A Christmas Message

Amen. If you got your Bibles with you, uh let's go to the Gospel of John. We're going to have a Christmas message out of the Gospel of John. John is the fourth book in the the New Testament. John is um John the disciple is the author of it. He wrote uh John, the Gospel of John. He wrote three letters, first, second, and third John. He wrote wrote the book of Revelations. John is not John the Baptist, the man that got beheaded, the man that baptized Jesus, the man that dressed a little bit weird. This is normal John. He does not wear skinny jeans. He doesn't need lifts. He is a man. John means in Hebrew the gift of God. John want to It's a great book. And we're going to have a Christmas message. And I hope you'll pay attention to that. I doubt if I I I I don't think in 28 years here that we've ever preached a Christmas message out of the First John. But it's going to be exciting because you're going to see, Lord willing, a lot of things that are applicable to you today. So let's turn to the Gospel of John and we're going to start with um verse one. Now, John is interesting because when most of us think about Christmas, we think of shepherds, maybe angels, Mary and Joseph, hay, stables, and silence broken by new cry. But John does something different and daring. He actually shows us the the Christmas story without a manger. No Bethlehem, no wise men, no swaddling clothes story without a manger. John takes us to a time before Christmas had a name or even a date. Before there was a night sky filled with angels, there's going to be an eternity filled with purpose. Before there was a a babe in a manger, there was a word in the beginning. Before God came near, God already was. And what John wants us to know is that Christmas did not begin when Mary went into labor. Christmas began when God decided that he would not remain distant. So, let's jump on in with verse one. Let's jump on in. Before there was a Mary, before there was a Mary Beth, before there was a Marie, before there was a a Steve, before there was anybody, it says in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. Now, so those of y'all that been with the Bible for just like half a minute might recognize the beginning of these words because it parallels the beginning of Genesis. But John echoes Genesis on purpose. Because Genesis chapter 1 says, "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." And John starts out his gospel by saying, "In the beginning was the word. Before creation had shape, before the stars had names, before the oceans knew their boundaries, before histories had chapters, the word was. Because John is saying, listen, listen, listen. Before your story started, God was already God before. And man, that encourages me because before your success, before your failure, before your regret, before your diagnosis, before your divorce, before your prayers, before your doubts, before your heartache, the word was. So Christmas is not about God reacting to a broken world. Christmas is about God revealing what he has planned all along. And John is telling us that Jesus is not God's response to human failure. Jesus is not plan B. He's not a divine course correction. Jesus's plan A before there was even a need for a plan. And that means that your story doesn't begin with your sin. It doesn't begin with your trauma. It doesn't begin with your poor decisions. It doesn't begin with anything. It begins with God's intention. Even more than that, John chooses some very special words here because he says the word in the beginning was the word and we know that word is from the Greek word logos. Um and in the Greek culture logos meant reason, logic, order, meaning. It was the organizing principle of the of the universe. But in Hebrew word means something a little bit different too because it also means action. So when God spoke, things happened. Listen to me. Light did not debate. Oceans didn't negotiate. Creation didn't say, "Hey, let me think about it." God spoke. Reality obeyed. So, this is what John is saying. The voice that said, "Let there be light in Genesis now has a face." And the power that flung the galaxies into place now walks among his people. The meaning behind everything now steps into history. This means that life is not random. Your life is not accidental. It means that your life is not an accident. So even even when life feels chaotic, there's a deeper coherence that's holding it all together. So this is what John's saying. Hey, that voice, that power, that eternal self-expression of God now has a name, Jesus. And that means that Christianity does not start with a rulebook. It starts with a person. And that changes everything. And John doesn't leave any room for confusion. He says the word was God. Not a God, not a divine intern. He not a lesser being, fully God, fully eternal. Which means when Jesus shows up and all of a sudden later starts engaging in healing and the forgiving of sins and the touching of lepers and the calming of the storms, that isn't a break from who God is. That is who God is. And so this matters because if Jesus is not fully God, he can't fully reveal God. And he can't if he can't fully reveal God, then we're left guessing. But John says, "We don't have to guess anymore." If you want to know what God thinks about sinners, look at Jesus. If if you want to know how God responds to weakness, look at Jesus. If you want to know whether God moves towards broken people or away from them, look at Jesus. So Jesus is not God pretending to be nice. It's who God is by himself. And if you've ever wondered, is God angry? Is God distant? Is God disappointed with me? This is what John is saying to us. Have you ever had any thought like that? Look at Jesus and don't look away. