1127 - God Has Given You the Best Gift#
1127 - God Has Given You the Best Gift
(JP Text Group - Organized by Life Like an Eagle)
Today, the topic we are sharing is called "God Has Given You the Best Gift."
John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
God loves the world, and you can change that verse to the second person as "I," even giving His one and only Son to me, so that I shall not perish but have eternal life. This is a very great promise given to us by God. Through such a promise, God wants us to receive His abundant life. Therefore, God has already given us His only beloved Son, Jesus, two thousand years ago.
Jesus was born two thousand years ago, which is a sign of God's love for us. He is a heavenly sign. When you see Jesus, you should know that this is the clear evidence of God's love for you. Although you cannot see Jesus today, when you see the cross, you know this is the sign that saves you, the sign that you are already saved. This is evidence of God's love for you. Every pain you experience, every failure you encounter, and your problems are all known to God. He knows your current situation; He cares deeply for you. The reason He sent Jesus into the world is to save you. Hallelujah!
Let us share the first point: Jesus came to give us abundant life.
Why does God want to give us His abundant life? Why did Jesus come to this world?
Romans 3:23: For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
The Son of God, Jesus, came today to restore the glory we have lost. We just mentioned that all have sinned, so what is the wage of sin? The wage of sin is death.
Romans 6:23 says: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This passage of scripture does not reveal the grace contained within it when viewed in the Chinese Bible. When I checked the original text, I found that God has a tremendous promise and blessing contained within it. What does "the gift of God" refer to?
In the original text, another word is used, which is "grace." Amen! Only the grace of God in our Lord Jesus Christ is eternal life, and the word "gift" comes from another original word, Christma.
Brothers and sisters, when you celebrate Christmas, do you know why we say "Christmas"?
Christma is what we just referred to as "the gift of God," and this gift is Christma, which is God's grace. Another meaning is a free gift. Although all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; although the wages of sin is death, the gift of God has come, so that all who believe in Him may receive eternal life in Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!
God has prepared a free gift for us, and this gift is Jesus Christ. So during Christmas, when you receive gifts, you should know that the most precious gift, the best gift, is Jesus Christ. God wants us to receive His abundant life in Jesus Christ. When we preach the gospel, we should more accurately say that we are preaching Jesus Christ, the wonderful gift that God has given us.
John 10:10 says, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;
This is the work of the devil. He comes to steal everything from people, including their health, relationships, or lives. This is what the devil does. He steals and kills everything that people originally have. So all these things that are of no benefit to us do not come from our God!
What God gives us is a precious gift, which is Jesus Christ, His love, His mercy, and so on. But the devil comes to steal what God has given you; he wants to destroy all of it. The devil does not want to see a family that is very harmonious and beautiful, so he tries every means to destroy people's families. Originally, Adam and Eve were so loving, but when the devil came, he destroyed their beautiful family relationship.
What have you lost today? If you have lost your health, God wants to restore it to you again in Jesus Christ. If you say others hate me, what should I do? You come before Jesus, and Jesus will give you wisdom to have good relationships. This is our Jesus. He said: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Believing in Jesus is not just about being saved. At the moment you believe, you are already saved, and you can enter the kingdom of heaven. So why do you still gather today? Because God wants to give you His abundant life through this way. We need to receive abundant life. Jesus can not only save us from death, but He can also save us from all tribulations, all diseases, and all hardships. So no matter what problem you are facing now, bring it before Jesus, and Jesus will surely give you an answer. What God gives us is beneficial to us. Thank you and praise the Lord!
Because of the sin of our ancestor Adam, sin entered this world, but God hates sin, and God loves the world. Are these two things contradictory? Does God hate a person just because they have sinned? No.
Brothers and sisters, let me give you an example, and you will understand. Many people always think that God hates me, despises me, and wants to punish me because I have sinned. If your beloved relative gets cancer, you love them very much. Would you hate that relative just because they have cancer? No. You would still love your relative, but in your heart, you would hate that cancer, right? You would want that cancer to disappear from their body. You still love your relative; the more you love your relative, the more you hate that cancer!
