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22

Dec, 2019

The Gift of So Be It

  • Christmas
  • salvation in Christ
  • grace of God
  • Amen


The Gift of So Be It

Philippians 4:20 | December 22, 2019

What is the best Christmas gift you could give?

I always vote for food.

Food is a unique blessing from God to give us life and energy and the pursuit of happiness.

But not everyone shares my affinity of Christmas gifts of food.

Many folks like a good tech gift, so, I came across a list of the some of the best tech gifts you can get this year and maybe you can find one as a last-minute stocking stuffer.

There’s TikiTunes which is a small Bluetooth speaker that also doubles as an electronic tiki torch – perfect if your family is throwing a Christmas luau this week.

There’s also the Handy Heater which is a small thermostat-controlled heater a little bigger than a smartphone and it plugs in like a nightlight into any wall outlet – I can think of 3 people right now that would love one of those.

I’m hoping someone in my family might get me a Blissy pillowcase which is made out of 100% mulberry silk and promises to improve the look of your skin and your long-flowing hair.

And then there’s the Dodow – spelled d-o-d-o-w, so I’m calling it the “DoDow”.

The “DoDow” is a small device that, and I quote, “…emits a soothing blue light that gently pulses, helping ease your brain into ‘sleep mode’.”

So, with the “DoDow” it won’t just be my sermons that will make you fall sleep.

Food gifts are super and tech gifts are fun, but they can’t qualify as the best gift you can give.

Why?

Because the best gift you can give can’t be bought at the grocery store or the big box tech store.

In fact, the best gift you can give can’t be bought or cooked or baked or grilled or handcrafted or photoshopped or bedazzled.

The best gift you can give is not just a gift – it is the highest good that any human being could every strive after.

In other words, it is the chief end of your life.

That sounds like it is kind of a big deal.

So, what is this gift?

Let’s find out.

Listen to Philippians 4, verse 20:

20 Now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever.

The best gift you can give at Christmas and every other day of your life is the gift of glorifying God.

How do we know that is true?

Well, take a moment to ask your own heart:

Why are you here?

Why do you exist?

Why are you on the earth?

  • Is it just to get an education?
  • Is it just to get a job?
  • Is it just to get married and have kids?
  • Is it just to enjoy your family?
  • Is it just to enjoy your friends?
  • Is it just to have a holly jolly Christmas?

Evolutionary biologist and best-selling author Richard Dawkins was being interviewed once for The London Observer and he was asked about the purpose of life and said this…

Richard Dawkins

Well, there is no purpose, and to ask what it is is a silly question. It has the same status as, “What is the color of jealousy?”

Well, duh, everyone knows the color of jealousy is candy cane fire apple red.

But is Dawkins right?

Is that what your conscience tells you?

That there is no purpose in life?

A few years later Dawkins was being interviewed on BBC television and made the following comment:

Richard Dawkins

I think science really has fulfilled the need that religion did in the past, of explaining things; why we are here, what is the origin of life, where did the world come from, what life is all about…science has the answers.

So, he seemed to be affirming that there was no purpose to life but then it seems as if there was a purpose to life then he feels confident that science has the answers.

Again, does that hold water with your conscience?

Has science really answered all of your questions about life?

I was reading a testimony of how one young man came to Christ:

Eric Kwok

I never expected to become someone who believed in God.

Eric Kwok

I grew up as an atheist; my goal in life was to find objective truths through science. I specialized in math and physics in high school, and later completed a Bachelor’s Degree in Applied Physics.

Eric Kwok

There isn’t physical evidence that can be used to prove or disprove the existence of God. This means that it wouldn’t be scientific to claim that God does or doesn’t exist.

Eric Kwok

When I was younger, I chose not to believe in God. This was based, in part, on the very negative perception of Christianity I had at the time…

Eric Kwok

As I grew older, I began to have questions that science does not provide answers for. When I was still in high school I often wondered: “What is my purpose in life?”

Eric Kwok

I was ambitious and had plenty of motivation. However, it wasn’t long until I became discouraged by the walls that I faced. I sensed that something was lacking in my life. I felt the fear of uncertainty and meaninglessness.

Eric Kwok

Science is a powerful tool for describing the world that we see. It helps us to build models for analyzing what we observe, to make formulas to predict how a system will evolve, and it provides a way to prove or disprove our hypotheses.

Eric Kwok

But science couldn’t provide a solution to the struggles I was facing in life.

Science is super fantastic and I read articles on a regular basis about the latest scientific discoveries, but our souls needs more than just science.

Some of you are thinking, “Dude, I’m finally on Christmas break – why are you giving me all this stuff about science!”

Here’s why – yes, please enjoy your Christmas break and then head back to school and some of you do all that you can to become some of the best mathematicians and biologists and physicists in the world!

But I want all of us to see that glorifying God is the fuel for science and math and biology and physics and education and music and sports and grilling pork tenderloin on Christmas Day.

