R260 The Real Meaning of Christmas

God has an encouraging word for you and me today through the Bible-based teaching of Dr. Don Wilton and a message on the meaning of Christmas. In just a moment, we'll head to the book of John chapter 1 as we study God's Word together with Dr. Don Wilton, well-known author, evangelist, pastor, and oh, if you haven't read his latest book called Saturdays with Billy, it's such a blessing. It's a great Christmas gift.

It's just a great encouragement. You'll find it and other wonderful resources on our website. Haven't been by lately? Drop by.

It's new and improved, so to speak. We have this wonderful Heaven, Life, and Resurrection Bible Guide. It's just a part of daily devotions that Dr. Don and 51 other wonderful pastors have put together. That's available as well as many other resources on our website, www.tewonline.org.

That's www.tewonline.org. Now, Dr. Don Wilton. Turn with me in your Bibles today to John's Gospel in chapter 1, the Gospel according to John in chapter 1. We discover the real meaning of Christmas. That is our subject this morning, the real meaning of Christmas. I wonder what Christmas means to you. Christmas means so many different things to so many different people, and we know that to be a fact. But if we're ever going to understand the real meaning of Christmas, there is no better place to turn to than the Word of God.

And I want to read a few words in the prologue of John's Gospel, because here in the first 18 verses of the Gospel of John, we discover the real meaning of Christmas. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made, and without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

The light shines in darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. There came a man who was sent from God. His name was John. He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him men might believe. He himself was not the light. He came only as a witness to the light. The true light that gives light to every man according to the world, that was coming into the world. He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become the children of God. Children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, or of a husband's will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only who came from the Father, full of grace and full of truth.

May the Lord write his Word upon our hearts this morning. The real meaning of Christmas. I wish that I could have been able to really get in amongst the children this morning. I was a little bit held back there.

We had so many all the way across the front. And I wish that I could have gone to every single one of our precious children and asked them two questions. Number one, what did you get for Christmas this morning? And number two, what does Christmas mean to you? It seems to me rather noteworthy, don't you think, that here in the Gospel of John, that both in John's Gospel and in the book of Genesis, both of these books begin and open with the words, in the beginning.

That's incredible. You see, Genesis was written as a book of beginnings, and the Gospel of John was written about the new beginning. In both Genesis and in the Gospel of John, what does God do? He accomplishes his purpose through his Word.

In Genesis, God created life through his Word. In the Gospel of John, God recreated lives, which have been marred by sin through his Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. I want you to remember and to note that in Matthew and in Luke's Gospel, these accounts report the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. But in the Gospel of John, we find the interpretation of the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is here in the prologue of John's Gospel, my friends, that we discover the real meaning of Christmas.

And that's what I want us to look at this morning. See, friends, as John begins to interpret the incarnation, as he begins to interpret what the real meaning, the real essence of who Jesus Christ was and who he is, we're going to discover four glorious points that he brings to bear upon each one of us. There are four special thoughts that we discover here about Christmas and about the essence of the real meaning of Christmas.

If you have them to you, you might want to jot them down. Number one, God's Word for us at Christmas. Number two, God's witness for us at Christmas. Number three, God's world for us at Christmas. And here, as John begins to interpret the meaning of Christmas, we find in the fourth place God's worthiness for us at Christmas. We're convinced today, beloved friends, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, that if we begin to understand the real meaning of God and the meaning of the Christ of Christmas, we've got to understand God's Word, God's witness, God's world, and God's worthiness all because of the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ came and he was born in Bethlehem's manger for you and for me. Well, let's look at this very briefly. Now, this is an action-packed section, folks. There is a tremendous amount here about who Jesus Christ is.

And you know that I'm not going to keep you here very long this morning. And so we're going to just touch on certain salient points and issues. Number one, if we're going to understand the real meaning of the Christ of Christmas. First of all, we've got to understand God's Word for us at Christmas. And here in the first five verses of the Gospel of John, John outlines for us four insightful dynamics concerning God's Word for us at Christmas. Number one, the Word as God. Number two, the Word as Creator. Number three, the Word as Life.

And number four, the Word as Light. How is that relevant to you and to me today as we celebrate the Christ of Christmas and as we try and understand the real meaning of Christmas? Well, first of all, the Word is God. One of my favorite passages of Scripture, and we don't really have time to get into it, but it's found in Psalm 19.

