Christmas is a Time to Know God

Christmas is a time to know God. One aspect of knowing God is understanding His character.

Character has been defined as who you are when no one is looking. Who you are and how you act when there's no chance of being seen is who you really are regardless of what you tell yourself or anybody else.
Our character determines our actions in the various facets of our life and relationships.

For example, I have four distinct and different facets to my personality and interactions with others:
1) Church Martin: This is the guy you see on Sundays, Friday nights, and at other church functions.

2) Family Martin: This is the guy who's husband to my wife, father to my children, grandfather to my grandchildren, etc.

3) Work Martin: This is who I am when dealing with other personalities and entities in the business world as well as directing construction workers; which often closely resembles herding cats!

4) Private Martin: This is the guy nobody truly knows but God. Regardless of what I say no one can know for sure what I am thinking, feeling, or planning inside my head.

This doesn’t mean that I’m different people! I’m the same man in all these interactions with others. As a Christian, the goal is to be Christ-like, and let Christ shine through in all that I do. The various facets of my character show up in these interactions with others as situations dictate, but they are all driven by my character. The only way to know my character (if my heart lines up with my words), is by observing my actions, particularly when I don't know you're watching!

God also has character. He has underlying traits that govern what He does and how He interacts with us because that is who He is!

The four Advent Candles celebrate Joy, Hope, Peace, and Love, which are all aspects of God’s character.

To the unbeliever, God is mysterious and unknowable. The World does not know Him, although they know about Him.

Romans 1:18-21 says:
Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
Rom 1:19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
Rom 1:20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse,
Rom 1:21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

An innate knowledge is given to all men that there is a God, that He is powerful and creative, and His creation is accountable to Him.
However, due to "suppressing the truth in unrighteousness" God is not revealed to those who reject Him.

See Matthew 13:10-13
Mat 13:10 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"
Mat 13:11 He answered and said to them, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
Mat 13:12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

Jump down to vs 34-35
Mat 13:34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them,
Mat 13:35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: "I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS KEPT SECRET FROM THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD."

While Jesus speaking in parables seems to be designed to confuse, it was actually to filter and instruct. To unbelievers, mysteries; but to believers instruction and revelation.
Also notice that Jesus said Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

Knowing about someone and actually knowing them are two entirely different things.
It's part of God's character that He doesn't reveal the intimate details of His kingdom to those who have not accepted His King.

While God is mysterious to the world who has not accepted Jesus, He is NOT hidden from those who seek Him and His Son. In fact, it is specifically GIVEN to us to understand His mysteries through Christ!

God has chosen to reveal Himself to His believers in four particular ways:
Son of David, (Lion of Judah, King of the Jews) as depicted in Matthew and symbolized in scripture as a Lion.

Suffering Servant, as depicted in the Gospel of Mark and symbolized in scripture as an ox.

Son of God, as depicted in the Gospel of John and symbolized in scripture as an eagle.

Son of Man, as depicted in the Gospel of Luke, and symbolized in scripture as a man.

See Revelation 4:6-11
Rev 4:6 Before the throne there was a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.
Rev 4:7 The first living creature was like a lion, the second living creature like a calf, the third living creature had a face like a man, and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle.
Rev 4:8 The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!"
Rev 4:9 Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever,
Rev 4:10 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying:
Rev 4:11 "You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created."

These four living creatures are part of the Angelic host created before man.
What does this have to do with the character of God?
Before the creation of the heavens and the earth, and before the creation of man, and before the creation of the heavenly host, when no one was looking, God decided to create four specific angels with four specific personas, which depict four facets of Christ’s character. AND IT IS GIVEN TO YOU TO UNDERSTAND THESE MYSTERIES!

See Isaiah 9:6
Isa 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
Isa 9:7 Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.

Notice there are two aspects to Isaiah 9:6
a Child is born; - Mortal frame, fully man, i/e., Son of Man
a Son is given; - The Son is pre-existent, from everlasting, i/e., Son of God

The fulfillment of this prophecy, God and Man manifested in one person, is the reason we can celebrate Christmas!

Luk 1:26 Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
Luk 1:27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
Luk 1:28 And having come in, the angel said to her, "Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!"
Luk 1:29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
Luk 1:30 Then the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
Luke 1:31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS.
Luk 1:32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David.
Luke 1:33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end."
Luke 1:34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"
Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
Luke 1:36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren.
Luke 1:37 For with God nothing will be impossible."
Luke 1:38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

Mat 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
Mat 1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
Mat 1:20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
Mat 1:21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins."
Mat 1:22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
Mat 1:23 "BEHOLD, THE VIRGIN SHALL BE WITH CHILD, AND BEAR A SON, AND THEY SHALL CALL HIS NAME IMMANUEL," which is translated, "God with us."
Mat 1:24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife,
Mat 1:25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS.