What does that mean?

How is glorifying God that kind of fuel?

This is what the Lord God spoke to the prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 45:5

I am the LORD, and there is no other; Besides Me there is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known Me;

Isaiah 45:6

That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other,

 

Isaiah 45:7

The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.

Feel the weight of those ancient words!

The Lord God of Israel is:

  • The one, true God
  • The One who forms light
  • The One who forms darkness
  • The One who forms humanity
  • The One who causes well-being
  • The One who causes calamity

“I am the Lord – there is no other!”

If those things are true, then any purpose we have in this life or the life to come is going to be connected to him.

More than 1600 years ago, Augustine wrote the following words and they have not lost one ounce of punch:

Augustine

Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.

The whole of the Bible points to the reality that glorifying God and enjoying him forever is our best good.

Therefore, we will not find true rest until our hearts are resting in and believing in and clinging to and making much of the majesty and glory of God.

Paul is starting to wrap up his letter to his friends at Philippi.

And the way he does it by telling them that all the glory and all the fame and all the attention needs to be focused on God because he is worthy.

This past week I attended the funeral for Shane Martin who pastored Lebanon Presbyterian Church in Winnsboro.

Shane died from injuries he sustained in a horrible car crash.

He was the 47-year-old brother of my friend Brent and leaves behind a wife, Cara, and two teenage sons, Luke and Owen.

When Brent was giving his eulogy at the service, he noted that the one theme that pressed through Shane in the pulpit and out of the pulpit was the grace of God.

And Brent talked about how often they would discuss that a person’s salvation is only because of the grace of God the Father through the death and resurrection of God the Son by the power of God the Holy Spirit so no one would be able to boast at all about their salvation but only God would get the fame and the credit and the boasting and the glory.

And then he said something like this:

“And that’s the way God’s people want it.”

Is that the way we want things?

Do we really want God to get all the fame and credit and boasting and glory?

Or do we want a little bit for ourselves?

Do we want just enough attention when it comes to spiritual things that we can feel good about ourselves or feel like other people will respect or honor or look up to us?

Paul put it this way to his friends in a place called Corinth:

1 Corinthians 10:31

Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

If you are a Christian, do what you do for the Lord.

Do what you do so that God would become the most famous person in and around and through your life.

B.B. Warfield was a professor of theology at Princeton from 1887 to 1921, and he puts it this way:

B.B. Warfield

…will you be off to your business tomorrow morning? To make money? Good. For what end? Consciously in order to glorify God in the wise use of it? No? Well, then, are you a Christian?

The most basic fundamental purpose of a Christian’s life is to strive to bring glory and honor to God.

So, how are we doing at that?

Geoff Thomas

…to glorify God you must think about him. God must be in all your thoughts. He must be recognized constantly and spontaneously as Creator and Judge. God must be as real to you as the sun in the heaven.

Geoff Thomas

The idea of God must be the greatest idea you have ever had.

How do we do that?

How do we think about God more deeply?

I’ll tell you one really good place to start and it comes straight from the skies of Christmas:

Luke 2:10-11

Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

A Savior was born for you – that’s the greatest idea God’s given.

That is a reason to glorify God – he made a way for you to be rescued from sin and darkness and death.

And what if you don’t?

What if you are a Christian and you don’t make it your passion and purpose to glorify God?

What if you are not a Christian and you don’t give the glory and salvation of God a second thought?

I came across a story this week about a king and his jester.

The jester made the king laugh all the time and one day the king said to him…

King

“You are the greatest fool a man could meet. Here is this carved stick. Keep it until you meet a man who is a greater fool than you and then you can pass it on to him.”

As the story goes, years went by and the two men grew old.

One day the king sent for the jester and said, “I am going on a long journey soon.”

The jester asked, “Can’t you stay here?”

The king replied, “No.”

The jester asked, “Are you coming back?”

The king replied, “No.”

The jester asked, “Are you making any preparation for the journey?”

The king replied, “No.”

The jester asked, “Have you found out who you’ll meet when you get there?”

The king replied, “No.”

The jester then took the stick out of his pocket and presented it to the dying king and said…

Jester

“I have finally met a greater fool than myself.”

How are you doing at glorifying God?

Glorifying God is not just a great gift for Christmas…

  • It reflects the plans of your heart
  • It reflects the preparations you are making for your soul.

Paul wanted his friends in Philippi to learn and know and grow in glorifying God.

And how does he emphasize that truth?

Listen to what he says next:

20 Amen.

I love this sentence – it’s just one word.

Amen.

Most of us know the word “Amen” as the last word of a prayer or maybe something your Uncle Rico did at odd times during the
Christmas Eve service when you were growing up.

Those practices have been used for thousands of years.

In the Old Testament there were 3 basic reasons to use “Amen”.

Charles Spurgeon referred to them as:

  • Asserting
  • Consenting
  • Petitioning

Asserting is when you really mean something.

