Christmas- Philippians 2-Fully God and Man

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Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:6-8

When you think about the birth of Christ, we must first understand and remember that Jesus is fully God and was fully human. This is a concept that can be difficult to grasp, and because of that we see a lot of people making the mistake of either making Jesus just human or just divine, but he was both

Understanding this, we must remember that Jesus is eternal (Revelation 1:8). Jesus actually created all thing (Colossians 1:16, John 1:3) Jesus was there in the beginning with the Father and Holy Spirit (Genesis 1:26) So when we celebrate or think about our Saviors birth , we must understand that Jesus being eternal, decided to lower himself to become human, so he could die for our sins

When you understand this concept, the amazing love and sacrifice that Christ displayed towards, even when we were still in rebellion against him. How can you fathom a God , who cared enough about his people, to die for them and then adopt them as his children!

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9-11

This is why we worship Jesus Christ, because he is God in the flesh, that actually came down to die for our sins. Its says Every Knee will bow not just in Heaven but also on Earth and under the Earth (Hell). Yes even the demons will bow down to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords

Understand this, the birth of Christ was for you! There is no other act in humanity that can surpass what Jesus did for you and me! Amen!

Luke 17- Kingdom of God

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And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you. And he said unto the disciples, The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it. And they shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them. Luke 17:20-23

The religious leaders wanted to know, when will the Kingdom of God come? And maybe your asking the same question today, when will Gods kingdom come? Well according to Jesus “The Kingdom of God is within You” so in other words the Kingdom of God is already here! Now with that being said , dont forget we still live in a fallen world of sin and death (Genesis 3) and this current world is being ruled by Satan (1 John 5:19)

So how is Gods Kingdom already here on Earth? Well don’t forget the Holy Spirit lives inside of Born Again believers, the Spirit of God is inside of you, the Kingdom of God within you. We must also remember the purpose of The Church, we are the hands and feet of Christ, the Salt of the Earth, the Light of the World, we are the Kingdom of God here in the fallen world. 

For as the lightning, that lighteneth out of the one part under heaven, shineth unto the other part under heaven; so shall also the Son of man be in his day. But first must he suffer many things, and be rejected of this generation. And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all. Luke 17:24-27

Let’s not also forget that Jesus Christ is physically returning also, and when He returns he will abolish all evil and build God’s eternal and perfect Kingdom. As Jesus prophesied he must first suffer many things, meaning his death on the cross to pay for the sins of the world. However many will still reject his salvation therefore judgement is coming upon the wicked world

Jesus said his return will be like the “Days of Noah” , people will go about their daily lives, partying, marrying, living their best lives now when the reality is judgement is upon them. Start alert, don’t fall asleep , The Lord shall return like a “Thief in the Night” , He will come at a time when you least expect him, don’t be caught off guard

If you are Born Again, the Kingdom of God is within You, Go into the world and preach the good news of Jesus and baptize them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit Amen!

Christmas-Genesis 3-Enmity

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And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.” Genesis 3:15

The first prophecy of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ was In the Beginning. After Sin had entered into the world, God already had a redemption plan for humanity.  God prophesied that the Messiah (Christ) would be born through a Woman (Mary) and he would crush (bruise)  the serpent (Satan)

The word “Enmity” means Hostility. From the very beginning, starting in the Garden, God and Satan were at war with each other. Since the beginning Satan has been trying to kill off the Messiah (Christ) but has failed every time!

Then when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the magi, he became very enraged, and sent and slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and all its vicinity, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the magi.  Then what had been spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: Matthew 2:16-17

Part of the Christmas story most don’t want to talk about , is when Satan used King Herod, to try and kill off the Messiah (Christ) Herod knew from the prophecies and the wise men that the Messiah has just been born in Bethlehem. This was warned by God through the prophet Jeremiah known as “Rachels Weeping”

Therefore when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit. John 19:30

Satan failed to eliminate Jesus, and when Christ said “It Is Finished” on the cross, his work was complete. At that moment Jesus crushed the head of Satan and abolished sin and death. The war has been won by Christ, it all started in the manger. Glory to our New Born King of Kings! Amen!

Luke 17- The Ten Lepers

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And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. Luke 17:11-14

As we are living in the COVID age of the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, we should ask ourselves “What Would Jesus Do”? Well let’s look at what Jesus did, Christ was approached by Ten Lepers, and they cried out to The Lord “Jesus Have Mercy On Us”

Now understand leprosy was a horrific disease and highly contagious. The Mosaic Law forbids anyone to go near or touch someone with leprosy. We live in a day and age where the Church wants to ban healthy people because they are not vaccinated, is this what Jesus would have done? No as we see Jesus didn’t avoid the lepers , he also wouldn’t ban anyone from coming to the gospel

Jesus commanded the lepers to “Go show yourselves to the priests” and as they went by faith, they were healed. Notice their act of obedience to The Lord proved their faith and healed them. Notice also this is a display of the New Covenant, the priests were never able to heal anyone from leprosy, but Christ is!

And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole. Luke 17:15-19

A couple things here, first there were 10 lepers who were healed but only one gave glory to God. How often do we see this everyday, God doing miracles for people but they give Him no thanks or glory. Secondly , the man that gave Jesus praise was a Samaritan, a non Jew. This again is a demonstration of the New Covenant, God is not just saving Israel but the entire world through Jesus Christ

Jesus said “Your faith has made you whole” The lepers faith in Christ is what healed him, it wasn’t the works of the leper it was the works of Jesus. Its the same way we are saved by faith in Christ, not by our works but the works of Jesus on the cross

What would Jesus do? He never rejected anyone from coming to salvation, anyone who called upon the name of The Lord shall be saved in Jesus name Amen!

