Hallelujah.
King of kings, Lord of lords.
The Lion of the tribe of Judah.
Amen, amen, amen.
You better grab a Bible.
Hallelujah.
Go back to 1 Thessalonians 5, 16, 17, and 18.
As you get there, you'll want to hang a left and go to Isaiah 9 and we'll read verse 2.
Hallelujah.
Man.
And these past weeks just been rich.
I've thought about Sunday all week.
And I just keep hearing it in my mind over and over.
I know and I have taken note.
I just can't get away from that.
The Holy Ghost said, I know, I'm watching, I see you, and I'm taking note.
And I'll be with you.
Isn't that what he said?
I'll be with you.
Man.
From my position, I have a little more insight than most of you, so I really know what that
means to a lot of people.
To hear the Spirit of the Lord interrupt our service, our worship, our time.
To hear him break in and speak a word like that over you.
Man, I just rejoice with you.
Because I know what a lot of that is.
I know what he's taking a note of.
We don't know all of our troubles and trials and afflictions, but I know more than most.
And so when the Holy Ghost said that to you, I rejoiced with you.
Because I rejoiced with myself.
Because he knows my plight as well.
So good to see you in the house of the Lord.
Thank you for being here today.
Let's look back in our text at 1 Thessalonians 5.
Verse 16 reads, rejoice evermore.
Pray without ceasing.
And everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.
Isaiah 9 and 2, the prophet writes, the people who walked in darkness have seen a great light.
Those who dwell in a land of deep darkness on them has the light shined.
Hallelujah.
How many need some light to shine?
How many need a little light to burst forth into your darkness?
Well I just felt the help show up.
So let's pray.
Father, I love you this morning.
I thank you for your goodness and your mercy, the abundance of your love and grace.
And so thankful for your divine nearness this morning as you're here with us because of the
praise of your people.
You have come to encamp about us.
Now Father I pray as we've broken the bread of life, which is your word, you would help
me to be expedient for the moment and Lord to follow the unction that you placed in my
heart and my life for this very day.
I'll be quick to give you the praise for it all.
In Christ's name, the church say amen and amen.
You can be seated.
We want to continue with the thought, the ingredients for a thankful life.
And it falls pretty well on this morning as we begin the Christmas season.
It's okay you can start playing the music now.
It's December.
Amen.
It's okay to play it now.
And you're good.
You're good to go on that.
We've made it through our Thanksgiving season.
And too many times one of the most important seasons of the year for a believer gets washed
out.
It gets washed out.
It's so close that we lose the emphasis of Thanksgiving as we're looking forward to Christmas.
So when we think about this morning, the last passage of scripture that we read from the
prophet Isaiah as he writes of the birth and the life and the reign and the rule of Christ
more so than any other of the Old Testament prophets, he sees with the eagle eye clarity
of revelation as the spirit imparts to him words that must be recorded throughout eternity
for you and I to take a grasp of.
And as he begins to write and to record about this light that has come to the earth as we
know him, he sets him forth as the fulfillment of all of God's promises.
I think we need to understand that Christ supersedes all of the Old Testament values,
all the types and the shadows he fulfills and supersedes them all.
They all simply pointed toward him.
Now he's here.
Hallelujah.
His presence is with us.
It would be Isaiah further in chapter nine who would tell us that his name would be called
Emmanuel God with us.
It would be Isaiah who would tell us in verse six that he would be a wonderful counselor
and a mighty God and a prince of peace.
It would be he who would proclaim to us that a child will be given and a son would be born.
It would be Isaiah who tells us that he would be wounded for our transgressions.
Amen.
That the chastisement that brought us peace was upon him.
It would be Isaiah the prophet who would tell us that the spirit of the Lord was upon him
and he come to preach to the captives and to declare liberty and the acceptable year
of the Lord.
Hallelujah.
That's you and I.
Amen.
It would be Isaiah who would forego and tell us that a child that would be born, that son
that would be given would be the redeemer of all of humanity and all those who would call
upon him in their hour and time of need.
