Worship Christ, the newborn King
00:00:26.63\00:00:33.79
Sages, leave your contemplations
00:00:33.82\00:00:39.10
Brighter visions beam afar
00:00:39.13\00:00:43.92
Seek the great Desire of Nations
00:00:43.95\00:00:49.00
Ye have seen His natal star
00:00:49.03\00:00:53.86
Come and worship
00:00:53.89\00:00:56.72
Come and worship
00:00:56.75\00:00:59.40
Worship Christ, the newborn King
00:00:59.43\00:01:05.51
Joy to the world
00:01:31.29\00:01:33.72
The Lord is come
00:01:33.75\00:01:36.23
Let earth receive her King
00:01:36.26\00:01:40.91
Let every heart prepare Him room
00:01:40.94\00:01:46.52
And heaven and nature sing
00:01:46.55\00:01:48.66
And heaven and nature sing
00:01:48.69\00:01:50.92
And heaven, and
heaven and nature sing
00:01:50.95\00:01:57.68
Joy to the earth,
the Savior reigns!
00:01:57.71\00:02:02.60
Let men their songs employ
00:02:02.63\00:02:07.62
While fields and floods
00:02:07.65\00:02:10.01
Rocks, hills, and plains
00:02:10.04\00:02:12.83
Repeat the sounding joy
00:02:12.86\00:02:14.99
Repeat the sounding joy
00:02:15.02\00:02:17.55
Repeat, repeat the sound joy
00:02:17.58\00:02:24.02
He rules the world
with truth and grace
00:02:24.05\00:02:28.34
And makes the nations prove
00:02:28.37\00:02:33.24
The glories of His righteousness
00:02:33.27\00:02:38.17
And wonders of His love
00:02:38.20\00:02:40.61
And wonders of His love
00:02:40.64\00:02:42.88
And wonders and
wonders of His love
00:02:42.91\00:02:49.83
"Every warrior's
boot used in battle,
00:02:55.94\00:03:00.23
every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
00:03:00.26\00:03:07.15
will be fuel for the fire
because to us a child is born
00:03:07.18\00:03:14.98
and to us a Son is given,
00:03:15.01\00:03:18.21
and the government
will be on his shoulders.
00:03:18.24\00:03:20.90
And he will be
called Wonderful Counselor,
00:03:20.93\00:03:25.47
Mighty God, the
Everlasting Father,
00:03:25.50\00:03:30.03
the Prince of Peace."
00:03:30.06\00:03:32.87
Silent night!
00:03:47.46\00:03:51.55
Holy night!
00:03:51.58\00:03:55.79
All is calm
00:03:55.82\00:04:00.02
All is bright
00:04:00.05\00:04:04.20
Round yon virgin
00:04:04.23\00:04:08.45
Mother and Child
00:04:08.48\00:04:12.65
Holy infant
00:04:12.68\00:04:16.14
So tender and mild
00:04:16.17\00:04:20.86
Sleep in heavenly peace
00:04:20.89\00:04:26.86
Sleep in heavenly peace
00:04:29.86\00:04:35.86
Silent night!
00:04:38.72\00:04:43.22
Holy night!
00:04:43.25\00:04:47.45
Son of God
00:04:47.48\00:04:51.83
Love's pure light
00:04:51.86\00:04:56.22
Radiant beams
00:04:56.25\00:04:59.86
From Thy holy face
00:04:59.89\00:05:04.85
With the dawn
00:05:04.88\00:05:08.23
Of redeeming grace
00:05:08.26\00:05:13.80
Jesus, Lord
00:05:13.83\00:05:17.27
At Thy birth
00:05:17.30\00:05:23.19
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth
00:05:23.22\00:05:30.29
Silent night!
00:05:37.07\00:05:41.51
Holy night!
00:05:41.54\00:05:45.99
Wondrous star
00:05:46.02\00:05:50.51
lend thy light
00:05:50.54\00:05:55.06
With the angels
00:05:55.09\00:05:59.62
Let us sing
00:05:59.65\00:06:04.06
Alleluia to our King
00:06:04.09\00:06:10.06
Christ the Savior is born
00:06:13.16\00:06:20.61
Christ the Savior is born
00:06:22.57\00:06:29.84
What child is this,
00:06:43.53\00:06:46.07
who laid to rest, on
Mary's lap is sleeping?
00:06:46.10\00:06:51.20
The song may
start with a question
00:06:51.23\00:06:53.98
but it's actually
an invitation to come,
00:06:54.01\00:06:58.24
to bring Him glory and honor,
00:06:58.27\00:07:01.01
to come before Jesus
our Lord and worship Him.
00:07:01.04\00:07:06.49
As we listen, or
sing along if you like,
00:07:06.52\00:07:09.97
let us once again
open our hearts to our God
00:07:10.00\00:07:12.95
and welcome Him
in as Lord and King.
00:07:12.98\00:07:16.40
What child is this
00:08:03.93\00:08:08.07
Who, laid to rest
00:08:08.10\00:08:12.39
On Mary's lap is sleeping?
00:08:12.42\00:08:20.19
Whom angels greet
00:08:20.22\00:08:24.36
With anthems sweet
00:08:24.39\00:08:28.87
While shepherds
00:08:28.90\00:08:31.45
Watch are keeping?
00:08:31.48\00:08:37.83
This, this is Christ the King
00:08:37.86\00:08:45.71
Whom shepherds guard
00:08:45.74\00:08:49.40
And angels sing
00:08:49.43\00:08:54.22
Haste, haste to bring him laud
00:08:54.25\00:09:02.13
The babe
00:09:02.16\00:09:03.87
The son of Mary
00:09:03.90\00:09:10.75
Why lies He in such mean estate
00:09:10.78\00:09:18.74
Where ox and ass are feeding?
00:09:18.77\00:09:26.16
Good Christian, fear;
00:09:26.19\00:09:30.19
For sinners here
00:09:30.22\00:09:34.28
The silent Word
00:09:34.31\00:09:37.96
Is pleading
00:09:37.99\00:09:42.65
This, this is Christ the King
00:09:42.68\00:09:50.18
Whom shepherds guard
00:09:50.21\00:09:53.84
And angels sing
00:09:53.87\00:09:58.90
Haste, haste to bring him laud
00:09:58.93\00:10:06.48
The babe
00:10:06.51\00:10:08.57
The son of Mary
00:10:08.60\00:10:13.65
So bring him incense, gold
00:10:55.80\00:11:02.31
And myrrh
00:11:02.34\00:11:04.72
Come, peasant, king, to own him
00:11:04.75\00:11:12.69
The King of kings
00:11:12.72\00:11:16.71
Salvation brings
00:11:16.74\00:11:21.09
Let loving hearts
00:11:21.12\00:11:24.78
Enthrone him
00:11:24.81\00:11:29.43
This, this is Christ the King
00:11:29.46\00:11:37.12
Whom shepherds guard
00:11:37.15\00:11:41.02
And angels sing
00:11:41.05\00:11:45.59
Haste, haste to bring him laud
00:11:45.62\00:11:53.45
The babe
00:11:53.48\00:11:55.39
the son of Mary
00:11:55.42\00:12:00.39
Tears are falling,
hearts are breaking
00:12:28.57\00:12:34.12
How we need to hear from God
00:12:34.15\00:12:39.02
You've been promised
00:12:39.05\00:12:41.77
We've been waiting
00:12:41.80\00:12:44.29
Welcome Holy Child
00:12:44.32\00:12:49.06
Welcome Holy Child
00:12:49.09\00:12:56.57
Hope that you
don't mind our manger
00:12:56.60\00:13:01.30
How I wish we would have known
00:13:01.33\00:13:05.74
But long awaited Holy stranger
00:13:05.77\00:13:10.83
Make yourself at home
00:13:10.86\00:13:15.18
Please make yourself at home
00:13:15.21\00:13:20.52
Bring your peace
into our violence
00:13:27.16\00:13:31.80
Bid our hungry souls be filled
00:13:31.83\00:13:36.45
World now
breaking Heaven's silence
00:13:36.48\00:13:41.12
Welcome to our world
00:13:41.15\00:13:45.14
Yes, welcome to our world
00:13:45.17\00:13:50.44
Fragile finger sent to heal us
00:13:56.81\00:14:01.23
Tender brow prepared for thorns
00:14:01.26\00:14:05.80
Tiny heart whose
blood will save us
00:14:05.83\00:14:10.76
Unto us is born
00:14:10.79\00:14:14.63
Yes, unto us is born
00:14:14.66\00:14:20.31
So wrap our
injured flesh around You
00:14:27.28\00:14:33.06
Breathe our air and walk our sod