Similarly, although we have sin, God still loves us. These two things do not conflict. God knows we have sin, but He wants to solve our sin problem. Therefore, God sent His only beloved Son, Jesus Christ, to us. He gave us this best gift—Jesus Christ. What is the purpose of God sending His only beloved Son, Jesus, into this world?
God sent His only beloved Son, Jesus, into this world to die for our sins. So every time you think about what Jesus Christ has done for you, you can think of it as the love of the Father. Although you indeed have sin inside you, this cannot stop God from loving you. To solve this problem within you, He sent Jesus Christ. Every time we celebrate Christmas, you should know that the main character of Christmas is not Santa Claus, but Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!
We know that two thousand years ago, God gave His only beloved Son for me because He loves me. He wants to solve the sin problem within me. Just like if your relative has cancer, and today the doctor comes and takes the cancer away from your relative, you would rejoice! When the Son of God came to the world and removed the sin from within us on the cross, God rejoiced! Hallelujah! Thank you and praise the Lord.
God allowed Him to die on the cross, taking our place for our sins. Through the cross, God placed all your sins upon Jesus, separating you from sin. Jesus Christ bore your sins, and there was a holy exchange on the cross. You give your sins to Jesus, Amen! Then Jesus on the cross gave you His righteousness, His mercy, and His peace.
So do you remember how you prayed the sinner's prayer? Lord, please forgive me all my sins; I acknowledge that I am a sinner. When you acknowledge this, you are actually reaching out your hand to give your sins to Jesus, and Jesus takes your sins upon Himself, giving you His eternal life.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus indeed did this for us. Amen! Thank you and praise the Lord! Jesus has borne your sins; this matter is already completed. Jesus has given you His righteousness, His holiness, and at the same time, Jesus has also given you His health and His completeness.
John the Baptist testified about Jesus, saying: Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world. Amen! Brothers and sisters, he made it very clear that the Lamb of God came to the world to take away the sin of the world. This is the purpose of God sending Him into this world, so that the sins of all who believe in Jesus may be borne by Jesus! Those who believe will receive eternal life from God. God transcends the limitations of time and space. Therefore, when Jesus bore the sins of the world, He also transcended the limitations of time and space.
Brothers and sisters, time and space are created by God. So when He bore your sins, it transcended time and space. Otherwise, He could only bear the sins of those who lived before Jesus, and we would have no chance. But because He transcended time, even you, including those who will be born a thousand years from now, as long as they believe, their sins will also be forgiven by Jesus.
God has already seen your past and your future, so He has borne all those sins. Two thousand years ago, Jesus also bore all the sins you commit today. Amen! So when He died on the cross, He paid the price for all your sins; everything is settled! The wrath and punishment that should have come upon us fell upon Jesus.
John 3:35-36 says,
35 The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in His hands. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.
For those who do not accept Jesus, God's wrath remains on them; today, we believe, and God's wrath has fallen upon Jesus, so we no longer have to bear such punishment, because all the curses have fallen upon Jesus.
In 2 Corinthians 5:21, God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
Brothers and sisters, this is the gift that God gives us today. Through this gift, God places all our sins upon Him and gives us His righteousness. This righteousness is not ours; it is God's righteousness. So Jesus came to give us such abundant life. Amen! God wrapped it up and said, this is the best gift I give to the world. When we opened it, we found it was Jesus Christ.
Thank the Lord, so the church should be a place that preaches Jesus, where grace, truth, righteousness, and all healing come out from Him. Today, it is not about what we can do; we have only taken on God's righteousness. He absorbed our sins, and we absorbed His righteousness. Amen! So when we believe in Jesus, our sins are transferred to Jesus.
