Praise God that we are in the house of God to celebrate this holy, holy night -that this night we celebrate the birth of our Savior! What a great time it is in the Church of God! The team did such a wonderful job and I love this time of year because we get to hear some of those old Christmas songs that I love so much - and I'm not talking about “All I Want for Christmas is You” for some of the high school kids! That’s not the old songs I’m talking about. I’m talking about the hymns. Going back to the 1700’s and hearing some of the lyrics that are in there. They speak so much to what this holiday truly is about.

If you could put up those lyrics from “Hark the Herald” - such a special song written so long ago and the lyrics in there are so powerful and I want to go over a few just as we're opening up:

“Joyful, all ye nations rise up together, join the triumph of the skies; With all the angelic host proclaim, ‘This night that Christ was born in Bethlehem!’ Light and life to all he brings, He rose up with healing in his wings; Mild he lays his glory by; Born that no man may die, Born to raise the sons of earth, Born to give them second birth.” Amen.

That’s so powerful when you read it, when you truly remember what this holiday is about. We are meant to join with all of the angels, proclaiming that tonight ‘Christ was born in Bethlehem!’ That tonight the Savior has been born! That a Savior has been born on this earth! We are no longer desolate! We are no longer alone! We are no longer without hope because Jesus Christ has been born! Amen!

I want us to remember that for the longest time the world was without hope - the world was dark, and it was in sin and it was trying to get by, but it just couldn't make it. And then God sent the image of the Father, His son, down - that is the divinity of God. I need you to realize today that Jesus Christ being born wasn't just any old birth. No, It was God's divinity, God's power; the Godhead came down in bodily form and it came to a dark place and there was a light in this place and there was hope in this place!

"This is the message that we have during the Christmas time: That Jesus Christ was born, that we might receive a second birth."

This is the message that we have during the Christmas time: That Jesus Christ was born, that we might receive a second birth. No longer born of this earth, but born of the Spirit of God. That is the message of Christmas and it’s such an exciting time! You know, we get so caught up sometimes in what Christmas is and we get busy buying gifts and we get busy doing everything else. But today, remember that Christ came that we might receive second birth. That we might no longer be men and women of this world. That we might no longer be born into the carnality of this world, but that we might take part in the divinity of God. That is why it’s such a special night. Never before did they have that opportunity, but we tonight have the opportunity to take part of the divinity of God!

He did not come to merge with the world, He came to bring light to a dark place! He came to establish His kingdom and of His governance there will be no end! Hallelujah that this night, it is a holy night - the night that our Savior was born!

Tonight I want to talk about what the Christmas message is really about, what it really means for us. And first we’re talking about how the divinity of God came into this world. The first verse I have for you today is Luke 1:35, and I know we’ve been reading this a lot during the season, but just hearing about Mary and her situation and what the angel said to her when he came to her has just been so powerful for me. “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.’” I didn’t even know that they were doing that song “Mary Did You Know”, but you think about her situation, right? She was unmarried. She was promised to be married to Joseph. All the circumstances didn't fit her situation. It should've been bad news for her. It was going to look bad upon her, yet in all things you said, “God, no, I trust you. I trust you this day. Let it be as you have said because I trust in your name”. When you look at that, because of that - the Holy Spirit comes on her and overshadows her, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you, and the Spirit of God left a seed inside of her that manifested Jesus Christ the Son of God.

There was a seed of holiness that was implanted in her. It wasn’t a gradual thing, it didn’t come with compromise, it didn’t come with convincing, she didn’t have to be convinced over time. No, there was a thing when God spoke to her and she said, “Yes, God! Yes! Let it be as you have said. I trust in your name today. Come and implant that in me. Come and be inside of me this day!” What a powerful message: God wants to overshadow you with the Spirit of God this day! God wants to come in and implant holiness inside of you. That holiness is supposed to grow, it’s supposed to manifest Jesus Christ. God wants to come today and speak to you and say - Here I am! I want to do something different inside of you, something not of this world. I want divinity to be planted inside of you, I want holiness to be planted inside of you and let it grow and let it manifest the Lord Jesus Christ! Amen.