00:14:33.09\00:14:39.12
Rob our sins and make us holy
00:14:39.15\00:14:44.54
Perfect Son of God
00:14:44.57\00:14:49.06
Perfect Son of God
00:14:49.09\00:14:54.45
Welcome to our world
00:14:54.48\00:15:01.95
What sweeter music can we bring
00:15:25.75\00:15:31.64
Than a carol, for to sing
00:15:31.67\00:15:36.45
The birth of
this our heavenly King
00:15:36.48\00:15:41.94
Awake the
voice! Awake the string
00:15:41.97\00:15:48.26
Dark and dull
night fly hence away
00:15:48.29\00:15:53.68
And give the honor to this day
00:15:53.71\00:15:59.13
That sees December turned to May
00:15:59.16\00:16:05.29
That sees December
00:16:05.32\00:16:08.81
Turned to May
00:16:08.84\00:16:13.48
Why does the
chilling winter's morn
00:16:13.51\00:16:19.36
Smile, like a
field beset with corn
00:16:19.39\00:16:24.55
Or smell like a
meadow newly shorn
00:16:24.58\00:16:30.53
Thus on the sudden come and see
00:16:30.56\00:16:36.71
The cause, why
things thus fragrant be
00:16:36.74\00:16:42.49
Tis he is born,
whose quickening birth
00:16:42.52\00:16:47.68
Gives life and
lustre, public mirth
00:16:47.71\00:16:53.89
To heaven
00:16:53.92\00:16:55.50
And the underearth
00:16:55.53\00:17:02.26
We see him come,
and know his mours
00:17:02.29\00:17:08.62
Who, with his
sunshine and his showers
00:17:08.65\00:17:14.33
Turns all the
patient ground to flowers
00:17:14.36\00:17:19.84
Turns all the
patient ground to flowers
00:17:19.87\00:17:26.71
The darling of the world is come
00:17:26.74\00:17:32.27
And fit it is, we find a room
00:17:32.30\00:17:37.05
To welcome him
00:17:37.08\00:17:40.32
To welcome him
00:17:40.35\00:17:46.00
The nobler part of
all the house here,
00:17:46.03\00:17:51.92
is the heart
00:17:51.95\00:17:54.61
Which we will
give him, and bequeath
00:17:54.64\00:18:00.09
This holy, and this ivy wreath
00:18:00.12\00:18:05.51
To do him honor; who's our King
00:18:05.54\00:18:11.12
And Lord of all this reveling
00:18:11.15\00:18:17.35
What sweeter music can we bring
00:18:23.33\00:18:29.61
Than a carol, for to sing
00:18:29.64\00:18:35.24
The birth of this
00:18:35.27\00:18:37.90
Our heavenly King
00:18:37.93\00:18:45.37
The birth of this
00:18:45.40\00:18:49.99
Our heavenly King
00:18:50.02\00:18:56.99
Let's pray together.
00:19:13.57\00:19:15.84
I believe God has a
teaching for us today.
00:19:15.87\00:19:21.65
What music can we sing?
00:19:21.68\00:19:23.74
What music can we
bring to our heavenly king?
00:19:23.77\00:19:27.84
Holy Father, with
a choir we respond.
00:19:27.87\00:19:32.28
What we bring is so small
and yet please receive it.
00:19:36.59\00:19:42.32
Receive from us
our hearts right now,
00:19:42.35\00:19:43.74
our minds that we will engage
00:19:43.77\00:19:46.73
as we ponder Holy
Scripture once again.
00:19:46.76\00:19:50.49
You've been good
to us in this journey.
00:19:50.52\00:19:54.89
We would still follow the star.
00:19:54.92\00:19:58.52
We pray in Jesus' name.
00:19:58.55\00:20:01.76
Amen.
00:20:01.79\00:20:04.48
What would happen on
this university campus
00:20:04.51\00:20:07.65
this next week
00:20:07.68\00:20:08.83
if a busload of white clad
00:20:08.86\00:20:16.55
Muslim clerics
suddenly showed up
00:20:16.58\00:20:20.43
at the entrance of
the theological seminary,
00:20:20.46\00:20:23.55
just a few yards from where
we are worshiping right now?
00:20:23.58\00:20:27.64
What would
happen if they all came
00:20:27.67\00:20:28.70
piling out of that
stained, travel-weary vehicle,
00:20:28.73\00:20:35.37
prayer rug under arm?
00:20:35.40\00:20:37.77
These Imams, because
that's what they called,
00:20:37.80\00:20:40.06
these Imams go striding
through those glass doors,
00:20:40.09\00:20:44.67
up into the hallowed
hallways of the seminary.
00:20:44.70\00:20:47.94
What would happen
if they began to bang
00:20:47.97\00:20:49.70
on all those professors'
doors, pounding, pounding?
00:20:49.73\00:20:54.93
And then when the
doors were answered.
00:20:54.96\00:20:56.29
What would happen if
these Imams cried out,
00:20:56.32\00:20:58.48
"We have been studying
00:20:58.51\00:21:00.66
the ancient
prophecies of your sacred book
00:21:00.69\00:21:05.24
and after our
study we are convinced
00:21:05.27\00:21:08.49
that your Jesus is
about to return to this earth.
00:21:08.52\00:21:13.12
Can you help us
prepare for Him?"
00:21:13.15\00:21:16.64
What would we say then?
00:21:16.67\00:21:21.11
Would we be any different?
00:21:21.14\00:21:23.89
Would we be any different
than the Jews of Jerusalem
00:21:23.92\00:21:27.25
on that starry, starry night?
00:21:27.28\00:21:30.24
Open your Bible with
me please to that beloved
00:21:30.27\00:21:32.48
Christmas narrative,
the Gospel of St. Matthew.
00:21:32.51\00:21:36.49
We're sticking in this narrative
00:21:36.52\00:21:37.62
all through the evinces
00:21:37.65\00:21:38.82
in at the Pioneer
Memorial church this year.
00:21:38.85\00:21:41.07
Matthew, the
Gospel of St. Matthew 2.
00:21:41.10\00:21:45.69
Go back to the story
that we know so well.
00:21:45.72\00:21:49.25
If you didn't bring your Bible,
00:21:49.28\00:21:52.10
please take the pew
Bible in front of you.
00:21:52.13\00:21:53.49
In fact, I'll give you a
page number, its page 649.
00:21:53.52\00:21:56.22
You know, we
discovered this last week.
00:21:56.25\00:21:57.73
There is more than meets the eye
00:21:57.76\00:21:59.68
in this old and familiar story.
00:21:59.71\00:22:03.73
And I have a feeling
we're going to discover
00:22:03.76\00:22:05.36
the very same reality today
as we move in this teaching.
00:22:05.39\00:22:08.90
We are entitling the
teaching, "We Four Kings."
00:22:08.93\00:22:13.92
Four kings because I
am hoping and praying
00:22:13.95\00:22:15.99
that by the time
this teaching is over,
00:22:16.02\00:22:18.11
you and I will
determine that we want to join
00:22:18.14\00:22:20.19
these Christ seeking
children of the east ourselves
00:22:20.22\00:22:23.02
which will make it four, five
00:22:23.05\00:22:24.57
if you're coming,
six, if you've along.
00:22:24.60\00:22:26.96
We kings together.
So let's read the story.
00:22:26.99\00:22:31.58
Matthew 2:1, "Now after Jesus
was born in Bethlehem of Judea
00:22:31.61\00:22:36.73
in the days of Herod the king,
00:22:36.76\00:22:39.88
behold, wise men from the East
00:22:39.91\00:22:42.62
came to
Jerusalem, saying, Verse 2,
00:22:42.65\00:22:44.79
'Where is He who has
been born King of the Jews?
00:22:44.82\00:22:48.11
For we have seen
His star in the East
00:22:48.14\00:22:49.74
and have come to worship Him.'
00:22:49.77\00:22:52.40
When Herod the king heard this,
00:22:52.43\00:22:55.68
he was troubled, and
all Jerusalem with him."
00:22:55.71\00:23:00.14
Question.
