Hey everybody, this is Pastor John Ewart from Inglewood
Baptist Church in Rocky Mount, NC Thank you so much for tuning
into our podcast. You're going to hear from God.
Today, as we share from His word.
About important issues facing your life that can guide you
according to the Bible. Well, Merry Christmas,
Inglewood. I just want you to know Paul.
Yes, Sir, I appreciate your spirit of humility and didn't
want to be too bright. No, I figured you, you're,
you're being humble and not as bright today.
So I appreciate that brother. God bless.
Love you, brother. Thank you.
If you hadn't been here last few weeks, that made no sense.
But listen, pray for Pastor Skyler.
He actually grew I'll this morning and I appreciate so much
our worship team just stepping up and leading us this morning.
Don't you appreciate them? Yeah, seriously, pray for
Skyler. A lot of folks out with there's
a stomach thing going around and a respiratory thing going
around. And so y'all come and give me
all big hugs and no, I hope that you're doing well.
Before we dive in, you can turn to Luke One.
Let me share just a couple of updates and a couple of prayer
requests. And I want to lead us in prayer.
Just remember so much when we see these baptisms, I just pray
we never grow weary of them. Amen.
It's such a wonderful thing to hear testimonies and seeing how
God's working in life. I know we're going to baptize
again next week as well and just so thankful for what God has
done. Remember, after this worship
time for church members, we're going to have our annual
business session that we have. And so I'll come back at the end
of the service and calls to order for you.
If you're our guest, you're more than welcome to go on and thank
you so much for being here. But our members, others will be
other members will be coming back in for that special
business session. It shouldn't last long, but it's
important as we vote on budget and deacons and, and some teams
and boards, etcetera, and also share some updates on some
things that God is doing. So it's wonderful and then just
appreciate that. Also, don't forget the happy
birthday Jesus offering. It's so exciting.
It's just flying away. But that offering, the offering
envelopes like that one all around the church building, I
pray that you'll give to that Time's running out.
So that goes to support some key mission projects as well as some
new partnerships for next year. So I pray that if you're, you
normally give to that, I pray that you will.
And if you haven't ever given before, I pray that you'll do
that this year before the end of the year.
So think about that offering. You can read about it in your
worship guide. Next Sunday, I'm going to be
preaching a special sermon. I don't know that I believe in a
life verse or not. I'm not opposed to the idea, but
all of Scripture gives life, right?
There's a few verses along the way that God has used in
dramatic and powerful ways in my life.
And there's a passage that God used in both my and Teresa's
life. And we'll be preaching out of
that next week. And I'm going to be sharing some
of my personal testimony. I've been asked to do that from
some of you. You've heard bits and pieces and
so I'm going to share a little bit more about that next Sunday.
So look forward to seeing you there as well.
So I wanted to give you an update on our friends overseas.
So at one point, our friends overseas had a February date to
go back to court. That's been moved now to January
9th. So pray for January 9th that our
friends will be able to go in front of the High Court and that
that ruling will be in their favor and that they can return
to some normalcy. In the meantime, training has
been happening. Leaders are being trained, God's
work still happening, the gospel still being shared.
Also, just pray with them. I can't share any details with
you, but the company that they are affiliated with is also
asking them to make some big decisions about some things.
And so just pray for their wisdom as they make decisions
about next steps. So if you'll join me now, let's
pray for them. Pray for this time together that
God would be glorified. Father, we're so thankful for
the way that you change lives. Thank you for the testimonies of
baptism. Thank you, Father, for the
opportunity to give to you this season to support work all
around the world. We thank you for our friends.
We just pray, father, that you'll continue to bless them,
strengthen them, protect them. Father, I pray that you'll guide
the the courts and give them great wisdom that father, this
any decision made would be would bring you great glory.
Help us to be the rope holders to continue to lift them up as
father, they continue to to wander and, and and wait.
In the meantime, we're thankful that your word is still being
shared and people are still being saved.
So Father, thank you for that. Now bless us, Phyllis Father,
with the opportunity to hear from your Word.
Lord, I pray your Spirit would work in our hearts and minds.
