A Sweetheart Deal: God's incredible offer in his unspeakable gift

By Dr. Ernan Norman

A Sweetheart Deal

 

What a sweet deal! That is the theme and the emphasis of this Christmas book. In this book, you will encounter again and again, God’s incredible offer in the unspeakable gift of His only begotten Son. When Gabriel said to Mary, “You shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21), that was, and is, the sweetest deal that has been and will ever be given to sinful men and women. Luke records the esse

• Language: English
• Publisher: Fulton Books, Inc.
• Release date: Feb 13, 2017
• ISBN: 9781633383876

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A Sweetheart Deal: God's incredible offer in his unspeakable gift

Dr. Ernan Norman

Copyright © 2020 Ernan Norman

All rights reserved

First Edition

Fulton Books, Inc.

Meadville, PA

Published by Fulton Books 2020

ISBN 978-1-63338-386-9 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64952-999-2 (hardcover)

ISBN 978-1-63338-387-6 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

The scripture references used in this book are from the following versions of The Holy Bible, unless otherwise indicated:

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ® copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, REVISED STANDARD VERSION, published by Nelson, 1971. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW KING JAMES VERSION, Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

This book is dedicated first to my dear wife, Velvia, and my three children, Joy, Joshua, and Jewel. It is dedicated to the many wonderful Christmas memories and the many joys of the season we have shared together over the years, and will continue to share together for years to come. It is also dedicated to the memory my father, Elmer, and mother, Elfreda, who are no longer with us in this life. I can remember as a boy growing up, that Mom and Dad made Christmas very special for our family. To this day, the love and excitement of the Christmas season that was then born in me, is the reason I am still excited about the Christmas season.

I also wish to dedicated this book to all my brothers and sisters, and to all Christians everywhere, with best wishes for a Yuletide filled with the joys of Christmas.

Introduction

Celebrate the joys of Christmas

I believe it is safe to say, that the Christmas season, like no other, is celebrated with a great sense of joy. For the majority of people (whether they be secular or spiritual), the Christmas season is unarguably the most wonderful time of the year. So, from the humble dwellings of the poor, to the more opulent homes of the rich, one can hear and see the sounds and the sights that express the joys that Christmas brings. Just about everywhere, and in a thousand forms, the celebratory spirit of Christmas beckons us. In places of entertainment, in shopping malls, and in places of worship, the joyful strains of Christmas music can be heard.

The many joys of Christmas that we share, are rooted, and were actually birthed out of the first Christmas message proclaimed by the angel: behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord, Luke 2:10, 11. That is why we sing the good ole Christmas carols this time of year. The message of these carols are about one thing: God’s sweetheart deal in the indescribable gift of His only begotten Son; and that is the message I endeavor to convey in this book.

This book, was not written in an attempt to throw cold water on the warmth and joys of the Christmas season; on the contrary, it was written in the hope that all who read it, will find in its pages the good tidings of great joy, as announced by the angel. That is why I gave the title: A Sweetheart Deal: God’s Incredible offer in His Unspeakable Gift. That gift is the gift of His Son Jesus Christ. As God’s gift to us He came embodied in human flesh, born in a manger, and wrapped in swaddling bans.

From an outward appearance, there was nothing ostentatious in His coming as a babe in a manger. Isaiah states that He came as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we should see him, there is no [outward] beauty that we should desire Him, Isaiah 53:2. His attractions were and are inward; His beauty was and is in His character, which is to be discerned through spiritual eyes.

Outwardly, Jesus laid aside His divine glory, His majestic splendor, and came to us in the humble gab of humanity. Jesus Himself said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation [outward show] … for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you, Luke 17:20, 21. The Jews of Christ day was expecting a Messiah decked in stars and stripes, one who would exude military force and political prowess, overthrow the Roman yoke, and establish with unmistakable splendor the earthly throne of David. When Jesus came as He did, a humble Galilean, who looked, and walked, and talked, in terms like the people of that day, the words of Isaiah was fulfilled: that the Jews hid as it were [their] faces from him; he was despised, and [they] esteemed him not, Isaiah 53:3. John nevertheless testified that 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, John 1:14.

