We thank you lord that we have those
who are already advanced in years in our
midst.
Our fathers and mothers in the lord.
And lord, especially at this time of Christmas,
we pray that you would bless them in
a special way.
That all those younger than them would be
blessed through their lives.
Help them, oh lord.
That at this time, during this season, they
would be a great blessing and that they
in turn would be greatly blessed.
Amen.
We looked at in these days.
From Luke chapter two.
From verse eight.
And they were shepherds living out in the
field nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at
night.
And the angel of the lord appeared to
them and the glory of the lord shone
around them and they were terrified.
But the angel said to them, do not
be afraid.
I bring you good news of great joy
that will be for all the people.
Today in the town of David, a savior
has been born to you.
He is Christ the lord.
This will be a sign to you.
You will find a baby wrapped in clothes
and lying in a manger.
Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host
appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
glory to God in the highest.
And on earth, peace to men on whom
his favor rests.
When the angels had left them and gone
into heaven, the shepherds said one to another,
let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing
that has happened, which the lord has told
us about.
So they hurried off and found Mary and
Joseph and the baby was lying in the
manger.
When they had seen him, they spread the
word concerning what had been told them about
this child and all who heard it were
amazed at what the shepherd said to them.
But Mary treasured up all these things and
pondered them in our heart.
The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for
all the things that they had heard and
seen, which were just as they had been
told.
We'll end reading there.
We have said that Jesus was born in
a stable.
A place filled with horses and donkeys because
that was their mode of transport in the
past.
And we, when we drive, go to places,
we go with our cars and then we
park our vehicles at the holiday inn, for
example.
Now it's also possible that there were cattle
there, cows which they would milk and maybe
even sheep.
But it wasn't a room which they could
close and have privacy.
People would go in and out there.
And even though people would just come in
and go out as they liked, there were
also those whom God had sent to go
and see the child.
Coming with great respect, revering the child and
bowing down to him, who he, who is
the Lord of Lords.
The first ones who had the privilege to
see him, who is the Word, who has
become flesh, whose origins are of old, were
the shepherds and they were uneducated people.
They had no university degrees.
They were just ordinary people.
They were given the privilege, the honour of
seeing the Christ child first.
And after they had seen him, then the
magi, the scientists came.
The wise men, but first the simple.
But firstly, those who are simple and learned,
illiterate, they were given the honour of seeing
the face of the Saviour.
And after that, those who were learned and
educated, were given the privilege to bow down
to him, to bow down to the Lord
and ask the Father for forgiveness.
And those who are learned, those who are
not asked for forgiveness, who are not just
sent to be sent to be sent, those
who had been sent to be sent, and
that happens like that very often Paul says
that there are few amongst you are wise
according to the standards of this world there
were many of them that were uneducated simple
people and it's often like that that with
those who are clever and intelligent that their
mind gets in the way because they want
to analyze things with their mind and then
they start doubting in the Word and the
power of God no power looted up on
Shumaila Vangel gay and I'm in Shumaila and
Paul also said when he came to preach
the gospel he didn't do it with words
of wisdom and a philosophy now he came
and he brought a simple message because he
said he didn't want the power of the
cross to be made void and
when God was incarnated when he came into
the flesh into this world the first people
who had the privilege of seeing the face
of the Lord were those shepherds and
only after that those were learned and
so if you are educated and learned ask
God to give you the heart of a
child because Jesus said unless you become like
little children you'll never enter into the kingdom
of heaven and the faith of a child
where you tell a child something and it
believes it and these
shepherds they came to see the great shepherd
their shepherd and
it says and they were shepherds living out
in the fields out in the fields that's
where they were living not in their homes
they didn't have comfortable houses in which they
lived they were living out in the fields
perhaps that erected some tents for them there
maybe they had some sort of a shack
but they were living out in the fields
maybe they had comfortable houses at home but
in this time they lived out in the
fields with the sheep and
then that night the child was born and
these sheep were grazing out in the fields
day and night they weren't taken into a
crawl at night they would be grazing day
and night and so these shepherds would work
and shift some would be there at night
and some would be there during the day
looking after the sheep it
was during summertime there in Bethlehem and
so they would begin and the summer would
begin after Easter around about April and then
they'd be out in the fields the whole
of summer and during the wintertime they would
come back to their homes and bring the
sheep into a fold because it would be
cold outside with frost and they'd have to
have the sheep indoors from after Passover till
autumn after
Easter after the
Passover until autumn and then they'd go back
home during the winter now from that you
should be able to deduct that Jesus wasn't
born on the 25th of December but that
is of no great meaning doesn't mean anything
even with
the Queen of England even with the Queen
of England when her subjects celebrate her birthday
they don't do it on the exact day
of her birthday they choose another day and
then they celebrate her birthday I'm not sure
if that's still the custom today but when
I was young that was the way in
which they did it and
we also do that sometimes if a person
can't be there at the exact on the
exact day then we just celebrate the birthday
on another day but that doesn't trouble us
now
there
are some people that say that we should
do away with Christmas because Jesus wasn't born
on the 25th of December well we can
say those people use their minds but only
half of it the other half they don't
use.
