Welcome to a special Christmas Day edition of Connect with Skip Heitzig.
We're so glad you've joined us for today's program, Christmas Island. Connect with Skip Heitzig is all about connecting you to the never-changing truth of God's Word through verse-by-verse teaching. That's why we make messages like this one today available to you and others. Before we get started with the program, we want to invite you to check out connectwithskip.com. There you'll find resources like full message series, daily devotional, and more. While you're at it, be sure to sign up for Skip's daily devotional emails and receive teaching from God's Word right in your inbox each day. Sign up today at connectwithskip.com.
That's connectwithskip.com. Now let's get started with today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig. It measures nine miles by 12 miles. Why is it called Christmas Island? It's filled with palm trees, not pine trees. It's because in 1634, it was discovered on Christmas Day. It's a beautiful spot. Only 1400 people live on this island. That's because 60% of this island is a national park.
Beautiful beaches, lots of palm trees, and I hear excellent surfing. That's Christmas Island. What season of the year do you figure is the most popular time to visit Christmas Island? It's not Christmas.
That was sort of a trick question. It's actually the beginning of November when there's this migration of a special red crab found only in that part of the world. By now, the name would have been changed from Christmas Island to probably, oh, I don't know, Holiday Island.
Because that would be so much more politically correct. I got a Christmas card this year that I share the front of it with you. Top 10 politically correct Christmas carols. Number 10, oh holiday tree. Number nine, have yourself a merry little day of winter. Number eight, Frosty the snow person. Number seven, chestnuts roasting on a safely contained continuously monitored eco-friendly non-toxic outdoor fire for which I do have a permit. Number six, God rest ye merry, oh excuse me, higher power rest ye merry gentlemen. Number five, grandma allegedly got run over by an unidentified non-human perpetrator. Number four, deck the halls with boughs of unendangered foliage. Number three, hark, the herald mythical winged creature sings. Number two, I saw mommy greeting Santa Claus with a purely platonic expression of inoffensive mutual affection. And number one, of the top 10 politically correct Christmas carols, I'll be home for a short period of time in December.
I'll be with you tonight. To Christmas Island. Not filled with palm trees, not the beautiful view of the ocean, not nice fancy hotels, no. This is an island of paradoxical wonder. This is a smelly place.
This is a very poor place. This is a town in the outskirts and the backwash of the Roman Empire that maybe had 300 people when Jesus was born in it, and that's Bethlehem. And I'm convinced nobody in Bethlehem ever thought anyone would ever write a song about Bethlehem. It was just this insignificant place, but that's the place, the island if you will, that when God entered humanity, that's the place that he came.
And why is that? Of all the places for Jesus to be born, why is that? Well I want to tell you a little bit about that tonight. I want you to come tonight to Christmas Island. This one, the original one. And hopefully before the night's over, you're gonna come to Jesus Christ if you don't know him already.
I'm gonna give you an opportunity for you to do exactly that this evening. Now you know, when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, there were kids being born all over the Roman Empire. There were kids being born in Jerusalem. There were kids, no doubt, even being born in Bethlehem.
But nobody was being born in a stable, in a cave, in this kind of abject poverty and alienation like Jesus. So why this place? Why this island? Why a place of barrenness and starkness? Why not an island of opulence and royalty like in Rome?
Why is that? Well, I think the answer lies in the description of Christmas Island. Humility in an ocean of pride. An island of humility in an ocean of pride. When Jesus was born, the world was filled with pretty big egos. Some in Jerusalem and some in Rome.
Swollen heads of prideful people who wanted people to notice them. And so we read in Luke's Gospel chapter two. A decree, this is a mandate, a law, went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
The census first took place while Carinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, every one to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem because he was of the house and lineage of David. He was with his wife, Mary, who was with child. And so it was while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the end. There's the mention of Caesar Augustus, which means the revered one. And there's the mention also of Herod in our text.
That I was talking about. In contrast to them, what could be more humble than a frail, helpless infant in a cave outside of Bethlehem? This is how Paul explains it in his writings. He made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.
