Unwrapping the Real Christmas

So the circumstances were that I had just given my life to Christ after having been a runaway drug abuser, sexually abused, in and out of mental institutions with a single mom and kind of a distant father. Ann's life was a mess.

She didn't know the first thing about how to be a good wife or mother. So focus on the family was like manna to me. Every day I needed wisdom. I needed guidance. I needed the lessons and the teaching that came every day from 11 to 1130 into my kitchen. And I know today that my life has changed because of Focus on the Family.

I'm Jim Daly. Working together, we can give families hope and equip more parents like Ann. And thanks to a special match right now, any gift you send will be doubled.

Call 800-AFAMILY or donate at focusonthefamily.com slash gift. Welcome to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. Now that Thanksgiving is over and we're continuing to digest all those calories, it's time to turn our attention to a very important holiday. We officially want to help you get excited about Christmas. John, I love the Christmas season and all that it represents, even the work of getting the boxes out of the attic and all that for Jean. But I think most of us find it's pretty easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of shopping and parties and school events and decorations and all the obligations that can rob us of the true meaning of Christmas, celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

That's what it's about. So here's our early Christmas gift to you. We're featuring a message from one of our favorite speakers, British evangelist and author, J. John. Let me invite you to sit back, relax and enjoy these reflections on the true meaning of the holiday season. Here's J. John speaking at an event sponsored by Hillsong Church in London, England on today's episode of Focus on the Family with Jim Daly.

Good evening. Isn't the Christmas season a great season of the year? I love Christmas.

Some of the things that we say, some of the things that we do, I just so enjoy. Did you know that a man goes through three stages in his life? Stage one, he believes in Santa Claus. Stage two, he doesn't believe in Santa Claus. Stage three, he is Santa Claus. It is such a fun season.

And during this season, obviously different people have different expectations and different perspectives. There was a little boy who wanted a bicycle for his birthday. So he got down on his knees, he prayed for a bike. His birthday arrived, no bike. But then he thought, ah, but Christmas is only a couple of weeks away.

I'll have a second chance. Got down on his knees, began to pray for a bike for Christmas. And then he thought, no, I prayed for a bike for my birthday and I didn't get one. So he got up and he started to walk around the house. And then he saw a statue of Mary.

And then he had an idea. Took the statue down, wrapped it in a blanket, put it in a drawer and said, Jesus, if you want to see your mum again, get me a bike. Well, I don't know whether your expectations are in the realm of the miraculous. One of the things I really enjoy about the season of Christmas are infant school nativity plays. I've got three sons and over the years I've been to many nativity plays and they're great.

There was one infant school where the highlight of the year was the annual Christmas production. And there was one little boy who was desperate to play the part of Joseph. The day arrived when the teacher announced all the roles, but this little boy was not chosen to play Joseph. But he was chosen to play the innkeeper, but he didn't want to be the innkeeper. He wanted to be Joseph.

The day arrived when the school presented their annual Christmas production to the entire school, all the families, relatives, friends. Then you get to that point where Mary and Joseph arrive at the innkeeper's door, knock on the door. Door opens, innkeeper comes out. Joseph says, can my wife, Mary and I, can we come in for the evening?

And the innkeeper said, she can come in, but you can't. I want you to be Joseph. There are many different versions of Christmas. And because there are so many different versions of Christmas, it's really good just to take some time out and stop. And say, let's go back to the original script.

What did the original script actually say? The only true historical reason for celebrating Christmas is as the birthday of Jesus Christ. But nobody celebrates the birthday of a dead person. You only celebrate the birthday of someone who is alive.

It is because Christians believe and know that Jesus Christ is alive that there can be a true celebration of his birthday. When we go back to the original script, we learn that there were a group of people known as the wise men. Have you ever wondered what would have happened had they been wise women?

I'll tell you. If they were wise women, they would have asked for directions and arrived there on time. I don't know if you know, but the wise men actually arrived quite late. When the wise women arrived, they would have brought a casserole. They would have cleaned out the stable. They would have helped with the delivery. And they would have brought far more practical presents. But the original script says they were wise men. Now, that's got nothing to do with academia.

It's not about intelligence. It's about understanding. They understood. And when they arrived to where Christ was, they bowed down, worshipped him and gave him gifts. There was one infant school, Christmas production, and the wise men came on.

The first wise man walks on, he says, here's some gold. And off he walked. And the second kid comes along, he says, here's some meh.

And off he went. And then the third kid came along and he forgot his one line. Now, if you've ever been in this situation as a parent, it is so painful. It's like you're wooing them to remember their line. Oh, it's so painful. And everyone's going to... And then eventually the kid remembered it.

Frank sent this. Gold, frankincense, meh. Now, why would you give, why would you give a child those gifts? Well, it's symbolism. And behind the symbolism are profound truths.

Hence the fact that this group of people are called wise. Gold in the Bible is a symbol of kingship. They had understood that Christ was the king, not just a king, but the king. And in the words of the original script, the king of kings, the Lord of Lords.

