Achievers' FAITH Digest

About Becoming Whom & What You Believe

CHRISTMAS 2008 EDITION

By Leave a Comment

This Christmas!

‘Celebrating Christ’s Birth – Commemorating God’s Love’

Matt 1:16-25 ‘’And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ . . . Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost . . . And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins . . . Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us . . . And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS’’

Romans 5:8 ‘‘But God commendeth his LOVE toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us’’

Hallelujah! Praise God!! It’s Christmas again!!! I bring you kingdom greetings in the precious name of our saviour and Lord Jesus Christ in whom we live, we move and we have our being. Amen! It beholds God in His grace to call you His people in which am empowered in this commission of the Gospel to pray and trust that you will find the good will to celebrate Christ and commemorate the love that the season brings – This Christmas!

Christmas 2008 Edition

Thanks to God for Christmas, for the smiles it brings on peoples faces during this season. Looking through the happenings in the world today – a time of mans ‘great’ invention and discovery, economic empowering of man – has given us neither peace nor harmony but trauma in all human phases of existence. Today, killings and wars go on our streets, uncertainties in our nations, our world with political and economic instability, family breakdown, relational unfaithfulness, generational decadence, business and career setbacks etc. just to name a few. All this being is in pursuit of answers to human problems. Our world cries with great thirst and hunger, seeking for who will quench her yearnings, desires and aspirations. This is the reason that Christmas – a yearly celebrating of the birth of Christ – is vital to all mankind irrespective of religious beliefs, race or generation.

Christmas may be sectioned in this wise: ‘CHRIST’ – meaning the anointed One, the Messiah, the Saviour. MAS from ‘MASS’ – is the yearly Celebration of the birth of Christ with a grace or benediction of the triune God. 2Cor.13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. Amen”

The Christ – Humanity

1 John 4:1-3 ‘’Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world’’

John 1:14 ‘’And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth’’

1 John 5:7-12 ‘’ For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one. If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life: and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life’’

1Timothy 3:16 ‘’And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory’’

As I skip through the various news channels on TV, radio stations, make and receive phone calls, go through the world wide web, drive though the streets in town – the jingling one hears is of the Christmas news and events. People of all nations are buying, selling, making or marking an event to make this Christmas worth celebrating.

However there are other opinions about Christmas, Some say that it’s a heathen day, a pagan holiday indicating that December 25th is not the day on which Christ was born but in October, however with no date to it. According to some it is for pagans and satan due to the glamorous events and activities that are now associated to this date. Just because the enemy perverts and distorts the meaning and essence of the celebrating of Christmas, does not mean that we should let go of that which we believe is of God.

For me and every supposed spirit born child of God, what is vital in the whole scenario of indifference is that Christ was born in the flesh – humanity. The scripture in 1 John 4:1 –3 and 1 John 5:7-12 says that any person or people who do not acclaim that Christ was born in the flesh are the antichrist. Christ means the Messiah, the Saviour, the anointed one while ‘anti’ means to be against. This indicates that such a person does not believe in Christ’s virgin and humanity birth and as such becomes an enemy of JEHOVAH God. It’s also proof that such a person or group of persons have undermined the record and prophesy spoken of God in time prior to Christ’s birth as in the holy write. Such an individual or group, the Holy Scripture calls a fool. (Psalms 14:1; Isaiah 53:1)

Celebrating – The Birth Of Christ

Isaiah 7:14 ‘’Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel‘’ (Matthew 1:23)

Micah 5:2 ‘’But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. (Matt 2:6)

Gen. 49:10 ‘’The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be’’

To celebrate means to observe in a special way, to praise honour solemnise, worship and to make merriments of great joy.

Celebrating the birth of Christ is the most awesome event any creation of God should count a privilege to partake in – not only in this season of life but a daily experience. When you come to know the significance of His birth and what it has brought to you as an individual you will desire to have Him born in your heart and not just in the world. You will be compelled to seek after Him, to worship, honour and celebrate him like the three wise men from the east according to the scriptures – Matt 2:1–12; Luke 2:1-20.

Let us celebrate him for he is born indeed; He is indeed born in our hearts and in our being. His birth is the rebirth of:

  • Peace and goodwill toward men
  • Hope for men.
  • Beauty for ashes
  • Oil of joy for mourning
  • Garments of praise for the spirit of heaviness
  • A better covenant for men
  • God’s forgiveness and righteousness for all mankind
  • The true and genuine love
  • Faith for the spirit of fear
  • A new spirit and mindset of the kingdom of God and of the heaven
  • A new identity with our creator God
  • True knowledge, understanding and wisdom of our God
  • True service and worship of God
  • A majestic and awesome generation
  • . . . and many more

The Cause of Christ’s Birth

John 18:37 ‘’Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this CAUSE came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice’’

1John 3:8 ‘’He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this PURPOSE the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil’’

John 3:16 ‘‘For God so loved the world, that he GAVE his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life’’

In Christmas season, people make that special journey to see their loved ones – friends and family. Some change their residential environment, move or buy a property, change a wardrobe, furniture, house curtains, and electronics and with some theirs is to make some outstanding decorations and paintings. Some might have gone to buy their first car or change for another, while some move to new cities or towns; others are making the best of a special tantalising meal after a long time. Promises and relationships are established or re-established with special love tokens; some are entering for the first time or relocating back to the Church after some absence and many, many other doings.

