Please take your Bibles and open them up this morning to the book of Genesis, except this morning we're going backwards a little bit.
We're going to be in Genesis chapter 12.
And then when you found that, if you would hold your place there and then flip also to the New Testament and find Galatians chapter 3, verses 7 through 9.
We're actually taking a quick break from our series in Genesis.
We've been walking through the book of Genesis this year.
We're going to take a break over the next five weeks here, going through the end of the year to really drill down into the promises of God.
So this morning we're back on familiar ground, familiar territory with God's covenant with Abraham here in Genesis chapter 12.
So Genesis 12, 1 through 3 and Galatians 3, 7 through 9.
When you found one or both of those, if you would stand in honor of the reading of God's word this morning.
Now the Lord said to Abram,
Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.
And I will make of you a great nation.
And I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you.
I will curse and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Galatians 3, 7 through 9.
Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
In the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith,
preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying,
In you shall all the nations be blessed.
So then those who are of faith are blessed, along with Abraham, the man of faith.
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the Lord endures forever.
Father, we pray now as we open up your word, as we begin this Advent season,
by focusing in on your promises, Lord, would you fill our heart with faith in the promises of God.
Help us to look to Christ and see all of them fulfilled.
Help us to receive them with joy and with gladness this Christmas.
We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.
You may be seated.
Where do we turn for real blessing?
We're entering into a time of year that's meant to be a season of blessing.
We just had Thanksgiving, a time where we are supposed to be thankful for our many blessings,
but oftentimes, you know, you may experience the same thing that I do.
Thanksgiving is often this mixture of thankfulness on one hand,
but then also stress on the other.
You're supposed to be glad to be around your family,
but sometimes you get frustrated with all of these people that you're supposed to be so thankful for.
Moms, some of you dads, you slave away all day long in the kitchen.
The food is usually great.
Sometimes it's not.
But either way, at the end of the day, it's gone.
It doesn't last.
You have all these expectations of how the holiday is supposed to go,
how your time with your family is supposed to be spent,
and oftentimes it doesn't quite go exactly as you planned.
On top of that, as you know, two of our church members had deaths in the family over Thanksgiving this year.
It seems like sometimes you just can't catch a break, can you?
You can't get any relief.
It's always something.
And now we head into Christmas.
This time of year that's meant to be marked by awe and anticipation and joy,
but Christmas, just like Thanksgiving instead, is often marked by anxiety,
rushing around.
There's extra busyness.
There's family drama.
Everybody just seems to be wound up a little bit tighter than usual.
There's all sorts of stress of all kinds.
There's mental stress, emotional stress, sometimes financial stress around the holidays.
It just seems hard, doesn't it,
to experience the blessing that we're meant to experience here at Christmas.
And you wonder, well, is there anywhere that we can actually turn and experience real and lasting blessing
in a way that won't be interrupted by tragedy?
It won't be limited by budget.
It won't be frustrated by unmet expectations.
Does such a thing even exist?
The answer that our passage gives us this morning is a resounding yes.
God promises great blessing to all who know him by faith.
It's our big idea this morning as we look at these two passages in Genesis 12 and in Galatians chapter 3.
Our God promises real, lasting, genuine blessing to any who know him by faith.
We're going to trace that promise this morning in three stages from Abraham to Christ
and then ultimately to us this morning.
So first, first, here in Genesis, we see God promises great blessing to Abraham.
If anybody was starved for blessing, it was Abraham.
You zoom out here and remember where we are in the book of Genesis.
This initial promise here of blessing in chapter 12,
that is less than 10 chapters removed from the fall, Genesis chapter 3.
We are not all that far removed from that place, the Garden of Eden,
that place of real and true blessing where there was nothing but prosperity,
nothing but joy, nothing but peace in this perfect place with God's presence all around,
where Adam and Eve were the children of God, walking with him in the garden.
Every desire was met.
There's no such thing as unmet expectations in the Garden of Eden.
There's no interruptions of death and no stressors of any kind.
It was absolute paradise until Genesis chapter 3, Adam and Eve sin.
They rebel against their creator.
They disobey his word.
They assert themselves as rulers of the Garden.
And so they and all of us with them, all mankind with them,
are kicked out of the Garden and plunged into this state of sinful rebellion against God.
Do you want to know why things are the way they are?
Genesis 3 has your answer.
Why in the world are the holidays so stressful?
Seriously.
Genesis 3 has your answer.
