1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,000 Well, it really is wonderful to be here, you know, John and Simeon have told me about what a wonderful group of people you are. 2 00:00:06,120 –> 00:00:09,080 They really enjoyed their time down here with you. 3 00:00:09,380 –> 00:00:13,500 Of course, I’ve been in heaven with them for the last 2,000 years, you understand, 4 00:00:13,700 –> 00:00:16,160 although we don’t count time like you do. 5 00:00:16,260 –> 00:00:18,879 By the way, that is where I got this accent as though I’d— 6 00:00:18,959 –> 00:00:20,760 … 7 00:00:21,280 –> 00:00:24,820 I’m sure that John and Simeon told you the same thing. 8 00:00:25,820 –> 00:00:31,299 By the way, I took the opportunity of having a look at some of the tools you have in Home Depot. 9 00:00:31,480 –> 00:00:38,880 I tell you, they, the chippies in my day could not have imagined the tools that some of you have in your homes. 10 00:00:38,900 –> 00:00:42,680 I tell you, if I could travel back to the first century 11 00:00:42,900 –> 00:00:48,480 and try and describe to some of my old mates some of the stuff that you’ve got there— 12 00:00:48,500 –> 00:00:51,779 —your skills saws and your cordless drills— 13 00:00:51,900 –> 00:00:58,119 I’m telling you, they would not be able to conceive of what I was describing to them. 14 00:00:58,560 –> 00:01:05,580 And by the way, if I was to tell you about heaven you’d have the same problem. 15 00:01:05,680 –> 00:01:12,080 But, I want to tell you that what’s there is as real as the stuff in Home Depot. 16 00:01:12,099 –> 00:01:14,860 And, it lasts for much longer. 17 00:01:14,879 –> 00:01:17,959 Anyway, I’ve got a marvelous story to tell you today 18 00:01:17,980 –> 00:01:21,739 because I had a ringside seat 19 00:01:21,779 –> 00:01:27,279 for the greatest event that has ever happened in the history of the world. 20 00:01:27,900 –> 00:01:30,099 Now, as I tell you my story you’ll understand 21 00:01:30,120 –> 00:01:32,500 that there was a lot of traveling involved. 22 00:01:32,940 –> 00:01:36,139 And, I’m told that there are some children in the service today. 23 00:01:36,160 –> 00:01:39,660 So, you might be interested as we go through the story 24 00:01:39,680 –> 00:01:44,720 to add up the number of miles that Mary traveled. 25 00:01:45,480 –> 00:01:48,320 And, if you can add it up you might like to tell me afterwards 26 00:01:48,320 –> 00:01:51,199 how many you think it really was. 27 00:01:51,839 –> 00:01:54,419 Well, of course you all know that 28 00:01:54,459 –> 00:01:58,459 I was the one who was pledged to be married to Mary. 29 00:01:59,220 –> 00:02:04,099 I knew that she was the one for me from the first time that I saw her. 30 00:02:04,300 –> 00:02:08,559 What I didn’t know was that she had been chosen by God 31 00:02:08,600 –> 00:02:12,160 to bear the child that had been promised to the world 32 00:02:12,279 –> 00:02:14,259 since the beginning of time. 33 00:02:15,839 –> 00:02:19,259 The first thing you need to know about Mary’s child 34 00:02:19,960 –> 00:02:26,720 is that his birth had absolutely nothing whatever to do with me. 35 00:02:27,539 –> 00:02:34,240 You see, for us, the union between a man and a woman was sacred. 36 00:02:35,419 –> 00:02:37,699 It was to be kept for marriage. 37 00:02:39,100 –> 00:02:43,000 You know, there’s a purity about the union of one man 38 00:02:43,039 –> 00:02:47,679 and one woman in marriage that isn’t found anywhere else. 39 00:02:48,600 –> 00:02:51,300 I know a lot of folks in your day have lost sight of that. 40 00:02:51,339 –> 00:02:54,600 And I tell you, from up there we see the pain and the insecurity 41 00:02:54,639 –> 00:02:56,259 that comes as a result. 42 00:02:57,240 –> 00:03:00,880 Of course, we never face the pressure that some of you younger folks 43 00:03:00,960 –> 00:03:05,020 are facing through all the advertising that assaults your mind every day. 44 00:03:05,059 –> 00:03:11,380 But I can tell you that I have no regrets about the choice that we made. 45 00:03:11,880 –> 00:03:18,460 And if you choose to obey God in this manner, you will have no regrets either. 46 00:03:18,479 –> 00:03:28,960 I had kept myself for Mary and Mary had kept herself for me. 47 00:03:30,279 –> 00:03:37,779 And that’s why, you see, I was completely devastated when she came to me 48 00:03:37,779 –> 00:03:43,119 with the news that was to shatter our entire world. 49 00:03:43,240 –> 00:03:46,179 I honestly remember how she started the conversation, 50 00:03:46,279 –> 00:03:50,679 and I can’t imagine the trauma that it was for her to begin to try and tell me. 51 00:03:50,779 –> 00:03:54,419 All I remember is that she said the word pregnant. 