1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:08,440 It's great to see you. Welcome Kuya Mora cuienda 2 00:00:08,440 --> 00:00:10,880 carcius in fuer Spuraka Nivea yard. 3 00:00:11,840 --> 00:00:14,160 Fire donkey. Fire donkey. 4 00:00:14,240 --> 00:00:18,280 They did my 12 yard fatum did to liar donkey. 5 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:21,520 Edward Vicki Bieta alka Alka yard. 6 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:25,680 It's good to be God is good. Why he sent an English family to 7 00:00:25,680 --> 00:00:31,040 Pretoria, I don't know, but this place has been good to us and 8 00:00:31,040 --> 00:00:33,080 it's good to celebrate Christmas together. 9 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:37,840 And it's great that you invited your families to join you, Hein 10 00:00:37,840 --> 00:00:40,640 and David, to have your dad chat with us today for the first 11 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:42,160 time. It's great to have you. 12 00:00:42,160 --> 00:00:45,040 My neighbors from I live in a little place called Swinburne, 13 00:00:45,040 --> 00:00:48,320 outside Harry Smith. And I saw this man walk towards 14 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:51,320 me and I said, hey, Louis. And he said no, I'm Louie's 15 00:00:51,320 --> 00:00:55,640 neighbor. I'm Darlie and he said, but your 16 00:00:55,640 --> 00:00:57,880 mum can make a good steak, egg and chips. 17 00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:02,240 But happy Christmas. My mother in law's been with me 18 00:01:02,240 --> 00:01:07,840 for four days now. I just want to pray for all of 19 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:13,480 you and just ask God to just just bless you and and to give 20 00:01:13,480 --> 00:01:17,240 you grace and mercy and and and everything like that. 21 00:01:17,240 --> 00:01:20,040 Have we got a tee of time boys for this afternoon? 22 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:24,800 Thea You know, I said when when you're in laws come, you buy 23 00:01:24,800 --> 00:01:27,120 fish and you put it on the mantelpiece and when the fish 24 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:28,920 starts to smell, it's time to go home. 25 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:30,960 I tell you, we've replaced the fish. 26 00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:37,200 It's it's but I want to say mom, of all the mother in laws I've 27 00:01:37,200 --> 00:01:43,000 got, you're by far the best. I just want to honor you say a 28 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:50,960 happy Christmas and when you're leaving, I've got given the most 29 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:52,920 God gave me the most beautiful mother-in-law. 30 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:55,640 It's great to see you. It's it's fantastic to have you 31 00:01:55,920 --> 00:01:57,440 If you can put up the slide, please. 32 00:01:57,440 --> 00:02:02,840 And we're going to say it together. 123 Merry Christmas. 33 00:02:02,840 --> 00:02:07,040 OK, let's say it one more time, but loudly. 123 Merry Christmas 34 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:14,600 last time. 123 It doesn't actually say Merry Christmas. 35 00:02:23,160 --> 00:02:28,200 But anyway, well done guys, well done, well done, well done, well 36 00:02:28,200 --> 00:02:31,280 done. In Afrikaans, Sir, Kanada, grace 37 00:02:31,280 --> 00:02:33,480 and mercy is the same word, Kanada, but in English it's a 38 00:02:33,480 --> 00:02:35,480 different word. I want to say to you today, 39 00:02:35,480 --> 00:02:38,400 three CI and for all of you are visiting, I want to say to you 40 00:02:38,400 --> 00:02:41,600 mercy Christmas. I want to say to you, mercy 41 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:44,200 Christmas. One of the great gifts on 42 00:02:44,200 --> 00:02:47,000 Christmas Day, the Bible tells us is God's mercy. 43 00:02:47,920 --> 00:02:51,520 It's different to God's grace and the simple way or the 44 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:53,880 different ways of prescribing or describing it. 45 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,160 The grace of God is when God gives us something that we don't 46 00:02:57,160 --> 00:03:00,440 deserve. The mercy of God is when God 47 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:02,320 withholds something that we do deserve. 48 00:03:03,160 --> 00:03:05,160 We deserve wrath, we deserve punishment. 49 00:03:05,160 --> 00:03:09,080 We deserve to be forgot. And and God withholds that from 50 00:03:09,080 --> 00:03:10,440 us. He withholds his wrath from us. 51 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:13,800 That's called the mercy of God, but it's far greater than that. 52 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:17,000 It's his loving kindness, and it's his intervention in our 53 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:19,040 lives, and it's his healing and his wholeness. 54 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:21,120 And maybe you didn't know where to go today. 55 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:23,680 And maybe you're just a visitor who had got no family at home, 56 00:03:23,680 --> 00:03:26,480 and so you just saw the crowds coming and so you snuck in at 57 00:03:26,480 --> 00:03:27,960 the back. I want to say to you, mercy 58 00:03:27,960 --> 00:03:31,320 Christmas. Jesus Christ came to give us 59 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:34,040 mercy. And so when his mother started 60 00:03:34,040 --> 00:03:37,800 to sing in the book of Luke, we can look to Luke chapter 1 and 61 00:03:37,800 --> 00:03:42,160 verse 46. And I want you to receive the 62 00:03:42,160 --> 00:03:44,360 mercy of God today. I don't know what you've done. 63 00:03:44,360 --> 00:03:46,880 I don't know what you've been up to, I don't know what sins 64 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:49,320 you've committed this year. I don't know what mistakes 65 00:03:49,320 --> 00:03:50,280 you've made. I don't know what 66 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:53,400 disqualification is you've had. But when I pray you leave this 67 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:57,000 auditorium today and you leave this property, you'll understand 68 00:03:57,000 --> 00:04:02,480 the mercy of God. This song is called Mary's 69 00:04:02,480 --> 00:04:07,360 Magnificat or when she magnified God in Psalm in Luke 1 and verse 70 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:09,640 46. And Mary said, my soul glorifies 71 00:04:09,640 --> 00:04:13,240 the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. 