Advent celebrates the arrival of Jesus into the world and all he that brings us!
This is week 5, which is all about Jesus.
If you have been listening this month, we have talked about Hope, Peace, Joy, Love and now today we talk about Jesus Christ. This is the traditional Advent progression and I wanted to share it briefly with you in the hopes that you would be encouraged to celebrate not just this season, but the whole reason for the Christmas season - Jesus Christ.
HOPE
Without Christ there is no hope
We are constantly waiting for something. Through Christ we have patience and hope to wait for God to provide. Hope allows us to finish the marathon, to run and win the race.
Advent is all about hope. For hundreds of years people waited for the savior and NOW he has arrived! We have Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit available to us.
And we continue to wait for Jesus’ triumphant return to make all things right.
We have hope for today because Christ is with us.
We have hope for tomorrow because Christ will not leave us.
We have hope for the future because Jesus is coming to rule forever.
Christ in you is the hope of glory! - Colossians 1:27
PEACE
Jesus is the Prince of Peace.
Without Jesus there can be no peace.
This world tries to remove all the things they think cause war like government and structures and religion and God. But without God, there is no possibility of peace.
Jesus brings peace with God.…
And peace with ourselves…
and peace with others…
and peace with the world.
One day there will be no more wars and no more fighting and even no more tears. Revelation 21:4
Until that day, we have peace beyond understanding through the power of the Holy Spirit of God.
We have peace with God through Jesus’ sacrifice.
And we can have peace with our neighbor, as far as it depends on us, through the forgiveness Jesus brings.
Without Jesus, there cannot be lasting peace on earth.
“Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.’” (Luke 2:13-14)
JOY
Jesus brings the joy of salvation.
“After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.” (Matthew 2:9-10)
The angels announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds.
Good news of great joy!
The shepherds went to see Jesus and were filled with joy.
After they met Jesus, the shepherds ran to everyone who would listen and told them of the joy of salvation that had arrived through the birth of Jesus.
We often confuse Joy with happiness.
They are not the same.
Joy is deeper, stronger, longer.
Happiness is temporary and connected to your circumstances.
Once the season ends, your happiness disappears as well.
The deep abiding Joy that comes from Jesus may even be present in terrible sadness and suffering. For some, Christmas is not a happy time because of broken relationships or terrible circumstances.
But Jesus offers Joy in the knowledge that God is with you and will never leave you and loves you.
LOVE
God is Love and love comes from God.
"O Holy Night"
Truly He taught us to love one another; His law is love and His gospel is peace.
If you want to know how to love one another, look at the love that sent Jesus to earth to live a life of love and pay the price for all of our sins. It's all about love. This is a love that says, "I am willing to love you no matter what."
That is the beauty of Christmas!
God showed himself to us in a way we could understand.
He sent his son, Jesus in human form, so we could see how God would act on this earth.
We don't have to guess at what God is like.
We don't have to wonder what would Jesus do. We can actually know.
We can read all about the life of Jesus and then the letters from those that actually knew and lived and walked with Jesus… All recorded in the New Testament.
The greatest gift ever given at Christmas was the gift of God’s own Son. God gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him would not perish but have eternal life. Jesus did not merely come into the world. He was sent into the world. God the Father sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
I heard this great illustration that I think helps us understand how the world relates to Jesus and how WE should respond to Jesus:
I really enjoy a good fire.
There’s something about a fire in the fireplace that is so wonderful, especially around Christmas time. There are so many things to love about a fire in the fireplace. The light, the warmth, the scent, the sounds of the crackling wood – these all combine to make it such a beautiful experience. But you can’t have all those things without the fire. The things we love about the fire come from the fire, and the fire is at the center of it all.
It’s the same with Christ at Christmas. We want hope, peace, joy and love, but some people seem to want them without Jesus. It’s like wanting the experience of the fire in the fireplace without the fire. It doesn’t work that way. Just as the fire is central to all the good things about the fire, so Christ is central to Christmas. Hope, peace, joy and love come from him. He is the center, and we only enjoy the blessings of life because of him.
So, as you ponder this Christmas season, I pray you remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas.
The shepherds were told by the angels about Jesus birth.
They were regular people like you and me. And God included them in his plan, just like you and me.
Luke 2
8 And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. 9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. 10 But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people.
11 Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. 12 This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
14 “Glory to God in the highest heaven,
and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”
15 When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
16 So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. 17 When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, 18 and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.
When they had seen Jesus, they went and told everyone about the Messiah who had come to earth.
"Come and worship Christ the newborn King."
I hope you feel the joy of Christ this Christmas and that you don't keep it to yourself, but you tell this good news to all who will hear!
Merry Christmas and Keep the Faith!!
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