"The Christmas Gift" By General Pastor Peter F. Paine December 14th,
2014
God
bless you. You may
be seated. I will
tell you that I think this is the
greatest Christmas gift I could ask for, is to be here. So,
I want to talk a little bit
about Debbie. When
I met her, in 1973,
she had this beautiful, red hair.
After
we had been married for about twenty years, the red was leaving, and it
was
being replaced by something other than red, and so, she decided that
she would
dye her hair blonde. So,
far the next
eighteen years, I was married to a blonde.
So, I got to marry a red-head in 1975, and that
marriage lasted about
twenty years, and then I was married to a blonde.
About six months ago, she decided that she
didn’t want to be blonde anymore, and so now I’m married to a lady with
what I
like to call platinum-blonde hair.
It’s
kind of a glowing white. I’d
like to
introduce you to my third wife, Debbie. I
bring you greetings from the
mother of our ministry, Sister Hazel Davis, and from the leadership in
Norfolk. I’d like
to talk about our
children: Holly and
Heather are doing
great, and they both live in the Norfolk/Virginia beach area. We’re very thankful for
that; I know that
they would like to be here with us, but, just, it wasn’t possible. They were both in church
in Norfolk this
morning. Our son,
Adam, still lives in
New York City. He
lives in the Bronx; he
works in Manhattan, and he goes to school in Manhattan.
He loves school, and he’s embraced the city
life of living in New York City. He
feels very alive there. He
loves school,
and he tells us about it all the time.
He’ll be home in Norfolk for Christmas, so we’ll
be blessed to have all
three of our children home for Christmas.
Amen for that. I
understand you’ve been spending
some time in the Gospel of Luke, chapter two, verses 10 and 11 this
month. How many of
you have received a blessing,
with what you think about Christmas and what it means?
Amen.
I’m going to ask you a couple of questions, and
I’m going to tell a
couple of stories, and then I’m going to jump into Scripture. How many of you—be honest;
show of
hands—you’ve really got something that, “You know what? I’d like this
for
Christmas this year?” A
lot of hands. How
many of you, you don’t want anything for
Christmas; you’d just as soon not get anything?
More moving hands.
How many of
you would really like to give something special this Christmas? You know what, if I could,
this Christmas, I
would give—you ever see something on television, or maybe on the
internet, or
news page, or wherever it is you might hear a story about someone who
gave
somebody a very special gift. Maybe
it
was—I saw one on the news the other day where there was this couple
that went
to the Cracker Barrel on a regular basis; they went there every
Saturday. They were
an elderly couple, and they noticed
this really troubled vehicle—and they showed pictures of it on the
news, and it
reminded me of my first car.
It had
plastic on one of the windows, and, you know, duct tape to hold one of
the
fenders in place; you know the kind of car I’m talking about. They inquired, and found
out who owned this
car; it was a waitress that worked there.
They decided that they wanted to do something
about it, so they went and
bought a new car, and brought it to the Cracker Barrel—of course, they
paid for
it—and they gave her the title and the keys.
That was her tip that day.
Did
you ever hear a story like
that, and think, “Gee, if I could, I would give.”
I want you to just take that, and let it soak
in for a moment. “If
I could, I would;
if I could, I would give.” We’re
talking
about the Gospel of Luke: Luke 2:10-11
And
the angel said unto them, Fear not: for,
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people.
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour… A
what? A savior.
Think about what it is that God has given us. Luke 2:11
For
unto you is born this day in the city of
David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. I
said I was going to tell you a
couple of stories; here’s one: The
year
would have been 1964. I
was ten years
old, and I was saving to buy a bicycle.
The reason I was saving to buy a bicycle: I had a paper route, and I
delivered the
morning paper. I
grew up in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania; I delivered the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
I lived in a small neighborhood; there were
seventy-five houses in the village I lived in, and I think I had about
forty-five people on my route. So,
I’d
get up in the morning before school, and I’d deliver the Pittsburgh
Post-Gazette. It
was a pretty quick and
easy delivery route, and then I’d go to school.
