Participants: Carlton P. Byrd
Series Code: BOL
Program Code: BOL000085
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00:00 Annc: From the Berean Seventh-day Adventist Church
00:03 in Atlanta, Georgia, welcome to "The Present" 00:08 with Dr. Carlton T. Byrd, Grammy winners Take Six, 00:14 Jennifer LaMountain, Jamie George, 00:19 and the Greater Atlanta Adventist Academy Choir. 00:23 Take Six: ♪Oh, come,♪ ♪ all ye faithful, 00:25 ♪ ♪ Joyful and triumphant! ♪ 00:33 ♪ Oh, come ye, oh, come ye to ♪ ♪ Bethlehem;♪ 00:42 ♪Come and behold him ♪ ♪ Born the king of angels: Oh, ♪ 00:53 ♪ come, let us adore him, Oh, ♪ 00:58 ♪ come, let us adore him, Oh, ♪ ♪ come, let us adore him, ♪ 01:08 ♪ Christ the Lord. ♪ ♪ Oh, yea, Lord,♪ 01:16 ♪we greet thee, ♪ ♪ Born this happy morning; 01:21 ♪ Oh, Jesus, ♪ ♪ to thee be ♪ 01:28 ♪ Word of the Father, ♪ 01:38 ♪ Now in flesh appearing! ♪ ♪ Oh, come, let us adore him, 01:43 ♪ ♪ Oh, come, let us adore him, ♪ 01:53 ♪ Oh, come, let us adore him, ♪ ♪ Christ the Lord. ♪ 02:05 ♪ For he alone♪ ♪is alone is worthy,♪ 02:12 ♪For he alone ♪ ♪ is worthy, Christ the Lord. ♪ 02:30 ♪ For he alone is worthy ♪ ♪ Christ the Lord ♪ 02:49 [applause] 03:00 ♪ Shooby doo wop, ♪ ♪ shooby doo wop ♪Okay, okay, 03:04 let's, let's loosen this up. 03:07 ♪ Shooby doo wop,♪ ♪shooby doo wop ♪ 03:09 Everybody can snap, you can snap. 03:11 Okay. Goes like this: ♪ Have yourself a merry little ♪ 03:18 ♪ Christmas Make the season ♪ ♪ bright From now on our ♪ 03:30 ♪ troubles will be♪ ♪out of sight. ♪ 03:41 ♪ Have yourself a merry little ♪ ♪ Christmas Make the yuletide ♪ 03:52 ♪ gay From now on our troubles ♪ ♪ will be miles away. ♪ 04:09 ♪ Here we are♪ ♪as in olden days, ♪ 04:15 ♪ Happy golden days of yore. ♪ ♪ Faithful friends who are 04:25 ♪ dear to us, ♪ ♪They travel near ♪ 04:30 ♪ to us once more. ♪ ♪ Now, through the years♪ 04:40 ♪we all will be together ♪ ♪ If the Lord allows. ♪ 04:51 ♪ Hang your shining star upon ♪ ♪ the highest bough,♪ 05:00 ♪And have ♪ ♪ yourself a merry little ♪ 05:09 ♪ Christmas now. ♪ ♪ Have yourself a merry, merry ♪ 05:23 ♪ little Christmas now. ♪ ♪ Oh yeah, shooby doo,♪ 05:29 ♪oh mama, ♪ ♪ have yourself a merry, merry ♪ 05:37 ♪ little Christmas, oh yeah. ♪ ♪ Have yourself, have yourself♪ 05:50 ♪a merry, merry♪ ♪little Christmas ♪ 05:52 ♪ Oh yeah, shooby doo,♪ ♪oh yeah, ♪ 05:55 ♪ Have yourself a merry ♪ ♪ Christmas now. ♪ 06:15 [applause] 06:35 PB: Now remember, the wise men had followed the 06:39 star that God the father had placed in the sky 06:42 to guide them to Jesus. 06:45 Be assured that God will always lead you 06:48 where you need to go. 06:51 Because the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord. 06:57 Now, we don't know how many wise men were there, 07:01 again we say that. 07:02 But we can assume that there were probably at least three 07:06 that came, because that is how many gifts they brought. 07:11 The gifts, the presents brought to Jesus were gold, 07:15 frankincense and myrrh. 07:18 Let's talk about the first gift, the gift of gold. 07:23 The gold was fitting for a king as gold is one of the 07:28 most valuable of all minerals. 07:30 People love it the most of all metals on the earth. 07:33 It is considered to be forever unchangeable. 07:37 It is the very symbol of riches and wealth. 07:40 Gold is fitting for a king, and Jesus is the King of kings 07:46 and the Lord of lords. 07:47 Matthew 6:21 teaches us, "For where your 07:51 treasure is, there your heart 07:54 will be also." 07:56 So gold also refers to our hearts. 07:59 God wants our hearts. 08:03 So giving gold to the Lord means we can give everything 08:07 we have and must give everything we have to the 08:11 Lord, because it takes your everything to serve the Lord. 08:16 Some want a crown but they don't want to bear a cross. 08:21 It takes everything to serve the Lord. 08:26 God was pleased when gold was offered to the baby Jesus, and 08:32 one day God will reward us with heavenly mansions built 08:38 with gold and various jewels. 