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Among the many listed titles of Jesus contained in scripture, we do not find that of ‘doctor’ apart from this event. History tells us that He was and remains the ‘greatest physician’. Matthew 14:14, “And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.” A physician in Greek culture was one with skills and abilities to heal and make whole someone who was diseased or injured. Luke 4:40, “Now when the sun was setting, all they that had any sick with divers diseases brought them unto him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.”

A recent study of the gospels highlighted that, along with preaching the Kingdom of God, one of the main activities undertaken by Jesus was that of healing. The extent of His desire to heal was beyond understanding. Matthew 4:23, “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of sickness and all manner of disease among the people.”

His quote above, however, has the underlying assumption of true healing through His future victory on the cross. Natural healing miracles were a sign to the Jewish nation of His power and of fulfilling the words of the prophets. The power of His victory on the cross, however provides for the healing of all nations from the human condition. Psalm 67:2, “That thy way may be known upon earth, Thy saving health among all nations.”

Sin is an inherited disease from which humanity has no immunity, and which will result in death both of the body and soul. The ONLY healing lies in Jesus Christ and the cure He has set in place allowing mankind to be reborn with a new, divine nature. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

This healing by grace through faith, is accessible to all but we must go to the only physician who has the authority to dispense such a cure. The understanding of the value of the healing power of Grace to enable us to put on a new man should cause continual Thanksgiving in our heart.

We are reminded of when Jesus healed the ten who were stricken with leprosy. Leprosy can be likened to the sin which affects and corrupts our body, often resulting in ostracising from all that is good. Although He healed ten, only one valued what had been done to him declaring, Luke 17:15-16, “And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.”

Let us at all times value this healing from the Lord so that we may also experience the Lord’s response, Verse 19, “And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.”

Advent is not just about the first coming of Jesus but also about looking forward to his second coming to make all things new. The biblical message for Advent is one of hope, peace, joy, and love, centered on the anticipation of Jesus’ birth and the promise of salvation. Scripture verses like Isaiah 40:31,” But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” (renewed strength for those who wait for the Lord), Luke 2:10-12 (the angel’s announcement of good news of great joy), and John 1:9 “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world”. (Christ as the light of the world) all point to the hopeful waiting for Christ and the joy His coming brings. Advent is a time to reflect on God’s faithfulness and to prepare our hearts for the celebration of Jesus’ arrival.

Message of Hope                           

Advent is a time of patient, hopeful waiting for God’s promises to be fulfilled through Jesus. Psalm 27:14 “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.” Romans 15:13 “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

Messages of Joy

The coming of Jesus is a source of great joy that provides strength in difficult times. 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.” Philippians 4:4: “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice”.

Messages of peace

The arrival of the Saviour brings peace, and the season is a call to live with peace in our hearts as we prepare for Christ. Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” Zephaniah 3:17: “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing”.

Message of Love

The greatest love is shown in God sending His Son, becoming poor so that believers could be rich through Him 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich”. Advent also calls for a response of love and obedience, like Mary’s.  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.”  Isaiah 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”.

It is a season of waiting with patient expectation for the fulfillment of God’s promises and the coming of Christ again.

When we celebrate Christmas today, we are not celebrating, as many people and unfortunately also more and more Christians would like to explain to us, the birth of an outstanding human being who then gained the favour of God through His way of life. No, when we celebrate Christmas, we are celebrating that the one who created everything (verse 4) Himself became human. The Creator, who is the only one who could make a valid claim to ownership of everything that exists, is born as a helpless newborn human being, completely dependent on the care of Mary and Joseph.

Can we believe that? It is not surprising that many people do not succeed. This is not just a sign of our times. John also wrote about this in verse 11 ” He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” How is it with us? Alongside all the joy and celebration, Christmas always poses the question: “Do we believe that?” Is the child who was born 2000 years ago the Christ, the Creator, the Son of God who became human for us so that we can all become children of God through him? John also writes about this in verse 12 ” But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”

The question remains: “What is the benefit of becoming God’s children?” It is a story that could be the basis for popular fantasy novels of today: “God creates a world of light in which everything is perfect: “And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good”. Genesis 1-31. We know that it has not remained that way. Satan came with the power of sin and from then on, step by step, destroyed God’s creation and turned light into darkness. The wonderful order of God, designed to last forever, is systematically thrown out of balance. Love turns into hate, mercilessness, lies and envy spread and we humans, no matter who we are or what we do, become jealous of one another and inevitably become entangled in our sins. What God created as eternal becomes transient because it no longer corresponds to the divine order. Who can resist this? Is God’s wonderful creation lost?

Here we are again at Christmas. God has shown that He will not give up on His creation and His children – us humans – even if it means the price for Him to become human in Jesus Himself. He sends His son into the darkness of this world and the darkness cannot gain power over Him. “And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.” Verse 5.  Neither the malice and treachery of a child-murdering Herod, nor the disloyalty and denial of His best friends and disciples (in the hours when He needed them most) and even the most powerful weapon of evil, the Death could not gain power over Jesus. The previously invincible power of darkness and death has been broken for all time by the “light” of Jesus Christ. Paul therefore also calls Jesus the first fruits who has cleared the way for all who believe in Him (1 Corinthians 15:20). Jesus himself assured that the darkness will have no power over those who listen to Him: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me; and I give to them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28).