I was saving up because I wanted to buy a bicycle,
and I was going to
buy Ray Rosenbauer’s bicycle, because—there were two sets of twin boys
about
the same age in our neighborhood: my twin brother Paul and I, and Ray
and Russ
Rosenbauer. Ray and
Russ got new
bicycles. They got
new—and some of you
are old enough to understand what I’m saying here—They got new Stingray
bicycles, Schwinn Stingray bicycles…
Now
that roar, for you young people, from the old people that
remember—anyhow, it
was just a special bike at that time.
It
had a banana seat on it, and high handlebars, and a color called plum
crazy, a
beautiful purple metal-flake color.
And
Ray and Russ got brand new, Schwinn bicycles.
It had a stick shift on the center bar; you know
what I’m talking about,
right? They were
going to sell their old
bicycles. I was
saving to buy Ray
Rosenbauer’s bicycle, and Paul was saving to buy Russ’s bicycle. To be honest, I don’t
remember whether he was
getting Russ’s or I was, but, either way, Paul and I were saving to buy
Ray and
Russ Rosenbauer’s bicycles. My
dad said
to me one day—he was in my bedroom and he saw the jar with the money in
it—and
he said, “What are you saving for, Pete?” and I told him that I was
going to
buy this bicycle from Ray and Russ Rosenbauer.
He asked, “Is that the bike you really want?” I
said, “Nooo. The
bike I really want…” and I opened the
magazine—it was a Boy’s Life magazine—and I said, “That’s the bike I
really
want!” He said,
“Aw, man. How would
anybody be able to afford a bicycle
like that?” I said,
“I don’t know, dad,
but that’s cool, isn’t it?” So,
if you
haven’t caught it, yet, I’m telling you about the most memorable gift
from my
childhood. So, I’m
saving money, and my
dad kept asking, “How you doing?” and I’d say, “I’m getting close, dad.” He asked, “How many days
do you have?” and I
said, “I think by the end of the month I’ll be able to do it.” Ray and Russ were holding
their bikes for
Paul and I, because we had told them we wanted them.
They were fine; they had their new Stingray
bikes. Paul and I
were safe. My dad
said, “Pete, why don’t you put a
picture of that bicycle on your wall?”
So, I ripped it out of the magazine, and I took a
push-pin, and I put it
on the wall. Every
night, I looked at
that bike. One day,
my dad said to me,
“How close are you to being able to buy one of the boys’ bikes?“ I said, “I think I’ll get
it this week-end,
dad.” Friday
afternoon, my dad pulled
into the driveway with his station wagon.
He had two bags of groceries, one in each arm. He came in the house, and
he said, “Peter and
Paul, “Would you help me unload the station wagon?
There’s still some more stuff in it.” Plum crazy and a
strawberry red Stingray
bicycles with a five-speed stick shift.
I waxed that bike, and took good care of it. Paul and I could beat Russ
and Ray up any
hill. I still
remember that bike, and I
still remember the feeling of getting it.
But, I think that my dad would remember—if he were
still with us—he
would remember the feeling of giving it.
What would you like to get for Christmas? What would you like to
give for Christmas? I’m
going to tell you another
story; it happened the following year.
Later on in the message, I hope these two stories
will tie in with what
the Lord has for us today. My
dad and I
were visiting my mother. She
had had a
cerebral hemorrhage—some of you have heard this part of my
testimony—she was
blind, and paralyzed and her memory was largely gone. She would have
bright
days when she could remember everything, and she’d have some days when
she
couldn’t remember much of anything, and, on that day, she didn’t
remember that
she had children. When
I said, “Hi, mom,
it’s Peter,” she said, “Peter who?”
When
they told her I was her son, she said, “I don’t have a son Peter.” So, in the station wagon,
on the way back
home, I was pouting. My
father pulled
the car off to the side of the road, and said, “What’s up with you,
son?” I told
someone this story not too long
ago. I said, “Well,
mom doesn’t even
know who I am, dad.” He
said, “Just a
minute, young man. Let
me tell you
something: For the
first ten years of
your life, you had the best mother any man could ever have. She poured her life and
her love into you
every single day, for the first ten years of your life.
