-Christmas, should Christians celebrate it
since Christmas has it's origins in pagan roots?
Should trees, decorations, gifts, and even church services
be dedicated to the birth of Jesus Christ
if Jesus wasn't born on December,
during the month of Christmas celebration?
Before we dive into this topic and as well I'm going to share
seven lessons that I believe we learn from the birth of Jesus,
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Now a little history on Christmas.
When Pope Julius I authorized December 25th to be celebrated
as the birth of Jesus Christ in AD 353.
We know that prior to that, the time of Christmas
was really a pagan holiday where the Romans celebrated
as the sun is coming back because from that point on
the days were getting longer and we were seeing the sun more.
And so as Christians would go in into each area
many times they would come against these pagan festivals
and holidays, and sometimes they would honestly just turn them
and celebrate something else instead.
As it happened, even what we see with Halloween
as we see the same thing happening even with Christmas.
The only difference between Halloween and Christmas is that
Halloween still represents pagan practices;
celebrating death, celebrating darkness
and celebrating satanism, really
even if they don't believe in that,
people who represent that celebrate that.
Christmas is different. How so?
Is because it celebrates joy
and it celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ.
Now it's obvious Jesus wasn't born on December 25th.
We don't know exactly when He was born
but definitely not on December 25th.
It was this pope that authorized for the birth of Jesus Christ
to be celebrated instead of the pagan holiday.
And then later on we see the first recorded celebration
of Christmas took place the year after in AD 333
during the reign of Roman Emperor, Constantine
who slowly converted to Christianity
with Pope Julius making it official around AD 350, AD 353.
And then later on in AD 529, Christmas day was declared to be
an official holiday.
Should Christmas be celebrated? I believe so
because if we see the birth of Jesus Christ
when the angels announced to the shepherds,
this wasn't exactly at that moment that Jesus was born
like an hour ago. This was probably time has passed
when maybe a day or two or maybe a week
when Joseph and Mary were still at Bethlehem.
And the angels told the shepherd the good news and they said,
we want you to go and see because the Child is born
the Savior is given.
And so they came and they worshiped and they honored God.
Some people believe that birthdays shouldn't be celebrated
at all because we don't see a clear indication in the Bible
to do that, but I think that celebrating the birth
of Jesus Christ into this earth is amazing.
But the most important is when we celebrate your own
spiritual birth because of Jesus' coming on this earth.
Now diving into the story of the birth of Jesus
I want to highlight seven lessons or seven truths
that could become really powerful for you
as you're going through this season, as you hear the songs,
as you're reminded of the story of the birth of Jesus Christ,
as you're inviting your friends and family to celebrate Jesus
and to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior,
as well as you're probably traveling to go and see your family
during this holiday.
The first lesson of Christmas or the first blessing
of the birth of Christ is in it's genealogy.
For those of you who ever start to read the New Testament
you come about 14 or so verses concerning
"this person gave birth to this person,"
and it kind of takes you off a little bit because you're like
"Wow, Abraham gave birth; I thought women gave birth,"
and there you see in the Bible men giving birth.
Now it's not saying that the men gave birth,
it's just simply saying that the seed from a man
is where the baby came from.
In the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1,
it mentions all of these amazing men
and then it mentions four women.
Now you would think these would be like four amazing
women of God that you have probably grown to love and know
like Sarah, like Rachael, Deborah and Hannah
you know who gave birth to Samuel; and so many others
but the Bible mentions these four women and they're like
actually the bad girls of the Bible.
Not that the boys or the men were not bad,okay,
but the Bible highlights these women.
We see for example the woman that is there, Rahab,
we see a woman that is there, Tamar,
we see a woman that is Ruth, and we see Bathsheba.
All these women, they had really bad past.
And it's almost like Jesus, the Father and the Holy Ghost
on purpose allowed that to be inserted into the
the genealogy of Jesus to remind us that
every sinner has a future and every saint has a past
because none of us are holy without Jesus Christ.
The question is not, what is your past?
The question is, are you connected to Jesus Christ?
The question is, are you willing to be in the genealogy of Jesus?
Are you willing to be a part of Jesus' story
by surrendering your life and by trusting in Him
as your Savior and as your Lord?
The second lesson of the birth of Jesus Christ
is the lesson of miracles.
It's interesting because prior to the coming of
the Lord Jesus Christ on this earth,
there was this 400 years silence of we don't see prophecy
we don't see this supernatural and these magnificent movings
of God that we see all the way from Genesis to Malachi.
Right before Jesus came, we see angelic visitations
we see an angel coming to Mary,
we see an angel coming to Zechariah,
we see the power of God begin to move,
we see Mary gets a child and she can't have children because
she hasn't had an intimate relationship with her husband.
