Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW200038S
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I wanna spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:35 I wanna spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I wanna spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today Christmas Family Worship. 01:13 All right. 01:15 It's so good to be here with my family. 01:19 And you guys are our family as well. 01:21 And my husband Danny Shelton. 01:23 Happy to be here 01:24 and happy for you to host today. 01:26 Well, you know, it's weird. 01:27 I get to relax a little bit. 01:29 I know, but I actually prefer you doing this part 01:32 and I sitting in. 01:33 I like this part. 01:34 This is my... 01:36 Right, okay. It's all on you. 01:37 Oh, thanks. Okay. 01:38 I'm here with you, though. 01:40 I know you are. Thank you so much. 01:41 And then we have my brother-in-law 01:42 Pastor Kenny Shelton 01:44 and his lovely wife, my sister-in-law, 01:46 my sis, Chris Shelton. 01:49 And who is behind us? Pardon me? 01:52 And who is behind us? 01:53 Well, okay, I just... well, I have to finish... 01:55 I'm the one sitting in the chair. 01:56 Okay. 01:58 I hear you say B and I just thought 01:59 you're just gonna say behind us. 02:01 No, I was saying Behold the Lamb. 02:04 Okay. Just in case. 02:06 And then we have, 02:07 this is my other son, Tim Parton. 02:12 And behind us, 02:13 and he is going to play and sing a song. 02:17 I like it when he's in front where I can see it. 02:20 I can watch him play. 02:22 I'm trying to see if I can... 02:23 Not really. I know. 02:24 Can't do that. 02:26 But it's fun to watch. Yes. 02:27 I'm gonna tell you more about the song 02:28 after we have a prayer. 02:30 Pastor Kenny, brother, would you pray for us? 02:31 Absolutely. Yeah, let's pray, shall we? 02:35 Our Loving Heavenly Father, 02:36 we thank You for the privilege that we have of prayer. 02:38 We thank You for the privilege 02:39 of belonging to the family of God. 02:42 We thank You now 02:43 for the promise of the Holy Spirit, 02:45 two or three are gathered together, 02:46 You promised to be in our midst. 02:48 Lord, we rely upon that, 02:49 we pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 02:52 May our hearts and our minds and our hands 02:53 be pure before Thee. 02:55 We ask forgiveness for anything in our heart in life 02:57 that needs not be there. 02:59 We need to hear from heaven. 03:01 We pray this program will be a blessing 03:03 to those everyone who listen or they're watching 03:05 whatever it might be and to us. 03:08 Lord, we want to be fed from on high. 03:10 So we pray now in a special way 03:12 as we turn everything over to Thee, 03:14 that your Holy Spirit will guide our tongues, 03:16 our thoughts, our minds, our hearts, and may at last, 03:21 that Calvary we see Jesus and Lamb of God 03:23 that take away the sins of the world. 03:25 Thank You for hearing, for answering our prayer. 03:27 Thank You for the privilege. 03:28 Thank You for the folks all those 03:30 who view those who send in letters and cards. 03:32 We just thank you for everyone in Jesus' name. 03:34 Amen. Amen. 03:36 Amen. Thank you so much. 03:38 Well, Tim, I asked him to come and play this song for us 03:42 because this song has special meaning about... 03:47 It's been over a year. 03:49 It was before Christmas time last year, I think, 03:53 that you had given Tim and me a challenge 03:57 about writing a song. 03:59 I think I did. 04:00 And you said, "Why don't you two write a song?" 04:02 So we took you up on it. 04:04 And so I was in the worship room 04:06 and I prayed and I said, 04:07 "Lord, would you please give me a Christmas song, 04:10 some words to a Christmas song?" 04:13 And I specifically asked for that 04:16 and the Holy Spirit, praise God, 04:18 just started giving me the lyrics to the song. 04:23 And I sent them to Tim. 04:26 And in no time, you know, he's just too much, 04:31 in no time the Spirit had given him 04:33 also a tune for the song. 04:35 And so this song is about 04:39 many of you who feel like 04:42 the Christmas just might not be for you. 04:44 You're lonely. 04:45 You never get a gift for Christmas. 04:47 But this is about God's greatest gift. 04:51 So, Tim, please sing. Absolutely. 05:04 I thought I had no gift 05:06 When I looked under the tree 05:11 But then I heard a voice that said 05:15 You didn't think of Me 05:20 For I'm the greatest gift you have 05:24 I'll meet your every need 05:28 Just place your life into My hands 05:33 I'll help you to succeed 05:40 The greatest gift you'll ever get 05:45 Is right here in your heart 05:49 He will comfort guide and teach you 05:54 You will never be apart 05:58 And if you give your heart to Him 06:02 You'll never want again 06:07 For He's the best and greatest gift 06:11 God ever gave to man 06:16 Yes, Jesus is the greatest gift 06:20 God ever gave to man 06:33 For He's all I need 06:40 He's all I need 06:47 Jesus is all I need 06:58 And if you gave your heart to Him 07:02 You'll never want again 07:11 For He's the best and greatest gift 07:15 God ever gave to man 07:21 Yes, Jesus is the greatest gift 07:25 God ever gave to man 07:47 Amen. Hallelujah. 07:48 Praise the Lord. Beautiful. 07:50 I got goosebumps. 07:51 Thank you, Tim, that's beautiful. 07:52 Thank you so much, Tim. 07:54 I can't even hear that without crying. 07:55 I mean, because Jesus is the greatest gift. 07:59 Yeah, I'll give you my opinion why, one of the reasons. 08:02 Yes. 08:03 Because when you're a songwriter, 08:06 you write poems, 08:07 or I'm sure the pastor when you're preaching, 08:10 there's times that you know, this didn't come from you. 08:13 Come on now. That's right. 08:15 So that's really humbling to know 08:16 that God gave it to you. 08:18 Amen. 08:19 When Tim is playing, he knows God gave that to him. 08:21 Yes. It was nothing he did. 08:23 Yeah, he practiced, but God still gave. 08:25 There's a lot of people who practice as much as him, 08:28 who does not have that gift that he has. 08:30 That's right. And the anointing. 08:32 The anointing. Yeah. 08:33 He has an anointing. He absolutely does. 08:36 These words, cause I've been there, 08:39 you see, I didn't even write that. 08:40 Yeah, I know. 08:41 I heard Laney Wolf, 08:43 who's one of the greatest minds in my mind 08:44 and, you know, ever gospel songwriters 08:47 and there's times like you and he co-wrote the song. 08:50 And he says, 08:53 "Seven hundred songs I've written, 08:54 this one God just took the pen and wrote it for me." 08:57 You know, so that's what we're hearing today. 09:00 That's an incredible song. 09:01 First time it's been done, right? 09:03 Yes. 09:04 We do it before we ended up not doing it. 09:06 I have a feeling people are going to be wanting 09:08 to sing that all over and around the world. 09:11 Wouldn't that be neat? Yes. 09:13 That's beautiful. I love it. 09:14 You say you looked under the tree? 09:16 Yes. 09:17 You know, I thought I had all the gifts 09:19 when I looked under the tree, 09:20 but then I heard a voice that said, 09:22 "You didn't think of Me." 09:24 Yeah. 09:25 Which is a great segue 09:27 to what I wanted to talk about for just a minute. 09:28 Look at you. 09:30 Because it just hit me because, 09:32 you know, Christmas, what is Christmas? 09:35 You know, we say the Santa Claus and reindeer 09:37 and, you know, all of these things. 09:39 And so many people around the world 09:43 celebrate Christmas 09:44 and they're looking under that tree for the gift. 09:49 "What did I get for Christmas? 