When Robinson Crusoe was wrecked on his lonely island, he drew up in two columns what he called the evil and the good. He was cast on a desolate island, but he was still alive--not drowned, as his ship's company was. He was apart from human society, but he was not starving. He had no clothes, but he was in a hot climate where he did not need them. He was without means of defense, but he saw no wild beasts such as he had seen on the coast of Africa. He had no one to whom he could speak, but God had sent the ship so near to the shore that he could get out of it all the things necessary for his basic wants. So he concluded that there was not any condition in the world so miserable but that one could find something for which to be grateful.
John 1:1-6 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it. 6 There came a man who was sent from God; his name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify concerning that light, so that through him all men might believe.
· These days the world is pushing the Christmas season way before thanksgiving . Well, in a way they're right: we must have Christmas before we can have a thanksgiving. We must recognize Who this upcoming season is all about!
Try to imagine the world without light. Think about sundown: the chickens go to roost, the cattle snooze, and man goes to sleep; only that which lives in the darkness moves. But at sunrise: the rooster crows, the hens lay, the cattle low, and man rustles in his blankets to ready himself for his labors.
· Without light there is darkness; where there is darkness, there's no life! Where there's no life, death reigns!
· The world was dead in its sins, darkness all around! Jesus brought the light, the true light, that there might be life, and that in abundance!
John 8:12 "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, 'I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall receive the light of life.'"
"A lot of us have seen the light, but for many of us it's the one inside the refrigerator!"
What is it that we celebrate with Thanksgiving?
I. WE CELEBRATE THAT JESUS IS BOTH - GOD AND MAN!
· GOD IS LIKE...
GOD is like Coke...He's the real thing.
GOD is like Pan Am...He makes the going great. GOD is like General Electric...He lights your path. GOD is like Bayer Aspirin...He works wonders.
GOD is like Hallmark Cards...He cares enough to send the very best.
GOD is like Tide...He gets the stains out that others leave behind.
GOD is like VO5 Hair Spray...He holds through all kinds of weather.
GOD is like Dial Soap...Aren't you glad you know him? Don't you wish everyone did?
GOD is like Sears...He has everything.
GOD is like Alka Seltzer...Try Him. You'll like Him. GOD is like Scotch Tape... You can't see him, but you know he's there.
a. Jesus is every bit God and every bit man.
b. He left Glory to face the same temptations and problems that you and I face.
John 1:14-15 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Christianity is Jesus. God didn't drop a scroll of theology from heaven. He came Himself.
Finishing the course on the New Testament, a Greek professor told his class: "You have studied Christ himself, the whole Christ, all of Christ. When you study the Bible, you are studying the Lord himself. For all we know of the Lord is encompassed in these sacred pages." Believers study to understand Jesus.
We celebrate that God sent His Son Jesus … every bit God but every bit man … to face the same temptations that we face … to win victory so that we may win victory!
II. WE CELEBRATE THAT JESUS IS BOTH - LIGHT AND LIFE!
a. Jesus is the reason for life … He is everything.
Helen Keller tells of the dramatic moment when Annie Sullivan first broke through her dark, silent world with the illumination of language. We walked down the path to the well house, attracted by the fragrance of the honeysuckle with which it was covered. Some one was drawing water and my teacher placed my hand under the spout. As the cool stream gushed over one hand she spelled into the other the word water, first slowly, then rapidly. I stood still, my whole attention fixed upon the motions of her fingers. Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten -- a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that "w-a-t-e-r" meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free! There were barriers still, it is true, but barriers that could in time be swept away.
b. Certainly, this was how the blind man must have felt `when he saw water for the first time as he washed his eyes in the pool of Siloam.
c. Just as the Light of the world gave sight to the blind beggar, and just as that "living word" awakened the soul of Helen Keller, so Jesus can awaken your life with the tender touch of His hand.
d. He can give you light, hope, joy, and freedom like you've never known before.