Jesus used this when he was teaching.

We read it often as “truly, truly” or “verily, verily”, but it is the same language as “Amen” – but Jesus used it at the beginning not the end.

One night to a church leader named Nicodemus, Jesus said:

John 3:3

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”

“Amen, Amen, so be it, so be it, unless a person’s heart has been changed by the Hand of heaven, that person is not right with God.”

Jesus used “Amen” at the beginning to assert the authority of his truth.

It can also be used as consent.

That’s a bit how Paul is using it here.

He is saying that the glory of God is the first and greatest and most important thing and then he says “Amen” and in a sense is inviting the people to say “Amen” too.

In other words, this is a truth about God that is not going to change and it is good for every single Christian in every single century and every Christian should say “Amen”.

So, quick practical thought:

Should you say “Amen” when I’m preaching or when someone is praying?

Yes.

Should you say it loud and dramatically and raise your hands and shout “hallelujah”?

Not necessarily.

As with everything else, the issue is your heart.

If you are saying “Amen” to in some way draw attention to yourself then you need to be careful because an “Amen” is not just about you agreeing with something that is being preached or prayed it is about you longing to see that truth lived out in your life and/or in the world.

And it doesn’t have to be an “Amen” – it can be a “yes” or a “mmmph” or a “that’s right”.

And it doesn’t have to be loud – sometimes saying it in a whisper is appropriate for the moment.

And sometimes it doesn’t have to be said – it can be motioned.

One of our dear brothers here blesses my heart because he listens to the sermon like he’s watching the last 2 minutes of a close football game – on the edge of his seat, smiling, and rocking just a little bit – and I love it and it energizes me.

Again, though, the issue is your heart.

There are frozen chosen people that always sit reverently still and respectable during all the aspects of a church service and some of those people are lost and without Christ.

And there are people that jump up and down and hoot and holler “Amen” to everything the pastor says and some of those people are lost and without Christ.

It’s not just about the outward motion – it is about the inward devotion.

John Piper

As others pray, you whisper, “Amen.” Whisper, “Yes, yes.” Whisper, “Umhm.” Whisper, “Do it, Lord.” I say whisper, partly because I want to make it easy for you, and partly because you’re not supposed to take over or draw attention to yourself.

John Piper

The murmur of quiet “Amens” and “Yes” and “Umhm” is like background music that supports the one who’s praying and joins him in the prayer. And at the end of a prayer, a deeply felt “Amen” in unison is a powerful moment before the throne of grace.

Heart-inspired background music during sermons and prayer is a good thing, so, leave the snakes at home, but let’s strive to affirm one another with a few more “Amens”.

“Amen” can also be used for petitioning.

One of the most beautiful and powerful places we see this used in Scripture is in John’s Revelation.

Revelation 22:20

He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

So, John is quoting Jesus saying he is coming again and John proceeds to add his petition to that proclamation and says “Amen! C’mon! Please come, Jesus!”

The beautiful Christmas song “O Holy Night” is channeling some John there when it says:

Placide Cappeau/John Dwight

Long lay the world

in sin and error pining,

Till He appeared

and the soul felt its worth.

Placide Cappeau/John Dwight

A thrill of hope,

the weary soul rejoices,

For yonder breaks

a new and glorious morn.

In a sense, every time we say “Amen” we use John’s petition.

How?

Because Christians know that our thrill of hope is not going to be found in a great Christmas meal or a fantastic tech gift in our stocking.

Our true thrill of hope is only found in Christ and is only going to be found in Christ.

This is what Paul wrote the folks at Corinth:

2 Corinthians 1:20

For as many as are the promises of God, in Him they are yes; therefore also through Him is our Amen to the glory of God through us.

All the promises of peace, hope, love, joy, and satisfaction are found in Christ and Christ alone – he is our ultimate “Amen”.

What does that mean?

C.H. Spurgeon

When our Lord actually came upon the earth, he was then God’s Amen to the long line of prophecies.

C.H. Spurgeon

One by one the servants of God had testified concerning the coming Messiah. Some had spoken evangelically with Isaiah; others with a more legal savour as Moses; but their testimony was to the same effect,

C.H. Spurgeon

that in due time a prophet should be raised up, and that there should be born of a virgin a man who should at the same time be “the Wonderful, the Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father.”

C.H. Spurgeon

These promises followed thick and fast, all of them cohering, each one manifesting the self-same coming One; but there was no Amen to them, they were things hoped for, but not the substance thereof;

C.H. Spurgeon

till at last, in the silence of midnight, angels sweetly sang his advent, “Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, goodwill toward men! For unto you is born this day in Bethlehem a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

C.H. Spurgeon

That babe among the horned oxen, that carpenter’s son, was God’s declaration that prophecy was the voice of heaven. Now, ye prophets, sleeping in your tombs, it is witnessed that ye lied not. Now hath God himself come forth and set to his seal that ye are true.

