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Waiting For Christmas

December 20, 2020

27:29

Pastor and Evangelist Greg Laurie teaches the simple yet life changing message of the Gospel.,#=#,Greg Laurie,Virgin Birth;Messiah;Prophecy;Christmas;Nativity;Angels;Savior;Promises of God;Trust God,Micah 5:2;Luke 2:9-15;Hebrews 13:5;Romans 8:28,Religion;Series,HD-GLH2052,1237229

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Waiting For Christmas

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♪ This is the day whenthe lost are found ♪
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♪ Can you hear all theangels are singin' ♪
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♪ This is the day, theday when life begins ♪
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- Well I want to look at twopeople in the Christmas story
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that are often overlooked.
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And they were effectivelywaiting for Christmas.
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The first Christmas orthe birth of Christ.
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They were lookingforward to that moment.
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And you know, there's somuch buildup to Christmas.
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And I actually dolove Christmas.
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But I don't think itcan live up to its hype.
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And I think the realityis deep down inside,
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we're not longing for Christmas.
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We're actuallylonging for Christ.
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It's not merrimentwe really want.
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It's really the Messiah.
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It's not just goodwill.
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It's actually God.
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It's not presents under a tree.
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It's his presence in our life.
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And isn't that thepromise of Christmas?
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You will call his name Immanuel
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which means God is with us.
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Now some of you maybe visiting tonight
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and this is yourfirst time at church,
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or at this church or any church.
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And to you I say welcome
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and I hope that you willmake this your church home
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and join the family of God.
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Some of you, wellyou do go to church,
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just haven't been for a while.
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And my statement to you islike, what's up with that?
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No, it's like hey, welcome back.
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And we'd like to see a lotmore of you in the days ahead.
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So let's talk aboutthese two people.
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And it's not Mary and Joseph.
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These are two peoplethat are often
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forgotten about or ignored.
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And their names areFrosty the Snowman
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and Rudolph theRed-Nosed Reindeer.
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No I'm joking, it's not them.
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It's Simeon and Anna.
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I bet there's someone herethat's never even heard
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of Simeon and Anna.
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They don't appear inany nativity scenes
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or on any Christmas cardsthat I've ever seen.
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But they were there and theywere waiting for Christmas.
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And in fact, theypreceded the wise men
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who came later tothe home of Jesus.
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So in some ways they're morea part of the nativity scene
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than even the wise men,
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who as I pointed out probablycame one to two years later
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to the house where Jesuswas, not to the manger.
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So let's kinda get the timeline
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and we'll figure out whereSimeon and Anna fit in.
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So of course the angel Gabrielcomes to the city of Nazareth
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to the young girl Mary.
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And he tells her that sheis gonna be a fulfillment
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of Bible prophecy.
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Mary was a nobodyliving in a nowhere town
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in the middle of nowhere.
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She also was a godly girl living
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in a very ungodlyplace, Nazareth.
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A place which renowned forits wickedness and immorality.
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Yet this girl lived apure life before the Lord.
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So the Lord chose her.
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And the angel Gabrielsaid, you're gonna be
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the fulfillment of the prophecy.
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You're gonna be thevirgin that will conceive.
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Mary understandably says,considering I'm a virgin,
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and she's a teenagerso she might have said,
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like, consideringI'm like a virgin.
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Like I'm all like he's all like.
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I don't know, whatever.
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How's this gonna work out?
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And Gabriel says the HolySpirit will come upon you.
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The power of the mosthigh will overshadow you.
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So the baby to beborn will be holy
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and he will be calledthe Son of God.
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Then there's Joseph, the unsunghero of the Christmas story.
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He could have walked away.
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'Cause here's his bride to be,
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they're not marriedyet, who's pregnant.
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And she was not the firstgirl to get pregnant
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in Nazareth outside of wedlock.
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And he thought the worstbut because he loved Mary,
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he was willing toput her away quietly.
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But he wasn't buying her story.
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But she said, oh yes,
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I'm gonna be the virginwho will conceive.
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He's like, yeah right, sure.
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But he wasbrokenhearted over it.
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But as he went tosleep that night,
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an angel of the Lord came to him
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and revealed that indeed she was
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the fulfillment of prophecy.
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And he decided to stand by her.
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Listen to this, Mary and Josephcould have said no to this.
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Mary could have said,I don't want this.
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This is gonna be hard.
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And Joseph could have said,
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no guy down at the work siteis ever gonna believe my story.
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But he stood by her.
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That's why I callhim the unsung hero
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of the Christmas story.
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So now they're headedto Bethlehem, why?
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Because there was a Caesarin charge, Caesar Augustus,
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who gave the decree that allthe world should be taxed.
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You know, historianssay that this Caesar
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was probably around fivefeet seven inches tall.
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It's funny, I was tellingthis story to my grandkids.
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And when I mentioned Caesar,
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my granddaughter Lucysaid, Little Caesar?
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(congregation laughing)
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And I responded, pizzapizza, right okay so.