52 00:03:54,520 –> 00:03:59,119 And when she said that word I just about went through the roof. 53 00:03:59,220 –> 00:04:02,419 She said it wasn’t like I thought. 54 00:04:02,520 –> 00:04:05,559 And she had some story about an angel appearing to her 55 00:04:05,660 –> 00:04:07,419 but I wasn’t able to listen to any of that. 56 00:04:07,419 –> 00:04:12,619 I simply couldn’t take it in after I’d heard that word. 57 00:04:12,740 –> 00:04:14,539 It would take an angel to make me believe 58 00:04:14,639 –> 00:04:18,440 what you’re trying to tell me, I said to her. 59 00:04:18,540 –> 00:04:21,579 I may have lived 2,000 years ago. 60 00:04:21,679 –> 00:04:25,019 But that doesn’t make me naive nor foolish. 61 00:04:25,119 –> 00:04:30,140 I know that no woman has a child without a man. 62 00:04:30,239 –> 00:04:32,920 I know you have scientists experimenting 63 00:04:33,019 –> 00:04:35,559 with all kinds of genetic engineering today, 64 00:04:35,760 –> 00:04:38,459 but this fact remains true. 65 00:04:38,559 –> 00:04:42,200 No woman has a child without a man. 66 00:04:45,679 –> 00:04:50,239 So I’ve often smiled when I’ve looked down 67 00:04:50,339 –> 00:04:52,279 and heard people say they struggled to believe 68 00:04:52,380 –> 00:04:55,220 in the virgin birth. 69 00:04:55,320 –> 00:04:56,920 They say it’s a struggle for them. 70 00:04:57,019 –> 00:04:58,679 How do you think it was for me? 71 00:05:01,859 –> 00:05:03,760 You may think you’re more sophisticated 72 00:05:03,959 –> 00:05:06,559 in your scientific age than we were. 73 00:05:06,660 –> 00:05:08,600 But I tell you, no one in human history 74 00:05:08,700 –> 00:05:13,260 ever had more problems over this issue than me. 75 00:05:14,440 –> 00:05:15,779 Put yourself in my position. 76 00:05:15,880 –> 00:05:19,579 What would you have thought? 77 00:05:19,679 –> 00:05:23,320 Well, all I can tell you is that I was absolutely distraught. 78 00:05:23,420 –> 00:05:26,279 My dream of a wonderful marriage 79 00:05:26,380 –> 00:05:28,420 had, in a moment, become a nightmare. 80 00:05:28,519 –> 00:05:30,579 Of course, there was no way that I could go forward 81 00:05:30,679 –> 00:05:31,820 with the marriage. 82 00:05:31,980 –> 00:05:34,420 How could I do such a thing with one 83 00:05:34,519 –> 00:05:35,980 who had betrayed my trust? 84 00:05:36,079 –> 00:05:40,119 At least that’s how I saw it at the time. 85 00:05:40,220 –> 00:05:42,760 I still loved her. 86 00:05:42,859 –> 00:05:44,940 I still cared for her. 87 00:05:45,019 –> 00:05:45,959 I didn’t want to hurt her. 88 00:05:46,059 –> 00:05:48,000 But moving ahead with the marriage 89 00:05:48,100 –> 00:05:53,299 was simply not an option for me. 90 00:05:53,399 –> 00:05:55,040 And that was when she told me that she 91 00:05:55,140 –> 00:06:00,079 thought the best thing to do was for her to go away. 92 00:06:00,100 –> 00:06:02,079 She had a cousin, Elisabeth, who lived 93 00:06:02,179 –> 00:06:06,980 about 70 miles away in Judea. 94 00:06:07,079 –> 00:06:11,679 I think I should go there for a while, she said. 95 00:06:11,779 –> 00:06:12,559 And then she was gone. 96 00:06:16,200 –> 00:06:17,660 My world was absolutely shattered. 97 00:06:20,720 –> 00:06:23,859 One minute, I’m on the brink of a beautiful marriage. 98 00:06:24,399 –> 00:06:26,899 The next I’m sitting in my wood shop, alone. 99 00:06:31,600 –> 00:06:33,359 The strangest thing to me at that time 100 00:06:33,459 –> 00:06:37,799 was that while I was in an absolute panic over all of 101 00:06:37,899 –> 00:06:44,739 this, Mary had a radiance about her. 102 00:06:44,839 –> 00:06:47,480 In all the trauma of what she was trying to tell me, 103 00:06:47,619 –> 00:06:49,399 In all the trauma of what she was 104 00:06:49,500 –> 00:06:53,880 trying to tell me, she was not filled with shame, 105 00:06:53,980 –> 00:06:56,640 but with joy. 106 00:06:56,739 –> 00:06:58,679 And that was something I just could not 107 00:06:58,779 –> 00:07:02,260 begin to understand. 108 00:07:02,359 –> 00:07:06,019 Then one night, I had an experience 109 00:07:06,119 –> 00:07:08,399 unlike anything else that ever happened to me 110 00:07:08,500 –> 00:07:11,160 in all of my life. 111 00:07:11,260 –> 00:07:17,459 An angel of the Lord appeared to me 112 00:07:17,579 –> 00:07:20,239 in a dream. 113 00:07:20,339 –> 00:07:21,540 Now, by the way, I noticed there’s 114 00:07:21,640 –> 00:07:26,239 a lot of talk about angels in your country today. 115 00:07:26,339 –> 00:07:28,679 Most of it, of course, is wild speculation. 