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[0:00] Welcome to our service this morning. It's good to see so many of you here today. As we come together to worship God, we pray that we would have that spirit of worship, that recollection that we are in God's presence.

[0:20] We can begin our service singing from Psalm 89. Psalm 89. And we're going to sing from verse 24 to verse 28.

[0:36] Amen. Let us sing these four stanzas.

[1:36] Psalm 89 from verse 24. My mercy and my faithfulness with him yet still shall be. My mercy and my faithfulness with him yet still shall be.

[2:05] And in my name his Lord and Father, his God and his Lord is here.

[2:23] His hand and power shall reach upon us.

[2:34] And set it in the sea. And his right hand is here.

[2:49] And his right hand is here. And his right hand is here. And his right hand is here. The Lord, my Father, he shall try.

[3:09] The Lord, my Lord, my Lord alone. And he shall say. And he shall say.

[3:22] The Lord, my Lord, my Lord. And he shall say.

[3:36] I make him my firstborn, Lord, high and kings of Aeneas.

[3:54] My love I'll ever keep for him, our God, and our Son of Man.

[4:14] Let us join together in prayer. Let us pray. O Lord, O God, as we come before you in worship, we're able to praise your name.

[4:29] And we're able to call upon your name in prayer. We're able to gather under the sound of your word being read and proclaimed.

[4:46] And with your help, your word interpreted and applied. We seek your help above all else so that what we do in your name would be to the glory of that name that is above every name.

[5:03] That we would be conscious of fulfilling. That which was a created condition that marked out of first parents.

[5:17] They were created in your image. An image consisting of knowledge, righteousness, holiness, and dominion over the creatures.

[5:30] But the ability to commune with their creator, God. To fellowship with you. And to hear your voice from heaven, even in the intimacy of the confines wherein you placed them.

[5:49] And there was no shyness or embarrassment on their part because they were your created people who bore your image and who had the ability to enter into your presence without losing sight of your holiness.

[6:13] And they were the person who had the ability to enter into your presence without losing sight of your spirit.

[6:43] The word of God, the word of God, which is your word to us, helps us appreciate what sin has wrought in our experience. It was to confess our sin with a desire to shun it, to turn from it, to embrace righteousness with that fully understood appreciation of what sin has done in our lives.

[7:14] And with a God who is God, that you are high and lifted up and your face is turned away from the sinner.

[7:26] But through Christ we have been given access and through our confession of sin with his strength we are persuaded of not only your willingness, but the ability to cleanse from every sin.

[7:42] while we may wish to overlook our own sins, sometimes overlook the sins of others, these rare desires are in no way able to do away with what sin is.

[7:59] and yet the God of heaven, by virtue of the death of Christ on the cross and what it secured for us, we are persuaded that the blood of sin is removed and the stain is obliterated permanently in the experience of your people.

[8:22] So help us to appreciate that even as we gather in your name today, blessed gathering, blessed to each of us here from the youngest to the oldest.

[8:34] We give thanks that we have met as we meet to worship. We also are met with our Sunday school as they come to mark the end of the Sunday school year.

[8:49] and for them to be rewarded in a tangible way for their endeavours in coming along to Sunday school and for their work throughout the year.

[9:07] We give thanks for that. And not only do we pray for the gifts that they receive to be precious to them, but that they would receive the most precious gift of all, even that knowledge of Christ, as a saviour of lost souls, that they may possess that for themselves.

[9:31] There is never an individual who is too young to come to know the Lord for themselves, just as surely as it is the case, that there is never an age that is beyond the pale as far as the receipt of salvation by Christ.

[9:51] Do not allow us to forfeit the years by misspending them and thinking that we have them to use and abuse at our leisure, for who knows how short a life we may have in this world.

[10:11] There is no saint who has come to a knowledge of Christ who does anything other than bemoan the lost years, if indeed that was true of them, the misspent time and the wasted opportunities to live in the light of your own country.

[10:32] So bless each one here today. Bless the Sunday school teachers who take time to not only deliver the lessons that they said before, these young souls before them, but also time in preparation and all that involves, we believe also the prayerful interest that they have for the children of our congregation.

