The Advent of Love | Sunday, December 22, 2024

Amen, amen! God is so good. Thank you, Anthony and the worship team. Good morning, Cross Connection Church! Merry Christmas! You guys can have a seat.

I noticed that many of you got the memo: today is Ugly Christmas Sweater Sunday. I don't know if this counts, but it does have a hood, so there you go! Merry Christmas! The only downside is that this is way too warm for up here, so if you don't mind, I'm going to take this off while I teach. If I don't, I might pass out! It’s so good to see you all. Merry Christmas to you! I am so glad that you are here with us this morning. Christmas is just a few days away. Oh my goodness!

I do want to make one small correction to the announcements this morning. Pastor Jason, in the announcement on the video, said that the office would be closed throughout the New Year. What I think he meant to say is that the office will be closed until the New Year, starting after our Christmas Eve Eve service. So, no, the office will not be closed throughout the New Year. We will be here for sure.

We do rejoice in the Lord! This is a wonderful time of the year. Every single Christmas, as we approach this season, we do what Christians have done for many centuries: we celebrate this period of time known as Advent. Advent comes from the Latin word "adventus," which means "the arrival." So, we are celebrating the arrival of Christ.

For many years, although it hasn't happened in the last four years or so, I would have people come and remind me that it's highly unlikely Jesus was born on December 25th. You may be right; what are the odds? Well, it's 1 in 365, which is not terribly huge. But even if it is not that Jesus was born on December 25th, I think it's important for us to recognize that we are celebrating the birth of Christ. Jesus did come into this world.

Even historians who are skeptical of the nature of Christ—that he is the Son of God, that he is God incarnate—even those who are skeptical about his death and resurrection, which we will celebrate in several months at Easter, will say the evidence supports the conclusion that Jesus was a man who walked upon the Earth 2,000 years ago. So, maybe he was not born on December 25th; that's not the issue. The issue is that...

He came to this world, and we are celebrating His arrival at this time of the year. We are rejoicing in the fact that He has come into the world. As we have shared over the last many weeks, Pastor Nick, three Sundays ago, returned to the theme of hope, which is one of the four key things that we celebrate at Christmas in this Advent series.

When we talk about hope, we are reminded that Christ came into this world, into the darkness of this world. As the song says, "A thrill of hope, a weary world rejoices." He brings this great hope to the world. When you start to study the subject of hope in the Scriptures, you discover, and we will actually read the passage of Scripture this morning that says this: Christ brings a hope that does not disappoint.

Now, I am certain that every single one of you here in this room has been disappointed by hope in this world before. Think back to when you were a kid and you hoped for a Christmas present that did not materialize. You were disappointed. You hoped for it, but you were disappointed. We know this very clearly. If you have ever hoped in a local sports team, you were probably disappointed. The hope of this world disappoints, but the hope that we have from Christ Jesus is a hope that does not disappoint. That's what Romans chapter 5 says.

What is it about this hope that makes it so that it does not disappoint? It is a sure and steadfast hope. It is not wishful thinking; it is an absolute certainty that what has been promised by God will come to pass. The author of the book of Hebrews talks about this hope and says that we can be certain about it. We can have a sure and steadfast certainty that it will come to pass because the hope that we have in God is based upon the promise of God, which, because God does not change and cannot lie, is a hope that we can be absolutely certain in.

Because we have this sure and steadfast hope, the New Testament book of Hebrews says that this hope becomes an anchor for our souls. Your soul is that part of you that experiences anxiety, stress, and worry. I know, and research has shown, that you probably experience heightened anxiety and stress during this time of year. Even though it is a wonderful time of year, a happy time of year, people's anxieties are heightened, and their stress is increased.

As you enter the parking lots of the stores in our community, you may feel your blood pressure increase and stress levels rise. Preparing for family gatherings can also bring about stressors, leading to heightened anxieties. You feel this in your soul. However, the hope we have in Christ Jesus—a sure and steadfast hope that does not disappoint—becomes an anchor for our souls. Even through difficult and troubling times, we have this hope that anchors us in Christ Jesus. As a result, we experience comfort, or another way of saying comfort would be peace.

Two weeks ago, Pastor Garrett talked about the subject of peace and the peace we have from Christ because of His coming into this world. The Scriptures say it is a peace not as the world gives. We see peace treaties and peace accords in our culture and world, but those things are ultimately temporary; they don't seem to last. The peace we have from God and in Christ Jesus is a peace that surpasses our understanding. What does that mean? Another way of saying it would be that it is a peace you can't really explain.

