R362 Does Christmas Really Make Sense Anymore

God has an encouraging word for you and me today, through the Bible-based teaching from Dr. Don Wilton, and a very odd question. Yes, we're excited to take you to God's Word. Matter of fact, Dr. Don's going to take us to Isaiah chapter 9 in just a minute, but this is the question that puzzles me. Does Christmas really make sense anymore? Well, of course it does.

Or does it? We'll find out as Dr. Wilton opens God's Word together with us in just a moment. And speaking of opening God's Word on a regular basis through 2022, if you haven't picked it up, there's a wonderful leather-bound 52-week devotional called Heaven, Life, and the Resurrection, available on our website right now. That's online at www.tewonline.org, and as you purchase that for yourself or some friends for gifts for Christmas, you'll be supporting the ministry of lifting up the name of Jesus and seeing lives changed every day with the ministry of the encouraging Word.

And now, Dr. Don Wilton. I want to begin this morning by asking a question. Does Christmas really make sense anymore? Turn with me in your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 9. Isaiah chapter 9, one of the greatest prophetic passages in all of Scripture, dealing with this wonderful time of Christmas. Does Christmas make sense anymore? I'm sure you all heard about the little girl that came running home one day from church, and she had this big picture in her hand, and in this big picture she had drawn something and she said, Mommy, Mommy, she said, my Sunday school teacher was so happy with my picture today. And of course the mommy, being like all mommies, looked at that and loved her little girl, and wanted to say a whole lot about it, but she wasn't quite sure what the picture was all about. And so she said to her little girl, she said, but little girl, honey, what is this? She said, well, this is the Christmas story.

She said, the Christmas story? She said, yes. She said, well, why is there an airplane there? She said, because we were told that in the Bible that Mary and Joseph took flight to Egypt. And so the mother in all her wisdom nodded and said, well, that's very insightful. She said, but who's that big man sitting in the front of the airplane? And of course she said, well, that's Pontius the pilot. And so the mother of course loved her little girl even more and said, well, obviously that must be Mary and Joseph and the little baby, and the little girl was really getting into it. She said, but honey, who's the big man sitting on the back of the airplane like that, having such a roller coaster ride?

But she said, oh mommy, that's round John Virgin. Have you ever wondered what some people must think of Christmas? Just think about it for a moment. Think about what is going on in Spartanburg this week. It's wonderful. I wish that you could have all been here for the live nativity and watched key change. They were magnificent. The Dickens Christmas here, thousands of people came. I was speaking to some of our city officials this week and they were all so ecstatic. I mean, it was just a great time.

A Brit came to me and he said to me, I want you to do certain things and we did it. We have Bill Drake doing a magnificent Christmas program in the auditorium. We have the live Christmas trees at North Spartanburg, Christmas on Main Street here tonight and tomorrow night. Next Sunday, we've got yesterday's teens and Ron Wells and our choirs and we have all these poinsettias and the choir and the orchestra. Christmas is so wonderful. I'm delighted to report to you that statistics are up in Spartanburg.

Retailers and shoppers are delighted because business is good. But does Christmas really make any sense anymore? What are our children understanding about Christmas? Let's try and discover something about this in God's Word. Turn with me to Isaiah chapter 9. I want to read verses 6 and verse 7. I'm going to say to you that probably verse 6 is the centerpiece of Christmas prophecy.

Here it is. For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, and of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David's throne and over his kingdom, establishing, upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever and forever and forever. How's this going to be accomplished?

There it is. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this. Now keep your finger there in Isaiah and turn with me to Matthew chapter 1. Matthew chapter 1 has the genealogy of the King.

Matthew chapter 1 verse 22. All of this, all of what? All of the things about Christmas, the Christmas story, all of this took place in order to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet, that the virgin will be with child, will give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. Beloved, this morning does Christmas really make sense anymore? It's hard to even try to sort Christmas out. Just go down to the mall and you'll see what we mean. Note the traffic and the congestion, all the hype and the glamour, the elaborate fabrication of Christmas that is going on at every corner, the whirlwind of celebration.