00:23:00.17\00:23:02.09
Why would Herod
the king and Jerusalem,
00:23:02.12\00:23:04.28
all Jerusalem with him,
why would they be troubled
00:23:04.31\00:23:07.23
over the arrival of
these foreign dignitaries?
00:23:07.26\00:23:12.16
I mean, I have
no problem grasping
00:23:12.19\00:23:15.37
that the king
would be a bit troubled.
00:23:15.40\00:23:17.38
I've never known the king
that's really excited about
00:23:17.41\00:23:19.15
any competition for his throne.
00:23:19.18\00:23:21.25
And he get the
word on the street
00:23:21.28\00:23:22.32
that there's a baby
born somewhere in this place
00:23:22.35\00:23:24.74
that's the next
king and he's not my boy,
00:23:24.77\00:23:27.30
I would be a
little bit troubled.
00:23:27.33\00:23:28.99
And besides this
is Herod the Great.
00:23:29.02\00:23:34.26
Ever heard of Herod the Great?
00:23:34.29\00:23:35.57
Oh, mercy.
00:23:35.60\00:23:36.64
The first in the line of
the Idumaean Jewish line.
00:23:36.67\00:23:40.85
He is a half Jew, a
bloody, bloody king.
00:23:40.88\00:23:45.51
He has one style of leadership
00:23:45.54\00:23:48.09
and that is
slaughter the opposition.
00:23:48.12\00:23:51.34
Anybody in his way... is gone.
00:23:51.37\00:23:54.90
His mother-in-law...
His brother-in-law...
00:23:54.93\00:24:00.38
His wife... the
two boys by Herod...
00:24:00.41\00:24:06.55
Three hundred Jewish
sympathizes of his two sons,
00:24:06.58\00:24:10.18
I am not going
to do it 300 times.
00:24:10.21\00:24:13.56
Forty five young
leaders of the Jewish community
00:24:13.59\00:24:16.55
in the Sanhedrin, plus
more and more and more.
00:24:16.58\00:24:20.59
He was a bloody, bloody king.
00:24:20.62\00:24:22.09
And in fact at
the end of his life,
00:24:22.12\00:24:24.82
his reign was about to over,
00:24:24.85\00:24:25.88
you already know the
Christmas story blood.
00:24:25.91\00:24:28.46
At the end of his life, he
falls into a mortal illness.
00:24:28.49\00:24:33.32
And this is a true story,
00:24:33.35\00:24:34.60
the word got heard on
the streets of Jerusalem
00:24:34.63\00:24:36.82
and they started having a party,
00:24:36.85\00:24:38.41
the wicked king is
sick, the wicked king is sick.
00:24:38.44\00:24:41.34
And they raced
over to the temple,
00:24:41.37\00:24:42.70
they ripped
down the golden eagle
00:24:42.73\00:24:44.87
emblem of the Roman Empire
00:24:44.90\00:24:46.31
that Herod had it
affixed above the temple gate.
00:24:46.34\00:24:49.76
Big problem
though, Herod got better.
00:24:49.79\00:24:56.59
He got sick again,
and this time it's mortal.
00:24:56.62\00:25:01.09
And he calls his
sister Salome to him, he says,
00:25:01.12\00:25:03.54
"I have these instructions,
carry them out, please.
00:25:03.57\00:25:05.77
Arrest every Jewish leader,
00:25:05.80\00:25:07.64
put them all in the hippodrome."
00:25:07.67\00:25:09.22
It's a stadium that he built.
00:25:09.25\00:25:11.25
"And when I die,
00:25:11.28\00:25:13.16
slaughter them all
for I will make certain
00:25:13.19\00:25:15.76
that there is mourning
in this land when I am gone.
00:25:15.79\00:25:19.74
To Salome's credit
after her brother died
00:25:19.77\00:25:21.68
she let them go.
00:25:21.71\00:25:23.29
This is Herod the Great, folks.
00:25:23.32\00:25:24.70
I am not surprised
he has a little dis-ease
00:25:24.73\00:25:27.32
in his heart over rumors.
00:25:27.35\00:25:30.22
But here's a question.
00:25:30.25\00:25:31.46
Why does it also read
that all of Jerusalem,
00:25:31.49\00:25:35.48
the whole city is also troubled?
00:25:35.51\00:25:37.71
I think we'll be saying,
"Yeah, we got another king."
00:25:37.74\00:25:41.62
But it says, all of
Jerusalem was troubled.
00:25:41.65\00:25:44.52
Let's put
ourselves in their sandals
00:25:44.55\00:25:45.94
for just another moment.
00:25:45.97\00:25:47.15
Excuse me.
00:25:47.18\00:25:48.85
By returning to those
Imams and asking again,
00:25:48.88\00:25:51.34
how would we react, okay?
00:25:51.37\00:25:53.14
What would happen if
a busload of white clad
00:25:53.17\00:25:55.24
Muslim cleric
descended upon our campus
00:25:55.27\00:25:57.41
with the passionate query,
00:25:57.44\00:25:59.25
"We have been studying
00:25:59.28\00:26:00.56
the ancient
prophecies of your holy book
00:26:00.59\00:26:02.95
that all of you teach in
this thriving academic community
00:26:02.98\00:26:06.98
and we believe it indicates
that the king of heaven
00:26:07.01\00:26:09.54
is about to
return to this earth."
00:26:09.57\00:26:13.01
I mean, how would I respond?
00:26:13.04\00:26:15.17
I, who once upon a time have
even preached on that theme.
00:26:15.20\00:26:18.71
How would you
respond, you who are required
00:26:18.74\00:26:21.44
once upon a time
to preach that thing?
00:26:21.47\00:26:23.42
How would we respond,
00:26:23.45\00:26:25.19
we who have the
nerve to go around,
00:26:25.22\00:26:27.41
calling ourselves Adventists,
00:26:27.44\00:26:28.94
which means those who believe
00:26:28.97\00:26:30.24
in the Messiah's
quick and soon return?
00:26:30.27\00:26:33.07
How would we respond...
00:26:33.10\00:26:38.98
if a busload of Imams
00:26:39.01\00:26:40.65
walked the
hallways of our dormitories?
00:26:40.68\00:26:43.74
Number one, they get an
eyeful and number two, they say,
00:26:43.77\00:26:47.69
"Hey, anybody around
here get ready for the king?"
00:26:47.72\00:26:51.42
How would we respond?
00:26:51.45\00:26:54.69
I am going to remind
you that Jerusalem here,
00:26:54.72\00:26:59.10
Jerusalem here in Matthew 2
00:26:59.13\00:27:04.20
is not some
backwater little village,
00:27:04.23\00:27:05.98
you know forsaken
section of the wilderness.
00:27:06.01\00:27:08.03
We're talking about the
intellectual sea of Israel,
00:27:08.06\00:27:11.13
the community of faith.
00:27:11.16\00:27:12.67
This city is peopled by
academics, ecclesiastics
00:27:12.70\00:27:16.23
and other
bureaucrats of "the saved."
00:27:16.26\00:27:19.28
No wonder it's
unnerving and troubling
00:27:19.31\00:27:21.44
when men consider
to be right pagans
00:27:21.47\00:27:23.70
suddenly show up on
the temple precincts
00:27:23.73\00:27:25.49
and began parsing
the Holy Scriptures
00:27:25.52\00:27:28.38
and ancient prophecy in ways
00:27:28.41\00:27:30.16
that the spiritual
leaders have long ago abandoned.
00:27:30.19\00:27:34.15
They are doing it.
00:27:34.18\00:27:36.57
If a busload of Muslims
00:27:36.60\00:27:37.77
showed up on this
campus with the word,
00:27:37.80\00:27:39.07
"We believe your Jesus is
coming to earth very soon.
00:27:39.10\00:27:41.60
What are you
people doing about it?"
00:27:41.63\00:27:42.75
You know what?
00:27:42.78\00:27:43.81
It would hurt to be
bested at our own best game,
00:27:43.84\00:27:47.94
would it not?
00:27:47.97\00:27:51.83
Verse 1, "Now
after Jesus was born
00:27:51.86\00:27:53.77
in Bethlehem of Judea in
the days of Herod the king,
00:27:53.80\00:27:56.00
behold, wise men from the
East came to Jerusalem, saying,
00:27:56.03\00:28:00.32
'Where is He who has
been born King of the Jews?