C.H. Spurgeon

In the blessed form of Mary’s child, God’s Amen appears both to shepherds and to wise men.

And it has also, even this day, appeared to you.

So, can your soul truly say “Amen” to Christmas?

Message by Dow Welsh |

December 22, 2019 © Holland Avenue Baptist Church

Above are pre-sermon manuscript notes, not sermon transcript

Sermon scriptures NASB unless otherwise noted

Lots of help from many pastors and theologians

Weekly help from Bruce Hurt at www.preceptaustin.org

 

 

 



What's the best Christmas present you can give that the best present you can give now? I'm always going to save food, you know, I mean, to me, food is the best gift you can give. I mean, I'm a love it because I'll enjoy it right Then, if there's some left over, I'll enjoy it later. It's fantastic. You know, we'll get stuck in the closet. It's going to be eaten. But not everybody likes the idea of food for a Christmas gift. Some people would love a good tech gift, so I found a list of some of the most popular tech gifts that you can get this year. You might even get it as a last minute stocking stuffer here in the next couple of days. Here's just a few things from that lifts. There is the Tiki Tunes, which is a small blue to speaker that also doubles as an electronic tiki torch. So if your family's having a Christmas luau this week, this is something that you can do something you can put there a great tech gift. There's also what's known as the handy heater. The handy heater is about a little bigger than a smartphone. It plugs right into the wall like a like a night light and its temperature controlled. It pours heat right there where it is. I know at least three people, two of them on our staff that would absolutely love a handy heater. You know, somebody that might want a handy either. I don't know how how much you can find one of the next two days. There's also something that I hope my family will get me. And that is the Bliss e pillowcase. See the bliss. See, pillowcases made of 100% mulberry silk. And it promises to improve your skin and your hair. So, you know, I mean, I'm kind of hoping that maybe I'll get one of those and avoid these continued recommendations that I looked like the infamous Pastor Phil. Then there's the dodo. It is spelled D o D o w. All right. So I'm calling it the road, Al. All right? I mean, it's just there for the taken, so I'm going with. So the dough dow is this little tiny thing that you sit by your bed. It has this blue soothing light, and the light pulsates, and it's supposed to help you fall asleep. So with the dough dal, Not on Lee. Will my sermons make you fall asleep, but you'll find something else from me that will help you fall asleep. That's pretty good. I like them. Food, gifts or super tech gifts are fun, but neither food gifts or tech gifts are the best gift that you can give the best give that you can get. You cannot get it at a grocery store. You cannot get into the big box tech store, in fact, that the best gift that you can give can't really be bought or cooked or baked or grilled or handcrafted, or photoshopped or bedazzled now that the best gift that you can give is is something that's this different. It's not just a gift. It is the highest good that you can strive for in your life. In other words, it is the chief end of your existence. It's why you are here, that that's the best gift you can give. That sounds like kind of a big deal. So So what is that gift? Well, let's see if we can find out. Listen to Philippines four. Verse 20. Apostle Paul writes now to our God and father Be the glory forever. Endeavor now to our God and father be the glory forever and ever. The best gift you can give at Christmas and every other day of your life is to glorify God. But that's your chief end. That's that's why you exist to glorify and enjoy God. Now, how do we know that's true? Well, just ask your own heart. A few questions here. Why do you exist? I mean, really, If you're alone with your conscience, I mean, why do you exist? Why are you here? What do you think your purpose in life is? I mean, is your purpose Just to get an education is just to get a job just to get married. Just to have a family is just to love and enjoy Your family is just to love and enjoy your friends. Is it just tow? Have ah, Holly Jolly Christmas there. Is there more to it? Richard Dawkins is evolutionary biologist. He's a best selling author. He's also an infamous atheist in our culture. He's been interviewed once for The London Observer and he was asked about the purpose of life. And this is what he said. Well, there is no purpose. And to ask what it is is a silly question. It has the same status as what is the color of jealousy? Nobody knows the color of jealousy, right? Candy cane, fire, apple dark, salmon red. We all know the color of jealousy. So So what about the other part there? There is this. Is this true? I mean, is this what your conscience would say to you that there's no purpose in life? Is he right? There's there's no purpose to life. It's a silly question to even ask. A few years later, he was interviewed on BBC television, and he made this comment. I think science really has fulfilled the need that religion did in the past of explaining things while we're here. What is the origin of life? Where did the world come from, what life is all about? Science has the answers, and so it seems as if he's affirming that there's no real purpose to life. It's it's kind of a silly question, but then it's almost like, but if there is, then he feels like that that science has the answers. So again, I just ask you to deal with your own consciousness. Does that sound right? Does the math work on that? His science been ableto Answer all the questions that you have about the purpose of life, for that matter, any one's questions that they have about the purpose of life. I was hearing the testimony of a young man named Eric and how he came to faith in Christ. He said this. I never expected to become someone who believed in God. It's good opening to a testimony. He goes home. I grew up, is an atheist. My goal in life was to find objective truce through science. I specialized in math and physics and