What's the root of that stress?
What's the root of that anxiety?
What's the root of that family drama?
What's the root of that greed?
What's the root of that debt and that poverty?
What's the root of death in the world?
None of that was in Eden.
There's a very clear before and after.
And Genesis 3 is like the hinge here of blessing on one side and cursing on the other.
And guess which side we live on?
We live in a world that is cursed because of sin.
We trace everything wrong with the world back here to Genesis chapter 3 and the introduction of sin into the world.
That is why things are the way they are.
But right here in Genesis chapter 12, here in the middle of that world of curse, here in the middle of sin and death that's running rampant throughout the book of Genesis to this point, God speaks a promise of blessing.
This is stunning for us as we read this.
We ought to pause and marvel at that fact.
I mean, you mean that the world that we live in, a world where it's just chaos all the time, there's evil all around us, there's evil in our own hearts, there's evil in our families, there's evil in our neighborhoods, there's evil in our nation.
There's just constant turmoil all the time.
The whole world is in constant upheaval.
You mean to tell me that God has spoken and promised blessing?
Yes, I do.
Here it is.
I'll put it there with me again to Genesis chapter 12.
We're going to start here, but we're going to, I hope you have your Bibles open.
We're going to flip and trace this promise this morning because what we see is that this same promise that's declared in chapter 12 is then reaffirmed and ratified in a covenant in chapter 15.
And then it is reaffirmed yet again and given a sign, the sign of circumcision in chapter 17.
So three different places, but it's the same, same essential promised blessing here.
God gives the initial promise to Abraham in chapter 12, verses 1 through 3.
Look there again.
The Lord said to Abraham, go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you.
And I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you.
I will curse in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.
Do you hear that constant refrain of blessing?
Five times in those three verses, blessing, blessing, blessing, blessing, blessing.
And God speaks and he actually, he gives Abraham two commands here.
Go and bless.
And each command comes with three promises.
Go and I will make you a great nation.
Go and I will bless you.
Go and I will make your name great.
And as you go, you go and bless.
Bless and I will bless those who curse you.
Excuse me.
I will curse those who curse you.
Bless and I will bless those who bless you.
Bless and in you all the families of the earth, all the nations of the earth will be blessed.
It's an incredible promise of blessing.
Initially to Abraham, but then to all the world through Abraham.
Blessing is possible even here on this side of the fall.
And then you flip ahead to chapter 15.
Chapter 15, we see that same covenant promise reaffirmed.
Again, it's the same promise, but now it is formalized in a covenant.
God tells Abraham, look toward heaven and number the stars if you're able to number them.
And he said to him, so shall your offspring be.
And it says in response, verse 6, Abraham believed the Lord and the Lord counted it to him as righteousness.
And he said to him, I am the Lord who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to possess.
This promise is getting clarified.
It's an incredible promise.
You consider how old Abram is, well past the normal years of child rearing.
And you consider that his wife Sarah at this point is barren.
There is no physical possibility of them bearing children.
And yet, in the midst of this barrenness, in the midst of this hopelessness, God promises blessing.
I was up in the mountains this past week for Thanksgiving and we were actually able to look up and see stars.
Many more stars than we were able to look up and see around here.
And I just thought about this promise.
More numerous than the stars in the sky.
That is tremendous blessing.
And then you flip ahead to chapter 17.
You look ahead there because here, once again, in chapter 17, God reaffirms this same covenant.
This promise of blessing is now sealed with a sign.
The sign of circumcision.
He says, chapter 17, verse 6,
I will make you exceedingly fruitful.
And I will make you into nations.
And kings shall come from you.
I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant to be God to you and to your offspring after you.
And I will give to you and to your offspring after you the land of your sojournings.
All the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession.
I will be their God.
Do you hear this blessing?
Over and over and over and over again.
God speaks and promises blessing to Abram.
Even here on this side of the fall, God promises incredible blessing to Abram and to his offspring.
We can essentially summarize this blessing in three ways, three main blessings.
God promises Abraham the blessing of prosperity, place, and posterity.
God promises Abram prosperity.
He's enriched greatly.
He has material wealth beyond our wildest dreams.
But more important than that, he says God himself will be his God.
Well, that's the central blessing, isn't it?
God himself will go with him and walk with him, go before him.
He will defend him.
He will identify with Abraham as the God of Abraham.
This is a blessing of prosperity, isn't it?
He says God himself, God promises Abram a place.
