“Fix Your Eyes on Jesus”
Hebrews 12:2, “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning is shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

In December 1903, after many attempts, the Wright brothers were successful in getting their "flying machine" off the ground. Thrilled, they telegraphed this message to their sister Katherine: "We have actually flown 120 feet. Will be home for Christmas." Katherine hurried to the editor of the local newspaper and showed him the message. He glanced at it and said, "How nice. The boys will be home for Christmas." He totally missed the big news--man had flown!

Matthew 2:1-6

“After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, “Where is the one who had been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

(v. 3) When King Herod heard this, he was disturbed; and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Christ was to be born. (v. 5) In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “For this is what the prophet has written: (v.6) But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for out of you will come a ruler who will be the shepherd of my people Israel.”

1) When you see the Christmas Nativity, fix your eyes on Jesus, the Miracle One.

Bethlehem is the scene of the Nativity.

This is where Joseph and Mary find themselves in the stable, because there was no room for them in the Inn. A simple, ordinary stable. Could God use a simple, ordinary stable to bring about a great and extraordinary miracle? Could God use simple ordinary people to do great and extraordinary things?

Sometimes, we get distracted by the circumstances around us and we fail to see our miracle in the making.

Sometimes, we complain about all of the little things in life that go wrong. We wonder why we have to deal with this particular issue and that particular discomfort. "I don't need to deal with this now," "Why does this have to happen to me? Is God mad at me?"

Can we think about how things were for Mary and Joseph. Face it. Their story doesn't center on sugar cookies and egg nog.

·                     Joseph was off work for weeks because the government made him travel to a distant town to fill out some meaningless registration papers.

·                     You can bet the Nazareth gossipers hounded Mary about her pregnancy. Have you ever been called "slut"?

·                     Can you imagine taking a four-day donkey ride to Bethlehem at full term of pregnancy? Of course, if Mary didn't want to ride, she could always walk ... or waddle.

·                     Think about a camping trip with winter winds whistling through your tent. Or do you have a tent?

·                     How about being in labor in a dirty cattle barn? One whiff was all Mary needed.

·                     And then, in the middle of the night after a grueling labor, there's a herdsman banging on the door.

Not ideal circumstances.

Why, of all things, did God let His own Son to be born under those conditions? Was God mad at Mary and Joseph? Of course not. Maybe God allowed the stable so we could see His glory amidst life's humbling experiences.

Life does have its downside, its reversals, its annoyances. And where is God when we despair? He was with Mary and Joseph every moment, working out His plan, just as He is with you and me right now.

I guess Christmas reminds us to look beyond our aggravations. God is doing something. You know, if we'll lift our eyes above Bethlehem and fix our eyes above, then we might even catch a glimpse of Jesus.

In fact, when the birth of Jesus was foretold to Mary, Luke 1:37 says that Mary’s response was, “For nothing is impossible with God.”

Nothing is impossible with God.

She not only believed in the miracle, she wanted to be a part of the miracle!

Could it be that today, God wants you to – not only believe in a miracle – but me a part of it!

Have times been tough for you this Christmas?

Then, you can identify with Joseph and Mary.

And maybe, just maybe, a miracle is waiting to be birthed before your eyes.

When you see the Nativity, fix your eyes on Jesus, and maybe you could see your miracle, which is on its way.

2) When you see the Christmas Star, fix your eyes on Jesus, the Light of the World.

Matthew 2:9 After they heard of king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. (v. 10) When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.

When I see a Christmas tree, I like to see a star at the top. It was a star that directed the wise men to Jesus.

We need direction in life. Wouldn’t it be great if you and I could look up in the sky and see a star and know which way to go in life, which decision to make in our career, which choices to make in our finances.

We may not have a star in the sky, but we do have the Word of God is guide us.

And Jesus, Himself, is the Word.

John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God!”

3) When you see Christmas servants, fix your eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith.

Matthew 2:11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshipped him.

Mary was a servant of the Lord.

I thank God for Mary. But Scripture teaches us that when the wise men came and saw Jesus, and mother Mary, they worshipped Jesus.

Some people get mixed and they worship Mary. That is not what Scripture teaches us.  They worshipped Jesus!

And there are times today that we are tempted to worship servants of God.

