While others are joining, we're going to sing a few carols together. Hopefully there is a hymn book in your pew there. Number 78. We'll start with 78 on the page 207. If you're not familiar with our hymn book, So Little Town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie above thy deep and dreamless sleep, the silent stars go by. We'll sing the verses one, two, and three of the hymn number 78. We will remain seated as we do so. ♪ O little town of Bethlehem ♪ ♪ How still we see thee lie ♪ ♪ Above thy deep blue tree ♪ ♪ There sleep the silent stars so high ♪ ♪ Yet in thy dark streets shineth ♪ ♪ The everlasting Light ♪ The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight. For Christ is born of Mary and Galilee. Oh, glory. And praises sing to God their King, and peace to men on earth. ♪ Hark, silently, hark, silently ♪ ♪ The Lord rest in peace here ♪ ♪ So God imparts to human hearts ♪ ♪ The blessings of his head ♪ ♪ No ear may hear his coming ♪ ♪ But in heaven's world of fear ♪ Hymn number 80. Hymn number 80. Once in royal David's city stood a lonely cattle shed. The verses 1, 2, and 6. 1, 2, and 6, please, of the hymn number 80. Let's sing like, well, I think you can sing a lot better. Okay, let's sing. Once in royal David's city Stood a lowly cattle shed Where a mother laid her baby Jesus Christ, the little child. He came down to earth from heaven. ♪ And His shelter was a cradle, and His cradle was a stall ♪ ♪ With heaven, earth, and heaven o'er it, lived on earth our Savior, O Lord ♪ with the oxen standing by. We shall see him not in heaven, dead and lost, bright and alive, when like stars his children see. Number 88. Who is he in yonder stall at whose feet the shepherds fall? Tis the Lord a wondrous story, tis the Lord the King of glory. The hymn number 88. Let's sing verse 1, 2, 7 and 8. The verses 1, 2, 7 and 8. ♪ Who is King of the storm ♪ ♪ At whose feet the shepherds fall ♪ ♪ Tis the Lord, Lord, restoring ♪ ♪ Tis the Lord, the King of glory ♪ ♪ At His feet we humbly fall ♪ ♪ Old WordPress story ♪ ♪ Tis the Lord, the King of glory ♪ ♪ At His feet we humbly fall ♪ ♪ Triumph over Him o'er all ♪ Verse seven. ♪ Heard His King cry from the grave ♪ O wondrous story! Tells the Lord, the King of glory, At His feet we humbly bow. Tis the Lord, no other scoring, Tis the Lord, the King of glory, At His feet we humbly bow. Welcome you in the Savior's name. Let's turn to the hymn number 79. The hymn number 79, O come, all ye faithful, joyfully triumphant, to Bethlehem hasten now with glad accord. We'll have the ladies singing the first opening, the two lines there in the chorus, those opening lines, and then us men We'll drown them out in the last. O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord. And so we'll join our voices in that third line there. Let's stand to sing when we get some notes of music. O come, all ye faithful. Let's stand now and let's sing. ♪ Thy off'rings good and great ♪ ♪ May still now with glad accord ♪ ♪ Lo, in a manger lies the King of Angels ♪ ♪ O come, let us adore Him ♪ O come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord. O true God, O true God, Light of life eternal, The Word of our Virgin be our God. Son of the Father, begotten, not created, O come, let us adore him! O come, let us adore him! O come, let us adore him! Grace, grace, hearts of angels, songs of loudest triumph through heavens, thy arches be arrayed. To your glory, glory in the highest. Born for our salvation, O Jesus, forever in thy name adore. Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing, O come, let us adore. Let us adore him, Christ the Lord. Let's unite together in word of prayer and seek the Lord now for his hand to be upon us as we now come to worship him in spirit and in truth. Let's seek the Lord in prayer together. Our loving Father, our gracious God in heaven, worthy, precious, and holy name of the Christ we come before thee now. We make our approach to thee, none daring to put us back, but, Lord, with confidence we now by faith ascend into the holy hell of the Lord, having our hearts cleansed with the blood of Christ and our hands as well and mind, O God, we come now before thee. We come to address Thee as our God, those of us who know Thee, who are redeemed by Thy precious blood. We can address Thee as our Father, who art in heaven. We say, hallowed be Thy name. Lord, as we gather to worship Thee, for that's who we come to worship. We come to worship the one who came into this world, the one who came all the way from the heights of glory and stepped into this sin-cursed, sin-blighted world. We thank thee for the purpose for which he came. He came to seek and to see of that which was lost. We thank thee for the one who came willingly, the one who surrendered and who gave himself to the task of redeeming mankind, redeeming his people, O God, unto God. We thank thee for the one who made reconciliation through his death on the cross. And as we come to worship thee, O God, may thy blessing attend this service. May thy presence be known. May thy power be felt. May thy, O God, spirit work in hearts and in lives. We pray for all who will take part. Bless our young people, the children of our Sunday school. Oh, we cry to thee that thou will be pleased to come among us in power. Lord, we pray that salvation will visit this house tonight. Lord, we pray that thou will work and be pleased, O God, to minister by the Holy Ghost. Lord, we need thee. Lord, without thee, It's all pointless, all vain, all empty are gathering together. We thank thee for the promise that where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Be in our midst, we pray, and may thy speaking voice be heard, and may thy power be known, and may, O God, tonight some man, woman, boy, girl, teenager, May they put their faith and trust in the Christ of whom the season is all about. Oh, answer prayer and may thy power and presence fill this house. May thy glory, oh God, fill this place where we offer prayer. and through Jesus' precious name, amen. Hymn number 91. Hymn number 91, we're singing the verses one and three. In the