116 00:07:28,779 –> 00:07:31,480 You do know that, don’t you? 117 00:07:31,579 –> 00:07:34,480 I find it interesting, you might be interested to know this 118 00:07:34,579 –> 00:07:37,700 yourselves, that it was precisely the same in my day. 119 00:07:37,799 –> 00:07:39,720 In fact, from the end of the period 120 00:07:39,820 –> 00:07:41,559 when the Old Testament was written up 121 00:07:41,660 –> 00:07:46,640 until my generation, there was all kinds of wild speculation 122 00:07:46,760 –> 00:07:48,399 about the activity of angels. 123 00:07:48,500 –> 00:07:52,739 Most of it was sentimental nonsense. 124 00:07:52,839 –> 00:07:54,640 The fact is, you never heard more 125 00:07:54,739 –> 00:07:57,880 from people who knew less. 126 00:07:57,980 –> 00:08:02,279 Let me tell you something worth remembering about angels. 127 00:08:02,380 –> 00:08:06,739 Angels are servants of God. 128 00:08:06,839 –> 00:08:10,679 Angels have the ministry of glorifying 129 00:08:10,779 –> 00:08:13,760 the Lord Jesus Christ. 130 00:08:13,859 –> 00:08:16,600 So the best way to be discerning would 131 00:08:16,700 –> 00:08:20,600 you hear stories about angels is to ask this question. 132 00:08:20,700 –> 00:08:25,940 Has this activity led people to think more or less 133 00:08:26,040 –> 00:08:28,179 of Jesus Christ? 134 00:08:28,279 –> 00:08:31,380 That’s how you discern the activity of angels. 135 00:08:31,480 –> 00:08:35,059 If it hasn’t led a person to think more of Jesus Christ, 136 00:08:35,159 –> 00:08:38,820 it isn’t the activity of an angel. 137 00:08:38,919 –> 00:08:41,260 Or at least, not the kind of angel 138 00:08:41,359 –> 00:08:44,119 you want to be associated with. 139 00:08:44,219 –> 00:08:45,859 There is another kind, you know. 140 00:08:45,979 –> 00:08:49,760 But I don’t want to talk about that today. 141 00:08:49,859 –> 00:08:52,700 I’m here to tell you that an angel of the Lord 142 00:08:52,799 –> 00:08:55,559 appeared to me in a dream. 143 00:08:55,659 –> 00:08:58,099 And this is what he said. 144 00:08:58,200 –> 00:09:03,359 Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take 145 00:09:03,479 –> 00:09:05,940 Mary as your wife. 146 00:09:06,039 –> 00:09:13,239 Because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 147 00:09:13,320 –> 00:09:15,539 She will give birth to a son. 148 00:09:15,640 –> 00:09:20,880 And you, he said that to me, you are to give him the name Jesus. 149 00:09:23,979 –> 00:09:27,179 I woke up in a cold sweat. 150 00:09:27,280 –> 00:09:30,179 This was unlike any other dream I had ever experienced 151 00:09:30,280 –> 00:09:32,979 before I knew beyond all shadow of doubt 152 00:09:33,080 –> 00:09:38,059 that God had spoken to me. 153 00:09:38,159 –> 00:09:43,039 And then I began to think about the scriptures. 154 00:09:43,140 –> 00:09:46,140 By the way, that’s a sure way of testing 155 00:09:46,239 –> 00:09:50,340 when you think that God may have spoken to you. 156 00:09:50,440 –> 00:09:52,140 If God has said something to you, 157 00:09:52,239 –> 00:09:56,520 it will always fit with the scriptures. 158 00:09:56,619 –> 00:10:00,460 And after that dream, verses that I had read in the synagogue 159 00:10:00,539 –> 00:10:03,659 came flooding back to my mind. 160 00:10:03,760 –> 00:10:06,119 Isaiah, for example, had said this 161 00:10:06,219 –> 00:10:08,700 800 years before my time, 162 00:10:08,760 –> 00:10:15,659 a virgin will conceive and give birth to a son. 163 00:10:15,760 –> 00:10:18,239 And Isaiah said they will call Him Emmanuel, 164 00:10:18,340 –> 00:10:24,299 which means God with us. 165 00:10:24,400 –> 00:10:30,580 It was staggering and overwhelming beyond words 166 00:10:30,679 –> 00:10:38,280 for me to consider that what he had said so long ago 167 00:10:38,380 –> 00:10:43,320 had actually happened. 168 00:10:43,419 –> 00:10:46,419 Well, the following morning, I knew what I had to do. 169 00:10:46,520 –> 00:10:48,260 I headed straight south for Judea. 170 00:10:48,340 –> 00:10:51,320 I don’t think I had ever travelled 70 miles so fast. 171 00:10:51,419 –> 00:10:53,880 I could not wait to take her in my arms 172 00:10:53,979 –> 00:10:57,320 and to tell her what had happened. 