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Actually he was little Caesar.
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But he thought he was a big man.
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Even worse, hethought he was a god.
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See, the term Augustusmeans of the gods.
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He was the first Caesar toactually require worship.
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He wanted to beworshiped as a deity.
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So this man who thought hewas a god gives a decree.
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When in reality, he wasmerely a tool in the hand
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of the true God to accomplishthe Lord's purposes.
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You know, sometimesGod can use people
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who are in positionsof influence and power
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to get things thathe wants done.
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They may not be themost moral people.
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They may not be themost ethical people.
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They may not evenbe believing people.
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But God's in control.
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And the Bible saysthat the king's heart
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is in the hand of the Lord
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and he'll move it whereverhe wants it to go.
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So the Lord moved thehand of Augustus Caesar
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to make this decree.
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So Mary and Joseph wouldget back to Bethlehem
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because the prophecysaid Messiah
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would be born inBethlehem, Micah 5:2.
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Thou Bethlehem,though you be little
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among the thousands of Judah,
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yet out of youshall come forth one
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whose origins havebeen from everlasting
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or literally thevanishing point.
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I don't even thinkthey understood
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the full implicationsof what was happening.
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And they went to Bethlehem.
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And there of course therewas no room in the inn.
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So they were sent toa stable or a barn.
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And there theSavior of the world,
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the creator of the universe,
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came to us as a helpless infant.
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And now the messageis gonna be announced.
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Now when you have a baby,
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generally you want totell first your family,
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then your close friends.
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You'll tell them how muchthe baby weighed at birth,
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how long the baby is,
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what the name of the baby is.
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And so now here's the greatestannouncement of all time
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of the birth of the baby.
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And who is thenews delivered to?
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Not to the courtof little Caesar.
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Not to the religious leaders.
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But actually toshepherds keeping watch
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over their flocks by night.
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These guys were on the lowestrung of the social ladder.
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Yet the Lord gives to themthis great message in Luke 2:9.
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Suddenly an angel of theLord appeared among them.
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And the radiance of theLord's glory surrounded them
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and they were terrified.
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And the angel reassured themsaying, don't be afraid.
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For I bring you good news
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that will bring greatjoy to all people.
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The Savior, yes the Messiah,
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the Lord has been borntoday in Bethlehem,
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in the city of David.
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And you'll recognizehim by this sign.
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You'll find the babe wrappedsnugly in strips of cloth
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lying in a manger.
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And then it continueson and says, suddenly,
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the angel was joined bya vast host of others,
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the armies of heavenpraising God and saying,
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glory to God inthe highest heaven
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and peace on earth to thosewith whom God is pleased.
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When the angelsreturned to heaven,
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the shepherds saidto each other,
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let's go to Bethlehem.
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Let's see this thingthat has happened
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which the Lordhas told us about.
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So the shepherds make thejourney to the manger.
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And there's Joseph,and there's Mary,
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and there's the baby Jesus.
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What happened next?
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Well the wise men showed upwith the three gifts, right?
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No, as I told you,they came much later.
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They're not even apart of this story.
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I'll tell you whathappened next.
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Eight days later,
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Mary and Josephwent to the temple
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to have Jesus circumcised.
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And that's where Simeonand Anna enter our story.
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Simeon was a godly man eagerlywaiting for the Messiah.
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That was no small feat atthis time historically.
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Israel by and large hadturned their back on God.
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They had not heard fromGod for 400 long years.
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Not a single angelic appearance.
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Not one miracle.
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No prophet stood upand spoke for the Lord
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during this 400 yearperiod of silence.
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Nothing was really happening.
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But God was settingthings into place
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for the perfect timing ofthe arrival of the Messiah.
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As it turns out historically,
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Rome controlledmuch of the world.
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They established whatwas called Pax Romana,
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which means forced peace.
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They established a road systemthat had never existed before
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that led to most ofthe civilized world.
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Plus a common language, Greek,
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that people could now speak in,
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instead of many, many languages.
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And finally they establisheda sophisticated postal system.
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So this was very high techfor the day if you will.
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And so the scene was set forthe arrival of the Messiah
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and ultimately for thedelivery of the gospel message
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around the planetbecause the apostles
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walked those Roman roads.
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And they wrote scripturein that Greek language.
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And they brought the messageto a very needy world.
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Meanwhile there's old Simeonhangin' around the temple.
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And the Lord revealed tohim that he would not die
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till he saw the Messiah.
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Sometimes you get boxesahead of Christmas that say,
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do not open until Christmas.
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God had shown Simeonhe would not die
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until the first Christmas.
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He was holding on to thepromises of God for a long time.
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And the promises arethere for us as well.
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He held onto the promise.
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In the book of Malachi,
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the last book of the OldTestament where the Lord said,
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the son ofrighteousness will rise
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with healing in his wings.
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So he was waiting for that sonof righteousness to appear.
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And I tell you what,
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God has given a lot of promises
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to us as Christiansin the Bible.
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The Bible calls themexceedingly great
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and precious promises,thousands of them.