[11:02] Just as your people here who have seen young children brought into the fold of the Church of Christ, who are obliged to remember them prayerfully in their formative years and continue to uphold them in prayer in their life as they go in and out in this community and even after taking their leave of it.

[11:31] So remember all that we pray for today, remembering any who may have special needs and be known to us, thankful that you know all things.

[11:42] We pray for those who are unwell, those who are concerned for such, we bring them before you. We remember the hope, those housebound and those who are cared for in homes, for the elderly and the inferred.

[11:59] Remember any who may be in hospital or receiving care within the home. We ask that you would sanctify every visitation in Providence to us.

[12:12] The griefs and the sorrows associated with death, we pray that you would also sanctify. You remind us of our own weakness and the uncertainty of our life and we pray for all who have been confronted with that reality in recent days.

[12:31] We remember before you the needs of our nation and all the nations of the earth where there are so many evidences of the cruelty of man and the wickedness that lies deep at the heart of all men.

[12:48] The heart of man, your servant said, is desperately wicked. Who can know it? We pray for peace to be brought into the lives of those who have known nothing of it.

[13:00] We think of some who have been born into this world that all their days, every breath that they have taken from their birth has been delivered in the shadow of death and with the uncertainty that war brings and even those things that are accompanied.

[13:23] So be merciful to all such, we pray. Empower those who have brought the gospel of grace to their attention so that the word proclaimed would direct each and every one who hear this gospel to Christ and Christ alone.

[13:46] Grant and mercy for our own gathering here today so that we would know that we are in your presence to forgive our sins in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, boys and girls, you're going to go out to Sunday school shortly and I believe that today as you would expect you're going to talk about the birth of Jesus.

[14:14] It is, after all, the 25th of June. So, you would expect us to talk about the birth of Jesus on the 25th of June.

[14:25] Well, why not? Usually, we speak about the birth of Jesus on the 25th of December or many people in the world associate the 25th of December with the birth of the Lord Jesus.

[14:42] And without going into the history, the Bible doesn't really give us a date. But what it does do is tell us something very important and that is that the Lord Jesus Christ was born into the world.

[14:59] Nothing more important than that. Far more important than his birthday. Although birthdays are important. the 25th of June is important in our family because our oldest is I don't know how old he is today but it's his birthday.

[15:23] Don't tell him I told you but it's his birthday today. Unlike those who have a birthday on the 25th of December who feel that they're gifted because having a birthday at the time when many people receive presents anyway it seems to deny them of their birthday presents and they're very sad very sorrowful because of that.

[15:56] but the giving and receiving of presents is really something I suppose that is to remind us of the greatest gift that God has ever given to this world which is the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

[16:16] I think that's one of the things that it should remind us of that Jesus was born into the world whenever he was born he was born and the fact that he was born means that God had something to say to the world and to give to the world and we should never forget that.

[16:42] I was also reminded of the importance of the birth of Jesus it's not important to everybody it's not memorable to everybody many people know something happened sometime and they assume that they understand something about it but they don't really know a lot about it but if if you have an interest in it then it becomes all important does it not?

[17:20] for example if it's your birthday your birthday you remember the date you remember well you've been taught or told where you were born and some of the circumstances surrounding your birth it's important to you important to your parents important to loved ones but not to other people because they're not as interested they don't have the same interest in it and again I was reminded of that and again my son was partly to do with it he was sharing a flat with somebody for a number of years in Glasgow and that person became father to a baby boy I think recently and we never heard a word about it that's what people do they forget things if they're not important to themselves but on

[18:24] Friday night who did we meet we met this baby boy's granny and that granny the first thing she did was this I'm granny because it meant something to her it was important to her her new baby grandson was born all important she wouldn't forget the date she wouldn't forget the fact that there was a birth that was important to her now again when we think of the birth of Jesus many people don't remember that Jesus was ever born they'll have a vague idea that there is a Christian faith and that Christian faith involves Christ and they're not really too concerned about some of the things that are important to the person who knows