While we are not yet certain when Christ was born, we are certain that he was born.
Let me just take a little side note here today.
As I know that there is an attack in the world and in our culture and in our society, attack
against Christmas, the attack needs no aiding from the family of God.
I said the attack needs no aiding, no assistance from the church, the believers, the living,
those who are called out of God.
What are you saying?
If you don't want to celebrate and do some of the things that have been caught up in
the celebration, by all means, don't do it.
But what I will encourage you and implore you to do today is to recognize that Christ
was born.
Hallelujah.
It doesn't matter if it was December or April.
He might have been conceived about April.
Hello?
Conceived of the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary.
I'm looking for some witnesses today.
If you don't want garland, don't hang up garland.
But don't put out and despair the light.
Let's rejoice in that Christ was born.
If we go and do a history and a stroll through history, you'll see how our season, our tradition
of our Christmas celebration has made its way out of the darkness and tried to interject
light in one of the darkest seasons, the darkest celebration of the known pagan world.
Well, don't that make us pagans?
No.
It makes me one who elevates the Christ.
It makes me one who lifts him up.
It draws my attention to the light that came into the darkness that the eagle-eyed prophet
said would come.
It draws my attention evermore to Bethlehem's manger.
It draws me evermore to Nazareth's scape.
It draws me to know that Christ has come, that the son was born that was given.
It draws my attention and it gives me opportunity to tell people around me, Merry Christmas.
Oh, it loves, I love it when it goads the anti-Christ.
I love it when it goads the anti-God.
When I see the agnostic and I look at him at a retail store and I tell him, Merry Christmas,
after I buy something and you can see it just doesn't strike well, it gives me reason that
I do not have to pause.
That in this season of the year, Christ for the next 25 days can be elevated by you.
Tell everybody you run into Merry Christmas.
Hey, tell everybody you see that he was foretold to come and when the fullness of time had
come upon Mary, he came into this world.
He was that babe who was wrapped in swaddling clothes and as the prophet declared would
be laid in the manger.
He is that light that comes and shines upon those who are in darkness throughout the dark
ages, four centuries come and gone without a prophetic word.
But not the word was prophesied only, but the word himself was made manifest on the
earth.
Hallelujah.
I wish somebody would get happy about Christmas.
It's Christmas time.
I wish somebody would help me celebrate the birth of the son of the living God.
I wish somebody would help me glorify him who came from glory down to earth.
Somebody give him praise.
The world don't need any help from the church disparaging the celebration of Christmas.
They do well enough on day on if they don't need us to give them any ammunition.
While we are not certain when, we are certain that he was conceived.
Well, I don't understand that.
Well, maybe you're not supposed to understand it.
There's some things that you're not going to understand, but let me help you here just
a minute.
If you think that was hard, you ought to have been there on the first day when he didn't
have a woman to put the seed in.
What are you talking about?
I'm talking about creation.
If you think this conception by the Holy Ghost was an impossibility, you should have been
there the day he scooped up a handful of dirt.
You should have been there that day when he began to form an likeness of his fashion.
You should have been there the day that he breathed into the nostrils of a clay being
on the ground and it became a living soul.
If you think that's something, oh, I love the contest between the scientific world and
the supernatural.
They say, oh, making a baby is nothing.
We can take and we can form and we can grow them in test tubes and we can grow human life.
I love it when God would intervene and say, okay, go get your own dirt.
My God, wouldn't that just put a stump to it right there?
You can take a cell, you can take a seed and you can put it in your own scope and you can
try to bring that seed together.
Maybe you can grow it, but you can't create it.
You've got to understand that he is the creator of it all.
My Lord, when we think about the gospels and the Christmas story, Mark never mentions the
birth.
Matthew gives us the lineage of his heritage.
Why was that important?
Well, because you remember he came unto his own.
Hello?
He came unto the seeds and the descendants of Abraham.
That's who he came to first.
But God so loved the world.
Oh my God, you missed a good opportunity to shout right there.