Then she got sick.
Something happened, and it took her memory. Some days she knows us,
and some days she
doesn’t, but, I promise you, if you could open up her heart and see
inside,
you’d see your name written there.
So,
don’t you ever feel sorry for yourself, because she poured more love
into you
in the first ten years of your life than most young boys get from their
mother
in their whole lives. If
I ever hear you
feeling sorry for yourself again, it will be the last thing you say. Now, should I put this car
in drive, and head
on home, or should we sit here and talk for a little while longer?” I said, “Let’s go home,
dad.” Those are the
two stories I’ll comeback to in
a little bit. The
Apostle Paul is writing in
First Corinthians, and in the twelfth chapter, he tells us that we are
a
body. He tells us
that we need each
other. He tells us
that, without each
other, we’re incomplete. Apostle
Paul is
writing to the Church in Corinth, and he says: 1 Corinthians 12:12
For
as the
body is one, and hath many members… I
would suggest to you today that
you are a member of a body. That’s
true
n your natural family, and it’s true in your spiritual family. In case you don’t feel
this, let me remind
you that you are important to the body.
That’s your natural family, and it’s your
spiritual family. Some
of you are hearing me say this, today,
and you’re not particularly happy with your natural family right now. Maybe you feel that you
really have something
that you could complain about, and, you know what? you would be
justified in
your complaint. But,
I want to ask you
to remember today that it’s not about everyone else in your family for
the
moment; I want to talk to you about you. I want to talk to you
about what you bring to
the table in your family. Let
the church
say amen. Because,
we all bring
something different to the table.
You
ever been—show of hands—how many have ever gone to a pot-luck? You bring one thing, and
everybody else
brings one thing, and there’s a lot of things for us to enjoy at a
pot-luck,
right? I like
pot-lucks. If
you’re like me, when you go through a
pot-luck, you get a little of this, and a little of that, and a little
of this,
and a little more of that, and a little of this…
Everybody brings something.
Most people bring something special to a
pot-luck. You bring
your very best dish,
right? When Parrish
talks about food, he
lights up. I’ve
stood close to Parrish
when he talks about food; he sort of vibrates.
See, in a family, we all bring something to the
table. I want you
to know today that you bring
something to the table. You
matter to
your family. Maybe
today is the day for
me to tell you that, you know what? even if your family has brought
empty pots
to the pot-luck, it’s time for you to bring your special dish to your
family. You say,
“Wait, you don’t know
my family’s story.” No,
I don’t. No, I
don’t.
It may have been unfair of me to say that without
sitting down with you
first and hearing your family’s story, but let me tell you
something—did you
hear me say what my father said to me—let me tell you something: Your Heavenly Father knows
your family’s
story. Your
Heavenly Father brought us a
gift. He said,
“…unto you is born this day
in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.” If you’re writing down
notes, write down 1
Corinthians 12:12-31. But,
before I
leave and go to the Prophet Isaiah, I want to remind you that chapter
twelve
starts with these words, “Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I
would not
have you ignorant.” (1 Corinthians 12:1)
So, when you spend time in that twelfth chapter of
First Corinthians,
remember that spiritual gifts matter.
Remember that you have something to bring to the
table. Just because
somebody else has brought an
empty pot to the table, and they filled their plate up, don’t you be
guilty of
following that example. It’s
up to you,
it’s up to me, it’s up to us to bring something to the table; to bring
something
to the Body of Christ. So,
let’s go to Isaiah, and see
what he says about this gift that Christ is in our lives. I wish I had some more
time this morning,
because I would like to develop it a little bit about how rebellious
Israel has
been, about the challenges Israel was facing, bout the problems that
the
Children of Israel had at the time that this prophecy went forth. But, when things were bad,
the Lord promised
something good was about to happen.
So,
maybe I need to remind you, today, that if things are bad, there is a
promise
that something good is about to happen.