He was an island of humility and an ocean of pride. We read here that in verse seven, she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger. Have you ever asked yourself why that is there in the Bible text? Why the author feels it important to mention that Jesus had cloths around him at birth?
Here's the reason why. Because it was normal. It was what every Jewish mother in poverty did for her son or daughter when they were born. They would wrap the arms separately from the legs and then the body together almost like a cocoon so that the bones would grow straight and the baby would keep warm.
It's just the normal way of giving birth. And the author, Luke, wants us to know that's how Jesus was born in a very humble manner. Far from the way Caesar would have had his son born. His son would have been laid in a bed of gold, would have had the best doctors attending to him, would have had satin on the bed of gold. He would have hidden robes and blankets for his son. But when God put his son into the world, it was in humility.
On this island of humility and an ocean of pride. Now it's Christmas time and no doubt you may get a gift or two that is elaborately wrapped, beautifully wrapped. In fact, you might even get a gift that the wrapping is even better than what's inside. If you're a guy, it's a great thing. And by the way, ladies, forget wrapping really elaborate presents for your male, your husband, or your boyfriend, or your son. Men, if you've ever watched them open presents, they don't do it with great finesse. It's just like whatever. What is it?
Not very elaborate at all. Well, when Jesus comes into the world, he comes in the way he was predicted that he would come in. In poverty, in humility, as the scripture says, he will be despised and rejected among men. Even when Jesus died, he was placed in a borrowed tomb. And here he is born in a cave. And yet, here's the paradox of this island. The prophet Isaiah in chapter nine describes this baby this way.
He's a counselor, mighty God, everlasting father. That's the paradox. Here, the originator of human life is confined to a womb. The one who put it all into existence is born this way. God as an embryo and then a fetus and then a baby and then a toddler and then a teenager and then an adult. In this segment, he writes, imagine for a moment becoming a baby again.
Okay, that's hard for us to do. But imagine becoming a baby again, giving up language, giving up muscle coordination, giving up the ability to eat solid food and control your bladder. God as a fetus, or imagine yourself becoming a sea slug. That analogy is probably closer. On that day in Bethlehem, the maker of all that is.
took on the form of a helpless, dependent newborn. You're listening to a special Christmas edition of Connect with Skip Heitzig. Before we get back to Skip's teaching, in order to connect even more people with Jesus in the year ahead, Connect with Skip Heitzig needs to meet a financial goal by December 31. And we're asking for your help to meet this goal in full, so that together in 2025, we can reach more people with gospel centered teaching and resources that connect them with the God who loves them. Finishing this year on solid financial footing will mean that Connect with Skip Heitzig can grow current efforts and say yes to new opportunities in the coming year to expand to new stations, new countries, and new technologies, all with the goal of sharing the good news of Jesus with more people around the world. Your gift today will have an eternal impact on many lives. So go to connectwithskip.com slash give or call 800-922-1888 and give a tax deductible year end gift to help connect more people with Jesus in the year ahead.
Let's continue with today's teaching with Pastor Skip. Let me describe the island further to you Christmas Island. This is an island of exile in an ocean of unbelief. An island of exile in an ocean of unbelief. The scene of Jesus' birth that we are so familiar with and that we read practically every Christmas shows the attitude that the world has had, does have, and will have toward Jesus.
It says there was no room in the inn, and you know what? There's simply, in this world, no room for Jesus. The Bible says he came to his own, and his own what?
Received him not. They didn't want anything to do with him. From birth, Jesus was exiled. From birth, Jesus was marginalized.
From birth, he couldn't join the mainstream. They had to put him out in a cave. And that would be his life. He would grow up and he would be scorned and scoffed at and marginalized, and eventually, he would be crucified. And eventually, he would be crucified.