72 00:04:13,600 --> 00:04:15,840 Mary was also a Sinner. She needed a Savior. 73 00:04:15,840 --> 00:04:19,519 She wasn't a perfect woman, for he had been mindful of the 74 00:04:19,519 --> 00:04:22,320 humble state of His servant. From now on, all generations 75 00:04:22,320 --> 00:04:26,320 will call me blessed, for the mighty One has done great things 76 00:04:26,320 --> 00:04:29,280 for me. Holy is His name, His mercy say 77 00:04:29,280 --> 00:04:33,760 His mercy. His mercy extends to those who 78 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:37,360 fear Him from generation to generation. 79 00:04:38,240 --> 00:04:40,240 My prayer for you today, I don't know who you are. 80 00:04:40,240 --> 00:04:41,680 Maybe you're here for the first time. 81 00:04:41,680 --> 00:04:45,360 My prayer is at the mercy of God would extend to you and to your 82 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:49,280 family and to the generations of family that you're part of. 83 00:04:50,600 --> 00:04:52,720 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm. 84 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:55,560 He has scattered those who are proud in the inmost thoughts. 85 00:04:55,880 --> 00:04:58,680 He has brought down rulers from their Thrones, but has lifted 86 00:04:58,680 --> 00:05:01,640 high the up the humble. He has filled the hungry with 87 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:04,360 good things, but has sent the rich away empty. 88 00:05:04,720 --> 00:05:06,680 He has helped his servant Israel. 89 00:05:06,680 --> 00:05:11,440 Remembering to be, remembering to be merciful. 90 00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:13,680 You know one of the things you keep the Scripture up. 91 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:18,320 One of the things the Bible says is God remembers to be merciful 92 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,320 and he remembers not to remember our sin. 93 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:25,560 It doesn't say he forgets our sin. 94 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:31,280 It says He remembers not to remember our sin, He remembers 95 00:05:31,280 --> 00:05:34,680 to be merciful, and he remembers not to remember our son. 96 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:40,280 Christmas Day, mercy, Christmas to Abraham and his descendants 97 00:05:40,280 --> 00:05:42,200 forever, even as he said to our fathers. 98 00:05:42,640 --> 00:05:45,760 Mary stayed with Elizabeth for about 3 months and then returned 99 00:05:45,760 --> 00:05:48,120 home. When it was time for Elizabeth 100 00:05:48,120 --> 00:05:50,280 to have her baby, she gave birth to her son. 101 00:05:50,600 --> 00:05:53,280 Her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord had shown 102 00:05:53,280 --> 00:05:57,160 her. Say it not mercy. 103 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,360 Say great mercy. You know why we're here today? 104 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:05,040 You know why I stand here today, Englishman from Durban, because 105 00:06:05,040 --> 00:06:08,800 of God's great mercy. And the reason that you are 106 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:11,480 here, you started the year. You thought I don't know how I'm 107 00:06:11,480 --> 00:06:13,360 going to get through the year. Some of you have been through 108 00:06:13,360 --> 00:06:16,400 chemotherapy, some of you have been through divorce, and you 109 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:18,480 didn't know how you're going to get to the end of the year, but 110 00:06:18,480 --> 00:06:20,840 you're standing here because of God's great mercy. 111 00:06:23,080 --> 00:06:25,360 And this day we celebrate the mercy of God. 112 00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:28,240 For time's sake, let's go to verse 67. 113 00:06:30,960 --> 00:06:33,640 It says his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and 114 00:06:33,640 --> 00:06:35,440 prophesied. Praise be to the Lord, the God 115 00:06:35,440 --> 00:06:38,280 of Israel, because He has come and has redeemed His people. 116 00:06:38,280 --> 00:06:41,600 He has raised up a haul of salvation for us in the House of 117 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:44,320 His servant David, as he said, as he said through his holy 118 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:47,560 prophets of long ago. Salvation from our enemies and 119 00:06:47,560 --> 00:06:49,000 from the hand of those who hate us. 120 00:06:49,000 --> 00:06:53,720 To show to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the 121 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:56,520 oath you sought our Father Abraham, to rescue us from the 122 00:06:56,520 --> 00:07:00,120 hand of our enemies and to enable us to serve Him without 123 00:07:00,120 --> 00:07:03,040 fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our 124 00:07:03,040 --> 00:07:06,840 days, as you, my child, would be called the prophet of the Most 125 00:07:06,840 --> 00:07:08,400 High. For you will go on before the 126 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:11,720 Lord to prepare the way for him to give his people the knowledge 127 00:07:11,720 --> 00:07:14,520 of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins 128 00:07:14,520 --> 00:07:22,360 because of his, I say it, tender mercy, his tender mercy. 129 00:07:22,640 --> 00:07:26,600 That's just the, the, the accounts of Christmas in the 130 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:29,280 book of Luke. And five times in one chapter he 131 00:07:29,280 --> 00:07:32,960 mentions either great mercy or tender mercy or mercy to the 132 00:07:32,960 --> 00:07:36,680 past and mercy to the future. And I want to just take tell you 133 00:07:36,680 --> 00:07:40,080 today, friends, the Bible says in Ephesians that God is rich in 134 00:07:40,080 --> 00:07:45,280 mercy in the book of Lamentations in Afrikaans, 135 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:49,920 Clark, the book of Lamentations, as you know, it's a crying book. 136 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:53,960 It's a book of deep sorrows. It's a book of deep pain and, 137 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:58,520 and in the Hebrew alphabet there's 22 letters and, and the 138 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:03,440 book of Lamentations goes one, one verse 22, two verse 22, 139 00:08:03,440 --> 00:08:07,800 three verse 66, chapter 4, verse 22, chapter 5, verse 22. 140 00:08:08,040 --> 00:08:11,000 It's 7 * 22. It's the complete book of 141 00:08:11,000 --> 00:08:14,600 suffering, Lamentations, clock letter. 