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Although we didn’t have services this past weekend – due to forecatsted icy roads – I didn’t want the season to pass without saying a few more important things about who Jesus is and why we celebrate him.

If there was one thing I could impart from my heart about Jesus this Christmas, it’s this:

Jesus is the Relentless Lover.

Have you ever sat down and really thought about the why of Christmas? Have you ever asked Jesus:

Why did you come in the way you came?
Why didn’t you just come as a conquering King?
Why don’t you just get it over with?
Why did you go through what you did to save us?

Do we really understand that God is actually in an all out pursuit of us? The thought of God RELENTLESSLY pursuing us out of love is foreign to most people. Much of this has to do with the fact that early in the Church’s history, it developed the misconception that God was distant and detached, unaffected by the goings on of this world. This belief, was heavily influenced by the Greek philosopher, Plato, who held that God can never change, therefore He cannot be moved emotionally. This is both bad philosophy and bad theology.

Everything we read in the Bible indicates that God is moved emotionally. Consider:

• Matthew 9:36: “But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” (NKJ, emphasis mine).
• The book of Hosea, which relates among other things the story of this prophet and his wife Gomer. Hosea spends his life pursuing a wife who lives as a prostitute – a type and shadow of God relentlessly pursuing us in spite of our sins!
• The three parables in Luke 15: “The Lost Sheep”; “The Lost Coin” & “The Lost Son”

CHRISTMAS IS THE STATEMENT THAT GOD WILL GO TO ANY EXTREME TO RESCUE YOU!

What does it say about a God who will lower himself to become human?
What does it say about a God who spent His life in pursuit of the outcasts of society?
What does it say about a God who will allow Himself to be tortured and put on a cross?
What does it say about a God who will exchange His forgiveness for your sins?

God has this relentless pursuit:

He has gone and will go to any extreme imaginable to rescue you, to find you, to have a relationship with you!

He’s a relentless lover! And here’s the thing that blows my mind: When you finally respond to him, he celebrates you! (Luke 15:7,10, 22-24) Yes, God Almighty celebrates YOU!

We’ve made Christmas all about the holidays, Santa Clause, presents, etc., when Christmas is really about “Relentless Love” – the kind of love God has for us that will never give up regardless of our own rejection. (Read Romans 8:31-39)

All we have to do is believe and respond to his love! That’s it! Won’t you open up to him right now? He so longs to have you know him and experience his love in a deep and amazing way!

This past weekend, Victory @ Hamilton Mill Campus Pastor Johnson Bowie and I swapped campuses and preached to the other’s congregation – something we’ll probably do from time to time – and it was great! I’m so excited to see what God is doing with our new satellite campus. And, Johnson gave a great message back here at Victory Atlanta. It’s a word that we, particularly those of us in the American Church, need to take hold of and put into practice. We will never be the church God intended otherwise. He’s a sample of what he said:

As a Father, our God hears the cries of the hurting and responds with deliverance, love and affection to those who need it the most. As we Celebrate Jesus this month, we can’t ignore the Good News of what we are celebrating in just a few days…that God so loved the world that he gave his only son…that he was born in a manger…that God looked down on the world and, hearing the cries and the pain and the torment, put on flesh and became Emmanuel – God with Us.

In Luke 4, Jesus declared his mission: “to preach good news to the poor…to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” We have to pick the key words out of this scripture… POOR, PRISONERS, BLIND, OPPRESSED. This is why He came. This is His mission statement. Jesus didn’t come to start a political movement, a prayer movement, a monastic movement or a theology movement. Ultimately, Jesus came for messed up people! Jesus came for the rejects and the sinners and the outcasts and the unacceptable and the unwise of this world. His mission was to seek and to save that which was lost. Jesus came for people like YOU and ME! And, he left us with the same mission.