You missed it.
He came unto his own and his own received him not.
But as he would come and be the Christ, the son of the anointed, the living one who would
bring again reconciliation between lost humanity.
We see Matthew making the point of his tracing his lineage all the way back to Abraham.
He comes through David.
Amen.
He comes through the one who it was prophesied of that the scepter would never depart from
his hand.
Oh, are you with me?
That there would always be one on the throne of Israel out of the loins of David.
So Matthew makes it plain and he gives us the pedigree of the Christ.
But Luke would give us the story of the birth.
Amen.
Because he being the physician, he was more concerned and entailed and inspired to let
us know exactly how it happened.
Oh, John mentions the birth somewhat, but he takes it on a whole other level.
When John would say, in the beginning was the word, my Lord, he just plum went beyond
the manger.
He went beyond the lineage.
He went all the way back to the beginning.
In the beginning was the word.
And the word was God.
I wish somebody would help me preach a Christmas message this morning.
Oh, John would tell us about his beginning and the auspice of his start.
In the beginning was the word.
What does that declare, pastor?
He always was.
He always is.
And he always will be.
Hallelujah.
He's no longer the babe in swaddling clothes.
And I'm here to tell you this morning, he's no longer the crucified Christ, but he is
the risen.
He is the one exalted.
He is the one at the right hand of the heavenly father.
He is one waiting the command to go and get my children and bring them home.
That's who he is.
When you look at a manger, as you go about the festivities of the year, when you walk
by, you drive by, you're going to see folks with them in their yards.
You're going to see them lit up.
You may even go by some churches who have live nativities.
But when you get to the manger scene and whatever they've got, they've got some baby borrowed,
he might be kicking and screaming.
I hope it's a he.
I hope they ain't got a she in the manger.
Hello.
But if some small country church is trying to do a nativity and the last baby born was
a little girl, God bless her because she's going in the manger.
Hello.
I'm going to sit out there and wrap her up, put a little buddy heater by her, and you're
going to drive by and you're going to see, all you're going to see is a baby.
But I pray that there's an explicit image that I form in your mind this morning that
takes you past both before and after this manger scene.
I hope you're with John when you see him in the beginning.
Oh, we haven't beheld him and we can't see his glory.
But I want you to know today that the angelic host that came to the heavens on the night
the shepherds were sitting on the hillside and that glorious choir began to sing and
the glory of God began to shine.
It was just a mere, mere drop of his glory that he departed.
You got to understand where he came from and where he went to and where he returned unto.
He came out of glory's heaven wrapped in splendor to be wrapped in the womb of humanity, to
be born, to be wrapped in swaddling clothes, later to be vestured with a purple robe, later
to be stripped of the robe and strapped to this body, later to be crucified, nailed to
an old Roman cross, to be elevated.
To be elevated was to suspend between heaven and earth my God, salvation and reconciliation.
When you see this baby, my God, let your mind rush forward to your reconciliation.
My God, get off the garland.
Get off the Christmas tree.
Get off the fancy paper and see the Christ.
Woo!
No wonder the Lord didn't let me write all this down.
I might have been afraid to tell you what he's want me to tell you this morning, I doubt
it but I might have had a reservation or two, a thought about your offense because the Lord
knows I love you.
Amen.
He knows that.
Christ wrapped in the womb of humanity to be birthed, to live a life, to know what it
means to be hungry.
Hello?
To know what it means to be ridiculed for no reason, persecuted without cause, beaten
without mercy.
He knows.
But let me just let you in on a little secret, he knew it before he came.
How do we know pastor he knew it before he came?
Because that same eagle-eyed prophet that looked through eternity's end by the revelation
of the spirit would tell us he would be beaten beyond recognition.
He would be beaten so severely that his mom wouldn't recognize him.
There would be nothing about him that would draw man's attention to him other than that
he was the sacrifice for our sins.
Think about that, those swaddling clothes is the first wrapping paper for you and I
to know.
The first gift to be wrapped was swaddling.
