Finding Jesus When God Works Upside Down

As we conclude this Advent Series Christmas at the Movies, we end with the most odd of all the movies. In fact, I wouldn't encourage you to watch it unless you like really weird movies. It was first made in 1993. It was the first of its kind, a full-length stop-motion movie picture. It's called The Nightmare Before Christmas. And it tells the story of Jack Skeleton, the Pumpkin King of Halloweentown. And how he's done with the routine of frightening the real people year after year. He's longing for more and one day he stumbles upon Christmastown. And he's awakened with the wonder of color and songs and the warmth of Christmas.

So he decides to steal Christmas. And to do that he's got to kidnap Santa and he would become Santa But how many you know that life doesn't always go according to plan? And so we see and Every movie and every story Something we too can resonate with whether it's the character is a theme or the story Let's just watch a little glimpse of the nightmare before Christmas

What's this? What's this? There's something very wrong. What's this? There's people singing songs. What's this? The streets are lined with little creatures laughing. Everybody seems so happy. Have I possibly gone down me? What is this? What's this? I know some of y'all might be thinking what this is Christmas Eve movie you decided of all the wonderful Christmas movies out there you could have done Christmas story you could have done Die Hard but but instead we chose a

a nightmare before Christmas? Why did we choose such a movie? In fact, if you google, is nightmare before Christmas a Christmas movie? It's not. So why would we choose this movie on Christmas Eve? Because that's exactly how God works. His ways are not like our ways. In fact, when He works in such a way, we see that He does things that don't always make sense. He flips upside down our understanding. In fact, when Jesus came as the Messiah, so So many missed it because the Prince of Peace was not born in the palace. The King of all kings came and was born in the stable. To a humble couple, a peasant couple, who trusted God. So we see that God's ways are not our ways and in this story you have someone who's longing

for more. And so it is in our hearts, every one of us at some point in our lives, we know there's more. It usually happens in our childhood. And sometimes by the time you become an adult, you just stomp out that thought that you were made for more. Some of us still know deep in our hearts, I know there's got to be more to this life. There's got to be more to why I'm alive. And I'll tell you if you've ever wondered, is there more? Yes, there is more. You are made for more. You're made in the image of God. You are called by God with a purpose and a plan. God loves you so much, He doesn't want you to go through the ordinary, routine, mundane life. Instead, He wants you to experience life and have it abundantly, and that's found in Jesus Christ.

But His ways are not our ways, but when you put your faith in Him, you believe and you trust in Him for who He is, it changes everything. So we see in the Scriptures that God wants us to know who He is because it changes everything. The prophet Isaiah writes, 700 years before the birth of Jesus, who the Messiah would be and how He would change us. In Isaiah 53 verse five, He writes, but He pointing to Jesus, He was wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon Him was the chastisement that brought us and with His stripes, we are healed. See, Jesus came to do what needed to be done. The Lord knew that we needed peace.

The Lord knew that we needed healing and He would be the one to bring forth the life that we longed for so that we would understand that what we've been through is not all that there is, that there's more. As the writer of the book of Romans, Paul writes in chapter 8, verse 18 of the book of Romans, he says, for I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. See, my friends, this has been a difficult year, challenging year. Come on that's your point to shout amen, help me out. It's been a hard year for me, it's been a hard year for my family and some of us wonder why would God allow us to go through this. In our suffering we're reminded this is not

the destination. God has something greater for you. He has the hope of glory that you're actually made for eternity and Jesus came. He lived and He died and He rose from the grave so that you would live that life. A life of hope, not darkness, not depression, not hopelessness, but you would have the hope of glory in Jesus. Jesus came that you would have a life of peace, for he truly is the Prince of Peace, that when you believe in him, Christ guards your heart and your mind and now you have what's called Shalom, it's God's perfect peace. It's not given by your circumstances or any possession, but this is the peace of God. Jesus came that you you would have a life of joy. And Jesus promised himself not just a little

joy but joy to the full. That you would have enough joy to share with others. Jesus came that you would have a life of love. God first loved us so that we would be changed by that love and we would do the impossible love others. Love those who have hurt us because we've been changed by the the very love of God. Sadly, too many today are so distracted by the things of this world by what they can see. They miss that we ought to live and walk by faith, not by sight, so that we can experience the Messiah and not miss it like those in Jesus' day. And it can be challenging and hard when we're distracted, when we're going through difficult days, but we can turn to Jesus and say, when I'm hurting, He actually gives me healing. When I'm hopeless,

He actually gives me peace so that we find our hope in Jesus. See Christmas is not about the distractions of this world or the consumerism or even the gifts that something you may get. It's about the ultimate gift God gave Himself so that you can rest in Him. You know Matthew chapter 11, Jesus gives a great invitation. He says, all you who are heavy laden and burdened, Jesus says, come to me and I will give you rest. What a great invitation. Some of us need to receive that today, but just like the shepherds heard the pronouncement that first Christmas morning, this good news of great joy that will be for all people.