09:50 What did I get? What I gave to you?" 09:57 That's a devil's plan 09:59 of taking something as beautiful as the birth... 10:03 I don't want to say that the birth, death, 10:05 and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, 10:08 they want to take that 10:09 and the devil wants to get eyes off of that 10:11 and put it on about us and all, this is wonderful. 10:14 And, you know, as kids, 10:16 that's all fun and to think about a lot of that stuff, 10:18 but I mean, you know, Christmas 10:20 and then we have those people on one side, we totally forget, 10:24 you know, but on the other side 10:25 that I'm amazed the devil doesn't care 10:27 as Teresa Booth used to say, 10:29 "Which side of the boat you fall out of, 10:30 just as long as you fall out." 10:32 So there are people who, 10:34 you know, we've totally forget about 10:37 the real meaning of Christmas. 10:39 So secular, but on the other hand, 10:41 then you have people they've written here, 10:42 they've written to me and so 10:43 why do you even mention the word Christmas? 10:46 You know, that's Christ, mass 10:48 that's just short for Christmas. 10:49 That's a Catholic tradition or it's pagan tradition. 10:53 You know, December 25th, 10:55 Christ wasn't born on December 25th, 10:57 and you know what, we know that. 10:59 And we absolutely know that. 11:02 And wherever that came from and the word Christmas 11:06 I'm sure that's true, 11:07 in fact, the first the I think the very first time 11:10 Christmas was recorded 11:12 celebration of Christmas was 336 AD, 11:15 I think, it was King Constantine, 11:17 who was a Christian, who was Catholic, 11:18 but they made that. 11:20 But you can say, 11:22 "Okay, I'm gonna stay away from that," 11:23 because, you know, they did it or paganism. 11:28 I won't get into all the sun god 11:30 and the sun worship but... 11:32 Or we can say, look, here we are, 11:34 in a situation where the world, 11:36 this time of year, 11:38 is willing to hear about Jesus. 11:41 That's right. 11:43 And so you go into Walmart, 11:44 I don't care what stores you go into, 11:46 gas stations, Christmas music's playing, 11:48 some other secular, 11:50 but still they will play religious music 11:53 talking about the birth of Christ, 11:55 Silent Night, 11:56 you've heard all the songs, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, 11:58 they never would any other time of year. 12:00 What a great opportunity to be a witness. 12:03 So I'm amazed that people have written to me, 12:06 and I actually talked to a fellow, 12:07 he was a pastor that worked here 12:09 from another denomination. 12:11 And he said, 12:12 "I'm so disappointed that you as a Seventh-day Adventists 12:15 would celebrate Christmas." 12:18 And I said, "Well, to explain celebrate..." 12:19 Well, just acknowledge Christmas, 12:22 you know, December 25 and, 12:24 you know, kind of the word Christmas 12:25 and you even mention it on the air. 12:27 But I said, 12:28 "You know, it's really interesting because, 12:31 as he had said, 12:32 we don't know the day Christ was born. 12:35 Now we don't think it's... 12:37 From everything we can tell, 12:38 it's probably in the fall or the spring." 12:40 Right. 12:41 We don't really know, 12:42 the shepherds were probably wouldn't be out in the snow 12:44 and all that because it isn't cold over there 12:45 in the winter time. 12:47 But we don't know that. 12:48 But here's what's interesting. 12:49 I said to this pastor, 12:51 "Isn't that interesting, 12:52 we're celebrating 12:53 the birth of Christ on this earth. 12:55 But actually, when we celebrate Christ, 12:57 there is no birth 12:59 because He's the beginning and the end. 13:01 He's the Alpha, He's the Omega. 13:02 He's the first and the last." 13:03 Right. 13:05 So that's all, you know, frivolous to me. 13:07 So when was born is not important on this earth. 13:10 It's the fact that he was born and gave His life 13:15 and sacrificed for each and every one of us. 13:18 But I said to this person, I said, 13:19 "Isn't it interesting that you're saying, 13:22 well, you know, I don't want anything to do with Christmas 13:24 because that's pagan, that's Catholic, 13:26 and Protestant or this." 13:28 And I said, 13:30 "Well, why is it then you're upset that 13:32 I will at least acknowledge the season 13:35 not necessarily the day. 13:37 But I'll acknowledge the season that Christ was born 13:40 because we don't really know of the day, for sure. 13:44 But you will go to church every Sunday, 13:47 when God said, 13:48 "Oh, the seventh day's 13:49 the Sabbath of the Lord thy God, 13:51 and that has been changed by the Catholic Church." 13:54 I mean, there's wonderful Catholic people. 13:55 I don't mean we're talking about organizations right now. 13:58 But yet, people want to be so legalistic about it to say, 14:02 "Oh, well..." So I said, 14:04 "Well, look, this is totally 14:06 we know what day God said 14:07 to keep as a seventh day Sabbath." 14:10 And this person is a Christian, 14:11 I said, "You're aware, He said the seventh day, 14:14 and you realize Sunday is the first day of the week." 14:16 And so now you want to talk about me, 14:19 because we, you know, 14:21 I'm not saying we go all out for Christmas, 14:23 but just acknowledge the birth of Christ. 14:26 And so I didn't care if I grew up... 14:29 It was on September, 14:30 that'd have been fine with me 14:31 because, as I said, Christ wasn't... 14:33 He's not dictated by this earth, 14:36 by the rules and the laws of the earth around here. 14:40 So as I said, the first and the last, 14:42 there is no beginning. There's no end to Him. 14:44 That's right. 14:45 So I said, isn't it interesting that people want to... 14:47 They say a guy at a gnat and swallow a camel, 14:50 but you when we do have a day, and God set that day aside, 14:54 and then we know that somebody has changed it, 14:56 we're willing to do that 14:58 and go to church on a day every week. 15:00 There is nothing that the Lord put up 15:02 and you know it's not 15:04 and then you're worried about somebody who's... 15:05 "Well, Christmas, you know, I don't know, 15:07 I don't think Christ was born that day." 15:08 Yeah. So it all goes back to... 15:10 To me, it's balance. Amen. 15:13 It's what do we do with what we have. 15:14 Okay. Okay? 15:15 So in the era in which we live, and where we are, 15:21 and the way we were raised, okay, I look at is every year, 15:24 what an incredible opportunity 15:27 to witness for the Lord Jesus Christ 15:28 about His birth 15:30 because a lot of people are not... 15:32 Atheists celebrate Christmas, not necessarily that part. 15:35 But you'll see they're buying presents, 15:37 in a spirit, they call it, of Christmas, 15:40 and all of this stuff. 15:41 But yet the true meaning is there. 15:43 And we need people saying, 15:44 "We don't care. We know for... 15:46 We're almost positive, it wasn't December 25th." 15:49 But we are positive that He was born, 15:52 that there's a plan of salvation, 15:54 Jesus came down, born in a manger in Bethlehem, 15:58 and lived for 33 years, and literally died. 16:03 Nobody took His life. 16:04 He gave it on the cross of Calvary. 16:05 That's right. 16:07 And now through His death, 16:08 His burial and His resurrection, 16:09 He's now at the ever-interceding 16:11 at the right hand of the Father, 16:13 just for you and for me. 16:14 That's what we're telling the world about, 16:16 that's what we're talking about 16:17 whether it's December 25th or March 10th or April 25. 