Dr. David Jeremiah: The True Meaning of Christmas | Praise on TBN

Dr. David Jeremiah sits down with Matt and Laurie Crouch on TBN’s Praise to discuss the true meaning of Christmas, and the incredible gift of Jesus’ birth!

On the air since 1973, TBN’s flagship ministry and talk show Praise is one of the most recognizable — and most watched — Christian programs in the world. Taped before a live audience and hosted by TBN’s own Matt and Laurie Crouch along with other popular personalities, Praise features the best in contemporary Christian music and worship, fresh and impacting ministry voices, engaging interviews from a wide variety of guests, and a fast-moving hour of relevant talk you won’t want to miss!

When you receive Jesus Christ, here’s what you get. You get eternal life.
And eternal life begins the moment you believe, not when you die.
It begins the moment you believe, you begin immediately to live your eternal life, which never ends ever and ever because the eternal son of god was willing to become a human, he now can offer to us the eternal life that he came to provide.
We don’t get to say Mary Christmas as often as we would like to. David Jeremiah, Merry Christmas.
And Merry Christmas to the both of you. What a privilege to be with you?
You know, Lori and I were in Dallas, Texas.
We went to this big store, and we went through, and you could buy ornaments. You could buy this.
You could buy that. And there weren’t any nativity scenes in this big store right here in the Bible belt, and that irritates me beyond k?
Well, you’ve just hit the the the nerve that caused all of what we’re gonna talk about today to happen because what I’ve said before is that when they try to tell other stories of Christmas, the problem is the original story is way better.
Yeah.
And if they would just tell the original story, nobody’s ever had a story like that, except god.
It’s god’s story of Christmas, and it gets it gets pushed to the side so much with all that happens.
David, let me let me ask you one thing just to kind of touch on.
I want your thoughts on this. Uh, Bill Gaither is our common friend.
I was just with, uh, Bill recently, and he was telling us, uh, in the in a production that we’re doing with him.
What kind of why do we know who Bill Gaither is?
And he started talking about his early career, and he wrote a song, uh,
called
Because.
Because he lives. And do you have what how did those lyrics start again? I can’t remember. He said
Oh, sweet to know a newborn baby or something like that. It was it was it was her words.
It was it was Gloria’s words.
Right. And so she starts writing this song for her son Mhmm.
And who or her baby who’s gonna be the
one her baby.
About the baby. And they don’t realize it’s gonna be a big national song, uh, because he lives, uh, they don’t know that at the time.
And basically, the lord started communicating to them that they were writing this song because they were pregnant in the tumultuous sixties.
You know, Los Angeles was on fire.
There was just a, you know, in their mind, it was a terrible time to bring a newborn baby into the world, and then the lord started communicating.
Well, wait a second.
Has there ever been a good time?
The world has always been unstable, and you jumped on that, and and you started talking backstage about how it was one of the most tumultuous times in the history of the world when Jesus was brought into the world.
That gives us comfort that we can, uh, you know, face tomorrow just because He lives.
You know what, uh, Matt, when you read the scripture, it says this in the fullness of time, god sent forth his son What does that mean in the fullness of time?
It’s just the right time. It’s just the right moment. He sent forth his son.
I was telling you that when Jesus came, they had just developed the road system in Roman, the Roman road system was beginning to develop so the gospel could travel and the Greek language was becoming very, prominent throughout the whole biblical world, but also at the right time because the the world into which Jesus was born was very much like the world into which, uh, glorian Bill’s baby was born.
And
like today.
And like today. Yeah. So what that says to me is there’s never been a time that’s been more important for us to know the real story of Jesus and why he came.
Then now you look around for things you can trust in. Right. What is what is there?
I mean, one of the things that just overwhelms me is the loss of truth in our in our world, and yet here’s the one who is being born, who’s the way the truth and the life He is still the way the truth in the life and people who know Jesus and are related to him in a meaningful way are able to walk through these terrible things that we’re living with right now, and they have a stability in their life.
I I love what you were just talking about.
That you’re you’re shocked at the the lack of truth, the loss of truth nowadays, and that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life That that’s what makes Jesus relevant in any year.
