A Season of Light

 

JOSEPH KING MORE TO CHRISTMAS ….

A SEASON

| a 

OF

LIGHT ….THAN MEETS THE EYE

 

 

The e-sword electronic bible version 9.9 Rick Meyers All rights reserved Worldwide. The e-sword is given freely to all. It is illegal to sell any copy.

Copyright © 2011 JOSEPH KING All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher

Published by: Revelation Christ Publishing House www.josephkingbooks.com

Cover design: Andrew Kalanzi JAM HOLDINGS Ltd.

 

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DEDICATION   

I would love to dedicate this book to our Lord Jesus Christ who remains the light of all men. Thanks to HIS kindest consideration, we have become the expression of HIS light to all men. May this season that HE has graced the world never end; and may the increase of HIS government beam with an ever amazing beam of the light that he shines upon all. 

 

 

 

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 

All my honor and praise go to the KING of glory for gracing me with the revelation into the light that HE has with consistent resolve beamed on all men. Without the knowledge of HIS understanding, I would never have anything to say. I look at this work with awe and humbled admiration for the love that HE has shared with us.

My prayer remains that the rich and powerful words herein quicken the understanding of all who read them. May all men shine in HIS light as they demonstrate to all creation the amazing love that GOD has rendered us for being synonymous in proper person with HIS glorious SON. This light is as much HIS light as it is indeed our light because of HIS love that seeks that we all shine even as HE does.

 

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AN INTRODUCTION 

Christmas has always been special, always a season to look forward to. From when I was a child, the days that marked this occasion were often the best days of the year. They were days that were full of expectancy, of brilliance, of marvel, of even magic; days when something just filled the air as if to invite all men to buoyancy, a delight, a celebration. The songs that accompanied the season were often in tune with the mood of celebration and innocent delight that graced us.

But then, I have since changed from seeing this epic season from a merely carnal perspective. As I have journeyed deeper in CHRIST, I have learnt a lot more about Christmas than I ever was able to grasp when I was a child. And the more I have learnt into this glorious season, I have kept my childish ways out of the way and

 

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held onto the enriching marvel of pure truth regarding the wonder of the birth of CHRIST.

It is this new impression, fashioned as it were from years or praying, of study, of fellowship with the SPIRIT; after being built into maturity in this holy faith, I have now seen more to Christmas than meets the eye.

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This book is a testimony of this journey into maturity in CHRIST so that we can see in HIS birth the glory that GOD would have us see. My prayer is that as you read into this SEASON OF LIGHT you will occasion your own light that CHRIST lit in you before the foundation of the world. I am certain that in this place you shall find a brilliance hidden in you that former Christmas celebrations never ever brought to your attention.

 

 

From now on, Christmas will never be the same; you can be sure that once this revelation hits you, the joy of Christmas, the season of light will be something that will last forever without any end.

From my beloved wife, family, and ministry, REVELATION CHRIST, we wish you a merry, merry and never ending season of light.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS  DEDICATION .................................................................................................................................................................... i  ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ................................................................................................................................................... ii  AN INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................................... iii  SHINING ........................................................................................................................................................................ vi  MORE TO CHRISTMAS THAN MEETS THE EYE ............................................................................................................... 3  WHAT IS CHRISTMAS? ............................................................................................................................................... 7  CHRISTMAS: GOD’S VISION ..................................................................................................................................... 19  | vi  THE BOOK ................................................................................................................................................................ 31  THE PROMISE OF LIGHT ............................................................................................................................................... 41  UNDERSTANDING THE PROMISE ............................................................................................................................. 49  THE GREATEST PROMISE ......................................................................................................................................... 67  IT IS FINISHED, IT IS DONE, IT IS FULFILLED ............................................................................................................. 79  THE BIRTH OF LIGHT .................................................................................................................................................... 97  THE MARVEL OF BIRTHING DIVINITY ..................................................................................................................... 104  GOD IN THE FLESH ................................................................................................................................................. 128  THE LIGHT HAS COME ........................................................................................................................................... 145 

 

 

THE KNOWLEDGE OF LIGHT ....................................................................................................................................... 154  THE REVELATION OF CHRISTMAS .......................................................................................................................... 161  GO LIGHT YOUR CANDLE ....................................................................................................................................... 180  SET ON A HILL, NEVER LOST IN THE WORLD ......................................................................................................... 190  THE JOY OF LIGHT ...................................................................................................................................................... 196  THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS SHALL NEVER END .......................................................................................................... 198  JOIN THE FUN! ....................................................................................................................................................... 219  A SEASON OF LIGHT ................................................................................................................................................... 232    | vii 

 

 

SHINING  Wake up all you people Arise and shine A Light was born In Bethlehem | 1 

Hark the herald angels sing A new child’s born today Jesus Christ the Son of God The Light of HIS glory As shepherds watched their sheep by night Holy angels came and sung

 

 

The King of glory has shed HIS Light on us It’s time to shine This wonder It’s time to shine This glory It’s time to shine This favor The light of HIS glory It’s time to shine In glamour It’s time to shine In power

 

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MORE TO CHRISTMAS THAN MEETS THE EYE  John 1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:2 The same was in the beginning with God. John 1:3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. John 1:4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men. John 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not. John 1:6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. John 1:7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. John 1:8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. John 1:9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

Everywhere around the world with a few exceptions, the end of the year is marked with grand enthusiasm, a sense

 

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of accomplishment, and celebration. For most, Christmas celebrations have become synonymous with closing the year with a thankful heart while also rejoicing the grand prospect of the coming year. Of course Christmas means a lot of things to everyone ranging from the most traditional impressions of it, complete

with

celebrations

strictly

observed

with

reference to the specific birth of JESUS, to the more perverse and bizarre binges that see people indulge | 4 

themselves in every form of hideous pleasures.

To

be

sure,

Christmas

celebrations

have

become

controversial with the actual meaning of the season lost in all the eating, drinking, and religious observances and ceremonial services taking place around the world.

 

 

And yet, this must not be left unattended to because if there was ever a day, or an event that must never be misunderstood; well, Christmas ranks right up there. This is one day that must be properly celebrated because it introduced a light that must shine bright in every man’s heart. This light is life, true life, absolute life; the life that men lost way back in the Garden of Eden and were graced to recover with the coming of CHRIST:

John 8:12 Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.

Beloved, the devil has fought hard and mean to compromise the significance of this day, deceptively indulging the fancies of men with material vanity, corrupt traditions, and twisted perversions so that many are lost to the real meaning of this glorious day. But the truth

 

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must always win; this day, the LORD has sanctified me and sent me with HIS word to shed light to what really Christmas is all about.

What is more is that the mighty SPIRIT of the LORD is indeed quite interested in Christmas and he has serious truths that HE seeks that we must appreciate and bring to the entire world concerning the birth of CHRIST. The world must know, the Church must show, the true meaning of Christmas. Yes, to us who lay in darkness a great light has indeed come; to us a child was born, to us a king was given; but, what does that really mean? What is the significance of the LORD’s birth? What is the meaning of the light that HE sheds to us? Can we arise and make the most of this wondrous favor? What is Christmas?

 

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WHAT IS CHRISTMAS? 

Many would suggest that Christmas is not anything more than the day that CHRIST JESUS was born of the Virgin Mary. Celebrating it is then the rejoicing of this birth; something akin to the joy of rejoicing ones given birthday. Of course, there are those given to the devils wiles who would suggest that Christmas is nothing more than a reason to indulge their sensuous delights. And yet, to others, Christmas is just a vain concoction that ought to be overlooked; those that disregard the day, often also dismiss the Savior born on that day; they question the authenticity of the date, the Savior, and the Christian faith altogether. And yet, if ever there was a day that ought to be rejoiced over it is this one. The birth of CHRIST necessitates a glorious celebration that ought to be the delightful obligation of all men.

 

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It is essential to note that the controversy of Christmas has also included whether we should celebrate it on the 25th of December or much earlier when it is presumed to have actually taken place. Those who argue this way, dismiss the day that is generally celebrated as a concoction of European traditions rooted in Roman customs and false religions. These cynical critics of Christmas implore academic scrutiny in their intellectual concerns over Christmas. As far as they are concerned, Christmas is a fabrication that must be altogether discarded; never mind that they never cite any alternative to the season.

And yet, the answers to this debate are prominently available and must be found in the word of GOD which is absolute truth. Reference in this regard must be gained

 

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from the HOLY SPIRIT who guides us into all truth (John 16:13). Now in that regard, there is no particular reference given to Christmas in respect to a specific day; there is no reference to Christmas in light of the normal 24 hour session we usually refer to as completing a single day. What the word and SPIRIT of GOD give particular reference to in regards to celebrating Christmas (or the birth of CHRIST) is a day in reference to a season; and the season considered is the spiritual dawning of a new era and not the specific occasion of any specific date.

Sure enough, the scriptures are very mindful about mentioning specific dates where these are needed such as reference given to the creation accounts (Genesis 1), the observance of feasts as required in the law (Leviticus 23), the forty days Moses fasted in the mountain (Exodus 24:18) or JESUS fasted in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2);

 

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other specific dates include the year that Uzziah died and Isaiah saw the LORD (Isaiah 6:1), or the day when the Temple was built in the reign of Solomon to mention just a few (1 Kings 6:38). It therefore begs a lot of consideration to appreciate why the specific date when CHRIST is born is not given. Those that wrote about HIS birth knew that the specific date was not as significant as indeed the season HIS birth ushered into the human experience is. | 10 

In other words, the particular day that is celebrated in the word of GOD in respect to the coming of CHRIST is not in reference to the particular day HE was born but rather to the spiritual season since HIS coming. The point is not really celebrating the birth day as much as it is rejoicing HIS coming and the rich season of light that HE ushered into the earth.

 

 

Understanding this brings greater appreciation to the need to perceive what Christmas really is.

Make no

mistakes about it, when Isaiah rejoiced in his day seeing how a people in darkness would see a great light, he wasn’t necessarily rejoicing a single day as much as he was delightfully prophesying about an oncoming season (Isaiah 9). The accounts he shares suggest the coming of a king that sets in a new season of perpetual brilliance that shall restore mankind to the plans of GOD. Isaiah was rejoicing this season, this new epoch of grand wonder that would come with the birth of the Messiah.

A more critical study of his prophecies would show you what Christmas is all about (elsewhere in this book, I will refer to more that this illustrious prophet had to say regarding Christmas). To be sure, this prophet actually celebrated the coming of CHRIST way before it actually happened (about 700 years to be exact) and actually did so in a far more profound manner than most believers,

 

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and even ministers, today do some two thousand years following the LORD’s birth. Again it must be emphasized that it wasn’t the baby boy being born that excited Isaiah, nor the fact that it was a virgin birth, or any other wonder that he saw. These special details Isaiah factored them to be signs of HIS comings and not the highlights of HIS coming:

Isa 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

To Isaiah, the highlight of the coming of CHRIST was of greater significance than the sign. The signs were essentially pointers to something greater that should be the key feature of our celebrations of Christmas.

 

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In this respect, we shouldn’t be bothered about which 24hour day is chosen to celebrate the LORD’s birthing since that was not the highlight. The actual day was a sign; the events that surrounded that day were signs: Here, I am talking about the shining star, the appearance of angels, the visit of wise men with gifts, even the virgin birth; all were signs pointing to something more significant that ought to be the key consideration in celebrating Christmas. And yet, what has happened is that whereas many have dismissed Christmas altogether, those that celebrate it have often been deceived to concentrate on the signs and missed the highlight of Christmas.

So what is Christmas? What must be the highlight of this delightful celebration? Beloved, Christmas is a lot more than a single 24-hour day can afford; it is more than Santa, shining lights and

 

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well cut trees can demonstrate; oh yes, it is far much more than a virgin birth, a born king, far more than food and drink, than any revelry, than any tradition, custom, or vanity could ever afford; it is infact, more than any carol, than any song, than any drama. Christmas is a revelation, a joyous wonder that all men shall see and celebrate with utmost praise of GOD.

Beloved, Christmas was much more than the birth of JESUS; it was the coming of light. HIS birth was a sign of the coming of this light. Make no mistakes about it; JESUS is all GOD and when HE was born, HE came into this world fully man but also fully GOD. Now, as GOD, HE had ever graced the earth such as when HE walked the Garden of Eden looking for Adam (Genesis 3:8, 9), or when HE visited Abraham on his way to judge Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18), or when HE appeared to Moses as a burning bush (Exodus 3:2- 4:17); and yet in all

 

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cases when HE did, or even when HIS FATHER or SPIRIT did, light did not come upon men.

As great as the occasions were yet there were nothing to be compared to the coming of light when CHRIST came. JESUS HIMSELF implied as much when HE taunted the Jewish teachers that did not perceive HIS significance referring to how Abraham hoped for his appearance: | 15  John 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad.

Oh boy, I pray that you see this day what both Abraham and Isaiah contemplated. Both indeed perceived GOD, they pondered HIS glory and yet they never ever saw in their day the glory of HIS light dawn among men as they saw it in the day of CHRIST which they beheld from a far off. Beloved, Abraham, like Isaiah after him, rejoiced

 

 

Christmas without even knowing the virgin birth, the angels, the shepherds that flocked by night, and all the other marvels associated with the day. Both celebrated the coming of HIS light a lot more than they rejoiced the birth of CHRIST.

I truly pray that you can see what the SPIRIT is saying here: Both of them saw more than the birth of a Savior; they saw a season, a great and wondrous season that had eluded man since the fall. Both of them saw more than Moses beheld when HE saw the burning bush (Exodus 3:2, 3) or when GOD descended in a thick dark cloud with lightning and terror so much that all Israel trembled (Exodus 19:16-22). The day that they saw was more than a 24-hour occasion; they beheld more than meets the eye. To be sure, what they saw cannot be captured by the natural eye nor can the

 

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carnal mind perceive it. Indeed, speaking of what they saw, the apostle Paul who also saw it said as much:

1Co 2:9 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 1Co 2:10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

Beloved, many have rejoiced the signs of Christmas but few have yet rejoiced the highlight of Christmas. Grasping the highlight requires that we venture beyond carnal interests and delve right into what Paul called ‘the things above’, spiritual realities.

To be sure, Christmas is spiritual; that is why it is laden with supernatural signs and therefore acknowledging it is a most significant spiritual privilege.

 

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The day that Abraham, Isaiah, and indeed several other prophets saw; the Christmas that the early church celebrated was not a carnal festival but a most significant spiritual season that I have been told by the SPIRIT of GOD to reveal to the saints of the MOST HIGH. Beloved of the LORD, Christmas is a season of light; a season of revelation, a season of absolute truth, of a manifestation of GOD’s ultimate plans for mankind wrought in the glorious person of CHRIST; Christmas so to say, is GOD’s vision, HIS desire, HIS eternal plan.

 

 

 

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CHRISTMAS: GOD’S VISION 

The glorious birth of CHRIST was more than the birthing of another great person. HE is more than another great person, more than history could afford, or than customs and traditions ever could. When CHRIST was born, it is not merely that GOD tabernacled human flesh; this was not another great event bearing significance worthy of annual consideration. Christmas is more than a day; it deserves more than an annual consideration; IT IS GOD’S VISION. For when the sun shall fail, long after days have closed down and there is no more today or tomorrow, no more summer or winter, spring or autumn, no more dry or wet season, when all the light there is shall be the great GOD Almighty (Revelation 22:5), yet Christmas shall still be rejoiced.

 

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To be sure, the birth of CHRIST was unlike the birthing of any being that ever graced the earth. What made that birth of marked wonder exceeds the appearance of angels to shepherds or the visit of wise men following a star by night; Christmas is indeed the wonder it is because GOD came among men to bring the greatest idea, the greatest truth, the greatest revelation; to bring to place HIS eternal vision. | 20 

For when CHRIST was born, light came back among men.

Make no mistakes about it; man was not always in darkness. To be sure, he was created in light. In the beginning, when GOD created all things, HE ensured that before man was created light beamed allover creation (Genesis 1:3). That light was CHRIST who shone bright enough to ensure that all creation was indeed good. And man was indeed created in the fashion

 

 

of this light which is CHRIST. When the scripture says that man is created fearfully and wonderfully, it must be understood that compared to every other created being man is quite unique (Psalm 139:14). Think about it: every other creation was created in the light and that is why it was all good. However, man was not just created in the light; he was created in the image and likeness of the light, man was created to be a reflection of this light; and when GOD beheld this light HE remarked how it was very good.

Considering that the light is indeed CHRIST HIMSELF, it is essential that we realize that man was created in HIS image and likeness. This is what the apostle Paul meant when he says:

Eph 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

 

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He understood that man was made in the fashion of CHRIST which is light. Essentially, man was created to be brilliant, to shine, to ooze light. The good works that he refers to as being man’s destiny are the works of light, works of wonder, works of GOD. Man was created not only to be a light but to walk in the light, to shine the light (Matthew 5:14-16; John 1:4).

It is also essential that man’s arena of operation was the earth; meaning, man was created as a light on earth. All other earth beings were created to live in the light of man just as all heavenly beings were designed to live in the light of the SON of GOD. This is why GOD declares man king and priest of all created beings on earth:

Gen 1:27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. Gen 1:28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have

 

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dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Understanding this enables you to appreciate the gravity of the fall of man. When man rebelled against GOD and fell, he didn’t just fall from light; he lost himself and brought everything on earth to gross darkness. Truly, from the fall onwards, man and all the earth was in perpetual darkness; all the days that proceeded the fall of man had wrought a reign of deception and gross fallacy that kept men in a perpetual season of corruption.

This is the darkness that GOD laments about when HE observes through the prophet Isaiah:

Isa 60:2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people:

 

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A darkness that is indeed so severe as to cause the bondage of all the earth:

Rom 8:20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, Rom 8:21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. Rom 8:22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

The tragic reality of man’s fall included GOD’s cursing of the earth:

Gen 3:17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Gen 3:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;

 

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And yet, properly appreciated, the fall of man was a lot more than the bondage of creation could measure; this disaster was indeed an offshoot of man’s fall and not the essence of it.

Many do not grasp the full weight of the gross fallacy that men fell in with Adam’s rebellion; many falsely presume that his expulsion from the Garden of Eden was the worst that man suffered; others also falsely presume that separation from GOD, the loss of HIS fellowship with GOD was indeed the worst that man suffered as a result of his disobedience. And yet there was a lot more that man lost, a lot more than the Garden, a lot more than the curse of pain or the burden of labor, a lot more than even the enviable relationship he had had with GOD. The greatest loss of man was the loss of his identity, the loss of who he was destined to be as light, the loss of his appreciation as

 

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light in creation, as the express image and likeness of the MOST HIGH.

The fall of man was the disgraceful loss of being synonymous with GOD who created him as HIS fellow image and express likeness (Genesis 1:26, 27). It must be understood that when man lost this light, he plunged the whole earth in darkness. Even though GOD had let them (Adam and Eve) to remain in the Garden, yet their fall would still have been certain and grave. Similarly, even though GOD continued to relate with men through patriarchs, prophets, and priests, yet this loss of divine identity continued in a perpetual damnation of man. That they had lost consciousness of who they were in relation to GOD and were afraid of HIM, hiding from him, and more profound, estranged from HIM, was a loss far more than the Garden they were expelled could ever compensate.

