Sermon Summary – Christmas Day 2019

KEEPING JESUS CENTRAL (Calven Celliers)

The most iconic Christian Christmas image is without a doubt the nativity or manger scene. There’s the barn and a star, and then there’s always the same set of characters – the angels, and Mary, and Joseph, and the Wise Men, and the shepherds, and baby Jesus is always at the centre of the manger scene; and that’s simply because that’s exactly where Jesus belongs. All the other characters point to Him. Christmas is all about Jesus. He is the reason for the season.

How is the manger scene of your heart? Has Jesus lost His central place in your life, or is He still up front and central? Has He been replaced with something, someone, anything else? All too often Jesus seems to lose His place in our lives, we displace and replace Him with things like work, or a hobby, or our family, or friends, or money, or an addiction, or a dream, or a desire, or an activity, or even ministry. He gets booted out and then we wonder why everything else in our lives becomes chaotic. The reality is things get messy when everything in our lives doesn’t centre around and focus on Jesus. Experience has taught me that when Jesus is not in the centre everything else gets real crazy, real fast.

So let’s briefly look at the main characters of the manger scene and then consider how each one of them shows us a characteristic of how we keep Jesus at the centre of our lives.

THE ANGELS teach us about serving. If you want to keep Jesus in the centre it’s all about serving. The angel’s entire purpose is to serve God’s purpose in the lives of men. Can you imagine what it must have been like in heaven when the right time finally arrived? All of creation, including the angels, have been waiting for the coming of the Messiah. And finally the Father says it’s time and He calls His angels forward and He says “I want you to go and start telling Mary, and Joseph, and Zechariah, and I want you to get everything ready. And then you’ll announce my purpose to the shepherds, as my plan unfolds in the lives of men. In Luke 1:19 we read about when the angel Gabriel appeared to John the Baptist’s dad, Zechariah – Read Luke 1:19. Gabriel is saying “My purpose is to serve God’s purpose in your life.” And you know what’s so cool? You and I have the absolute privilege of not only standing in the very presence of God; the very presence of God is right within us! And we too have been sent to tell the world the good news. We have been called and we are sent as God’s people to serve Gods purposes in the lives of the many around you. In fact in the upper room on the night before He went to the cross, after washing the disciples feet Jesus says in the Gospel of John 13 – Read John 13: 14 &15. If we want to keep Jesus in the centre of our lives we have to engage in serving the people in our lives. Where is God calling you to serve the people around you? Where do you need to do what they need and not just what you want? When you stop serving, Jesus is no longer in the centre, you’re in the centre.

MARY teaches us about surrender. Mary is a sweet teenager girl, engaged to be married, dreaming about her wedding, and her life with Joseph, she’s no doubt got it all figured out and then all of a sudden an angel shows up and everything changes. Read Luke 1: 26 – 38.

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May everything you have said about me come true, in other words, I surrender! If Jesus is to be at the centre of your life then you have to surrender whatever you’re holding onto – Read Matthew 10:39. By definition surrender demands full devotion. It’s dethroning yourself and enthroning Jesus. It’s the complete divestiture of all self-interest. It’s giving all of you to all of Him. We can go to church every week and never go all in with Jesus. We can follow all the rules but never actually follow Him. Too many Christians cheapen the gospel by buying in without selling out. Mary sold out. She lay down her life, her plans, her dreams, her very reputation! She surrendered to His lordship over her life and in obedience followed.

JOSEPH teaches us about trust. Joseph is one amazing young man. He’s found the love of his life and then he finds out that she’s pregnant. All too often we bypass the fact that Joseph must have been crushed, destroyed. He must have felt like his future was crumbling right before his very eyes, until the angel showed up. Read Matthew 1: 18 – 25. If Jesus is going to be in the centre of our lives then we have to learn to trust God. And to trust God means you obey God. You can’t say you trust God if you don’t change the trajectory of your life. Joseph may not have understood it, he didn’t get it, he was no doubt confused, concerned, afraid, heartbroken, but he trusted God’s plan. If we buy into a plan before a purpose, we may fail before we even get started. If God had told Mary and Joseph the exact conditions they would be bringing their child into, they may have become overwhelmed by the adversity rather than trusting God. God is able do the impossible through us, even though the impossible is often beyond what our eyes can see, our ears can hear and our minds can grasp. I firmly believe that if we pursue His purpose, the impossible will become possible and His plan will become our plan. Read Proverbs 3: 5 & 6. Where do you need to trust Jesus? The recurring theme as I’m chatting to people is that 2019 has been a shocker of a year. It’s certainly not what many were expecting, or hoping, or planning. It hasn’t been particularly pleasant. In fact it has been horrible for many. And yet despite all of that can you choose to say that you still believe that God is good and kind, and merciful and gracious? Are you fully invested in God’s purpose for your life as His child, are you trusting Him for the fulfilment of His plan? Read Romans 8:28.

The WISE MEN teach us about worship and generosity. Read Matthew 2: 1 & 2, 9 – 11.These men travel half way around the world and when they arrive at the manger they bow down to a baby. That’s how wise they were. Many today struggle to worship the One who died for our sins and rose again, defeating death and the power of sin, but these guys recognise Who he is and bow down and worship Him even as an infant before He grows up, goes into ministry and proves Himself as the Son of God. Wise men and women worship, why? Because you were created to worship. And if you’re not worshipping Jesus, trust me you’re worshipping something else. Worship is turning the attention and the affection of your heart towards something. And as the wise men worship they offer generous gifts to God. Generosity is the natural response that we as God’s people should have to God’s grace. They encounter God’s grace. It doesn’t matter if that grace is wrapped in 8pounds 4 ounces, or if He’s 30 years old, or if He’s seated at the right hand of God the Father, when you encounter Jesus you can’t help but respond with generosity –giving of yourself in every respect for His cause, His purpose, His Kingdom.

The SHEPHERDS teach us about mission. The first birth announcement in the Christmas story is to the shepherds – Read Luke 2: 8 – 18. The shepherds encounter Jesus and their response is to go tell everyone about it. You see when you encounter Jesus it is literally impossible to keep it to yourself. And so if Jesus is at the centre of our lives then we need to remember that we are on mission.

The Great Commission is your commission, and it’s my commission. Christmas isn’t about us. I know it’s a complete mind shift, and a difficult mind shift at that. If we’re completely honest most of us as human beings are naturally self-absorbed. But when we encounter Jesus and He becomes Lord of

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our lives we begin to take Scriptures like the words of the apostle Paul in his letter to the Church at Philippi seriously – Read Philippians 2:4.

We have a choice to make. Either we’ll be world-class Christians, or we’ll be worldly Christians. “Worldly Christians look to God primarily for personal fulfilment. They are saved, but self-centred. Their prayers focus on their own needs, blessings and happiness. It’s a ‘me-first’ faith: How can God make my life more comfortable? In contrast, world-class Christians know they are saved to serve, and made for a mission. They wake up each morning expecting God to work through them in fresh ways. Their joy, happiness and enthusiasm are contagious because they know they’re making a difference.” (Rick Warren)

“On the plains of hesitation bleach the bones of countless millions who, at the dawn of victory, sat down to wait, and waiting – died!” (George Cecil)

What are you waiting for? Put Jesus at the centre of your life. Things get messy when everything in our lives don’t centre around and focus on Him.

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