How Do Christians Handle Christmas?

We'll pair up with announcements first, and then I'll go into the first message, and then we'll break for a song, and then I'll come back for a second message. So I've got several things here I want to cover with you for announcements. We've got a congratulations in order to the Faulkner's. They have a seventh grandchild that's come into the world, Adriana Lee Mano. And Adriana was born December 2nd of 2013, six pounds, 13 ounces, and 19 inches long. So we've got a new girl, a new grandchild, a new daughter that's come into the world, a new potential daughter of God that's coming to the world. So congratulations to you. All right. I want to remind you to mark your calendars. We are planning on having our annual Youth Day, and also Winter Family Social. That's coming up Saturday, February 22nd, and all three church areas are invited. We'll still have services here for those of you that can't attend, but otherwise we'll be inviting all of you for a three o'clock service at the Ironwood Springs Christian Ranch.

The theme for the evening activity is a costume theme, a costume party theme. And if you've got questions or would like to contribute or help or serve in any way, there's information here that you can contact Bill or Gail Baylor.

All right. I want to give a little update here. Many of you know Marliss Peterson of the Southern Minnesota congregation, and her brother Don is not doing very well. He's been very ill and was recently hospitalized, and he's got some serious heart issues. And his heart is only working at about 30 percent, is what I understand. And so he's having difficulty with breathing and just being able to carry on. It's a very big trial for him and a big adjustment for him right now. So if you could keep Marliss Peterson's brother, Don, in your prayers, I know that she would appreciate that, and I know he would as well.

All right. Let's take a look at who else I have here for you. I want to let you know about the Ambassador Bible Center is having a fundraiser. I think they had one last year with Scripture cards. And this year they're planning on having a 2014 calendar, a wall calendar. And so it says, each month features a scenic photograph of God's creation that has been taken by either an ABC student or one of the alumnis.

And so that is available. It says, if you'd like to purchase a Ambassador Bible Center calendar for the home or for your office, they'll be available at the Winter Family Weekend in Cincinnati, or you can order through your local congregation. The cost is $8. That includes shipping. And each page of the calendar, again, is a reminder of the beauty of the creation that God has made for us, and in anticipation of God's Holy Day seasons and what they mean for all of mankind.

The funds are going to be used to help them to provide education, travel, and service opportunities for the ABC students. So if you're interested in that, you can see me today. If you're interested in one of those calendars, otherwise I'm going to contact Mr. John Ewell. I think he can take care of any orders, maybe next Sabbath or beyond.

So that's available to you. In the news with Scott Ashley, just obviously there's a lot of information there. I can't cover it. I hope you do have an opportunity, though, often to be able to read through that. I think it's a really great education to help us to understand what's happening. But there seems to be right now a trend where the United States, which has been closely allied with Israel, there seems to be a strain right now of that ally or that situation.

Really, we've been working together with them as a country. We've been working together with Israel quite closely for a very long time. But it seems, at least under this present administration, that those ties are loosening a little bit. There seems to be a difference of opinion among the leadership of our prospective countries on how to deal with Iran. Israel thinks that Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon. Israel says they will not allow it to do so.

So they're basically getting feeling that if no one else is going to be joining us, we may have to do something unilaterally. It's a very sensitive issue right now. But Israel is speaking extremely strong against Iran, much stronger than the United States. They go on to say some of the comments here from the Prime Minister of Israel, the real Iran is what the leader of Iran, Kamini, said yesterday. Netanyahu continued. He said that he called Jews rabid dogs. You know, what do you usually do with a rabid dog?

You put it down, don't you? He called Jews rabid dogs and said they were not human. It's amazing how they can get away with some of these comments, even in the world arena. The public responded to him with calls of Kamini saying they called the Jews rabid dogs, they weren't human. The Iranian public responded to him with calls of death to America, death to Israel. You know, that kind of gets you to know how they really feel about the United States as well, doesn't it?

I mean, that's really an agenda that's still there. You know, they have, I think, an annual anniversary of the 1979 revolution when they took the hostages and they have an annual celebration and that's part of the chant, is death to America, death to Israel. Sounds familiar, they say, doesn't this sound familiar? This is the real Iran, is what Netanyahu is saying. This is the real Iran. And so he calls the deal that is trying to be worked out right now a bad deal.

A deal is a century for the Iranians where pretty much they give up very little and they get a lot. He said it's a bad deal. It's a good deal for Iran. So that's that's all there and the announcement's there so I won't take any more time for that.

Well, as you look around today, you're probably starting to see that we're in the Christmas season.

