The Real Message of Christmas: Supernatural Peace that Transcends Circumstances

The following message from Pastor Greg Laurie is made possible by some special friends of this ministry. Pastor Greg? I wanted to say a special word of thanks to the Harvest Partners who make this ministry possible.

Next time you're online, check out Pastor Greg's personal blog at blog.GregLaurie.com. Remember the message of the angels to the shepherds? They said, glory to God on the highest and peace on earth.

And we look around and we're thinking, uh, what happened here? Where's the peace? 2020 has been anything but peaceful and tranquil. Today Pastor Greg Laurie says, believers can have a supernatural peace that transcends circumstances. But before you can have the peace of God, you must have peace with God.

See, when your life is well pleasing to God, you'll have peace. Well, just a few more days left in this tumultuous year. How many of us have wished there was a fast forward button on the calendar? But there's a treatment for the anxiety we've all been feeling, especially here at Christmas time. Today on A New Beginning, Pastor Greg Laurie points out that the antidote for holiday stress is actually built into the reason for the holiday.

You see, the real meaning of Christmas offers hope for the next few days, and it offers hope for all of eternity. Lights on houses. How many of you put Christmas lights on your home?

Raise your hand up. How many of you don't? Scrooges, come on. I have lights all over my house, and I don't just have lights. I have those really, really bright ones. What are those called, Kathy?

What are they called? LED. I have LED lights.

So they're even a little brighter, and I have a manger scene, too, because we have to remember what it's all about, right? How many of you have Christmas trees at home? You have a Christmas tree? How many of you are against Christmas trees? You think they're evil? Just go home now. Okay, just go home.

Yeah, well, there's the telltale signs. It's Christmas. Lights everywhere. Christmas trees on the tops of cars. Christmas songs playing everywhere.

You've got to love hearing the name of Jesus being sung at the mall and wherever you go, right? Along with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and I Saw Mama Kissing Santa Claus and all the rest. And then there are the other signs of Christmas.

People assaulting each other at Walmart on Black Friday. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas, right? And maybe you're dropping hints right now to your spouse or your parents what you want for Christmas. I heard about a little boy. He was five years old. He decided to write a letter to God and tell him what he wanted for Christmas. So he started out his note.

Dear God, I have been good for six months now. And he thought about it and crossed out six and wrote three. Then he thought about it a little bit longer and crossed out three months and put five weeks. Then he crossed that out and he walked over to the little nativity scene in his front room and grabbed the little figurine of Mary. He came back, sat it down next to him and wrote, Dear God, if you ever want to see your mother again. You know we will be talking a lot in the days ahead about where Jesus came. We know he came to planet earth. We know he came to the little town of Bethlehem. But let's just think for a few moments why he came. Why did Jesus come?

Number one. Jesus was born in a stable to save us from our sin. Jesus was born in a stable to save us from our sin. The Bible tells the story of a little dude named Zacchaeus. And he was a tax collector.

And that was not a popular profession then or now. But especially then because if you collected taxes for Rome as a Jewish man, which Zacchaeus was. That meant effectively you were a traitor. A turncoat. You would be perceived as a backslider by your fellow Jews. And so it was bad enough to collect taxes for this occupying power of Rome.

But to make matters worse tax collectors often collected a little bit more for their own pocket. So imagine his shock when Jesus shows up in town. Zacchaeus being a small guy climbs up in a tree and he is looking at Jesus. And by the way you can see things more clearly when you are up a little bit. Like you guys in the balcony can see.

And when you are in a tree you see things. I have five grandchildren. And one of them is named Ali. And the other is named Christopher.

Two of the five. So Christopher got upset about something one day. And ran out of the house and climbed up a tree.

And Ali who is his protector was very concerned. And she ran out and yelled up to him, Christopher, Christopher come down. I don't want you to become a tree boy. I don't even know what a tree boy is.

But Ali was concerned that Christopher was about to become one. Well Zacchaeus. He was a tree boy if you will. Up in that tree. So here comes this crowd around Jesus. Everywhere Jesus went there were people pushing, pulling, grabbing, asking him for something. And as he is walking through he suddenly stops and looks up. And sees little Zacchaeus in the tree and says, Zacchaeus come down from that tree because I am coming over to your house for lunch today.

Zacchaeus couldn't believe his ears. He came down. He went to his house. He prepared a beautiful meal for the Lord.

The whole town basically was standing outside of the house. And Zacchaeus is like, what is going on in there? Why would Jesus even hang around with a guy like Zacchaeus? Doesn't Jesus know that he is a sinful man?