Help us to focus for just a few moments on who you are and what
you've given us already this Christmas.
We appreciate you and thank you. Bring your glory in Christ's
name, Amen. Well, I hope you're ready for
Christmas. I that means a lot to a lot of
different people. For some people, Christmas can
be more worried than worship. I know along the way there was a
lady one time and the rush of kind of last minute Christmas
shopping went out box bought a box of these 50 generic, you
know, kind of all the same Christmas cards.
And without really looking at what the Christmas card even
said, she was addressing them and signing them and just
mailing them out, all except one of them.
And she had one left. And a few days later she looked
at that one card that she had left and she looked at the
inside, at the message on the inside and it read this to her
horror, she said this card is just to say a lovely gift is on
its way. So be careful this Christmas,
you know, think about it when we say Merry Christmas.
You know what? What does that really mean to
us? Because upon Christmas rests all
of our faith. Frankly, upon Christmas or
without the Christmas, without the Christmas, we have no one to
worship. We have no hope for eternity.
We have nowhere to turn. But fortunately for us, in the
fullness of time, God sent his Son.
And so I want to talk this morning about what really
happened at his birth. I want us to talk about the real
nativity. What did it look like?
What was it like? And the first thing I want to
talk about is I want us to just remember and remind ourselves
from from an additional perspective.
I talked about this a couple of weeks ago, but let's talk about
this supernatural plan of Christmas.
I've previously shared how God was orchestrating the universe
to to prepare it for the coming of his son.
And if you didn't hear that a couple of weeks ago from
Galatians 4, go back and listen. But it would be appropriate for
us to see this from one other angle, one other perspective as
we look in Luke chapter 1, because all of history had been
leading to these moments. The grand narrative, the entire
story of the entire Bible leads to this, points to this.
And so for a few minutes, I just want to read from the word of
God, if that's OK. I just want to read from Luke
chapter 1, several passages. I may hop around a little.
I'll let you know. It's also be on the screen.
Let's start in Luke chapter one, verse 5.
In the days of Herod, king of Judah, there was a priest named
Zechariah of the division of Abatja, and he had a wife from
the daughters of Aaron and her name was Elizabeth.
And they were both righteous before God, walking blamelessly
and all the commandments and statutes of the Lord, but they
had no child because Elizabeth was barren and both were
advanced in years. Now look at verse 11.
And there appeared to him an Angel of the Lord standing on
the right side of the altar of incense.
And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon
him. But the Angel said to him, Do
not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard.
And your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall
call his name John. It's a great name, by the way,
And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice
at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord, and he
must not drink wine or strong drink.
And he would be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his
mother's womb. And he will turn many of the
children of Israel to the Lord their God.
And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah to
turn the hearts of the fathers to the children and the
disobedient to the wisdom of the just to make ready for the Lord
a people prepared. And Zechariah said to the Angel,
how shall I know this? For I'm an old man and my wife
has advanced in years. And the Angel answered him, I am
Gabriel, probably more likely Gabriel, and I stand in the
presence of God, and I will, and I was sent to speak to you and
to bring you this good news. Now go all the way to verse 57.
Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a
son. Now go to verse 67.
And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and
prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he
has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn
of salvation for us in the House of His servant David.
Now look at verse 76. And you child, will be called
the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord
to prepare his ways to give knowledge of salvation to his
people in the forgiveness of their sins.
So God sends forth John in this supernatural, miraculous way in
order to prepare the way for Jesus.
The story's a whole lot like Abraham and Sarah and Isaac,
isn't it? Reminds you of that.
It's a story of a sovereign God who's who's working and sending
his powerful messenger to prepare the way to fulfil his
perfect plan. It's important to recognize that
about 400 years have passed since the last recognized
prophet for the people of God. 400 years have passed and here
comes John fulfilling prophecy like so many other parts of the
Christmas story. Fulfilling prophecy about 1
coming in the likeness of Elijah.
And he bridges the Old Testament.
And the New Testament is a very unique character in the Bible as
he creates this bridge of the old and the new to prepare the
way for the coming Messiah. We too today, we're now 4
runners of the coming of Christ. That's part of our job now.