Listen to what the Word of God says. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the skies proclaim the work of His hands. The psalmist, as he pointed toward the birth of Jesus Christ, said that everything that has ever been declares the very glory of the presence of God. And so it is here in the prologue to John's Gospel that we discover God's Word for us at Christmas. And the Word is, first of all, the Word is God.

Why? Because Jesus Christ is the outward expression of the very character of who God is. You see, my friends, as God, the Word encompasses everything that God is. He encompasses God's thoughts. He encompasses God's reason. He encompasses God's revelation. And what the Gospel of John is trying to teach us here, my beloved friend, is that the Word as God declares who God is. He declares the very essence and the character and the personality and the holiness and the very being of who God is. Therefore, when God became man in Jesus Christ, He gave to man the very sense and meaning of life itself, the Word as God.

But note in the second place, the Word as Creator. The Bible tells us that in verse 3, Through him all things were made, and without him nothing was made that has been made. The Word of God says that this one born in Bethlehem's manger created all things and that all created things were brought into being through God's Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so how does that apply to the real meaning of the Christ of Christmas? You see, because Jesus Christ is Creator, because the Word is Creator, because God's Word is the meaning of the Christ of Christmas, my friends. Man has structure, man has stability, man has coherence, man has direction, man has meaning, and man has vitality, all because of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Isn't it incredible to discover the real meaning of the Christ of Christmas? The Word is God, the Word is Creator, and then the Word is life. In verse 4, here's what the writer says, In him was life, and that life was the light of man. He here is talking about a life of vitality, a life of abundance. In fact, later on in John's gospel, in chapter 10 and verse 10, here's what he says. He said that Jesus told us, I am life, and I am giving you life, and I'm giving it to you abundantly. I'm giving it to you abundantly.

Why? Because the Word is life, and we receive this life by receiving him into our lives by faith. What is the writer trying to tell us here under the inspiration of the Spirit of God? Perhaps what he is saying, my friends, is that if we're ever going to understand the real meaning of the Christ of Christmas, we've got to understand that God's Word is his Word for us at Christmas, the Word as God, the Word as Creator, the Word as life, and also the Word as light. The Word is light, he tells us right there in verse 5. He says, In him was life, and that life was the light of men.

It was the light of men. But there is a second understanding here of the real meaning of Christmas this morning on this beautiful Sunday morning. The Word, my friend, God's witness at Christmas. You see, the Bible teaches us that Jesus not only came as God, as Creator, as life, and as light, he was not only the Word, but he was the Word at witness.

He was the witness at Christmas. And here the writer in the Gospel of John points us to two things. First of all, he is an illuminating witness.

I love that. He is an illuminating witness. Look at verse 7. The Bible says he came as a witness to testify concerning that light so that through him all men might believe.

Here's what the writer is saying. The writer is saying that the Word as witness illuminates the lives of those who come to know him as their personal Lord and Savior. Do you know him today? You see, he's not only an illuminating witness, but he is an inviting witness. He is an inviting witness. That is the most precious component of the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is inextricably intertwined into the very person and work of who God is.

It is very much bound into the very character of God for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believes in him should not die but should have eternal life. He is not only an illuminating witness, he is an inviting witness. Look with me at verse 7 again.

I'm going to read it a second time. The Bible says that he came as a witness to testify concerning that light, John did, so that through Jesus Christ all men might believe. Now the Bible says they that believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved. What is the birth of Jesus all about? It is all about that baby who was sent with the authority and the express purpose of God, who was God and who is God, who came down in the form of man and took upon himself the sin of the world and then rode down that horrible road right to the cross of Calvary and was nailed to the cross and gave his life in order that you and I might have life and that we might have it more abundantly. He is an illuminating witness.

Forgive the interruption. We'll be back in just a moment with the rest of Dr. Don Wilton's message, but oh, how we long for illumination. We have a great resource on our website right now at TEWOnline.org called Heaven, Life, and the Resurrection. It's a powerful 52-week devotional leather-bound book that'll help guide us to God's Word together through the year 2022.

I hope you'll consider getting that. There are other resources on the website as well. And also, if you're on our website, TEWOnline.org, you'll hear about an exciting gift, a special couple, friends of the Ministry of the Encouraging Word have given $200,000.

