Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas. Vacations have begun, kitchens are turning into bakeries, cinnamon and nutmeg are in the air, and a mood of celebration is filling hearts. Jesus Christ was born. God was manifested in human flesh. And the promise of eternal life is something to celebrate.
Christmas is another special season to remember God created us, and God saves us. It is a time to remember everything is about Him. What I mean by this is that without Him, there would be nothing. The birth of Jesus Christ as a human baby is because we are His creation, and He wants to restore us back to the way He intended things to be the day He created all things. He became like us, so we could be made like Him—righteous. His creation, His birth, His death, His resurrection, and His promised restoration are the milestones in creation’s timeline.
Christmas is all about Jesus. He is the reason for the season. He is the reason we are here and exist as a church. He put us together to worship together and to work together. By the power of God almighty, we are what we are.
Pentecost Power
Another memorable moment made possible by God is the day of Pentecost, which occurred fifty days after Jesus was raised from the dead. One hundred and twenty disciples were huddled in a room, praying with anticipation and waiting for guidance from the Lord.
In Acts 1:6–8, Jesus spoke to His disciples, saying, “When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
So, they waited with expectation. Then, on the day of Pentecost, while gathered in one accord, something extraordinary and miraculous happened. Acts 2:1–4 explains, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.”
In Acts 1:6–8 Jesus told them what would happen: “It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power.” And “ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you.” And they spoke “as the Spirit gave them utterance.” This is noteworthy to emphasize that what happens in our lives is due to the power of God, not of us.
Witness Of The Power
On the day of Pentecost, empowered by the Holy Spirit, the disciples poured into the streets of Jerusalem, boldly proclaiming the word of God. It was a spectacle that puzzled many. That day, a wave of conversions swept through the city, despite some skeptics mocking the disciples. There was no denying the miraculous—a phenomenon unlike anything ever witnessed before.
In addition to speaking in tongues, the disciples were also empowered to heal. On one occasion, Peter took the right hand of a man who had been lame since birth and lifted him up. The man began leaping and praising God. In Acts 3:12, Peter asked the astonished crowd, “Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?”
This is the point of this lesson. We have no power in ourselves. Whatever we have is because it is given to us by God. Most importantly, it is because of God we have a hope of eternal life. God has done what we could not do. He heals us and He saves our souls. He paid for our sins. He raises the dead to life. He paved the way to eternal life. And He gave His only begotten Son to give us life.
How To Receive The Power
Peter explained how to receive God’s soul-saving gift in Acts 3:19–22: “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: Whom the heaven must receive until the times of restitution of all things, which God hath spoken by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the world began. For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you.”
In this statement by Peter, we learn how to be saved, what to expect from being saved, and what God did to save us. The two things to note for personal application are these:
- Repent- Acknowledge that God’s way is the right way. Stop believing your way is better than His way. Believe His will is better than your will. This include believing in the power of God, not of you.
- Be converted- This means to desire and embrace the change that comes with accepting God’s will for your life. It’s about allowing miraculously change you through new birth, to make you brand new. Conversion is the result of repenting.
When you repent, your sins will be blotted out, and you will be refreshed by the presence of God, replacing the anguish caused by His wrath against sin. Refusing to repent results in not having your sins blotted out.
God’s Work Of Restitution
God has done the work to make your refreshing possible. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be God incarnate, from birth to death; and He will send Him again when it is time to restore all things back to the way He intended at the moment of creation. This restitution is made possible only because of the power of God.
The work required for restitution is complete. There is nothing left to do. It is done. Because Jesus fully paid for our sins, heaven must receive Him; it cannot deny Him, because the work to redeem us from sin is completely done. He is not waiting to complete His payment. He is waiting for more of us—humanity—to be saved. And this is why we exist as a church—to proclaim His message, win souls, and train disciples. His message has been preached since the world began and is for everyone at all times, from Adam to the end of the world.
For Christmas, rely on the power of God and thank Him for His willingness to give you the gift of salvation.
