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WHY GOD PERMITS CHRISTMAS #1
YOU CAN'T "X" OUT CHRIST
"By the authority vested in Me, I hereby
OUTLAW Christmas."
It sounds like something out of a Dr. Seuss book, doesn't it? How the
Grinch Stole Christmas. And I try to imagine the howls of protest if a
state governor or maybe even the President of the United States tried
to pull off such a ban. No Christmas! With state troopers positioned on
every street corner and TV camera lenses poking into every living room
to make sure some parent doesn't cheat and put up a couple of stockings
or slip a wrapped-up present to their little boy under the table.
Well, that's a bit of fantasy . . . and we're all glad, especially here
in 2004. On behalf of ALL of us at The Voice of Prophecy, a very Merry
Christmas to each of you who are listening. Maybe you happen to be on
the road still driving to Grandma's house and are catching us on the radio.
Or perhaps you have one of those jobs that still has to go on; you're
on a police beat or down at the fire station. And a SPECIAL Merry Christmas
to you. I imagine at many of the radio stations where our program is being
carried today, somebody is still on duty Christmas morning to activate
the tape and hit all the switches . . . and we're also thinking of YOU
today. As Tiny Tim used to say, "God bless us every one."
And yet all this week, I'd like to propose an interesting question. Why
HASN'T God ever outlawed Christmas? There actually are some pretty good
reasons why His advisors might be tempted to give Him that very counsel.
And we'll explore some of the reasons why. And yet, despite some very
compelling points of concern that good Christians ought to be aware of,
we don't have any such BAN coming down from heaven. The omniscient God
who knows the future and who could foretell that Christmas, with all its
parties AND pitfalls, would become a global holiday, never sent us a prophetic
message saying "NO!"
There are many things Christians are told to do or not to do, aren't there?
You can find ten of them listed in Exodus chapter 20. In the Sermon on
the Mount, we have another long description of many of our duties and
responsibilities. So the God of the universe has no problem communicating
with Planet Earth His wishes. And in the case of Christmas, especially
Christmas 2004, we do have a green light to go ahead and celebrate.
Tomorrow I'd like to invite you to join me again, as we look at some of
the very stained and even SORDID beginnings of what eventually turned
into December 25 and what we call Christmas here in 2004. Did you know
that the 25th of December, came to us right out of the very core of pagan
sun-worship and the kinds of blasphemous idolatry that goes with it? It's
an unsettling history — and one that would certainly make you wonder why
a holy God in heaven wouldn't come right out and BAN Christmas. But He
hasn't . . . and we'll consider that as well.
For today, let me raise for your consideration what's probably the biggest
moral objection to Christmas.
I saw a very Christmasy scene on TV a while back. I mean, this particular
vignette had it all. The snow-covered fields, the frosty air. It was a
Christmas eve, and this very handsome couple was actually traveling by
SLEIGH to see some friends. There was a jingly Christmas music soundtrack
and evergreen trees with snow on the branches, and fur robes and piles
of gifts and everything. Whoever set up this video shot hadn't missed
a single bit of symbolism. And they finally pulled up at their friends'
home and another attractive couple came out to greet them. There was a
beautiful Christmas wreath on the door and stockings hanging on the mantel
inside. A tree, lights, tinsel, candy canes, etc., etc.
All this had taken place, you understand, in less than 60 seconds. And
right at the end, these four very attractive people went inside . . .
and they all drank some light beer. And there came that logo for light
beer. All the beauty of Christmas, the symbolism, the mood creations —
had been for the purpose of selling beer.
Well, that's just one example, and a fairly tame one at that. I'm sure
you could write me a letter and tell me your stories too . . . how the
merchants in your community start up the Christmas parade in late October.
How your mailbox is flooded all December with catalogs and sales and financial
pitches. In a million and one ways, we've all felt that drowning sensation,
where money and VISA cards and extended hours at the mall threaten to
drive the Christ Child right out of the picture.
You've heard the classic story about the little boy who noticed the huge
red-and-green sign spray-painted on a department story: "Happy Xmas."
And he wondered aloud about the X. Why was it X-mas? And finally, in a
forlorn voice, he asked his dad: "Did they cross Christ out of Christmas,
Daddy?" And the father had never thought of it that way before, but
finally nodded. "Yes, Son, I guess they did." And it makes you
think.