Maybe I came today to remind you that even though
things are bad, even
though there may be a storm in your life, even though there may be
challenges,
and trials, and tribulations in your life, even though you may be
suffering,
and hurting, and I’m looking at you as you’re looking at me, and I know
some of
you, this Christmas season, you’re struggling to be happy for those
that are
talking about all this joy. You’re
struggling to be happy for those that are talking about all this peace. You hear of people who are
getting new cars,
or you hear some preacher stand up and tell you about how he got a new
bicycle,
and you think, “Yeah, I never got a new bike.
I never got a
new bike. I wasn’t
even in a position to save up to buy
Ray Rosenbuer’s old bike.” I
want you to
know that I appreciate what predicament that is, but, in spite of that,
could I
be the one to remind you today that:
“For
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is
Christ the
Lord.” You see, the
Prophet Isaiah said
to the people of Israel, “You suffered.
Not everyone was rebellious, but everyone
suffered.” Sometimes
we suffer for someone else’s sin,
don’t we? Sometimes
we’re the
victim. Then some
do-gooder like me
comes along and says, “Don’t feel sorry for yourself,” and you say,
“You didn’t
get raped, you didn’t get abandoned, you didn’t get…”
Huh? I
didn’t live your life; I didn’t walk in your shoes.
I get up here and I talk about how my dad
bought me a brand new bike, and some of you find it hard to find any
joy in
that story, and I understand. But,
I
came to tell you today that unto you is born this day in the city of
David a
Savior, which is Christ the Lord. So,
what did Isaiah say? well, if
you’re writing notes, write down Isaiah 9:1-7, but I’m going to jump in
at
verse five, and then highlight verse six. Isaiah 9:5
For
every battle of the warrior is with
confused noise... Sometimes
that’s where we’re at in
life. Sometimes
that’s where we’re at
when somebody’s telling us about his wonderful news.
Sometimes it’s a little hard to say,
“Hallelujah, amen!” Sometimes
it’s a
little hard to—somebody tell me that you know what I’m saying right now. Somebody tell me that
maybe I’m singing your
song today; that it’s not always easy to put that smile on when you
gout of the
house, and you know what’s happening behind those closed doors. Your story’s not as pretty
as everyone
else’s. I’m going
to keep saying it as
long as I need to until you feel it.
For
unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is
Christ the
Lord. Isaiah 9:6
For
unto us a child is born, unto us a son
is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name
shall be
called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father,
The
Prince of Peace. Not
just to Mary and Joseph. Amen?
I was nineteen years old and I was in the navy,
and I was stationed at
Great Lakes, Illinois, just around the corner, down the street. I got invited to a Bible
study. Pastor
Davis, after the study, asked me if I
knew Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior.
I had to say no.
I had heard that
there had been a Jesus, but I didn’t know that there is
a Jesus. Sort of
like
Christopher Columbus; I heard that there was one, but I had never met
him. I heard that
he lived; and he did something,
but I thought he was gone. I
had heard
that there had been a Jesus, but I was asked that night if I had a
personal
relationship with him. I
thought, “How
can you have a relationship with someone who was crucified; someone who
was
gone?” I believed
that Jesus was here,
but I didn’t know that He still is here.
It was that night, August 11th,
1973, that I entered into a
personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
I remember that, that night I was buried with Him
in baptism, raised to
walk in newness of life. That
was the
beginning of a walk with the lord that’s personal. He
said, “For unto us a child is
born…” This is
Isaiah prophesying what
we just read in Luke 2. You
see, when
the prophet Isaiah said it was going to happen, the people of Israel
knew they
needed a savior. The
people of Israel
thought, perhaps, that he was going to be a king that would come in a
chariot,
and there would be people proclaiming his arrival.
My wife Debbie and I walked into church
today, and I’ve got to tell you that I’m touched, and overwhelmed, and
humbled,
and a little embarrassed by the warm, wonderful welcome, but Jesus came
into
this earth without such a welcome.
I’m
just a pastor; He’s our Lord and Savior.
When Mary and Joseph showed up at the inn—and,
remember, an inn is a
place that has rooms. Now
I want to tell
you what it was like for Mary and Joseph that night.
