Christmas - Light conquers darkness

Isaiah chapter 9 beginning with the first verse. Tonight we want to not see this as a message about Christmas but to see Christmas I would say as of the nature that the Church of Jesus Christ should see it and how a people like the Congregation of Judah and other peoples like it should see it waiting the year 2013 do you know why?

Brothers: I would say my brothers that when one understands Christmas its biblical background as we are going to see it here in this prophecy that the prophet Isaiah gives us, and why Jesus, and why Emmanuel, and why Bethlehem, and why what the incarnation?, we will see something, Christmas is spiritual warfare. Christmas is spiritual warfare. I'm not sure what kind of Christmas you had yesterday, maybe that's the reason you are here, it's because you had a wonderful Christmas and that's why you are here worshiping the Lord. But you know? Christmas when we look at it biblically, when you understand it biblically, for me the reason I love Christmas is because I'm convinced that Christmas is about spiritual warfare.

Do you know what Christmas is all about? and I hope that after today you cannot read Christmas any other way. Christmas is about the power of light, the invasion of light from the Kingdom of God conquering the darkness. It is an invasion. Christmas is an invasion. It is an invasion of the Kingdom of Light pressing against the Kingdom of Darkness. It is the darkness receding irresistibly before the light of Jesus Christ.

In Isaiah 7 I read this quickly and you recognize this verse because the Gospel of Matthew also announces this prophecy: "Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. It is here that the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call his name Emmanuel, that is, God with us." We read this recently.

And now Isaiah chapter 9 verse 1: "But there will not always be darkness for he is now in anguish. Just like the affliction that came to him at the time they lightly touched the first time in the land of Zebulon, in the land of Neptali, for in the end the way of the sea and that side of the Jordan in Galilee of the Gentiles will fill with glory. And the people who walked in darkness saw a great light. Those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death light shone on them."

Let's skip to verse 6, why?: "For a child is born to us, a son is given to us" We are reading from Isaiah chapter nine and we just skipped to chapter six. "Son is given to us and the principality on his shoulder, and his name will be called admirable counselor, Mighty God, eternal Father, prince of peace. The expansion of His Empire and peace will have no limit on the throne of David and on His Kingdom arranging and confirming it in judgment and in justice from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Hosts will do this."

Christmas is about this, about light conquering darkness and my brothers I add this: if you know what it is to walk in darkness or if you know what it is to dwell in the land of the shadow of death, you are more right. than anyone to celebrate Christmas. You know if you know what it is like to live in darkness or if you walk in the shadow of death you have more right than anyone to celebrate Christmas.

And my brothers, the reason why we, this Church, have declared the challenge for our surroundings is because there is still a sea of darkness around us to conquer. The Pastor on Sunday declared that Christmas is about the gift of Jesus. I admire the fact, those who have not seen the Sunday message please look it up because the basis of the message was John 3:16. The basis of our Pastor's message was the declaration of the Gospel according to Saint John: "For God so loved the world" this world in which so many things happen that break our hearts, and the Lord loved this world: "And he loved it such a way that He has sent His only begotten Son so that He may not perish but have eternal life."

And my brothers I celebrate Christmas, do you know why? Because no matter what happens at Christmas or whatever happens in life, I know that the basic position of God is a powerful God reigning for all eternity, ruling without limits over death and mortality. That is my future. Not because I deserve it but because one day the Lord had mercy on me and spread His light.

We celebrate Christmas because this Word says that that baby, in that meager, that child is the ruler over all the Earth and will rule for all of eternity and there is nothing that can rip Him from His reign. That son that was given to us born in that manger in Bethlehem now reigns in a kingdom His principality has no limit, and there is nothing in heaven, on earth or under the earth that can take away His glory or limit it, and why? What does that matter to us brothers?

Knows? Christmas doesn't distinguish like any other time of the year, maybe and I promise you guys I won't get you down. You are here because you love the Lord and because you are warriors in prayer, but the truth is that we know many of them that Christmas is a challenge for them, and why is it? I would say it's not so much Christmas, it's the nature of being a human being and walking this earth that is the real challenge. The problem is not Christmas, the problem is this land of these living beings, the fact that we dwell. If it were not for Christ we would dwell in the Land of the shadow of death.

The reason why people have issues with Christmas is not Christmas itself, it is the fact that we dwell in the land of the shadow of death without Jesus, that is all that it would be, that is the only thing that would be around us. You know the death of our loved ones does not choose a time of the year and our loved ones die at Christmas like any other time and it seems that, in my family I don't know about you but in my family my loved ones want to die at Christmas . It's like it's for the Acevedos and the Mirandas it's our favorite time to go be with the Lord.