That's part of the reason you're saved and left here.
You're not just saved and taken away.
You're saved and left here. One of the reasons you're due to
do that is that we're 4 runners of the second coming of Christ.
We need to prepare the way for His next coming, and I pray that
we do so with passion. I pray that we're all ready.
I pray everybody here is ready for Jesus to return because my
friends, He is going to return. He can return today.
Not yet. That means we have work to do.
That means that we got to tell others.
So we've got to seek to tell everyone that He's going to do
that. But in this story, God still had
a few other preparations. Let's go back to verse 26.
In the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a
city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man
whose name was Joseph of the House of David.
And the virgin's name was Mary. And he came to her and said,
Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you.
But she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern
what sort of greeting this might be.
And the Angel said to her, Do not be afraid, Mary, for you
found favor with God, and behold, you will conceive in
your womb and bear a son, and you'll call his name Jesus.
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High.
And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father
David, and it will reign over the House of Jacob Forever, and
of his Kingdom there will be no end.
And Mary said to the Angel, How will this be, since I'm a
virgin? And the Angel said to her, The
Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High
will over shadow you. Therefore the child to be born
will be called holy, the Son of God.
So here she is, this young teenage Galilean girl, no more
than 15, probably much closer to 13, which has been most likely
the normal age for betrothal. So a young teenager.
What a shock. I mean, what a shock it must
have been when when Gabriel appeared to hear appeared to
her. I mean, one of the themes you
see throughout the Bible, anytime an Angel seems to appear
to somebody, the first words out of the angel's mouth are, fear
not, I don't know the last time an Angel appeared to you, but it
would be a little disturbing. What a shock to hear this, the
impossibility of what he was saying to her.
But you see in the story, one of the things you got to understand
about Christmas is the miraculous requires great faith.
It did then and it does now. It does for us too.
We have to believe. We have to believe that God is
going to do something so powerful, so miraculous He can
actually change lives around us. We have to believe that.
And the importance of this is so important, the importance, and
we just don't, we probably don't spend enough time on it.
I probably need to do a whole lot more teaching about it.
The importance of the miracle of the virgin birth cannot be
overstated. This doctrine is huge.
A proper view of the Incarnation hinges on this truth.
See, it would be more accurate to call it the virgin conception
instead of the virgin birth, obviously, because the Holy
Spirit created a baby and Mary's womb through supernatural means.
But, but, but what challenge is that?
I mean, how big a deal, how hard would that be to the creator of
the universe? See, it's part of the faith
story. We have to believe this is who
this is, that God is who He is. So the nature of Christ's
conception testifies to his deity, but it's also a testimony
to his sinlessness because he was born differently.
He's born without a sin nature. He's fully God and fully man,
yet sinless. And that makes all the
difference. It means he's the only one
worthy, the only one who can, the only one who will die for
us, Gabriel continued. Look at verse 36 and behold,
which had a good Angel voice. And behold, your relative
Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this
is the 6th month with her who was called barren.
For nothing will be impossible with God.
And Mary said, Behold, I am the servant of the Lord, let it be
to me according to your word. And the Angel departed from her.
Don't miss that Mary's favored by God and reacts in deep
humility, reacts in obedience. Listen to that phrase.
Let it be to me according to your word.
What a moment you got to stop and just think about it.
For what a moment of miraculous faith this is on her part, to
believe and to obey in the moment of the seemingly
impossible and everything's on the line for her.
Her life, her reputation, her betrothal, everything's on the
line. This was life changing.
This is path altering. This is impossible yet
commanded. It just makes me always ask, can
we? Will we?
Do we proclaim the same and live the same commitment in our
lives? Do we actually say let it be to
me according to your word? So may this Christmas also
include a committed declaration from our hearts.
God, whatever you want, no matter how impossible it might
seem, no matter how miraculous it's going to have to be.
Father, whatever you want, according to your word, may our
gift to Jesus this Christmas, this birthday, this time, this
year, be to obey Him according to His Word.
Look at verse 39. In those days Mary arose and
went with haste into the Hill Country to a town in Judah, and
she entered the House of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth.