Luke 17- Increase Our Faith

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And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith. And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you. Luke 17:5-6

Faith is the key to life, but how do we obtain faith? How do we know if we truly have faith? Well first we need to understand what true faith is, the word faith is derived from the Greek word “Pistis” meaning trust, confidence, allegiance. Do you have full trust and confidence that Jesus is your Master and has delivered you from sin and death? This is the question we must ponder in our hearts, but to truly have faith in Christ we need to know who Christ is, right?

Many mistakenly perceive faith as wishful thinking or taking a chance. But this is not the true meaning of faith, as the Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:1” Faith is the assurance or confidence of the things we hoped for” We don’t just hope that Jesus rose from the dead and defeated sin and death, we believe Jesus truly rose from the dead defeating sin and death, there is a big difference. All our hope is in Jesus!

The Apostles said to Jesus “Lord Increase Our Faith”, can you relate to this? Faith is like a relationship, it develops and gets stronger over time, the more you get to know Christ, the stronger your relationship builds with him, the stronger your faith grows. Jesus said “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, the sycamore tree would obey you” This sounds impossible right? But nothing is impossible with God (Luke 1:37) The more you know Him, the more you realize this and build your faith

But which of you, having a servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come from the field, Go and sit down to meat? And will not rather say unto him, Make ready wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow not. So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do. Luke 17:7-10

Jesus tells us a story, when servants come back from doing their jobs, they don’t look to their Master to serve them, they continue to serve their Master and fulfill their duties. We need to understand , if Jesus is your Lord (Master), then you are his servant. It’s important to have obedience and faith in your Master

Do you need more faith? Do as the Apostles, ask Jesus to increase your faith! You might say well doesn’t that prove you don’t have faith, no! It proves that Jesus is your Lord and He is your provider of all things. We never saved ourselves, we were drawn to Christ by the Holy Spirit

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Ephesians 2:8, you didn’t save yourself , God saved you through Christ, your faith is Jesus will provide God’s grace for your soul Amen!

Luke 17- Stumbling Blocks

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Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come! It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Luke 17:1-2

Stumbling blocks, it’s one of the biggest issues in the Church that has hampered it since the beginning. You might ask , what is a stumbling block? The original Greek word is “skandala” meaning a snare, trap, cause for error. We all know stumbling-blocks within the Church, someone who tries to enforce heresy on the Church to divide or someone who tries to implement sin within the Church. The stumbling block is a divider, a deceiver, a wolf in sheep’s clothing. We see alot of YouTubers who have become stumbling blocks, misleading many Christians with false doctrines and division

But Jesus said “Woe to him” woe to the stumbling block, those who prevent someone from coming to Christ will have blood on their hands. It’s good to be zealous about God and to be passionate, but make sure you’re not becoming a stumbling block for others trying to find Jesus. 

So what is the punishment for the stumbling block? Jesus said “It would be better if you were thrown into the ocean with a large stone tied around your neck, than to offend one of God’s children” Jesus takes great offense to the stumbling blocks, its a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the Living God, be careful what you are preaching!

Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. Luke 17:3-4

Now does this mean we should accept any doctrine or allow sinful behavior to continue? No, Jesus said “If anyone sins against you, rebuke them and if they repent , forgive them” It’s easy to rebuke people but harder to forgive, Jesus requires both. If you’re going to rebuke people, be ready to be rebuked yourself. It’s important we continue to humble ourselves and obediently learn and serve one another with the love of Christ

Forgiveness is an ongoing job, it’s probably one of the hardest things to do in life, however we must remember judgement belongs to The Lord. Give it up to God, often when we try to resolve issues on our own, we make a greater mess of the situation. As the expression goes “Let Go and Let God” theres alot of power in that motto

So let’s examine ourselves, are you a stumbling block for others coming to Christ? Make sure you are a minister for the Kingdom and not a hindrance to the Kingdom , Amen!

Luke 16- Rich Man and Lazarus

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And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. Luke 16:23-24

The story of the rich man and Lazarus is not only one of the most powerful revelations Jesus gave to us, but its also one of the most highly debated stories also. Many will argue this is just a parable instead of a true story. The reason we know it’s a story is because Jesus uses real names in it. Unlike all the parables Jesus taught that never included names

Second most translations will use Hades instead of Hell. While reading the story you’ll see the rich man is eternally conscience being tormented in a flame. This sounds like Hell to me, Hades is typically translated as the grave or realm of the dead.

But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. Luke 16:25

The rich man lived like a King on this Earth, while the poor man suffered. What did it profit this rich man to gain the entire world yet lose his soul? Nothing, this world is temporary but your soul is eternal , choose wisely

And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead. Luke 16:31

Notice once you are dead, there are no second chances of salvation. There is no purgatory or repentance in Hell. Our time is running short, follow Jesus or perish! Notice Jesus also prophecies here about his own resurrection.

And Jesus was right, he rose from the dead over 2,000 years ago, yet millions still deny him and are going to Hell. Don’t follow the broad way of this world, get on the narrow path of life in Jesus Christ! Amen!