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"Jesus: The Promise Fulfilled" 2 Cor.1-20

by Clancy Nixon

Church of the Holy Spirit

Ashburn, Virginia

December 24, 2004

Merry Christmas! At Christmas time, I enjoy watching the little ones around us

get lost in the wonder of the holiday. Every Sunday evening in my house, we have

"Family night," a time when our family hang out together, just the four of us. Once in a

while, we pull out the old family videos we took when our boys were little. We love

looking at their faces on Christmas morning, peeking over the banister, in such great

anticipation before we let them come downstairs to open their gifts. I love looking at the

pictures of Will when he was 16 months old, and was the littlest angel in the Pageant at

our church. He didn't walk really straight down the aisle, but his wings and halo were

great. Children have such hope at Christmas. They have this wonderful faith that God is

good, that their parents will always love them and love each other, and that this year, they

just might get what they want.

Children are like that about promises from their parents. Our children remember

the promises that we parents make to them. They remember every promise to come to

one of their ball games. They remember promises to someday take them to Disney

World. Promises help children build trust, to have faith that their world is predictable and

safe. We have all experienced that sometimes people break their promises.

God knows that all of us, no matter how old we become, we are all children who

have grown up well, more or less! God calls us his children, and he tells us to call him

Father. As God's children, adults need assurances just as much as little children do.

Husbands and wives need the same assurances of permanence in marriage as our children

do. We build our lives around the promises of God and people.

God has made many promises to his people. He made a promise to Father

Abraham that his descendants would become a multitude, and that they would inherit the

land between the Mediterranean and the Fertile Crescent called the "Promised Land."

God promised Moses that he would bless the Hebrew people if they obeyed his covenant

commands. God promised David that his descendants would reign in Jerusalem forever

as King. God promised his prophets that one day, he would send a Messiah, a descendant

of David, who would save them and deliver them from their enemies.

Let's say this scripture on the screen aloud together: "For no matter how many

promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ." 2 Cor. 1:20 Jesus fulfilled over 300

Biblical prophecies in his lifetime including 29 prophecies on the day he died. The

prophecies were promises that God had made hundreds of years in advance about the

Savior he would send. His birth in Bethlehem, the city of David, was prophesied in

Micah 5:2. The exact manner of his death was foretold in Isaiah 53 over 600 years before

Jesus was born. Jesus is the Christ. He is the messiah promised by God. Amen?

Halleluiah!

The gifts we give each other at Christmas time remind us of the greatest gift of all

God's gift of his son, Jesus. Jesus is the most awesome gift you could ever receive.

What other gift can free you from the burden of sin and guilt? What other gift can give

you assurance that you are forgiven and loved, so that you can love and forgive others?

What other gift can invite you into the community of love, no matter how broken you, or

your family relationships are? Nothing, no one but Jesus there is no other! Let's say

that scripture again: "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in

Christ." 2 Cor. 1:20

Christ is a gift, but he is not like the material gifts you will open tomorrow under

your tree. Those gifts often disappoint, if not tomorrow, then the day after that, when they

wear out, or break, or go out of style. Disappointment over gifts remind us our deeper

disappointments over strained family relationships, loved ones who have died, both sweet

and painful memories of Christmases past. Christ made many wonderful promises to us.

But Christ does not promise happiness in this world, as this world measures it. Complete

harmony is promised only in the world to come, in Heaven. Jesus promised this: "In this

world you have tribulation. But take courage: I have overcome the world." The promise

of Christmas is that Jesus is our Emmanuel, which means God with us. Jesus is our

Savior; he does not save us from every pain and trial; but he does promise to be with us

in every pain and trial. Jesus knows all about the pain you are suffering right now. He

knows about the loss of your loved one; he knows about your loneliness; he knows how

desperately you need a rest. He experienced all of that himself. He lost his father,

Joseph. He was rejected of men, and suffered unjustly. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus promises

this to everyone who believes. "I will be with you always, to the very end of the age."

What a promise that is. Drink that in. Jesus is your Emmanuel, his sweet, loving presence

is with you. God is trustworthy. He never breaks his promises.

There once was a family where the Mother and children would go to Christmas Eve

services, and the Father would stay home and read the paper. The Father was a good man,

but he just didn't believe in what seemed like a childhood story of God coming as a baby

in a manger. One year, the family left for church in an ice storm on Christmas Eve, and

the father opened up the newspaper and began to read by the fireplace. Suddenly, he

heard a loud thud on the window. Then came more tapping at the window. He saw that it

was a bird flying against the glass trying to get out of the ice storm into the warmth of his

home. The man had compassion on the bird, and he went outside, hoping to lure the bird

into his warm garage. As he approached the bird, it flew into the bushes below the

window, half frozen, yet too afraid to be caught by this huge man. The more the man

tried to reach for the bird, the more the bird flew frantically into the thorns of the bushes

under the window.

After a few minutes in the cold and seeing the bird continue to injure itself, the man

yelled out in frustration, "Stupid bird, can't you understand that I'm trying to help?" The

father paused and thought, "If only you understood, you wouldn't fly away ... if only ... if

only I could become a bird, I could speak your language, and you'd understand." Then

the father thought about his doubt about God becoming man. Suddenly it all made sense

to him. We were like that bird homeless, cold, and perishing. God sent His Son to

become like us so He could show us the way and save us. That was the meaning of

Christmas. Years of doubt and disbelief were blown away like the passing storm. He fell

to his knees in the snow, and prayed his first prayer: "Thank You, God, for coming in

human form to get me out of the storm!"

No matter what storm you may find yourself in today, Jesus wants to come

alongside you in it, to give you the gift of his sweet presence. If you've never received

this gift before, I'm going to ask you to do 4 things with this gift: Believe it, Receive it,

Open it, and Live with the gift. First, believe that the gift is for you. John 3:16 says, "For

God so loved the world, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have

everlasting life." Whoever believes in him. That means this promise, this gift, is for you.

Believe like a little child today. God's promise is true. Second, receive. Receive the gift

that God freely offers to you. There is a package in heaven with your name on it. God

knows you by name. Receive the gift of his son, and your name will be written in the

Lamb's book of life. Third, open. Open the gift. Open yourself to relationship with God.

God wants the best for you. The gift is good, don't be afraid of it! The promise is for your

good. Fourth, live with the gift. Don't put it on the shelf! Use this great gift that God

has given you. God has given you the power to love and forgive. Be like that bird in the

story knock on the door of heaven, and on the door of lonely friends and family

members. Let this Christmas be the one you reach out in love.

If you'd like to do that today, just pray silently along with me as I lead us in

prayer. Let's pray. Father in Heaven, I believe in you, and I believe you sent your son

Jesus as a gift to the whole world, and even to me. I want to receive your gift today. I

receive you, I acknowledge you as the Lord of my life. I want to be on the roll in glory.

Help me to get to know you better in prayer and worship, O God. I don't want to put you

on the shelf like some idol, God. You are the greatest gift of all please be the shelter in

the storms of my life. I give it all to you. In Jesus name, amen!

If you prayed that prayer, I'd like to know, so I can help you understand this great

gift better.