00:28:00.35\00:28:02.85
For we have seen
His star in the East
00:28:02.88\00:28:04.18
and have come to worship Him.'
00:28:04.21\00:28:06.28
When Herod the king
heard this, he was troubled,
00:28:06.31\00:28:08.95
and all Jerusalem with him."
00:28:08.98\00:28:11.67
I mean, look here, when people
00:28:11.70\00:28:12.74
who don't deserve the
light seem to have found it.
00:28:12.77\00:28:16.73
When people are consider pagans
in darkness follow the light
00:28:16.76\00:28:19.80
and the people who have
the light are in the dark,
00:28:19.83\00:28:22.46
what is wrong with that picture?
00:28:22.49\00:28:26.43
Verse 4, "And when he had
gathered all the chief priests
00:28:26.46\00:28:30.53
and scribes of the
people together, he,
00:28:30.56\00:28:33.16
that would be Herod the Great,
00:28:33.19\00:28:34.72
inquired of them where
Christ was to be born."
00:28:34.75\00:28:41.13
The leaders of the clergy,
00:28:41.16\00:28:42.68
the entire faculty had
been summoned to the palace
00:28:42.71\00:28:45.26
and bloody Herod has
locked the doors behind them.
00:28:45.29\00:28:50.04
It's not wise to mess around
with the Herod the Great, no.
00:28:50.07\00:28:55.43
Then fainting the
heart of such sincere
00:28:55.46\00:29:00.40
and seeking faith, he
says, oh, my beloved clerics,
00:29:00.43\00:29:04.08
so nice of you to come today.
00:29:04.11\00:29:06.94
I have one question for you,
00:29:06.97\00:29:09.32
this Messiah, the
Christ, were will he be born?
00:29:09.35\00:29:16.09
You know, it's amazing that
Herod asked about the Christ.
00:29:16.12\00:29:18.93
The Wisemen had not
said a word about the Christ,
00:29:18.96\00:29:20.69
they just call Him
the King of the Jews.
00:29:20.72\00:29:22.49
But Herod's been listening
to what's on the street
00:29:22.52\00:29:24.64
and obviously he has
carefully interpreted
00:29:24.67\00:29:29.08
and in fact these Arabian kings
00:29:29.11\00:29:31.77
are inquiring about the Messiah,
00:29:31.80\00:29:34.58
the predicted one.
00:29:34.61\00:29:36.99
You say, wait a minute,
00:29:37.02\00:29:38.05
how do you know
these are Arabian kings?
00:29:38.08\00:29:40.30
Oh, my friends,
you were not with us
00:29:40.33\00:29:41.78
last Sabbath, were
you, in this teaching?
00:29:41.81\00:29:43.81
You were not with us.
00:29:43.84\00:29:47.16
I believe that teaching
last Sabbath is so important.
00:29:47.19\00:29:49.24
Now I heard from
all over the world
00:29:49.27\00:29:51.38
since last week,
I want to tell you
00:29:51.41\00:29:54.31
that if you have not
heard, I'd like to invite you,
00:29:54.34\00:29:55.95
if you have not
heard last week's teaching.
00:29:55.98\00:29:57.93
Let me put the
website on the screen for you.
00:29:57.96\00:30:00.19
I wish we go to our website,
00:30:00.22\00:30:01.53
do you see
there, www.pmchurch.tv.
00:30:01.56\00:30:04.54
This is a little mini-series
called "Wisemen from the East."
00:30:04.57\00:30:09.06
And would you
click on to the teaching,
00:30:09.09\00:30:11.18
"Star Still Rising Over Islam."
00:30:11.21\00:30:13.99
You can get it podcast,
you can get it video streaming,
00:30:14.02\00:30:16.13
get all the
PowerPoint that's there,
00:30:16.16\00:30:17.66
even the study guide is there.
00:30:17.69\00:30:19.09
If you did not hear last
week, you owe it to yourself
00:30:19.12\00:30:21.80
to at least
consider the teaching.
00:30:21.83\00:30:24.53
They are Arab kings,
trust me. They are Arabians.
00:30:24.56\00:30:31.21
Herod looks into the faces
of these clerics, he said, hey,
00:30:31.24\00:30:35.19
these Arabian kings are
all talking about a Messiah.
00:30:35.22\00:30:38.93
Tell me where will He be born?
00:30:38.96\00:30:43.15
Now you need to be reminded
00:30:43.18\00:30:46.59
that being forced
to stand before Herod
00:30:46.62\00:30:49.09
is a double slap in the
face of Jerusalem's clergy,
00:30:49.12\00:30:53.46
because not only a
pagan kings come up
00:30:53.49\00:30:54.90
and start this
whole Messiah talk
00:30:54.93\00:30:56.16
which they are
trying to keep quite.
00:30:56.19\00:30:57.93
Now we have the hated half-breed
00:30:57.96\00:30:59.91
king himself
cornering them and saying,
00:30:59.94\00:31:01.83
I am not letting you out of here
00:31:01.86\00:31:02.89
until you talk Messiah to me.
00:31:02.92\00:31:05.76
This is bad news.
There is no way out of this.
00:31:05.79\00:31:07.66
And by the way,
00:31:07.69\00:31:08.72
they don't have
to call a committee.
00:31:08.75\00:31:10.27
They don't have to say,
well, listen, we'll go back
00:31:10.30\00:31:11.57
and do some
research in the library.
00:31:11.60\00:31:12.77
They already know the
answer and they respond.
00:31:12.80\00:31:16.09
Verse 5, "And so
they said unto him,
00:31:16.12\00:31:19.55
In Bethlehem of Judaea,
00:31:19.58\00:31:21.79
for thus it is
written by the prophet."
00:31:21.82\00:31:23.46
Verse 6, "But you
Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
00:31:23.49\00:31:26.03
are not the least
among the princes of Judah,
00:31:26.06\00:31:28.07
For out of you
shall come a Ruler,
00:31:28.10\00:31:31.57
who shall
shepherd my people Israel."
00:31:31.60\00:31:34.84
Your Majesty, he will be
born in Bethlehem, this Messiah.
00:31:34.87\00:31:41.35
And Herod breaks
into a crooked grin.
00:31:41.38\00:31:45.29
Splendid, lovely.
00:31:45.32\00:31:48.11
Thank you, that's all I need.
00:31:48.14\00:31:49.81
You are dismissed.
00:31:49.84\00:31:53.68
You got to hand to
these scholars and prelates.
00:31:53.71\00:31:56.83
They know the answers
00:31:56.86\00:32:00.25
but they are indicted by history
00:32:00.28\00:32:02.68
because they had
quit asking the question.
00:32:02.71\00:32:07.91
But you see the danger of
those who know all the answers
00:32:07.94\00:32:10.93
is that they no
longer ask the question.
00:32:10.96\00:32:14.62
For them it's no longer,
00:32:14.65\00:32:15.68
it was no longer
fashionable to ask,
00:32:15.71\00:32:17.90
is the Messiah coming soon?
00:32:17.93\00:32:22.51
Too embarrassing,
too fundamentalist,
00:32:22.54\00:32:27.30
too back woodsy,
too right wingish.
00:32:27.33\00:32:30.14
We don't ask those
questions any more around here.
00:32:30.17\00:32:36.95
I was reading this last week
00:32:36.98\00:32:38.02
an essay written
by the American lawyer
00:32:38.05\00:32:39.82
and social critic an
essayist William Stringfellow,
00:32:39.85\00:32:44.34
in a little book that my
friend Carol Lewis gave me
00:32:44.37\00:32:46.73
"Watch for the Light."
00:32:46.76\00:32:48.84
In that book the
lawyer Stringfellow
00:32:48.87\00:32:50.67
describes a very similar mindset
00:32:50.70\00:32:52.74
in the contemporary church.
00:32:52.77\00:32:53.88
He refers to, and I put
the words on the screen.
00:32:53.91\00:32:56.04
He referees to
00:32:56.07\00:32:57.11
"...the illiteracy
of church folk today,
00:32:57.14\00:33:00.06
about the Second Advent
and, in the mainline churches,
00:33:00.09\00:33:02.68
the persistent
quietism of pastors,
00:33:02.71\00:33:04.99
preachers, and teachers
about the Second Coming.
00:33:05.02\00:33:07.70
That topic has been
allowed to be preempted
00:33:07.73\00:33:09.78
and usurped by
astrologers, sectarian quacks,
00:33:09.81\00:33:13.98
and multifarious hucksters."