hymn number 91, the verses one and three tell me the story of Jesus. Write in my heart every word, tell me the story most precious, sweetest that ever was heard. Verses one and three, we'll stand again to sing, please. and sons. Tell me the story of Jesus, write on my heart every word. Tell me the story most precious, sweetest I ever was heard. Tell how the angels in chorus sang as they held up his birth. Glory to God in the highest. Peace and good tidings to earth. Tell me the story of Jesus. Tell me the story most precious, sweetest I ever was heard. Tell of the rose-furred Edelman. Tell of his iron-placed champagne. love in my soul Tell me the story most precious, sweetest I ever heard. Throughout the service, we're going to be doing that. We're going to be reading selections of scriptures with regard to the message and to the account of the Savior's birth. And we're going to ask Isaac to come and read here, or initially, Matthew chapter 1. So Isaac's going to come and read it this time. Come on ahead, please. Thank you. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise, when as his mother Mary was a spouse to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily. But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary, thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth the Son, and shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, and it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted as God with us. Then Joseph, being raised from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife. He knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name Jesus. We're glad that our Sunday school And our teachers are taking part this evening. And so we're going to ask, initially, just the two small classes, the two youngest classes, Mrs. McMullin's class, Mrs. Duncan's class, a few of our boys and girls are coming to sing Away in a Manger. And then after they finish singing, then the rest of the Sunday school, along with the teachers, will join them to sing What a Wonderful Savior is Jesus. I wish I could be free from my pain, let the Lord change me. ♪ The little Lord Jesus ♪ ♪ Asleep on the hay ♪ ♪ The cattle are lowing ♪ ♪ The baby awakes ♪ ♪ The little Lord Jesus no crying ♪ ♪ Look down from the sky and stay by my side ♪ ♪ Until morning is nigh ♪ ♪ Mary, Lord Jesus, I ask thee to stay close by my side ♪ children in thy tender care hath fed us What a wonderful Savior is Jesus! What a wonderful Savior is Jesus! ♪ For he left all the glory of heaven ♪ Came to earth to die on Calvary ♪ Sing Hosanna, sing Hosanna ♪ Sing Hosanna to the King of Kings ♪ Sing Hosanna, sing Hosanna ♪ Sing Hosanna to the King of Kings ♪ He arose from the grave, hallelujah ♪ ♪ And he is never more to die ♪ ♪ And the fathers might have interceded ♪ ♪ He will hear of it, our faintest cry ♪ ♪ Sing hosanna, sing hosanna, sing hosanna ♪ Sing Hosanna to the King. He is coming someday to receive us. We'll be brought up to heaven above. What a joy it will be to be brought in. Sing forever of His grace and love. Sing Hosanna to the King. Well we appreciate the children singing and the adults. Sunday school teachers were so awfully keen to sing as you would know and probably as you saw on their faces so keen and you just couldn't hold them back and we're so glad that they helped us out. There is sickness and there are others of our Sunday school that is in all of our Sunday school But there are those who can't be here this evening, but we're glad for those who have come. We're going to take the Word of God again, and let's turn to Luke chapter 2, and we're going to have Luke to read from Luke's Gospel chapter 2. Luke Murphy's going to read it this time. Luke chapter 2, verses 1 to 7. And it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And all went to be taxed, everyone, into his own city. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth into Judea, onto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was out of the house and lineage of David. 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. 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. Amen. Let's turn to 81, the hymn number 81. See in yonder manger low, born for us on earth below, see the Lamb of God appears, promised from eternal years. We'll sing verses one, two, five, and six of this hymn. The hymn number 81, we'll stand to sing verses one, two, five, and six. ♪ Sing in yonder manger glow ♪ ♪ Born for us from earthly low ♪ ♪ Sing a lullaby of light and fears ♪ ♪ Promise from eternal years ♪ ♪ Hail the ever-blessed Lord ♪ Hail, pretensions have begun. Sing through all Jerusalem, Christ is born in Bethlehem. Oh, within a manger lies He who built the sovereign skies He who, thrown in high supply, Stares down with the cherubim Hail, thy ever-blessed Lord! Hail, redemption's happy dawn! Savior of Jerusalem, Christ is born in Bethlehem. First line. Savior, Infant of the night, to come from highest place. Thine is such a world as this. Hail, the ever-blessed Lord. Hail, creation's happy Lord. Save through all generations. ♪ In Bethlehem ♪ ♪ Teachers did just for each child ♪ Hail the ever-blessed born. Hail redemption's happy dawn. We'll continue on in the reading there in Luke's gospel chapter 2 and Samuel is going to come and he's going to take the reading from the verse 8 right through to the verse 20. Luke chapter 2 and the verse 8 through to 20. 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 round about them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them, and they were so afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold, I bring unto 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. "'And this shall be a sign unto you. "'Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, "'lying in the manger.' "'And suddenly there was with an angel "'a multitude of the heavenly hosts praising God and saying, "'Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, "'good will toward men. "'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. 