And so these shepherds were out in the
fields on the mountains probably and possibly far
away from Bethlehem at night at
midnight all of a sudden the heavens
oh they saw the heavens at night full
of stars it was quiet
looking at the moon
and the stars but it was silent only
the sheep were grazing out in the fields
and they would only see the lights of
the heaven shining the stars shining down upon
them.
It was beautiful and it was great that
which they saw and experienced at And
it's good if you can have such opportunities
where you're alone where you can meditate and
it doesn't trouble me if I cannot sleep
at night some people say oh they can't
sleep at night to me I'll say it's
wonderful thank you Lord that you've taken the
sleep away from me because now I have
a opportunity to read my Bible to pray
and to speak to you.
When you read the Bible
and people make a noise and they distract
you there's very little that you gain at
a time like that.
But when it's quiet silent and you read
God's word it's a totally new experience it's
as if you're reading a different book.
Often we find in the Bible that when
people were alone that's when God revealed himself
to them.
There is a chorus that says be quiet
now my heart be silent I want to
listen to God's word.
One day Nathaniel came to Jesus.
One of the disciples came to Nathaniel saying
to him we have found the one the
Messiah of whom the prophets have foretold and
have spoken.
And he said what do you say?
And then Jesus said Nathaniel whilst you
are still sitting there beneath that fig tree
I saw you.
And then Nathaniel realized that it's him.
What was Nathaniel doing beneath that fig tree?
And then he said to him be quiet
now my heart be silent I want to
listen to God's word.
And he said what do you say?
And then Nathaniel realized that it's him.
What was Nathaniel doing beneath that fig tree
I saw you.
And then Jesus said what do you say?
And then Nathaniel realized that it's him.
What was Nathaniel doing beneath that fig tree
I saw you.
And then Jesus said what do you say?
And then Nathaniel realized that it's him.
What was Nathaniel doing beneath that fig tree
I saw you.
And then Jesus said what do you say?
And then Nathaniel realized that it's him.
What was Nathaniel doing beneath that fig tree
I saw you.
And then Jesus said what do you say?
And then Nathaniel realized that it's him.
What was Nathaniel doing beneath that fig tree
I saw you.
And then Jesus said what do you say?
And then Nathaniel realized that it's him.
What was Nathaniel doing you know when they
cannot sleep at night.
They wake up.
They light a cigarette.
Smoke their pipe and that's what they keep
themselves busy with but we who are not
enslaved in that way when we wake up
we pray to God and God reveals heavenly
mysteries to us at that time.
very often preachers say they don't have a
word to preach about they've got no message
why not because in order for you to
be able to preach God first of all
has to speak to you God has to
reveal himself to you that you hear his
word from him and then you will have
a message that you can pass on to
people are there any people preaching in our
midst there's no message as wonderful as that
one that you've heard from God and then
pass on John
all alone there on the isle of Patmos
a rocky island barren island sitting there on
a rock experienced and saw God's revelation where
God revealed himself to him while he was
there all alone on that barren island and
so these people in the times in which
they were alone were busy praying and that's
why God could reveal himself to them and
Nathanael and Simeon those were praying people and
so if we want to receive heavenly mysteries
then we need to have our times where
we are alone before God just like Jacob
when he sent his family and everything else
to the other side of the Jabbok and
he remained behind wrestling with God and that's
where God could reveal himself to him and
his name was changed from Jacob to Israel
very often we get people
coming here saying that they want to spend
time with God they want to see God's
face and yet if they are told sorry
we are quite full the men and the
wives have to part so that they can
sleep in different dormitories we don't have accommodation
for families then they say oh no I
can't sleep alone I've got to be with
my wife now what are you wives like
that the husbands serve and worship you to
such an extent that just shows me that
man doesn't know God.
He wants time with his wife.
