Pray
Well, we have Christmas coming up quickly. There is just over a month or so to go, and the commercial machine is cranking up high. It’s almost comical how far Christmas has gotten away from its true meaning
Many believe that Jesus’ first entrance into this whole God story was at Christmas. Not so. Jesus has been around since it all got started. All of creation came through him.
So, I thought that tonight we would take a look at this as we prepare for the Christmas season and see if there isn’t a way that we could deliver a gift back to the God who loves us so.
John 1:1-5
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. And, the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
4 In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men.
5 The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
Genesis 1:1-3
1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.
3 Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
John 8:12
Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, ” I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.”
What do we see here?
1) Jesus is the Word of God and has been here since it started.
2) Jesus is life.
3) Everything is created through Jesus.
4) When God speaks (His “Word” is released), and things happen. Life comes.
Look at the first thing that was brought onto the creation scene – light. Yes, God spoke, and there was light! There was no mistaking what the dark world needed first more than anything else – light. This was a prophetic declaration that Jesus is that light and was needed before anything else came into existence.
What’s the second thing? Life! Life comes through the Word. In Him was life. And that transfers to us too, which shows us why it is so important that we speak life and not death. Proverbs 18:21 “Life and death are in the power of the tongue.” What we say brings life or death. God brings life! What did satan bring when he spoke? Death! Cause, he spoke and sin entered the world, and the wages of sin is death.
This is important. The more we come to realize that when God speaks His Word, Jesus is released onto the scene, the more we can come to believe Him for what He says. As believers who have put their faith in Christ, we know we have salvation. But, none of us has a physical ticket to heaven in our pockets. Yet, we know. God says that if we accept Jesus, we go to heaven. Period. God says.
So, why is it then that we only believe God for certain things – especially those things for other people (health, love, joy, prosperity, etc.)? Why cant we take God at His Word for us? This is a common lie of the enemy. God said it, yes. But, He didn’t mean it for you. Who says junk like that? Not the LORD.
The reality is that God speaks, and things happen. And, sometimes there is quite a gap in time between the “God says” part and the “things happen” part. And, that is where faith comes in.
Look at Hebrews 11:1-3
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction (or evidence) of things not seen.
2 For by it the men of old gained approval.
3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
Again, we see the Word of God releasing action. But, now we see that it is our faith that supplies the key ingredient. Faith is our believing that what God says is true.
Believing is a big deal to God. Over and over, we see Jesus rebuking the disciples for their unbelief or lack of faith. He also provoked the Pharisees for their unbelief. And, he said that he who fails to believe in Him will die in their sins. The LORD really wants us to believe Him. And, this goes beyond our salvation.
You see, out our belief in Him and what He says, we build relationship. This is the essence of it. If I trust you, I believe what you tell me. That creates quite a bond between us. If there is no trust, and I do not believe you, we cannot have much of a relationship at all.
Faith is the foundation of our relationship with God.
So, where do we get this faith. Personally, I have found that it is totally by grace that we receive faith. Now, grace comes in different forms but two of the big ones are as a gift and experientially. God can simply lay a supernatural mantle of faith upon us. That helps. But, he can also take us through some amazing circumstances in life that lead us to know who He is and whether He can be trusted. Out of His showing up over and over again, you start to actually believe that He is trust worthy and faithful and who He claims to be.
Romans 10:17
17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
So, Romans 10 says that hearing is how faith comes. Hearing comes by the word of God. I have heard this preached in many different ways, and they are all great – probably a lot better than I could unpack it now. But, for me, Jesus is the word of God, whether it be written or spoken, and my hearing Him is what has developed my faith. That is what fueled my experience.
Story of last journey/2 months in Colorado.
So, God proved Himself faithful. That has given me an awesome relationship with Him. I love to hear His voice because He brings life. He always brings life.
But, there is more. We can partner with God to do amazing things. And, these things require us to move out in faith. It can be as simple as obeying that nod that He gives you to go pray for a person. It could be giving your last dollar to someone, or it could be listening to what He might say over the next several days and then moving out in faith to obey that. Life is always the result.
Hebrews 11:6
“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
James 2:26
“For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.
Faith is definitely the ingredient, but obedience is acting it out. And, that is what pleases God.”
We hear God, we believe Him, and we move out as He desires. This brings great pleasure to our Father, and this is how we will present to him our freewill offering of love at this Christmas time.
For the remainder of our time, I want us to get quiet before the LORD. I want us to listen for His voice and to see if there is anything that He asked us to do long ago that we buried and have long since left in the ground. If so, we will ask Him to bring it back up so that we can move forward in faith to obey and please Him.
Secondly, I will pray for us all and ask the LORD to bring us encounters this week that require us to move in faith to His voice. Let’s seek Him and do something pleasing for His sake.
What could destroy the commercialism of Christmas and be a better Christmas present than to please the God of the universe?
Let’s pray.