The land of Canaan will be his.
As far as the eyes can see, God will give him a place for him and his offspring to live and to worship him forever.
It's like a new little Eden there, this outpost of God's kingdom.
It's like a new garden here amongst the thorns and the thistles.
And he promises, again, against all odds, posterity.
Children more numerous than the stars in the sky.
And again, we ought to pause here and just take a few things, a few truths away from this.
For one, again, hear me, blessing really is possible.
And we see it here on this side of the fall.
I know often it seems like in this world that we live in, that sin and death just cloud it all up.
And it seems like just a dream.
It's not a dream.
Blessing is possible.
Second, true blessing is a gift of God's grace.
Who is Abraham that he should deserve this promise?
Who is Abraham that he should earn this blessing?
He hasn't earned a thing, has he?
Out of God's sheer abundant grace, he pours forth blessing into a world that deserves judgment.
A third truth to take away here in this first point.
All blessing comes through the word of the Lord.
He speaks and everything is made.
He speaks and he promises blessing.
And even though from our perspective there's a delay between promise and fulfillment,
when he speaks these promises, we can take it to the bank.
It's as good as if it's already done.
His word does not fail.
All this promised blessing here, just 12 chapters into the book, it's amazing, isn't it?
But how will it happen?
It all centers on this promise of posterity.
So second, second, we see God fulfills his promises in Christ.
God fulfills these promises of blessing in Jesus Christ.
Let me say it another way.
The ultimate true blessing that's promised to Abraham all the way back here in Genesis is fulfilled in Jesus.
Or we could say it like this.
The blessing that you and I crave, the blessing that the world needs so desperately here in the midst of a sin-cursed universe is Jesus.
Jesus is the promised blessing to the world.
Now, of course, as we read the Old Testament, there are small initial fulfillments of these promises in Abraham's life.
But they are not the whole picture.
Yes, Abraham is prospered.
He is blessed incredibly materially.
He becomes richer than any of us could dream.
God, yes, he does go with him as his God.
Yes, he does prosper him.
But there's still this issue, this lingering problem of sin.
Every blessing in Abraham's life is just tangled up, is mixed up with this presence of sin.
Even the greatest blessings, they're still tainted here with this curse of sin.
It's partial at best.
And yes, we look at the Old Testament and we see, yes, Abraham is blessed with posterity.
Children.
God multiplies Abraham.
He tries it on his own with Hagar.
But then ultimately, God produces the chosen son of promise, Isaac.
And beyond that, Abraham bears other children.
He multiplies greatly.
But it is not ever quite the stars in the sky that we read about, is it?
It is not ever quite the sand on the seashore that's promised.
It's all partial at best.
And on top of that, every single son of Abraham that we read about in the Old Testament,
every single one is still just as sinful as we are.
There's still the presence of sin.
None of them seem like they're really qualified to bless the world.
As we read these promises in the Old Testament, we're still, we're leaning forwards.
We're waiting.
When will true blessing come?
And yes, again, as we read the Old Testament, Abraham does get a small taste of this promised place, doesn't he?
It's not much.
In fact, in Abram's life, you remember, the only piece of land that he owns here in Canaan is the cave where he and Sarah are buried.
But eventually, Israel does inherit the promised land.
They conquer.
They overtake.
They live there.
They worship God there.
They establish the temple there.
It's like a little taste of Eden.
But it's a little bit too much like Eden.
Because as we know, the same cursed problem of sin ruins it all just like it happened in the garden.
Israel, just like Adam, sins against the Lord.
They rebel against him.
And Israel, just like Adam, they are kicked out of the promised land.
This too is a partial blessing.
So we're left wondering, how will God actually bless us in a way that lasts?
How will God actually bless us in a way that can't be spoiled by sin?
How will God actually bless us in a way that's not threatened by death or decay?
Where can we turn for real and true and lasting blessing?
Friend, the answer to that question is what we celebrate at Christmas.
Christmas is the announcement to the world that blessing has come.
The promises have been kept.
But it's the announcement that yes, despite all the darkness around us, the light of the world has come.
And the true lasting blessing is really possible.
It's here.
Jesus is the blessing to the world.
Now there are manger scenes all over the place.
You drive through Mount Pleasant.
You'll see them everywhere you look.
There's advent calendars on the shelves.
But we need to stop and make sure before we get too far into the season,
we need to understand who is this baby in the manger?
Matthew chapter 1 tells us he is Jesus Christ, son of David, the son of Abraham.