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 this same which was told them concerning the child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them. The Savior born, what a wonderful message, what a wonderful truth, and thank God for this time of the year that reminds us of our Savior's coming into this world. Now we're going to sing again, Sunday School and young people, and the Sunday School teachers, we're singing our final two pieces, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and at this season of the year. Thank you. Jesus Christ, Son of God, King of all the earth, I will love to praise thy name and celebrate thy birth. Jesus Christ, Son of God, King of all the earth, I will love to praise thy name and celebrate thy birth. Born in Bethlehem ten thousand years ago, he came one lonely night. This tiny baby's the one who reigns eternally. Jesus Christ, Son of God, King of all the earth, expecting nothing new. A light of watching sheep, the stars above with new. When angels lift the sky, the fruits of Jesus' birth, they enter time to see the babe who's worthy of our praise. ♪ We love to praise thy name and celebrate thy birth ♪ ♪ Jesus Christ, Son of God, King of all the earth ♪ ♪ We love to praise thy name and celebrate thy birth ♪ ♪ Most men from the East travel from their land ♪ ♪ To see their little boy, whose story seems so grand ♪ them to the boy, and went back home to tell their friends of never-ending joy. Jesus Christ, Son of God, King of all the earth, I will love to praise thy name and celebrate thy worth. Jesus Christ, Son of God, King of all the earth, I will love to praise thy name and celebrate We remember Christ so dear, as a little baby came, yet the King of kings by name. Wise men traveled from afar when they saw His glorious face. Shepherds weep, their flocks rest weep, At the angel-carrying King. Shepherds, wise men, at their feet, See a sign from which may peace. God has come in human form, In a stable taken form. God has come in human form, That sweaty hand, so I have. I'd rather preach than sing. And that was my fault. I was too quick on the little button. So I apologize to all that awkwardness there with no words, so we didn't know what to sing. That was our problem. And so I want to thank the boys and girls, the teachers. I want to thank Rhoda for taking us through all of these pieces over the last number of weeks. We really, really do. appreciate. And we're coming to read about the wise men and how they came to see the Christ. And we're reading from Matthew chapter 2. It is our final reading. And Kirsten MacLeister is coming to read Matthew chapter 2, the verses 1 through to 11. Matthew chapter two, verses one to 11. Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, where is he that is born king of the Jews? For we have seen a star in the east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born, And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judea, for thus it is written by the prophet, And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah, for out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel. Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared. And he sent them to Bethlehem and said, go and search diligently for the young child. And when you find him, bring me word again that I may come and worship him also. When they had heard the king, they departed. And lo, the star which they saw in the east went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshipped him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. Amen. Can I just say again a big thank you to our young people, our children and all who have participated this evening. We want to thank you in our Savior's precious name. We welcome one and all in Christ's name and we thank you for coming and those who are visiting and we see many. We're so glad to have you here as our guests. Now there is tea after the meeting this evening and there's enough pancakes to feed Portland Owen and scones and fruit loaf and mince pies and all of those lovely things that you get at this time of the year. And so we want to encourage you to stay behind. And what will happen is that the boys and girls and those of their parents, if they wish to do so, you'll go into the hall at the conclusion of the meeting, and then everyone else will make our way through a side room here and through the front doors. You'll get your tea and bring whatever you want. And if you want to do a second lap, and a third lap, and a fourth lap, you can do so until you're well fed. And so nobody be going home, because you'll only go home to put on the kettle and to make something to eat. And you only have to put on the heat early so you would, and so you'll definitely not need the heat in this place tonight. You come, enjoy, stay, remain behind. We'd love to have you as our guests this evening. Thanks to all those who went to the open air this afternoon. It was a blustery day, but we thank you for your support as we preach the word there this afternoon. May the Lord use his word, even in this town, to the saving of precious and never-dying souls. Remind you just that we'll go out, God willing, on Tuesday night at 7 p.m., 1,000 calendars to just deliver around the area. It'll not take us too long. We have a goodly number. And so we do this every year, and we'll be putting calendars through the letterboxes. So 7 p.m., come along on a Tuesday night, if at all possible, for here at the church to deliver those calendars. I know that some are doing the town and parts of the town during daylight hours, and we appreciate that. But as many as possible, please come and help us. Wednesday night, the time of prayer at 8pm, the Bible study prayer time. I'll bring a message from the Word of God and then we'll get down to a season of prayer in the will of God. And then next Lord's Day is Christmas Day. But it is the Lord's Day and we'll have our services here. Just a change to our morning meeting. afternoon meeting I should say we're moving from 12 to 11 and so 11 a.m. is our family worship service and so note the change of time the church will open from 1030 onwards we'll meet for prayer if at all possible there in