 

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Let me press this point; it should also be understood that not

even

going

to

heaven

offered

a

sufficient

compensation for the loss man had incurred in falling out of favor with GOD. Even if that day GOD had taken both Adam and Eve to heaven that gesture could never have compensated their loss. Going to heaven as inferior beings that had lost essence of who they were as light, as the very likeness of GOD, would never have been sufficient compensation for the gross loss they had suffered. That is why those that presume that JESUS was born merely to take us to heaven miss the point. Going to heaven is never the object purpose of CHRIST in your life.

Beloved, faith in CHRIST offers a lot more than going to heaven; GOD’s vision pictures a lot more than merely having man grace the streets of gold in heaven. Similarly, CHRIST was born for grandeur reasons than that. To be

 

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sure, HE did not need to be born to get you there. HE could and had done so with Enoch and Elijah without being born (Genesis 5:22; 2 Kings 2:11, 12). CHRIST JESUS was born for a lot more reason that getting you to heaven. HE was born to reveal the light of GOD in the hearts of men; HE was born to bring home this eternal truth of man’s fellowship with GOD, man’s destined identity as GOD’s express image and likeness. | 28 

This fellowship with GOD, this profound communion with the MOST HIGH beyond merely being in HIS presence but being HIS presence is what Adam lost and CHRIST restored to the human experience. Beloved, celebrating HIS birth in this respect is an eternal experience; it deserves more than a single 24-hour day celebration. This is GOD’s vision of you and me being all that HE is, as HE is, through HIS SON CHRIST JESUS.

 

 

The apostle Paul captured the vision quite profoundly when he writes:

Rom 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Through his fixation with ‘things above’, this maverick apostle stumbled into the amazing mind of GOD; he grasped the ‘deep things of GOD’s heart’ where HIS vision of man’s intended communion with the deity is firmly sealed in the person of CHRIST JESUS. Through exceptional grace, Paul appreciated CHRIST as the ultimate vision that GOD had for man; he saw man as the design intended by GOD to be fully as CHRIST is.

Seen in this respect, Christmas offers a most amazing story, indeed the most vital, most wondrous, the most

 

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inspiring account ever. There is a lot more to the birthing of CHRIST than what has often been considered. Beloved, what is indeed necessary is to grasp the broad picture of Christmas beyond the events that surrounded that particular day of HIS birth; and like I have emphasized, the picture exceeds the singing of angels, the appearance of arch-angel Gabriel, the worship of wise men, the shining star- yes, there is more to Christmas than meets the eye. This spiritual privilege is so profound and essential to all men; for in the birth of CHRIST is the light of men, the true life that they were created to live.

That life is divine, it is eternal, it is the light of men, their essence. Celebrating it is an eternal joy; a privilege that should be seized upon with never ending gratitude and ever-increasing joy.

 

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THE BOOK 

I write with exuberant joy comingled with swirling delight; filled with the SPIRIT, I am divinely inspired from above to declare to you the heart of the FATHER; to bring to your attention glorious realities about Christmas that surpass and far outclass every vain and religious account sponsored to date. I can hardly contain myself and remain thankful to the SPIRIT for the fruit of selfcontrol otherwise I would never be able to measure up to the marked discipline essential to unveil this wonder. The excitement is one that tempts you to dance, shout, and richly ponder; it quickens the imagination, alerts the mind, and enriches the soul. I have never been so happy in my whole life.

 

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And you can be sure that my joy is with a lot of sense; it is based on the knowledge of CHRIST which exceeds every other understanding. My prayer for you is that the same or an even greater measure of divine consideration will motivate you to even higher ecstatic heights as you consume the revelation of Christmas. May this book profit your spirit, transform your mind, revive your soul, and strengthen your body (Hebrews 4:12); may it accomplish the purpose for which it has been sent to you (Isaiah 55:11).

So, before you get on that turkey; before you unwrap that gift; before you light up that tree; before you send a card or read any season’s greetings; get a hold of this revelation. There’s more to Christmas than often meets the eye; but this season, the LORD has ordained that providence allows you to get a hold of a book like this one so that you can capture GOD’s vision.

 

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Let the divine words I share here make you see what the FATHER has done and may the SPIRIT of GOD move you to do it also (John 5:19).

A SEASON OF LIGHT seeks to combine the word and the SPIRIT of GOD to venture you beyond the curtain of signs that most religious enthusiasts are content to rejoice over into the very depth of GOD’s heart regarding the birthing of CHRIST (1 Corinthians 2:10-12). As a book, its details are vast and rich and yet nonetheless limited to the ministry of the Holy Scriptures and the mighty HOLY SPIRIT. That said, it is essential that you realize that the book does not exhaust the enormous depth of infinite wonder that the revelation demands. What is essential to ensuring a firm grasp of the revelation of Christmas is further study into the scriptures with the excellent counsel of the HOLY SPIRIT to magnify every word, every chapter, and every detail

 

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herein. You can be sure that there is a lot more in this work than the English language could elucidate on; a lot more than my hand could communicate; quite a lot remains for the HOLY SPIRIT to unveil, clarify, and establish in your heart regarding Christmas.

To this extent A SEASON OF LIGHT is a carefully calculated effort intended to push you to delve more in prayer and study, in hungering and thirsting after righteousness; its limited detail is compensated by its provocative character so that in studying it, you are guaranteed to desire to know more about Christmas than always meets the eye; the work seeks to lift your eyes of understanding so that you may catch GOD’s vision.

This is the essential point here; in sharing the revelation of CHRIST, I seek that you seize the vision of GOD; that glorious image of you and HIM shining bright.

 

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What I have been commanded by the LORD to deliver to the saints and indeed the world, is the marvel of glory and honor that GOD Almighty has bestowed on man and how Christmas brings this to proper perspective. I remain praying that you do not set beyond the pages in this book clueless about your immortal worth; if anything, let the words herein provoke you to ponder on the eternity that GOD has invested in your heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11). | 35 

Am I against Christmas as is traditionally observed? Some would be quick to say so and yet they miss the point. I seek more than a protest here; this work is a lot more than a remonstration against religious observations of Christmas or the vanity fair that some have reduced it to. To be sure, A SEASON OF LIGHT is a work of divine inspiration intending to set clear the vision of GOD to men; the book seeks to make the revelation of CHRIST essential to the faith of every man with the noble objective

 

 

of bringing men to the perfection they were created for (Colossians 1:27, 28).

Ten (10) chapters in total inform my communication along with eight (8) themes anchored in the mysterious light of glory. Right from this elaborate introduction through such profound subjects like the promise of light, the knowledge of light, and the riches of light, right till I sign-off with an enlightening and prophetic summation of a season of light, the book will revolve around the light that CHRIST is in us; which we must shine in this season graciously granted to us. Essentially, it is my prayer that you will see that light; not only the light that is CHRIST but the light that is CHRIST in you. I also pray that you will shine that light brighter than any Christmas tree ever could be lit.

 

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Ultimately, A SEASON OF LIGHT will only find its goal when the light that is CHRIST is indeed the light that you shine in, with, and through you. If indeed in the course of reading this work, you catch a glimpse of CHRIST as in a mirror so much that you begin to shine and beam allover and everywhere you are, then GOD’s vision will have been accomplished in you. And to this extent, I remain humbled, privileged, and greatly honored to serve you. I also mingle my prayer with faith and believe that your light will brighten your environ, your possession, your chances, your circumstance. Yes, I see you shining bright and walking the path that shines even brighter every passing day (Proverbs 4:18).

That is your manifest destiny, your divinely programmed providence; you were created to shine, to radiate brilliance, to display the very glory of GOD Almighty. All

 

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of creation awaits your hour and I pray that this book works at quickening you in this course. Yes, your season has come; this is your moment, your time to shine, to demonstrate GOD’s love and purpose for all men. Nothing can hide you anymore; no design can hinder this grand opportunity set by GOD for you:

Mat 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Mat 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Mat 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

What this means is that since CHRIST came, GOD is not in the business of hiding you; neither is HE in the business of shutting you out. Far from all that; instead, you are greatly welcome to the grand banquet of light; the stage has been set and you must shine.

 

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Beloved, GOD desires, craves, longs to show you out; HE shines HIS light on you, has lit HIS light in you, and HE waits for you to shine it out so that all creation observes how glorious like HIM you really are. And this is what Christmas is all about; it is all about the light of GOD shining on you and you shining it before all of creation.

Isa 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. Isa 60:2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. Isa 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

It is your day, this is your season, it is time for you to shine that light lit before the foundation of the world. Don’t hide, shine!!!!!!

 

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A

merry

merry

Christmas

to

you;

KEEP

ON

SHINING!!!! And I am not just wishing here; I declare it forth in the power of the SPIRIT. Even so, let YOUR will be done dearest FATHER. Amen!!!

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THE PROMISE OF LIGHT  Heb 6:13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself, Heb 6:14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee. Heb 6:15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. Heb 6:16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife. Heb 6:17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath: Heb 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:

That Christmas is a season loaded with the rich sense of promise is without question; it is infact, both a consistent and prominent feature of the season. It is quite depressing to think of a Christmas without promise. Many of us can remember with fondness the many delightful promises

 

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we had from our parents and other loved ones regarding some gift we would gain come Christmas. Indeed, the prospect of getting some gift, even the promise that the end of a year poses in respect to the opportunities that the next will bring all wrap up together to make Christmas a season of marked expectancy, a season of promise.

The theme of promise, of good fortune, the marked expectation of wonder fills the air of Christmas; and this has been the case since the first Christmas. Just before CHRIST was born, the arch-angel Gabriel had appeared to the priest Zechariah with the wondrous promise of a baby from the womb of his dear wife, Elizabeth inspite of her barren state coupled with the fact that she was passed her fertility age (Luke 1:18).

And as much as this was more promise than Zechariah could handle, Gabriel was not yet done; he had more

 

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promise to share. Indeed his greatest assignment to-date was the amazing promise reserved for none less than the devout Jewish lady we all love and cherish called Mary. Her encounter with the arch-angel is legendary, observe its every moment:

Luke 1:26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, Luke 1:27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. Luke 1:28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. Luke 1:29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. Luke 1:30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. Luke 1:31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. Luke 1:32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: Luke 1:33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

 

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Luke 1:34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. Luke 1:36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. Luke 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible. Luke 1:38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.

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I love that; for with GOD nothing is impossible: The promise that comes to Mary, the amazing privilege it renders her in being the earthen vessel to bear the seed of GOD has to make a deep impression in the heart of anyone that perceives the account with a pure heart. That GOD could indeed extend such grace tells a lot about how special HE is as a person. That from the loftiest of heaven the Greatest of All considered a humble girl for such immense duty reveals how kind, generous, and indeed simple GOD is. It also reveals how much HE is

 

 

willing to share; how much HE is willing to bend the rules to include even the most degenerate of men in HIS greatest of plans. Yes, in Christmas, in the promise given to Mary lies the richest of promises; in that one gesture an awesome GOD found common ground with man (Psalms 8:4). In that wonder lay the most amazing possibility; a privilege that surpasses mortal logic, ponder, or imagination; never had such a possibility ever crossed the carnal mind. | 45 

And yet, as special as that wonder may be, it is essential that we realize that the promise GOD made to Mary was a sign of an even greater promise; the promise made to Mary of CHRIST conceived in her womb contained in it a greater promise to all men. The CHRIST that she was to give birth to was a lot more than another child or even another king; HE was, is, will always be the ultimate of all promises; HIS birth brought the promises of GOD to their

 

 

highest regard. Indeed, all the promises of GOD find completion in the revelation of CHRIST:

2Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.

This aspect of the significance of the promise of CHRIST to all men must be grasped in the story and joy of Christmas; to be sure, the blessing of bearing the CHRIST was indeed more than a personal score for Mary. Although she rightfully rejoiced the privilege, even considering that all generations shall indeed call her blessed; yet Mary also knew that the promise of birthing the CHRIST exceeded her peculiar privilege to include all generations of all men.

The arch-angel Gabriel clearly underscored that the promise given to Mary was a lot more than a peculiar

 

| 46 

 

privilege to the devout girl given that HE was indeed be the very SAVIOR of the world (Luke 1:31; Matthew 1:23). Make no mistakes about it, the birth of CHRIST offered no ordinary and peculiar advantage specific to Mary; divine counsel ensured that she appreciated the universal quality of the privilege she was birthing into the world. A proper impression of what was at stake is clearly made by CHRIST when Mary is praised in light of HIS amazing testimony: | 47 

Luke 11:27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. Luke 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

Essentially, CHRIST perceived that recognition of HIS ministry, obedience to HIS doctrine, faith in HIM, was a lot more privilege than bearing HIM. The wonder of

 

 

privilege Mary had in bearing the LORD was in this respect a sign pointing to the highlight we have in believing HIM and living in HIM.

To grasp this glorious matter in richer perspective, it is critical that we appreciate who CHRIST is as the light of men that came into the world (John 1:3, 4). Contrary to those given to revelation, most men are caught up in the spell of religion and vain human traditionalism when they consider these things. In these limited measures, their devotions to Christmas center on the wonders of the virgin birth, the appearance of angels to shepherds by night, the travel of wise men and their worship, and the shining star that they followed that was curiously raised over the birthplace. And yet, Christmas has a lot more to it than all that; there is exceedingly greater light that was promised and that came to birth when CHRIST was born than the shining

 

| 48 

 

star or the other wonders that accompanied the birth. When CHRIST was born, light did indeed come to the world.

UNDERSTANDING THE PROMISE  | 49 

But what was the promise of light? If it wasn’t the shining star, if it wasn’t the born baby, what was it? When was this light promised? And what is its significance to all men? It is so critical that we realize the weight of this light from the perspective of promise that GOD made to all men. Earlier on in the first chapter, I clarified what the light was and what indeed it really meant to all men. CHRIST is indeed that light that GOD shone on all of creation; the

 

 

light that is the express image and likeness of the invisible GOD (Hebrews 1:3) and indeed the one by which all things were made by, through, and for:

Colossians 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: Colossians 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

This light was indeed the very design in which man was made, the very quality of the essence of all men. When GOD made man, HE made a creature in the very pattern of this light. Man was not only made in the light, he was made to be as the light. If all things consist in the light and man is indeed made in the fashion of this light, then man was made to be in-charge of all things even as CHRIST is indeed in-charge of all things.

 

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Man in this respect was made to be above all thrones, above all powers, above all principalities, above all dominions. Similar to the light in its every regard, man was made to be in-charge on earth as CHRIST was indeed in-charge in heaven.

As it is known, man lost it all; when he rebelled against GOD, he lost the privilege of knowing who he really is, he lost his identity and in that all the virtues of his essence. Like I explained earlier in this work, the fall of man exceeded merely being cast out of the garden, or the curses of pain and labor, or even the prohibition from accessing the tree of life. Man lost something a lot more serious that indeed made these privileges completely irrelevant to him; he lost who he is and in so doing, he lost all the earth together with him. For in losing essence of his light, he plunged the earth into darkness.

 

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Essentially, everything on earth lost meaning; all that GOD had placed him in-charge of became subject to darkness. It is this darkness that now forces of evil take over and reign supreme in. This tragic loss became Satan’s gain; where man fell from being supreme over the earth lit in his glory, evil took over in a world subjected in darkness. Worse still, man who lost his essence fell with all the earth subject to the dominion of Satan. The depth of this tragedy, the ramifications were not unknown to GOD. After all, it is HE who had cautioned the man about the consequences of disobedience:

Genesis 2:16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: Genesis 2:17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.

 

| 52 

 

In HIS omniscient wisdom, GOD knew exactly how serious a threat disobeying HIM was. Before Adam, HE had witnessed the rebellion of Lucifer and a third of the angelic hosts and seen how this had indeed disgraced them from being ministering spirits so that they were then fallen spirits. Where as chief among all ministering spirits, Lucifer had been a brilliant light, a glorious witness of the MOST HIGH, yet his disobedience had degraded him to a pitiable level destined to eternal destruction:

Ezekiel 28:13 Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Ezekiel 28:14 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Ezekiel 28:15 Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. Ezekiel 28:16 By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast

 

| 53 

 

thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Ezekiel 28:17 Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Ezekiel 28:18 Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee.

I strongly believe that the Garden of Eden was GOD’s testing place for man even as it was for Lucifer. Just as Lucifer was tested there in the midst of pleasure and plenty, so was man. Before man fell, Lucifer had fallen in disgrace. GOD knew very well the ramifications of disobedience and interestingly, when Satan tempted man he also knew what was coming. Both knew that the fall of man was going to occasion an immortal disgrace; both knew that man would lose the light that he was and with that everything he reigned over would plunge into deep darkness.

 

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Suffice it to say that Satan also knew that it was a darkness that would relatively improve his place in disgrace. For when man fell, a disgraced former archangel and his hosts took over the earth and subordinated man in a dark reign.

It seems to me that the one person that was lost to all the loss was man himself; both Adam and Eve do not seem to have appreciated the extent of their fall. Both of them seemed to be content at losing their innocence reflected in their impression of their nakedness (Genesis 3:7, 10). When GOD showed up in the Garden, they hid covering themselves thinking that the worst they had incurred following their disobedience was acknowledging their nakedness:

Genesis 3:7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

 

| 55 

 

Genesis 3:8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. Genesis 3:9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? Genesis 3:10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.

Their fall had opened their carnal eyes while closing their spiritual eyes; whereas they were keen on temporal things, they had indeed lost the ability to appreciate eternal things. So when GOD showed up at the Garden, they were activated with carnal knowledge thinking that their plight was one that merely affected their body. To the best of their knowledge, they were convinced that their nakedness was an offense to GOD never mind that they had been naked before and were never ashamed (Genesis 2:25).

 

| 56 

 

This loss of proper judgment is so important to grasp in respect to Christmas. The birth of JESUS is not an opportunity to gain materially more than it is an opportunity to rejoice over spiritual gains that were made possible with CHRIST. Many folk are a lot more expectant to get a new cloth on Christmas than they are aware of the cloth of righteousness that CHRIST covers everyone that believes in HIM. | 57 

Fortunately for us all, GOD was present to straighten out the issues at stake. If HE had never appeared, man would be forever lost in a darkness beyond his comprehension. When GOD showed up, the fall of man was placed in proper light. Although GOD also dressed up the man a lot better than he’d dressed himself, GOD went beyond that ramification to deal with what was truly necessary (Genesis 3:21).

 

 

There are those given to carnal ponder that object to the severe judgments that GOD gave the man following his fall. Those who do this miss the essence and center on irrelevancies. In this respect, they tend to object to the various curses meted at the man; they object to the curse of pain, the curse of labor, the curse of female inferiority, the curse of being thrown out of the Garden, and the curse of being prohibited from eating from the tree of life. In their presumptions, these curses are considered as the sum total of man’s fall.

What they do not realize is that these curses were in themselves signs of man’s fall; they were not in any way the substance of it. As signs, they were essential to a fallen man that had not grappled with the gravity of his fallen predisposition. Essentially, because it was clear to GOD that man had limited understanding to his fallen state and indeed how

 

| 58 

 

much he’d indeed lost, GOD meted out curses that would encourage him to properly perceive the gravity of what he’d lost. The curses that man is levied with were merely signs that pointed to the loss of light that he’d lost and the curse of bondage that he had subjected himself and all the earth creation with.

If you understand this you would appreciate why fallen spirits including the devil do not fall to these curses; they do not feel pain or suffer the torment of laborious strife. To this date, GOD has not cursed fallen spirits with these trials because they know fully well how much they have lost and what indeed remains their destined fate. Give any devil pain at the privilege of escaping their fate and they would take it gladly; give any of them the curse of labor and strife in exchange of their destined fate and they would receive it gladly. If man had indeed perceived

 

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the depth of loss that he’d suffered, I am sure GOD would never have occasioned these curses upon them.

