As the year comes to a close, you’ll find many houses with decorative presents placed outside in preparation for the holidays. But while they may look beautiful on the outside, they’re still empty on the inside. Well, Dr. Tony Evans says this empty present is no different from the Christmas you’ll get when Christ isn’t at the center, and in Don’t Miss Christ this Christmas, he’ll show you the results of those who remembered or overlooked celebrating the birth of the Savior. Don’t Miss Christ this Christmas – Sermon by Tony Evans #sermon #Christmas #TonyEvans

do you know your answer could be sitting

right next to you but you’ll never know

it

until god is ready to reveal it

god says if you come back home you’ll

see

i haven’t gone anywhere

so you draw near to him and he will draw

near to you because he’s the one who’s

never left if you walk in the spirit or

walk by means of the spirit he will open

up the hole for you to get through it

the snake is going to try to stir stuff

up the snake is gonna try to get you

away from god there is a serpent in the

garden and your job keep him out

sometimes he brings a little something

that’s a little cute to let you know

keep on going keep on trusting because i

hear

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you last week we

talked about people who missed christmas

but there are some folks who found

christmas

there are some folks who discovered

christmas

and that’s what i want to talk to you

about today

the folks who found christmas

jesus is the light of the world his job

is to bring reality

to our darkness

so to really catch christ this christmas

is to be able to see your life as it

ought to be seen

evaluate as it ought to be evaluated and

benefit from

clear sight lines

rather than the darkness that we’ve

gotten used to operating in

so let’s tour some folks who ran into

jesus and see what they saw

so that you can see what you see

the first person i’d like to

talk about is

mary

jesus’s mother

in

chapter one of the book of luke

an angel comes to mary

and tells mary she’s gonna have a baby

and this presents a biological dilemma

because mary says

in verse 34 of chapter 1 how can this be

since i am a virgin

now i would call that a practical

question

i’ve never been intimate with a man

i am a virgin

but you just told me i’m gonna be

pregnant

logically

biologically

scientifically

angel

what you just said can’t happen

how can this thing

be

the angel tells her

that the holy spirit is gonna come on

come on you got to be kidding

the holy spirit is gonna come upon you

and when the holy spirit comes upon you

verse 35

the power of the most high is going to

overshadow you

and for this reason the holy child shall

be called the son of

god but i want you to notice something

the angel tells her something that i

don’t want you to miss

in verse 37.