the church hall 6 30 the gospel service the time of prayer at 6 p.m and next Lord's Day in the will of God and as I said this morning it would be it would be ironic if we are celebrating the coming of Christ into this world and we couldn't meet together in his house on the Lord's Day at both services so we encourage you to make that effort invite family friends loved ones If they're at your house for dinner, make sure all the turkey's down and all the sprites are out and then come to the house of God for the gospel service at 6.30. Take the opportunity to bring loved ones, family and friends to the house of God next Thursday. And we do trust that you'll have a blessed Christmas and the Lord's hand will be upon you as your families gather. Together, as I said this morning, remember those in prayer who miss loved ones. There will be seats that will be empty, and we are praying for them. Our hearts are out, going out to them, and we trust that the Lord will comfort them. They'll miss their loved ones. You pray for them and encourage them. in the Lord in these days. But I trust that the Lord will bless you as you gather with your family around the time of the table and also in your homes that God's hand will be upon one and all. The free will offering envelope's available today just there in the hallway. And can I say there's a little basket there on the way out if you weren't out this morning and you only come in the evening time. basket there of Christmas cards from us as a family. Just take one, put it up there in your home and pray for us and remember the work of God here in Portland Owen in the will of God. That's all by way of announcements. Let's turn to a carol, another one, the hymn number 77. Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King. We'll sing the four verses of the hymn together. We'll stand to sing, please. The hymn number 77 on the page 206. Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and heaven and nature sing. ♪ Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns ♪ ♪ And men their songs employ ♪ ♪ By fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains ♪ ♪ Repeat the song in joy, repeat the song in joy ♪ ♪ Repeat, repeat the song in joy ♪ ♪ No more his strength and sorrow throw ♪ ♪ Nor warmth and pleasure find ♪ ♪ He comes to make his blessings flow ♪ ♪ Far out the curse is find ♪ ♪ Far out the curse is find ♪ ♪ Far out as far as the curse is find ♪ his righteousness the wonders of We're turning to the Word of God, to the book of Psalms, the Psalm number eight, the eighth Psalm. We're going to read a portion of God's Word here. We're gonna read the Psalm together, bring a short message. Tonight, we'll sing a final carol. If you want to come around, the Word of God, Psalm number eight, Psalm of David. Psalm of David, he said, these words, O Lord, our Lord, How excellent is thy name in all the earth, who has set thy glory above the heavens! Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength, because of thine enemies that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger. I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon, and the stars which thou hast ordained. What is man that thou wert mindful of him, and the son of man that thou visitest him? Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands. Thou hast put all things under his feet, all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field, the fowl of the air and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the sea. O Lord, O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth. Amen, and God will bless, I believe, the public reading of this holy, precious, inspired, and immutable word. Let's unite just briefly in prayer together, and let's seek the Lord now as we come to the preaching of the word. Loving Father, we thank thee for the Savior. We rejoice in him. He is our joy, the very substance, the very heart of the gospel message is Christ. He is the gospel. Lord, as we come now to preach thy word, we pray for the help, the enabling of God, the Holy Spirit. We pray, Lord, that every heart will be captivated, every mind and every heart taken off to Thee. We pray, Lord, for the infilling of Thy Spirit. We pray, Lord, for power. We pray, Lord, that Thou will come and quicken our hearts. We pray, Lord, that Thy Spirit will now attend, filling this preacher with the Holy Ghost and with power. Lord, come and help me, I pray, speak to the unconverted who are gathered with us. May even, Lord, this Christmas be the Christmas that they will celebrate, O God, themselves having come to know Christ and having been saved by him. Lord, we look to thee. Holy Spirit, come and bless our waiting souls. I pray this in Jesus' precious name. Amen and amen. One of the things that mark this time of the year is the visits that we get to pay in the homes of family members and friends. Gatherings in the dwellings of such people see to it that the members of the family and old acquaintances who haven't seen one another for such a long time are able to get caught up with all of the news since the last gathering. Visitation certainly marks this time of the year. We have just recently in our own family, my own brother has come all the way from Australia. He's been with us for the last week. He's now in Scotland visiting his in-laws and those who are related over there. But what a blessing it has been just to have a visit from brother and certainly visitation is something that does mark this time of the year. Tuesday next week will be a big night in her own home. All of the clan are going to get together. My brother will have returned from Scotland and we'll all get together, all of my mum's family, my father's family as well, we'll gather together and we'll visit one another, we'll come to our home, and we'll have a time of fellowship together. And so visitation, as I've said, really does mark this time of the year. And as I came to consider tonight's carol service, this thought of visiting was very much to the forefront of my mind. And as it was, the Lord directed me to the words here in Psalm chapter 8. It's a