Christmas Eve
2024
“Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God with us.'” (Isa. 7:14)
The Bible reveals that an angel quoted to Joseph this prophecy from Isaiah, who was engaged to Mary, telling him that she would bring forth a Son and His name would be called, “Immanuel” meaning “God with us.”
This is the profound message of Christmas—that we are no longer alone in a dark, confusing, and so often painful world, but through Christ, God is “WITH US.”
Jesus has promised every person who places their faith in him to never leave or forsake them (Heb 13:5).
LEAVE means to ‘give up on.’
FORSAKE is ‘to desert, to abandon, to walk out on.’
Jesus will never give up on you, nor desert you when you need Him most!
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And He extended this promise to the very end of the age, to the end of time and history (Matt 28:20).
People may let you down, and you may let people down, but Jesus will never let you down!
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Christmas is not just a time of joy and celebration, it’s also for many a very difficult time for a variety of reasons.
It accentuates the pain of having lost a loved one,
Or it opens the wounds of family alienation with parents,
or children,
or of a long-term friendship that is for some reason now broken.
LISTEN: While you may feel LONELY at times, and perhaps more than ever during this Christmas season, you are never ALONE.
Without question, one of the most remarkable promises in the Bible is that Christ himself enters into the human heart that welcomes Him and lives there.
Jesus said, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him” (John 14:23 NKJV).
Rev. 3:20 “Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends.”
This means we are never ALONE in life.
The Apostle Paul talked about how, when he went to trial before the Roman government, “all those in Asia abandoned me…No one stood with me, but all forsook me.” (2 Tim 4:16
But then he delivers the triumphant words, “But the Lord stood with me!” (Vs. 17)
Likewise, God is with us, God is with YOU, no matter what you’re going through!
Are you going through a time of difficulty or crisis tonight?
God promises in the book of Isaiah,
—“When you go through deep waters of great trouble I will be with you.
—When you go through rivers of (overwhelming) difficulty you will not drown.
—When you walk through the fire of oppression you will not be burned up. —The flames will not consume you…
—Fear not, for I am with you!” (Isaiah 43:2,5 LB)
Are you going through rivers of great difficulty this Christmas?
Do you feel like you’re drowning in an ocean of overwhelming problems?
Maybe you’re in the fires of oppression or some kind of persecution for your faith and it hurts.
Perhaps your marriage fell apart this year.
Or your children have forgotten about you.
The message of Christmas is that God has not forgotten you!
The message of Christmas: GOD IS WITH US!
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Now, let me close with this thought:
Christmas is almost over.
It’s been a long, busy, exciting buildup, but soon the presents will be opened and the wrapping will be thrown away.
The tree will be set out on the curb,
The lights taken down,
All the decorations hauled back up into the attic.
And a New Year will roll in.
But here’s my question: Will you leave Jesus on the curb with the tree?
Will Jesus, figuratively speaking, be put in the attic along with all the other decorations until next year?
If so, you have tragically missed the truth of Christmas to your own great loss and even peril.
Jesus is more than an expendable decoration.
Jesus is a 24/7, 365 days a year
living,
prayer answering,
walk with you,
talk with you,
fellowshipping Savior that was never meant to play second fiddle to anything or anyone!
You might say, “But I’m so busy. I have so many things going on.”
But you can make time for Him, starting tonight!
—Don’t be like the Bethlehem hotel that had no room for Him and sent Him out back…and in doing so missed the greatest opportunity ever to knock on their door!
As we light these candles in a moment, it is a physical illustration of a spiritual truth——when Jesus comes to live in our hearts, He lights our souls with the Presence of His Spirit and with the flame of eternal life.
Will you breathe a prayer tonight of commitment and resolve to make Jesus number one on the throne of your heart?
Invite Immanuel into your heart tonight!