I noticed in the back of the room there, although I have to admit, I've never seen a tree decorated quite like that and I was talking to Mr. Hopple about that and I don't know if he'd seen one quite like that either, but maybe politically correct. Is that the expression that you use? It was a politically correct tree, but you're probably starting to see some of the signs and maybe been hearing the music, seeing the decorations, seeing the lights have been up and and are all around us.

And when I had my own accounting practice and in the foyer, you know, I'd often get asked by some of the employees, can't we do something with Christmas decorations? And pretty much said, you know, no, I personally don't believe that and I guess as long as I'm the boss and have the ability to make those decisions that I'm not going to allow that. But since I've sold the practice in the building, when I went back to visit here not too long ago, I saw there was a tree up.

I guess one of the employees had asked the boss if that was okay and she said okay and it was being decorated. But also I noticed it was a almost a multi-seasonal tree because in the spring they decorated with not with the Christmas trinkets but some of the Easter eggs and that type of thing. And so we have this tree that's there now and maybe you've noticed it too that, you know, almost every time you turn on the radio that you're hearing Christmas music.

And sometimes it seems that it's coming a little bit more early in the season than it used to. It was about a week before Thanksgiving. I was in the grocery store and here was the owner of the store actually outside getting the Christmas trees ready for sale, putting up the Christmas decorations, and I walked inside the store and there it was, the music. You know, it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

So you're probably seeing some of those things and hearing the music. You know, I saw Mama kissing Santa Claus, the little drummer boy, towards the night before Christmas, a Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, and some of those types of things. And when Santa Claus is coming to town. And so those things are out there and the decorations are out there and all of that. And you know, some of the songs have a little bit of an enchanting song or melody to them. They kind of get in your mind. You think, oh, I'm going to try to get that out of here. You know, music has that ability to do that, to get in there and try to give you kind of a subtle message.

And all of a sudden you find that maybe it's in your head and you have to get it out. And we're being greeted by have a Merry Christmas. Or do you have your tree decorated yet? I don't know if anybody's asked you any of those things yet. Have you got your tree decorated yet? Or are you going to have your children home for Christmas? Or have you got all of your shopping done?

So those things are out there right now, aren't they? And so I've got a question to ask for you and myself. How do we, as Christians, handle Christmas? How do Christians handle Christmas? And what's wrong with Christmas? Because there are some people that think it's 90% of modern Christendom observes Christmas, and many non-Christians. And so that's out there that they think that it's all right, it's okay.

But what's wrong with Christmas? Let's review some of those things today. And we need to fully understand why we don't observe Christmas. And we should be able to explain that. And we should be able to explain it to our children and our grandchildren. And this is a good time right now, when it's all around us, they're seeing that, maybe to take them aside, and to say, let's talk about this and what God has to say about it. You know, it seems like a lot of years, and maybe you've noticed this too, you'll notice that there are articles that are being published in newspapers about the origins of Christmas.

You know, often that's being published in newspapers at about this time of the year. And of course, we can turn to other information too, whether it be encyclopedias, whether it be books, whether it be articles. And it's surprising how honest that some of the historians are on the origins of some of the observances of Christmas. Even the Reader's Digest, you know, it's a pretty popular and well-known magazine, actually published a book back in 1994. They published a book that was entitled, Why in the World? and then they would answer all these questions.

Why do we do this? Why in the world does that happen? And it talks about Christmas. That was a part of the book that covers Christmas, and it talks about Christmas celebrations that happened before the birth of Jesus Christ. Beginning on page 190, the question is asked, why do we celebrate Christmas? And the authors write the following. And it's interesting, they're pretty direct. It says, if the question offends or the answer seems obvious, read on. A feast with the semblance of Christmas was celebrated thousands of years before the birth of Christ. Thousands of years before the birth of Christ. That's very much like what we see today.

They go on to say, thousands of years before Christ, in 2000 BC, in what is now Iraq, which at that time probably was part of Babylon, a five-day festival with the exchanging of gifts, with the performance of plays, were accompanied by processions and merry-making, marked the death of winter and heralded the new year. Now here they're answering the question, why do we observe Christmas? And they're going back to several thousand years prior to the birth of Jesus Christ. Why are they doing that? Because they know that some of the origins of Christmas celebrations come from these things. Otherwise, they wouldn't bring this up. And not only readers digest, but many other sources as well. They go on to say, it's likely that those beliefs from the east spread to central Europe. In the depths of winter, for example, people lit bonfires in the hope of reviving the dying sun and bringing warmth to the ground. And they decorated their homes with evergreens, holly and furs to show dormant seeds and lifeless plants that all was not dead.