high school and later completed a bachelor's degree and applied physics. And then he talks a little bit about about what this means. In his day to day life, he says this there isn't physical evidence that could be used to prove or disprove the existence of God. This means that it wouldn't be scientific to claim that God does or doesn't exist. When I was younger, I chose not to believe in God. This was based in part on the very negative perception of Christianity. I had at the time, as I grew older, I began to have questions that science does not provide answers. For when I was in high school, I often wondered, what is my purpose in life? I was ambitious, had plenty of motivation. However, it wasn't long until I became discouraged by the walls that I faced. I sense that something was lacking in my life. I felt the fear of uncertainty and meaninglessness, and he said, This science is a powerful tool for describing the world that we see. It helps us to build models for analyzing what we observe to make formulas, to predict how a system will evolve, and it provides a way to prove or disprove our hypotheses. And then he makes this comment. But science couldn't provide a solution to the struggles I was facing in life. Science is super fantastic. I'm a science nerd. I love reading about the latest discoveries and scientific research, but our souls need Maur than just science. There's there's something Maur we need Now Some of our young people are like, Dude, I finally got on Christmas break. Will you stop talking about science? Move on, Move on, Move on. Well, Here's why I'm bringing the science up. Bring the science up because I want you to go back to school in a few weeks. I want you to enjoy your Christmas break, and I want you to go back. And don't you do your best so that you might become one of the world's best mathematicians or biologists or physicists that that you might be able to use what you have in a unique and powerful way. But I want all of us to understand that when it comes to science or math or biology or physics are sports or hobbies or grilling a pork tenderloin on Christmas Day, the ultimate fuel for everything in life is the glory of God. The ultimate fuel for life is the glory of God. Does that mean how how is glorifying God, that kind of fuel fuel that that affects every single area of our life? Well, this is what the Lord God said to the Prophet Isaiah as they have 45 beginning with verse five. I am the Lord and there is no other besides me. There is no God. I will gird you, though you have not known me that men may know fromthe rising to the setting of the sun that there's no one besides me. I am the Lord, and there is no other, the one forming light and creating darkness, causing wellbeing and creating calamity. I am the Lord who does, Oh, this just feel the weight of those ancient words just didn't in 2019 that this God, the Lord God, he is the one true god, the one who forms light, the one who forms darkness, the one who forms humanity, the one who who forms well being and even calamity. And he says he is the Lord and there is no other. If these things are true about God, and he has proven himself over and over and over again for thousands of years, If these things are true about God, then whatever your purpose in life is, it's connected to him. Whatever reason you exist is connected to him. More than 1600 years ago, Augustine wrote these words, and they have not lost an ounce of punch. He said, This thou hast made us for the ice elf, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in the the whole of the Bible points to the reality that the glory and majesty of God is your greatest good. That means that if the glory of God is your greatest good, that means that in everything in life you will never find true rest until you are believing in and clinging to and resting on and making much of the Majesty and the glory of God. It is your fuel. It is your purpose. Paul's closing up his letter to his friends at Phillippi and he closes up by saying, Look, when it comes to the one thing that needs fame and credit and glory, it's going to be got the glory of God needs to be first and most in your life as a Christian and in the life of the church I shared with you last Sunday before the sermon about pastor Shane Martin, who is the pastor at Lebanon Presbyterian Church in Winnsboro, went Shane's funeral this past Wednesday afternoon. Is it Richard Win Academy in the gym? There were on the 4 500 people there. Shane died from injuries he sustained in an automobile crash almost two weeks ago. Shane's older brother, Brent is one of my good friends and branch here, a eulogy at the service. He talked about how, when he would call Shane, they would always end up talking about the grace of God that in the pulpit and outside of the pulpit, Shane kind of had a theme. The grace of God, the grace of God, the grace of God. And he said, we would often talk about salvation, and we would talk about how we're on Lee saved because of the grace of God. That is the grace of God, the father that we're saved through God, the sun through his life and his death, his resurrection, his ascension through the power of God, the Holy Spirit. And he said, We would talk about that, and shame would always make a big deal that the only thing we can boast in when it comes to our salvation is God the grace of God dog. It's all of the credit. He gets all of the fame he gets all of the attention when it comes to your salvation. When it comes to my salvation is on. Lee by Grace on Lee, Back Grace on Lee Bye Grace, and then Britt said something like this, he said. And that's the way God's people wanted. And I'm standing in this gym of four or 500 people. I'm in the back and I'm looking around, and the first thought I had was I wonder if that's true? Is that how we think Dewey is? Believers say I won't God to get the glory. I won't God to get the attention. I want God to get the fame. I want any boasting about my life and my salvation to be directed toward God. Is that the way we want it? Or do we want a little bit of attention for us when it comes to spiritual things that we want just a just a little bit of attention our