It would be better that that person is
honest saying well I'm coming here to Crosses
Abundant to spend time with my wife not
seeking God's face.
and so Jacob took his wives his children
all his livestock sent it across to the
other side of the Jabbok River and he
stayed behind with God and if you want
to find God then you need to do
the same send everything else across and you
spend time with God and you'll find him
if you seek him with all your heart
some people come here saying they want to
have a prayer meeting and when they have
their prayer meeting they make a prayer chain
and it's a boy girl boy girl arrangement
and they can then pray for hours on
end like that and they saw it's so
marvelous they experienced God's presence so close to
them no that's utter humbug it's not God's
presence it's just your fleshly and sexual lust
that you experience don't play the fool with
the gospel I
once came here to the close to the
in front of the switchboard there was a
girl seated over there and a young man
who was a drunkard kneeling in front of
her with his head on her lap
and
I looked at them and I noticed that
their eyes were closed so most probably they
were praying but I thought well let me
interrupt their prayer and ask them now what
are you doing here
I
thought yeah looked up being interrupted and looking
upset saying well you're disturbing us now we
are busy in such deep prayer and now
you come and you disturb our prayer you
see that's just playing the fool and you
see how people can play the fool with
the gospel if you want to pray in
that way well then go and pray at
the just naughty boys and naughty girls up
to mischief we
don't need that yeah if you want to
really see God then part from boys part
from girls and be alone before God got
the food so we cut a CB so
we start in love oh ain't home please
come on us or dr.
never found a beta bond in green geese
never know so could be no I'm such
a Mr. Bean and now we are living
in evil days we girls lust after other
girls and young men lust after other young
men you
parents don't take things lightly and so they
just brothers and sisters no even amongst brothers
and sisters things go wrong and they get
up to abominable things so you watch after
your children and look on and look after
them I've a new singer a bus so
go good truly busy music asses we need
these shepherds out in the field at night
when it was silent heard heavenly music the
angel of the Lord appeared to them
maybe
these shepherds were busy praying maybe they were
asking God to send the Messiah and speaking
about the Messiah
and
the angel of the Lord appeared to them
and the glory of the Lord shone around
them and they were terrified
when God reveals his glory
it's usually like that that people are afraid
well Daniel was praying and God revealed his
glory to him he was afraid when
John saw the Lord Lord Jesus revealed himself
to him he fell down like one dead
and after the angel had spoken suddenly there
was a great company of the heavenly host
in the Greek it uses this word company
in its military sense a company of soldiers
regiments that came together God is the God
of hosts he has his heavenly hosts
but niggas are be saying to them do
not fear over namsa is a little one
on whom Cindy see the angel said today
and Savior has been born to you but
to bonk a Israel won't get okay for
all the people not only Israel but all
the nations don't wish you guys I at
nine eighty verse six knees a little one
the P way in dot on according to
Isaiah 9 where it says verse 64 to
us a child is born to us a
son is given Oh Christo equals he who
has Christ the Lord
this is the only place in the Bible
where these two terms are used together Christ
the Lord and other references it's referred to
Christ and other references to the Lord but
this is the only reference where both of
these terms are referenced together and that is
what this great the angel of the Lord
said he is Christ the Lord
and
after that heard that that glory disappeared because
that glory didn't come to remain for them
with all for all time it was just
a for that short time about to connect
a baby Lucy but as happy massy Nani
see a pet lahema she'll born local is
big and yet as shepherds spoke to one
another saying let's go to Bethlehem to see
this thing which has happened which the Lord
has told us about but I see a
baby say let's go to see when it's
really like that they said let's go to
see this thing that has happened they accepted
it with all their hearts and they were
sure that that was the truth but and
what they were saying was in the present
tense they said let's go they didn't say
shall we go or let us go in
the future I said let's go right now
I see
many people lose out on God's blessings because
they delay their obedience when God has spoken
to them they say well I'll see about
it another time maybe in the future I
don't feel like it yet right now it's
not yet the time but in the meantime
it is the time it's the time for
you to do what God has told you
and that's what they said let us go
immediately it
said that today is the opportune time today
is the day of salvation and seek him
today while it is still the time of
grace God
doesn't know about it seeing about at some
other time when God has spoken to you
be obedient immediately what Duncan Campbell obey Zala
in Timbuktu music while
Duncan Campbell was playing the bagpipes in an
orchestra in a band at a performance he
was very good at it he had a
vision of Jesus on the cross and at
halftime during that interval he packed his things
and he said he's stopping right there and
he went to his friend Trevor and he
said Trevor I've seen the Lord let's turn
to him let's repent and then Trevor said
to him well you can do it but
it's not yet the time for me the
time hasn't yet come for me why Kaya
why we need a He
went home, found his mother in the kitchen
and he told her mum I'm repenting today
and his mother said now you go upstairs
to your room and you go and you
wrestle with God there and that's what he
did and you repented turned to God wholeheartedly
and after that he became a preacher a
man of God greatly used of God through
God worked mighty miracles.