[19:27] Christ for themselves but they don't imagine how important it is and that the importance of it is staring them in the face maybe today you're not really persuaded that the birth of Jesus is something that is there before us wherever we turn because without Jesus being born into the world many of the things that this world knows about and enjoys and many of the things that this world celebrates I suppose have to do with the fact that Jesus was born however many years ago and we have to remind ourselves of this you know the stone is I think behind me somewhere up there I'm told that they were erected around about 5000 years ago depending on which expert you ask give or take a few hundred years who put them up do you know anybody do you have the name of anybody who put these stones up even if they had been put up 2000 years ago would we have the name of anybody involved in the construction of the site no we wouldn't and yet the person of the

[21:09] Lord Jesus Christ who was born over 2000 years ago the fact of his birth is commemorated the effect of his birth is remembered and the very church that he created as a result of his birth exists today the very fact that you're here today is because Jesus was born 2000 years ago and the importance of it you have to remember it's all because of who it was that was born not John Smith or Donald MacLeod or whoever it is whose names are forgotten whose names nobody can remember Jesus the Lord was born his birth was prophesied we're going to talk about it today in the service and I hope that you will remember that even though this world in which you live says he's no longer relevant he's no longer important he's no longer somebody that we can speak about with any meaning don't believe it for one moment the day will come when I will be forgotten the day might come when this building will no longer stand but Jesus' name will live on and the life that he gave to his people will still keep his people alive until such time as when he takes all his people to be with him to be with himself which is what he promised

[23:05] I hope that you'll remember that well you're going to go out to Sunday school now we're going to sing as you go out and at the end of the service you're going to come back in to the church here and I'm sure the teachers will tell you you're going to receive your awards for the year but meantime you go out to the Sunday school and we're going to sing again singing from same psalm psalm 89 and we're going to sing from verse 29 psalm 89 from verse 29 his seed I by my power will make forever to endure and as the days of heaven his throne shall stable be and sure but if his children shall forsake my laws and go astray and in my judgments shall not walk but wander from my way if they my laws break and do not keep my commandments

[24:07] I'll visit then their faults with rods their sins with chastisness I'm going to sing to verse 37 from verse my his seed I by my power will make forever to endure if she die by my power will bring forever to endure and as 뜻 of eat andảo the throw and will be But if it's children shall forsake, my Lord shall go and sleep.

[25:20] And in my judgment shall not walk, but wander all my face.

[25:40] In this my own brave hand do not keep my poor mother's hands.

[25:59] I am risen and yet comes the Lord's nations with my hands.

[26:19] Yet I do not take my love from heaven, nor pause my promise me.

[26:37] My come not die, not break nor change.

[26:49] What when my love I seek? Once by my holiness I swear to give me thy kingdom of life.

[27:17] His feet on moon shall not be found. They pour me thy glory.

[27:35] And my love shall never be.

[27:47] His love is done, must be. I am my good and rich in heaven.

[28:06] God witness it for me. Amen.

[28:17] I am going to hear God's word as we have it in the Gospel of Luke in chapter 2. I am going to read about the birth of Jesus as recorded in this Gospel.

[28:31] Chapter 2, verses 1 to 20. Chapter 2, verses 1 to 20. And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.

[28:50] And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, everyone into his own city.

[29:02] And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, into the city of David, which is called Bethlehem.

[29:13] And he said, Because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be taxed with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child. And so it was that while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered.

[29:30] And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

[29:42] And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them.

[29:53] And the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.

[30:09] For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you. He shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

[30:24] And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.

[30:38] And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which has come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

[30:56] And they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child.

[31:09] And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told by them, told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.

[31:22] And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them.

[31:33] And so on. The Lord had his blessing through the reading of his word, and through his name be the praise. And the shepherds said, I'm going to sing now from the second psalm.

[31:45] Psalm 2, and from verse 6 to the end. Psalm 2 from verse 6. Psalm 3, and from verse 6.

[31:56] Yet notwithstanding, I have him to be my king appointed. And over Zion, my holy hill, I have him king anointed. The sure decree I will declare the Lord hath said to me, Thou art mine only son, this day I have begotten thee.

