1 John 4:9-11
This is the last Christmas blog for 2013. The year has passed so quickly. So we celebrate the greatest gift of mankind to the world Jesus Christ one more time today. I am thankful for all God has done in our family, church family, and our friends around the world. So lets look at how god's Gift to you is measured out in Usefulness, Cost, and Effectiveness.
God’s gift to you is measured by its USEFULNESS.
What is the usefulness of the gift to us? Notice in verse nine the usefulness of the gift. “…so we might live.” That little baby that God sent to us with the amazing story of the shepherds, angels, wise men, and everything that took place; makes this one of the most important dates of mankind…but the true message of why Jesus came he later shared with those who would listen.
Jesus said it this way:
"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10 (NKJV)
What a promise that is! Not just life – not just existence – but life which means something – life that has worth – abundant life. Each of us living a Life with a purpose; a life which has value; Life with meaning. A life that will have eternal consequences and benefits.
God has made you a SPECIAL PERSON for a SPECIAL PURPOSE
I can’t help myself I love Ephesians. “He chose us – actually picked us out for Himself as His own – in Christ before the foundation of the world; that we should be set apart for Him. . .” Ephesians 1:4 (AV)
You were specially created – hand crafted – uniquely make – for purpose of bringing glory to God.
FACT: I am here for THE GLORY OF GOD.
My purpose is to live a life that magnifies the Lord, to encourage and support fellow Christians, to become more like Christ, to use my gifts and talents in helping others, to tell those who don’t know Jesus that there is Good News. My purpose to bring glory to God in all I do and say. And when all is said and done I long to hear the words:
"Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord." Matthew 25:21 (NKJV)
You have brought Me glory – you have enlarged the kingdom of God – you have done well. God’s gift of salvation to us is useful. It gives us meaning and value. Our purpose is to bring glory to God.
God’s gift to you is measured by its COST.
One of the things all of us must do is give God our best. He doesn’t want our leftovers. He doesn’t want cheap stuff. He wants the best you and I can give Him.
“I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost [me] nothing.” 2 Samuel 24:24 (HCSB)
David said if he was going to give a sacrifice to the Lord he was going to give his best – something of value – something of worth. Why would David say that? Because that is what God has done for us. He has given us the most precious gift He could possibly give – something of worth – something of value – something that is one in a kind.
God’s gift to you is measured by its USEFULNESS.
What is the usefulness of the gift to us? Notice in verse nine the usefulness of the gift. “…so we might live.” That little baby that God sent to us with the amazing story of the shepherds, angels, wise men, and everything that took place; makes this one of the most important dates of mankind…but the true message of why Jesus came he later shared with those who would listen.
Jesus said it this way:
"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." John 10:10 (NKJV)
What a promise that is! Not just life – not just existence – but life which means something – life that has worth – abundant life. Each of us living a Life with a purpose; a life which has value; Life with meaning. A life that will have eternal consequences and benefits.
God has made you a SPECIAL PERSON for a SPECIAL PURPOSE
I can’t help myself I love Ephesians. “He chose us – actually picked us out for Himself as His own – in Christ before the foundation of the world; that we should be set apart for Him. . .” Ephesians 1:4 (AV)
You were specially created – hand crafted – uniquely make – for purpose of bringing glory to God.
FACT: I am here for THE GLORY OF GOD.
My purpose is to live a life that magnifies the Lord, to encourage and support fellow Christians, to become more like Christ, to use my gifts and talents in helping others, to tell those who don’t know Jesus that there is Good News. My purpose to bring glory to God in all I do and say. And when all is said and done I long to hear the words:
"Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord." Matthew 25:21 (NKJV)
You have brought Me glory – you have enlarged the kingdom of God – you have done well. God’s gift of salvation to us is useful. It gives us meaning and value. Our purpose is to bring glory to God.
God’s gift to you is measured by its COST.
One of the things all of us must do is give God our best. He doesn’t want our leftovers. He doesn’t want cheap stuff. He wants the best you and I can give Him.
“I will not offer to the Lord my God burnt offerings that cost [me] nothing.” 2 Samuel 24:24 (HCSB)
David said if he was going to give a sacrifice to the Lord he was going to give his best – something of value – something of worth. Why would David say that? Because that is what God has done for us. He has given us the most precious gift He could possibly give – something of worth – something of value – something that is one in a kind.
If Jesus and the kingdom of
God is so valuable, why doesn’t everybody do everything they can to be a part
of it?
What some people think are
valuable have no value at all to others. Years ago I used to heat our house
with wood. Every fall I would go out and cut wood with my dad. I never liked
cutting wood because it was a lot of back breaking work but I liked the price
of free heat.
My dad was one of these avid
wood burners and he would get wood scraps from a store that made duck decoys in
town. They made beautiful hand carved bird decoys and animal decoys out of
wood. Every decoy cost between 50 to 250 bucks. Their shop was in Cloquet so
every couple of weeks he would stop in and pick up their leftover wood scraps
to burn in his wood burner. Right before Thanksgiving one year he stopped in to
pick up a load of scraps. He walked in the front door and told them he was
there to pick up the wood. The man wheeled out two bins like usual to the
loading doors and helped him load them in the truck. Usually the wood was just
chunks of pine but this time they looked like decoys. He asked him if he was
sure that he was giving him the right wood because they were unpainted decoys.