Mhmm.
For 1000 years, so relevant to our lives today because he is the truth.
He is he is the one that makes all things amazing.
If we just if we know him and if we trust him and if we give our lives to him.
We have such a foundation. We have such a center to our world. Absolutely. You know?
And and And so we don’t ever have to be No. Messed up. No.
And you know what? Laurie, when you know him and you know that that’s works in your life, And then you look around and see the pain and the anguish that so many people are going through so much of it unnecessary if they had someone they knew who was the center, who was the truth as you mentioned.
And here’s the whole point. That message began in a place historically 2000 years ago in a little village called Bethlehem when the god of heaven became a man.
And we celebrate that in our communion when we take the bread we we celebrate it throughout.
And for 2000 years, that’s been the core message that’s made Christianity work. It works.
It’s not just something we believe.
It’s something that happens in our lives every day because we are now related to god through his precious son the lord Jesus.
How how do we take the birth of a child and correlate it to being that peace in the midst of what life is by some people’s definition, the storm?
Well, the the great hunger and the heart of people is for for for truth and and and for meaning.
And so many people right now, as you mentioned, are wondering about all of that.
And for for many people, the things they thought were true aren’t true.
Are are at least not being portrayed as true.
But when someone comes as Jesus did in such an I mean, who could have scripted this story?
I mean, he he came and he he was born in the most humble way in a stable and presented himself first of all to a bunch of lowly shepherds who are the outcast of their generation and he was worshiped by these shepherds and then declared to the world to be the savior.
What does that mean? That he had the answer to the problem that we faced. That we’re we’re guilty.
We know we’re guilty of sin. We have a empty place in our heart.
We try to fill it with everything else, and Jesus is the one who came to fill that empty place.
And the Bible says he wants to dwell with us. He wants to be at home with us.
He wants to move in and be comfortable in our lives.
And when that happens, The other stuff seems almost it’s happening, but so what? We have Jesus.
We have the realization that he is in our lives and guiding us and directing us and that he’s a few he’s our future because we’re gonna spend eternity with him.
It’s just an amazing thing when you have that.
You mentioned, um, few minutes ago the in the fullness of time.
So there was a appointed time for Jesus to be born. It was Roman occupation of Judea.
There was you know, a paranoid king named Herrod who slaughtered children looking for this child he didn’t want the competition.
Uh, you know, it was an appointed time.
There are people that that appointed time they’re viewing right now, we’re talking about the true meaning of Christmas, Invite them to to know this savior that was born 2000 years ago.
For god so loved the world.
That he gave has only begotten the son that whosoever believe in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.
And, you know, I I was just reading this passage in Ephesians 3 where Paul was praying that the Ephesians would know the length and the breadth and the and the width and the depth of the love of god.
And that’s John 316. Yeah. John 316 is the length, breadth, and depth, and and height of the of the love of god.
When god came here, it was the greatest gift he could have offered. He looked around heaven.
What can I send to these people to help them be forgiven of their sin and come come to a realization of my plan for them?
I know what I’ll do. I’ll send them my son.
Beautiful.
And he sent his only begotten son. He couldn’t just send him as an adult.
He sent him as a baby.
The miraculous birth of Jesus was the beginning of this love story for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, and anyone can receive this gift He gave the gift, but you have to receive it.
You have to say, okay, I believe that Jesus is the son of god, and I receive him as my savior.
I ask for his forgiveness of my in. If you do that, Christmas will never be the same again. Yeah.
Father, we cannot be thankful enough in our whole lives if we used every minute to say thank you.
Never be me close for what you have done.
To see us in our misery and our sin, our separation from god, and to provide a solution.
And that solution was your son.
And you loved us so much that you would not withhold the best heaven could offer what you sent him here that he could live among us and walk among us, live a perfect life, and as the spotless lamb of god, go to the cross, and die there.
Lord, we wonder sometimes how one man could die for the whole world, but he was the infinite god.
His life was infinite, and his death was So when he died, he died 1 on 1 for everyone who would believe in him.
And today, someone, lord, is listening to me watching this program, and they’ve never understood how much god loves them.
They have never understood the incredible love that god has for them.
