December 17, 2017
Morning Service

When I was young, I thought of only one meaning for Christmas.  A time for gift giving, Christmas lights displayed, Santa Claus is coming, getting up early to see what was brought to be enjoyed in the following year.  Of course, this is not even close to the meaning of Christmas for us as adults.  Jesus is the reason for the season, the Greatest Story Ever Told and the greatest gift ever given by our Father in heaven.  This event was foretold by the prophets of old in the Bible. 

In Isaiah the scriptures read as follows concerning the birth of our Lord and Savior:

Isa 7:14  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 

Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 

Isa 33:22 For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us.

 

In Matthew the scriptures state this concerning our Lord and Savior:

 

Mat 1:18  Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

Mat 1:21  And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Mat 1:23  Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 

 

The birth of Jesus was a very joyous day on the Earth for those who come to believe in Christ our Lord.  This is the only way us as sinners would ever be redeemed unto the Father in heaven.  Jesus was born to walk the Earth in a sinless life giving us example after example as to how we are to live a life pleasing to God.  Jesus was a wonderful teacher of truth and the only name by which we can be saved according to the scriptures.

 

Act 4:12  Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

 

People of this world tend to focus on everything they can see and touch as being what is important in life and meaningful.  I believe this way of man comes from the business of life itself and the weakness of the Spirit within them.  It is so easy these days to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily living, so we tend to make these things of life our duty and always on the Must Do list.  The Bible tells us differently though, what we are told in the word to focus on is the things of life that are not seen.

 

2Co 4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 

Heb 12:2  Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Gal 3:14  That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. 

 

God has many promises for the believers in Christ Jesus, and this is the eternal way He put in place to redeem us through His one and only Son.  God sent his Son to our world to live a sinless life in the sight of man and be crucified on the cross as a sacrifice for man the creation of God.  Man is a sinful creation and without any righteousness of his own to make it into heaven with our Father.  God made this provision through His Son

 

because he loved us and wanted to give man a chance to be redeemed through the righteousness of his Son Jesus.  This is a gift given from God the Father and Jesus was a willing vessel to lay down his life for us.  God purposely made the acceptance of his Son Jesus as Lord and Savior a gift for our redemption and reconciliation because if it were any other way, man would boast.

Eph 2:8  For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 

Eph 2:9  Not of works, lest any man should boast. 

Rom 5:8  But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

Rom 8:28  And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. 

 

God’s love for us Christians has no boundaries, when my mother recently passed away and entered the Lord’s rest, our fellowship gave my dad a throw with this scripture to remind all believers of His great love.

1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 

 

I wanted to share a quick story of how the Lord loves us more than we could ever fathom.  It was at night on a Christmas Eve several years ago, around 1983 I believe.  Debbie and I were going back to her house with the older girls (Lori and Angie, Kyla was not yet in the picture) and we had just left my dad’s house where we had gathered for a Christmas get together as was custom in the Pemberton family.  That night it was very cold and snowing heavily, blizzard like conditions making driving very difficult.  We were in Deb’s car that night and out of the blue, it stalled, and we could not get it started again, we were about a mile from her house and with about a foot or more of snow on the ground and wind blowing hard, the temperature was near single digits.  Cell phones were not nearly as common as they are now and calling someone was not an option.  The girls were 7 and 8 years of age and after about a half mile of walking we were all about frozen and the wind was relentless.  The girls asked if we could stop and take a break because we were walking as fast as we could to prevent being stranded on foot too and this is disastrous in the worst way.  I told the girls we could not break because we would perish in the cold.  Somehow the Lord kept us moving until we arrived at Deb’s house safely.  We were very cold, shivering and super uncomfortable, but alive and well! Deb and I still thank the Lord for the protection and care he provided that wintry night in December many years ago!  I believe in my heart of hearts it was the presence of these innocent children in our keeping that saved us from a tragic ending, my heart was not right with God at the time.  Thank You Lord, for keeping us till the time of our redemption from Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior, an incomprehensible and unwarranted love!!!

 

Joh 3:16  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 

 

Jesus lived a sinless life on the earth he created and served as a sacrificial lamb for our sins, no greater love has ever been shown.  He lived, bled, and died for our redemption and he was raised from the dead and now lives at the right hand of our Father in Heaven.  On Judgement Day, we will bow and confess Jesus as Lord, please allow Him to be Lord of your life and I can promise you, it will be worth more to you than any money, thing, or human being could ever be, and I know because I lived without Him in my life and now that I have Him in my life, I only wish I would have accepted Him sooner!

 

Merry Christmas!!!