Psalm of David. Now, admittedly, the book of Psalms in the Old Testament is not the first place that you would think of turning to in God's Word at this time of the year. And as we're considering the coming of Jesus Christ into the world, the New Testament Gospels will be a more logical place to turn to for a more detailed account of the Savior's coming, His birth, His incarnation. And as for Old Testament passages, there are others that are maybe more logical than this particular one. I think of those words of God to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden just after they had fallen from a state of innocency, when God said to Adam, Moses the writer, he speaks about the seed of a woman, not the seed of a man, as was natural. but the seed of a woman, referring to the miraculous birth, that virgin birth of Christ by the Virgin Mary. Or I could take you to the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14. We read, therefore, the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name Immanuel. We're moving forward a number of chapters into chapter 9 in the verse 6. We read, Or we could go over there to that minor prophet Micah. We could read those words of Micah 5 verse 2. However, it was to this Psalm that God directed my attention to, and particularly the words of the fourth verse of Psalm 8. With the psalmist wrote, what is man? Thou art mindful of him. And the son of man, thou visitest him. I don't know if you've ever thought about it in this way, but the incarnation, Christ assuming our nature, was God visiting man. Now the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to Bethlehem's manger wasn't the first time that God visited man. God visited man, as I've said, in the Garden of Eden when our first parents fell into sin in the form of the voice that walked in the garden at the cool of the day and called on to Adam, Adam, where art thou? Where art thou, Adam? God visited man at the beginning when man fell. He visited man when man began to build the Tower of Babel. The three persons within the Godhead, they said one to another, let go to, let us go down. And there confound their language that they may have not understand, that they may not understand one another's speech. And so God came down, confounded the language, and that's why we have various languages in our world today. God visited man. when he wrestled with Jacob at Fort Jabbok. Jacob would testify that he had seen God face to face. God visited man when he descended into the burning bush and spoke to Moses regarding the task of delivering the children of Israel into Egypt's bondage. Whenever the children of Israel journeyed through the wilderness, God visited man in the cloud, that shekinah glory that dwelt above the tabernacle, indicating that God was in the midst of his people. God visited man when he stood with drawn sword before Joshua prior to Israel's newly installed leader embarking on his quest to subdue the land of Cana. God visited man there in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And the king said that there was one, a fourth man, like unto the son of man. God visiting man in various junctures, whether it be in the garden, whether it be at Babel, whether it be there at Jabbok, whether at the burning bush, whether in the cloud, there at the tabernacle, whether it was before Joshua, or whether it was in Babylon's fiery furnace. God visited man, but this visit, the incarnation was a different visit. Because whenever God visited man, He didn't come for a few moments. He didn't come for a few hours, but God came to dwell with man. Emmanuel, God with us. He came to dwell with us, having become one of us. God now comes to take to himself humanity. He assumes our humanity and he comes forth as a man, yet remains at all times God. filled with the Holy Spirit, Zacharias, with utter words concerning his own son, John the Baptist, and also the Christ over there in Luke chapter 1, the verses 76 through to 79. And thy child shall be called the prophet of the highest, for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways. to give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins through the tender mercy of our God whereby the day spring from on high. And then note these words, hath visited us to give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace. These words undoubtedly referred to the Son of God and how in his birth he came to visit this world and he came to bring light to a dark world and he came to bring peace to a troubled world and he came to bring, thank God, hope to a hopeless world. He came on a mission to save his people from their sin. I want to take these words and I want to bring just two points this evening I want to speak to you with a message that I've entitled, When God Visited. When God Visited. Isn't it a marvel? Isn't it a wonder that God would visit man when God visited? As I say, just two matters. I want you to see, first of all, who God visited. Who God visited. When God purposed to do all that he intended to do in this world, He did not step out of time or out of eternity and into time. He did not step out of heaven and into earth in order that he might visit fallen angels. The angels who left their first estate were left. to suffer the eternal consequences for their part in their rebellion against God, led by Lucifer, son of the morning. Jude speaks of those fallen angels in his one chapter epistle. In verse 6 of Jude 1 we read, and the angels which kept not their first estate but left their own habitation hath He hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day. Whenever those angels fell, their fate was forever settled. God never intended to visit fallen angels in order to rescue them, in order to redeem them, in order to save them. However, his intention was to visit fallen man. His intention was to visit the sons of man. And that's what David speaks of in the verse number four of this psalm. What is man that thou art mindful of him and the son of man that thou visitest him? Though I cannot be certain of it, I suspect and I imagine the astonishment, the amazement