December 10th, 2018
Transcription:
A couple of scriptures if you have your Bibles, let’s go to Isaiah chapter 9 and we’ll also jump into Isaiah chapter 60.
Okay, we’re actually going to start with chapter 60 and verse 1 and to arise Jerusalem let your light shine for all to see for the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. Now this just one verse is so loaded with just amazing things well what God thinks even of you arise for the glory of God it’s supposed to just shine on you. You are God’s child so then then later in verse 2 darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth – but the glory of the Lord Rises and appears over you. See God has a plan he has such an awesome awesome plan that when we feel all when we walk in the darkness he is equipping us to be the light in that darkness.
Now how many of you just woke up to things like man I feel like that like this light that I can bring change to the world around me and and just you know we often don’t think of ourselves like that but God wants you to be that light and just in a few moments we’re gonna talk about how this is all possible because it is!
and so this light what does it mean? what does Christmas mean?
Isaiah chapter 9 verse 2 it says this the people who walk in darkness will see a great light for those who live in the land of deep darkness a light will shine so even back then you know Isaiah is talking about and and we’re gonna talk about like what it what does it mean that he speak to the his time or that he prophesied something far you know ahead of his time and verse six also chapter nine for a child is born to us a son is given to us the government will rest on his shoulders and he will be called wonderful counsellor mighty God everlasting father Prince of Peace and so what is Christmas all about what does it mean if we can jump also – you don’t have to open that but but Ephesians chapter 5 Ephesians 5 verse 15 and in light of all that all those verses check this out this is what we read so be careful how you live so be careful how you live don’t live like fools but like those who are wise all of a sudden you see this so what is Christmas is all about what is it all about what does it mean well there’s a few things that I would want us to notice today because you see people look at their lives and it’s like you know it’s like over and over and over and over the same thing we go to sleep we wake up our days often look the same we work hard that our days would be a little bit different but when you fall into a routine your days might look identical just over and over and over and over so people ask themselves this question what does it all mean what is the purpose of my life see there’s so many symbols there’s there’s stories legends the music the part the poetry the colours of this season traditions and the gifts right I mean how many of you have started already this you know list of all those gifts and maybe I have just some of you because you have not I I don’t know but but look look all this stuff okay and then the bills that then come with this time okay are these all that Christmas is about like is that what Christmas is about that some max out their credit cards and just you know buy gifts that maybe just you know for people that have everything like I just I find it’s harder and harder and harder to if we put Christ aside to make Christmas special because because we we run to make it special with gifts with lights with atmosphere with music with all those things people are searching for meaning once you find people are searching for meaning so in spite of the secularism and which our lives just just are so embedded most people feel at Christmastime some just tugging of heart and they want to find meaning in all of it and you know if we are very very honest with ourselves you know that there are forces that are fighting against Christmas against what Christmas is all about okay and so too many children okay Santa Claus is more real okay the Santa Claus that comes and brings what they want like it’s just so real you know they believe in Santa Claus and and and and and he comes and he gives what I want and and he’s more real Santa Claus is more real to some of the kids that that baby that was born so long ago in the manger and so when when we look at this you know all this you know we get tired of shopping come on right like just okay some of you know it’s like I’m looking forward to shopping it’s like no but look so you shop shop shop shop shop and then you and then you are you know you you make so many trips and you know the problems of of you know organizing all this stuff and even now this okay if I can be very honest you know buying gifts at some reasonable cost but finding out what those gifts could be too like I said to a person that probably has everything right it’s it’s becoming just stress so so let’s let’s think about let’s ponder about this the real reason for this time now so the coming of God to to to people it’s all about healing and salvation so that baby that came so long ago he came to bring healing and salvation we talked about and we read about this you know people walking in darkness you know that it’s just it’s it’s very difficult to walk in darkness there’s confusion there is there is so much on you know we’re uncomfortable we’re tripping over things we don’t know where are we going we think where we’re going but we just don’t see we don’t know and so this baby that came he came to give direction