way just a little bit so that maybe people will respect desert or look up to us because we're doing something spiritually and holy and religious, God's people God, to get attention, that that's our goal. Paul was writing his friends in a place called Corn, and he said this first Corinthians 10 31 whether than you eat or drink or go to a football game or go to Grandma's for Christmas or go out to eat after church or get stuck in traffic or not 26 or go shopping and harvesting mall. Bless you if you choose to do that. Post is whatever you do do all to the glory of God. If you're Christian, do what you do for the Lord. If you're a Christian, do what you do in such a way that God becomes the most famous person in and around and through your life. That's the call we have as believers because we're part of the kingdom that will be forever and ever and ever. BB War filled was the professor of theology at Princeton from 18 87 to 1921. He put it this way. Well, you be off to your business tomorrow morning to make money. Good for what? End consciously in order to glorify God and the wise use of it. No. Well, then, are you a Christian? But that's the thing, right? I mean, he kind of put it bluntly, right? So if you're not going to use your life and your money and your home and your family and your skiff skills and your talent, if you're not going to use those things for the glory God, are you a Christian? Because the call of our life because we've been saved because of the grace of God, is that we would use who we are and what we have so that God would get fame and attention. So how we doing that? How we doing glorifying the Lord with our lives? I'll just sneak one way in for our church. So our Lady Moon gift was $6500. If my mass right, we've already doubled that. I praise the Lord that thank you for your giving. But that's one way that our church in just one we're glorifying God through are giving by making sure the gospel gets to places where it's never been heard. So there's one way we're glorifying God. Jeff Thomas writes this To glorify God, you must think about him. God must be in all your thoughts. He must be recognized constantly and spontaneously as creator and judge. God must be is real to you as the sun in the heaven. And this is this. The idea of God must be the greatest idea you have ever had. No words, as the him says that he's our best thought by day or by night. That that God and his glory and His Majesty and his love and his mercy, he's our best fault. He's our best, though. How do we get there? I mean, how do we get to the point that we we spontaneously think of the glory of God in the rain on our 26? I mean, I'm super practical about this stuff. How do we do that? How do we sit in line at the mall? You know, the one that's weaving around the whole store, so weaken, you know, buy a pair of Christmas socks for somebody. How do we stand there and spontaneously go? I am a child of the creator and the judge and the king of the world. What only happens about how we're thinking? And if we're thinking, Well, I can't believe I gotta wait in this line. If we're thinking, Well, I can't believe that we're not going to have you know, the Christmas Goose that our family meal this year, you know, for thinking Well, I can't believe that we're not singing this or we're not doing this in the community parade or are the community church. Whatever it is that we're thinking, Well, this isn't happening. Aurand mad about this or I'm upset about this or I'm depressed about this. Whatever it may be, how do we get to the point that we say, Wait a minute. I am a child of the king, and his kingdom will reign forever and ever so I can stand with these socks and it'll be all right. And I can sit in this traffic and it will be okay because I am a child of King. How do we get there? Well, here's one way we can think. And this one way comes from the skies of Christmas. Luke, Chapter two versus 10. 11. The angel said, Do not be afraid. For behold, I bring you good news of great joy. I'm so glad that when God gave a gift, he didn't say I just give him a gift card, you know, just just order something off Amazon. It's fine. Whatever will do no good news of great joy which will be for all the people for today in the city of David, there has been born for you a savior who is Christ the Lord Savior has been born. Four. You put your name in the blame that that's what I need to do. Sitting in traffic. A savior has been born for Dow. He can make it in traffic. You may not like it, but he could make it when you're standing in line when whatever it is that you wanted didn't happen. Whatever tragedy our trouble or triumph happens in your life. You can say a savior has been born to me and that changes this moment. It's not easy, and I'm not saying, well, perfectly do it. But I'm telling you, it's really these songs that we sing. They're supposed to move us to the kingdom. That is forever the fact that God gave a gift. In fact, the greatest idea the God has ever given the world is Jesus and that that gift has been given to you so that away has been made for you to no longer being sin and darkness and death. That is a reason to glorify God. But what if you don't? What if you don't make what If you're Christian and you don't make it your purpose in life to glorify God, that it's not your passion it's not your purpose. Or what if you're not a Christian and you don't make it your purpose in life to even think about God or salvation or anything connected to him? I was reading a story this week. It was about a king and his court jester are, as they often called them, the fool, and this jester made the king laugh. The king loved the sky. The king called him in one day. That's what he said. You are the greatest fool a man could meet. Here is this carved stick. Keep it until you meet a man who is a greater fool than you, and then you can pass it on to him. As the story goes, years went by. The two men grew older, and one day the king called for the gesture to come and see him. When it came in, the king said this. I am going on a long journey scene, Jester said. Can't you stay here? The king replied. No, the jester said. Are you coming