in the voice of the psalmist as he comes now to pen these words, especially when he comes to consider who God is. Not only who God is, but who God comes to visit. He comes to visit man. Man. God visits man. Incredible. Unbelievable. Inconceivable. To think that he's mindful of man, for that's what he says initially, what is man that thou art mindful of him. To think that he's mindful of man is hard to imagine, but to be mindful of man, and then to come to visit man, and to visit man not in judgment, but to visit man in mercy. And to visit man in grace is more, I'm sure the psalmist said, it's more than my puny human mind can really grasp or understand, that God would visit man. And yet that's what he did. God visited man. Now we can imagine God wanting to visit with his holy angels. We can imagine that God would want to be in the midst of his creation, but to be with man. to visit man is astounding. Astounding because of what man is. And what is man? Well, don't be asking the philosopher as what he thinks man is. Don't be asking educators as to what they teach concerning man. Don't be asking a scientist with regard to what they see under a microscope with regard to man. Don't be asking some psychologists what man is with regard to what they see within clinics or some sociologists with regard to their observations regarding man, but rather ask God. God who made man, the one who made man, let's ask God, let's ask God what man is. And when we do so, we come to understand a number of things. We come to understand, first of all, that man is a sinful creature. He's a sinful creature. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That is the divine pronouncement of Holy Scripture. It's given to us there in Romans 3 verse 23. And all I need to do is to take a look around you in this world for evidence of the very fact that men and women, boys and girls, are sinful creatures. Consider the murders and the abuse, the criminality, the immorality that marks 21st century society, and you come to an understanding and a realization that man is not getting better. Because he is evolving into some better creature. But rather you see that mankind is getting worse and the reason why that is is because man by nature is a sinful creature. Sin has passed down the family tree from Adam to us. And as a result, sin now manifests itself within our lives outwardly because we are sinners inwardly. We see it within ourselves, we see it in society around us. Man is a sinful creature. And placed alongside man, then we have God, holy God. God who is infinitely holy. Habakkuk speaks of him as being of pure eyes and to behold evil and can't not look upon iniquity. And so you've got sinful man and you have holy God and yet God, think of it, holy God comes and chooses to visit sinful man. The sinless creator came to visit the sinful creature. I tell you, beloved, that is nothing less than a manifestation of the amazing love of God and the part of God. That perfect God comes to visit polluted man. It is an unfathomable mystery. Trust that you understand that you're a sinful creature. Your defiance Your deflections from God's holy law evidence that you're such. And if you were honest, you would have to say at times, the mask slips. The mask slips and from time to time, you get a view really of your real self. You get to see how you really are. A full-bred pedigree sinner. A full-bred pedigree sinner. That's what we are by nature. One preacher said that man is a lump of vanity composed of sin and misery. Man is a lump of vanity composed of sin and misery. And so man, in God's view, This man that God visits, he is a sinful creature. Secondly, he is a seditious creature. What I mean by that is simply he is one who rebels against authority. And surely that's what fallen sinful man is. Man is a rebel against divine authority. God says no, man says yes. God says don't, man says I will. What was said of the people of Jeremiah's day could be said of the people of our day. But this people, Jeremiah 5, 23, but this people have a revolting and a rebellious heart. They are revolted and gone. It's sin that makes man. A rebel. W. Ping said, sin is rebellion against the majesty of heaven. It is to treat the almighty with contempt. Those who commit sin are deemed by God to be rebels. Rebels who are involved in committing high treason against the crown of heaven. I wonder, do you see yourself as that? You may say, preacher, keep it a bit light. Keep it a bit lighter tonight. This is Christmas. But you need to understand your state before God, sinner. You need to understand who you are before Holy God. You're not only a sinful creature, you're a seditious creature. You are involved in the greatest rebellion that has ever taken place. Man rebelling against his Creator. Woman rebelling against her Creator. Is there in that life of yours a rebellious spirit? I tell you there is. Because as yet you have not yielded to the gospel. That's rebellion. He tells you to repent and believe the gospel, but you have not as yet. He tells you to come to himself and find rest and cast your soul upon him, but as yet you have not. He tells you to come confessing your sin. He comes, he invites you to draw near to him and he will draw nigh to you, but you remain at a distance from God and therefore you are rebellious against God. You're a rebel. You're a rebel. Here you are. We're in the closing days, the closing weeks of an old year, and you continue to rebel against the clear commands of Scripture regarding salvation. I asked you, will you die a rebel, having lived as a rebel? Oswald Chambers, he said, sin is right-handed rebellion against God, and the magnitude of that rebellion is expressed by Calvary's cross. What does he mean? You see, it takes Calvary's cross to subdue a sinner. It takes Calvary's cross to cleanse away sin. It takes Calvary's cross to deal with our transgression and our iniquity. It's Calvary's cross that brings a sinner now to God and into a right standing before God. Therefore, we see the magnitude of our sin and the magnitude of our rebellion against God if it takes