So the people were saying, look, there's an evergreen tree or there's holly, or there's something that's still green. It's still alive. It's the dead of winter. There must be something special about that, because it's not dying when everything else is, or at least appeared to be. Further north, along the ball ticket in Scandinavia, a winter festival known as Yule honored the gods of Odin and Thor. Great logs blazed, I'm still quoting, minstrel sang, famous legends were recounted, and the villagers drank lustily from the horns of mead.

So they drank a lot of alcohol, apparently. Now, in the same context, in Psychopedia Britannica, this is the 11th edition published back in 1910, volume 6 points out on page 294, that in Britain, December 25th, or the 25th of December, was a festival long before Christianity.

It goes on to say, the ancient peoples of the Anglae began the year on the 25th of December.

Back to Reader's Digest and the Why and the World. It continues on page 190. In the Roman Empire, a week-long orgy of feasting and wild revelry, the Saturnalia, was held in mid-December, when the sun was approaching its lowest point, the winter solstice, the turning point of the year, when the length of the day began to increase by the marked... when the length of the day began to increase was marked by a sacred day called Dias, Natalis, and Victisoulis, which means birthday of the unconquered sun. You know, all of this is talking about false gods, and it's tying this in with why do we do what we do on Christmas? Why do we celebrate? These are all basically secular sources. During Saturnalia, the Romans decked their houses with laurels and greenery, and friends exchanged presents. It was a season of great rejoicing, and it was with good will to men. And the Persians, too, they burned fires at the winter solstice. Their feast revered Mithras, a Persian god, god of light, and that guardian against evil. Soldiers and traders spread the worship of Mithras to Europe, where for a time the belief rivaled Christianity. So this is interesting that all of this is in answering the question of where did Christmas come from.

Fascinating. And you know you can go to a lot of different sources. I'll just quote one more here. This is from the MSN Encyclopedia Encarta, an online encyclopedia on the origins of Christmas. It says, historians are unsure exactly when Christians first began celebrating the Nativity of Christ. However, most scholars believe that Christmas originated in the fourth century.

So we're talking about several hundreds of years after the death of Christ, and of course the first century disciples and the apostles. They lived their lives, of course, without keeping Christmas, and so did several generations afterwards. Hundreds of years later, it says, and this is an amazing quote, most scholars believe that Christmas originated in the fourth century as a Christian substitute for pagan celebrations of the winter solstice. Wow!

They call a spade a spade, that is, a Christian substitute for pagan celebrations of the winter solstice.

Before the introduction of Christmas, each year beginning on December 17th, Romans honored Saturn, an ancient god of agriculture in a festival called Saturnalia.

And it goes on to talk about the Persian god of Mithra. It goes on to say this, the Roman Catholic Church, it's amazing, chose December 25th as the day of the feast of the Nativity, why? In order to give Christian meaning to existing pagan rituals.

Now, what are we talking about when we say pagan rituals? I mean, we don't hear that name pagan a lot in the English language. What's it mean, pagan rituals, pagan religion? What we're talking about is that there's basically God talks in the Scriptures that there's either the people of God or there are people that don't worship the true God. Families, tribes, nations that don't worship the true God. They're called pagan or heathen or gentile. Basically three names for the same thing. A group of people that don't worship the God that made everything, that made you and me. They're people that worship false gods and they had different ways of worshiping their false gods.

And so they say here, the church, referring to the Roman Catholic Church, replaced festivities that honored the birth of Mithra, the God of light, with festivities to commemorate the birth of Jesus, whom the Bible calls the light of the world. The Catholic Church hoped to draw pagans into its religion by allowing them to continue their revelry while simultaneously honoring the birthday of Christ. So the Catholic Church said, you know what, these people aren't wanting to give up what they've got. They have a way of observing their gods. They like it. So what we're going to do is we're going to put a Christian name on it. Instead of worshiping the God of light, worshiping the God of light, Mithras, the Persian God, we're worshiping the Son of God.

They hoped to Christianize the pagans. But you know, it didn't work. It ends up that the pagans end up paganizing the Christians. And God knew that all along. That's why He tells us in His word not to add, don't take away from the way that I want you to worship me. Well, brethren, there's an argument out there that many say, you know, we understand that there are people out there that understand when they read these articles, when they read the encyclopedias, we understand these are heathen, gentile, pagan ways of worshiping. But we're applying that to the true God.

That's what they reason. And they ask the question, what difference does it make? What difference does it make? Well, let's turn over to Jeremiah chapter 10 and verse 1. Jeremiah chapter 10 and verse number 1. And let's take a look. Does it make a difference?