Only the heavens can explain or quantify to what extent money has exchanged hands and travels to meet the human demands. The groceries store and manufacturers have to put extra effort to meet the targets of human needs and wants which invariably had taken roots of mans heart during this season. Unfortunately some may not have the economic power in terms of finance, yet they will do anything to see their wishes come to reality.

And as important as these cravings or uncontrollable desires are to meet some self set standards, they are incomparable with the true reason for the season – The CAUSE for which Christ came or was born into the world. Christ was born for these causes:

  • To save us from our sin (Matt. 1:21; Rom. 5:1-2; Acts 3:26; 4:12; 1 Tim. 1:15; 2:5; Isaiah 53:5-10)
  • To give us eternal life (John 17:3; John 3:16; 1 John 5:11-12)
  • To restore us to God’s kind of love (Rom. 5:8; John. 3:16-17; John 15:13)
  • To restore us to God’s kind of peace (Eph. 2:14, John 14:27; Phil. 4:7)
  • To destroy the works of satan against our life (Acts 10:38; 1John 3:8-9)
  • To restore us to an abundant (overflowing) life (John 10:10; Jere. 29:11)
  • To reconcile us back to God (2Cor. 5:17-21; Eph. 2:1-22)
  • To give us true freedom and deliverance (Like 1:68-71; 4:18-19; Heb. 2:14-15; Col. 1:13-14)
  • To redeem us from the curse and effect of the law and the fall of man (Gal.3:13-14; Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14; Rev. 5:9-10)
  • To restore us to a place of healing and health (Matt. 8:16-17; 3John 2; Isaiah 53:4-5; 1 Pet. 2:24)
  • To give us a true spirit of knowledge and understanding to life (John 17:3; 1John 5:18-20)
  • To prosper us (3John 2; 2 Cor. 8:9; Matt. 6:33; John 10:10; Josh. 1:8)
  • . . . and many much more

Commemorating Love

Rom. 5:8 ‘’But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us’’

John 1:18 ‘’No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.’’

1 John 4:7-11 ‘’Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another’’

To commemorate is an act of honour and to keep alive the memory of the love of God towards us because of what Jesus has done. This Christmas – the annual or yearly celebration of the birth of Christ can only be relevant and with virtue if God’s kind of love becomes our centre pace of life. In other words our celebration should not centre only on the food, wine and merriment. The main core heart-of-God why we celebrate Christ is to commemorate God’s LOVE that He has abundantly showered to the world. It is for this Love drive that Christ came into the world.

If there be any meaningful reason to celebrate, we must take out time from our comfort zone to demonstrate this great love for which we’ve been received and accepted in the beloved of God. When we lift the banners of this love in a genuine heart, we will end the bitterness of life without struggle, it will stop wars and killings on our streets, it will comfort the bereaved and strengthen the Orphans; it will end many hunger and thirst in our neighbourhood and in the world today. It will give clothing and shelter to the less-have or helpless; it will save the lives of children betrayed by their parents; It will stop the marital and relationship breakdowns and decadence. It will silence the terrorist and expose their hidings, networks and evil in our societies. It will silence the enemy of our generation. Gossip, betrayal, kidnappings and others will die a natural death. Love is the only spiritual silence that can keep our enemy at bay while we advance the Gospel of the Lord in our various activities of life.

Jesus was born with love, for love and he died for love. God is love and all who indeed celebrate His son – Lord Jesus Christ – must celebrate Him with a large heart of a true and genuine Love as also in the following scriptures. 1 John 4:6-21 and 5:1-12.

Finally: The Mass – The Benediction

2 Corinth.13:14 ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen’

However, as wonderful as Christmas celebration is, be it known today that Christ is enthroned. He is no longer the:

  • The babe in the manger
  • The servant to death
  • Neither the limited one nor the Christ on the Cross.

He is now the:

  • God on the throne (Seated at the right hand of the Father God)
  • Omnipotent (unlimited, all powerful),
  • Omnipresent (He is present everywhere at the same time) and
  • Omniscience (all knowing)

(Rev. 1:10-18; 19:16; Matt. 28:18; Phil 3:21).

Let us enthrone him in our heart, crown Him King of kings and Lord of lords and establish His presence in a daily commemoration and celebration and not just in another one year again.

I challenge and commend everyone who by virtue of grace have been ignited by the spirit of God’s love in Christ Jesus, to arise with faith and earnestly go and extend the good love of God in your hearts to others – that is the essence of a true living. You can begin from your home and the fire will spread to give hope to someone else near you.

I pray you have and enjoy a fabulous and great celebration of this Christmas and may God’s eternal love ever be your portion and prosper your goings during this season as you commemorate and celebrate His love. 2 Corinthians13:14 ‘The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen’

Dare to Celebrate Christ . . . Commemorate God’s Love

In His World For His Glory,

Pst Chukie MORSI

MERRY CHRISTMAS and BLESSED NEW YEAR