00:33:14.01\00:33:16.57
Not a very slick
group to be a part of.
00:33:16.60\00:33:19.56
"Yet it is impossible"
and here is his point,
00:33:19.59\00:33:22.10
"Yet it is impossible
to apprehend either Advent
00:33:22.13\00:33:25.93
except through the
relationship of both Advents."
00:33:25.96\00:33:31.98
The danger for those
who know all the answers
00:33:32.01\00:33:35.20
is that they will forget
the question about the advent.
00:33:35.23\00:33:39.74
Just like that stary,
stary night in Jerusalem,
00:33:39.77\00:33:43.07
when some Bedouin Arab seekers
00:33:43.10\00:33:45.50
have the audacity
to show up and say,
00:33:45.53\00:33:47.58
hey, you know what,
you know what people,
00:33:47.61\00:33:49.73
you have been teaching
that your king is coming
00:33:49.76\00:33:52.53
for hundreds of years now.
00:33:52.56\00:33:54.59
Question. Has your king come?
00:33:54.62\00:33:58.62
Religious leaders, the
hierarchy they knew all,
00:34:04.62\00:34:09.79
they knew all the answers
00:34:09.82\00:34:10.88
they had simply
banished the question long ago.
00:34:10.91\00:34:15.17
A century ago, Desire of Ages
00:34:15.20\00:34:16.35
that classic on
the life of Jesus
00:34:16.38\00:34:18.37
captured the seeds of
the terrible predicament
00:34:18.40\00:34:20.26
of these religious
leaders with these words.
00:34:20.29\00:34:22.61
Put it on the screen for you.
00:34:22.64\00:34:24.04
"The report of the angels'
00:34:24.07\00:34:26.02
visit to the shepherds
had been brought to Jerusalem,
00:34:26.05\00:34:28.31
but the rabbis had treated
it as unworthy of their notice."
00:34:28.34\00:34:32.03
Just a bunch of
country bumpkin shepherd
00:34:32.06\00:34:34.18
that's all they had
a one to many pieces
00:34:34.21\00:34:36.40
before they went
to bed that night.
00:34:36.43\00:34:38.30
Come on, guys,
you are not serious,
00:34:38.33\00:34:40.37
angels oh, please.
00:34:40.40\00:34:45.35
They themselves
might have found Jesus,
00:34:45.38\00:34:48.07
and might have been ready
00:34:48.10\00:34:49.23
to lead the magi
to His birthplace,
00:34:49.26\00:34:51.97
but instead of this,
it's the other way around,
00:34:52.00\00:34:53.88
the wise men came
to call their attention
00:34:53.91\00:34:56.95
to the birth of the Messiah.
00:34:56.98\00:34:58.39
Now, pride and envy closed
the door against the light."
00:34:58.42\00:35:04.74
And I must confess to you
that that is where I fall too,
00:35:04.77\00:35:09.87
right there, a struggle.
00:35:09.90\00:35:13.31
You know what I
do? Here's what I do.
00:35:13.34\00:35:15.52
I prejudge, I
prejudge the messenger
00:35:15.55\00:35:20.65
and then reject the message.
00:35:20.68\00:35:23.77
Do you know, there is a
word in English for prejudge,
00:35:23.80\00:35:26.69
it's prejudice, prejudice.
00:35:26.72\00:35:31.00
When you have prejudice,
you have prejudged somebody,
00:35:31.03\00:35:33.94
you haven't even investigated
the fact, wrong out forget him.
00:35:33.97\00:35:38.58
I mean come on, come on.
00:35:38.61\00:35:39.92
Am I supposed to listen to some
fanatical right wing offshoot?
00:35:39.95\00:35:42.53
I don't have to
listen to them do away.
00:35:42.56\00:35:45.58
Where did he get
his degree? Uh-huh?
00:35:45.61\00:35:48.32
Doesn't have a
degree? Forget him.
00:35:48.35\00:35:52.79
I mean, come on,
they look strange,
00:35:52.82\00:35:56.03
they are weird,
they think wrong, 1888,
00:35:56.06\00:36:02.60
ha, don't get me
wrapped up in that stuff.
00:36:02.63\00:36:10.00
I prejudge the
messengers as wanting
00:36:10.03\00:36:12.68
and I reject their
message as unwanted.
00:36:12.71\00:36:16.33
Spiritual prejudice and
pride, prejudice and pride.
00:36:16.36\00:36:21.31
It's what destroyed
00:36:21.34\00:36:22.37
the religious
leaders of Jerusalem.
00:36:22.40\00:36:25.12
In fact, the Desire
of Ages quote goes on.
00:36:25.15\00:36:27.13
"These learned
teachers would not stoop to be
00:36:27.16\00:36:29.98
instructed by those
whom they termed heathen.
00:36:30.01\00:36:33.01
It could not be, they said,
that God had passed them by,
00:36:33.04\00:36:37.09
to communicate
with ignorant shepherds
00:36:37.12\00:36:39.73
or uncircumcised Gentiles.
00:36:39.76\00:36:41.82
They determined to show
their contempt for the reports
00:36:41.85\00:36:45.07
that were exciting King
Herod and all Jerusalem.
00:36:45.10\00:36:47.14
They would not even
go to Bethlehem to see
00:36:47.17\00:36:49.93
whether these things were so."
00:36:49.96\00:36:51.30
I am not even
crossing the street
00:36:51.33\00:36:52.80
to listen to that guy.
00:36:52.83\00:36:55.11
I don't read that book,
00:36:55.14\00:36:56.17
I'm not going to
look at that... forget it.
00:36:56.20\00:36:59.96
They wouldn't
even go to Bethlehem
00:36:59.99\00:37:01.78
5 miles to the south.
00:37:01.81\00:37:07.82
In that last line,
"And they led the people"
00:37:07.85\00:37:09.83
here's what so sad, I
tell you this is where
00:37:09.86\00:37:13.49
this little pastoral
heart feels the pain.
00:37:13.52\00:37:15.77
"And they led the people to
regard the interest in Jesus
00:37:15.80\00:37:20.65
as a fanatical excitement."
00:37:20.68\00:37:23.56
All you have to say is,
00:37:23.59\00:37:25.10
hey, guys, don't get so excited,
00:37:25.13\00:37:27.04
the Messiah is
not really coming soon
00:37:27.07\00:37:29.47
and with a giant
bucket of cold water
00:37:29.50\00:37:31.94
you can douse the flame of hope.
00:37:31.97\00:37:35.49
I know it fits with
your modus operandi.
00:37:35.52\00:37:38.30
I know that with
your intellectual journey,
00:37:38.33\00:37:41.52
it just isn't compatible,
00:37:41.55\00:37:43.22
but when you take the
bucket, when I take the bucket
00:37:43.25\00:37:45.94
and douse every little
flickering candle around me.
00:37:45.97\00:37:52.02
How easily the mind
that knows all the answers
00:37:52.05\00:37:54.15
but has forgotten the question
can dismiss as fanatical.
00:37:54.18\00:37:58.33
A longing for the Messiah
00:37:58.36\00:38:00.43
that is foreign to
the prejudiced mind.
00:38:00.46\00:38:05.70
What can I possibly
learn from a Muslim?
00:38:05.73\00:38:09.95
What can I
possibly learn from a Jew?
00:38:09.98\00:38:13.59
What can I possibly
learn from a Catholic?
00:38:13.62\00:38:16.88
What can I possibly
learn from an 1880 editor?
00:38:16.91\00:38:22.15
From anybody I have prejudged.
00:38:22.18\00:38:24.90
How utterly
foolish of those leaders.
00:38:24.93\00:38:27.19
No, no, no, how
utterly foolish of me.
00:38:27.22\00:38:32.67
One more line
from, Desire of Ages.
00:38:32.70\00:38:34.78
It's a one line indictment.
I put it on the screen.
00:38:34.81\00:38:38.43
"The wise men are not idolaters,
00:38:38.46\00:38:41.96
and in the sight of God
00:38:41.99\00:38:43.06
they stand far
higher than do these,
00:38:43.09\00:38:45.65
His professed worshipers."
00:38:45.68\00:38:47.51
That's pretty heavy,
00:38:47.54\00:38:48.57
I'll leave that on the
screen just for an extra moment,
00:38:48.60\00:38:50.56
so that you can sink it
in to that mind of yours.