16:22 We don't care. We don't care. 16:24 We're going to be there when we can and reach people, 16:27 we're in the reachable. 16:29 I don't know, that's my little deal. 16:31 And that's what we're here to do today. 16:33 Please don't write me letters to complain about it 16:36 'cause I'll probably just throw them out. 16:40 That's what we want to do today is to talk about 16:43 what Christmas means to us 16:46 and, you know, what things we want to share with you, 16:49 just some ideas about Christmas that's worth holding on to. 16:52 So what were you gonna say? 16:54 I just wanted to comment on what he's talking about 16:56 'cause over the years, 16:57 I struggled with the same thing, 16:58 and I can just hear in my mind people saying, 17:00 "Okay, you're talking about Sunday, 17:02 well, then why keep the other?" 17:04 You know, but what really helped me, 17:07 well, there's a lot of things that the Lord helped me with, 17:09 there was one verse 17:11 I haven't been able to find that helped me to understand 17:14 about traditions in a certain time 17:16 and how it's different. 17:17 But what really helped us through prayer 17:19 because we are so blessed to have a prophet. 17:21 And she talks about Christmas, and I read about it. 17:24 And she talked about her faith 17:26 and having a tree, not having a tree, 17:28 and how God would be pleased if every church had a tree, 17:31 a Christmas tree laden with money 17:33 to give to the poor. 17:34 But what helped me to understand when I hear, 17:37 "Oh, it's pagan, it's pagan, it's pagan," 17:39 as I was praying and studying and saying, 17:41 "Lord, I don't understand." 17:43 The difference is, 17:45 it's because it doesn't break His law. 17:47 So it's not a sin. Right. 17:49 Sin is the transgression of the law. 17:51 See, Sabbath and Sunday right there, you hit it 17:54 because to change that is transgression of God's law. 17:58 There's a lot of things that Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, 18:01 Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, 18:02 those are all pagan names. 18:04 The key to the city is pagan. 18:06 You'll love this one, Danny, ties are pagan. 18:09 I know that. 18:12 From paganism. 18:13 I guess I'll do the lecture today. 18:14 Today. 18:16 If you see in the time we're living in, 18:17 we're not worshipping these things, 18:20 we're not... Whether it's a tie, 18:22 it has lost that paganistic meaning. 18:25 So there's a lot of traditions that we keep that, 18:28 you know, if we began to worship these things, 18:31 then it would become... 18:32 It'd be an idol and we would be sinning. 18:35 But as long as we're not in our focus, 18:37 I think, you know, the blessing, 18:39 "Spirit of Prophecy" 18:40 is that it helps us to point us back 18:43 to what you started with what that song, 18:45 that song was like a whole hour right there 18:49 that Christ is the greatest gift. 18:51 And as you were saying, 18:52 this is a time when people's hearts, 18:54 they're open 18:55 because this has always had 18:57 kind of a special meaning in their lives. 18:59 That's right. 19:00 Why not take advantage 19:01 of the opportunity to reach people 19:04 when they're most open to it? 19:06 Amen. 19:07 I mean, that just makes the most sense to me. 19:09 You know, they're open to it, 19:11 the music is playing in the stores, 19:13 you can give out tracks, 19:14 you can, you know, have a way of meeting people 19:18 where they are at that time. 19:20 Well, you know, Jesus, He did say, and again, 19:23 it's not worshiping what we're doing 19:24 'cause He said, 19:25 "In vain do they worship me, 19:27 teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." 19:29 Why? 19:30 Something when you mentioned this program, 19:32 there's something that hit me and I thought, you know, 19:34 I jotted it down. 19:35 I just have to read it 19:37 because when I think of this season, 19:40 many times I think I've forgotten... 19:43 We always say the reason you know, for the season... 19:45 You know, Jesus is the reason for the season, 19:47 but I think so often, 19:48 maybe we forget that maybe I forget that. 19:51 And in this I thought how interesting 19:53 when you talk about before the incarnation, 19:57 so when you call and said I just said, 19:58 "Lord, what could you give me 20:01 that I could give to be an encouragement." 20:03 And it may just be for me. 20:05 And so I found and I love the book 20:06 "Desire of Ages," 410. 20:08 Yes. 20:09 It says this, 20:11 it's talking about the birth of Christ. 20:12 That's why we're here. 20:13 We're talking about the birth of Christ. 20:15 We're talking about His life, His example, 20:17 everything that He did for us and is doing right now. 20:20 You mentioned, you know, He's ever-interceding. 20:22 Praise God for that, 20:23 we wouldn't have a chance. 20:25 But this is the thing 20:26 that just kept going through over in my mind. 20:28 It says, "Even before," 20:30 many of you will understand this, 20:32 "before He took humanity upon him." 20:35 Right before He was born in the manger, 20:37 before He came down here, 20:40 He saw the whole length of the path 20:43 that he must travel 20:45 in order to save that which was lost. 20:49 Every pain, every rant of His heart, 20:53 every insult that was heaped upon His head, 20:58 every privation that He was called to endure 21:01 was open to His view 21:04 before He laid aside His crown and royal robe, 21:09 stepped down from the throne, 21:12 to clothe His divinity with humanity. 21:15 The path from the manger to Calvary 21:18 was all before His eye. 21:22 He knew that the, 21:23 notice this, 21:24 "He knew that the anguish that would come upon Him. 21:27 He knew it all. 21:29 And yet, He said..." 21:32 This is amazing, right? 21:33 We have to look at what we're thinking about the baby, 21:35 we're talking about being born, taking on, you know, humanity. 21:39 Before he looked down the stream of time, 21:41 I was just... I shed tears on my own. 21:44 You know, in private, we say... 21:45 Just read it 21:47 and just say He'd seen everything He would go through, 21:50 all the experiences He knew as Christ is God. 21:54 And He still said, 21:56 "I love man, enough that I'm willing, 21:58 there's no other way for man to have forgiveness of sin." 22:02 And so He said, 22:03 Psalms 40:7-8, you know it well, He said, 22:06 "Lo, I come," you know, 22:08 "in the volume of this book, it is written," 22:10 notice this, 22:11 "I delight to do Thy will, O my God, yea, 22:15 Thy law is within my heart." 22:19 Just to be able for Him to look down and know 22:22 how He'd be rejected of men, despised of men, 22:26 nailed to the cross, 22:27 somehow He saw us, He saw mankind, 22:33 He saw there was no hope for this world, 22:35 He saw there was no hope for any of us. 22:37 And He was willing to go through, 22:40 He saw it all. 22:42 That might be a song too. 22:43 He Saw it All. Oh, I like it. 22:45 You know, before He came... 22:47 I was thinking about writing one. 22:49 Go ahead. Go ahead. 22:51 Before He came, 22:52 I mean, to me that just addled my mind, 22:56 just like... 22:57 Because many times if we could see 22:58 some of the things that would transpire 23:00 from some of the decisions that we have made, 23:04 you know, and we see what's going to come, 23:05 many of us just run from it. 23:07 We just, you know, and some of the things, 23:08 you're in this last day 23:10 giving the message to the world, 23:11 you know, if we realized what was being said 23:13 and how there may come a time 23:15 that those things will come back, 23:17 how many would continue on to do what they did? 23:19 No one can see like Jesus, and/or saw, but anyway, 23:22 He was willing, and that just encouraged me. 23:26 Yes. 23:27 He was willing to come 23:28 as a baby in a manger, helpless. 