He noticed that they had a few cracks in them so he figured they were throwing
them away because of the cracks. My dad took the carts home to unload and noticed
the wood burner was low so he grabbed a handful of decoys and threw them in the
furnace. After work he had enough time to bring back the carts before they closed
for the long weekend. When he pulled up in his truck two men ran out of the
building and demanded that he bring back the decoys. With urgency in his voice
he told my dad that he had taken their entire inventory of Christmas decoys
worth tens of thousands of dollars by mistake. The dad pointed at the guy who
gave the decoys to him and he just stood there like deer in the headlights look
and walked back into the building. Then the manager said do you still have them
because they are incredibly valuable. Each decoy had taken them over a week to
make and they needed to get them back. Rather stunned my dad told them that he
had burned a few of them but would bring the rest back. Then he went home and
carefully loaded a few hundred decoys back into the bins and brought them back.
Value is often in the eye of
the beholder. The decoys had no value when they were just scraps. But when they
became decoys they were worth tens of thousands of dollars.
When God began to lay out his plan 100’s of years before
Jesus actually was born he was laying out something special. He was giving us
his best. Some who heard the prophesies just set them aside as not valuable.
But for those who took notice; quickly realized that God was going to send his
son as a baby so that all mankind would be saved. They kept the hope that man
would take notice that the king of kings and lord of lords was here. Value to
us is that God did all this with an amazing amount of love that we can’t
comprehend. Look
at verse ten.
"This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice…"
God knew what had to be done. He knew what price had to be paid. He knew what it was going to cost Him and He sent the best for you and me. He sent Jesus Christ – born as a child for the salvation of the world. If He gave that much to me – what should I give Him?
FACT: God’s gift to me is VALUABLE.
"This is the kind of love we are talking about—not that we once upon a time loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice…"
God knew what had to be done. He knew what price had to be paid. He knew what it was going to cost Him and He sent the best for you and me. He sent Jesus Christ – born as a child for the salvation of the world. If He gave that much to me – what should I give Him?
FACT: God’s gift to me is VALUABLE.
God’s
present to you is measured by its EFFECTIVENESS.
If I get a toaster for Christmas I expect it to make toast. If I get a coffee machine I expect it to make coffee. If I get a hair curler, well I’ll save it for re-gifting. But the question that needs to be asked is: Is it effective. Does it do what it was intended to do?
What is the love of God intended to do? CHANGE YOU.
If we look at these three verses again – to me they seem almost like a mathematical formula. 1+1=2. God’s formula is real simple: “God’s gift is useful PLUS God’s gift is valuable: EQUALS we ought to love one another.”
Verse eleven says this: “If God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other.”
“Ought” sounds like a suggestion - but it’s not. It’s not just some suggestion that God is making to us. The Greek word for “ought” could be translated “MUST”. The root word actually means – to owe something. You owe a payment – you are under obligation – you must pay it back! Today’s buzz words are “Pay it forward.” How are you paying it forward in the arena of loving others? Let me restate the last part of verse eleven again.
“If God loved us like this, we certainly must love each other.”
Why? Because God is not done loving the world yet? He wants to keep loving the world – through you and through me. Ever thought why we celebrate Christmas other than tradition and you get days off from work? Jesus said it this way:
"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16 (NKJV)
Remember that illustration last week of the giraffe? God is kicking us off our feet so we remember to get up and live in His love. Jesus said love God and Love others as ourselves.
If I get a toaster for Christmas I expect it to make toast. If I get a coffee machine I expect it to make coffee. If I get a hair curler, well I’ll save it for re-gifting. But the question that needs to be asked is: Is it effective. Does it do what it was intended to do?
What is the love of God intended to do? CHANGE YOU.
If we look at these three verses again – to me they seem almost like a mathematical formula. 1+1=2. God’s formula is real simple: “God’s gift is useful PLUS God’s gift is valuable: EQUALS we ought to love one another.”
Verse eleven says this: “If God loved us like this, we certainly ought to love each other.”
“Ought” sounds like a suggestion - but it’s not. It’s not just some suggestion that God is making to us. The Greek word for “ought” could be translated “MUST”. The root word actually means – to owe something. You owe a payment – you are under obligation – you must pay it back! Today’s buzz words are “Pay it forward.” How are you paying it forward in the arena of loving others? Let me restate the last part of verse eleven again.
“If God loved us like this, we certainly must love each other.”
Why? Because God is not done loving the world yet? He wants to keep loving the world – through you and through me. Ever thought why we celebrate Christmas other than tradition and you get days off from work? Jesus said it this way:
"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16 (NKJV)
Remember that illustration last week of the giraffe? God is kicking us off our feet so we remember to get up and live in His love. Jesus said love God and Love others as ourselves.
Can I ask you the question?
Does God’s love
change you?
Does it affect
your behavior as well?
Does it affect the
way you treat people?
That is what love is intended to do. It doesn’t make
toast – it doesn’t make coffee – it changes us into loving compassionate people
who care for the needs of those who around us. Do you know why I believe God is
pleased with us as the body of Christ here at CFW? Because we loved and did
what Christ asked us to do?
James 1:27 “Religion that
God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and
widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”
God wants to love the world – but He has a desire to do that through you. Are you willing to let God show His love through you?
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