We hear a certain evangelist or pastor or spiritual leader and we are tempted to worship that individual.

This week, someone jokingly referred to me as “The most Reverend, Bishop, Honorable, Pastor Randy Garcia.” After I laughed, I said, “Just call me Randy.”

We can thank God for His servants, we can honor them, but we cannot worship them.

When we see Christmas servants, fix your eyes on Jesus.

4) When you see Christmas gifts, fix your eyes on the gift Giver!

Matthew 2: 11b  They opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and incense and of myrrh.

During the Christmas season, we have the tendency to fix our eyes on certain things.

Kids write out their Christmas wish list.

I’m not even sure what is on the Christmas “Hot” list this year.

Then, we grown ups have our own mental wish list.

What’s that saying, “The difference between men and boys is the price of their toys.”

We see something advertised on TV and we fix our eyes on it.

That’s what we want. I gotta have it.

While there’s nothing wrong with having certain things in life, our priority must be in seeking the Gift Giver.

The reason you give certain people gifts for Christmas is because you have some sort of relationship with them. Family. Friends. Business associates, etc.

Could it be that God gives you gifts because He desires a relationship with you?

When you seek the Miracle Maker, then you will receive the miracle.

When you seek the One who blesses, then you will receive the blessing.

When you seek the Gift Giver, then you will receive the gift.

5) When you see Christmas, fix your eyes on Jesus, the Christ!

Letter from Jesus:

As you well know, we are getting closer to my birthday. Every year there is a celebration in my honor and I think that this year the celebration will be repeated. During this time there are many people shopping for gifts, there are many radio announcements, TV commercials, and in every part of the world everyone is talking that my birthday is getting closer and closer. It is really very nice to know, that at least once a year, some people think of me.
As you know, the celebration of my birthday began many years ago. At first, people seemed to understand and be thankful of all that I did for them, but now in these times, no one seems to know the reason for the celebration. Family and friends get together and have a lot of fun, but they don’t seem to know the meaning of the celebration.
I remember that last year there was a great feast in my honor. The dinner table was full of delicious foods, pastries, fruits, assorted nuts and chocolates.
The decorations were exquisite and there were many, many beautifully wrapped gifts. But, do you want to know something? I wasn’t invited. I was the guest of honor and they didn’t remember to send me an invitation. The party was for me, but when that great day came, I was left outside. They closed the door in my face......... and I wanted to be with them and share their table. In truth though, that didn’t really surprise me that much because in the last few years it seems all are closing their doors to me.
Since I was not invited, I decided to enter the party without making any noise.
I went in and stood in a corner. They were all drinking; there were some who were drunk and telling jokes and laughing at everything. They were having a great time. To top it all, this big fat man all dressed in red wearing a long white beard entered the room yelling Ho-Ho-Ho! He seemed drunk. He sat on the sofa and all the children ran to him, shouting: "Santa Claus, Santa Claus"... as if the party were in his honor!
At 12 midnight all the people began to hug each other; I extended my arms waiting for someone to hug me and.... do you know.... no one hugged me.
Suddenly they all began to share gifts. They opened them one by one with great expectation. When all had been opened, I looked to see if, maybe, there was one for me.
What would you feel if on your birthday everybody shared gifts and you did not get one? I then understood that I was unwanted at that party and quietly left.
Every year it gets worse. People only remember to eat and drink, the gifts, the parties but nobody remembers me. I would like this Christmas that you allow me to enter into your life. I would like that you recognize the fact that almost two thousand years ago I came to this world to give my life for you, on the cross, to save you. Today, I only want that you believe this with all you heart.
I want to share something with you. As many didn’t invite me to their party, I will have my own celebration, a grandiose party that no one has ever imagined, a spectacular party. I’m still making the final arrangements. Today I am sending out many invitations and there is an invitation for you. I want to know if you wish to attend and I will make a reservation for you and write your name with golden letters in my great guest book. Only those on the guest list will be let into the party. Those who don’t answer the invitation, will be left outside.
Do you know how you can answer this invitation? It is by giving me a gift this Christmas  .  .  .   your heart.

And you can bring a guest with you.

In fact, you can bring many guests with you. You can extend this invitation to your friends and family.

All they need to do is give me their heart as well.
I’ll be waiting for you...  It won’t be long!  I love you!

-Jesus-