My Lord think about him being wrapped for your well-being.
Think about his coming out of splendor and glory to earth's humanity, a man to be born,
a man away from home.
He wasn't at home, he wasn't in the comfort of his mother and dad's home.
They were traveling because of Caesar Augustus' decree to go and be counted and be accounted
for and to pay their taxes and get their names listed.
Oh but my while he's there and the birth is about to happen we see those who have been
drawn from afar as Matthew would give us insight to those Magi who would come.
Oh there was more than three or maybe less than three, we don't know that either.
But come Christmas playtime we'll get three and they'll have gold, frankincense and myrrh.
Amen.
There are the skeptics of our day who try to confuse the synoptic gospels and say that
it cannot be the same story because Matthew's tale is different than Luke's tale and so
time is coming about and time does not add up.
The biblical timeline is not sequential so it cannot be.
So therefore they try to disperse and despair the belief of the birth.
Well when you go through and look that Mary had to come back after 40 days to show herself,
she had to come back and show her purification and her cleanliness.
Eight days later after his birth he had to be presented for circumcision and his name
to be given unto him.
My Lord, my, my, my, my they couldn't call him Joseph because Joseph wasn't a daddy.
Come on somebody how did they have to name him?
Oh because of the inspiration that was given that shout called his name Jesus because he
is the savior of his people and the savior of this world.
Isaiah said his name is Emmanuel for it is God who is with us.
Timeline adds up if you know the history and the events.
Luke 2 somewhere around 22 somewhere in there you see when Joseph and Mary come back and
they bring the offering for his birth they couldn't afford the lamb so evidently the
Magi hadn't made it to town yet because they had to get the turtle of offerings.
Come on the offering required was a lamb offering but they couldn't afford a lamb offering that
lets me know the gold hadn't showed up just yet.
The frankincense hadn't made it just yet because the two Greek words between the two stories
when the Magi get there they find a young child so it could have been a year and much
as a year later when they come to see Christ and to worship him but I do know this when
they did arrive they paid for the journey that was ahead because Joseph had been commanded
take that boy down into Egypt hallelujah.
I guarantee you though if they had already been there if they had already been by Joseph
would have purchased the lamb for the sacrifice instead of having to get the poor man's offering.
Come on somebody what are you saying?
Well you got three dollars and you give one that's what I'm talking about when you come
to church and it comes offering time I never did like to see the plate go by I've borrowed
dollars I've done everything from people beside me give me something to put in I didn't want
it to go by without putting something in but I assure you had the wise men already been
by the Magi been through and the gold had been presented he would have took the very
best offering that was required which was a lamb to be sacrificed but he give what he
had he give what was required of him but my god the journey that was ahead was provided
for by the Lord let me interject into you this morning because of the birth of the Christ
the price for the journey that is ahead for you has already been paid he's already lended
to you what you need is a resource to make your way to the end hallelujah.