There is a bizarre ensemble of activity. There is an odd mixture of pagan ideas and superstition and fanciful legends and plain good old-fashioned ignorance that's associated with Christmas. But Christmas is so special, isn't it? I want us this morning to come to the point that we recognize and we acknowledge afresh in our own hearts that Christmas most certainly does make sense. And you might say today, Well, pastor, how do you know that Christmas makes sense? I want us to go back into Scripture and I want us to look at three basic fundamental reasons why Christmas makes so much sense for us today.

Right in the midst of all the wonderful things that we look forward to, all the things that we do and say together. Number one, Christmas makes sense because of the source of Christmas. Number two, because of the sovereign of Christmas. And number three, because of the Savior of Christmas. That's what the prophet Isaiah was talking about here in this magnificent prophecy.

Christmas makes sense, he says. Number one, because of the source. Here in Isaiah chapter 9, just think about it. Three things, the Word, the story, and the name which is above every name, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The Word of God, yes, we've just read it together.

It's wonderful to read the Word of God. Key change, Joni Burnett who did such a magnificent job, they asked me on Tuesday night to narrate the Christmas story, some of you might have heard it. And when I got together with Britt, I said to him, but Britt, can't I say something? I'm a preacher, you know, I mean preachers have got to say something. You mean you just, he said, that's right, I just want you to read the Christmas story.

But can't I just say something? He said, no, just read the Christmas story. And so I read it, I was standing on Main Street with my wife, and standing next to me, when my voice came over the loudspeakers, was a couple. And when that voice came over this couple who are not from Spartanburg, I need to add that, and they're not from this community, I heard one of them say, you know, I think that's the preacher from the church here. And the other person said, yeah, where's he from? And then the other one said, you know, and they started, I'm glad to say it was nice things that they were saying. And after a while, I couldn't stand it anymore, and I just did this to the man next to me, and I said to him, sir, I said, you need to meet that chap, he's a jolly fine person.

And I would have given anything just to have had him on TV. The way he did a double take at me like this, and I could see they were saying to themselves, what did we say that we shouldn't have said? There's something very special about the Word of God, isn't there? Why don't you this Christmas take God's Word and just read it? Maybe you're a father this morning and you say, you know, I'm so weak at doing devotions and of leading my family, why don't you just take God's Word? You see, friends, Christmas makes sense when we go back to the source, when we go back to God's Word.

Now there are lots of things, there are cards and there are poems, and there are all kinds of things that we write, and they are so wonderful that we send to each other. But go back to the source. There's not only the Word, but there's the story that the Word talks about. Here the Bible tells us about the story.

This is the original account. This is the way things were as they happened. This is the centerpiece of the Christmas prophecy. And can you imagine that this Word told this story over 600 years before it actually took place? That's why it's called prophecy. God was doing something so special and so meaningful.

But you know, it's not just the Word and the story, it's the name. Isaiah chapter 7 and verse 14 tells us about it. Matthew chapter 1 verses 22 and 23 tells us about it. When we go back to the source, we get back to the name, that name which is above every name, the name Immanuel. And you know what that means? It means God with us.

Just think of all the people from California to New York City, from London to Johannesburg, from Pakistan to Malaysia to Thailand. You name all the people who are lonely today and who have needs and who want. What an incredible thought. We've got a group of men in our church who are amazing. In fact, folks, I'm going to tell you there are just three of them. They work down here near our helping center and they reconstruct old bicycles. Do you know that they have reconstructed this year in the last couple of weeks? Eighty-five bicycles. People bring by their old bicycles instead of putting them on the garbage here.

And these three men sit down in a little rinky old dinky little building down the end of our parking lot here near the helping center that has no heating, no air conditioning. The roof's about to cave in, fall apart, and these men, all of them senior adults, sit there and they labor and they put together eighty-five bicycles that they give in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ through our church to needy boys and girls all across Spartanburg County here. I want you to know, friends, there is nothing more wonderful than giving a meal and giving a bicycle and giving gifts, but I want to tell you the greatest thing you can do is to go back to the source and say Christmas makes sense because of that name Immanuel, God is with us.