the death of God's Son to reconcile us to God. You see your sin is that? Man is a sinful creature. Man is a seditious creature. I am man is a self-seeking creature. Does this time of the year not put on full public display the self-seeking nature of man? It's nearly all-out warfare. Nearly all out warfare in the aisles of toy stores to get this year's must-have toy, self-seeking, while grocery stores are crammed with bargain hunters, all jostling for the till with the fewest customers. Across these weeks of the year, we could write the words of Philippians 2, verse 21, for all seek their own and not the things which are Jesus Christ's. We could write it over our society, all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ. I tell you, sinner, you need to take a good, hard look at your life. Are you not someone who seeks your own? Seeks your own pleasure, seeks your own comfort, seeks your own wealth, seeks your own advancement at the expense of your soul's salvation? Oh, you're self-seeking. And if truth be told, we're all naturally selfish. We make our own health, our own wealth, our own gratification the main objective in life. What will please me? That's what man is. What is man? That's God, who made man. And he'll tell you, he'll tell me, that man is a sinful, seditious, self-seeking creature that if left to his sin, will face eternal punishment. But God did not leave men to die in their sin. With no means of deliverance, no means of redemption, but God in his mercy, God in his love, God in his grace, he decided to do something. He decided to visit man. Holy God decided to visit this man, this worm, this rebel, this sinner. He decided to visit man in the person of his own dear son. We ask the question, why? That's the second and final point, why did he visit? We're thinking about when God visited, why did he visit? The words of our text, what is man that thou wert mindful of him, the son of man that thou should have visited him, it really throws up that question. Why did God visit man? Was God not, when he was mindful of man, was that not enough? When God thought of man, when God contemplated man, as he looked down into this world, as God thought about mankind, was that not enough? Did he really have to come to visit man? Of course he did. He had to visit man in order to redeem man, in order to save man, in order to rescue man, in order to deliver man from sin. You see, the Son of God became the Son of Man in order to visit the sons of men that he might make them the sons of God. You see, the Son of Man, the Son of God did not visit man in order to entertain man. He did not visit in order to educate man. He did not visit in order to honor man. He did not visit in order to congratulate man. He did not visit man in order to condemn man. But the Son of God visited man in order to save man, to redeem man, to deliver man. Because when he was mindful of man, through that perception, He understood that sinful man would never be able to be reconciled to God. He would understand that sinful man would always remain within a helpless state. And so God doesn't stand aloof from man, but in order to save man, he becomes a man in order to atone for the sins of men. You see, Bethlehem's crib wasn't the end of the journey. He would go to the cross. For that purpose, he came. He came to die. He came to die. Let me say to you, if you're an unconverted person in this house tonight, the greatest mistake you will make this Christmas is not burning the turkey on Christmas Day. The biggest mistake that you'll make this Christmas isn't that you'll forget to send someone a Christmas card. You don't need to worry about that anyway. The post isn't going out very well these days anyway. The biggest mistake that you'll make this Christmas isn't about misplacing some gift that you bought for some individual within your family circle. Let me say what the greatest mistake you'll make this Christmas is that you'll celebrate the Christ in the manger. And at the same time, you'll reject the Christ of the cross. That's going to be your greatest mistake. That you'll celebrate the Christ in the manger, but you'll miss and reject the Christ who died on the cross. Jesus Christ came into the world to save us from our sin. When the Prince of Heaven came to this world, He did not come on some secret mission concealing it from men. No, he came and he told us the reason why he came. He came to heal the brokenhearted. He came to give liberty to the captive. He came to give sight to the spiritually blind. He came to seek and to see of that which was lost. He came to strengthen the weak. He came to heal. He came to lift up. He came to bless. He didn't come to destroy men's lives, but he came to give life. He didn't come to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. And so he visited man, and the wonderful thing is that he still visits man. He visits man in the person of the Spirit of God. He visits through the ministry of God the Holy Spirit. He visits in meetings like this, convicting of sin, troubling heart. He visits in gospel missions. He visits in meetings just like this one. He visits in the home. The Spirit of God, He comes to visit. He visits convicting of sin and of righteousness and of judgment to come. As you ponder, then, God visiting man for the purpose of saving man, does it not do away with the false notion that God doesn't care for me? The God isn't interested in me. The God doesn't love me. Does it not do away with that false notion that he would come and live among us and die for us and rise again? Listen, the eternal Son of God stepped out of heaven for you. The Son of God took on flesh for you. The Son of God endured the rejection of men for you. His head was crowned with thorns for you. His back was whipped for you. His hands were kneeled for you. His feet were kneeled for you. His side was pierced for you. He became sin for you. His father bruised him for you, and you tell me that God doesn't care, that God doesn't love you. Catch yourself on, catch yourself on. He's done all this for you, that you might be reconciled to God. I