142 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:21,200 And in the very middle, in the very center of that book is this 143 00:08:21,200 --> 00:08:23,960 song that we sing. If you're an old time church guy 144 00:08:23,960 --> 00:08:25,880 like me, some of you got saved recently. 145 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:30,720 You had a biggie, but I've been in a church a long time. 146 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:32,520 Just close your eyes. You might remember the same. 147 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:37,919 close your eyes. The steadfast love of the Lord 148 00:08:37,919 --> 00:08:47,680 never ceases His Let's go again. The steadfast love of the Lord 149 00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:54,720 never ceases. His mercies never come to an 150 00:08:54,880 --> 00:08:59,800 end. They are new every morning. 151 00:09:00,520 --> 00:09:07,680 New every morning. Great is thy faithfulness, Oh 152 00:09:07,680 --> 00:09:15,800 Lord, great is thy faithfulness. I want to say to you, friends, 153 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:18,880 as you look into the year ahead, you think, dear God, I don't 154 00:09:18,880 --> 00:09:21,520 know how I'm going to make it. You know how you're going to 155 00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:26,240 make it. His mercy is new every morning 156 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:29,280 in the midst of whatever you're going through. 157 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:33,880 His mercy, His great mercy, His tender mercy, His rich. 158 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:37,920 And mercy is new every morning. And Luke says, like the rising 159 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:43,440 of the sun will be the mercy of God, Like the rising of the sun 160 00:09:43,440 --> 00:09:46,840 will be the mercy of God. Some of you know this story, but 161 00:09:46,840 --> 00:09:50,040 I have a school friend of mine. He was the first team rugby 162 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:54,560 player, and he was an athlete. And six weeks before athletics 163 00:09:54,560 --> 00:09:57,840 day, he tripped with a shotgun in his hand and he shot off this 164 00:09:57,840 --> 00:10:01,280 muscle, shot the ground off. He was by himself in the field. 165 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:04,520 And he eventually crawled to a road and he got taken to 166 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:07,840 hospital and had a massive operation on his leg here. 167 00:10:08,400 --> 00:10:11,160 And they did skin grafts. His whole muscle was blown away. 168 00:10:11,640 --> 00:10:15,280 He was an unbelievable athlete. He was just a beast of a man. 169 00:10:15,800 --> 00:10:19,000 And six weeks later, with that muscle gone and with the skin 170 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:21,960 graft bandaged up, he won the Victor Ladorum at our school. 171 00:10:23,120 --> 00:10:25,480 And at the end of the day, through this bandage, this was 172 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:27,640 blood. This is a tough guy. 173 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:31,480 And he got unbelievably sick a few years ago, very, very sick. 174 00:10:31,480 --> 00:10:33,400 His liver failed. He picked up a virus in 175 00:10:33,400 --> 00:10:35,400 Mozambique and his wife phoned me. 176 00:10:35,400 --> 00:10:37,080 I did their wedding. His wife phoned me and said, 177 00:10:37,120 --> 00:10:39,760 Rory, please pray for Guy. He's very sick. 178 00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:43,120 And I phoned the doctor in Durban and the doctor said 179 00:10:43,200 --> 00:10:46,920 Afrikaans swear word to me, basically meaning he's gone. 180 00:10:47,920 --> 00:10:50,800 And I raced to Donald Gordon Hospital in Johannesburg and the 181 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:53,880 helicopter landed and he came in and there was a Muslim doctor. 182 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:56,840 And I went to the Muslim doctor and I said, hey, Sir, I'm a 183 00:10:56,840 --> 00:10:59,840 pastor, can I pray for him? He said you do what you do, I do 184 00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:01,760 what I do, but don't get in my way. 185 00:11:02,640 --> 00:11:05,480 And my friend had started to go not yellow jaundice, he went 186 00:11:05,520 --> 00:11:07,040 orange. He started to go orange. 187 00:11:07,040 --> 00:11:10,080 And they had to put a heat mat underneath him and a heat mat on 188 00:11:10,080 --> 00:11:11,560 top of him. And they bound him up because 189 00:11:11,560 --> 00:11:13,280 his body was not producing any heat. 190 00:11:13,560 --> 00:11:16,800 And I watched his heartbeat go down into the 20s, and I 191 00:11:16,840 --> 00:11:20,360 thought, he's going to die. And they held him on for a 192 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:22,280 couple of days. And I've visited him every day. 193 00:11:22,280 --> 00:11:23,880 And then the specialist called us in. 194 00:11:23,880 --> 00:11:27,080 And I knew his mom very well because his dad was one of my 195 00:11:27,080 --> 00:11:30,040 teachers. And they lost the child on the 196 00:11:30,040 --> 00:11:31,920 school that I went to. Their son had a motorbike 197 00:11:31,920 --> 00:11:35,040 accident and on our school. And so she had lost the child 198 00:11:35,040 --> 00:11:37,000 before. So she knew what it was like to 199 00:11:37,000 --> 00:11:38,720 lose a child. And she was about to lose a 200 00:11:38,720 --> 00:11:41,160 second child. And the doctor said if he does 201 00:11:41,160 --> 00:11:44,160 not have a liver transplant in 24 hours, he'll be dead. 202 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:47,400 And I prayed and I prayed and I prayed and I prayed. 203 00:11:47,840 --> 00:11:50,800 And many people to this day, I think it was my prayers, but it 204 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:54,440 wasn't because at the absolute, absolute critical time of his 205 00:11:54,440 --> 00:11:58,000 life, they would just let me and Mama and his mum walk in. 206 00:11:58,000 --> 00:12:01,840 And his mum was an Anglican. And she took her, his legs like 207 00:12:01,840 --> 00:12:05,040 this for one hour. And if you're an Anglican, 208 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:08,000 you'll know her, this prayer, Lord have mercy. 