Isn't that great? Does Christmas really make sense? Well, it's not just the source that allows us, enables us to make sense of Christmas, it's because of the sovereign, the sovereign. Look at what the Bible tells us in verse 6 of chapter 9, three things about the sovereign Lord God Almighty. Number one, He tells us a child is born. Number two, He tells us a son is given. And number three, He tells us that a king is going to rule that the government will be upon his shoulders.

Not by any mistake whatsoever. God's Word tells us that Christmas makes sense. Number one, because of the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Did you notice there in verse 6, for unto us a child is born? Isn't it amazing that this points to the humanity of the Lord Jesus Christ? Isn't this amazing that Jesus began like we all began?

Being born of a mother, being subject to human predicaments. Please forgive the interruption. We'll be back with the rest of today's message with Dr. Don Wilton in just a moment. But it is amazing to think that the Lord would choose to send His Son, our Savior, to be fully divine, fully God, and fully human at the same time. But when we think about it, it's how Jesus can in some ways know what we've experienced.

He understands both the highs and the lows. And just the other day, Dr. Don was talking about how many people we've been praying for that experienced this Christmas holiday both as some of the best moments, but also some of the most difficult moments. Know that you're not alone. God has promised never to leave you or forsake you. And we're here as well, 24 hours a day, if you call 866-899-WORD, you'll find one of us happy to talk or listen or pray with you.

Jot the number down, store it in your cell, 866-899-9673. We love to pray with you or connect you with great resources like the daily encouraging word devotional that will help you grow in your faith. You'll find all those points of contact on our website as well at www.tewonline.org.

That's www.tewonline.org. Now let's dive back into today's great teaching with Dr. Don Wilton. It means that if Jesus was born, my friends, it means that He understands what it means to weep. He understands what it means to have a sore throat when you're trying to preach. He understands what it means when you face surgery. He understands what it means when your loved one has died and you're lonely. He understands what it means when you have no money.

He understands what it means when you find yourself totally overwhelmed by all the predicaments of life. Jesus, the child was born, but He doesn't leave it there. He says a Son was given. You see, when the Bible talks about the giving of the Son of God, my friends, He steps from the realm of Jesus' humanity and He transcends our human understanding into the very pre-existent deity of Almighty God. And what is the Word of God telling us that a Son is given? He is saying to us, don't you ever forget when you try to make sense out of Christmas that yes, this child is born, but don't you ever forget the pre-existent deity of Almighty God that this child was and is and always will be God Himself.

What a profound thought. God's Word takes the baby Christ's child right out of the hands of human understanding. And He places the baby with whom we identify so readily and He puts him into his rightful perspective in the heart of the sovereignty of God. And He says to him, listen, this is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased and I have given Him because I love the world so much.

I am giving My Son in order that He may die, in order that you might have life. Then He adds to that, He says, the King is going to rule. He says the government will be on His shoulders. I just think of the burden of government. I can't imagine what it must be like to be the President of the United States. I can't even begin to imagine the load that must come upon a man like that, the decisions that have to be made across the world, the burden that the presidency of the United States must carry with it. You know that every decision you make, over half the population of America is not going to agree with it.

You're never going to please everybody. Everybody's going to be up in arms. And the Bible says, listen, listen folks, the kingly rule of the one who was born in a manger, that this God is sovereign. The government will be upon His shoulders. In other words, beloved friends, He will reign. And how does He reign? He reigns in our hearts and in our lives. That's the real sense of Christmas. You say, where does Jesus reign?

He reigns in my heart. I had someone say to me this week, Pastor, why does your church take gifts to needy children in our community? I said to them, because Jesus reigns in our hearts.

Why do we give $105,000 for somebody that doesn't even speak our language? Because Jesus Christ rules and reigns in our hearts. That's why.

You don't ever have to worry about going to a born again believer and asking them to give back to God. Do you know why? Because Christ rules.