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. And the same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him. Let let let that sit with you for just a second. All things were made by him. So the baby that was in the feeding trough is the one that formed the star. The hands that Mary will hold are the hands that shaped creation. The voice that cried in the night. The same voice that spoke the words, "Let there be light." Now Christmas might seem like it was small with a small start, but it only looked small. God didn't become less when he came near. Christmas he became visible. And and John says, "All things were made by him, and without him was not anything made that was made." I know in the secular world, I'm an attorney. I know we deal with loopholes. I know it's aggravating, but let me tell you something. There's no loophole here. John says there was not anything made that was made. John RS every loophole. He's saying everything that exists. Every atom, every breath, every moment owes his existence to Jesus. That here, this is what that means. That Jesus is not just relevant to your spiritual life. He's relevant to everything. your work, your relationship, your suffering, your waiting. Jesus who made all things is not distant from the details of your life. Then John goes on just keeps on building. And in him was life and the life was the light of men. So John does something really profound here. In him was life. His life was the light of men. He doesn't say that Jesus brought ideas or philosophy. He doesn't say that Jesus brought us a bunch of good principles. He says that Jesus brought life. His life. His life was the light of men. And try to try to get that so backwards. So many of our brothers and sisters in the faith is like, I got to get enlightened before I can have life. Well, no. Life precedes light. So, if you've got light today because you've got life today. That's what Jesus brought to us. But John says, "Hey, look, life came first and light flows from life." That's why moral reform without a spiritual renewal never lasts. That that's that's why behavior modification without a heart transformation always collapses. You don't live differently by trying harder. You leave you live differently when life really takes root in your heart. And so it says, look, and the light, it just keeps getting better. And the light shone in the darkness. And I want you to notice this. There's darkness. Then all of a sudden, here's light and it shines into the darkness. I want you to notice that you don't fix the darkness by yelling at it. You don't shame darkness into leaving. You don't argue darkness into submission. Hey, let's just marinate that in just half a second. Because right now in our country on the political spectrum, both sides hate each other. They both call each other names. They both think that the other side is darkness and they scold and they they they shame and they they yell and they raise their voice and they really are getting look you don't change darkness by yelling at it. You don't change darkness by calling it names. You change darkness by shining light into it. I that let me tell you how powerful light is. when I was in basic training

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years ago. Holy cow, I'm old. Okay. When I was in basic training, they took us out at nighttime at West Point and they did this and I just it burned in my mind. It just had a profound impact in me. A mile and a half away, they had a soldier light a cigarette. We saw the light and then we saw that little cigarette. I mean, I'm talking a light spectrum this eye. And when it we I could see it a mile and a half away. That's how powerful light is. Just that little bit of light showed the way for me. A mile and a half in total. That's how powerful light is. Hey, you want to change the other side? Whether they have Biden derangement syndrome or Trump derangement syndrome, if you want to change the other side, show your light. Show the light of Jesus specifically because you will not change them by denigrating them. You will not change them by causing names. You change people by showing light and the light shine into the darkness. The darkness comprehendeth not. And so, hey kids, this is King James. The word comprehend means overcome, means conquered. And the darkness did not conquer the light. Oh, it tried but it failed. Darkness never overcomes the light. That's how powerful it is. And that's good news for those of us who feel a little bit surrounded, a little bit overwhelmed, a little bit outmatched. The story of Jesus is not that the light barely survives. The story of Jesus's light cannot be stopped because this is what John I want you to notice something else about John. He doesn't diminish the darkness. He doesn't deny