So, what do we celebrate at Christmas? A significant historical event or an event that changes our whole life? Christmas is the festival of love because Jesus’ love for us humans has overcome the hatred of this world. Jesus, God the Son, has the part in God’s creation of creating everything according to the will of the Father. But Jesus is also the essence of the triune God that changes everything. To this day, all receive, who believe in Jesus, as God’s children, we have the strength and ability to counter the hatred of this world, despite all injustice, with a sign of love, because Jesus himself changes them, makes them into a new person. Paul also calls this the new creation (Galatians 6:15). With the birth of Jesus, the Kingdom of God has visibly returned to our world. The seemingly inevitable cycle of cause and effect, of the escalation of guilt and violence, is interrupted by the love and forgiveness of this new creation.

It is a true reason to celebrate “every year” that through the birth of Jesus we can be part of this new creation, the coming and expanding Kingdom of God. We just have to decide whether we accept Jesus to become God’s children.

We see there a very striking parable. When we understand how this wedding is to take place it begins to make sense. We have been given a lamp within our life. That lamp is our soul. The faith that we believe that this event will happen. It is now up to us to provide oil for that lamp to be in readiness, for we do not know when the call will go forth. That oil is the righteousness of Christ. We in this life have to work and in faith receive the gift of righteousness so that it will provide oil for our lamp. Scripture tells us there are three ways that we can obtain this righteousness. It tells us that we can obtain if we overcome the temptation of sin, and we know that is very difficult. We may do that, but then we could easily fall in another direction. That righteousness first has to be made pure. Our Lord spoke of this when He said that He was the vine and we are the branches, and we must bring forth fruit so that it can be purged. To purge under the Jewish law was a ceremony involving water and wood, involving hyssop and involving sacrifice, and that means has been taken over by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He has all those elements. He can purge our fruit and make it acceptable to go before God.

The second way the Scripture tells us is that if we do good deeds for others not looking for a reward or a pat on the back. Those good deeds then can be purged and can become as a righteousness which is acceptable before God.

The third and most important way, because if we had to rely on those two none of us would have sufficient oil, the most important way is through the Blood of the Lamb.  Our Lord said that this would be for the remission of our sins, the sins would be taken away and replaced with His righteousness, and that righteousness then can be placed in our storehouse. Where is this stored for us? Our Lord said that we store up our treasures in heaven where moth and rust cannot corrupt. We therefore see that when this is purged it is taken up to heaven and stored there for us. That is why the virgins, they were all virgins which meant they were all believers, that is why the five wise virgins had their oil, and the five unwise did not and they asked them to give them some. They said that they would not. That does not seem like a Christian act. The reason being that they could not give something to the others that was now stored by God for their use. They took their oil and lit their lamps and they were able to find their way unto the bridegroom who was being sent forth.

The others had to rush and try to now fill their lamps, but we have heard that it was too late when they received that oil, for when they arrived at the door it was closed. The marriage or consummation had begun. Under a Jewish wedding that consummation took place so that the bridegroom could ensure that his bride was indeed a virgin. We must indeed be as those wise virgins. We must live our life relying on the grace of Christ, making this preparation through those means of gaining righteousness so that we will be seen as wise virgins. When that was proven the bride went before the father of the bridegroom who gave them a blessing, and what a blessing we have heard. What a blessing to be united with Christ, and to be as Him, and to receive of the blessings of a loving Heavenly Father.

The father of the bridegroom then bestowed a special gift on the bride and groom. We know that gift will be the Kingdom of God, a thousand years of peace on this earth where there will be no death, there will be no sorrow, there will be no sickness, there will be no want. We will be fed unto the living waters by the Heavenly Father, and through the Lamb of God we will obtain our light and we will be as He is, spirit first and body second, and also those who have died in the Lord and are prepared will also be partakers of this great blessing. There will be no bar put on it. What a sight. What a wonderful wedding stands before us. What a wonderful blessing. Blessed and holy are they who partake of this first resurrection for on them the second death holds no fear. What a wonderful thing to believe in through our faith in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, and after the kingdom period eternal life in the highest of heavens

There is no choice in our life if we stop and think about. There is no choice in trying to gain the world. There is no choice in thinking that we can go it alone and be part of this great blessing. There really is no choice. We have to give ourselves into the hands of the Lord. We have to make Him our faith. We have to accept His guidance and teaching through the Holy Spirit. We have to accept His free gift of grace in the righteousness that He can give unto us and in receiving all of this we will be the ones who will be blessed. The greatest blessing that we can look forward to is when He returns that we can kneel before Him and personally thank Him for this wonderful blessing of grace that He has given to the world.