My grandmother passed away on December 24. My dearest aunt in the world passed away on December 24. A couple of years ago my dad went to be with the Lord the Sunday after Thanksgiving. I mean, it seems that this is the favorite passage for the Lord and there was a bargain in these times, and they went with the Lord at that time of the year. This weekend in the León de Judá Congregation while we were celebrating Christmas there are at least three different funeral homes, funeral services that are being prepared for different loved ones. We are praying for the family of brother Pedro Álvarez who has just gone with the Lord, sister Dilma's mother and others who have passed into eternity if not this week these days.

And you know what? ask any of them and they wouldn't trade their Christmas on anyone. The Lord gave heaven to my dad for Christmas. My dad wouldn't trade places with me at all. But we are left missing him and we are left with that emptiness. Death does not have a date on the calendar. Death at Christmas Eve and Christmas Day is as good as any for our loved ones to die. And in my family their favorite dying time of the year is Christmas to go to the Lord.

But that's how it is. I love Christmas, why? I tell you why. Because I know who they have believed in. And I also know that the same God who is with them will be with us in all the other challenges that Christmas highlights. Christmas underscores economic difficulties. One can be suffering an economic hardship all year long and it doesn't bother him until December 24 arrives and that is when we feel that economic hardship the most. That's another reason why people get depressed at Christmas.

This conventionalism that has been seen these days diverts us from the central idea of Christmas. And even if we didn't have all that end of the year many of us struggle with uncertainty about the future itself. You could be perfectly fine, your family perfectly fine, your economy more or less stable, and many of us who are not satisfied with that choose instead of giving thanks to the Lord, for that reason we say, what will you expect next year? And the future? what brings us?

When we talk about the future, our future is darkness. The decisions we are going to make, the challenges we are going to face. Life itself is scary if it weren't for the reality of the Bible.

Now, my brothers, I have just described it to you. I want you to mark your Bibles and begin to pray part by part, so that we learn to adore the Lord in this way. I leave you as a recipe Isaiah 9 beginning with verse 6, it says, declares the Word: "A child is born to us, a son is given to us the principality on his shoulder, this baby will reign forever and will call his admirable name." This is what you need my brothers, the Christian, the one who believes in Jesus Christ as the one who does not believe in Jesus Christ we face the same challenges.

The difference, the only thing that distinguishes you and is all the difference, is a difference from heaven to earth. The most different difference from all over the world is this: we have access to Emmanuel. We have access to Emmanuel. And what does that matter?

My brothers, when you find yourself facing darkness or the shadow of death this year, or if you are talking with a brother, or a loved one and you do not understand why not only about Christmas but about Jesus Christ, talk to him about this being. This being is amazing. Knows? I had to look for that word in Hebrew because in each translation that I read, whether in English or Spanish, that word was translated differently.

Admirable here, in some English translations it translates wonderful, or admirable. Do you know why there are so many translations of this word? Because the word itself means: so wonderful that words, literally this is the word, so wonderful that words fail to describe how wonderful it is. It literally means: marvelous. It's not even a verb, it's a noun, He's wonderful, and why do you care about this?

Brother, when you are facing anything, a financial challenge, a funeral service on December 24, a decision that will mark your life and the life of your family forever, I have seen many people walk through the doors, I thank you Thank God for the handshakes because many times that inspires people to walk through that door for the first time. We want challenged people to walk through the doors of this Church looking for a solution.

But instead of finding a solution or an answer or advice many times, I don't know if this happened to you but many times the first thing they find is not what they were looking for but an indescribable beauty. It is not that their problem was solved, it is that they found the presence of something much more beautiful than the solution to their problem.

I don't know if this has happened to you, you enter through the doors of this place or any Church, any place where the Presence of the Lord is, and if the Lord approached you at that moment and told you: what is your problem? you are so amazed by His beauty and His Presence that one would say: ah, what problem? And I knew I had a problem before I came here.

Pastor, sorry but now I lost my mind why I entered and every Sunday is like this, this is precious, this is incredible, why at the moment I feel loved, why am I inspired to love, what is happening to me ?. What is happening to you, my brother, is that you are now in the Presence of something much more beautiful, much more sublime, much more wonderful than your situation, that life is bigger than your situation. That God is more beautiful than your situation. The light of God is so bright that it has just flooded and hidden your darkness in its rays.

The light of the Lord is so amazing that it indentates your darkness. And our neighborhood needs such a Jesus. A Jesus who illuminates his darkness and a counselor. Brothers, moments will come this year when we will doubt ourselves. How many have needed a spiritual advisor, Lord, I have a decision but there is no one? God help, Lord how? Sir, what do I do?