Let me let Dr. Wilton tell you all about it. Wow, God has done incredible things again this year through the Encouraging Word broadcast ministry. Do you know that over 135,000 people have called us telling us what this ministry means to them in their spiritual life, and so many are coming to know Jesus. A friend has just given a $200,000 challenge gift to this ministry, and we are asking, as he is asking, that our listeners will give an additional $300,000 to this ministry by December 31st so that God's Word can continue to go out across the world. In London recently, someone came up to me and said, thank you for the encouraging word and for what it means. Would you help me do this? If all of us participated, even at $2 to $3 to $4 each, God will help us to reach this goal together.

Yes, we can do it. What a wonderful time to see God multiply our efforts as each of us give what we're led to give and watch it multiply the joy of Jesus in the lives of people around the world. If you'd like to give, you can call right now with your gift at 866-899-WORD. The number again is 866-899-9673. We'd be happy to receive your gift and tell you more about how the resources that you will invest in, even, are part of giving to the ministry the encouraging word. You can also visit us on our website, TEWOnline.org.

That's TEWOnline.org. Now let's dive back into today's great teaching, The Real Meaning of Christmas, with Dr. Don Wilton. But he is an inviting witness and he's inviting every one of us today to accept it, to receive him, to trust in him. I wonder how many people today are going to church out of duty. I wonder how many people today are celebrating Christmas as nothing more than a commercial enterprise. I wonder how many people are interested in Christmas just because of the holidays.

All these things, my friend, all have their place in society. But I want you to know that what the writer is saying here in John's prologue is that God's word for us at Christmas is vital to our understanding and God's witness for us at Christmas is vital to our understanding because he illuminates us through his person and he invites us through his person. Do you know the Lord Jesus? But I want you to note in the third place, a third glorious point to consider as we try to understand the real meaning of Christmas, we've got to understand God's world for us at Christmas. I just picked up something this morning that was intended for Hub Blankenship and he doesn't even know that I've got it. But Hub, I've got it this morning. This came to you.

It's from Focus on the Family and it's hot off the press. You see, when we begin to understand God's world at Christmas, my friends, we begin to understand verses 9 through 13 in this incredible passage, we're going to see three things. Number one, we're going to see a world of darkness that not only searched for but needed that light. That's what verse 9 tells us about. Secondly, we're going to see a world of gross ignorance who failed to recognize their maker in verse 10. But in the third place, we're going to see a world that wanted to achieve rather than receive the one who was born in Bethlehem's manger.

What is this world of darkness? The Bible says he came unto his own and his own received him not. The Bible says that the light shines in darkness and the darkness comprehends it not. Well, from Focus on the Family, one of the finest organizations in America, listen to this, hot off the press, December 23, the tail of two airlines, Delta Airlines, adopted a policy earlier this year to rid the air of religious expression. Company policy now prohibits employees from wearing religious symbols or possessing religious literature on the job. Alaska Airlines, however, I don't want you all going to Alaska, now I'm just reading something to you, leaves a card on each passenger's tray with every meal that includes a Bible verse. Listen to this, after receiving hundreds of outraged calls, Barney's Clothing Store of New York City took out a full page ad last week to apologize for a satirical nativity scene.

The Madison Avenue store's window display featured Bart Simpson dolls as the wise men and a saucy looking cat, and I can't read to you what's in between, that depicted Mary. Listen to this one, 17,000 people are killed every year by drunk drivers, and 55% of all traffic fatalities during the Christmas season are alcohol related. But despite these disturbing trends, U.S. District Judge Gerard Goodall ruled that a court in Woodbury, New York, violated an atheist drunken driver's rights by ordering him to attend Alcoholics Anonymous.

Goodall ruled that AA meetings are quote, the functional equivalent of religious exercise because they stress group prayer. I thought I'd just read that to you this morning. You see friends, if we're going to understand the real meaning of Christmas, we must not only understand God's word for us at Christmas, we must not only understand God's witness for us at Christmas, but we must understand God's world for us at Christmas.

I'm so glad to see you this morning. You see from verse nine through 13, my friend, it is unapologetic. This is a world of darkness in verse nine that is searching for meaning.

This is a world of ignorance in verse 10 that has rejected the maker of the universe, and this is a world in verse 13 that stresses achievement rather than receivement. The Bible says there is nothing that I can do to achieve the preciousness of everything that Jesus Christ did upon the cross. I can only receive His precious gift of grace. But then in the fourth place, my friend, there is God's worthiness for us at Christmas. In verses 14 through 18, the Bible says, God became flesh and made His dwelling among us. And then one of my favorite verses, and we have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only who came from the Father, full of grace and full of truth, God's worthiness for us at Christmas.