Exactly. Jesus knew it well. And after they emerged from that house Zacchaeus had put his faith in Christ. And the Lord said, salvation has come to this house today. So everything changes when you invite Jesus into your home. And I wonder if he is welcome in your home right now. One of the easiest times to forget Jesus is during the Christmas celebration. With all of the rushing about and events that you attend.

And you can forget all about why he came. And I want to just tell you right now. If you want to Merry Christmas this year. If you want a happy Christmas this year. Make it more about giving than receiving. You know studies have been done that have revealed that people who give are happier than people who don't give. So engage in an act of generosity for somebody in need. Help somebody that is hurting. I hear there is a ten step response to depression. Ten things you should do if you don't want to be depressed. Number one. Do something for someone who is less fortunate than you. Number two.

Repeat step number one nine more times. Right? Make your Christmas more about giving than receiving. And make your Christmas more about his presence in your life than the presence under the tree. I bet most of us here can't even remember what we received last Christmas.

Much less the Christmas before. And I have discovered that the greatest moments of the holidays aren't the ones we get all built up in our minds like Christmas morning. But rather the in between moments.

Moments like right now. Where you said let's go to church and let's worship the Lord. And you took time to do this so enjoy those simple moments of worship. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment.

Whenever you send us a letter, an email, or post a comment on social media, we read every word. Dear Harvest Christian Fellowship, 24 years ago I lost my three children in a divorce. Not knowing the Lord I was as hurt as an active everyday parent whose kids had just been taken away from him can possibly be. I'm an avid radio listener and accidentally turned my dial to a Christian radio station.

I was unaware of this type of broadcasting at that time. I heard Pastor Greg explain God's word day after day for months in a soothing and loving way. He explained the God of second chances. Perhaps more than any other radio preacher it was Pastor Greg who led me to drop to my knees and receive Christ as my Savior July 12, 1997.

This is a long overdue thank you. God's best to you all. As we present a timely message called, The Real Message of Christmas. Number two, Jesus was born in Bethlehem so we would become the friends of God. Jesus was born in Bethlehem so we would become the friends of God. Romans 5 says God has shown us great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

And since we've been made right in God's sight by the blood of Christ, He'll save us from condemnation. And we have friendship with God through the death of His Son. Listen, the birth of Jesus was so there would be the death of Jesus. The incarnation was for the purpose of the atonement. He was born to die that we might live. The Son of God was born so we might be born again.

The Son of God left His home in heaven so we would have a home in heaven. And think about this, friendship with God. Talk about friends in high places, right? Friendship with God.

I mean you may revere God and you should, everyone should have reverence and respect for God. But He actually wants to enter into a friendship with you. And what is a friend? A friend is someone you can be truthful with. A friend is someone that you can open your heart to.

A friend is someone who stabs you in the front, not in the back, right? They'll tell you the truth. They're there for you. They're with you through thick and thin.

But sometimes we make our relationship with God too formal. My best friend is here tonight. She's seated in the front row. She's also my prettiest friend. My wife Kathy is here.

And we don't have a formal relationship. I don't get up in the morning and say, Oh blessed wife, how art thou? I beseech thee, make me something that I might fill my stomach. No, I just say, hungry. Or probably what I'll say before that is, must have coffee now, right?

So you know friends can talk to each other in shorthand. True friends are always there for you. How do you enter into this friendship with God? And then we have peace with God. Peace with God. That's what that verse says. And remember the message of the angels to the shepherds? It said glory to God on the highest and peace on earth.

And we look around and we're thinking, uh, what happened here? Where's the peace? Seems like the only time we have peace on earth is when we pause to reload, right?

There's all the conflicts and wars in the world today. But a better translation of that statement of the angels would be, Glory to God on the highest and peace on earth among men with whom God is well pleased. See when your life is well pleasing to God you'll have peace. But before you can have the peace of God you must have peace with God.

And here's the problem. If we don't believe in Jesus we're effectively the enemy of God. We're at war with God.

That comes as a shock to some people. Because let's say well I believe in the man upstairs and the good Lord and whatever. But you are at war with God because of your sin that separates you from him. I remember when I heard the words, Jesus said you're for me or against me. And I looked around at the other Christians that were at that little meeting I was attending as a non-believer. And I thought well I'm not one of them.

Does that mean that I'm against him? Well I didn't want to be at war with God. And that was the day I believed in Jesus.

