Christmas Changes Our Outlook In Life
CHRISTMAS CHANGES EVERYTHING — Series: Message #3
Titus 2:11-13
TRANSITION:
So, for the last 3 weeks, we’ve been exploring the fact that Christmas Changes Everything!
And this morning – I want talk with you about how Christmas changes our outlook! As the video we just watched reminds us, Christmas is filled with HOPE. And, that hope is found in Jesus. But it’s not just hope for a season, or even for a lifetime…OUR HOPE in Christ extends far beyond this life! And all of that is wrapped up in the promise of Christ’s SECOND COMING!
And so, with that…I want to invite you to turn with me again to Titus chapter 2.
Beginning in verse 11, Paul says:
11 For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13 while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.
Titus 2:11-13 (NIV)
MESSAGE:
It’s obvious — we live in a culture filled with people who put too much emphasis on the RIGHT NOW but seem to often neglect the YET TO COME!
Far too many people live short-termed, near-sighted lives. Content with the busyness of their temporary lives. They live satisfied eating, working, sleeping, and eventually dying. And while there may be moments when their lives are marked by a few bright moment or two…mostly, their lives are ruled by the routine.
— I wonder, does that describe you? Is there more to your life than just the next weekend break, or sporting event, or vacation?
— Do you have more to live for — more to motivate you than than just the next episode of your favorite TV show?
— Do you ever think about the future? Do you ever think about eternal things?
Well, I hope that’s not a description of how you and I are living. But if it is, then this message is just what you need.
Because, when we embrace the Christ of Christmas, everything changes. And no where is that better seen than in regards to our outlook in life.
Because, if there’s anything Christmas gives us — it’s this:
1. Christmas Gives Us Something to Hope For!
Listen again to what Paul says in verse 13. He says,
“While we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Titus 2:13 (NIV)
I love that phrase, “blessed hope”. It’s something I’ve heard discussed, preached, and sang all my life. As a boy, I grew up in a home and with a church family that held tightly to the promise of a “blessed hope.”
Because, that phrase is really just “Jesus talk” for the promise of His second coming. The promise of His return!
It’s what we sing about every Christmas, when we sing the carol: JOY TO THE WORLD!
In fact, it’s what we sang just a few moments ago. It’s a great song — and it’s probably one you’ve cherished for years. But are you aware, Joy to the World wasn’t written to be a Christmas song? In its original form, it had nothing to do with Christmas. It wasn’t even written to be a song. It was actually written to be a poem of hope — and a reminder, that in the midst of the darkness of this world, we have the promise that Christ won’t leave us (abandoned and left to live out our days alone). But rather, as our great KING, some day soon…He’ll come AGAIN!
And that’s Paul’s focus as well. He’s thrilled to write to Titus about the promise of Christ’s Second Coming.
But he’s not the only who wrote about the Blessed Hope. Did you know, there are nearly 1,900 different biblical references to Christ’s Second Coming. And, 1 out of every 30 verses in the New Testament teaches us that Jesus Christ is coming back to this earth.And, what’s so amazing, is that those references outnumber the promise of His first coming by nearly eight to one!
And…just as Jesus fulfilled the promises of his first coming, there’s no doubt that He will return and fulfill every prophecy made about His 2nd coming as well.
This is Paul’s point. That’s why he says,
“…we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Titus 2:13 (NIV)
So, because of Christmas (because of Christ’s first coming), we no longer have to live some downward, depressing, fatalistic life. We no longer have to live a mundane life of staleness or hopelessness.
— Because, Christmas tells us…there’s more to come.
— Because Christmas tells us…we have the promise of a grand future and eternal life.
— Because Christmas tells us, we have the hope that Christ will come again!
As Paul says in Titus 2, God’s grace appeared at the incarnation—but, God’s glory will be on display when Christ comes again!
So, let’s turn our OUTLOOK — to an UPLOOK, and let’s get ready for His second coming! Because it’s going to be amazing.
In fact, there are 3 distinctive aspects of His 2nd coming that you need to be aware of:
— First, it will be SUDDEN!
In 1 Thess 5:2 we read, “The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night
In Matthew 24:44 Jesus said, – “(live) ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him..”
It’s going to happen…you can bet on it. And when it does — it will be sudden.
— But, it’s also going to be GLORIOUS!
In 1 Thess 4:16 – Paul says, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God…”
As a king makes an entrance, so also will Jesus make His. And when He does, a command, a presenting call from the archangel, and a trumpet will call…and Jesus will enter time and space again.
It’s going to be glorious. Again, Jesus says in Matthew 24:30, “The Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.”
I just get the sense that there will be NOTHING LIKE IT! It will be glorious.
— And one more thing, the Bible tells us, it will be VISIBLE!
Acts 1:11 (physical) – This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.
Rev 1:7 (visible) – Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him
So, live ready—and live with anticipation. Because, Christ is coming again! So let’s look forward, let’s look up, and let’s live with hope!
Well, Christmas gives us something to HOPE FOR…Christ’s promised second coming! But, that’s not all. Because:
2. Christmas (also) Gives Us Something TO LiVE For!
Christmas gives us a purpose in this life. A purpose to live. A person to live for — and that’s Jesus.
Notice again the description Paul gives us concerning Jesus. He says in verse 13,
“…we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.”