Now this spoke of what his life would be. Jesus himself, we'll put it this way, if the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. The world, at its core, hates the true Jesus Christ. I read an article, it was in Hong Kong, about a group of college university students getting a petition together to stop Christmas celebrations in China and in Hong Kong. Throughout the country, they wanted the Chinese to resist, get this, to resist Western religion and Western influence from resistance.
Reaching their country. Well, I had to laugh when I read that because they described Christianity as Western influence and Western religion. Last time I checked, Jesus came from, not Nebraska, but the Middle East. The ancients used to call it the Orient.
We even sing, we three kings of Orient are bearing gifts we traverse so far. The true world hates the true Jesus. There's no room. There was no room for Jesus in the politics of his day. Caesar could care less about who was born in Bethlehem, and Herod would see him as somebody who was competing for the throne.
And I would say to you that not much has changed. There's really no room these days for Jesus in politics, and politicians know it, and the only time they want to get close to courting the church is right around election time. Then suddenly, they become Christian for a while, and that fades off. Also, religion had no room for Jesus. We don't read it here, but we read it in Matthew's account. When those magi came all the way to find Jesus who was born in Bethlehem, the religious leaders who worked for Herod could immediately cite the exact scriptural reference that the Messiah, according to the prophets, was to be born in Bethlehem. They knew the answer. But it was sort of like, oh, but I'm so busy, and I'm not going to go five miles to see if it really happened or not. There was no room in their lives for the possibility of a Messiah who would come like Jesus came.
No room for him. And 30 years later, when he presents himself as their king and as their Messiah, it will be these very religious people themselves who will orchestrate his death, his crucifixion. Now, not much has changed. I speak to missionaries all the time, and here's their story.
When people leave our country and go to other countries, you know what they find typically, that their number one enemy is in other countries? Not so much atheists, not so much agnostics. Organized churches are against the spread of the evangelical gospel.
They don't want anybody to rock the apple cart. Oh, it's okay if you make Jesus to be a nice person or one among many, or if you make him to be a good example or a moral teacher or one of the all roads that lead to God. But when the real baby in the manger grows up and says things like, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life, nobody will come to heaven to the Father except by me, that Jesus will be greatly untolerated by most people and even religious people. I've always found it ironic that that great little verse we love to quote, where Jesus said, Behold, I stand at the door and knock, and if anyone will open the door, I'll come in and have fellowship with him. I've always thought it ironic that Jesus never said that to unbelievers, but to the church. He was knocking on the door of the church saying, Why won't you let me into your life and make me the center of who you are? No room. Third, I'll describe this island as an island of hope in an ocean of indifference.
When Jesus was born in that little manger, that little poverty stricken cave on the outskirts of Bethlehem, it was an island of hope in an ocean of indifference. You see, there's nothing intimidating about a manger. If you were to go visit the Queen of England, you might get a little bit shaken and get worried about how you look, and are you ready, are you going to say the right thing, or if you were to visit the White House, you'd have to have certain credentials and proof of who you are, and they would do a background check, and then you could get in. You don't have to do that when you go visit a barn.
You don't get a special appointment to go out to see where the animals hang out. It's very unassuming and very non intimidating to go to a manger. And so would it be the entire span of Jesus' ministry on the earth. He would be that island of hope in a world of indifference. Example, there was a day when parents wanted to bring their children to Jesus, and the disciples were so indifferent about it, they tried to scoot the kids away, and Jesus offered hope, bring them to me, let them come to me, for such is the kingdom of heaven. Or what about the time when there was a woman who had a disease for 12 years, and every doctor she ever went to didn't help her, and she felt so put off, and she felt so marginalized, and everyone was indifferent toward her, until she met Jesus, and he offered hope to her.
He recognized that little touch when she touched the hem of his robe, that it was a touch of faith, and it brought hope into her life. And so the manger was a preview of what the cross would be like. Accessible to anyone who would come. Listen to what the writer of Hebrews says, we can boldly enter into heaven's most holy place, because of the blood of Jesus Christ. Let us go right into the presence of God with true hearts, fully trusting him, for our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ's blood and made clean.