And I remember that I felt like a huge weight was lifted off of my shoulders. And for the first time in my life I found that peace that God promises for myself personally. And Jesus also came number three to give us life in all of its fullness. Jesus said I have come that you might have life and that more abundantly. He has the meaning of life. You know medical science seeks to add years to our life. But only Christ can add life to your years and give you a life that is worth living.

So you can live life to its fullest in a relationship with the Lord. Now in a few moments we are going to go outside. We are going to have fun. We are going to eat fattening things and watch a tree light up and it will be a blast. But before we do that I want to just close with this.

Some of you maybe are visiting here tonight and some of you are watching. And we are talking about this relationship with God. And you may not have this relationship right now. In fact you find yourself very lonely and sad this time of the year. Depression rates go up during Christmas. And there are a lot of reasons for that. One reason is sometimes a loved one who was with us last year is not with us this year. Sometimes it is problems at home. Problems with your family. Maybe a broken marriage. Problems with your parents. Problems with your kids. Or just problems with life in general.

And you are despondent and you are sad. And don't miss the real reason of Christmas. Jesus wasn't born in the major so we could go shopping and overextend ourselves financially.

He was born so you could have this relationship with Him. The message is Immanuel which means God is with us. You don't have to be alone in this Christmas season. You can have Jesus Christ who was born in the manger and died on the cross and rose from the dead living in your heart as your Savior and Lord. One of the things I love about Christmas carols is a lot of them have a lot of gospel in them. And one of them, Heart the Herald Angels Sing, has the lyrics, Let every heart prepare him room. So you have to prepare room in your heart for Jesus. You have to say, Lord come into my life. Listen to this. And kids listen to me. I know there are some kids here.

You can believe in Jesus tonight. And maybe you are just a little kid and you are saying, well I don't know am I too young? I remember talking to Dr. James Dobson some years ago. And I said, Dr. Dobson when did you become a Christian? He said, when I was four years old. I was like, what? Really? That's it?

Yes. I was a sinful person. At four? And that is the time he believed in Christ.

And that is the day he marks as his conversion. You can come to Jesus as a four year old. As a fourteen year old. As a forty four year old. As an eighty four year old.

Whatever age. But everybody needs Jesus. And I would like to give you an opportunity to believe in him. We are going to go look at a Christmas tree. You want to know what God's Christmas tree really is?

It is not covered in lights. It was the cross. The Bible says, cursed is every man that hangs on a tree. Jesus died on the cross for our sin. He took the judgment that should have come upon us. Upon himself.

That is the real tree. And that is what we celebrate because that is why Jesus came. We are going to pray right now. And if there is anybody here that needs Jesus in their life. Or maybe they have fallen away from him.

And you want to come back to him. This would be the perfect time to do that. So let's pray. Father thank you for your love for us. Thank you for sending Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.

After he was born in the manger in Bethlehem. Now I pray for every person here. And every person that is watching wherever they may be.

If they don't know you yet. May this be the night they believe. May this be the night where they pass from darkness to light. The night where they change their eternal address from hell to heaven. The night when they turn from a life of misery and emptiness. To a life of purpose and fulfillment.

A life with Jesus. We pray you will speak to those that don't know you. And bring them to yourself. In your name I pray. Amen. Pastor Greg Laurie with an important word of prayer. And if you know you need to make a change today in your relationship with the Lord. Pastor Greg will come back to help you do that in just a moment. Before today's edition of A New Beginning concludes.

So please stay with us. Now if you had any interruptions in the last half hour. And weren't able to hear this whole presentation. You can catch up by listening online at harvest.org.

Just look for the study called The Real Message of Christmas. And you can order a CD copy by calling 1-800-821-3300. We can take your call anytime 24 7 at 1-800-821-3300. You know Pastor Greg a number of years ago we lived in a rural area. And our house was set back away from the road with a very long driveway. And I used to have to take the trash can out once a week. And you know it seemed like that driveway got longer every week. And that trash can got heavier every week. Well 2020 has sort of felt to me like I've been carrying a heavy trash can on a never ending driveway. But the thing is once you empty the can it feels like a reset. You know it's no longer overflowing and smelly. As we approach January 1st it's a good time to reset. And get an infusion of hope about what's coming up in a fresh new year. Yes.

Oh boy. You know we're all hoping 2021 is better than 2020 right? But it's all in God's hands.

But here's the thing. There have been a lot of setbacks and hardships in 2020. And sadly lives that have been lost in this pandemic that swept our nation. And of course I myself got COVID-19 and came through it thankfully.

