John Hagee - Celebrate The Child
The Christmas miracle is the story of a child that was born in a cave to a virgin named Mary, contrary to the laws of nature. This child lived in poverty, and reared in obscurity. He did not travel extensively. Only once did he leave the country in which he was born when he, during his childhood, ran for his life into Egypt to escape Herod. He possessed neither wealth nor influence. His relatives were inconspicuous. They were uninfluential and had neither training nor formal education. In infancy, he startled a king. In childhood, he startled and puzzled the doctors. In manhood, he ruled the course of nature. He walked upon the billows of the Sea of Galilee as if they were pavement, and he hushed the raging sea with three simple words, "Peace, be still".
He healed the multitudes without medicine and made no charge for his service. He never wrote a book. And yet, all the libraries of the world cannot hold the books that have been written about him to explain his glorious life. He never wrote a song, and yet, he has furnished the theme for more songs than all the songwriters have ever written combined. He never founded a college, but all the schools put together cannot boast of having as many students as this man. He never practiced medicine, and yet, he has healed more broken hearts than all the doctors far and near. He never marshaled an army, nor drafted a soldier, nor fired a gun, and yet, the millions have followed him with peace that surpasses all understanding. Every seventh day, the wheels of commerce cease their turning, and multitudes find their place to a place of worship to bow their knee before the Lord Jesus Christ. The names of past proud statesmen of Greece and Rome have come and gone, but the name of this man abounds more and more. Through time, we have passed 2,000 years between our generation and the scene of his crucifixion, but yet, he lives with power and great glory.
Let's read Matthew 1:18 and following. "Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: after his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins'".
Father God, thank you for the birth of your precious Son. Thank you that he has redeemed us and set us free from the prison of the prince of darkness. Let us rejoice today with joy that's unspeakable and full of glory because he lives and reigns. And the best is yet to be. In Jesus' name, we pray. And all of God's children said, amen.
You may be seated. Christmas is the celebration of a child. Isaiah wrote in 9:6: for unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulders. And his name shall be called wonderful, counselor, the mighty God, the Everlasting Father, and the Prince of Peace. Now there are seven sermons in that one verse. But let's focus on the name of Jesus. His name is above every name, by virtue of his accomplishment. All high-sounding titles, which earthly commanders have given themselves historically, were given to gratify their vanity and their ego. Alexander the Great is a high-sounding title for a man who died at the age of 32, probably with a sexual disease. He was not great because he could not conquer himself. Herod the great is a lofty title for a man who murdered nine out of ten of his wives.
Think about that. And the day that he died, he ordered his kingdom to execute his oldest son the day he died so that Israel would have a reason to mourn. Israel hated Herod because he was a monster. He had a lofty title, but he was a cold-blooded killer. Today, he screams for mercy in the fires of hell. Herod the great, I think not. There is one man who walked across the stage of human history whose greatness is greater than the human tongue can tell. He is the great "I am". He is the great physician. And he is the great shepherd who guides and provides. Never in human history was there a child that was born a living God from the womb of a virgin, but Jesus was. Never in human history was there a man wounded by Satan, and yet, he crushed Satan. Jesus did that at the cross. Never in human history was there one who was the Savior of men, yet, he was crucified by men. Jesus was. Never was there a man who died and was buried, and rose again on the third day just as he said he would, but Jesus did. I have been to the tomb of Abraham in Israel. He's still there. I have been to the tomb of David in Israel. He's still there. I have been to the tomb of Jesus Christ. It's empty. He is not there.
The tomb of Jesus Christ is the only tourist attraction on planet earth where people line up to see nothing. The greatest question of your life in this Christmas season is not "What's under your tree"? But "Do you know Jesus Christ, the Savior who died on the cursed tree for your salvation and for mine"? Have you accepted him as Savior and Lord? Do you serve him? The Bible says, "Every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father". I assure you that he is here right now. His name "Immanuel" means, "God is with us". He is walking the aisles of this assembly to touch you, to heal you, to let your lives be filled with the glory of his presence. He's calling your name. He can save you. There is no one else that can save you. He can heal you because he is the great physician. He will deliver you: for whom the son sets free is free indeed. Shout "Hallelujah," brother. Our king rules. He lives. He's coming again with great power. Glory, honor, and power to the name of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah and amen. His name is a precious name.
