Is Your Christmas Stolen?

The birth of Jesus the Messiah

Isaiah 9

Introduction-

Good Morning… I am glad that you are joining us this morning and pray that the Lord blesses you and speaks to you!

You know in 2020, we were all forced to do things we did not want to do.

We had to adapt to the fact that Covid-19 had changed our world. How we do things.

It had come in without warning and upset life as we know it.

We had a choice. Sometimes in life all available choices are not what we are looking for.

Jesus had come into this world, not the way they thought He should. He had come to save them from eternal damnation and they were looking for a militant leader to fight Rome.

I want to be the town crier…a town crier also called a bellman is an officer of a royal court or public authority who makes public pronouncements as required. It is the pastor in me to announce the Good News of Christ and proclaim warnings that could save our lives.

Good news travels fast, but bad news has more details! What I mean by that is good news travels but gossip and bad news has more details-why? Because everyone adds their personal details, Sometimes even when they are not true statements and/or exaggerated.

I think heaven gets more inviting…Why? Because each time I lose a love one and I know that they have gone ahead to be with the Lord. It is easier for me to release them to Jesus with the hope of seeing them again one day.

I have spoke at many funerals and said that I was glad that one day I will see them again!

Because of what Jesus has done for me and that person.

Because heaven and Hell is a real place and Hell is a place to avoid. God has promised for those that believe and accept what Christ has done for them… heaven.

The future is bright and the future is secured in Jesus.

I think this world has a twisted and wrong idea of heaven. Most believe those that wanted no part of Jesus on this earth will somehow be in heaven waiting for us. That is not what the Word of God tells us.

That is the one truth that will be surprising most people- Jesus says that there is one way to heaven and it is through Jesus and they will be surprised that what you said is what will happen.

We should be excited and have high expectation and anticipation of those that knew Christ to be our cloud of witnesses waiting on us as we as believers will one day see heaven.

What I have a hard time imagining is why a God that has all of heaven at his disposal would leave that wonderful place and come to this earth be beaten, to die and be resurrected that we might also be able to enjoy heaven.

By choice, I will go and I will do what is needed so that all might have a chance of accepting my gift of salvation.

Prayer-

Today Father would you make the birth of your Son Jesus so real to each of us today! That we cannot leave here today without knowing Him as Lord of our lives. May we today not leave here without the sense of urgency to tell others of His love for them. Amen.

I image that cloud of witnesses waiting for me and at the front of that line is my Lord and Savior Jesus.

The one who is the sole reason that I will be there one day - why so many of my loved ones who put their faith in Christ will be there.

I won’t be there because I was a good person. I won’t be there because I am a preacher.

I won’t be there because my good outweighed the bad.

I will be there because I accepted Jesus Christ as Lord of my life.

I will be there because the God of the universe loved me enough and loved you enough to come to this dying world and pay for our sins that those who believe in Him would have eternal life and spend eternity with Him.

Our two main verses today are very familiar verses from the Bible. One we talked about last week. In fact, most unbelievers know these verses- the problem for them is that those verses were never acted upon.

Isaiah 9:6-

“For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called wonderful counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, prince of peace.”

Many millions of Christmas cards will be sent out and read with that verse inside, some not giving it a second thought of what it means.