And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby
leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the
Holy Spirit. She exclaimed with a loud voice,
a loud cry. Blessed are you among women, and
blessed is the fruit of your womb.
And why is this granted to me, that the mother, the mother of
my Lord, should come to me? For behold, when the sound of
your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for
joy. And blessed is she who believed
that there that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken
to her from the Lord. And Mary said, my soul magnifies
the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has
looked on the humble estate of his servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me
blessed. For He who is mighty has done
great things for me, and holy is His name, and His mercy is for
those who fear Him. From generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm.
He has scattered the proud and the thoughts of their hearts.
He has brought down the mighty from their Thrones and exalted
those of humble estate. He has filled the hungry with
good things, and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped his serving Israel and remembrance of His mercy as
He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his offspring
forever. It's an amazing story.
Elizabeth knew. What's even more amazing is the
unborn. John the Baptist knew.
Even the unborn baby recognize the presence of the unborn
Messiah. Don't, don't slide over that too
quickly. It's a testimony.
It's a testimony that life exists before birth.
It's a testimony that there's awareness and recognition even
in this miraculous moment. So, so Mary's humble faith was
seen not, not just in her obedience to the Word, but even
in these praises that she offered.
She knew who was doing this. Mary recognized that God was the
one doing this. And in what's called the
Magnificat, she showed her heart.
She showed her mind. We're saturated with the glory
in the Word of God. But also note this, even though
she's blessed, even though she's favored, Note also that Mary
says and calls him her Savior. This is important because
doctrinally there are teachings about Mary out there that that
are not really according to the Word.
And, and, and this and notice that he she calls him her
Savior. She recognized her need.
She too was a Sinner, and she too would need salvation, and
she recognizes that she was not Immaculate, which means free
from sin. Mary would need to be saved, and
there was also no perpetual virginity, which is also a
doctrine that gets taught as she and Joseph would have other
children later. This was God at work.
God's the one who needs the attention.
And God was still moving people, God's still moving nations to
fulfill this perfect plan that he'd been orchestrating since
before time began. Well, we're almost there.
It's almost Christmas. I know you're excited.
So turn to Luke, chapter 2, verse one, a familiar passage.
I hope you'll read it around your family.
You'll hear it on Christmas Eve here with the children.
The children are going to play a big part in Christmas Eve.
Bring the kids. We need kids here.
We need, we need them here. Christmas Eve.
In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all
the world should be registered. This was the first registration
when Quirenius was governor of Syria.
And all went to be registered, each to his own town.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of
Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called
Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David.
So Caesar Augustus Caius Octavius, the grand nephew.
The adopted son and the primary heir to Julius Caesar, he's
recognized by the Senate who declares him emperor.
They also they also declare him Augustus, which means Exalted 1.
And that actually carried religious implications.
There were Caesar cults that worship Caesar like God, much
like the Egyptians worshiped Pharaoh as a God.
And so he orders all the Roman Empire to be registered.
Surveys like this began every 14 years for taxation.
They're actually ancient records in Egypt that show similar
censuses that require everybody to go home so they could be
counted. But God's at work, all was in
place, the time was full, it's final, it's perfect, it's ready,
Prophecies going to be fulfilled.
So first, let's see. Secondly, the physical place of
Christmas. Let's let's talk about what does
that nativity set literally need to look like.
Look at Luke 2 verse four. And Joseph also went up from
Galilee, from the town of Nazareth to Judea to the city of
David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was at the
house and lineage of David to be registered with Mary, his
betrothed, who is with child. The name Bethlehem, as many of
you know, means House of bread, the fitting place for the bread
of life to be born, the hometown of David.
So it's a fitting place for the king to be born.
It's also a fulfillment of prophecy.
From Nazareth to Bethlehem is between 80 and 90 miles.
That'd be pretty tough haul for a young, expecting teenage
mother, but they made it. They made that hard journey.
Joseph as the loving protector. And although women were not even
required to go to their hometown by the edict, he wanted her to
go to protect her, didn't want to leave her, didn't want to
open her to ridicule. And he also knew what Gabriel
had told him. He knew what was coming.