Among the relative few who accepted and followed the humble Galilean, John’s testimony is that we beheld his glory. John’s reference to His glory is no doubt inclusive of those rear moments and experiences such as the Transfiguration, when divinity momentarily flashed through humanity. Peter similarly speaks of being an ‘eyewitness’ to the ‘majesty’ and ‘excellent glory’ of Christ at the Transfiguration (2 Peter 1:16-18) … this divine ‘glory’ rested upon a historical person, Jesus of Nazareth. What John is also referring to when he said we beheld his glory, is no doubt the perfection of character exemplified by the Saviour.¹

John said He was full of grace and truth. John is speaking here of faithfulness, trustworthiness, mercy, and truth. These words appear together in the [Old Testament] in a clearly Messianic setting, in Ps. 85:10, 11.² We also find echoes of this in Exodus 34, when Moses asked God to show him His glory: And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, unto the third and fourth generation, vs. 7, 8. It was precisely these attributes of God that Christ came particularly to reveal. While on earth He was ‘full’ of them, and could thus give a full and complete revelation of the Father.³

Yes, Christ is God’s most beautiful, most indescribable gift to all who will receive Him. Those who truly desire to know Him will along with Isaiah see the king in his beauty, and will proclaim like Philip, to their friends and relatives, We have found him, of whom Moses in the Law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph, and all, together with Peter, will rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, see Isaiah 33: 17; John 1:45; 1Peter 1:8.

The sad note in all of this is that some people choose not to receive Him. That is their privilege. It is also my privilege, and it is also your privilege. God has given us all the free gift of choice. We may choose to receive Him with joy, or reject Him with scorn. The angel’s announcement brought tidings of great joy that a Savior was born to [all humanity] … who is Christ the Lord, Luke 2:10, 11. To choose rejection, is to refuse the magnanimous gift of eternal life offered to us in the gift of God’s Son Jesus Christ. This was the case with Israel at the dawn of the very first Christmas. The Bible clearly states that Jesus came to His own, and His own did not receive Him," John 1:11. Why did they fail to receive Him? And why is this the case for the majority of people today? Ellen G. white, in her classic work on the life of Christ, The Desire of Ages, gave us one of the secrets for this non-acceptance by some, she states:

"… Jerusalem was not preparing to welcome her Redeemer. With amazement the heavenly messengers beheld the indifference of that people whom God had called to communicate to the world the light of sacred truth… In the temple the morning and the evening sacrifice daily pointed to the Lamb of God; yet even here was no preparation to receive Him. The priests and teachers of the nation knew not that the greatest event of the ages was about to take place. They rehearsed their meaningless prayers, and performed their rites of worship to be seen by men, but in their strife for riches and worldly honor they were not prepared for the revelation of the Messiah. The same indifference pervaded the land of Israel. Hearts selfish and world-engrossed were untouched by the joy that thrilled all heaven. Only a few were longing to behold the Unseen. To these [humble shepherds] heaven’s embassy [the angels] was sent [Italics mine]."⁴

Do we not witness the same kinds of attitudes and behaviors in our secular post-modern world today? The hearts of most men and women are engrossed with the tinsel and glitter of this present world. For the secularist, this natural world is all that there is; everything in our existence (they say) is bracketed in time. Life for the secularist is temporal and moving towards a terminus of ultimate finality. There is nothing beyond this present life, no rewards, no punishments. The motto therefore, is: eat, drink, and be merry. Sad to say, this worldly way of thinking is not limited to the secular population, for even among some professed Christians, and some so-called religious persons, the temporary pleasures of this life have a stronger attraction than that of Christ.

We have come to the place in our culture where, because