Matthew 2:16-18

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another Christmas Celebration. Glory be to God Almighty for keeping us alive, well and safe to celebrate once again the birth of our King, our Lord Jesus Christ.

 

In this year’s Christmas message, we will briefly examine one of the actions of the three wise men and one of the actions of Herod the maniac. Our text today tells us that when King Herod learned that the three wise men ignored his devilish demand that the wise men go back to him on their way back from visiting the young child Jesus, he was furious and the madness in him came out in full force. The Bible says that he ordered “...and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under…” Matt 2:16. Think about, for a minute, the heartlessness of this monster known as King Herod. Anybody who harms and hurts children in any way and for any reason has no soul and has no humanity.

 

Can you see how far Satan and his minions can go to stop humanity from being saved by Christ Jesus? There would not be a Christmas celebration if Satan had succeeded in killing the infant Jesus. And there wouldn't be salvation for you and I either. Herod thought he could kill the infant Jesus by slaughtering all children under two years old in Bethlehem and the surrounding areas. But God stopped him in his tracks. He failed! May Satan always fail in your life in Jesus name. From that time till now some people have made a lot of efforts to cancel Christmas. Will they succeed? No! The Gospel of Jesus Christ will continue to be preached. Souls are going to be continuously saved. We will continue to celebrate the birth of the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

 

Why did Herod fail? This brings us to one of the actions of the three wise men. In Matthew 2:12, “And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.” They took a different route back home. Please do not go back to Herod in any way, shape or form. Take a different route. Herod's intentions are not good. The wise men listened to God. Are you listening to God? Avoid the part that will cause you harm or cause harm to the body of Christ or any body entirely. As you celebrate Jesus Christ, who is our salvation, do not go back to Herod, the world and Satan. They will mess up your Christmas, in short, your Christian faith. Herod is up - to - no - good! The prophet Jeremiah prophesied about what Herod was going to do in Jeremiah 31:15 “Thus saith the Lord ; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not”. Imagine how all those families felt as King Herod, the mad man, murdered their children because he thought Jesus Christ was his rival. Satan wants to be the king of your life. Do not allow him. 

 

If you continue to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, He will always lead you to Jesus Christ who says, “...I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me (John 14:6)”. May the celebration of Christ's birthday remind you of your own spiritual birth made possible by the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Tell somebody Merry Christmas . By the way, on December 3, 1992, the first text message ever sent was in the United Kingdom by a 22-year old young engineer named Neill Pepworth. He sent it to Richard Jarvis who was on that particular day and at that time attending a Christmas office party. The text read- ‘Merry Christmas!’ Let your message today to everyone be “Merry Christmas!”. Merry Christmas!

 

Yours in His Vineyard,

Ernest Godfrey