We cannot have a merry Christmas or a happy new year when we have become slaves to the passions and vices that hound us. These things—materialism, money, artificial pleasure—are crowding Christ out of Christmas for multitudes. They are so busy with a thousand and one other things that they have no time to consider the message of the Baby of Bethlehem.
On that first Christmas, 2,000 years ago, the world experienced three phenomena:
First, The Star:
Many stars shone in the sky, but none like this one. This one shone with aura and brilliance! It was as though God had taken a lamp from the ceiling of Heaven and hung it in the dark sky over a troubled world.
Second, A New Song in the Air:
A world that had lost its song learned to sing again. With the coming of God in the flesh, hope sprang up in the hearts of people. Led by angelic beings, we can now take up the refrain, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14).
And Third, Good News:
...the Good News that at last a Savior had come to save men and women from sin: “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Jesus was the central theme of that first Christmas. The star, the song, the gifts, the kneeling, the joy, the hope, the excitement—all were because of Him.
God’s star promised peace to the world if we will believe and trust Him. But having rejected Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, we have no peace in the world. Too often our synthetic stars bring only fear, anxiety and war.
11/05/2010
In our world today are self-proclaimed saviors, people who claim to be God’s gift to the world. How different they are from Him who “was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
The Scriptures say, “There is born to you this day … a Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:11). Heaven and Earth joined together! God and mankind reconciled. Hope for the hopeless, pardon for the guilty, forgiveness for the conscience-stricken, peace for those who knew no peace, Good News for those who have had nothing but bad news!
Yes, Jesus Christ can save us from despair. I have talked with many leaders, and one thing that most of them have in common is pessimism. The tensions, conflicts and seemingly insoluble problems of this world tend to make them cynical and doubtful.
We should blame ourselves for the troubles of the world. We have a spiritual disease, and that disease is called sin. Until sin is conquered, the world will not be a better place in which to live.
When people willfully reject the Prince of Peace, they pay a terrible price. A secular and materialistic society that has rejected the Prince of Peace yields to pessimism and despair. The blighting cynicism that has come as a result of our rejection of God is reflected in our literature, our art, our films, our television programs and even our pulpits.
12/05/2010
This is what the cross and the resurrection are all about. And Christmas is not Christmas without the message of the death and resurrection of Christ. This is why He was born. This was the message of the first Christmas night: “You shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
The Christmas message says that God’s grace is greater than our sin. It says that the sin question was answered at the cross. Christmas says that the cross went as deep as our needs. The cross was the cure, offered, paid for and administered by a loving God in His beloved Son.
I never come to Christmas without thinking of the thousands of people who are lonely, diseased and troubled at this time of year. Christmas is a reminder from God Himself that we are not alone. The Prophet Isaiah said that His name would be called Immanuel, which means God with us (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23). God revealed in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus a reconciling love that rescues us from separation and loneliness.
At this Christmas season, in spite of all the pessimism and cynicism, in spite of all the headlines about murders, assassinations, riots, demonstrations and war, Jesus Christ is alive. He is alive to conquer despair, to impart hope, to forgive sins and to take away our loneliness. He is alive to reconcile us to God.
This Christmas, accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Give Him the gift that He wants—your heart, your soul, your life.
13/05/2010
But when we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we renounce our dependence on ourselves and our own strength, and we yield ourselves to His control. As we commit our lives to the Lordship of Jesus Christ each day, the Spirit of God fills us and empowers us for the work God has for us.
The Spirit-filled life is the normal Christian life. It enables the evangelist to speak the Word of God with boldness. When the early Christians received threats that might have diminished their boldness, they had special prayer for a fresh in-filling. God granted their request and, once again, they “spoke the word of God with boldness” (Acts 4:31).
My wife, Ruth, often reminded me that I should always preach from an “overflow.” I know what she meant. To be so filled with Scripture and so filled with the Holy Spirit that day or night I can give a reason for the hope that is within me, or give a Bible exposition, or give an evangelistic sermon (John 7:38-39, 1 Peter 3:15).
This Spirit-filled life was not an option for the early church; neither is it an extra for today. It is essential. The Holy Spirit’s ministry is an indispensable requirement to enable people to be “born of the Spirit.”
There is another reason for us to know the fullness and control of the Holy Spirit. We will encounter supernatural opposition. Beyond human opposition to our work, we can expect spiritual forces of evil (Ephesians 6:12). The “prince of the power of the air … now works in the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2).
14/05/2010
That’s why we cannot convert anyone. We cannot match the power of Satan, but we do have authority over him when we call on the power of God’s indwelling Spirit. The supernatural opposition we face is also one reason why one of the most important aspects of evangelism is prayer.
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul clearly indicated that the evangelistic ministry is a fight, not a frolic. And he realized the need of supportive prayer by God’s people. Paul sought intercessors, prayer partners, among the Ephesian Christians who would pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. “Praying … for me,” he continued, “that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel”
(Ephesians 6:18-19).
The apostles certainly understood the Holy Spirit to be the Third Person of the Godhead—not an ethereal influence but a Person, who is an essential part of evangelism. Their evangelistic task would have been impossible without His indwelling and control.
Finally, the servant of God knows when he is not spiritually prepared to proclaim the Gospel because he has grieved the Holy Spirit by committing sin (Ephesians 4:30). Maybe bitterness has crept into his life, or envy of Christians who seem to have greater blessing. It could be jealousy concerning another evangelist who appears to be more successful. Or anger. Or unkindness. His prayer life may have suffered and his Bible reading may have been neglected.
15/05/2010
Even when that which is wrong is confessed and forgiven and cleansed (1 John 1:9), we may be called to walk by faith, not by feeling, as we minister. Some of our most effective service may be accomplished without a consciousness of having been successful and effective. God rewards the faith we place in the power of the Spirit to use Scripture and to bless the witness of even the weakest vessel. His Word will not return empty but will accomplish that which He desires and achieve the purpose for which He sends it (Isaiah 55:11).
Constantly, and in all humility, we need to remind ourselves that “unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (Psalm 127:1).
Is your life controlled by the Spirit of God? Or has some sin crept into your life and clogged the channels of His blessing? Turn to Christ for cleansing, and yield your life without reserve to His Lordship. Then in constant dependence upon the Holy Spirit, let Him use you for His glory to touch other lives for Christ.
The End.
Billy Graham:
Billy Graham has preached the Gospel to more people in live audiences than anyone else in history—over 215 million people in more than 185 countries and territories. Hundreds of millions more have been reached through the various ministries of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.
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