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Today I'd like to share the grace of God under the title, "Merry Christmas,"
What distinguishes Christianity from other religions is that Christianity does not require its believers to reach nirvana, be disciplined morally, study, meditate, or perform penance for salvation. Rather, believers in Christianity receive salvation immediately after believing in and accepting Jesus Christ as Savior no matter how terrible they are. Jesus Christ was not a teacher who taught us the way of salvation. Rather, Jesus Christ was by Himself the way, the truth, the life, and the salvation.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came to the earth 2000 years ago and our Savior, who carried our sins and inequities, died, was resurrected, and ascended to the Heaven. Christmas is the day when Jesus was born so it is a great memorable day God gave.

First, the birth of Jesus Christ is prophesied in advance. He did not happen to be born. In the Bible, Isaiah, a prophet who lived in 700 B.C., prophesied the secret of the birth of Jesus. He prophesied that Jesus would be born through a virgin.

Isaiah 7:14 says, "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel."

Immanuel means that God is with us. The identity of Jesus was exposed clearly in Isaiah 9:6-7. He was not an ordinary baby. Let us read it together.
"For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, And the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it
with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this."

Just think about this. When a mother hugged a new born baby in her bosom, could she call it as "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace?" How awkward it may be! It is inconceivable. The Wonderful indicates that he will perform wonderful things. They belong to God's realm because no human beings can ever try them. The Counselor shows the source of wisdom. 'Mighty God' is the almighty God who created heavens and earth. The Bible says that the fragile baby is Mighty God. Then 'Everlasting Father' is the ever-existing Father who created you and I. Next, 'Prince of Peace', 'King of kings' and 'Lord of lords' will be our King who stop all the wars and conflicts and bring peace to us. There has been no baby born with such names in the human history. There has been no baby except Jesus that has such an extraordinary name. Furthermore, it has been prophesied by Isaiah 700 years ago before the birth of Jesus. There is no way to express the wonder of his birth. Isaiah 32:2 gives us huge comfort. "Each one will be like a shelter from the wind and a refuge from the storm, like streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land." It was this baby that is like a shelter from the wind, a refuge from the storm, streams of water in the desert and the shadow of a great rock in a thirsty land.

Secondly, the birth of Jesus has been not only prophesied but also achieved by Mary and Joseph. Not symbolically but actually two thousand years ago from now!
Gabriel the angel informed Mary that she would become pregnant through the Holy Spirit. As he said, the virgin was pregnant by the Holy Spirit and gave birth to a Son later. Even though Mary was engaged to Joseph, they were not married at that time. Thus, it could not be said as an illegal birth. Nowadays we can assume that it was extramarital. If it were true at that time, both of them might be stoned to death! However, two of them were virgins. Then Mary was pregnant.

Luke 1:30-35 says, "You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?” The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God."

It was so marvelous in our imagination. Since then Mary grew bigger and bigger. As Joseph looked at her, he began to worry about her. He must have been greatly upset as his fiance became pregnant before marriage. Since Joseph loved Mary, he wanted to split up with her without any disturbance. People might criticize him because she was with child before they were married. Nonetheless, he willingly took the whole responsibility and determined to break the engagement with Mary. Then in his dream an angel appeared to him!

Matthew 1:18-25 says, "This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”). When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus."

Joseph deserves our praises. Even though this child was conceived by the Holy Spirit, it was totally beyond human understanding. Worse still, how could he avoid the cold eyes of insult and condemnation of other people? It must have been horrifying to him. However, as the angel of God manifested himself in his dream and explained the details, he obeyed without hesitance. Those whom God has chosen have been proved all believing and obeying people. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob believed his Word and obey it. Only those who eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil tend to argue pro and con excusing themselves before God. On the contrary, faithful believers always believe and follow God's command unconditionally. Joseph could not understand his circumstances, but he fully trusted his Word and obeyed and took Mary to help her deliver safely. At that time, the Roman Emperor commanded that people had to go back to their ancestors’ hometowns to be listed on the family register. Since Joseph and Mary belonged to the line of David, they had to go to Bethlehem, the town of David, to register. He took a long journey to Bethlehem with his fiance who came to her time. As they arrived there late, all the inns and lodging places were already full so they could not find any place to stay. However, Mary began to feel labor pains as soon as they reached Bethlehem. What a disaster!
They were so worried that they hurriedly entered a nearby stable to deliver a baby.
Therefore, Jesus was born in a stable and first put in a manger. It was significant. The reason why he was placed in a manger is that he came to be a spiritual food for all of us. As the Lord said, "Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life,"(Jn. 6:54) the first place he was put after birth was a manger, a trough for an animal. So baby Jesus couldn't afford a soft and clean cradle at his birth, but only a manger. Then the angel appeared to shepherds who lived out in the fields, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

Luke 2:8-20 says, "And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told."

Not only shepherds but also Magi from the east visited to worship baby Jesus Christ.
It might have taken several months for the Magi to come to Bethlehem from the east, today's Iran or Iraq. Therefore, the Star that led them to Bethlehem had appeared to them several months ago. When they arrived in Judea as nearly as the birth of Jesus, they first went to the palace of King Herod because they thought that a king was born. Then Herod was greatly disturbed at their visit and assumed that a traitor was born. He called them secretly and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”(Mt. 2:8)
As the Magi came out of the palace, the Star went ahead of them again. They finally stopped at the stable and found that the baby was lying in the manger and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The gold symbolizes kingship; he was born as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. The frankincense the prophet who foretells the future. The myrrh is bitter so it indicates his suffering as a sacrifice on the cross on behalf of us. Their gifts prophesied that he would be the Christ as our King, Prophet and sacrificial lamb for us in advance. We ought to know that this Jesus has come to us as the light of salvation and hope today.