[32:14] Ask of me, and for heritage the heathen I'll make thine. And for possession I to thee will give earth's utmost line.

[32:25] And so on. To the end of the psalm. Yet notwithstanding, I have him to be my king appointed. Yet notwithstanding, I have him to be my king appointed.

[32:56] And he will declare the Lord hath said to me, And he will declare the Lord hath said to me, Your holy hill, I have him king appointed.

[33:17] Thou sure decree I will declare, Thou heart has sent to me, Thou art my only son to stay, I have it all to me, As gone beyond glory days, Thou reason I will find, And poor possession I truly will give,

[34:30] And blessed I will remain, Thou shalt as with the wicked rod, On my own wicked rod, And thus upon earth, Thou shalt as with the wicked rod, Then dying is his own, Now that our kings be white below, In children of the earth,

[35:36] Thou art in the earth, And she is on thee, Join trembling with you, If the mother has shed light, And heal dead.

[36:11] If all the way If once this time Became to burn Lest all that I would see Let me turn to the passage that we were reading together We can read again at verse 10 Luke chapter 2 verse 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not For behold I bring you good tidings of great joy Which shall be to all people For unto you is born this day in the city of David A saviour which is Christ the Lord The vast amount of people

[37:19] Who live in the world today Especially within the United Kingdom If we just limited the United Kingdom I would argue that the vast number of Those who fall in that population Know very little about the Christian faith They have very little Bible knowledge And the limited knowledge that they have from the Bible Probably focuses on the nativity Focuses on the birth of Jesus And what they know about that They glean from the various events that Are featured around Christmas time You can't hear hymns or songs

[38:25] Associated with Christ at Christmas time You can't not hear carols And inevitably some of the information Is gleaned and probably stored somewhere In the dim recesses of memory But to be honest What they possess is a garbled version Of what the Bible teaches They'll know something about Christmas Being associated with the birth of Jesus That he was born in a stable Perhaps that he was born in Bethlehem Perhaps that there were wise men Involved somewhere That there were shepherds That there was no room in the inn All of these things mentioned in this chapter But very little actual thought

[39:26] Is given to the significance Of that event The significance of the birth Of the Lord Jesus Christ into the world Someone has said About the birth of Christ That it is The most significant birth In the history of the world And I wouldn't disagree with them Many important people Have been born And their death Recorded Their birth And their death And their lives in between Are writ large In the history books Of this world But none more so Than the passion Of the Lord Jesus Christ But what I want us to do For the limited time That we're going to look At these verses To think of some of the things That remind us Of the importance Of the Lord Jesus Christ's birth

[40:27] Most of these things I'm sure you know But it does no harm To remind you Of them Even though you might think It's out of sequence It should be A sermon that Would be best preached Around the end of the year Well maybe You'll hear another one Of a similar sort At that time of year But The truth of the matter Is Jesus Christ Was born And his birth Is recorded for us And his birth Is of great significance It's something That we can Think about And talk about Anytime Because Without him Being born Then The gospel Would not be possible Without his birth Salvation Salvation Would not be possible It's that Extreme It's that Important You can't Have salvation Without

[41:27] A saviour And God Decreed Who the saviour was And that saviour Was going to be His son And he decreed How he was to be Born into the world In order to be a saviour And his word The bible tells us As much And there's Some words That we can Link Together To ensure That we Take something With us First of all I would want you To think about The word prophecy Because prophecy Is important In the life Of the Lord Jesus Christ It's important In the life Of the people Of God Because prophecy Is God's word Bringing to Our attention God's purposes For the world And In a way That Suggests

[42:28] To us That what God was going To do He knew Long before He did it That It was Going to be Done It was His set Intent To do These things But In order To impress His purposes Upon those Who would be Involved in Them Or those Who would Benefit From it He made Prophetic Declarations To us To us To us With regard To many Of them And some Of them Focus upon The person Of the Lord Jesus Christ And in Particular For our Interest Today His birth Into the world The birth Of Jesus Christ We are Told Was foretold God Has made Known To us Through The scriptures Of the Old Testament Long before The birth Of Christ

