Gifted (James 1:16-17)
Call to Hear
When I was just about seven or eight years old, my family spent the Christmas holidays in New Orleans with my step-dad’s side of the family. That’s a Christmas that I’ll never ever forget. We had a great time visiting with cousins and distant relatives, playing games, staying up way too late, eating way too much and getting into all kinds of mischief. As enjoyable as all of that was, there was something else that made that Christmas so special for me. And I never saw it coming.My family didn’t have a lot of money usually, and that year we had even less. That meant no gifts for Christmas. As we packed for our trip I paid attention to every box, bag, and suitcase that went into the car. Not a single wrapped anything in sight. While in New Orleans, I just knew that my sister and I would get something. I knew that my mom and step-dad could be pretty sneaky, so even though I didn’t see anything I figured they had snuck the gifts past me when I wasn’t looking. On Christmas day, as the gifts were being handed out, I waited eagerly to get mine, but there was none. At the last minute, just as I was about to give up hope of getting anything from old St. Nick, a single box was given to my sister and another was given to me. These would be the only gifts we’d receive that year. She was given a baby doll with a stroller and I was given a rocket that would blast off to the moon with just the slightest spark of my imagination.A week from now, children will be nuzzled all snug in their beds, hardly able to sleep as they wait for the first beam of sunlight to hit their faces on Christmas morning. As we all know, much of our stress during these past several months has been centered around buying the perfect gift for those people in your lives. Excited about getting them exactly what they wanted or needed and anticipating the joy that will come from witnessing their delight.Well, today I want to take a look at a few passages from God’s Word that helps to remind us of the many things that God has gifted us with according to His love and grace.The apostle James reminds us that,James 1:16–17 (NKJV)
Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
Before we open our first gift, let me pray.
His life to redeem.
I personally believe that it is irresponsible to talk about the Christmas story without also mentioning the story of Easter.The first and most important gift that we have been given by God is the life of His Son for our very own redemption. Every other gift that we will receive is directly connected to this first gift.In the Gospel of John, Jesus tells his disciples,John 10:11 (NKJV)
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
John 10:18 (NKJV)
No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.
In saying this, Jesus distinguishes Himself from every other person who stands guard over the sheep. It’s crucial that we see this and understand it’s power.
In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God…the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…(John 1:1, 14).
There is so much more to Jesus’ humanity than Him just living among us.What we discover in the pages of the Bible is that not only does Christ live where we live, but He lives as we live. It reminds me of some of you here today, those of you who have migrated to the United States of America. For a large number of those who come here they not only live in the neighborhoods we live in, they also live the way we live. They learn to speak the language that we speak. Many of these folks attend our schools, they work where we work, they celebrate many of the same things we celebrate, they enlist into our military and fight in the same battles that our young men and women fight in to preserve the American way, and on Sunday morning and Wednesday evening and all during the week, they join us in worshiping our Great God and Redeemer. I guess, in a manner of speaking, we could say that Jesus became a naturalized citizen of the world He had created. But why? For what purpose?The late great evangelist and pastor, Charles Octavius Boothe, author of Plain Theology for Plain People a systematic theology written for Black men and women who had been enslaved in this country, stated this;
“In the whole history of the world there was no event of such vast importance as the Incarnation of the Son of God.”[i]“…first, that a Being possessed of the divine nature and exhibiting superhuman excellences of mind and character has appeared in human nature; second, that such a Being was and still is the crying need and longing desire of mankind. We need and Immanuel, a ‘God-with-us.’…one whose nature, position, and character might enable him to appear between God and man, and lay hands on both. Such we now have in the God-man, Christ Jesus.”[ii]
Long before we had ever considered Jesus. Long before the idea of God was formed in our minds, scripture tells us that “the babe wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger” (Lk. 2:12) was “slain before the foundation of the world”(Rev. 13:8). This was no accident. This was not the result of negligence or poor parenting on the Father’s part. Not at all. Rather, this was the result of perfect love for you and me.Athanasius of Alexandria stated that
“…it was our sorry case that caused the Word to come down, our transgression that called out His love for us, so that He made haste to help us and to appear among us. It is we who were the cause of His taking human form, and for our salvation that in His great love He was both born and manifested in a human body.”[iii]
If you only receive one gift this Christmas, receive the gift of God’s saving grace poured out on you through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
His Spirit to help.
