There is really nothing of any spiritual value or significance about Christmas anymore, and this mentality is taking root and growing stronger every year. We face what Paul prophesied in his writings: Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition (II Thessalonians 2:3). Spiritual darkness is growing stronger in our society every day. It’s obvious for anyone to see, and many people are troubled by it.

Two thousand years ago, Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. The true meaning of Christmas starts with the celebration of His birth, but there is so much more to be received from Christmas.

Both Christians and sinners alike will go to church at Christmastime and acknowledge the holy event. They’ll sing carols about it and listen to the minister talk about the Nativity story. They may even watch a children’s play about it; but once Christmas is over, they move on with their lives. The meaning of Christmas is long forgotten until the next December.

The True Meaning of Christmas

Unfortunately, most everything about Christmas in our society today is what people have made it to be. When God sent Jesus into the world, it was not so people could have a big socializing time with food, gifts, bright lights and Santa Claus. Also, God did not intend for His Only Begotten Son’s birthday to be celebrated only one day a year. He wanted Christmas to live inside people and become a part of them.

The true meaning of Christmas and all that it represents are to be a part of those who accept it for what it really is. That’s why it’s vitally important to understand Christmas as God understands it. Then the true spirit of Christmas will live within you and manifest through you every day. Examine yourself today and find out what Christmas represents to you. Do you understand the true meaning of it? Is it a part of your thinking, your personality and your lifestyle?

Let’s examine the Christmas story in God’s Word to get a better understanding of it from God’s perspective. There are seven things Christmas should represent to every true child of God. These things should live within you and manifest through your life every day just as they manifested on that first Christmas.

Jesus Brought Divine Love

First and foremost, Christmas represents divine love. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, [the first and greatest gift of Christmas] that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life (John 3:16). God loved humanity even though they had sinned against Him, disgraced themselves and were worthy of eternal damnation in His eyes.

To redeem humanity from the bondage of sin, God used all His divine love to offer the most precious, valuable gift He and Heaven could afford—His Only Begotten Son. God gave His best to those who were not worthy of His Son. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins (I John 4:9,10).

God paid a high price for our redemption and eternal life; and Jesus, in great, divine love, volunteered to give His life. Who gave himself a ransom for all (I Timothy 2:6). Jesus was under no obligation to die for us, and His Father didn’t make Him do it. Jesus volunteered. He laid aside His power and glory in Heaven to enter into a sin-cursed world where His archenemy, Satan, rules. The devil is the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2), and he is holding the human race in sin’s captivity.

Jesus Became a Man

Jesus didn’t enter into this hostile environment in power and glory but in a body of flesh with all of its weaknesses and vulnerabilities. He got hungry and thirsty just as we do. He felt pain, sorrow and distress and was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). In divine love, Jesus even subjected Himself unto death; and that is the love children of God are to possess today.

Paul tells us that in the eyes of God, we are nothing without divine love. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing (I Corinthians 13:1-3). It doesn’t matter what you think of yourself. All that matters is what God thinks of you.

The Bible says, My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth (I John 3:18). Do you demonstrate this divine love by being ready and willing to obey the Lord and sacrifice for souls as God sacrificed His Son and as Jesus sacrificed Himself? God demonstrated that kind of love when He sent Jesus into the world, and Jesus demonstrated that kind of love when He left Heaven and came to Earth to die on a Cross for our sins.

Jesus Brought Salvation

The second point is that Christmas represents forgiveness and salvation—those two go together as one. And she [the Virgin Mary] shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins (Matthew 1:21). Jesus had to become a man so He could be our Redeemer and save us from our sins. Divine blood flowed in the veins of His human body, and that blood was spilled on the Cross as a sacrifice for you and me.

Only by the power in Jesus’ divine blood can a person be forgiven of all their sins and receive eternal life. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins (Hebrews 10:4). But when Jesus came, He declared, For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:28). Is the divine blood of Jesus a part of you?