he says

the reason you need to buy this mary is

because nothing is impossible with god

you see one of the lessons of christmas

is don’t put god in a box

because when god wants to do something

he can transcend logic to do it

he can transcend your education to do it

i want to contrast mary

with zacharias

now zacharias is married to elizabeth

elizabeth is a relative of mary

zacharias is old

an angel comes to zacharias in the same

chapter

and says you’re going to be the father

of a baby

zacharias

has a big question

because zachariah said to the angel

how will i know this for certain now

that’s the same question mary had how

can this thing be

zacharias goes logical

like mary did

mary said i am a virgin that’s logical

zechariah says how can this thing be

that i’m gonna have a baby my wife’s

gonna have a baby

i’m an old man

he says this is not possible i’m an old

man

not only that but my wife is advanced in

years

she’s already been through meso

menopause

she’s an old lady now

you’re telling me i’m going to have a

baby

through my wife elizabeth

that’s not logically

possible look at what the angel tells

him

the angel says to zechariah in verse 20

of luke 1 and behold you shall be silent

and unable to speak until the day when

these things take place

because you did not believe my words

which will be fulfilled in their proper

time

wait a minute now

we got the same

kind of scenario and impossibility

something that can’t happen

zacharias is too old his wife is too

advanced in years for her to get

pregnant

biology says that can’t happen

mary is a virgin she can’t get pregnant

because there’s no man on the scene

logic says that can’t happen so we’ve

got the similar situation but we’ve got

two different reactions

the angel tells zachariah

because you did not believe

you will not be able to speak

until it happens

but the angel tells mary

get ready

because you’re getting ready to

experience a supernatural reality

but both of them had doubts and had

questions

so the issue is when you are facing an

impossibility something that does not

make sense

that is revealed by god

what’s the difference between a doubt

that brings discipline

and a doubt that brings a miracle

because they both had a doubt they both

had a question because it wasn’t logical

here’s the difference

it’s shown in chapter 1 verse

38

when the angel said nothing is

impossible with god

mary said behold

the bond slave of the lord may it be

done to me according to your word and

the angel departed from her

you see

both would require a miracle

but zacharias’s doubt was a miracle that

led him to unbelief

mary’s doubt was a miracle that led her

to submission

even though mary said i don’t understand

it even though it doesn’t fit my

biological uh reality

because it came from god

i’m going to be your bond servant and do

to mama whatever you want to do because

if god said it i don’t have to

understand it i don’t have to figure it

out i just have to embrace it and when i

embrace it the supernatural enters into

the natural don’t go into the new year

with your natural thinking don’t go into

the new year with your human

understanding don’t go into your new

year with your education and your

information as though that would

determine what god can do is able to do

will do won’t do because the angel told

mary to tell me to tell you that nothing

is impossible with god

you must enter the new year

if you understand christmas

with an understanding that god can blow

your box

god can mess up your thoughts

god can reverse your direction and he

can do it on a dime because the angel

came to mary out of nowhere

so

elizabeth zachariah’s wife gets pregnant

mary comes to visit her

and i just want to make this

side point in verse 41

when elizabeth heard mary’s greeting

the baby leaped in her womb

and elizabeth was filled with the holy

spirit so

mary is pregnant

she comes to meet elizabeth who’s

pregnant

and when mary comes to elizabeth

the baby in elizabeth’s

womb jumps

because jesus has entered into the

vicinity in the womb of mary

now the second group

that didn’t miss jesus on christmas

were the shepherds

we’re told

in chapter 2 verse 8 that in the same

region

there were some shepherds

staying out in the fields and keeping

watch over the flock by night

and here we go with another angel

an angel shows up i’m going to say

something about that in a moment

of the lord and guess how he showed up

suddenly

so suddenly the angel comes and they’re

these shepherds

and they’re scared to death

the angel says do not be afraid because

they’re scared

they haven’t seen anything like this

before

do not be afraid for behold somebody say

behold

there are a lot of scary things that is

going to happen and you’re going gonna

face in the new year and when you face