1 Peter 2:7 says, "Unto you, therefore which believe, he is precious". Say that with me. "He is precious". Jesus is not precious to unbelievers. He's an aggravation. He's a nuisance. It's just to those that believe he is precious. He is precious for what he has done. The Bible says, "Upon this rock have I built my church. And the gates of hell shall not prevail against it". "Gates" refer to government. In Bible times, the rulers of the city sat at the gates of the city. At Calvary, Jesus Christ conquered the powers and principalities. When he shouted, "It is finished," he descended into hell, and he introduced himself to the legions of hell as the lion of the tribe of Judah. "I have just come from the cross. And I have defeated you. From this day forward, when my children come to the gates of hell, you shall listen and bow before them, because they have the power to control you. And I have given them authority over the gates of hell".
The government of hell cannot defeat you. The government of hell was defeated at the cross. We are the servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, "Who is victorious over death, hell and the grave"! He is precious for what he will soon do. Very soon, the Lord Jesus Christ is going to come in the clouds of glory with power and great glory. The trumpet of God shall sound. The dead in Christ are going to rise. And we which are alive and remain shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. That's about to happen. It could happen today. We're going to be there for seven years for the greatest fiesta you've ever been to in your life. Seven years, and then after those seven years, we are coming back to earth.
I want to clear up something in the minds of many Christians. The rapture is when Jesus comes for his church. The second coming is when Jesus comes with his church. When we come back, we are going to rule and reign this earth. The Bible says, "He is going to rule this earth with a rod of iron". What does that mean? That means we're going back to the book. And this is the book of law. You're going to do this. Hallelujah! His name is a saving name. Angels said to Mary, "Thou shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sin". If that was the only verse in the New Testament, it would be the greatest book ever written. What does it mean to be saved? It does not mean that you've been baptized in water. Baptism in water makes you no more a child of God than a bath, a bar of soap can transform a pig into a poodle.
You can go down a dry sinner and come up a wet sinner. It does not mean that you have to join the church. Joining the church does not save you. It does not mean you're a doer of good works. It means that you have publicly confessed Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, because Jesus said, "If you deny me before men, I will deny you before my father, which is in heaven". You get into a group of people that starts slandering the name of Jesus and start looking down at your shoe tops and you can't find your thought, Jesus said, "You're denying me". Silence is denial of Jesus Christ. When these leftist people start running their mouth about the insignificance of Jesus, let your anointed tongue rip their heads off. Jesus said, "I am the door", and "No man comes to the father but by me". He is the way. He is the truth. He is the life. And he is the only way. Give him praise in the house of God.
The text says, "He will save his people". Jesus is not going to save everyone, just his people. That's a statement of limitation. So the question has to be offered: is salvation for everyone? The answer is no. It's only to those who believe. "He that believeth hath life. But he that believeth not is dead already". If you have a husband, a wife, a child, someone in your family who does not believe, without Jesus, the Bible says, they are dead already. You're not really living until you know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Isaiah says in 45:22, "Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth". "The ends of the earth" here does not mean people geographically far removed. It means those far removed from God. It means the lowest of the low. It's means the prodigal son who's in the pigpen feeding the swine and covered with the stench of sin. In a Jewish community, you couldn't possibly be lower than that. That's why Jesus used that story. It means the casual Christian, sitting in America's churches singing about a heaven they'll never see, religious and lost. They have a form of Godliness, but they deny the power thereof. The Bible says, "Though your sin be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow. Buried in the deepest sea never, never, never to be remembered against you anymore". That's how powerful the blood of Jesus Christ is. So quit allowing the prince of darkness to beat you up by saying, "What you've done is too hideous for Jesus to forget". He is anxious to forget it! He is anxious to forgive you! All you have to do is ask, and suddenly the blood atonement purges you and makes you whiter than snow! Give the Lord praise in the house of God!
1 John 1:7 says, "The blood of Jesus Christ, his son, cleanses us from all sin". Say that with me. "All sin". How much? All! End of story. I hear people say, "Well, I'm emotionally dominated by fear and depression, and I have uncontrolled temper. And I have hatred, and revenge, and anger, and resentment, and rejection". Let me say this to you: there are a lot of people who hang onto those things to feel self-piteous for themselves and try to control other people with the bad things that have happened to you. Let me tell you, all of us have a sad story. If you've reached forty years of age somewhere in your past, there's a sad story. And if you want to live in that hog pen, stay there. But if you wanna be free of that stench, get up and come to the father and the blood of Jesus Christ can make you whiter than snow.