"He has intended for the divine light of God to enter into this carnal world through you"

If you're looking for any other salvation outside of the salvation that we can read about in the story of Mary, then you are missing what God intended. God intended that He would speak to you, that you would say yes, that it wouldn't be a compromise, that it wouldn’t be a convincing, that He would come inside and implant something inside of you - a seed of holiness - that would manifest Jesus Christ. That's what it's supposed to be, just like Mary all those years ago, God is looking to do the same thing today. He is looking to bring light into the darkness. He has intended for the divine light of God to enter into this carnal world through you! The power of God was meant to overshadow you, go deep inside of you, implant something inside of you that it would grow and manifest something of God; not something of yourself, not something of this world, but something divine!

We live in a world today that's constantly trying to mix that light, trying to dilute that light down into being something that the world can accept. Christmas has become less about Christ and more about presents and the commercialism and everything that goes along with it. I've even heard people say that Christmas has evolved beyond Christ and it's something that everyone can celebrate, no matter what you believe in - even if you don’t believe in Christ. And I look at that and I say - look at the name! It’s literally CHRIST-MAS! You can’t move past that.

"...the spirit of Christmas is the Holy Spirit"

They talk about this spirit of Christmas, right? There is always this talk about the spirit of Christmas that comes like a thing in the air and floats upon people, but people don’t realize the spirit of Christmas is the Holy Spirit! It has always been the Holy Spirit and will forever be the Holy Spirit that comes upon a man! This time of year has become so secular and unspiritual because the message has been so watered-down. Even the hope of salvation has been watered-down to something that you can just accept on a whim and continue to live your life however you want - but let me tell you that that attitude does not reflect the divine nature of Christ being implanted inside of a man and coming alive and birthing Jesus Christ; this is not light shining in a dark place, it's a mixture.

The world is constantly trying to dim it down and say - look I don’t want the light to be that bright. You have to dim it down. You have to put a shade upon it. You can have a relationship with God, but let it be inside of your heart, don’t bring it out for anyone else to see; I don’t want to see that, it hurts my eyes. Dim it down a little bit that way you can be around everybody. But let me tell you, the divine nature of Christ is not of this world; it is meant to bring light into a dark place! The divinity of God is meant to shine through you. I tell you, don't dim it down, don't put a shade over it, because God is looking to manifest Himself in His people today.

"He came down to bring the divine nature inside of us, not that we would merge, but that we would stand out"

We cannot be ones who mix. The salvation of God came to save you from the world, not to mix with it. They were meant to overshadow you to overcome this world - that you would be moved separate; that you would be separate from the depravity and the carnality of this world and that you could be saved. The divine was meant to be inside of you. Don’t be fooled people of God - Christ and the Spirit of God, they’re not of this world. They created this world, but they are not of this world because this world is of carnality and of sin. God came down when Jesus Christ came down. He was bringing something of heaven down to this earth. He was bringing something that is not found on this earth. He was bringing the divine nature of God down into Mary. Today, when God moves upon somebody and moves upon a man He puts a seed of holiness inside of them. That seed of holiness is not of this world, it’s of heaven, it’s of God, it’s the divine nature of God that comes down! He came down to bring the divine nature inside of us, not that we would merge, but that we would stand out.

"His goodness, His power, His grace, His love - it was given in bodily form and it was named Jesus Christ"

Remember what his birth was like, it was not a normal birth. Remember that in the midst of the animals and the manger and in the midst of the normal and the mundane, Christ the son of God came. Remember the host of angels that appeared that began to sing praises as He was born and began to proclaim the good news! Remember that heaven was in such an uproar the Angels could not stand still, but they ran out to the fields and found the shepherds and began to proclaim the good news that “Christ had been born! A Savior had been born in Bethlehem today!” You see, they understood the time that had come. They understood this time that creation had been waiting for forever. They understood that the time had come for Emmanuel - ‘God with us’. The divinity of God: His goodness, His power, His grace, His love - it was given in bodily form and it was named Jesus Christ!

The divine came into the world so that we would not have to die, but that we could know that eternal life, that we could know that divinity, that we could know the goodness, love, power, grace, all of those things that God - that we could come to know Jesus Christ! That divinity is meant to be shining through each one of us. It's not to merge or to mix or to compromise, but it’s meant to stand out for all to see. This divinity is what makes a man live differently. People look at the Christian and say, ‘Well, you just try to follow the Bible and do what the rules say, and you try to live your best life and be the best person you can be.’ But that's not what it is! Let me tell you that when God comes and implants something of heaven inside of you, when He comes and implants His divine nature inside of you, you are not following a rule - no, you can't help but begin to live like God because God is not of this world. So we can’t continue to live in sin and live in carnality and keep doing all the things your friends are doing or your coworkers are doing or your families are doing. We can’t continue to live like that because we are no longer of the world, we have been made of heaven, God has implanted His divinity inside of you! God has come, Jesus Christ is being birthed inside of you and He is not of the world; so neither can we be.