23:30 Amen. 23:31 To change His whole nature to come back fully man, 23:37 even though He's fully God, 23:38 he's fully man and come to this planet, 23:43 leaving paradise. 23:45 We can't even describe, 23:46 we don't even know what it's like. 23:49 And to leave that to come here, 23:51 and to be rejected and beaten and tortured, 23:56 I mean... It gives us value. 24:00 Yes. 24:01 When you think, you know, 24:02 if you think that 24:04 you're not worthy of anything or whatever, 24:06 you have value because Jesus placed value on you. 24:11 That's good. Yeah. 24:12 I mean, it just... 24:14 Like what you're saying right now is 24:15 I have to try to rethink 24:19 how I conduct myself during this time. 24:22 I have to really think about it because the whole object of it. 24:26 This time of the year we're saying is Jesus, 24:29 and I have to look at what He was willing to do 24:31 and what He did do. 24:33 That's right. 24:34 And it just kind of puts things in perspective 24:36 and some of the stuff, I just want to, you know, 24:38 not trying to get away, just kind of show... 24:39 And here's the theme. 24:41 Here's really the reason. 24:44 And not just say it, 24:46 that should be our theme and our thought 24:47 when we gather together, 24:48 whether in the house or anything I do. 24:50 Jesus. Jesus. 24:51 Yeah, that's it. Amen. 24:53 And like it goes back to that song, 24:54 "The Greatest Gift." 24:56 I mean, to stop and think 24:58 that He thinks that we're worth that. 25:00 Wow. 25:01 You know, when I think even about Christian 25:04 and going through these last days 25:07 and what it means to be fully, 25:10 fully relying upon him and all the world, 25:14 and all the support of the world 25:17 will be cut away from us. 25:19 You know, and what Christ went through 25:21 and to see it before, 25:22 and I cry if I see an animal killed, 25:26 you know, I'd cry if it's mine. 25:29 Well. 25:30 But I remember one time, 25:31 you know, several times going down, 25:33 and I pray for animals that are out on the road, 25:34 "Lord, please get them off, get him off," 25:37 you know, 'cause to see it, it breaks your heart. 25:40 And here He saw 25:41 what was going to happen to Him. 25:43 He knew the feelings. 25:45 And yet if He were to exhibit 25:48 or to exert His own godly power, 25:52 we would have been lost. 25:54 He had a way out. 25:55 He did. He had a way out. 25:58 The song says. 26:00 "He Could Have Called Ten Thousand Angels." 26:03 He had a way. 26:04 But He looked down, He said, 26:06 "Danny's more important than My life. 26:09 Yvonne, you're more important than the stripes on my back. 26:13 Kenny, you're more important than the holes in my head 26:17 from the crown of thorns." 26:19 Yeah. That's what breaks your heart. 26:20 It breaks my heart. 26:21 But it's going back and thinking about these things 26:24 and the greatest gift... 26:26 It's no wonder that we read 26:28 that all of heaven was given in that manger. 26:33 Amen. 26:34 When those shepherds were called from the field, 26:37 and I like this 26:38 'cause that's one thing I did read a little bit 26:40 before coming today... 26:43 Tonight was that the angels 'cause you think about it, 26:46 it was so dark, and the angels, 26:48 just the glory of God's so bright. 26:50 Think about Moses, you know, 26:52 they had to cover his head 26:53 after he'd been in the presence of God. 26:55 And here are angels coming from the presence of God. 26:57 But there was one, 26:59 we're told in "Spirit of Prophecy," 27:00 one angel that came down, 27:01 and he strengthened them 27:04 to be able to stand in that glory. 27:06 And I thought, 27:08 "What hope and what help we have to look forward to 27:12 to be strengthened in these last days." 27:14 Amen. 27:16 To stand, everything else is pulled apart 27:19 so that we can stand in the glory of God. 27:21 Amen. 27:22 It's interesting that as you're talking, 27:24 it reminded me that when He came, He could have... 27:28 At His birth, 27:29 he could have come to earth the first time 27:30 with 10,000 angels. 27:32 Oh, yes. Yeah. 27:33 He could have come with these radiant beams of, 27:35 you know, His purity all around Him. 27:38 But He would not relate to anybody on earth. 27:41 So you say, 27:42 "Oh, well, it's easy for Him 'cause He's privileged." 27:45 That's right. 27:46 We hear that word a lot nowadays. 27:47 "He's privileged." 27:49 So well, He was, you know, all of this stuff. 27:50 No. 27:52 So He came to the lowly of lowly, 27:54 wasn't even born in a family in a home and all of that, 27:57 He was born out in a manger. 27:59 That's not coincidence, 28:00 you know, that's all divine providence, 28:03 a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, 28:05 it says, in a manger, 28:07 and literally no place to lay his head. 28:09 And here you have the Son of God, 28:11 the Creator of the universe, saying, 28:14 "I know what this life is like. 28:16 And I know for those of you who are struggling, you know, 28:20 'Hey, I was born there.'" 28:22 And yet, you know, to see Him 28:24 come up the way he came through all those years 28:29 and then to take, 28:30 as you mentioned, the rejection 28:33 because literally most of His life 28:34 is about rejection. 28:36 When He went into ministry, for sure, 28:38 they probably liked Him as a carpenter. 28:40 You know, really good at what He did. 28:42 Yeah. Probably the best. 28:43 Everything had to be perfect. People loved Him. 28:46 Kenny and I know something about that 28:47 used to when we were... 28:49 I would say when we were in construction full time back, 28:51 you know, in the '70s and all of that, 28:54 I mean, we had a lot of friends. 28:55 People seem to like me, 28:57 as soon as we got into ministry, 28:58 you find out how many enemies you got. 28:59 And you're like, 29:01 "What did I do wrong? What's different?" 29:02 Well, they just... 29:04 But so Jesus, I'm sure He was, you know, 29:07 you want to hire somebody, 29:08 you want somebody to work greater than Joseph 29:10 because you're not going to get any better, 29:12 you know, craftsman, 29:14 not just carpenters, but craftsman. 29:16 But then when He went into ministry, 29:19 Satan unleashed everything, everything to destroy, 29:22 and the people around Him basically all rejected Him. 29:27 And yet, He did it anyway. 29:30 That's right. Praise God. 29:31 Even His family didn't know really who He was, 29:34 His brothers, His sisters, you know, they didn't really... 29:37 He was a Man of sorrows and with grief. 29:42 And that is just when you think about everything 29:45 He endured for us. 29:47 You think He actually felt pain? 29:49 People say, 29:50 "Well, He had too many advantages. 29:52 There was no problem for Him. 29:53 He just told the devil, 'Go jump in the lake.'" 29:56 Whatever, you think He actually felt pain 29:58 when they put the crown of thorns 30:00 on His head, 30:01 when they pierced Him in the side? 30:02 Absolutely. Absolutely. 30:04 Absolute pain, hunger, thirst. 30:08 Everything that we feel, He felt. 30:10 That's why He can go back to the Father and say, 30:14 "Lord, forgive them. 30:16 I've been there. 30:17 I know what they're going through. 