the darkness. He says, "Look, the darkness is real because pain is real. Evil, yeah, it's real. But darkness is not ultimate. John does not deny darkness. He defies it. And that matters for anybody who's walking through grief, illness, betrayal, or confusion. Then John starts to show somebody who showed the light. And there was a man, verse eight, I'm sorry, verse six, and there was a man sent from God whose name was John. The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light that all men through him might believe. He was not the light but he was sent to bear witness of that light. So John introduces John the Baptist and it's fascinating how clear he is. He says he was not the light. Oh, he was a good person. Matter of fact, Jesus would go on to say there's none greater born of woman than John the Baptist. John had a following. shot had influence. He had momentum. Yet his entire mission, the entire mission is don't look at me, look to him. And you know, that's so important for us now as we close out 2025 and go into 2026 because we live in a culture that is obsessed with influence, branding, followers. And John the Baptist, he reminds us, you are most useful to God when you point people to Christ. You uh you're most useful for God when you know that you are not the center of the universe. That that takes a lot of relief, you know, because you know, you're your job is not that impressive. I don't care who you are. Your job is not to be impressive. It's not to be faithful. It's Look, let me tell you something. Whether you're an elected official or the CEO of Apple, guess what? You still buy toilet paper. You still need to brush your teeth and gargle. You still put your pants on one leg at a time. Your job is not to be impressive. Your job is to point people to Christ. And that's why politics fails us. If you really want to influence and change society, point people to Christ. There's a guy, his name is John the Baptist, but he was not the light. John the Baptist appears. The scriptur is crystal clear. He is not the light. And that's freeing. You don't have to be oppressive. You don't have to save anybody. You don't have to fix everything. Just point to Christ. Then your life becomes most powerful when it says, "Don't look at me. Look at him." Then he goes on because some people miss it. Says in verse nine, "That was the true light which lightth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world and the world was made by him and the world knew him not. He came into his own and his own received him not. Let that sink in for just a second. Jesus, born of the tribe of Judah, came into his people and they didn't recognize him. But even bigger than that, he came into the world and the creator of the world wasn't recognized by the creation. and the author of the story stepped onto the stage and the characters missed it.

That's not ancient history. It happens every single day. When let let me just Hey guys, ladies, when when a day feels routine,

we're missing the Lord. when a day feels routine instead of remarkable. When when interruptions feel like obstacles instead of invitations and we we often miss God because not necessarily because life is too dark, but because it seems too normal. We miss that that God often works less like a lightning bolt and more like sun that just rises every morning. steady, patient, faithful, easy to ignore if you're not looking. So when Jesus arrives without theatrics, without manipulation, without force, tells us something crucial about the heart of God. So John goes on and he says, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, comma, even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor the will of flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." Let's let's marinate in these two verses for just a second because John is doing something profound. John doesn't waste words and he certainly does not mix verb tenses by accident. Grammar here honestly is preaching before the words ever leave a preacher's mouth. This is how it begins. I want you to notice for as many as received him. That is a past tense active voice indicative mood. So it it's indicative. In other words, it it's something that has has already happened. It isn't hypothetical. This isn't the future. This is John talking about a people for whom a transaction had already taken place. They received Christ. And as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God. To them gave he power to become the sons of God. And I want you to notice something about this because it says, "Who were born not of blood, nor of the will of men, nor of the will, but of God." Who were born. That's that's a passive voice. It's something that happened to them. I want you to look at this cup for just a second. Okay? I think we can all agree. And for the young kids, if you have life, like I'm I'm alive. Clearly, I'm alive right now. But this cup, is this cup alive? No. It's an inanimate object. is an object that doesn't have life in it. Right? Okay. There's an inanimate object without life and that cup is receiving this water. That cup is doing nothing. That cup has not made a choice. It hasn't said a prayer. It hasn't behaved. It has received it. Brothers and sisters, this is what the Bible says about your natural