People want a Christmas without Christ. They want to displease God but get the benefits of Christmas all year long. Dr. Tony Evans reminds us that Christmas loses its meaning when we try to celebrate its blessings without its Savior. You can say Merry Christmas all you want, but unless Jesus is the reason for the season, you wind up with another day off from work.
This is the alternative broadcast, featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. As we celebrate this Christmas season, Dr. Evans invites us back to Bethlehem, back to the night when holiness stepped into human history. Today, he uncovers what was happening behind the scenes of that first Christmas and how those events can strengthen our walk with God.
Let's join him as he begins. There were some interesting scenarios. When Jesus was born. Maybe you can identify with one of them. Number one.
According to Luke chapter 2. There was so much partying going on in Bethlehem, there was no room for him in the end. Uh So many people, so much activity, so many festivities, so much concern about census and. passing new tax codes. That was just.
No spot for Jesus. Because too much was going on. No room for him in the end. Or perhaps you can identify with this one. King Herod said.
Where is he in Matthew chapter 2 that I might go and worship him? all the time knowing he wanted to kill him. See, the problem with Herod is there wasn't room for two kings. He can't be king and Jesus be king. One of us has got to go.
But he used worship. as the excuse to get rid of him. See, a lot of folk use Sunday as an excuse to get rid of Jesus all week long. They don't want him ruling their lives, but they want to pay. what appears to be legitimate homage to them.
Because there's only one place for a king, and that is me being my own king, not him being king over me. but they'll still talk worship. Yeah. Perhaps you would think like um The religious leaders of the day, because in Matthew chapter 2. It says that they told the wise men where he would be born.
They quoted the prophecy of Micah 5.2, which said hundreds of years before Jesus was born that he would be born in the microscopic town of Bethlehem.
So these leaders knew the Bible, but never made the trip. They quoted Micah 5, 2, but never went to meet the Savior themselves. Because it's easy to quote the Bible and do nothing with it. It's easy if you've been around it long enough to know it. And it not help you.
So these religious leaders could quote the scripture and it had no effect on their life. on their decision, on their choices. And so there were different Reactions. to the birth of Christ. But I want to look at Four specific Responses to the birth of Christ.
as recorded in Luke chapter 2, just Four things that Ought to call your attention to him. In a fresh way. In Luke chapter 2, the first thing that we see. In verse 11, it says, For the day in the city of David There has been born for you a Saviour. Who is Christ the Lord?
So, the first reason you need Christmas is because you need to be saved. Catch The first thing that's born for you is a Savior. To be the saved means to be delivered from something. The word saved means deliverance or rescued. The reason God said Jesus is to rescue us.
From the consequences of our sin.
So one of the benefits of Christmas And the most important one is salvation.
Now salvation Or to lead the celebration. Because we're told in verse 10, do not be afraid. Behold, I bring you good news of great joy, which shall be for all the people. Celebration because there's good news. Because Jesus was born on a bad day.
in a bad time. In bad circumstances, and he says. I've got good news, and this good news will make you want to shout because it gives you joy. Joy in the Bible was always associated with celebration.
So you can live with good news. On a bad day. If you really understand what Christmas is all about.
So he offers salvation. Celebration. And that led to a marvelous worship. It says in verse 13, and suddenly they appeared. With the angel, a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying.
Glory to God in the highest. All heaven broke out in worship. At the presence of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is what I like to call the celebrity of the universe. We live in a day of saccharine celebrities.
Celebrity substitutes. People have a name because of their talent, their skill, their money, their presence, their power, all of which can be reduced to ashes. in life and will be reduced to ashes at the end of life. There's only one superstar of the universe. And that is Jesus Christ.
Who alone deserves the accolades and the glory that heaven offers? Because it says, glory to God in the highest. And it's Jesus all by himself. He is glory to God in the highest.
So no name is to put Be put beside Jesus' name because he is in a class all by himself. And at the birth of Jesus, it says heaven broke out in worship and gave glory to God. That's why I like the uh The Magi. I know we call them the three wise men. The Bible doesn't say they were three wise men.
The Bible says they were three gifts.
So the assumption is they're three wise men. But when they finally came, And they said, Where is he, king of the Jews? They said, because we saw his star in the east.
So the wise men came from the East. Over toward China. And so they said, we saw a star, the Shekinah glory. the manifestation of his glory in the heavens. And we came to worship him.
And let me tell you why I like the wise men. Because when they arrived. Jesus was a child in the house, not a baby in the manger.