John 1:4-5 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
I Jn 1:5-7 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
I Jn 5:12 He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
III. WE CELEBRATE THAT JESUS IS BOTH - SON AND BROTHER!
a. It is a progression
First, … I know he is the child of the King
Then …. I know the child of the King
Finally …. I become a child of the King
John 1:12 Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--
A Father and his son amass a great art collection together. The Son goes off to war. In his absence his father commissions a local artist to paint his son’s portrait from a photograph. The news comes that his son was killed in battle. The news causes the father to collapse in grief. It is more than the father can bear. He dies. The Paintings are put up for sale in a great auction. Art collectors from around the world come to bid on the auction of the great art. The masterpieces draw huge offers but only one bis is entered for the portrait of the son. A servant who loved both the father and the son makes the only offer on the portrait of the son. $20 is all he has. After all the bidding is concluded the auctioneer stands and announces that whoever takes the son gets it all!
I Jn 3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
IV. WE CELEBRATE THAT JESUS IS BOTH - GREATEST AND LOWEST!
a. The lowest?
a. Born in a stable
b. Laid in an animal’s feed trough
c. Cursed by men
d. Shunned by the “church”
e. Hung on a cross to die a shame filled death!
b. The Greatest!
a. The son of God!
b. The promised Messiah!
c. The Savior of Men!
d. God above all!
John 1:35-37 The next day John was there again with two of his disciples. When he saw Jesus passing by, he said, "Look, the Lamb of God!" When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.
1 Pet 1:17-19 Since you call on a Father who judges each man's work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
V. WE CELEBRATE THAT JESUS IS BOTH - GRACE AND TRUTH!
a. We are no longer under the law but are now under grace.
A husband and wife didn't really love each other. The man was very demanding, so much so that he prepared a list of rules and regulations for his wife to follow. He insisted that she read them over every day and obey them to the letter. Among other things, his "do's and don'ts" indicated such details as what time she had to get up in the morning, when his breakfast should be served, and how the housework should be done. After several long years, the husband died. As time passed, the woman fell in love with another man, one who dearly loved her. Soon they were married. This husband did everything he could to make his new wife happy, continually showering her with tokens of his appreciation. One day as she was cleaning house, she found tucked away in a drawer the list of commands her first husband had drawn up for her. As she looked it over, it dawned on her that even though her present husband hadn't given her any kind of list, she was doing everything her first husband's list required anyway. She realized she was so devoted to this man that her deepest desire was to please him out of love, not obligation.
John 1:16 From the fullness of his grace we have all received one blessing after another.
Eph 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast.
c. It is through the Grace of God that we are given the privilege of serving Him!
VI. WE CELEBRATE THAT JESUS IS BOTH - CREATOR AND SAVIOR!
a. Jesus came and died to save us from our sin.
"If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. But since our greatest need was forgiveness, God sent us a Savior."
Matthew 1:21 Jesus, … he will save his people from their sins."
Mark 8:35 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
An orphaned boy was living with his grandmother when their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to get upstairs to rescue the boy, perished in the flames. The boy's cries for help were finally answered by a man who climbed an iron drain pipe and came back down with the boy hanging tightly to his neck. Several weeks later, a public hearing was held to determine who would receive custody of the child. A farmer, a teacher, and the town's wealthiest citizen all gave the reasons they felt they should be chosen to give the boy a home. But as they talked, the lad's eyes remained focused on the floor. Then a stranger walked to the front and slowly took his hand from his pockets, revealing severe scars on them. As the crowd gasped, the boy cried out in recognition. This was the man who had saved his life. His hands had been burned when he climbed the hot pipe. With a leap the boy threw his arms around the man's neck and held on for dear life. The other men silently walked away, leaving the boy and his rescuer alone. Those marred hands had settled the issue. And so it is with Jesus. His nail-pierced hands remind us that he has rescued us from sin and its deadly consequences.