In the culture of that day if you showed up
at an inn and you had any stature, if you had any position, if you had
any
wealth, if you had any notoriety, and there wasn’t a room; they’d find
you a
room. Perhaps
you’ve heard the joke
about the guy—well, you think it’s a joke, but it actually really
happened. Preacher
Howard was in the city, and there
was a blizzard in Chicago. Preacher,
you
remember the night that you and I were in the city, and there was a
blizzard,
and we couldn’t make it back to Waukegan.
You went into the Palmer House, and you said, “I
need a room for my
friend and I. Could
you get us a room
with two beds?” They
said, “Mister
Howard, we don’t have any rooms.”
He
said, “You don’t have any rooms in the whole hotel?”
They said, “Mister Howard, we’re sorry to
tell you that, because of this blizzard, all of our rooms have been
taken.” Earlier
that day, we had been
with Nelson Mandela, because he came in to give a speech in Chicago,
and it was
really an honor to be invited to the luncheon.
Preacher Howard got me a ticket, and we sat next
to each other. Preacher
said, “Well, if Nelson Mandela came
in right now and wanted a room, would you find him a room?” They said, “If Nelson
Mandela came in, we’d
find him a room,” and Preacher said, “He’s not coming; I’ll take his.” You see, that’s the way it
was at an inn back
in that day. So,
someone would be asked,
“Do you mind giving your room up for this dignitary?”
But Mary and Joseph weren’t dignitaries. Mary and Joseph weren’t
royalty. It’s true
that Mary was carrying the
Christ-child, but the people of the inn didn’t know.
The people at the inn didn’t understand. So, they said, “There’s no
room at the inn,
but you can sleep with the animals.”
We’ll often see scenes of a manger today built out
of wood and hay, and a
cute little lamb lying in there, and it smells nice, but the manger
didn’t smell
nice that night. A
manger in that day,
in that part of the world was a cave, so imagine what a cave smells
like. You say,
“Preacher, you didn’t have to go
there.” Maybe not;
I won’t stay here too
long. Imagine what
this cave, that the
animals spent the night in, smells like.
Well, you guys can go to the inn, that’s here they
sent our Lord and
Savior with His biological mother and un-biological father. There they were in the
inn; it was prophesied
that it would happen there. It
was the
only place it could happen. Caesar
Augustus was taxing the folks and the only reason they were there is to
pay
some taxes. Well,
that’s in the natural;
in the spiritual, it was just so that the prophecy could be fulfilled. So, let me read verse 6 in
its completeness,
and then we’ll move over to Luke 2, and spend a little time there. Isaiah 9:6
For
unto us a child is born, unto us a son
is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name
shall be
called Wonderful… How
would you like Wonderful for
Christmas this year? How
would you like
Wonderful for Christmas this year?
Ladies, you ever talk to other ladies about
finding Mister Wonderful? I’ve
heard of him, but I’m not sure he really
exists; he might be just a Fig Newton of your imagination. I mean, I just don’t know
if there is a such
a thing as a Mister Wonderful. There
is? Sonia said
that, and Andy turned
bright red. I’m
going to ask again,
because I didn’t hear my wife respond:
Is there such a thing as Mister Wonderful? Would you like Wonderful
for Christmas? Would
you like a Wonderful for
Christmas? Isaiah
said we got one. Isaiah
said He was coming, but I came to tell you that He’s already here. That’s why I shared with
you what I did about
my testimony. I
didn’t know He was here. I
didn’t know that this Jesus was still right
here, right now. Let
me interrupt this message to
say that if you don’t have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ,
you can
today. I didn’t say
join Christian
Fellowship, I said enter into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Because, the day will come
that that’s the
only thing that will matter. Isaiah
said He’d be
Wonderful. Then he
went on to say He’d
be Counsellor. Some
of you don’t take
advantage of that. Some
of you don’t take
advantage of Counsellor. Jesus
is there
so that you can tell him when you need something.
But a counsellor—some of you think
Jesus is there so that you can
tell him when you need something, is what I was trying to say, but
Jesus is a
counsellor, and some of us never knock on His door.
