Merry Merry Christmas 2022 #2
Bah Humbug!
Bah Humbug on Christmas holiday stress, pressures, and obligations. Bah Humbug on Christmas consumerism and
retail sales and car commercials that lie about a new car making you happy.
Whatever drains you of the good news of great joy, bah humbug it. Whatever exhausts you or frustrates you, bah
humbug it. Whatever makes it difficult to celebrate, bah humbug it. This Christmas let’s have fun. This Christmas
let’s celebrate.
Luke 2:10-11 & 13-14 (NIV)
I bring you good news of great joy that will
be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to
you; he is Christ the Lord. … 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."
Christmas is a celebration of the great and
joyful event of a savior being born. Christ
the Lord is Yeshua ben Josef, whom we know is Jesus of Nazareth. It's time to
commemorate and celebrate, let's lighten up and have fun this Christmas. Time
to be merry. We have reason to stop focusing on the negatives and anew, grab a
hold of the blessings. This is why: The
prophet Isaiah foretells the destiny of this babe born in Bethlehem.
Isaiah 61:1-3 (NIV)
The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,
because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent
me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and
release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's
favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, and
provide for those who grieve in Zion-- to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of
praise instead of a spirit of despair.
Today we are going to open up this reason to
celebrate this birthday. Let the truth,
and the hope sink in a dispel your worry, your concerns, your frustrations, and
fears. Christmas is a celebration of
“fear not.” Consider what the prophet foretold.
“The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me…”
The Sovereign Lord is the Creator of all good
things, we say God, and God is good all the time. The God Spirit, we say Holy
Spirit, and once He the Holy Spirit is inhabiting you, identifies you with God,
empowering you to be and to do the will of God.
We know that the will of God is to love one another. We see in Jesus the self-sacrificial love
that saves us from the messes of our life.
To be saved is to be acquitted of crimes we
have committed. It is to be given a second chance to get things right. It is to
be at peace with God, with others, and with yourself. It is to know that you
are a part of everything eventually made right.
“…because the Lord has anointed me…”
To be anointed by God is to be singled out
for special purposes and empowered to carry out those purposes. This savior has
been set apart for the tasks the prophet has written.
In turn, when you asked Jesus to save you,
you were endowed with certain gifts to be used to love the people in your world
(1 Corinthians 12:7). Disciples have an
anointing. Don’t miss the opportunities
that God has blessed you for (Ephesians 2:10). There is joy in knowing that your life is
being used to bring about good. Giving
of yourself is part of your celebration.
“…to preach good news to the poor…”
The spiritually poor, are those with an
estranged relationship with God, the ramifications of which deter, damage, and
destroy right relationships with others, with our self and with the material
resources of the Earth. The good news is that there is reconciliation. In
getting right with God, you are empowered to get right with others, yourself, and
the earth, transforming messes into masterpieces.
The materially poor, are those who lack the
material goods of this world. Poverty is
a symptom of a broken economic system.
The good news is that Jesus came to replace that system so that every
need would be met. It is the poor that are invited to the banquet of God (Luke
14:13 & 21). We see this in the very
first congregation:
Acts 2:44-45 (MSG)
And all the believers lived in a wonderful
harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled
their resources so that each person's need was met.
Somewhere along our way, the “WE” was
forgotten, and the “ME” took its place.
“The poor need Jesus. The poor also need jobs and food. The poor need
healthcare and dignity. The poor need education and hope. All these things
rightly come in the kingdom of God.” (Good News for the Poor (Luke 4:18): Bible
Commentary for the New Baptist Covenant - Good Faith Media) If
the Church brings it.
No more economic poverty, no more spiritual
poverty. This is where the Savior is
leading us. Knowing that God will
squeeze every ounce of good from the circumstances of our lives (Romans 8:28)
and that every need will be met (Philippians 4:19) puts a smile on our faces.
Christmas is set aside to celebrate this truth.
“He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted…”
A broken heart is suffering with grief and
sorrow. When my heart broke, I felt that
there was nothing left for me in this world.
I didn’t know what to do next, havoc and chaos burst into my world
pillaging my heart. I know depression, I
know anger, I know loneliness, I know losing the ability to connect with
people, to read people, I know being blinded by grief, and I know what it is to
lose that which is most precious to you and that at the worst possible time.
Now I choose to celebrate the birth of a savior because Jesus came and healed
my broken heart. If He did that for me,
He will do it for you.
“…to proclaim freedom for the captives…”
“A captive is carried off or lead away
against their will.” (03-12-06-Year of Jubilee-Releasing the
Prisoners - Faithlife Sermons
) Like a kidnapping. In the Creation story, humanity is given dominion over the
world. Humanity’s rebellion allowed Azazel
[ah zaa zel] and the rest of the Fallen Angels to corrupt creation (The Book of
Enoch 10:8). So, we read “the whole
world is under the control of the evil one” (1 John 5:19 (NIV); “the god of
this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers” (2 Cor 4:4 (NIV). Wherever there is a mess in the world, in
your life, in your heart, you will be able to trace it back to sin. Jesus said,
“everyone who sins is a slave to sin” (John 8:34 (NIV). The Bible proclaims that “all have sinned and
fallen short” (Romans 3:23) and that “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
We get a sneak peek at this payday in the messes of our lives. The good news is that the birth of this
Christ will eventually lead to the opportunity to be set free from sin, and sin’s
biggest reveal, death (Psalm 107:13).