Today you receive God's grace, which is something you do not deserve. The reason you can receive it today is all because of Jesus Christ, all because of the salvation that Jesus Christ accomplished for us on the cross. So Jesus gives us a promise that no matter what kind of tribulation you encounter in this world, do not be afraid and do not worry. Because He has overcome the world! What He means is that I have already overcome, and I will also give you the strength to overcome all of this. When you face difficulties, you do not have to be afraid or panic, because Jesus has the power to give you to overcome all of this. He wants to give us His life. Hallelujah!
As we continually receive His word, this life begins to grow within us. Amen! He will continually renew your original thoughts; this is repentance. Amen! You will gradually think according to Jesus' way and see the world through Jesus' perspective. In the past, when you saw suffering, you might always have worried, but now that you have Jesus inside you, you declare that He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world. In the name of Jesus Christ, I can overcome this suffering! Because it is not my ability doing it; God gives me the ability to overcome it. Therefore, Jesus is the guarantee of our abundant life. Hallelujah.
Share the second point: The best gift is Jesus Christ.
The greatest miracle is the resurrected Jesus Christ. Many people are pursuing those small miracles, like someone being healed from illness, and so on... But the greatest miracle is that Jesus Christ died for us and rose from the dead. Amen!
Please believe that today God blesses you, protects you, and does not condemn you, not because you will no longer sin, not because your behavior suddenly becomes very holy or perfect, but because Jesus Christ has accomplished all this goodness. Nothing can stop God from loving you! Even if your loved ones continue to get sick, will you stop loving them? No, because they are your loved ones, so it is that simple. We have established a beautiful relationship with God; we are His children! So even if you still sin today, do not forget that God will still love you. This love will bring about change within you, making you willingly abandon those sins.
Some people tell us that if this is the case, can Christians sin at will? Actually, this is just a hypothesis. Let me give you an example, and you might understand. A husband and wife love each other very much. Would they allow a third party to come in? Why not? Because in the eyes of the man, there is only room for this woman, even if there are more beautiful or capable women; he wouldn’t even look at them. This is the power of love; only love can overcome all of this.
Today, do not always tell your husband, you need to change, you need to change, you need to change... The more you shout at him, the less he will change, unless you show him your love; then he will change. Thank God. It is the love of Jesus Christ that changes us, not the law that makes us change.
Luke 2:10-12 says,
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid! I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. 11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
This is the first sign. We celebrate Christmas as the birth of Jesus Christ, which is a sign of the gift given to us from heaven. Amen! Thank the Lord.
Today we want to share such a sign. The shepherds in the wilderness saw the glory of God shining, and they were very afraid. At this time, the angel comforted them, saying, do not be afraid; I bring you great news.
Before you came here, perhaps you had many worries, maybe about your finances, your job, your relationships with colleagues, or your marriage. No matter what the state of the world is right now, I want to tell you great news. You should leave with this good news because this news will bring you great joy. Jesus Christ will surely take care of you. God's blessings are not based on the current situation of the world but on the conditions of the kingdom of heaven. Amen! There is no economic crisis there, there is no sickness, and all supplies are abundant. Jesus blesses you according to the conditions there, so do not be afraid. Hallelujah!
So when we see the glory of God in the future, do not be afraid, because this is pleasing to God. Amen! You should rejoice in receiving such great glory. The angel told them, I bring you great news that will cause great joy for all the people. What kind of news is it? Today in the town of David, a "Savior" has been born to you; He is the main character of Christmas. This is the center of Christmas. It is not Santa Claus, not Christmas programs, not Christmas gifts; Jesus Christ is the center. God has given us a Savior. Hallelujah!
What is a Savior?
You can understand the Savior as a title. When I say someone is a driver, the driver is someone who drives professionally, but not everyone who drives is a driver.
Today, think about it, what is a Savior? He is a professional rescuer. Hallelujah! No one is more professional at saving than Jesus! This is the good news of salvation for all people; He can save people, He can save everyone.