And I'm not talking about mere doubt but doubt combined with confusion, and not only doubt combined with confusion but doubt combined with paralysis and terror, because one doubts, one doubts whether the decision that is going to be made is true or not and what The Lord says is this: you know open your heart, pour out your doubts and my brother what you want to do, what you do honoring the Lord, whether to the left or to the right, if you do it to please the Lord, to love the Lord Lord, for honoring the Lord the Lord will honor your steps.

Turn to the left, turn to the right, having the Lord as, what's more, if you get into a mess and you made a mistake, and you have determined to honor the Lord and that the Lord be your counselor, don't worry, the Holy Spirit will seek the way to fix it and direct you. You will never walk in darkness, you will never walk in darkness. A strong God.

And in this sense we are talking about a God who shines in the midst of weakness. Knows? there is a reason why we pray over and over again for this sanctuary, because it is more than a sanctuary. That building is a prophetic act that we are raising before the Lord. And as a prophetic act hell itself does not want that to be raised. Do you know what is admirable? the Pastor has said it many times and we say it for the glory of the Lord. We want the Lord to be exalted in the fact that there is a God who is still big enough that in the midst of a financial-chaotic age, in a Latino town where 25% of the rate of Latino people are supposed to live in poverty that those people build a temple to the Lord. And we want, you know what? testify that every time someone passes by that temple they say these words: God is truly great, God is truly strong.

And do you know why this is important to you? If God can do that, if God, what does Emmanuel say? If God with us, if God with us, who against us? Who against us? And that promise is precisely for our moment of weakness. The Word says that His strength is perfected in our weaknesses. The Lord my brothers, the Lord is the hope for weakness.

Around us there are people who do not even recognize the extreme of their weakness and we want the Lord to reveal to them how beautiful He is, how strong He is and at the same time my brothers is our eternal Father, our ABA. Brother, we never have to doubt that we are loved, we never have to doubt that there is someone who gives you, who admires you just as you are as one of His creatures, that there is always room at His table for you, who longs to hug you, love you, cover you, share His inheritance with you.

Knows? Above a strong God our community needs his ABA, he needs his Heavenly Father. Now I don't know what relationship you had with your father, I have no idea what kind of relationship you had with your father. Every earthly father is imperfect no matter how beautiful he is, but this Father does not fail. This Father is a source of eternal love and he is also our prince of peace, He promises His Shalom, amen, He promises His Shalom.

Knows? I believe that this is the most that the Lord wants for our lives and that we ask of the Lord. The prophet Jeremiah says that we should pray for Shalom and the peace of our city, and above all we should be praying this year that the Lord rise up as the prince of peace over the city of Boston, that the Lord rise up as the prince of peace over our families, may the Lord rise as a prince of peace over our homes.

That does not mean that we will not have problems, that does not mean that death will not visit us, that does not mean that we will not experience squeezes, but it does mean this: the same God who filled the manger with His Glory that God himself will fill your home with His Glory. And where He is there is peace. Let's stand up my brothers.

My brothers: I hope I have not managed to depress you, on the contrary, this is what I want this year. I hope I did not depress you guys but this is what I do desire. In the name of Jesus I ask that each of you walk out of here knowing that God is with you, one. No matter what happens, whatever remains of this year, Christmas has come into your life at the moment, have something, stop having it, it's okay, your house was full of visitors or you spent it alone in your apartment, at least God is with you. God is with you.

That means that there is no darkness that can catch you. That means that the mortality around you seeing Jesus who dwells within you will have to flee in the name of Jesus. Your heart at this moment, your life and that is what we want around us, we want your life to become the manger at this moment. May the Glory of the Lord flood you and may the darkness around you flee by the Presence of the Lord who is within you.

And we want that for Pamely Courts for the Presence of the Lord to flood that area, we want the star of God to be over Villa Victoria and for the light of the Lord to flood that area, we want Jamaica Plains to have a visitation from the Lord, but first it begins with you. The Lord much prefers to flood your life, your heart, your body and your mind and your apartment than to invade all of Jamaica Plains because he knows, if He manages to invade your life with His Grace and the power of Emmanuel all your home and all your neighborhood , everything that is yours will fall before the Lord.

You are His secret, His secret weapon in Jesus name. Lord so we declare. Our lives are open to You and we want Your Glory to flood it. Be with us, be with each one of the lives that are here, flood them with Your Grace, flood them with the flow of Your Glory and Lord, may this be the year come what may, it is more that it comes Lord, we merely want You to bless each home, but if challenges come, if trials come Lord, if pain comes Lord we will see Your light conquering the darkness around.

We declare Your light in every home, we declare victory in every home, and we declare that the darkness around this temple will flee before You in the name of Jesus, and that this city will know that there is a God who reigns over it forever. We bless you Emmanuel in Jesus name.