You can’t be born again and become a child of God by going to church, giving offerings or doing charitable deeds. You cannot earn your place in God’s Kingdom or pray your way into Heaven. The Bible says, For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8,9). No one deserves Heaven, and no one can boast about their place in the family of God. It’s only by God’s amazing grace which sent Jesus into the world that the gift of salvation is made available to humanity.

Confess from Your Heart

Only by faith can you receive the greatest of all Christmas gifts. By faith, you must believe the sacrifice that Jesus made can forgive you and deliver you from sin. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation (Romans 10:9,10).

Prayer and confession with your mouth are not enough, and that’s where a lot of Christians have been deceived. By faith, you must believe in your heart unto God’s holiness and righteousness. Many people who have gone to church and made a confession with their mouth only confessed from the neck up. It never got to their heart, so the power in the blood of Jesus could not cleanse them of sin and make them new. It could not put within them the power to live a holy and righteous life because that only comes from the heart. Many Christians today don’t believe a person can live free from sin because the power of the blood sacrifice never got into their heart.

Is Christmas a part of you? Is the divine blood of Jesus in your heart? If so, the same love and forgiveness Jesus displayed to us who were worthy of death and eternal damnation will manifest through you to others. Jesus said, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you (Matthew 5:44). That is the love divinity manifested to the fallen human race, and that is the love that is to be a part of a child of God.

Jesus Brought Divine Blood

What does Christmas represent? Number three is the purity and holiness of God, and Christ’s conception and birth are symbolic of that. The Virgin Mary was overshadowed by the Holy Ghost, and she conceived and brought forth the Christ Child in a miraculous way. And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. 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 1:26,27,35).

Afterward, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him [Joseph] 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. Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS (Matthew 1:20,24,25).

Jesus’ divine blood came from His Heavenly Father; and by the power of that blood, a person is born again, made spiritually brand new and able to live a holy, pure and sin-free life before God. But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy (I Peter 1:15,16). God will never require you to do something that He won’t enable you to do if you will believe and yield to Him. Do your actions and lifestyle demonstrate God’s holiness and purity day after day?

Live in God’s Divine Will

The fourth thing Christmas represents is the divine will of God. The plan of redemption was conceived by God. It was His divine will for Jesus to come into this world as a man and pay the price for the redemption of humanity on the Cross. It was God’s divine will for the Virgin Mary to conceive a child by the Holy Ghost and bring forth Jesus. It was God’s divine will for Joseph to take Mary to be his wife under extremely unusual circumstances and for them to care for and watch out for His Son in a sin-cursed world where Satan ruled.

It was God’s divine will for the shepherds to leave their flocks to go find Jesus and worship Him. It was God’s divine will for the three wise men to travel what is believed to be about two years to get to Jesus and worship Him and present Him gifts. All of those things demonstrated the perfect will of God.

The Bible instructs, And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God (Romans 12:2). If Christmas is a part of you, your life will demonstrate the perfect will of God; but for that to happen, your thought life has to change.

It’s not enough to be born again and baptized in the Holy Ghost; your mind has to change. It cannot be conformed to or influenced by the ways of the world; it has to be transformed by divinity. Many Christians stop before their mind is transformed, so they never grow strong in the Lord. Instead, they become weak and backslide.

If your mind is never transformed, you will not be capable of demonstrating God’s will in your life. Your mind must be transformed from your old ways of thinking into a Christ-like mind so you will be willing and able to pay whatever price is required to do God’s will.

Jesus Was Humble

What does Christmas represent? Number five is humility and servitude. Again, these two attributes go together. You can’t be a true servant of God without His humility.

Jesus did not come into this world as the King of kings and Lord of lords that He is; He came as a servant. He did not come to be served by humanity but to serve others the greatness of God. Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:6-8). There was not a worse death He could have suffered.

Only by having the mind of Christ will you bow to the whole will of God; so if you are lacking in that mind, you are not walking in the divine will of God. You may be at times, but it takes a complete change of thinking for anyone to perform God’s whole will.