Well, this is what Christmas is about.
What are we celebrating this Christmas season?
We are celebrating the good news that the promised blessing to the world has come.
Here he is.
The promised child is the one through whom God will bless the world.
There he is in the manger.
And we're meant to look at this child in the manger and make this connection that this child, he is the one.
This baby is the promised son of Abraham.
He is the one who's come to crush the head of the serpent.
You know, the anticipation of advent, it's not looking forward to stuff or to food or to gatherings with friends and family.
As good as those things are, church, we are called to set our hearts on Christ, the true and lasting blessing to the world.
We look at the baby in the manger and see Jesus Christ.
He is the fulfillment of this promise of prosperity.
He is the blessing to the world.
The hymn, O Holy Night, captures it well.
You all know the words.
It says,
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
That describes Genesis, doesn't it?
That describes the world that we live in, doesn't it?
Long lay the world in sin and error pining till he appeared and the soul felt his worth.
A thrill of hope.
The weary world rejoices for yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
You know, that new and glorious morn.
That's the day of God's blessing in Christ.
True blessing is found in the one who humbled himself, who left the throne of heaven to be born in human flesh.
Who came to live and to die for us so that in him we might be truly blessed.
We look at the manger and we see every promise made to Abraham is amplified and is magnified in Christ.
I mean, think about it.
God promised to be with Abraham, to be his God.
Jesus Christ is Emmanuel, God with us.
He is the God-man.
The word become flesh.
God promised Abraham a place.
A place of rest.
A place of peace.
A place where God would be with them as their God and they would be his people.
You know, we desire that place too, don't we?
How many Christmas songs can you think of that talk about going home for Christmas?
I'll be home for Christmas.
There's no place like home for the holidays.
Now, why is it such a theme?
They're tapping into this universal human longing that all of us have for home.
For simpler times.
For a place where we belong.
A place where you can just let down your guard and rest.
Church, true rest.
True safety.
True home.
True worship.
The place where God and man can dwell together.
It's not ultimately in Canaan.
It's not ultimately in America.
It's not ultimately at Grandma's house for Christmas.
It is found in Christ.
A child in the manger that we celebrate at Christmas.
He himself is our peace.
He himself is the true location of all real, genuine Christian worship.
We come to the Father in and through him.
He himself is the one who says,
Come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden.
I will give you rest.
He is our prophet to teach us.
He is our priest to intercede for us.
He is our king to rule over us.
Every shadow in the Old Testament comes to full fruition in the flesh in Jesus Christ.
Jesus is the promised blessing to the world.
Church, this is good news for us.
Blessing.
True blessing has come.
You might be asking, well, how do I get in on this?
Third, God blesses us by faith in Christ.
God blesses us by faith in Christ.
Now let's flip over to Galatians chapter 3.
We'll see the key here.
How do we get in on this blessing in Christ?
How do you and I get in?
How do we become included in these promises that God made to Abraham?
Because I'm looking around the room here.
I don't think any of us are Jewish.
Not that I'm aware of.
So how do we get in on this?
Didn't God promise all these things to Abraham?
The father of the Jewish people?
Didn't he promise all these things to Abraham and to his offspring?
That just counts us out from the jump, doesn't it?
Look there with me to Galatians 3.
Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
In the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith.
That's us, Gentiles.
Preach the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying,
In you shall all the nations be blessed.
So then those who are of faith are blessed, along with Abraham, the man of faith.
Do you see what this means?
This tells us that being a son of Abraham,
and therefore being eligible for all of this blessing,
is not a matter of physical descent from Abraham's body at all.
If it were, then none of us would qualify.
True Jewishness,
being a true son of Abraham,
is not according to the flesh.
It is according to faith.
To be a son of Abraham,
you must share the faith of Abraham.
That's what it says.
Let me read it again.
Know then it is those who are of faith who are the sons of Abraham.
Verse 9,
Those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham,
the man of faith.
Look down to verse 26.
In Christ Jesus,
You are all sons of God through faith.
For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Greek.
There is neither slave nor free.
There is no male and female.
You are all one in Jesus Christ.
Verse 29,
If you are Christ's,
then you are Abraham's offspring.
If you are Christ's,
you are heirs according to promise.
Do you hear that?
True Jewishness is not about physical descent.
Let me say it another way.
The promise of having God as your God,
the promise of an eternal perfect home,
the promise of belonging to him,
the promise of real, true, lasting, unshakable blessing,
is available to everyone in the room this morning.
