What If No Christ in Christmas?

 

Intro: Before Christmas, I saw on one particular news program an interview with an atheist. They had paid for a big sign in New York Times square. It read “Who needs Christ in Christmas?” It had a big X through Christ’s name and it said under it, nobody! Does mankind really need Jesus? What if we didn’t have Jesus Christ? How bad do we need Christ? The New Testament would not have been written? We would not have this New Testament or Covenant with God if Jesus was not needed. Without the New Testament the O.T. would be incomplete. It does not have the O.T. in it, but it has references to it. It is the complete fulfillment of the O.T. prophecy showing a person how to be saved and forgiven of their sins. Have you ever stopped to think about this? What would we have if we didn’t have Christ?

I. Without Christ we could not be justified or made right with God. Romans 5:1 (NKJV) Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. [Ro 5:9] Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

II. Without Christ “There would be no Immanuel, God with us” as Isa. 7:14 & Matt. 1:23 say. If Jesus had not come there would be no mercy, grace, truth, and forgiveness as John 1:14 says. There would be no fulfillment of the wonderful promises in John 10:10b of Jesus coming to give us life and that life more abundant.                                                                                                                  

III. Without Christ there would be No comfort that we find in the New Testament for those that are rejected by the world, spiritually lost, suffering, hurting, and dying without hope and help.                                                                                             

 IV. Without Christ There would be no salvation from the penalty of our sins. Animal sacrifices in the O.T. could not forgive or permanently remove the guilt and penalty of sin, They were only types that pointed the real thing, the forgiveness and removing of the guilt and penalty of sin found in only in the blood of Jesus Christ. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Acts 4:12 (NKJV) Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

V. Without Christ There would be no Holy Spirit in our lives to lead, guide, and direct us. There would be no fruit of the Spirit in our lives. No love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness and self-control. (Gal. 5:22-23)

VI. Without Christ and His resurrection, There would be no hope of the resurrection or eternal life. At death, we would have to bow our heads say an eternal goodbye and weep as those without hope while being cast into hell. The apostle Paul wrote about this in 1 Cor. 15:12-28.

VII. Without Christ There would be no book of Revelation which tells us about our future with Him, or about His coming back to rule and reign and how we will rule and reign with Him over this earth. (Rev. 20:4)Revelation 20:4 (NKJV) And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

VIII. Without Christ there would be no promise of a new heaven and earth where sin and death does not dwell. Revelation 21:1 (NKJV) Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.

Jesus is the Son of God, the promised Messiah who gives life and who has the right to judge life. He is the One who knows the future and can warn man and tell man how to prepare for the devastating events of the end time. Being the true Messiah, He is bound to declare the truth to us, so we can take of the water of life freely, without cost.

Invitation: So who needs Christ? Everybody does. Let us rejoice today because Christ has come. Revelation 22:16-17 (NKJV) ¹⁶ "I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star." ¹⁷ And the Spirit and the bride say, "Come!" And let him who hears say, "Come!" And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely. Do you have Jesus Christ in your life to forgive you of your sins against God? Have you taken of the water of eternal life freely? The Spirit says come and the church says come! Confess your sins to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you and invite Him into your life so when your time comes to die, you will have an eternal home with God the Father and Jesus His Son.

Be Thankful

 

Intro: We Christians have so much for which to be thankful for not just one day a year but each and every day we live. God has given us so many blessings both spiritual and material! I have listed some spiritual blessings because they are eternal. Be thankful

1. We are children of God. (John 1:12) But as many as received Him (Jesus) to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
This verse speaks of Jesus granting the right or giving the authority to become a child of God. No one can attain this new birth by his or her own power, merit, or ability. Only Jesus can grant it. When we place our faith and trust in Jesus’ death on the cross as payment for our sins, we ask for His forgiveness of our sins and we receive Him into our lives, Jesus gives us the authority and power to become children of the living God. Galatians 3:26 (NLT) For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. We owe thanks to Jesus because He gave us the right to become children of God.

2. We are righteous in God’s eyes. (2 Corinthians 5:21) For God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. This is one of the great verses proclaiming the unbelievable love of God. Christ bore the penalty and the punishment for our sins. God made Jesus, who was completely innocent and perfect; to become sin for us so He could take away our sin. Once someone comes to Jesus and confesses their sin and asks for forgiveness and salvation, they become righteous in God’s eyes and they find a peace and satisfaction of soul which is everlasting and that person will never cease to be righteousness. Nothing can ever change our standing with the Father. Think about that, Christians will never cease to be righteous in God's eyes. Jesus said in; John 6:47 (NKJV) Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. Jesus makes it plain that the believer has been made righteous and has eternal life, starting the moment someone believes in Him as their Savior. The verb “believes” in these verses means “he who continues to believe.” We do not believe merely once; we keep on believing in and trusting Jesus. We owe thanks to Jesus for making us righteous in God’s eyes.