They needed to be together. Luke chapter 2, then verse 6.
And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.
And she gave birth to her first born son and wrapped him in
swaddling clothes and laid him in a Manger because there was no
room for them in the end. Well, let's talk about that in
for a minute. A lot of speculation, 3 or 4
different theories about what it was or could have been.
The word is kata Lima and it's not used often at all.
The word actually means to unloose or UN yoke.
So it carries the idea. Think of a a pack mule and
you're unloading the load off the back of a mule.
That that's the imagery, that's the word that's used here.
So it gives you the idea of a place where where you unload.
It's kind of a place to stop, a place to rest.
In the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Luke, it actually
refers to the guest chamber where Jesus and the disciples
had the Last Supper. The only other time it's used in
the New Testament, it's right here.
And so for some is this, is this a, it was the end actually a
guest room in a private home? Was it some kind of public place
for travellers? Now, tradition as early as the
2nd century will tell you it was a cave.
That and in fact, they'll take you to a couple of different
spots if you go to Israel. One is the Church of the
Nativity in Bethlehem. The other was the Shepherd's
cave. That'll show you kind of like
the way they use caves for stables.
Sometimes there are even caves underneath these homes.
And so with the spirit of hospitality, what if they have
tried to keep them in the house? Not enough room in the house.
So go to the basement, stay in The Cave.
There's one other option, if it were really a public place for
travelers, a public inn, which is often how it's projected.
I want you to hear just how humble this could have been.
Because an end in that day was actually a series of open stalls
in the shape of AU, often two stories, where travellers
brought their own food and bedding.
And they would rent one of these open stalls, and then the inn
would provide food and bedding, so to speak, and fire out in the
middle for the animals to stay protected inside EU.
So if there was no room in the end, that means there was no
stalls left. And so you had to stay out in
the middle of the courtyard with the animals and the fire.
So Mary and Joseph could have had their baby out in the middle
of an open courtyard with balconies overlooking them, if
you can imagine such a scene. We don't know for sure.
Maybe they were alone in a cave. Maybe they were alone in a home.
We know what tradition says. We do know that the word Manger,
the word fat name means can either be a feeding through or
the stable itself. And, and, and it was likely that
it was the feeding through made out of stone or clay.
They wouldn't have used wood. They wouldn't have wasted wood
on a feeding through. Their trees were too far in
between and too valuable. And so the idea of that wooden
Manger that you see with the little cross on the end that you
see in a church or nativity scene or woven basket kind of
thing that was created by The Crusaders who went to the Holy
Land. And they saw these stone, these
stone fotnies, these wooden are these stone and clay feeding
troughs. And, and that that was hard to
tie to this out of a horse. And so they, they, they created
wooden replicas that they could take home to Europe and show
everybody. And they made their way to us
here in the West. So odds are he's laid in a stone
feeding through. Think about the humble arrival
for the Creator, God Incarnate, the Lord of Lords and King of
kings. But even here he's teaching us.
Even here the Triune God is teaching us.
He's teaching us that He came for us all.
He came no matter how poor, no matter how broken we are.
He came for the regular person in the regular place.
He came for you and He came for me.
So let's talk about why. So Jesus is really born.
So what? Well, let's talk then about the
ultimate purpose of Christmas. Before we go, look at verse 8.
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field
keeping watch over their flock by night, And an Angel of the
Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shown all
around them, and they were filled with great fear.
And the Angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you
good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Where unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior
who's Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you.
You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a
Manger. And suddenly there was with the
Angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and
saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace
among those with whom he is pleased.
An Angel appeared. You're out in the middle of the
dark, taking care of the flocks. Suddenly an Angel appears right
in the middle of you. Don't fear.
Uh huh. And literally, he says.
I evangelize to you. I evangelize to you.
A great joy for all. That's the wording.
The word evangelism is straight from the Greek.
I evangelize to you. A great, great joy for you all,
for all the people. That means for you, that means
for me, that means for all of us.
He came for all of us and unto us, all of us.
A Savior is born for you, for me, for all who believe a Savior
is born. That's the Christmas present.