173 00:10:57,419 –> 00:11:00,659 The more I thought about it over that journey, 174 00:11:00,760 –> 00:11:03,320 the more staggering it became to me. 175 00:11:03,520 –> 00:11:05,780 Our little lives had been caught up 176 00:11:05,900 –> 00:11:08,619 in the sweep of God’s saving purpose 177 00:11:08,719 –> 00:11:10,260 for the whole of the human race. 178 00:11:10,359 –> 00:11:13,539 Our little home was going to be the place 179 00:11:13,619 –> 00:11:16,900 where the child promised to the world would be born, 180 00:11:17,000 –> 00:11:18,739 and the calling of my life 181 00:11:18,840 –> 00:11:23,599 was to be the guardian of the Son of God. 182 00:11:28,020 –> 00:11:31,219 Mary had spent three months with Elizabeth, 183 00:11:31,280 –> 00:11:38,159 and by the time we returned, she was beginning to show. 184 00:11:38,260 –> 00:11:42,119 That was the beginning of our married life together, 185 00:11:42,219 –> 00:11:43,520 though we both agreed that 186 00:11:43,619 –> 00:11:46,299 we would not consummate our marriage 187 00:11:46,400 –> 00:11:50,359 until after the child was born. 188 00:11:50,460 –> 00:11:52,400 Well, we were beginning to settle into 189 00:11:52,500 –> 00:11:54,299 a new life together in Nazareth 190 00:11:54,400 –> 00:11:57,599 when a herald arrived in town 191 00:11:57,700 –> 00:11:59,719 with a proclamation from Rome 192 00:12:00,200 –> 00:12:02,280 The new government had an initiative. 193 00:12:02,380 –> 00:12:03,520 You’re always skeptical 194 00:12:03,619 –> 00:12:05,219 when the government has a new initiative. 195 00:12:05,320 –> 00:12:07,219 It’s still the same, isn’t? 196 00:12:07,320 –> 00:12:08,080 Well, we were, too. 197 00:12:08,179 –> 00:12:09,880 And sure enough, it was bad news for us. 198 00:12:09,979 –> 00:12:13,960 The entire population had been ordered 199 00:12:14,059 –> 00:12:17,460 to return to the town of family origin 200 00:12:17,559 –> 00:12:20,260 to Redger for a census 201 00:12:20,359 –> 00:12:21,659 that they decided they wanted to take. 202 00:12:21,760 –> 00:12:24,500 Can you imagine? 203 00:12:24,599 –> 00:12:27,239 It seemed that everybody was on the move. 204 00:12:28,200 –> 00:12:30,960 Roads in absolute chaos. 205 00:12:31,059 –> 00:12:33,640 Families with carts and animals 206 00:12:33,739 –> 00:12:35,880 moving all that they owned 207 00:12:35,979 –> 00:12:40,000 in every conceivable direction. 208 00:12:40,119 –> 00:12:43,719 I could hardly believe it. 209 00:12:43,820 –> 00:12:47,340 Mary was nearly due. 210 00:12:47,460 –> 00:12:49,080 But when the Romans gave orders, 211 00:12:49,179 –> 00:12:50,679 there were no exceptions, 212 00:12:50,780 –> 00:12:52,520 so I saddled up the donkey 213 00:12:52,619 –> 00:12:56,859 and the two of us headed south 214 00:12:56,859 –> 00:12:58,239 on the road to Bethlehem, 215 00:12:58,340 –> 00:13:00,840 my hometown. 216 00:13:00,960 –> 00:13:04,000 Another 70 miles. 217 00:13:04,099 –> 00:13:05,239 Of course, you get all sentimental 218 00:13:05,340 –> 00:13:07,960 about the donkey. 219 00:13:08,080 –> 00:13:11,080 You should try riding on a donkey 220 00:13:11,179 –> 00:13:14,460 and then imagine doing it for 70 miles. 221 00:13:14,559 –> 00:13:16,219 Then try and imagine doing it 222 00:13:16,320 –> 00:13:19,900 at the advanced stage of carrying a child. 223 00:13:20,000 –> 00:13:22,460 I don’t know how she managed it, 224 00:13:22,559 –> 00:13:25,659 but she did. 225 00:13:25,900 –> 00:13:28,059 It was on the journey that it dawned on me 226 00:13:28,159 –> 00:13:33,440 that even this was part of the plan of God. 227 00:13:33,539 –> 00:13:34,679 You know, hundreds of years before, 228 00:13:34,780 –> 00:13:38,200 the prophet Micah had spoken of a ruler 229 00:13:38,299 –> 00:13:41,479 who would come out of Bethlehem. 230 00:13:41,580 –> 00:13:43,119 Not Nazareth where we’d been living, 231 00:13:43,219 –> 00:13:48,059 but Bethlehem, my town of family origin. 232 00:13:48,159 –> 00:13:50,159 It was years since I’d been in Bethlehem 233 00:13:50,260 –> 00:13:52,760 and I would never have dreamt of going there 234 00:13:52,859 –> 00:13:54,719 if it had not been for the decree. 235 00:13:54,780 –> 00:13:55,919 Think about this. 236 00:13:56,020 –> 00:14:03,099 God put it into the mind of a European dictator 237 00:14:03,200 –> 00:14:05,200 who neither knew him nor believed 238 00:14:05,299 –> 00:14:09,239 in him to issue a decree that resulted in us 239 00:14:09,340 –> 00:14:13,080 going back to my hometown, what a prophet 700 years before 240 00:14:13,179 –> 00:14:15,299 said that this child would be born. 241 00:14:15,400 –> 00:14:15,900 It’s amazing! 242 00:14:19,200 –> 00:14:22,880 Bethlehem is a tiny place, of course. 243 00:14:23,080 –> 00:14:26,940 When Luke says that there was no room at-the-in, 244 00:14:27,039 –> 00:14:28,419 that’s what he means. 245 00:14:28,520 –> 00:14:31,820 There was no room at-the-in. 246 00:14:31,919 –> 00:14:37,419 And all that was left for us was the shelter of a cave. 247 00:14:37,520 –> 00:14:40,820 And that was where he was born. 248 00:14:40,919 –> 00:14:46,140 I cannot describe the joy of that moment to you. 249 00:14:46,239 –> 00:14:49,799 Some of you have been present at the birth of a child, 250 00:14:49,900 –> 00:14:51,440 and you know what it is like. 251 00:14:53,780 –> 00:14:58,179 I was the first to hold him in my arms. 252 00:15:01,020 –> 00:15:07,059 My hands brought him into the world. 