fear he tells them because they are

afraid he tells them to behold

that means look intensely at what are

they to behold i bring you good news of

great joy which will be to all the

people for the day in the city of david

that has been born for your savior who

is christ the lord

the more scared you get the more you

need to focus on jesus

he tells scared shepherds

look to jesus and that will calm your

fear and it will turn fear in the good

news and fear in the joy if you look to

jesus so whatever scares you in the new

year focus on jesus who can give you

peace in the midst of a storm so get

your focus straight in the new year so

that jesus can turn fearful situations

anxiety and anxiousness into stability

calm peace and joy but let’s go deeper

he says that the savior is going to be

born in the city of david

and i’m going to give you a sign

verse 7 12 says

you will find a baby wrapped in claws

lying in a manger

now at first that doesn’t seem like much

you’re going to see a baby okay a lot of

babies

you’re going to see a baby with cloth on

them

okay well any baby is going to be

wrapped in something

you’re going to be found a baby in a

manger well that’s a little different

but that’s sort of like a crib it was a

feeding trough but it’s sort of like a

crib and if there was no room in the end

you got to put the baby into something

so

how is that a sign

because i see a baby baby’s got cloth on

them and the baby’s lying in her

a different kind of crib but it’s

lagging a trough but how is that a sign

that he’s the savior

what what what is unique about that what

is special about that

i think the king james says he will be

wrapped in swaddling clothes

well who is he talking to he’s talking

to shepherds

what are shepherds doing they’re

watching over lamb and sheep right let

me tell you about the shepherds

these are not just general shepherds

the shepherds that the angel comes to

are shepherds that are watching over the

lambs that would be offered as sacrifice

on the altar for the sins of the people

the lambs had to be without spot or

wrinkle they could not have any

blemishes any cuts any scars on them

so back in jesus’s day what they would

do is they would wrap a newborn lamb

in cloth

so that as the lamb began to move around

it wouldn’t rub up

off of something and get a scar on it

because then it would be no good you

couldn’t offer it anymore so when the

shepherds heard

that they were to find a baby that would

be wrapped like one of the lambs that

they would normally wrap because this

baby was born to die

they would know that this is the savior

because this is the lamb of god come to

be offered as the sacrifice for mankind

so that’s why the rapping was so

important and it was the wrapping of a

baby like the wrapping of a newborn lamb

because jesus had to be the son of god

without spot or blemish

the sinless son of god

and so they come

and now the angels come forth and

they’re singing

and

the shepherds verse 20

went back glorifying and praising god

for all that they had heard

and for what they had been told

each of these could be a sermon within

itself these shepherds

experience

the miracle of jesus’s birth why because

they recognize the uniqueness of the

savior and responded accordingly

let me show you somebody else who

didn’t miss christmas

his name is simeon chapter 2

verse 25.

there was a man in jerusalem whose name

was simeon

and this man was a righteous and devout

he was righteous and devout looking for

the consolation of israel that is

looking for the savior

and the holy spirit was upon him

and it had been revealed to him by the

holy spirit that he would not see death

before he had seen the lord’s christ

and he came in

in the spirit into the temple

and when the parents brought in the

child jesus to carry out for him the

custom of the law circumcision on the

eighth day then he took him into his

arms and blessed god

simeon didn’t miss christmas

the reason he didn’t miss christmas he

says he was righteous and devout

in other words he had committed his life

to the lord

secondly he didn’t miss christmas

because he was looking for jesus

so if you really want to experience god

in the new year

and you really want to make the most out

of christmas

live a life that seeks to please him

it’s called righteousness

be fully committed to him it’s called

being devout

and then keep your eyes open for him

because he was looking for jesus

he was looking for the consolation of

israel he was looking for jesus to show

up

and it’s a beautiful thing it’s he was

told he wouldn’t see death until he saw

jesus

oh this is deep

this is deep

see when it comes time for you to die

you want to be able to see jesus

now i must warn you

let me warn you because

he’s going to give us a warning here

he gives us the warning

in verse

30 uh in verse 34.