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For instance theLord has promised
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that you will never be alone.
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Because Jesus said I willnever leave you or forsake you.
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Or a bettertranslation would be,
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I will never, no never, noever leave you or forsake you.
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He's promised that he willprovide all of your needs
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according to his richesand glory in Christ Jesus.
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He's promised in Romans 8:28
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to cause all things towork together for good
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to those that love God.
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And he's also promisedto answer your prayers.
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Because in Jeremiah33:3, the Lord says,
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call to me and Iwill answer you.
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So Simeon was waiting forhis prayer to be answered.
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To me these promises of Godare a lot like gift cards.
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Do some of you give outgift cards at Christmas?
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Do any of you everreceive gift cards?
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I have to admit,
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I have quite a few thathave been left unused.
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I read recently thatthere are, listen to this,
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you won't believe whatI'm gonna tell you.
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There are $45 billionworth of gift cards
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that are left unclaimed.
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So just sitting outthere, all those cards.
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But he was waiting,Simeon, in the temple.
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Waiting for thearrival of the Messiah.
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And in walked Mary,Joseph, and the baby Jesus.
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How did he know it was them?
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Well they glowed, ofcourse, that's how.
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Or they had halos right?
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Jesus had sort of a little babyhalo, little smaller right.
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No, not right at all.
00:12:40.616 --> 00:12:42.585
I think they looked likeany other poor family.
00:12:42.585 --> 00:12:45.254
But the reason heknew who they were
00:12:45.254 --> 00:12:47.990
was he was a manwho sought the Lord
00:12:47.990 --> 00:12:50.559
and prayed a lotand was waiting.
00:12:50.559 --> 00:12:53.796
And when you seek the Lord,
00:12:53.796 --> 00:12:55.030
he will reveal things to you
00:12:55.030 --> 00:12:56.565
that will not be revealed to aperson who does not know him.
00:12:56.565 --> 00:13:00.035
So they walked in, he said,
00:13:00.035 --> 00:13:01.470
there he is, there he is.
00:13:01.470 --> 00:13:03.572
And he walked over andin Luke 2:32 he says,
00:13:03.572 --> 00:13:08.577
he is a light,speaking of Jesus,
00:13:09.712 --> 00:13:11.347
to reveal God to the nations.
00:13:11.347 --> 00:13:13.182
He is the glory ofyour people, Israel.
00:13:13.182 --> 00:13:15.985
Mary and Joseph, the Bible says,
00:13:15.985 --> 00:13:17.953
were amazed at what wasbeing said about him.
00:13:17.953 --> 00:13:21.257
Then Simeon blessed him andsaid to Mary the baby's mother,
00:13:21.257 --> 00:13:24.293
this child is destined tocause many in Israel to fall
00:13:24.293 --> 00:13:27.363
and many others to rise.
00:13:27.363 --> 00:13:28.964
He's been sent as a sign fromGod and many will oppose him.
00:13:28.964 --> 00:13:32.735
Very true, they'restill opposing him.
00:13:32.735 --> 00:13:34.904
As a result, the deepestthoughts of many hearts
00:13:36.105 --> 00:13:38.073
will be revealed and asword will pierce your soul,
00:13:38.073 --> 00:13:43.078
he said to Mary.
00:13:43.679 --> 00:13:44.880
It was true.
00:13:44.880 --> 00:13:46.382
Mary made a great sacrificeto be the mother of Jesus.
00:13:46.382 --> 00:13:49.184
It was the greatest privilege,
00:13:49.184 --> 00:13:50.653
but a great sacrifice.
00:13:50.653 --> 00:13:51.987
Because Mary went through life
00:13:51.987 --> 00:13:54.223
being regarded by manyas an immoral woman.
00:13:54.223 --> 00:13:58.260
They didn't believe she wasthe virgin spoken of in Isaiah,
00:13:58.260 --> 00:14:02.364
just thought there wasa girl that got pregnant
00:14:02.364 --> 00:14:05.200
outside of wedlock andmade up some story.
00:14:05.200 --> 00:14:08.070
In fact, the Pharisees saidto Jesus on one occasion,
00:14:08.070 --> 00:14:10.973
hey, well at least weweren't born of fornication.
00:14:10.973 --> 00:14:14.476
Which is another way of saying,
00:14:14.476 --> 00:14:15.878
hey, at least we're notillegitimate children like you.
00:14:15.878 --> 00:14:19.148
Hey, those are fightin'words by the way.
00:14:19.148 --> 00:14:21.583
But Mary put up with that,
00:14:21.583 --> 00:14:23.118
effectively walking throughlife with a scarlet letter A
00:14:23.118 --> 00:14:27.222
written on her robe, adulteress.
00:14:27.222 --> 00:14:29.792
Very furthest thingfrom the truth.
00:14:29.792 --> 00:14:31.927
But she had to livewith that reputation.