state without the spirit of God. And you have he quickened who were dead in sins and trespasses. So before God came and gave you a lifegiving power, you were dead. You were inanimate. You didn't say anything. You were blind to the things of God. You couldn't hear the things of God. You couldn't understand the things of God. That's very abundantly clear in the New Testament. You didn't reach out to the lifegiving spirit and say, "Come." Jesus says that very plainly in John 3:es 5 and six. It says if you're going to go into the kingdom of heaven, you must be born of the spirit. And just like in your physical life, you didn't cause yourself to be born. Hey, zygote, here I come. You know, swim, union, fusion, blah, blah, blah. I hope I'm right about that. I'm a lawyer, not a doctor. I forgot biology. You didn't do anything for your spiritual life. God gave it to you. And oh, by the way, the inanimate objects that receive the spirit of God, this is what the book of Revelation says about them. They outnumber the sands of the sea and the stars of the sky. They are so vast that they can number. They come from every nation, kindred, tongue, tribe, cre. That's Bible, y'all. I'm not arguing. It's what the Bible says. There are a lot of cups out there. And they don't all look like us. And they don't all sound like us. And they don't all like act like us. They were cups when the spirit of God came into them and gave them life. Now that that transaction that occurred in the past has happened, something powerful is about to be. And he says, "But as many as received them, to them gave you power to become the sons of God." I want you to notice because the King James got this one spot on. He didn't say to become children of God. He said to become sons of God. There's a difference between a child of God and a son of God. When in the Old Testament and these New Testament times when they're talking about sons, they're talking about people that got legal rights to something. So when you got this Holy Spirit giving you spiritual life, Amen. You're a child. But it says, I want you to follow this. But as many as received him, to them gave he power. So the ones that had the water inside of them, he gave him power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. that even to them that believe on his name might not be as clear in the English, but if you look it up in your Greek and the linear is a present active participle. It's to those that are currently believing. So as many as received them, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe. Brothers and sisters, by the fact that God born you again, birthed you into the kingdom, gave you his Holy Spirit in regenerations through the act of believing, you have the right to claim rights and privileges as a son of God. You're already a child of God. Now, it's time to grow up. So, you can control your anger. You can control your lust. You can control your body so that you don't have to yield yourself to every addiction that the world is trying to pull you to. This is amazing. Christ came into the world. He gave his spiritual life. Oh, by the way, according to a plan that he had before the foundation of the world acc Ephesians 1, according he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holding on without blame before him in love. having predestinated a bunch of cups under the adoption of children by Jesus Christ according to the good pleasure of his will. Not because the cup was good-looking. It's a solo cup. It's like every other cup up there. And so are you. You're not special. Everything about you, it says your righteousness, this is what the Apostle Paul says, your righteousness is as filthy rags. You can dress up all you want to and the best that you have to do is a filthy rag before a holy God. That's us. Our problem is is we think we're special solo cups. We're not. And that's what makes God's love so amazing. He looked down there and said, "I'm going to love this cup and that cup and this cup and I'm going to choose them." And then Christ is going to die for them and at some point the Holy Spirit's going to come into them and they can grow up and they can be good Christians. This is wonderful news. So that's why we're preaching the gospel. And then he goes on and he says, "Hey, look, they were born not of blood, not of flesh, not of the will of man. They were born of God." And he says, "Now you got that chance." So I want you to notice something because it sets the tone for everything that follows. So I want you to put it together. There are people that receive Christ by an operation of the Holy Spirit, who were born of God, and who are now actively believing, continuing to trust, continuing to lead, continuing to walk. And that sets the tone for everything because John does not say as many as will receive him someday. He doesn't say as many as will believe later. He says have received and are believing. Then comes the most remarkable promise that we can grow up and be sons. Being born of God makes us his children, but growing with God shapes us into his son. In other words, spiritual birth is not the finish line. It's the starting point. Even today, even today, a a newborn belongs fully to the family of God, but doesn't get to walk in the privileges of of