In this respect, the curses are then not as severe as is often considered by those given to carnal thinking. But what makes these curses completely bearable, in fact quite considerate in GOD’s part is the promise that HE makes while HE is dishing judgment: | 60  Genesis 3:14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

That promise in the midst of the tragedy of man’s fall provides a most essential clue to how much man lost and

 

 

how much indeed stands to be gained; it also sealed the enmity between man and the forces of darkness.

In declaring that there would be war between the seed of the serpent and the seed of the woman, GOD was in essence saying that it is not all over. And in this respect, HE was raising something of great consideration, a promise that reveals quite a lot about who man is and the stake that GOD has placed in him. To be sure, GOD could not afford to lose man; created in HIS image and likeness, created as light and fashioned indeed to be as HE is, man ranks highest in GOD’s creation. In HIS immortal considerations, GOD could indeed lose all except man.

This distinction GOD graces man with places him as archenemy to fallen spirits who thought that man‘s fall would

 

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indeed be a fatal as theirs was. Every man must relish with joy that whereas the fall of Lucifer did not elicit a redemptive plan, the fall of man did; whereas the fall of the angels was a once-for-all loss, man was not. When the angels fell, their fate was sealed, their destined punishment eternally considered, forever to be damned and lost. But in this promise that GOD assures the serpent, HE makes it clear that man is not lost for good; that there is a redemptive plan; than HE is willing to give man another chance to salvage his plight.

I am sure that Satan hadn’t bargained for this; had he known that man was redeemable he wouldn’t have tempted him in the first place. The temptation he crafted against man was intended to include man in the fate that he was certain to suffer; in his limited understanding, Satan thought that GOD would unilaterally subject man

 

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to eternal damnation just as he was. What he underestimated was the extent of immortality that GOD had considered man to be when HE created him in HIS image and likeness. This was no ordinary light that could be merely switched off. Although Lucifer himself had been a light, yet he was not as much light as man was. This daystar angel had a light that GOD snuffed out and destined to eternal damnation upon rebellion. But the light of man had to have a redemptive clause which GOD promises to ensure right there in the Garden to Satan’s chagrin.

This is very, very, very serious staff; it is essential that we appreciate to which extent a fallen angel, even an archangel at that did not warrant a redemptive clause while a fallen man is assured of redemption.

 

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Why did this fact elude the Serpent? I would think because he is not omniscient; further to that, he was not privy to the eternal covenant that informed the creation of man. In this respect, he never knew to which extent man was indeed as much light as GOD is. Having been a light and yet having suffered the fate of being snuffed out, he might have thought that man was not as much light as he was and would indeed suffer a similar fate that he suffered. | 64 

Well, he was wrong and more inaccurate than he could ever master; man was created to be a greater light than he was and as a light his brightness is only compared to that of the MOST HIGH. Unlike him, man need not covet to be as the MOST HIGH considering that he was indeed graciously made to be as HE is. It is in this sense that man’s redemption becomes a considered possibility. Watch this: Because man was

 

 

indeed created in the image and likeness of GOD, then GOD takes on the personal responsibility of ensuring man’s redemption. Man is redeemable because HE is in proper perspective GOD’s seed, HIS kind.

This consideration that GOD gives man so outweighs the punishment that HE gives man as a result of his fall. That man is redeemable because he is GOD’s kind outclasses the curse of pain and labor that he is given as punishment. Today, Satan knows this and he would give anything to exchange places with man; he would gladly bear pain or labor or both and even worse if only he could be redeemed. And yet, his fate is sealed for all eternity; he remains irredeemable, his fate remains irrevocable, and awaits this fate with marked hostility and jealous against man.

 

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Beloved, understanding this promise of redemption requires this comparison; we must appreciate that in this respect, GOD has never promised any other creation, nothing. Man, to-date, remains the only creature GOD has ever promised anything. HE has never promised angles, cherubim’s, seraphim’s, arch-angels, elders; HE has never promised nothing to the stars, the sun, the moon, mountains, rivers, animals, whatsoever. All HIS promises are centered on man. No other being in heaven or on the earth, or under the earth has ever been promised by the MOST HIGH. That GOD Almighty promises man reveals a lot about who man is; it speaks of his privileged status, of his foremost ranking in creation, of his glorious essence and immortal predisposition. For GOD only promises HIS kind.

 

 

 

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THE GREATEST PROMISE 

GOD is sovereign and owes no one HIS word. To think that this awesome GOD promises man is amazing in of itself. In proper understanding, GOD is obliged to nothing; everything exists at HIS will and pleasure, everything owes HIM and not the other way round. HE owes no one, owes nothing and is entitled to do as HE pleases. To be sure, the fact that GOD promises man anything, let alone his redemption, begs a lot of serious consideration. So often it is presumed for granted that GOD promises us without appreciating who HE is and to which extent this obligation is completely out of touch with HIS esteemed person.

 

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But when one grapples with the lofty dimensions of this wonder, then the omnipotent worth of man comes to play. That GOD promises man speaks of man’s immeasurable

worth

to

GOD.

Essentially,

GOD

engages with man in this respect as HE would HIS equal. HE promises to man in the same respect that HE would actually promise HIMSELF. In this gesture, GOD belies HIS well considered regard for man. If ever there was any doubt that HE had made a being after HIS own kind, then this privilege completely validates this loftiest of claims. Promising man is indeed a glorious tribute to man by the MOST HIGH full of the suggestion of his comparable consideration with the deity. This unique offer is a move to preserve the claim of man’s divine dignity and omnipotent worth; it is a privilege exclusive to the highest of immortals.

 

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Now the scripture is loaded with a list of promises that GOD makes to man but what should also be clearly understood is that all of scripture is really about the greatest of all promises that GOD makes. The greatest promise of GOD is the redemption of man which is also the restoration of man’s light; and the whole of scripture is a well drafted plot of GOD’s redemptive effort. To be sure, every promise that we read about following that promise in the Garden is to be properly appreciated as shadows of this greatest of all promises. In between the judgment of man in the Garden wherein GOD makes this redemptive promise to man and when CHRIST actually appears as a fulfillment of the promise, all other promises made in between were signs of which CHRIST is the light.

 

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It is very important to grasp this fact considering that so many saints and ministers actually miss the point. The sad reality is that so many believers in CHRIST are caught up with the promises that GOD made as shadows and signs all the while they miss grasping the promise of light. Even when the gospel is preached today, most believers are keener about the promises GOD made to Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David than they are about the promise of light which is CHRIST HIMSELF. | 70 

I am seriously disturbed by the level of consideration that promises GOD made as shadows and signs are actually perceived with a lot more consideration than the promise of CHRIST. When I see believers get more fixated about the blessings promised in the Levitical laws, I am sadly reminded about how the devil continues to work hard and mean to ensure that men miss out on the promise of light.

 

 

Beloved, the promises that GOD made to all the patriarchs, the Old Covenant prophets, kings, and priests, were all signs and shadows of the promise of light HE made in the Garden. This includes the promise made to Noah when GOD promised never to destroy the earth (Genesis 8:21, 22); or the promises GOD made to Abram when HE guarantees to bless him and make his name great (Genesis 12:2-4; 13:6; 15:5; 18:18; 22:17, 18); or the promise that HE made to King David when HE assures him of having his family line reign over Israel (2 Samuel 7:9-15). And to be sure, even in these instances, GOD nevertheless reiterated the promise of light as when HE assures Abraham that his seed shall inherit the nations or/and that through his seed shall all the nations be blessed (Genesis 18:18); or when HE assures David that at HIS lineage shall reign as King of all the nations in a Messianic dominion (2 Samuel 7:12-14).

 

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However, of all the Old Covenant prophets, it was Isaiah that received and most communicated the promise of light. Seeing beyond shadows and signs, this zealous Jew declared:

Isa 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Isa 9:3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. Isa 9:4 For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. Isa 9:5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. Isa 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

 

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He saw more than shadows and types, he saw more than material blessings gained from obedience to the laws of Moses; this ancient prophet saw the light of glory that man had lost being restored to him. He saw a child being born, a king being given; in both the child and the king, he synonymously saw light shine upon men; he saw the promise of light. | 73 

He was not alone in his day to see this. JESUS after all remarked that Abraham saw his days and rejoiced (John 8:56). Furthermore, the radical prophet Jeremiah saw too the light of his reign and declared:

Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. Jeremiah 23:6 In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely: and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

 

 

This promise of light was also shown to other prophets in the Old Covenant in various formats: To Zechariah, HE was the Branch that would rebuild the temple in glory:

Zechariah 6:12 And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is The BRANCH; and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of the LORD: Zechariah 6:13 Even he shall build the temple of the LORD; and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne; and he shall be a priest upon his throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

To Malachi, the light would come with righteousness in HIS wings:

Malachi 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.

 

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For the prophet Amos, the promise of light would be a revival of David’s throne complete with a restoration of fortune in the land marked with a revived economy:

Amos 9:11 In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of David that is fallen, and close up the breaches thereof; and I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in the days of old: Amos 9:12 That they may possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen, which are called by my name, saith the LORD that doeth this. Amos 9:13 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that the plowman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed; and the mountains shall drop sweet wine, and all the hills shall melt.

And the Gentile King and ancient global emperor Nebuchadnezzar was also privileged to see this promise of light delivered to him in a dream with Daniel bearing the interpretation of it as the coming of a kingdom that would waste away every other dominion and be set up as the chief reign over the earth:

 

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Daniel 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever. Daniel 2:45 Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.

There were certainly a lot more previews into this light that GOD promised to be restored to man as observed in the Old Covenant; and like I said, the whole of scripture prior to the coming of CHRIST was indeed littered with this promise as indeed it was what it was all about.

What is necessary is that we focus on the light and not the shadows of it. Those who ponder on all the other promises of GOD as their essential references to HIS blessings miss out on the main subject of HIS association

 

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with man. Beyond the shadows and types, beyond the promises enshrined in the laws of Moses, beyond the promises HE made to the children of Israel, or to their respective kings, there is a lot more that GOD promises man. All other promises were signs of this one promise, the promise of light. This is the promise that every believer of GOD must seek to grasp for in perceiving it, in seizing it, are all the promises of GOD fulfilled. | 77 

This grand promise of light is indeed the greatest of all; the essence of all other promises that GOD makes. To be sure, without this promise, all other promises do not bear any profound meaning; none of them bears the omnipotent privilege that man lost in his disobedience. Any man could have a great name, be materially endowed, privileged with human royalty, blessed in the city and the countryside, and blessed in the fruit of their

 

 

womb, or the work of their labor, and still not recover what man lost; indeed still be trapped in a fallen world plagued with darkness.

Might I add that this fact includes the notable blessing of bearing the LORD of glory. Indeed, the arch-angel Gabriel was spot on when he pronounces Mary to be blessed among all women and acknowledging that the fruit of her womb was blessed; and yet, even that privilege pales to nothing in comparison to the promise of light. Without CHRIST, without the revelation that HE brings, not even Mary who carried HIM in her womb had achieved anything sufficient to restore the light that man had lost when he rebelled against GOD. To those that think otherwise, the LORD HIMSELF, the very light of the world assures:

 

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Luke 11:28 Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

IT IS FINISHED, IT IS DONE, IT IS FULFILLED 

The promise of Christmas exceeds the joy of Mary bearing the CHRIST; it exceeds the joy of angels singing in the night; or the worship of wise men following a star. It is a promise that exceeds the promises enshrined in the Levitical laws, including the promises GOD made specific to patriarchs and prophets, even kings. It is in this respect that the apostle Paul actually suggests that none of those luminary personalities in the Old Testament beheld the promise. Regardless of the promises that GOD made to them and regardless of the fact that they were fulfilled in their times

 

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yet none of them beheld the actual promise that their promises were merely shadows of.

Indeed, all the promises of GOD are obtained by faith in HIM; and these persons all gained the privilege of receiving these promises and their fulfillment by faith. By faith Enoch walked with GOD until he was no more; by faith Noah built the ark and survived the floods; by faith Abraham believed GOD and received a child in his old age even though his wife was barren; by faith Moses delivered the children from bondage; by faith David overcame adversity, triumphed over Goliath, and even became king in Israel; by faith Daniel prayed for the return of Israel; by faith Nehemiah saw the rebuilding of the holy city Jerusalem; by faith all these men in the Old Testament obtained both promises and their fulfillment and yet none of them beheld the greatest of all promises:

 

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Hebrews 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:

None of these great men of faith that we read and are inspired by in the Old Testament received the reality of the light that GOD promised in the Garden; none of them saw the consolation of men, the restoration of GOD’s perfect consideration of all men.

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Beloved, the promise of Christmas is the fulfillment of GOD’s greatest promise, the promise of light. To be sure, Christmas is not when GOD was making promises but rather when HE was fulfilling the greatest of all promises. When CHRIST was born, the light that man lost in the Garden had indeed came to the world. The coming of CHRIST is then when all GOD’s ministry of making promises stopped because in CHRIST all HIS promises are fulfilled. In that blessed of all born children,

 

 

conceived of the HOLY SPIRIT, born of the Virgin Mary, was the entire summation of the fulfillment of everything GOD ever promised man, the greatest of all promises.

When Mary held that child in her hands, she held the fulfillment of all promises. That is how one contemporary prophet in her time saw it; when Simeon held the child in his hands, he was filled with the satisfaction that he held the completion of GOD’s promises, the full performance of GOD’s will towards Israel:

Luke 2:25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. Luke 2:26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Luke 2:27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, Luke 2:28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said,

 

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Luke 2:29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: Luke 2:30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Luke 2:31 Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; Luke 2:32 A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. Luke 2:33 And Joseph and his mother marvelled at those things which were spoken of him.

I just so love that; a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel; essentially, the restoration of all men, the light of the world, the answer to the desire of all ages.

Yes, in that child, in CHRIST, is everything that man lost that was necessary to restore him in his place as the first fruit of all creation, a light in the world. Every other promise of GOD finds its relevance in this reality. Infact, without the fulfillment of this greatest of all promises, all other promises whether fulfilled or not were useless to

 

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men. Those who gained from them were never considered to have received what man had lost:

Hebrews 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: Hebrews 11:40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Although they gained promises from GOD and indeed received their fulfillment, yet they continued to linger in the damnation that all men had suffered following the fall of man. Truly, all men regardless had sinned and had indeed fallen short of the glory of GOD (Romans 3:23).

But in CHRIST, this damnation found its remedy; in HIM, was the answer that men had contemplated since the fall. Here was the SEED of the woman that was born to crush the head of the serpent; here was a child destined for

 

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more than the material world could ever fulfill, a child born with the object purpose of restoring man and all things according to the perfection of light that GOD had designed from the beginning. When Simeon held this child, he perceived by the SPIRIT that he held the fulfillment of all promises, the completion of all prophecy, the marvelous promise of light. | 85 

Beloved, all the promises of GOD are done here, in CHRIST (2 Corinthians 1:20). Christmas is NEVER about the light under the tree or the light shining in the sky; you do not need another promise given to you this Christmas, not ever. Perceive the CHRIST, perceive the light that has already come in the world and know this day that GOD has finished, done, completed all that is necessary to restore man.

 

 

Sometimes I hear believers suggest that GOD has promised healing; then they cry to HIM reminding HIM about HIS promise to heal them of their disease or infirmity. Many times I have had some minister or other suggest to them that they ought to quote the word of promises GOD made regarding healing in a measure to remind HIM of HIS promises. A lot of ministry, prayer, study, and consideration are made regarding GOD fulfilling a promise HE has made. All that religious gimmickry is nothing but a whole lot of blasphemy; a form of godliness that denies the power thereof (2 Timothy 3:5). Those that engage in ‘reminding’ GOD of HIS promises do not realize that GOD went ahead of that game some 2,000 years ago when HE sent CHRIST. Beloved, in HIM was the true light that lights up every man that comes into the world (John 1:4).

 

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I pray you get this thing; believe it because it is absolute truth. GOD is not promising healing to nobody after CHRIST came. All the scriptures that suggest this promise were fulfilled in HIS coming. Essentially, when CHRIST showed up, every disease was rendered illegal; HIS appearance nullified the regime of any ailment. The fact that HE was born at all, especially considering that HE was born of a woman, rendered the domain of darkness from whence sickness derives its strength irrelevant to the human experience. No man need ever suffer from any disease following the coming of the light. In this respect, GOD does not promise healing nor does HE need to. HE knows what we all should know; that is, CHRIST, the light of the world has judged the agenda of darkness and made sickness together with it irrelevant to all men.

 

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This also goes with the concern over prosperity that consumes many in the church today. Pseudo-ministers of righteousness have invaded the saints with a form of gospel that properly inspected reveals a deep and corrupt sham; their preoccupation with material vanity pretends to be a crusade against poverty. Those who minister this so-called prosperity gospel belie their hatred for the cross and are enemies of CHRIST because they forsake its accomplishments in favor of

Old Testament methods

and promises. When they speak of blessings, they venture no more than the list of privileges mentioned in the Old Covenant oblivious of all spiritual blessings pertaining to life and godliness that are richly gained in CHRIST (Ephesians 1:3).

To be sure, once believers grasp who CHRIST is as the light of the world and what faith in HIM does in

 

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translating one from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of light then they would appreciate to which extent it is indeed abominable to suggest they are poor in any regard. Believers are not poor, not after they have seen the light and walk in the light. It may seem that way to someone that is carnally inclined but properly speaking from a spiritual perspective where actual truth dwells, it is impossible for a believer to be poor. | 89 

The coming of the light of CHRIST in this world closed all promises GOD made in respect to our prosperity; for in the light that CHRIST is lays all the riches of glory that exceed in measure the entirety of this fallen world in value. The one that receives the light is guaranteed wealth here and forever that staggers the mortal mind if properly appreciated. This is the main point that JESUS sought the rich young ruler to grasp and that he failed to.

 

 

As the light of the world, as the true light of all men, HE offers a greater prosperity than the law ever could grant. No one seeks HIM in vain, no one abandons all in favor of this light that gains nothing out of it:

Mark 10:29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, Mark 10:30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life.

Beloved, the LORD was not making a promise here but rather speaking a reality; you believe on HIM, you trust in this light, and you will have switched the button of utmost prosperity both on earth and forever more. As the light of all men, HE is the surest guarantor of prosperity.

 

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Those that seek to teach from Old Testament practices on how to gain in life have not perceived the light; to be sure, they are grasping at shadows. Those methods they refer together with the promises they focus on were shadows of which CHRIST is the light. That light has now come and you have no business seeking to gain from shadows. Regarding your prosperity, just awaken to the light and you are on. In this light is life more abundantly than any Old Testament law could ever assure you (John 10:10).

What this means in relation to Christmas is that you need not bother seeking GOD to fulfill any promise from HIS word since all HIS promises have been completely fulfilled in the light that is CHRIST. HIS birth validates GOD’s words, vindicates GOD’s promises, and seals HIS love and divine providence to all men.

 

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What you need for Christmas is not another promise from GOD, not even another gift from HIM; all you ever needed and a lot more than you can imagine have indeed been wrapped and fulfilled in CHRIST. Christmas then remains a season to celebrate the abundant measure of love that GOD has shown us all in sending us the light that bears all good things.

