A Christmas Action Story

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A Christmas Action Story

A Christmas Action Story

(Mid-week message for House Church and individual use: preached 12/13 – 12/19/2020)

 

What will you do with your life? With your whole life ahead of you, what do you see yourself doing? Will you fly through the skies? Will you sail the seas? Will you spend one day being shuttled up to and then back down from outer space? Will you practice law, or medicine, or politics? Will you climb the highest mountain, or sing the sweetest song, or find some other way to exalt yourself far above the others, who likewise seek to gain their own glory before they die? Will you stand up with your straightest most erect posture before they burn that body, which you hold so dear, into ashes or lay it down, deep down beneath the feet… of the meek. For it has been written that – the meek “shall inherit the Earth.”

Ah, yes, the meek shall inherit the Earth. As little pregnant Mary declared when, after hearing of baby John the Baptist leaping within the womb of elder cousin Elizabeth, Mary, filled and full of the Spirt of God sang these inspired words which came to be known as the Magnificat,

  • “[God] hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
  • “He hath put down the mighty from their seats,
  • [He hath] exalted them of low degree.
  • He hath filled the hungry with good things; 
  • And the rich he hath sent empty away.” (Luke 1:51b-53)

And so we ask you this evening… O’ listener, we are asking you…

What could be your greatest story? What, in the histories which fade in the midst of mortal men, and yet remain evermore within the inexhaustible never diminishing memory of eternal almighty God, 

  • What will be the record of your time spent in this world?
  • What will be the tale of all your deeds?
  • What will be the actions that you enacted during that introductory portion, that testing, that trial period, that preface to the story of the rest of your eternal life? 
  • What will be your story?
  • You – your biography continues being written as we speak, and then… soon… the book is closed at this one bottomless place; your eternally perpetuated state of… forever!

Consider the father of John the Baptist. A proud father who prophesied the future, and predicted the life that would be lived by his newborn baby son: a life, a story that would be forever told. His son, John, would be a man of action, a man of doing the best deeds possible, the greatest most joyously abundant use of a precious life – to be presently and then eternally given to heart filled with rejoicing and delightful memories that would be destined to keep pace with the never ending pleasures, even now, experienced by him… evermore.

Yes, Father Zacharias, with a mouth that had been muted by an angel, with a tongue that, for months, could not speak; Zacharias, at the birth of his son, John the Baptist, burst forth aloud and said,

  • “Thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for 
  • “Thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
  • To give knowledge of salvation unto his people 
  • By the remission of their sins,
  • Through the tender mercy of our God; 
  • Whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,”
  • [And why? Why should this be done?]
  • “To give light to them that sit in darkness 
  • “And in the shadow of death, 
  • “To guide our feet into the way of peace.” (Luke 1:76-79)

That’s a life worth living! That’s a life that you can’t wait to be living; a life that has to be lived if you would be truly… truly living… every day… with greatest joy!

Live that life, and then like the child, John – you’ll grow. You will wax “strong in the spirit.” You will be in a private personal bond with God “till the day of [your] shewing” of the light of truth to those who are, of those who would be – the people of God. (See Luke 1:80)

To help remember all this, we highlight for you a forgotten Christmas action story. A tale told in one small sentence that was and is to be forever lived by you. An easy roadmap to glory. The capsulized record of how Joseph and Mary responded to experiencing the great wonders of our blessed Savior’s birth. Here is what they did. Here is what they finished. Here is where they went.

“And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.” (Luke 2:39)

I. Scene One: Action! You are doing things for Christ!

“And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord,”

II. Scene Two: Action! Everything you do is now for Christ!

“And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord,”

III. Scene Three: Action! You are finally doing everything for Christ strictly guided by the Word of God (and not by lawless men)!

“And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord,”

Conclusion

“And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord,”

  • Back to the work that God had called you to in the region you were to ultimately reach!

“They returned into Galilee,”

  • Back to the nucleus of the specific ministry that God has given you in which you may joyously keep Christmas in your heart all year long, as you
    • Reach the world!
  • As you
    • Preach the word!
  • As you
    • Spread the Gospel!
  • As you tell all your neighbors, 
    • Jesus Chist is born!
  • As you tell all your friends…
    • Jesus Christ is real!
  • As you tell all your friends, and your family!
    • Jesus Christ was crucified for you! 
    • Jesus Christ was crucified for you!!
    • Jesus Christ was crucified for you!!!
  • As you tell all your friends and your family; and as you tell the whole world!
  • Tell the whole world!
  • Tell the whole world about your Lord, about the Savior: their Savior!
    • Your Savior!
    • Your Savior rose again!
    • Your Savior rose up from the grave!
    • Your Savior is alive!
      • He was seen on Earth after he rose up from the grave!
      • And everyday, He has been seen in Heaven ever since!
      • He was seen on Earth for 40 days after He rose up!
      • And for over 2000 years, He has been seen in Heaven ever since!
      • He was seen on Earth by over 500 people after He rose up!
      • And every saint who has entered Heaven has been able to see Him ever since!
      • And every angel sent from and soaring through the skies back to Heaven has been able to see Him ever since.
      • Yea, the saints casting down their golden crowns around his lofty throne have seen him ever since.
      • Yea, the Seraphim, the Cherubim, the wheels with eyes described by Ezekiel have all seen him ever since.
      • St. Stephen, the martyr, stoned while winning the soul of the Apostle Paul, looked up into Heaven and saw the risen Jesus!
      • Saul of Tarsus who became the Apostle Paul, thrown off his horse on the road to Damascus, looked up into the blinding light and saw the risen Jesus!
      • Yes, John the Apostle, present in Christ’s ministry on Earth, witness to him dying on the Cross, beholder of the Empty Tomb, amongst the 500 who beheld again in Earthly ministry for 40 days, found again with those looking upward as our Lord ascended back up into Heaven, and even then blessed to see the gigantic apperision of the glorified Jesus on the Isle of Patmos: John, o’ John will testify too, “Yes, oh yes, I have seen the risen Christ!

