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Title: Sharing Christ at Christmas! Post by: Brother Love on December 20, 2004, 02:33:46 PM Sharing Christ at Christmas!
By Thomas Nitz Luke 1:26-35 “ Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David: and the virgins name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, “greetings favored one! The Lord is with you.” But she was perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, “ Do not be afraid, Mary: for you have found favor with God. “ and behold, you will conceive in the womb and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His Father David: and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end, Mary said to the angel, “ How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel answered and said to her, “ The Holy Spirit will come upon you , and the power of the Most High will overshadow you: and for that reason the holy Child shall be called the Son of God.”Luke 1:38 And Mary said, behold the bond slave of the Lord; may it be done to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.Luke 2:7-11 And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn. In the same region there were shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “ Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” As we recount the birth of Our Lord lets extract a few details of His birth that made the angel declare “ good news of great joy, and a Savior who is Christ the Lord.” Good news of great joy. Hmmm, Really how much joy do we testify to when we start to ponder the current state of affairs? Christmas being as it is in these recent days have become just another holiday, people are stressed because of financial problems, illness, depression, and war just to mention of few. Could there be no joy because we have lost sight of the real meaning of why we celebrate Christmas? Lets examine this further with the other declaration the angel made “ for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. Could the fact that we pushed out the Savior be the reason we are not experiencing “good news of great joy” Lets look further and pursue the Savoir aspect of Christ birth..Matthew 1:21-23 “She will bear a Son : and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Now all this took place to fulfill what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet: “Behold the virgin shall bear a Son and they shall call His name Immanuel, which translated means, God with us” We see in further study that He is not only the Savoir and God. Savoir but for what reason, what is He supposed to save from? If we look back into verse 21 we see He is declared to save people from sin. Years later as Jesus grew into His ministry and was coming to John the Baptist , John in his gospel account declares.John 1:29 “ The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said , “ Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” With that statement we can start to understand why the birth of Christ was declared to be “good new of great Joy!” The Lamb of God who takes away Sin, no plurality to this just sin. From the time of Adams fall forward we all are born spiritually dead. Jesus’ birth came to deal with this problem once and for all. God new that He had to set the record straight for man. So He decided to empty Himself of His divinity and be born flesh so he could become a sin substitute for us. Sin separates us from God. Jesus came to deal with the cause and effect. Sin produces separation and death. The life of Christ bore witness to the spiritual deadness of man as He magnified the law to those around Him. He constantly was showing man that the heart is dead. He was trying to wake man. Romans 6:23 “ The wages of sin is death”Romans 3: 23 “ All have sinned and fall short “ Jesus’ birth into the world truly is “good news of great joy” when we start to understand the meaning of His coming. He came to deal with sin, which was dealt with through His death and burial. He had to first deal with the cause of death and then death itself, otherwise when we receive His life we would fall under the penalty of sin again which is death. There would be no eternal security if the cause was not dealt with first. This is why Jesus declared .John 11:25,26 “ Jesus said to her, “ I am the resurrection and the life: he who believes in Me will live if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die, Do you believe this?” Jesus concluded the work of reconciling mankind back to God through His suffering and crucifixion. He paid our sin debt for us. Could this be the reason of “good news and great joy”John 19:30 “ …It is finished!” He dealt with the sin issue for each and everyone of us. He could now declare. Romans 5: 10 “ For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son…” He was the Lamb of God who John declared takes away the Sin of the world. He completed His work. He reconciled mankind back to God through what He accomplished All we need to do is appropriate it all by faith. Once we are convicted that we are sinners and in need of Life we can then come to Him accepting His righteous act and be ready to receive His Life. Life can only come when we appropriate the other aspect of the gospel through the resurrection. Forgiveness is good , but it does not give life or salvation, otherwise we would have universal salvation. Life is exchanged when we accept our condition. It can’t be through good works, tithing, church attendance, being good neighbors and the list can go on and on. He died was buried and resurrected for each and every human that has ever lived. When we individually come to this conclusion we then can say.Romans 5:10 “...Much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.” We then can receive His resurrected life and become spiritually reconnected with God. This is all through a gift to humankind by God.Romans 6:23 “ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ our Lord.” This birth of God or Jesus truly is the best gift given to mankind. It set in motion reconciliation and eternal life to all who believe. Once we believe we are born from above. Never to see death again.Ephesians 1:13” In Him, you also after listening to the message of truth the gospel of your salvation-having also believed you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit.” Sin is dealt with, life will be freely given to those who believe this is why there is “good news of great joy.” We can celebrate His birth as we reflect individually what He means and has done for all. Sharing Christ at Christmas should not only be the believers main focus throughout this season but for all of ones life.Romans 10:14,15 &17 ” How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, How Beautiful are the feet Of Those Who Bring Good News Of Good Things! So faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of Christ.” This season when opportunities arise lets share Christ birth and its meaning and who knows maybe just maybe we will witness the birth of Our Blessed Lord all over again through a unbeliever. We all can become midwives for Our Lord. We have “good news of great joy” won’t you share the greatest gift given to mankind at this time of year? Lets Celebrate Christ at Christmas! Joy to the world the Lord has come. If you are not sure where you stand with God all you need to do is accept His Son’s work of restoration for you, through the death , burial and resurrection . He wants to impart His Life to your heart. Prayerfully, ask Him to come abide in you. God loves you and accepts you . Title: Sharing Christ at Christmas! Post by: Brother Love on December 21, 2004, 05:31:23 AM YOUR GEM FOR TODAY
God's plan for your life is one of Freedom, Hope and Peace. He doesn't want you struggling with burdens you were never meant to bear. |