Why? Because He is unique in person. He is exceptional in verse 14.

He is unmatched. He is the person of glory, the person of grace and the person of truth. He is unique in person. But in verse 15, the Bible says, He is unique in His preexistence. He always was and He ever will be. But verse 16 tells us He is unique in His provision.

Why? Because He is a will of grace that knows no limits. He is unique in person. He is unique in His preexistence. He is unique in His provision.

But I want you to note in closing, He is unique in His reflective profession. Chapter 14 and verse 4 tells us a very salient and vital point that He that has seen me has seen the Father. You see, friends, if we're going to understand this baby Jesus, He declared Him and He literally explained who God is.

Jesus came to explain the very character of God, His reflective profession. He who has seen me has seen the Father. Would you bow your heads with me this morning all across our congregation upstairs and downstairs as we close this Christmas celebration this morning?

Heads are bowed and eyes are closed. We want to give you an opportunity today to say yes to the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know the Christ of Christmas? Do you know the real meaning of Christmas? Do you know that you know beyond any doubt that your name is written in God's book in heaven? If you don't know the Christ of Christmas today, my friends, I'm going to give you an opportunity to settle that in your own heart right now. If you're serious, if you want to know that your sins are forgiven, if you want to know that one day you're going to be transported by the angels into the presence of the Lord Jesus, you can settle that today.

Indeed you can. Perhaps the Lord has been speaking to you about what it is you need to settle. Each of us, as we hear God's Word taught and preached by Dr. Don Wilton, are praying that the Lord would not allow us to stay the same. We're praying that you and I would both be affected. Maybe you have been walking with Christ for a long time, but today's the day you need to draw a line in the sand, or perhaps you've never said yes to Jesus Christ. You've heard Dr. Wilton as he's been preaching. Now open your heart to what he wants to share next as he steps into the studio. Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ?

I'm so happy to hear that. Why don't you pray this prayer with me today? Dear God, I know that you love me very, very much, and I know that the Lord Jesus Christ came and died on a cross so that I might be forgiven of my sin. Today I repent of my sin. I confess my sin to you, and I invite you to come into my heart and into my life by faith. In Jesus' name I pray. If you've prayed that prayer, let me be the first one to welcome you to the family of God.

This is wonderful. I hope that you know how much I'm gonna be praying for you and how very important this is for me. Call us so that we can talk to you and connect you in the right place so you can begin this wonderful journey, and in just a moment I'm gonna come back with a final word. Perhaps moments ago you were praying along with Dr. Wilton to give your life to Jesus Christ or rededicate your life to Christ. We are so excited for what this means in your future as God takes you and multiplies in you and through you His powerful, mighty love. Dr. Don has wonderful resources he wants you to have if you've made a decision for Christ today, perhaps for the first time giving your life to Jesus or maybe rededicating your life to Christ.

Dr. Wilton has resources for you absolutely free if you'll call us at 866-899-WORD. We'll send them right out to you. That's 866-899-9673. And again that number is available 24 hours a day. Dr. Don early on in our ministry said we must be able to talk and pray with people and connect them with resources that'll help them grow. So this phone line 866-899-9673 is available as Dr. Don would say to be your 2 a.m. friend to pray with you any time day or night 866-899-9673 or we can connect online as well at TEWONLINE.org.

That's TEWONLINE.org where you'll find great resources like the study guide I mentioned to you earlier. You can sign up online at TEWONLINE.org and have it delivered to your email box every single day with a word of encouragement and Bible study with Dr. Don Wilton. Oh, speaking of Dr. Don, before we get away, he has a closing thought. You know, before we go today, what a day of worship we've had. You know, you and I have in the middle of our hearts our beloved nation, don't we?

How much I love America. Lord Jesus, I'm joining with thousands of people right now and praying for our members, our brave, brave members of our community and our world who are in uniform. Many are overseas in strange and difficult places. Families left behind. Lord Jesus, bless them.

Keep your hand upon them in every way. In Jesus' name, amen. Don't forget, we'll be back at this same time tomorrow with another great message called Experiencing God Because of Christmas with Dr. Don Wilton. Between now and then, let's stay connected on our website, TEWOnline.org.