Jeremiah chapter 10 and verse number 1. Isaiah chapter 10 and verse 2. God says through Isaiah, I want you to hear my word. Hear the word which the Lord speaks to you, O house of Israel. So this is the true God speaking to his people. He says, I want you to listen to this. Thus says the Lord, don't learn the way of the Gentiles. God says, don't learn the way of the Gentiles. He goes on to say, don't be dismayed at the signs of heaven. The sun, the moon, the stars, the hosts, the heavenly bodies, don't be dismayed at them. Because the Gentiles or the heathens or the pagans, if you will, are dismayed at them. For the customs of the peoples are futile.

Well, let's go back here to verse number 2. Don't learn the way of the Gentiles. You know, if we look up the word way, we look up that Hebrew word, it's darek. And it means a road, or a way, or a path, or a manner, or a habit. It's the course of life. It's a moral character. These are all ways that this can be translated in English, this particular Hebrew word way. We're talking about a journey, a manner of something, the way you do something. God says, don't learn the way of the pagans, or of the Gentiles, or of the heathens. And he goes on to say why in verse number 3. He says, because the customs of the people are futile, and my center reference says, it could also be translated, they're vanity, they're vain. What on earth does that mean?

That means they're worthless. In fact, some translations, the NIV says the customs of the people are worthless. The NAS version says the customs of the people are delusion.

And another translation, the new Revised Standard version says this, the customs of the peoples are false. So it means that they're worthless, they're false, they're delusional, they take us in a wrong direction. What way should we be concerned about? Let's notice Acts chapter 18, in verse number 24. Acts chapter 18, in verse 24. Because there's a way of God. There's a way of the pagans, there's a way of the heathen, which we're not supposed to learn. And there's also a way of God. Let's notice that Acts chapter 18, verse number 8. Acts chapter 18, we'll pick it up in verse number 24. It says, Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. And this man had been instructed in the way of the Lord. So there is a way of God. There's a way of the Lord, there's also a way of the heathen, or the Gentiles. And so he says, this man has been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and he taught accurately the things of the Lord. So he knew God's way, and he spoke accurately concerning the way of God. And so we go on here, and it says, though he knew only the baptism of John, verse 26, so he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, when Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. So he had a lot that he was correct on, but there was just a little fine-tuning that God needed to do for him, so that they could explain God's way more accurately. Let's go over to Acts, just a page over Acts, chapter 19 and verse 9, talking about there is a way of God.

Acts chapter 19 and verse number 9. It says, but when some were hardened and did not believe, so Paul had been speaking here, and been speaking boldly in verse 8 for three months, and persuaded many concerning the things of the kingdom of God, but verse 9, but when some were hardened and did not believe, then they spoke evil of the way. So there is a way of truth, isn't there? There's a way of God. In this case, they spoke evil of the way before the multitude, and then he departed from them, and he withdrew the disciples, and he reasoned daily at the school of Tyranius. Well, let's jump over to verse number 23, talking about that there is a way of God, and that Christianity is also a way of God and a way of life. Acts chapter 19 and verse number 23, it says, about that time there arose a great commotion about the way, and it's the way.

Well, in the Greek, we've already covered Hebrew, but the Greek, when it talks about the word way, is very much the same in its meaning. It comes from a Greek word called hodos, and it means the following, a traveled way, a course of conduct, a way of thinking, of feeling and of deciding. It's a way. It means very much the same as what we just read in the Hebrew. And so, Christianity is a way. There is a way of God, and there is a way of the Gentiles. And so, there's a difference between those two ways. So, there's a way of how we worship God, and that is specified here in the Scriptures of how God says He wants to be worshiped. And then there is a way of the Gentiles, of how they worship their God, or how they worship their gods. And of course, there's a third way, I suppose, too. There's a way of man. There's a way of man, it seems right, in his own eyes, but it leads to death. And so, there are different ways here. There's the way of the Gentiles, there's the way of God, and then there's a way of man, a way it seems right to him. Well, whose ways are we supposed to follow? John 14, verse 6. John 14, verse 6. I actually covered this Scripture last time with a different topic talking about salvation. But let's take a look here. John 14, and we'll pick it up here in verse 6, where Jesus is speaking, the Son of God. Thomas had asked him a question, Lord, we don't know where you're going and how can we know the way? And Jesus Christ responds to him and he says, I am the way. I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me. So we see that this is the way that we look to. Jesus Christ, He's the way. He said, follow me, imitate me. Let's go over to Matthew chapter 15, in verse number 1. Matthew chapter 15, verse number 1. Whose way are we to follow? I think God's beginning to tell us that we need to follow the one that He sent to show us the way. Jesus Christ, Matthew chapter 15.