back? The king replied. No, the jester said. Are you making the preparation for the journey? The king replied. No, the jester asked. Have you found out who you'll meet when you get there, the king replied. No, and the jester pulled out the carved stick. He presented it to the dying king, and he said this. I have finally met a greater fool than myself. How are you doing at glorifying God? Whether you're glorifying God or whether you're not glorifying God, it reflects something. It reflects the plans you're making for your life, and it reflects the preparations you are making for your soul to glorify. God is not a small thing. It's your chief purpose in life. And it's your chief purpose for the life to come. Paul, one of his friends, to know that he wanted them to learn and know and grow and what it meant to glorify God. And how does he kind of put an exclamation point on that statement? Look what it says on X and verse 20 Amen. Has a great sentence, right? Amen. Period. Most of us know the word. Amen. It's It's what said at the end of a prayer. You know, maybe you remember when you were growing up in the Christmas Eve service. You know, your Uncle Rico would shout out Amen. Every three or four times. And the service. You know, it's something that you've heard here, there and yonder. And the reason why you've heard it before is because it's a practice that goes back thousands of years and the Old Testament. There were three basic reasons that you would use the word. Amen. Charles Spurgeon has said you would use it for a sir teen. You would use it for consenting, and you would use it for petitioning. He would use the word amen and asserting because it had some authority what you were about to say Jesus used this often. We know it as truly, truly are, verily, verily. And Jesus would say those things and he wouldn't say it at the end of what he was saying, he would say it at the very beginning. One night he was talking to a church leader, Nicodemus, And this is what he said to him. John, Chapter three, Truly, truly. I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. So this is it. J. Jesus is saying Amen. Amen. So be it. So be it. Unless someone has been rescued by the hand of heaven. They are not right with guy. It was a word used for asserting the authority of truth, and Jesus used it often. Amen can also be a word that's used his consent. It's kind of how Paul's using it here, he's he's riding them, finishing up his letter. Guys, Look, guys, I want you to know the most important thing is the glory of God. And he makes his great statement about how God's glorious forever and ever and ever. And then he says, Amen. So be it. He's consenting to that truth. He's agreeing with that truth and in writing you this way, he's kind of helping the church to do the same thing. He wants them to learn that when it comes to the glory of God, they need to agree with that. And they need to say, Amen, amen. Truly, truly. Verily, verily, so be it. That God's glory would be primary in our life. I'm consenting. I'm agreeing with that. So just a quick, practical thought should you say amen when I'm preaching or when someone's praying? Yes, you should. Should you say it loud and dramatically raise your hand, shout hallelujah! Jump up it down in the future. Maybe not right? Could see. The whole thing is everything goes back to the heart. If your purpose is is saying amen and a sermon or or in a prayer is to draw attention to yourself and be careful. Be wise, because the purpose of an amen is not just to agree with, not just to say so, be it because you think it's a great idea when you say amen. What you're saying is, Amen. So be it in my life. Not good job, preacher. I like that line, but amen, that needs to happen in me. I need to leave today. Whatever truth I was willing to speak up about, it needs to be seen in my life. Whatever truth, I was a minute in that prayer. It needs to be a longing of my life. It can't just be a word that I say, and it doesn't have to be a name in. It could be a yes. It could be. That's right, or it could just be a Sometimes it is good and it doesn't have to be loud. Sometimes it could be in a whisper, and the fact that that might be most appropriate again at the funeral this week, with several 100 people there in the gym and And when my friend Brent finished his eulogy, one of our other friends a CZ he walked away from the podium. He just said, God bless you breath just loud. And it was beautiful because Brent laughed his brother, and he knew how hard it was for him to stand in front of this crowd because he knew how broken he was, you know, much pain he had in his heart. But he also knew that there was no way Britt was not going to stand at his brother's funeral and say the grace of God, the grace of God. The grace of God is the only way to be safe. It doesn't always have to be out loud in a church service or in a funeral. It could be a whisper, and, you know, it doesn't even have to be said. Sometimes we have a dear brother here in the church that that he listens to the sermon like he's watching the last two minutes of a close football game on the edge of the seat, smile on its face, rocking a little bit. I mean, I love it. It energizes me. So did you have to be a name in? It can just It could just be your activity. It can be your demeanor again. The issue is the heart. There's some frozen chosen people that sit in churches all over the world, and they sit there in their reverent and they're respectful and they don't do anything out of the ordinary in the service. They do the same traditional thing over and over again. They never change, and some of those people are lost. And without Christ, they're respectful. They're reverent, but they don't know Jesus. And then there's some people. The boy, they never since. D'oh, man, they were jumping. They aim in everything the pastor says. They said, That's right there, the whole sermon. But they're lost and without Christ, see if it's not the motion on the outside, whether it's no motion or lots of motion, it's not the motion or the commotion. It's the devotion in our hearts. That's what determines our true amen. That's what determines our true. So