00:14:31.927 --> 00:14:34.029
And then secondly, when shestood at the foot of the cross
00:14:34.029 --> 00:14:38.167
and saw her belovedson hanging there,
00:14:38.167 --> 00:14:41.804
those once tiny hands nownailed to a cross of wood.
00:14:41.804 --> 00:14:45.541
Those little feetthat she would guide
00:14:45.541 --> 00:14:47.643
also nailed to that cross.
00:14:47.643 --> 00:14:49.945
The sword pierced her soul.
00:14:49.945 --> 00:14:53.349
That must have been a very,very difficult moment.
00:14:53.349 --> 00:14:57.052
But she stood there by him
00:14:57.052 --> 00:14:58.954
and she fulfilledprophecy and did what God
00:14:58.954 --> 00:15:01.590
called her to do.
00:15:01.590 --> 00:15:03.292
So now as we come to Christmas,
00:15:03.292 --> 00:15:05.194
we want to be likeSimeon and Anna.
00:15:05.194 --> 00:15:08.230
Who was Anna?
00:15:08.230 --> 00:15:09.465
She was a woman whowas 84 years old.
00:15:09.465 --> 00:15:12.234
She hung around in the temple.
00:15:12.234 --> 00:15:13.736
In fact, the Bible saysshe never left the temple.
00:15:13.736 --> 00:15:16.872
Probably because she was afraid,
00:15:16.872 --> 00:15:18.107
if I leave right nowand go to McDavids
00:15:18.107 --> 00:15:20.909
and get a burger or a falafelI'm gonna miss Messiah.
00:15:20.909 --> 00:15:24.880
So she just waited,and waited, and waited.
00:15:24.880 --> 00:15:29.184
And then she sees Simeontalking to Mary and Joseph.
00:15:29.184 --> 00:15:32.154
She sees the baby Jesus,
00:15:32.154 --> 00:15:33.956
realizes the prophecyhas been fulfilled,
00:15:33.956 --> 00:15:36.525
and the Bible says shewent out and told everyone
00:15:36.525 --> 00:15:39.728
about the child.
00:15:39.728 --> 00:15:41.397
See, she was lookingforward to the day
00:15:41.397 --> 00:15:44.333
when Jesus would come.
00:15:44.333 --> 00:15:46.268
And we should be lookingforward to the day
00:15:46.268 --> 00:15:49.104
when Jesus will come again.
00:15:49.104 --> 00:15:51.874
Just as surely as Jesus camein fulfillment of prophecy
00:15:51.874 --> 00:15:55.611
and was born in that manger,
00:15:55.611 --> 00:15:57.546
Jesus Christ will comeagain to this earth.
00:15:57.546 --> 00:16:00.682
In fact, Hebrews 9:28says he'll come again
00:16:00.682 --> 00:16:03.452
to all those whoeagerly await him.
00:16:03.452 --> 00:16:06.355
Let me ask you a questionthis Christmas Eve of 2019.
00:16:07.790 --> 00:16:12.261
Do you eagerly look forwardto the return of Jesus?
00:16:13.662 --> 00:16:16.999
I think it's really an indicator
00:16:16.999 --> 00:16:18.567
of where you're at spiritually.
00:16:18.567 --> 00:16:20.936
I think if you'reright with God,
00:16:20.936 --> 00:16:22.171
you will long for,you will desire,
00:16:22.171 --> 00:16:24.606
you will want Christ to return.
00:16:24.606 --> 00:16:27.142
I think if you're maybe not
00:16:27.142 --> 00:16:28.477
where you want tobe spiritually,
00:16:28.477 --> 00:16:30.846
you'll sort of dread theidea of Christ coming back.
00:16:30.846 --> 00:16:34.116
He'll come to this earth again.
00:16:34.116 --> 00:16:36.452
In his first coming he waswrapped in swaddling clothes.
00:16:36.452 --> 00:16:40.055
In his second coming,
00:16:40.055 --> 00:16:41.557
he'll be clothed royallyin a robe dipped in blood.
00:16:41.557 --> 00:16:44.326
In his first coming,
00:16:44.326 --> 00:16:45.561
he was surrounded byanimals and shepherds.
00:16:45.561 --> 00:16:47.930
In the second coming,
00:16:47.930 --> 00:16:49.164
he'll be surroundedby saints and angels.
00:16:49.164 --> 00:16:52.201
In his first coming,
00:16:52.201 --> 00:16:53.435
there was no roomfor him in the inn.
00:16:53.435 --> 00:16:55.270
In his second coming,
00:16:55.270 --> 00:16:56.538
the door of the heavenswill be open to him.
00:16:56.538 --> 00:16:59.675
In his first coming,
00:16:59.675 --> 00:17:00.709
he would be the Lamb of God
00:17:00.709 --> 00:17:02.177
who would die forthe sin of the world.
00:17:02.177 --> 00:17:05.047
In the second coming,
00:17:05.047 --> 00:17:06.081
he'll be the ferocious lion
00:17:06.081 --> 00:17:08.083
of the tribe of Judahbringing judgment.
