WHY CHRISTMAS? (The Reason For The Season)

"And the whole city was filled with confusion... some therefore cried one thing, and some another: for the assembly was confuse; and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together." Acts 19:32

The reason why we celebrate Christmas cannot come by explanation but by revelation. And until you have it, you can't be a true partaker of the benefits of the season. We had a warped idea of Christmas while growing up. We thought it was just about buying new clothes, receiving and giving of gifts, a time to eat and drink and be merry. But celebrating Christmas comes by revelation.

JESUS IS THE REASON FOR THE SEASON. He's the one who gave birth to the season. Jesus is the celebrant. He ought to be the center of attraction and ought to be given maximum attention. Over the years, we've turned Christmas into our show and day and not His.

Christmas time is a celebration of who Jesus is and not who He was.

"For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given... and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end..." Is.9:1-7. Jesus is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. We must know who the celebrant really is. Jesus was born a baby but He's no more a baby but a King.

"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every other name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow...And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord..." Phil.2:9-11

We are celebrating Jesus Christ our Lord, The Anointed One, The Master of the universe, The Master over life's situations and circumstances. WE are celebrating what He has done, what He is doing, what He can do and what He will do through us, in us and for us. He is the name that has been given to us fr victories. (See also Rom.8:31-39)

Christmas is actually the time for sober reflections than a time for merriment. You should be able to ask yourself these questions: Who is He? What is my relationship with Him? Where's the evidence of what He has done in my life? Do i really know Him? If you don't ask yourself these questions, it becomes just another day to you and it fizzles out. All you will do, is put on fine apparel, eat; but when you "catch" a revelation of the true meaning of Christmas, the celebration of it can start today and will continue all life long.

"...Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem... there came wise men from the east... and are come to worship him... they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh..." Matt.2:1-12

We are able to talk about how He was born because of how He ended. Jesus ended well; thus the reason for the season is a call to worship. As you are reminded of the birth of Jesus, you have to:

• Look for Him
• Find Him
• Worship Him
• And give Him a gift

Christmas is the time to worship God afresh; it is a time to encounter Him. Christmas time is also the time to offer Jesus gifts and the first and most precious gift one can offer Him, is the gift of winning souls. it is the season of showing someone the way of salvation. Luke 15:1-7, Prov.1:30

Besides also, the sweetness of the celebration is not in what you were able to put on (apparel) or what you were able to do, but it is actually in how many were able to benefit; how wide your arms went in putting a smile on the faces of people.

This season is an opportunity for good works. When you are reaching out to men, honouring those who deserve honour in your life and around you, you are stretching that hand of mercy. As you show that act of kindness, you are actually giving to Jesus, this makes Him happy and His power will break upon you afresh.

You can't celebrate Him and not have Him.

CORPORATE WORSHIP

Your serving God starts between you and Him (God), but it doesn’t end there. One, who claims to be genuinely serving the Lord and does not have a covenant family he/she is identified with, is not serving the true God. When a man truly encounters God, there will be a yearning in His heart to fellowship with his fellow brethren.

When Paul met with the risen Lord on his way to Damascus, he asked Him (Lord) who He was and the Lord told him. Paul then went further to ask what he must do and the Lord told him where he was to go and who to see. Thus, Paul’s encounter did not end with Him. (Acts 9:1-12)

Consequently, a genuine walk with the Lord can never end just between both of you.

Daily, we ought to be provoking, exhorting and encouraging ourselves to always come together. (Heb. 10:19-25). You become weakened and limited when you take our coming together for granted. If by the time you start feeling that coming to church and fellowshipping with the brethren is a struggle, better check it because something is wrong with your walk already.

The truth is, no one wants to identify with one who has no background-that is, one who has no root.

In corporate worship, your becoming a part of a house must be by the leading of the Spirit. It is the Lord that chooses where you are to worship. (Deut.12:1-14) This also extends to those who are living with you. (Members of your household) There will be various churches, but you must identify yours by His Spirit. Your walk with God must have root and also in a covenant family.

Also, there must be order. You must belong somewhere. You cannot be seen here today and there tomorrow. Locate where you are supposed to be and stay there. Don’t just belong to any church or become a freelance Christian. You must belong to a spiritual family where you are truly committed; this is your first and foremost evidence that you are committed to Him (God).

