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Sermon of the Week 
Wednesday, December 23 2015

The List…..

I know it’s a bit late, but has everyone gotten your Christmas list all made out and in the hands of all those who can make it a reality?!!!

I think it’s safe to say that most men need a lot of help in finding that perfect holiday gift. It just isn’t a talent that a lot of men have. Sometimes the hints have to be especially large. Well this morning, I’d like to help all of the men present to discover what will be the perfect gift for the wife this Christmas. We all know that women love perfume. They love to smell nice.

Perhaps men, you’ve bought perfume in the past. But I’m not talking about just any perfume. I’m talking about Marilyn Miglin’s “Parfum”. We all know the first question any man will ask before making a considerable purchase. “How much will it cost?”

Well men, you will be relieved to know that Marilyn Miglin’s perfume only costs $500 for a one ounce bottle! Just imagine how wonderful your wife will smell when she is wearing this perfume!

She will smell almost as good as the woman whose husband buys her Clive Christian’s Sandalwood and Indian Jasmine perfume. Clive Christian’s product sells for a mere $1,820 per bottle. But you get 30 mili lieters so at least this will last her about a month. But men, just imagine how wonderful it will be to hug your wife coming home from work and smell $1,820 perfume on her neck?

But why would you stop there? Why would you buy her the second most expensive perfume in the world? Because the most expensive perfume in the world is Arthur Burnham’s Gianni Sulman. It only costs......$74,555 per ounce. Now all you men, have no excuses this year. All you have to do is just head right out and get it before it’s gone!

Have you ever gotten some of those horrible Christmas gifts, that make you wonder what someone was thinking…. Let me give you some examples… the neck tie with Christmas lights that actually light up and blink until you become nauseas…. How about the sweater that would win any ugly sweater contest, held anywhere….Then there’s the sneakers that have flashing lights every time you take a step, Or what about the gift that you can’t wait to re-gift and after you do, you see it at the local Salvation Army store right after Christmas…..

Well, I wonder what Jesus thinks about the things we offer Him, that we think He really should be excited about, but then again perhaps it’s kinda like some of the things I’ve just described to you, on the high end and the low end….So, I’m thinking….. If Jesus gave us His Christmas list, what would be on it?

My message today is “The List”….

“What do you give someone that has everything?” Not only would you think they have everything, but they made everything as well!!!!! Fortunately for us, the Lord left His Christmas wish list for everyone to read. After all, if you don’t know what to give someone, you should just ask them, “What would you like?”

The Lord actually did leave His wish list for everyone to read, and He gave the responsibility of delivering it to us, to a prophet. Usually prophets are even longer winded than pastors, but this prophet seems to be an exception. He wrote it all down, in one of the books referred to as the minor prophets, not because they were any less than all the other prophets, but because their books were short…. And it’s in the little book of Micah, which is named after its writer.

He wrote down the list, so we would know it, and wouldn’t forget it.

Micah lived about 700 years before the birth of Christ. He was a country boy from the little town of Moresheth a few miles outside Jerusalem. Scholars tell us that he lived about the same time as his fellow prophets Isaiah and Hosea. In fact, many think he and Isaiah were good friends because parts of the books they wrote sound very similar.

A character profile of Micah, could be summed up in the following words and phrases: blunt, direct, terse, plain-spoken, no-nonsense, a straight arrow kind of guy. He loved the common man and hated corrupt politicians. In fact, his book is basically a condemnation of religious and political leaders who use their position to take advantage of other people. Micah was a prophet of social reform.

Three phrases describe the situation in Micah’s day, which was much like the times we live in today…

1. There was International Tension. Israel was caught between three warring nations—Assyria, Egypt, and the Philistines. Israel’s relationship to these nations amounted to a kind of voluntary national slavery.

2. There was Religious Corruption. Again and again Micah railed against priests who took bribes and then said whatever people wanted to hear. It seems like all the leaders were on the take and were all about the almighty dollar.

3. There was Moral Chaos. It was every man for himself, the rich ripping off the poor, the leaders scamming cheating everyone. The merchants couldn’t be trusted, the authorities couldn’t be trusted, and you couldn’t even be sure about those in your own family.

Reading the book of Micah would have been like reading a recent edition of the Miami Herald.

Although this list is only 1 verse long, it tells us exactly what the Lord wants from us for Christmas this year.

The list is in Micah 6:8… This verse has been called the greatest verse in all the Old Testament. It sums up what God really wants from you and me. This is the kind of verse you ought to commit to memory, write out on a card, and put it on your mirror so you can look at it every day. It tells us exactly what God looks for in our life at Christmas and all year.

Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what the LORD requires of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

The first thing listed here is “to act justly”…The Hebrew word is “Mishpa”. Often in the Old Testament this word is applied to God’s own character. It tells us that the Lord is just—he is absolutely fair and righteous in all of his dealings. He will always do right by every person. Justice means “treating people right because of how the Lord would treat them.”

In the Bible this concept is applied in some very pro-active ways: caring for the poor, remembering the widows and orphans, not plowing the corners of your field so the hungry can gather enough to eat, speaking the truth, paying a fair wage, dealing honestly with others, no cheating, no extortion, and refusing to take advantage of those who are less fortunate than you are.