Jesus didn’t hang out with the religious leaders too much. Instead, he was always hanging out with the sinners, with the sick, with the tax collectors, with the people religious people wouldn’t go near. Jesus came to be a friend of sinners. And, if we’re really going to Celebrate Jesus, we need to be a friend of sinners also. Remember, we don’t go to a birthday party to give everybody else presents. We go to the birthday party to celebrate the one whose birthday it is. And, as we are Celebrating Jesus during this season, it’s all about us giving Him the gift of being PASSIONATE about the things that He is passionate about. So, if He is a friend of sinners… then my gift to Him is to go and be a friend of sinners also.

What does this look like practically? Well, Johnson had some great ideas, but you’ll have to watch/listen to it online. And, I encourage you to do so – repeatedly, if necessary – until Jesus’ love for sinners permeates your heart. This year, don’t miss the whole point of Christmas. Let’s get out there and really Celebrate Jesus!

May your Christmas be full of the joy that comes from letting Christ’s love flow through you to everyone around you in authentic and practical ways!

Read Luke 4:16-21. Jesus has always been a champion for the underdog. Wherever you see people that are being oppressed you will see Jesus championing their cause. From being born in a lowly cattle stall, to growing up in a lower income neighborhood and family, to his most famous teachings parables – e.g., The Good Samaritan, The Rich Fool, The Unjust Steward, The Sermon on the Mount, etc. – it’s clear that Jesus was a Champion for the Poor.

What does that mean to us?

Well, although it’s true that we’ve recently been experiencing a bad economy, and many of us have suffered significant economic challenges as a result, we really need to understand something that doesn’t come readily to mind in the midst of our “trials.” Consider these figures:

• According to the site, Globalrichlist.com, if you make at least:
  • $25,000 per year, you’re among the top 10% wealthiest people in the world – 90% of the world’s population are poorer than you
  • $50,000 per year, you’re among the top 1% wealthiest people in the world – 99% are poorer than you
  • $100,000 per year, you’re among the top .5% wealthiest people in the world – 99.5% are poorer than you
• According to Globalissues.org:
  • 80% of the world’s population live on less than $10 per day
  • 50% live on less than $2.50 per day
  • 1.3 billion live on less than $1 per day
  • The top 20% of world’s richest consume 76.6% of worlds goods
  • 60% of the worlds middle consume 21.9% of worlds goods
  • The bottom 20% worlds poorest consume 1.5 % of worlds goods
  • 1.1 billion people have inadequate access to clean water
  • 2.6 billion people have inadequate access to basic sanitation
  • 1.8 billion people have access to an average of 20 liters of water a day per person, while in America, each of us use an average of 50 liters per day just to flush our toilets and consume over 600 liters of water a day (The highest usage of any country in world.)
  • Of the world’s 2.2 billion children:
  • 1 billion live in poverty
  • 10.6 million die on average every year before age 5
  • 1.4 million die each year from lack of access to safe drinking water
  • 2.2 million die each year because they are not immunized
• Jeffrey Sachs (The End of Poverty) and William Easterly (The White Man’s Burden), calculated the cost to achieve universal access to basic social services in all developing countries. They came up with some startling figures:
  • Providing basic education worldwide would cost $6 billion
  • Providing clean water and sanitation would cost $9 billion
  • Providing basic health and nutrition would cost $13 billion
  • Ending world hunger would cost $195 billion (according to the U.N)
• Yet EACH YEAR in America, we spend:
  • $50 billion on cosmetics ($7.2 billion on cosmetic surgery)
  • $33 billion on weight loss products
  • $12 billion on video rentals
  • $16.2 billion on pet food (41 billion on pets)
  • $79 billion on cigarettes
  • $100 billion on alcohol
  • $82 billion on clothing
  • $100 billion on consumer electronics
  • $148.6 billion on fast food
  • $600 billion on new and used cars
  • $500 billion on Christmas
  • $910 billion on gambling
  • For a grand total of $4.6 TRILLION spent by Americans each year…thousands of times more than it would cost to solve world hunger and poverty.