“…if the Son sets you free, you will be free
indeed” (John 8:36 (NIV). Free, to be
set free is a glorious thing. Being free to become everything you were created
to be is a huge blessing and blessings make you smile. The’s reason to celebrate.
“…and release from darkness for the
prisoners…”
The difference between a captive and a
prisoner is that the prisoner is bound.
They are tied up, with shackles on their hands and feet, chained to the
wall. Our habits, attachments, and addictions can make us prisoners, sin is
still the root cause. Doing what we
want, when we want, regardless of the consequences has led people into dark
places where they cannot see the light, nor can they get themselves out. Some prisons we did not make but we are thrust
into by those who sin against us. There
seems to be no way out, no escape. But
there is one who can release the prisoner.
We celebrate the birth of the One who will become a chain breaker. Jesus
can take what is out of control and give you control, in control you can unlock
your prison and live liberated. You defeat all your oppressors. All because a
savior has been born. Have you asked Him to be your savior?
“…to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor…”
The year of the Lord’s favor is known as the
Jubilee. The Jubilee is a time of “liberty,
restoration, release, rest, and thanksgiving” (03-12-06-Year of Jubilee-Releasing the
Prisoners - Faithlife Sermons
)
Leviticus 25:1-13 informs us that the
Jubilee is a time of restoration, of releasing people from their debts, of releasing
all slaves, and of returning property to whoever owned it. It is a time of setting things back to the
way they are supposed to be. This Jubilee is found in the Kingdom of God in
which all things are being renewed and brought into line with the will of the
Creator. The proclamation is also an
invitation to enter the Kingdom, to be reconciled to God, and to be made right
yourself.
The way one enters the Kingdom is by faith
in what this Savior accomplishes. When
we acknowledge the messes in our lives have left us wanting. When we believe the good news that we can be
rescued from those messes. When we commit to being a disciple of Jesus, to live
for Him by allowing Him to live through us.
Then asking to be allowed entrance into the Kingdom, we find ourselves
enveloped in a process of transformation making us fit citizens of the Kingdom
of God. Have you knocked on the door of
the gospel and asked to be let in? Doing
so can turn your holidays into holy days.
“…and the day of vengeance of our God…”
The day of vengeance in scripture is also
called the Day of the Lord. We get a
picture of the wrath of God being poured out upon those who reject the good
news of the Gospel, those who refuse the savior born on Christmas. What a weird
idea, Jesus revealed that God is love, but the day of vengeance doesn’t sound
like what a loving God would do.
In Luke 4, Jesus is quoting this very
scripture but stops reading Isaiah after the day of the Lord’s favor. Why not finish the text? One possible answer is that Jesus was not going
to bring vengeance but rather reconciliation and this day of the Lord’s
judgment would happen after Jesus completed His task as savior. “Don’t worry disciple God is going to stick
it to them that deserve it.” Could it be instead, that God’s vengeance upon
sinful humanity happened on the Cross?
The Apostle Paul wrote about the
ramifications of Jesus' sacrifice.
2 Corinthians 5:18-19 & 21 (MSG)
All this comes from the God who settled the
relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships
with each other. God put the world square with himself through the Messiah,
giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins. … God put the
wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.
The kingdom is open for all who seek it
first, seek it will full intent, seek Him who rules this Kingdom. But for those who do not:
2 Thessalonians 1:8-9 (MSG)
Those who refuse to know God and refuse to
obey the Message will pay for what they've done. Eternal exile from the
presence of the Master and his splendid power is their sentence.
This sounds like a self-imposed judgment
(John 5:22-29). This sounds like the consequences of a really bad choice. God
doesn’t stick it to you, you stick it to yourself when you refuse God’s gift of
reconciliation (John 3:17). The good news is a Savior, who can save you from
this vengeance, has been born. That is reason enough to celebrate.
“…to comfort all who mourn…”
Those that mourn for the mess the world is
in, this Savior will comfort. Those who are grieved by their sins,
estrangement, egoism, and actual transgressions; those who are pained by the
rampant iniquity of others, the rape of the planet, disunity, inhumanity,
disease, and death; those who are saddened by the unrighteousness in the
Church, these will find comfort as they take these wounds to the Lord (2
Corinthians 7:11).
When I think of comfort, I think of arms
embracing me when I am distraught. I
think of words of encouragement when I am at my wit's end. I think of the helping hand when I am falling. That comfort is there for you every time you
need it. Comfort brings a sigh of relief
and the knowledge that everything will be alright. That’s the confidence that
you can have in Jesus.
“…and provide for those who grieve in Zion--
to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness
instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.”
We can now understand Zion as the Church,
the called-out ones, the people who have activated God’s invitation of
salvation. Ashes, mourning, and despair
are all being transformed into beauty, gladness, and praise. This is happening right now in the lives of
those who acknowledge, believe, commit, and have been accepted. One day this transformation will be complete.
Put a smile on your face, and celebrate this truth. For us, a savior has been born.
Isaiah 61:10 (NIV)
I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul
rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and
arrayed me in a robe of righteousness…
See it, you wearing salvation. Then let’s celebrate.
Comments
Post a Comment