[43:28] That that Was going To happen And there Are many Passages I suppose That we Could go To Some of Them Are not As clear I suppose They need A bit Of Research Before you Can Can understand What they're Alluding to It's not That they're That they're Unspecific But that they're So specific That without Greater Detail Or a Greater Detailed Knowledge You might Not fully Understand What the Prophets Were bringing To our Attention But some Of them Are so Blatantly Obvious That you Cannot But understand That this Is something That God Meant the World to Know about Long before It came About One of These prophecies I'm sure You'll know About is From the Book of The prophet Micah Now

[44:29] Micah Lived Several Hundred Years Before Christ Was Born And yet To quote This prophecy It points Us To the Place Of birth Of the Lord Jesus Christ That is That is At the Heart Of that Prophecy As somebody Who is Unique In the Experience Of this World His Going Forth Have Of Of Of Of Everlasting Who Could That Possibly

[45:29] Have Been Somebody Whose Going Forth Were Ancient Even Before The World Came Into Being But just To clarify The scripture Itself Helps us Understand It helps Us Appreciate The meaning Of that Prophecy Because if You go To Matthew Gospel And the Account that Matthew Gives us Of the Birth of Jesus The prophet There is Is described As speaking Specifically About the Birth of Jesus That the Birth of Jesus Was the Fulfillment Of that Prophecy In Micah And Consistently You have Prophecy Sometimes Explained In that Way So that's The first Thing We can Understand

[46:30] That there Was Significance To the Birth Of this Person Who On the Face of It Was one Baby Among Many Born At that Time Of The Year But this One Was to Be Different This One Had A role To play In the History Of the World This One God Had Informed The World About His Eventual Arrival On the Seem Of Time And The Fulfillment Of the Prophecy Itself Is Something That Is Again To give You another Word It Is Something That Speaks To us Not Just Of God's Purposes Declared Before Time But the Sovereignty Of God In Bringing

[47:30] These Purposes To Fruition God Is In Control Of all The Events Of This World And If Anything When You Examine The Minutia Of The Detail Surrounding The Place Of Jesus' Birth There Are So Many Things Going On There You Could Hardly Envisage It In Order For It To Correspond To The Prophecy So Many Different Things Had To Happen And We Read Here That Mary Was Great With Child She Was About To Give Birth And They Have To Journey From Nazareth To Bethlehem Now I'm Not Sure About This But I Do Think That There Are Some Who Have Alluded To It While It Was Necessary For

[48:30] Joseph To Go Because Of The Edict That Came From The Roman Authorities Where A census Was Being Carried Out That Joseph Was Required To Be Present I Doubt If His Wife Needed To Be Present Or As She Was Then He Was Exposed To Her The Marriage At That Time She Was She Was The Process Of Marriage In The East At That Time Was Rather More Complicated Than It Is In Our Own Day But They Were Engaged To Be Married And She Was With Child And The Suggestion Is We Spoke About It Last Week To The Children That Rather Than Leave His Spoused Wife His Engaged Wife Behind Pregnant And About To

[49:30] Give Birth And Open To The Gossips Of His Own Day Open To The Possibility Of Slander He Took Her With Him On That Journey Even Though She Was So Far Gone In Her Pregnancy Well There's No Way Of Saying Because The Scripture Doesn't Tell Us That But The Thing Is That She Was With Him While Maybe That She Did Not Need To Be With Him He Needed To Be There Because Something Completely Outside Of His Control Caesar Augustus At That Time Determined To Carry Out The Census And He Ordered Every Male Jew To Present Themselves At The Place Of Their Genealogical

[50:31] Birth So That Whatever Line They Belonged To They Had To Present Themselves And To Be Considered And Numbered There It Was Part Of The Overall Desire Of The Home And Authorities To Keep Control Of Those Who Were Native To The District Part Of What Was Called The Pax Romana Where Peace Was The Idea Roman Authority Imposing Peace As They Wanted To Impose It But Anyway This Had Nothing To Do With Judaism This Had Nothing To Do With The Bible As Far As The Roman Authorities Were Concerned But As We See So Often In The Experience Of Jesus They Were The