253 00:15:07,159 –> 00:15:13,700 I was the first one to touch the gift of God. 254 00:15:16,500 –> 00:15:18,960 It was the strangest thing, being in the cave, 255 00:15:19,059 –> 00:15:22,239 just the three of us. 256 00:15:22,400 –> 00:15:26,200 The child who had been born. 257 00:15:26,299 –> 00:15:29,280 Promise to the world since the beginning of time, 258 00:15:29,380 –> 00:15:33,919 and just the three of us knowing about it. 259 00:15:34,020 –> 00:15:35,840 But at least that’s what it seemed until a group of 260 00:15:35,940 –> 00:15:39,880 shepherds arrived, saying that they had seen that very 261 00:15:39,979 –> 00:15:43,559 night a company of angels in the sky praising 262 00:15:43,659 –> 00:15:46,659 God and telling them that a Saviour was born in Bethlehem. 263 00:15:47,219 –> 00:15:53,299 Now that he was born, I began to see the importance 264 00:15:53,400 –> 00:15:59,539 of the role that God had given to me as his guardian. 265 00:15:59,640 –> 00:16:01,700 Of course, my first responsibility was to find 266 00:16:01,799 –> 00:16:04,960 some proper accommodation. 267 00:16:05,080 –> 00:16:07,299 We decided to stay in Bethlehem for a while, 268 00:16:07,400 –> 00:16:12,140 and it was there on the 8th day that I had the immense 269 00:16:12,340 –> 00:16:15,940 privilege of naming him. 270 00:16:16,039 –> 00:16:17,400 There was no discussion about this. 271 00:16:17,500 –> 00:16:20,659 The angel had already made it clear, in that original dream, 272 00:16:20,760 –> 00:16:23,679 he had said you are to give him the name Jesus because 273 00:16:23,780 –> 00:16:29,239 he will save his people from their sins. 274 00:16:29,340 –> 00:16:35,320 And so I named him, I named him Jesus. 275 00:16:35,419 –> 00:16:38,119 Of course, I really had very little idea at that point 276 00:16:38,219 –> 00:16:40,000 as to what all this meant. 277 00:16:40,679 –> 00:16:42,020 He will save his people from their sins, 278 00:16:42,119 –> 00:16:46,260 though I see the glory of it now. 279 00:16:46,359 –> 00:16:51,320 But even then, it seemed to be a name full of hope 280 00:16:51,419 –> 00:16:54,039 and of meaning. 281 00:16:54,140 –> 00:16:57,739 And there was absolutely no doubt about why he had come 282 00:16:57,840 –> 00:16:58,900 into the world. 283 00:16:59,000 –> 00:17:03,239 He had come to save his people from their sins, 284 00:17:03,340 –> 00:17:07,239 whatever that meant and whatever that would involve. 285 00:17:07,359 –> 00:17:12,099 A month later, it was time for us to take him to the temple 286 00:17:12,199 –> 00:17:14,099 in Jerusalem. 287 00:17:14,199 –> 00:17:16,359 More traveling for his mother and me, 288 00:17:16,459 –> 00:17:19,640 though this time it was just six miles into the city 289 00:17:19,739 –> 00:17:22,920 from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. 290 00:17:23,000 –> 00:17:26,979 Moses had given us a law, that we should offer a sacrifice 291 00:17:27,079 –> 00:17:29,719 of two pigeons, and that this was to be done just 292 00:17:29,819 –> 00:17:32,680 over a month after the birth of a child. 293 00:17:32,780 –> 00:17:34,479 So that’s what we’re here for. 294 00:17:34,880 –> 00:17:39,660 We were just about through with the ceremony when an old man 295 00:17:39,760 –> 00:17:41,479 came rushing up to us. 296 00:17:41,579 –> 00:17:45,180 Never seen him before, never seen him since. 297 00:17:45,280 –> 00:17:47,420 But the old man asked if he could hold the child, 298 00:17:47,560 –> 00:17:49,160 and Mary gave the child to him. 299 00:17:49,260 –> 00:17:54,400 And as he held the child, words began to flow from him. 300 00:17:54,500 –> 00:17:56,579 My eyes have seen your salvation, 301 00:17:56,699 –> 00:17:58,939 he said. 302 00:17:59,040 –> 00:18:03,839 Would you have prepared in the sacrament for this child? 303 00:18:04,000 –> 00:18:05,979 Would you have prepared in the sight of all people a light 304 00:18:06,099 –> 00:18:11,180 to the Gentiles and a glory to your people, Israel? 305 00:18:11,300 –> 00:18:12,920 I looked at Mary. 306 00:18:13,020 –> 00:18:13,839 She looked at me. 307 00:18:13,939 –> 00:18:16,180 Who is this old fella? 308 00:18:16,280 –> 00:18:21,079 We marveled at what he was saying. 309 00:18:21,180 –> 00:18:24,400 The same God who had spoken to Mary through the angel 310 00:18:24,500 –> 00:18:27,000 and to me through an angel in the dream, 311 00:18:27,099 –> 00:18:31,239 and had revealed Himself through angels to the shepherds, 312 00:18:31,400 –> 00:18:34,300 and had put it into the heart of an unbelieving dictator 313 00:18:34,400 –> 00:18:37,780 to call a census, the same God had 314 00:18:37,880 –> 00:18:41,739 answered the prayer of an old man who had evidently 315 00:18:41,839 –> 00:18:46,280 been praying for years that he would live to see 316 00:18:46,380 –> 00:18:51,520 the birth of a Savior. 