It's available to everyone in the world,
Jew and Gentile alike.
How do we get in on it?
It's very simple.
By faith.
By faith alone.
True blessing is for anyone
who shares the faith of Abraham.
What is that faith?
It is the trust.
It is the trust that this baby in the manger
is your only hope.
That he's not just another child,
but this child in the manger
is truly God in the flesh.
And that as the scriptures tell us,
this child in the manger
has come to bless the world
by earning that blessing for himself
by his own perfect life.
And then by taking away our curse,
the curse that we've earned by our sin,
by dying in our place on the cross.
And then by rising again from the grave
to crush the powers of sin and death.
That is what we put our faith in.
Abraham had that faith in a forward-looking way,
but you and I,
we get to look back on the work of Christ
and say,
this man,
this child,
he is the blessing to the world.
Do you have that faith?
Have you put your full trust
in the promises of God,
namely,
namely the promise of salvation in Christ?
If not,
friend,
what keeps you
from putting your faith in Christ this morning?
Why would you prefer to live in this world of curse?
Why won't you come and enjoy the blessing
that God holds out for you this Christmas?
Why won't you come and enjoy
what God has offered to us in Christ?
It is available for you
if you would only come by faith.
And if so,
Christian,
if you have,
let me just tell you a few of the blessings
that we have in Christ.
And they'll sound familiar.
I have three of them here.
In Christ,
church,
we have the blessings of posterity,
of prosperity,
and of place.
For one,
if you are in Christ by faith,
you are the spiritual posterity of God.
John 1 tells us,
Jesus,
the true light,
which gives light to everyone,
was coming into the world.
He was in the world,
and the world was made,
through him,
yet the world did not know him.
He came to his own,
and his own people did not receive him,
but,
verse 12,
to all who did receive him,
who believed in his name,
that's faith,
he gave the right to become children of God,
who were born not of blood,
nor of the will of the flesh,
nor of the will of man,
but of God.
God.
Jesus Christ is,
he is alone.
He is the promised son of Abraham.
But if you are in him,
by faith,
united to him,
good news,
church,
you too are a son of Abraham.
Christ Jesus alone,
is the only begotten son of God.
But if you are united to him by faith,
good news,
you too,
are a child of God.
Jesus alone,
is the rightful heir,
of all of God's promises.
He alone,
has earned this,
by his own perfect life.
But guess what?
If you are united,
to him by faith,
you too,
are made heirs with him,
of every spiritual blessing.
What greater blessing could you want this Christmas?
Second,
if you are in Christ by faith,
you have the blessing of,
of spiritual prosperity,
beyond our wildest dreams.
Paul says in Ephesians 1,
God has blessed us in Christ,
with every spiritual blessing,
in the heavenly places.
I mean,
what does that even mean?
Can you wrap your mind around that?
God has blessed us,
with every spiritual blessing,
in Christ.
Oh,
we can't fathom what that is,
because we can't see it,
we can't put it on our Christmas list,
or wrap it up in a box,
and open it up on Christmas morning.
God tells us in his word,
he has blessed you,
Christian.
If you are united to Christ by faith,
you have inherited,
every spiritual blessing,
in the heavenly places.
Do you count yourself blessed?
I see at least two of those blessings,
here in Galatians 3.
One of those blessings,
is the blessing of justification.
That's just amazing.
I'm baffled,
by this passage.
It says,
the scripture,
foreseeing that God,
would justify the Gentiles,
by faith,
preached the gospel,
beforehand to Abraham,
saying,
in you,
shall all the nations,
be blessed.
So then,
those who are of faith,
are blessed,
along with Abraham,
the man of faith.
What's he saying?
The blessing,
that God promised,
to the nations,
that's us,
is the blessing,
of justification,
by faith in Christ.
That's the gospel.
That's what was preached,
to Abraham.
Do you realize,
Christian,
how blessed you are,
to be justified,
by faith alone,
in Christ?
If you were to hold up,
your record,
before a holy God,
and say,
look at me,
would you accept me?
I've been so good.
I've done what I think,
I ought to do.
I've been better,
than the next guy.
I'm more moral,
than my neighbor.
I'm the same one,
in my family.
You would be turned away,
from the kingdom of God.
But in Christ,
Jesus,
by faith,
we inherit,
his perfect righteousness,
and in Christ,
Jesus,
by faith,
we are justified,
declared righteous,
in the sight of a holy God,
and accepted,
into his holy kingdom.