It’s Christs’ divinity overshadowing a man that causes him to leave all things behind and follow God. Remember what the verse says, people of God, it says, “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Christ inside of you being birthed and being manifested, the Spirit of God being manifested in you, that is the hope of glory for us and for this entire world and that is the message of Christmas this night! Amen.

"Christ came to transform you"

So not only did the divinity of God come into this world, but the divinity of God came to make men holy. Lets go to the First Corinthians verse. It says, “The body that is sown is perishable, but it is raised imperishable; it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, yet it is raised in power; it is sown a natural body, but it is raised a spiritual one.” This verse is specifically talking about how what we spiritually do now will be reflected in our bodies in the end. This is the end result of the Christmas message: Christ came to transform you. Pastor Janeth said that in the beginning -He came to transform. What was once old is being made new. What was once fleshy is being made spiritual. What was once carnal is being made holy. You have to understand that He didn't come to change you as you are. I’ve said that before, but the word “change” - you think about ‘change you as you are’ - that means you can always change back. If you change one way, you can always change back to the other. God did not come to change, He came to transform. He came to completely transform you from a man of flesh and blood and He came to bring Spirit and life inside of you that you might come to know the spiritual life of Christ.

Many people in this world are alive - they walk around, they breathe, they go to work and do what they’re going to do. The truth is that even though they’re walking around many are dead inside, they’re dead to God, they’re dead to the things of God, they’re dead to His law and His goodness and His love. We live in a broken and fallen world. Let me tell you, if you are still born of this world, if you have not received that second birth, if you have not been transformed by the Spirit of God - this world is fallen, it is broken. If we are born of this world then we will always be subject to that brokenness and being lost and being in carnality and being in heartbreak and despair because that's what the world is of, but God came to transform you! The message of Christ this Christmas is that God came that you might receive second birth! Just like that song, that you might receive second birth, that you would no longer be of the world, that you would no longer be of the carnality, but you would be made into a spiritual man or woman of God. Amen.

The spiritual are those who have been transformed and been made alive by the Spirit of God. Only the spiritual can understand the things of God, only the spiritual can approach the throne of God. The spiritual pray and they see things happen. The spiritual people call heaven down and watch as the fire of God falls upon the altar and burn it up. It is by that Spirit that we are reconciled back to the Father. So many of us have been to a funeral before and you’ve seen somebody that you know and you look and it’s so obvious that the body is just a shell. You can tell in that moment that the person is no longer truly there. You see, Christ came to transform your inmost being; that part of you that makes up who you are, that is on the inside of the shell - He came to transform that into a spiritual being, into a spiritual man, where we are no longer born of this world, but we are born of God. What happens? We’re reconciled back to the Father, we are of heaven, we have the Spirit of heaven inside of us, we have the divine nature of God so that when we move on, guess what? We’re just going home, because our spirit has been transformed into the likeness and image of the Lord Jesus Christ!

This is and has always been the spirit of Christmas: it's the Holy Spirit that goes inside of a man and transforms him forever; not just a month out of the year. That's the good news of Christmas. It doesn't matter who you have been, it doesn't matter what you went through when you were a child, it doesn't matter the life that you've led thus far because all of those things are what you did while you were subject to the carnality of this world, but Jesus Christ came that you might receive forgiveness and that you might be born again of something different! Men - you look at all the stuff that they do and I see the stuff that people do all time, but I look and say, “No, you don’t understand. You’re subject to the things of this world, you’re subject to the despair and everything that is of this world; but God, Jesus Christ came, He was born all those years ago, the Angels proclaimed there from heaven, why? That the Savior had come that men might receive second birth! That they would no longer be of the world, but they would be made into a spiritual being, that they be made into a follower of God.”

"God will grow an indestructible Spirit inside of you that will last for eternity"

You look at this verse and it talks about some of the things that we have been. Before you may have been perishable, you may have been broken, confused, lost, but Jesus Christ came to transform you completely - even inside of your mind, that you would be one that dwells on the things of God and one who has been seated in the kingdom of God. You may have come from dishonor. Your past might have been filled with things that you're not proud of. You may have come from chaos in your past and your families, but God came to transform you to be a vessel for His glory, that your life would display His goodness and His holiness. You may have come from weakness, you may have come from sickness, you have come from disease, but God came to transform you and that God will grow an indestructible Spirit inside of you that will last for eternity.