In other words, the king of the entire universe, the entire cosmos. By giving gold, they are acknowledging his kingship. By bowing down and worshipping him, they're saying, we want to come under your sovereign reign and rule.

Frankincense in the Bible is a symbol of prayer. It's a symbol of communication. They understood that the king had come to communicate with people. They were acknowledging that and they were reciprocating.

They were saying, well, we want to communicate with you. Mer in the Bible is a symbol of burial. It's a symbol of death. They'd understood that the king had come into the world in order to give his life for us.

For us to really appreciate and understand the relevance of these symbols. We've got to step back and diagnose the world into which Jesus was born. Do you agree with the following statement? There are problems in the world today. Do you agree with that? Yeah, I can't.

I wouldn't believe that anyone would disagree with that. There are problems in the world today personally, socially, globally. There are problems at every level. Now there are many people, no doubt many people here who are doing what they can to alleviate the symptoms. The big question is what causes the symptoms?

You see, if you're only trying to alleviate the symptoms, you're always going to have the symptoms. But if you're going to deal with the root cause, that's going to deal with the symptoms. What is the root cause of everything that's wrong in the world today? The heart of the human problem is the problem of the human heart. That is what is at the heart of everything that's wrong in the world today. It is our hearts. If you go back to the original script, the word to describe that heart condition is sin. That's the word for it.

It's because we've all got sinful hearts that our relationships are polluted, that they're affected, our communities are, society is, the world is, because of the human heart. Let me illustrate this for you in a slightly different way. Just imagine you pass out of this life now.

This is only an illustration. You woke up in a theatre like this one, but sitting there on your own. In front of you is a huge screen. All of a sudden the doors open, an angel flies in, comes up to you and says, welcome to the theatre of judgment.

Relax. Watch the screen. Now there on the screen you see your life, everything you ever did here on earth, everything you ever said here on earth, and everything you ever thought.

You see it on the screen. As you're recovering, the angel comes back and says, relax. There's going to be a second showing.

All the people that were featured in the film of your life are all waiting outside, and we're just going to let them into the theatre to see the film of your life a second time. How would you feel if your life were judged on that basis? That is exactly how God judges us.

In an instant. We're judged by everything we have thought, said, done. I don't know about you. Personally, I would not want a private viewing, let alone a public viewing of my life.

I honestly do not need convincing. That I have thought, said, and done things that I shouldn't have. But the other thing that the film reveals to us is this. Not only the sins of commission, the things we've done, it also reveals to us the sins of omission. In other words, the things that we didn't do, that we could have done but we didn't. The things we didn't say. We could have stood up for the voiceless but didn't want to. We could have been kind.

Christmas is a season for us to think, is there something I can do to live simply so that others can simply live? You see, we're not only judged by the sins of commission, we're also judged by the sins of omission. But the thing is this. Everything on that film has consequences. All that stuff on the film has the effect of disconnecting us from God. And that's why some people say, where is God? But God didn't leave us, we left God.

God never rejected us, we rejected God. And the thing is, all that stuff on the film works a bit like an overdraft in a bank account. If you've got an overdraft and I have an overdraft, you can't help me and I can't help you.

The only one who can help us is someone in credit. Jesus Christ was the only one in credit. And that is why Jesus came into this world to do something about your overdraft and my overdraft. If our greatest need was information, then God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need was money, then God would have sent us an economist.

If our greatest need was pleasure, then God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness. That's why God sent us a savior. Jesus Christ came into this world in order to rescue us from this dilemma that we're all in.

Being disconnected from God, having an overdraft. You see, the wise men understood this. Mer, you have come to die.

That's why you've come. See, one of the things about the Christmas season is that we can get so preoccupied with the baby Jesus that we miss it. We miss the point. Yes, the invisible God did make himself visible in Jesus. Yes, God did become a man. But sometimes we leave him as a baby. To really understand the significance of his birth, you've got to move on and look at his life and you've got to move from the cradle to the cross. On the cross, in the words of the original script, Jesus Christ purchased for us forgiveness.

It was as if he was cashing a check signed with his own blood saying, here is the check to clear your overdraft. You see, that is why becoming a Christian is so cathartic, therapeutic, liberating, illuminating, because it totally liberates us from the past. He wants to come into our lives by his Holy Spirit and give us new life today. And he wants to give us a hope for the future. This is the gift of Christmas. The gift of Christmas is Christ.

He is the gift. Don't miss Christmas. Don't miss it. Is it possible to miss it?

It is possible. Many people miss the first Christmas. Did you know that the religious leaders, the Pharisees and the Sadducees miss Christmas? That astonishes me.

How could they miss it? In the Old Testament of the Bible, there are what are called Messianic prophecies. There are in fact 322 of them. These tell you about the Messiah, the King, the Savior coming to earth. They tell you how he's going to be born, where he's going to be born, how he's going to grow up, what he's going to say, how he's going to say it, what he's going to do, how he's going to die.

You've even got details like the number of coins that will be used to betray him. Do you know what the mathematical compound probability is of 322 prophecies being fulfilled in one man at one moment in time is one over 84 with 100 zeros. In other words, it doesn't happen every day.