30:19 I know that Godly sorrow. 30:22 I know what they've done. 30:24 Yes, they failed, but I know, I understand. 30:27 I was there, I was tempted in every way 30:29 that they were tempted and I can see." 30:32 But the beauty of it is, 30:34 the Father accepts that shed blood 30:37 and is able no matter what we've done, 30:39 so no matter what you've done in your past, 30:41 it doesn't make any difference. 30:42 That's right. Isn't that amazing? 30:44 Whatever you've done, God is willing to forgive it. 30:46 You just have to be willing to let go of it. 30:48 People say, 30:49 "Well, you know, I want to be a Christian, 30:51 but it's just so many sacrifices, 30:53 so many sacrifices." 30:55 Well, yeah, you gotta sacrifice your fear, 30:57 you gotta sacrifice your hate. 30:59 That's good. 31:00 You know, you gotta sacrifice all these things. 31:02 For some reason, we want to hang on 31:04 to all the selfishness and all these things 31:07 and it's like, you know, 31:08 and all these temptations you want to hang on. 31:11 Now the difference is, we're still tempted. 31:14 We still fall from time to time, 31:16 but we always can go back to Jesus... 31:18 Amen. When we're really sorry. 31:20 And it has to be a Godly sorrow, 31:22 "Lord, I'm so sorry." 31:24 He forgives us just like that. 31:25 But the devil puts us on guilt trips to say, 31:28 "Well, you know, you are too bad." 31:30 How many people have you talked to and they say... 31:32 More used to... 31:34 I remember when we were younger, 31:35 working together, 31:36 people say, "Oh..." 31:38 We'd tell the guy if he's a lumberyard driver. 31:39 We meet at lumberyard or contractors coming out, 31:42 we'd say, talk about coming to church, 31:44 "Oh I'd go to church, 31:45 if I walked into your church, the roof would fall on my head. 31:48 You know, I am in no condition to go to church. 31:51 I am spiritually too bad to go to church." 31:54 We said that's why the church is there. 31:55 That's right. 31:57 It's a hospital for sinners. Yes. 31:59 You know, not necessarily the saints but the sinners. 32:01 So that's where we come, you know, 32:03 to join together 32:05 and so know that this salvation, 32:08 this plan of redemption is unfathomable in our minds. 32:12 Now we see through a glass directly 32:14 but then face to face, 32:16 someday we'll really understand better buying, 32:20 but we understand this great gift. 32:24 And that's why I'm not God because I'd just say, 32:26 "Well, that's enough for them. Like out they go... 32:29 You're gone. You know, next!" 32:31 I know I know. 32:33 You know, so that's why he's God and I am not, 32:34 but to have to know ahead of time... 32:36 Yeah. 32:37 What's gonna happen and say, 32:39 "You know what, My creation's worth it. 32:40 I'm not gonna let sin through the devil. 32:42 I'm not gonna let that." 32:44 But He had to create us with free choice. 32:45 People are like, 32:47 "Well, why did He allow sin? 32:49 Well, if He knew that, why did He create Satan? 32:51 Why did He, you know, allow all this to happen?" 32:55 Just because He loved us. He loved us. 32:57 Otherwise, you're a bunch of robots, 32:59 you're a bunch of computers. 33:01 No, God gives us free moral agents to choose 33:05 right from wrong. 33:07 And when we're thinking 33:08 if we can really put everything aside, 33:11 and it's so simple, 33:12 especially when you hit and around 70, 33:14 it's really much easier to understand. 33:17 You're not gonna be here forever. 33:19 What happens to me when I die? 33:20 Is there an eternity? 33:22 If so, where am I going to spend it? 33:24 You start thinking in ways you don't think when you're 22 33:26 and you feel good, 33:28 and you're hooked to the world, right? 33:29 You're out there, you think, 33:30 "Boy, nobody I can't take, 33:32 you know, whatever problem, I can go at it." 33:33 No, I think that's why 33:35 He lets us get a little bit older 33:37 so we can humble down sometimes and say, 33:40 "Okay, we need a Savior." 33:42 Yes. 33:43 And I'm so thankful for this time of year. 33:46 Oh, it's a year, of course, year-round, 33:48 but this time of year, 33:49 yeah, we're gonna take advantage of that 33:51 and talk to as many people, 33:52 sing songs about Jesus 33:54 that we can do for the whole world to hear 33:57 because one soul is going to be worth it all. 33:59 That's right. That's right. 34:01 Go ahead. 34:03 No, I was gonna say something. 34:04 Go ahead, brother. 34:06 My mind went... 34:07 Brother Danny was talking there 34:08 I was reading some of this stuff. 34:11 Two things, I think, 34:12 in principle that probably we've known, 34:15 but yet when I read it, it just, 34:17 it really made sense to me. 34:19 And so maybe it'll help someone else... 34:22 First of all is, 34:23 and I'm gonna say food for thought, 34:25 food for thought that God, we're talking about, 34:29 God came closer to man through Christ, 34:33 notice this, 34:35 than before His fall after sin came in, 34:39 God was drawn closer to the sinner 34:43 because of Jesus Christ. 34:45 So God is in this picture. 34:48 You know, not only Christ suffered, 34:49 God suffered through His Son. 34:52 And I thought I read this 34:54 because you were talking about some time you would say, 34:56 I would say, "That's enough," 34:57 right? 34:59 Oh, yeah. 35:00 We say, we fool with this so long with sin, 35:01 we say, that's enough. 35:03 But I read this in 7 Testimonies 2:25, 35:05 it said, 35:06 "Christ came to this earth with a message," 35:08 I love it, "of mercy and forgiveness." 35:11 When Christ left heaven, 35:12 we're talking about Him coming down here, 35:14 we're talking about this season, 35:15 that we're to remember these things here. 35:17 He saw humanity had sunken, 35:19 notice, in wretchedness and sinfulness. 35:23 He knew that men and women were depraved and degraded, 35:29 and that they cherished the most loathsome vices. 35:33 Notice this, this is the part which said, 35:35 angels, not sinner, 35:38 angels marveled that Christ should undertake 35:42 what seemed to them a hopeless task. 35:46 The angels, when Christ decided to come here, 35:48 they said, they looked on us and they said, 35:50 "It's a hopeless task." I can see. 35:52 How would the angels say that? 35:53 I mean, that's a little different in my thinking 35:55 right now than before. 35:56 They marveled that 35:57 God could tolerate a race so sinful. 36:02 They could see no room for love. 36:08 And then, I like the article goes on, just says, 36:11 but, and then it comes in, but. 36:14 John 3:16, 36:16 "God so loved the world 36:19 that He gave His only begotten Son, that..." 36:21 We quote it, but do we really understand it? 36:24 The angels couldn't quite get it. 36:27 Other words, was so bad the race have become so bad 36:29 that they're saying, 36:31 "Oh, there's not a chance? 36:32 How are they going to be saved? 36:34 They can't possibly do it." 36:36 But God so loved the world. Right. 36:38 And this is the season they say for that. 36:41 Not about all the other stuff, 36:43 but it's a season to remember God and Jesus Christ. 36:46 And they were right. 36:47 We can't do it. 36:48 No, that's right. 