317 00:18:51,619 –> 00:18:54,579 Well, after that great day, we settled back 318 00:18:54,699 –> 00:18:58,160 into a regular routine at Bethlehem. 319 00:18:58,540 –> 00:19:01,420 I remember for some time when one night, 320 00:19:01,520 –> 00:19:04,880 there was the most extraordinary commotion 321 00:19:04,979 –> 00:19:07,719 outside of our house. 322 00:19:07,819 –> 00:19:14,099 Three very distinguished and regal-looking gentlemen 323 00:19:14,199 –> 00:19:17,839 arrived outside our little place, 324 00:19:17,939 –> 00:19:20,199 complete with their entourage. 325 00:19:20,300 –> 00:19:24,119 And they had come to see Jesus. 326 00:19:24,199 –> 00:19:26,739 God had made him known to prophets 327 00:19:27,300 –> 00:19:30,040 to priests like Zechariah, 328 00:19:30,140 –> 00:19:32,839 a relative by marriage, 329 00:19:32,939 –> 00:19:35,699 and now to kings. 330 00:19:35,800 –> 00:19:37,979 And the strange thing was that 331 00:19:38,079 –> 00:19:40,540 it wasn’t the king from our country who came. 332 00:19:40,640 –> 00:19:43,719 These kings were from the East. 333 00:19:43,819 –> 00:19:47,920 I remember what the old man had said in the temple, 334 00:19:48,020 –> 00:19:49,760 Mine eyes have now seen your salvation, 335 00:19:49,859 –> 00:19:52,900 which will be for all people 336 00:19:53,000 –> 00:19:56,420 a light to the Gentiles. 337 00:19:57,219 –> 00:20:02,119 Well, these kings had come from way outside of our culture. 338 00:20:02,219 –> 00:20:04,920 This savior was to be the savior 339 00:20:05,020 –> 00:20:09,000 for people from every culture, 340 00:20:09,099 –> 00:20:12,859 as well as every generation. 341 00:20:12,959 –> 00:20:17,040 The kings brought gifts that reflected their wealth. 342 00:20:17,140 –> 00:20:18,900 It was extraordinary, really. 343 00:20:19,000 –> 00:20:21,199 I mean, here were we, hardly able to come up with the money 344 00:20:21,300 –> 00:20:24,420 for two pigeons to offer in the temple, 345 00:20:24,780 –> 00:20:31,619 and they arrived with gold and incense and myrrh. 346 00:20:31,719 –> 00:20:33,079 Of course, I laugh with them often 347 00:20:33,180 –> 00:20:35,319 when we talk about it up there. 348 00:20:35,420 –> 00:20:40,119 They had so much, we had so little. 349 00:20:42,660 –> 00:20:45,060 And you know, the funny thing is this. 350 00:20:45,160 –> 00:20:46,579 It hasn’t made a scrap of difference 351 00:20:46,680 –> 00:20:51,380 either to them or to us for 2,000 years. 352 00:20:51,520 –> 00:20:58,520 All that mattered was that they worshipped Jesus and so did we. 353 00:21:00,520 –> 00:21:02,380 Well, that night after they had gone, 354 00:21:02,479 –> 00:21:06,839 an angel of the Lord spoke to me again in a dream. 355 00:21:06,939 –> 00:21:08,280 This was the second time it happened, 356 00:21:08,380 –> 00:21:12,020 there were four altogether, this was the second. 357 00:21:12,119 –> 00:21:13,920 The words were very simple. 358 00:21:14,020 –> 00:21:16,680 Get up, he said. 359 00:21:16,780 –> 00:21:18,280 Not what you want to hear in the middle of the night, 360 00:21:18,380 –> 00:21:19,619 but I’m telling you what he said. 361 00:21:19,719 –> 00:21:21,180 Get up! 362 00:21:21,339 –> 00:21:26,119 Take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt 363 00:21:26,219 –> 00:21:29,680 for Herod is going to search for the child and kill him. 364 00:21:31,579 –> 00:21:32,619 So that’s what we did. 365 00:21:34,280 –> 00:21:36,719 We packed up what we could, we left the house. 366 00:21:36,819 –> 00:21:40,420 We slipped out of Bethlehem under the cover of darkness. 367 00:21:42,219 –> 00:21:46,239 Now, you can’t begin to imagine what this journey was like. 368 00:21:47,180 –> 00:21:51,739 This was more than 400 miles. 369 00:21:52,979 –> 00:21:54,780 We were on the road for well over a month. 370 00:21:54,880 –> 00:21:57,079 So those of you who have young children 371 00:21:57,180 –> 00:21:59,119 and complain about it when you’re doing it in a van, 372 00:21:59,219 –> 00:22:00,619 you just think about what it was like 373 00:22:00,719 –> 00:22:03,459 for us trying to do it with a few animals and a cart. 374 00:22:06,380 –> 00:22:08,160 Mary is still nursing the child. 375 00:22:10,900 –> 00:22:14,739 Later, we heard that Herod had killed 376 00:22:14,760 –> 00:22:19,540 all the male children under the age of two in Bethlehem. 