08:41 Jesus said in John 14:1-3, "Let not your heart be 08:47 troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 08:50 In my Father's house are many mansions:" which means I'm 08:54 going to have a mansion. 08:56 You're going to have a mansion. 08:58 We're all gonna have mansions. 09:01 We won't even have to pay high gas prices anymore, because 09:04 when I get to heaven I'll be able to fly from my mansion to 09:07 your mansion. 09:09 Jesus continues, he says, "If it were not so, 09:12 I would have told you. 09:14 I go to prepare a place for you. 09:15 And if I go and prepare a place for you," he says, 09:18 "I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where 09:21 I am, there ye may be also." 09:24 Anyone who believes and accepts Jesus Christ as his or 09:30 her personal savior and confesses their sins to him 09:35 possesses the kingdom of heaven in his heart and can 09:38 enjoy eternal life in heaven forever. 09:42 Heaven is going to be a wonderful place, filled with 09:45 glory and grace. 09:48 I want to see my savior's face, because heaven's going 09:52 to be a wonderful place. 09:54 I believe we'll sit at the welcome table, we'll feast on 09:59 milk and honey, we'll sing and never get tired, we'll sail on 10:04 seas of glass and walk streets of gold. 10:10 Gold, that's the first gift. 10:15 That was the first present given to Jesus. 10:17 The second gift, the second present, was the gift of 10:20 frankincense. 10:22 Frankincense was a resin obtained from a balsam tree 10:25 used as a medicine. 10:26 Jesus, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, 10:32 would heal his people. 10:34 Frankincense was used in incense and in perfume. 10:37 Exodus 30:34 says it was an ingredient for incense. 10:43 The giving of the incense spiritually means spreading 10:47 the fragrance of Christ through the circumcision of 10:50 the heart. 10:51 When we spray perfumes, you see, it removes 10:56 foul odor, Amen. 10:58 And sends forth a good fragrance. 11:02 In the same way, when we remove all forms of evil and 11:06 glorify God with good deeds, we can spread the fragrance of 11:11 Christ. 11:13 This is represented by the offering of frankincense to 11:16 the Lord. 11:17 Because God doesn't search for only deeds, but also sees our 11:22 hearts. 11:23 He first receives good aroma from our hearts. 11:27 That's why those who really love God and understand the 11:29 heart of God do their best to get rid of every form of evil 11:32 and circumcise their hearts. 11:35 Those who spread the fragrance of Christ by circumcising 11:38 their hearts, namely, those who give the Lord frankincense 11:43 and give everything they have to God, and do not even have 11:48 to spare their lives for him. 11:51 But when we do this, our souls prosper. 11:54 We will be successful in everything we do, 11:57 and we will enjoy good health. 12:00 In the same way that many blessings of God are given to 12:03 those who give gold to the Lord by giving him everything 12:06 they have, God also gives blessings in accordance with 12:11 what a person has done. 12:13 God is well pleased and he gives overflowing blessings to 12:17 those who have circumcised their hearts and spread the 12:21 fragrance of Christ. 12:24 The third and final gift, the final present, 12:28 was that of myrrh. 12:29 Myrrh, an herb used in burials, was the most unusual 12:34 gift in that it pointed to the importance that 12:39 this King's death would mean later in life. 12:42 Myrrh is a dry oleo gum resin. 12:46 Ultimately the term myrrh derived its name from the 12:50 Aramaic word myrrh, which means bitter. 12:56 Since ancient times, myrrh has been valued for its fragrance, 13:01 its medicinal qualities as a wound dressing 13:04 and a numbing agent. 13:05 The ancient Egyptians used it as the principle ingredient in 13:09 the embalming of the mummies. 