Recreated Through Christ’s Birth

Speaker: Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines

December 18, 2022

in Spritual Growth

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4th Sunday of Advent:
Readings: Isaiah 7:10-17
Romans 1:1-7
Matthew 1:18-25

As we approach Christmas, many of us are probably so consumed with activities that we have lost the true meaning of Christmas. Do we really think about what Christmas is? When it became known to man, we set aside this time for celebration. Nothing wrong with this, but have we put our emphasis on Christ? We claim we have moved forward and that we are so wise. But there will come that day when we will face God and He will ask us, “what have you done with what I gave you?” We read today that Mary was betrothed to Joseph but was already pregnant with child conceived in her womb by the Holy Spirit. Betrothal was a very important thing in Jewish Law. Joseph loved Mary so much, he wanted to lead Mary away properly. But an angel of the Lord told him in a dream that Mary’s pregnancy was of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was born to be a Savior. Yeshua was the name of the Christ Child. His main purpose was to destroy the works of the enemy.

In Genesis, we learned that the Holy Spirit even before creation was hovering over the earth. This same power was going to impregnate Mary, a human being. Christ was made flesh but was of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit involved in creation, was now involved in recreation. The Source of Truth is that God is King. The Holy Spirit was going to make sure that the enemy would no longer be the one to reign. In Christ was true love, compassion and mercy. He came in the purity of God. Christ came to reveal to us the truth and to restore us. We are still being deceived by the enemy today, but God’s love is more powerful. Christ came to demonstrate what God had given to us from the very beginning and to show us the real importance of being born again. Why then should our minds be dictated by what the world says instead of what Christ says? Ezekiel 37:The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’” In Hebrew, the word “breath” is the same as “spirit.” The breath of God is the Spirit of God. Hebrews 10:5 Therefore, when Christ came into the world, He said: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me.”

We live in the flesh but we should be in control. Who we are is our spirit. The flesh is just a housing.

Psalm 39:5 “You have made my days a mere handbreadth; the span of my years is as nothing before you. Everyone is but a breath, even those who seem secure.” God has created us to be like Him. We must bear in mind that greater is He in us than He who is in the world. Christmas brought hope to man. We should not be consumed with activities and lose the true significance of Christmas. God gave us His Spirit so that we should be in dominion over the flesh. We should have the ability to prove who He is and who we are in Him. Our spirit has to be the one in charge. It’s our task to recreate. We can do it because we have Emmanuel, God with us. Romans 1:4 and he was shown to be the Son of God when he was raised from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit. He is Jesus Christ our Lord.

Why are we able to celebrate Christmas? It’s only because of God. In Christmas, life has been given to us by God. The most important thing is that Christ came and gave us new life. This is recreation or being born again into a new life.