So, all those nativity scenes where they got Mary and Joseph. And the animals in the manger. In the stall, Alright. Matthew 2 says, when they arrived, they saw the child in the house, and the Greek word for child is toddler.
So that means Jesus is two years old or so. When the wise men show up.
So the reason I like the Magi. Is because they went to see him when they saw the star of his birth. But they didn't get to see him until he was two years old. Which means they got on their camels, their horses, their donkeys, and their caravan, and took a two-year trip. Because Jesus was worthy of the inconvenience of the travel of worship.
Some of us, when we saw it rain last night, We're debating, am I going to make it this morning? Because he's not yet risen to the plates. Of being worthy of my inconvenience. Because of who he is and what he has done. And because he's Christ the Lord.
But the Magi said he's worthy of worship. One of the things that you will find in the story, particularly in the book of Matthew. Is the name of the Holy Spirit will show up all the time in the story? And with the Magi It says, because of what they did to worship him, the Holy Spirit led them another way to escape Herod. See, one of the benefits you get in your worship.
Is God the third member of the Trinity guiding you? on your journey of life.
So, I would advise you, if you know the Lord, to make worship a lifestyle and get rid of it as a holiday. Because if you're only good once a year You're not getting all the benefits that accrue to you. because you are worshiping the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. But then there was a fourth area of benefit in the birth of Christ. Verse 14 says, Glory to God in the highest.
And on earth, peace among men. Reconciliation. In other words, The answering of conflict. Dr. Evans will have more about peace on earth and what the birth of Jesus Christ really means for each of us when he continues our message in just a moment.
Don't go away. Let me start off by thanking all of our friends for how you've walked with us and stood by us all year long. We felt your prayers, and they've made a difference in the lives of people that we've had the privilege of ministering to. And as we anticipate the new year, we want to take advantage of all the opportunities that God has brought our way for the building of strong biblically based families, for strengthening churches so that they're able to do the work of kingdom building God has called them to do. and for speaking into the culture.
This culture needs to hear a word from God and a word that works and that's what we're committed to do. Stand with us with your generosity and your prayers because you know this word, a word that the world desperately needs today. Visit tonyevans.org to give. That's tonyevans.org. If the Christmas rush has you running on fumes, Today's a perfect moment to recalibrate your heart.
Dr. Evans has put together a brand new Christmas devotional and prayer guide called Messages from the Manger. to help you slow down, breathe deeply, and rediscover the wonder of Christ's birth. Each reading offers a clear message, biblical reflection, and a personal prayer to help you reconnect with the hope and joy God intended for this season. And as a special Christmas thank you, we're bundling it with Tony's current audio series When the King Came to Town.
It's a nine-message collection of some of Dr. Evans' most meaningful Christmas sermons. You can request this uplifting package today. It's our gift to you when you make a year-end donation to support the ongoing work of the ministry. Take advantage of this special Christmas offer when you show your support by visiting TonyEvans.org to make your donation and request.
or call our resource line at 1-800-800-3222. where one of our friendly team members is ready to help you. Again, that's tonyevans.org. or by phone, any time of the day or night, at 1-800-800-3222.
Well, let's get back to doctor Evans now with more of today's lesson on A Holy Christmas. The opposite of peace is conflict. And we live in a world of all kinds of conflict. First of all, we live in a world when people are in conflict with themselves. Because if you can't get along with you.
Everybody else, everybody else is in trouble.
So We live with our personal conflicts. Our inner dialectic, our inner confusion with ourselves. And then we have relational conflict with one another. whether it's on the home or at work. And we lack peace.
And then there is all manner of social conflict. The racial problem appears to get worse and worse, and the class divide continues to grow, and the Political Fisher. continues to separate People and parties. And there is no peace. And yet it says Jesus came to offer Reconciliation.
People being able to get along with themselves, with others. And in a world where people are divided. That Christmas at the center of it. is to give peace, and he says it is to give peace. Among men, people being able to answer the question: can we all get along?
So what's wrong if this is what Jesus came to do? To save. to celebrate. To lead us in a glorious worship experience and to bring harmony where there is havoc. All of these were problems in the first century.
What's wrong? Why has Christmas failed us? Why has Christmas not Not worked out. Why will it be when Christmas is over and we flip the calendar to the new year? We'll be right back where we started.
We've got a little reprieve for a few days. Cause this Christmas. The folk will be singing.
Songs of celebration, joy to the world. Folk will be hugging folk that they won't talk to all year, but they'll do it at Christmas. Folk who don't normally go to church may show up at a Christmas service or a New Year's Eve service because it's a holiday. They will at this point in time do what is in Luke 2. But come post Christmas.