The time hasn't yet come for me in
the meantime it was God's time.
He became a businessman later on businessman he
was very prosperous and a very successful businessman
made a lot of money and when he
was old he became ill and
a minister came to see him on his
deathbed there in the hospital and said to
him Duncan Trevor hasn't it isn't it yet
the time for you to repent and to
turn to God he said no he said
my time has passed my time to repent
and turn to God was there when Duncan
spoke to me so my time has passed
my opportunity has passed and he died in
his darkness.
Most probably he went to hell and he's
burning there right now.
Don't postpone it when God speaks to you
very likely it will be with you like
it was with Trevor where the time will
come when you'll say it's too late God
has already spoken to me so obey God
when he speaks to you today.
These shepherds could have had many excuses saying
well it's nighttime we can't go now or
they could have said the mother's most probably
still weak or perhaps she's sleeping so we
can't go and disturb them in the middle
of the night but
straightaway
they set out and they said we want
to go and see this thing that has
morning to the tomb of the Lord Jesus
when she got there an angel appeared to
her and said to you he's not with
the dead he's alive and then immediately she
ran back to the disciples to report to
them that Jesus is risen she didn't just
walk she ran.
That
Samaritan
woman at the well of Jacob when Jesus
sat there and he spoke to her and
then he said to her when she said
that she's got no husband he said well
it's true you don't have a husband you've
had five men and the one that you're
living with right now is not yours and
then she ran back to the village saying
to the people come and see whether this
isn't the Messiah because he's told me everything
I've ever done.
Do you hear that?
They didn't drag their feet they didn't hesitate
they don't say well we'll see about this
another time no they were diligent in putting
things into action and taking a step concerning
that which they heard.
Not that you say I'm so tired I'm
so weary so when God speaks to you
hurry be obedient immediately don't postpone it till
another time.
So if God speaks to you don't worry
about her she's got something on her heart.
I'm just telling her she must be quiet
she can pray in her heart but she
mustn't disturb you.
So when
God speaks to you be in a hurry
obey immediately be urgent about it.
You see how she is coming forward she
felt something in her heart and she said
well I can't wait any longer until the
end of the service.
We've got nothing against it.
So when God
speaks to you be urgent about it do
it immediately like those examples that we have
mentioned otherwise if you drag your feet you
get to heaven and the portals of heaven
will already be many
people lose God's blessings because they are slick
they are slow in responding but they are
not like that blind man that when Jesus
passed by he cried out and when Jesus
didn't answer he cried all the louder until
eventually I said to him about keep be
quiet you're making a noise but he didn't
listen to them and then Jesus called him
and his eyes were open he wouldn't have
received that blessing had he been quiet and
so they hurried off and they found Mary
and Joseph and the baby and when and
exactly as what as according to what they
were told and
then
they returned praising God and they told people
about that which they had seen and heard
and all that just as they had been
told they
told spoke about that which they had heard
and seen and
that was the same with Peter and John
when they were before the Sanhedrin and they
were commanded not to speak any longer in
the name of Jesus they said how can
we be quiet about that which we have
seen and heard you
see the testimony of Jesus when you speak
about what you've seen that which you've seen
and heard you can't testify with authority of
something that somebody else has seen somebody else
has heard you
need to testify about that which you personally
have seen and heard is
there anything that you've already seen and heard
where haven't you heard and seen anything I
only do you only know God by the
hearing of the ear just from hearsay but
you've never had a personal meeting with him
you've never seen him Job
said
Lord I've heard of you from the hearing
of the ear but now mine eye has
seen you are you still in that mode
where you've just heard about God from hearsay
or have you gone into that mode into
that experience where you've seen him we've
just heard about Jesus that he has been
he was born there in a stable in
Bethlehem but he hasn't yet been born in
your heart in your life will Christmas
time pass by with Jesus not having been
born in your heart it will be a
very sad Christmas if that is is
for to us a child is born to
us a son is given the Christmas season
is a season for giving gifts and receiving
gifts and God has also given us a
gift the greatest gift of all time his
only son have
you already received that Christmas gift from God
have you already received the son will you
thank God and say thank you our Lord
for the gift that you've given me no
Simeon no Anna where
you
see the face of the Savior where you
see his appearance like the shepherds did and
the wise men and Simeon and Anna and
where they said marvelous things about this child
that astounded Joseph and Mary things that they
had received from God that God had revealed
to them about this child foreign where
they couldn't keep quiet about this Christ child
the Lord Jesus and can you keep quiet
about Galatians you heard