Some of us never ask Him to counsel us. You know, a counsellor
doesn’t tell you what
you want to hear, sometimes a counsellor tells you what you need to
hear. And Jesus is
a counsellor. I
came to tell you today that some of you are
living outside of the counsel of Christ.
What is it like when the Lord says no to someplace
you want to go? What
is it like when the Lord says go to
someplace you don’t want to go? What
is
it like when the Lord says stop and you want to go and what is it like
to get
counsel from the Lord and accept it?
And
accept it? And
accept it? Some of us
don’t ask the Lord for His counsel because we know that, once we get it… I don’t have to finish
that sentence. Isaiah
went on to say that not
only would He be Wonderful, not only would He be Counsellor, He’d be
the Mighty
God. Is He your God? Is He your God today or is
He just your
bumper-sticker? The
Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father. I
was talking about
my father, earlier; some of you might have had a little twinge, like,
“You know
what? I never met my dad.” Maybe
you met
him, and you sort of wish you hadn’t.
But, this Christmas, I came to remind you that you
have an Everlasting
Father. A Father
that doesn’t make
mistakes. A Father
who’s always on time. A
Father who, when you speak to Him, He’ll
speak back to you. A
Father who will
love you, even when you’re unlovable.
A
Father who will tell you what’s right, even when you’re wrong. A Father who will never
turn Hs back to
you—and, yes, we have free will, we can turn our back on our Father,
but He
won’t turn His back on us. A
Father
that, James referred to Him this way:
When you draw nigh to Him, He will draw nigh to
you (James 4:8). Hello?
He said He’d be an Everlasting Father, and then he
said—look out, now—He
said He’d be the Prince of Peace.
When
you hear that verse, I’ve heard some people say, “If He was the Prince
of
Peace, then our world wouldn’t be at war the way it is.” Well, the peace that’s
here, right now,
between His first coming and His second coming, is the peace that’s
within
us. That perfect
peace is yet to come;
that peace in the world is yet to come.
We don’t like in a peaceful world right now, but
we can have peace in
the world. He said
He would be the
Prince of Peace, and I ask you, today, is He the Prince of Peace in
your
life? Is He the
Prince of Peace in your
life? Apostle
Paul was writing to the
church at Colossi, and in chapter three and verse fifteen, he said,
“…let the
peace of God rule in your hearts…” (Colossians 3:15)
When I hear that verse, I think of a throne,
I get a picture of a throne, and I think, “Who’s on the throne in my
heart?” If it’s
God, it can be peace on
that throne, but if God’s not on that throne, you won’t have peace in
your
heart. He said in
that verse three
things. He said,
let the peace of God
rule in your hearts, remember that you are called in one body; and be
ye
thankful. So, when
you’re fighting for
peace—and maybe somebody came here today just to hear this—When you’re
lacking
peace in your life, the words that follow that—and if you’re writing
notes,
that’s Colossians 3:15—the peace that will rule in your heart comes
when we do
these two things that follow it: when
we
remember that were called into one body, and we’re thankful. If you’re lacking peace;
if you’re lacking
peace, start counting your blessings.
Start counting your blessings.
There’s an old song that says count your
blessings; when you have trouble
getting to sleep, count your blessings instead of sheep. I’ve got to tell you,
there have been many
nights when I’m thinking of my troubles, and I’m laying there, robbing
me of
sleep, and I think of that line from that song, and then I start
thinking, “You
know what? I’ve had this blessing in my life, and I’ve had this
blessing in my
life, and I’ve had this blessing in my life…”
I think it’s the old Indian proverb that says, “I
complained because I
had no moccasins, until I met a man who had no feet.”
Count your blessings. So,
now let’s go to Luke chapter
two, and see what it says about the fulfilling of this prophecy. I’m going to spend the
remainder of my time
here. Luke 2:1-2
And
it came to pass in those days, that
there went out a decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should
be
taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of
Syria.) I
won’t take time to replay all
the history of it, but when Mary and Joseph went to pay their taxes, it
was the
second year that tax had to be paid that way.