God, He comes - Pastor Jerry talked about in the beginning - and He implants a seed in each one of us. The bodies are nothing but a shell and what is a shell supposed to contain? A seed. Our bodies - When we think about even fruit falling off a tree, what happens when they disconnect from the branch? The outside immediately starts to die. The outside immediately starts to die away. It’s the same with our bodies. Our bodies - I always say, “It’s all downhill after 21, right? - our bodies begin to despair, you get aches and pains and your knees start to hurt - I know, I’m feeling it! You start to all of a sudden wake up not so happy anymore, right? But the truth is that God, even though our bodies are wasting away because they’re of this world, they’re of the carnality of this world - but God came to implant a seed inside of you that is indestructible! A seed inside of you of holiness; a seed inside of you that would grow into something mighty, that would grow into an oak of righteousness planted for the display and the splendor of the Lord.

God is calling for the old to die away today. He is calling for your carnality to die away. He is calling for the old way of thinking to die away. He is calling for your old reasoning to die away. How you treated your spouse, how you treated your kids, how you think, how you go about things, what your reactions are, everything about us that is of this world He is calling it to die. Why? So that the seed of God might be revealed inside of you, so that it might go deep, and it might grow into a tree, and that you might give glory to God based off of your life because this body and everything I've been is of this world - but God has come to give a second birth, that I would no longer be called among the people of this earth, but that I would be called a son of God and that the Spirit of God would be alive inside of me. Amen.

Hallelujah! This is why we celebrate the birth of our Savior. We are saved from our old ways. We are saved from this world, that all could die away and the Spirit of God in you can be revealed. God came, not to change you; God didn't come to change you as you are, He came to transform you from a person who has been of this world, who did what his dad did, and what his grandfather did, and what his grandfather before that did. He came to break those lines and to bring you into a spiritual man or woman of God.

And finally that Jesus shines His divinity through each one of us. God has meant to come and shine divinity through each one of us today. Jesus came, He preached the Word, He went and He did amazing miracles, but then He died for our sins and He rose again and He returned to heaven. He’s not dead. He didn't leave us behind, but nor will He ever have to be born again because we are all meant to be carriers of His divinity. We are meant to be carriers of the divinity of God.

"God is meant to receive glory through your life"

Let’s go to the verse in Second Corinthians “For God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness, made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God's glory displayed in the face of Christ.” We celebrate Christmas to commemorate God's son being born into this world; the image of the Father. God's divinity came humbly and as a baby and was born in the manger. God has called His Son to be birthed in you today, that you would know the supernatural divinity of God, that you would no longer be of this world, but that you would know something different. I tell you, in this church I've seen amazing miracles of God and things I never thought possible. I have come to know the supernatural divinity of God like I never thought I would ever see in this world, but yet God has come to bring that! God has come to bring His divinity that His name might be glorified. Jesus went and He glorified the name of God. He did miracles and He spoke the Word of God and wherever He went the Father received glory. God is meant to receive glory through your life. God is meant to receive glory from you.

We are meant to be carriers of that light; carriers of the light of God. Let me tell you what that means… it means, number one, that we’re light in a dark world. People are darkened by sin. They have no understanding of God's ways or His law; they don't know His love. We are called to bring the light of God wherever we go; to bring light into a dark place, to bring understanding and to bring hope to a darkened world. We are meant to be carriers of the truth of God in a world bent by lies. I’m not saying it happened all at once, but slowly and little by little the lies of this world have bent people's minds that they no longer can even comprehend the truth. But we are meant to be carriers of the truth of God! To bring justice to an unjust world and to bring warmth to a cold place.

You know, it’s this time of year that we think about the less fortunate, right? People go and they do soup kitchens or they give to charity. That's all amazing because we’re thinking about those who are less fortunate, who don't have a family or have a home. But let me tell you that God is thinking about his people that are out, that don't know Him, that haven't been in His house, that don't know the family of believers and He is calling each one of us to be carriers of the light. That we would no longer be a mix between the world and God, but we would be carriers of the divinity of God and that we would bring that warmth to a cold place, that we would bring the light to a dark place, and that we would bring the wayward sons of God back into His house. Amen.