The most intimate detail of God's plan for mankind and the lengths He would go for us burst into the world suddenly on one dark night;
Luk 2:1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
Luk 2:2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria.
Luk 2:3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
Luk 2:4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,
Luk 2:5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
Luk 2:6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered.
Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

When you think of the baby in the manger, realize that it was all according to an infinitely detailed and skillfully orchestrated plan by God Almighty for the benefit of a lost world.
It was no accident that Elizabeth was too old to give birth to John the Baptist but miraculously conceived.
It was no accident that Caesar Augustus called a census.
It was no accident that Joseph was from the City of David.
It was no accident that there was no room in the inn.
It was no accident that the angels first appeared to the lowly shepherds.

Likewise, it's no accident that we're here today. Our lives, our circumstances, our health, our relationships, our failings, and our successes are no surprise to God.
He knows!
He's always known!

The Son of God given to us, the Child born to us, The Suffering Servant who died for us, and The Lion of Judah who will return for us, has always known what we need!

God, who planned every second and every detail leading to His birth in the world, is the same God who watches over us every second of every day with the love of a Father watching over His children who will withhold no good thing from them.

Advent Candle Lighting:

Gal 4:4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
Gal 4:5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
Gal 4:6 And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying out, "Abba, Father!"
Gal 4:7 Therefore you are no longer a slave but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.

It was at this point that the plan God set in motion before the world was created was made brilliantly manifest! The Eternal Son was born as a child, into a world at war with Him, at a time when the powers of darkness did not want Him, to a people who would not accept Him, in order to die for those that hated Him. Yet still he came, because God IS love!

Birth Night Story….

Welcome visitors to Jerusalem! I welcome you who join me on this roof to honor The God of Israel along with me in our nightly tradition.
As we gather for the census, let me remind you of our story.

Since the days of Malachi the Prophet, the Word of the Lord has not come to us. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob has been silent from on High.

Empires have trodden us down, rulers have oppressed us, battling kingdoms have trampled the Glorious Land down in their conquest, and righteousness is in short supply. Kings have blasphemed the Name of The Lord, and they seem to prosper! How can this be?
Even now we gather here in our cities at the command of a Gentile ruler to be counted and taxed according to our Inheritance in the Lord. How can righteousness come from such things? I wonder.......

Some have given up hope, some ridicule the prospect of God keeping His promise, yet some, few though they may be, still wait in faith.
Those of us who wait for the coming of Messiah are despairing of hope when we look with our eyes, waiting, waiting, ever waiting; yet faith in our God is all we have to hold on to, and so we wait in faith, looking with our spirit and not our eyes, for He WILL come.

The Lord has spoken in times past that He would come deliver us, yet still we perish! The Lord God told the Prophet Isaiah "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."

We haven't seen this yet. Such a strange and wondrous sign indeed! "A virgin shall conceive and bear a Son"? What manner of sign will this be?

Our greatest and most revered Prophet, Moses, told us "The LORD your God will raise for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear,".
Clearly, our deliverer will come from among the descendants of our father Abraham. But when Lord?? We languish among the wicked, we languish in our own sin, and we cry Come quickly Lord!

The righteous man, Simeon, has proclaimed that the Lord has promised Messiah will come in his lifetime and he will see Him with his own eyes! So there's that to consider if you can believe in such things since Simeon grows old...

The Lord God also told our Prophet Micah "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from old, From everlasting."

This promise gave rise to my families’ tradition of sitting here on this rooftop every evening, looking towards Bethlehem in the distance, to see if tonight, this very night, Messiah would appear and deliver us.

But alas, the night is far spent, the revelers have gone, and quiet is setting over Jerusalem like a cloud. I suppose this is not the day of our salvation. Perhaps tomorrow....

BUT WAIT! WHAT IS THIS I SEE? What is this light on the horizon?
BEHOLD! Bethlehem, even Bethlehem, seems to be glowing with a light such as has never been seen before!
Could it be?
Dare we even hope?

I think I'll wait out the night here to see what these things be!

Luke 2:8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.
Luk 2:9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.
Luk 2:10 Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.
Luke 2:11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Luk 2:12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger."
Luke 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
Luke 2:14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"
Luke 2:15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us."
Luk 2:16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
Luk 2:17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child.
Luk 2:18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds.
Luke 2:19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.
Luk 2:20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.

SILENT NIGHT – Candle lighting

Romans 8:28 says:
Rom 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
Rom 8:32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?

So remember the baby has come, remember the Son was given, remember the sacrifice was made, and remember the King is coming!

Merry CHRISTMAS!