A Christmas Prayer For 2015: O Come, O Come, Immanuel (Veni, Veni Emmanuel)

“A Christmas Prayer for 2015: O Come, O Come, Immanuel”

www.pmchurch.tv

• The Gathering Dark
  • James Nelson Black: “As I have looked back across the ruins and landmarks of antiquity, I have been stunned by the parallels between those societies and our own. For most of us the destruction of Carthage, the rise of the Greek city-states, and the Fall of Rome are mere ghosts of the past, history lessons long forgotten. And such things as the capture of Constantinople, the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the collapse of the kingdoms of France and Spain, and the slow withering decline of the British Empire are much less clear and less memorable. . . . But this is the legitimate background of our own place in history, [thus] it is vital that we reconsider the nature of life in those earlier times. For within those eras and movements are the seeds of the troubles we face today.” (When Nations Die 3 www.leaderu.com/common/nationsdie.html)

Social decay:

• Crisis of lawlessness
• Loss of economic discipline
• Rising bureaucracy

Cultural decay:

• Decline of education
• Weakening of cultural foundations
• Loss of respect for tradition
• Increase in materialism

Moral decay:

• Rise in immorality
• Decay of religious belief
• Devaluing of human life

• The Piercing Light
  • Matthew 4:16-17—The world was   when Christ came the first time.
  • Revelation 18:1-3—The world will be when Christ comes the second time.
  • Ezekiel 43:1, 2—But as it was the first time so it will be the second time—the Light of will pierce the darkness of the world.
  • Malachi 4:2—The of Righteousness will rise with healing in His beams.
  • Isaiah 60:1, 2—And He will pierce the darkness through His glory that will shine upon His .
  • Matthew 5:14-16—So we must let the light of His shine us.
  • Christ’s Object Lessons:

• “It is the darkness of misapprehension of that is enshrouding the world. [People] are losing their knowledge of His character.” (415)
• “The last rays of merciful light, the last message of mercy to be given to the world, is a revelation of His character of .” (415)
• “The children of God are to manifest His glory. In own life and character they are to reveal what the grace of God has done for them.” (415-416)
• “Thus in the night of spiritual darkness God’s glory is to shine forth through His in lifting up the bowed down and comforting those that mourn.” (417)
• “Practical work will have far more than mere sermonizing. We are to give food to the hungry, clothing to the naked, and shelter to the homeless.” (417)
• “And we are called to do more than this. The wants of the soul, only the of Christ can satisfy. If Christ is abiding in us, our hearts will be full of divine sympathy. The sealed fountains of earnest, Christlike will be unsealed.” (417)
• “The whole earth, wrapped as it is in the darkness of sin, and sorrow, and pain, is to be lighted with the knowledge of God’s . From no sect, rank, or class of people is the light shining from heaven’s throne to be excluded. . . . The power of hell has been overcome.” (418)

“Go light your world!”