We'll pick it up here in verse number 1.

Then the scribes and the Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus and they said, Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? Because they're not washing their hands before they eat bread. Of course, the question you and I might ask is, where does it say that in here that you can't eat bread unless you washed your hands? I mean, it's not a bad idea, but where does it say that in here? And so they had this tradition, a religious tradition that they didn't, that, you know, why for they do not wash their hands when they eat bread. And Jesus answered and said to them, and He was good at this, He wouldn't always just give them an answer. He'd ask them a question. He said, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? For God commanded, saying, Honor your father and your mother. That's one of the 10 commandments. That's one of the commandments of God. And he who curses father or mother, let him be put to death. But you say, Whoever says to his father or mother, whatever prophet you may have received from me, I'm going to give it to God as a gift. So the parents actually needed financial help, but Jesus Christ said, You said, Well, you know what, my parents, I can't give this to you because I'm going to give it to God. Instead, is what basically what's being said. Verse number six, Jesus continues, Then he need not honor his father or mother. Boy, they needed help. They needed that honor and they didn't receive it. Jesus Christ says, Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. This was your tradition, but you've made the commandment of God of no effect. Hypocrites, he says, Well, did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying, These people draw near to me with their mouth. They talk about me and they speak and it says, and they honor me with their lips, but their heart isn't there. It's far from me. And then I'll focus here on verse number nine, In vain they worship me. Pretty much what we read about in the Old Testament, that the ways of the Gentiles are futile. They're vanity. They're worthless. And Jesus says, And in vain they worship me. They think they're worshiping me, but they're not. It's worthless. It doesn't mean anything to me. In vain they worship me, teaching as doctrines, which means truth, teaching as doctrines, commandments of men. And so it's possible to think that we are worshiping God in the way that He wants to be worshiped. We even think we're worshiping Him, but we're not. So Jesus Christ says, You can worship God in vain by creating your own commandments, your own man-made religion. And the result is, it's vanity. It accomplishes nothing. Let's go over to Leviticus chapter 18 in verse number one. Leviticus chapter 18 in verse number one.

Whose way are we to follow?

Leviticus chapter 18 verse 1. Then the Lord spoke to Moses and He said, I want you to tell the children of Israel the following. I'm the Lord your God. And according to the doings of the land of Egypt where you dwell, you shall not do. You know, you've seen their gods. You've seen how they worship their gods. You've seen what they do, where you've been dwelling here in the land of Egypt. But He says, don't do according to their doings. And He goes on to say, and according to the doings of the land of Canaan where you're going, where I'm going to bring you, you shall not do. So He's saying, where you come from, I don't want you to do what they did and where you're going, I don't want you to do what they did.

Is what basically God is saying. Nor shall you walk in their ordinances. Travel along the way. How you walk. Don't walk in their ordinances. Verse 4, you shall observe my judgments and keep my ordinances to walk in them. That's your way. That's the way that I want you to walk.

You shall walk in them because I, verse 4, am the Lord your God. Verse 5, you shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments, which if a man does, he shall live by them. We talked about the way that you live, the way that you live, God's way. You shall live by them. I am the Lord.

So, brethren, if someone asks, what difference does it make?

How we worship God. Or if I'm applying some false religious celebrations to Jesus Christ, and someone asks, what difference does it make?

It makes a big difference to God. It makes a big difference to Him.

You know, there's another argument you may have heard. Well, okay. So, what if they really aren't Christian? Some of these things. We observe them in honor of Christ. We're there to honor Him. We made them Christian by the way that we observed them. How do you honor Christ?

How do we honor God? Let's notice Matthew 7, verse 21. Matthew 7, verse 21.

If we're doing things to honor Christ, how does He want to be honored? How do we honor Christ? Matthew 7, verse 21. Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but He who does the will of my Father in heaven. You know, Jesus Christ says, you know, not everyone that says to me, Lord, Lord, and that's an emphasis when they repeat the word twice, someone's saying, well, you know, you're the object of my worship. Lord, you know, that's someone you honor.

Not everyone that says, Lord, Lord, is going to enter the kingdom, but notice who will, but He who does the will of my Father. What's the will of God when it comes to worship? What's His will? Because apparently Jesus Christ says that's very important. Verse 22, many will say in that day, Lord, Lord, again, have we not prophesied in your name, cast out demons in your name, and done many wonders in your name. And I will declare to them, I didn't know you. Another translation is, I don't know where you were coming from. Depart from me you who practice lawlessness, someone who is breaking the law of God in actuality. They were breaking what God had commanded them to do. They were practicing lawlessness. Let's go over to Deuteronomy 12 and verse 1. Deuteronomy 12 and verse 1.