377 00:22:22,040 –> 00:22:27,400 It was a terrible atrocity, and a reminder 378 00:22:27,520 –> 00:22:30,339 to us of the appalling evil that this world 379 00:22:30,439 –> 00:22:31,680 needs to be saved from. 380 00:22:35,619 –> 00:22:39,459 I don’t know how many children died, 381 00:22:39,560 –> 00:22:41,560 probably not as many as is sometimes 382 00:22:41,680 –> 00:22:48,380 imagined a very small town, perhaps 10, perhaps 20, 383 00:22:48,479 –> 00:22:56,599 but a terrible tragedy for every child and every family. 384 00:22:56,699 –> 00:23:01,699 Their lives were taken on account of him. 385 00:23:04,300 –> 00:23:11,280 Later, his life would be given on account of them. 386 00:23:11,339 –> 00:23:14,640 And on account of you. 387 00:23:14,739 –> 00:23:15,739 On account of us all. 388 00:23:19,800 –> 00:23:22,939 So we lived in Egypt. 389 00:23:23,040 –> 00:23:25,780 Says, well, I was a carpenter. 390 00:23:25,880 –> 00:23:29,020 There was always work for a chippy, you know. 391 00:23:29,119 –> 00:23:31,719 And that skill was part of God’s provision for us 392 00:23:31,819 –> 00:23:32,599 in all of our movements. 393 00:23:35,520 –> 00:23:37,199 Sometime later, Herod died. 394 00:23:37,300 –> 00:23:40,959 And that was when God spoke to me a third time. 395 00:23:41,199 –> 00:23:43,160 Through a dream. 396 00:23:43,260 –> 00:23:45,719 God spoke, of course, at this time, in this way, 397 00:23:45,819 –> 00:23:48,099 because there was no other way in which we could have known. 398 00:23:48,180 –> 00:23:49,359 I mean, you have CNN. 399 00:23:52,260 –> 00:23:53,719 You have local newspapers. 400 00:23:53,839 –> 00:23:55,439 I mean, how do you think we would 401 00:23:55,540 –> 00:23:58,199 have known in Egypt if a king had died in Israel? 402 00:23:58,300 –> 00:24:00,680 I mean, it’s just not the kind of thing that gets reported. 403 00:24:03,239 –> 00:24:07,099 No, the angel came in a dream and said to me, 404 00:24:07,119 –> 00:24:10,599 get up and take the child and its mother 405 00:24:10,699 –> 00:24:14,000 to Israel, for those who were trying 406 00:24:14,099 –> 00:24:17,000 to kill the child are dead. 407 00:24:17,099 –> 00:24:19,599 I love that line, by the way. 408 00:24:19,699 –> 00:24:23,640 Those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead. 409 00:24:26,280 –> 00:24:29,420 You see, they tried to bring death to him, 410 00:24:29,520 –> 00:24:32,579 but death finally overtook them. 411 00:24:32,680 –> 00:24:35,479 It’s worth thinking about that. 412 00:24:35,500 –> 00:24:37,880 You see, over 2,000 years since that time, 413 00:24:37,979 –> 00:24:39,839 there have been some people who have loved him. 414 00:24:39,939 –> 00:24:41,640 There have been some people who have hated him. 415 00:24:41,739 –> 00:24:43,540 There have been some people who have ignored him. 416 00:24:43,640 –> 00:24:45,780 There have been some people who have never heard of him. 417 00:24:45,880 –> 00:24:50,880 But sooner and later, they all die. 418 00:24:50,979 –> 00:24:56,160 And when they die, they give an account to him. 419 00:24:59,400 –> 00:25:02,699 Those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead. 420 00:25:05,839 –> 00:25:10,800 They’ve been trying to do away with him for years, 421 00:25:10,900 –> 00:25:14,520 but they never will. 422 00:25:14,619 –> 00:25:16,020 Well, it was back on the road again. 423 00:25:16,119 –> 00:25:17,520 Another month of travel. 424 00:25:17,619 –> 00:25:21,260 Another 400 miles back to Israel. 425 00:25:21,359 –> 00:25:24,560 You know, you folks just jump in your vans 426 00:25:24,660 –> 00:25:28,520 and drive off to Florida. 427 00:25:28,619 –> 00:25:33,500 I mean, for us, we had to carry everything we owned with us. 428 00:25:33,599 –> 00:25:35,400 Once we got to the border, we didn’t 429 00:25:35,500 –> 00:25:37,699 discovered that the country had actually 430 00:25:37,800 –> 00:25:40,119 been divided since the death of Herod 431 00:25:40,219 –> 00:25:42,719 into four different regions, and that a man 432 00:25:42,819 –> 00:25:46,800 by the name of Archelaus was ruling in Judea, 433 00:25:46,880 –> 00:25:48,979 where Bethlehem was. 434 00:25:49,079 –> 00:25:50,520 That was bad news, because he was 435 00:25:50,619 –> 00:25:53,359 as notorious as his father, Herod. 436 00:25:53,459 –> 00:25:58,400 In fact, after a few years, community leaders 437 00:25:58,500 –> 00:26:01,699 complained about him, because he was so bad. 438 00:26:01,800 –> 00:26:04,760 And so the Romans removed Archelaus 439 00:26:04,839 –> 00:26:09,260 and replaced him with a Roman governor, 440 00:26:09,359 –> 00:26:11,380 who was the first of a number who 441 00:26:11,479 –> 00:26:15,020 came in succession to that area, one of whose 442 00:26:15,119 –> 00:26:18,300 name you’ll know, Pontius Pilate. 