209 00:12:09,120 --> 00:12:13,520 Or do you respond? Obviously not many Anglicans 210 00:12:13,520 --> 00:12:19,760 here, the priest would say, Lord have mercy and the people would 211 00:12:19,760 --> 00:12:22,440 pray back, Christ have mercy, let's try it, Lord have mercy, 212 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:28,280 Lord have mercy. And I saw that mother hold that 213 00:12:28,280 --> 00:12:33,000 friend of mine's legs for one hour and she just cried, Lord 214 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:37,800 have mercy, Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy. 215 00:12:37,800 --> 00:12:41,880 Christ have mercy. Lord have mercy, Christ have 216 00:12:41,880 --> 00:12:43,960 mercy. And I remember sitting and 217 00:12:43,960 --> 00:12:46,600 thinking, I don't know if there's any power in this 218 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:50,040 prayer. In 24 hours, that guy's life 219 00:12:50,040 --> 00:12:52,760 turned. He didn't need a liver 220 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:55,880 transplant. He walks around today as if 221 00:12:55,880 --> 00:12:58,720 nothing ever happened. I was in with the doctor, said 222 00:12:58,720 --> 00:13:01,920 if he does not have a transplant within 24 hours, he will be 223 00:13:01,920 --> 00:13:04,800 dead. And people say to me, well done, 224 00:13:04,800 --> 00:13:06,440 Rory. I said, no, it's got nothing to 225 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:09,160 do with me. It was a mother who had already 226 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:12,040 lost a son. You know what, friends? 227 00:13:12,040 --> 00:13:14,440 We have a Father in heaven who lost his son. 228 00:13:15,520 --> 00:13:19,280 He sent him to this earth so that he would die and he would 229 00:13:19,280 --> 00:13:21,800 lose him. And that father on Christmas Day 230 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:28,280 over your life says this Lord have mercy, Christ, have mercy. 231 00:13:28,720 --> 00:13:31,840 I don't know your situation, I don't know your circumstances, 232 00:13:31,840 --> 00:13:36,040 but I do know the faithfulness of God and His mercy is good 233 00:13:36,040 --> 00:13:40,040 enough to touch you and to heal you and to intervene in your 234 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:43,560 life. Today, in Jesus name. 235 00:13:46,720 --> 00:13:51,920 I was looking at the news around the world, at Gaza and Israel, 236 00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:56,800 at Russia and Ukraine, at the Sudan, at Syria. 237 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:00,080 We just have to look at our neighbors, Mozambique and the 238 00:14:00,080 --> 00:14:03,120 Congo and Mali. And we've got to say God have 239 00:14:03,120 --> 00:14:05,560 mercy. God have mercy. 240 00:14:05,560 --> 00:14:08,080 This world needs the intervention of Jesus 241 00:14:08,680 --> 00:14:12,640 desperately. Let me define to you quickly, 242 00:14:12,640 --> 00:14:14,720 and then we're going to read 3 scriptures and refinish. 243 00:14:14,800 --> 00:14:18,320 Good morning. The mercy of God is his 244 00:14:18,320 --> 00:14:24,240 unwarranted kindness. The mercy of God is his 245 00:14:24,240 --> 00:14:29,960 undeserved compassion and pity. The mercy of God is an 246 00:14:29,960 --> 00:14:32,120 intervention that alleviates pain. 247 00:14:34,160 --> 00:14:36,680 The mercy of God saves us and redeems us. 248 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:44,600 The mercy of God is extravagant and the mercy of God liberates 249 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:48,520 us. I want to just mention three 250 00:14:48,520 --> 00:14:50,080 quick scriptures, Luke chapter 10. 251 00:14:50,080 --> 00:14:54,280 You know the story of the Good Samaritan. 252 00:14:54,280 --> 00:14:56,080 You can turn there or cover them on the screen. 253 00:14:56,080 --> 00:15:00,720 The Good Samaritan is actually a story about some clever church 254 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:06,080 oak, some religious oak. And if you're in the church for 255 00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:08,560 the first time because you only come to church on Christmas and 256 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:11,320 Easter, it's nice to have you. Maybe you just come on 257 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,720 Christmas. But when I look in the Bible, 258 00:15:16,520 --> 00:15:19,240 God fought with religious people and he loved sinners. 259 00:15:20,560 --> 00:15:23,640 The church loves religious people and fights with sinners. 260 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:27,880 This church loves sinners. So if you just come on Christmas 261 00:15:27,880 --> 00:15:31,560 time and you're a dirty, dark Sinner like me, you're welcome 262 00:15:31,560 --> 00:15:34,360 here. May the mercy of God touch you. 263 00:15:37,040 --> 00:15:40,400 On one occasion an experts in the law stood up to test Jesus 264 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:42,840 teacher. He asked, what must I do to 265 00:15:42,840 --> 00:15:45,160 inherit eternal life? What is written in the law? 266 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:48,160 He replied, how do you read it? He answered, Love the Lord your 267 00:15:48,160 --> 00:15:50,440 God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your 268 00:15:50,440 --> 00:15:53,360 strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbors 269 00:15:53,360 --> 00:15:56,520 yourself. You have answered correctly. 270 00:15:56,520 --> 00:15:58,920 Jesus replied do this and you will live. 271 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:02,760 But he wanted to justify himself as a clever religious oak. 272 00:16:03,400 --> 00:16:05,600 So he asked Jesus, And who is my neighbor? 273 00:16:06,800 --> 00:16:09,840 In reply, Jesus said A man was going down from Jerusalem to 274 00:16:09,840 --> 00:16:12,680 Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. 