Examples Of Those Who Had An Understanding Of Fellowship With God

• David saw the benefit of serving God and thus exclaimed it in Ps. 84:10
• Jesus had the custom of fellowshipping. He went to church. We must willingly serve God and make it a lifestyle. (Lk.4:16, Mt.12:9, Mk.1:21)
• The disciples of Jesus were continually in the temple because they knew it was from there they were empowered to go and excel. (Lk.24:50-53) “So continuing daily with one one accord in the temple, and breaking of bread from house to house… Now Peter and John went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer…Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia… there was a synagogue of the Jews. Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the scriptures.” (Acts 2:46,3:1,17:1-2) The Apostles had a custom of fellowshipping with one another; they had time of going to the temple, going from house to house and praying together. What is your custom?

Benefits Of Corporate Worship

1. “He sent His word and healed, and delivered them from their destructions.” (Ps.107:20) The word in season is sent to a man who is where God has put him and at His appointed time, which He has chosen.
2. You are blessed and strengthened when you are involved in corporate worship. Ps.84:4,7.
3. When you are planted and rooted, you will keep flourishing. Ps.92:12-14
4. You will wield a high level of command and authority. Mt.18:19-20
5. Certain battles that cannot be fought and won alone are fought and won as a group. Acts 4:23, Dan.2:17.

"Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear" Hebrews 12:28

HOW TO FIND FULFILLMENT IN JESUS

There is this beautiful hymn we sometimes sing:

Trust and Obey

For there’s no other way

To be happy in Jesus

But to trust and Obey.

If you are not finding happiness (fulfillment) in Jesus, it has nothing to do with satan, neither does it have anything to do with the challenges you are facing, but it does have everything to do with “trust and obedience”, and until you come to that point where it finally dawns on you that you need to trust and obey God, fulfillment in life will elude you. That is, You will be unable to find fulfillment in Jesus.

As a believer, your real focus should be having fulfillment in Jesus and being fulfilled.   

• Beyond the desired result is fulfillment, which should be the ultimate or starting point.

• In between trust and obedience is knowledge. You cannot trust whom you do not know and you will not bother to inquire of who you do not trust; neither can you obey what you do not know.

• The evidence of true knowledge is this: for a person-trust, for the word-obedience. The answer to most of our prayers is instructions.

• There are some things you are doing that you have to stop doing and there some things you are not doing that you have to stop doing.

What is trust? A firm belief in, reliability, honesty, veracity, justice, strength etc of a person or thing.

To lean on, be confident of, to put one’s confidence in.

To hope (Nah.1:7). You cannot fake trusting God. When you trust Him, He becomes your stronghold. (Is.26:3)

If you truly trust God, you will obey Him, because your trust in God finds expression in your obeying Him.

What is obedience? Act or practice or quality submission to another’s rule. It also means compliance with law and command.

You can only find fulfillment in the life of obedience. That’s why the greatest sacrifice you can offer is obedience. Even your receiving from God is tied to keeping His commandments and doing what is pleasing in His sight. (1 John 3:22)

You must keep all of God’s commandments. When you go aside from each one, you go farther from blessing and fulfillment, but the reverse is the case when you are fulfilling them.

Some Examples Of Those In Scripture Who Trusted And Obeyed God: The Resultant Effect.

Noah: Genesis 6:22, 7:23. He trusted in what God said completely.

Abraham: Genesis 22:1-3, 12-17

Joshua: Josh. 11:15

God is committed to fulfilling His part of the covenant when you fulfill your own part. “And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he sware to give unto their fathers… and the Lord gave them rest roundabout… there failed not aught of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel; all came to pass.” (Josh. 21:43-45)

Obedience positions you to receive from God. It is a life of obedience that will bring you to a place of distinguishing; and when you comply with the laws of God, you are forbidding a life of struggles.

RELEVANCE OF DEVELOPMENT

The world around us is becoming complex and competitive such that your level of relevance and longevity will be a product of your growth, and development and how much you are armed with relevant information.

The price you pay for remaining where you are and maintaining the statusquo is too expensive.

In order to last in your chosen field and operation, you must develop because if you don’t, you would merely be existing with no relevance, and overtime, it goes to affect your system.

Besides, developing yourself may start with you but it must not end with you. No matter how much you develop, if you are not making effort to develop the key people around you, you will be swallowed up and will never walk straight but bent; for you cannot grow above the level to which the people you are walking/working with are developed and enlightened.

Jesus, our role model was relevant all round because He developed all round. There was no situation that saw Him handicapped or took Him unawares. He was fully informed and aware.

The early church was like that also. Their gathering was not just for mere gathering. Whatever they did had relevance and came to bear in their day to day life, in their environment and in their community.

Nevertheless, you must know the order.

3 John 2 says, “Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth.” It is an all round development, from the spirit, the soul and to the body. (See also 1 Thess. 5:23, 1 Tim.4:8)

In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul speaking, was also showing us the order there by making us to know that if bodily exercise profits a little, that means spiritual exercise  profits more. Do not just concentrate on the spiritual ignoring the bodily exercise. Paul was simply showing us the order and the priority.