We see Zechariah and Elizabeth have children in their old age
when they no longer can medically have children.
We see God supernaturally guiding the wise men.
We see God supernaturally pulling the curtain from heaven
and showing to the shepherds the choir of heaven
and angels singing.
We see that God is guiding the wise men,
We see God is guiding Joseph.
We see God is beginning like--
these like supernatural phenomenal is breaking out.
And it wasn't because this was the season of miracles,
it was because Jesus came.
And I believe that as you begin to draw close to Jesus,
you are opening yourself up to the miraculous.
As we are going through this holiday season
I want to invite you to expect the supernatural.
we're not seeking angels, we're not worshiping angels
but angels are God's servants. Angels are God's messengers
and God still speaks to His people through angels.
He did that in the Book of Acts,
He did that throughout the times of Jesus
and we especially saw huge angelic visitation
during the birth of Jesus. A lot of miracles were breaking out.
The dreams, that God was appearing in dreams.
I believe during this Christmas season,
during this holiday season, expect the Lord to visit you
in the dream, expect the Lord to touch you.
Now the Word of God is the foundation.
The Word of God, the Spirit of God is our guide.
but God wants to reveal His signs wonders and miracles
because Christmas is a season of miracles.
Lesson number three is the lesson in gifts.
We see that the wise men brought gifts to Jesus.
We see as well that Jesus was the gift of the Father
to this world.
You know God didn't just give us salvation,
He gave us a Savior.
He didn't gave us deliverance, He gave us a Deliverer.
He didn't give us healing, He gave us a Healer.
He didn't give us peace, He gave us a Prince of peace.
Christmas is a time where God gives His gifts.
Now I understand that if you study deeply the origin of
what Christmas used to be or what December 25th
was celebrated in the Roman Empire, you will see the trees
and the gifts and so many other things were part
of the pagan culture. And I do believe that the time
of the birth of Jesus Christ is the time where God has given us
His precious gift and His gift is the gift of His Son.
"For God so loved the world that He gave,"
and so His birth is God's gift to humanity.
And God gave us His presence. God didn't give us presents,
He gave us His Son, Jesus Christ. He has given us salvation.
He's given us the Savior, He's given us deliverance
and He's given us the Deliverer.
And that is the gift that every person needs to receive.
And during this holiday the question is,
have you received this gift?
The question is, have you opened your life to God?
The question is, maybe you haven't had anybody give you gifts
ever, that's not the point of this season.
The point of this season is that you unwrap the most important
and precious gift the Creator of the universe has given to you
and this gift is the gift of His Son.
And you unwrap this gift through faith,
you unwrap this gift through repentance of your sins
and placing your trust in Him.
And this gift will make the ultimate change in your life.
Lesson number four is the lesson of the manger.
We know that Jesus was born in the stable, not in the hotel.
There was no room in the inn and the reason being that
you know, at that time as it is in the time today
most people are so busy, they have no room for Christ.
And Jesus was born where lambs are born
because He was the Lamb of God.
The manger, this stable is a perfect example of a human heart.
It was dark, it was defiled and it was also unworthy
of divine presence.
It was dirty. Your heart is just like that.
It's dirty, it's defiled, it's dark
and it's unworthy of divine presence
but Jesus still went in there.
When you open your life to Jesus through repentance and faith,
Jesus will come into your heart and He will be born there.
And He will sanctify your heart by the virtue of visiting it
by His precious blood.
And this stable honestly, today it has become
something that people brag about or they say,
"Wow, Jesus was born in the stable,"
as though it's a sacred place because the presence
of Jesus Christ sanctified that place.
I believe that the presence of Jesus,
the new heart that Jesus offers through the gift of salvation
begins to redeem your heart from darkness to light,
from dirt to devotion, from being unworthy to being His child
and worshiping Him because that my friend, is what Christmas
that my friend, is what this holiday is all about.
Number five is the lesson of the shepherds.
See, it was the shepherds that were notified by God
that the Savior is born.
It's interesting because it wasn't the Pharisees.
The shepherds in the Old Testament, we see that
a lot of men of God were shepherds.
And it's interesting that it was to the shepherds
that the Lord revealed this amazing amazing news
that Jesus is born.
And then Jesus eventually declared Himself as a shepherd
as well later on we see in the writings of John,
"I am the good shepherd."
You know a Pharisee is somebody who studies the law,
but the shepherd is somebody who stays with the sheep.
These shepherds, they were social outcasts.
They were also religious outcasts because they didn't have
the time to go to the temple as other people were able to
because they were with the sheep.
And I believe that through the revelation of the shepherds
the Lord reminds us during this season that He stays with us.
He doesn't just come to save us, He comes to stay with us.
