pour themselves into an all-out celebration.
Maybe it's because we're too conservative...too reserved...too Scandinavian...too cold and frozen. Whatever it is, we haven't really learned to cut loose and celebrate like we should—not when it's the salvation of the entire world that we're talking about.
PPT VIDEO insert: END ZONE CELEBRATIONS; TICKER-TAPE PARADES; DANCING IN THE STREETS; KISS
If they do that for just 6 points, couldn't we show a little more excitement for God's salvation come into the world? After all, he didn't just score a touchdown. He didn't just win a game. He didn't just win the division or a championship.
Through Jesus, we have been assured victory over sin and death for all eternity! Through Jesus, sinners and losers can become forgiven, righteous, overcomers!
We need to remind ourselves what it is we are to celebrate at Christmas time. Because if the enormity of this event truly gripped our hearts and souls as it should, we could never settle for the trinkets-tinsel-and-foil celebrations that we typically do.
If we paused long enough to consider the significance of this pivotal moment in history, we would have to celebrate! We could not hold back.
When the baby Jesus was born in Bethlehem, there was more to celebrate than just a happy birth announcement. The angels celebrated something far more momentous and consequential than merely the birth of another baby.
This was the time when the Almighty God—the Creator of the world and all the universe—
(1) God came down to this earth. His creation had been ruined by rebellion, sin, and corruption—and yet the holy and sinless Christ stepped down into the mess in order to save us from our sins and give us hope for eternity.
All the rags-to-riches stories in the world, all the pictures of rescue and redemption and sacrifice—rolled together—could not match the enormity of this one event.
If people celebrate the end of a hard-fought war, if people have ticker-tape parades to commemorate great accomplishments or achievements, then we need to learn how to celebrate what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. When Jesus was born, the angels were well aware that
(2) God launched his plan of salvation. They knew they were witnessing something spectacular and wonderful!
Luke 2:10 10But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. 12This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14"Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."
The angels—the heavenly host ("the armies of heaven" [NLT], "a large army of angels" [GW]) who fought spiritual battles for the Lord—were celebrating this new turn of events in the war against evil.
(3) Victory was in the air!
Can you imagine an army engaged in combat, weary and exhausted, unable to gain ground against the enemy, hunkered down in their fox holes, trying to hold on while they waited for reinforcements to arrive? And then suddenly, over the horizon behind them, came their planes—wave after wave of bombers and fighter jets passing overhead and taking the fight to the enemy? Can you imagine the euphoria those exhausted soldiers would feel? Can't you just see them shouting and and laughing and clapping each other on the back and waving at the pilots overhead? The Air Force would finally tip the balance in the battle against the enemy. This would be the beginning of the end!
This is how the armies of heaven must have felt! They were exhilarated! They were euphoric! They had been sent to do God's bidding on this fallen planet, and they had been in pitched battle against the enemy. But now, God himself had arrived on the scene in the form of the Messiah Jesus. Can't you just see those angels shouting and laughing and throwing their halos into the air?
They were celebrating!
But do you know what's really cool? The angels are still celebrating. For them,
(4) the celebration has never stopped.
For them, the celebration continues every day. It began when they saw the Savior come to rescue the world, the critical turning point of the battle when this fallen world received hope of redemption. But the angels still celebrate every time they see another soul claimed for the Lord.
Luke 15:10 [Jesus said] ...there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.
Luke 15:7 [He said] ...there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.
The angels celebrate every time one person repents and receives forgiveness through Jesus' work of salvation. So the party is still going on!
In China the number of Christians has increased from an estimated 1.5 million (1970) to about 90 million today—and headed to top 120 million by 2030. [Virtue, Aug 27, 2005—http://www.virtuemag.org/articles/204 ]
One former Communist Party official, ZHAO XIAO, now a Christian, thinks there are already 130 million Christians in China. [Economist, Oct 2, 2008] That would mean over 9,000 parties per day—or 6.5 parties per minute. (Nobody knows for sure, but these are conservative estimates. Others estimate the growth rate in China is 2 or 3 times as much. [http://www.asiaharvest.org/pages/projects.html ]
But that's just China! In 1900 Africa was just 3% Christian; today it is over 50% Christian. [http://www.prayerfoundation.org/world_christian_growth_statistics.htm ]
All over the world, the message of Christmas—the Good News that God came down to be with us and to save us—gives cause for celebration: from 200 believers to 400,000 in Cambodia in 14 years; in the Middle East perhaps millions of private "media" Christians who hear Christian radio and TV (my sister-in-law just back from Kurdistan in northern Iraq told of 4 Christian channels on cable TV...); in three years over 200,000 Bibles downloaded from the Internet in the Arabian Peninsula; more Muslims turned to Christ in last 10 years than in previous 1,000. [http://www.artisaninitiatives.org/Mobile/default.aspx?article_id=117927 ]
Add in Africa and South America and all the other countries, and some estimate church growth is close to 175,000 new believers a day! If that's true, it means the angels are celebrating non-stop. They're having more than two parties per second for each sinner who repents! [http://gracethrufaith.com/ask-a-bible-teacher/revival-before-rapture/ ]
Imagine 175,000 parties each day in heaven—angels celebrating! Talk about a party! And the celebration began on that night when Jesus was born in Bethlehem.
We have something amazing and incredible to celebrate!
(5) Salvation has come to us through Immanuel—God with us. The angels celebrate even though they haven't experienced salvation—but we have! How much more should we celebrate?
