Redemption Church Plano Texas

Messiah season 5 – we three kings

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Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Happy Messiah Season!

Welcome

to Redemption Church

We

have been singing the Christmas carol “We Three Kings” throughout
this series. There is one more verse, so let’s sing together one
more time.

We

three kings
of orient are, Bearing gifts we traverse afar

Field

and fountain, moor and mountain, Following yonder star.

Glorious

now behold Him arise: King and God and Sacrifice!

Hallelujah,

Hallelujah, Earth to Heav’n replies

Oh,

star of wonder, star of night, Star with royal beauty bright.

Westward

leading, still proceeding, Guide with thy perfect light.

MESSIAH
SEASON

Welcome.

This

is really our final week of our Messiah Season series.

In

this series we have been seeking to do more than keep Christ in
Christmas.

We

have been looking at the prophecies about God’s Anointed One,
the
Christ, the Messiah in the Old Testament
and seeing how they are
all fulfilled in Jesus.

Jesus

is the Messiah and that is what makes Christmas meaningful.

The

prophecies about the Messiah can be grouped into three categories,

and those are represented by the three gifts of the Magi. Let’s
review:

Gold

– the Messiah is a conquering king

Myrrh

– the Messiah is a suffering servant

Frankincense

– the Messiah is God with us

So,

we have been focusing a lot on the “Messiah” part of Messiah
Season.

But

if you don’t mind, I would like to spend a little time talking
about the second part:

SEASON

What

is a season? – a period of time

How

long is a season? – it varies

I

always think of the four seasons of the year: Winter, Spring, Summer,
Fall

ECCLESIASTES

3:1 NIV
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under
the heavens

There

are lots of other kinds of seasons:

“Holiday

Season”

Flu

Season

Sports

seasons: Football season, basketball season

Political

Season

Produce

– what’s in season

Fashion

– what’s hot this season

Season

of your favorite TV show

MESSIAH
SEASON

So,

what is “Messiah Season”? When does it start? When does it end?

Is

it the same as the “Christmas Season”?

NO.

We do Christmas wrong. Turn to someone…

How

long do you leave your Christmas decorations up?

How

long do you feel like you should be a little nicer because it’s
Christmas time?

Have

you been in the stores? How long does Christmas stuff stay on the
shelves?

We

tend to celebrate Christmas backwards.

We

have all our celebrations beforehand, and then it happens and we’re
on to the next thing.

Mary

and Joseph weren’t having parties up until Christmas Eve, then the
next day the shepherds and the wise men showed up to pose for a photo
op, and then they all went on with their lives. No!

Beforehand,

was a time of worry, and preparation, and anticipation.

Then

the Messiah arrived! Then it was time for celebration.

And

as people encountered the Messiah, their lives were changed.
They
didn’t go back to everyday life the next day.

Hopefully,

throughout this series you have come to realize that Jesus is the
only one who could be the Messiah. He met all
the qualifications. He fulfilled all the prophecies. He is the only
one who is King, servant, and God all at the same time.

If

we have entered into a season of recognizing and celebrating our
Messiah,
our lives shouldn’t go back to “normal”
afterward.
We shouldn’t move on when something else comes
along.

But

we can also lose our place in this season.
Jesus was the
suffering servant…
I know that He is coming back as the
conquering king…

So,

right now He must just be God. So I’ll pray and go to church…

No.

He is all three. ALWAYS.

He

is God with us. He hears you when you reach out to Him in prayer. He
is with you no matter what you are going through.

But

He is also the conquering king. He is the King of kings!
If he
is our Messiah, then we should live like He is our King.
We
should seek to build His kingdom.

Do

you live like you are a member of His kingdom,
or do you live
like you are part of the kingdom of this world?

And

He is the suffering servant. On the cross He bore the punishment of
the sins that we still commit today.

HEBREWS

6:8b NIV To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over
again and subjecting him to public disgrace.

But

just as Jesus suffered and came to be a servant, He also left us an
example to follow:

1

PETER 2:21 NIV
To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you
an example, that you should follow in his steps.

Do

you live to serve others?
Do you follow the King’s command
to love others as He loved you?

This

isn’t how we should be at a certain time in the year.
This is
who we are called to be all the time.
Messiah Season doesn’t
squeeze in between Thanksgiving and New Years.
We should be
living in Messiah Season as long as he is our Messiah.

We

are about to enter a new year and a new decade.
Can this year,
can this decade be a Messiah Season?

It

won’t be easy. This new year is an election year…
Can we
live in a way that shows we believe in a Messiah who is more
important and more powerful than anyone holding political office?
And
live in a way that shows we know we are called to love others even if
they have different opinions and beliefs than we do? Even if they
aren’t very nice to us?

MESSIAH
SEASON

But

here’s a question. What if Messiah Season isn’t a “when”?
What
if it is a “who”? What if it is you?

MATTHEW

5:13 NIV
“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its
saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for
anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.”

MESSIAH

SEASON

You

are the salt. You are Messiah’s seasoning. You are called to season
the world with the knowledge of the Messiah, by living out and
sharing your relationship with Him.

Salt

is used to prepare things and preserve things.
***MUSICIAN***
Through
your relationship with Jesus, by following his example of being a
servant, you help preserve the hope and love and faith of others.

You prepare the way for our Kings return by building his
kingdom in this world.

But

if lose that relationship; if you choose not to live like He is the
Messiah…
Then what? What are we good for?

But

Jesus is God with us. He can put His Spirit within us, to remind us
and to encourage us. To live out every season with Jesus as our
Messiah.

This

is the season to recognize and worship the true Messiah,
Jesus.
Christmas is over, but the Messiah still lives and
reigns!

You

are the Messiah Season. You are the salt and you are the light.
The
world needs you. As we prepare to enter this new year,
are you
willing to live out who Jesus has called you to be?

He

is with us. He is here now. Will you spend a few moments talking to
Him?

Ask

Him how you can better live out this season following Him as our
Messiah.
Ask Him to prepare you and us as Redemption Church so
seek Him and serve Him all the more in this coming year and
decade.
How can we be Messiah Season in the world around us?

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Redemption Church Plano TexasBy Redemption Church Plano Texas
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