You were worth it...
Here we are December 13, 2015 with Christmas fast approaching...
it is yet that time of year again where we will experience and share
in exchanging and giving gifts.
It is that time of year we experience giving and sharing
with one another...And If you want to know about sharing,
I would suggest asking anyone who has a December birthday…
Because anyone with a December birthday will tell you… That
they have no doubt shared their birthday many times with Christmas
Having a December birthday myself, I have heard more than one time
go ahead and pick one of your gifts under the tree for your birthday…
And my response was then and is now and forever will be…
Those are not birthday presents under the tree those are my Christmas gifts
and I don't want one of my Christmas presents I want my birthday present
And I know that many of you know that around here, we like to make it
known...that we celebrate what we call our birthday month
And why wouldn't we? Who wants to wait 364 more days just to
celebrate one day of the year...it's a special time of year and it should
be celebrated longer than just one day
Almost all store owners and most of society feels the same way
about Jesus birthday… Because we start celebrating Jesus's birthday
It seems earlier and earlier every year
Retailers have even invented a holiday in and that all of itself
to really kickoff the gift giving season..called Black Friday
And each year it seems as though we see more and more violence
take place on what should be the most enjoyable time of the year...
Maybe they should start calling it Black eye Friday
Which leads me to the age-old question…
Do we celebrate the gifts or the giver?
Parents all over the globe worrying about giving the right
amount of gifts, or exactly the right gift, or being able to
afford to give any gifts at all...
The most important gift a parent could ever give to a child
TBS in proverbs
Proverbs 22:6 NKJ
6 Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it.
MSG says it this way
6 Point your kids in the right direction—
when they’re old they won’t be lost.
Never in my lifetime if I seen society was so much available to them…
So many people lost...with such little direction in why they are going..
let alone where they're going to without a reason..
JESUS is the only REASON for the season...
Believe me store owners may use caution when they say Merry Christmas..but their profit margin Loves everything about Him..
Amen??
People are so caught up with The commercialization of it all…
That they forget the Hope that God gave the world
when He gave the greatest gift of all time...
Isaiah 9:6-7 NKJ
For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end
The hope and peace that Jesus offers...to that which
there is no end, has all but been pushed to the side and labeled as not pc and to that I ask...what hope does being pc offer you?
Never has there been so
much available to us...
so much technology,
so much communication,
so much knowledge,
So little hope… Without JESUS involved in the details..
Romans 5:5 NKJ
5Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.
Hope defined: the feeling of wanting something to happen and thinking that it could happen : a feeling that something good will happen or be true
God wants you to have a confident expectation of good..
because He is favor minded when it comes to His children!
And if you're a child of God this morning… He wants you to have a confident expectation of good taking place in your life
And if you're not a child of God this morning… The accuser
has done his best to abolish the hope that this way of thinking gives.
The accuser and the world says there's no way that this is possible…
But I would tell you different story this morning because the hope that
Jesus brought to the world and the hope that Jesus gives…
Tells me that with God all things are possible
2 Timothy 3:2-5 NKJ
For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
After reading such a verse you would think that there is no one worthy
Of receiving the miracle that JESUS birth brought to the world
Truth is..does anyone deserve to have the goodness and favor
that God freely gives..to whosoever will accept His Son as
Lord and Saviour of their life?
No..but that's not the issue here and it's why the devil can't stand for a person to get ahold of this powerful truth...and I'll tell you why..because
You don’t have to do anything to deserve God’s favor,
and that’s one of the hardest things to accept..about Gods
goodness and Favor. The fact that you don’t have to do anything..
and that's what makes it such an amazing gift
We don't deserve the Hope that Christ birth extends to us
But yet He continues to Love us and freely offer it to us...
Only wanting what's best for us...that's why He made a way for us to live through out all eternity with Him!
When were young, we like to think of how invincible we are...
But the older we get the more you realize how fragile mortality really is..
Our lives as we know it, are like sands in an hour glass running out..time is short friends.. We hold in our possession the knowledge of life and death..
We know what the true meaning of Christmas is and
the Power it holds for humanity when it is experienced in
someone's life..
You could say..that we are the decider...Do we share Jesus or don't we?
Church..God has given us an awesome responsibility
And one day we will be held accountable for what we did with git...
Romans 1:16-17 MSG
It’s news I’m most proud to proclaim, this extraordinary Message of God’s powerful plan to rescue everyone who trusts him, starting with Jews and then right on to everyone else! God’s way of putting people right shows up in the acts of faith, confirming what Scripture has said all along: “The person in right standing before God by trusting him really lives.”