Think very seriously about this kindest of considerations this Christmas:

Romans 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Believe me; HE has indeed given us all things together with CHRIST. It is for this reason that as believers in CHRIST we are considered as sons of GOD and even joint

 

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heirs with HIM over all that the FATHER has bequeathed HIM:

Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: Romans 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. Romans 8:18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. | 93 

Are you a believer? Have you truly believed the light that has come into the world? Then you are a son of GOD and therefore a benefactor of all that GOD has. Your privilege to this claim is sealed by the very blood of CHRIST which is indeed the most Holy means available to ensure the validity of this claim. What that means is that heaven acknowledges you to be rich and all-sufficient and it is high time that you awaken to this reality.

 

 

This light has come to the world; it has also crossed your path; and if you have believed it, then you must hold onto to it. It is not a promise of GOD to you but rather a fulfillment of all HIS promises to you. What is necessary is for you to convert its immeasurable worth from the spiritual realm where it shines bright into the material realm the world dwells in; meaning that rather than seek GOD to make promises or fulfill dreams, visions, or promises, awaken to the reality that HE already has done so in CHRIST JESUS. Basically, fight the fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12).

Use Christmas as the ordained season to fight this good fight; declare your healing, your prosperity, your favor, your mercies, your brilliance, your wisdom, your integrity, your promotion, your inheritance, your strength, your royalty, your splendor, your grace, your

 

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power, declare your blessings, your authority, your time, your season, your light; declare without any fear, without any doubt. Christmas testifies of your glorious claim. When that baby was born, when that light came into the world, your destiny to receive all the fulfillment of GOD’s promises was sealed; yes, even the greatest of all promises, this glorious light has shone on you and now you must rise and shine it to the world. | 95 

Christmas is yours, it is your season to rise and shine to all men the brilliant light of all GOD’s goodwill towards all men. You do not even need anyone’s good word, you do not need to be bothered about men fulfilling their promises to you; in this light, you have received a lot more, infinitely more than any man ever could promise. Yes, this Christmas is yours to rejoice and revel in the fulfillment of GOD’s greatest promise including in the fullness of all HIS promises. Enjoy, celebrate, and praise

 

 

the MOST HIGH whose word never fails and who in HIS timely goodness sent us the light of glory in such a time as this. To HIS name belongs eternal praise forever and ever, AMEN!!!!!

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THE BIRTH OF LIGHT  Isaiah 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Isaiah 9:3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil. Isaiah 9:4 For thou hast broken the yoke of his burden, and the staff of his shoulder, the rod of his oppressor, as in the day of Midian. Isaiah 9:5 For every battle of the warrior is with confused noise, and garments rolled in blood; but this shall be with burning and fuel of fire. Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever.

There has to be something so awesome about JESUS even from a casual point of view; I mean nobody ever had their

 

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birthday celebrated with as much curiosity and joy as HE has and this has been going on for the last two thousand years. Considering the fact that HE never made any remarkable contributions generally considered by men, that HE outshines and continues to do so every other major personality tells a lot. There are kings, governors, soldiers, politicians, business personalities, name it, that would have given anything to bear the influence that CHRIST JESUS wields in the affairs of men. HE is unique, glorious, set above every other man; more than that, HE is indeed above every other created being. As LORD of glory, Prince of Peace, Everlasting Father, the very SON of GOD, HE is superior to every being in heaven, on earth, and under the earth.

The apostle Paul found this out from much prayer and by the counsel of the SPIRIT of truth so that he acclaimed HIM thus:

 

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Colossians 1:15 Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: Colossians 1:16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: Colossians 1:17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

When the apostle John, whom HE dearly loved, heard HIS awesome voice blast like a trumpet and turned to behold HIM as HE would be properly seen in glory and majestic wonder, the vision was more than HIS body could bear:

Revelations 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Revelations 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

 

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Revelations 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; Revelations 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. Revelations 1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; Revelations 1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. Revelations 1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. Revelations 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: Revelations 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Oh JESUS, JESUS, JESUS lover of my soul, bishop of my destiny, my refuge and my GOD; our fortress and strong tower; our All in All, everything beyond it all, our delight, desire, our destiny; Oh JESUS, how can words begin even to describe the meaning of YOUR essence, the essence of YOUR birthing? Your divinity is passed

 

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mortal ponder, even the angels wonder and fail in understanding; none figured why you loved man so, none understood why you found HIM so worthy of consideration. Even in the highest of heavens was heard this profound query:

Psalms 8:3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; Psalms 8:4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? | 101 

This immortal wonder begs an urgent answer; men from all walks of life, all of creation need to awaken to the profound motive of the HIGHEST in sending the SON of glory to dwell among men and be as they are in their fallen state.

 

 

Indeed the angels being familiar as they are with HIS deity and glory in heaven where HE shines bright as the light of them all rejoiced with joy unspeakable upon HIS birth. Where they might have still wondered at the logic of this move yet they were quickened to rejoice and in their celebration they sought to awaken man from his slumber in the domain of darkness; they sought that all men consider seriously the privilege of having the light of glory among them as one of their own. | 102 

To shepherds watching their sheep by night, holy angels gladly sung the first Christmas song:

Luke 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Luke 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

 

 

These angels must have wondered about GOD’s intentions; pondering that if CHRIST has been the reason for heavens glory then surely HE would occasion the earth’s restoration. What had seemed impossible before all of a sudden beamed with remarkable possibility as they witnessed from heaven the SON of GOD born among men.

Beloved, the birth of JESUS is not only celebrated in your home, in your soul, or even in your faith; the birth of CHRIST is more than religion could afford. In the highest of heaven, it is rejoiced to this day. All of heaven celebrates the wonder of CHRIST wrapped up in human flesh, born of a virgin girl, bringing the light of men to a fallen creation. In this venture, divinity offered the earth its greatest chance; when GOD was born in the flesh, the possibility of men dressing GOD became an enshrined reality. Today, all men can walk in the light and be a light of glory even as CHRIST is. Today, a fallen creation can

 

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be redeemed from its wretched plight and brought into the very liberty of glory divine. Truly, truly, truly, this is peace on earth, good will to all men.

THE MARVEL OF BIRTHING DIVINITY  | 104 

Make no mistakes about it; the wonder of CHRIST’s birth exceeds the amazing mystery of Immaculate Conception. Any proper appreciation of GOD should inform anyone that HE is able to do the impossible. That an Almighty GOD ensured a virgin’s conception without the help of another man is something that HE is capable of doing and one that should be expected of HIS glorious potency.

 

 

When Mary wondered at the subject of this wonder, the arch-angel Gabriel volunteered for all men to forever acknowledge:

Luke 1:36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren. Luke 1:37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.

Nothing is impossible with GOD; in HIS sovereign disposition, HE is able to do anything that HE pleases. To the prophet Jeremiah, this boast was made certain by GOD HIMSELF:

Jer 32:26 Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, Jer 32:27 Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me?

 

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Nothing, absolutely nothing, is too difficult for GOD. And as far as wombs go, HE has proven HIMSELF over and over again; HE has sponsored conceptions in wombs that were shut down barren. From Sarah all the way through Rachel, Hannah and Ruth to Elizabeth, GOD has proved HIMSELF as more than able to occasion conception where it has been considered impossible. That Mary’s case was peculiar in the sense that she did not have a man to work out this pro-creative privilege was no place for impossibility where HIS power is under consideration. Even in the womb of the virgin, HE is still LORD. And Mary who loved HIM knew as much so that she bid HIS will in those words that have gained immortal worth:

Luke 1:38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word.

 

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That is my prayer for you dearest beloved, oh that you would believe the word of the LORD; believe me, it is not empty; it has a wonderful performance following its pronouncement. Once GOD has sent HIS word then inherent in it is the power to ensure that it functions to the full completion of its assignment:

Isaiah 55:10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: Isaiah 55:11 So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

Once GOD has spoken, there goes the truth; there is no lie found in HIM. It is impossible for HIM to lie (Numbers 23:19). If HE says a virgin shall give birth, HE means what HE says and says what HE means; that virgin will have a greater chance to birth than the womb of any woman betrothed to a man ever could.

 

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HE actually says something to this effect elsewhere:

Isa 54:1 Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the LORD.

Beloved, when GOD speaks into your barren state, when HE speaks into your virgin experience, it doesn’t matter the condition you are in; that word has the productive power to turn around that fate into fortune.

Well, the birth of CHRIST in the womb of the Virgin Mary is testimony of HIS creative and active word. And to this extent, Christmas attests to this; it is a season when we should celebrate the power of GOD’s word. What

 

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seemed impossible, even unimaginable, in the affairs of men GOD’s word made possible. I for one would suggest that Christmas should include more than the magic wonder of material vanity. Beyond the gifts that money can buy, the story of the virgin birth calls our attention to the miraculous virtues available to us in GOD’s word. And since faith is essential in seeing the word work in our lives; I would even say that Christmas should be a season of faith wherein we can activate the word of GOD in our lives to produce preferred realities that otherwise seem impossible.

And yet there is a lot more virtue in the Immaculate Conception than the creative wonder of GOD’s word reveals; the marvel of birthing out of the womb of a virgin may be one level of appreciating Christmas but there is another level that should see us get deep into appreciating the wonder of birthing divinity.

 

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I believe it is a lot more spectacular that GOD was birthed by a fallen mortal than it is that a virgin gave birth to a child. Whereas both are indeed wonders, it is my preferred opinion, established in the counsel of the SPIRIT, that the latter wonder, the birth of divinity by a fallen mortal constitutes a richer wonder.

When Mary wondered at the possibilities of giving birth without

knowing

a

man,

the

arch-angel

Gabriel

responded by sharing with her how this remarkable possibility would indeed occur:

Luke 1:35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.

 

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This was very privileged information; that it is available for all men to read and ponder is a glorious tribute to the relationship GOD has with man; it is absolutely awesome.

Think about it with a divinely inspired mind, conjecture pure thoughts in this regard and you will be amazed at what you come up with. That GOD is indeed able to do anything is agiven but this feat takes the cake; what the angel shared with Mary staggered the minds of theological debates in the days of JESUS to-date. That Mary was a virgin that gave birth could be swallowed by most religious folks but to suggest that the child she bore was conceived by the HOLY SPIRIT tantamount to blasphemy.

Even a devout Jew like Joseph couldn’t easily swallow it and it was indeed essential for the same angel to clarify on the quality of seed that worked her womb. In his

 

| 111 

 

moment of doubt, GOD sent the arch-angel to assure him thus:

Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Matthew 1:19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. Matthew 1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

This is mindboggling info; sometimes I wonder how many dear brothers in the LORD, men that dearly love HIM, would have believed in this account coming from their betrothed virgin fiancée. A virgin conceived? That is acceptable in the realm of faith; but conceived by the HOLY SPIRIT? That wonder begs a lot of serious consideration; and it ought to.

 

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We must not just believe it and leave that very vital piece of information in the pages of scripture. It is so valuable and requires serious appreciation. I believe that coming to terms with the merits of its glorious dimensions would just color the Christmas story with such bright lights that would shine a whole new dimension of brilliance on the season. That GOD got so involved beyond speaking and fulfilling HIS word to ensure the birth of CHRIST in the flesh offers a lot of meat to chew. The involvement of the SPIRIT in working the womb of Mary, although a devout Jew but nonetheless a fallen mortal, is rich with meaning and revelation.

For one, it tells something about the synonymous nature GOD and man have in their proper self. That GOD could contemplate and furthermore actually conceive in the womb of a woman to bear a child reveals a lot about

 

| 113 

 

who both really are; both GOD and man share a special relation that ought to be exploited by all who marvel at this account.

Remember that this is the GOD of order who fashioned all creatures to relate after their own kind (Genesis 1:11, 12; 21, 22; 24, 25; 28); HE abhors the concept of crossbreeding across species: | 114  Leviticus 19:19 Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.

Even when fallen angels engaged in conjugal relations with fallen women, GOD was appalled and responded with wiping out the entire race that resulted from this relation. Apart from the corruption that set in place as men degenerated into a course of sin and perversion that

 

 

offended GOD, the fact that the seed of man had indeed been corrupted by the women of the earth giving themselves to fallen angels motivated GOD to destroy the entire race:

Genesis 6:1 And it came to pass, when men began to multiply on the face of the earth, and daughters were born unto them, Genesis 6:2 That the sons of God saw the daughters of men that they were fair; and they took them wives of all which they chose. Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. Genesis 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown. Genesis 6:5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Genesis 6:6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

 

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That this GOD would then descend from the loftiest of heaven and seek to conceive a child in the womb of a virgin fallen mortal tells a lot about the two. HE could have chosen to conceive this Holy Child with an angel but HE didn’t; HE could have chosen to conceive this Holy Child with a Holy Cherubim or Seraphim but HE didn’t; nothing in the whole of heaven was sufficient to bring to birth this Holy Child, none was found worthy for GOD to conceive with; yes, like Adam in the beginning, there was not found in heaven any being sufficient for GOD to conceive the Child with. Beloved, man is GOD’s compatible partner; the only being that GOD can mutually work with to produce HIS kind. Being of the same kind, fashioned in HIS image and likeness, the two can indeed become one flesh and bear child. That the two can indeed conjugate and bear a Holy Child reveals a lot about who man really is in perfect consideration.

 

| 116 

 

I think that is wonderful to dwell on; this revelation in the story of Christmas may well be the source of the most profound delight. Most celebrations of Christmas have hardly perceived this delight; few believers, if ever to this day, have delighted on the wonder of being GOD’s kind and being HIS partner as indeed Mary was. And yet, it is essential that we delight in this privilege in all its fullness. That as creatures of the MOST HIGH yet we are made in the fashion of the MOST HIGH is glorious revelation. But when you consider the fact that this privilege positions us to being able to commune together, conjugate together, so that we are able to bear the glory of GOD then we have discovered a whole other dimension of celebrating Christmas.

This point is not clearly brought out in the creation account when GOD made us in HIS likeness, blessed us,

 

| 117 

 

and urges us to multiply. Procreation for man was in that episode considered a matter limited to man’s kind which subtly seems to exclude GOD who created man after HIS type and kind. However, when the angel Gabriel reveals to Mary how indeed she will be with Child without the knowledge of a man, we then realize the possibility of GOD procreating with man as another affirmation of them being of the same kind. | 118 

All of a sudden, scriptures where GOD speaks of men being HIS bride begin to get a whole other meaning. Now we can understand GOD’s jealousies over what HE judges as Israel’s prostitution:

Hosea 1:2 The beginning of the word of the LORD by Hosea. And the LORD said to Hosea, Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms and children of whoredoms: for the land hath committed great whoredom, departing from the LORD.

 

 

This theme of GOD loving men like a husband would love a wife is consistent among several of the prophets. To Jeremiah, the LORD laments the betrayal of HIS heart by HIS lovers citing:

Jeremiah 3:1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD. Jeremiah 3:2 Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.

Even the book of Songs written by King Solomon depicts a lover’s relation between the LORD and men akin to that between a man and his lover. Essentially, throughout the Old Testament, GOD speaking in shadows and types sought to bring to our attention the depth of HIS affection for men above all other creation; and HE also sought to

 

| 119 

 

distinguish this love as one of a person’s affection after HIS own flesh and bones, over HIS own kind.

When you grapple with this impression, then you begin to understand HIS concerns for man in his fallen state such as when HE laments through the prophet Isaiah:

Isaiah 40:6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: Isaiah 40:7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. Isaiah 40:8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.

Here is the picture of an awesome GOD lamenting the plight of HIS own kind that has sunk into material depravity without realizing the waste she has become. In citing how worthless she is in her plight, HE seeks to

 

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awaken HIS kind, HIS lover to desire her proper self which is HIS kind.

What HE had said in many words through patriarchs and prophets, through kings and priests, HE now proves with this glorious action when HE conceives in the womb of a woman the seed of CHRIST to bear in the flesh the very SON of GOD. | 121 

This act tells a lot more than words can capture; it reveals the proper essence of men and how GOD truly understands that beyond the failing of man, beyond his failure, beyond the plight that sin has reduced him to. That an awesome GOD could make a Holy Child with fallen man reveals the hidden light that indwells every man.

 

 

Man may not be conscious of it as a result of HIS disobedience but GOD knows who man really is. HIS problem is therefore not that man is downright worthless as a result of sin but that man is completely clueless of HIS immortal worth. The fact that GOD in HIS proper self is willing and actually does conjugate with a fallen mortal tells the fact that HE knows better than man knows about who he really is. Mary may not have known to which extent she is akin to GOD as HIS type and kind, as HIS image and likeness, but this fact is not lost to GOD.

Beloved, the marvel of Christmas ought to include this serious fact: GOD knows who you really are. You may think yourself absurd, disgraceful, even wicked and completely evil; but GOD knows who you really are and demonstrated it through the mystery of the Immaculate Conception. Like HE overlooked Mary’s plight as a fallen creation, even her age or any other

 

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material consideration, HE overlooks yours and seeks that you rise to the occasion of knowing who you really are.

Beloved, GOD seeks that you know that you are HIS kind; not know about it because it is written in the scriptures or because someone mentioned it to you, but because you have awakened to this revelation and have gained understanding in it. HE desires for you to know that you are as HE is, made to be like HE is; that you are HIS kind, HIS firstfruit, the best of all HIS creation.

Beloved, when GOD looks at you, HE sees that light HE lit in you from the very beginning; HE sees a creature with whom HE can conjugate, with whom HE can partner in such intimacy that HE couldn’t with any other created being; not even the holy angels. You are so

 

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valuable to HIM and HIS love for you is akin to the one that a husband ought to have for his loving wife.

Understanding the marvel of the birth of divinity through the womb of a woman reveals an understanding of Christmas that we have not afforded for lack of spiritual knowledge. Christmas in this sense is a celebration of the depth of love that GOD has for us; a love so rich and profound that GOD is willing to give up all else in order that HE should win us.

We think that Christmas is our consolation because it occasioned the prospect of our restoration and we think only half way through the wealth of the story because we do not realize how much GOD loved man. Christmas is as much the story of our restoration as it is also the story of GOD’s consolation. Man might have fallen from grace when he sinned against GOD but GOD never stopped

 

| 124 

 

falling in love with man. Fallen and disgraced, rebellious and compromised, yet GOD continues to love man as one that is HIS own kind. When Mary submitted to the will of GOD, when she yielded to the word of GOD delivered by the angel Gabriel how the Holy Child would be born without the involvement of a man, the love of GOD found consolation from the heart ache it suffered from the fall of man in the Garden of Eden. | 125 

The birth of CHRIST, the arrival of the light of men, is at once both the beginning of man’s restoration to his divine status as a sovereign being akin to GOD while also the ending of GOD’s lamentation of man’s plight as a fallen being. Christmas has often been celebrated in the sense of acknowledging man’s restoration while hardly acknowledging GOD’s consolation.

 

 

Beloved, when you consider that the first Christmas party actually begun in heaven you begin to appreciate how much the birth of light was GOD’s joy and consolation over the possibilities of man’s restoration.

Beloved, do not just let Christmas be the joy of what you get or even what you got from JESUS. Love beyond yourself, indeed love GOD with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind, and rejoice at what GOD got. Come Christmas, a hurt GOD, a jealous GOD, an embittered GOD ceased to lament man’s deplorable plight. When Mary assented to the will of GOD birthing through her womb the Holy Child JESUS, GOD begun to rejoice at HIS consolation; for in that permission, in that obedience, HE had found the vengeance for Eve’s disobedience and the opportunity for man’s restoration. When you believe in CHRIST, you are not only restored but GOD is gloriously consoled in HIS heart.

