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The Greatest Gift
John 3:16
1. In the famous short story The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry, a story is told of a young couple living in deep poverty in New York City about 100 years ago. Being very much in love, they each desire to give the other a wonderful Christmas present, but they barely have enough money to survive, much less for Christmas presents. In an act of great sacrifice, the young husband hocks his only valuable possession, his father's gold watch in order to buy his wife a set of expensive combs for her long beautiful hair. Meanwhile, the loving young wife cut her hair and sells it to a wig maker in order to buy her husband a gold chain to replace the string on his prized watch. The point of the story is that what is given is not nearly so important as why it was given. The motivation for giving a gift is vastly more important than the object we give.
2. The giving of gifts during the Christmas season seemingly has its roots in the gifts of "gold, frankincense, and myrrh" given to Jesus by the Persian magi in Matthew 2:11. The more modern story of Santa Claus comes from the tradition of Saint Nicholas, an anonymous benefactor who gave presents to children each Christmas. In various cultures founded upon Christianity, there are traditions of giving gifts on different days of the season.
3. Of course, today Christmas shopping is a commercial necessity. Many retailers depend on gift buying for survival. I read that Americans spend approximately 40 billion dollars each year just on Christmas gifts. Most Americans spend too much on gifts. You probably buy presents for a long list of people. Larry Wilde said it this way, "Christmas has turned into the season when people run out of money before they run out of friends."
4. Today, I want to focus on a very familiar passage and gain some insight on the greatest gift ever given.
I. The Motivation for the Greatest Gift.
A. What Motivates Us to Give Gifts during the Holidays?
1. We give some gifts because of OBLIGATION. Sometimes we give just because it is expected. I'll bet you buy gifts for some co-workers, relatives or other acquaintances and you don't even like them!
2. We give some gifts because of EXHIBITION. Sometimes we give gifts for show, to impress other people. Jesus said of the Pharisees, "they have their reward."
Illustration: There was a boy who spent several hundred dollars on his girlfriend and little on anyone else. The day after Christmas she dumped him for another guy.
3. We may give some gifts because of COMPENSATION. We expect something in return.
4. We give some gifts because of COMPASSION. During the holidays, many have given to someone in need. Those non-profit charities, like the Salvation Army, are especially seen during this time of year for they know that people are in a giving mood and will stop and give thought to those in great need.
5. We give some gifts because of APPRECIATION. We often give a gift to someone because we appreciate what they are doing and how they are doing it.
6. We give some gifts because of LOVE. There are a few people in our lives that we love more than anyone else. Our gifts to them are motivated by our love.
Did you notice the progression of giving in those words? From an obligatory reason for giving to the most intimate reason for giving, love?
B. What was God's motivation for giving us Jesus, the Greatest Gift?
1. John 3:16 is perhaps the most familiar verse in the Bible. We see it on placards, on T-shirts or even painted on someone's chest at sporting events. Just because it is familiar does not mean it is unimportant.
2. Note the first phrase, "For God so loved the world" God not only "loved the world," He "SO loved the world." His love is deep and wide. That word "so" makes the action of love very emphatic. Men, your wife detects the difference between saying "I’m in love with you" and "I’m SO in love with you!" Just that one two letter word tells her how much you love her and want to be with her. Ladies, the same is true in how you say "I love you" to your husband. Of course, there is another aspect of saying "I’m SO in love with you." If you say it then it needs to be exhibited in a very tangible manner. Many a person has told another that they are so in love with another but it never borne out in how they treat that person.
Application: God has told us that "SO loved the world" and He has proven beyond a doubt that He really meant what He said.
3. The term "world" or kosmos represents all of creation. God created the "world" to reflect His goodness and glory. He created man to bear His image, to share His love and fellowship. However, even in the dawn of creation, man rebelled against God and the whole world the whole creation was marred by sin. Even so, God SO loved the world He sent His Son to set it straight.
4. Rom.5:8 says, But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. After Ruth and I had dated for about a year and half, I bought her an engagement ring to "demonstrate" (commend) my love. God's gift of love is Jesus.
5. Eph.2:4-5 says, But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
6. Titus 3:4-5 tells us, But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
7. 1 John 3:1 says, Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
8. 1 John 4:9 says, In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
9. God's love is eternal. It has always been. Jeremiah the prophet wrote, The LORD hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. (Jer.31:3).