36:50 We can't do it. 36:51 But He can, and that's why... 36:53 And the enemy, 36:55 he's always putting this depression upon us. 36:57 I know, when Danny was speaking, 36:59 and again, with him, 37:00 my heart was kind of going back to something 37:02 I had read too this morning that gave me hope. 37:05 Because so often we get so caught up 37:08 and even past sins, 37:10 or if you're going through something, 37:12 you know, it's wrong, 37:13 and you're holding on to it, and you feel like, 37:15 "Well, there's no hope for me. There's no hope for me." 37:19 And I love what I read. 37:22 It's in 1 Selected Messages, it says, 37:25 "At different times letters have come to me..." 37:27 And I'm reading this because I feel like 37:29 there could be somebody at home. 37:32 I feel like, you know, I like what they're saying, 37:34 but there's no hope for me, I've gone too far. 37:37 Just listen if that's you. 37:40 "Letters have come to me from persons 37:41 who were in despair over their sins. 37:45 One and another have written, 37:48 'I fear that I am past all help. 37:50 Is there any hope for me?' 37:52 To these poor souls the message has been given, 37:55 'Hope in God. 37:57 The Father has bread enough to spare. 38:00 Arise, and go to your Father. 38:01 He will meet you a great way off. 38:04 He will give you His love 38:06 and He will give you His compassion.'" 38:09 Isn't that what we desire? 38:11 "When the enemy comes in like a flood, 38:13 and seeks to overwhelm you with the thought of your sin, 38:16 tell him, 'I know I am a sinner. 38:19 If it were not, I could not go to the Savior. 38:23 For He says, 38:24 'I come not to call the righteous, 38:26 but sinners to repentance.'" 38:29 He's calling each and every one of us, 38:31 He's calling each and every one of you at home to come to Him. 38:35 Look in that manger, see that baby. 38:37 That's why He came was to win us back to Him. 38:42 And so that we can live for eternity with Him. 38:44 Yes, yes. 38:45 It's hard to fathom 38:47 how God can hear everybody's prayer 38:49 around the world. 38:50 Yeah. 38:52 You know, millions of people, and how somebody is in Russia, 38:56 China, America, and all this, how can He do it? 38:58 And I was in Russia one time. 39:01 And I was thinking about it, 39:02 'cause we were talking to some people 39:03 who weren't really Christians. 39:05 They were becoming Christians, had come to meetings, 39:07 and they came to our 3ABN center there. 39:10 And so it occurred to me, I said, 39:12 "Well, let me ask you a question. 39:13 You wonder how God could know you." 39:16 And they said, 39:17 "With all the people on earth, how can God know me?" 39:20 I said, "Well, for instance, right now, 39:23 when I go home next week in America, 39:26 I can dial about 10 numbers, 39:28 and you're going to answer the phone. 39:30 Seven billion people on earth, a man has figured out a way, 39:34 I can get you..." 39:35 Come on. 39:36 "Just by dialing the phone. 39:38 Now you think God can't find you 39:39 and read your mind, 39:41 and know about you, what your needs are." 39:43 Of course, and that was years ago. 39:45 And now with the internet and all that, 39:47 we can see people around the world, 39:49 anybody you want anywhere. 39:50 I mean, God is so far above all that, isn't He? 39:52 Yeah. 39:54 A little sample of the gifts that He's given. 39:56 And the reason He's given man this 39:58 is so we can get the gospel to the world. 40:00 He said, "Go ye into all the world," 40:02 but we didn't do it. 40:03 I mean, honestly, 40:04 if every Christian on earth today would say, 40:06 "All right, I'm gonna make it my work 40:08 to tell somebody about Jesus," 40:10 the gospel go to the whole world quickly. 40:12 But we never did. 40:13 It's kind of like Moses all over again 40:15 out in the wilderness, 40:16 you know, should have been a few days 40:18 and ends up 40 years and keeps, 40:19 you know, I mean, all of this happening. 40:22 But you know what? 40:23 The Lord, right now He's given us, 40:26 literally this technology, 40:27 because we really haven't done our part. 40:29 So He says, "I'm going to help you. 40:31 Heaven is not heaven till my children's home. 40:33 I want to come back for the people. 40:35 I want to come back for My creation. 40:37 So I'm going to give you technology 40:39 that now every individual..." 40:41 Now only a few years ago, Yvonne, 40:42 when we started 3ABN 35 years ago, 40:46 even up to 15 or 20 years ago, 40:50 I would tell people just think of the technology, 40:52 we can take one of our trucks to... 40:54 I could take it to your house, I tell people, 40:56 could go in your living room, 40:57 and we could send signals around the world. 41:00 That's just amazing. 41:01 Today, anybody in their home anywhere, 41:03 can go to Facebook, YouTube, go to wherever they want, 41:06 and they have their own church, 41:08 they have their own ministry, have whatever they want to do. 41:11 And that's why today we have to take it seriously 41:13 when Jesus said, 41:14 "Go ye into all the world." 41:16 We can't sit back in the Second Coming, 41:17 "Well, Lord, I didn't do this. I didn't do that." 41:19 No, what did you do, not what I didn't do. 41:22 He's more interested in what we do, 41:24 do for the cause of God. 41:26 So now instead of getting on all these things, 41:28 and arguing with everybody, 41:29 and fighting with people and using it as gossip channel, 41:32 we should be uplifted 41:34 in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ 41:35 in this time of year, as well. 41:37 If you can't do nothing yourself, 41:38 put on Tim Parton, 41:40 and play in some of his songs, and music that are on it. 41:43 Get your YouTube channel, 41:45 and go to Facebook 41:46 and just bombard it with the gospel of Christ, 41:48 John 3:16. 41:50 If it just ran over and over every day, 41:52 look how many people would be drawn to you. 41:55 "My word will not return unto me void." 41:57 So that's why even in the past people said... 42:00 And when we started, 42:01 I really felt like we're here to counteract 42:04 and I'm going to use names, and I'll tell you why. 42:06 At that time, the Jimmy Swaggart, 42:08 The Jim and Tammy Bakkers, and Nora Roberts, 42:11 all these it was, you know, people that way out there, 42:13 I thought these people... 42:15 And so I was so convinced 42:17 that so I started going to churches, 42:18 I want to build an Adventist television station 42:21 that we can counteract. 42:22 And one night the Lord hit me, 42:23 I mean, only after a few weeks, and He really hit me with that. 42:28 And so I had a dream. 42:29 I dreamed I was in this big apple orchard. 42:32 It must have been Washington State somewhere. 42:33 But all the trees were heavy laden and huge, 42:37 beautiful ripe red apples were there, 42:39 and it was just me and God. 42:40 I didn't see Him. 42:41 But I knew He was there, was talking to Him. 42:43 And I said, 42:44 "Lord, what are all of these big apples?" 42:46 He said, 42:48 "These are big red ripe apples." 42:49 He said, 42:50 "These are all the people been brought to me 42:54 through other ministries. 42:56 Your fight is not against." 42:58 He said, 42:59 "Now it's your job to give them the three angels' messages." 43:01 So what it taught me was, 43:04 it doesn't make any difference, 43:05 I'm not worthy to give the message. 43:06 You're not worthy. 43:08 The Bakkers aren't, the Swaggarts, 43:09 all these people, none of us are worthy to give the message. 43:12 And so He said, 43:13 "Your enemy is not each other. Your enemy is the devil." 43:16 So right now there are people, 43:18 see, an atheist could read the Bible, 43:21 if we hired an atheist to read the Bible 43:24 and the Bible only, 43:25 people would be drawn to Jesus. 43:27 Now, why is that? It's not about the reader. 43:29 It's not about... 43:30 It's a message and not the messenger. 