This argument here that, well, we made them Christian so that we may observe them, and we're really honoring Christ. We're honoring God. Deuteronomy 12 and verse number 1.

I think we honor Christ and God by obeying Him.

Deuteronomy 12 and verse 1. It says, these are the statutes and judgments which you shall be careful to observe in the land which the God of your fathers is giving you to possess all the days that you live on the earth. So basically, what I'm giving to you, I want you to live your whole life, that you're going to live on the earth. You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess serve their gods. It wasn't like, take a look at what they did and apply it to me. It was utterly destroy it. Completely wipe it out. You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess serve their gods on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree. There you go. The green trees had influence back then, too, didn't they? Because these are trees that wouldn't die, or at least they didn't appear to die in the wintertime when other things were dying. There must have been something special about those trees, because they lived when everything else seemed to die. Verse 3, and you shall destroy their altars, break their sacred pillars, and burn their wooden images with fire. You shall cut down the carved images of their gods and destroy their names from that place. You shall not worship the Lord your God with such things.

Let's go on. But you shall seek the place where the Lord your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place, and there shall you go. There you shall take your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, your heath offerings. These are all ways of worship.

You offer sacrifices, burnt offerings to God, tithes to God, heave offerings to God, freewill offerings to God in the firstborn of your herds and flocks. And there, verse 7, you shall eat before the Lord your God, and you shall rejoice in all which you put your hand to, and your households which the Lord your God has blessed you. You shall not at all do as we are doing here today, every man doing what is right in his own eyes. God says, no, you don't worship me the way you think you should worship me. The way you think your way of worshiping me. No. God has to know. Is He really your God and my God, or isn't He? And part of that knowing is that He simply gives a command of how He wants to be worshipped, and then see if we'll obey that command. God has a right to do that. He's worthy of worship, and homage, and honor, and respect. He's given us everything, our gifts, our life. He's taught us a way of life, and He cares for us. Let's jump to verse number 29.

When the Lord your God cuts off from before you the nations of which you're going to go and dispossess, you're going to remove them out because of the fact that they've been worshiping false gods.

And that was one of the reasons that they're being displaced. Verse 30, then take heed, God's way of warning, take heed to yourself that you are not ensnared.

You're not trapped. It's a snare, in other words. You're not ensnared to follow them after they are destroyed from before you, and you don't go and inquire after their gods, saying, how did these nations serve their gods? How did the Scandinavians do it? How did the Romans do it?

How did the Persians do it? How did they serve their gods? I'm going to do likewise. Verse 31, you shall not worship the Lord your God in that way. We get back to the way again, don't we? We worship God his way, not the way of the Gentiles, not our own way. You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way.

For he hates the things that they've done. They're an abomination to him. He hates them.

For they burn even their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. Notice verse number 32. Whatever I command you, not your own thoughts, not your own ideas, not what somebody else did, some Gentile nation, but whatever I command you, I want you to be careful. I want you to be careful to do it. You shall not add to it. Don't add to what I tell you. Don't take away from what I tell you. It's a simple thing. You simply do what I ask you to do.

Don't begin to add your own thoughts, your own ideas. God knows where that leads.

Further, we see here that we honor God by obeying what he asks us to do. That's how we honor him. Not in the way that we think. Not doing what's right in our own eyes, but what's doing right in his eyes.

Let's talk a little bit about what is there that is Christian about Christmas. What is there that's Christian about Christmas? You know, it's been a few years ago, but I asked the teen Bible study class, I said, just list everything you can think of that comes to your mind when it comes to Christmas. Maybe you could start thinking about things in your mind right now. When you think about this time of year and Christmas, what comes to your mind? So we had a white board and we just started writing down some of the things they put. Here's some of the things they put down. Christmas tree, evergreen, holly, house decorations, lights, wreath, the poinsettia flower, St. Nick, Santa Claus, Santa's sleigh, reindeer, Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer, elves, and Santa's helpers, chimney, stocking, you know, Yule log, Frosty the snowman, North Pole, mistletoe, and a few other things too came out, Jesus Christ. That came out too, and Mary and Joseph came out. But you know, when you think about it, when you begin to add to what God instructs, trying to Christianize the paganism, instead of what happens to happiness, paganizes the Christian. Look what's happened. Christ is almost disappearing. Well, He was never in the day of the first place. We try to put a Christian name on a heathen religious practice. But all of a sudden, you've got all these things going on. And where are these things that we talk about in the Scripture? What Scripture can you turn to about Christmas trees, lights, holly, Santa Claus, sleigh bells, you know, this type of thing? December 25th, one of the things. Where do we find that in Scripture? Where do we find any of that, other than Jesus Christ and Mary and Joseph? Where can we find it in here? It's not there.