[51:31] Instruments Of God In Fulfilling His Sovereign Will And The Fact That Caesar Augustus Had Ordained This Meant That Joseph Had To Be In Bethlehem At The Time Of Jesus Birth And Because Of The Circumstances Mary Was With Him That Again Was Prophesied And In Isaiah Chapter 7 The Words Are Contained Therefore The Shall Give You A Sign Behold A Virgin Shall Conceive And Bear A Son And Shall Call His Name Emmanuel Again Words Prophetically Describing The Circumstances Of The Lord Jesus Birth The

[52:32] Virgin Shall Conceive And Bring Forth A Child Interestingly Professor Finn Nissen Has A Comment On This Which Takes In I Think The True Mystery Of What We See Taking Place Here That There Are So Many Layers And So Many Levels At Which Prophecy Is Being Fulfilled And The Sovereignty Of God Is To Be Seen That It Fills You With All This Is What Professor Finn Nissen Says A Special Law Must Have Presided Over His Birth There The Delicately Worded Record Presents Us With A Thinly Veiled Miracle As If To Suggest That On This Occasion Nature Stepped Aside To Let God Pass And

[53:32] Indeed Christ Always Referred To Himself As Not Being Born But As Being Sent As Concerning As Concerning His Coming Into The World His Coming Into The World Was Because He Was Sent The Angelic Enunciation To Mary Said That He Would Be Called The Son Of God And Then The Record Tells Us That She Brought Forth Her Firstborn Sin He Was First The Son Of God Then He Was The Son Of Mary And God Means Us To Understand That He Is He Is Given To The World As A Son Even Before The World Was He Was God's Son But Of Course We Have To Remember The

[54:32] Message Is Consistent With The Truth That Is In Front Of Us He Had To Be Born And He Was Born In Verse 60 So It Was That While They Were There The Days Were Accomplished That She Should Be Delivered And She Brought For Her Firstborn Son And Wrapped Him In Swaddling Clothes And Laid Him In A Manger Because There Was No Room For Them In The In The Story Of His Actual Birth There Is No Evidence Of Anything Super Natural Taking Place The Actual Birth The Record Of It Is Sparse But It Is Just The Birth Of A Baby And It Speaks Of The Circumstances Into Which He Was Born He Was Born Into Poverty And Weakness And Yet The Wonder Of Wonders Is The Angels Of Heaven Bear Testimony

[55:33] To His Birth It Was As If When I Was Thinking Of This I Was Thinking To Mys Well It As Could Not Keep Silent And It Is Always Interesting I Think To Try And To Work Out The Relationship That Existed Between The Angels Of Heaven And The Lord Jesus The The The The Jesus Dead For Sinners He He He Died So That Those Who Were Sinners Of Mankind Would Be Saved But He Didn't Die To Save Angels He Didn't Die To Save The Angels That Fell He Didn't Die To Redeem Them From Their Sin They Had No Part In That And Yet They Had An Interest In It And Here They Are Almost First On The Scene Witness To The Birth Of

[56:33] Christ The Same Christ You Have To Remember That They Worshipped For All Their Existing Life He Created The Angels We Don't Know When He Created Them But He Created Them And From The Point At Which They Were Created They Worshipped Him As Their Creator As Their God Their Worship Was Sinless Their Worship Was Constant And It Was What They Were Created For And There They Are As If They Are Witnessing From Heaven The Birth Of Jesus And In Of It The Triune God That They Worship And Adored From The Beginning Of Their Creation He Was There Numbered Amongst The Men Of This World The Children Of Men We Have To Remember That God's Ways Are Not Earth Ways And

[57:34] There Was No Roman Inn For Him His His Humility His Humiliation Had To Be Complete Do You Think That If They Knew Who He Was That They Would Not Be Able To Find A We Corner For Him To Be Put With The Family That's Human Nature For You Maybe There's No Roman Inn For You If You Are Poor Through Our But If This Is Just To Know That There May Be Blue Blood Somewhere On The Line Maybe We'll Find Room For But Not For The Lord He Was Put Out Into The Stable And Yet The Wisdom Of God Decreed That The News Was Shared Not With The Royal Personages Of The Land But With Common