I suppose it's human nature that the minute someone sets up a religious
holiday, 200 entrepreneurs are going to set up kiosks right outside the
church and begin selling T shirts and souvenir postcards. We see that
every time Pope John Paul the Second comes to visit North America, with
vendors selling "POPEsicles" and "Pope-on-a Rope"
soap and three-dollar styrofoam mitres for the kids to wear. I say again,
that's human nature — and some of it may be innocent enough. But friend,
commercialism so easily DOES drown out the original holiday, and especially
at Christmastime, evidence of that is as near as your television set and
as close as the nearest shopping mall.
We find recorded in the New Testament Christ's attitude about such commercialism.
It says in Matthew that He went into the temple area and drove out those
who were buying and selling and changing money and trading in livestock.
"Take these things out!" He shouted, turning the tables over
and spilling their money on the floor. "You've made My house into
a den of thieves!"
Now, some of the wheeling and dealing that was going on there undoubtedly
involved thievery and chicanery, and that's reflected in the flash of
righteous temper that Christ demonstrated. But I imagine there were also
well-meaning men and women there who were conducting business because,
well, it had always been done this way. They ran a stall selling doves
because they'd inherited the business from Dad. That's how they put bread
on their tables.
And yet Jesus turned their tables over as well. "Wake up!" He
seemed to say even to them. "See what your sales and your trinkets
are doing to the things of God!"
Would Jesus want to do the same thing to some of our December schemes?
To walk through the mall and even our church gift shops and maybe seize
the credit-card authorization machines and all the tin jewelry and gimmicky
STUFF we all buy and sell? Probably so. But then why hasn't He? We really
have to wonder. Why hasn't He said to Christians everywhere, "This
holiday's ruined. My enemy Lucifer has taken it over. If you're My follower,
stay away from it. Don't celebrate it."
Let me say: you couldn't blame Christ if He were to say that. But He HASN'T
said it. Why?
I believe there are several reasons, but I'd like to share just one with
you at Christmas 2004. Despite everything the devil does to crowd out
the Savior, despite the millions and BILLIONS of dollars' worth of noise
and wrapping paper and loudspeakers blaring out "Jingle Bell Rock,"
friend, the message of the Christ Child still comes through, doesn't it?
Despite the enemy's best efforts, Christmas still works to bring us the
Baby in the manger.
Some time ago we did a radio series entitled "A God Who Can't Be
Beat." And what happens at Christmas reminds me of that message.
The devil tries everything, doesn't he? He makes us so busy, and he fills
up the stores with piles of things to make us forget Jesus Christ. There's
a party every night of the week and our mailboxes are crammed full of
catalogs. And yet, somehow, someway, the message from heaven still gets
through. You turn on your radio and the local rock-and-roll station inadvertently
puts on an old recording of "Silent Night." Maybe it IS sung
by the Beach Boys, but it's still a story about the "Holy Infant,
so tender and mild."
Several years ago, a sarcastic little film came out entitled "Leap
of Faith." Comedian Steve Martin played an itinerant con artist who
set up his evangelistic tent and sucked thousands of dollars out of the
local populace. It was an unsuccessful film, here one week and gone the
next.
Then the soundtrack CD came out, and it actually enjoyed better business.
One or two of the songs on it were standard pop hits, and that got a lot
of people down to the record store. But sandwiched in between all the
rock and roll were two songs: "Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior,"
and "Blessed Assurance." Both performed very reverently, very
sincerely. And despite the negative sarcasm of the original project, God
managed to get His message into tens of thousands of hearts.
It's the same at Christmas. So much about it is wrong. It IS a ripoff;
it IS a secularized, cynical scheme that springs from an unsavory past.
But still, our Father in heaven sees it as His time to send millions a
fresh reminder of His gift to this world.
Remember the time when some of us from The Voice of Prophecy went down
to Los Angeles to sing in Handel's "Messiah" at the Dorothy
Chandler Pavilion. And that's a commercially-driven event; it cost everybody
fourteen dollars each to get in, and at the end a wealthy patron of the
Music Center pledged I don't know HOW many thousands of dollars for the
privilege of guest-conducting the "Hallelujah Chorus." We even
had to pay six dollars to park!
And yet, I'm sure that there was SOMEONE at that sing-along "Messiah"
who had intended to be there just to hear grand music and see the pretty
lights in the trees outside. "I'm here just for the ambience,"
they said at first. But then they sang with the others, "For UNTO
US a Child is born; unto US a Son is given." And something happened
in their heart. Through all the din and dither of the Christmas rush,
God sent His message through to that one heart.
And so He lets us keep celebrating. And you know . . . I'm kind of glad
He does.
Merry Christmas, everyone.
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