My Christmas List
Ephesians 4:1, Colossians 1:10,
1 Thessalonians 2:12
"I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called." (Ephesians 4:1) "That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God." (Colossians 1:10) "That ye would walk worthy of God, who hath called you unto his kingdom and glory." (1 Thessalonians 2:12)
Introduction: I have preached against Christmas lists for as long as I can remember. I think they are not wise for any child of God to have. A Christmas list does not normally hurt others, but is does hurt you. If you have a Christmas list, and if you expect others to "take the hint" about what you want for Christmas, you will probably be hurt and certainly disappointed when Christmas day roles around, and there you sit with nothing but your Christmas list! You see, unfulfilled plans and unrealized expectations produce disappointment. Disappointment produces a hurt and wounded spirit, and a wounded spirit produces misdirected anger and eventually leads to bitterness. Bitterness can lead to wrath and wrath leads to doing evil which is the purposeful hurting of others.
With all of that in mind, I want you to know I have done some thinking over the years, and I have decided to have a Christmas list, and I want to share it with you in this message. People ask me all the time what I want for Christmas, for my birthday, for my anniversary here at Timberline, for a myriad of events. I always say the same thing, "There is no thing I desire to have." ...and I mean that, always have and, Lord willing, always will.
However, after much thought and private meditation, I have determined that there is something I really do want.
1. I want you to know you are really saved. - Romans 10:1
"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved."
- Paul had a Christmas list for the Jews. He wanted them to be saved.
- I know that doubt is a very serious thing for many.
- If you are not sure that you are truly born again, I want you to be sure.
- I have no desire for you to tell me that you are saved just to please me. I want you to know that you are saved and have no doubt.
- I want to see you in Heaven! I want to spend eternity with you!
- Do you know for sure that you are going to Heaven?
2. I want you to be dedicated to the Lord. - Romans 12:1-2
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
- I did this on February 9, 1973 and I am glad I did.
- If you will dedicate your life to the Lord, you will never regret it either.
- Give him...
* Your mouth.
* Your feet.
* Your mind.
* Your body.
* Your eyes.
* Your hands.
* Your Him all of you!
- "What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20)
- I don't want you to live a life that is centered around you. I want you to live a life centered on Jesus.
- Jesus bought you, He paid the price for you, He gave His all for you, you owe Him everything!
3. I want you to be faithful. - 1 Corinthians 4:2
"Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful."
- The word "faithful" in the Bible comes from a word which means "to be trusted or to be reliable." Example: A wife may say that she is faithful to her husband. What she may mean is that she is not guilty of anything negative against her husband, yet she may not be doing anything positive for him.
- Faithfulness is not the absence of the negative, but the presence of the positive. Another example: A person who does not come to church is what the Bible defines as unfaithful. This person cannot excuse himself by saying he has not been attending another church.
- 1 Corinthians 4:2 gives us some very interesting thoughts on faithfulness.
* "Required" means "to seek after, to be desirable." Proverbs 25:19 says, "Confidence in an unfaithful man in time of trouble is like a broken tooth, and a foot out of joint."
* It is interesting to note that the steward is only desirable and sought for if he is found trustworthy and reliable.
- As the people of God, we should discipline ourselves to be faithful in many areas. You might think it is impossible to be a faithful steward but it is not impossible!
- I made it a policy years ago that I was going to be in church every time the doors were open. Unless I was too ill to go, I've never made exception to that policy!
- God has never built a work on earth with unfaithful people. He used some with bad attitudes, but never anyone who was unfaithful!
- What I missed as a kid: I guess I'll never know because I was not there.
- Sunday School, Sunday Morning, Sunday Night, Mid-Week Bible study, Special Meetings, every service!
- "Pray without ceasing." (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
- "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15)
- "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark 16:15)
- "Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice." (Philippians 4:4)
- "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." (Philippians 4:6)
- "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:32)
- "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." (Malachi 3:10)
** You should determine now that the rest of 2009 and all of 2010 will be the most faithful time in your life for the Lord!
4. I want you to have a heart for this work. - 2 Corinthians 8:5
"And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God."
- This goes right along with being faithful.
- I have carried the burden of this ministry for all of these years and I have to be honest and say that there have only been a few who have carried the weight of this place with me.
- I want you to love this work enough to be faithful to every service.
- I want you to love this work enough to help when help is called for.
- I want you to love this work enough to help is not called for but needed.
- I want you to love this work enough to tithe at least 10% of your income.
- I want you to love this work enough to remember the testimony of your church when you are out in public.
- I want you to love this work enough to clean it and keep it clean.
- I want you to love this work enough to come out on work days.
- I want you to love this work enough to keep it a priority.
- I want you to love this work enough to invite folks to come.
- I want you to love this work enough to pray for it every day.
- I want you to love this work enough to sacrifice as your pastor has done for all these years.
Conclusion: This is not really a Christmas list, but it is a list of my heart's desires. "Preacher, what do you want for Christmas?" I want you to be faithful. I want you to grow, I want you to love the Lord more, I want you to dedicate your life, what is left of it, to the Lord. That is all.