“To the American People: Christmas is not a time or a season but a state of mind. To cherish peace and good will, to be plenteous in mercy, is to have the real spirit of Christmas. If we think on these things, there will be born in us a Savior and over us will shine a star sending its gleam of hope to the world.” ~ Calvin Coolidge
THIS IS MY BIBLE AND TODAY I DECLARE IT TO BE MY FINAL AUTHORITY I AM WHAT IT SAYS I AM AND I CAN DO WHAT IT SAYS I CAN DO
Forward Thinkers, over the past two weeks we have been encouraged to take Jesus off the bench and allow his glory to shine in our lives; so we can reclaim everything the devil has stolen from us.
Forward Thinkers, let’s make Christmas be about Jesus Christ and not about Santa Claus or bright lights.
Forward Thinkers, today we will look closer at Jesus and the events surrounding his birth and early days and once again encourage you to take Him off the bench and use His life as a launching pad to our life of fulfillment.
Matthew 1:21-23
21 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus,[a] because he will save his people from their sins.”
22 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”[b] (which means “God with us”).
Forward Thinkers, Jesus was born to save his people from their sins. Forward Thinkers the bible is very clear; what the purpose, assignment, and mission of Jesus is. This is very important for us because we will see throughout his earthy life Jesus never got out of his purpose. Unfortunately, the church has put Jesus on the bench nullifying the power of His covenant to save us from our sins.
Forward Thinkers, we must discover our purpose in life; our assignment, our God given mission and live each day on purpose to fulfill our assignment but we can’t do this without totally involving Jesus in our lives. Too often we spend a great deal of our lives chasing good ideas that are not connected to our life purpose. Many die unfulfilled because, they spend too much time in the wrong lane of life; we have allowed the enemy to trick us into believing we could operate at our best without surrendering all over to Jesus.
Forward Thinkers, Jesus knew why He was here. Today my question is, do we know why Jesus is here and have we discovered why we are here?
Immanuel – which means God is with us
Forward Thinkers, we can’t declare God is with us yet keep Jesus on the bench of our lives.
The good news is when we take Jesus off the bench we can live our lives on purpose with full confidence that God is with us.
Forward Thinkers, remember when the NFL drafts quarterbacks out of college, they keep them on the bench their first few seasons until someone realized it didn’t make sense to have supreme talent sitting on the bench while the team was battling on the field. It’s time the church wake up and realized it’s time to take Jesus off the bench so we can defeat the enemy.
Let’s take a look at what we can accomplish when we take Jesus off the bench.
Forward Thinkers, we can do all things through Christ which strengthens us because God is with us but you must take Jesus off the bench. No weapon formed against us shall prosper because God is with us but we must take Jesus off the bench.
Forward Thinkers, all things work together for the good for those who love Him and have been called for His purpose; God is with us but we must take Jesus off the bench.
Knowing that God is with us should change our attitudes and increase our level of faith to keep Jesus off the bench of our lives.
Luke 2:6-7
6 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, 7 and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.
Forward Thinkers I don’t know about you but this block of scripture excites me. Notice the bible says there was no room for Jesus yet the time for Jesus has come. What’s so exciting about this is when it’s your time no matter who doesn’t make room for you God have already prepared a place for you.
People may reject you, discount you, and under value you but God is not moved by people but by the purpose He has for you just ask David, Joseph, or Paul.
Forward Thinkers they didn’t make room for Jesus but if we take Jesus off the bench He will make room for us.
Matthew 2:1-3
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi[a] from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” 3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.
Forward Thinkers, the people are looking for Jesus because when he was born they saw his star. Forward Thinkers, it’s time to take the star off the bench. Like Jesus, when you were born again you became a star so take Jesus off the bench so you can shine.
Matthew 5:16
16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
Daniel 12:3
3 Those who are wise[a] will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
Forward Thinkers, notice there is a warning in verse 3: everybody won’t be happy about you or for you. Forward Thinkers, matter of fact your potential is disturbing somebody right now. They want to see you stuck in your current state of life because if you ever reach your full potential they are afraid you might steal some of their shine.
Forward Thinkers, the enemy is fighting you so hard because, he desires to keep you distracted and tired hoping you will keep Jesus on the bench.
Matthew 2:16
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi.
Forward Thinkers, the bible says there was a plot to kill all the boys. The spirit of King Herod is still alive in America because it appears someone has issued a decree to kill all the Black and Brown boys.
We must get Jesus off the bench so we can save this generation from the plots of the devil.
Matthew 3:16-17
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him. 17 And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
Forward Thinkers, Jesus being baptized was a sign of his earthly dedication to honor God. The bible says God is well pleased with Jesus’ decision. Forward Thinkers, I challenge you to make decisions that will cause God to declare his is well pleased with you. Forward Thinkers, we can’t get God’s blessings until we get Jesus off the bench.
Matthew 4:14 Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted[a] by the devil.
Forward Thinkers, the devil could not kill you so now he desires to destroy you. Forward Thinkers Jesus stood on the word and defeated the devil. We can win if we take Jesus off the bench and stand in the word.
Pastor E. A. Deckard is the Senior Pastor/Founder of the Green House International Church now located, in both Houston, Texas, and the Woodlands, Texas. To contact Pastor Deckard for speaking engagements contact him at pr.ghic@gmail.com, follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Periscope @ Pastor E A Deckard or the church website www.ghic.net