Imagine…Taking over Christmas!

 

     The story is told of two women who rode the city bus at the height of the Christmas season.  Upon seeing a church decorated to the hilt, one turned to the other and said, "Well, I declare, it looks like the church people are trying to take over Christmas this year!"  But is that really God's call—to mount a campaign and take back Christmas?  No, His purpose for His church in these last of days is not to take over Christmas, but to let the true Christmas take over them.  It's a question of authority—God's way or our way?

     Our society today has chosen the other path, and the result has been obvious—lawlessness!  Headlines are full of child abuse, kids killing kids, and even courts changing the rules of elections midstream.  Tragically, it is true in the church, as well.  Many make up their own definitions of who Jesus is, opting for unsound doctrine and false understandings of salvation and sanctification.  How does it get this way?  Judges 17:6 reveals the answer—"In those days, there was no king in Israel, but every man did that which was right in his own eyes."  Oh, what a fragmented life that is!   Imagine where we would be if those involved in the first Christmas insisted on their own authority—taking over Christmas instead of letting Christmas take over them!

     Before we go there, however, allow me to show you God's call to accept His authority in your life and to move together with the Body of Christ "as one man." (Judges 20:1,6,11).  It is all through the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation.  In the very beginning, Satan began the lie, "Ye shall not surely die:  For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." (Gen. 3:4,5) From "day one"—man's challenge to true authority—he would make the decisions.  A. W. Tozer saw this years ago when he wrote, "Jesus Christ has almost no authority at all in most churches today.  His present position is like a king in a limited, constitutional monarchy.  Such a king is no more than a traditional rallying point—a pleasant symbol of unity and loyalty, much like a flag or a national anthem.  He is declared to be head over all, but in every situation, someone else makes the decisions."  Jeremiah spelled out their fate when he wrote that they "shall perish from the earth, and from under these heavens." (10:10-11) Yes, Adam and Eve were moving as one man—their own, leaving God's authority in the proverbial dust. 

     We see it as the people of Israel are being delivered from their enslavement in Egypt, only this time, they do it God's way.  Numbers 10 tells us, “And they first took their journey according to the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.  In the first place went the standard of the camp of the children of Judah...” Imagine if each person just "high tailed" it and split—millions in confusion!  Instead, they were to leave Egypt in an orderly way, each tribe under its own banner.  The first tribe to lead the way was Judah, the ancestors of Jesus Himself.  What a picture of the true church—leaving the ways of the world and moving as one man!  We see it in the book of Joshua, too—the fortified city of Jericho was going to fall, but would it be God's way?  Six times in six days Israel encircled the walls—in absolute silence—no jeering, no name-calling, no battering rams.  On the seventh day, they marched around seven times.  It sounds so ridiculous, but it would prove the city fell God's way and not their own.  In God's authority, they moved as one man, and the walls came tumbling down.

     We see it in the book of Judges—"And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred men that lapped will I save you...and (you) shall smite the Midianites as one man." (7:7,6:16) An army of 32,000 pared down to only 300—just before the battle and on purpose.  And when they did go into battle, it was with no weapons, only torches and trumpets in their hands.  Moving as one man, the enemy was destroyed as though they were one man—defeated through God's unity.  This truth is not just something confined to the Old Testament, we see it in the book of Acts—"And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were with one accord in one place." (2:1) Where would the early church have been without this "one accord," gathering as one man, knowing their need of the fullness of the Holy Spirit?  About the same position as much of the "church" today—total apostasy, and not even knowing it.  Paul called the Ephesians to be immersed in God's rule, "till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." (4:13)  How do we think universal salvation, easy-believism,  reliance on entertainment and hype to save, and "many winds of doctrine" (vs. 14) came into the church?  There is only one answer—through the door of our own authority.

     Praise God—in the end, all will find out, to the joy of some and to the total horror of many others, that God will have His way.  We see it again in the last book of the Bible—Revelation.  "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.  And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.  And out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations; and He shall rule them with a rod of iron...And He hath on His vesture and on His thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS." (19:11,14-16) Praise the Lord—it isn't all going to happen "helter skelter"—the True Body of Christ will not only be with Him now, but even right up to the very end—always moving forward as one man!

     We have seen it all throughout Scripture—He has a plan, namely, surrender to His authority.  Imagine—what would it have been like if the Christmas story was fraught with rebellion, disobedience, and an insistence on personal authority?  Imagine Zechariah, the godly priest, and his wife, Elizabeth, going their own way, marching together, like Adam and Eve—out of step with God.  If they had refused to name their miracle baby "John," would he have become that powerful voice in the wilderness, urging for the preparing of the way of the Lord and making His paths straight?  Or, would he become Rev. Zechariah, Jr., official priest, leading the people to Hell through a dead and ritualistic religious system?  Good question!  Imagine Mary refusing to be the handmaid of the Lord, demanding her own way!  Imagine Joseph actually doing as he had planned—divorcing Mary, and thereby, not becoming the godly earthly father God intended.  Imagine the shepherds refusing to leave their jobs and what they really wanted to do, in order to go and see the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!  Imagine the Wise Men refusing to leave their own country, their own comfort zones, to go and worship the newborn King!  Imagine Anna and Simeon, having waited for the coming of the Lord all those years, and now giving up and going home the day before Jesus came!  Yes, imagine—each one of these insisting on his or her own authority and order, and thereby, breaking ranks with God and refusing to march together into His heart—His way.  When this happens within the true Body of Christ, it is a sure sign that there is a problem with authority, and yet, His authority is a glorious thing—not burdensome in any way.  In fact, it is the only source of true freedom.  Know this—there is indeed a King in Israel, and everywhere else.  And His Kingdom calls all to what is right in His eyes, and His eyes alone.  Someone once said, "The people who move the world are the ones who do not let the world move them."  Don't insist on taking over Christmas and making it into what you want it to be, but rather, let the Lord of Christmas take over you!

 

Christ Our Rock Bible Church, following the leading of the Holy Spirit, “as one man,” has once again written an Advent devotional booklet.  It is entitled, “Christmas: The Present of His Presence…NOW!”  Request your free copy today or find it at our website.  Also, please feel free to copy this message—it is not copyrighted.  Please continue to pray for this ministry as we come under His authority, and thank you for your support.

Throughout the year 2000, we are providing you with readings from Genesis to Revelation to help you to see His true authority.

December 1    Hebrews 11                            16                    3 John

2                      Hebrews 12                            17                    Jude

3                      Hebrews 13                            18                    Revelation 1-2

4                      James 1-2                                19                    Revelation 3-4

5                      James 3-4                                20                    Revelation 5-6

6                      James 5                                   21                    Revelation 7-8

7                      1 Peter 1-2                              22                    Revelation 9-10

8                      1 Peter 3-4                              23                    Revelation 11-12

9                      1 Peter 5                                  24                    Revelation 13-14

10                    2 Peter 1-2                              25                    Revelation 15-16

11                    2 Peter 3                                  26                    Revelation 17

12                    1 John 1-2                               27                    Revelation 18

13                    1 John 3-4                               28                    Revelation 19

14                    1 John 5                                   29                    Revelation 20

15                    2 John                                      30                    Revelation 21

31                    Revelation 22