So just like you could come into the manger, even the shepherds were allowed in, you can come into the throne room because of God's grace, and what Jesus did on the cross. That's Christmas Island. It's an island of humility in an ocean of pride. It's an island of exile in an ocean of unbelief, but it's an island of hope in an ocean of indifference. And Jesus allowed them to come.
And Jesus allowed them to come. There was a husband and a wife who had two children. They had grown up and moved on, moved away. On December 23rd, the father calls his son in another city and says, son, I hate to spoil your Christmas, but I want you to know and I want you to be the first to know that your mother and I are getting a divorce. What? The boy said, what?
You can't do that. I don't want to talk about it. I've spent enough years trying to talk this through and I'm done. So I just want you to know your mother and I are getting a divorce. I don't want to talk about it, but I do want you to call your sister. You can tell her. So he called his sister, told her she was up in arms.
She calls her father and she goes, now just wait a minute, dad, you can't divorce mom. Don't do anything. Stop right there. I'm going to fly in tomorrow and I'm going to call my brother, your son. We're both going to be there tomorrow.
Don't do anything till we get there. So the father hung up the phone, looked at his wife and said, it worked. The kids are coming home for Christmas and they're paying their own way. Well, you know, I suppose they had a Merry Christmas eventually once they explained it all and all that emotion passed away. But there's a much better way for you to have a Merry Christmas. And it's to have the best gift ever given.
It's this. It's not visiting Christmas Island once a year. It's living there.
It's living there. It's receiving God's solution for our transgression, our sin. He paid for us. He made a way by sending his son. And it's by us receiving that gift.
And us, as hot rod, Roddy Rodriguez said a minute ago, giving him, giving him us. What do you give the God who has everything on his birthday? You give him you. If he doesn't have you, that's what he wants for Christmas.
That's what he wants for his birthday. He wants your life. He wants you to surrender your life to an alien will, his will.
It's called repentance. It's I'm going to turn from the old and I'm going to give my life to Jesus Christ and receive everlasting life. And we're going to bow for just a prayer.
And then I'm going to give you an invitation for you to come forward and make Jesus your Lord and Savior. Heavenly Father, we're bringing this service to a close. This is a great celebration. Our kids have looked forward to this.
We've looked forward to this. We love Christmas. But we love the Christ of Christmas. And that's why we love Christmas. Because it's a day where we get to mark and celebrate as the time, the change time, the time by which we set our own birthdays by the months of the year, the years of the calendar, all stem from marking time after Jesus showed up on earth. Lord, I pray that more than a celebration tonight would be the night of invitation where we would invite you to come into our lives because you will not be one who comes in unless we invite you.
You won't force yourself. But we pray, Father, for those relatives who have joined us tonight or friends in the community or people who have traveled from afar. I thank you for everyone who has come.
I thank you that so far we've had two jam-packed, overflowing services. But Lord, more than just coming to church or coming to a service or visiting this place we call Christmas Island in the midst of all the madness, a place where we celebrate the birth of Jesus, I pray that people would live there. I pray that tonight, this night would be the night of change.
I pray, Lord, that many would come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Thanks for listening to connect with Skip Heitzig for this Christmas Day 2024. Before we let you go, we want to remind you of the financial year-end need that must be met by December 31st to ensure this ministry you love stays strong, reaching millions more in the year ahead. Your gift today will help share gospel-centered teaching with more people in 2025, making an impact that will last for eternity. So jump in with your best year-end gift. Call 800-922-1888.
That's 800-922-1888. Or visit connectwithskip.com slash give. And did you know that you can find full message series and libraries of content from Skip Heitzig on YouTube? Simply visit the Connect with Skip Heitzig channel on YouTube and be sure to subscribe to the channel so you never miss any new content. Join us tomorrow as we return to our expound series in the book of John.
And from all of us here at Connect with Skip Heitzig, have a very merry and blessed Christmas season. Make a connection. Make a connection at the foot of the cross. Cast all burdens on His word. Make a connection. Connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