That that's the present. That's the gift from God that
you have the opportunity to receive even today, if you
haven't before. You've heard others testify
about it. Maybe your testimony is next
because and then he says, here's the here's your sign.
There might be more than one baby in Bethlehem.
There might be more than one baby in Bethlehem and swaddling
clothes. But I tell you, there won't be
more than one baby in Bethlehem and swaddling clothes lying in a
Manger and then suddenly a whole arm.
It's a military word. A whole army of angels appear.
I can't even imagine. I mean, think about how
overwhelming that would have been to these shepherds, A
multitude. It's a military term for a whole
band of soldiers. And here this army pronounces
peace, glory and peace. These are messages of Christmas.
Look at verse 15, When the angels went away from them into
heaven, the shepherd said to them, said to one another, Let
us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened,
which the Lord has made known to us.
And they went with haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the
baby lying in a Manger. And when they saw it, they made
known the saying that had been told them concerning this child.
And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherd's told them,
that Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her
heart. And the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen as
it had been told them. You know, shepherds had a bad
reputation. Their job kept them from
observing much of the ceremonial law.
So they were often considered unclean.
They were considered unreliable. A shepherd couldn't even testify
in court. And so it's amazing that these
lowly shepherds become the eyewitnesses, the testifiers.
And so these shepherds, too, they might have been special in
the sense of, and I mentioned this last week, but the temple
authorities kept their private flocks in the in the best
grazing fields right around Bethlehem.
So maybe these shepherds were actually watching the lambs and
the sheep that were intended for temple sacrifice.
Now what an amazing thing. We don't know that for sure.
But what an amazing thing to think about if the most
remarkable birth of the one who would sacrifice for us all was
first revealed to the very ones who tended the sacrificial
temple lambs. Here comes the ultimate perfect
lamb of sacrifice to pay for our sins.
To pay for even your sins, you lowly, unreliable, unclean
shepherds, even for you, especially for you.
Think about it. They witnessed this, become the
first evangelist. They made it known all over the
place. That's another lesson for
Christmas. We need to tell everybody just
like they did. I mean, think about it.
No Angel was sent to Herod. No Angel was sent to the high
priests. No, no Angel was sent to the
Pharisees or the Sadducees. It was sent to these lowly
shepherds because the gospel is for all people, not just for the
rich, not just for ritualistic religious people.
In fact, we see Jesus later ministering to the outcast,
ministering to the hurting. He was right at home where some
people even today, don't think God fits in.
In the midst of the hurt, in the midst of the stain of everyday
life, that's where God often fits in.
He wants to be right in the middle of your messiness.
You turn your messiness over to Him today.
He wants to save you this Christmas.
I wonder what happened to these shepherds.
I always think about this story. What happened to these guys?
You know, who all heard because of them, they returned
glorifying and praising and worshiping.
I mean, that's another important lesson of Christmas.
What should our response be? What does Merry Christmas
actually mean to us? It ought to result in our
worship, our praise. Verse 32 again says he will be
great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father
David, and he will reign over the House of Jacob Forever.
And of his Kingdom there will be no end, no end.
That's forever, that's eternal, forever.
So the creator God of the entire universe, the king of all kings,
came to Earth surrounded by hay, surrounded by animals,
surrounded by the stench of a well used stable.
He chose the humblest beginning for his entry.
But one day, someday, maybe today, he's going to come back
with majesty and power and sovereignty.
So as you gather together this week, thank him for Christmas,
use that family worship guide and thank him for Christmas.
Thank him for what it really means.
And it's not too late to believe in him, to trust in him.
And you get ready for that because your minute to do that
is going to come up right now. I thought it was interesting
that our people group from the Congo, by the way, we're taking
a trip very quickly to the edge of the Congo on the Ugandan
side, to minister to some of the refugees from the Congo, as well
as to some homeless people, as well as to children who need
adoption, as well as to teach children to teach in a school
there, teaching a Bible college there.
It's going to be quite a trip. You can still go if you want to.
One day a young African boy was listening carefully to his
missionary teacher who was explaining to him why we give
Christmas presents to each other.
