Preacher: Pastor Tim Redfield

Date: December 25, 2019

Text: John 1:1-14

Are you exited for Christmas presents? I think that the answer to that question depends on your age and your perspective. I certainly love receiving presents and I like it when I can tell that someone gave the present from a loving heart. But at this point in my life, I am more excited to watch others open presents. I like watching people get excited by the present they have received. I like trying to find that perfect present that someone will love. When you see the person smile because they love their present, that is a wonderful reward. I like watching kids open presents because they get really excited. Christmas is about our best present. We received a Savior. Let’s focus on the joy that Savior brings to us as we think about our text and the Word of God taking on Human flesh.

Part 1: He came to shatter the darkness of sin

Do you ever feel like the darkness of our sinful world is overwhelming? God promises that he will win. God says that the light overcomes the darkness. Verse 3 of our text says, “The light is shining in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” However, I will admit that there are days when it feels like the darkness is winning. I see all the immorality around us. You turn on the news and far too often it seems like it is all bad news. You see reports on all kinds of crimes. There are terrible events like school shootings. There are reports about human trafficking. It seems like our leaders are always arguing about something.

And that is just some of the problems. Sexual immorality is all over the place. Sins that would have been inappropriate to mention a generation or two ago are now accepted by many people in our culture. As Christians, we are made to feel like there is something wrong with us if we speak up against these sins. On top of these sins, there are many people who speak out against God’s Word. The true gospel is under attack every day. The cultural way of thinking is that every idea needs to be accepted and we cannot accept one absolute truth. We are supposed to tolerate every message. You see how the devil is trying to confuse people and lead them away from the truth of God’s Word.

In verse 10, our text speaks about Jesus and says, “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not recognize him.” At the time of Christ, the Jews were looking for a different kind of Messiah. They didn’t really want a Savior from their sins. They wanted an earthly ruler. The wanted someone who was going to lead their armies against the Roman Empire. They wanted to be restored to the glory that they experienced under King David. They didn’t think about a Savior from sin because they thought that they were earning their path to heaven through their own good works.

There are ways that this makes me think about our world today. Some people will still look for a kind of Messianic figure in government. Think about some of what you hear when it comes to presidential elections. People act like the nation will be the most prosperous it has ever been if their preferred candidate gets elected. It almost seems like a form of salvation through a government leader. For some people it seems to become a religion. It becomes their primary focus and can even distract them from worship in church. I have had people talk to me as though I need to back certain politicians because I am a religious leader. That simply is not the case.

We have to be careful that this darkness of our sinful world does not lead us to miss Jesus. Think about all the people that missed Jesus back then. There are still many people who miss Jesus. There are some people who follow false religions – such as the Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses, the Islam faith and many others. There are some Christian churches which give false messages. They tell people that they have to follow their own works rather than Jesus. This can be through the idea that we bring ourselves to faith through our own free will, our own decision. It can also be through the idea that we make up for our sins through our good works.

It is so easy to miss the gospel. There are so many false ideas. Even when we have a church that teaches us the truth of God’s Word, many people walk away. Some people think it is too much of a burden when we ask people to study the Word to become a communicant member of the church so they find a church that will take them as a member without any study of God’s Word. Some people don’t like it when God’s Word rebukes us for our sin and the church seeks to correct us. So they find a church that won’t talk about sin. The problem is that if we ignore sin then we also ignore our need for a Savior. If we are not sinners, then Jesus did not need to come into the world.

Some churches give the false idea that if we follow God, then we will have wealth and happiness and basically everything our hearts desire. This is especially tempting in our American culture with our materialism. Christmas can be a time when American prosperity is on display. Look at all the wonderful things that we give and receive. The truth is that God makes no such promise of earthly prosperity. In fact, there is a good chance that we will experience suffering this side of heaven. God promises eternal prosperity. There are plenty of times that we have to endure in this sinful world through terrible events. We look forward to the glory of heaven.

As a pastor, I can feel the temptation to despair when people leave the church of God. When people decide to walk away from a church that is giving them the truth and join a church that is leading them away from the truth, that hurts. I shouldn’t take it personally but when I share the truth of God’s Word and his glorious plan of salvation, it hurts when people reject that. They ultimately are rejecting God but it doesn’t feel good when I wasn’t able to show them the truth of God. I know that the devil is powerful and I know that he gets his clutches into people but I want to do all I can to help people see that truth. I need the light of the gospel to renew my heart when it seems like darkness is winning.

Part 2: He has given us great joy to share

The light is truly shining in the darkness of this world and the darkness has not overcome the light. That is the miracle of Christmas. As it says at the end of our text, “The Word became flesh and dwelled among us. We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Our Savior lived among us. He is the power of God. He is the Word of God made flesh. He reveals the true glory. Even though that glory can be obscured in this sin darkened world, it is still there. He gives us grace and truth.

Grace is such a wonderful word. It is that love that we do not deserve. We have done nothing to earn God’s love. All the people that reject God are further evidence that people do not deserve God’s love. By nature, we would be like those people if it was not for the grace of God working in our hearts. His grace is his power to overcome our sinful hearts with the truth of the gospel. There is God’s truth in this world which tries to reject truth. Even if people reject it, there is the truth of Law and Gospel. We all have sinned and we can only be saved through Jesus.

We are blessed that God sends people to share this wonderful message. The text makes reference to John the Baptist. It says, “He came as an eyewitness to testify about the light so that everyone would believe through him.” John wanted people to see the true light. During his ministry, there were times that people thought he was the true Messiah and he had to remind them that he wasn’t. John wanted people to believe so that they would have forgiveness and eternal life.

All pastors want to point people to the light of the gospel. If that is not the goal of the pastor, there will be a problem with the message. As a pastor, one of my regular prayers is that people are led to the light of the gospel through my work. I love digging into Scripture and explaining God’s wonderful plan of salvation to others.

We have the wonderful privilege of sharing the joy of our Savior. Think about Mary on the first Christmas. She treasured what happened and pondered it in her heart. Take some time during your Christmas celebrations to truly ponder what happened. Our Savior came to earth to rescue us from sin and death. Think about the Shepherds. They joyously shared the good news. May we do the same. Help others to see the joy of forgiveness and salvation.

Conclusion

I certainly love the joy of presents. I love it when you can tell that someone truly appreciates what they have received. We have received the greatest present from God. We have received a Savior. Jesus took on human flesh so that he could live, die, and rise for us. Let’s appreciate this present always. Celebrate the joy. I encourage you to read through the Christmas gospel from Luke 2 and meditate upon the treasure just like Mary. Share the news like the Shepherds. Give thanks for our wonderful Savior.