What God gives us is not a judge, not a lawyer, and certainly not a condemner, but a Savior. Hallelujah! A Savior has the ability to save! His main responsibility is to save. A driver’s main responsibility is to drive. So Jesus' main responsibility is to save; He can save you from evil, Hallelujah! He can save you from trouble; He can save you from sickness; He can save you from hardship.
So brothers and sisters, when you know He is the Savior, you should call upon Him to save you! But God never forces anyone to do anything, just as He does not force you to accept His salvation. The Holy Spirit respects us very much; God values us very much. He respects our choices. He places salvation there, and all who believe can receive it. People decide for themselves whether to accept it or not.
When God created Adam, He gave us this free will of choice. Because God said, let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so the person created has the ability to think independently. He has the ability to choose independently. So today, each of us has the right to choose to accept or not accept, even blessings; God does not force you to accept. This is God's justice.
Many people say, why does God bless me less than He blesses him? I ask them, why don’t you ask God like he does? If you do not ask, how can you receive?
So God never forces us to do anything. If God were to force us to accept His blessings, He would also force us not to sin. Think about it; when Adam and Eve sinned, did God know? But why didn’t God rush out and “smack” their hands so they would never go near that tree again?
Why didn’t God do that?
Because God loves us. Hallelujah! Because God loves you, He does not expect what He created to be a bunch of puppets. If God had created people and placed a remote control in His hand, then whenever He pressed a button, the person would say, "Hallelujah!" If He pressed the button, the person would say, "Hallelujah!" If He pressed hard, the person would shout loudly...
Brothers and sisters, is this interesting? It is not interesting at all. If your child were like this, you press a button, and they say "Mom"; you press a button, and they say "Mom." You press hard, and they shout; if you do not press, they do not shout. Would you want such a child? This is called a puppet.
What God wants is not such a remote-controlled device. He expects us to think independently and willingly follow Him. So God did not create a puppet but a complete person with free choice and free will. Inside us, we have His image and likeness, and the Holy Spirit dwells within us.
What God expects is that we willingly call upon Him, and He is willing to give us. Tithing is also like this; it should come from a willing heart before God. God says, I accept it, and I will bless you doubly. Similarly, serving is the same; when we willingly serve God, He is pleased. Because He has already accepted your service. This is not a transaction of behavior for blessings, but before you do anything, He has already accepted you. The ability to serve Him today is because you know He accepts you, so you are willing to do what pleases Him. Amen!
A child, when he knows how much his parents love him, understands this, and he will love his parents willingly in his own way. We are the same; we continually talk about God's grace, God's love, God's mercy, etc., in the church. Let every brother and sister see God's love upon you; only then will you have the strength to love God and others. Therefore, God hopes we will willingly serve Him.
If you do not have such a heart, do not serve yet; if you do, God will not be pleased. Your actions will not bring you more pleasure from God; even your bad actions are the same. God will not say, today I see you have bad behavior, so God loves you a little less, or the worse your behavior, the less God loves you. It is not like that. God loves you today because of Jesus Christ. Amen!
So when each of us understands God's love, we will willingly do things for God, and naturally, there will be no complaints. Although Jesus has accomplished all this salvation for us, we still must accept this salvation ourselves for it to come upon us. Hallelujah! The purpose of everything Jesus did is to let us receive it. What can we do for God? We can do nothing; we cannot repay God for what we have done because the salvation, blessings, and grace God gives us are truly too great.
What we can do is lift up the cup of salvation and bless God's name. Amen! This is evangelism. When you understand how much Jesus loves you, you will want to share that love with the person next to you. This is the motivation for our evangelism; it is because you understand Jesus' love that you are willing to share this great love with another person. This is called good news! Hallelujah.
So what do we tell others? We tell them that the main character we celebrate at Christmas is Jesus Christ, who is the best gift God has given us. When you open this gift, you see: God's love for you, God's forgiveness for you, God's healing for you. Look at what Jesus is doing, and we can do the same!
