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WEEKLY
Volume 4 Number 30
20 December 2009
A Christ-like Heart
(Message delivered by Rev Hien Nguyen at the
Worship Service, 2:00 pm, Dec 20, 09)
Text: Phil 2:5-8
What are you feeling or thinking about
Christmas this year? Many like Christmas because they can enjoy the
holiday, family reunion, parties, Christmas presents or bonuses, etc.
Due to the global economic recession, many sigh, “I do not know what to
do or where to go this Christmas!” Some say, “Christmas in Brisbane is
boring! I do not see the exciting atmosphere of Christmas at all” while
the night on which Jesus was born in the stable was quiet without any
exciting atmosphere! Although the 25th of December may not be
the exact birthday of our Lord Jesus Christ because the Bible does not
reveal His exact birthday, the event of our Lord Jesus’ Incarnation is
real and true in human history. Therefore, Christmas is a good
opportunity to remind the whole world of God’s love and salvation for
them. Sadly, Satan has used worldly things to distract many from the
Heart or the Centre of Christmas—the Lord Jesus Christ. Many do not care
about Him. No wonder, their hearts are still empty and Christmas is
meaningless to them despite all the entertainments, gatherings, parties,
presents, etc.
Dear friends, without the Lord Jesus
Christ, a living Divine Person, in your heart and my heart, Christmas is
just a holiday like other holidays in the year. May God help you and me
to have a Christ-seeking heart like the wise men from the east to
Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we
have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him” (Matt
2:2). Yes, we should come to worship our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a
servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and being found in fashion
as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross” (Phil 2:7-8). All is because of God’s love and
Jesus’ love for mankind, including you and me. Let us meditate on the
loving heart of the Lord Jesus Christ, and may the Lord grant you and me
a heart like His—a loving and good heart, a humble and meek heart, a
sacrificial and long-suffering heart, and a holy and godly heart.
A Loving and Good Heart
The spirit of Christmas must be the
spirit of love and goodness. Why did Jesus have to come into this world?
That is because of God’s love and goodness! “For God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). When
we “were dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph 2:1), and disobedient
and rebellious against the holy and righteous God, and deserving of
eternal punishment and condemnation in Hell, the good and loving God,
who was so gracious and merciful unto mankind that He satisfied His
righteousness by giving us His only begotten Son, who died for our sins
and rose again for our justification (Rom 4:25). Dear friends, we must
appreciate and thank God for His great love for us in Christ, “But
God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8) and “Herein is love, not that we
loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation
for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
Moreover, the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself loved us so much that He was willing to die for us sinners!
Jesus says, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down
his life for his friends” (John 15:13), and He did lay down His life
for us! Because of His sacrificial love for us, He has the right to
require our exclusive love for Him, “Lovest thou me more than these?”
(John 21:15) and “If a man love me, he will keep my words”
(John 14:23). Dear friends, do you and I love our Saviour Jesus Christ
and keep His words above all? We do need Him and His love to control and
constrain us to love Him and His Word, “For the love of Christ
constraineth us” (2 Cor 5:14).
A Humble and Meek Heart
The spirit of Christmas must be the
spirit of humility. Many want to be superior and to show off their
superiority in everything if they can, but we should not. Jesus Christ
is God Himself, King of kings and Lord of lords, but he was so humble
that he was willing to become a man, “God was manifest in the flesh”
(1 Tim 3:16). Jesus was so humble that he was willing to be born into a
poor family and laid in a manger. What would you feel when others would
tell you that your parents were so poor and you were born in the stable
and laid in a manger? Jesus was so humble that he was willing to
wash His disciples’ feet like a servant (John 13). Jesus was so humble
that He depended on His Father in all things with His obedience and
submission, saying, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do
nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things
soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise” (John 5:19), and
He “humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death
of the cross” (Phil 2:5-8). Jesus still humbly welcomes all sinners
to Him, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am
meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls”
(Matt 11:28-29). Many nowadays think that they are scholarly and smart,
and they even arrogantly dare to criticise God’s Word. That arrogant
spirit is not from our humble and meek Jesus. God wants you and me to
have the same humble mind and heart like our Lord Jesus, “Let this
mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:5). Surely,
“God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble”
(James 4:6).
A Sacrificial and Long-suffering
Heart
The spirit of Christmas must be the
spirit of unselfish sacrifice and long-suffering. Many are selfish and
murmuring or grumbling in their difficulties and troubles, but we should
not. Our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to leave His glorious and
comfortable place in Heaven to come into this sinful and cursed world.
He was despised and rejected even when He was born and there was no room
for Him (Luke 2:7). He had suffered persecutions since His childhood
when Herod wanted to destroy Him (Matt 2:16). He sacrificed even His
life for you and me and was willing to endure much hatred, contempt,
insult, blasphemy, envy, hardship, betrayal, and even the shameful death
on the cross without any murmuring or complaint. Truly, Jesus says,
“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the
sheep” (John 10:11). Our Lord Jesus Christ has given His life for
you and me! Have we given our lives to Him? Are we faithful to Him and
to His Word unto death without any murmuring or complaint?
A Holy and Godly Heart
The spirit of Christmas must be the
spirit of holiness and godliness. Many may indulge themselves in worldly
entertainments and activities, but we should not. Many may compromise
God’s truth and God’s Word for the sake of “love and unity,” but we
should not. The angel said to Mary, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon
thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also
that holy thing (child) which shall be born of thee shall be
called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). To be a spotless and perfect
sacrifice for our sins, our Lord Jesus Christ had to live a holy and
godly life in obedience to God’s will and Word in everything. Jesus
prayed and used God’s Word to overcome Satan’s temptations with the lust
of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (Matt 4:1-11; 1
John 2:16). Jesus never compromised God’s truth and God’s Word to work
with the religious leaders in His days. On the contrary, Jesus rebuked
them severely to bring them back to God’s truth (Matt 23). Jesus did not
tolerate sins and worldliness, but angrily cast the merchants out of the
temple, saying to them, “Take these things hence; make not my
Father’s house an house of merchandise” (John 2:16). Jesus did not
tolerate wrong doctrines and warned His disciples against such like the
leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy (Luke 12:1), the leaven of
unbelief of the Sadducees (Acts 23:8), the leaven of compromise and
politics of the Herodians (Mark 3:6; 12:13), etc. Sadly, nowadays, many
are compromising and tolerant towards sins, worldliness and wrong
doctrines. They bring entertainments and worldliness into their church
to attract worldly people. They promote ecumenism to unite all religions
together regardless of their faiths, beliefs or unbiblical doctrines.
They think that they are more loving and more open-minded than our Lord
Jesus Christ! Dear friends, we should not be deceived. We must look
unto our Lord Jesus Christ and follow Him and “come out from among
them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean
thing; and I will receive you” (2 Cor 6:17).
Conclusion
Dear friends, our Lord Jesus Christ
Himself is the Centre of Christmas. Without Him, Christmas is
meaningless. May God help you and me know more about our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ and appreciate Him so much that we can say like
Paul, “Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have
suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may
win Christ, and be found in him” (Phil 3:8-9). Let us open our
hearts to welcome our loving, humble, and holy Saviour Jesus Christ as
our King and Lord. May Christ’s love fill our hearts and constrain us to
love Him, live for Him, and serve Him faithfully unto death. May the
Lord graciously control our hearts and make our hearts like His with His
love, goodness, humility, long-suffering, holiness and godliness so that
others may see Christ in us and also desire to welcome the Lord Jesus
Christ into their hearts. Amen.
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