Titus 2:13 (NIV)
Paul says, the one we are waiting for is Jesus — our great God and Savior. And, those aren’t empty words, they are descriptive words, defining the person and nature of God!
And if these words are true (AND THEY ARE — because God’s Word doesn’t lie), then Jesus is was not just the BABY in the manger, He is also “our great God.” And as such, He deserves our attention, our service, and our worship.
Beyond this, the Bible tells us that God is worthy or our attention and worship…so we should honor Him by giving ourselves to that end.
Listen to just a few verses about how we ought to worship.
In Psalm 29:2, we’re told:
“Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name; worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness.”
Psalm 29:2 (NIV)
Here’s another, in Psalm 95:6 the psalmist says,
“Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker.”
Psalm 95:6 (NIV)
How about one more. In Hebrews 12:28 the writer says,
“Let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.”
Hebrews 12:28 (NIV)
All of those verses remind us that we were created for this. We were created to be people who worship someone — and that someone is Jesus!
So, what should worship look like in our lives?
Well, I think the Magi are a great example of what worship ought to look like. It means we shift our priorities and plans — and turn our attention to Jesus.
Think about it. The Magi left the comfort of their nation and homes and began a long pursuit of the seeing Jesus. They packed up their belongings, the invested their resources, and they dedicated themselves to the necessary-journey of doing whatever it took to get into the presence of Jesus.
They allowed the worship of Jesus to determine their schedule, the spending, their objectives and aspirations in life. And the reason they did so, was because they were convinced that Jesus was the Messiah. He was the promised one, the anointed one — the divine one, who had come from Heaven to earth to rule an reign as King.
And, in the same way, if you are I become convinced that Jesus is our Great God and Savior…if we believe He is the Messiah, the promised on, the divine God who came to save us from our sin — then we also will give ourselves to the pursuit of serving and worshiping and living for Him.
In Jesus — and His first coming, we are given something to live for!
Well, Christmas gives us something to HOPE FOR. something worth LIVING FOR, and lastly:
3. Christmas Gives Us Something to DIE For.
It’s been said — if you have nothing to die for, then you’ll don’t have much to live for. But in Jesus, we have both.
I’ve already talked about what it means to live for Christ. But, it’s equally important that we consider what it means to hold the confidence that when we die, we will die IN CHRIST!
Death is a subject every person must consider. But, while the world fears death, we (as Christ-followers) have the blessing of knowing that death isn’t really final. So, when we die in Christ — we still hold on to HOPE!
Listen, if Jesus is the Son of God…and if He is the King of Kings (as the Bible proclaims), then He’s worth serving — both in life and in death! And though death may come — it doesn’t come as a victor. For our victory is in Christ!
In 2 Timothy 1:10-11, Paul addresses the issue of death, when he says:
10 “It has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11 And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher.”
2 Timothy 1:10-11 (NIV)
Listen, Paul understood something really important — and it’s that Jesus changes our outlook… both in this life and in the one to come.
When we experience the CHRIST OF CHRISTMAS, we gain not only something to hope for, and something to live for, but also…something to die for!
Through the work of the gospel — Jesus abolished death (at least it’s sting and it’s ability to be the end of things for us).
Now, a critic may scoff at that — and say, “You can believe that if you want, but the local cemetery proves that you’re believing a fairy tale.”
Obviously, Christians and non-Christians all die.
Believing in Jesus as your Savior doesn’t give you a free pass around death. But, of course, Paul knew that.
He saw many believers die. He even speaks of his own impending death later in his second letter to Timothy (4:6). So, he wasn’t promoting some kind of Christian Science, where you tell yourself that sickness and death don’t really exist.
But he was saying that the power of death was defeated by Christ. It was destroyed — meaning it was nullified and rendered powerless.
And because of that — we can live for Him, both now and throughout our life. Because we have a purpose worth dying for!
Understand, living our lives for Jesus, leads us to look forward to an eternity spent with Him. And when that’s the case, death just becomes a doorway, a pathway, and a necessary step into eternity.
Maybe that’s why Paul writes in Philippians 1:21 and says,
“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
Philippians 1:21 (NIV)
And that’s the cause of Christ – isn’t it? That we would involve ourselves in His mission, and do all we can to introduce others to Him. To play our part in the divine mission of saving this world.
— Jesus was so passionate about it, he died for it himself.
— Paul was so passionate about it, that he was willing to die for it as well.
The question for us, is — is that cause worthy of our participation? If it is, then like Paul — we should give ourselves to it’s fulfillment.
We should love people. Lead people. Introduce people to Jesus. We should make it our goal, our purpose, our intent to serve the cause of Christ in that way.
And then—for us as well,
“…to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
— If we live, it’s better for Christ because it advances his cause! And…
— If we die, is better for me, because we get to be with Jesus face to face.
CONCLUSION
My hope for you today — is that this Christmas your heart will be filled with hope. This year I want to remind you that Jesus isn’t just a part of the CHRISTMAS STORY — but that, CHRISTMAS is a part of the Jesus story!
Let’s remember that there is no grace without the cross, and no cross without a manger. But through that manger—we are given the promise and the assurance that Jesus will come again!
So this year, let’s allow Christmas to change our outlook. Let’s be filled with hope as we look upward, and forward — to Christ’s soon return!