During the three years Jesus preached on earth, did He ever curse anyone? No. Did He ever condemn anyone, saying, you are destined for hell? He only said to the Pharisees who rejected Him, you should repent and believe in Him! Even so, Jesus still answered their questions and gave them opportunities. The only thing Jesus cursed was a fig tree, and from that, you can see how serious the consequences of being cursed are! So since Jesus did not curse, we should not curse either. Hallelujah!
What kind of authority does God give us? You should bless those who persecute you and pray for those who persecute you. God tells us to keep blessing, keep blessing, keep blessing... because that is what He does. Thank you and praise the Lord!
The angel said to the shepherds, when you see a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger, that will be the sign.
Brothers and sisters, let me ask another question. Do you know why Jesus was born in a manger? Couldn’t God have made Him born in a better place? I used to wonder why it was in a manger, but later I read the four Gospels and found that the Bible tells us, "because there was no room in the inn," so He was born in a manger. I always thought He was born in the manger of the inn. Have you thought that way too? Later, when I checked the original text, I found out that it was not like that at all. He was not born in the manger of the inn; He was born in a manger in another place, and the reason Jesus was born in a manger has significant fulfillment of Old Testament promises.
Jesus is the true portrayal of the Messiah in the Old Testament. Amen! Including His birth in a manger, being born in Bethlehem, was mentioned in the Old Testament, right? It has already been mentioned. But very few people talk about why He was born in a manger.
Today, I want to share with you why He had to be born in a manger. I saw a pastor explain this passage, saying that Jesus was born in a manger because the world is too evil, so Jesus did not want to see a group of people when He opened His eyes; He would rather see animals. Brothers and sisters, this is not correct. His purpose in coming to the world is to save people; how can He say He does not want to see people? Do not believe such things; just treat it as a joke.
What is the real situation? In the time of Jesus, all mangers were made of stone. A manger is a place where livestock eat. The first spiritual meaning you can understand is that Jesus was born in a manger and ultimately became our heavenly food, the bread of life. Earlier, we mentioned that a Savior was born in the town of David, but how did the shepherds know where He was born? And the shepherds easily found this baby, right? How did they find Him? Because it was all recorded in the Old Testament! Amen!
The angel did not say in which town of David or in which manger, but the shepherds found Him. So today, I want to share a passage from the Old Testament with you. You can quickly turn to Micah 5:2, "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."
The Old Testament in Micah tells us that the future Messiah will be born in Bethlehem, Ephrathah. Amen! This place name is very accurate, so the Jewish people who understood the Old Testament knew exactly where Bethlehem Ephrathah was; that is the city of Bethlehem. So we can confirm one thing: Jesus was born in the city of Bethlehem, but in which manger in the city of Bethlehem? Are there many mangers in Bethlehem? Very many; almost every household has livestock, and every household will have a manger. In which manger would He be born? The shepherds could not check one by one, right? Amen? So another passage of scripture tells us which manger He would be born in.
Micah 4:8 says, "As for you, watchtower of the flock, stronghold of Daughter Zion, the former dominion will be restored to you; kingship will come to Daughter Jerusalem."
This watchtower of the flock refers to a place. What kind of place is it? In the past, shepherds built a place near the city of Bethlehem to prevent wild animals, and that place was called "Ephrathah." This Ephrathah built a watchtower, a small mound of earth, and this house was used for lambs to give birth. So this watchtower of the flock is a lookout point for shepherds near Bethlehem, where they would stand to see if wild animals came to attack the flock. This lookout point is also a place for ewes to give birth to lambs.
In Genesis 35:19-21,
19 So Rachel died and was buried on the way to Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem). 20 Jacob set up a stone pillar at her grave; it marks Rachel's tomb to this day. 21 Israel moved on again and pitched his tent beyond Migdal Eder.
