Making Space for God's Kingdom This Christmas Season

The Question That Changes Everything

Two thousand years ago, Mary and Joseph searched desperately for a room in Bethlehem. The Bible tells us in Luke 2:7 that Mary "laid him in a manger because there was no private room for him in the inn."

The Lord of lords, the King of Kings, came into the world without a room. And here's what breaks my heart—2,000 years later, we still haven't made room for Him.

As we rush through this Christmas season, packing gifts, planning meals, and checking off our holiday to-do lists, I have to ask you: Have you made room for Christ in your Christmas?

The Time Management Myth We All Believe

Business studies show that the average person wastes about 30 hours per week on unproductive activities. That's not because we don't have time—it's because we're not managing ourselves properly.

We waste approximately:

• 7 hours doing tasks below our skill level
• 4 hours on social media and texting
• 3 hours talking to people who can't help us
• 2 hours in unproductive workplace conversations

The issue isn't time management—it's you management. Can you manage yourself properly? Because a bad life is just a bunch of bad decisions compounded over time. Bad days become bad weeks, bad weeks become bad months, and before you know it, you've lived a mismanaged life.

Jesus Didn't Come for Religion, He Came for the Kingdom

Let me stun some of you right now: Jesus was not religious.

I know some of your mouths haven't picked up yet, so let me walk you through this. Jesus came to restore a relationship and reestablish His kingdom. The religious people were the ones who killed Him. He didn't come for religion—He came for relationship and to establish God's kingdom on earth.

What Jesus Actually Preached About

When you study the gospels, you'll discover Jesus talked constantly about one thing: the kingdom. Not denominations. Not religious traditions. The kingdom of God.

Look at what Jesus said:

Mark 1:15 - "The appointed period of time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the good news."

Matthew 9:35 - "Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages...proclaiming the good news of the Gospel of the kingdom."

When Jesus taught His disciples to pray, what did He tell them? "Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:9-10).

The first thing He told them to pray for was the kingdom coming!

Understanding the Kingdom Changes Everything

God is a King. Every king wants to expand their territory, so they send governors to represent them. God sent Adam to earth and a garden to be the king of that territory—to expand heaven to earth.

When Adam failed, Jesus came to reestablish what Adam didn't do. Jesus came for His kingdom to come—not religion.

Most wars throughout history have been religious wars. But Jesus never came for religion. He came for relationship and kingdom.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. We spend all this time worrying about Baptist, Pentecostal, Church of God, Holy Spirit driven—where is that in the Bible? The Bible speaks about the kingdom.

The Keys to the Kingdom

In Matthew 16:19, Jesus makes an incredible promise: "I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven."

Do you know what keys provide? Access. Not to a religion, but to the kingdom.

Jesus is saying, "Adam fumbled the keys, so I came here to drop them off to you." Now you have access to the kingdom because you have the keys.

And here's what's powerful: Do you know what a king says is law? So when Jesus gives you the keys, whatever you declare properly on earth becomes law—if you understand who you are.

Your Words Have Kingdom Authority

To be clear, your words don't have power if they're not the echo of God's heart. John 15:7 says, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall ask what you desire, and it shall be done."

When you're speaking the will of God, it's going to come to pass because:

• Isaiah 55:11 says God's word shall not return void but shall accomplish what He sent it to do
• Numbers 23:19 says God is not a man that He should lie
• John 1:1 says in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God

When you get that Word lined up with the will of God, stuff starts to shake. The Word has power to fulfill itself.

Drawing Near: The Secret to Kingdom Living

James 4:8 reveals something powerful: "Come close to God with a contrite heart and He will come close to you."

Wait—that scripture says I can make God move! As you draw near to Him, He draws near to you.

If Jesus Christ, the Son of God, found time to pray—if God in flesh made time for prayer—what excuse do you have?

Mark 1:35 tells us, "Early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up and left the house and went out to a secluded place and was praying there."

The Morning Matters

Psalm 5:3 says, "In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; in the morning I will prepare a prayer and a sacrifice for You, and I will watch and wait."

Every single day, God is taking attendance. He's asking, "Are you present? Are you accounted for?"

Think about it—if your kids came into your house, walked past you, or left the house without saying anything to you, you'd have a problem with that, right? Yet we do that with God every single day. We get up, do our whole day, and say nothing to God.

How do you think God looks at that? The Bible says if we don't praise Him, the trees will praise Him. The birds will praise Him. The rocks will cry out.