3. We are redeemed from the curse of the law. Galatians 3:10-14 Every person is guilty of violating the 10 commandments and under the curse of God's law until they are saved. Jesus took our curse upon Himself on the cross. To be hanged on a tree signified to the Jews that a person had been cursed. Christ willingly allowed himself to become cursed for all humanity, and so He endured the Crucifixion for us. At the cross, the curse of the law was transferred from sinful humanity to the sinless Son of God. Christ became our representative and took on himself the penalty of our sin for breaking God's laws and then He gave us His righteousness so we could be accepted by the Father. We are no longer under God's curse for breaking His law. Thanks be to Jesus for redeeming us (saving us) from the curse of the law.

4. We have victory over the world. 1 John 5:4 (NKJV) For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith. It is faith (trust) in Jesus that saves us, and it is faith in Jesus that keeps us. We (walk) live our lives by faith. We are children of God by faith in Jesus Christ, and faith is the only way in which you and I will be able to overcome this world around us.
The power of Christ, given to believers through the Holy Spirit, gives us the victory over the world, the flesh, the devil, death, and sin. We need to live our lives in the assurance that we belong to God and we are under His care and we have victory over the world. We need to thank God for the victory we have in Him.

Conclusion: These are just some of the things God has given us to be thankful for. As you read the word of God daily you will find many more things for which to be thankful because the bible says Ephesians 1:3 Thanks be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. May we be counted among those who are thankful for every good and perfect gift that comes from God our Father.

Invitation: Do you know for sure you are a child of God? Can you say that without a doubt? If not now would be a good time to confess your sins to Jesus and ask Him to forgive you and invite Him to take charge of your life, then you too will be thankful that you now have victory over the world, the devil, death, and sin. The choice is yours!

True Worship

 

Scripture Text

Text Psalm 95:6-7

Intro: The ‘Dictionary of Bible Themes” states that worship is mentioned hundreds of times in the bible. Scripture stresses the importance of regular corporate worship, while at the same time recognizing that believers may worship God spontaneously. When was the last time you truly worshiped God?

I. What is “True Worship”? [v:6] Psalms 95:6 (NKJV) Oh come, let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. Worship means to show reverence and adoration for a deity. True worship is bowing down and kneeling in surrender to the Lord our Maker. [v:6 above] Worship in the truest sense takes place only when our full attention is on God, on His beauty, His glory, magnificence, and majesty, His power, splendor, love and compassion. It’s not in doing religious things but being in complete awe of God and all He is!        If we are honest this doesn’t happen very often. Even in church or in times of quiet devotion, we get distracted and fail to see God as He truly is. It’s easy to be distracted! We must “cast down arguments [about God] and every high thing [rebellious thoughts] that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 (NKJV)   When your mind wants to wander bring it back into the obedience of Christ.

II. Things That Prompt Worship. Psalms 95:3-5 (NKJV)
³ For the Lord is the great God, And the great King above all gods.
⁴ In His hand are the deep places of the earth; The heights of the hills are His also.
⁵ The sea is His, for He made it; And His hands formed the dry land. True worship recognizes that God is the Lord. He is the sovereign, supreme, all-powerful over-all so-called gods (idols). God made everything and holds in place the universe.     True worship recognizes that God made us. [v:7] Psalms 95:7 (NKJV) For He is our God, And we are the people of His pasture, And the sheep of His hand. Today, if you will hear His voice: Psalms 139:13-18 (NLT) ¹³ You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. ¹⁴ Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. ¹⁵ You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. ¹⁶ You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. ¹⁷ How precious are your thoughts about me, O God. They cannot be numbered! ¹⁸ I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me! We are not here by accident. We are here by God’s perfect design and He has a plan for each of our lives. When we  worship God we draw close to Him and we find His direction for our lives. He restores our soul and fills us with His Holy Spirit power. Then He leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name sake. [Ps. 23:3] True worship recognizes God has made us a part of His forever family. [v:7] We are part of His flock which means We are under His care. God constantly watches over us. Psalms 139:7 (NLT) I can never escape from your Spirit! I can never get away from your presence! God also provides for our every need. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. [Ps. 23:1] True worship recognizes that we can never be separated from God and His love. Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV) ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Conclusion: We must learn to shut out the distractions that keep us from truly worshiping God. We must turn our mind and heart to Him every day, praising Him for who He is, what He has done for us, what He is doing and what He has already prepared for our future. We must not to forget to thank Him for His everlasting, faithful love for us in Christ Jesus.

Invitation: You cannot worship God until you have a personal relationship with Him. If you do not have a personal relationship with God, it comes by confessing your sins to Jesus Christ and asking Him to forgive you and save you from Hell. Then invite Jesus into your life to take charge of you and your daily affairs. Then be baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Then you can begin to truly worship God and receive His blessings for the rest of your life here on earth and then forever throughout eternity.