and simeon blessed them and said to mary

his mother

behold this child

is appointed for the fall and rise of

many in israel

and for a sign to be opposed

and a sword will pierce even your own

soul

to the end that

thoughts from many hearts

may be revealed

whoa

simon says

commitment to jesus will be polarizing

many will rise and fall

at his name

too many of us as christians are safe

because we don’t want to offend anybody

i don’t mean being offensive that’s not

what i mean

but we don’t want to be offending

by being too close to jesus

so we stay generic god

let me tell you what jesus’s answer is

he says in matthew 10 if you deny me

before men i will deny you before my

father

if you affirm me before men i will

affirm you before my father so don’t if

you’re embarrassed to be associated with

me

you don’t want your friends to know you

believe in me you don’t want people to

know you’re committed to me you don’t

want people you to know i’m your savior

you skipped me because i’m an

embarrassment to you then just tagging

on in jesus name to your prayer won’t

mean a thing

you must be willing to be identified

with me

that’s why he says in in philippians 2

that at the name of jesus

every knee will bow and every tongue

will confess that jesus is lord to the

glory of the father it is your

identification with jesus and not merely

your belief in god that makes christmas

with a little juice in it

that makes christmas potent

that makes christ real

he says this child is going to cause a

problem

because when you go out with jesus and

you get away from generic god

you have some folk that’s not going to

buy you now so jesus is okay right now

but when you cross the calendar over and

you still treat it like christmas like

jesus is something special like he’s the

son of the living god that he is your

savior and your lord if you go out there

like that you’re gonna have a problem

he tells mary i just want you to know

that yeah he’s all that but he will

create a problem

but he says not only will many rise and

fall

he says he’s going to create a problem

for your soul

so he’s going to have a problem

he’s going to be a problem for you

not just for the folk around you he’s

going to be a problem for you because

you’re going to want to do some things

that jesus won’t agree with

you’re going to want to go somewhere

that jesus doesn’t want you to go

you’re going to want to be something

that jesus doesn’t want you to be and so

you and jesus are going to have a

problem

now tell the truth for shame the devil

have you and jesus ever had a problem

jesus is one thing and you want another

thing it’s called the battle between the

flesh and the spirit the human nature

and the divine nature and the two come

into conflict he says jesus will oppose

your soul

so jesus is a problem

because he will bring you in the

conflict with yourself

where you will have to say no to you and

yes to him

but when you say no to you and yes to

him you get more of him in you

but not until you say no to you

and yes to him

so you see christmas

christmas brings the conflict within you

and without you

and it’s all about jesus

finally

the final

persons who found jesus are the wise men

in matthew chapter two

first of all all these nativity scenes

where you see wise men

around the manger

no

not true

there were no wise men

at the manger at the end with the

shepherds

because

chapter 2 verse 11 says

and coming into the house they saw the

child

so when the wise men get there jesus is

not in the in the manger he’s in the

house

two he’s not a baby he’s a child the

greek word for child means toddler

so he’s not a infant anymore he’s over

one years old

okay

now

the wise men saw his star when the child

was born

it says they came from the east

on camel

on horse there were no 747s

okay so they didn’t fly there

they had to walk there with camels and

horses and donkeys

so if you’re coming from the far east

to the middle east

on horseback and camo and dunkey

you don’t do that in a week

or a month

it takes a bunch of months

to make that trip

but when they saw the shekinah glory

when they saw god’s star

in from the east

over bethlehem

they came looking for jesus even at the

inconvenience of the journey

we don’t want to drive 20 minutes to

worship

they took over a year to get to jesus

because they decided he’s worthy of the

inconvenience of the trip

he’s worthy because they said we have

come to worship him because he is worthy

of whatever distance we have to travel

to get to where he is and he’s worthy of

our frankincense he’s worthy of our

mirror he’s worthy of our worship we

have come to worship him so the question

in the new year is in jesus worthy of

your worship what do you think about the

king of kings the lord of lords and the

christ

who was born in bethlehem

he is worthy

of your worship

so give him his worth

this christmas

and what did they get in return

uh verse 12

and having been warned by god in a dream

not to return to herod

the magi the wise men left for their own

country by another way or did you see

that

having been warned in a dream

you see

when you get jesus in the right place

and given the right worship

he can tell you which direction you

ought to take

they were worn in a dream

don’t go back this route cause herod is

looking after you and he wants to kill

you and he wants to kill the baby you

need to take another route see what god

wants to give you if you recognize jesus

and give him the word that he deserves

is your personal internal gps

to be able to direct you no don’t don’t

do this don’t take that opportunity

don’t go to that situation no cause i’m

not in that i’m over here it looks good

but it won’t be good five years from now

so don’t go there see god wants to steer

you but he won’t steer you either

directly or through a voice or through a

dream if you’re not willing to come and

worship him

they got led because they were willing

to do what it took to give him the

praise that he deserves

jesus is the light of the world

he wants to illumine your light in the

new year

and the folks who found jesus found

guidance found miracles found the

supernatural

so you can go into the new year with a

plain ordinary life

and just use your own human

understanding and do the best you can

or you can decide no this christmas i’m

banking on the supernatural

i’m not i’m not gonna lean to my own

understanding

i’m gonna bank on this christ child who

has now risen from the dead

because jesus

is the light

of the world

wherever you go during christmas season

you see christmas lights

they show up at night in the midst of

the darkness giving us some brightness

at nighttime

but there’s a lot of night time around

us right now there’s a lot of darkness

there’s a lot of problems and fears and

frustrations and anxiety

and it makes things feel dark

but the true light has entered the world

jesus christ is the light of the world

and if we would focus on the light

it does not eradicate the reality of

darkness but it does change what we see

we’re going to make it in this world in

this life with this trouble

we need some clear light we need to see

things as they really are

that’s why jesus came

keep your eyes on jesus this christmas

and he will help you to be guided

correctly

through the dark roads of this world

until you arrive at eternity

jesus is the true light of christmas

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you