Not only have we been given His life to redeem us, but, secondly, we have been given His Spirit to help, guide and comfort us.John 14:15–18 (NKJV)
“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
Before going too far, we must understand Who the Holy Spirit is.Last month we ended our Alpha course and during one of the talks on the Holy Spirit, a young woman answered the question, “Who is the Holy Spirit?” by saying that “it’s your helper, your gut, your intuition and your ancestors speaking to you”. Let me just be very frank and clear, because this is not a question that we want to be unsure about or one that we want to get wrong, the Holy Spirit is not the voice of your ancestors. The Holy Spirit is not your intuition or your gut, but HE - not it - He is your Helper.The Holy Spirit is 1/3 of the Godhead. He is God, just as the Father is God, just as the Son is God.In the OT we find Him at the beginning hovering over the face of the deep (Gen. 1:2). We also find Him writing the 10 Commandments (Finger of God - Dt. 9:10; Ex. 8:19; Mt. 12:28; Lk. 11:20). We find Him carrying the prophet Ezekiel to the captives in Chaldea (Ezek. 11:24).In the NT we find Him forming the Son of Man in the womb of Mary (Mt. 1:22). We find Him leading Jesus into the wilderness to suffer temptations (Mt. 4:1). We find Him raising Jesus to life again after He had drained the cup of the Father’s wrath (Rom. 8:11). And finally, we find Him giving power to a cowardly group of Jesus followers so that they could take the Gospel to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). And what He has done for them He will do for all who will receive the gift of God’s love demonstrated in Jesus Christ, the atoning sacrifice once for all mankind.You see, during the time that the disciples walked with Jesus, they didn’t have in the indwelling presence of the Spirit of God. According to John 7:38-39, “the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified". However, from the moment that Jesus was glorified through His death, burial, resurrection and ascension, not only was the Spirit of God with those who believe, He also became a constant and permanent resident in their lives as well (Jn. 14:17).YOU are the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19-20).The Spirit of God:
Helps us when we are weak (Rom. 8:26-27).
John A. Witmer rightly says,
“It is not that the Spirit helps in those occasional times when Christians are weak; their state is one of weakness and the Spirit continually helps them.”[iv]
As much as we try to avoid it, we all have moments of weakness. And if we aren’t resistant to it, in our weakest moments we will see God’s power on fullest display!
Comforts us in sufferings (Jn. 14:26)
Guides us into all truth (Jn. 16:13)
Decodes the Word of God for us so that we can understand it and apply it to our lives (1 Cor. 2:14)
Prays for us when we don’t know what to pray (Rom. 8:26-27)
Empowers us to share the hope that we have in Christ (Acts 1:8).
Not only does Jesus gift us with His Spirit, but the Holy Spirit Himself gives us gifts. The apostle Paul said that there are many different gifts, but it is the same Holy Spirit who provides those gifts (1 Cor. 12:1ff; Rom. 12:3ff; Eph. 4:11-16). And folks, we need both the Spirit of God and the gifts He gives if we will carry out the Great Commission of making Jesus known in all places.Jim Cymbala, lead pastor of Brooklyn Tabernacle church, asks,
“If we do not have access to spiritual power, how can we accomplish what needs to be done?” He says, “we would face so many such obstacles from satanic strongholds that we would never evangelize the world effectively without the power that only the Spirit can impart.”[v]
How very true!
His abiding presence to remain.
Third, by giving us His Spirit, Jesus leaves us with His abiding presence.In the Great Commission, Jesus tells His disciples,Matthew 28:19–20 (NKJV)
Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.