maturity. Got baby Thomas here, baby Shepherd here, baby Caroline here. We got young Charlotte here. And they were growing up right now into the privileges of maturity because Caroline can't drive. Shepherd can't vote. Thomas can't own a home. They can't sign a contract because we recognize stages in developmental life. Those who are born of God are invited to grow into trust, into obedience, into a deeper fellowship that they can they will walk in blessings that relationship. That's why scripture repeatedly calls us believers, not outsiders, not but children of God to turn from sin, to receive the word, to grow, to mature, to pursue holiness, not to earn life, but to live it well, not to become God's children, but because we already are. And a child who follows the father grows into the privileges of the son. A child who resists that growth remains stunted. Loved but stunted. Misses the joy, the peace, the inheritance that comes from walking closely with Christ. So John isn't telling us how to get saved here. He's telling us how to live life with God and how life with God unfolds. So new birth comes from God alone. the growth, becoming a son. It happens when we continue to believe to walk with the one who gave us life in the first place, church. Y'all, that's good news. No pressure, no performance, but just a simple invitation to grow into everything God has already declared us to be. And it says, "And the word was made flesh." Vers 14. And the word was made flesh and dwelt among us. Tabernacled among us is is another translation. And we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace and truth. This is the hinge point of human history. The eternal steps into time. The invisible becomes visible. The unapproachable comes near. God does not shout instructions from heaven. He shows up with skin. He eats. He sleeps. He weeps. He bleeds. And this means that God did not save us from a distance. He enters into our mess. And if you've ever said, "God, you don't understand." John 1:14 says, "Yeah, I do." We go with verse 15. John bare witness of him. Jesus cried, saying, "This was he of whom I spoke. He that cometh after me is preferred before me, for he was before me." And here we go with verse 16. I've got it highlighted. And of his fullness have all we received in grace for grace. Y'all got that? That one verse, that one phrase, that one word, fullness of his fullness, we have received not leftovers, not scraps, not spiritual coupons of his fullness. You didn't add to this. You didn't upgrade it. You didn't level it up. You didn't prestige it. of his fullness we have received. Christian growth is not about getting more from God. It's realizing how much you already have Christ. That changes how you pray. That changes how you rest. Honestly, it changes how you fell, too. It says in verse 17, "For the law was given by Moses, but truth and grace came by Jesus Christ." See the law, the Old Testament law, ten commandments and the expounding of uh Deuteronomy and Leviticus, all those laws, all those 400, they told you what to do. But Jesus shows you what God did. That law, all those laws, that law diagnosed you with problems. Jesus delivered you. that law, all those laws, they pointed to someone who could fulfill it. Jesus performed it. And that's why faith is not confidence in your consistency. It's confidence in his completion. That's what faith is. It's not I can do it. It's he's done it. This is verse 18. And we'll end with this. No man hath seen God at any time. the only begotten son which is in the bosom of the father. He hath declared him. If you want to know what God looks like, look at Jesus. Don't look at your fear. Don't focus on your past, not your assumptions. Because Jesus is the clearest picture God has ever given of himself. And that picture is good. You know, at Christmas time we celebrate around trees and celebrate a manger. But but God John right here reminds us that when the word became flesh, heaven reached down. Not just to visit us, but to bring us home. And and I want you to hear this because if you're born of God, you you are already his child. You're not on probation. You're not waiting to be accepted. You're not hoping that someday you're going to belong. You belong now. And the same Christ that paid for your sin and placed you in the family now invites you to grow in the joy of the lights, the carols, the familiar stories. They're all reminders that that God delights in his children. He longs to see them walk in freedom and peace, assurance that sons and daughters have when they knew that they are deeply loved. So this Christmas, as we celebrate the birth of Christ, let us rest in this truth. The same God who gave us new life is still at work, patiently growing us, strengthening our faith, inviting us into the fullness of our inheritance. This is good news for Christmas. Not just that Jesus was born for us, but but that through him we have been born of God and because of that Christmas is not a demand to do better. It's really an invitation to draw. If you'd like to follow Christ as we do here at Camp Creek Primitive Baptist Church, we give you that chance as we stand to sing hymn number him number 53. We'll sing the first and last stanza.

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