The True Purpose of Christmas

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Everyone around the world is celebrating Christmas and so are we. Christmas brings a special feeling to all of us. It’s the decorations, the lights, the energy, the celebration, the ambiance, Santa Claus, the jingle bell song, good food, friends & families getting together etc.

But it is also about the hype created by the media & the politicians to get attention, offers created by the business world to sell their products and services, people getting drunk and creating ruckus, loud noise disturbing the old and sick people, rich people lavishly spending money in self-indulgence flaunting their wealth, poor people suffering and struggling to find their identity in this loud and noisy celebration.

In all this hype and drama most people either don’t know what exactly Christmas is, but like to go with the flow and have a good time. Or there are people who sit on the other side criticizing and complaining.

And therefore my job today is to share the True Purpose of Christmas.

Mind you, it is not my perspective on Christmas, it is the ultimate truth about Christmas that is recorded in history & experienced by millions whose life has been changed and transformed.

I don’t have to hype it up like the media and the politicians because there is nothing that I am trying to achieve from it. I don’t have to make it sound attractive with my well-crafted words because I’m not trying to sell anything to you.

I’m doing it because I have personally seen and experienced the transforming power of this Christmas message in mine and in my family’s life.

Even though I was born in a Christian family, till the age of 17 I never understood this truth. It was at the age of 17 when an old uncle took me to a park and shared this amazing story of God’s love with me, that I so treasure till this day and am even willing to die for it.

Since then, I’ve been thoroughly blessed, not just with the material things of this world but blessed with this amazing peace in my heart, a joy beyond measure, a fulfilling life that every man on this earth desires.

And unless I’m selfish, why would I want to keep this transformative truth to just myself and my family.

It is truly my joy and pleasure to be able to share this truth with all of you this evening.

So, here we go…

The True Purpose of Christmas is to remind ourselves the reason behind the birth of a man called Jesus about whom a great French general, politician and emperor Napoleon Bonaparte once said

“I know men and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between Him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and myself founded empires; but what foundation did we rest the creations of our genius? Upon force. Jesus Christ founded an empire upon love; and at this hour millions of men would die for Him.”

The famous scientist Albert Einstein said

“I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of Jesus. Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrase-mongers, however artful¨. “No man can read the story of Jesus without feeling the actual presence of Jesus. His personality pulsates in every word. No myth is filled with such life. Theseus and other heroes of his type lack the authentic vitality of Jesus.”

Have you ever wondered what makes Jesus and his birth so special?
Why is he such a hero to the world?

Compared to the standards and norms of our system…

– He wasn’t rich – In fact he was born as the son of a carpenter called Joseph
– He wasn’t a businessman – As he never founded any organization
– He wasn’t a politician – As he never formed a party or rallied around
– He wasn’t a thug – As he never stole or cheated anyone

Here are some facts about Jesus while he was on this earth…

Fact#1

Jesus was born of a virgin birth: He was not born because of the sexual relationship between Joseph and Mary. Mary conceived Jesus before she got married to Joseph. The bible says she was conceived by the Holy Spirit. An angel came to her and gave her the good news.

Fact #2

Jesus lived a 100% righteous life – There was no one who could put any kind of blame on him while he walked on the earth. And it is a known fact that you will hear even from the intellectuals of this generation speak about. Jesus was not hanged on the cross for any criminal activity.

Fact #3

Jesus, while he walked on this earth healed people of their sickness, he made the deaf hear, a blind see, a leper walk free, raised the dead and many more miracles no man has ever experienced, because of which multitude of people would follow and gather around him.

Fact #4

Jesus was crucified on the cross because of the false allegation put on him and was buried in a tomb. And three days after his burial he rose again from the dead and was taken up in heaven in the presence of multitudes of people. His empty tomb in Jerusalem still stands as a witness to that incident.

Fact#5

Even today, in his name people receive healing and freedom from their oppression.

So… Who is this Jesus? What does all this mean? and What is the purpose of Jesus’s Life?