that these days I gave some people a
quail and
as I was coming back with my car
I saw a girl uh not so small
but bigger girl foreign
now now a container is an amount but
how foreign
not how country
so I told this girl that there's a
quail coming that she could get free of
charge and as I carried on I told
some older old woman next to the road
I said you're going in the opposite direction
come you can get some free aquiline and
I don't know in a short short time
there was a long row of people there
already I don't know how they got the
news whether these people have got cell phones
already that they call each other on the
cell phone or that they use the field
telephone that where they call to each other
the zulu telephone the but in a short
time the news had spread people were there
were their containers filling them up and I
said oh my if only the gospel could
spread in this way how marvelous wouldn't it
be because the gospel is much greater the
Lord Jesus is much it's much greater than
this aquila and the news spread so fast
about it and Jesus is much better and
was more very much more than aquila water
so why is it that the gospel makes
such slow progress is it prayers because you
as a preacher of the gospel you are
so slow how can you expect others that
receive the gospel from you that they would
run if you are so slow so you
get out of the way because you're only
hindering okay
so these people having heard these heavenly mysteries
they went and they spread the news God's
fire burned in their hearts and they were
zealous about it they were like dry wood
that was such a light so why doesn't
the fire burn in your life is it
because the wood is wet when you try
to light it then there's only smoke no
fire but may this Christmas time be a
time where your life will
change they
said
let's go and they went immediately with radiant
faces and when they got there they found
things exactly as the angel had foretold them
foreign and
the angel gave them a sign he said
you will find christ the lord as a
baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a
manger black Gideon that hero
of old also asked for a sign not
because he was testing God God but
he wanted to be sure and make absolutely
sure and so God gave him a sign
foreign and
the angel appeared to him and he said
you most blessed God is going to use
you and give you victory and then he
said oh uh please give me a sign
that indeed it is like that and he
asked he put that uh sheepskin out fleece
fleece out all the sheep skins all right
and uh then asked that it should be
uh moist all around and that it should
be dry and it was like that foreign
and so when he went out early in
the morning he found that it was wet
with dew all around that fleece but the
fleece was dry foreign
and then he prayed again he said oh
lord just so that i'd be absolutely sure
because this could have been the devil that
came as an angel of the light said
please oh lord let the fleece now be
and that it would be dry all around
foreign go
and
then
the next morning when he got there he
found that that fleece was soaking wet when
he wrung out the water it filled a
bucket and it was dry all around and
then he realized this is God speaking to
him and then he went and he did
as God had commanded him he
didn't doubt and you too shouldn't doubt pray
and ask God to make things clear to
you and then be obedient and do what
God tells you now i'm closing foreign foreign
maybe it's just for the blacks i was
just saying we whites we are troubled by
our hair i don't like it when it
falls here foreign it's got to go back
and God has made them gave them such
good hair sometimes i'm envious of their of
their hair when we're in the wind and
we've got to preach then our heads go
that way and that way but they aren't
troubled by it but some of them are
perming them and then they like our way
that is so troublesome and i i can't
really understand that why it's much easier the
other way me
some people spend up from 200 up to
four thousand four thousand rand a month for
to do their hair these uh perm styles
and i say well you blacks are so
rich if you can afford that they're very
rich although you've you get even whites that
sit before the mirror for quite a while
you know perming and curling the hair foreign
foreign all right
is is you've
heard the matter now about the birth of
the christ child and of the shepherds and
how they spread the message of the gospel
about the birth of this child this savior
that has been born to us and you
be like that as well you further this
message and propagate this message that a child
a savior has been born to us May
this Christmas be like the very first Christmas.
But even though there were those who were
unconcerned, like those people that didn't have room
in their houses for the Lord Jesus, or
in their inns, or the Pharisees and the
scribes who knew the truth, they had the
knowledge, but they didn't go to Bethlehem.
And so they disregarded that.
But you, don't be like them, but like
those who went and saw the Christ child.
Let's pray.
Lord, we heard about your birth and your
first coming into this world.
But Lord, it would be heartbreaking if we
celebrate this time and yet nothing has happened
in our hearts.
If we are like those from Bethlehem who
had no room.
But may we open to you that you
might come in.
And that which hinders you, that we'll get
rid of it.
That you might enter in, Lord, and be
born in us.
We heard about those that when they heard
the news, they got up.
They hurried to that place.
They ran there.
Lord, give us that same speed.
Give us that same attitude.
Amen.