 

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This consoling role played by Mary is indeed a significant reference to our joy in celebrating Christmas. I am not one of those that is given to venerating her or ignoring her altogether; but I appreciate with deepest gratitude the wisdom that informed her decision to obeying the LORD’s word and will. The role she played marks her out as a most significant person among all fallen men; it is for this reason that I have written another book this Christmas in respect to lessons we can learn from her titled- BIRTHING AT ANOTHER LEVEL. This woman singlehandedly represented all men in making the decision that offered HIS deepest consolation; and for that all generations shall call her blessed (Luke 1:48).

 

 

 

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GOD IN THE FLESH 

Having figured out the glory that is wrapped up in the wonder of Immaculate Conception and the birthing of divinity by a woman, even as a fallen creation, we must now reach the highlight of this birth; what was really born from the womb of Mary? When she gave birth in the manger, what did she bring into the world? What does it mean that this baby was the light of all men?

There are so many signs that surround the mysterious birth of CHRIST pointing to the enormity of HIS person among men. We have already observed that the Immaculate Conception was in itself a sign of the wonder that was being born. The scriptures tell of others including a shining star that rose above the place of birth; a star that wise men from the east had contemplated on

 

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and followed for a long distance because it bore reference to the birth of a special king given to the Jews:

Matthew 2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Matthew 2:2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

The

other

significant

consideration

was

the

pronouncement from an angel and jubilation by the hosts of heaven that was observed by shepherds that watched their sheep by night:

Luke 2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. Luke 2:9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. Luke 2:10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

 

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Luke 2:11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. Luke 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Luke 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. Luke 2:16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

Both the wise men from the east and these shepherds were driven by supernatural considerations to witness the greatest birth ever. These supernatural considerations are still seriously regarded every Christmas to-date; and will always be seriously considered. The birth of this baby, this Holy Child, was no ordinary occasion; both heavenly bodies and heavenly hosts found good reason to shine the light of the occasion.

 

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It is essential that the point they appreciated is not lost in all the material vanity and religious traditionalism that often accompanies Christmas celebrations. A lot more attention

has

been

given

to

these

heavenly

accompaniments in the marvel of Christmas without necessarily seeking to find out what this birth meant to them in the first place. Why did the birth bother the star to shine so bright? Why did the angels burst forth in praise making all these announcements in joyous praise?

Often times the answers to this have been so simplistic; why? Many have quickly presumed that these activities by the star and angels followed the fact that the baby being born was none other than the SON of GOD. It follows then that HE should be born with a lot of significant interest from other creatures.

 

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And I assent to that; although, like I said, there is a lot more to Christmas than meets the eye; there is more to their shine, appearance and joy than the royal or even sovereign status of the child being born.

After all, GOD had HIMSELF appeared before on the earth; sometimes with amazing signs, such as when HE descended upon the Mount Sinai with terrifying flashes and sounds of lightning and thunder (Exodus 20:18-24), or on other occasions when HE appeared without any accompanying supernatural demonstrations, such as when HE appeared and walked with Enoch till the latter was entirely consumed in HIM (Genesis 5:24). And yet no other appearance before Christmas, when CHRIST was born, compares to it.

 

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Make no mistakes about it; there was a lot more at stake than there was when GOD descended to take one man all the way to heaven; a lot more than when GOD descended to give the law to a people HE had made covenant with. The appearance of CHRIST following HIS birth was the greatest visit of GOD on earth ever; it surpasses the glorious appearance of the MOST HIGH in every other appearance before then. I dare say it; but the birthing of CHRIST even exceeds the appearance of GOD in the heavens. For all HIS glory in heaven, for all HIS majestic splendor and power at HIS exalted throne did not get HIM HIS desire or occasion the hope of man’s restoration. Until CHRIST was born, until HE was birthed by a woman, did the prospect of man’s restoration and redemption become certain.

Think about it: all the while that GOD reigned in heaven, HE lost man on earth. Shining bright on HIS throne as the

 

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great light of all creation was not sufficient to redeem mankind. When you appreciate man as the prize of creation, the object reason for all creation; when you think of man as HIS image and likeness, the one creature that HE couldn’t afford to lose, then you appreciate to which extent that it was essential to GOD to redeem man.

Now the birth of CHRIST from the womb of a woman, the birth of CHRIST in the flesh akin to man in his fallen state, provided the greatest prospect of redemption.

Beloved, it is a fundamental fact that this was no ordinary birth; virgins do not give birth nor does divinity openly conceive with fallen creations; however, the wonder exceeds this. This birth bears a greater glory in significance to everything else because it is the essential

 

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means that GOD ensured that redemption would be acceptable and guaranteed. The redemption of man could not take place any other way; there is not a thing GOD could do in heaven or ever did there to ensure man’s redemption. The only means that this was possible was by HIM descending in the form of fallen man and in that respect, living in perfection so that HE could be the acceptable sacrifice to redeem man. | 135 

It is in this respect that we must appreciate the greatest work of the creative power of GOD in the eminent person of the HOLY SPIRIT. Beloved, the greatest work GOD ever did before Christmas was not anything HE had ever done in heaven; the most wondrous effort of the deity had been the creation of man here on earth. It must be appreciated that there is nothing in all of heaven that was made in the likeness of GOD. But when GOD scooped the dust and formed a man out of it then

 

 

breathed in his nostrils HIS very breath and the man became a living soul; that being constituted the greatest work of all creation (Genesis 2:7).

But the birth of CHRIST, the formation of the second Adam beat that effort. Few ever wonder at the marvel of an awesome GOD emptying HIMSELF of all HIS glory and descending to the frail and vulnerable form of a seed in the womb of a fallen creation. That an awesome GOD could become the very form of a fallen man and yet remain fully GOD had to be the greatest feat of the MOST HIGH. When the HOLY SPIRIT overshadowed Mary and that seed was conceived in her, GOD was working at HIS greatest effort; nothing in heaven compared with this.

 

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Now was redemption possible; now was GOD’s greatest desire possible; now was man’s greatest prospect possible. All of heaven watched with marked anticipation to see the birth of light that would come out of the womb of a fallen creation. When CHRIST was born in the remarkable city of Bethlehem, the greatest that GOD ever did became flesh; light had come into the world.

Beloved, this Child that was born was a summation of all the promises of GOD; HE was everything that GOD had made, by whom HE had made, for whom HE had made, all wrapped up in flesh. Make no mistakes about it; this Child was GOD in full yet also man in full; the very reality of HIS essence qualifies HIS birth as the greatest of created realities hitherto fore. That the stars shone brighter at this feat, that the angels sung gladly at this enormous work, should not only be appreciated but properly expected.

 

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After all, they had shone brighter and sung louder when a lot less was created by GOD. Throughout the creation workings of GOD in the beginning of days, the angels had sung and rejoiced with the stars:

Job 38:4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. Job 38:5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or who hath stretched the line upon it? Job 38:6 Whereupon are the foundations thereof fastened? or who laid the corner stone thereof; Job 38:7 When the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?

Now, let us look at the object of their joy because that would help us appreciate it better. The Child that was born was HIMSELF the light of creation; everything was made in the shine of HIS light. When the earth was dark, formless, and void, when the entire earth was all messed

 

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up, GOD beamed the light of CHRIST upon it and occasioned everything on it under the beam of HIS light:

Genesis 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. Genesis 1:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. Genesis 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. | 139 

Now the English rendering of that episode is quite misleading as it seems to suggest that GOD created the light that HE speaks to being. The original Hebrew text reads differently when it says something to the effect that GOD said, “LIGHT be!”; not in a creative sense but in a permissive sense as though GOD was permitting the light to shine on the earth.

 

 

This light was not the same light that we see again created in the fourteenth verses which were in reference to the light of the sun and that of the moon. The light that we see in the above-referred text was CHRIST who is the light of glory. Now that light is the light by which all things were made both in heaven and on earth. When that light shone on a messed up earth, then it was possible for GOD to make all things that were considered good and perfect. | 140 

Earlier on I mentioned that the creation of man, which was the greatest feat in that episode of creation, was markedly different from others. Man was not just made in the light but was made like the light. Essentially, man was created to be a light on earth even as CHRIST lives forever to be the light of heaven after HIS FATHER. This was absolutely awesome. However when man rebelled against GOD, he lost this privilege so that

 

 

instead of being the light of GOD on the earth, he actually plunged all the earth in darkness even as he lost consciousness of his essence as light.

Throughout the days on earth, from the fall of Adam through the covenants GOD made with the patriarchs, with Israel, with her kings, till the appearance of CHRIST, the earth remained in darkness, completely shut out from the light that brought it to existence. The birth of CHRIST was the first opportunity that the earth gained in seeing the light that had been robbed from it following man’s rebellion. When the Child was born, HIS presence radiated the light of glory that the earth had not seen in a long time. The appearance of this light necessitated the praise of the angels and the shine of the star.

 

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Beloved, Christmas should center on the marvel of this light that was born in Bethlehem of a virgin. Admittedly, the light of the shining star that fascinated the wise men is something of a wonder and so is the brilliant appearance and joy of the heavenly hosts. But Christmas has a brighter light to major on than these. I am sure that even the angels would love that we figure out that light that appeared among men more than the light that shone in the sky. | 142 

The light of CHRIST that was born in Bethlehem is the same light that shone the heavens to being. What that means for all of us speaks a lot my friend; like I said, it says more than any other feat that GOD has mastered in heaven, it says a lot more than all the angels, than all the glory of the anointed Cherubim’s and Seraphim’s, more than the wisdom of the elders at the courts of Majesty on high.

 

 

This light that was born was the light of all men; it came to shine the light of men, to rekindle the glory of man in his perfect sense. When that light was born, then the light that men had ignored, the light that had eluded the earth and plunged it to darkness had come.

That a man in the flesh could be this light spoke volumes for all fallen men; once again, CHRIST had stepped into time to provide the model and perfect reference for all men. In bearing the flesh of men and yet still being the light of GOD, HIS birth suggested to all men who they really are beyond the wiles of the devil and the flesh that perverted them to ignore the light in them.

The birth of CHRIST as GOD in the flesh is a glorious invitation for all men to acknowledge the love of GOD by which HE made them to be as HE is to shine and be brilliant among all HIS creation. This Holy Child was

 

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born to shine this wondrous truth; the truth of man’s glorious essence as the image and likeness of the MOST HIGH and therefore the very finest of all that GOD ever made; one synonymous with HIM, HIS type and kind, the express image of HIS person.

It has to be a lot being said when you consider the fact that the greatest effort of GOD in the beginning was the creation of man in HIS image and likeness, as a light on the earth. That GOD preserved this privilege and would not let it go following man’s disobedience but instead worked through diverse generations till CHRIST to restore man’s privilege says a whole lot. It is even a lot more when this is done a second time round; that in the birthing of CHRIST as GOD in the flesh, GOD demonstrates HIS finest strength showing yet again utmost regard for man.

 

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If the account in Genesis was not clear enough to inspire man regarding HIS glorious worth, then the Christmas story of this Holy Child born out of the power of the SPIRIT at work in the womb of a fallen creation should establish the truth. Christmas tells a lot more clearly than the book of Genesis the extent to which we are synonymous with the MOST HIGH; from the mystery of Immaculate Conception, we are revealed the mutuality that GOD shares with man and therefore the light of our true identity, person, and essence. Christmas tells us who we really are in ways that no other portion of scripture before then ever revealed.

THE LIGHT HAS COME 

This is so awesome, so grand, so rich, so enlightening; Christmas is truly special. It is a season filled with the

 

| 145 

 

wonder of GOD’s love for all men; it is also a season filled with wonders suggestive of the glory that GOD has ordained men for. The sum total of the glory of this amazing occasion is the revival of light that had been snatched from man and indeed the whole earth following man’s rebellion. And yet, Christmas is more than another occasion because in the birthing of light it actually triggers a whole new dimension on earth and among men; this day marked the beginning of a season of light. | 146 

Beloved, when that Holy Child came out of the womb of HIS mother; not only did HIS birth make her divine, more than that, HIS birth pointed a beaming light of reference to the hearts of all men pronouncing their divinity and shining their worth. For when CHRIST put on flesh, when GOD dwelled among us, HE did so with the remarkable consideration that we too can dress on GOD.

 

 

The fact that HE can be conceived in the inside of our kind revealed that we can indeed be born of HIM, conceived in HIS power; we can be born of HIS SPIRIT, born again.

Beloved, the human race may have fallen short of the glory of GOD when they sinned and even plunged the earth in deep darkness; but not all was lost. GOD did not give up on us. HE still persists in HIS plan and purpose to ensure that all men shine the light of glory that HE wields. The birthing of CHRIST sealed that hope; HIS appearance was a shining beam of this light declaring to all men that they too should not give up and perish in the dark. All men can awaken from the fall; all men can shine their light. Christmas gives us a second chance, a glorious opportunity.

 

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Watch this: Christmas is not a religious affair; it is not for Christians only, or for the western world only. Christmas is not a franchise that some people should embrace while it is alright for others to shun the date, the Holy Child, and the light of salvation HE brings to the world. Far from that; Christmas belongs to all men. All races, nations, tribes, and people, ought to embrace this season of light that came to us 2,000 years ago with the coming of CHRIST the King of glory, the light of all men. Yes, the Chinese need Christmas, the Africans need it too, and so do the Australians, the Asians, all Americans, all Islanders, and every man that lives, that ever lived, that will ever live.

That is why the angels that appeared to shepherds by day were actually singing to the world and not to them in

 

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particular; the announcement they heralded was a chorus to all men:

Luke 2:14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

Contrary to conventional wisdom, Christmas is not a religious event nor is it a concoction of men; it is not a Christian holiday fabricated by pagan Roman authorities as some have it. It is a lot more than any denomination or nation can afford to claim. Christmas is GOD’s idea designed from heaven in the counsel of the divine deity. It is the gift of GOD to all men; it is also the joy of all of heaven; and all of creation. Every being, regardless those that are in heaven, on earth, or even under the earth ought to rejoice the birthing of CHRIST, the occasion of this season of light.

 

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And make no mistakes about it; the light has indeed come. That light that shone bright in creation in which all things were made has indeed come to the world. In this respect, darkness is no longer an excuse; no one needs to walk in the dark. The regime of the kingdom of darkness has been judged and its execution is done. Meaning, you can live in the light; you can shine the light; you can walk in the light. | 150 

Beloved, you do not have to abide in chaos, fear, anxiety, depression, perversion, vanity, wickedness, anger, strife, witchcraft, false worship, lust, pride, and all such deplorable vices. You do not have to live a hell on earth whatsoever. It doesn’t matter the circumstances that seem to be weighing you down or the tests that seem to be tearing you apart; whatever assignment hell has occasioned against you is illegal in this season of light; ILLEGAL!!!!!

 

 

Every damnation from hell, every nuisance tempting your life is an unwelcome stranger that must be expelled in the light that was born and dwells among men.

The light that was born means that you were born for the light. Contrary to Job who in great stress falsely suggested that man is born for trouble (Job 5:7); you were born for glory, for peace, joy, love, purity, clarity, knowledge, strength, and every virtue there is. Light is your heritage, CHRIST is your inheritance. Beloved, you are GOD’s prime work, HIS greatest effort that HE designed for marvel, to walk in wonder, and produce great works:

Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

 

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Watch this: It is not enough that this light was born and indeed was beheld by shepherds and wise men, and indeed all the nation of Israel in HIS day. Know this for a truth that HE beamed a light that HE knew abode in you. HE expects you to shine that light even as HE was born and shone bright. Christmas is not a season when we should seek trees and candles to light up. Far more than that, it is a season of light that beckons to all of us to shine our light. We too like CHRIST are GOD in the flesh; we too have a shining light that we must shine; all of creation awaits with much anticipation that we shine the light that GOD placed in the inside of all of us (Romans 8:19).

The birthing of light is a divine command to all men to bear their light. My prayer is that this book will birth in you this conviction and move you from merely observing

 

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vanities and carnal pretences after the failing traditions of men and get you bearing the light of glory that is able to make this earth a heaven for others to live in praise of GOD:

Matthew 5:14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill cannot be hid. Matthew 5:15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

May this Christmas find you shining the light of glory; may you keep it burning brilliantly for all men.

 

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THE KNOWLEDGE OF LIGHT  2Corinthians 4:3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 2Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. 2Corinthians 4:5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. 2Corinthians4:6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Christmas is a revelation of profound wonder. The rich details that inform us in its every detail are more than the staff of legend and yet they are all true. All manner of virtues and marvels mingle together to bless us with an incredible account from which there is plenty to learn, a lot to digest.

 

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Those who miss out on celebrating the theology of this season ignore divine details at their own peril. This is a story worth our dearest attention and richest interest.

And yet, sadly to note, many miss out on the merits of this amazing tale whose every account is passed the contemplations of carnal thought. Christmas is indeed a super mystery beyond the impression of mortal minds; to be sure, not every mind can decipher this mystery. No wonder some impoverished intellectuals devoid of the rich wisdom of glory contend with its every detail. Some have suggested that the season is a cultural fabrication of Roman tradition mingled with Christian beliefs. Those who question the accounts of the LORD’s birth do so with impressions formed in darkness. From those hideous quarters they are unable to perceive the wisdom, word and will of GOD; constantly bewitched into

 

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resisting the truth, they ponder on in a twisted course of ignorance headed to destruction (1 John 4:3).

Unfortunately, these masqueraders are not content in getting lost alone; continuously devious and determined to enlarge their numbers, they seek to pull along many others into their fated perceptions. Sadly to say, they have employed every form of their corrupt knowledge to make a nuisance of Christmas. Apart from roundly discrediting the validity of its truth and the glory it richly bears, they have also sought to steal its immortal worth by compromising the celebration into some vanity fair where material perversion is celebrated more than the LORD that was born into the world.

Beloved, Christmas is under attack and together with it our faith. You can be sure that if you remove the virgin birth from our faith; remove the Immaculate Conception

 

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from it; remove the wonder of light that was occasioned at this story; remove these glorious details, even compromise on their immortal worth, and you have done a huge job at robbing the faith. Christianity is not much without the real worth Christmas deserves.

What is essential is for the Church to fight back with truth for every lie spewed out of the horrific mouth of deception. All that celebrate the truth and hold its sanctified essence in serious regard owe it to the faith to counter the hideous pretensions of evil. This war which is not against flesh and blood but against every principality and wicked spirit operating from high places must be won by truth.

The sword of brilliant truth wielded with divine counsel is essential in taking back the glory of Christmas from the vanity and secularism that seeks to destroy our faith.

 

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Pure knowledge, the exalted perceptions of the SPIRIT are essential in ensuring the victory of CHRIST shines high throughout this season of light. We must fight confident that with the truth in our hands and GOD on our side, we surely have a warfare set for victory.

In this regard, we are greatly encouraged:

2Corinthians 10:3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: 2Corinthians 10:4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) 2Corinthians 10:5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Make no mistakes about it; we are at war against demonic strongholds that seek to corrupt the faith, steal our Christmas, and keep humanity and indeed the whole

 

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earth plunged in darkness regardless of the light that has already come in the world. And the necessary contention against these forces cannot and should never be performed by material weapons based on mortal strength.

The only means that these forces of darkness can and indeed shall be defeated is by the knowledge of the truth. When the Church arises in the truth of CHRIST, when the saints embrace the knowledge of light that has already come into this world, then shall victory be assured.