3000 years before Jesus was born his birth was predicted in the Vedas (The Vedic Literature), specifically the Bhavishya Purana which states about the appearance of Isha Putra (the son of God), born of an unmarried woman.

700 years before Jesus was born on this earth a man called Isaiah prophesied about him and said

“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” (Immanuel means God with us)

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

A couple of years later a man called Daniel predicted the coming of Jesus and said

“There before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven . . . He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”

There is no man who can exhibit the qualities and abilities like Jesus did simply because Jesus is God himself. The bible talks about a triune God – God the Father, God the Son & God the Spirit.

Jesus is the son who came down to this earth.

Jesus himself claimed he was God..

In John 10:30 Jesus said “I and the Father are one”
In John 14:9 Jesus said “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father”

Jesus is the son who came down to this earth to rescue us from our own foolishness, sin, lack of purpose and eternal death.

Look at the world today, I don’t know if you are looking carefully. But look at it. It’s a chaos.
The earth is dying, everything in it is perishing. Our selfish desires to gain money, power and freedom have made us animals.

– We don’t think twice before killing someone just like us.
– We don’t care about the people just like us suffering because of poverty and lack of basic necessities.
– We are destroying our natural resources, the trees that give us oxygen, the minerals that sustain our ecosystem.
– All of this leading us to Global warming and end of everything. Just because we are selfish and our hearts hardened.

The scientists and researchers say that if this continues then it is not too late that we will be extinct. Everything we value in our lifetime, everything we treasure for our children, they will be gone.

But how did all this happen?

When God created the first man and women, he wanted them to flourish and multiply. He wanted them to inhabit this earth and enjoy the beautiful, resourceful earth that he created.

But instead of living righteously and living in God’s terms, the man became disobedient, unrighteous and ungodly. And we continue to be so even to this day.

Because of our sinfulness, the bible says

“For the wrath (anger) of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!”

The bible says that every single man is sinful. We all are born sinful and the only way to relate with God is through a sacrifice.

The Vedas reveal this truth…

“Yagne Sarvam Pratishthitam” – “It is sacrifice that bestows all things”.
“Yagnovai Sutarmanowh”- “Sacrifice is the bark (boat) that enables one to live well”.
“Yagnena Va Deva Divangatah” – “Only by means of sacrifice, the gods attained heaven”
“Rutasyanah Pathanaya Ati Viswani Durita”- “Deliverance through sacrifice”

For years men continued to offer sacrifices to God for the forgiveness of their sins, even today in some cultures they still offer sacrifices in various forms. The only norm is that the sacrifice needs to be perfect and blameless.

Jesus, who is God himself, even though he was a man he was not born of man, came to this earth, lived a perfect and blameless life, to deliver us from the wrath of the Father and from eternal death by offering himself as the perfect sacrifice that will suffice every requirement for us to enjoy a perfect relationship back with our Creator God and live eternally with him in the heavenly places.

Jesus did not come to establish a religion; in fact, he spoke against and criticized the religious people of his time. He is above and beyond all our man-made cultural and traditional myths that only leads us to deep bondage and frustration.

John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he sent his only son Jesus to die for us as a perfect sacrifice, and whoever believes in him will not perish but will have eternal life”

After suffering a terrible death for our sake, Jesus, because he was God, rose again from the dead and was taken up in the heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father. And the Bible tells us that one day he will return back and judge the world. Those who are his will be taken up with him and rest will be thrown into hell and eternal death.

You may ask after God sent his son Jesus to die for us and for sinfulness what does he expect from us to receive him and become part of his great big family?

All God requires from us is to believe and put our faith in Jesus’s finished work on the cross. And how do we do that?

We simply turning away from our sinful ways and put our faith in Christ. Trust me, you too will experience this transformative power that most of us have already experienced in this room.

This is the message of Christmas and if you want to experience the joy of knowing your creator God then you need to put your faith in Christ and his work on the cross. Or else this Christmas would mean nothing to you.

I hope and pray that you receive your savior today and see your life transformed forever.