A True Christmas Message from Pastor Arnold

Pastor Ralph “Yankee” Arnold

Calvary Community Church of Tampa

December 2019

Greetings from our family to yours,

                      

In the Old Testament, the LORD gave Israel 7 Feast Days that were memorials to remind the people of coming events dealing with the Messiah. There are no commands for his children today to celebrate any of these feast days except when we partake of the Lord’s Supper as we look back to the events surrounding the Passover. I don’t believe the Lord is offended when we voluntarily choose to celebrate His birth and Resurrection.

The Son

Isaiah 9:6-7 (KJV)

6  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, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

7  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 justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Psalm 2:7-8 (KJV)

7  I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

8  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.

Proverbs 30:4 (KJV)

4  Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son's name, if thou canst tell?

Micah 5:2-4 (KJV)

2  But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

3  Therefore will he give them up, until the time that she which travaileth hath brought forth: then the remnant of his brethren shall return unto the children of Israel.

4  And he shall stand and feed in the strength of the LORD, in the majesty of the name of the LORD his God; and they shall abide: for now shall he be great unto the ends of the earth.

Zechariah 9:9 (KJV)

9  Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass. 

  

The Messiah to be a light to the Gentiles

Isaiah 42:6 (KJV)

6  I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;

Isaiah 11:10 (KJV)

10  And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.

Isaiah 49:5-6 (KJV)

5  And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength.

6  And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.

Time of Messiah’s Coming

Daniel 9:25-26 (KJV)

25  Know therefore and understand, that from the going forth of the commandment to restore and to build Jerusalem unto the Messiah the Prince shall be seven weeks, and threescore and two weeks: the street shall be built again, and the wall, even in troublous times.

26  And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: and the people of the prince that shall come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and the end thereof shall be with a flood, and unto the end of the war desolations are determined.

Messiah was to come and be cut off before the destruction of the 2^nd Temple, which was destroyed by the Roman Titus, in 70 A.D.

The Messiah Not To Remain In the Grave

Psalm 16:9-10 (KJV)

9  Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope.

10  For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Zechariah 12:9-10 (KJV)

9  And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

10  And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.

John 3:16 (KJV)
¹⁶  For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

In John 3:16, the Lord promised two things that were sure to happen if we believe that he died to pay for our sins. ONE was that I would not perish (go to Hell), and TWO was that I would have Eternal Life the moment I believe that God gave his Son for me. Isn’t God good? Yes, and he’s good all the time.

Sincerely yours,

Yankee and Betty Arnold

Yankee@YankeeArnold.com