00:38:50.59\00:38:54.50
"In the sight of God they
stand far higher than do these,
00:38:54.53\00:38:57.87
His professed worshipers,
00:38:57.90\00:38:59.10
yet they are looked
upon by the Jews as heathen."
00:38:59.13\00:39:02.62
Pagans, so who do you look upon?
00:39:02.65\00:39:08.36
Who do I look upon as heathen?
00:39:08.39\00:39:12.13
Could it be that I'm
more lost than he is?
00:39:12.16\00:39:17.90
But you see, unbeknown to
us, the ancient Christmas story
00:39:17.93\00:39:21.42
has ever been a
compelling contrast
00:39:21.45\00:39:23.56
between the sons of
Israel and the sons of Ishmael.
00:39:23.59\00:39:29.72
Both are
unflatteringly presented
00:39:29.75\00:39:31.24
here in Matthew 2,
the sons of Israel,
00:39:31.27\00:39:32.96
we have just seen
how they responded
00:39:32.99\00:39:34.81
and how is it with
the sons of Ishmael.
00:39:34.84\00:39:37.85
Verse 7, "Then Herod,
00:39:37.88\00:39:42.84
when he had
secretly called the wise men,
00:39:42.87\00:39:44.62
determined from them
what time the star appeared.
00:39:44.65\00:39:47.65
And he sent them to Bethlehem
00:39:47.68\00:39:48.71
and said, hey, guys, go, please,
00:39:48.74\00:39:51.83
'Go and search
carefully for the young Child,
00:39:51.86\00:39:54.12
and when you have found
Him, oh bring back word to me,
00:39:54.15\00:39:57.35
that I may come
and worship Him too."
00:39:57.38\00:40:00.84
Not, not, not.
00:40:00.87\00:40:03.99
When they had
heard the king, verse 9,
00:40:04.02\00:40:05.71
they departed
and behold the star,
00:40:05.74\00:40:07.88
which they've seen in
the east, went before them,
00:40:07.91\00:40:09.38
till it came and stood
over where the young child was.
00:40:09.41\00:40:12.02
Verse 10, "And
when they saw the star,
00:40:12.05\00:40:15.03
they rejoiced with
exceedingly great joy."
00:40:15.06\00:40:19.97
Hallelujah.
00:40:20.00\00:40:21.17
Eugene Peterson in his
rendering called the message.
00:40:21.20\00:40:23.71
Translates to this, they
could hardly contain themselves.
00:40:23.74\00:40:27.55
The NIV that
you have on your lap
00:40:27.58\00:40:28.78
that says, they were overjoyed.
00:40:28.81\00:40:33.26
Joy, there it is
ladies and gentlemen,
00:40:33.29\00:40:35.93
the very emotion that surely
00:40:35.96\00:40:37.74
all of heaven had
hoped against hope
00:40:37.77\00:40:39.40
would be found in the
hearts of those who believe
00:40:39.43\00:40:41.36
who had been
taught from childhood
00:40:41.39\00:40:42.88
that the Messiah was coming.
00:40:42.91\00:40:44.61
Joy, the very emotion
missing from the essay
00:40:44.64\00:40:49.04
in the entire Christmas story
00:40:49.07\00:40:50.78
say for a
motley banded shepherds
00:40:50.81\00:40:52.64
and a teenage virgin
mother and her aged husband
00:40:52.67\00:40:55.11
and devout old man and
an elderly prophet is joy.
00:40:55.14\00:40:59.83
The very emotion
missing from those
00:40:59.86\00:41:02.17
who have all the answers
00:41:02.20\00:41:03.23
but cannot
remember the question.
00:41:03.26\00:41:04.69
Joy bust into a passionate flame
00:41:04.72\00:41:07.49
in the heart of
these children of the east
00:41:07.52\00:41:10.10
who have come
asking, seeking the Messiah.
00:41:10.13\00:41:17.67
How sad,
Matthew's dramatic contrast
00:41:17.70\00:41:21.37
between the children of the east
00:41:21.40\00:41:23.23
and the children of the saved.
00:41:23.26\00:41:25.35
Hey, hold on, a
contrast by the way
00:41:25.38\00:41:28.06
he not only portrays
in the Christmas story
00:41:28.09\00:41:30.63
but one he later
adeptly reinforces
00:41:30.66\00:41:33.32
in the Jesus
story that he tells.
00:41:33.35\00:41:36.49
You are gonna
wish that this line
00:41:36.52\00:41:38.68
perhaps was not
in Matthew's gospel.
00:41:38.71\00:41:41.66
Matthew Chapter 8, a
pagan Roman centurion
00:41:41.69\00:41:45.90
has just beg Jesus
to heal his servant
00:41:45.93\00:41:48.94
by simply saying no, no,
don't you come to my house.
00:41:48.97\00:41:52.04
You just say the
words, sir, say the word
00:41:52.07\00:41:53.97
that my servant will be healed.
00:41:54.00\00:41:55.56
Matthew Chapter 8,
a nonplused amazement,
00:41:55.59\00:42:00.02
Jesus turns to all the
people around Him and He speaks.
00:42:00.05\00:42:03.00
Just turn a few pages,
come on just a few pages.
00:42:03.03\00:42:04.95
Matthew Chapter 8,
look at in verse 10.
00:42:04.98\00:42:08.04
"When Jesus heard
it," This pagan centurion,
00:42:08.07\00:42:11.26
"When Jesus
heard it, He marveled,
00:42:11.29\00:42:13.28
and He said to those
who followed, 'Assuredly,
00:42:13.31\00:42:15.21
and in the Greek
the word is Amen,
00:42:15.24\00:42:17.03
Amen, I say to you,
00:42:17.06\00:42:19.18
I have not found
such great faith,
00:42:19.21\00:42:21.54
not even in Israel!"
00:42:21.57\00:42:26.01
Anybody there.
00:42:26.04\00:42:27.83
And then the next line is
what knocks the socks off.
00:42:27.86\00:42:30.94
Look at verse
11, "And I say to you
00:42:30.97\00:42:34.55
that many will come from the"
00:42:34.58\00:42:37.55
give me the direction please,
many will come from where?
00:42:37.58\00:42:41.14
Say it again, many
will come from where?
00:42:41.17\00:42:43.47
They are gonna
come from the east
00:42:43.50\00:42:44.60
and they will come
from another direction,
00:42:44.63\00:42:45.71
what's the other one?
00:42:45.74\00:42:46.81
And west, many note
the word, note the word,
00:42:46.84\00:42:50.92
many will come
from east and west,
00:42:50.95\00:42:56.04
and will sit down
with Father Abraham,
00:42:56.07\00:42:58.53
Isaac and Jacob in
the kingdom of heaven."
00:42:58.56\00:43:01.41
But I wish this
verse weren't there,
00:43:01.44\00:43:04.41
verse 12, "But the
sons of the kingdom
00:43:04.44\00:43:08.50
will be cast out
into outer darkness,
00:43:08.53\00:43:11.05
where there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth."
00:43:11.08\00:43:17.01
Ladies and
gentlemen, did I make that up?
00:43:17.04\00:43:19.38
Is that verse in your Bible too?
00:43:19.41\00:43:22.18
Isn't it amazing?
00:43:22.21\00:43:25.32
In this dramatic reinforcement
of what the Christmas story
00:43:25.35\00:43:27.93
has already portended,
Matthew's Jesus declares
00:43:27.96\00:43:31.33
that the heavenly banquet table
00:43:31.36\00:43:32.94
will welcome the
children of the east,
00:43:32.97\00:43:35.18
while the sons of the kingdom
and the daughters of the church
00:43:35.21\00:43:37.67
are banished to outer darkness.
00:43:37.70\00:43:42.27
You say, oh, come, Dwight,
00:43:42.30\00:43:43.33
all the children
of the east get saved?
00:43:43.36\00:43:44.57
No.
00:43:44.60\00:43:45.94
All the sons of
the kingdom get lost?
00:43:45.97\00:43:47.35
No.
00:43:47.38\00:43:48.74
Jesus uses the word many,
00:43:48.77\00:43:50.71
many for the children
of east, many will come.
00:43:50.74\00:43:53.70
"And I say to you
that many will come
00:43:58.87\00:44:01.62
from the east and the west,
00:44:01.65\00:44:03.65
and sit down with Abraham,
00:44:03.68\00:44:04.71
Isaac and Jacob in
the kingdom of heaven.