When the angel Gabriel revealed the will of God to Mary, she declared without any struggle or hesitation, Behold the handmaid [servant] of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word (Luke 1:38). From that day forward, her whole future was drastically altered by God’s plan.

When Jesus walked on Earth, He humbly yielded to the will of God saying, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God (Hebrews 10:9). To fulfill God’s plan of redemption, Jesus brought divine blood in His human body and willingly spilled it on the Cross. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Hebrews 10:10). Do you possess that Christmas spirit of humility and servitude before God and man? You must if you are to be a blessing to God’s Kingdom.

Mary and Joseph Sacrificed

Number six: Christmas represents sacrifice. Every event surrounding the story of Christmas that set the plan of redemption into motion involved sacrifice. Every person involved made sacrifices, or the Nativity story would not have been what it was.

The Heavenly Father sacrificed His Only Begotten Son, and Jesus sacrificed Himself. Mary sacrificed much to be the mother of the Son of God. She was a young virgin engaged to be married. Israel at that time had strict laws and strong morals; yet suddenly, Mary finds herself with child without being married. When as his [Jesus’] mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost (Matthew 1:18).

Who was going to believe she was with child by the Holy Ghost? Would Joseph believe her, or would he make a public example of her? Would he shame her before the community; or worse yet, would he put her to death according to the Law? All of those things were possibilities when Mary humbly bowed and said, “Be it unto me according to thy word.”

Both Joseph and Mary sacrificed at the time of Jesus’ birth. They traveled about ninety miles on foot from Nazareth to Bethlehem when she was about ready to deliver a child. Then there was no place for them to stay, so Jesus was born in a barn with animals. And she [Mary] brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn (Luke 2:7).

Later, King Herod was trying to kill baby Jesus, so Mary and Joseph had to leave their homeland and flee to Egypt. They left their culture and everything they knew and loved to go into a foreign land and live there for years. Together, they were responsible to care for, nurture and protect little Jesus, the Savior of the world.

They Sacrificed for Jesus

The shepherds had to sacrifice when the angels announced Jesus’ birth. Their livelihood was protecting the sheep of the owner those sheep belonged to; and if something happened to any of those sheep, they would be responsible. Keep in mind that two thousand years ago, wild animals roamed everywhere; yet when the shepherds heard of Jesus’ birth, they left all the sheep behind in the middle of the night to go and seek Jesus.

The three wise men were wise indeed, yet some in that day counted them as utter fools. They sacrificed family and friends, the comforts of home, their culture and the safety of their homeland to journey afar off through foreign lands to reach their destination—Jesus. Think how much money they had to spend traveling to and from Bethlehem. Was it all they had?—We don’t know.

Those wise men went through all of that to follow a miracle star to the place where Jesus was, and it sat over him. And, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was (Matthew 2:9). For that to happen, it could not have been a normal star way up in the sky billions of miles away. Those men were following a divine, miraculous manifestation of God, and probably the only thing they could identify it as was a star.

They gave Jesus expensive gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh; and that was a part of God’s plan. Those expensive gifts enabled Mary and Joseph to afford the cost of making the journey to Egypt and living there for many years until the death of King Herod.

Is the Christmas spirit of sacrifice a part of you? Is your life a living sacrifice unto God? I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service (Romans 12:1).

The Sacrificial Lamb

Finally, the seventh thing Christmas represents to God is suffering. Jesus was born to die for our sins. He is [was] despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief (Isaiah 53:3).

Baby Jesus being born in Bethlehem, wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger was not just a number of random, unfortunate events. It was all a part of God’s perfect plan.

Many rituals in the Law represented the coming of Jesus and what He would accomplish. Under the Law, the sacrifice for people’s sins was to be a male lamb of the first year; and it had to be perfect without blemish and deformity. Those sacrifices had to be made in the temple at Jerusalem, so all those who wanted forgiveness for their sins had to go to Jerusalem to make such a sacrifice for an atonement before God.

