So the morning has finally arrived for which there has been so much preparation. This is Christmas morning. The morning that is heralded to celebrate the birth of the Savior of the world. The morning that the entire world looks forward with great anticipation to waking and smelling the aroma that remained from the oven. The morning the families look forward to opening gifts and repeating the familiar phrase ‘merry Christmas. But consider for a moment what the mood in every family was in the days of yore as they looked forward to welcoming the Messiah. After all, they had all long waited for the coming of Him who was long promised according to Isaiah 9:6 “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 Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace”. One can only imagine the level of anticipation that resonated on every mind and in every family. Every pregnant woman wished that she was the one who would bear the Messiah. There was no celebration with baking and spending unnecessary money but deep spiritual conviction of heart as the message of hope for the coming King resonated in every breast. I could imagine how on that night the Shepherds looked for the sign; that Star, which to them would herald the birth of the Saviour. Matthew 2:7-12 puts it this way “7Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared. 8Then he told them, “Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child. And when you find him, come back and tell me so that I can go and worship him, too!” 9After this interview the wise men went their way. And the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem. It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was. 10When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 12When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route, for God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod”. Sadly, as the years have passed we look forward to visits from friends and families and the Saviour is left outside the precincts of our homes. We look forward to eating, drinking and being merry with no inclination that the One whom we celebrate frowns upon all manner of inebriation. We look forward to spending so much of our hard-earned money to purchase that which will be the catalyst for all levels of intoxication because the emphasis is one celebrating and having fun at the expense of doing sober reflection as to what Christ means to me as an individual. Sadly, for many the celebration of the coming of the Messiah has nothing to do with the purpose of His coming. My message to us today is simple; He is coming again. This time He will not be a babe in a manger nor will there be a star that will herald His birth. But this time He will be ascending the clouds as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. There will be no time to put things away for He will come unannounced. That is the reason why He has given us now where we could prepare by taking heed to His Word. God has done and is doing everything possible to save us but if we forget the purpose of His coming then we will reap the rewards of our behavior. Amos 4:11-13 is a gentle reminder “11I overthrew you, as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze; Yet you have not returned to Me, declares the LORD. 12Therefore thus I will do to you, O Israel; Because I will do this to you, Prepare to meet your God, O Israel. 13For behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind And declares to man what are His thoughts, He who makes dawn into darkness And treads on the high places of the earth, The LORD God of hosts is His name”. Thank God that the Babe in the Manger has long grown, lived on this earth, died to redeem us, rose triumphantly from the grave and is now seated on the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. Please friends, do not forget the Saviour who came to save you and me.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Dec 2014 10:54:57 +0000
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