So, it wasn’t a historical thing, and there was no
way for Isaiah the
prophet to have known except that God spoke to Isaiah, and said, “This
is the
way it’s going to happen,” and that’s why Mary and Joseph were there,
so, it’s
a powerful component of the prophecy. Luke 2:3-4
And
all went to be taxed, every one into his
own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of
Nazareth,
into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem… Now,
Jesus was prophesied that He
would be born in the city of David, which is Bethlehem, but Mary and
Joseph
lived where? In Galilee. That’s
why all
the ministry of Christ is in the area of Galilee—around the Sea of
Galilee—because after they did this, they went home with Jesus. But, they were in
Bethlehem to pay the
tax. It’s sort of
an interesting work,
the way that God works prophecy in a way that none of us could have. Luke 2:4-6
And
Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of
the city of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is
called
Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) To be
taxed with
Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was, that,
while they
were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. She
was ready to give birth while
they were on this journey. Luke 2:7
And
she brought forth her firstborn son, and
wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because
there was
no room for them in the inn. We
talked about that. Luke 2:8-10
And
there were in the same country shepherds
abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo,
the
angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round
about
them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear
not: for,
behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people. Now,
the shepherds didn’t have an
advance notice of this. They
were living
their day-to-day life. They
were just
doing what shepherds do. They
were out
in their field; they were tending to their sheep, and maybe you’re here
today
and you’re just living your life.
You’re
just doing what you do. You’re
living
where you live; you’re going where you go.
You’ve got your college plans; you’ve got your
retirement plans; you’ve
got everything worked out. But
the angel
appears to these shepherds, and he says, “Something’s happening, and
you’re
going to be a part of it.” I
don’t know
if there might be someone here today who will hear the Lord say to you,
“Something’s happening, and you’re going to be a part of it.” “Something’s happening,
and you’re going to
be a part of it.” I
hope that the
message gets personal for you today.
Those of you who have known me a long time know
that I like this
expression—I’m not even sure who I stole it from—but, it won’t become
powerful
until it becomes personal. The
Word of
God won’t get powerful in your life until it becomes personal in your
life. We’re not
just reading a history
book about something that happened somewhere a long time ago; we’re
reading a
book of prophecy that’s fulfilled right here, right now. Let the church say amen. Luke 2:9-12
And,
lo, the angel of the Lord came upon
them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were
sore
afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring
you good
tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is
born this
day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this
shall be
a sign unto you; [That’s important]
Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. That
was so counter-cultural. We
talked about that earlier, about the room
in the inn. “Wait a
minute! Are you
telling me this is someone powerful,
someone mighty, and it’s going to be in a manger?” Luke 2:13-16
And
suddenly there was with the angel a
multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God
in the
highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. And it came to pass,
as the
angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to
another,
Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to
pass,
which the Lord hath made known unto us. Has
the Lord made known to you
that He’s real? If
He hasn’t, then
please believe this book. You
don’t have
to believe me, but believe the Word of God.
The Lord is here, and He wants to be made known to
you today. That’s
the gift of Christmas. You
can’t say Christmas without saying Christ.
Don’t just go through this December and give
and receive. Or,
don’t just go through
this December, if this is a hard time for you—if this is a hard time
for you,
and I understand, the holidays can be hard for folks.
I have tried to weave throughout this message
that this isn’t a wonderful time for a lot of folks, and I get that. I do get that. My grandfather, my
mother’s father, who I
never met, he died on Christmas Eve.
My
mother said for a long time that it was hard for her to enjoy Christmas
because
her father died tragically and suddenly on Christmas Eve. I understand that
sometimes something happens
in life that changes the way we feel about this holiday, but don’t let
it cover
up what it is that we’re talking about:
A Savior is born.
He’s your
savior. He gives us
free will; you can
reject Him. You can
say, “No, I don’t
want this gift.” You
could never unwrap
it; you could leave it unopened; you could get to judgment and be
turned
away… “Oh, he
didn’t go there on a
Christmas message!” Oh,
yes, I did,
because if you miss this gift, you’ve missed it all.