gave give a healing give salvation and all this Christmas Christian drama over the hundreds of years has started with just that was that baby that came and so though all that it means is too much to just even talk about and just to explain we try so let’s talk about what we believe okay let’s talk about what has happened so Christmas first of all means that light shines in the darkness we read that light shines in the darkness now that darkness could be different things for you where you are any in your life you might feel you in the dark place it’s hard you dealing with some things there are difficult there are dark that no one can even comprehend no one can see and so God spoke through Isaiah long even before Christ was born and this is what he said that people that work that walked in darkness have seen a great light they that dwell in the land of a shadow of death and on them there was light that shined and then he says for unto us a child is born unto us a son is giving so light and darkness just think about it like in light and darkness are very important symbols in the Bible now when you read the Bible it often talks about how the light is associated with what close relationship with God darkness would be associated and would be a symbol of someone walking away from God living away from God and so Isaiah is talking about this this thing a child is born to to us so so was he prophesying about something so far away or was he talking about something that was happening to him at that time you know it could be and you know even theologians and and you know people that that study scholars differ on that they talk about how you know no no no I said I was talking about just this or others will say no no I say I was really foretelling and and and talking about the coming of Christ and but could it be possible that it was maybe even about both that both things were happening now prophecies sometimes have a double meaning and and maybe that’s what it was so when we read these words from Isaiah or hear them in Christmas carols right and this Christmas music okay we need to be able to exalt this gift that was given to us and that’s Jesus who came to again heal and save heal and save those two things to bring hope to this world that has been just waiting for for hope so just it’s amazing and wonderful how Isaiah’s story fits what happened in Bethlehem it just it fits like a glove what happened in Bethlehem and so suddenly when when you read Isaiah 8 and the last verse is covered with darkness and and then all of a sudden the light comes and it changes everything so Christmas comes to us every year check this out as a reminder that that light still shines in the darkness so today if you are going through a difficult time through whatever dark time or you know someone just be reminded hey this this Christmas time is that we would be reminded and remember that the light still shines in the darkness that there’s hope that there’s love there’s peace this is joy then this Advent time Advent season we have the truth we have something that we can bring an offer to other people God wants you to shine God wants your life to be filled with peace love joy what’s the fourth one now again Peace Love joy hope hope hope hope hope hope okay remember those things secondly Christmas means that God who’s coming we celebrate is available if we look for him if we seek him he is available every time you talk to someone or or maybe it’s even you who needs to know today that God is available he’s available if you if you look to him if you seek him he is going to allow you to find him the Bible says that God is with us God is with us Emmanuel God is with us have you heard this Christmas Carol and I bet you you have hark the herald angels sing and there’s this line in there it’s like Jesus our Emmanuel God with us it’s amazing it is absolutely amazing how we just people that make mistakes that often just you know mess up in our lives that we can have God who is with us who wants to be part of our lives so we need someone who can bring order to our just messy lives we need someone who will do that and history has enough illustrations and examples to to teach us to tell us that no human ruler dictator King can rule the hearts of the people he can win the hearts of some people he is not able to rule the hearts of all the people no matter how powerful how awesome how how how strong he is he’s not able to rule the heart of the people it has happened in the history that you know people have been deceived by but by some evil terrible men and they followed and they were blinded yes but no ruler in their history was able to control the hearts of people all people and Jesus does exactly that he comes and people might say man you know it’s just so weak he comes as a baby but that’s there’s so much strength in it there’s so much power in it Jesus comes and he touches your heart and he can rule your heart if you allow him he will change your heart if you will let him and so he came not under you know sonship of of men of people but he came under the of the father the father willed for that to happen and he came now through his early days he pointed when Jesus came he pointed the way for the people to go he was always about the father John 1 and verse 14 – as many as received him to them he gave the right to become the sons of God now here’s the thing if you are here and you still don’t know Jesus as your Lord and Saviour he’s giving you that right to be