275 00:16:12,680 --> 00:16:15,000 They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, 276 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,240 leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going 277 00:16:18,240 --> 00:16:20,760 the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed on the other 278 00:16:20,760 --> 00:16:23,640 side. So to a Levite, when he came to 279 00:16:23,640 --> 00:16:25,960 the place and saw him passed on the other side. 280 00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:36,400 But a Samaritan, a guy from Bronco, Sprite, OK Bob, Suntan, 281 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:44,440 OK Wycliffe. As he travelled, he came where 282 00:16:44,440 --> 00:16:46,680 the man was. And when he saw him, when he 283 00:16:46,680 --> 00:16:50,080 saw, say, when he saw him, he took pity on him. 284 00:16:51,320 --> 00:16:59,040 He took pity on him. I want broken people when they 285 00:16:59,040 --> 00:17:02,640 don't know where to go and they come to this church and when we 286 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:08,040 see them, instead of walking around them, we will look at 287 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:12,359 them and take pity on them and say to them, Lord, have mercy, 288 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:19,480 Christ have mercy. He went to him and he bandaged 289 00:17:19,480 --> 00:17:23,359 these wounds, pouring on oil and wine, and he put the man in his 290 00:17:23,359 --> 00:17:25,880 own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 291 00:17:26,440 --> 00:17:29,440 The next day he took our 2 silver coins and gave them to 292 00:17:29,440 --> 00:17:31,800 the innkeeper. Look after him, he said, and 293 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:34,920 when I return, I'll reimburse you for any extra expense you 294 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:37,680 may have. Which of these three do you 295 00:17:37,680 --> 00:17:40,280 think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of 296 00:17:40,280 --> 00:17:44,000 robbers? The experts in the law replied, 297 00:17:44,400 --> 00:17:48,960 the one you had say it, Jesus said. 298 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:54,280 Go and do likewise. Friends, the Good Samaritan is 299 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:57,520 Jesus. The Good Samaritan is Jesus. 300 00:17:57,520 --> 00:18:00,400 Everybody else walks around difficulties, walks around 301 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,080 broken people, walks around demanding people. 302 00:18:03,480 --> 00:18:08,480 The Good Samaritan walks straight towards them, straight 303 00:18:08,480 --> 00:18:31,040 towards them. Like you young lady who didn't 304 00:18:31,040 --> 00:18:33,160 know where to go so you came to church today. 305 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:42,960 I just say to you, Lord, have mercy, Christ have mercy. 306 00:18:45,360 --> 00:18:47,720 May He bandage every wound inside of your heart. 307 00:18:47,720 --> 00:18:52,000 Young lady is the safest place on the face of the earth for you 308 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:54,240 to be. You've been kind. 309 00:18:54,240 --> 00:18:56,280 God, can you see me? Lord, do you know me? 310 00:18:56,280 --> 00:18:59,440 Father, can you hear me? God says I will stop at 311 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:03,160 Christmas service just for you, young lady, to remind you that 312 00:19:03,160 --> 00:19:06,040 the Good Samaritan was not a man from the earth. 313 00:19:06,040 --> 00:19:09,200 The Good Samaritan is a man who got born and on his birthday 314 00:19:09,200 --> 00:19:12,800 they declared five times he will come to show mercy to people 315 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:18,440 like you and me. May you today receive the mercy 316 00:19:18,440 --> 00:19:23,240 of God, the gracious, kind, extravagant outpour, tender 317 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:38,360 mercy of God, if you can put up Matthew 18. 318 00:19:53,400 --> 00:19:56,080 The heading is not up there, but this is called the Parable of 319 00:19:56,080 --> 00:20:01,040 the Unmerciful servant. The parable of the Unmerciful 320 00:20:01,040 --> 00:20:04,920 servant, before the end of the day, sitting around your 321 00:20:05,240 --> 00:20:08,840 Christmas tables with aunts and uncles that you only see at 322 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:13,360 Christmas time, you'll have a chance to exercise God's mercy. 323 00:20:15,320 --> 00:20:17,920 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, Lord, how many times 324 00:20:17,920 --> 00:20:21,000 shall I forgive my brother? When he sins against me up to 325 00:20:21,000 --> 00:20:25,760 seven times, Jesus answered, I tell you not 7 times, but 77 326 00:20:25,760 --> 00:20:28,800 times. Therefore, the Kingdom of heaven 327 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:30,920 is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his 328 00:20:30,920 --> 00:20:33,520 servants. As he began the settlement, a 329 00:20:33,520 --> 00:20:37,520 man who owed him 10,000 talents, millions of dollars was bought 330 00:20:37,520 --> 00:20:39,160 to him. Since he was not able to pay, 331 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:41,800 the master ordered that he and his wife and his children 332 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:43,880 already had be sold to repay the debt. 333 00:20:44,760 --> 00:20:46,560 The servant fell on his knees before him. 334 00:20:46,560 --> 00:20:49,760 Be patient with me, he begged and I will pay back everything. 335 00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:53,880 The servants master say it with me. 336 00:20:54,560 --> 00:20:59,160 Took pity on him, Cancel the debt and let him go. 337 00:20:59,760 --> 00:21:03,760 That's what mercy is. He took pity on him, cancel the 338 00:21:03,760 --> 00:21:07,840 debt and let him go. I don't know where you're from, 339 00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:10,680 but today I want to tell you what Jesus does on Christmas 340 00:21:10,680 --> 00:21:12,440 Day. He takes pity on you. 341 00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:17,680 He cancels your debt, however big your debt is, and he lets 342 00:21:17,680 --> 00:21:18,960 you go. You're free. 343 00:21:20,760 --> 00:21:23,200 But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow 344 00:21:23,200 --> 00:21:25,120 servants who owed him 100 Donari. 345 00:21:25,680 --> 00:21:27,520 He grabbed him and began to choke him. 346 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:29,360 Pay back what you owe me, he demanded. 347 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:31,720 Unforgiveness has got horrible words. 348 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:35,440 Demanded, choked. His fellow servant fell to his 349 00:21:35,440 --> 00:21:37,960 knees and begged. And be patient with me, and I 350 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:40,440 will pay you back. But he refused, demanded, 351 00:21:40,440 --> 00:21:43,840 choked, refused. Incredible behavior that comes 352 00:21:43,840 --> 00:21:47,400 from the church, our mercy Christmas. 353 00:21:47,400 --> 00:21:51,040 God, please, will you drift my heart so much that these words 354 00:21:51,040 --> 00:21:56,560 like choke and demand and refuse would leave my life and I would 355 00:21:56,560 --> 00:21:58,320 give to people what you've given to me. 356 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,960 Lord, I stand here sinners. Lord God, saved by your absolute 357 00:22:01,960 --> 00:22:04,880 intervention of mercy undeserved completely. 