If you are a Christian today, if you've trusted in Christ Jesus and received this sure and steadfast hope that does not disappoint, that is an anchor for your soul, you can experience comfort, rest, and peace even in the face of difficulties. Everyone experiences challenges because we live in a broken and fallen world. In Christ Jesus, we can find a comfort and peace that cannot be explained.

I have seen this in my own life and in the lives of others. Over the years, as I have come alongside people walking through trials, I often find myself in the emergency room or hospital room with other pastors, praying with those facing difficult circumstances or devastating diagnoses. Even in the midst of those challenges, I have witnessed people who possess this hope that does not disappoint. It is sure and steadfast, an anchor for their souls. They experience a rest and peace that is not explainable by this world. It’s as if they say, "Where did this come from? I'm not sure, but I have this inner rest in the midst of outer turmoil."

Christ brings in His Advent, and we celebrated this a few weeks ago. Christ is the one who embodies hope and brings a peace that surpasses understanding. It is a peace that the prophet Isaiah foretells will be increasing forever. Isaiah chapter 9 says, "Of the increase of His government and peace, there shall be no end." The peace that the Prince of Peace brings is a peace that will not go away; it will continue.

This peace, which is the Hebrew word "Shalom," is significant. If you go to Israel, they will greet you with the word "Shalom." One theologian named Cornelius Plantinga defines this idea of Shalom as universal flourishing, human wholeness, and delight. It is the way things ought to be. There seems to be in us a desire for things to be much better, and that desire is not there by accident. It is a longing for things the way they ought to be, and the Prince of Peace is the one who will ultimately usher those things in.

When Jesus came 2,000 years ago, He came as the embodiment of this peace. Isaiah 9:6 says He is the Prince of Peace, but He came to give us peace from God so that we, who once were at enmity with God, could have peace with God. Once we have peace with God, we then receive the peace of God. All of this is found in the Scriptures as you do a word study on the word "peace." We have peace from God that brings peace with God, and now we have the peace of God in relationship. Philippians 4 says we have a relationship with the God of Peace.

So, if you are a Christian today, you have entered into a connected oneness relationship with the God of Peace. Even when we were still without strength, Paul says in Romans 5, and we will actually read it in a few minutes, that at just the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. In His death, and by His death, we have been justified—made right with God—by our trust in Him. Therefore, Romans 5 says we have peace with God. We have been brought into a right relationship with God, at peace with Him through our Lord Jesus Christ.

In Ephesians chapter 2, it says that Jesus is our peace. He doesn't just give or bring peace; He is the very embodiment and personification of peace—peace incarnate. So, He is our peace. Ephesians 2 says He has broken down the wall of separation.

The middle wall that separated us from God has been broken down. He has abolished in Himself the enmity, the war that existed between us and God, and He has made peace. He has reconciled us and brought us back into a right relationship with God.

So, Jesus, in His arrival—His Advent, which we celebrate every year in December—brings hope and peace. Last week, I shared how Christ's arrival brings joy. Here’s the key phrase that I always say: a joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity. The hope that we have in Christ, the peace that we have from God and with God, gives us a joy and a rejoicing that is up and to the right, if you will. It is a peace that is increasing unto abundance or fullness, and it lasts forever. By faith in Christ Jesus, we receive joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity.

The fruit of the fullness of joy in my life is the result of abiding in God and abiding in His Word. This is what Jesus says in the Gospel of John, chapter 15. He says, "I've spoken these words to you that my joy might be in you and that your joy might be full." Now, what words did He say that He spoke to His disciples so that their joy would be full? Well, these are the things He said: abide in my Word and let my Word abide in you.

If you want to see your joy increasing unto abundance in this life and into eternity, the first step is to have God's Word abide in you, and you remain in God's Word. How do you do that? Well, that's by spending time in the Word of God and allowing God's Word to be in your mind and in your heart. It begins to transform your life.

As we are just about nine or ten days out from a new year, many people take the step of faith and make an initiative that in the new year, they are going to spend more time in the Bible. For a lot of people, this means saying, "I'm going to read through the Bible in a year." If you have ever tried to do that, you probably started out really well on January 1st, just like the people who say, "I'm going to get fit in 2025." They get a fitness club membership and show up, but it’s hard to find any equipment to use on January 1st. By January 15th, everything is open for some reason.