Every spiritual blessing,
flows downstream,
from that great blessing,
of justification.
Here's another one,
Galatians 3.
We have his spirit,
in us,
Christian.
Galatians 3,
verse 13,
says,
Christ redeemed us,
from the curse of the law,
by becoming a curse,
for us.
For it is written,
cursed is everyone,
who's hanged on a tree.
So that,
in Christ Jesus,
the blessing of Abraham,
might come to the Gentiles.
Well,
what blessing is that?
So that we might receive,
the promised spirit.
through faith.
By faith,
the spirit of God,
himself,
now dwells,
within us.
All of his children,
are indwelt,
by the Holy Spirit.
He's not just God,
with us,
Emmanuel,
now he is God,
within us.
What a blessing.
One more,
third blessing here.
In Christ Jesus,
you and I,
have the certain hope,
of a true,
spiritual,
place,
to come.
Do you know what awaits us,
at Christ's return,
Christian?
And we call this season,
Advent,
and you know what that means?
It means,
it means coming,
or,
or arrival.
And for us,
we,
we look at that in two directions,
don't we?
Now Christmas,
we look backwards,
to see the first coming,
of Christ.
We,
we look at him,
in the manger,
and see the blessedness,
for the world.
The promised blessing,
has come.
He's,
he's here,
he's arrived,
he's accomplished,
the plan.
But we also look forwards,
to his second coming.
When he will come,
and finish what he started.
He will come,
and usher in,
the kingdom of God,
in full,
and,
and bring us,
all who,
are united to him,
by faith,
into a perfect,
home.
Where you and I,
can,
can worship him,
and enjoy him,
for the rest of eternity.
You know,
that's what Romans 4,
tells us.
Romans 4,
tells us,
that God,
promised Abraham,
and his offspring,
that they would be,
heirs,
not just of Canaan,
but heirs,
of the world.
friend,
if you have,
a longing for home,
this year,
for a place,
where you can go,
and be at peace,
where,
where sin,
will not disrupt,
where tragedy,
will not come in,
and,
and break up the laughter,
if you long,
for a place,
where the food,
won't run out,
and,
where our capacity,
to enjoy good gifts,
will not ever be,
too small,
that sort,
of blessing,
will not be found.
in anything,
here and now,
that blessing,
is only found,
in the new heavens,
and the new earth,
the true,
promised land,
in the presence,
of Christ our King.
Friend,
do you desire blessing,
prosperity?
Of course you do.
We all want to be blessed,
if there's nobody on earth,
that wants curse,
in place of blessing,
the good news,
of the gospel,
with the announcement,
of Christmas,
is that God,
has spoken,
a promise,
of blessing,
into this cursed world,
you know where it's found?
It's not in anything,
this season has to offer,
it's not in,
sentimentality,
or family memories,
it's not in,
in presents,
and stuff,
or nostalgia,
true,
and lasting,
blessing,
is found,
in this,
promised child,
and it is available,
to all the world,
right now,
any,
who would come to him,
in faith.
Isaac Watts,
wrote the song,
Joy to the World,
and it's sung,
at Christmas time,
around the world,
but I share this,
little tidbit,
every year,
it's my annual petition,
to have it sung,
around the clock,
year round,
because he didn't write it,
about the first coming,
of Jesus,
it wasn't a Christmas song,
Isaac Watts,
wrote this,
about the second coming,
of Jesus,
it's not just about,
the baby in the manger,
it's about Christ,
the king,
when he,
when he comes,
and finishes,
what he started,
when at last,
all of God's people,
by faith in Christ,
can sing together,
no more let sins,
and sorrows grow,
nor thorns,
infest the ground,
he comes,
to make his blessings,
flow,
far as the curse,
is found,
let's pray,
father,
that's our hope,
we long,
for,
we look forward,
to the day,
when Christ,
will return,
and we'll,
we'll peel back,
and undo this curse,
of sin,
from all the earth,
we thank you,
that we look back,
to the manger,
and see your promises,
kept,
that real,
true blessing,
can be had,
right now,
by faith in Christ,
but Lord,
we long,
for the day,
when it will come,
unmingled with sin,
without the presence,
of death,
and decay,
and darkness,
Lord,
would you,
put that hope,
in our hearts,
may we believe,
in all your promises,
by faith,
we pray in Jesus name,
amen,