This is a rare occurrence. The Sadducees and the Pharisees, the religious leaders, not only knew the Old Testament, listen to this, they not only knew it, they not only knew the 322 Messianic prophecies, they had memorized them and yet they couldn't be bothered to walk five miles. That's all they had to do, walk five miles, check it out.

I would have walked 50 miles to check it out. Do you know something? You can be very religious and not know the truth. You can even teach religion and not know the truth. And there are many religious people who haven't yet encountered the transforming truth of who Jesus is. The religious leaders miss Christmas, King Herod miss Christmas, the innkeeper miss Christmas. I mean, wouldn't that have been a great signature to get in the guestbook? Mary, the mother of Jesus, Joseph, Jesus's stepdad.

I mean, wow, that would have been a great signature to have, wouldn't it? But they were so preoccupied with their business. And many people who are preoccupied miss the most important truth of all. In 1974, I was a student in London. I was an agnostic. I didn't believe in God.

I wasn't interested in God. And then I met a Christian called Andy Economides. And he started to talk to me about Jesus. He gave me a Bible. He told me to read the original script.

And as I started reading it, there were lots of questions and we would talk and dialogue and we started approaching Christmas. He said to me, do you send out Christmas cards? I said, I do actually, you know, feeling quite proud of myself. You know, I do. And he said, well, make sure they're blank.

So what do you mean? He says, well, you're an agnostic. You don't believe Jesus is the Christ. You don't believe he's God. You don't believe all these things.

Do you? I said, no. He says, well, you don't want to be a hypocrite.

So make sure they're all blank. That really irritated me. But amidst the irritation, I thought he's right.

He's right. But as I read more, as I talked more, as I dialogue more, I was captivated. I was captivated.

This is the most amazing gift we're being offered. And I started to believe. But it took me a while from believing to receiving.

Took me a little while. But on the 9th of February, 1975, I received the gift. And when I received the gift, it was the most incredible, transforming, illuminating experience that I've ever had. The light came on.

The light came on. Don't miss Christmas. I love the season. I love everything that's part of the season.

It's great. But the danger is that we get caught up in the wrappings and the wrapping paper and we miss the gift. The gift of Christmas is Christ.

He is the gift. I want to pray one of my favorite Christmas prayers as I conclude. May God grant you the light of Christmas, which is faith. The warmth of Christmas, which is love. The radiance of Christmas, which is purity. The righteousness of Christmas, which is justice. The belief of Christmas, which is truth.

The all of Christmas, which is Christ. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, may God grant you all these things, not just at Christmas, but also throughout the new year and all the years to come. Amen. I hope you've been inspired this evening. I hope you've enjoyed the evening. And I really pray and wish you all a Merry Christmas.

Thank you very much. What a touching way to end this episode of Focus on the Family with Jim Daly, featuring British evangelist, Jay John. And we're going to have a copy of that prayer he just prayed for you on our website. That's a great idea, John.

Let's do it. And let me just quickly add, especially to those who are parents, make an effort to communicate this message from Jay John in words and deeds so your children can see and hear them. Keep your Christmas focused on Christ. Don't allow Christmas to be hijacked by the busyness, greediness and gluttony that surrounds us. Remember, Jesus could have been born in a palace, but he chose to be born in a stable.

He was coming as our Savior and King, but he was humble. That's a good reminder as we celebrate his birth and what he meant. And we'll post some articles about how your family can keep Christ in the center of Christmas at our website. And as we get close to the end of the year, I hope that looking back, you can see that Focus on the Family has had a positive impact on your family. And if that's the case, can I ask you to make a generous donation to the work that we do here? It's very important that we hear from you today. Friends like you are the fuel for the ministry. Help us bring help and hope to struggling couples, frustrated parents, children in foster care and mothers considering abortion.

So please donate today. And in return, we'd like to bless you with more insight and encouragement. Yeah, this is a great collection and you can get yours today by following the link in the show notes. When you're online with us, check out our holiday podcast called Christmas Stories. Each episode is going to help your family dive deeper into the true meaning of the season.

That's Focus on the Family's Christmas Stories podcast. Now next time, psychologist and author Dr. Kevin Lehman will help you see how the birth order you experienced in your family of origin impacts your own marriage. There's keys to understanding how to open this communication between husband and wife.

And you have to understand that God made us so different. On behalf of the entire team, thanks for listening to Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. Take a moment, please, and leave a rating for us in your podcast app and tell a friend about this episode. Your word of mouth, marketing if you will, really help spread the word about this great content that we have for you. I'm John Fuller inviting you back next time as we once again help you and your family thrive in Christ. You want your teenager to become a successful adult, right?

But how do you do that? Well, Dr. Ken Wilgus has worked with teenagers and their families for decades. His new book, Feeding the Mouth That Bites You, will help you with your adult in training. He'll explain age-appropriate freedoms for your teenager, the best ways to communicate, effective discipline, and most importantly, help them become a functional adult. Get Feeding the Mouth That Bites You at focusonthefamily.com slash store.