After Christmas

After Christmas Don’t keep christ in Christmas Matthew 2:13-15 13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.” year of legacy.... 1. Build a relationship with God Ephesians 3:14-19 14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Verse 17 tells us that as a believer in Christ "you have been rooted and firmly established in love." There are three words that need to touch our minds and souls. The first is "rooted," which pictures you as a great tree, whose roots have penetrated deep into the rich soil of God's love. To be rooted in something means you are drawing nourishment from it, your life, your food, your water, that which sustains you and causes you to flourish. Gca...cut down all the trees.... Now add the second verb. You are also "firmly established in love," says Paul, and this time he uses a word from architecture. In Christ, you are like a building that has its pilings driven deep down into the bedrock below. You stand on a Rock. You are fixed to unbreakable love. Combined, these two verbs convey the picture of endurance, of nourishment, of strength for the storms of life and solid perseverance. We are not fixed on the shifting sands of lesser foundations. We rest upon a steady love that surrounds us, making us durable and consistent. Our roots draw up the love God has for us all the time. We have been planted here by the Holy Spirit. We have been established here by that Master Builder. And because of this, we are stronger than the storms that beat upon our lives. Because God loves us, we are not consumers, but givers. We are not fearful, but courageous. But now, let's add the most important word of all, the word "love." What exactly is this that we are rooted and grounded in? The word used here is "agape," which is the NT word for God's love for us and our love for one another. It is translated in our Bibles by the common English word love. But that just won't cut it. "Agape" is decision love. That is, it is love that is fixed, not in fleeting emotions or in the passion of the moment, but in the will. This is a love that is rises from the choice of the lover alone. The cause that beckons forth "agape" is never found in the object of love. Which is why the translators of the Bible in past generations did not use the word "love" to capture the meaning of "agape." Instead, the used the word "charity." We don't use that word much these days, except to refer to those whose life and circumstances have made them indigent. "I don't want charity," we might say when receiving what we did not earn and cannot pay back. And yet, when it comes to the love of God, we are all charity cases. He also wants you to know that nothing can ever cause His love for you to cease. Rom. 8:35-39 "Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: Because of You we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord!" Don't miss this massive, unchangeable fact: You are thoroughly loved by God. 2. Be Obedient HEAR BUT DONT LISTEN...LISTEN BUT FAIL TO OBEY... Kfc...sometimes we hear but we do not listen A. NOT EXEMPT FROM TROUBLE The Wise Men, avoiding the wrath of Herod. - Mary & Joseph fleeing for their life. B. The Safest Place To Be, Is Where God Leads You. - The Wise Men followed a star, and it led them to the Christ-child.- The Wise Men followed God’s instructions in a dream, and they escaped Herod’s wrath. - Joseph followed the Angel’s instructions in a dream, and escaped to Egypt. The safest place you can be, is in the center of God’s will. Whatever path you take in life, God knows where it will lead. How much better to follow the path that He leads you down. C. God Is In Control. We can always feel safe when we are living in God’s will. Joseph was obedient to God and God provided by God’s perfect plan 3. Redeemed the time WARREN BUFFET...INVEST IN TIME REDEEM IS the action of regaining or gaining possession of something in exchange for payment, or clearing a debt. Back in 2000, 23-year-old Cornealious Anderson III, nicknamed Mike, was arrested for robbing a Burger King at gunpoint. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison, released on bail, and told to await orders on when to show up to serve his time.The orders never came. Due to a clerical error, Anderson never went to prison. But instead of using his freedom to commit more crimes, Anderson started his own construction business, became a youth football coach, and volunteered at his local church. He also got married, had three children, and became a well-liked member of his community.Thirteen years later, the state discovered their error and put Anderson behind bars for nearly one year. As the case received international coverage, an online petition for his release gained more than 35,000 signatures.After a court hearing that lasted a mere 10 minutes, the judge conceded that Anderson was a changed man and granted him credit for the years he should have been in prison. A teary-eyed Anderson walked out of the courthouse with his wife and daughter, telling reporters that he was grateful to God.