And I'm in good health now so I give God the glory for that. But it's been hard times for our nation. A lot of restrictions. A lot of difficulties. A lot of challenges. But yet it's been a glorious time as well.

Sort of reminds me of the book A Tale of Two Cities with the opening line. It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

Yeah it was the worst of times. But we had some good times too because this has been one of the most fruitful years in the history of Harvest Ministries. And seeing people come to Christ. Because there's so much uncertainty. Because of the political season that we've come through. Because of the anarchy and chaos in our streets.

And of course the pandemic. A lot of people despondent, searching, hurting, needing answers. And that's where we step in.

Because listen. Here at Harvest Ministries we distribute hope. And we do so for free.

We give hope for free. Because people are looking for hope. And they're looking for purpose. And they're looking for perspective.

And I think deep down inside they're looking for God. And as we've shared with our listeners many times now. This was a banner year for us with our outreach ministry that we call Harvest at Home. We saw over 100,000 people come to Christ. And thousands more came to faith after watching our special cinematic crusade that we did called A Rush of Hope.

So we're thankful for that. And now we want to encourage our listeners to help us finish this year strong with a financial gift. And as a way of saying thanks to you, I want to send you a copy of a brand new resource called A Rush of Hope.

You saw it online most likely. Now you can own your own beautiful DVD copy that you can show wherever you want, whenever you want, to whoever you want. And this special DVD that we're offering, A Rush of Hope, also has some special added features like a little booklet. You can call it an evangelistic track with the title, Life's Most Important Questions That You Could Give to Someone to Read. There's also a little flyer in here telling you how to host a watch party.

And show A Rush of Hope in your front room, in your backyard, or wherever you want as an outreach to people that are in your family or in your neighborhood. There's also a special digital download code we will provide for you. What that means is you'll have the DVD to show to whoever you want to show it to, but you can download it to your phone.

You can download it to your tablet device or to your computer and then watch it or show it whenever you want. Carry it around with you even. And you can have an evangelistic crusade in your pocket. So we want to send this special copy of A Rush of Hope to you for your gift of any size to help us finish 2020 strong. And let me say in advance, thanks so much for believing in this ministry. Thanks for investing in this ministry. And my hope and prayer is that some of you might become partners with us for the next year. Because when you partner with us, it enables us to reach even more people.

Yeah, that's right. And so we hope you'll ask about becoming a Harvest Partner when you contact us. And with your first gift as a Harvest Partner, we'll thank you with a copy of the DVD of A Rush of Hope along with all the extras Pastor Greg mentioned. So write us at A New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514. Or call 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300.

Or go online to harvest.org. And then Pastor Greg, just before we go, would you mind praying with the person listening who wants to make a change today in their relationship with the Lord? I'd be happy to, Dave. You know, as you've been listening to this today, maybe you've heard another voice. By that I mean, yeah, you heard me say a few things, but you heard God's voice speak to you deep in the recesses of your heart. And it suddenly dawned on you, this is what I need. Or to state it more accurately, this is who I need. I need Jesus, and I want Jesus.

But maybe you don't know how to make that connection. Let me help you. Pray this after me right now if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life. Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I am sorry for my sin, and I need your forgiveness right now. Would you come into my heart and my life as Savior, as God, as friend?

I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Thank you for calling me, and accepting me, and forgiving me. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. I know that was a relatively short prayer. Maybe you felt something as you prayed it, maybe you felt nothing. That doesn't really matter, because God's word says these things we write to you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. It doesn't say, so you may think you have it, or you may hope you have it if God's in a good mood.

No, that you can know it. And I want you to know, if you prayed that prayer and meant it, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has come into your life. So congratulations, you're now a Christian. Now continue to follow the Lord. And to help you as you follow the Lord, we'd like to send you some resource materials we call our New Believers' Growth Packet.

It'll answer many of the questions you might have, and get you started in your new relationship with the Lord. So contact us and ask for it. We'll send it free of charge. Again, it's the New Believers' Growth Packet. Write a New Beginning, Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514, or call 1-800-821-3300.

We're here around the clock, seven days a week. That's at 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to harvest.org and click Know God. Well, next time, Pastor Greg helps us examine the surprisingly checkered earthly family tree of Jesus, and how Jesus reaches beyond earthly imperfections to offer His grace and mercy. Join us next time for A New Beginning. The preceding message from Greg Laurie was made possible by Harvest Partners, helping people everywhere know God. Sign up for Pastor Greg's free daily email devotions at harvest.org.