None other than the LORD HIMSELF assured us thus:

John 8:31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; John 8:32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

 

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Nothing else can guarantee freedom from the darkness and bondage of the enemy. Every other vain effort against the deceptive fabrications of the enemy are useless. Overcoming in this day and age requires activating the knowledge of light. Huge buildings, large denominations, great parties, even massive numbers are not essential to guarantee victory. If the Church is going to render people free, render nations free, cities free, render this generation free; if the Church is going to win this battle against the forces of darkness, it must do so with the weapon of the knowledge of light.

In this respect, it is essential that we realize that as wondrous as the details of the Christmas story are, GOD is not content that we merely observe their material content as much as HE seeks that we appreciate their spiritual worth. Everything that happened at the

 

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birth of CHRIST, including the birth itself, were signs that invite us to seek GOD and discover the rich knowledge that these things pointed to. Without engaging in the actual meaning of Christmas, without

perceiving

the

rich

spiritual

realities

of

Christmas, then all we would be left with would be tales and legend insufficient to give us the liberty of the sons of GOD (Galatians). | 161 

THE REVELATION OF CHRISTMAS 

Beloved, it is essential that we gain the necessary understanding that Christmas deserves. It is imperative that we make the most of GOD’s gift to the world. The material details of the story are not all there is to the story; there is more to Christmas than meets the eye. To be sure, it is this carnal impression formed out of a material

 

 

appreciation that has sponsored a most vain celebration of Christmas. And if you consider that many that celebrate Christmas are infact held in bondage to lusts, fears, pride, strife, conceit, anger, witchcraft, and all manner of vices, then you begin to see how much the devil has scored in keeping the world merely with a form of godliness that denies the power thereof (2 Timothy 3:5). | 162 

Neither the church nor indeed the world needs the tradition of Christmas. Traditionalism and ritualism are unable to deliver the power necessary for victory and freedom. Infact, if you carefully follow the account of Christmas, you ought to be curious why GOD did not move traditional religious folks to get involved with this most historic of occasions. Instead of religious pundits of the time like Pharisees, Sadducees, and priests, being stirred to seek the child and bless HIM, the LORD sought

 

 

people that were not necessarily traditionally fit for the role like shepherds and wise men from the east.

The priests knew that the SAVIOR would be born, their studies informed them about the timing and venue, but GOD overlooked them because they were too traditional to deal with the glorious wonder HE was unleashing to the world. Infact, their traditional impressions were not only useless to the plans of GOD but also dangerous; in their naïve impressions, they were willing to serve the enemy that sought to kill the Holy Child:

Matthew 2:3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. Matthew 2:4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. Matthew 2:5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,

 

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Matthew 2:6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

Did you see that? Religion was undiscerning then and she is still undiscerning today. Back then, religion could not even discern the motive of hell expressed through the envious heart of Herod who sought to kill the Child. Similarly, today, religion still fails to discern the envious efforts of hell in seeking to kill the Christmas story by keeping men materially impressed about it without stirring them to be spiritually blessed. I dare say it; religion was irrelevant to Christmas back then and it is till irrelevant to Christmas today.

Beloved, Christmas is not merely a tradition but more so a revelation. We must move from the tradition of

 

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Christmas which is as most as religion can afford and venture into the revelation of Christmas which is indeed more than religion can afford. The revelation of Christmas will show us more to the season than meets the eye. The revelation of Christmas is necessary to comprehend this season of light that has come to the world. And in so doing, Christmas will become more than the end of year joy that religion has reduced it to. The revelation of Christmas is sufficient to make it a fountain of continuous unending joy that it is supposed to be.

The light of Christmas, that brilliance that was born into the world, cannot be perceived by the knowledge of darkness. This is indeed why many miss out on the glory that was born:

 

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John 1:5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

To be sure, even though several Jewish prophets had spoken of HIS coming coupled by the fact that HE was born in Israel among a people that had expected HIS coming, yet they still missed HIM because they failed to perceive HIM. Similarly, several in the world missed HIM then and still miss HIM now regardless of the fact that all of them were made in HIS light and fashioned after HIS image. Living in traditions founded in darkness, men have lacked revelation and missed the light:

John 1:10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. John 1:11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

It is sad when you comprehend seriously these things; it is so sad that here was man’s greatest hour, here was

 

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man’s greatest chance, here was the light that fashioned HIM to be as glorious as HE was, is, and will always be, and men missed it then and many are still missing HIM now.

How was this possible? How could man be so blind? Why did many miss out on this wonder that sought to bring light to men? The answer is simple; when man ate the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, he switched off from the knowledge of light by which he lived even as light on earth and similar to GOD in heaven. The fall of man was indeed occasioned by a fall in knowledge. Where man had been a light of power and authority on earth, walking in perfect dominion, he descended into a pathetic darkness that GOD compares to death. In that darkness he lost the ability to discern the light or even the depth of his depravity.

 

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This loss of knowledge was substituted with a knowledge fashioned in darkness, a carnal impression that was limited to material observation and closed from spiritual perception. Fallen, rebellious, and hard of heart, men became less able to see the light and more conversant with seeing the works of evil and vanity; it is not that they lost eyes as much as that they lacked vision; although man could indeed see yet he had lost the ability to perceive spiritual things:

Ezekiel 12:1 The word of the LORD also came unto me, saying, Ezekiel 12:2 Son of man, thou dwellest in the midst of a rebellious house, which have eyes to see, and see not; they have ears to hear, and hear not: for they are a rebellious house.

This loss of vision or perception of spiritual realities is so fundamental to the fall of man so much that even when GOD showed HIMSELF in the most remarkable manner

 

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through the ministry of CHRIST, yet fallen men, trapped in carnal impressions failed to grasp the light. It is not just the remarkable birth of the light that they failed to grasp but even when HE grew and worked wonders among them such as necessary to validate HIS claim as the CHRIST, SON of the living GOD, yet they still could not believe.

To this end, the same GOD continued to lament as HE had through the prophets, citing:

Matthew13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. Matthew 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: Matthew 13:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

 

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This lack of discernment, this dullness of heart was occasioned by a knowledge of darkness so that although being blind, men still think they see and do not realize their deplorable state as fallen beings. Often times what they even consider to be spiritual insight was (and is) no more than a variation of the knowledge of darkness so that regardless of their perceptions of GOD, they still remain in darkness, blind to the light and oblivious of their plight.

This was the fate of religious men in the days of JESUS who HE discerned to be blind and yet who denounced HIS impression:

John 9:39 And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

 

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John 9:40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? John 9:41 Jesus said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.

What was lost to them is the light that HE was and that also reflected in them. In their rebellious offense against HIM, they refused to perceive the light and missed out on the brilliance that HE sought them to perceive that was both available for them and in them. Insisting that they were not blind merely because they perceived things from a material point of view, they missed the opportunity for HIM to open their eyes of understanding by the knowledge of light by which they would be able to see HIM for who HE really was; more than that, in perceiving HIM, they would also have gained an understanding of who they really were as sovereign spirits fashioned after HIS image and likeness.

 

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In the end, they remained blind leaders leading other blind men till religion together with all who follow after it wallow with its priests in a pit of darkness unable to perceive GOD in their midst and their essence as being like HE is:

Matthew 15:14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

The same fate pertains today; religion is still misleading the world and keeping men in a pit of darkness. All the traditions and celebrations of religion are devoid of the knowledge of light and therefore unable to shed light into the meaning of life. In this respect, religion fails to bring men into the knowledge of light by which they are able to perceive the light that came into the world and the light that they are in this world.

 

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To be sure, religion, traditions of men, the patterns of this temporal

and

fallen

world

are

all

one

massive

collaboration of darkness intended to keep men blind. Their knowledge seeks to keep men estranged from the revelation of who GOD is and how they are really related to HIM as HIS image and likeness. Make no mistakes about it; religion may even volunteer you the information but it will confuse it to the point that you are unable to seriously appreciate its validity. Religion will tell you how much you were made like GOD but how much you are merely human; and in confusing the truth with the facts of man’s fall, men are left blind and in darkness.

Our LORD faced this twisted design from religion several times in HIS ministry. It bothered HIM that religion had the facts but refused to admit the truth. Apart from failing to grasp what the scriptures meant by suggesting that

 

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man is made in the image and likeness of GOD, religion adamantly refused to approve HIS claim at being the SON of GOD. So offended were religious teachers at HIS claim that they sought to kill HIM:

John 10:31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. John 10:32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? John 10:33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. John 10:34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? John 10:35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; John 10:36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?

This same perversion plagues Christmas celebrations as performed by religious people who refuse to see the light that the account reveals in respect to our profound

 

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relation with GOD as similar specie. They cannot appreciate the extent to which GOD being born in the flesh, conceived of the HOLY SPIRIT in the womb of a woman constitutes a revelation of our divine worth. They read the scriptures but do not discern in them the word or the power of GOD; seeing they are unable to believe, hearing yet unable to understand. The whole book is a riddle religion has reduced to a form of godliness that denies the power thereof: | 175 

Isaiah 29:10 For the LORD hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered. Isaiah 29:11 And the vision of all is become unto you as the words of a book that is sealed, which men deliver to one that is learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I cannot; for it is sealed: Isaiah 29:12 And the book is delivered to him that is not learned, saying, Read this, I pray thee: and he saith, I am not learned. Isaiah 29:13 Wherefore the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw near me with their mouth, and with their lips do honour me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear toward me is taught by the precept of men:

 

 

Isaiah 29:14 Therefore, behold, I will proceed to do a marvellous work among this people, even a marvellous work and a wonder: for the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the understanding of their prudent men shall be hid.

Religion lies in a deep sleep unable to perceive the wonder of Christmas as it deserves. Deceived and deceiving many, she has settled for a continual traditional celebration of Christmas more than she has sought to venture deeply and richly into the rich wonder of its revelation.

Christmas from the vantage view of revelation is nothing about material vanity or religious tradition; it is not a ritual to be observed at a specific day or period of the year. There is a lot more to the birth of our LORD than these vain impressions sponsored by religion and material vanity can ever afford. Those who have been blinded by these efforts meander in a confusion of vain perversion that is void of any serious profit.

 

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The main point of what I am saying is this: Celebrating the tradition of Christmas or even the vanity of it, will leave you the same year-in year-out; however, once the revelation of Christmas hits you, you will be quickened to seeing more than the material details of the account into seeing the light of CHRIST in HIM and in you. The pure joy, the richness of life, the brilliance of glory that comes from this revelation occasioned by the knowledge of light will see you celebrate Christmas throughout your life, throughout eternity.

Beloved, Christmas is not a story about a baby being born or of angels singing to shepherds, or even the wonder of Immaculate Conception; all those details bear in them a much greater significance than the facts. Beyond the details, beyond these signs, is the revelation of man’s divine worth. That GOD sought to bear a child

 

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with a woman confirms their profound relation as beings; that the two could bear a Holy Child tells a lot about who man really is.

This revelation of man demonstrated in the Christmas account is of considerable significance. Infact, missing out on this revelation robs Christmas of its intended value. Make no mistakes about it; GOD could easily have shown up in any other way; nothing is too difficult for HIM. HE could have worked out man’s redemption in some other way, some other means, but HE chose to show up in human flesh, born of a fallen creation to make a very serious point that was lost to man following the fall. By showing up in the flesh, born of a woman, HE demonstrated that HIS love for man is driven by HIS profound relation with man as similar specie.

 

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Celebrating this profound and richly divine relation is the major significance that Christmas bears to all men. Proving to all men their invaluable worth, GOD conceived in the womb of a woman and birthed HIS kind, a creature that was at once both fully GOD and fully man, a divine being that was the ultimate model for all men. It is indeed in appreciating this relation that we discover GOD’s object purpose of creating man:

Romans 8:29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Beloved, you were created to be as HE is; to be conformed, synonymous, identical, one with CHRIST; your whole design is set by GOD to suit who CHRIST is as SON of GOD and light of creation.

 

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GO LIGHT YOUR CANDLE 

This knowledge of our relation with GOD as similar beings had eluded man since the fall. And with this loss, the light that GOD had lit in man had switched off and had been replaced with a darkness that hid the man from being the glory that GOD created HIM to be in the first place. So instead of conforming into the likeness of the light of glory that man was destined to be, sin and rebellion propelled man into a course of darkness and vanity that defines human experience since the fall.

Mark you, it is not that GOD switched off this light in any strict sense but rather that man lost any consciousness of it. When Adam ate the forbidden fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, he ceased to be conscious of the light

 

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that GOD lit in him; he lost awareness of who he was in relation to being the likeness of GOD.

It is so important that we realize that GOD did not remove that light from the man. Although he expelled him from the Garden and judged them, yet HE never removed the light from the man.

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The tragedy of men is not that man was sent out of the Garden but more so that he had lost consciousness of the light that testified of his similarity with GOD. The expulsion from the Garden was a material tragedy but what was even worse was the man’s loss of spiritual insight, the loss of revelation. This is what the wise King Solomon lamented with profound grief when he said:

Ecclesiastes 7:29 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions.

 

 

When GOD made man, HE made him perfect, filled with glory even as HE HIMSLEF is. The tragedy of the human experience is founded on the fact that man abandoned this perfection in preference of material vanity. Having substituted the light in them with the perverse designs of this temporal world, man was left clueless; he lost the appreciation of who GOD made him to be becoming completely alienated from the glory of GOD. | 182 

Our LORD also lamented this plight that man had fallen into:

Matthew 6:22 The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. Matthew 6:23 But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

 

 

In HIS correct impression, man had lost vision; he had lost knowledge of the light that he ought to be and plunged deep in darkness. Although men did not perceive with significant impression how fallen they were, CHRIST sought for us to understand that in losing this knowledge we had descended into a great darkness. Evil had robbed man of his proper worth so that all men lived way below their designed state; which for clarification was the very glory of GOD (Romans 3:23). | 183 

To all men, be they Jews or Greek, Roman or Barbarian, whether men in HIS past or those in HIS present or even in the future, to all men HE counseled thus:

Luke 11:33 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, putteth it in a secret place, neither under a bushel, but on a candlestick, that they which come in may see the light. Luke 11:34 The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness.

 

 

Luke 11:35 Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. Luke 11:36 If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.

I hope you are getting it: In the LORD’s opinion, man’s essential problem is darkness to which the answer is light. The occasion of darkness following the fall of man is the primary reason for every failure that characterizes the human experience. When men embraced darkness, they lost their way and became trapped in the decadence of material frailty. It is here that man is understood to be lost by GOD; lost from glory, lost form real power, lost from real peace, from real joy, favor, blessings, and dominion. And the answer to this plight? GO LIGHT YOUR CANDLE! Don’t just settle for the darkness, don’t seek to get used to it either; light your candle and dispel the darkness.

 

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Essentially, CHRIST sought that all men are quickened to their proper disposition by awakening to the light that they really are. Sin and rebellion had robbed man of that privilege by occasioning a knowledge based on darkness. In that measure, man lived a far limited life than he was actually created to live. Rather than shine, men descended in a downward abyss of irrelevance and plight that was destined to eternal destruction. In darkness, man is lost indeed and desperately in need of light.

Throughout HIS teaching, HIS preaching, throughout HIS ministry, the LORD sought that men awaken to the light that they are, HE sought to bring them to switch from the knowledge of darkness that rendered them blind into HIS knowledge that would open their eyes into who they really are as similar specie to GOD Almighty.

 

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This is what HE came into the world to do; HE came to shine the light that HE was so that men would quicken to a knowledge of light and perceive their true worth. Essentially, HIS whole life, right from HIS birth, baptism, ministry,

death,

and

resurrection,

was

a

witness

beckoning to all men, “Look at me; take a good look because I am who you really are!!!”

Contrary to Job who presumed his insignificance at birth citing that he was born naked into the world, or even David who lamented being birthed in sin, CHRIST sought all men to know that when they are born, they are born into the world as a light. There is nothing insignificant about any child except that the child is unconscious of who they really are as a light that has come among men. Similarly, there is nothing insignificant about anyone except that most men are not aware of who they really are as a light in this world.

 

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You are a light that must be lit and set up so that all of you can witness to your sovereign worth as a being similar to your GOD. CHRIST was born like you to drive home this point; HE died in your place to drive home the same point. Your life is a lot of worth if only you will light

your

candle.

If

you

will

quicken

to

the

understanding that was in GOD before the foundations of the world when HE foreknew you to be a being HE would fashion after HIMSELF. Beloved, if you will take on the mind of GOD where this knowledge about you is pure and true, then you can quicken into the understanding of who you truly are.

Christmas then is a lot more than lighting that candle on the tree or cake; it is really about lighting the candle of your spirit, opening that eye of your understanding that Adam shut out with sin and rebellion. Today, you

 

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can open it with your obedience to GOD’s word. Believe the testimony of JESUS, believe HIS Immaculate Conception and recognize in HIS birth and life the witness HE brings to you regarding who you really are.

Beloved, JESUS believed in our similarity with HIM; HE never sought to distinguish HIMSELF as though HE were something that we were not or could never be. Far from that, HE called HIMSELF a light and also called us a light (John 9:5; Matthew 5:14); when HE walked on water, HE believed that we too could walk on water (Matthew 14:2529); when HE rebuked the wind and storms, HE rebuked the faith of men who HE believed could have done as HE did (Mark 4:36-40); when HE worked wonders, HE also sent forth HIS disciples to do the same (Luke 9:1; Mark 16:15-18); indeed, HE even suggested that we would do more than the works that HE did (John 14:12).

 

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Beloved, CHRIST believes that you are a light that is just as brilliant as HE is. HE came that you would light your candle and shine; essentially, seeking that you would acknowledge who you really are and therein manifest the very glory of GOD.

The difference between celebrating the tradition of Christmas and celebrating the revelation of Christmas is simply that one is done in darkness and the latter is done in the light. You may light up your candles, light your tree, light up your church, stage, platform, light up your house, it doesn’t really matter; until you light up your life, until you are quickened into the knowledge of light so that you are as HE is, that Christmas is as dark as it gets. The only well lit Christmas is the one where souls are lit up into the glory of GOD. When a man comes to terms with who they really are as divine beings akin to their GOD, then you have a well lit Christmas going.

 

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I can assure you for a fact that GOD has never looked forward to a lit up tree, cake, home, or church as much as HE has since the fall of man looked forward to a lit up soul. The day you are quickened into this light of glory, the day that you light up your vision into the revelation of your similarity with GOD, is the day that all of heaven celebrates the Christmas story. | 190 

SET ON A HILL, NEVER LOST IN THE WORLD 

Beloved, there is no need ever to be lost, clueless, or perplexed and in fear; the light hat came into the world beckons to all men the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Where men had fallen into an abyss of darkness so that they were lost from true glory and virtue, CHRIST

 

 

has been born to us, shining bright the way to absolute perfection.

In this light, you can be all that GOD says you are; you can be all that GOD made you to be as a sovereign spirit akin to HIM. What this means is that you can be as glorious and excellent as HE is. If only you can quicken to the light, you can indeed ascend to your proper place in creation as a first fruit, the best of all that GOD has made; the light in you can position you to be the foremost, the epitome, the first of all things that GOD has created. Once you light your candle, then be assured of your glorious destiny into the highest favor, the richest joy, the most profound love. Believe it; no one lights a candle and puts it under a bushel (Matthew 5:15). Once GOD lights you up, HE positions you at HIS right hand wherein are pleasures forever more.