Clearly, as Americans it’s possible – pretty likely, I’d say – to have a skewed perspective. Which is why, when we start thinking about truly celebrating Jesus and living our lives in such a way that we do the things that bring JOY to him, we seriously need to reconsider our outlook on life and how we handle all the blessings God’s poured out upon us!

Let me have you consider one other passage of Scripture. Read Matthew 25:31-46. This passage contains one of the most straightforward teachings of Jesus concerning His heart for the poor. The truth is that we’re either a sheep or a goat. It all depends on whether we give to the “least of these” in his name.

So, how do we Celebrate Jesus at Christmastime? BY BEING A CHAMPION FOR THE POOR!

The next question is: How are YOU going to Celebrate Jesus? Let me encourage you to watch the following videos, and then, if you haven’t already, prayerfully consider giving towards our Christmas Gift to the World.

christmas final from Victory Videos on Vimeo.

Listen to or watch this challenging and perspective-altering message online here.

October 8, 2004 is the date when I purchased my first Bible. I was 18 years old and pregnant with my first child. And, although I didn’t know it at first, God blessed me with this child so that He could save my life! Prior to coming to Christ, I was a very troubled/broken child. I was raised in a Buddhist home by my grandmother. I saw little of my mother because she worked multiple jobs to financially provide for me. My father left when I was 2. I knew very little about Christianity but recall praying to God as a little girl in my moments of pain.

From about the ages of 13-19, my life consisted of drugs, alcohol and sex. I stole, I hustled, I lied, and I cheated. I did what I wanted to do when I wanted to do it! I had no boundaries or limits. I failed all my classes and was kicked out of school. In an attempt to graduate, I was transferred to an alternative school. Shortly thereafter, I became pregnant and eventually dropped out. My life was going absolutely nowhere.

I faced the pressures of abortion up until I was about 6 months pregnant from my family. But I knew that my child’s life was more important than anyone’s opinion of me. It was while this life was growing inside me, that I began to see life differently. For the first time ever, I realized that I had a purpose. Life was no longer about LANA. I knew I needed to change because I wanted to give my child a better life than mine.

March 2008, I began consistently coming to Victory. The day that I decided to come was due to the full acceptance of being a single mother. I told myself that I needed to surround my child with as many positive people as I could because my child would grow up with voids that I couldn’t fill. My son’s father was my high school sweet heart, we were inseparable but the birth of our child separated us.

Having my child and coming to Victory was the best decisions I could have made. These events helped introduced me to Christ. I was a sinner who came from nothing and I have accomplished so much through Him. I was told by many people that my life would be ruined because of my child. But the exact opposite happened! God placed my son in my life so I could find Him! He saved me from my self-destructive ways. Never in my life did I imagine going to college and I am. Never in my dreams did I think I would have a leadership position in a church and I do. I can do all things through Him! I give Him all praise and honor because without Him I am nothing! ~ Lana

Hey, while you’re here, don’t forget to take a few moments to Share Your Story about what God has done in your life as a part of Victory! There are so many people who need to be encouraged by what God has done in and through your life. Even seemingly simple things can make a huge difference. Just click the Share Your Story link to get started!

Every year at Christmastime, we seek to set aside the clamor of our over-commercialized culture, to look beyond our own (all-too-often-selfish) wants and desires to the great needs of the world around us. As we remember that God gave us his best in the form of his son Jesus, we in turn, seek to give our best back to him by giving to the world.

This year, our Christmas Gift to the World will be directed to the furthest corners of the world…starting right in our own backyard.

Watch this video to find out all about it:

If you’d like to give towards our Christmas Gift to the World using our secure online giving link, click here.

We have a very exciting announcement to make. Take a look at this video featuring Pastor Dennis and Montell Jordan to find out what it is!

Dennis Rouse Montell Jordan Interview from Victory Videos on Vimeo.