[58:34] Shepherds The Common Shepherds Who Were Watching Their Flock At Night As The Carol Probably Has It The Gospel Message Not The First Gospel Message The Gospel Message Sounded Throughout The Old Testament Shortly After The Fall Of Man There Was The Suggestion That There Was Good News For The Fallen Of This World But With The Passage Of Time There Was An Enfleshment Of The Promise An Increase Of Knowledge And Here It Came To Fruition With The Birth Of Jesus And The Shepherds Heard From The Angels That That This Wonder That Happened The Angel Of The Lord Came Upon Them And The Glory Of The Lord Shone Around Them And They Were So Afraid His Coming

[59:34] Was Promised But Now His Coming Had Come To fruition And The Message That Was Conveyed To Them Was The Message Of The Good News Of The Gospel The Promised Saviour I Bring You Good Tidings Of Great Joy Which Shall Be To All People For Unto You Is Born This Day In The City Of David A Saviour Which Is Christ The Lord He Was Promised And The Promises Now Come To fruition Not Just Come To Be A Saviour To Sinners But A Saviour To As Broad A Spectrum Of Sinners That You Could Imagine You Have To Remind Yourself Of That The Breadth Of The Message

[60:34] Of The Good News Is To All The Message Is To All Good Tidings Of Great Joy Which Shall Be To All People You Can't Ignore That It's To All The Message Is To All Jesus Christ Is Born The Message Is To All The Saviour Of The World Is Born The Message Is To All But Just Because The Message Is To All Doesn't Mean That All Will Receive It Does Not Include Those Who Exclude Themselves That Can't Do That Can't Do The The Final Thing Is There Well The Universality Of The Message Has To Be Remembered But You'll

[61:34] Notice The Effect The Message Had Upon The Shepherds And And I And I Don't There Were A More Dedicated Group Of People Who Were So Taken Up With Their Own Role In Society They Were Mere Shepherds They Weren't Considered Important In The Eyes Of Those Who Saw Them Going About Their Business But They Looked After The Flock That Was Their Day And Night Winter Or Summer In All Weathers That Was Their Task Looking Caring Gathering And Keeping The Flock That Was Their And You Have To Remember That Because When They

[62:34] Hear The Message That The Angel Has To Convey To Them What Was Their Life What Was Everything To Them What Was Their Calling What They Needed To Do More Than Anything Else What Do They Say When They Hear The Word Of God Come To Them It Came To Pass As The Angels Were Gone Away From Them Into Heaven The Shepherds Said One To Another Let Us Now Go Even Into Bethlehem And See This Thing Which Has Come To Pass Which The Lord Has Made Known To Us And They Came With Haste I Think That Tells Something About The Power Of The Gospel Message When It Is Brought Home To The Heart Of Those Who Understand What It's All About They Heard The News That Was The Good News Of God This Intention To Save Sinners Having

[63:35] Heard It They Said Instantly Let Us Go And Find Out More About That They Heard The Heavenly Host And Once They Heard The Heavenly Host They Had To Go And They Had To Find Out More I Think That Tells Us Something About How The Gospel Works It Tells Us How Those Under The Sound Of The Gospel When They Respond To It They Must Find Out More They Must Discover More It's Not Enough For Them To To To Hear The First Inklings Of What The Gospel Is All About They Want To Delve Into The Truth They Want The Truth To Be Imbibed By Them In Its Fullness Nothing Is Left Out They Want To Understand The Word Of God And They Went Out And Wanted To Find That For Themselves But It Doesn't End There It Doesn't End There

[64:35] Because Once They Found Out For Themselves What They Wanted To Find Out They Went To Find Mary And Joseph And The Babe When They Had Seen It They Made Known Abroad The Thing Which Was Told Them Concerning This Child And All They That Heard It Wondered Of Those Things Which Were Told Them By The Shepherds And Again You Have The Same Thing Not Only Are They Convinced By The Message That Comes From The Angel It Impacts Upon Their Hearts It Demands Of Them That They Find Out More But Once They Find Out What They Want To Find Out They Cannot Keep It Secret They Cannot Keep It To Themselves They Must Share It With Others They Must Tell Others About It And That's What They Do Instantly Having Met With Mary And Joseph And The Baby They Go And Tell What They