Illustration: Once a pastor felt led to preach a sermon on the love of God. He was frustrated because the subject was so broad and there were so many verses in the Bible that spoke of God's love. He prayed all week about how to make the message simple and effective. Finally on Sunday, when the congregation gathered, he had all the lights extinguished. He lit a candle and placed it before a small manger. He lit another candle and placed it before a crudely woven crown of thorns. He lit yet another candle and placed it before a rough wooden cross. He turned to the people and said, "This is the love of God."
II. The Quality of the Greatest Gift.
A. We are not always Pleased with the Gifts we Receive.
1. It is said that the busiest days for retail stores take place in the weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The second busiest time is after Christmas when many of the gifts are exchanged or returned! Probably some of us here will be doing the same, especially if we receive a carefully chosen clothing gift that would have fit last year but just won’t fit this year!
2. Sometimes we return items because they just don't work. This is especially true with electronic items. My Dad is going through that right now with a new Dell computer they bought. It wasn’t a gift, but if it had been, he is close to exchanging it. The motherboard has been replaced and that didn’t fix the problem, and now he is waiting for a new laptop keyboard to come in and be installed. He told me if that doesn’t work, he will be contacting Dell about getting another laptop all together since the one he has now appears to be a lemon.
3. We have all bought something or received something that ended up giving us a headache trying to figure out how it works. It may have been an item that was not quality made.
4. For men shopping for their wife this Christmas, take this in: (from Reader’s Digest)
- Don’t buy anything that plugs in. Anything that requires electricity is seen as utilitarian.
- Don’t buy clothing that involves sizes. The chances are one in seven thousand that you will get her size right, and your wife will be offended the other 6999 times. "Do I look like a size 16?" she’ll say. Too small a size doesn’t cut it either: "I haven’t worn a size 8 in 20 years!"
- Avoid all things useful. The new silver polish advertised to save hundreds of hours is not going to win you any brownie points.
- Don’t buy anything that involves weight loss or self-improvement. She’ll perceive a six-month membership to a diet center as a suggestion that’s she’s overweight.
- Don’t buy jewelry. The jewelry your wife wants, you can’t afford. And the jewelry you can afford, she doesn’t want.
- Finally, don’t spend too much. "How do you think we’re going to afford that?" she’ll ask. But don’t spend too little. She won’t say anything, but she’ll think, "Is that all I’m worth?"
5. Yes, we are not always happy with what we get, but praise God for what John 3:16 tells us:
B. No One ever Regrets Receiving Jesus, the Greatest Gift.
1. John 3:16 not only tells us God's motivation for giving us the greatest gift, but the quality of the gift as well. He "so loved" us that He gave "His only begotten" or His "one and only Son" (NIV).
2. God did not merely create a Savior for us. He didn't create a perfect man. He didn't send an angel that looked like a man. No, He sent His own precious Son. This was no imitation Son, either. This was the real thing. This was God’s precious Son.
3. The Bible tells us that Jesus is "the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person" (Heb.1:3). Jesus said, "I and My Father are one." Col.1:15 says, "He is the image [icon, photograph] of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature." He said in Jn.14:9, he that hath seen me hath seen the Father;
4. That's why Isaiah foretold and the angel could say to Joseph, "they shall call His name Immanuel" or "God with us" (Is.7:14; Mt.1:23). God didn't create a Savior. He came Himself, in a human body to save us. Martin Luther wrote, "The mystery of the humanity of Christ, that He sunk Himself into our flesh, is beyond all human understanding."
5. That's the message of the manger. Our King, our Immanuel, our God is with us! A gift that has eternal quality. There is nothing else like it in all the world or the universe.
III. The Result of the Greatest Gift.
A. Many gifts have no Lasting Results.
1. We have all received gifts that we didn’t quite know what to do with. We appreciated the expression of love behind the gift but in the end the gift was not used that much. It was a gift that we really did not use all that much
2. But even when we receive a gift that we considered a necessity we often find that after using that item for awhile we set it aside for it has lost its charm. This is especially true of children who say they have to have this particular gift or toy - it is played with on Christmas and for a while after that then not played with very much.
3. Most of us have received gifts that are collecting dust somewhere in our homes.
B. Jesus, the Greatest Gift brings Eternal Results.
1. Jn.3:16 says God gave His Son "that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
2. The Baby in the manger became the Savior on the cross and the Lord of the empty tomb. He didn't come to give us a holiday; He came to make us holy. He didn't come to give us a reason to exchange gifts; He came to give us "everlasting life." He doesn't want us to "perish."
3. The greatest gift you can ever receive is salvation through Jesus. He will change your life forever! He is the perfect fit. You will never ever want to exchange Him.
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