43:32 So He says, 43:34 "My word will not return unto me void." 43:37 So when it goes out there, so you don't have to say, 43:39 "Oh, well, you know, 43:40 I'm not really qualified, Yvonne, 43:42 I don't have a gift to gab. 43:43 I'm just not very good." 43:45 It's not about you. It's about going forward. 43:48 The blessing of God is on the go as we always say. 43:51 So when you go forward, God then does the rest of it. 43:54 He will take what you say, the jumbled-up words, 43:57 which He's done for me for years. 43:58 Thank you, Jesus. 44:00 And lets it go out 44:01 to reach a lost and dying world. 44:03 So the blessing today of God is on the go. 44:06 But think of the technology God has given us, 44:08 all the ways that we can. 44:10 So we don't want to be, 44:12 let's don't think that the Second Coming 44:13 is going to come and 44:15 "Well, you know, I didn't do this, 44:16 and I didn't do that bad thing." 44:18 No, what have we done to get the gospel to the world? 44:21 We can't be selfish. 44:22 I have a friend of mine who said, 44:25 "I don't really have to do anything. 44:27 I just want to be a hermit. 44:28 That way, I'm not gonna be tempted 44:29 to the people around the world. 44:31 I'll just be a hermit and serve the Lord there." 44:33 And, you know, I'm like, 44:34 "Oh, how can you just say, 44:36 you don't care about the rest of the world," 44:37 you know, the rest of people on the planet. 44:39 So, "For God so loved the world, 44:41 He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him 44:45 should not perish, but have everlasting life." 44:47 That should be for us, this time of year, 44:51 and any time of year, 44:53 it's our mission statement for life. 44:56 It's good. God so loved the world. 44:58 Amen. Amen. 44:59 And we have to keep focused on the mission. 45:02 You know, and not lose sight of the mission. 45:04 To me this mission has been operation rescue. 45:09 Okay, tell us about it. 45:10 Operation rescue... 45:11 I wanna drink water. 45:14 Well, you know, recently here on this planet, 45:20 there was a rescue mission that was done, 45:23 it was the last week of October. 45:26 And this American missionary had been abducted in Africa, 45:33 near the Nigerian border. 45:34 He was abducted by seven men that came in with AK47s, 45:41 and took him 45:43 just to some abandoned place in Nigeria, 45:45 and held him there. 45:47 And the Navy SEALs Team Six, 45:52 the special ops went in and rescued this guy. 45:56 And Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State 45:59 and what he said, he said, 46:01 "Thanks to the extraordinary courage 46:03 and capabilities of our military, 46:05 the support of our intelligence, 46:07 professionals, and our diplomatic efforts, 46:09 the hostage will be reunited with his family. 46:12 We will never abandon any American taken hostage." 46:16 Wow! 46:17 Now if we apply that, spiritually... 46:20 Okay, come on now. 46:22 We know that the angel went and told Joseph and Mary, 46:28 that Mary was going to have a baby 46:30 and that he was to be named Jesus, 46:33 Yeshua, actually. 46:36 And Yeshua would save His people from their sins. 46:41 We are the hostages, we are held captive... 46:44 Come on, that's good. 46:45 By the enemy. Yes, preach it. 46:47 But just like Pompeo said, 46:50 "We'll never abandon any American." 46:52 So our Savior has said, 46:55 "I will never leave you nor forsake you. 46:58 I've got you. 46:59 I'm gonna rescue you." 47:01 And He did this a verse in Isaiah that says, 47:07 "Can the prey be taken from the mighty 47:09 or the captives of a tyrant be rescued? 47:13 For thus says the Lord, 47:15 'Even the captives of the mighty 47:16 shall be taken and the prey of the tyrant, be rescued, 47:20 for I will contend with those who contend with you 47:23 and I will save your children.'" 47:25 So He will rescue us and not only us, 47:28 but our children. 47:30 So any stronghold that has us in its grip, 47:34 Jesus can break that because He is omnipotent. 47:37 He is the Mighty One. 47:38 He is the one that can break all bondage. 47:42 So we don't have to say, 47:43 "Oh, I'm held captive by this sin. 47:46 I can't break loose." 47:48 We can through Christ. He's the only way. 47:50 We can't do it on our own. 47:53 But through Him, we can do it. 47:55 And then in Luke 11:21-22 it says, 47:58 "When a strong man, fully armed, 48:00 guards his own house, 48:02 his possessions are safe. 48:04 But when someone stronger, attacks him and defeats him, 48:07 he takes away that man's full armor 48:09 in which he had trusted 48:11 and divides up his plunder." 48:13 So, Jesus, Yeshua is our Goel, our Deliverer, our Redeemer. 48:18 And He says, he can go in, that strong man, Satan, 48:24 he's stronger, that Satan. 48:26 That's right. That's right. 48:27 And whatever Satan had in his possession, 48:31 don't even think about it 'cause Jesus is stronger. 48:35 And can take him down. 48:37 So we don't have to worry, 48:39 we don't have to be concerned 48:42 because Yeshua, 48:44 the God who saves, He is our salvation, 48:48 and He will fight our battles for us, and rescue us. 48:52 Come on now! 48:54 That's it. That's it. 48:55 I mean, when we think about Jesus, 48:57 you just want to shout. 48:58 All because of the Word 48:59 was made flesh and dwelt among us. 49:02 That's right You know, I'm talking about 1 Timothy, 49:05 what's it, 3:16. 49:06 Paul said this, he said, 49:08 "Without controversy, great is the mystery of," what? 49:11 "Godliness. 49:12 God was manifested in the flesh." 49:14 I mean, that's big. 49:16 You talking about God manifest in the flesh. 49:17 When Christ came to the world born in a manger, 49:20 He stooped low 49:23 to take upon Himself, human nature. 49:26 Why? 49:28 I got the question, why? 49:29 So He might reach the sinful, fallen man, and lift him up. 49:34 However, low that any, 49:36 you sunk down in the mire of sin, 49:39 no matter how low, 49:41 He was willing to come down 49:42 and go a little bit lower to get below, 49:43 so He could pick us back up out of this thing. 49:46 And I thought about, 49:47 why a child, why born in a manger? 49:48 We're talking about helpless? 49:50 I found some thought that was interesting. 49:52 Signs of the Times 9-30-89 says this, 49:55 "He was made a child, 49:57 that he might understand the temptations of childhood 50:02 and know its weaknesses." 50:04 Not though, how interesting one more quick, 50:06 Review and Herald, 10-1-89, it says, well, what it says? 50:10 Why didn't an angel do it? Why did Christ have to do it? 50:12 You know, we've heard that, why didn't somebody else... 50:14 "An angel would not have known 50:16 how to sympathize with fallen man." 50:20 But Jesus came 50:21 and He's touched with our infirmities. 50:24 Praise God. Hebrews 4:15. 50:26 He came down, He experienced everything. 50:29 And now, I know you're gonna have the, you know, the mind. 50:32 Oh, he know... They don't have that... 50:33 He was touched ... 50:34 The Bible says and I believe it. 50:36 Everything. 50:38 All tempted, everything. 50:39 He was tempted like we in all points, 50:40 yet without sin. 50:42 Praise God! 50:43 Think about that, only one, we say, 50:45 on the planet that came down here on this earth, right? 50:47 He's the only one that beat the devil. 50:49 All the rest of the whole world, 50:51 every person has ever been born 50:52 has sinned and come short of the glory of God. 50:55 Jesus was the only one. That's right. 50:57 This make me think differently about the season. 