Introduction:
Christmas time is almost here and ole by golly do you really want to deck the halls with boughs (bows) of holly? Or are you like so many…left indifferent by the commercialism and secularism of Christmas… Do you long for a simpler time when the season felt special, permeated with a godly spirit? While the holiday season brings sentiments of joy and celebration for some, for others it is a time of isolation.

In fact, numerous studies confirm that there is an increase in both the numbers and severity of 911calls by depressed individuals during the holiday season. People lives do not change nor do their circumstances just because it is Christmas. Discouragement is not unique to December, but it can be amplified then. Our expectations may be higher, our sadness deeper. Do you want to recapturing some of the wonder of the season; the true spirit of Christmas. You can! A little encouragement can go a long way. It is more blessed to give then receive and some need more to receive.

Some people who lack the Christmas spirit are very discouraged at Christmas. They are angry with God because of a hardships and Christmas just brings up all that anger and bitterness towards God. For others God is absent from their lives. I want to suggest to you today that no matter what the circumstances are one can still have a true Christmas Spirit.

People are always talking about getting into the Christmas spirit. This message is about letting the spirit of Christmas get into you. As the people of God we should possess the true Christmas Spirit. Before you can have the Spirit of Christmas, you must have the Holy Spirit. Before you can have the Holy Spirit you must have the “Christ” of Christmas. He is…

I. The Indwelling Gift

1. Listen, God has giving every believer a gift that will never stop giving. It is the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit of God. It is a gift you cannot lose. The spirit of Christmas is a spirit of a new life for all that will receive Him. The Christmas season has spiritual meaning that can serve as a source of renewal of our own faith and spiritual life. It is what you count on when you cannot count on anything or anyone else.

2. This gift of the indwelling Spirit of Christ is within each believer. That is what makes us Christians. If the Spirit of God is not there, we are not Christians at all. Paul says to the Romans, “He that hath not the Spirit of Christ is none of his,” {cf, Rom 8:9 KJV}.
Though a person is religious, though he is a member of a church, though he attends all the meetings and has signed his name to the register and goes through all the ceremonies, if he has not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his. That is essential.

3. Paul says in First Corinthians {9:15}, “Thanks be to God for that unspeakable gift!” Paul is talking about someone God has given us, who is Christ, the gift is Christ himself. This gift is made known to us by the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, it is equally right to call this the gift of the Holy Spirit. Scripture uses that phrase as well. Ephesians 1:7, 12, 13 – John 7:38 -39 – read & commend. We have so much more! We are giving assurance with this gift of eternal life.

II The Assurance Gift

1. A guarantee of insurance is often an added feature to an expensive gift. Don’t you just love it when you just barely had enough money to buy that appliance or watch or whatever and the clerks or Amazon window pops up and it said you can get the added insurance for just $29.95! Well folks our God gives better than insurance he grants assurance.

Assurance is our guarantee from god he will keep his promise as stated in Titus 1:2. By the way it is free. A child develops an assurance of belonging to his family by listening to them telling him / her is their child that that child is loved. In the same way a Christian’s assurance is based on God’s Word (I John 5:13) and the witness of the Spirit telling him he is God’s child (Romans 8:15, 16). We are also given this assurance and that is our Security in Christ.

2. Once a person is saved God is able to keep them from losing their salvation. Christ promised that His sheep would never perish but have eternal life (John 10:27, 28). “Unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory” (Jude 24).

[27] My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: [28] And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. [29] My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. [30] I and my Father are one.

“Wherefore he is able also to save them to the utter-most [forever] that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

You are not going to have a real true Christmas spirit until you are saved and have the Holy Spirit. When you have the Holy Spirit you will find…

III Blessedness in Giving
Remember Acts 20:35- I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.…

1. To battle this lack of Christmas spirit we must SERVE others. Christmas is about helping others and that goes a long way in celebrating this joyful season.
Discouragement usually occurs when we begin to focus on ourselves. We erroneously think that the way out of discouragement and depression is to analyze ourselves to death and focus on getting our needs met. But what we need is to forget about ourselves and find some way to get our mind off our problems.

Service is the best way to refocus your thoughts. When you serve someone it lifts your spirit, gives you a sense of significance and purpose. Plus it makes you too concerned for someone else’s well-being to worry about your own. If you want the true Christmas Spirit focus on giving a blessing rather than receiving a blessing you will really be blessed with the true spirit of Christmas?

2) All the mystery and marvel of the incarnation are involved in the fact that you have a spiritual gift given you when you became a Christian. Many Christians are ignorant when it comes to their spiritual gifts. But if you want real joy and fulfillment in your Christian life, you need to discover your spiritual gifts and use them.

These gifts are like so many neglected and abandon Christmas gifts. You know there are electric toothbrushes, mixers, juicers, razors. There are those ties you never wear or that gift you never got around to figure out how it works; like the universal remote control. They are never used and some never realize their full potential. (Raymond, his Mom has brand new gifts covered up in the basement…)

3) Although this gift of God may be lying neglected and unused in some back room of your spiritual life, your spiritual gift is the most precious thing Christ has ever given other than Himself. Whether you are young or old, rich or poor, or quite regardless of your status in society, you have a spiritual gift.

It is to be exercised according to the measure of Christ’s presence within. The Greek word is charis, which means simply “grace,” and is used that way many times in Scripture. 1 Corinthians 12 : Paul tells us, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant.”

4) Your life affects those you have contact with, whether you intend it or not. It may be a positive experience for them or a negative one, but your life will affect others.

A philosopher once said, “If you act the way you wish you felt, you’ll eventually feel the way you are acting.” So even if you don’t feel like the Christmas spirit or going to church at Christmas, come anyway and renew your spirit and allow God to minister to you during the holidays.
Romans 1:[11] For I long to see you, that I may impart unto you some spiritual gift, to the end ye may be established;

Conclusion:

The real ’Spirit of Christmas’ is the joy and peace that comes only from knowing that the promises and realities centered on the person and works of Christ as recorded in Scripture and that cannot be changed or taken away by anyone or anything! They are eternal gifts. God loves you and He wants to fulfill all His promises to you in your life. God wants you to be convinced of His love for you in that specific area of promise. God cares deeply about you and your situation and He wants you to trust Him.