We too can come find rest and good tidings of comfort and joy.

Celebrated around the world by many different nations and people groups and cultures, they We have different decorations and festive foods and thank God for all the sweet treats. Come on. Yeah. I love Christmas. You know, Americans spend on average over $1,500 per family at Christmas time. That's on decorations and gifts. Just multiply that by the millions. That's a lot of money. Is Christmas just about the decorations and the nostalgic holiday feelings that we might have. For so many it's a time of hurting because you've lost a loved one and it reminds you of what you don't have. There's got to be more to this Christmas story. If you go to the first book of the Bible, you know the Bible's

made up of 66 different books and you go to Genesis, the beginning, the origins. The author Moses tells us in the third chapter in the first verse he says, now the serpent was more crafty than the other beasts of the field that the Lord God had made. He's poetically speaking about Satan. He's crafty. He's gonna try to slip into your life. And so he does with Eve in the garden. He said to the woman, did God actually say you shall not eat of any tree in the garden? This would be a reoccurring theme of Satan throughout history to tempt us to question the word of God. Did God actually say?

Because if we would question God, then God is not perfectly good. God is not eternally right in all his ways. He's not eternally holy. So if we question it, we might want to do things our way instead of God's way. And so we see from the very beginning of the human story, a battle between good and evil. A spiritual battle that cannot be seen. As the writer of Ephesians puts it, he writes to the church in Ephesus and says to the Ephesian people, he says, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood. In some sense he's saying we should quit fighting with other people. But we wrestle against the rulers, against the authorities, against cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

We live in a spiritual world that we cannot see. And there is a real enemy that's going after you. And his tactics have not changed from that day in the garden. He wants to distract, he wants to deceive, and he wants to destroy. Jesus calls him in John chapter 8 verse 44, a murder. He was a murder from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. No, I share this with you on Christmas, because this is what the devil is still doing today. All of us will ask questions of God, and the ultimate question every person asks at

some point in their life is, why? Why suffering? Why would God let me go through this? Why would God allow this to happen in my life? Why cancer? Why allow my father to leave? allow this hurt in my life and we will all ultimately ask that question and if we can come to the conclusion that God's promises are not true then the devil wins but the story of Christmas answers the question of why the why is because of sin all of the hurt in this world all of the broken this world is because of sin the way the scriptures put it is we are all born into sin all of us have sin and fall short of the glory of God. It is sin that separates us from God. It is sin that separates us from one another. Yet John, one of the authors of the Scripture says this,

my little children, speaking like a father or a grandfather, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. So because of Jesus, we can have a right relationship with God. We have one God in three persons. This is a big theology, not three gods. One God in three persons. God the Father, the Son, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, perfectly in one, a triune God. And because of the Son, Jesus Christ, we can have a right relationship with the Father. Make sure you understand this. The point of Jesus coming to this earth, the Christ, is to make sure to right every single wrong. When someone has hurt

Jesus came that you would be healed. When you make a mistake, when you sin, Jesus came to set you free from your sin. The purpose of Christmas is that you would be changed by Jesus. He came so that you would be right. That you would be what God made you to be. See, when we sin, something happens in our hearts. We begin to wonder, does God still love us? Can I have a right relationship with Him? The very name Jesus in Hebrews, Yeshua, means Lord's Savior. It's exactly who He is. He fulfills that as our Lord and our Savior. One of the things we do in our tradition is to give gifts in our culture at Christmastime. It's amazing. We celebrate the birth of someone else and we give gifts to each other.

Could it be that Christmas should point us to the greatest gift of all, God Himself? That in this gift it changes everything? Maybe this is why Paul writes, but thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift. I mean this is undefinable, it's absolutely wonderful when you could see with spiritual eyes what's been happening in your life and your past so that you understand the present so it leads you to your future destiny. And of all the craziness that we could focus on in this broken world, the greatest thing you could focus on is Jesus Christ, to turn your attention to Him. He came so that you would know your purpose. Back in the book of Matthew, we see his first teaching in Matthew chapter 4 verse 17.

We're told from that time, Jesus began to preach, saying, repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. This is the message of Jesus, repent is a wonderful word, it means to turn completely. The picture of repentance, you can go your way or God's ways, but you can't do both. That means I want to quit doing things my way. I want to quit doing things the world way. I want to turn to God's ways because God is God and I am not. Jesus came and He invites you. Repent. And this is a wonderful invitation. He tells us the kingdom of heaven is at hand. It's not someday. It's not one day. You can start to experience heaven now. This is not the end of the story. You can have joy now. You can have hope now.