tell you, he couldn't do anything more to show that he loved you when he gave his own dear son He would go the whole way to Calvary. What have you done with that expression of his love and of his care for you? I tell you what you've done. You've spurned it. You've rejected it. You've despised it. You've despised it. Don't you tell me that God doesn't love you. Don't you tell me that God doesn't care for you. I tell you, I'm glad that God visited this world 2,000 years ago in the person of his own dear son. But a thousand times more, listen to me as I close, a thousand times more, I'm glad that he not only visited this world, but he visited my soul. 25 years ago this year, around Christmas, I came home from Edinburgh University, having tried the world, and God visited my heart after hearing the gospel. And 25 years ago, To the date, almost, God worked in my soul and worked a miracle of grace. That Christmas became the greatest Christmas in my life. 1997, 25 years old, it's as if it happened yesterday. Because yes, God visited this world, but God must visit your soul. It must become personal, that you would understand that He came for you, that He lived for you, that He died for you, that He rose again for you. What is my prayer and the prayer of others? That God will visit you. Think of it. What? Let's put your name in it. Let's put your name in the text. I don't know what your name is. I don't want to offend anyone. I don't want to pick any name, but put your name there. What is, let's put my name, what is David? That thou art mindful of him. And David, that thou would visit him. Oh may God visit your heart tonight. May God in his mercy and his grace visit this place with salvation. And as we consider Christ coming into the world, Maybe understand why he came. He came to die for our sins upon the tree. Oh, maybe we'll be lost in the wonder, if at all, that God was ever mindful of us, never mind even coming to visit us, but visit he did. He came with grace and truth. and that grace is extended to you in the gospel. If only you would come to him tonight and be rescued and saved from yourself. May God in his mercy do that for Christ's sake. Amen. Let's bow our heads in prayer together. Can I say that I'll be here Around the building you'll see me about. Maybe God has spoken to you. God is dealing with your heart. Maybe not only in this meeting, in other meetings. Well, I trust that you'll make your need known. We're here to help. We can only but point you to Christ. That's all we can do. It's Christ who saves. The church doesn't save. This preacher doesn't save. It is Christ and Christ alone who saves. May he tonight save you from your sin. For that's why he came. He came to save. Let's pray. Loving Father and gracious God, we come now before Thee. Lord, we bless and thank Thy name for all that Thou has done for us in the gospel. God came and visited us. We thank Thee for the Son who was sent into the world to be the Savior of man. We pray that tonight He'll become someone's personal Savior. as they repent of sin and as they turn from that sin and trust alone in Christ. Lord, that they'll become a Christian mother, a Christian father, Christian son, a Christian daughter. Lord, we pray that that will work by the spirit of God. Lord, come and answer prayer. We offer prayer giving thanks for the food that we will soon partake of. Lord, we pray that we'll eat and drink to the glory of our God, mindful of others that are so less fortunate than ourselves. We pray, Lord, that you'll help the ladies, even as they serve out the tea, and help us, Lord, and bless our time of fellowship. We offer prayer in Jesus' precious and worthy name. Amen and amen. Let's turn and sing a few verses off the hymn number 76, and as we do so, can I say in the first instance those in the first Ladies who are helping out to serve out the food could you slip out during the first verse here and then the children we're singing the verses one two and three then we'll have the children and they'll go so we can encourage the children if you make your way out to the hall at the verse number three. And so I trust that makes sense. Verse one, the ladies who are helping, and then the verse three, the children, you can go ahead and start eating, children, whenever you're in the hall, we've given thanks for the food. We'll close the meeting then in prayer, a short word. Psalm number 76, let's sing three verses, one, two, and three. Let's start to sing. General angels sing, glory to the newborn King. Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled. Joyful, all ye nations rise, Join the triumph of the skies, With hymns every host proclaim, Christ is born in Bethlehem. Bethlehem, Hark! the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King! Christ my highest help adore, Christ the everlasting Lord. Late in time behold him come, all string of allergens were. Oh Ask the children to go on her stream. Hail the head, Lord Prince of Peace. Hail the Son of Righteousness. Light and life to all he brings. Risen with healing in his reigns. ♪ Glory by ♪ ♪ Born that man no more may die ♪ ♪ Born to raise the sons of earth ♪ ♪ Born to give their second birth ♪ ♪ Hark the herald angels sing ♪ ♪ Glory to the newborn king ♪ Let's pray. Our Father, our God, we thank thee for, our Christ, the Christ of God, and we praise thee, O God, for his coming. We thank thee that he became one of us and yet at all times remained God, God of very God, man, very man, true God, true man, in the one distinct person. We rejoice in him and we praise thee for what he came to do. We thank Thee for His death, His resurrection, and the redemption that He has provided for us. Bless now our time together around the food. We offer these, our prayers, in and through our Savior's precious, worthy, and holy name. Amen. Now, you may be seated. Simply what you do is go to the back of the church, turn right, turn right, come through, pick up whatever you want, and do as many circuits as you want. Thank you for joining with us. And nobody be going home. Now, make sure you get your tea. Thank you very much.