As the disciples anticipated what life would be like without the ability to walk shoulder to shoulder with Christ, He comforted them with the reminder that He would never leave them nor forsake them (Dt. 31:6; Heb. 13:5).Matthew Henry says,
“The God of Israel, the Saviour, is sometimes a God that hideth himself, but never a God at a distance.”[vi]
God may conceal His identity, but He is never far from us. The apostle James encourages us to draw near to God and God will draw near to us (James 4:8). The prophet Jeremiah says that when we invest all that we are and all that we have for the sake of possessing God alone, then we will find Him (Jer. 29:12-14). Could it be said that when we sin against God that we are as close to Him as when we obeyed? Possibly, the only difference is that my sin doesn’t allow me to recognize His presence. That’s what happened in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve hid themselves, God had not left the Garden.I love what A.W. Tozer says about the divine immanence.
“Wherever we are God is here. There is no place, there can be no place where He is not. Ten million intelligencies standing at as many points in space separated by incomprehensible distances can each one say with equal truth, God is here. No one is in mere distance any further from or any nearer to God than any other person.”[vii]
You need to know and be reminded that God is as present in your sufferings as He is in your comforts. He is as close in your pains as He is in your joys. Jesus is as close to you when you are taken from your homeland and brought to a country you’ve never been to as He was before you left your familiar surroundings. God is as near when your doctor gives you news you didn’t expect, or when your spouse files for divorce, or when your child is in trouble, or when you lose your job or a someone you love dies, God is as near to you in those moments as He is when all is going right in your life. In all of these situations, we can state with equal certainty what Jacob realized as he slept on the hard ground under the night sky, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it.””( Genesis 28:16).That is why we call Him Immanuel! God is with us!
His Church to unite.
Finally, not only have we been given Jesus’ life to redeem us, His Spirit to help us, and His abiding presence to remain with us, but we have also been given His Church to unite us.John 13:34–35 (NKJV)
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John Wesley once stated that
“Christianity is essentially a social religion; and…to turn it into a solitary religion is indeed to destroy it.”[viii]
The Hebrew writer says,Hebrews 10:24–25 (NKJV)
And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.
I love the Church! Look around this room and take notice of what God has done and how He has brought us all together. We are an incredible tapestry of diverse experiences, cultures, ethnicities, races, statuses, ages, sexes, traditions, beliefs, political leanings, economies, and so on, and despite all of that, we have found a commonality of identity in the manger born Savior - Jesus Christ.Stanley Grenz affirms that,
“‘Church’ emerges whenever the Holy Spirit brings believers in any location to join together under Christ to be a people-in-relationship. It emerges whenever a group of Christ’s disciples pledge themselves to be a ‘called-out’ people. ‘Church’ exists whenever believers join together with the purpose of walking with one another as God’s people, under Christ’s authority, and by the empowerment of the Spirit.”[ix]
The Church, imperfect as she may be, is God’s earthly representative of Jesus Christ uniting all of us who belong to Him.
Call to Respond
This morning, I wan tot give you an opportunity to be a part of God’s Church.You see, 40 years ago, when I was handed that one Christmas gift, I had no idea how that single act of grace would speak love and value to my heart. It showed me that I was loved and cared for. That I had not been abandoned.You can have that same confidence today because of the gift of God’s Son, Jesus Christ.That one gift changed my life for 40 years, but there is one Gift that can change your life forever.John 3:16 NKJV
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
Tre Clark9:32 PM December 14, 2023.
Works Cited
[i] Charles Octavius Boothe, Plain Theology for Plain People, p44.[ii] Charles Octavius Boothe, Plain Theology for Plain People, p45.[iii] Athanasius of Alexandria, On the Incarnation, 16.[iv] John A. Witmer, “Romans,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 473).[v] Jim Cymbala, Spirit Rising, p 105.[vi] Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary (v. Jesus Alive and Sovereign (28:16–20).[viii] John Wesley, An Introduction to Wesleyan Theology, p99.[ix] Stanley Grenz, Created for Community, p210.