Finding Christmas: The Mission Statement

It was Chicago, October, 2003. I was attending a conference for Christian healthcare workers. One of the speakers used Isaiah 61 as the basis for his talk, and it changed how I saw Jesus and my obedience to Him. 

In a subtle way, I had begun to think of Jesus as mostly a healer of physical ills. He healed everywhere He went. He's the Great Physician. I saw the miraculous healings and, in a subtle way, mistakenly thought they were the "main thing", but they were not. Jesus made that clear from the start.

The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

Because the Lord has anointed me

To bring good news to the afflicted;

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to aptives,

And freedom to prisoners;

To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord...

                                     Isaiah 51:1-2 nasb

You probably remember this passage. It's Jesus' "mission statement." Hundreds of years after it was written, Jesus stood in the synagogue in Nazareth and read Isaiah 61:1-2. "Today, this is fulfilled in your presence," He told those listening. 

It didn't go well. Before he was through talking, the men there that day tried to throw him off a cliff. 

They wanted Jesus' miraculous healings. They wanted His water-into-wine trick. They didn't want to hear His good news or His proclamation of liberty.

He came to spread the good news of freedom in Christ. 

Christ did not come to tout a set of rules or beat us into submission.

He came to set us free. 

He did not come to heal all our sickness or remove all our sorrow.

He came to proclaim liberty to those bound by sin and its consequences.

As we celebrate the birth of Jesus this year, let's also celebrate the work He came to do... proclaiming, declaring, offering freedom, providing balm and binding hurt.

If we are to follow Him, we, too, must embrace the work He came to do. We, too, must make bringing the good news of Christ to a dark and perishing world our highest priority. Every other action must be made with the proclamation of truth as its objective.

My pastor said something yesterday that pretty much sums this up. "God was so excited about His plan to send Jesus that He couldn't wait to tell it. He announced it seven hundred years before He did it. If God was that excited about the coming of Christ, shouldn't we also be excited to tell the world?" 

We have good news and it's worth sharing. This Christmas, let's be sure to proclaim the best news of all. 

Christ has come. Christ has risen. Christ is coming again. Hallelujah.

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In case you missed any of the past week's posts, here are the links: Finding Christmas: Sustenance for the Weary, Finding Christmas: Remembering the Stripes,  Finding Christmas: Look to the Rock, Finding Christmas: The Rear Guard, Finding Christmas: Prosperity and Success,  Finding Christmas: Prophecy Fulfilled, Finding Christmas: The Good Husband, Finding Christmas: The Sin Fast.

The most read post of the last week: Finding Christmas: The Good Husband.

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#GoodNews #Advent #keepChristinChristmas #MerryChristmas #JesusChrist #disciple,#Wordbecameflesh #

Whispers in the darkness

Under these circumstances, after so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another, He began saying to His disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. But there is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known. Accordingly, whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed upon the housetops. (Luke 12:1-3 NASB)

In the original language, "what you have said in the dark" indicates something spoken in secrecy. "Heard in the light" references the illuminating light that makes things clear. This verse can be taken two ways, and I believe both are correct.

First, when we whisper secrets that we don't want heard, they will, all too often, find a way out and become public knowledge. If we don't want it known, we should not say it. 

Secondly, this is likely a prophetic reference to the time after Jesus' resurrection, when the disciples would be gathered together for prayer until the day of Pentecost. What was spoken of Christ in secret, in the hidden room where they sheltered, would be proclaimed for everyone to hear. The illumination of the Holy Spirit would make all things clear. When the Holy Spirit empowered them, the disciples would not hold back. They would share Christ with boldness and power. 

When we combine verse 3 with the verses that follow, speaking of coming persecution, it confirms the reference to whispers of Christ. Our faith should burn so brightly within us that we cannot keep silent about the wonder of Christ's redemption, no matter the cost.

Christians in this country have not yet experienced the kind of persecution that has been seen in other places around the world. It may come here as well (and almost certainly will). When persecution comes, our job will be no different. We are to follow Him and proclaim the good news that Christ died for sinners, just as we do now.

Therein lies the rub, doesn't it? If the good news of Jesus were dependent upon the way I share it with those around me, how far would it spread? How widely would it be proclaimed? What if the cause of Christ were dependent upon how you share Him with those around  you? If we don't share our faith with others now, it is not likely we will share our faith in times of persecution and danger. 

If we are to share Christ when times are hard, and we are, we must be willing to share Him when times are easy. Just to be clear, a hard time is not when someone thinks you are a fanatic or says a few harsh words to you. 

A hard time is when a soldier clad in black holds a knife to your neck and threatens to cut off your head if you do not deny Christ. 

A hard time is when a soldier with a gun threatens to kill your child if you do not recant your faith. 

That is a hard time. 

Nothing we have faced in this country compares.

Am I sharing the good news of Jesus with those around me? Am I making disciples? If not, how do I expect my faith to withstand hard times? How will I be faithful then?

If we have accepted Christ, we must follow Him. If we follow Him, we must share Him. 

It's that simple. 

It's also that hard. 

There is a decision to be made. Will I follow Him? Will I share Him no matter the cost?

but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, 

but is to glorify God in this name. (1 Peter 4:16 NASB)

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Father, help me to follow You faithfully, no matter the cost. Help me to share the good news that Christ died for sinners, of which I am chief. May honoring You be uppermost in my heart, in my words and actions. In the name of Jesus, Amen.