Jesus is not just our Savior, He's also our shepherd.
And as our shepherd, He leads us to green pasture.
He leads us besides still waters.
As our shepherd He walks with us
through the valley of the shadow of death.
As our shepherd He restores us.
And when we drift, when we fall away,
He goes after us and He brings us back.
So Jesus didn't just come to die for us,
He came to stay with us.
The sixth lesson is the lesson of the star.
There is a story of the wise men
when the wise men followed the star and it led them
to Jerusalem. It stayed over Jerusalem.
They went to some religious people inquiring
where was this King born?
And of course, the religious people knew all the answers
but they were a bit not even moved to go and see
this answer for themselves. And that's how religion is today.
They're satisfied with information.
They don't want to experience.
They don't want this information to become an encounter.
You know,they knew everything about the King
but they were not passionate, fascinated, curious
or interested to go and actually see this King for themselves.
And then, Herod heard about it and Herod was suspicious.
Herod was jealous. Herod was a hater.
He pretended to want to know information about Jesus' birth
and Jesus' whereabouts but in reality He was just threatened
by the birth of Jesus Christ thinking Jesus will come
and overthrow His throne.
And then they got out of the temple,
they got out of Jerusalem and they saw the star again.
They rejoiced. And this star started to lead them
until this star led them to an encounter with the baby Jesus,
with the Savior of the world.
I believe the star is a beautiful, perfect example
of the Bible.
It's something that God has illuminated.
It is God-breathed, God-inspired.
It is meant to lead us to God.
The star is not meant to lead us to itself,
the star is meant to lead us to salvation.
It's meant to lead us to the Savior.
It's meant to lead us to God.
Jesus said, "Study the Scriptures for they testify of Me."
So the Scriptures are not supposed to lead us
to just more information, to equip us to debate better,
to equip us even to live better even though the Scriptures
have principles for us to live by. There are laws,
but the purpose of the Scriptures is to lead us to Christ.
You won't be able to find Christ without the Scriptures.
You will not be able to know who Jesus is without the Bible
because the Bible reveal to us Jesus.
You know these wise men, they were led by the star.
Who are you led by today? Which star are you following?
Which influencer is influencing your life today?
Is it the Bible or is it social media?
I want to encourage you today to follow the star
that doesn't fall. To follow the star that doesn't fail.
To follow the star that doesn't have scandals because this star
the Word of God is the light to your feet.
The Word of God is like honey.
The Word of God is like hammer.
The Word of God is like a seed.
The Word of God is like a sword.
And the Word of God is your source of revelation
and illumination and it guides you to an encounter.
Don't read your Bible to just know the Bible.
Read the Bible so you can know God.
And the last lesson is the lesson of salvation.
It's really the purpose for the birth of Jesus Christ.
Whether you believe in celebrating it on December 25th,
or you celebrate it in January, or you celebrate it today
whenever you are watching or re-watching this video,
the real reason Jesus was born is to save you and I.
In Matthew 1:21 when the angel came to Mary he says:
Jesus will save His people. You belong to God.
You were created by God and God has sent His Son
to die on the cross for you
so that He can save you from your sins.
And I'm so glad that the world is celebrating this time
the birth of Jesus Christ.
Even though many people don't realize,
they don't think about Jesus Christ,
but the fact that music is playing in their stores and malls,
the fact that even artists that are not believers are singing
and trying to sing a song and release a song to get more views
and to get more sales, it's still to some degree acknowledges
and sends this message about Jesus' birth around the world.
Yes, it has been focused more on gifts, trees
and so many movies are made about Santa and the rain deer
but the underlying tone in this holiday
is still the birth of the Savior.
Jesus is the Savior of the world.
Jesus is the one whose birth brings peace and hope.
Are you right with God? Have you had your sins forgiven?
Are you saved? Has Jesus saved you from your sins?
He was born, but today He wants to be born in your heart.
If you don't know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior,
I would like to lead you into that relationship right now.
The prayer can't save you.
There is no such thing as a sinner's prayer in the Bible
but in the Bible we do see that sinners pray
and God hears them, and God saves them
through His grace, by faith.
Let's pray together.
Father God, I need You.
I'm a sinner and I acknowledge You right now.
I repent of my sin.
I place my trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and as my Savior.
I believe He is the Son of God
who died on the cross in my place
and right now I surrender my whole life to You.
Come and live in me. Oh Holy Spirit, change me
and make me more like You, in Jesus' name
Amen.
Thank you so much for watching this video.
And if this is the first time you've prayed this prayer
would you let me know? Go to hungrygen.com/vip
and click that, I just dedicated or rededicated my life
to Jesus, so that we can celebrate with you.
Thank you so much and until next time.
(music)