What do you do when bad things happen to good people? What do you say to the man or the woman who is devastated by a death of a young person in their family, or a divorce that they didn't see coming? You go back to the house to an empty bedroom, to an empty closet. You look at pictures in the hall that are gone, an abandoned doll that's under the bed, an abandoned football in the backyard? Into the chaos of this broken heart comes Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace. Into the darkness comes the Dawn of hope. The sob becomes a song. The song of Solomon, "The name of the Lord is a high tower, and the righteous run into it, and they are saved".
There are four pictures in the Bible that reflect the strong tower which is the name of the Lord. I have time for just one. It's the picture of Abraham as he's climbing mount Moriah with his son, Isaac, where only Abraham knows that they're climbing this mountain to sacrifice Isaac to the Lord, to take his life. Isaac asks his father, "Where is the lamb"? Abraham gave the word, "Jehovah Jireh". Now, listen what I'm about to say. "Jehovah Jireh" literally translates "God can see". God can see. But it infers God will provide. Hence, the vision and the provision are connected. You see what I'm saying? So, let's stay with the original root meaning, God can see. When Isaac asks Abraham, "Where is the lamb"? Abraham could have said, "Well, you know, really I can't see how God's going to solve this problem".
Have you ever said that? Have you ever had a real problem and you're just gnashing your teeth? "I just don't see how that God can handle this". Well, as long as you want to carry the cross, he'll let you. But if you'll give him the problem, he'll solve it. The children of Israel could have said, "I don't see how God's going to divide the Red Sea," but he did. The three Hebrew children could have said, "Well, I don't see how God's going to save us from the fire". He put them in the fire, but he met them in the fire. When God sees you in the fire, he doesn't send someone. He shows up himself. When Abraham was walking up the mountain with his son and his son just said, "Where is the lamb"? He said, "God sees". "God sees". On the other side of that mountain, there's an angel dragging a ram up that mountain. And he says, "Ram, you hear what that man's saying over there? He's saying, 'God sees. You're the answer. I'm dragging you to the top of the hill. I'm tying you by the horns so that he can see the answer'".
When Abraham lifted his dagger to plunge it into the body of his son, the angel grabbed his hand and stopped it! And then he looked, and he saw God's answer. There are many people in this audience and thousands of you watching by television across America and around the world. You are facing major personal problems, spiritual problems, financial problems, legal problems, business problems. Whatever the problem happens to be, I challenge you to keep climbing the mountain. The answer is on the top. God will be there with the answer when you get there. He is a prayer-answering God. Give the Lord a shout of praise in the house of God!
How many of you in this audience and those who are watching by television in America and around the world, you're climbing a steep and rugged mountain of personal hardship, betrayal, financial or marital crisis, a healing in your body or someone in your family, hope for the future? You're searching for God's answer. You, like Abraham, want to confess in faith, "God sees". When fear knocks at the door of your soul, say, "God sees, Jehovah Jireh. God sees". He has your answer tied by the horns, just waiting for you to reach the top of the mountain. And when you get there, just when you've given up all hope, suddenly, there it is. The Bible says that the angel of the Lord led Abraham to this mountain. It was a special mountain. Because 3,000 years later, God the Father was going to bring his son to that same mountain and place him on the cross. Only he would allow his son to die, so that you, and you, and you, and I could stand here today and know that we can receive salvation that makes our lives transformed by his glorious power that we have eternal life. Give the Lord praise in the house.
If you're in this room, if you're watching by television, and you're going through a time of personal hardship, betrayal, financial need, healing in your body, you're searching for God's answer, hope for the future. There's something special you want God to do for you. I want you to stand to your feet. I'm going to pray for you right now. Those of you who are watching by television, you can lift your hands right where you are, in your bedroom, your living room, because there is no distance in prayer. God can hear your prayer. And God will answer your prayer. If you don't believe it, I believe it. Pray the prayer. God will answer this prayer. Pray with me:
Heavenly Father, in the authority of Jesus' name, I'm coming to you today for you to be the way maker, to reveal to me, in your good time, the special answer that you're going to bring into my life that will bring me the blessing and anointing of God for my family, for my children, and my children's children: that we may be generationally blessed and brought together by the power of the blessing, in Jesus' name. Amen.