And she said the gifts are an expression of our joy over the
birth of Jesus and our friendship for each other.
So when Christmas actually came, the boy showed up and, and gave
his T-shirt this beautiful seashell.
And I mean, and, and the teacher asked, where did you find such a
beautiful shell? And because she knew it didn't
come from around where they were, there was no way that
would be found where they were. And he told her that the only
way, the only place to find him was a very specific Bay that was
many, many miles away. And she said to him, she was
speechless, but she said, why? It's gorgeous, it's wonderful,
but but you shouldn't have gone all that way to get a gift for
me. And the boy's eyes brighten and
get real big smiles. Real big, he says.
But the long walk was part of the gift.
Many of you are going to open gifts later this week, but
please take time together to remember to celebrate the
greatest gift God has already sent and just how far the
journey was for Him to deliver it to you.
The gift of grace and the possibility of eternal life has
been given. I mean you got to think about
it. The Creator, eternal, sovereign
God left glory to become a single cell in the womb of a
teenage girl. I mean, that's about as non
existent as you can possibly be. And yet he did it.
This miraculous, gracious sacrificial trip.
He did that because he knows you and loves you and wants you to
know him. You know, that didn't wasn't
just anybody in the Manger. That wasn't just anybody on that
cross. That was God Incarnate because
He's the only one who could pay the price for our sin.
And He wants you to know Him. He wants you to glorify Him
right now. For some of you, this time of
year might be hard. In fact, it might be downright
miserable. You might miss the whole point
in the hurry and the worry and the pressure.
Maybe. Or maybe because of loss in the
past. My friends, if if you feel
unhappy or you feel miserable, I want you to rush down here in a
minute and talk to me, because I don't.
If any of you lack peace, I want you to rush down here and talk
to me in a minute because I have complete peace.
If any of you lack hope, I want you to rush down here and talk
to me because I know exactly where you can find it and have
it. If any of you are not sure if
you're of your purpose of why you live or why you exist or why
you were born, I want you to rush down here in a minute and
talk to me because I know exactly why I breathe today and
I'm alive. If you lack assurance, if you
lack joy, I want you to rush down here and talk to me because
I know exactly where you can find it and it's not in me at
all. It's because I know Him.
He saved me and changed me, and he wants to do the same thing
for you. Father, thank you for the gift
of Christmas. Thank you for the testimonies of
transformation we've heard from these young people already
today. Thank you, Father, that you've
given us the possibility of life.
With you now, Father, I pray we don't waste that chance right
now. Father, I pray for anyone here
who has never trusted in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior,
the Father. They'd pray a prayer something
like this. Father, thank you for creating
me. I know that I have failed you.
I'm a Sinner. I'm sorry for my sin.
I want to turn from my sin, so I accept Jesus as my Lord and
Saviour. I believe he's the only one who
can forgive me and save me. Thank you for saving me.
I trust him as my Saviour. I trust him as my Lord and I
want to live according to your word, my Father.
I pray that if anyone's here and they need to pray that prayer or
that they just did or they have, then they need to come and talk
to a pastor about what it means to be a believer, to be a
Christian, to be saved, to be born again.
For others, this may be a recommitment, a time to live
according to His word and not my own way.
I pray, Father, that people will do that.
Others have seen baptism. They say I need to be baptized.
I, I need to make that public statement.
So whatever it is, Father, as we sing, I pray people will come
talk to pastors. I pray they'll come kneel it
these steps as an altar. I pray they'll go to our next
steps room, talk to our counselors who just love to
visit with them. Father, guide people, draw
people, bless us now, help us to respond in Christ's name, Amen.
Well, as we stand together, some of us will be here.
You don't have to come see us. You can go straight over there
to that room and have a private, discreet conversation with
people who love you, would love to pray with you and share with
you. There also is a table in the
back in the lobby of people who will do the same thing.
Just respond. Give him the best gift this
Christmas. As we worship Him, as we sing,
you come. Thank you so much for listening
today, and I also hope that you'll go to
ourwebsite@englewoodbaptist.com as well as our app and find many
other resources that will bless you and your families.
Thank you once again.