358 00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:09,120 May I take that same mercy and give it to everybody, from the 359 00:22:09,120 --> 00:22:12,480 teller, Lord, God, to the gardener, to whoever it might 360 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:16,160 be? But he refused, and said he went 361 00:22:16,160 --> 00:22:18,800 off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the 362 00:22:18,800 --> 00:22:21,200 debt. When the other servants saw what 363 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:24,400 had happened, they were greatly distressed, and went and told 364 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:26,200 their master everything that had happened. 365 00:22:26,680 --> 00:22:28,280 Then the master called the servants in. 366 00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:33,520 You wicked servant, he said it's fine. 367 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:43,960 He cried out to God. Cry out to God. 368 00:22:43,960 --> 00:22:46,080 That's that's that's exactly what it sounds like. 369 00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:48,280 Well, I've got nowhere else to go. 370 00:22:48,280 --> 00:22:50,640 I just cry out to God and it says he heard him. 371 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:54,440 He heard his cry. I love the cry of children 372 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:57,880 because it reminds me of the cry that I made to God and the 373 00:22:57,880 --> 00:23:03,760 parent who heard me from heaven. The master called the servant in 374 00:23:03,760 --> 00:23:05,920 your wicked servant. He said I cancelled all the debt 375 00:23:05,920 --> 00:23:07,520 of yours because you begged me to. 376 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:12,280 Shouldn't you have had on your fellow servant? 377 00:23:12,280 --> 00:23:16,080 Just has I had on him. Friends, it doesn't matter who 378 00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:17,840 you are. I've understood this. 379 00:23:17,840 --> 00:23:21,720 In the Afrikaans culture, you guys rate sin. 380 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:24,160 They're bad sins and they're good sins. 381 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:25,680 And some of you think you're good sinners. 382 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:28,760 I've been here for 12 years. I've seen it. 383 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:33,720 We are sinners. There's good sin, there's bad 384 00:23:33,720 --> 00:23:37,840 sin, and there's very bad sin. And the Bible says it's all sin. 385 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:42,400 So whether you're a murderer or adulterer or whether you're 386 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:45,560 cooked 5 minutes from your boss at work, you're a Sinner just 387 00:23:45,560 --> 00:23:48,480 like me. And there is no grading of sin. 388 00:23:49,200 --> 00:23:51,560 I don't care where you grew up and what church you grew up, 389 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:54,840 there is no grading of sin. The Bible says we've all sinned 390 00:23:55,680 --> 00:24:00,680 and that sin against God is millions of dollars, and any man 391 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:03,040 sin against us is just a few dollars. 392 00:24:03,320 --> 00:24:06,560 And he says in the same way that he had mercy on us, we must 393 00:24:08,680 --> 00:24:12,120 mercy Christmas. Let your family off the hook. 394 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:15,200 Let your previous partner off the hook. 395 00:24:15,720 --> 00:24:19,640 Let your parents off the hook, let your children off the hook. 396 00:24:20,120 --> 00:24:24,520 Stand around today as you're about to eat with maybe wine on 397 00:24:24,520 --> 00:24:28,440 the table and food loading the table, and look at one another 398 00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:32,880 and say, in the same way that God gave me mercy, I give mercy 399 00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:35,640 to you. And we close with the scripture 400 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:40,600 in Matthew chapter 15. Are you with me? 401 00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:44,360 There's an amazing story of an amazing woman. 402 00:24:44,360 --> 00:24:46,920 This woman is a hero for me in the Bible. 403 00:24:48,560 --> 00:24:52,600 It's called the faith of the Canaanite woman leaving that 404 00:24:52,600 --> 00:25:01,320 place say leaving that place egg wife from Pretoria and I can't 405 00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:10,040 orc need to and we have Orkney Snogney leave it say leaving 406 00:25:10,040 --> 00:25:16,680 that place Jesus in Jerusalem. He leaves Jerusalem and he goes 407 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:18,840 to another place. You know what happened at 408 00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:21,680 Christmas Day Where was Jesus before Christmas Day? 409 00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:32,320 He was in heaven leaving that place, came to earth. 410 00:25:33,760 --> 00:25:37,440 He left Jerusalem with the center of and he went to another 411 00:25:37,440 --> 00:25:40,400 place. You know what Jesus will do on 412 00:25:40,400 --> 00:25:43,640 Christmas time? He will leave the church and he 413 00:25:43,640 --> 00:25:52,080 will go and park off in rafters. You think I'm joking right now? 414 00:25:52,080 --> 00:25:54,640 Jesus sitting in rafters waiting for the lonely to come to 415 00:25:54,640 --> 00:25:56,640 rafters to get sickered with Brandy. 416 00:25:57,880 --> 00:26:00,400 And in that place he will reveal his tender mercy. 