Down through the ages under the Law, all the sacrificial lambs were bred and raised around Bethlehem because it was just a few miles from Jerusalem. The shepherds who were responsible for breeding and raising the sacrificial lambs were ordained as priests, and they would carefully inspect each lamb that was born to see if it fit the criteria to be a sacrifice. If it did not qualify, it was soon released into its mother’s care.

If the lamb did qualify to become a sacrifice, the shepherds would swaddle it in linen and lay it in a manger for the first few hours after its birth. When an animal is first born, it kicks and thrashes trying to get up and walk. When it stumbles and falls, it gets up and tries again until it can stand. Swaddling the lambs would calm them down and prevent them from hurting themselves and being disqualified from becoming a sacrifice.

God’s redemption plan was perfect, and Jesus came in perfection. It was on purpose that the angels visited the shepherds in Bethlehem because God knew those shepherds would immediately recognize the ritual of the Law and understand what it meant for Jesus to be lying in a manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes. They then became great witnesses.

Children of God Will Suffer

Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed (I Peter 2:21-24). To all who will believe from the heart that Jesus is God’s sacrificial lamb, His sufferings and death bring freedom from sin, healing for the body and God’s righteousness and eternal life.

God suffered so much when He gave His Only Begotten Son as a sacrifice on the Cross. Jesus suffered when He volunteered to come to Earth and be that sacrifice. Jesus is our example of a true believer; but to follow Him, you must deny self and take up your cross for Christ. Your cross is not one you’re nailed to but one of servitude, sacrifice and enduring persecution as you stand for truth in the midst of a wicked and ungodly civilization.

Paul wrote, That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death (Philippians 3:10). Paul also wrote, Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (II Timothy 3:12). That is what the Bible says; so if you are a child of God today who is not suffering any persecution, you had better check your life. Are you standing for the Lord, or do you compromise in any way? When you live a life of truth, you will encounter persecution sooner or later from family, co-workers, neighbors or people you don’t even know.

Now you can see that God’s perspective of Christmas is much different than man’s perspective. Every child of God with Christmas in their heart will deny self and take up their cross to follow Jesus so others in the world can receive the same glorious gift of salvation. They will let the true meaning of Christmas live within their heart so they can be the kind of blessing to Christ and His Kingdom that He desires them to be.

Receive the Gift of Jesus

Friend reading this message today, is Jesus a part of you? Is the Christmas spirit manifesting through your life? Maybe you have never had the opportunity to receive Jesus, but I’m here to tell you that He’s God’s love gift to you. All you have to do to receive this powerful gift is to make a confession with your mouth; and more importantly, you must believe from your heart unto God’s righteousness and holiness.

If you’re ready to make your confession, pray with me right now and believe every word in your heart. Say, Oh, God. Save my soul. Forgive me for all of my sins. I am so sorry that I have failed you, but I have come home to serve you for the rest of my life. I believe there is power in the blood of Jesus that washes away all of my sins. Come into my heart, dear Jesus. Come into my heart. Amen. Friend, if you believed that prayer, Jesus is yours.

Receive Healing and Deliverance

With the gift of Jesus and His salvation come so many other gifts including the gift of the Holy Ghost and the gift of healing and deliverance for your body. Jesus said, And these signs shall follow them that believe…they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover (Mark 16:17,18).

Friend, let’s look to the Lord for you right now that you will receive the healing Jesus brought. Raise your hand as a point of contact as I pray: Heavenly Father, in the name of Jesus, we come before your throne of grace. We honor the gift of Jesus. By this gift, we receive so much from you; and that includes healing for the body. Lord, lay a healing hand upon each one. Let the healing virtue from the blood stripes of Jesus flow to each one to bring healing, deliverance and freedom from pain and suffering. God, set them free; and we will give you the honor, the praise and the glory in the blood name of Jesus. Amen. Friend, watch for every sign of improvement, and praise the Lord as He makes you whole.

If you don’t have the gift of the Holy Ghost, you need Him to guide you to Rapture ground. He brings power from On High. Start glorifying the Lord and lifting up praises to Jesus. Don’t stop until the Holy Ghost comes in and takes over your tongue and speaks in an unknown language. God bless you.