Episode Transcript
[00:00:08] Christmas is an act of war. This baby in a manger isn't some sweet nativity scene. It's a declaration of war against darkness, oppression, and sin. Christ came to do battle with the dragon. Listen to Revelation, chapter 12, verse 6, or verse 3. We'll read here a little bit. And another sign appeared in heaven. Behold a great red dragon with seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems. His tail swept down a third of the. Of the stars of heaven and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that when she bore her child, he might devour it. She gave birth to a male child, one who was to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. But her child was caught up to God and to his throne, and the woman fled to the wilderness.
[00:01:04] So there's this dragon present. And where's the dragon in any of our nativity scenes, huh? We forget that character.
[00:01:13] I encourage you to put a dragon in your nativity scene and then open up Revelation 12 and talk about it this Christmas season.
[00:01:22] Merry Christmas. Welcome to. To the podcast. I want to talk about this revolutionary act of war, this. This fierce birth that Jesus had and how it cuts against the grain of our culture. And we should be engaging and responding to his birth today, not just reflecting on it, not just making it some cute scene from history, some neat little cute thing. I want to just talk and just rattle off a few things about his birthday. You know, he's born in a major. Jesus is born in a major, not a palace. And this is about humility.
[00:01:55] This is humility over power. Jesus comes and he cuts against the grain of our thinking. Cuts against the grain.
[00:02:03] The birth of Jesus. Think about. It's announced to shepherds, not kings.
[00:02:10] It's announced to the lowly.
[00:02:14] His birth was an act of war. He's declaring. Genesis, chapter three. When God said, I will send my seed into the earth. And. And he will. He will strike you. There'll be a war. There'll be a battle. Don't forget that. We live in a battle. We live in a spiritual battle for souls.
[00:02:32] Don't lose your fervor for praying for souls. Don't. Don't think things are just naturally happening all the time. There is a spiritual war in the heavenlies that is. That is happening all around us. There's a battle that rages. Mary singing. You know, there's this great rejoicing, but the. But heaven's paying a price. Peace on earth means war in heaven.
[00:02:55] Peace on earth means War in heaven.
[00:02:59] God is fighting sin. We were never designed for sin. This sweet baby Jesus, right, who comes into this, this nativity scene isn't this cute little thing that's happening. It's a, it's a. This is God's warrior, this is God's son coming to deal with the serpent, coming to deal with the desires of the flesh, coming to bring liberation to God's people.
[00:03:24] And this faithful son, faithful brother in the family of God is going to lead many sons and daughters to glory.
[00:03:35] Are we celebrating him today as the king or are we just engaging in some cultural tradition?
[00:03:45] Are we just caught up in consumerism? Are we actually engaging the Savior today as disciples, as followers, as ones who love his redemption, love his kingdom and love his power.
[00:04:01] Christ's birth is demanding for us to respond. It's not something we just, it's not just something we admire. It's something that should bring transformation to us. It should change us, it should transform us.
[00:04:18] His birth calls us to be counterculture, to live with humility, to live with generosity, to not be self focused and self serving.
[00:04:33] His birth is breaking down barriers of societal hierarchy.
[00:04:40] He uses the poor and the meek.
[00:04:43] God's drawn to humble people. He's drawn to the humility.
[00:04:49] His arrival confronts our modern culture, confronts the way we think, the arrival of Christ, even just the humility of how he came born in a manger.
[00:05:02] That's not where kings are born.
[00:05:07] He's showing us something powerful about. That's how we enter into his kingdom. Now we have to go low to enter in to his kingdom, to receive the power of his salvation.
[00:05:23] Christ confronts self promotion, he confronts consumerism and he confronts comfort.
[00:05:32] Those three things are really thorns on our side. They're snags in our today's culture. Self promotion is everywhere.
[00:05:44] Christ's birth and his death is not about self promotion. It's about self death. Christianity is not a self help movement. It's the greatest thing that will help you, but it's not based on a self help movement. It's based on a self death movement. Die to yourself. Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, Christ bids a man come and die. Take up your cross and die.
[00:06:10] So if you want this to be a powerful time, a powerful season, take time and respond and reflect on what this war is and how are you engaging in this war, in this battle?
[00:06:25] Are you giving into comfort and laziness?
[00:06:29] Have you just kind of, you know, went along with the consumerism of the day, just letting this time kind of like drift past us?
[00:06:41] Are you caught up in self promotion because his birth wants to confront those things. His birth wants to go to war with the sins of the world.
[00:06:57] I'm very thankful for Christ. I'm thankful for the work of God, the strategy of God to defeat the enemy. We were never born to live in sin. We were born to live in. We were. We were born to be devoted to holy things. We're supposed to be sacred and we are sacred to God. That's why he came and dealt with sin. And then he wants us to. One of my mentors and fathers in the faith would say that God saves us from Egypt, but then he takes Egypt, he takes the rest of our days and he takes Egypt out of us. And I think that's a really powerful way to look at it.
[00:07:34] So today when we're thinking about his birth, it's like, take me out of Egypt, but take Egypt out of me. Help me get rid of my love, my affiliations.
[00:07:45] My mentor would say we all need to sell our properties in Egypt and we can't be landowners there anymore. We have to get rid of all of that. We have to give it up. We can't cling and hold on to those things that we feel like bring us comfort.
[00:08:04] Are we living as disciples? Are we living as those who follow Christ? Those who are yielded to Him?
[00:08:12] Are we focused on self service at this time in our lives?
[00:08:21] King or culture? Do we worship him as king? Seen his kingdom? Want to advance his ways by allowing the kingdom of heaven come into the earth by God's will being done in my life.
[00:08:34] We all have things to work on. I've got things to work on. So let Christmas be a challenge today to you. Let Christmas come in and do war inside of your heart against the darkness that wants to take you over.
[00:08:47] Grace trains us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age. Hope you like my attire today I'm getting ready to go to a Christmas Eve communion. So I'm dressed up. I at least do this once a year. So anyway. But hey, I hope you're having a good time with family and friends this time of year. I want to bring this challenge to you to not to see it that Christ's birth demands a response, not just admiration. It demands transformation.
[00:09:22] For us to change into his image and to be like him and to carry his fire, carry this battle and love the fact that he's the one that wins. He's the one that goes before us. He crushes the enemy he did bruise his head and he bruised his heel also.
[00:09:39] So take great hope today in this day, but engage it. Respond to it. Live in a counterculture way.
[00:09:48] Christmas isn't, isn't. It isn't just a time for us to kick back and be comfortable.
[00:09:55] Engage it. Tell your tell your kids a story, tell your family a story. Just do one thing different today. It's not too late. And maybe you're hearing this after Christmas Day because this will be released on Christmas morning, but engage it anyway. Who cares?
[00:10:11] You can remember the birth of Christ anytime because, you know, really, it didn't happen during this time of year anyway. It's just when our American culture celebrates it. So how will you live differently because Christ came into the world?
[00:10:24] How are you going to live differently? Hey, until next time, live upright. God bless.