Maybe they don’t feel loved right now, but the word of god tells us how much god loves us.
And he proved his love not with words, but with action He sent his son here to be his love gift.
And all he asks us to do is receive him.
And so father, I pray that those who are watching us today, listening to these words, will open their heart and receive Jesus Christ as their personal savior that they will not be like the innkeeper and not have any room in their life.
But they will open the doors of their heart and say, lord, Jesus, come and live within me, be my savior, forgive me of my sin, and I will seek to live for you from this day forward.
Thank you for those who pray that prayer who understand that when they pray that prayer, they pass from death into life, and they become children of the everlasting god.
Thank you for those who have prayed and lord guide them in these days that are before them during the Christmas season.
Pastor Jeremiah, uh, do me a favor and explain to someone that has just prayed that prayer that that infant child 2000 years ago is the reason they can have peace in the midst of the storm they call life all around them?
Well, first of all, the the one who was born in the major was the creator of the world. Yeah.
The one who controls all of the elements and controls every day.
He’s allowed us to live in this time, uh, one of these days that’s gonna be over, but he’s promised us that if we put our trust in him, not only we come and be the king in our heart.
One day he’s gonna be the king over the o over the earth, and we can spend eternity with him when you receive Jesus Christ, here’s what you get.
You get eternal life. And eternal life begins the moment you believe, not when you die.
It begins the moment you believe.
You begin immediately to live your eternal life, which never ends ever and ever because the eternal son of god was willing to become a human, he now can offer to us the eternal life that he came to provide.
So Beautiful. I remember going through a cemetery one time and the on the cemetery tombstone, it said, born in the set of day.
And said, entered into eternal life after that. And I said, no. No.
You don’t enter any eternal life when you die. You become eternal life when you become a Christian. Yeah.
The great news, eternal life.
And that were that everlasting life.
That is that’s uh-uh that’s like medicine to your soul when you even hear everlasting life and that when we do choose Jesus that that that that moment happens for us.
I think what’s what’s kinda hit me this this Christmas season, Doctor Jeremiah is When Isaiah, I picked up my mother-in-law used to love the living Bible.
And so I brought one of her bibles with me today.
And I I’ve been kind of this season listening to what Isaiah said and man, it was a mess when he was prophesying back in Isaiah 9.
And and so he throws the people a bone and says, okay. He is coming.
There is a messiah coming, and I I love how the living Bible says it.
It says for unto us, a child is born unto us, a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders.
So if we think about that right now, does that mean what I think it means?
Absolutely. Because that’s a promise of his millennial reign for a 1000 years and when he will be the king.
Yeah. And there will be no, uh, there will be no one who will stand up against him.
He will reign in peace And that’s a promise.
And and that verse is kind of an interesting verse because the first part of the verse is about his first coming.
And then without any transition, the second part of the verse is about his second coming when he sets up his kingdom.
Yeah. So there is a time coming when we won’t be doing what we did these last few days.
And Yeah. All of the
Hell, yeah.
All of the jockeying around to see who’s doing what and know the Bible
said doesn’t matter.
King Jesus is gonna rule and his son and David will be his vice regent.
Wait. Are you saying that Jesus isn’t a Republican or a Democrat? Okay.
Got it.
Well, and then his name will be called. It this says, these will be his royal titles. Wonderful.
Mhmm. Councilor, the mighty god, the everlasting father, the prince of peace, and his ever expanding peaceful government will never end when we receive Jesus We receive that wonderful.
Right. We receive that counselor, that mighty god inside of our lives. That everlasting father.
There’s a there’s a very interesting little phrase that captures that, uh, Lori.
Somebody said that when, uh, when you become a Christian, Jesus Christ becomes your king, but not quite yet, it becomes your king because he comes to live within your heart.
Yeah. The Bible says when we’re saved, we pass from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of his of his light.
But he’s not quite king yet because he’s not on his throne. He’s king in our heart.
And one day, he will be king over the whole world.
And every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is lord. Yeah.
But he’s right now, but not quite yet.
He’s in our heart as our king personally One day, he will be the king over all the earth as the bible describes in the verses that you just read.