LUKE
2:7-14 And she 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.
And there were in the same country shepherds
abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, see, the
angel of the Lord came on them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about
them: and they were sore afraid.
And the angel said to them, Fear not: for,
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.
For to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the
Lord. And this shall be a sign to you; You shall find the babe wrapped in
swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the
highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.
In
This year’s Christmas message we are going to focus on the word PEACE which is
found in the songs of praise sang by a group of military personal, I mean
soldiers who were the first to sing Christmas carol. I can gladly say that this
group of Soldiers originated the Christmas carol that is been imitated and sang
during Christmas today all over the world where Christianity is practiced.
The
questions are, where do these Soldiers came from? Whom do they accompany? What were they
singing about, and why would soldiers be involved in singing Christmas carol?
These
soldiers came from God, these can be found in the bible record of event in Luke
chapter 2 verse 13, the International Standard Version of the original
translation clearly shows that the multitude of heaven hosts as stated in the
King James version is actually referring to Military personal. They are not
only identified based on their military outfit and organizational formation but
the writer can distinguish them from the one Angel who came to announce the
good news to the Shepherds at night.
The
soldiers do not come to make the announcement that was the duty of the Angel.
But they later joined the Angel and started singing the first carol on
Christmas. What where they singing about. They said “Glory to God in the
highest and Peace on Earth and good will to men”. Their song contains a message
to us on earth about the significant of Peace at Christmas, the birth of
Christ. So why would soldiers be involved in singing Christmas carol when they
should be planning and strategizing for war.
The
Truth is that the “Child” Jesus Christ who has just been born is their
Commander in Chief and His mission on earth is all about Peace and that is why
the word peace was loudly mentioned in the wordings of their song. “Peace on
earth” they said. Christ Himself was referred to by Isaiah the prophet as
Prince of Peace. “For unto us a child is born unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon his shoulder
and his name shall be called wonderful counselor, the mighty God, The
everlasting Father, The Prince of peace, of the increase of his government and
peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and upon his Kingdom to
order it and to establish it with judgment and with Justices from henceforth
even forever the zeal of the Lord of host will perform this.” Isaiah 9:6 – 7.
In
His beatitude Jesus Christ pronounced blessings on all those who are involved
in making of peace in times of crisis and he referred to them as God’s
children. Matt 5:9 “Blessed are the
peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God”.
In
Christ’s parting admonitions to his followers He emphasized on the importance
He attached to this particular aspect of His mission on Earth which is “Peace”
Hear what He says in the gospel according to St. John Chapter 14:27 and Chapter
16:33
“Peace
I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, not as the world give, give I unto you, let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be afraid”.
“These
things I have spoken into you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but
be of good cheers I have overcome the world”.
Many
years after Christ departure from this earth, the Holy Spirit still went ahead
to inspire one of the greatest writers of the New Testament epistles to
continue to bring the need for peaceful coexistent to the fore and to emphasize
on it’s indispensability in our practice of the Christian faith. This could be
found in the book of Hebrews Chapter 12:14
“Follow
peace with all men and holiness without which no man will see God.”
I
would therefore love to put it to you my dearly beloved listeners that the
Christian message is a Message of peace both at Christmas and even after the
CHRISTMAS.
And
at no time in recent history than now is this Christmas carol message of peace
relevant in our Nation as sang by the heavenly soldiers for the birth of Jesus
Christ, their Commander in Chief.
Let
us therefore meditate on the following thoughts as this message is brought to a
close.
A. A Follower of Jesus Christ is a Peace
Ambassador. We are called to make peace at all times under any circumstance.
B.
A Peace diplomat therefore cannot be seen to be partisan, he/she must be
neutral at all times.
C.
A. Peace maker cannot force his/her personal opinion on those he/she is called
upon to mediate.
D.
Peace and violence are not relative. Where one is present the other must be
absent.
E.
Believer must be careful to avoid situation whereby one feels that peace is
realizable only when our wishes and commands are adhered to.
F.
Respect, Acceptance, Tolerance, Consideration, Forgiveness, Love and Compromise
are the words that work magic and facilitate peace and reconciliation in a
situation of crisis.
Finally,
I will love to conclude this message by reading a quotation from Pastor Scibeli
of the Greater Grace World outreach, USA in his Christmas message to Believers
around the world he says and I quote.
“Christmas is about Jesus, the infinite
Eternal one becoming perfect man. That was amazing humility and grace for the
infinite to become an infant. So many
celebrate Christmas but do not celebrate Jesus Christ’s life and work, “God with
us”. We reflect that not only God is with us but that He became one of us in
the incarnation, in Isaiah 9:6-7. Unto us a child is born unto us a son is
given. Unto us, are such powerful words, all for us, a child and a Son is
given. That is grace. The true celebration of Christmas is Christ in you the
hope of glory. Col.1:27”.
As
I conclude my message I want to use this medium to pray for his Excellence
Shelk Professor, Alhaji , Dr. Yahaya, A.
J. J. Jammeh, Babili Mansa, The Commander in chief and President of the Republic of The Gambia. We
pray for his well being and that of his family members. We pray for the Vice
President and all cabinet Ministers for Gods wisdom and protection over their
lives as they continue to serve this nation.
We
extend our prayers to the heads all political parties in the Gambia, we pray
for their well being and that of the members of their family.
We
pray that the Almighty God will touch the hearts and minds of all the political
actors to continue to ensure that peace prevail in the nation.
And
on behalf of the Born Again churches here in the Gambia known in Caucus Block
as Gospel Evangelical, Pentecostal, Charismatic, The Reformed Evangelical
Churches and on behalf of our Ministry King Jesus Ministries Lamin village, I
want to say to all that May the Peace that Christ Brings at Christmas be with
you all. Have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year in Advance.
Written
and Presented by His Lordship:
The
Right Rev. (Dr.) Elijah Dennis Ejila. PhD
Presiding
Bishop
King
Jesus Ministries Inc.
Lamin
Village, Kombo North, WCR, The Gambia
9877271,
Email ejilakings@yahoo.com
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