00:17:08.083 --> 00:17:11.186
And we like Simeon and Anna
00:17:11.186 --> 00:17:13.422
should be lookingforward to his return.
00:17:13.422 --> 00:17:17.426
This may surprise youbut death and Christmas
00:17:17.426 --> 00:17:20.829
are inseparably connected.
00:17:20.829 --> 00:17:23.432
I know that's not a cheeryimage for this time of year.
00:17:23.432 --> 00:17:26.869
But actually it's true.
00:17:26.869 --> 00:17:28.871
Because this child was coming
00:17:28.871 --> 00:17:31.206
to die for the sin of the world.
00:17:31.206 --> 00:17:33.976
The wise men got it.
00:17:33.976 --> 00:17:36.078
One brought a gift of gold.
00:17:36.078 --> 00:17:37.546
Another brought agift of frankincense,
00:17:37.546 --> 00:17:39.781
and the third broughta gift of myrrh.
00:17:39.781 --> 00:17:41.884
Gold because he was a king,
00:17:41.884 --> 00:17:44.019
frankincense or incensebecause he would be
00:17:44.019 --> 00:17:46.421
our high priestrepresenting us to God.
00:17:46.421 --> 00:17:50.626
And lastly myrrh whichwas an embalming element
00:17:50.626 --> 00:17:53.395
because this childwould become a man
00:17:53.395 --> 00:17:55.764
and die on the cross forthe sin of the world.
00:17:55.764 --> 00:17:59.134
So why did Jesus come?
00:17:59.134 --> 00:18:01.270
So we could shop till we drop?
00:18:01.270 --> 00:18:03.939
No, he came so hewould die for our sins.
00:18:03.939 --> 00:18:07.276
He said himself in Mark 10:45.
00:18:07.276 --> 00:18:09.811
I've come to give my lifeas a ransom for many.
00:18:09.811 --> 00:18:13.615
It's a gift.
00:18:14.583 --> 00:18:15.851
It's the ultimate giftthat God offers to us,
00:18:15.851 --> 00:18:18.487
the gift of eternal life.
00:18:18.487 --> 00:18:20.722
You know, I've noticedthat a lot of people
00:18:20.722 --> 00:18:22.758
are having packagesstolen off of their porch.
00:18:22.758 --> 00:18:25.961
It's a thing that's reallygetting out of control.
00:18:25.961 --> 00:18:28.430
Because so many peopleare shopping online now.
00:18:28.430 --> 00:18:31.033
It's crazy, thehighest numbers ever.
00:18:31.033 --> 00:18:34.269
And so these guys or girls,
00:18:34.269 --> 00:18:36.905
whoever they are that comeand steal these packages
00:18:36.905 --> 00:18:39.441
are called porch pirates.
00:18:39.441 --> 00:18:41.376
Heard about that?
00:18:41.376 --> 00:18:42.844
So I heard about one ladywho was quite clever.
00:18:42.844 --> 00:18:45.480
She took the boxes that shegot from Amazon and others
00:18:45.480 --> 00:18:48.517
and took what shewanted out of them
00:18:48.517 --> 00:18:50.452
and then filled them withtrash and put 'em on the porch
00:18:50.452 --> 00:18:52.788
so the porch piratesstole her trash.
00:18:52.788 --> 00:18:56.058
And in one box sheput used kitty litter.
00:18:56.058 --> 00:18:59.728
That must have been quitea surprise for them.
00:18:59.728 --> 00:19:02.364
But here's the thing thatyou need to understand.
00:19:02.364 --> 00:19:04.700
God's gift to youcannot be stolen.
00:19:04.700 --> 00:19:07.736
It's a good gift.
00:19:07.736 --> 00:19:09.638
And the key is you must open it
00:19:09.638 --> 00:19:12.174
like those unclaimed gift cards.
00:19:12.174 --> 00:19:15.277
Jesus was born so youcould be born again.
00:19:15.277 --> 00:19:18.313
Jesus left heaven soyou can go to heaven.
00:19:18.313 --> 00:19:22.251
C.S. Lewis said theSon of God became a man
00:19:22.251 --> 00:19:25.220
that men mightbecome sons of God.
00:19:25.220 --> 00:19:28.423
Sometimes it's said,
00:19:28.423 --> 00:19:29.658
you know, we're allchildren of God.
00:19:29.658 --> 00:19:31.426
That sounds nice.
00:19:31.426 --> 00:19:33.362
But it's actually not true.
00:19:33.362 --> 00:19:35.230
It's certainly nottheologically true.
00:19:35.230 --> 00:19:38.200
You're all createdin the image of God.
00:19:38.200 --> 00:19:41.003
We're all loved by God.
00:19:41.003 --> 00:19:43.372
But we're not allthe children of God.
00:19:43.372 --> 00:19:45.874
You only become a child of God
00:19:45.874 --> 00:19:48.110
by receiving Christinto your life.
00:19:48.110 --> 00:19:50.879
For the Bible says, foras many as received him,
00:19:50.879 --> 00:19:53.248
he gave them the powerto become sons of God.
