Celebrate Christ (12/04/22)

Dwain Roache has asked us to renew our praying for his brother and sister, Dudley and Ceila. They need to be saved and Ceila has been told that her breast cancer has come back.

Thank you for allowing Stephenie and I to go to Israel. If I had a bucket list, a trip to Israel certainly would have on it!

Scripture Reading

Scripture Reading: Luke 2:8-20.

Title of Message: Celebrate Christ

Message

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

I heard the bells on Christmas Day Their old, familiar carols play, And wild and sweet The words repeat Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And thought how, as the day had come, The belfries of all Christendom Had rolled along The unbroken song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Till ringing, singing on its way, The world revolved from night to day, A voice, a chime, A chant sublime Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

Then from each black, accursed mouth The cannon thundered in the South, And with the sound The carols drowned Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

It was as if an earthquake rent The hearth-stones of a continent, And made forlorn The households born Of peace on earth, good-will to men!

And in despair I bowed my head; "There is no peace on earth," I said; "For hate is strong, And mocks the song Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men."

In 1861, Longfellow’s wife of 18 years, Frances, died. She had been sealing envelopes with hot wax when her clothes caught fire. She was badly burned and died the following day.

Her death marked a very tragic turning point in his life.

On Christmas day in 1862 Longfellow recorded in his journal:

“A merry Christmas’ say the children, but that is no more for me.”

In 1863, Longfellow suffered another blow. The United States was divided as a result of the Civil War. Longfellow was a staunch abolitionist but his oldest son was determined to join the fight against his father’s wishes.

On December 1, 1863, Longfellow was having dinner with his family when he received a war telegram stating that his son Charley had been severely wounded in battle. Surgeons warned Henry that his son could face lifelong paralysis.

All of this set the stage for took place on Christmas Day, 1863.

In the words of one writer:

On Christmas day, 1863, Longfellow—a 57-year-old widowed father of six children, the oldest of which had been nearly paralyzed as his country fought a war against itself—wrote a poem seeking to capture the dynamic and dissonance in his own heart and the world he observes around him. He heard the bells that Christmas day and the singing of "peace on earth" (Luke 2:14), but he observed the world of injustice and violence that seemed to mock the truthfulness of this optimistic outlook. The theme of listening recurred throughout the poem, eventually leading to a settledness of confident hope even in the midst of bleak despair.

And in despair I bowed my head;

“There is no peace on earth,” I said;

“For hate is strong, and mocks the song of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

It would be easy to look around in our world today and, like Longfellow, hang our heads in despair and say, “There is no peace on earth. For hate is strong, and mocks the song of peace on earth, good-will to men.”

It would be very easy to say that there is nothing to celebrate in our world today!

But my message this morning and throughout the month of December is this:

Celebrate Christ!

After the angels had shared the news of Christ’s birth with the shepherds, and they had gone to Bethlehem to see the baby Jesus, the Bible says:

Luke 2:20 KJV 1900

And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

They celebrated!

The word celebrate means:

to observe (a day) or commemorate (an event) with ceremonies or festivities: to celebrate Christmas; to celebrate the success of a new play.

There are many events that we celebrate:

Birthdays

Holidays

Job Promotions

Weddings

But one thing that we all enjoy celebrating are victories! (Especially those victories of our favorite teams!)

Question: During the time of Christ’s birth, were there any victories that the typical Jewish person could celebrate? No. They were being ruled by the iron hand of the Romans.

We are reminded of that in the first few verses of Luke chapter 2:

Luke 2:1–3 KJV 1900

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

Question: In our country today do there seem to be any victories that we can celebrate? Not many if any!

Last week the vast majority of our United States Senators, including both US Senators from North Carolina - Senators Burr and Tillis, voted for the “so-called” Respect for Marriage Act which quite literally threw every Bible-believing Christian “under the bus.”

As we come to the celebration of Christmas, it again would be very easy for us to say:

“There is no peace on earth,” I said;

“For hate is strong, and mocks the song of peace on earth, good-will to men!”

That is why it is so important for us to celebrate Christ and the victory which His birth represents!

Celebrate Christ!

The battle began long ago when Satan, and those angels which chose to follow him, rebelled against God!

Isaiah 14:12–15 KJV 1900

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.

Even at the onset of the battle, Christ’s eventual victory was prophesied!