So, we start out with this initiative: "I'm going to read the Bible more in the new year." Then, you get a little ways into Genesis, and...

Exodus is not too bad, but then, if you get as far as Leviticus, I call that the speed bump of the Bible. It's hard to get through that. We, as a church, want to make it pretty easy for you to get into God's Word as a first step. So, we created something almost ten years ago now called The Listening Plan. If you go to thelisteningplan.com, I know it's kind of long, but the whole thing is spelled out with no spaces.

You can sign up to receive, in your inbox, either in the form of an email or through a podcast app like Apple Podcasts or Spotify, one chapter of the New Testament to listen to every single weekday through the new year. You don't even have to read it; you just listen to it. It takes about five minutes every single morning to go from Matthew through Revelation. There just happens to be as many weekdays in a year as there are chapters in the New Testament, so you can listen from Matthew to Revelation in a year at thelisteningplan.com.

So, why do we do that? Well, Jesus said, "I've spoken these things to you that my joy might be in you and that your joy might be full." How do we do that? We abide in His Word, and His Word abides in us. That's the first thing He said. He also said that you would abide in my love. How do we abide in His love? By keeping what His Word says, by keeping His commandments, and doing what His Word says.

As you have God's Word in your mind and in your heart, and you begin to make it a part of your life, as enabled by the Spirit of God, I can guarantee you, based on the words of Jesus, that your joy will be increasing. You will find your joy increase even in troubled circumstances and difficult times. That's the context of that passage in John chapter 15. He was facing devastating, difficult trials, and His disciples were going to go through difficult things.

Maybe you are walking through or walking with someone through a difficult situation. If you want to find the hope, peace, and joy of God, it is found in Christ Jesus. As you abide in His Word and His Word abides in you, and as you walk out the things that He teaches in the Scripture, as enabled by His Spirit, you're abiding in His love. These things bring about an increase in our lives of hope, joy, and peace.

It is my conclusion, as I've studied the Scriptures and as I've watched my life and other people's lives, that apart from Christ Jesus, there is no ultimate hope, no ultimate joy, and no ultimate peace. But Jesus is the key to a hope that does not disappoint.

Disappoint a peace that surpasses understanding and a joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity. But like they would say on the late-night infomercial, "But wait, there's more!"

Today, we're going to finish up our Advent series, talking about the fourth theme that we return to every year at this time. We have hope, we have peace, we have joy, and finally, love. To do that, I'm going to ask you to take out your Bible. If you don't have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and an usher will bring you one. You can open up to the last 20% of the Bible, the book of Romans. Open up to near the end of the Bible: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, and then Romans.

In Romans chapter 5, we find all four of these themes—hope, peace, joy, and love. They are all ultimately found in Jesus Christ. So, Romans chapter 5. If you pardon me, I continue to have this cold.

Romans 5:1, the Apostle Paul writes here, and he says, "Therefore, having been justified by faith." I can't even go further than that; I have to stop there first. "Having been"—past tense—"justified"—past tense—"by faith." This is such an important key. In Christ Jesus, we are not hoping to one day be saved. We are not living out this life doing all the good things that we possibly can in order that we might be saved.

He says, "Having been"—past tense—"justified"—past tense—"by faith," by trust in what? Well, we'll see in just a moment. By trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ, we can be in the position where we say, "I have been justified by faith."

Now, maybe you, like me, have had an early Saturday morning, shall we say, interrupted by a knock at the door. You go to the door, and there are some lovely young men or older ladies standing there. They say something like this: "Hi, I'm from the Watchtower Society," or "Good morning, I'm from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. My name is Elder John, and I'm 12 years old, but I'm an elder, and I want to tell you about the Watchtower Society or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints."

Years ago, they don't come to my door, so...

I often don't have long conversations anymore, but I've had some great ones, and I am so grateful for their commitment to their faith. However, I believe they have some misunderstandings about the nature of God and the reality of what the Scriptures teach.

I remember having a conversation many years ago with a couple of older ladies who came to my door from the Watchtower Society. We had a really good conversation, but at one point, I asked them, "Are you knocking on my door this morning because you are concerned for my salvation or for yours?" It's a challenging question because, in their theological understanding, they are doing the good works that they do primarily to try to get into Paradise. They think that their entrance into Paradise has to do with their good works. If that's the case, then I don't have a lot of hope, peace, or joy.

