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John 4
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.

Everything from removing Christmas carols from the public schools, to banning nativity scenes on the public property, to taking the name of Jesus out of any connection with Christmas in public life. It has been a persistent and unrelenting push to remove any influence God may have on this holiday.

"To avoid offending anybody, my son's school has dropped religion altogether and started singing about the weather. They now hold the winter program in February and sing increasingly non memorable songs such as 'Winter Wonderland,' 'Frosty the Snowman' and--this is a real song - 'Suzy Snowflake.'"

The effort to remove Christ from Christmas has been so successful that, according to a survey conducted a few years ago by the Barna Research Group (of a sampling that had 88% identifying themselves as "Christians) they found that:

• 37% of adults in the national survey said the birth of Jesus is the most important aspect of Christmas.

• More than 75% of evangelical Christians placed Jesus' birth as of first importance on Christmas.

Christmas really isn't a Bible based holiday.

There's no place in Scripture that tells us that the early church even celebrated the birth of Christ:

• They celebrated His death on the cross (communion) and

• His resurrection from the dead (worshipping on the 1st day of week). They did that every Sunday.

BUT, for over a 1000 years the church has celebrated the BIRTH of Christ in December. I see no reason to give up on using such a powerful tool to teach people about Christ. After all, it is in the story of the baby in the manger we hear about the greatest gift man has ever received, presented in the humble wrappings of "swaddling clothes"

Given that God has given us such a wonderful and loving gift - how can we make other people know more about this gift that Christmas represents for us?

If I informed you that the XYZ stock, which is selling for $2 today, will be selling for $102 Wednesday, how would this information effect your life? If you bought 10,000 shares today, by Wednesday your $20,000 investment would be worth $1,020,000.

Jesus said to this woman, "If you knew the gift of God."

"ARE YOU AWARE OF GOD'S GIFTS?"

That is what I want to focus on today: THE GIFTS OF GOD

When we think about God's gifts everything about God is about giving. To mention all of God's gifts today would keep us here for a considerable time. God's gifts certainly include:

• Life -
Genesis 2
7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

• Blessing -
Ephesians 1
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:

• Supplying of our needs -
Philippians 4
19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

As I was reading the Book of Revelation the other day Revelation 2:28 leaped from the pages and became the catalyst for this message.

Revelation 2
28 And I will give him the morning star.

Just six (6) words but think about it for just a moment:

I W I L L G I V E H I M T H E M O R N I N G S T A R

W-O-W ! ! ! What a gift ! The morning star. Have you seen the morning star?

God asked Job one time:

Job 38:4 "Where were you at………………

Job 38
7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Yet here in the book of Revelation God says, "I will give you the morning star!"

God's gifts far exceed what we could ever begin to give in return.

How can we receive this morning star?

The message that creates this offer is to the church in Thyatira.

Revelation 2
26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.

And almost as an after-thought God says,

28 And I will give him the morning star.

How can we obtain this offer?

By continuing to live an overcoming life and by continuing to keep the works of God until the end.

Contemplate with me God's gifts today.

THE GREATEST GIFT EVER:

John 3
16 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.

We are almost like the little kid that after he has opened all of his Christmas gifts and is sitting in a pile of paper and gifts asks the question:

Is that all?

Please don't allow the greatest gift of all to be taken for granted or over-looked because we are so blessed with all of the gifts of God.

JESUS CHRIST is the greatest gift that God could ever give unto us. God did not just send a gift but He became the gift.

"God was in Christ…….."

"God was manifest in the flesh……….."

I'm talking about God incarnate.

John 1
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

If we could ever give the world Jesus Christ it would meet every need that they ever had.

If you could give your family Jesus Christ you could not give anything any better.

If you could give your neighbor Jesus Christ you would give them the greatest gift they could ever receive.

If you could give your co-worker on the job Jesus Christ you would give them the best thing you could give them.

In Jesus Christ, all the treasures of heaven have been given to the whole human race.

His gift is the gift that offers the right solution to our sin problem. Romans 6:23 reminds us of our human condition. "For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life."

God's Gift

He did not use a silvery box, or paper green and red;

God laid his Christmas gift to men within a manger bed.

No silken cord was used to bind the gift sent from above. "'Twas wrapped in

swaddling clothes and bound in cords of tender love. There was no evergreen to

which his precious was tied: upon a bare tree on a hill his gift was hung…and died.

"'Twas taken down from off the tree and laid beneath the sod, But death itself

could not destroy the precious gift of God. With mighty hand he lifted it from out

the stony grave;

Forevermore to every man a living gift he gave.

Ruth Prentice

OTHER GIFTS:

THE GIFT OF GOD'S SPIRIT -

Acts 2
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.

Aside from the Gift of Jesus Christ the single greatest gift that anyone in the world could ever receive is THE GIFT OF GOD'S SPIRIT.

God had always promised he would give us the gift of His Spirit.

Joel 2
28 And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions:
29 And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit.

Matt 3:11 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Luke 24:49 "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high."

To be continued……………………