It's not there. That's a big part, isn't it, of the season and what's going on in the season?

There are several reasons why we should not observe Christmas or teach the observance of it. So let's cover a few of those. Several reasons why we should not observe Christmas or teach the observance of it. The first one is it teaches lies. It's the first one. You can make a note of that. It teaches lies. It talks about a Santa Claus. It talks about the fact that he comes around on a sled with reindeer. It talks about the fact that he has the ability within a few hours to deliver gifts to children, billions of people, over a few hours. It talks about the fact that he watches children all year long to see whether they've been naughty or whether they have. Whether they've been nice. It teaches lies. It talks about the fact that Christ was born on December 25th. John 8, verse 44. Maybe I'll just refer to that for time. It talks about Satan, that he's a liar.

He's a murderer. He's the father of lies. It talks about in John 14, verse 6.

We've already covered that Scripture, but it says Jesus Christ is the only way. He's the way, but it also says he's the truth. He's the truth. Christmas teaches lies.

Does Christ say that it's okay to teach about him using lies and falsehoods?

Does Jesus Christ say that it's okay to teach about him using lies and falsehoods?

Here's the second reason why we shouldn't observe it or teach it. There are many, but these are a few. It teaches an emphasis that is not taught in the Scriptures.

Christmas teaches an emphasis that is not taught in the Scriptures.

You know, the true emphasis in the Scriptures, it's not just on his birth, but it's on his life. It's on his teachings. It's on his way, his life, in that he needs to live in us, and we need to follow his example. That's the emphasis in Scripture. But Christmas teaches the emphasis is on his birth as a baby, and it emphasizes that, almost overshadowed by his mother, which of course the Catholic Church has definitely exalted Mary.

Let's take a look at another reason we shouldn't be observing or teaching it. It would be false worship to keep the customs of Christmas. It would be false worship.

Let me explain. If you claim to do something to honor a person, and then do just the opposite of what that person asked you to do, would that be honoring them? Would that be showing homage to them, respect to them, reverence to them, if you do exactly the opposite of what they ask you to do?

That'd be false worship. Just an example. I was born on November 17th, but if suddenly you decided to observe my birthday for some reason on March 1st, I'd wonder about you. Yeah. You know, if you gave me a birthday party and exchanged gifts with one another, I'd wonder about you.

Brother, what is the purpose of worship? I'm going to cover the word here in just a moment, go back to the Greek and Hebrew. What's the purpose of worship?

Above all, let's to obey God, to reverence Him, to pay homage to Him, to honor Him, to serve Him, to be devoted to Him, is what the purpose of worship is. John 4, verse 22.

John 4, verse 22.

It says, You worship what you don't know. Jesus is talking to the woman at the well.

For salvation is of the Jews, but the hour is coming, and now is when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. The true worshipers. So it's possible to be a false worshiper of God. But Jesus Christ said, the times coming when the true worshipers are going to worship the Father, how? In spirit and truth. But notice, because the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God says, I'm looking for those that will worship and honor and respect Me in a true way. And the way that I've asked them to do, not in the way of the Gentiles, not in their own way, but in my way. Verse number 24, because God is Spirit, and those who worship Him, if that's what we're going to do, we must worship Him in spirit and in truth. Let's talk about the word worship for a moment. Worship, Greek word, proskune, proskune, what's it mean? To kiss someone's hand. You know, you may have seen it maybe on television, a movie or something. Someone is showing honor to someone. They kneel before them, and they kiss their hand. It's part of the meaning of this Greek word. It also means is to bow down as a token of reverence. You're revering someone. You're showing respect, homage to a being of superior rank, showing respect, bowing down, kissing the hand. These are all ways that this particular word could be translated. Brethren, worship involves our submission to God and to Him, and to His will, and to the will and the way that He wants to be worshiped. We humble ourselves before God, for our Maker, before our Father, and we obey Him. You know, really, who is your God?

Your God is the one whom you obey. That's who our God is. Our God is the one whom we obey, whether it be the true God, whether it be the devil, or whether it be ourselves.

Who our God is the one who we obey. Another reason not to teach or observe Christmas is that it hides the truth. It hides the truth. What do I mean by that?