What it is talking about is the abundant life that God has created for you
to live in… to Walk in… And experience each and every day of your life
and it will touch everything that your about..if you will let it
Your family,
Your friends,
Your co-workers,
Even complete strangers...
Everything and anything that your associated with?.. now THATS HOPE!!
That's real hope… The kind a hope that the whole world
needs to get a hold of and never let go of.. Amen?
God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing.
That my friends is an "Amazing Hope" given from
an "Amazing God"
Who deserves all our Praise! Amen?
Come on now...Amen??
In the past, you may have experienced disappointed hopes..
Who hasn't?....WHO HASNT???....
But you know what Child of God...
Just because you have experienced them...Doesn't mean you
have to keep reliving them over and over...again and again!
Set backs are temporary...
Don't pitch a tent in the camp of a setback...and
By all means don't build a house there…
Know that Gods love will help you walk out of that setback
right down the street to your comeback...
Better, healthier, stronger...more blessed and more loved
Then you were before...
THERE is a EVERLASTING HOPE that does not disappoint
when you make the realization of how much God loves you...
It's when you know
that you know
that you know....
No matter what you face in your life..."it's His peace that passes all understanding" that will see you safely through to the winners circle.. Each and Every time!
The kind of Hope were talking about is “a hope that continually springs from the heart of God,” who loves you unconditionally
It's the ULTIMATE HOPE and He is willing to back it up...with His unearned
unmerited Favor that He freely gives to all His children...through Jesus His Son!!!
And that's what the whole world needs to hear and realize
This Christmas season and every day of the year... Amen??.
Let Gods Love saturate your circumstance and know..
there is nothing that is to big..or to small not only He
can’t help you through..but wants to help you through! Amen?
Things are always going to happen...that’s just the way life is
but because you know and are aware how much God loves you...
I want you to know..that no matter what happens and I mean no matter what..
He is always working all things together 24/7 for your good..
That means every single solitary thing that happens to you
In your life..He's taking them all and shaking them together no matter how many there are and sculpting them into something beautiful for you!! Amen??
But you don't know my story..there have been a lot of bad things happen to me...
I know it's ironic...but your story sounds an awful lot like my story..
Listen up...as long as you know His story, the Good news is...it doesn't matter as long as He knows
Because just like He did for me..God can still turn it around for you as well
and your relationship with Jesus is the key
To making it happen for you as well! Amen?
Thank You Jesus!
When you accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour of your life..it activates
The new covenant of Grace and Hope God freely offers to whosoever comes..
And with it every promise He ever made..Jesus finished work on the cross GUARANTEES every one of them for you in your life
Everything..think about it....Everything that happens to you..
God is aware of it and Is using it...To bring about good things in your life..
The Good, the Bad and even the Ugly things that happen...
Remember TBS. He's working all things together for those that love Him!!
And thank goodness He is..Amen??
That's why when you believe that God loves you..
you can have a positive expectation of good things happening in and around you..On a consistent basis
And that's why I'm sharing all of this with you now…
And why you should be willing to share it with others as well
So many people in this world..especially this time of year
complain about how hard life is..
Did you know? That Christmas time is a great time to witness
and tell someone that Life doesn't have to be hard for them
and God didn't design it to be that way!
Matthew 11:28 NKJ
28Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
It should give comfort to us to know that Jesus.. sees the cares we carry in our hearts.
*He knows the worries you have..
*He feels the heaviness in your heart as you struggle
*Everything that you have had or will ever experience..He already has been there..
done that...conquered it and achieved your Victory you are looking for...
Romans 5:3-5 MSG
3-5 There’s more to come: We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we’re never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary—we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit!
The world may leave you feeling short changed this Christmas season… But realize that God is abundantly providing and continues to give and pours into your life on a daily basis…
TBS He loadeth us daily with benefits...
What a good loving God!!
Do you know how important you are to God?
Most people don't realize the magnitude of Gods love He has for them..but the book of John tells exactly how important you are to Him....
John 3:16 NKJ
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
You were important enough that God willingly gave us JESUS
knowing all the while there would be a cross and it would cost
Him his one and only Son....
And He would have me tell you this morning...that you were worth it!
Do you know Him today?
If not why not come now and give your heart to JESUS
as we sing
Let's pray...