HINDRANCES TO DEVELOPMENT

Environment- A lot of times, because of the environment we find ourselves, we adjust and allow it to influence the way we operate. You must look beyond your environment. Even God understood this when He told Abraham in Genesis 13:14, to “lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place thou art…” Besides, God may have even brought you into the land as an instrument for change. So you must maintain and upgrade your standard in spite of what happens there.

Background – Where and how we grew acts as a hindrance to our development.

Experiences – It could be someone else’s or yours.

Culture – Our beliefs and practices.

Company – Your Company (i.e. those you hang around with) is like your world, so you have to watch it.

WHAT DO I DO AND WHERE DO I START?

Be flexible – That is, be willing to learn and change. Be able to come to the point whereby you can say, “All I know is not all I need to know.” David never knew his being with the sheep would one day aid him in killing Goliath and ruling over God’s people.

Be open for correction, exposure and adventures.

Where are you? And what’s relevant to where you are now? And how is it relevant to where you are going?

YOU NEED THIS

“GETTING A PUSH”

Life can be compared to the game of football. That round leather only responds to ‘taps’ and ‘kicks’. When you stop tapping and kicking, it stops rolling. And of course, when it stops rolling, it can never reach the goal – the net.

Everybody needs someone to tap and kick him now and then. Without this, one may become complacent and unable to progress.

Experience teaches that those who provoke you end up promoting you.

To realize your destiny, put yourself under an environment that is highly provocative. Submit to someone who can trouble you out of your tranquil state.

COME YE THANKFUL PEOPLE, COME!

Join us at LOVE FAMILY CHURCH as we celebrate our thanks to God at our END OF YEAR THANKSGIVING SERVICE.

YOU ARE INVITED

Majesty, worship His Majesty.

Unto Jesus, may all glory, honour and praise.

Majesty, Kingdom authority,

Flows from His throne,unto His own,

His Anthem raise.

So exalt, lift up on high the name of Jesus.

Magnify, come glorify, Christ Jesus the King.

Majesty, worship His Majesty.

Jesus who died, now glorified,

King of all Kings...

Your worship will determine what flows from your life.

Your highest attainment comes through glorifying God who is worthy of all glory.

PUTTING THE NAME OF THE LORD TO WORK

Prov. 18:10 says “The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.” The strong tower is not a place but a name- the name of the Lord Jesus. The righteous will find safety from destruction, satanic harassment, safety from failure, reproach, setback and devastation only in the name of the Lord.

A name is an identity. When you call a person by name, you recall all there is to that person. When you talk about the name of the Lord, it implies authority, rank, character, power, majesty and excellence. For example, if you went to purchase a product, you immediately want to know what brand it is because the brand name determines the value you will place on it.

In these times of uncertainty, it is only in the name of the Lord you can find safety. But, how do you run into the name?

In Acts 4:31, the high priests recognized and understood the power in the name of Jesus that they “straitly threaten them and commanded them not to speak henceforth to no man in this name. And they called them and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus…” But the Apostles had a revelation of the name of Jesus when they responded by saying, “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12. See also Rom.10:13).

Salvation is more than just becoming born again. Salvation is a total complete package of deliverance all round. That is, deliverance in your home, business, marriage, finances etc. Consequently, you cannot gain deliverance, freedom and total liberty in any area satan has harassed or caged you in no other name but in the name of Jesus. Any prayer that is not stamped in the name of Jesus, were just words rehearsed.

The reward God the Father gave to Jesus for the work of redemption is that name. You run into the ‘strong tower’ by calling upon the name of Jesus, but the calling is with a heart of conviction and understanding that the name will work for you. Jesus becomes responsible when you call Him into any issue. It is only in the name of Jesus that everything about you can be kept and preserved.

In the Old Testament, the covenant people only enjoyed a glimpse of the dimensions of the Lord per time, but the beauty of the New Testament is that all the dimensions of God is packaged in one and handed to us in Jesus. Every knee, tongue, sicknesses will bow to the name of Jesus. Your circumstances/situations all have a name and they will bow to the name of Jesus.

The name of Jesus was given and it can be taken. We are co-partakers of all that Jesus inherited. We are joint heirs with Him. Jesus declared that all that the Father had given Him; He kept in His name. So whatever is lost now is due to the fact that you refused to keep it. John 17:12.

In order to keep all that God has given us, it must be kept in the name of the Lord. So begin to use the name of the Lord in every issue, matter and situation and watch the Lord go to work.