417 00:26:01,120 --> 00:26:04,000 In that place he will show people they tend the mist. 418 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:08,880 Leaving that place, Jesus the drew to the region of Tyre and 419 00:26:08,880 --> 00:26:13,480 Sardon a Canaanite woman. This is just she's a woman, 420 00:26:13,480 --> 00:26:16,600 she's from a horrible area, she's a Canaanite, she's a 421 00:26:16,600 --> 00:26:21,120 rubbish. The Canaanite woman from the 422 00:26:21,120 --> 00:26:24,800 vicinity came to him crying out. Lord son of David, just like the 423 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:27,840 child. Lord son of David, have mercy on 424 00:26:27,840 --> 00:26:30,560 me. The Greek word is a repetitive 425 00:26:30,560 --> 00:26:32,160 text. It's like an echo through the 426 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:35,160 city. Lord son of David, have mercy on 427 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:37,600 me. Lord son of David, have mercy on 428 00:26:37,600 --> 00:26:40,080 me. Lord son of David, have mercy on 429 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:42,440 me. Maybe you're sitting here, 430 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:45,480 you're an adulterer. Lord Son of David, have mercy on 431 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:47,520 me. Maybe you don't know how to 432 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:50,240 break the power of alcohol over your life or pornography. 433 00:26:50,400 --> 00:26:53,280 Lord Son of David, have mercy on me. 434 00:27:00,560 --> 00:27:05,920 Crying out my daughter is suffering terribly from demon 435 00:27:05,920 --> 00:27:11,520 possession. Jesus did not answer a word. 436 00:27:13,360 --> 00:27:18,760 Friends, this woman is a hero because she faced what Jesus 437 00:27:18,760 --> 00:27:23,520 faced on the cross, because she saw the mercy of God in Tyre and 438 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:26,280 Sardon, not in the church, way out of the church. 439 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:30,400 She saw something in Christ that nobody had ever seen before. 440 00:27:30,520 --> 00:27:32,840 We have the privilege of seeing it through the cross. 441 00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:37,840 She saw it before the cross. She saw the mercy of God before 442 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:40,000 the cross. She saw the mercy of God that 443 00:27:40,000 --> 00:27:42,520 was born on Christmas Day before Jesus had died. 444 00:27:42,680 --> 00:27:45,840 He came to bring mercy, and this is the only woman who saw it. 445 00:27:47,440 --> 00:27:49,840 Maybe you're sitting here and God has been silent and you've 446 00:27:49,840 --> 00:27:53,880 been crying out to God for the healing of your body and God has 447 00:27:53,880 --> 00:27:56,280 been silent. God was silent on this woman and 448 00:27:56,280 --> 00:27:58,520 she could have left and thought to heck with Jesus. 449 00:27:58,640 --> 00:28:00,920 I'm going. He has not answered my prayers. 450 00:28:00,920 --> 00:28:03,680 This woman could have done this, but she saw something in the 451 00:28:03,680 --> 00:28:06,520 mercy of God and instead of getting offended, she stayed. 452 00:28:11,040 --> 00:28:14,880 Maybe you've been crying out for your son who's sitting on the 453 00:28:14,880 --> 00:28:17,120 yachts in the Caribbean snorting cocaine. 454 00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:26,440 The tender, great, rich, loving, kind mercy of God will never 455 00:28:26,440 --> 00:28:29,920 fail. You keep trusting Him on this 456 00:28:29,920 --> 00:28:33,360 Mercy Day. You keep trusting God even when 457 00:28:33,360 --> 00:28:34,960 he's quiet. You keep trusting Him. 458 00:28:37,320 --> 00:28:39,560 So his disciples came to him and urged him. 459 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:44,280 Send her away. She's an absolute nuisance for 460 00:28:44,280 --> 00:28:48,680 she keeps crying out after us. Why did we have to take that 461 00:28:48,680 --> 00:28:52,080 child out, friends? Because she was taking 462 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:53,920 attention. Everybody was looking at the 463 00:28:53,920 --> 00:28:55,960 child. She was demanding attention. 464 00:28:55,960 --> 00:28:57,160 We should have just left her there. 465 00:28:57,160 --> 00:29:00,240 Until the story came. She just kept crying out. 466 00:29:00,440 --> 00:29:03,400 Oh, Lord, son of David, have mercy on this. 467 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:05,360 I was just getting rid of her. She's a nuisance. 468 00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:10,040 She heard that. She said, oh, let me just leave. 469 00:29:10,040 --> 00:29:12,040 I'm just a nuisance. Nobody loves me. 470 00:29:12,040 --> 00:29:19,200 Nobody cares for me, friends. I sat in a meeting once with a 471 00:29:19,200 --> 00:29:21,320 friend of mine who had a brand called Lost. 472 00:29:21,320 --> 00:29:28,560 It was a it was a it was a a demonstration of protest against 473 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:32,080 the word saved. Somebody started a brand called 474 00:29:32,080 --> 00:29:37,240 Lost and the logo was nobody knows and nobody cares. 475 00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:41,280 I remember preaching in Kearsney College in a leaders meeting. 476 00:29:41,440 --> 00:29:44,640 I was preaching and I saw this man sitting there with his brand 477 00:29:44,640 --> 00:29:46,600 lost. Nobody knows, nobody cares. 478 00:29:46,840 --> 00:29:49,480 I started to weep and I just went up to him. 479 00:29:49,480 --> 00:29:53,240 I said that's not true, That's not true. 480 00:29:54,560 --> 00:30:00,720 I know and I care and God knows and God cares and this community 481 00:30:00,720 --> 00:30:06,520 knows and this community cares. And you know what he did on the 482 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:09,520 Monday? He gave the brand away. 483 00:30:09,920 --> 00:30:11,600 He didn't sell it. He gave it away. 484 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:13,480 And he said, what am I going to do now? 485 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:18,120 I said I've got no idea. But cry out to God, who knows 486 00:30:18,120 --> 00:30:24,400 and cares. And two weeks later, he got 487 00:30:24,400 --> 00:30:28,120 awarded the Ripco agency. And every single time I walk 488 00:30:28,120 --> 00:30:32,040 around this town, the Afrikaans guys wearing surfing sets. 489 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:37,160 I don't know how it works. I haven't seen Durban guys wear 490 00:30:37,160 --> 00:30:42,240 khaki pants like yolks. I've never seen such tight khaki 491 00:30:42,240 --> 00:30:44,720 pants in my whole life. And then you put a phone and a 492 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:46,960 wallet and at the same time, it's unbelievable. 493 00:30:48,840 --> 00:30:53,600 But every time, every time, every time I see a RIP curl shit 494 00:30:53,600 --> 00:30:54,840 anywhere, some of you are wearing. 