Gift Of All Gifts
Minister Joaquin
Luke 2:8-11
8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
What makes a great gift?
The greatest gift cannot be taken away
The greatest gift does not fade
The greatest gift never goes out of style
The greatest gift always makes you thankful for the person that gave it to you
Luke 2:25-32
25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26 And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ. 27 And he came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, 28 he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said,
29 “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word;
30 for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
How do you act after getting a great gift
You cherish it and never get rid of it
You always wear it
You show it off to people
You want to give a gift back to show how much you were moved by it
Matthew 19:27-29
27 Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” 28 Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.
What would it feel like to get a gift you don’t deserve?
Romans 5:6-11
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
I would be nothing without Jesus if he didn’t protect me, stop me, shield me, inspire me, forgive me, love me
Jesus is the gift of all gifts. Jesus is also the gift that keeps on giving
How many good things do you have in your life that you did nothing to make happen for you 1980-2016
Pray for me - How to make your day feel like a gift
Jesus thank you for dying for him
Start each day knowing that you are only alive because Jesus died for you to life that day. Thank him for waking you up and for the gift of that day
Thank you for saving his life
All of us would be dead without Jesus and facing hell. Thank him for saving your life even though you didn’t deserve it. Commit to living that day to honor that Jesus had to die just so you could have eternal life
Thank you for being his example
Pray for the strength to choose to do what Jesus would do for every choice you will face that day
Thank you for comforting him when he is sad
Share your struggles, doubts, fears, pain, from yesterday and ask for his comfort to forget them and start fresh to do better today than yesterday
Thank you for crying with him when his heart was broken
Whenever you face a pain, speak to Jesus, and acknowledge that he sees you going through it and ask for his help to endure
Thank you for giving him hope that things will be better
Ask for the vision needed to have hope that you will find a solution out of the current problem or for patience that this experience will shape you for the better for the future
Thank your making him feel loved
Think of a scripture that reminds you of how much God loves you and tell Jesus you love him just as much as he loves you. Commit to trying to prove your words are true just like he did for you
Thank you for taking the pressure off him
Acknowledge that today belongs to Jesus and the results will be what he wants but that you will give your best to control what you control
Thank you for sharing mercy to him so so so many times
Recite the Lord’s prayer and let those words to forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors fill your heart with the knowledge of his mercies and the requirement for you to share the same for others
Thank you for giving us to him so we could bring the joy to his life that he has been praying for
End the day thanking Jesus for all the good things that happened that day. Ask for him to speak to you as you sleep to see how the tough things will become good things that you can be thankful for
Thank you for being his knight in shining armor
Pray for protection as you sleep and for protection from any anxious thoughts that will hurt your faith in Him
Keep staying close to him every day so he can continue to be the leader we need him to be
Repeat this every day you get. Never think you can face a day by yourself and that you won’t need Jesus for that day. Do something to spend a little extra time with Jesus to grow closer to Him.
Applications:
List out all the things that you did nothing to make happen that are blessings in your life
Thank God for providing you all these things that have made your life so wonderful
Rate how well you have been appreciating the gift of life that Jesus has given you from 1-10
Come up with an action that you can do every day to appreciate the life and day Jesus has given you.
(Ideas find someone to give 2 dollars to on your way to work, errands, lunch, or charity [put physical dollars in a jar to give monthly to that charity over setting up auto pay])
Start the day with worship set to wake up & be filled with Jesus’ love & to inspire you to live that day for Jesus
Go on a quick 20-30 minute walk to start the day listening to worship songs to set your mind on Jesus and to make the most of your day for him. (If you have a dog, most of you do this to help them poop before you start your day, maybe take that walk to get rid of the garbage inside of you to be a light in the world for that day)
Make it your mission daily to seek out how Jesus is blessing you that day and be filled with more joy by detecting his presence more
Example Worship Set
Flow to You by Bishop Paul S. Morton Sr.; Follow You by Christon Gray;
Because of who you are by Vicki Yohe;
Take me to the King by Tamela Mann, Kirk Franklin; Beautiful Scars by Merry Clayton
Break Every Chain by Tasha Cobbs Leonard; Christian by Sean C. Johnson
Questions
1. How much do you appreciate the gift of Jesus from 1-10 in your life?
2. Why do take for granted the gift of all gifts? What can you do to celebrate this gift of gifts daily?