the child of God to be his child to surrender to him and his power in that and so Jesus’s life was this demonstration of of a God oriented life okay and and he makes this life available to us that’s what Jesus was all about and I say hey if Jesus was all about his father in heaven we should be as well just just that that you know if Jesus he was a hundred percent God one hundred percent man he was all about his father today you and your life we need to do the same me I need to be all about the father in heaven all about him I know it’s simple I know it’s but it’s sometimes it’s hard to do it to stick to that truth so for all who look into the face of Jesus and see that he is able to give you another chance now let me jump to the last one we talk about Christmas and Christmas means that we must look to this higher world before we see before we can look out to a better world around us now here’s here’s the truth how many of you have tried to change your world situations things II you know relationships workplace whatever whatever on your own have you tried that because I have many times and you know what every time I try to do it on my own I fail here’s the truth with Christmas before you will look at a better situation better surrounding around you the better world around you you have to look up you have to look up and you completely have to surrender to Jesus you have to surrender to God there’s this step 1 and step 2 if you want your life here on this earth to be better you got to look up you got to look to Jesus we need to give Him glory and he will sustain us he will give us hope he will give us love peace and joy he will and I know life is not fair I know that many times things happen that we just kind of we was rather that they would not happen we sustained losses we sustained some hurts and and things in their lives but I’m telling you with Jesus and you know that because you have experienced that as well that with Jesus all things are just kind of different and there’s this old saying and and and I’m believe it or not I’m gonna be done before you love in a clock whoo yeah joy see peace all of a sudden peace and hope you had hope and ah and now joy and love you’re gonna love me for that so please I it all comes together now now there’s this old saying okay there’s this old saying that we must put God at the center of our life or life will your life will be completely off center okay and and there’s so much it’s just it’s just so true we need to allow God to be in the center of our lives so then our lives would not be off-center if God is gonna be the very core of your life you will be rooted you will be grounded you will be you you’ll be strong and your everyday life it’s not gonna be ruled by you know the winds of situations and circumstances but it will be ruled by the very core that your life the very foundation that your life is built on and that is on God and so I’m gonna ask the band to come back okay and we’re gonna we’re gonna sing if you had to two Christmas carols right just one let’s do it again okay one twice there you go and so Christmas approaches and it comes for some of us it comes slowly for some is like well it’s not enough time it’s just it comes so fast but we need to be aware of this old old truth that we must first look up to God if we want our lives here around us to be better and so during this Christmas Carol I want us to look up I want us to understand have a greater understanding and I have not said anything that you did not know probably before but but here’s the thing we need to refocus our lives and and and refocus our our journey even through the month of December and focus it on Jesus focus it on that baby that was born not so you know it he’s powerful even though he came as a baby he came as a vulnerable baby he surrendered to this flesh that he took on but there was power and there was might in it so we as people we need to look so then our world will become different than better around us and again I want to quote Ephesians because it’s it’s all about you you know it’s it’s it’s all connected and so Paul is talking to the Ephesian Church and he’s saying live life then live life then with a do sense of responsibility how many of you you live your life with a do sense of responsibility or have we fallen into this kind of routine live life then with a do sense of responsibility not as men and women who do not know the meaning and purpose of life but as those who do as those who do know the meaning of life the meaning so what does it all mean like what is it what is it all about what’s about us coming back to Jesus us coming back to what really matters during this time and so I I want this message and this time to be an encouragement if you could stand I want us to just respond in your own way and and and and just will sing this Christmas Carol and then I would want us to spend the moment in prayer that God would be glorified that maybe maybe you need to refocus you need to look up and to know that Jesus is supposed to be at the center of your life and when he is then everything else around is gonna it’s gonna be okay it’s gonna be all right not even just all you’re gonna make it but you’re gonna thrive in your life because God has called you to be the light to be the light and to shine and to make a difference Oh Jerusalem let your light shine for all to see for the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth but the glory of the Lord rises and appears all over you