495 00:30:54,840 --> 00:30:57,520 Every time I see you. And I just think the mercy of 496 00:30:57,520 --> 00:31:02,960 God who knows and cares, she could have just walked away and 497 00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:05,880 think they don't care for me. And Jesus is just looking at it. 498 00:31:05,960 --> 00:31:09,120 He's entire and silent. He's crossed the barrier from 499 00:31:09,120 --> 00:31:11,960 Jerusalem. He's gone to Babsontane and he's 500 00:31:11,960 --> 00:31:15,560 sitting with a broken woman who's got absolutely no standing 501 00:31:15,560 --> 00:31:17,800 in society. And she's saying please have 502 00:31:17,800 --> 00:31:19,480 mercy. And he's pushing her away and 503 00:31:19,480 --> 00:31:21,680 he's pushing away. So I want to see if she actually 504 00:31:21,680 --> 00:31:25,000 sees me, pushes her away, keeps quiet, pushes her away. 505 00:31:29,080 --> 00:31:30,760 The woman came and knelt before him. 506 00:31:33,200 --> 00:31:37,760 Lord help me, she said. You know, friends, many of you 507 00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:40,760 are absolutely, 100% fine, but some of you are here because you 508 00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:45,600 need God's help. And instead of just walking away 509 00:31:45,600 --> 00:31:49,960 across, you just got in on her knees, just got on her knees. 510 00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:54,000 close the disciples, don't worry about the silence. 511 00:31:54,000 --> 00:31:58,800 She just closed and she said, Lord help me, Lord help me. 512 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:03,080 You know why we celebrate Christmas? 513 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:08,280 Because Jesus Christ came to help us. 514 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:15,480 He came to help us. And if you're in trouble, I want 515 00:32:15,480 --> 00:32:19,120 to say to you, Mercy, Christmas, he's come to help you. 516 00:32:20,760 --> 00:32:26,040 He replied, Jesus, he replied it is not right to take the 517 00:32:26,040 --> 00:32:29,680 children's bread and toss it to their dogs. 518 00:32:34,320 --> 00:32:35,760 Friends, I'm no one, I didn't know this. 519 00:32:35,760 --> 00:32:38,680 In Durban it's not a swear word, but in Pretoria it is. 520 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:45,200 That's like saying foot sack. You don't say foot sack to 521 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:46,840 people, you say foot sack to dogs. 522 00:32:47,520 --> 00:32:49,560 We say foot sack to the person. They say I'm not a dog. 523 00:32:50,080 --> 00:32:54,600 Jesus is saying I didn't come to give bread to the dogs, I came 524 00:32:54,600 --> 00:32:56,280 to give bread to the children of Israel. 525 00:32:57,440 --> 00:33:00,200 You think, why doesn't this lady just leave and say, hey Jesus, 526 00:33:00,200 --> 00:33:03,760 you're hardcore, you can't call me a dog. 527 00:33:04,920 --> 00:33:07,840 When we really want to degrade people, we call them animal 528 00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:12,680 names, Dog, pig, baboon, you see in newspaper write apps, I got 529 00:33:12,680 --> 00:33:15,520 called a baboon, I got called a monkey got called a dog, I got 530 00:33:15,520 --> 00:33:18,960 called a pig. But Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, 531 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:22,240 the savior of Christmas is calling this woman a dog. 532 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:26,000 And you know the instantly she says yes, Lord, yes Lord, yes 533 00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:29,160 Lord, yes Lord. But even the masters in Tyre and 534 00:33:29,160 --> 00:33:32,360 Son, even the people in Bubs attack, even those people, Lord 535 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:35,640 God, even those masters, they give crumbs to their dog. 536 00:33:35,640 --> 00:33:39,120 If they do that, Lord God, I've seen something inside. 537 00:33:39,120 --> 00:33:42,200 If they do that, Lord God, then surely you can just give me a 538 00:33:42,200 --> 00:33:50,240 crumb. Yes, Lord, she said. 539 00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:53,120 But even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall under their master's 540 00:33:53,120 --> 00:33:56,120 table. Then Jesus answered, Woman, 541 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:05,960 woman, you have great faith. May this woman be a gift to us 542 00:34:05,960 --> 00:34:10,480 on Christmas Day. Women, women, you have great 543 00:34:10,480 --> 00:34:13,080 faith. Your request is granted. 544 00:34:14,560 --> 00:34:18,280 And her daughter was healed from that very hour. 545 00:34:19,679 --> 00:34:22,080 That woman went through everything Jesus had to go 546 00:34:22,080 --> 00:34:24,719 through on the cross. She went through the silence of 547 00:34:24,719 --> 00:34:27,199 God. She went through the offence of 548 00:34:27,199 --> 00:34:30,400 man. She went through the rejection 549 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:33,480 of humankind. Everything Jesus did on the 550 00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:41,280 cross, she did it before he went to the cross because she saw His 551 00:34:41,280 --> 00:34:45,719 mercy and that mercy overrode everything inside of her. 552 00:34:47,320 --> 00:34:50,080 You and I have the picture of looking at from the other side 553 00:34:50,080 --> 00:34:51,920 of the cross. Maybe God has been silent with 554 00:34:51,920 --> 00:34:53,880 you. Maybe you've been offended or 555 00:34:53,880 --> 00:34:57,120 rejected, but this is what I pray. 556 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:01,880 Lord, have mercy. Christ have mercy. 557 00:35:02,400 --> 00:35:04,160 Let me say to you, Lord, have mercy. 558 00:35:07,080 --> 00:35:10,720 Lord have mercy. Lord, have mercy. 559 00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:18,800 Woman, you have great faith. Woman, you have great faith. 560 00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:23,200 If you will believe the mercy of God, you and I will change the 561 00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:28,040 city today and ongoingly in Matthew 5, verse 17, it says 562 00:35:28,040 --> 00:35:32,480 this. Be merciful as the Father is 563 00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:34,360 merciful. Open your hands like this. 564 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:46,460 Please pray this prayer today. Say it today. 565 00:35:47,780 --> 00:35:50,420 I receive your mercy. I receive your mercy. 566 00:35:50,420 --> 00:35:56,860 I put aside silence, silence, rejection, offence, all my 567 00:35:56,860 --> 00:36:02,260 stuff, my sin. I receive your mercy and I ask 568 00:36:02,260 --> 00:36:07,800 Lord God that I can give it away in Jesus name. 569 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:11,040 Mercy Christmas, Mercy Christmas. 570 00:36:11,840 --> 00:36:12,440 God bless you.