00:19:53.248 --> 00:19:56.351
It's a gift of eternallife which I'm telling you
00:19:56.351 --> 00:19:59.221
gets more valuableas you get older.
00:19:59.221 --> 00:20:03.358
It gets more valuableas you get older.
00:20:03.358 --> 00:20:07.396
Tomorrow, when youopen up your presents,
00:20:07.396 --> 00:20:10.332
some of you will getthe latest gadget.
00:20:10.332 --> 00:20:13.402
The new thing, what is it now,
00:20:13.402 --> 00:20:14.836
combination phone, drone,
00:20:14.836 --> 00:20:18.740
toaster and vacuum cleaner.
00:20:18.740 --> 00:20:21.843
(congregation laughing)
00:20:21.843 --> 00:20:23.111
Nobody else has ityet, you'll have it.
00:20:23.111 --> 00:20:25.881
But three months laterthey're gonna come up with
00:20:25.881 --> 00:20:27.549
a newer version withlonger battery life,
00:20:27.549 --> 00:20:29.618
or it'll do something elsethat the earlier one didn't do.
00:20:29.618 --> 00:20:32.587
Or you'll get an outfit.
00:20:32.587 --> 00:20:34.323
But in time, that outfitwill go out of style.
00:20:34.323 --> 00:20:37.826
And then there are somegifts that may not seem
00:20:37.826 --> 00:20:39.728
as valuable to you today.
00:20:39.728 --> 00:20:42.964
But they'll grow invalue as you get older,
00:20:42.964 --> 00:20:45.634
like that sweet little notethat your child wrote you,
00:20:45.634 --> 00:20:48.904
or that card that yourgrandchild made you.
00:20:48.904 --> 00:20:51.973
Or if your house were on fire,
00:20:51.973 --> 00:20:53.241
you'd grab thatbefore anything else.
00:20:53.241 --> 00:20:57.179
Or some of you maybehad grandparents
00:20:57.179 --> 00:20:59.981
that didn't give yougifts at Christmas.
00:20:59.981 --> 00:21:01.950
They put money inan account for you.
00:21:01.950 --> 00:21:05.020
And so it's Christmas morning.
00:21:05.020 --> 00:21:06.488
You're all excitedand grandma says,
00:21:06.488 --> 00:21:08.223
we put some more moneyinto your account.
00:21:08.223 --> 00:21:11.860
And you're thinking,grandma, it's so lame.
00:21:11.860 --> 00:21:14.096
Now 20 years have passed andyou just checked your balance
00:21:15.530 --> 00:21:17.999
and you're saying,grandma, it's awesome.
00:21:17.999 --> 00:21:20.369
Because all thosegifts are gone,
00:21:21.570 --> 00:21:23.939
but the money'sgrown with interest.
00:21:23.939 --> 00:21:26.575
So you see, somegifts get greater,
00:21:26.575 --> 00:21:29.511
or you understand howvaluable they are more
00:21:29.511 --> 00:21:32.314
with the passing of time.
00:21:32.314 --> 00:21:33.682
And that's true of thegift of eternal life.
00:21:33.682 --> 00:21:36.952
See, I became a Christianwhen I was a 17 years old.
00:21:36.952 --> 00:21:39.321
I was just a kid.
00:21:39.321 --> 00:21:40.188
And you know what myprimary interest was
00:21:41.423 --> 00:21:42.924
in becoming a Christian?
00:21:42.924 --> 00:21:44.159
I wanted to findthe meaning of life.
00:21:44.159 --> 00:21:47.162
Because I had tried tofill a hole in my heart
00:21:47.162 --> 00:21:49.898
with drugs, and drinking,
00:21:49.898 --> 00:21:51.199
and partying and other things.
00:21:51.199 --> 00:21:52.801
And I was empty and Iwanted to have a life
00:21:52.801 --> 00:21:55.570
with purpose and meaning.
00:21:55.570 --> 00:21:56.838
Oh the afterlifestuff was great but
00:21:56.838 --> 00:21:59.274
that seemed so far off.
00:21:59.274 --> 00:22:01.176
But as you get older,that afterlife stuff,
00:22:01.176 --> 00:22:04.846
that becomes moreimportant to you
00:22:04.846 --> 00:22:07.115
because you realizeyou're closer to it.
00:22:07.115 --> 00:22:09.050
But don't think I'm justpreaching to older people here.
00:22:09.050 --> 00:22:11.787
I'm talkin' to everybodybecause you don't know
00:22:11.787 --> 00:22:15.624
when you're gonna haveyour last Christmas.
00:22:15.624 --> 00:22:18.293
And the reason I say that
00:22:18.293 --> 00:22:19.528
is because lastChristmas, last year,
00:22:19.528 --> 00:22:22.831
you may have been with someone
00:22:22.831 --> 00:22:24.099
that is not with you this year.
00:22:24.099 --> 00:22:26.735
See, Christmas is amarker of time isn't it?
00:22:26.735 --> 00:22:30.138
It's a reminder we'regetting older not younger.