13:11 In ancient history it was so valuable at times that it was 13:16 equal in value to its weight in gold. 13:20 During times of scarcity, its value rose even higher. 13:24 In addition to medicinal purposes, it has been 13:26 used throughout history as a perfume and incense. 13:30 Jews used myrrh at the funeral ceremony as the embalmment 13:37 to preserve a dead body. 13:39 In a spiritual and symbolic sense, in giving means 13:42 and myrrh to the Lord means we have to give to the Lord what 13:49 does not perish, but what lasts forever. 13:53 It is none other than an unchanging faith. 13:56 That's what God wants. 13:58 The believers of God must be able to surrender everything 14:03 they have, even their lives, to the Lord. 14:07 They must dedicate themselves to him, unwaveringly and 14:11 unchangingly. 14:13 God was delighted when myrrh was offered to the baby Jesus, 14:18 and he gave us a life that lasts forever, when we live 14:23 with him one day in eternal life. 14:28 You see, the reality, my friends, is this: 14:31 we were all originally doomed to fall into hell. 14:36 But God did not create us for hell; 14:40 God created us for heaven. 14:44 Jesus came as a babe, lived as a faultless man. 14:49 Then one day died for us. 14:52 But on the third appointed day, he rose again. 14:58 And when he comes back at his second advent, at his second 15:03 coming, those of us who possess unwavering, unchanging 15:08 spiritual faith, we will have immortal and renewed bodies. 15:15 When the righteous are resurrected and we which are 15:19 alive and remain shall be caught up together to be with 15:24 the Lord. 15:25 That makes me excited. 15:28 That brings me joy. 15:31 Christmas is a joyful time. 15:34 It is about giving and receiving. 15:38 Now, I know that I know that I know somebody is excited that 15:44 Christmas has come. 15:46 Somebody's going to give some gifts, and somebody's going to 15:50 be happy because they're through shopping for gifts. 15:54 Did you get any gifts this year? 15:57 Well, if you haven't received a gift, we have a gift for 16:02 each of you. 16:04 Let me call on some of my little friends. 16:07 Friends, come on. 16:10 Let's give some gifts. 16:12 ♪ [orchestral music ♪ ♪ - "Silver Bells"] ♪ 18:11 [applause] PB: The wise men gave gifts. 18:20 We have given gifts. 18:23 The greatest gift is the gift that Jesus gave us. 18:28 This gifis a present, but this present is different 18:32 from other presents. 18:33 It's not a gift of gold, it's not a gift 18:37 of frankincense, it's not a gift of myrrh. 18:41 It's the gift of his presence. 18:45 And in his presence there is fullness of joy 18:50 And at his right hand there are pleasures for every more. 18:54 Let me tell you about this greatest gift, 18:58 greatest present. 19:00 Let me tell you about the gift of God. 19:03 God decided long ago that he would send his Son, 19:07 Jesus Christ, who came as a baby in a manger. 19:13 God loves us so much that he gave us a gift. 19:17 He gave us the gift of his presence, the gift also 19:21 of his grace. 19:23 Grace is a word we hear a lot. 19:25 But sometimes we don't know what grace means. 19:29 Grace means we've been given something we don't deserve 19:33 because we cannot do anything to earn it. 19:35 The Bible says in Ephesians 2:8-9, 19:39 "For by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that 19:44 not of yourselves. 19:45 It is the gift of God. 19:48 Not of works, lest any man should boast." 19:52 You see, we could never be good enough to get to heaven 19:55 on our own. 19:57 But Jesus loves us so much that he wants us to go to 20:02 heaven with him. 20:04 So he gave us the gift of himself, 20:08 the gift of his presence. 20:11 So it's not about Christmas trees. 20:14 It's about what he did on a tree. 20:17 It's not about lights, it's about the light 20:20 he put in our hearts. 20:23 It's not about presents, it's about his presence 20:27 in our lives. 