The Gift From God

2Corinthians 9:15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

I remember one year as a child; all I wanted for Christmas was the new Atari 5200 game console. It was going to be the latest and best video game system ever! I remember setting my sights on it early and begging my parents for it. I remember unwrapping it and the sureness I felt in my soul that my life was now complete or at least it would be when I bought some games for it!

And I played the Atari system. I wore it out. At least for about a year. Then the novelty wore off. The games were all over played and the newer system, ColecoVision was the latest and best game system on the market. What my whole world revolved around one Christmas became obsolete by the following Christmas. That is the nature of temporal gifts. That is the value of what we get from the world. The sweater we loved last year is now out of style, or faded. The new computer we just brought home becomes archaic by the time we hook it up. Even the fancy Lexus with a bow on it (does anyone really get that for Christmas?) will be surpassed by newer models in the very-near future. Yet this is what we seem to place value on in our lives. Jesus warned us about just this problem:

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6: 19-21

Those designer jeans we just have to have will go the way of the moth. That brand new car will rust with time. Temporal gifts simply do not last. So when we place too much value on them, we are inevitably disappointed when their value changes, they become out dated, or as the scripture says, thieves break in and steal them. These verses from Matthew represent a heart issue. The theology of the world says "he who dies with the most toys wins" but the reality is very clear in the Bible:

Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases; for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him. Though while he lived he counted himself blessed-- and men praise you when you prosper- he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of life. A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish. Psalm 49: 16-20

He who dies with the most toys does not get to take any with him AND he is still dead. When he dies, all of the temporal possessions he valued so much in life are stripped away. Prosperity has been so confused in the modern American church. It has been blurred with the things of this world. Prosperity doctrine has taken so many captive with the notion that the blessings of God are temporal in nature. While it is true that God does prosper us materially within the confines of this world, the true gift of God this Christmas season and every season that preceded and is to come, is eternal in nature. Christmas has taken on a far worldlier slant than it should. Materialism and greed permeate the holiday reserved for the day when God delivered unto us the greatest gift we can ever receive in His only son Jesus Christ:

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

Shall not perish but have eternal life. We speak often about the eternal life side of this equation but tend to veer away from the perishing side. Perhaps because it makes us feel uncomfortable. Just like there is a heaven to gain beloved, there is a hell to shun. There is a hell to avoid. The enemy likes to distract us with the things of this world to get our focus off of God and the eternal. But realize this Christmas the true nature of this life we live on earth:

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. James 4:13-14 (NKJV)

Our life here is but a vapor. Here today and gone tomorrow. These verses speak the truth though about how we approach our lives sometimes. We approach it with reckless abandon, assuming we have tomorrow. But tomorrow is promised to no one we have no idea what will happen tomorrow. The question is what happens to us after the vapor is up? Let's not sugar coat the choices. Eternal life or eternal damnation. There is no third choice. Your name will either be found in the Lamb's Book of Life, or it will not. And how exactly does the Bible refer to hell?

• "Shame and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2)
• "Everlasting punishment" (Matthew 25:46)
• "Weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 24:51)
• "Fire unquenchable" (Luke 3:17)
• "Indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish" (Romans 2:8,9)
• "Everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord" (2 Thessalonians 1:9)
• "Eternal fire...the blackness of darkness for ever" (Jude 7,13)

It is eternal separation from God. Some scoff at this and question what kind of God would consign people to such suffering but what gets lost in that flawed logic is that God does not choose to send anyone to hell. People make their choices. We have to decide if we believe in God and His son Jesus Christ or not. The Gospel of Luke tells a story of a man who placed all of his value in the material possessions of this world, while a poor man named Lazarus would beg at his gates. The Bible says the rich man lived in luxury every day while the dogs licked the open sores of Lazarus. When both die, Lazarus was being comforted in heaven and here was the plight of the man who valued the temporal over the eternal, who did not consider his final destination:

In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' Luke 16: 23-24

Torment and agony. I know these are never pleasant things to discuss but one must realize what the eternal stakes are. We can put off making our decision for Christ only to find out as the rich fool did, that our life will be required of us tonight. Time and life on this planet are fleeting.

For those who are believers it is equally important that we remember exactly what we have been given by God. Even if God chose to give me nothing else the rest of this life, He has given me more than I could have asked for or deserved by promising the next life unto me. The world will purposefully blur the lines together. They will say that there are many paths to heaven but the Bible says:

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

There is no wiggle room in this statement. NONE come to the Father except through the Son. The world will say we all serve the same God. That is equally untrue. There is only one true God and He is a jealous God. Don't want to believe it? Just look at the first commandment:

"You shall have no other gods before me. Exodus 20:3

And the pursuit of the luxuries of this world can become a god before us. I am not suggesting that we are meant to be poor and uncomfortable but that we are to have God first in our lives. God does not fade with time. He does not become passé. Unlike the Atari 5200, He will have the same value next Christmas eternal. Ecclesiastes teaches us:

I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve,        everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. Ecclesiastes 2: 10-11

Yet there we can find ourselves and our loved ones. Chasing after the wind; gaining nothing under the sun. Money gets spent. Fame is fleeting. Power is lost. We can fool ourselves into thinking we are just seeing the reward for our labor and deny ourselves nothing in this world but in the end; we will be left with nothing. History is littered with people we no longer remember. People who lived important enough lives during the time they walked the earth. Maybe they are recalled for a generation or two. Maybe they have a statue somewhere so people can be reminded. The one constant is that this world always moves on. The constant beyond this world is that God never changes.

So as we settle down this season to Christmas dinner, let us reflect on the words of the Apostle Paul when he tried to articulate the gift he had received from God. From our key verse we see it is indescribable to Paul. That is because the gift of Jesus Christ for those who believe is eternal life. Not some time in the future but right now. There is freedom in Christ. Freedom to live this life as part of our eternal life. Freedom from sin and the accompanying guilt and shame. When God does something, He does it completely. The gift we have transcends all time.

The gift of God is Jesus Christ and through Christ we have forgiveness of sins. God heals us from our past:

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, - Acts 3:19

Wiped out! There is no reason to be stuck in your past once you turn it over to God. Likewise, there is no reason to be concerned about the present. God is an ever present help in time of need. He sticks closer than a brother. The gift of God is Jesus Christ and through Christ there is NOTHING this world can throw at us that we cannot handle:

David said about him:" 'I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Acts 2: 25

The world will try to shake you at every turn. The enemy will whisper anxiety and doubt into your life. The world will tell you that you are depressed or somehow insignificant. God however has your present covered beloved. The Bible says you are fearfully and wonderfully made. There is no reason to be shaken by this world ever because the gift of God is always at your right hand. That gift is Jesus Christ and through Christ we know that by faith, God has already prepared a future for us:

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11

What would you give for absolution from your past, security in your present and a guarantee for your future? How would you like to open that this Christmas; knowing in confidence that it will not fade with time and that no one can steal it from you? That is the indescribable gift that God wants to give all who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have loved ones that need this gift, share it this season. If you find yourself unsure of your standing with God this Christmas then this is your gift from Him. Open it today by simply asking Him into your heart. There is healing from your past. There is confidence in your present. There is hope for your future. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift indeed!

Reverend Anthony Wade Merry Christmas, 2009.