As a Christian, because of the finished work of Jesus Christ, I can say, having been justified by faith, what does Paul say in Romans 5:1? Because of the finished work of Jesus Christ and my trust in Him, I now have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. I have been justified. I'm not trying to do the things that I do, such as going to church, serving at church, giving at church, praying, or reading the Bible, so that I might lay hold of salvation. Rather, I do these things because of what Jesus did, which we will celebrate in a few months at Easter. Because of His coming to this world, I have been justified, and now I have peace with God through Jesus.

Additionally, we have access by our faith, by our trust, into His grace in which we stand, and we rejoice. There's that word, joy. I have joy and rejoicing; I have peace because I have been justified by the finished work of Jesus Christ. We rejoice in hope of the glory of God, looking forward to Jesus' return.

Now, if you do not know Jesus, you have every reason to be worried about His return. But the Christian who has been justified by their trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ is looking forward to the coming of God. If you ever interact with someone who does not yet know God, and maybe they don't believe in God, you can ask them, "Listen, if there is a God, would you be concerned about meeting Him?" They probably would be because they have not been perfect, and neither have I. But because of the finished work of Jesus, I have hope.

Christ, we rejoice in hope. There's that word, hope, as well as in the glory of God, His return, and His appearing. Not only that, but we also glory in tribulations. Now, what kind of person glories in tribulations? Who rejoices when they're going through difficult circumstances? I don't know too many people that do that. However, those who can glory in tribulation are the kind of people who see that this life is not the only place where their hope resides.

If my hope is beyond this life and is in Christ Jesus, in His kingdom, where the increase of His government and peace shall never end, then yes, I could go through the worst possible experience in this life. But still, that is the worst I could possibly experience; that is the lowest of the low. I can only look up from there. As a result, I can glory in tribulation, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance, perseverance produces character, and character produces hope.

Now, this hope does not disappoint. The hope that I have in Jesus Christ will never be disappointed. It is not wishful thinking; it is an absolute certain expectation that His promise will come to pass because He cannot lie and He does not change. Therefore, it is a hope that does not disappoint. Why? Because the love of God has been poured out in my heart by the Holy Spirit who has been given to me.

In this passage, we have all four of these themes. You probably saw them as we went through: we have peace, we have hope, we have joy or rejoicing, and at the end, we have this love that has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit given to us.

Now, look at verse 6 of Romans chapter 5. For when we were still without strength, in due time—or another English translation says, at just the right time—Christ died for the ungodly. Now scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man, someone would even dare to die. But God shows, or demonstrates, or reveals His own love towards us, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Much more than, having now been justified—there it is, past tense—by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled—look at all the past tense here—we shall be saved or ultimately be glorified by His life. Not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have received the...

Reconciliation in and by Jesus Christ gives us hope, peace, and joy, as this text tells us. Point number one, if you're taking notes: Jesus is and brings the love of God to a dark and dying world. The Advent of Jesus, the arrival of Jesus, which we celebrate every year on December 25th, is the arrival of hope, peace, and joy. Even if He was not born on that date, that's the day we celebrate it. His arrival to this world is significant because it represents the arrival of hope and love.

The arrival of Christ is the revelation and demonstration of the fullness of God's love. The most famous love verse of the Bible, for many Christians who read the Scriptures, is often thought to be 1 Corinthians chapter 13. However, the passage I am thinking of is John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." This verse is not only the most famous love verse of the Bible; it is probably the most famous verse overall and the most translated verse of the Bible.

Who is the first Christmas gift giver? It's God. What is the first Christmas gift? It's Christ. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life."

Why did Christ come into this world? What is the reason for this season? Everybody say, "Jesus!" But what is the reason for Advent? Why did He come? He is the demonstration and revelation of the love of God.

For a number of Christmas seasons, Pastor Nick and I would go out with a video camera and a microphone on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. We would visit some retail establishments in the area where people were doing their Black Friday shopping. I would try to engage them by offering a stack of Starbucks gift cards for five dollars. I would say, "I'll give you a $5 gift card to Starbucks if you give me $5 of your time." There was a time when $5 at Starbucks might actually buy you a coffee, but not anymore. They would agree, and then they would come over while I had the camera ready.