Oh, there is action in the Christmas Story!

There is action in the Risen Christ!

There is action in the Christian

Who will lead an active life…

That testifies of Christ!

So testify.

  • Testify!
  • Testify this testimony!
    • Jesus is alive!!!!
    • Jesus is alive!!
    • Jesus is alive, and Jesus is coming again!

Don’t believe it? You will. 

  • Jesus is coming again.

Wish you could see it? You will.

  • Ready or not… He is coming again!
  • Saved or lost…. He is coming again!
  • Believing or unbeliever… 
  • For him or against him…
  • Agreeing that he’s the only way or duped into the imaginations of men and your own mind… 
  • Crying out in your heart, “Oh, please crucify him again! or shouting, “Hallelujah! Christ returneth!”

No matter what you say! No matter what you do! No matter what the whole world wraps its arms around each other and declares!

O’ world! O’ world!

You can talk all big to each other.

You can influence each other on TV.

You can blast your opinions

  • on every computer that’s on every desk,
  • on every smartphone that’s in every pocket,
  • in YouTube, on Facebook, and deep down into the latest distractions on Tick Tok;
  • even if you could shove up everyone of your heads into the fake so-called world of virtual reality;
  • Still… still… still…
    • He is coming again!
    • He is coming again!
    • He is coming again!!!
  • Pestilences, beginning with COVID-19… check!
    • Our Saviour is coming soon!
  • The World Trade Towers on 9/11, and other wars and rumours of wars… check!
    • Our Saviour is coming back soon!
  • Earthquakes in different places… check!
    • Our Saviour is coming back real soon!
  • Economic systems are failing… check!!
    • Jesus is coming soon!
  • Famines are on their way here… check!!!
    • Jesus is coming again soon!
  • Society’s crumble, riots increase, the depravity of man stands up from its hiding place and begins to fully reveal its Christ and Christian-hating teeth… check! Check!! Check!!! Check!!!

Look up! Look up! Look up, your redemption draweth nigh! The Day of his appearing approaches! We shall see him in the skies! Every eye shall behold him, every tongue shall confess, and every knee shall bow.

He is coming again!

He is coming again!!

Look up everybody and everyone… Jesus Christ is finally gonna appear! Almost certainly in ours or in our children’s lifetime… Jesus Christ is coming again!!!

Joseph and Mary returned “to their own city.” Yes, they did. Jesus was with them. Jesus had come. Jesus was there, and they did return. Now, dear darling beloved, our time is coming. Jesus is coming. We will meet him in the air. Believe this. “Comfort one another with these words.” Jesus is coming, and with Him we too will return “to [our] own city.” 

At last, we are going home! Saints of God, surrendered co-laborers in Christ, we are going home!

Jesus is coming again, hallelujah… soon!

 

OUTLINE:

A Christmas Action Story

(A Message to Members of the Body of Christ)

“And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Nazareth.” (Luke 2:39)

I. Scene One: Action! You are doing things for Christ!

“And when they had performed…,”

II. Scene Two: Action! Everything you do is now for Christ!

“And when they had performed all things…,”

III. Scene Three: Action! You are finally doing everything for Christ strictly guided by the Word of God (and not by lawless men)!

“And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord,”

 

MEMBER’S DISCUSSION:

Oneness Pentecostalism (a.k.a. Modelism)

(a suggested topic)

I. PAW a.k.a. Oneness Pentecostalism, a.k.a. Modelism

II. False doctrine

III. The Trinity vs. Modelism

IV. Biblical Baptism 

V. Let’s see what the Apostle  John had to say in his first epistle.

  • But first, here’s general info about Word for Word translations.
  • Click & see the beginning “Word for Word” section of the chart.
  • I John 4:3 (AMP & KJV)

“And every spirit that does not confess Jesus [acknowledging that He has come in the flesh, but would deny any of the Son’s true nature] is not of God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and is now already in the world.” (1 John 4:3, AMP)

“And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” (1 John 4:3, KJV)

1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and now it is already in the world.

1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:

3 And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.

4 Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

5 They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.

6 We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error.

7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.

14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.

15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

19 We love him, because he first loved us.

20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.

 

WORSHIP:

God Rest You Merry, Gentlemen – Soundiva Classical Choir-HDJ

Opening:

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

Message:

Joy to the World | Merry Christmas from George Fox University