 

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This is the highlight of what we know to be the Christmas story. CHRIST was born in the flesh to awaken us to the light that we were made to be after HIS image and likeness. In that privileged wonder, shining this light lies the opportunity of GOD lifting us up and setting us above all.

That is how it was with Adam when GOD first created him in the light. After breathing in the man the breath of life, once that light was lit, GOD took the responsibility of designing a Garden of Pleasure for the man to abide in. GOD HIMSELF set the man proper and perfect (Genesis 1:27,28; 2:5-18). The man did not need to provide for himself, he did not need to work for his own advantage; once he woke in the light that shone in him, GOD lifted him to a privilege akin to the one that HE enjoyed in heaven.

 

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This knowledge of light is so essential to being visible and uplifted by GOD. It is not enough to light a tree or please your soul by lighting a firework; do something a lot better and light your soul, get quickened to the light of your spirit and see how far GOD will celebrate you in splendor and wonders beyond finite comprehension.

Beloved, the knowledge of light will shift you from merely celebrating Christmas and get you beyond that into living a life that GOD celebrates. The one that walks in the knowledge of light walks in a path that GOD rejoices and on which HE purposes gifts, rewards, privileges, pleasures, and wonders as a testimony of HIS joy. The knowledge of light excites GOD because it affords the grand opportunity for HIM to reveal you to all creation. In this knowledge, you become a witness of HIS love, of HIS power, of HIS might and strength; and

 

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in this respect, HE will set you up for promotion and demonstration wherein everybody will see HIM through you.

That is what Christmas is all about; it is about GOD beaming through you to all men. What we read in the account of the first Christmas was a sign pointing to the light that CHRIST lit in you. Locating that light guarantees your visibility, prominence, joy, peace, brilliance, and every good and perfect gift that comes from GOD. Get this knowledge and you will soon have a life that is inspiring to others; your marriage, your family, your plans, your work, your hope, your strength, even your battles, your everything will be magnified by GOD in an exercise that will see you show GOD in all that you are and do.

 

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This knowledge is exceptionally ordained for those who love GOD and are the called after HIS purpose; men and women that HE has prepared wonders hitherto unknown by men but today publicized before all creation (1 Corinthians 2:9). To such as these, HE guarantees multiplied grace and peace:

2Peter 1:2 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, 2Peter 1:3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: 2Peter 1:4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

 

 

 

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THE JOY OF LIGHT  Jeremiah 33:11 The voice of joy, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride, the voice of them that shall say, Praise the LORD of hosts: for the LORD is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: and of them that shall bring the sacrifice of praise into the house of the LORD. For I will cause to return the captivity of the land, as at the first, saith the LORD.

1Thesalonnians 2:19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? 1Thessalonians 2:20 For ye are our glory and joy.

Rejoice in the LORD and in the power of HIS might; GOD has been so good to man. Christmas bears this goodness wherein HE has done valiantly; HE has loved men and done for them and in them far exceedingly above the wisdom of this world. When you think about the fact that

 

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before the foundation of the world HE considered us to be as HE is, then you come to terms with HIS kindest consideration. And when you consider how after the fall of man yet GOD still worked up a plan of redemption where HE would be born of a woman, then you get the joy. Comprehending the magnitude of GOD’s love as revealed through the wonder of Christmas activates a swirling of joy that is miraculous, unending, and quite amazing; it is a pure joy.

The unique privilege of men GOD’s first fruit is unknown by any other created being; only man is graced with the honor and wonder of being redeemed, of being formed in the likeness of GOD, of bearing GOD in their womb. Christmas tells us of our uniqueness in creation; it is a toast of our profound excellence as beings made in the fashion of our creator. The season of light that it

 

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engenders is a season that highlights our esteemed person as creatures that bear the light of GOD. You can be sure that rejoicing this wonder is a season that shall never end.

THE JOY OF CHRISTMAS SHALL NEVER END  | 198 

My dearest friend, Christmas is all about the light of GOD shining HIS truth that had been hidden from all men since the fall; it is about our privileged blessing as the express image and likeness of GOD as revealed to us by CHRIST JESUS. This is the basic reason why HE was born. As the light of all men, HE was born to reveal us as light to all creation. Christmas is really more than the birth of the SON of

 

 

GOD; it offers another story, a better one; the story of our restoration as light, as sons of GOD.

Earlier on, I begun by alluding to what Christmas is not and would suggest here what the joy of Christmas isn’t before I delve into what it really ought to be. In that respect, the joy of Christmas is not the ending of a year or even the prospecting of another year; it is a lot more than that. Neither is it the birthing of a baby in a manger, or the birthing of the baby by a virgin, or the singing of angels to Shepherds by night; it is a lot more than all that. The joy of Christmas exceeds the appearing of CHRIST in flesh, it exceeds the Immaculate Conception, the virgin birth, the birthing of a king in the order of David; it is a lot more than that. To be sure, all the aforementioned constitute glorious accompaniments to the real joy of Christmas; they are

 

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marvels that point to the real wonder of the joy of Christmas.

The real joy of Christmas is the joy of this privilege; we must celebrate who CHRIST proves us to be. HIS birth is a glorious opportunity to appreciate who we are as light, as HIS image and likeness, as GOD’s first fruit. The joy of this wonder shall never end; this delight is a perpetual party of glory that will exceed time and space, it will venture way into the new earth and the new heaven, where we shall forever celebrate this privilege of being ONE with GOD, of being light even as HE is, of being HIS sons, HIS glory.

Beloved, when CHRIST was born GOD indeed put on flesh to dwell among men (John 1:14). The symbolism of this birth is enormous, it tells a whole lot: Essentially, it reveals the profound extent of commitment that GOD has

 

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to man. There is nothing HE ever created that is as valuable to HIM as man is; nothing that HE is willing to give up all for. You see, this is what JESUS did when HE emptied HIMSELF of HIS heavenly glory and became as sinful man in the flesh, born of a woman. Think about it: GOD put on flesh for fallen man and never ever considered doing the same for fallen angels. Aren’t the angels HIS creatures too? Why didn’t HE identify with them as HE did with man? | 201 

The answer is richly demonstrated by the account of Christmas. When GOD put on flesh so that HE could as man redeem him from the bondage of sin, HE demonstrated a peculiar love for man that exceeds the affection that HE has for any other creature. Essentially, Christmas tells you that GOD is profoundly committed to you, that HE loves you to the point of risking all that HE is just for you.

 

 

Christmas clearly relates to the possibilities of man’s salvation, the possibilities of his restoration; which is contrary to the fate of fallen angels that remain and will forever be irredeemable.

So the joy of Christmas must bring us to celebrate our salvation based as it were on who we really are. It is important that we realize that CHRIST is born in the flesh to save men because we are HIS kind, made in HIS image and likeness. On the other hand, although fallen angels rebelled

against

GOD

Almighty,

they

remain

irredeemable; never ever to be saved on account of the fact that CHRIST could not save that which was not HIS kind.

The joy of Christmas exceeds the fact that CHRIST is born to save us to include the amazing wonder that HE was born in the flesh because we are HIS kind; like

 

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HIM, we too are light; like HIM we too are the express image and likeness of GOD. HE became flesh so that we may appreciate to which extent we are indeed more than the flesh and blood we have always considered ourselves to be since the fall; HE became as we were to restore us to who we really were created to be; the SON of GOD became flesh so that all men would awaken to their proper identity as sovereign spirits, as sons of GOD. | 203 

This is our manifest destiny and the details of it is nothing less than amazing truth, awesome counsel, mighty knowledge; this is the revelation that the devil would like to bury in religious traditions of Christmas and drunken revelries practiced by men on the 25th of December.

Get it: that old nemesis of man does not tremble come 25th December. He doesn’t care how much you rejoice the virgin birth, the angels singing, the three wise men, the

 

 

shepherds watch; he doesn’t care how much you drink, eat, and dress-up on account of Christmas; beloved, he doesn’t even care whether you observe the day to its strictest detail, whether you do it on the 25th of December or in some mid-April day when you are persuaded that CHRIST was actually born; he doesn’t care about all that carnality. What he seeks that you never do is get to the real meaning of Christmas. | 204 

Beloved, what shakes the devils nerves, what panics his heart beat, is when you awake to the light of CHRIST; when you get to terms with being who you really are supposed to be as a son of GOD, as a son of righteousness, as a light in this world. He works hard and mean to keep you in darkness; to keep you in the flesh; to keep you blind and in bondage to sin, death, and the grave, conformed to temporal and vain patterns that

 

 

he has placed to govern all fallen men. Satan works overtime and overdrive to keep you in the domain of darkness where you are clueless about your proper essence. However, when you awake to this truth; when you awaken to the revelation of GOD in you; when you see CHRIST as one beholding a mirror (2 Corinthians 3:18); then he panics because he knows that you have discovered your eternal worth as a son of GOD and have therefore come to absolute freedom.

This is the truth that ought to be celebrated; the truth that sets one irredeemably, irrevocably, immutably, and completely FREE. The real joy of Christmas is rejoicing this truth. Your true freedom is in the knowledge of this truth; your true prosperity is in the knowledge of this truth; your true health is in the knowledge of this truth; your true favor, peace, understanding, your true victory,

 

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strength, your abundant life, true life, your divine inheritance is in the knowledge of this truth.

Do not forsake the truth. The dynamic worshipper, prophet, and king of Israel, King David knew as much and prayed:

Psalm 119:43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth; for I have hoped in thy judgments. Psalm 119:44 So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever. Psalm 119:45 And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts. Psalm 119:46 I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed. Psalm 119:47 And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved. Psalm 119:48 My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes. Psalm 119:49 ZAIN. Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.

 

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Now think seriously about it; the truth that David rejoiced over was only shadows and types of what the Christmas story is all about; he never saw the full truth that you are privy to in CHRIST. That word he prayed and sought that would be established in his heart was not the full light that came with CHRIST; and yet, he delighted in it. Now, if he rejoiced over the shadow that CHRIST brought to us in full light when HE was born, what ought to be our joy regarding the truth of Christmas?

Beloved, if David joyed over the word of the Old Covenant, we must be beyond ourselves in delirious enthusiasm and peak excitement at the good news that is the New Covenant. The revelation of CHRIST which was the light of which the Old Covenant testimony was shadow of is a lot better, infinitely richer testimony:

 

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2Corinthians 3:9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 2Corinthians 3:10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth.

Beloved, in CHRIST, in Christmas, we have a far greater opportunity for joy than David or anyone in the Old Covenants ever had.

What is more is the fact that this joy reaches the highest of heaven; indeed, this is the celebration of the throne of GOD. There are three witnesses in heaven to this glorious covenant, namely- the FATHER, the SON, and the HOLY SPIRIT (1 John 5:7); and this is what they rejoice, this is their joy. Furthermore, their joy is shared with all the hosts of heaven and that is why angels descended on the earth shouting in praise, declaring good news to all men because of the coming of CHRIST (Luke 2:14).

 

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Make no mistakes about it; those angelic hosts that joined shepherds by night were not just rejoicing the particular day of birth of the CHRIST but were indeed joyously celebrating its grand implication to all men. Their joy was what indeed the birth of CHRIST highlighted in respect to the reconciliation of GOD with men. Essentially, they rejoiced the impending restoration of all men in respect to the light that had come among them to shine their identical image and likeness. | 209 

The grand acclamation- Peace on earth, goodwill to all menis a most comprehensive announcement that must be fully appreciated. The peace that they celebrated, the goodwill they delighted in was the greatest gesture GOD ever extended any being. Peace with men pertained to reconciliation with them and this goodwill is passed any other favor GOD ever gave any other being. In it is the

 

 

amazing offer for the glorious restoration of man as one and parcel with GOD Almighty.

Where the fall of man had indeed occasioned a sad and most somber moment in the sovereign deity and indeed among all the hosts of heaven; the birth of CHRIST occasioned a joy, a celebration of the impending restoration. This goodwill is the FATHER’s good pleasure to give HIS kingdom, the kingdom of heaven, to men (Luke 12:32). This is the light of men, the light of the world, the light that all men should comprehend; the joy that all men must bask in and the celebration that all men must kick in.

This joy is the light of which all the Jewish feasts and accomplishments of the nation of Israel were the shadow of: You can find traces of this joy in the feast of tabernacles, in the feast of Passover, in the feast of

 

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atonement, in the feast of Pentecost; you find this joy in every victorious celebration in Israel throughout all her battles. This joy can be witnessed among the delivered sons of Israel as they sung with Miriam and Moses following their crossing over the Red Sea and the consequent drowning of all Pharaoh chariots (Exodus 15:20); this joy was well placed in the rapturous joy that captured the Jewish women who praised David for killing his tens of thousands (1 Samuel 18:6, 7); it is the joy that accompanied Joshua against the city of Jericho when the walls came tumbling down (Joshua 6:20); the same joy can be traced in the triumphant victory of King Jehoshaphat when he praised GOD in the face of the enemy and saw confusion in their ranks (2 Chronicles 20:20, 21).

This joy transcends time, seasons, days, years, kings, emperors, trials, battles; it is seen throughout Israel’s history, through it all, throughout time; it ventures, rises,

 

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abounds, and scales throughout their rich experiences with GOD Almighty. And when you think that these celebrations in the Old Testament were just joyous rehearsals of the true delight that GOD has prepared for HIS sons, then you can begin to appreciate the endurance of Christmas joy. Beloved, this joy has never stopped. It just cannot, it will never end; it is continuous, ever increasing, and shall be a marked part of the eternal story of GOD Almighty. To be sure, it is not a temporal joy, it is not a passing fancy, or a concocted delight limited to the perishing enthusiasm of this dying world; it is spiritual, eternal, it is an everlasting, ever increasing joy.

From the highest of heavens where the angels descended with rapturous delight and wondrous pronouncement to the shepherds, the joy was a marked feature in the ministry of CHRIST as crowds followed HIM in

 

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delightful anticipation; this is the joy that stirred in the hearts of the citizens in Jerusalem when the KING of glory humbly mounted the colt and humbly entered the city (Matthew 21:7-9); the joy that couldn’t be held back and one that tempted the very stones of the Temple to shout in glorious acclamation (Luke 19:40).

To be sure, this joy cannot, can never, ever be hindered; it is a banquet, an eternal fit of glory that outclasses, outshines, outweighs, every resistance. It is the joy that the angry religious leaders in the days of our LORD failed to quench; the joy that stirred from the patriarchs through the prophets and the priests of the Old Covenant. It is the joy that got David dancing till all his garments fell off (2 Samuel 6:14); the joy that moved Abraham to expectantly contemplate the days of CHRIST (John 8:56). This joy triumphed the conspiracy of the priests that ganged to kill the MASTER (Acts); it is the joy that CHRIST awakened with from the dark and cold tomb, having

 

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conquered death and the grave, having spoiled all principalities.

That joy is the one that CHRIST assured HIS disciples would be revived in them once they beheld HIM after HIS death (Luke 24:52); it is the joy that got Peter running to the LORD inspite of being naked and the lesser joy of catching a net full of fish (John 21:7); it is the joy that the disciples were baptized with on the day of Pentecost so much that they were seemingly drunk at three in the afternoon (Acts 2:1-13); it is the joy that the crippled man rejoiced under when he was healed at the gate called beautiful, running and leaping into the temple (Acts 3:8). This is the joy that could not be quenched regardless the persecution faced by the saints. Peter and John rejoiced in this joy when they were whipped for preaching and healing in the name of JESUS (Acts 5:41); Paul learnt this joy when he believed, and rejoiced in it so valiantly that

 

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even the very walls of prison shattered and danced to his delight (Acts 16:25).

This is the joy that amazed Peter when he saw it among the saints facing the fire of persecution, moving him to acclaim the saints. Observe his admiration, meditate on it, and be inspired:

1Peter 1:6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations: 1Peter 1:7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: 1Peter 1:8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:

This joy is beyond description by human language; it is unspeakable, unshakeable, insurmountable and full of glory; it is a wonder.

 

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It is a joy that the world can never give because it does not have it. It is a joy that is beyond material ponder, beyond the fancy of a perverse soul, beyond the reach of money or any material fancy; it is not a mere toast of the flesh but a deep and rich celebration of the eternal worth that GOD Almighty has rendered obedient men. It is spiritual, divine, amazing, a miracle, an infinitely glorious blessing, a rich communion of wine and gladness; the very joy of the heart of GOD.

It is the joy that JESUS often talked about when HE referred to the great banquet (Mathew 22:2-14); it is nothing less than a pompous gathering fit for kings, a table replete with all the choicest of meals and wines; it is a royal banquet, a divine do, a celebration of eternity; a celebration where you partake of the flesh and blood of the LAMB, where you indulge in eternal life.

 

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The devil has sought to make a nuisance of Christmas; he has sought with deliberate effort and sinister design to compromise its worth; he has twisted and turned its true meaning, employed religious tradition, perverse vanity, even superstitious maneuvers, but he loses at every turn. This joy is beyond his measure; it exceeds his misery; and will not end at his will. | 217 

Beloved, Christmas is here to stay, this season of light, this joy is interminable; it is an unending banquet. Listen up, it continues in heaven; it is the banquet that John saw quite vividly in the vision of the revelation of CHRIST shown to his holy eyes and heard by his divine ears at the island of Patmos. At some point, he is shown a song of this joy sung in heaven by elders and saints in praise of the LAMB of glory:

 

 

Revelations 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; Revelations 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth. Revelations 5:11 And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Revelations 5:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. Revelations 5:13 And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

Boy, did you see what I saw? There is very serious information in that vision; very enlightening revelation. Come on, this joy is all-encompassing; every being will get into it. If you thought that Christmas is just an end-of year, human affair, or even one limited to western imperialism or culturalism, you are in for something.

 

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This joy is a lot more than culture, a lot more than human, a lot more than an end-of year affair. Beyond time, beyond humanity, and indeed beyond culture and you will find Christmas still going on. In heaven, the angles acclaim the LAMB, on earth HE shall be adored, and even under the earth; everywhere there is a breathing creature, even where there are breathless creatures, every being shall get into it, every being shall rejoice the wonder of Christmas. | 219 

JOIN THE FUN! 

Here comes the eternal invitation card to this joy from the Kingdom of Light:

 

 

Isaiah 55:1 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Isaiah 55:2 Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Isaiah 55:3 Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David. Isaiah 55:4 Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people. | 220 

And from the mouth of the MASTER proper:

John 7:37 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. John 7:38 He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. John 7:39 (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

 

 

This is the feast that the MASTER is keen that everyone gets an invitation to, the party HE sends HIS workers to gather everyone to:

Luke 14:21 So that servant came, and shewed his lord these things. Then the master of the house being angry said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. Luke 14:22 And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room. Luke 14:23 And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. Luke 14:24 For I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper.

This is the one party, the one banquet, the one do that all are invited, regardless who they are, what they have done; GOD seeks that all men join HIM in the joy of sharing eternal life.

 

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Get this: HE wants you in, HE desires you to relish in this joy.