The Shunammite Woman's Secret: Making Room for God

In 2 Kings 4, there's a wealthy Shunammite woman who recognized Elijah as a holy man. She invited him to eat at her home regularly. Then she told her husband, "I want to build a home addition—I want to make a room with a bed, table, chair, and lamp so he can stay here whenever he comes to town."

After staying there for a season, Elijah asked his servant Gehazi, "She has done a lot for us. What must we do for her?"

Remember, God is righteous—you will not do something for the kingdom and the kingdom won't do something for you. You cannot do something for God and God not honor it.

When Gehazi discovered she had no son, Elijah prophesied, "This time next year, you'll be holding a baby boy."

The Revelation That Changes Everything

Here's the revelation: When she made room in her home, God made room in her womb.

What was considered a dead zone—her barren womb—God brought to life. All because she kept making room for God to do something. She kept expanding God's space in her life.

Once you get close to God, you want more of God. The Bible says, "Oh taste and see that the Lord is good." As you give more of your life to God, God starts to make things happen for you—things you never thought possible.

Making Room in Dead Places

If there's any area in your life that you have lacked right now, get God in that space. Make room for God.

There's a story in the Bible where people needed water. The man of God told them, "Dig ditches." They said, "We don't need ditches, we need water!" He said, "Dig ditches—you're making room for your rain."

When you come to God with requests, God will give you an action that doesn't make sense. But you're making room for His provision.

The widow who had only a little oil was told to gather all the containers she could find. Why? She was making room for God's multiplication.

Right now, you've got to make room. Walk by faith. When you have a need, you've got to make space for God to move.

Seek First the Kingdom

Matthew 6:33 is the key to everything: "Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

The time you think you're losing in prayer, God will expand. The deals you're chasing after, God will bring to you. When you lock in on seeking Him first, stuff will seek you.

It's like a heat-seeking missile—it's coming to you. The Bible says the blessings of God will chase you down.

Favor is better than work. I'll take favor any day over work. Sometimes you're working for something, but when you let favor hit your life, you don't have to work for it—God will just give it to you.

The world system is under a curse. When Adam sinned, God said, "By the sweat of your brow you will work." That's a curse. Working harder doesn't mean you make more money.

I'm not against work, but when work gets ahead of God, you're in trouble.

This Christmas: What Are You Packing?

As you prepare for Christmas, I know you're packing up gifts. You want to make sure you have gifts for little Johnny and little Suzy. You're getting the socks and underwear (because apparently that's what every daddy needs for Christmas). You're getting the ties, the watches, the lights, the decorations, the tree.

You're packing all these things for Christmas, organizing everything with checklists and bullet points. It's amazing how organized we are when we go on a trip—everything lined up, all prepared.

But have you packed Christ in this Christmas?

With all the stuff you've got in the bag, have you made room in your time for Him?

The Choice Is Yours

Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to Him; trust also in Him and He shall bring it to pass."

Believer, trust Him when you can't touch Him. Trust Him when you can't track Him. Trust Him when you can't trail Him.

He has a plan for you.

Romans 10:9 says if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth, you shall be saved. John 14:6 says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through the Son."

Jesus died that you may have access to His kingdom. Some of you today may be in a backslidden condition—you know what to do, but you're not doing what you know.

Change begins with you. If you want something different, do something different.

The word "repent" means to change direction. Change where you're going. Change what you're doing.

A Prayer for Making Room

Father God, thank You for Your Son Jesus who died for me to give me access to Your kingdom. Lord, forgive me of my sins, my lack of knowledge, my rebellion.

Holy Spirit, come into my life. Guide me, lead me, fill me. Jesus, I surrender my will and I surrender my way. I make You Lord of my life.

Help me to make room for You—not just at Christmas, but every single day. Help me to seek first Your kingdom, knowing that when I make room for You, You will fill the dead places in my life with Your abundant blessing.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Reflection Questions

1. What areas of your life have you not made room for God?
2. How much time do you spend pursuing the kingdom versus religious activities?
3. What "dead zones" in your life need God's touch this Christmas?
4. Are you managing your time or is your time managing you?
5. What does it mean practically for you to "seek first the kingdom"?

Take Action This Week

• Set aside specific time each morning to pray before you start your day
• Identify one "dead zone" in your life and intentionally make room for God there
• Study what Jesus said about the kingdom in the gospels
• Evaluate where you're wasting time and redirect it toward kingdom priorities
• Make a decision: Will Christ be in your Christmas this year?

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