“She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”- Matthew 1:21
“He will save His People from their sins!” That’s the good news of Christmas we’re here to celebrate! We know that Jesus came to save us, but from what? From our sins! – from our God-denying, small-minded, earth-is-all-I-care-about meaningless, wasted lives where we flitter away 70 or 80 years for nothing more than money or sex or luxuries or houses and lands or vacations and entertainment and fame, or whatever else you might try to use to get some sense of satisfaction out of your temporary life! “But what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his own soul?” (Mark 8:36)
Or maybe we can say it this way: What good does it do to live your whole life and never come to know God! But you see, that’s what Christ came to give. Not only did he come to save us from God’s wrath against sin, he also came to bring us into living fellowship with God. “Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” 1 Peter 3:18 says. You and I were made for God! We exist to know God (John 17:3) – to glorify and enjoy Him forever! So any life without God, is a life that is wasted! You can be a millionaire celebrity, but without God, it all ends in dust and ashes! But if you have Him, if you know Christ the way a man knows and trusts his dearest and most faithful friend, even an ash-heap becomes a castle filled with joy.
So do you know this Savior? Have you come to receive this greatest gift that is at the heart of Christmas? Not just the joy of having your sins forgiven, but the gain of having Christ as Lord and Master of your life! As we’ll see in John 6:35-40 this morning, He is the Bread of Life who came down from heaven to give us an assurance of new life in Him and to satisfy our lives with His love!
There is no joy like the joy of Jesus!
Pastor Scott Lee