You can have peace now. and it happens through God's chosen one, the Christ, the word Christ is not the last name of Jesus. It's a title. It comes from the Hebrew Messiah. It literally defined is anointed one. God would send one, the chosen one. And the word Christ is the Greek form of that word. When we say Jesus Christ, we're saying he's the anointed one. He's the only He's the one that could save me. He's the only one that could do what needed to be done. He is my gift so that I can look forward to what God's going to do. So as we turn to Jesus, we see He doesn't offer us any life. He offers us eternal life.

The birth of Jesus reminds us that Christ has come. Made a holiday so that we would have these nostalgic feelings and sing familiar songs.

Jesus never came to establish a national religion. Jesus came to flip upside down our understanding of who we are. That we would see ourselves through Him. When Paul wrote a letter to the Philippians, he challenges them to think differently. That we wouldn't think the same. And he writes in the book of Philippians chapter 2 verses 5 through 11, have this mind among yourselves. That's how you think shapes what you believe and what you believe shapes your behavior. Your thinking is so important. So as he writes this, he reminds us, have this mind, think about this, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God

a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men, and being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death even death on the cross therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that the name of Jesus every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God Father. Our friends, when we consider Christ, the Creator became the created.

He did not come and force us to follow Him. He came as a suffering servant, not to be served, but to serve. So that when He changes our hearts, we want to be more like Him. We want to adore Him. We want to worship Him for who He is, that God did what needed to be done. Jesus gives us the very thing we've been been longing for from the day we were born so that in Jesus you quite literally are changed as Jesus would put it you're you're born again on one late night conversation with the religious man about the things of God Jesus would explain to a man named Nicodemus in John 3 16 said for God so loved the world you know God so loves you God cannot love you more than he does

right now because God is love. He doesn't try to love you. He doesn't stop loving you when you mess up. God so loved you that He sent His only Son that whoever believes in Him, any whoever's in this room today? Come on, I'll tell you who the whoever's are. The whoever's are the ones that have messed up. The whoever's are the ones that feel like they've been overlooked. The whoever's are the misfits. The whoever's are the ones that have sinned so greatly they wonder, can anyone actually forgive me and set me free? Whoever, this could be you, for God so loved the world, that whoever believes in Him would not perish, but have eternal life. We're not talking about some life, we're talking about eternal life.

You are made for this. You are made for more. You're made to experience this eternal life with Jesus. And I need you to consider this, that Jesus did not come so that you would keep living the same way. Jesus really is that great. Isn't he worth giving your life to? I'm not inviting you tonight into a religion Instead, I'm inviting you to understand that there is a spiritual war and it's been won by Jesus Satan wants you to get your eyes off of him to question God's promises But when Jesus came into the world, he did what needed to be done It was his plan from the very beginning in that same story Genesis 3 God had a plan for Messiah the Christ to come And it's in this place that Jesus did what needed to be done.

Satan tried to stop him. When Jesus was born, he tempted Herod. And it worked. Herod killed all the kids that were born in that region trying to stop Jesus. But it didn't work. Satan even tried to tempt Jesus. When he was in the wilderness, he tempted him not once, not twice, but thrice. He tempted him in the same way that we're tempted, but Jesus won. He took out the great weapon that every one of us can use, which is the Word of God. And it didn't work. Satan could not tempt Jesus. Jesus was victorious over the devil. He teaches us how we can win. So then Satan goes after the religious, and it worked. Satan went after the politicians, the political system, and it worked.

Satan went after the people, and it worked. Jesus was put to death. He who was without sin. He did not deserve to die. He took our sin on the cross because He loved us. It looked like the devil was winning. And then Jesus died. I gotta imagine that Satan celebrated and Jesus was buried in a tomb. They took such a large stone that it couldn't be moved and soldiers to guard the tomb and it looked like it was over. But how many of us know that the story of God does not work the way we think it works. His ways are higher than our ways. He's so much greater because on that third day that stone was rolled away. He rose from the grave. He defeated death.

He defeated the devil. He did what needed to be done. Jesus is victorious so that when you believe in Him, you can be more than a conqueror. The way Paul wrote it in Colossians 2.15 he disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him It was because of Jesus. He puts the devil and all the legion of demons to shame. I like how Paul writes in 1st Corinthians 15 13 for as by a man came death meaning by Adam sin entered the story By a man, this is Jesus has come also the resurrection of the dead. Jesus is the incarnation of God 100% man, 100% God. He's the only one that has lived a sinless life.