Our lives are what brings God glory. Jesus Christ is no longer here preaching the Word. He is no longer here doing miracles. He is no longer here bringing hope, but Jesus Christ birthed inside of each one of us - is meant to bring hope into this world. That is the miracle, that is what brings hope to this world - that if God can be birthed in me, that if God could take a kid like me and He could do something inside of me, if He could rescue a sinner like me, than surely there is a place for you at the table of God. You see, that should be the message that each one of us have. Surely, because if He took a sinner like me, if God implanted a seed of holiness inside of me, if He took me from my family, if He broke the line of where I have come from, if He implanted something inside of me and I have come to know God and His holiness in ways when I was the worst of the worst sinner, then surely there is a place at the table of God for each one of us!

I think about Jesus’ birth and the celebration that happened. All the angels came down and there was such a celebration and they were singing and they were proclaiming who God was and it was almost like a party in heaven. I think about that verse in Luke 15 where it says that - “the angels rejoice over every sinner that repents.” Why? Because it’s Jesus Christ being born. Whether He was born all those years ago or He’s being born in your heart today. When you turn from your old life and repent and say, “I don't want that life anymore. God, I pray right now that you will come down and speak to me. I pray right now that I don’t want to be of myself anymore. God, would you implant your Spirit of holiness inside of me? Would you implant your Spirit of divinity, your holy divinity, your supernatural divinity? Would you implant that inside of me, God?” You see, there is rejoicing in heaven because Jesus Christ is being born again!

There’s that Bible verse that says - let your light shine. No one puts their light under a shade, but they let it shine so that it might give light to the whole house. I think about a nation of Christians who are so reluctant to step out and be different: High school kids succumbing to peer pressure or at work we don’t want to look different than the people we are surrounded with or with our families and we don't want to be seen as an outsider. But let me tell you today that Jesus Christ is not of this world. We can’t think we’re going to mix with the world and have a little bit here and a little bit there because Jesus Christ is not of this world. And if we have the Spirit of divinity inside of us then let me tell you, we can’t help, but it’s going to overtake and come and do things inside of us and before you know it, you will be shining with the glory of God.

My prayer today is that you would not be trying to put a shade on the light of God, but that you would be letting it shine for all to see; that all might know the glory of God! We can’t be ones that try to merge with the world. Light in a dark place is not meant to merge with darkness, it's meant to stand against the darkness, it’s meant to push back against the darkness, and it’s meant to disperse the darkness. That’s the only hope this world has. His light, His divinity is life and truth is the only thing that can stand against the world filled with heartache, depravity, brokenness, and sin. That is the world that we live in. What hope is there? Jesus Christ, He's in heaven. What hope is there for this world if it not be Jesus Christ inside of you? If it not be the seed of God being manifested and growing and overtaking who you have been and the old man dying away and something new, something glorious, something godly, something heavenly becoming alive inside of you? Amen.

Being like the world won't do it, people of God. Being like-minded won't do it; only by letting the Spirit of God come inside and transform us into something not of this world. I think about His birth again. I think about what we came to celebrate and I look at the manger back there and think about all the angels surrounding Him and what His birth represented and the shepherds coming to see what the angels were speaking about. It wasn't a normal birth, it wasn't of this world, it wasn't something that had been seen before -no - Jesus Christ is something of heaven! The world was dark and it was broken and it was filled with lies and there was no hope, yet Christ came and He pierced the veil and He came into this world and He brought light and hope into a dark and lost world.

My prayer today is that Christ, the Spirit of God would come alive inside of you. That the Spirit of Christmas that we’re talking about would come alive inside of you this day. I pray His divinity would come inside of you. That His divinity would come in this world through you. That you would be transformed to no longer be a man of this world, that is born of this world, but that you might receive second birth and be a man of heaven. That you would no longer look like yourself. That you would no longer look like your father who came before you, but that you would begin to be transformed into the likeness and image of the Lord Jesus Christ and that you will live a life glorifying God; pushing back against the darkness, pushing back against the despair and the depravity of this world, and that your life would be a beacon of hope, a beacon of hope to bring the lost sons of God back into His house. What a holy night it is tonight. What a holy night that we are in tonight, that Jesus Christ has made His entrance into this world.

I pray that the angels would rejoice again. I pray that the angels would begin to sing again, “For Christ is being born in this place!” Amen.