be it. Don Piper says this talking about prayer and a mending as others pray you whisper. Amen. Whisper. Yes, yes, Whisper, Whisper. Do it, Lord, I say whisper partly because I want to make it easy for you and partly because you're not supposed to take over and draw attention to yourself. He goes on the murmur of quiet, a men's and yes, and is like background music that supports the one who's praying or preaching and joins him in the prayer. And at the end of a prayer, a deeply felt Amen in unison is a powerful moment before the throne of Grace. Why don't we just do that again? And all God's people said, Hey, man, there's something beautiful about that. So heart inspired background music. I'm all about it. I love it so, you know, leave the snakes at home. It's fine. But you know, it's a good thing when we're praying with each other, A choir singing when when someone's preaching, it's it's good for us. Maybe we need to increase our amends a little bit. You don't have to be loud. They could be under our breath. They may not even be out loud, but just something within a sane Yeah, I am part of the Gospel. I am part of this church. I'm a part of what we're doing. I am not a spectator. I'm in this. I'm in this together. A man can also be used for petitioning. Probably the most beautiful place we see this in the Bible is revelation 22 Verse 20. John says this He who testifies to these things says yes, I am coming quickly. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. So John's quoting Jesus here According to Jesus, I'm coming again. And John adds a little petition at the end. Come on, come on. And we're ready for you. Jesus. Come on. Please. Please come. I think the French French merchant that wrote O Holy Night was channeling some revelation 20 to 20 when he wrote these words Long lay the world in sin and error pining away and sin in there till he appeared And the soul felt its worth A thrill of hope The weary soul and the weary world rejoices for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn. Seeing a sense every single time we say amen. Were kinda using John's petition. Why? Because every time we say amen as Christians, we understand this Christmas is not our thrill of hope and our anniversary will not be our thrill of hope. And our birthday will not be our thrill of hope and our team. Winning the game will not be our thrill of hope. And next Christmas will not be our thrill of hope. They will be a thrill. They will be fun. We can rejoice, we can celebrate. But as Christians we know that our thrill of hope is found in Christ and Christ alone and will be found on Lee in Christ and Christ alone. So when we say amen, we're always saying, Come on, come on, Lord Jesus. Because this world's a mess and it's not going to get better. We need you, Jesus, because the world is still weary and it's still weighing down. Understood? How kind and gracious God is to give us the greatest gift. Paul. Put it this way. Second, Corinthians vs Chapter one, verse 20 For as many as are the promises of God in him. In Jesus There Yes, therefore also threw him is our amen to the glory of God through us all the promises of peace, all the promises of hope, all the promises of joy and love of salvation and satisfaction. All of God's promises are perfectly found in Jesus. Jesus is God's ultimate Amen. Charles Spurgeon put it this way. When our Lord actually came upon the Earth, he was then God's amen to the long line of prophecies. Imagine, I mean, 400 years, just a minimum. 400 years of just silence from God. And then the way God speaks to the world again is through the crying of a baby virgin goes on one by one, the servants of God had testified concerning the coming messiah. Some had spoken evangelical E with Isaiah, others with a more legal saver as Moses. But their testimony was to the same effect that in due time, ah, profit should be raised up and that there should be born of a virgin, a man who should at the same time be with wonderful counselor, the mighty god, the everlasting Father. These promises followed thick and fast, but that they were there and the prophecies they were popping and people were putting it together. They followed thick and fast, all of them co hearing each one manifesting the self. Same coming one. But there was no aim into them. They were things hoped for, but not the substance. They're off till it last. In the Silence of Midnight, Angel sweetly sang his Advent Glory to God in the highest on earth. Peace, Goodwill Toward Men. Front to you is born this day in Bethlehem. A savior Who is Christ the Lord, that babe among the horned oxen That carpenter son was God's declaration. That prophecy was the voice of heaven. Just listen to these next two sentences with with this in mind, if you think that Christianity is dying are fading or that it's just ah, hard time and that our nation's just going to hell and that religion is going down the trash if any of those thoughts are ever in your mind listen to these two sentences. Now you profit sleeping in your tombs. It is witness that ye lied. Not no matter what you may feel is happening in our country. In this world, the gospel is alive and Jesus is king and no one will ever be able to change that. They didn't lie. I love this last part. Now half Godhimself come forth and set to hiss seal that ye are true you got it right. Profits. You heard me speak to you and you just kept telling the story. You know, we don't have to be cute Christmas as Christians. We don't have to be creative at Christmas. We can just keep saying unto you has been born a savior and we can say it over and over and over again. It never loses its power furnace, Virgin said This and the blessed form of Mary's child, God's amen appears both two shepherds and tow Wiseman and my friend. It has appeared to you the amen of God has appeared to you. You've heard that story even just today. The message of the gospel has made it to your ears and your mind and your heart. And so the real question for all of us on any given day, not just December 25th but on any given day, Can you say amen to Christmas? Can you say Amen to Christmas


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