See, Jesus came to do this so that you can be set free and have eternal life. Jesus came so you no longer have to be defined by sin, but you could be defined by who He is, a Savior of your sins. God became a man. I love this story because is offered to whoever wants to receive it. Jesus rescues us from hell. Hell is a real place is separation from God for eternity. It's the place you go if you reject God's grace. The Lord does not send anyone to hell. It's only reserved for those who reject God. And the invitation tonight is you don't have to experience it. You can have the kingdom of heaven. It's yours and it's a free gift. I love that God doesn't say go get your

life right then you could have a relationship with me. He doesn't say that. God doesn't say I want you to be a better person then you can follow me. God doesn't say you have to be a good person to get into heaven. No, he says you have to receive the gift of salvation. Paul put it this way and it just simply puts the last scripture I'll share with you tonight. In Romans chapter 10 verse 9, if you confess with your mouth Jesus is Lord. If you would share devotion with your life on the outside. If you believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. It's that simple. God did not make it complicated. If you believe on the inside and you're willing to express it on the outside, you are forever changed. You are born again. There's so many different illustrations. You become literally a new

creature. You're not the same person you used to be. You're forever a follower of Jesus. Sometimes you don't feel it, but God promises us you are sealed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes you wonder, where is God? Jesus promised I will never leave you nor forsake you. So no matter what we're going through, we have the hope of salvation in Jesus. A pandemic can't stop that, division can't stop that, whatever hurt has happened in your life can't stop it. You can have the hope of Jesus Christ. I want to invite you into that relationship right now. It's the greatest decision you can ever make, and it's yours, but you have to make that decision. I can't save you, nor can any person around you. You can't be born into the right family.

It's because you believe in Jesus. I would just ask us, can we just turn our attention towards heaven? I'm going to ask you to close your eyes, just out of reverence and pointing our focus right now, to think about who Jesus is. If you came here in this moment and in this hour and you're uncertain of eternity, you can know right now where you will go when your heart stops beating. You can be saved. If you're uncertain what happens when you die, you can know that you are saved and get the gift of eternity in Jesus. But it's up to you to follow Jesus, to trust in Him. I'm going to ask you to do something in just a moment. I'll count to three. When I get to three, I'm gonna ask you to make that bold move on the outside and raise your hand

I'm gonna ask you to open your eyes and look at me so I can celebrate with you because it's the best decision Everyone else is gonna keep their eyes closed But if you're making that decision for the first time to follow him complete with your life If you're here right now, and you're like, this is it I was made for this My entire life led up to this moment so that I would be changed that I want you to raise your hand when I count To three here's why number one because God loves you Number two, because He died on the cross and did what needed to be done, so you'd be forgiven so you can have salvation. Number three, so you can experience eternal life, throw up your hand if that's you. If you want to give your life to Jesus, praise God, amen. Praise God, yes, yes, praise God. Praise God, yes, praise God, yes, yes, doesn't matter how old you are or how young you are,

Praise God. The Lord loves this. He loves it. You're accepting this gift tonight. The greatest gift of all. Praise God. Yes. Yes. Right where you are, I'm going to pray. And prayer is simply talking to God. It starts with prayer and continues with prayer. You don't have to have eloquent words. You don't have to have the right words. It has to be sincere from your heart. Right where you are. Pray something like this. You can confess whatever you want to God right now in your heart. Lord, we give you our lives. Forgive us of our sins. Today we accept the greatest gift of all, you, our Savior. Change us. Help us to follow you. We receive the Holy Spirit. Thank you for eternal life. In Jesus' name we pray, and all God's people said, come on, amen.

Praise God. Let's celebrate this. Come on. Yes. Decisions all over the room. Let me tell you, hey, if you made that decision, you got to tell somebody, your life is forever changed before we had church tonight we do what's called a rally where we just kind of like a pep rally at school but before we do any church services we gather all our superheroes together that's our volunteers now how to superhero come up to me and tell me I got saved at a Christmas Eve service let me tell you if you got saved tonight it changes your forever your forever change tonight changed eternity and God is celebrating that you've come home so let God love you he loves you so much so make sure you tell somebody let us know there's connection cards in your seat backs you can fill that out and I accepted Christ. We want to pray with you. We want to celebrate with you. If you need a Bible, we'll give one as a gift. If you want to know the next steps of following Jesus, let me tell you,

it's not always easy, but you can do it. You can get baptized. You can continue to walk in your faith and grow in grace. It's the greatest decision you made. If you did this online, there should be a link that we want you to click on that. Let us know. Wow, I'm just in awe of what God's doing. I praise God for you and your life. I thank God for the children that gave their lives to Jesus. It's not over yet. your story's not over. Let somebody know. We're gonna sing just a little more and then we're almost done. We're gonna light candles together. Remember, Jesus is the light of the world. Let's respond to who God is. Let's give him all the glory and worship him for who he is.