THE DAWN OF REDEEMING GRACE, Part 3

Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown,
When Thou camest to earth for me;
But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room
For Thy holy nativity.
Refrain: O come to my heart, Lord Jesus,
There is room in my heart for Thee.

Heaven’s arches rang when the angels sang,
Proclaiming Thy royal degree;
But of lowly birth didst Thou come to earth,
And in great humility.
Refrain

The foxes found rest, and the birds their nest
In the shade of the forest tree;
But Thy couch was the sod, O Thou Son of God,
In the deserts of Galilee.
Refrain

Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word,
That should set Thy people free;
But with mocking scorn and with crown of thorn,
They bore Thee to Calvary.
Refrain

When the heav’ns shall ring, and her choirs shall sing,
At Thy coming to victory,
Let Thy voice call me home, saying “Yet there is room,
There is room at My side for thee.”
My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus,
When Thou comest and callest for me.

The meaning of Christmas is bound up in a right understanding of the identity of Christ. As the Christmas hymn asks: “Who is He in Yonder Stall?” Who is He? The question is much more than an academic one. A person’s eternal destiny is bound up in a correct “heart-borne” response. Some say that He was a good man or a great prophet. But what do the Scriptures say? Who was the Christ child in the manger?

John 1:1-4, 14 speaks to His identity:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being by Him…In Him was life, and the life was the light of men…And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”

He is the eternal Son of God and creator of all things. He left His throne and kingly crown when He came to earth for you. He came in great humility as a servant. His life was that of a servant from beginning to end. There was no room for Him in the inn. His cradle was a feeding trough; His grave was a borrowed tomb. He lived the life of a servant-- He had no wealth, no home, and no possessions. He received no welcome from the religious elite, indeed they sought His death. He ministered day after day to the needs of multitudes of people, but in the end they cried out “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” “And this is judgment, that the light is come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the light; for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19).

But there were those who did receive Him and there are those who will receive Him this very day. “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name” (John 1:12).

Have you any room for Jesus, He who bore your load of sin?

As He knocks and asks admission, Sinner, will you let Him in?

Room for Jesus, King of glory! Hasten now, His Word obey;

Swing your heart’s door widely open, Bid Him enter while you may.

Pastor Jerry

THE DAWN OF REDEEMING GRACE, Part 2

AWAY IN A MANGER

Col. 1:16 says of Jesus, "For by Him all things were created." This is an important truth to keep in mind as we sing the Christmas hymns.

Away in a manger no crib for a bed, the little Lord Jesus—the creator of all things—lay down His sweet Head. The stars—He created—in the bright sky—which He Himself created—looked down where He lay. The cattle—He created—were lowing.

How wide the gulf that spans His creation. Stars, light years away, shone from the expanse of heaven, down upon the lowing cattle in the lowly manger. That gulf in space was superceded only by the spiritual gulf that exists between the holy God and sinful man. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). In sin man is utterly divorced from God with no hope of reconciliation. No amount of religious effort or good intentions could ever bridge that gap.

Most people believe that good people go to heaven. The Scriptures say, “There is none who does good, not even one” (Rom. 3:12). Salvation is not something we do, but something God does for us. All we have to offer Him is brokenness and strife. He alone is able to make something beautiful of our lives.

The little Lord Jesus came to do what we could never do. “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). He came as the “Lamb of God” to take away “the sin of the world” (John 1:29). On the cross He “died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, in order that He might bring us to God” (1 Pet. 3:18). He offers salvation to any person who will humbly place his or her faith and trust in Him. He alone is able to cause us to be born again and “fit us for heaven to live with Him there.”

AWAY IN A MANGER

Away in a manger,
No crib for His bed
The little Lord Jesus
Laid down His sweet head

The stars in the bright sky
Looked down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay

The cattle are lowing
The poor Baby wakes
But little Lord Jesus
No crying He makes

I love Thee, Lord Jesus
Look down from the sky
And stay by my side,
'Til morning is nigh.

Be near me, Lord Jesus,
I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever
And love me I pray

Bless all the dear children
In Thy tender care
And fit us for heaven
To live with Thee there

Pastor Jerry

THE DAWN OF REDEEMING GRACE, Part 1

O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL

“One day when Heaven was filled with His praises, One day when sin was as black as could be”…It was indeed a dark day in the time before Jesus came. God’s chosen people, the Israelites, were held captive under the oppressive Romans. Sin had brought them to that place. God had privileged them beyond measure. To them belonged the “adoption as sons and the glory and the covenants and the giving of the Law and the temple services and the promises” (Rom. 9:4). But despite their privileges and blessings they forsook God and disobeyed His law. Their plight was according to God’s warning. 400 years of prophetic silence preceded Christ’s coming.

The estate of the Gentiles was, if possible, even worse. “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened” (Rom. 1:21). Lost and exiled in sin, they had “no hope and (were) without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12). It was indeed a sin-darkened and hopeless world.

But the prophets had spoken of one who would come to the rescue. “The people who walk in darkness” Isaiah declared, “will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them” (Isa. 9:2). “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” was the cry of the prophets. They spoke of One:

Who would come and ransom captive Israel;

Who would come and disperse the clouds of night;

Who would come and make safe the way that leads on high.

The One of whom they spoke was a man, but no ordinary man. He was Emmanuel—“ God with us,” the promised Messiah, the Savior of all, who was born into this world some 2000 years ago.

O COME, O COME, EMMANUEL

O come, O come, Emmanuel,
And ransom captive Israel,
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear.

Refrain: Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny;
From depths of hell Thy people save,
And give them victory o'er the grave. Refrain

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here;
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight! Refrain

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery. Refrain

O come, O come, Thou Lord of Might,

Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height
In ancient times didst give the law
In cloud, and majesty, and awe. Refrain

Pastor Jerry