00:44:04.74\00:44:08.88
But the sons of the kingdom
00:44:08.91\00:44:10.00
will be cast out
into outer darkness,
00:44:10.03\00:44:13.12
and there will be
weeping and gnashing of teeth."
00:44:13.15\00:44:17.85
Why?
00:44:17.88\00:44:19.63
Because faith not
family, faith not family
00:44:19.66\00:44:23.22
has always been God's
defining of the saved.
00:44:23.25\00:44:25.04
The only Israel God has known
00:44:25.07\00:44:26.67
from Genesis all the
way through to Revelation
00:44:26.70\00:44:29.49
has nothing to do
with blood in the veins
00:44:29.52\00:44:31.41
but every thing to do
with faith in the heart.
00:44:31.44\00:44:34.73
In fact, Matthew has
already gone out of his way
00:44:34.76\00:44:36.53
to prove that point
in those old genealogies.
00:44:36.56\00:44:38.54
Every time you read Matthew 1,
00:44:38.57\00:44:39.61
you want to get into the gospel,
00:44:39.64\00:44:40.67
you always skip the genealogies.
00:44:40.70\00:44:42.26
Do you know what you
miss, when you skip them?
00:44:42.29\00:44:44.09
Matthew has intensely
inserted into the genealogy
00:44:44.12\00:44:46.66
a pagan prostitute named Rehab
00:44:46.69\00:44:51.09
who becomes one
of the progenitor
00:44:51.12\00:44:53.06
ancestors of the Messiah.
00:44:53.09\00:44:55.21
He slips Rehab in and
then right behind Rehab
00:44:55.24\00:44:58.03
he inserts a pagan
Moabites widow named Ruth
00:44:58.06\00:45:02.09
and says she too is an
ancestor of the Messiah.
00:45:02.12\00:45:06.45
Both of them were
pagans but by faith,
00:45:06.48\00:45:09.56
they became
daughters of Abraham.
00:45:09.59\00:45:11.49
The issue ladies and gentlemen
is not what is in your blood,
00:45:11.52\00:45:14.38
it's what it is in your heart.
00:45:14.41\00:45:15.67
It's been that way from Genesis
00:45:15.70\00:45:16.89
all the way
through to Revelation,
00:45:16.92\00:45:18.48
there is no other
Israel but an Israel by faith.
00:45:18.51\00:45:23.13
By faith,
otherwise Matthew blow it,
00:45:23.16\00:45:25.78
he should have
left the girls out boy.
00:45:25.81\00:45:28.18
No, he said I'm making a point.
00:45:28.21\00:45:30.62
The girls belong
they're part by faith
00:45:30.65\00:45:34.35
of father Abraham's children.
00:45:34.38\00:45:37.49
Wow.
00:45:37.52\00:45:41.17
And so today, in
Arabic the word is Hanif.
00:45:41.20\00:45:46.94
God has Hanif today.
00:45:46.97\00:45:48.47
In English the word is remnant.
00:45:48.50\00:45:50.86
God has a remnant today.
00:45:50.89\00:45:52.23
Ladies and gentlemen,
00:45:52.26\00:45:53.29
God has a
remnant today in Islam.
00:45:53.32\00:45:56.24
God has a
remnant today in Judaism.
00:45:56.27\00:45:59.47
God has a remnant
today in Christianity.
00:45:59.50\00:46:02.28
God has a remnant today
00:46:02.31\00:46:03.41
in secular
paganism and get this,
00:46:03.44\00:46:05.59
God even has a remnant today
in Adventism not all of them.
00:46:05.62\00:46:11.27
Not all of them,
00:46:11.30\00:46:14.05
it's not by
family it's by faith.
00:46:14.08\00:46:20.28
God has a
remnant today and one day
00:46:20.31\00:46:21.78
He is gonna call the My
people and He's gonna say
00:46:21.81\00:46:23.06
come on out, come
on out, it's time now
00:46:23.09\00:46:26.47
and put my entire remnant
together in one fell soup.
00:46:26.50\00:46:28.80
Come out of her. Come
out, come out come out.
00:46:28.83\00:46:33.55
You know what?
00:46:33.58\00:46:34.61
I got to tell you,
00:46:34.64\00:46:35.67
I just love the God
of Christmas, don't you?
00:46:35.70\00:46:39.64
I mean can you
beat a God like this.
00:46:39.67\00:46:41.30
Give me a better God.
00:46:41.33\00:46:43.59
Who doesn't ask
who your momma was?
00:46:43.62\00:46:45.23
Doesn't ask who your daddy was?
00:46:45.26\00:46:47.39
He says what you
got in your heart, girl.
00:46:47.42\00:46:49.52
Hey, boy, what do
you got in your heart?
00:46:49.55\00:46:50.90
You got some faith for
me? Can I be your Emmanuel?
00:46:50.93\00:46:54.00
Can I be your Lord?
Can I be your Savior?
00:46:54.03\00:46:56.53
If you want Me,
you got all of eternity
00:46:56.56\00:46:58.93
for ever and ever, amen.
00:46:58.96\00:47:01.36
What a God?
00:47:01.39\00:47:02.48
Every time, you
celebrate Christmas,
00:47:02.51\00:47:03.71
you are celebrating the God
00:47:03.74\00:47:05.75
who has the Hanif,
He has the remnant,
00:47:05.78\00:47:08.71
He has His faithful in
every community on earth.
00:47:08.74\00:47:11.92
Thank you,
Jesus. Thank you, Jesus.
00:47:11.95\00:47:14.58
Just like the Muslim
women I read about this week,
00:47:14.61\00:47:16.78
I want to end with this.
00:47:16.81\00:47:19.75
One of our viewers
was listening last weekend
00:47:19.78\00:47:22.10
and wrote me a
story from where from when
00:47:22.13\00:47:24.60
she was a missionary
in a Muslim nation, okay.
00:47:24.63\00:47:28.65
I happen to know this viewer.
00:47:28.68\00:47:29.95
She is not a member of
our community of faith.
00:47:29.98\00:47:33.39
She is a medical professional
00:47:33.42\00:47:36.48
and I accept the
veracity of her story.
00:47:36.51\00:47:39.71
Let me read it
to you in closing.
00:47:39.74\00:47:41.51
Dear, Dwight,
thanks for the teaching,
00:47:41.54\00:47:44.97
this weekend.
00:47:45.00\00:47:47.06
When I was working in,
she lists the Islamic country.
00:47:47.09\00:47:49.37
When I was
working in that country
00:47:49.40\00:47:52.22
in a northern
area where our mission
00:47:52.25\00:47:54.08
the Evangelical
Alliance Mission has a hospital,
00:47:54.11\00:47:57.10
we had a woman near death
00:47:57.13\00:47:58.70
brought in one
evening, all right.
00:47:58.73\00:48:01.45
She had been in
contracted labor for days
00:48:01.48\00:48:03.40
and was in a civil
government hospital
00:48:03.43\00:48:05.34
where she was told
daily, the doctor was coming,
00:48:05.37\00:48:07.38
the doctor was
coming, he never came.
00:48:07.41\00:48:10.12
Here husband was with
her and her two children.
00:48:10.15\00:48:12.21
Her husband
worked at a local mosque.
00:48:12.24\00:48:14.76
One night, when she was alone,
00:48:14.79\00:48:16.65
she related that a
person wearing pure white
00:48:16.68\00:48:20.80
with very kind
eyes came into her room
00:48:20.83\00:48:26.93
and he told her that
if she wanted to live,
00:48:26.96\00:48:28.79
she needed to go to and
she lists the city of the town.
00:48:28.82\00:48:32.13
She needed to go to
that place immediately.
00:48:32.16\00:48:34.88
She told her
husband and he believed her
00:48:34.91\00:48:36.45
so they came to our
village from this remote area.
00:48:36.48\00:48:39.47
It took all day to
arrive and it was late at night
00:48:39.50\00:48:42.14
when she arrived at our gate.
00:48:42.17\00:48:43.67
Her uterus was ruptured
00:48:43.70\00:48:44.74
and the baby was
rotting inside of her.
