Sharing the Purposes of God - Dec. 24th, 2025

Sharing the Purposes of God

Christmas Eve Candlelight Devotional

Text: Matthew 6:10, 13 (KJV)

Matthew 6:10 KJV

10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.

Matthew 6:13 KJV

13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Scripture Reading: Galatians 3:1–9; 1 Peter 1:14–15; 2:1, 11, 16; 2 Peter 3:17–18; 1 John 1:7–10; 2:15–17

Introduction – When Heaven Came Near

Christmas Eve is a night of quiet wonder.

Lights are dimmed. Candles are lit. Voices soften. Hearts, even hardened ones, tend to listen.

Tonight we remember a simple but staggering truth: God did not shout His will from heaven—He sent His Son to earth. “The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us.”

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, “Thy kingdom come,” He was not pointing them only to the future. He was teaching them to desire God’s rule, God’s care, and God’s rescue—right here, right now.

And Christmas is the proof that God answers that prayer.

Galatians 3:1–9 KJV

1 O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you? 2 This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 3 Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? 4 Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. 5 He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? 6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness. 7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham. 8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed. 9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.

 God intends that believers walk with him in his care and purpose, escaping the evils of the temptations that confront our frail humanity.

I. God’s Purpose Began With His Presence

God purposes that man live first in his care and then in his nature.

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”

God’s kingdom is primarily his personal care for us, which we realize by faith in him. In it he gives us security, provides for our daily needs, forgives our shortcomings, gives us his nature and Spirit, and directs us by his will. In short, it is all that the Lord’s Prayer is about. It is not surprising that Jesus began this model prayer by praising God for his goodness and then asking that God’s kingdom be experienced on the earth.

God’s kingdom is not first about crowns, thrones, or armies. It is first about God coming near to care for His people.

1 Peter 1:14–15 KJV

14 As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance: 15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;

At Christmas, God did not send a philosophy. He did not send a system. He did not send a set of rules.

He sent a Child.

A child who would grow. A man who would serve. A Savior who would suffer. A King who would reign.

Before God ever asks us to reflect His nature, He invites us to rest in His care.

God’s purposes for us can be seen at three levels, which should best occur in order: first, that we walk by faith in His care; then that we love one another (John 3:34–35), bearing the fruit of His Spirit (Gal. 5:22–23); and finally, that we lead others to faith in His care and purpose (Matt. 28:20).

That order matters.

We walk by faith in His care.

We grow in His character.

Then we reflect His kingdom to others.

1 Peter 2:1 KJV

1 Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,

1 Peter 2:11 KJV

11 Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;

1 Peter 2:16 KJV

16 As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.

Christmas reminds us: we cannot live for God until we have first lived from God.

II. We Are Still Tempted to Walk Away From That Care

We are tempted to abandon his care and his nature.

“Lead us not into temptation…”

This passage directs us as individuals and as a body of believers to admit that we can be tempted. Our temptations are mainly of two kinds: (1) to turn from God’s grace to personal works and (2) to slip into loose, sinful living. As Christians we must know that pride and passion remain at work in us, and each of us can be tempted.

Temptation did not disappear with the manger.

Even believers are tempted:

to replace grace with performance

to replace humility with pride

to replace dependence with self-reliance

The major temptation that confronted the early church—a concern of the books of Galatians, Hebrews, and 2 Peter—was that of turning from the pure gospel of grace back to a religion of works and rituals. This sin took away the peace and security of depending on God and replaced it with the religious pride of having met a set of requirements. This, in turn, produced scorn instead of compassion toward those who failed their religious duties.

The early church faced it. Modern churches face it. Every heart in this room has faced it.

Present-day cults tempt us to accept their baptisms, spirit-fillings, and rituals, which they claim make them secure by their own actions. Let us not be tempted by these proud people to share in their arrogance of presumed superior insight and standing. Rather, let us treasure God’s grace and confess our dependence.

1 John 2:15–17 KJV

15 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Some are tempted to believe they are accepted by God because they are good. Others are tempted to believe their sin is too great for grace.

Both errors look away from Christ.

Christmas corrects both.

The manger tells the proud: you needed a Savior. The cross tells the broken: you are not beyond saving.

Grace is intended to free us from sin, not free us to sin, to indulge ourselves in greed and lust. Wrongdoing must not be taken lightly, for it has ways of destroying body and spirit.

Grace does not free us to sin. Grace frees us from sin.

III. We Are Delivered by Dependence

“But deliver us from evil.” We must have God’s help to avoid temptations and escape the evil havoc that will follow yielding to them. “Deliver us” is an expression of need and of faith. Realizing our needs, we are to take them to God in faith. Let us talk regularly to God about our temptations.

That phrase is not a demand. It is a confession.

“Lord, I cannot do this alone.”

And notice how Jesus teaches us to pray: deliver us.

1 John 1:7–10 KJV

7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

We also need the help of our fellow Christians. Jesus’ use of the pronoun us would suggest that the confession was meant to be made together where people acknowledged their need of one another. When one shares the fact of a temptation and of the difficulties resulting from it, we are all made more aware of how close to us trouble can be.

Christian faith was never meant to be lived in isolation.

On this night, as we hold candles:

no one flame stands alone

one light is shared

and the room grows brighter together

That is how God designed His people to live.

We depend on Him. And we lean on one another.

Conclusion – When the Light Is Passed

In a moment, the lights will dim further. One candle will be lit. Then another. Then another.

The light will spread quietly—but powerfully.

That is Christmas.

Christ, the Light of the world, entered our darkness. Not to condemn it—but to overcome it.

So tonight, the question is simple:

Will you rest in His care?

Will you trust His grace?

Will you receive His deliverance?

How are we to have faith sufficient to enjoy the kingdom and avoid the evils of temptations?

• by growing in knowledge of and faith in God

• by growing in the awareness of daily needs and temptations

• by growing together in trustworthiness and gentleness that we may share our needs together

2 Peter 3:17–18 KJV

17 Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. 18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

As we pray the words Jesus taught us, may they become more than words:

“Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come.”

And on this holy night, we remember: His kingdom came—wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.