That's why. You can never out give God, the source, the sovereign. There's one final fact that makes so much sense out of Christmas. Because of the Savior.

If you look at Isaiah chapter 9 and verse 6 and 7, there is a profound thought that occurred to me. You know, when I was born, nobody knew very much about me. In fact, hardly anybody knew anything about me.

And contrary to public opinion, nobody knew much about you either. Here was that little baby. And you and I begin to grow, and we grow and we grow and we grow.

And as we grow, we begin to accumulate the characteristics and the accolades that come as a result of our contribution to the world and to society and to our families. Not so with Jesus. Jesus didn't have to accumulate anything. He was crowned the king before he was even born. And you know what the Bible says about the king?

The Bible tells us four things. He's Wonderful Counselor. He's Mighty God. He's Everlasting Father. He is the Prince of Peace.

Does Christmas make sense? He's the Wonderful Counselor. Means there's no confusion as far as God's concerned. He's the one that we need to go to.

People today go to astrologers and palm readers and quacks and charlatans and read all kinds of horoscopes. He said, wait a minute, I'm the counselor. I'm the Wonderful Counselor. He says, listen, I'm the Mighty God. I have brought coherence out of chaos.

In me there is no chaos. Jesus was the one who called time out of eternity. He was the one who fashioned the universe from nothing.

That's what the Bible says. He's Wonderful Counselor. He's Mighty God. He's Powerful. But He's an Everlasting Father. His dominion goes on forever and forever. There will be no end as far as He is concerned. What does the Bible say? The Bible say He declares the end from the beginning according to Isaiah chapter 46 and verse 10. He declares the end from the beginning, not the beginning from the end.

He's already there. He's the Everlasting Father. And He's the Prince of Peace.

I love that one. He's the Prince of Peace. Joy to the world.

Does Christmas really make sense anymore? He's the Prince of Peace. Do you know what that means? It means that because He was born, there is no confusion. There is no chaos.

There is no complexity. There is no conflict as far as Jesus Christ is concerned. He is the Prince of Peace. Oh, how we need the peace of Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. You've been listening to Dr. Don Wilton today and as he's been teaching and preaching, perhaps the Lord has stirred your heart to realize that you have a need, a need for this Prince of Peace. Again, as you've heard Dr. Wilton teach and preach from the pulpit, I pray you'd open your heart to what he wants to share next. 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 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 you just prayed along with Dr. Wilton to give your life to Jesus Christ or maybe to rededicate your life and to draw a line in the sand saying, from this day forward, we're making a fresh commitment to Jesus. Either way, we would love to let you know we're here for you. Dr. Don would love to pray for you.

If you let us know who you are, let us pray for you. Also, Dr. Wilton has some free resources he wants you to have to help you grow in your faith. Phone number is 866-899-WORD. Contact us and let us send these resources to you and let us pray for you.

That's 866-899-9673. Or if you'd like to, we'd love to connect with you on our website as well at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org. While you're on the website, you'll see the wonderful devotion for 2022 called Heaven, Life and the Resurrection plus the book Dr. Wilton wrote about his time as being the pastor of Dr. Billy Graham. So many great resources, but you'll also see a wonderful opportunity to share the love of Jesus Christ with even more people.

Here's Dr. Don with the details. 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 could 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. If the Lord's leading you to get involved financially and prayerfully with the ministry of the encouraging word, why don't you call right now? Our phone number is 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673, or you can give on our website, T-E-W online dot O-R-G. That's T-E-W online dot O-R-G. As you can see, God is raising up financially already $200,000 in this situation, and so God's continuing to bless and fuel the ministry of the encouraging word, but I pray you wouldn't miss out on the opportunity. When we join God at work, it's the blessing we receive to give and every gift matters. You may or may not know that our ministry began with 120 families giving $2 a week to begin the television ministry. That is the encouraging word. Every gift matters, whether it's $2 or $200,000. Each of it comes together to let us know how we can, in a body of Christ, in a collective ministry like the encouraging word, see God change lives every moment of every day. We'd love to hear from you at T-E-W online dot O-R-G.