[65:35] Had Heard And What They Seen And They Want Others To Hear About It Is That Not What What Is True About The Gospel The Good News When It Comes With Power Have You Heard The Gospel Have You Believed The Gospel Has Somebody Told You Who Believes The Gospel About The Gospel That They Believe About The Christ That They Met About The Salvation That This Christ Has To Offer Have You Heard Have You Believed Have You Gone Out With The Message To Others It's Important That We Do If We Are Believers It's Important That We Do If We Believe Go Back To The Beginning If It Needs Be To Remind Yourself Of What You Experienced Of What You Enjoyed By Reason Of God's Holy Spirit Working In Your Life So That You Give Power

[66:35] To The Message That Comes From Your Mouth So That You Give Impetus To It To Give Yourself The Encouragement That God Gives You To Share Without Embarrassment What Makes The Difference In Your Life So That Word The Final Word That I Want To Take With You This Message 2000 Years Ago Jesus Christ Was Christ Was Born It Is Not History It Is The Most Contemporary Message You Need To Hear And It Is Contemporary It Means Something Today It Means Something Every Day That This World Will Exist That He Came That He Did What He Meant To Do That He Fulfilled All Righteousness That He Died On The Cross For The Salvation Of Sinners And That All Sinners Who Come To Him Will Be Saved And Only They Will Be Saved A Contemporary Message Because He Has Promised Just

[67:36] As Surely As The Prophets Of Old Said Oh Well Sometime Soon Jesus Is Going To Come Sometime Soon Jesus Is Going To Be Born How Many Saw The First Rising Sun And They Closed Their Eyes On Their Way To Eternity And The Promise Was Not Fulfilled But It Was Not In Their Lifetime But Sometime That Will Be The Way It Will Be For His Second Coming He Has Gone And He Will Come Again And He Will Come Again To Take His Own To Be With Himself Believe The Significance Of The Birth Of Jesus No Other Birth Your Own Life If You Have The Privilege Of Being A Parent Or A Grandparent You Know The Significance Of The Birth

[68:36] Of Someone Into Your Life Nothing Like It No One Like Them But There Is One Whose Life Has More Significance Than Him All And That Is The Lord Jesus I Hope You Come To Discover That For Yourself If You Have Not Let Us Pray Lord God We Give Thanks That Your Word Records For Us Not Only The Voice Of Heaven Speaking Through The Generations Of The Impending Arrival On The Scene Of Time Of The Son Of The Most High God But The Fruition Of That Fulfillment In The Salvation Of Sinners And We Give Thanks That He Has Done What He Came To Do And That He Now Resides At Your Right Hand And We Plead His Intercession Even To Work in Us And Through Us Today Here Here Here In This Place As

[69:37] We Continue Before You Forgive Selling Jesus Amen Amen We're Going to Sing now Some Verses From Psalm 40 Psalm 40 The First Four Stanzas Of The Psalm I Waited For The Lord My God Unpatiently Did Bear At Length To Me He Did Incline My Voice And Cry To Hear He Took Me From A Fearful Pit And From The Mighty Clay And On A Rock He Set My Feet Establishing My Way We'll Sing These Four Stanzas And When We Do Sing The Children Will Return And They'll Receive Their Prizes I Waited For The Lord My God Unpatiently To Bear I Waited For

[70:37] The Lord My Lord And His And In It Make A Lamb To Me He Didn't Climb My Voice And Cry To Hear He Took Me From The Fear Cold Bed And From The Mighty Head And On The Road He Said Ja

[71:39] He On appearance He built By Fire O magnify, may it shall see, and I shall hear.

[72:18] And on the Lord we rise, O as it is, the Lord we rise.

[72:37] Upon the Lord we rise, reseting not the good nor such, as earn us high to us.

[73:07]  It's lovely.