Christmas is all about Jesus, right? So, I thought it would be fitting to focus on celebrating Jesus this month and what that really means for our lives. My goal is that we all come out of this series really understanding who Jesus was and what his life was all about. I’d like to start by looking at Jesus’ life from a different perspective. I want to lay a foundation by talking about him as The Subversive King.

Luke 1:52-53 records a prophecy given by Jesus’ mother Mary in which she talks about Jesus as the one who will turn the world upside down; a revolutionary who would subvert everything in society. This language concerning Christ was subversive, dangerous…the kind of talk that got you killed in Jesus’ day. In fact, because they firmly held to the belief that all power and authority belong to Jesus alone, thousands of first century Christians were slaughtered for their subversion of the Roman Empire.

Everything Jesus did went against the grain of the expectation of society. He refused to go the way of the world! And it’s with this fact in mind that I have to ask:

How do we celebrate the birthday of this countercultural, subversive king?

If we’re really honest, we have to admit (perhaps painfully) that at no time of the year is there a time of celebration as completely contrary to the way Jesus taught and modeled for us to live as is Christmas. Although you’d think we’d do more of the things that He wants us to do at this time of year, instead, a majority of us celebrate the values of our consumerist culture. In this, we have fallen for one of our enemy’s best traps. Now, there are millions of us spending billions of dollars on things we don’t need while billions of people around the world are struggling to eek out an existence without basic necessities like clean water, food or shelter. And all of this is being done in the name of the One who taught us to do exactly the opposite. So then, this begs the question:

How should we celebrate his birthday?

Well, at the very least, I think we should celebrate him just as we do anyone else – by celebrating the things about him that reflect who he is. If we really want to celebrate Jesus at Christmas, we should celebrate by upholding and doing the things that he would do in a Christmas season.

If we really want to honor Jesus, our focus can’t be about gathering presents, having parties or taking vacation. It’s about demonstrating the LOVE that he reflected to the world; to unleash his love on everyone he puts in our path, whether co-workers, neighbors, strangers, people of other races or people living in other countries. Celebrating Jesus means letting go of every offense, forgiving people, blessing anyone who has cursed you, doing good for those who can’t pay you back.

Are you feeling a bit uncomfortable right now? This is pretty countercultural, isn’t it? Downright subversive, I’d say. Yet, that’s what Jesus was really all about. So, my final question is this:

Will you accept the challenge to truly Celebrate Jesus this Christmas and go through the entire holiday season with an attitude and life that models radical love? It may not be easy, but the rewards – for you, for the whole world – are unfathomable!

Listen to or watch this dynamic and challenging message online here.

God has not intended for us to operate in a lifestyle of stress. He has equipped us with everything that we need to be successful, yet many times we continue to make our own individual efforts for success apart from his plan and purpose.

We must understand that work is a gift from God, whereas constant toiling is a part of the curse of sin. Too many of us are caught up in modern day humanism; trying to do our work in and of ourselves rather than relying on our faithful Father to enable us with all we need.

It is time for us to shift our attitude about how we view our work and how we spend our time. We are commanded to honor the Sabbath by choosing not to work one day out of seven. We are commanded to rest, yet so many times we value things or a certain level of income over God’s leading. When we don’t rest, we are telling God that we know better than him; but when we take the time to rest as commanded, we are making a bold statement that God will take care of us.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. (Exodus 20:8-11 NIV)

It is so easy to get caught up in the material things of this world or to be so concerned about our bank accounts that we take on more than we have been called to do. Matthew 11:28-30 reminds us that we are able to come to him with any and all our burdens and he will give us rest, even in the midst of our struggles. When we honor the Sabbath, we are telling God that we trust him with our finances, we depend on him to provide for us within our jobs, and we value his reasoning over our own thoughts and logic. This effort allows us to operate in obedience and give us the opportunity to witness his will and purpose for our lives.

Let me encourage you: during this typically hectic holiday season, don’t succumb to the pressure. Make sure you set aside time each day and each week to rest with God!

Listen to this past weekend’s sermon on this subject here.

(Thanks for your help  with this post, Lydia!)