John 16:33 (NKJV) 33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will[a] have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
PEACE ON EARTH, GOODWILL TOWARD MEN, Words that are not TRUE, Words that are not reality throughout the world... Listen to this video and you will see the REALITIES of this real world...
Real LIFE is often NOT FAIR. Real LIFE has many difficulties, famines, wars, and great suffering...
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote a song called Christmas Bells. He wrote this song during the Civil War Time in 1863. The worst time that our nation in America ever went through during the Civil War. Brother killing brother during this time. At the same time Longfellow lost his beloved wife during this time period. He then got word that his own son was seriously injured in the Civil War battle.
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882)
Christmas Bells
(He wrote this during the Civil War Period where death was all around)
... I HEARD the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Till ringing, singing on its way,
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime,
A chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
Then from each black, accursed mouth
The cannon thundered in the South,
And with the sound
The carols drowned
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
It was as if an earthquake rent
The hearth-stones of a continent,
And made forlorn
The households born
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
"There is no peace on earth," I said;
"For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!"
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
"God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men."
Are you going through great difficulties at this time. maybe the loss of a loved one, maybe a child that has run away and is on drugs, maybe a divorce, maybe your health, maybe you lost your job and can no longer afford the mortgage on your house, maybe you have experienced rape, or being sexually violated or even have come home from the true war, suffering greatly from that war...
How can one experience 'peace' this time of year - when you are suffering greatly.
But there is HOPE for today, no matter what you are going through or what you have suffered - THERE IS HOPE... and you can experience GREAT PEACE within your own heart, no matter what you are facing or going through...
John 16:33 (TNIV) 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have pea#e. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
God made MAN a promise by giving us a WAY of HIS TRUTH... The word Immanuel means God with you.
"Then he said, 'Hear now, O house of David! Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.'" Isaiah 7:13-14
"now in the sixth month the angel gabriel was sent by God in a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David. The virgin' name was Mary. And having come in, the angel said to her, 'Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women."... Then the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, for you have found for with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus." Luke 1:26-28, 30-31d
"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 all Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there ill be no end. Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it with Jugment an Justice from that time forward, and forever." Isaiah 9:6-7
"And behold, you will coceive i your womb an bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest and the Lord God ill give Him the throne of His father David". Luke 1:31-32
"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." Micah 5:21
Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the City of Nazareth." Luke 2:4-7
Immanuel came to us through the name of YESHUA / JESUS... He became GOD WITH US... He became the MANNA of heaven, the BREAD OF LIFE...
Christianity is not a religion, it is not lighting candles, or doing the 'right' things but Christianity is a relationship between GOD and with everyday ordinary people like you and me. As human beings, we screw up, we doubt, we mess up... but there is NOTHING we have to do to be GOOD ENOUGH for God to accept us or receive us... Being GOOD does not make us to go to heaven... but it is all about a GIFT FROM GOD... and receiving that FREE GIFT that HE has given us through HIS SON JESUS...
WON - IT IS DONE!!!
No matter what you have done, no matter what you have gone through, no matter what you will go through in the future... GOD IS WITH YOU ALL THE WAY...
Romans Chapter 5 - GRACE RULES
When GRACE RULES there is no need for any other rules...
Romans 5 (NLT)
Faith Brings Joy
1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. 3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.
6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
Adam and Christ Contrasted
12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned. 13 Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. 14 Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. 15 But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. 18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous. 20 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
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In the beginning Adam and Eve got exactly what they did not earn... It was given to them by the GRACE OF GOD.. GOD WITH THEM. GOD provided Adam and Eve everything.
Garden in Eden - there was only one rule - 'don't eat of the tree of good and evil for if you do you are going to die'...
They (Adam and Eve) disobeyed God and GRACE went out the back door... and DEATH AND SIN entered through the front door. People began being selfish, jealous, envious of wanting things that were not theres to have, and look at the world, look at your own heart... The world is all about UNGRACE - world of self.
Our own struggle is a world of UNGRACE and it rules, lack of justice, poverty, wars....
When Adam sinned it brought death and SIN to all the world... Death entered the world and separated us from GOD...
Once Adam sinned - ALL of us sinned...
Once grace left .... fairness left, justice left... Life is not fair.
SIN RULES in this world today... This is our struggle. SIN and DEATH rules, lack of justice...
Romans 5:12 When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.
Romans 5:13 Yes, people sinned even before the law was given.
Before even the 10 commandments were given by GOD - people sinned.
One mans sin, through Adam, brought SIN to all...
Romans 5: 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins.
How many of you have received a speeding ticket - one thing you can do is go to 'Traffic School'... and the judge counts the speeding ticket. Are you guilty of speeding - YES... but the Judge wipes out/clears out your speeding ticket as though you never did it.
This is GOD'S GRACE... Adam brought sin, GRACE left the world, DEATH AND SIN came in. Even though we are guilty of our sins we are made RIGHTEOUS before GOD... Romans 5: 16 And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins
Romans 5: 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ.
GIFT OF RIGHTEOUS from GOD to you... Right standing before GOD. Reintroduced into the WORLD OF GRACE...
Those of us whom chose to RECEIVE this gift... If we are willing to RECEIVE THIS GIFT - The gift is ours... This is a FREE GIFT from God himself...
Romans 5: 18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.
The message of Christmas is simple: The gift of righteous is a GIFT with no strings attached and to have GOD actually give it to you. GOD will never force it... The gift is there but you must chose to receive it... and if we chose to receive it we are made in RIGHT STANDING before GOD.
This is what CHRISTMAS is all about - GRACE
We live in a ungraced world... ungraced DNA
GRACE HAS WON - IT IS DONE
Romans 5: 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.
Do you know 'why' you are a sinner... it is not because you have sinned... It is because you were born into sin... That is who you are to the core...
Just like a dog is not a dog because he barks - it is because he was born as a dog...
You and me, were BORN as sinners... We do not become sinners because of acting like sinners but we are BORN as sinners...
Romans 20 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
GRACE HAS WON, IT IS DONE
Noel - meaning the First Christmas
God brought GRACE back to the world and He came as a little baby that grew up like a life that you could never live, and HE died on a cross... for your sin and my sin, and HE is going to pay for your sin and my sin, sins of the entire world, even though we do not deserve it...
It is not about me being religious, me going to church, me doing the right things, but it is all about what CHRIST did for me... there is NOTHING I can do to SAVE myself.... it is simply about RECEIVING HIS GIFT O GRACE... It is all about HIM.
People do not miss heaven because of their SIN - people miss heaven because they do not accept GOD's GRACE....
John 3:17-18 (NLT)
17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him. 18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
GRACE HAS WON, IT IS DONE
We can experience GREAT PEACE within our hearts... Even if the world collapses we can still walk in PEACE knowing whom holds our FUTURE...
Psalm 33:11 (NKJV) 11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
Isaiah 40:3131 But those who wait on the LORD
Jeremiah 29:1111 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Psalm 73:26 26 My flesh and my heart fail;
GRACE HAS WON, IT IS DONE
We can experience GREAT PEACE within our hearts... Even if the world collapses we can still walk in PEACE knowing whom holds our FUTURE...
Psalm 33:11 (NKJV) 11 The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
The plans of His heart to all generations.
Isaiah 40:3131 But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.
Jeremiah 29:1111 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Romans 5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us
Romans 15:1313 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit
Psalm 73:26 26 My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
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