I have the camera and I have a microphone. I ask, "Are you here today doing some Christmas shopping?" Inevitably, they say yes. I then ask, "So, you celebrate Christmas?" They respond affirmatively, and I inquire why. I put the microphone in their face, and we receive all kinds of great answers. Many of the responses have nothing to do with Jesus, and some people cannot articulate the story of Jesus.

We tried to do this last year, but people don't shop on Black Friday anymore, at least not in person; they do it all on Amazon. It’s really hard to put a microphone in their face when they're shopping online. However, we still get various answers to the question, "Why do you celebrate the season? Why is it worth rejoicing in or celebrating?"

It's worth rejoicing in because Christ came into this world to bring hope, peace, joy, and love. He is the demonstration and revelation of God's love. Everything we receive in Him—hope, peace, joy, love—are all results of God's great love for us. For God so loved the world that He gave. He loved you; He loves me, even when we were at our worst, even when we were the furthest from Him.

In Romans 5, Paul said, "For scarcely for a righteous man would one die." Maybe you would give your life for someone who is a really righteous, good person. But God demonstrates His love for us when we were His enemies. He shows His love for us by Christ dying for us.

Another great passage is found in Ephesians. If you're in Romans, turn to the right to Ephesians chapter 2, another favorite of mine. We read these words in verse one: "And you, God made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins."

If you're a Christian today, your current position is that you are alive in Christ Jesus, but you were once dead in your trespasses and sins in which you once walked. You were a dead man or dead woman walking. In what way? You walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience. You once walked after the passions or the course of an evil spirit that is at work in this world, among whom the sons and daughters of disobedience conducted themselves in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh.

The desires of the flesh and of the mind made us, by nature, children of wrath, just as the others. Our past condition was that we could only look forward to the wrath of God, which is not a hopeful thing. However, God has beautiful words in Ephesians 2:4: "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses and sins, has made us alive together with Christ. By grace, we have been saved."

He has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come, in eternity, He might show or reveal the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. What is God going to be doing in the eternal age when we are there with Him in His presence? He is going to be revealing to us the great riches of His grace. We do not yet fully comprehend the overwhelmingly awesome greatness of the grace of God, but in eternity, He will reveal to us the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.

For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were in opposition and rebellion, at enmity with Him, He gave us mercy and grace. He has made us alive by pouring out His grace and mercy in abundance upon us.

God's love is so great that it overflowed from Him in mercy and grace to us, giving us hope, peace, and joy. All of these things are not just gifts from God; they are descriptors of who He is in His nature. He is hope, He is joy, He is peace, and He is love. These are not just expressions of God; they are intrinsic to His being.

You're taking notes. Jesus is love incarnate; He's love in the flesh. That's what that word "incarnate" means. The Apostle John, in 1 John chapter 4, says, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, because God is love."

Now, if you've ever been involved in children's ministry, you have a song kind of ringing in your ears right now: "Beloved, let us love one another." This is why I'm not on the worship team! "He who loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love." So, God is love; He's the very embodiment and perfection of love.

John goes on to say in 1 John 4:9, "In this, the love of God was manifested, revealed toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him." What are we celebrating at Christmas? We are celebrating that God sent His only begotten Son into this world that we might live through Him.

In this is love, as stated in 1 John 4:10: "Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation, the atoning sacrifice for our sins." These are some of the most beautiful passages of Scripture.

Here's the challenge with these important passages: what we might call the first principles of the Gospel. Because they are the fundamental first principles of the Gospel, they can be things that we kind of forget and leave in the past, thinking, "Oh, I learned that long ago." But I think we need to be reminded of this constantly. This is one of the reasons why every year at this time, we come back to these very simple fundamental truths again and again.

We need to be reminded of this: God loved you and loves you, but He loved you when you were at your worst. Jesus's love in the flesh is incarnate. So, if you want to answer that crazy song from Mick Jones, "What is love?" The answer is found only in Christ; He is the ultimate answer.

In 1 John 3:16, I mentioned John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him would not perish but have everlasting life." That's like the twelfth time I've said it! I keep saying it because I'm hoping that maybe you might, by osmosis, memorize it.

John 3:16 is a great word, but 1 John 3:16 says, "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us." We need to know this reality. Not only do I think we need to know this reality, but we also need to make this reality known.

It is so important that we understand that God is love and that He has demonstrated His love towards us by dying for us, even when we are far from Him. It is good that we know this because sometimes we question whether or not God loves us. I have found this with a lot of people I have had conversations with before. They say something like, "If you only knew how bad I am and all the horrible things I've thought, said, and done."