20:30 And so we have a gift that we can give to God. 20:34 What does God want? 20:36 God wants you. 20:38 God wants me. 20:40 God wants us. 20:42 Romans 12:1 says, "I therefore beseech you, brethren, 20:46 by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies 20:49 a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, 20:53 which is your reasonable service." 20:56 That means our gift is the giving of ourselves to God. 21:01 We can do that when we trust Jesus to be our savior 21:04 and follow him all through life on earth. 21:07 Jesus wants to be in our presences. 21:10 Jesus wants to be with us. 21:13 He is Emmanuel, God with us. 21:18 He came the first time, and he's coming 21:21 back the second time. 21:24 Jesus came the first time as a baby, 21:27 but the second time he's going to come 21:29 as a King. 21:30 Jesus came the first time born into the world, 21:34 but the second time he will come 21:37 to redeem the world. 21:38 Jesus came the first time and only a few people 21:41 saw him, but the second time he comes every eye 21:43 is going to see him. 21:45 Jesus came the first time as God becoming man, 21:48 but the second time he will be God rescuing man. 21:52 Jesus came the first time to die for his people, 21:56 but the second time he will come to get 21:59 his people. 22:01 [applause] And so Jesus is Emmanuel, 22:07 God with us. 22:10 He came to live with us, he came to be with us, 22:12 he came to stand for us, he came to stand by us, 22:17 he came to stand with us, he came to stand and die 22:22 for us, and he's coming back to get us. 22:26 Let me tell you something tonight. 22:28 Jesus is more than a King. 22:32 He's my savior, he's my redeemer, 22:36 he's my joy, he's my shield, he's my buckler, he's my peace, 22:43 he's my help, he's my rock, he's my shelter, he's my 22:47 shepherd, he's my Jesus. 22:50 And he's my King. 23:05 [music] ♪ On a cold, ♪ 23:17 ♪ cold night in Bethlehem ♪ ♪ The sweet virgin Mary ♪ 23:28 ♪ gave birth To heaven's ♪ ♪ great gift for every man ♪ 23:42 ♪ Jesus, the savior of earth ♪ ♪ No trumpets rang ♪ 23:54 ♪ but the angels sang ♪ ♪ There was no one♪ 24:01 ♪to crown him ♪ ♪ a king But the star shown ♪ 24:12 ♪ bright on that cold, cold ♪ ♪ night For the child who was ♪ 24:19 ♪ more than a king. ♪ ♪ Wise men came from far away ♪ 24:38 ♪ Shepherds followed the star ♪ ♪ Wise men still ♪ 24:51 ♪ follow him today ♪ ♪ For his dear sheep we are ♪ 25:04 ♪ No trumpets rang, but the♪ ♪ angels sang ♪ 25:12 ♪ There was no one to♪ ♪ crown him a king But the♪ 25:22 ♪ star shown bright ♪ ♪on that cold, ♪ 25:27 ♪ cold night ♪ For the child who was ♪ 25:32 ♪ more than a king. ♪ ♪ And I'll praise his name♪ 25:42 ♪till he comes again For this ♪ child was much ♪ 25:53 ♪more than a king. ♪ [applause] 26:20 PB: As I said earlier, Jesus is more than a king. 26:30 In fact, he's my everything. 26:35 I'm excited that Jesus came the first time, but I'm even 26:42 more excited that Jesus is coming back a second time. 26:47 The first time he came to save me. 26:53 Matthew 1:21, "And she shall bring forth a son and thou 26:57 shalt call his name Jesus; for he shall save his people 27:03 from their sins." 27:04 The second time, my Jesus, my savior, my everything, 27:07 my king, he's coming back to get me. 27:17 I'm happy, I'm just excited. 27:22 I can imagine what the shepherds sensed and felt. 27:29 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, 27:35 good will toward men. 27:39 Hallelujah. 27:41 Christ returneth. 27:44 Hallelujah, Amen. 27:49 [Choir - "Hallelujah Chorus"] ♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, ♪ 27:59 ♪ hallelujah, hallelujah. ♪ ♪ King of kings, forever and ♪ 28:12 ♪ ever, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ And Lord of lords, forever ♪ 28:19 ♪ ever, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪ ♪ King of kings, forever and ♪ |
Revised 2015-02-06