Isaiah 9:6

1. Intro.
1. these words were spoken seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus
1. this prophecy was fulfilled in the words of John 3:16
2. Jesus Christ was God’s Christmas Gift, and God never gives anything but the best – James 1:17
3. with deep gratitude for this Gift, Paul wrote, "Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift" - II Corinthians 9:15
2. Christmas is that time of year when nearly everyone’s thoughts turn to gifts and giving
1. giving is a Christian virtue not to be taken lightly
2. it is a tragedy for life to be lived in ignorance of the joy of generous giving
3. to keep happiness, it must be given away
4. to lift another’s load is to lighten our own
3. as we think of gifts and giving at this Christmas season, let us meditate on the facts of John 3:16
1. our Heavenly Father gave the first Christmas Gift - Romans 8:32,
2. salvation is the gift of God – Romans 6:23
2. an unsolicited gift
1. we often ask others, "what would you like for Christmas" or "what can I get you for Christmas"
1. many times Christmas gifts are the result of a specific request
2. not so with God’s Christmas Gift, His was an unsolicited Gift
1. it wasn’t man who saw his need and asked for God’s help
2. it was the Father who foresaw our need and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins
3. when our first parents sinned and fled from the presence of God, it wasn’t Adam who saw his need and sought the Father
4. it was the Father who knew Adam’s need, sought him
5. It was God who asked, "where art thou, Adam," not Adam who asked, "where art Thou, God"
2. salvation was not an afterthought with God; Jesus was "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" - Rev. 13:8
3. the greatest Gift ever given was unsolicited; we didn’t ask for it, but "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" - Romans 5:8
3. an unlimited gift
1. some department stores cater only to the very wealthy
1. the gifts they offer for sale are so expensive that the average person cannot purchase them
2. some very poor families are unable to enjoy the gifts that the middle class of society enjoy
2. God’s Christmas Gift is unlimited [For God so loved the world]
1. Jesus Christ was God’s Gift to the entire world, no one is excluded - I John 2:2, and Hebrews 2:9
2. the Bible says He died for every man; no matter how educated or uneducated; no matter how wealthy or poor; no matter how privileged or underprivileged; no matter how unloved or unwanted
3. no one will die and go to Hell and say, "I wanted to be saved, but Jesus Christ didn’t die for me"
1. no one is excluded except he who excludes himself by refusing to trust Jesus Christ as Savior
2. in the last words of the Bible, there is an invitation for any and all to come – Revelation 22:17
4. an unspeakable gift - II Corinthians 9:15
1. God never gives anything but the best
2. Jesus Christ is God’s unspeakable Gift, He is beyond telling, He is indescribable
1. for ages songwriters and poets have attempted to describe God’s glorious Christmas Gift
2. Preachers have preached unnumbered sermons trying to explain this unspeakable Gift, but the half has never yet been told
5. an unchanging gift
1. Hebrews 13:8 declares, "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever"
1. times change, styles change, attitudes and tastes change, history and math books change
2. nearly everything we know of changes
3. Jesus Christ is God’s unchanging Gift, His perfection demands His immutability
2. there can be no moral change in Jesus
1. if He got better, it would mean He was not perfect in the first place
2. if He got worse, it would mean He was no longer perfect
3. not only is there no moral change in Jesus; there is no change within Himself
1. He never changes from understanding to more understanding
2. He never changes from impatient to patient
3. He never changes from merciful to more merciful
4. He never changes from willing to more willing
5. all that Jesus is, He always has been; and all that He has been, He ever will be
4. Christmas gifts we received several years ago have now become obsolete, but Jesus is always new and never changes
1. He is the same today to those who trust Him as Savior as He was to those who trusted Him two thousand years ago
2. we enjoy the same Savior and salvation that all the saints of bygone years have enjoyed
6. an undeserved gift
1. the very fact that salvation is a gift indicates that it is undeserved
1. if it is earned or deserved, it is no longer a gift
2. a gift is something offered with no strings attached
3. salvation is wholly of grace - Ephesians 2:8-9
2. many religions teach that salvation is part of grace and part of works, but that cannot be - Romans 11:6
3. regarding those who work to earn Heaven, we should hear what Jesus said in Matthew 7:22-23
1. works offered to God in an attempt to earn salvation are described by Jesus as "works of iniquity"
2. no matter how good those works may be, they are still "works of iniquity"
3. if one worked to earn Heaven, the motive behind the work would render it ineffective
4. all Christian service must be motivated by love - I Corinthians 13:3
5. if one worked to be saved, the service would be motivated by fear rather than love and thus be ineffective
4. everything we have we received one of three ways: we earned it, stole it, or somebody gave it to us
1. if we go to Heaven when we die, we will either earn it, steal it, or Someone will give it to us
1. if we had a million lifetimes and worked day and night, there is no way we could earn Heaven
1. the street in Heaven is made of pure gold, so pure it is like transparent glass
2. Earth has no way of refining gold this pure
3. there is no way we could possibly earn Heaven
2. we certainly cannot steal it; the Bible teaches that thieves shall have their part in the lake of fire
3. if we can’t earn it or steal it, then there is only one way for us to enjoy Heaven: it must be a gift
7. an unclaimed gift
1. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son," but the whole world has not yet received Jesus Christ as Savior
1. Christ tasted death for every man, but every man is not trusting Christ for salvation
2. to multiplied millions, Jesus Christ is still a stranger
2. how sad to imagine that after sacrifice and expense, some gift is unclaimed, some package is unopened
1. how sad the giver must feel, to think that the gift is not wanted
2. the greatest gift of all, God’s Christmas Gift, Jesus Christ, is still unclaimed by millions
1. to receive God’s Christmas Gift simply means that one must admit that he is a sinner
2. then believe the gospel story that Jesus Christ died for our sins at Calvary
3. then trust Him completely
3. the death of Jesus Christ on the cross is sufficient for all, but it is efficient only to those who believe