Our first ancestors are Adam and Eve and through them we are born, but Adam and Eve committed sin and were forsaken by God and brought death to all of us! However, Jesus came to the earth as our new ancestor, not as another religious leader but a totally brand new ancestor who gives us a new lineage and new life.

Let us read 1 Corinthians 15:45-47 says, "So it is written: “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not
come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth; the second man is of heaven."

Jesus is our last Adam and there can be no other ancestor of humankind after him.
The first Adam brought death to us, but the last Adam has given us the eternal life. In Jesus there is life and he is the light of life to humankind. He said, "I am the light of the world; those who follow me will not walk in darkness but receive the light of life," and "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." We still have hope because Jesus as the last Adam has come to us as our ancestor and whoever believes in him will be born again and becomes children of God and receive eternal life.

Ephesians 1:7 says, "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace."

By the price of Christ's torn flesh and precious blood on the cross our sins are forgiven. The Bible says that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
The Lord commanded our ancestors who are the descendants of Adam and Eve to slay the lamb to offer its blood. It showed that Jesus would come as our sacrifice to shed his precious blood to redeem our sins. Then we are to receive not only new life but also the Holy Spirit as its guarantee. God has given the Spirit to those who believe in Jesus to call him as Abba Father as the sure evidence of the Spirit's coming.

Thus Romans 8:15-16 says, "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children."

2 Corinthians 1:22 says, "--set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."

The Spirit of God is guaranteeing our son ship. The Holy Spirit is within you right now. Those who believe in Jesus have Jesus in them, but unbelievers have the evil spirit in them. While the evil spirit drags them to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, the Holy Spirit comes to lead believers to faith, hope and love in Jesus Christ. Furthermore, Jesus has given us the holistic healing on the cross.

3 John 2 says, "Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well."

Let us read Psalm 103:3-5 together, "--who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s."

Our physical ancestor Adam fell and caused us to die through sins spiritually and physically through diseases and to be cursed to roll over among thorns and thistles of our circumstances. On the contrary, Jesus the last Adam has come to take our sins and to carry our diseases and curses for us and has given us the grace of the holistic salvation. We have hope in Jesus. We can receive eternal spiritual healing and physical health and freedom and liberation from the thorns and thistles of our surroundings. Jesus sets us free from curses and gives us the blessings of Abraham instead.

Let us read Galatians 3:13-14 together with loud voices.
"Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole.” He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit."

Please greet each other by saying, "You are blessed by the blessings of Abraham."
What are the blessings of Abraham? God said to him, “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants." Therefore, I bless you in the name of the Lord that you may walk with God who surely blesses you and gives you many descendants in the new year. Our God always wants to give you the blessings of Abraham and the fullness of the Holy Spirit. And Jesus has destroyed death and hell by his death on the cross and resurrection. He has opened the way from death and hell to the paradise in heaven for you.

John 14:1-3 says, "Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am."

The Lord died and was resurrected and ascended into heaven and is now preparing a place for each of his children who will go there. Yours and mine are also being prepared by the Lord right now. We are fully aware that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. We have died with Jesus and risen with him and ascended to already sit with him on the heavenly seats. According to God's Word, "As you know the truth, the truth will set you free," if you look at the cross and your newly changed being and do not compromise but move forward with faith, it will be done according to your faith! If you realize, know, look for and believe and confess with your mouth, you will surely receive victory in your life. To live a victorious life with faith, you must have a clear goal. You should have a definite goal, "I will overcome in Jesus."

In the New Year, set the goal that you will prosper in your soul, body and circumstances. Always imagine your changed life in your mind. Dream all the time. Never draw back, but two steps forward even if sometimes one step backward, but move forward unceasingly. If you backslide, the Lord will not be delighted. Then be strong and bold and confess with courage. Say that you can do it; you will overcome; you will not die; miracles are going to happen; something good is going to happen. Then you can overcome anything. Do not become a victim but a victor in Christ. It depends on your mind. God also blesses you through your mind. He will not work apart from you. He needs you and works with you. Therefore, do not make the precious blood of Jesus on the cross futile but effective to all of you.

No matter how painful we may be in the deserted and miserable wasteland, when we think of the cross and receive new life relying on Jesus, we can find the meaning and value of the life, curing us of physical diseases, and liberation from curses into the blessings of Abraham. This transformation requires our determination. Even if we lose the whole world, we can be resurrected from the place of death if only we have the Bible. Anybody can survive the wasteland. If you have the Word of God and accept it in your heart and change your thinking and dream with faith and positive confession, God will perform miracles through them. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever and he does not change at all. Jesus took the cross to give us good things instead of all the bad things that Adam and Eve ruined by their fall.
"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full."(Jn. 10:10) The Lord is here with us to give us abundant joy, peace and happiness. Jesus who came to us two thousand years ago died and was resurrected and has accomplished our salvation and is here among you.

He has delivered us from sins, emptiness and meaninglessness and the pain of death. Now he has shone our future with eternal hope and comes to us as our Savior to be with us right now. "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”(Mt. 28:20). "For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”(Mt. 18:20) Jesus is here right now!

The salvation of Jesus Christ is not to be given as a price for our deeds. It is the blessing that we receive salvation through the grace of God by believing and accepting Jesus who is the savior. Transformation and growth begin after being saved.