You could celebrate a hundred Christmases,
but if you don’t receive Christ, you’ll end up in the wrong place. Yes, I’m talking about
Hell. None of us
want to go to Hell. None
of us want to go to Hell. I
met a man one day, and he told
me that he wanted to go to Hell, because that’s where all of his
friends would
be, and I said, “You know what? if I were you, I’d get a whole new
group of
friends. I’m going
to Heaven, because
that’s where all of my friends will be.”
I’m sorry, but nobody’s worth going to Hell for. There’s no human being on
earth I love more
than my wife, Debbie. If
Debbie said,
“Pete, I think I’ll just go to Hell,” I’d say, “Well, I will miss you.” Did I say that out loud,
or did I just think
that? I’m
trying to get you to realize
how important this thing is. I’m
trying
to get you to realize how important this thing is.
I’m going to wrap up. Luke 2:16-17
And
they came with haste, and found Mary,
and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it,
they
made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. Now,
shepherds weren’t the most
popular people in that day. If
a king
were born, and you were writing the story, would you pick shepherds out
of a
field to announce his birth? maybe not.
But, listen to what happens next: Luke 2:18-20
And
all they that heard it wondered at those
things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these
things,
and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying
and
praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was
told
unto them. That’s
what we’re supposed to do,
saints, is tell people about this savior.
The shepherds did, and you can, and I can. Maybe you’re hearing this
today, and you’re
thinking, “I don’t think I’m qualified.”
I want to tell you about the first person I shared
the Gospel with. Some
of you have heard this, because I’ve
used it several times, for, those of you who have, bear with me,
because I
think it’s important to reference, it might help someone. So, I gave my heart and
life to Jesus—I made
reference to that earlier in the message—and now I’m coming back to the
barracks—I was in the navy—and I had a roommate.
I thought, “Well, I sure needed the Lord, and
he does, too.” I
said to him, “Hey, can
I share a Bible study with you?” His
name
was Kevin. He said,
“Yes.” I opened my
Bible to the only verse that I
remembered; I’d been a Christian almost twenty-four hours. I remembered Matthew 5:16,
because that one
was sort of interesting to me, “Let your light so shine before men,
that they
may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” And I closed my Bible, and
I said, “Do you
want to give your life to Jesus?” and he said, “Yes, I do.” I said, “Good. Let’s pray,” and we prayed. Then I said, “Are you
ready to get
baptized?” He said,
“Yes, I am.” I
said, “Good. Come
with me.” Man, I
was a rock star at Bible studies and
creating converts. I
was just—I was like
the shepherd; I was telling everybody about Jesus.
I didn’t have the shepherd’s hook, and I
didn’t have the sheep, but I was telling people about Jesus. Yeah, that was my first
Bible study. The
ones that followed didn’t go quite that
well, but, I want you to know that you can tell people about Jesus. Let your light so shine
before men, that they
may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. Amen? For
those of that had hoped for a
message that had a real nice flow to it, I don’t know if I should
apologize, or
tell you I’ll be back. Sometimes
I do
preach a message that has a nice flow to it; sometimes I even use my
notes. I had some
really neat things in
there, too. I had
some jokes I was going
to tell; some historical references…
I
was going to impress you with some knowledge of Greek and Hebrew, but I
just came
to tell you that there’s a gift, and it’s Jesus.
It’s for you.
So, if I didn’t tie together those two stories
from the beginning, I’ll
do it as I close right now. You
see, I thought
that I wanted Ray Rosenbauer’s bike, but my father had something better
for me. Your
Father’s got something better for you
than what you’ve already imagined.
I thought
I had something to feel sorry for, when my mother didn’t remember who I
was,
but I found out that really, I had something to be thankful for. So, I came today to tell
you to be thankful
for what you’ve got. I’m
going to turn this pulpit back
to Parrish, and however he chooses to close, but I pray that this
Christmas won’t
get lost in decorations, and the traditional carols, but it will get
found in Jesus
Christ, our Lord and Savior. God
bless
you; merry Christmas.
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