00:22:30.138 --> 00:22:33.141
And it's a reminder that we'regetting closer to eternity.
00:22:33.141 --> 00:22:36.645
But here's the great thing.
00:22:36.645 --> 00:22:37.846
When you have thegift of eternal life,
00:22:37.846 --> 00:22:39.815
you don't have to fear deathbecause when that day comes,
00:22:39.815 --> 00:22:42.818
when you close your eyeson earth for the last time,
00:22:42.818 --> 00:22:45.353
they'll be opened in heaven.
00:22:45.353 --> 00:22:48.056
And you'll realize it wasall true, every word of it.
00:22:48.056 --> 00:22:51.860
(congregation clapping)
00:22:51.860 --> 00:22:55.464
And you'll realizethat any sacrifice
00:22:55.464 --> 00:22:57.799
you made to follow Christ,
00:22:57.799 --> 00:22:59.334
any mockery you received,
00:22:59.334 --> 00:23:01.169
any hardship you enduredto be a Christian
00:23:01.169 --> 00:23:03.805
was more than worth it
00:23:03.805 --> 00:23:05.407
because of this gift thatGod has given to you,
00:23:05.407 --> 00:23:08.310
this unspeakable giftas the Bible calls it,
00:23:08.310 --> 00:23:11.112
this indescribable gift,
00:23:11.112 --> 00:23:13.181
the gift of eternal life.
00:23:13.181 --> 00:23:15.884
And it's still being offered.
00:23:15.884 --> 00:23:17.686
Now let's say I wantedto give you this Bible.
00:23:17.686 --> 00:23:19.588
This is a pretty niceBible by the way.
00:23:19.588 --> 00:23:22.123
And let's say thatI said, you know,
00:23:22.123 --> 00:23:23.658
I've got this Biblefor you, I love it,
00:23:23.658 --> 00:23:26.394
but I want you to have it.
00:23:26.394 --> 00:23:27.629
And I even had yourname inscribed on it.
00:23:27.629 --> 00:23:29.798
So there you go,merry Christmas.
00:23:29.798 --> 00:23:32.200
You went oh, it's evengreen like Christmas.
00:23:32.200 --> 00:23:36.037
Thank you Greg andyou took my Bible.
00:23:36.037 --> 00:23:38.540
I just say enjoy it, use it.
00:23:38.540 --> 00:23:41.042
No, you can't do it.
00:23:41.042 --> 00:23:42.010
No, I want to do it, take it.
00:23:42.010 --> 00:23:44.779
But if I were tooffer you this Bible
00:23:44.779 --> 00:23:46.748
and you said, oh that'sreally nice of you,
00:23:46.748 --> 00:23:47.816
but I don't really want it.
00:23:47.816 --> 00:23:49.885
I say, well actually I putyour name on it though,
00:23:49.885 --> 00:23:51.553
so go ahead.
00:23:51.553 --> 00:23:52.854
No, I don't want it.
00:23:52.854 --> 00:23:53.955
I appreciate the thought.
00:23:53.955 --> 00:23:55.824
No really, take it.
00:23:55.824 --> 00:23:57.325
No, I don't want it.
00:23:57.325 --> 00:23:58.260
Hey, that's a rejection, right.
00:23:58.260 --> 00:24:00.929
So God has given you themost important gift of all,
00:24:00.929 --> 00:24:04.432
bought with theblood of his own Son.
00:24:04.432 --> 00:24:06.167
And he offers it to youand you say, I don't know,
00:24:06.167 --> 00:24:09.971
thanks but no thanks.
00:24:09.971 --> 00:24:12.440
Don't you realizethat's a rejection?
00:24:12.440 --> 00:24:14.910
To not accept thisgift of eternal life
00:24:14.910 --> 00:24:17.445
is in effect to reject it.
00:24:17.445 --> 00:24:19.314
And this gift is on thetable right now for you.
00:24:19.314 --> 00:24:22.551
And I wonder, haveyou all received it?
00:24:22.551 --> 00:24:24.686
Are you sure right now
00:24:26.288 --> 00:24:27.856
that if this wereyour last Christmas,
00:24:27.856 --> 00:24:30.692
if this were yourlast day on earth,
00:24:30.692 --> 00:24:33.261
that you would go toheaven when you die?
00:24:33.261 --> 00:24:35.096
If you're not sure of this,
00:24:35.096 --> 00:24:37.232
let's get this resolvedright here, right now,
00:24:37.232 --> 00:24:40.135
so you can receive this amazinggift that God offers you.
00:24:40.135 --> 00:24:44.372
Say, what do I have to do?
00:24:44.372 --> 00:24:45.607
You have to admityou're a sinner.
00:24:45.607 --> 00:24:48.076
You have to be willingto turn from your sin
00:24:48.076 --> 00:24:50.579
and you must ask JesusChrist to come into your life
00:24:50.579 --> 00:24:53.949
to be your friend, yourSavior, and your Lord.
