Hosanna Restoration Church

Have you ever considered that Christmas is really the celebration of that day when the rest that God promised came into the world in bodily form? Throughout the Old Testament there were examples of rest and deliverance, but Jesus came to give us permanent rest. Remember, He said that He was anointed to preach the acceptable year of the Lord. This fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 61.

Some recognized this right away. Simeon had been promised by God that he would see Him before he died and he did. Anna recognized him in the temple. Shepherds heard the news from an angelic choir. They saw Him and went away rejoicing. The wise men made a long journey with gifts for the new born King. The enemy wanted to kill Him right away.

Just as Israel lost sight of the promises so it is today. We can read of all that the Lord did for Israel and wonder how they could possibly forget, but what about us? We have the privilege of Christ dwelling in us and fail to see that He is everything we need. Remember, the rest He gives is not a temporary rest but it is in fact an eternal rest.

We actually have the authority to declare an end to the oppressor and we should be more than happy to do that. Verse 12 speaks of how the oppressor has weakened the nations. There is no doubt that our nation has been weakened. The murder of innocent children weakened our nation. When we began to fight that, the oppressor promoted increased tolerance for immorality and lifestyles that the Bible calls abominable. Now greed has been taken to a whole new level and respected people who were entrusted with billions of dollars are found to be nothing but thieves and con men. Oh yes, the nation has been weakened, but God has not! God is able to renew and restore in ways we cannot even imagine.

That day of deliverance is here right now for all who will believe. It has been ours all along, but it is up to us to access it. We can declare it, walk in it and experience it, or we can join the rest of the world and remain in fear, filled with sorrow, and all that the hard bondage offers us.

If we do choose to believe that the day has come, we will behold the glory of God. We will be like Israel watching the Red Sea part or the walls of Jericho come down. Most importantly others will see that God is true and that everything else is a lie. Then the greatest thing of all will happen. Multitudes will be drawn to our faithful God, and a harvest of souls will take place that we have heard about but could not really see how it would come about. If ever the fields were white and ready, this is one of those times. Enjoy the rest. Some will. Why not you?