Freedom Of The Christ Child

Freedom of the Christ child

Introduction-

Last week we looked at preparing for Christmas.

That this Christmas would not be like all the others. (busy and empty)

After all the gifts are opened that we would not still have that void down deep in our hearts because there are some things that cannot be bought.

I again remind you to do an act of kindness without anyone knowing. Doing it as unto the Lord.

We need to experience the joy of giving. Remember it is not about money. We can be broke to the broke broke and still give someone your time, your talents, your wisdom, a shoulder to cry on.

It will change you forever.

Isaiah 61:1-3

This passage of scripture is Good News for the oppressed.

I don’t know if you are like me, but I enjoy watching people.

If you want to feel better about yourself, just go to the mall and sit on the benches for awhile.

You watch people yelling and screaming at the kids.

One side of you I am glad I have not lost it like those parents.

Another side, glad my kids are not that bad!

Watch crouchy old people, cursing husbands, half dressed people, bad habits, and you sit there until you can praise the Lord for what we are going through.

People that don’t know Jesus, most have chosen not to care about the things of God.

You see in their faces burdens, guilt , people who have sinful habits that they cannot break.

They live everyday of their lives in a cycle of despair and depression.

We have, (you and I), a responsibility of telling them how they can throw away their prison clothes of sin and put on a robe of righteousness (Jesus).

Again, this is not a traditional Advent message.

I make no apologies because I believe it to be from the Lord.

Advent is about preparing ourselves and preparing others for the coming of the Lord.

For us, it is the promise of His second coming.

For Isaiah, he was preparing them (Nation of Israel) for the coming of the Christ child.

How can you help others learn about the freedom of Christ? Isaiah knew the answer.

Bringing the good news of God’s rescue to them through Jesus the Nazarene.

There is no substitute of telling people of the message of the gospel.

Israel understood bondage. They were captured, oppressed, enslaved, and ruled upon for a very long time.

Assyrians

Persians

Romans

At the time of Jesus birth, more than 7 centuries of captivity.

All the while they would move away from God and then cry out to Him.

Isaiah the prophet brought a message of deliverance.

There is coming a day that you can be set free.

When Jesus came as a baby in that manger and later grew to be a man. Most still had not understood salvation and freedom.

Did you know?

If any Roman citizen would come up to a Jew and slap them in the face, there was nothing they could do about it.

The Jews could lose their job to a roman citizen, so most held jobs nobody else wanted.

Roman soldiers could literally take your coat off your back or force you to carry their 45 lb. backpack for a mile if they wanted too.

If you didn’t pay your taxes, you could become a slave and work almost forever to pay it off.

They understood captivity but did not understand freedom.

(1) “The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor.”

The Spirit of God would empower the servant (Jesus) to bring the promise of salvation and blessing.

The anointed one, the messiah, would proclaim the Good News of God. Jesus proclaimed this message as his mission. His mission of coming to a needy world, His second coming, when life has run out, He will establish his kingdom and judge all humanity.

Most do not understand the urgency of their relationship with Christ and His salvation offered?

The same that most don’t see Jesus coming as a baby as a beginning to the prophecy of His coming.

People think it terrible that someone would steal a Christ baby from a manger scene, but nothing wrong with rejecting that same Christ in their life.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Eph. 6:12

You and I are affected by sin

We are affected by our parent’s baggage, original sin of Adam.

God’s Word says that He (Jesus) has “rescued” us from sin.

There is plenty of Jesus to go around-