Luke 2:13-14
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
I need to make a statement and to those who have a ear to hear and a eye to see let them hear the truth of God’s word and let the truth bring transformation and change so that the lie is revealed and stripped of its power, so that partial truth can be brought to accountability and destroyed in the life of the child of God
They that have a ear to hear and a eye to see let them see that the doctrine that so many of Gods children adhere to is not working and allow him to see why it is not working
For the most part the sick are not being healed
The lame are not walking, the blind are not seeing and the deaf are not hearing
The child of God does not walk free from condemnation and guilt. They do not walk in the abundance and worthiness as a partaker of the glory of Christ,
They do not know the privilege and honor that is associated with the place of being born again.
And the reason is that these things are not taking place in the lives of Gods people is because of what they believe.
Hear the word of God in Mark 16:17-18
And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues;
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.
The word of God tells us that these signs shall follow them that believe, so if you believe right, if what you are believing is the truth of God’s word then when you pray, whatsoever you ask for in the name of Jesus the Father will give it to you.
And we as children of God should be seeing the results and the fruit of the truth that we believe.
But that is not reality in the life of the majority of God’s children
Why?
Because as a man so thinks in his heart so he is
Prov 23:7
For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee.
Here is revelation,
The way that you are is because of the way that you think. I am amazed at the group of Gods people who do not like the way that they are and yet they do not realize that the change that they desire to take place in there lives is not about changing there actions but about changing there minds, their thinking.
Now look at Luke 2:8-14 again
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
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.
And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
To most people these scriptures are associated with a specific time of the year and the tragedy is that we do not understand the truth that is really being proclaimed to the world and to the child of God.
Most people believe that this scripture is proclaiming peace and goodwill among men, most people believe that the angels are proclaiming peace and goodwill among men on the earth because Christ is being born, and that Christ was coming to bring peace among men.
That is a false hood being taught by religion.
And allow me to make one further statement, for the most part this scripture is used only to bring forth a mood and the mood that the church is trying to produce is goodwill and peace around Christmas time
So let’s find truth because truth will make you free
Matt 10:34-37
Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword.
The words of Christ are very plain, if you think that I have come to send peace on the earth,
It is not peace that I bring to this earth but a sword
I have not come to end wars and rumors of wars
I have not come to end divisions and strife and separations among men
I have not come to bring peace but a sword
VERSE 35
For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household.
He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Luke 12:49-53
I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled?
But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!
Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division:
For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three.
The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.
Religion teaches that Christ came to bring peace among people and that is not true
It is true that peace is a benefit of accepting Christ as your Savior, it is true that if you accept the Prince of Peace as your Savior it allows you to turn the other cheek, it allows you to walk in the presence of peace in the midst of turmoil and persecution and allows you to walk in love like you have never experienced before.
So yes there is a tremendous amount of peace that has come as a by product to them who have accepted Christ as there Savior and Lord but Christ did not come to this earth to bring peace among men.
So what is the message that the angels are bringing forth
Luke 2:14
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
The message that is being proclaimed by the angels is Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men
And the message is from God
This is God proclaiming to man that his wrath is to be satisfied
His judgment is to be appeased
That His relationship with his creation man is being brought to a place of peace and goodwill.
Hear me
Before the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ the relationship that God had with man his creation with the exception of a few who had entered into intimacy was wrath,
Wrath was the dominate relationship.
The reason that the relationship between God and man was about wrath was because of sin and rebellion, it was because sin and rebellion lived and reigned within the lives of men and because of sin that relationship was about wrath and fear.
Very few people have grasped the revelation between the Old Testament and the New Testament
In the Old Testament the wrath and the judgment of God
In the New Testament the grace and mercy of God
In the New Testament peace and goodwill has been established between God and man.
The conflict has ended
Christ ended the conflict between God and man
Jesus brought forth peace,
The wrath of God was satisfied with the crucifixion of the Son of God.
Isa 53:8-11
He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied : by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied
God is satisfied
And the church today is still proclaiming and teaching that God is still angry
That the wrath of God is still present concerning our sins and our transgressions
They still think that there is a conflict
They still think that God is unsatisfied; they still think that God is angry
They still view Him as a God who is vengeful, who is jealous and who still brings forth punishment and judgment to His creation
They still think that God is a vengeful and jealous God that brings forth punishment and judgment to His creation.
Preachers are preaching and the children of God are believing that the hurricanes and the tsunamis, the fires and the droughts, the tornadoes are all coming from God
The multitudes of babies and children who are being destroyed in all of these disasters are the wrath of God.
That all of the devastation that is taking place world wide is the wrath of God coming upon a godless world
There are preachers teaching that the judgments and the wrath of God are coming upon America because of her sins, there are people who believe that the 9-11 attack on the twin towers was God lifting his mercy and grace and His judgments’ have begun.
There are people who are literally interceding for the evilness of America and they believe that they are standing in the gap to turn away the wrath of God
They believe America is doomed, they believe God is holding America over hell by a slim thread
They believe that America is close to being turned over for the destruction of the devil
They pray
They fast
They intercede and they do it all according to Old Testament mentality.
The message of the New Testament is peace goodwill towards man from God
The conflict has ended
God has been satisfied and Christ has a bride
The angels in the book of Luke understood the message that they were giving
That Christ came to redeem us, that Christ came to buy back the relationship that existed between the creator and his creation that existed in the Garden of Eden
The angels understood that Christ came to pay the price
To stop the wrath of God because of sin and the New Testament church ought to be proclaiming the to good to be true news that the Lord Jesus Christ has paid the price and you are not going to get what you really deserve
The price has been paid and God is not angry
He is satisfied and has extended to you mercy and grace and desires intimacy with you through his Son
For the most part this is not the message that is being preached by the church
Rom 2:4
Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
What is it that according to the word of God leads to repentance; it is the goodness of God, the riches of His goodness, the riches of His long suffering, His forbearance.
This is the message of the angels
Christ has changed how God deals with his creation
2 Cor 5:17-18
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
Who has reconciled us to himself by Christ?
The word reconcile means to bring back into friendship after estrangement, after separation, to bring back into harmony, to establish intimacy.
He has reconciled us to himself through the Lord Jesus Christ
2 Cor 5:18
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
He has given unto us the ministry of friendliness, of bringing people back into harmony with God
I need to say this
God is not mad at you and Christians struggle with this
Allow me to go even one step farther, God is not upset or mad at the unbeliever either
God is not upset with America and he is not going to judge America at least not until the Great Tribulation
And some one is going to say I do not believe that you just said that
You do not believe that America is corrupt; you do not believe that America is evil; you do not believe that America is an abomination
Yes I do believe those things, I believe that America is just as corrupt as Sodom and Gomorra was but I do not believe that God is going to judge America for her sins
I used to preach that if God does not judge America He would have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorra
But let me tell you something
If God does judge America he will have to apologize to Jesus
Why?
Because Jesus took the wrath of God for man
In penalty, in judgment, in sickness, in deliverance, in forgiveness, in every aspect and God was satisfied
Jesus came and fulfilled the law
This is the message of the angels
Glory to God in the highest
The conflict has ended
The anger and the wrath of God has been satisfied
There is peace and goodwill between God and man
For unto you this day a Savior as been born
I need to address this
2 Cor 5:18
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;
All men are not reconciled to God but God is reconciled to all man, He is friendly towards all men.
Why? Because Christ hung between heaven and hell on an old rugged cross and reconciled us back to God.
We who were estranged were brought back into fellowship and all that remains for that fellowship to become fruitful is to believe through grace by faith and to confess that he is Lord
The conflict has ended and God is satisfied.