Well, first, I don't want to know all of those things, but even in spite of all that, God still loves you. We need to know this because sometimes we are tempted to question it. I get it; God loves that other person over there, but I don't think He could love me. No, He does, and He has demonstrated His love for us.

Not only do we need to know this, but we also need to make it known. The verse I read a moment ago, 1 John 3:16, continues, "And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." In the same book, 1 John chapter 4 reminds me of that great song from children's ministry. Verse 7 says, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."

In this, the love of God was made known, manifest towards us, that God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Verse 11 states, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." What is the ethical result of God's love in my life? What does it produce? I ought to, from the position of being loved by God, love others.

Point number three, if you're taking notes: God's love for us compels our love for others, or at least it should.

This is principally, or firstly, and most importantly, one of the signs that you have been transformed by the Spirit and grace of God. There begins to be in your heart and in your life a love for other people that was not there before. By nature, we can be rather misanthropic. What does that mean? We don't like people by nature, and the more you get to know people, the less you might like them. Some of you just had a person come to mind; hopefully, it wasn't me.

But here's what happens when God's Word and His Spirit begin to do a work in your life. What is the produce? What is the fruit of the Spirit? The fruit of the Spirit is, first and principally, love. The first evidence, I would suggest, that God is doing a work in your life is that He begins to change your attitude towards others. If that attitude is not changing in the direction of love, then it might be worth asking God, "Have I surrendered my life to You?" I want Your Spirit and Your Word to do a work in me that I would love others as You would love them.

God's love for us compels our love for others. What does God's love stir us to do? One of the manifestations of love is what you will probably do in a few days on Christmas: you will exchange or give gifts to the people you love. You probably don't randomly give gifts to strangers, although it wouldn't be a bad idea; that's probably not your practice. You give gifts to those people whom you love.

Maybe you're one of those really gift-giving people who loves to find the perfect gift for someone. There is something that compels you to give this gift to them. Why? Because you love them, and it's an expression of your love. The gift itself is not your love, but it's an expression of your love. Their heightened joy in receiving this gift—the thing that you knew they wanted, that you were trying to figure out—causes your joy to increase. This is why Jesus would say it is more blessed to give than to receive. You begin to learn this as you come into life and mature: it is more blessed to give than to receive. But it's God's love that...

Compelled by His love, we are called to give love to others and to offer gifts to them. There is no greater gift you could give than the gift that God gave to you. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. Therefore, whatever gift you give to those you love in your life this holiday season, there is no greater gift than Jesus Christ—the truth of why Jesus came and the good news of who He is.

Point number four, if you are taking notes: God's love is meant to be shared with others. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another (1 John 4:11). This holiday season, as we do every Advent, we remember that Jesus came to this world to bring hope—a hope that does not disappoint and is not conditioned on good circumstances. He came to give peace, a peace that surpasses understanding. Of the increase of His government and peace, there will never be an end. He came to give a joy that is increasing unto abundance for eternity. All of this is brought to us because of the love of God.

Would to God that we would rejoice in the hope, peace, joy, and love that He has given, and that we would openly share it with others. There are times when we worry about what their reaction may be. There are times when we feel timid or embarrassed to share it. But may God's grace and His love at work in our lives overcome all the obstacles of our frail flesh and stir us to share the good news of the greatest gift that has ever been given in Jesus Christ. Amen.

Can you stand with me as we close in prayer? Father God, thank You for the truth of Your Word. Thank You for these first principles of the Gospel. Thank You for this season that we celebrate every year, regardless of the exact date on which You were born.

Born, we celebrate not just the day, but the reality that You came to this world as the embodiment and personification of hope, peace, joy, love, and many other wonderful things that we find in the Scriptures. These things are key, and I pray, God, that we would rejoice today in Your love.

We would rejoice today in Your great mercy and grace that You've poured out upon us. I pray that we would be stirred over the next days to share that with others, whoever we celebrate with on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, or throughout the New Year. As we gather together with friends and family to exchange gifts and rejoice in the joy of this season, I pray, God, that we would be stirred to share the good news of the Gospel.

We thank You for Your love, for Your grace, and for Your mercy that bring hope, joy, and peace to us. God, stir our hearts to rejoice in You and in these wonderful realities of Your nature as we worship You now. For we ask this in Jesus' name, and all those who agreed said, "Amen."