443 00:26:21,599 –> 00:26:23,359 This was when God spoke to me for 444 00:26:23,459 –> 00:26:26,800 the fourth time through a dream. 445 00:26:26,900 –> 00:26:28,540 And after we had crossed the border 446 00:26:28,640 –> 00:26:33,079 into our homeland of Israel, being warned in this dream, 447 00:26:33,140 –> 00:26:36,380 we diverted route, and instead of going to Bethlehem, 448 00:26:36,479 –> 00:26:42,380 we went back to Nazareth, where it all began. 449 00:26:42,479 –> 00:26:49,560 Another 70 miles on top of the 400. 450 00:26:49,660 –> 00:26:52,920 Well, there’s so much more. 451 00:26:53,020 –> 00:26:54,219 But I’ve got to stop, otherwise, I’ll 452 00:26:54,319 –> 00:26:57,900 get in trouble with your pastor if he hears. 453 00:26:58,420 –> 00:27:02,819 I’ve told you my story. 454 00:27:02,920 –> 00:27:07,719 If you find it hard to believe in the Virgin birth, 455 00:27:07,819 –> 00:27:11,680 I want to tell you, I’m your witness. 456 00:27:11,780 –> 00:27:16,260 Nobody found it harder to believe than me. 457 00:27:16,359 –> 00:27:17,880 And I came here to tell you today, 458 00:27:17,979 –> 00:27:22,920 He was born of a virgin. 459 00:27:23,060 –> 00:27:25,079 The obvious question of course is that, 460 00:27:25,180 –> 00:27:27,479 okay, even if you believe that, 461 00:27:27,579 –> 00:27:29,479 as I trust you will today, 462 00:27:29,579 –> 00:27:30,819 you might ask this question, 463 00:27:30,920 –> 00:27:32,579 Well, okay, He was born of a virgin, 464 00:27:32,680 –> 00:27:34,760 what’s that got to do with me? 465 00:27:34,859 –> 00:27:37,060 Now, listen. 466 00:27:37,160 –> 00:27:40,300 You’re all sensible people, 467 00:27:40,400 –> 00:27:45,739 so you think about this with me. 468 00:27:45,839 –> 00:27:48,579 If He was really born of a virgin, 469 00:27:48,680 –> 00:27:51,640 He is unlike any other person. 470 00:27:51,640 –> 00:27:56,160 Unlike any other person who has ever lived. 471 00:27:56,260 –> 00:27:59,339 And if He is unlike any other person who has ever lived, 472 00:27:59,439 –> 00:28:02,739 it’s at least possible that He’s able to do for you 473 00:28:02,839 –> 00:28:07,939 what nobody else who’s ever lived can do. 474 00:28:08,040 –> 00:28:11,439 And if He’s able to do for you 475 00:28:11,560 –> 00:28:14,180 what nobody else who has ever lived can do, 476 00:28:14,280 –> 00:28:17,459 then nothing in your life is more important 477 00:28:18,300 –> 00:28:20,800 than how you respond to Him. 478 00:28:23,300 –> 00:28:28,219 I didn’t come to tell you a sentimental story. 479 00:28:28,319 –> 00:28:32,579 That’s not what Christmas is. 480 00:28:32,680 –> 00:28:38,920 I came to give you an account of what happened. 481 00:28:39,020 –> 00:28:43,660 I came to tell you that God stepped into human history 482 00:28:43,760 –> 00:28:46,959 through Jesus Christ, 483 00:28:46,959 –> 00:28:50,599 and that in doing that He’s reaching out to you. 484 00:28:50,699 –> 00:28:52,540 To all people. 485 00:28:52,640 –> 00:28:56,800 I came to tell you today that Heaven is as real, 486 00:28:56,900 –> 00:28:59,339 more real than your life here on earth 487 00:28:59,439 –> 00:29:01,680 and much more permanent. 488 00:29:01,780 –> 00:29:07,380 And I came to tell you that God wants you there 489 00:29:07,479 –> 00:29:11,479 and that He has opened the way through His Son Jesus Christ 490 00:29:11,579 –> 00:29:14,859 for all who will believe in Him 491 00:29:15,599 –> 00:29:19,140 and bow before Him. 492 00:29:19,239 –> 00:29:20,939 Do you believe in? 493 00:29:23,199 –> 00:29:26,839 Will you obey Him? 494 00:29:26,939 –> 00:29:29,180 Will you trust Him as your saviour? 495 00:29:32,140 –> 00:29:36,119 Will you crown Him as your Lord? 496 00:29:40,180 –> 00:29:43,859 Let’s pray together, shall we? 497 00:29:44,819 –> 00:29:49,719 Father, we have pondered the greatest reality 498 00:29:49,819 –> 00:29:56,640 in the history of the universe, 499 00:29:56,739 –> 00:30:02,040 and we bow before you in these moments of silence. 500 00:30:02,140 –> 00:30:08,939 Lord, I believe we would say to you, 501 00:30:08,959 –> 00:30:13,760 Lord, I bow. 502 00:30:13,859 –> 00:30:20,939 Lord, I repent of my self-centeredness 503 00:30:21,040 –> 00:30:22,640 and arrogance and pride. 504 00:30:25,640 –> 00:30:32,619 Lord, I receive the gift that you offer to me in Jesus 505 00:30:32,719 –> 00:30:36,020 and life that is found in him. 506 00:30:36,599 –> 00:30:46,199 Lord, I worship Jesus, Savior, Master, 507 00:30:46,300 –> 00:30:50,880 Redeemer, and King. 508 00:30:50,979 –> 00:30:55,359 Hear my prayer in Jesus’ name. 509 00:30:56,819 –> 00:30:57,819 Amen.