00:24:53.949 --> 00:24:56.718
And in a moment we're gonna pray
00:24:56.718 --> 00:24:58.420
and I'm gonna extendan invitation for you
00:24:58.420 --> 00:25:01.590
to believe in Jesusand be forgiven
00:25:01.590 --> 00:25:04.459
of all of your sin.
00:25:04.459 --> 00:25:06.895
I couldn't offer youanything greater than this.
00:25:06.895 --> 00:25:10.131
And it's really notwhat I'm offering.
00:25:10.131 --> 00:25:12.467
It's what God is offering.
00:25:12.467 --> 00:25:14.002
I'm just telling you about it.
00:25:14.002 --> 00:25:16.004
I'm just sharing the good news
00:25:16.004 --> 00:25:18.573
that you can beforgiven of your sin
00:25:18.573 --> 00:25:20.308
and start a relationshipwith the Lord.
00:25:20.308 --> 00:25:22.844
Hey thanks for watchin'our TV program.
00:25:24.679 --> 00:25:27.582
And I wonder if you yourselfhave accepted Jesus Christ.
00:25:27.582 --> 00:25:31.820
You know, a lot of times peopletune into programs like this
00:25:31.820 --> 00:25:34.222
who aren't believers andthey're kinda checkin' it out.
00:25:34.222 --> 00:25:36.891
Maybe you're laughingat it at first.
00:25:36.891 --> 00:25:39.194
Maybe you think it's not real.
00:25:39.194 --> 00:25:41.463
But something hashappened and maybe
00:25:41.463 --> 00:25:43.531
something that's been said,
00:25:43.531 --> 00:25:45.333
you've suddenly discoveredyou need Jesus Christ.
00:25:45.333 --> 00:25:48.136
You know, the day I acceptedJesus, let me tell you,
00:25:48.136 --> 00:25:51.039
it was the last thingI planned on doing.
00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:53.742
I didn't plan on becominga Christian that day.
00:25:53.742 --> 00:25:56.277
But that was the day thatwas appointed in eternity
00:25:56.277 --> 00:26:00.115
for me to believe in Jesus.
00:26:00.115 --> 00:26:01.783
I wonder if this isnot that day for you.
00:26:01.783 --> 00:26:05.220
You've been eavesdropping.
00:26:05.220 --> 00:26:06.221
You've been checking it out.
00:26:06.221 --> 00:26:07.555
But now God's speakingright to your heart
00:26:07.555 --> 00:26:09.391
and you realize youneed Jesus Christ.
00:26:09.391 --> 00:26:11.660
Would you like to haveyour sin forgiven?
00:26:11.660 --> 00:26:14.496
Wold you like asecond chance in life?
00:26:14.496 --> 00:26:16.498
Would you like to goto heaven when you die?
00:26:16.498 --> 00:26:19.067
Would you likeyour guilt removed?
00:26:19.067 --> 00:26:21.169
Listen, it can all happenbecause Jesus Christ
00:26:21.169 --> 00:26:24.205
went to a cross anddied for your sin
00:26:24.205 --> 00:26:26.941
and then rose againthree days later.
00:26:26.941 --> 00:26:29.010
And he'll come intoyour life right now
00:26:29.010 --> 00:26:30.745
and be your Saviorand your Lord,
00:26:30.745 --> 00:26:32.714
and the best friendyou've ever had.
00:26:32.714 --> 00:26:34.916
Let's pray together.
00:26:34.916 --> 00:26:36.251
Pray this after me.
00:26:36.251 --> 00:26:37.919
Lord Jesus, I knowthat I'm a sinner.
00:26:37.919 --> 00:26:41.923
But I believe you diedon the cross for my sin
00:26:41.923 --> 00:26:44.759
and I'm sorry for that sin.
00:26:44.759 --> 00:26:46.828
And I turn from it now
00:26:46.828 --> 00:26:48.730
and I ask you to come intomy life and be my Savior
00:26:48.730 --> 00:26:52.200
and be my Lord, and be my God,
00:26:52.200 --> 00:26:54.636
and be my friend.
00:26:54.636 --> 00:26:56.738
I choose to follow youfrom this moment forward
00:26:56.738 --> 00:27:00.408
in Jesus' name I pray amen.
00:27:00.408 --> 00:27:03.478
If you just prayed that prayer,
00:27:03.478 --> 00:27:04.979
I want you to know in theauthority of God's word
00:27:04.979 --> 00:27:07.082
that Christ himself hascome to live inside of you.
00:27:07.082 --> 00:27:10.385
The Bible says thesethings we write to you
00:27:10.385 --> 00:27:12.287
that believe on thename of the Son of God
00:27:12.287 --> 00:27:14.656
that you may know thatyou have eternal life.
00:27:14.656 --> 00:27:17.826
But let me say God bless you
00:27:17.826 --> 00:27:20.161
and welcome to God's family.
00:27:20.161 --> 00:27:22.197
♪ This is the day, theday when life begins ♪
00:27:22.197 --> 00:27:27.202

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