Satan brought mankind into the battle when, in the Garden of Eden, he tempted Adam & Eve.

Genesis 3:1–7 KJV 1900

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Even in the judgment of their sin, God declared His eventual victory through the seed of the woman.

Genesis 3:15 KJV 1900

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Throughout their history, God’s people - the Jews, at times needed encouragement that they would be victorious!

In Isaiah chapter 7, the nation of Judah was threatened; the people, including Judah’s king, King Ahaz, was fearful.

But God told them not to fear the enemy!

Isaiah 7:4–7 KJV 1900

And say unto him, Take heed, and be quiet; Fear not, neither be fainthearted For the two tails of these smoking firebrands, For the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son of Remaliah, Have taken evil counsel against thee, saying, Let us go up against Judah, and vex it, And let us make a breach therein for us, And set a king in the midst of it, even the son of Tabeal: Thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither shall it come to pass.

God then gave them a sign to confirm the truth of those words:

Isaiah 7:14 KJV 1900

Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, And shall call his name Immanuel.

This prophecy - these words of encouragement were fulfilled by the birth of Jesus Christ!

Matthew 1:18–25 KJV 1900

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. Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is 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. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

In Luke chapter 2, when the shepherds went to see the Baby Jesus in Bethlehem, they weren’t simply celebrating a birth; they were celebrating the victory which the Baby Jesus represented.

They were not simply celebrating a victory over the oppression of the Roman government, they were celebrating a victory that would include victory over sin, over death, and over the grave!

Isaiah 25:8 KJV 1900

He will swallow up death in victory; And the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; And the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: For the Lord hath spoken it.

1 Corinthians 15:55–57 KJV 1900

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

We’ve committed to memory the following verse of victory:

2 Timothy 1:10 KJV 1900

But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:

While we know all of this to be true, it is still easy to get discouraged because of the extreme wickedness of sin which seems to be enjoying victory upon victory in our world today.

Turn to and read Psalm 68:1-4 and Psalm 68:32-35.

We don’t have time to look at this entire Psalm but it is a pretty exciting Psalm to consider!

Bible scholars tell us that it is likely that this Psalm was written as a celebration of God’s triumphal ascent to Mount Zion in Jerusalem of either David’s conquering of the city in 2 Samuel chapter 5 or when David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Mount Zion and placed it in the Tabernacle.

Regardless, it is a Psalm of celebration!

God’s enemies will be destroyed!

Psalm 68:1–2 KJV 1900

Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered: Let them also that hate him flee before him. As smoke is driven away, so drive them away: As wax melteth before the fire, So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

God’s people should rejoice!

Psalm 68:3–4 KJV 1900

But let the righteous be glad; let them rejoice before God: Yea, let them exceedingly rejoice. Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: Extol him that rideth upon the heavens By his name JAH, and rejoice before him.

God’s people should rejoice because the victory is assured!

This Psalm, though, is also prophetic, as it looks ahead to God’s ultimate victory in the last days!

Psalm 68:32–35 KJV 1900

Sing unto God, ye kingdoms of the earth; O sing praises unto the Lord; Selah: To him that rideth upon the heavens of heavens, which were of old; Lo, he doth send out his voice, and that a mighty voice. Ascribe ye strength unto God: His excellency is over Israel, And his strength is in the clouds. O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: The God of Israel is he That giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.

Question: When will the kingdoms of the earth sing praises unto the Lord?

It will happen after Christ has won the ultimate victory which we find recorded for us in the book of the Revelation!

Revelation 21:1–4 KJV 1900

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

Revelation 21:22–27 KJV 1900

And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

But until then...

Notice, again, what David writes in the last verse of Psalm chapter 68:

Psalm 68:35 KJV 1900

O God, thou art terrible out of thy holy places: The God of Israel is he That giveth strength and power unto his people. Blessed be God.

The God of Israel is He that giveth strength and power unto His people.

Isaiah 40:28–31 KJV 1900

Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, That the everlasting God, the Lord, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Fainteth not, neither is weary? There is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; And to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings as eagles; They shall run, and not be weary; And they shall walk, and not faint.

The last verse of Longfellow’s poem reads:

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep: "God is not dead, nor doth He sleep; The Wrong shall fail, The Right prevail, With peace on earth, good-will to men."