51:00 And really don't forget what it's all about. 51:04 He said, because... 51:05 You talk about incarnation quickly, 51:07 because it says it's an excu... 51:09 You know, we're talking about exhaustible. 51:10 You can't exhaust a subject when you talk about this. 51:13 It's a mystery, it says, no man can explain it, 51:16 the human mind cannot understand at all. 51:19 And we'll go through the ceaseless ages 51:21 learning more about 51:22 what will heaven gave up 51:24 so that we can spend eternity with Him. 51:26 To me it's just an exciting, 51:27 just to think about somewhat His eyes... 51:29 So please remember, 51:30 His eye is on the sparrow 51:32 and I know He watches over me. 51:35 "Oh, glory I just did not did, where I thought myself. 51:37 Thank you..." 51:39 Stop. 51:41 But what she was doing 51:42 was winding her minds up to think about, His eye. 51:45 And it's not what we need to do, 51:47 it's not just talk and it's just not words. 51:51 I want to see put in action in my own life, you know, 51:54 and in the lives of others when disappointment comes 51:56 and heartache comes, 51:57 and when you're just beside yourself, 51:59 and you just don't know what to do, 52:00 you just don't know how it's going to all work out, 52:03 know that His eyes on you. 52:05 He's never going to take it off. 52:07 That's right. He has a plan. 52:08 That's right. 52:09 And He's sending angels, 52:11 angels are there like lightning, 52:12 just coming and going 52:13 and God is in control of wheel within a wheel! 52:15 God has it all worked out. 52:16 I just get excited to think about that. 52:18 It helps me. That's good. 52:20 It helps me to understand that kind of learn. 52:22 I'm trying to try to learn it more every day. 52:24 I think it will help a lot of people, you know, 52:26 everything that you said, 52:28 because people are afraid right now, 52:31 they're afraid for their finances, 52:32 they're afraid for socialism, they're afraid for what's, 52:35 you know, happening in our country, 52:37 all these shut downs, our economy, everything 52:40 and they have nothing without Jesus to hold on to. 52:44 You know, this is part 52:46 of what we were been talking about. 52:47 But I think it gives us hope, it gives us something. 52:51 But we have to make a decision. 52:53 Everybody at home you have to make a decision. 52:55 And even with Christmas, 52:57 what type of Christmas do we want? 52:59 Do we want the Santa Claus? Do we want the reindeer? 53:01 Do we want all these presents? Da-da-da-da-da. 53:03 Or do we want that gift? 53:05 Do we want to center everything around Christ? 53:07 Do we want to help others? 53:09 But my study this morning took me to Simeon. 53:12 I thought, "Who is Simeon?" 53:14 I wanted to know a little bit more about Simeon and Anna. 53:17 And, you know, whenever Mary had taken Jesus 53:20 and to have Him anoint... 53:22 Well, not anointed, but... 53:24 What's the word I'm looking for? 53:25 Blessed. 53:27 Dedicated to the Lord, 53:28 you know, to dedicated to the Lord. 53:30 And when the priest was holding Jesus 53:32 'cause there was nothing about Jesus at that time 53:35 that would show that He was the Messiah. 53:37 He was the little baby, the Savior, the King. 53:41 And, but Simeon had been praying for years. 53:45 "Lord, don't let me die before I see the Messiah. 53:48 Don't let me die." 53:50 And when the priest was holding that baby there, 53:53 Simeon recognized the baby. 53:56 Had been the Holy Spirit. 53:57 Oh, yes. Spirit... 53:58 Look, I can imagine, he said, holding the King of kings, 54:03 Lord of lord, who created all things in the universe, 54:06 he just said, 54:07 and you're holding Him as a baby... 54:09 As a baby. 54:10 This is like mind boggling, at least to me. 54:13 I want to make a quick point... 54:14 Okay. 54:16 The reason Simeon recognized Him, 54:17 is because Simeon and Anna later on, 54:20 they had been living in the atmosphere of heaven. 54:24 We have choices in our home every moment of every day, 54:27 whether or not we're going to stay 54:29 in the atmosphere of heaven, 54:30 or we're going to let the world come in. 54:32 And as these last day, 54:34 people, as you're praying to be a part of that 144,000, 54:37 we need to be making decisions every moment of every day, 54:41 to live in the atmosphere of heaven. 54:42 So that when we see these things 54:44 around us happening, 54:46 our eyes are fixed on Christ, and we have hope, 54:49 and we recognize what's taking place. 54:50 Amen. Yes. 54:52 Amen. 54:53 So, maybe it's where do we go from here, 54:55 what would the Lord have us to do? 54:57 You know, we've been divided... 54:58 You touched on it, Chris, but on, 55:00 whether it's politics this time of year, 55:02 and all things that are gonna happen, 55:03 whether it's doctrinal, right now, 55:08 Christians all around the world, 55:10 we should be coming together on the fact that 55:13 there is no escape for this planet 55:15 except through the Lord Jesus Christ. 55:16 Come on. That's right. 55:18 And so, unity would be something 55:19 that we could do as a church and as a people. 55:22 Forget about all the stuff 55:23 that distracts us from the Word of God. 55:26 And say, "Lord, help us to see You and put You first." 55:30 Because right now our church, you can go on Facebook, 55:33 all kinds of things, 55:34 you'll see people within the church 55:35 fighting each other 55:37 about things that aren't going to last, 55:39 rather than joining together about things that are eternal. 55:42 And so today is my... 55:46 I know New Year's right away, but New Year's resolution is, 55:49 Lord, take me and use me, 55:51 first of all, forgive me for my sins 55:53 and take me and use me, 55:54 like You've never used me before 55:56 in this coming year. 55:58 But the Lord's coming is very soon. 55:59 Amen. 56:01 The signs of the times are all around. 56:03 Yes. Go ahead. 56:04 It's all right. Closing thoughts. 56:06 We only got, I can't believe, less than a minute and a half. 56:10 I know! I know! I know! Do you believe it? 56:11 Do you guys have closing thoughts? 56:12 Oh, go ahead. Oh, this... 56:14 If we get started 56:15 we'll have to have another hour. 56:17 Well, look out. Yeah, I'm excited about it. 56:18 Good lesson. 56:19 This has been so great 56:21 because, to me, 56:22 there's so much meat in here to hold on to. 56:26 And that's what we need. 56:27 We have to have something to hold on to, hope, 56:30 as you were talking about earlier. 56:31 We have hope in Jesus. 56:33 And so, we hold on to that hope. 56:36 He is our way out, 56:38 He is our Rescuer, our Savior, our Deliverer. 56:42 He's that Rock, He is our Lord. 56:44 He is our God, the Almighty God. 56:47 And so, if we hold on to Him 56:50 that will give us what we need to make it through. 56:53 You might be feeling alone this Christmas, 56:55 you might be feeling as though you have no family, 56:58 no one that cares. 56:59 We care. We pray for our 3ABN family. 57:02 And we know that as long as you hold on to Jesus, 57:06 you are never alone. 57:07 You will never be alone. 57:09 So make sure that with everything in you 57:12 that you seek after Him, 57:14 if you seek Him, you'll find Him. 57:16 If you ask for whatever it is you want 57:19 and you seek and you knock, 57:21 He will open the door and answer you. 57:25 And He's standing at the door right now and knocking. 57:28 Let Him in. 57:29 It'll be the best decision you ever made. 57:31 May God richly bless you. 57:33 Merry Christmas and Happy Sabbath! |
Revised 2021-01-22