Think of what Jesus' birth means to us: We were "without hope and without God in the world" (Eph 2:12), but we were redeemed, we were "called out of darkness into his wonderful light" (1 Pet 2:9).
Isaiah 9:2 The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine.
And out of that experience—because the light shines in the dark—there will be a time of celebration and great rejoicing. The next verse reads...
Isaiah 9:3 You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder.
A reason for the celebration—warriers celebrating victory—is what the armies of heaven celebrated nearly 700 years later!
Isaiah 9:6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
We celebrate so many things, but none as important as this. There's nothing wrong with enjoying life and having a good time with family and friends, but let's not forget to celebrate the amazing gift that God has given us in Jesus!
Enjoy the beautiful decorations and the sparkling lights; admire the wrapped presents; cherish the visits with your family; you can even rejoice over gigantic sales, great buys, and discount prices!
But don't allow any of those things to diminish the central and primary reason why we rejoice, why we celebrate, why we sing, "Joy To the World..." We must celebrate!
Some people have a hard time celebrating Jesus...
- King Herod couldn't celebrate the birth of Jesus. Why? Because he was all wrapped up in himself. He was concerned only about what he wanted. He viewed news of a newborn king with grave concern—as a competitor to his throne. So instead of celebrating, he did everything he could to remove the competition.
Some people are still like King Herod. They're all wrapped up in themselves. They can't really celebrate Jesus because they want to do their own thing. They want to stay on the throne of their lives. They don't want to step aside to let Jesus be the Lord on the throne.
Jesus came to be the Savior of the world, but the only way he's able to be our Savior is if we allow him to be our Lord. To be saved, we must repent of our sins. Repent of doing things our own way. We must allow him on the throne so he can be Lord of our lives.
- The Jewish leaders—scribes, Pharisees, teachers of the Law—couldn't celebrate Jesus' life. Why? Because they were clinging to the past, to their traditions, to the old ways. They felt threatened by Jesus because he upset the old order of things. He claimed to have an authority that superseded their writings. He said, "You have heard that it was said...but I tell you..." (Matt 5:21-22 ff)
Some today are like the Jewish leaders—clinging to the past, afraid of change, afraid of upsetting their lives by giving Jesus authority. They prefer to remain comfortable with their old ways of doing things rather than risk what could happen if they Jesus were to turn their lives around.
- The elder brother couldn't celebrate redemption.
You remember Jesus' story (Luke 15) of the Prodigal—the young man who left his father and his home to waste his inheritance on wild living? When his money ran out, he began to starve until, finally, he "came to his senses." He returned home and said, "Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son" (Luke 15:21).
His father was filled with love and compassion and ordered the servants...
- To go quickly and replace his son's rags with the finest robe in the house.
- To put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
- To kill the calf they had been fattening up so they could celebrate.
Luke 15:23-24 "‘Let's have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate." (So the party began [NLT].)
NOTE: A few years ago Tony Campolo wrote a book called, The Kingdom of God Is a Party. Living for God has sometimes gotten a bad rap because a lot of people have made it out to be legalism—a long list of do's and don'ts, a heavy load of religious rules. Campolo insists that faith in Christ should set us free to enjoy life, not to weigh us down with legalistic restrictions and religious hoops to jump through.
Jesus accused the religious leaders of his time of weighing people down heavy burdens (Matt 23:4)—oppressive burdens that no one could carry. Jesus also said his purpose in coming was to give life—abundant life, life to the full (John 10:10)—"a rich and satisfying life" (NLT). Jesus didn't come to enslave us, but to make us free (John 8:35-36).
The Kingdom of God can be described as a "party." If prisoners of sin are set free and those held hostage by the devil are released, they are set free to rejoice and celebrate the God's grace.
And one day, when the final curtain falls on the events of this world, all the believers will be gathered together for the biggest party of all—the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev 19:9). So in Jesus' story, when the prodigal returns and repents, "the party began!"
But the elder brother couldn't celebrate. Here's how Jesus told the rest of the story:
Luke 15:25-32 25"Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. 26So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. 27‘Your brother has come,' he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.' 28"The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. 29But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I've been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. 30But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!' 31"‘My son,' the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. 32But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.'"
The angels rejoiced when the lost was found. Heaven rejoiced when the wandering sinner returned home. The father and his entire household celebrated the return of his son.
But the elder brother could not celebrate. He refused to celebrate. He would not rejoice. He could not be happy about repentance and redemption because he wanted justice, judgment, consequences, rejection.
Because the elder brother worked so hard to be justified (like someone trying to earn the Father's favor), he was angry his brother had been shown compassion and love. He expected his younger to get what he deserved and couldn't handle the idea of him getting mercy and grace instead.
He couldn't participate in a welcome-home party because his heart had no life. He didn't know how to rejoice. He didn't realize he could celebrate at any time. He didn't have any relationship with the the Father.
A lot of people are like the elder brother—they might be very religious; they might do everything by the book; they follow all the rules, and they work hard to be good. But they can't celebrate because they have no spiritual life, no relationship with the Father. They're religious; they're good. But they don't know the Father, and they don't know how to party.
Drama: Knowing about Jesus...but with no relationship.
The Father, however, was clear: "We had to celebrate and be glad." We had to pull out all the stops, let loose, and party!
This should be our response whenever redemption comes. Whenever the lost is found. Whenever grace is extended.
This Christmas, may all the Herods, all the Pharisees, and all the elder brothers—all those who are guardians of what is right and legal and proper and good—learn to loosen up a bit. May we all discover the joy of redemption. May we all learn to celebrate.
JOY to the world, the Lord is come!