"A Christmas Carol." Text: "Look Unto Me and Be Ye Saved." Isaiah 45: 22 The most read story at Christmas time outside of the nativity events is Charles Dickens’s, “A Christmas Carol.” Dickens tells the tale of an old, bitter miser called Ebenezer Scrooge. In the story Scrooge experiences a powerful change in his life over the course of one evening. The narrative begins on Christmas Eve, seven years to the day after the death of Scrooge’s business associate, Jacob Marley. Scrooge and his clerk Bob Cratchit are at work in the counting-house, working in the cold. Scrooge's nephew Fred comes in to wish his uncle a, "Merry Christmas" and invites him to Christmas dinner the next day. He is dismissed by Scrooge with, "Bah! Humbug!" Shortly after two "portly gentlemen," collecting charitable donations for the poor, but they too are dismissed by Scrooge. At the end of the workday Scrooge grudgingly allows Cratchit to take Christmas Day off, but tells him as he heads out the door that he better be early to work the following day. That night as Scrooge lay in his bed in his cold house, he was visited by three spirits, the ghost of Christmas past, of Christmas present and Christmas future. A: Christmas Past. Scrooge was led on a journey into some of the happiest and saddest moments of Scrooge's past. This included the mistreatment of his father towards him, the loss of a great love sacrificed for his devotion to business, and the death of his sister. These were painful memories for him to bear. Just as Scrooge was reminded of his past, every man and women needs to have come to a point in their lives when they are confronted with their life and their past is revealed to them. For the sinner the past can haunt them; for the Christian it can be forgiven never to bother them again. At this Christmas time is there anything in your past that you are holding onto that needs to be forgiven or dealt with? If you are not a Christian, your past is alienating you from God. B: Christmas Present. Christmas Present shows Scrooge the meager Christmas celebrations of the Cratchit family, the sweet nature of their crippled son, Tiny Tim, and a possible early death for the child. Furthermore, he sees the hope this family has for him in that he will change from his miserliness. However, one particular phrase in this section of Dickens’ narrative stands out. As the Ghost of Christmas Present appears to Scrooge, he says, “I am the Ghost of Christmas Present, look upon me.” God spoke those words too! Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God! (Isaiah 45:22). You are faced with the reality of the present. God does not intend to leave you wrestling with the conviction of our past, for in the midst of the scars of a sinful life, there stands a tree upon which the light of world, Jesus Christ, was crucified upon for the sins of the world. The call goes out from it, “Look unto Me.” Today is Christmas Present for God extends to men, women, boys and girls the great gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, His Son. Should you believe in Christ, confess and repent of your of your past sin you will know the central person of the Christmas narrative, Jesus Christ, present in your life. C: Christmas Future. In this vision, Scrooge encounters a grim specter much more frightening than the other spirits. He sees the Cratchit family bereft of Tiny Tim, and has a vision of his own lonely death. There he witnesses the cold reactions of the people around him after his passing. Without explicitly being said, Scrooge can avoid his own fate, and that of Tiny Tim but only if he changes. For the sinner, the future looks gloomy. Alternatively, for the Christian the future looks bright, with numerous blessings for all eternity. You can avoid the fate of a lost eternity by reaching out and accepting Jesus, who was born to save. You can know the reason for this Christmas celebration as the Forgiver of your past, the Reconciler of your present, and your Hope for the future. In true Christmas spirit, Charles Dickens ends his book with a happy ending, for Scrooge is seen to change his life and revert back to the generous, kind-hearted soul he was in his youth before the death of his sister. Like Ebenezer Scrooge, you too can experience a radical change in your life! . If you would like spiritual counsel and feel you would like to talk to our pastor then click HERE to e-mail Rev. Stewart, or HERE for Pastor Mander. Written for this website by Pastor Mark Mander. Due to be updated: January Archived Messages. 16/09/07 The New Mind and the New Man. 11/02/07 Holiness to the Lord. 25/11/06 The Bridegroom is coming. 14/06/06 The Border Land of Fulness. 10/04/06 Worship or Waste? 22/10/05 A harvest romance. 11/09/05 An effective evangelist. 08/05/05 A Day of Trouble. 01/03/05 A Growing Church. 24/12/04 Christmas Message. 18/09/04 The Three-fold Inheritance. 23/05/04 Christ Our Life. 30/01/04 Being Faithful. 27/12/03 Advent Prediction. 11/10/03 Watchman - Guilty or Guiltless? 14/05/03 An epoch making day. 20/04/03 All hail the risen Lord. 22/03/03 Heart Cry for Revival. 02/01/03 The Church of the Open Door. 02/12/02 The River of Blessing. 01/09/02 The Revelation of the River. 04/05/02 The Greatest Watershed in History. 29/01/02 Knowing and doing the Will of God. 22/11/01 Things Which Cannot Be Shaken. 07/07/01 The Soulwinner's conflict 24/04/01 The Divine Dividend 17/03/01 The Move That Made The Difference 10/01/01 Marching On In The Will of God 15/12/00 Christmas Message 07/10/00 The Inheritance of Divine Fullness (2) 15/09/00 The Inheritance of Divine Fullness (1) 28/07/00 Prerequisites To Divine Fullness (4) 15/06/00 Prerequisites To Divine Fullness (3) 07/05/00 Prerequisites To Divine Fullness (2) 09/04/00 Prerequisites To Divine Fullness (1) 22/04/00 Easter Message