Before I venture any further in this glorious light, I would like you to consider seriously whether you have honored this invitation. Celebrating Christmas without truly knowing CHRIST is a waste of joy. Those who ponder on from Christmas to Christmas without the revelation of CHRIST meander in a darkness without realizing that they are truly lost. My dear, this joy has come to you with light and I beseech you to perceive this day the light that has come to you. Believe in JESUS, believe in Christmas, believe in this season of light. If you sense the deep urge to do so, you may say the prayer below with me:

 

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Dearest FATHER,

I praise YOU and rejoice YOUR love for me. Thank YOU for loving me so much as to make me to be just as glorious as YOU are. I believe in CHRIST as the light of the world. I believe that HE has come to shine this light so that I too can awaken to the light that YOU have made me to be after HIS kind. From now on, Christmas is more than a tradition that I rejoice. I have the revelation of it and can see the light of CHRIST shining bright on and in me. Thank YOU for awakening me to this light. From now on, I am born again; I am born into this light, I am born of the SPIRIT and overcome the world. I pray this all in the name of JESUS, AMEN!

 

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Wonderful, great, super, this is it!!!!!!! This is the huge it! You have just shifted from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light. Now you can join this perpetual, life-giving, never ending party of glory as you celebrate with heaven the marvel of being GOD’s child, HIS glorious seed, the very image and likeness of HIS omnipotent entirety. A glorious light beams on you and right in and through you; now you can shine, you can radiate brilliance that should show GOD to your world, to your family, your spouse, your friends, relatives, even your enemies.

Believe me, there is much rejoicing in heaven right now over your awakening:

Luke 15:8 Either what woman having ten pieces of silver, if she lose one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and seek diligently till she find it?

 

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Luke 15:9 And when she hath found it, she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying, Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had lost. Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

Yes!!!! Yes, yes, yes, there is much rejoicing in heaven; GOD has found HIS missing piece, HIS master piece, HE has found you again, rescued from darkness and degeneration and brought you into the kingdom of HIS light wherein HE is ready to display HIS glory through you.

From now on, you are in the light and must walk in the light, walk in the radiance of GOD’s glory fully aware of your destiny in being more and more like HE is and indeed being HIS very ambassador in this world. In that esteemed capacity, share the light and pass on the joy; start up other parties everywhere you go as you

 

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urge others to join in the eternal fun of bearing GOD’s light. Wherever you find darkness and the works thereof, blast it away with the light that you wield; outshine every work of the devil and win souls to CHRIST.

Do not let this Christmas see you merely lighting trees and candles; you can do a lot better than that. Go shine this light that GOD gave you before the foundation of the world; go to the world, shine you light, share it and urge more to join in the fun. And please, do not go about it the way some religious folk have perverted the gospel and run about cursing the darkness, complaining and ranting about all the evil going on in the world. There is a better way to deal with darkness than ranting and complaining about it; instead of cursing darkness, just shine the light, share it. Let the HOLY SPIRIT work

 

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with you in doing this, allow HIM to prove your light in the worst neighborhood.

Say if you go any place and find many sick folk, do not just pity them and complain about how your government could do better with its health policies; NOOOOOOO!!!! A thousand times NOOOOOO!!!! Don’t complain, SHINE!!!! That is when you ask the HOLY SPIRIT to prove your light and you just begin to cast devils away and heal the sick, make the cripple walk, open the blind eyes, and even raise the dead.

CHRIST has not sent us to complain about the world but to shine our light in their dark mess. Do not complain about your marriage, shine in it; do not complain about your family, shine in it; do not complain about your city, shine in it; do not complain about your economy, shine in it; do not complain about

 

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your nation, shine in it; do not complain about your generation, shine it. These are days of awakening, days of the light, days of refreshing, and GOD is more than willing to reveal HIS light among men. Christmas proves HIS generosity in this regard. Taking advantage of this season of light means perceiving the favor of GOD today and rising to the occasion. | 228 

The prophet Isaiah saw your day and joyously announced to you:

Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. Isaiah 60:2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. Isaiah 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.

 

 

He was prophesying to you in this season of light; he could see your moment, the day of your visitation, your time to shine. But can you see it? Do you perceive the hour? Or you would rather complain with everybody else about the dark world that is perishing away?

Beloved, you are the light of the world, you are the one to whom the arm of GOD has been revealed. Get your faith working, submit to the HOLY SPIRIT, shine your light, share it, and bring others right into this never ending fun. Remember Paul and Silas who rejoiced CHRIST in prison rather than complain about their plight or the conditions therein; in their joy, they were able to bring their very captor right into the fun of glory (Acts 16:28-32).

 

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My friend, the joy of a traditional celebration of Christmas stays on the 25th and will utmost be shared with close family and friends. But there is a lot more about Christmas than tradition and religion can afford. Get into the revelation of it, rejoice your light as one with GOD, and raise your party beyond the limited fringes of your immediate family and friends, even your immediate neighborhood and go to the world:

Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. Mark 16:16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. Mark 16:17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; Mark 16:18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

This is the joy of Christmas; that you love others even as GOD has loved you and bring them into the light. Every

 

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man is a priceless treasure that the light of Christmas seeks to reveal.

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A SEASON OF LIGHT  Isaiah 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee. Isaiah 60:2 For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the LORD shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee. Isaiah 60:3 And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. Isaiah 60:4 Lift up thine eyes round about, and see: all they gather themselves together, they come to thee: thy sons shall come from far, and thy daughters shall be nursed at thy side. Isaiah 60:5 Then thou shalt see, and flow together, and thine heart shall fear, and be enlarged; because the abundance of the sea shall be converted unto thee, the forces of the Gentiles shall come unto thee.

There is more to Christmas than meets the eye; there is a glory in the birth of CHRIST that exceeds the ability of this world’s wisdom. Beloveds, Christmas is more than a tradition of men, it is more than a ritual that religion has embraced; it is a lot more than a human fancy that will pass away with time. To be sure, Christmas did not

 

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begin here on earth, it is not a human innovation but a divine program that begun way before time; it will also surpass the length of time. In this respect, it is not a holiday season with a temporal duration. Christmas is an eternal season of light; a most auspicious spiritual occasion that has graced the earth to ensure that the light of GOD beams bright upon HIS children. It is a time of redemption, restoration, an entering into rest that is above worldly consideration. | 233 

The marvel of the story is richer than is often perceived: Because of Christmas we have the privilege of living in the light of knowing who GOD is coupled with the enormous wonder of discovering our likeness to HIS person in ways never known since the fall of man. That the awesome GOD that created and rules the heavens and the earth, and all there is, could seek man at the expense

 

 

of identifying with him in his fallen rebellious state tells a lot about the wonder of Christmas.

As

a

season

it

requires

more

than

traditional

consideration. The wisdom of a fallen creation cannot properly comprehend the wealth of privilege that this season of light renders men. What is essential in this respect is the need for a deep reckoning, for divine insight, for spiritual counsel. Christmas is a revelation of glory; it is a season that escapes the limited senses of the carnal man because it begun in the spiritual realm of the heavens, right in the spiritual mind of the MOST HIGH and is upon the earth to establish it as a spiritual domain. When CHRIST was born, a kingdom was given to men; a spiritual dominion that seeks to consume the entire material realm with the glory of the LORD.

 

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This is the kingdom that King Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dreams and the prophet Daniel properly interpreted wherein a mightier domain than all the earth’s rulers shatters their material domain to impose its spiritual reign:

Daniel 2:44 And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever.

It is also the eternal kingdom that the prophet Isaiah referred to as Zion, a glorious city whose domain shall exceed the reign of every other kingdom and nation so that her influence shall be over all the earth:

Isaiah 60:12 For the nation and kingdom that will not serve thee shall perish; yea, those nations shall be utterly wasted.

 

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Isaiah 60:13 The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beautify the place of my sanctuary; and I will make the place of my feet glorious. Isaiah 60:14 The sons also of them that afflicted thee shall come bending unto thee; and all they that despised thee shall bow themselves down at the soles of thy feet; and they shall call thee, The city of the LORD, The Zion of the Holy One of Israel. Isaiah 60:15 Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations.

It is a season of light beaming the reign of GOD over all creation right from here on the earth.

David was a king and yet he too looked forward to this kingdom. He had enough sense to reckon that the kingdom of Israel was only a shadow of which this messianic kingdom was the light. Looking with great anticipation at this light, this glory that would reign over all men, he declared:

Psalm 145:11 They shall speak of the glory of thy kingdom, and talk of thy power;

 

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Psalm 145:12 To make known to the sons of men his mighty acts, and the glorious majesty of his kingdom. Psalm 145:13 Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations.

What he knew and embraced then is what we need to know and embrace now; a glorious kingdom has entered the material realm and it must reign over it, subdue it, and translate it into a spiritual domain of light.

Beloved, the child that was born on Christmas was no ordinary being; HE was the reigning monarch of that eternal kingdom, the King of kings and the LORD of lords, the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end, HE was the GREAT I AM. That HE could be born of a woman tells a lot about HIS reign; HE is not content at reigning all by HIMSELF although HE can. HIS love for us is so considerate that HE sought our restoration before HE could consider HIS reign. Upon becoming as we were, HE demonstrated for

 

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our learning that we are in proper perspective as HE is (1 John 4:17).

The wondrous season HIS earthly birth occasions among us is a day of grace, deliverance, of glorious restoration; wherein we are urged to rise to the occasion, forsake every vain indulgence in preference of HIS eternal power and authority. Beloved, GOD became as we are because HE is not content at being King over subjects; HE is not content at reigning over all by HIMSELF. HE came among us to make us aware that HE created us to reign with HIM as KING of kings and LORD of lords. Yes, Christmas is a season of light beckoning from heaven to us, from the throne of GOD right into the hearts of men; seeking that we all awake to our royal and priestly privilege akin to that of our LORD. This child that was born was an extraordinary sign pointing to the eternal wonder of HIS Kingdom wherein we would reign together with HIM over all creation in a season of light.

 

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This is why when Satan tempted HIM with the offer of all the kingdoms of the world in all of their glory, HE shunned it; HE did not want to reign over darkness nor did HE desire a kingdom where HE couldn’t reign with us (Matthew 4:8-11). HIS mission on earth, HIS birth from the womb of a woman, HIS whole ministry among us, sought to bring us to this kingdom of light wherein we would awaken to our royal and priestly disposition so that we would reign together with HIM.

When HE went about shining this light, preaching and teaching, this is what HE shared; JESUS CHRIST preached and taught the kingdom:

Mark 1:14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, Mark 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.

HE did not go preaching that it will come but that indeed it’s time has been fulfilled. HE knew that HIS appearance

 

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ushered this season of light wherein the kingdom of heaven had indeed come among men.

The early church understood as much and went about preaching the kingdom. Philip did in Samaria:

Acts 8:12 But when they believed Philip preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God, and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. | 240 

And so did the apostle Paul when he was converted and went throughout Eurasia with the message of the kingdom:

Acts 20:25 And now, behold, I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more.

Notice that neither JESUS nor the early apostles prophesied concerning the kingdom like the prophets did. The gospel they preached was a pronouncement that

 

 

the kingdom prophesied about by the prophets had indeed come with CHRIST. This is the gospel that should be preached, the gospel that CHRIST commissioned us to preach; this is the joy of Christmas, the celebration that we must rejoice; the kingdom of GOD among men, also the kingdom of GOD with men.

Christmas points to our eternal reign with HIM wherein we are seated together with HIM in heavenly places:

Ephesians 2:5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) Ephesians2:6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:

Where we had fallen short of the glory of GOD so that we had indeed lost dominion over the earth that GOD had given us, CHRIST came to restore us and raise us even above where we had fallen from; HE came to seat us

 

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together with HIM so that we would reign with HIM over both heaven and earth.

This joint reign is what the apostle Paul called our joint inheritance with CHRIST which is our manifest privilege as sons of GOD:

Romans 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: Romans 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Together with CHRIST we reign as kings and priests after the Melchizedek order over an eternal domain. All that GOD has, ever had, will ever have, HE has handed over to CHRIST and HIS Bride.

Beloved, the kingdom of heaven has it all. The one that discovers the kingdom possesses everything. That is why

 

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CHRIST did not like to see us bother about the needs of the flesh and all its vanity but to preoccupy ourselves with perceiving and possessing the kingdom. Teaching on prayer, HE counseled thus:

Matthew 6:31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? Matthew 6:32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. Matthew 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. | 243 

This kingdom is the business, it is the deal right there. The one that gains the kingdom has gained it all. This is the kingdom that the LORD compared to a treasure that a man found in a field and he went sold all his possessions to come buy the field (Matthew 13:44). HE likewise gave up HIS glory in heaven, descended among men, to gain this glory, this privilege, this everlasting reign:

Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

 

 

Philippians 2:6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: Philippians 2:7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Philippians 2:9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: Philippians 2:10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; Philippians 2:11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. | 244 

AMEN!!!!! Hope you can see what I see here.

There are a lot of people that have not yet perceived the kingdom, many saints among that number. There are many that presume that JESUS would still be King of kings and LORD of lords had he never come to restore man. But the devil is a liar; without becoming as man and redeeming him, CHRIST would never have gained the glory of the kingdom of heaven. HE would have gone on

 

 

to be King with HIS FATHER but HE would never have been King of kings.

You see, the kingdom of heaven is a kingdom unlike any other ever been and there will never be another like it. The light of this kingdom is the light that beams brightly enough to ensure that its citizens are kings and priests so that her ultimate King reigns over kings and priests. The redemption of man was quintessential to ensuring the kingdom of heaven takes form. This is what JESUS gave up all in heaven for; what HE came on earth for. HE gave up all so that HE could reign over a kingdom of kings and priests after HIS own kind.

Beloved, when the angels descended on earth singing songs of praise, pronouncing the birth of CHRIST, they were rejoicing the coming of this kingdom. Their joy exceeded the mere fact of the Child’s birth to include more seriously what the Child was born for.

 

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Make no mistakes about it; the praise of heaven exceeds the birth of CHRIST to include more seriously the coming of the kingdom of heaven. For with CHRIST conceived in the womb of a woman, truly GOD had come among men; the kingdom is fulfilled.

When we celebrate Christmas this is the full cake of our joy:

Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

HIS birth precedes HIS government, the increase of it is never ending. And that government reigns today, it is the light that we have and are ordained to shine forth in this

 

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dark world; this is the season of light, the day of the kingdom.

Of course, there are many who fail in perceiving this and contemplate that the kingdom is not anywhere here yet. Many of these perceive the birth of CHRIST as an end in itself and not as a means to an end; in celebrating the birth of CHRIST they often miss out on the essence of that glory. Just as blind as the religious men in the days when our LORD ministered on earth, they miss out on the joy of the kingdom, they miss out on the season of light.

Many that do so contemplate the coming of the kingdom and insist that CHRIST is yet to establish the kingdom. What they do not realize is that just like Christmas, the kingdom cannot be perceived by material observation:

Luke 17:20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with observation:

 

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Luke 17:21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.

Christmas sought to show this one thing, this glorious light that men had lost consciousness of that is in every man. That light is the kingdom of heaven, the reign of glory that GOD predestined in every man; wherein, all men are as HE is, a reigning divine monarch, a sovereign spirit being. | 248 

Beloved, the kingdom of heaven is not going to be established because it already is. You do not serve a carnal, material, and vain GOD that will set this kingdom on a mount someday. Those scripture references of a day when the kingdom of GOD shall be established were often metaphoric references to what GOD was set to do with CHRIST. To be sure, GOD has set the kingdom right from the foundations of the world; not on a mountain somewhere in the Middle East but in HIS heart and in the hearts of every man.

 

 

Those who think that the kingdom of heaven is yet to be established do not know what the kingdom is. They falsely presume it to be some material reality which it isn’t; it is spiritual. If you cannot see the kingdom of heaven, you cannot enter it; unless you translate from being a material inclined being and become a spiritually inclined being, you cannot partake of the kingdom: | 249  John 3:3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. John 3:6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.

 

 

The kingdom is a spiritual reality that can only be perceived and possessed by a spiritual mind. In this respect, it belongs to those that are spiritual, those who have learned to look beyond the material plane of life that the world is governed in into the spiritual dimension where GOD resides and functions from.

The flesh is completely unable to understand the kingdom or function in it; and those who follow after this pattern remain clueless about the reign of CHRIST. Neither do they perceive the wonder of Christmas nor the season of light that has come into the world. Year-in, year-out they celebrate and rejoice the virgin birth, the Immaculate Conception, the shining star, the sounds of angels singing and yet seeing they do not perceive; hearing they fail to understand. And the most they get out of it is a religious ceremony, a vain indulgence, passing pleasures, and a short holiday at that.

 

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But I have been sent of GOD, in the power of the HOLY SPIRIT, to bring you to a greater depth, a higher delight, a more profound understanding of what Christmas is really about.

The season of light that came when CHRIST was born in the flesh was a glorious sign pointing to the light of the kingdom that dwells in you. GOD gave up all in heaven and put on flesh to show all men that they have a light of HIM in them; HE came to teach us how to dress on GOD. If we believe HIS testimony, then we are shown the love of GOD in all its depth and can be bold even in the face of judgment:

1John 4:17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. 1John 4:18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. 1John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us.

 

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Sounds outrageous, even blasphemous? Remember, this was not our idea; it was GOD’s. It is HIM who first loved us, who foreknew us, and predestined us to be as HE is (Romans 8:29).

As you get into this Christmas season, I urge you to awaken to this season and rejoice everlasting the glory of CHRIST that HE has willingly shared with all who believe in HIM; who live after the SPIRIT and not after the flesh. The perceptions that are formed in your mind about Christmas in light of this revelation will bring you to an even greater appreciation of GOD and HIS love for you and all men. Christmas then will cease to be a temporal joy, an end of year treat; but the continual and never ending banquet of glory that heaven rejoices and that you should perceive and rejoice.

Beloved, this season of light is not some on-coming glorious post-anything event. It is here, it is the mystery

 

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of godliness, it is CHRIST in you the hope of glory (Colossians 1:26). Do not waste heavens grace pondering at when GOD will conclude HIS work and reign with us. Awake to the fact that HE has finished HIS work and all that remains is for you to enter HIS rest.

You feel miserable because you are alone this Christmas? You are disappointed because you haven’t got what you desired? You are afraid what this Christmas will come to because you have been threatened with eviction or dismissal or whatever? Fear not, you are in a season of light. Do not live life caught up on any advantage or even disadvantage that pertains to your material disposition. All that is vanity; the real deal is in you. This Christmas, rise above the vain and religious celebrations going on and discover the light that has been shining right in you.

That light sets you with CHRIST above every advantage or disadvantage that pertains in this world. It ranks you as a king and priest, a son of the HIGHEST, a marvel of

 

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angels, the very light of the world. Perceiving this inheritance makes you richer than any gift any man could ever give you. The one that gains the real meaning of Christmas gains a gift that outclasses every material wonder on this earth or anywhere else; the richness gained in awakening to the light of glory that is in you is the very riches of glory that defines the eternal and omnipotent worth of GOD Almighty. Think about it: HE was willing to give up heaven for you to awaken to this perception. | 254 

So this Christmas, drink or no drink, bite or no bite, free or prisoner, master or slave, gift or no gift, get into the party of glory that this season has been hosting since CHRIST came. Wake up to who you are, wake up to your royal divine essence as the very image and likeness of GOD; celebrate CHRIST who has made this clearly possible from the very beginning.

 

 

You can be sure that no material gain you ever got or you could ever get on Christmas is sufficient to make you be who GOD has already made you to be. Perceiving who HE has made you to be, perceiving the light that HE has planted inside of you, the light that HE sent into the world is the greatest Christmas gift of all.

Truly:

Isaiah 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined. Isaiah 9:3 Thou hast multiplied the nation, and increased the joy: they joy before thee according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil.

Peace on earth, goodwill to all men; A MERRY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

 

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