This "Migdal Eder" is what is now called the watchtower of the flock. After I explain this Migdal Eder to you, you will understand why Jesus had to be born in the Migdal Eder of Bethlehem Ephrathah.
What is Migdal Eder used for? As we just mentioned, it is a place for ewes to give birth to lambs. Because the lambs born in this place are different, they are to be supplied to the temple as sacrificial offerings. So this Migdal Eder is not an ordinary place. We still remember that in the time of Jesus, they brought cattle and sheep to offer sacrifices. So where did those unblemished lambs in the temple come from? They were born in this Migdal Eder. After the lambs were born, they would be carefully nurtured and examined. So every time a ewe gave birth to a lamb, their usual practice was to wrap the lamb in cloth and place it in the manger. When the lamb grew up to be more than a year old, they would take them to the temple as sacrificial offerings.
What does this tell us? Jesus Christ was born in that Migdal Eder; His mother Mary wrapped Him in cloth after He was born and placed Him in the place where lambs were born. When He grew up, He would also be sent to God to become God's sacrificial offering. This is why He had to be born in a manger because He became the final sacrificial offering. Hallelujah! His birth was sent to Jerusalem, and after suffering, He would die on the cross to redeem the sins of all humanity.
In the past, sacrifices were made with lambs, but now the true sacrificial offering has come; He is Jesus Christ. After Jesus died for us on the cross, this sacrificial offering completed its duty. So at that time, when Jesus died on the cross, a miracle occurred in the temple: the curtain in the temple was torn from top to bottom because after Jesus Christ offered the sacrificial offering, this curtain was completely opened. From then on, everyone could come directly to God's throne in the name of Jesus Christ to receive grace, mercy, and help in time of need. Because the price of sin has been paid.
The sacrificial offering in the Old Testament was just like the sacrificial lamb born in the manger, taken to Jerusalem. Now, the Son of God, Jesus, was also born in such a place and ultimately went to Jerusalem to die for our sins. Hallelujah! So God allowed His Son to be born in a manger; this is a significant secret. Hallelujah! Because in the past, sacrifices were made in that way to atone for sins. Now, Jesus Christ has made one offering that removes our sins forever. Hallelujah.
So when I discovered this mystery from the original text, I suddenly understood that God has always loved us like this. Amen? So He is the "Lamb that was slain" mentioned in the Old Testament, who takes away the sin of the world. Amen? This is what John the Baptist has been saying: Behold! The Lamb of God! This Lamb was born in that manger and ultimately went to Golgotha to be our sacrificial offering. So God delights in us. Amen? It is because of this sacrificial offering that all our sins are washed away. Today, when God looks at us, He says you are righteous because of that sacrificial offering.
On the Day of Atonement in the Old Testament, every year the high priest would examine the lamb to ensure it was without blemish, collect the blood of the qualified lamb in a basin, and bring this blood before God's mercy seat. If God accepted the blood of this lamb, the people would be blessed. This blood had a one-year effect. Within that year, God would no longer look at your sins, but at the next Day of Atonement, the high priest would still have to continue offering sacrifices. If no sacrifices were made, people's sins would be revealed.
But now that the true sacrificial offering, Jesus Christ, has come, He has made one offering that makes us eternally complete. So today, why do you no longer offer sacrifices? Because that sacrificial offering is Jesus Christ; He is the offering we present before God. If you believe that the sacrificial offering of Jesus Christ was made for you, God accepts you, and it is forever. All the sacrificial offerings in the Old Testament were shadows; now the true sacrificial offering has come, and His name is Jesus Christ. He was born in the Migdal Eder of Bethlehem. Thank you and praise the Lord! Hallelujah!
Finally, let us look at Hebrews 9:24-28,
24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; He entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did He enter heaven to offer Himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. 26 Otherwise, Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But He has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself. 27 Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him.
Today, God has completely paid the price for your sins; today you are no longer related to sin! We wait for His second coming, which is to save us. Hallelujah!