He is the Christ the son of the living God and as we focus our celebration these next
few weeks upon his birth my mind will be looking beyond his birth and I shall see his return
in my imagination I'm looking for his return celebrating his coming celebrate his coming
on this earth celebrating his sacrifice the gift that he gave so that I may stand here
in free pardon of sin today grateful and thankful but I'm looking not at a manger but I'll close
my eyes and see glory in the eastern heavens I'll see that bright and shining and I'll
hear in my mind's voice that let the trumpeters trumpet oh amen let them play their songs
but as I close my eyes in 23 and look and celebrate toward Christmas with all that's
going on around us and the darkness that is shining about I already know according as
Isaiah prophesied that the light has shined upon us and you need to take hold of the light
more than any miracle of his doing more than any of the miracles of his providing the greatest
miracle for you and I is that God himself provided the sacrifice and the gift for you
and I and I am so thankful this morning that that gift has been given and gladly received
how many of you have gladly received that wonderful gift of reconciliation and redemption
through God's son Jesus Christ and I am so so glad that we have the opportunity now to
celebrate that wonderful giving I know the over commercialization of Christmas leaves
a bad taste in our mouth but you don't have to participate in it I encourage you to pray
and seek God what God would have you do this Christmas season what gifts he may have you
give may not be in the direction that you are so accustomed to giving he may actually
ask of you to go outside of your circumference as you and many of ours are already abundantly
blessed to bless those who are not is that not what he did you think about who the angelic
hosts saying to the lowest of society of their day the shepherds everybody looked down on
the shepherds but everybody needed the shepherd everyone looked down on the shepherds but
everybody had to have a lamb if they was going to church they had to have their sacrifice
the lowest of society of their day the nomadic shepherds they were on that hillside that
night it not just like the heart of the father he always had a heart for the shepherd he
found the king of Israel tending the flock he found little David didn't he he had a heart
for shepherds so it would be to them that he would make his announcement it wasn't to
the Pharisees it wasn't to the Sadducees it wasn't to the religious Levites of their
day wasn't the high priest it was the lowly on the hillside who no doubt were longing
for the coming of the Christ and then the heavens open go look rush in for unto you
this day is born and then suddenly there was a host who joined the angelic messenger proclaiming
peace on the earth and in fact the wording is I read it is on earth peace on earth peace
peace personified peace delivered peace given peace for humanity not that there wouldn't
be turmoil but that the soul could be at rest not that the world wouldn't be in turmoil
but that humanity in the world could find peace and rest and I think that's what we
need this 2023 Christmas season on the earth peace not that there's another ceasefire
demanded but that on this earth peace is once again proclaimed how so pastor as you go about
what is today the third 22 more days as you go about the routines of life for this season
make it a point to proclaim peace in people's lives what if they don't want it they'll let
you know but what if they do 40,000 feet in the air reading your Bible privately to be
questioned is that a Bible yes it is well what do you think about that you really want
to know you really want to know he heard 22 days to let the world know why we do what
we do 22 days to let them know why you'll wrap a light around a tree it's so that all
knows that he is the light of the world why would you put a star on top or an angel on
top of a tree so that I can tell you that his star was seen and that his message was
heard search the history of Christmas and you may not be near so critical Christ has
come Christ has come we can forsake all but not forsake him 2023 take an inner focus
as to why you do what you do candles in the window what's the deal with that look it up
you may be surprised the Bible says we're not supposed to put trees in our homes that
is not a totem pole know what is instructive it's about the Christ and the moment it becomes
about any of the other becomes idolatry what's a hard Christmas message pastor yes it is
draw our focus to the Christ that we are reminded every gift that you open may you see in your
mind's eye a blanket wrapped around the greatest gift every time you see it with a bow may
you know that he is the supreme of it all stay with me this morning I'm finished as
we look toward I'm looking forward to our candlelight communion service together on
that Christmas Eve morning I have been asked are you having church on Christmas Eve I said
that's like saying we're not going to have church on Easter Sunday as we'll come and
sit at the table to be reminded on that 24th morning we're going to worship with the hymns
of old glorify him and across this front will be tables with chairs for families well I'm
by myself no you're not look around you're not alone I don't have any other family here
well yes you do look are we not brothers and sisters in Christ find an empty seat and sit
with the family of God and we will commune at his table be reminded of his birth celebrate
his life and resurrection we give you all the glory just bow your heads in the house
this morning give you all the glory re-christen the Lord oh come us adore him oh come let
us adore him oh come let us adore him Christ Christ the Lord sing it again oh come let
us adore him oh come let us adore him oh come let us adore him Christ the Lord heavenly
father over our church family I pray blessings and as we approach the season and as the days
draw closer we celebrate the giving of your son the birth of our Savior the life that
he lived and gave for us may my focus be toward him these next days and on him alone thank
you Lord for your visitation this morning thank you for your presence I thank you for
each one under the sound of my voice and I pray father God you bless them watch over
Graham and Tabitha tomorrow as we're expecting the greatest gift we can have in this life
little Graham watch over and keep them we praise you and honor you in Christ's name
Amen and Amen.