00:48:44.77\00:48:47.28
We did surgery
and had little hope
00:48:47.31\00:48:48.93
that she would live
when one of our lady
00:48:48.96\00:48:51.41
evangelist shared
with her about Jesus
00:48:51.44\00:48:53.18
a couple of days later,
she exclaimed excitedly,
00:48:53.21\00:48:55.70
that was the one
who came to my room.
00:48:55.73\00:48:57.88
He came to me and
told me to come here.
00:48:57.91\00:49:02.77
Miraculously she lived
00:49:02.80\00:49:04.33
and she accepted Jesus
Christ as her personal savior
00:49:04.36\00:49:06.99
and did her
husband and both children.
00:49:07.02\00:49:08.58
They were with
us for a long time
00:49:08.61\00:49:10.25
while she healed
and gained strength.
00:49:10.28\00:49:12.09
Word got back to their village
00:49:12.12\00:49:13.45
the day they had
become Christians
00:49:13.48\00:49:14.92
they were afraid to leave us,
00:49:14.95\00:49:16.32
but did and when they got home,
00:49:16.35\00:49:18.68
their house had been ransacked
00:49:18.71\00:49:20.02
and everything
inside of it ruined.
00:49:20.05\00:49:21.67
Her husband lost his job
and no one would hire him.
00:49:21.70\00:49:24.06
The children has
stones thrown at them
00:49:24.09\00:49:25.64
whenever they
try to go to school.
00:49:25.67\00:49:27.32
Over the years they underwent
00:49:27.35\00:49:29.49
much persecution and eventually
00:49:29.52\00:49:31.24
out of desperation
the husband recanted
00:49:31.27\00:49:36.32
but lists the
woman's name never did
00:49:36.35\00:49:39.75
and she was thrown in jail.
00:49:39.78\00:49:42.27
She came to visit us often
00:49:42.30\00:49:43.59
and when she would talk with us,
00:49:43.62\00:49:44.99
listen to this, when
she would talk with us,
00:49:45.02\00:49:48.66
her eyes would shine
with a deep love for Jesus.
00:49:48.69\00:49:54.31
I'll never
forget her even though
00:50:00.15\00:50:01.34
she died long
ago, I think in jail.
00:50:01.37\00:50:04.61
"I know that God reveals Himself
00:50:04.64\00:50:05.80
to Muslims in visions and dreams
00:50:05.83\00:50:07.24
because some are
illiterate like her
00:50:07.27\00:50:09.38
and can't find
the truth by reading
00:50:09.41\00:50:10.73
all of them
believe in the supernatural
00:50:10.76\00:50:12.31
so it's easy for them to
accept visions and dreams.
00:50:12.34\00:50:14.73
They take them seriously
I believe that the teaching
00:50:14.76\00:50:16.63
you shared last weekend
is an exciting one to me,
00:50:16.66\00:50:18.68
I plan to send this
to my missionary friends
00:50:18.71\00:50:20.38
who have or
serving in that country."
00:50:20.41\00:50:23.80
When they saw the star,
00:50:30.79\00:50:33.27
they rejoiced with
exceedingly great joy,
00:50:33.30\00:50:39.78
for I say to you that many
will come from east and west
00:50:39.81\00:50:47.08
and sit down
with Father Abraham,
00:50:47.11\00:50:48.36
Isaac and Jacob in
the kingdom of heaven.
00:50:48.39\00:50:52.89
Ladies and Gentlemen,
the wise men will be there
00:50:52.92\00:50:57.93
and I want to be
there too, with them
00:50:57.96\00:51:02.38
and you by faith
in the same Messiah
00:51:02.41\00:51:09.27
who really is coming soon.
00:51:09.30\00:51:14.92
Amen.
00:51:14.95\00:51:16.02
We three kings of Orient are
00:52:14.77\00:52:20.31
Bearing gifts we traverse afar
00:52:20.34\00:52:25.83
Field and
fountain, moor and mountain
00:52:25.86\00:52:31.43
Following yonder star
00:52:31.46\00:52:37.01
O star of wonder, star of night
00:52:37.04\00:52:44.98
Star with royal beauty bright
00:52:45.01\00:52:50.48
Westward
leading, still proceeding
00:52:50.51\00:52:56.11
Guide us to Thy perfect light
00:52:56.14\00:53:03.55
Born a King on Bethlehem's plain
00:53:03.58\00:53:09.07
Gold I bring to crown Him again
00:53:09.10\00:53:14.49
King forever, ceasing never
00:53:14.52\00:53:20.11
Over us all to reign
00:53:20.14\00:53:25.57
O star of wonder
00:53:25.60\00:53:29.02
Star of night
00:53:29.05\00:53:34.06
Star with royal beauty bright
00:53:34.09\00:53:39.48
Westward
leading, still proceeding
00:53:39.51\00:53:45.22
Guide us to Thy perfect light
00:53:45.25\00:53:53.14
Frankincense to offer have I
00:53:53.17\00:53:58.24
Incense owns a Deity nigh
00:53:58.27\00:54:03.50
Prayer and
praising, all men raising
00:54:03.53\00:54:09.24
Worship Him, God most high
00:54:09.27\00:54:15.18
O star of wonder
00:54:15.21\00:54:18.37
Star of night
00:54:18.40\00:54:23.53
Star with royal beauty bright
00:54:23.56\00:54:29.12
Westward
leading, still proceeding
00:54:29.15\00:54:35.01
Guide us to Thy perfect light
00:54:35.04\00:54:42.98
Myrrh is mine,
its bitter perfume
00:54:43.01\00:54:48.47
Breathes of life
of gathering doom
00:54:48.50\00:54:54.23
Sorrowing,
sighing, bleeding, dying
00:54:54.26\00:55:00.17
Sealed in the stone-cold tomb
00:55:00.20\00:55:05.94
O star of wonder
00:55:05.97\00:55:09.49
Star of night
00:55:09.52\00:55:15.07
Star with royal beauty bright
00:55:15.10\00:55:20.60
Westward
leading, still proceeding
00:55:20.63\00:55:27.13
Guide us to Thy perfect light
00:55:27.16\00:55:34.68
Glorious now behold Him arise
00:55:34.71\00:55:40.48
King and God and sacrifice
00:55:40.51\00:55:45.55
Alleluia, Alleluia!
00:55:45.58\00:55:51.33
Sounds through
the earth and skies
00:55:51.36\00:55:56.80
O star of wonder
00:55:56.83\00:56:00.02
Star of night
00:56:00.05\00:56:05.32
Star with royal beauty bright
00:56:05.35\00:56:11.29
Westward
leading, still proceeding
00:56:11.32\00:56:17.00
Guide us to Thy perfect light
00:56:17.03\00:56:23.87
Holy Father, we
have but one prayer.
00:56:28.99\00:56:32.46
Grant us Your grace
00:56:32.49\00:56:34.90
that we too like
the children of the East
00:56:34.93\00:56:38.35
may follow the
star and worship Him.
00:56:38.38\00:56:45.96
Now may the
communion of the father,
00:56:45.99\00:56:49.27
the fellowship of the spirit,
00:56:49.30\00:56:52.59
and the grace of our
Lord, Jesus Christ be with you.
00:56:52.62\00:56:57.92
Amen.
00:56:57.95\00:56:59.01
Hello, I am Dwight Nelson.
00:57:00.61\00:57:02.03
During this holiday season
when everyone is celebrating
00:57:02.06\00:57:04.31
Jesus' birthday by giving gifts,
00:57:04.34\00:57:06.46
I want to encourage
you to take the opportunity
00:57:06.49\00:57:08.35
and share Jesus with someone.
00:57:08.38\00:57:10.60
This book, "The Life of
Jesus" written by Ellen White
00:57:10.63\00:57:13.18
is one of the best books I
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00:57:13.21\00:57:16.36
It's the perfect gift.
00:57:16.39\00:57:18.70
It's hard-cover, classic
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by Review and Herald
has beautiful artwork
00:57:20.80\00:57:23.15
depicting the most expressive
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00:57:23.18\00:57:26.93
Based on the gospels, it
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00:57:26.96\00:57:29.77
for each of us the world over.
00:57:29.80\00:57:32.67
Here is a book with
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00:57:32.70\00:57:34.49
that is your perfect opportunity
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For this holiday season
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why don't you give
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As we celebrate the
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00:57:43.54\00:57:46.96
call our toll-free number
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What better
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00:58:08.11\00:58:10.44
your friends, your
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00:58:10.47\00:58:13.66
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00:58:13.69\00:58:19.67
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