The Lord of Heaven, was willing to be rejected, despised, mocked and finally crucified, and yet was willing to take our judgment, and take our place, and justify us and qualify us for God’s favor instead of His wrath, and position us for His grace, instead of punishment. Christmas is a celebration of the Lord’s favor….

The second thing The Lord has on His list is “To Love Mercy”

The Hebrew word is Hes-ed, which means “loyal love” or “patient love.” It’s the word sometimes translated “his mercy endures forever.”

It means loving the unlovely even when they don’t love you back. It speaks about our obligation to care for people who may not care for us. It’s not about feelings, it’s about the principle of receiving the Lord’s blessing…. He said “blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” You can’t plant onions and expect mangos to come up! You get what you sow…

But, let me give you a simple definition of mercy: Doing unto others as you would have the Lord and others do unto you. In just a few days 2015 will be history. Think back across the last 12 months. If you have been blessed? Then bless others. If the Lord has forgiven you… Then forgive others. Has God lifted you up when you were down? Then lift others up when they are down. Has God overlooked your faults? Then overlook the faults of others.

The word translated “mercy” is also translated as “lovely” or “beautiful.” It is a quality that will make you beautiful to the Lord and to others. I call it “Hope for the Ugly and help for the Homely”. Show mercy and people will think you are beautiful!

I know you’ve heard it, but people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care!

If there is one thing that the babe in a manger shows us, it is the mercy of God that would cause Him to be willing to become a helpless, weak, and dependent baby, that He might grow to experience all of life as we know it, so that He might allow us to experience the mercy of Heaven as only He can show it!

The Christmas season is a celebration of the Lord’s mercy!

The third thing which we see on “The List” is “To walk humbly with your God” It comes from the word “tsaw-naf” It means to wrap or clothe yourself in humility as a garment.

It speaks of an attitude that is the opposite of pride. What is humility? It’s having a right view of yourself because you have a right view of God. Humility doesn’t mean, “I’m a nothing, I’m a worm, I’m useless.” That’s not humility, that’s self-pity, which is really another form of pride that is turned inward but the focus is still on yourself.

And what is pride? It’s having too large a view of yourself because you have too small a view of God. Selfy sticks are in big demand these days….and it is estimated that over 30 million dollars will be spent for them in the U.S. alone for Christmas. If you want to really make a lot of folks happy this Christmas, get them a Selfy stick, Ha! When your God is big, pride will be impossible, because all of the focus, all of the honor, all of the praise and all of the glory will be His.

Humility is knowing and living like “Every good thing I have in life is a gift from the Almighty. Some have more, some have less. It matters not to me. I thank God for what I have and I’m going to do the best I can with what God has given me, and I’m going to leave the outcome with Him.”

If we live that way, it will save us so much trouble. We won’t be tripping over our own egos and we won’t have to get into a power game at work or get sucked into the rat-race or sell our convictions to get ahead. We won’t get angry at the silly comments people make. Humility enables us to be who we are in Christ. And we don’t have to worry about what others think. Just because folks get offended doesn’t mean they’re right!

What does the Lord want from you this year at Christmastime? The list has three Simple Words… “Justice … Mercy … Humility”.

Rightly understood, those three words form the sum total of your Christian duty. If you have those things, God will be pleased as you present them unto Him. If you don’t, nothing else makes much difference.

He came to establish justice!

He came to show mercy!

He came to lift up the humble!

The manger is about God in the flesh, identifying with our fears, our weaknesses, our curses, our failures, our limitations, and our temptations…

Let the wrongly accused rejoice, For their justifier is born.

Let the sick and infirmed rejoice, For their healer is born.

Let all under the curse rejoice, For their Redeemer is born.

Let the weary and worn rejoice, For their Comforter is born.

Let the rebels rejoice, For their Master is born.

Let captives rejoice, For their Liberator is born.

Let All the earth rejoice, For Jesus Christ is born.

The Bible says in John 1:12 “To all who receive him, to those who believe in him, he gives the right to become children of God”.

Let’s share together a closing prayer….

Father, thank you for the marvelous gift of your son, Jesus Christ, whose birth we celebrate. We thank you for your love and mercy.

We ask that the true message of Christmas would come to the people of this city, of this state, of this nation, in the name of Jesus. May your hand of guidance, provision, and comfort be upon those who are in need, those that are in hospitals, those that are alone, the elderly and the young. Open the eyes, and the hearts of all people, that we may have an understanding of our need for you, and make You our choice this Christmas. May we have a deeper hunger and desire to seek You with all of our heart. May the power of Your divinity help us answer the high call to forgiveness and a redeemed life.

Lord, we still find ourselves living in a world that is far too broken. Forgive us, O God, and let us be willing to love without the restrictions that come from fear, greed or pride. Open our hearts to receive Your life and increase our vision with each new day that our lives may be filled with Your glory and Your peace.

You were touched by our poverty that we may be assured of Your abundance. You shared our weakness that we may share Your glory. In Jesus name, Amen.

Posted by: AT 11:26 am   |  Permalink   |  Email
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