Well, it does it in a couple of ways. The true heathen origin of Christmas is hidden, because people think it's Christian. The true heathen origin of Christmas is hidden, because people think it's Christian that it now honors Christ.

They're not taught what the Bible has to say about this. They don't hear what you've heard today, and what we've been taught over the years. And there's a second thing also.

The days that God wants us to observe are overlooked. The ways, the high days, the holy days that God wants us, commands us to observe, are overlooked because of Christmas. So it hides the true meaning of the heathen origins, and it also obscures the true days that God has in the Scriptures. Christianity observes for the most part Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day.

But how many of them know about the holy days of God? Which we've been privileged to know because it shows us His plan.

And what He's going to do with everyone on the face of the earth.

The plan of salvation.

One of the lessons here is we can't worship God in any way that we choose.

You know, the main reason that Israel, God's people, went into captivity in the Old Testament was because they followed the practices of the nations around them. Let's note 2 Kings 17, verse 5.

2 Kings 17, verse 5.

2 Kings 17, verse 5.

We're going to see here that the people of God go into captivity. They're carried away to Assyria because they had begun to worship God the way that they chose.

What was right in their own eyes.

2 Kings 17, verse 5. It says, Now the king of Assyria went throughout all the land, and he went up to Samaria, and he besieged it for three years. And in the ninth year of Hosea, the king of Assyria took Samaria, and he carried Israel away. This is the northern ten tribes. They left. They never came back. History shows they never came back.

The king of Assyria took them away to Assyria, and he placed in the area of Samaria and Hala, and by the habor the river goes on, and in the cities of the Medes.

So he brought people from other nations into Samaria, into where the children of Israel used to live, the ten tribes. Verse 7. For so it was that the children of Israel had sinned against the Lord their God, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and they had feared other gods. So God knew the proclivity, didn't He? And the children of Israel did. They walked after other gods. They did a different way. Verse 8. They walked in the statutes of the nations whom the Lord had cast out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of Israel, which they had made.

Also the children of Israel secretly did, against the Lord their God, things that were not right. And they built for themselves high places in all their cities, from watchtower to fortified city.

They set up for themselves sacred pillars, wooden images, on every high hill and under every green tree.

They burned incense in all the high places like the nations whom the Lord had carried away before them.

And they did wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger. They served idols of which the Lord had said, You shall not do this thing. One of His commandments was, I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt. Don't have any other gods before Me. Don't make any graven images. God told them clearly how to worship Him.

But they served idols, verse 12, of which the Lord said, You shall not do this. Verse 13, Yet the Lord testified against Israel and Judah by all the prophets. He tried to get their attention. And every seer saying, Turn from this way. Turn from your way. And notice it says it's an evil way.

It wasn't a good way that they found themselves in. Turn from your evil ways. Keep My commandments and My statutes according to all the law which I commanded your fathers and which I sent to you by My servants the prophets. God says, I've shown you clearly how to serve Me and how to worship Me.

Turn from your way. Verse 14, Nevertheless, they wouldn't hear.

But it says that they stiffened their necks, just like the necks of their fathers, who did not believe in the Lord their God. And they rejected God's way, His statutes, His covenant that He'd made with their fathers, and His testimonies, which He had testified against them.

They followed idols, and they became idolaters. And they went after the nations who were all around them, concerning whom the Lord had charged them that they should not do like them. But they did.

In verse number 16, So they left all the commandments of the Lord their God. They made for themselves a molded image, and two calves. Remember the story of Jeroboam? Now, we know the story of Aaron making that golden calf, but later on, they made two more.

And a wooden image, and they worshiped all the hosts of heaven. The moon, the stars, the planets, just like God said, don't learn the way of the heathen, because they looked to the heavenly signs and heavenly bodies.

But they did not listen, and now we find that they were worshipping all the hosts of heaven, and they served Baal.

They got to the point that their religion, their worship of false gods, led them to causing their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire. They practiced witchcraft and soothed, saying, and they saw themselves to do evil in the sight of the Lord, to provoke Him to anger. But then that's where the way of the heathen leads us, or our own way. We do what's right in our own sight. God knows the dynamics of where that takes us.

And that's why He said simply, don't add to what I say, and don't take away from what I say.

Rather than we've only scratched the surface of this topic, but I suggest it's a good time for us to review this topic with ourselves, with our children, with our grandchildren. There's a lot of information on the church's website.

When it comes to this particular topic, numerous articles, sermons dealing with this topic, for that it's pretty simple.

God is just seeking the true worshipers that are going to be willing to worship Him in spirit and in truth.