In post January one. The madness will start up again. The lights will go out. The trees will be taken down. Size thirty-eight will become size forty-two.
And we will enter back into this world of confusion and conflict. Which is just the opposite of what Jesus came to give. I mean, this story of Christmas is all about good news. Celebration, joy, worship, harmony, all of that is supposed to be Christmas. But what went wrong then, and what is going wrong now?
He actually answers it in verse 14. Glory to God in the highest. And on earth, peace among men, and we cannot leave out the verse, with whom he is pleased. People want a Christmas without Christ. They want to displease God, but get the benefits of Christmas.
All year long. They want to make God unhappy while God makes them happy. Yeah. They want to sing God bless America while America refuses to bless God. Yeah.
And when God is not pleased. Because Jesus has been relegated. to the sideline. Worship has become Yeah. An event.
And not an orientation to life. Pleasing him does not become our goal. Then the thing he came to give, you don't get. You don't get the harmony. You don't get the good news.
Experience. All you wind up with is a holiday. And not a holy day. You wind up with a moment. not an orientation to life.
If you want what Christmas is designed to give, it says it is offered to those who please him. Which means my orientation, your orientation, and our orientation must be as a way of life as we approach the new year to say with Paul that I might please him. And that means that I want to live my life. In such a way that his truth is controlling my decisions. That I am living.
To please him. And as a result of living to please him. The benefits of Christmas become the benefits of you.
So many people this holiday season will be like. the Christmas boxes outside of my home. I have Christmas boxes outside of my home, and they are. Gloriously decorated. They've got the red colors on them.
They're tied with a ribbon. And they look the part. You were to drive by. The front steps, you would say, it's Christmas. But what you have to know about those boxes is that they're all empty.
Not a thing in them. They're empty, but they look the part. People all over the nation will look the part. They'll go to church, they'll put on their red and green colors, they'll say Merry Christmas, they'll have up their Christmas tree, they may read the Christmas story, but there'll be no Jesus. And if there is no Jesus, that's called.
Fake news. That's fake Christmas. It's not the real thing. No Jesus, no real Christmas. You can say Merry Christmas all you want, but unless Jesus is the reason for the season.
You wind up. with another day off from work. And so the challenge. The challenge today. is to turn Christmas into what it was designed to be.
The recognition of Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ. You have a one-of-a-kind person. You have the egg of a woman fertilized by the Holy Spirit. Producing one who would be called son of God and son of man.
Humanity and deity wielded together without mixing.
So that he would be fully God and fully man in one person. And because he's God, he can reach down. Because he's man, he can reach up. Because it's both, he can take us with him. and connect us to a holy God.
So don't let this Christmas find you without Christ. First of all, as your savior, and then following to please him as your Lord. And if you will do that, if you will come to Christ. He who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Simply by an act of faith, placing faith alone in Christ alone, for the forgiveness of sins and for the gift of eternal life, he promises, him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.
He wants to give you. The reality of himself. If you will come and accept him as your personal sin bearer. Um Dr. Evans will return in a moment with a final thought to wrap up this Christmas Eve message.
First though, don't miss your chance to request our featured audio and book bundle for the holiday season. Tony's new devotional and prayer guide, Messages from the Manger, and his nine-message sermon compilation called When the King Came to Town. Remember, for a limited time, we're making both of these available to you as our gift, in thanks for your year-end contribution toward the Ministry of the Alternative. Everything we do is supported completely by friends just like you. who believe in Tony's ministry and step up to help.
So please get in touch with us and let Tony know he can count on your help. You can donate online at tonyevans.org. or by phone at 1-800-800-3222. Either way, we'll send you when the king came to town and messages from the manger as our thank you gift. Again, that's tonyevans.org or you can let one of our resource team members help with your request by calling 1-800-800-3222 any time of the day or night.
Again, that's 1-800-800-322.
Well, be sure to join us again tomorrow for a special Christmas Day message. As Dr. Evans talks about everything that's conveyed in the name given to the Christ child. Immanuel, God with us. Right now, though, he's back to close out today with this important thought.
If there's any question. about whether you possess eternal life and the forgiveness of sin. I want you to go to Christ right now and say, Lord, I know I'm a sinner. And I need a savior. I believe you came in the world to be my Savior.
That you died on the cross for my sin. That you rose from the dead for my salvation. And because I now receive you as my personal substitute. Believe in your promise to give me eternal life. And they forgive my sin.
I claim you now as my Savior. And may I move forward in a way that will make it my lifestyle. to be pleasing to you.
so that I can have Christmas every day. In Jesus' name. Amen.
