Thanks for listening to a special Christmas edition of It's Preaching Time. Our preacher today is Johnny Pope. Christmas is here. Don't miss it. From WZYN, we say Merry Christmas and now, Preaching Time. to be in Luke 2, Luke chapter 2. We're going to read verses 1 through 7 together. Luke 2 verses 1 through 7 and then we'll have a word of prayer and then please be seated. Always appreciate brother Scott Brinkmeyer helping us with the graphics on the Sunday morning sermon. He's done this now for years and does a good job of it. So in the middle of those white mountain peaks is a little creche there. Okay. And the Lord Jesus represented there with Mary and Joseph. Okay. Luke 2 verses 1 through 7, let's read these words aloud. 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 under the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, 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. 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. Let's remain standing. We'll have a word of prayer, then please be seated. Lord, as we read these familiar words, we pray that they won't be overly familiar, but we pray that they'll become, even as they have for me in my heart today, even more precious than when we read it as a child or had it read to us as a child. we thank you lord for letting us be here and thank you that we will gaze again once again on this sunday before christmas on that sweet little jesus boy help us lord to ever be mindful that you are the reason for the season give us holy spirit power and unction we think about our church members that are not with us that are sick today We pray that you will help them, and we pray that you will heal them. And here's what we promise to do, give you the praise and the glory in Jesus' name and for Christ's sake. Amen. You may be seated. Well, I mentioned one of my favorite Christmas songs before Christmas is always, and not only before Christmas, sometimes I'll listen to it when it's not Christmas, Sweet Little Jesus Boy. I love that song. Never heard it done better either. Thank you so much. One of my favorite stories is A Christmas Carol. And although the gospel is not overtly preached in the Christmas carol, we cannot help but see the influence of Christianity upon the writers of that day. In Russ Walton's book, One Nation Under God, he talked about how many people were Christians In the 1700s, under the Great Awakening revival, famous preachers like Jonathan Edwards, George Whitfield, John and Charles Wesley, Tinney's, that was the establishment of many of our major colleges, which started out to be Christian colleges. As a matter of fact, the train ministers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and those places. But he said this, the influence of Christianity was so strong that even the unrighteous, the ones that were not truly born again, were influenced in their lifestyle. And that is the power of being salt and light in the earth. And so whatever the personal relationship that Charles Dickens had with the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I'm not certain, but this is what I am certain of. He was highly influenced by the great ministry of evangelical Christianity in the days of Dickens. These were also the days of Joseph Parker, Adoniram Judson, William Carey, Charles Haddon Spurgeon, on and on, and the great Scottish writers of that day, the great evangelical Scottish writers. So he was very much baptized in evangelical Christianity. And I believe it comes through in the novel, one of his shorter novels, A Christmas Carol. Never miss Christmas time without going through A Christmas Carol, either reading it, watching it on TV or something, or listening to some amazing things you can listen to on podcast now, or with that blessing. But the story of A Christmas Carol is interesting the way it came into being. Charles Dickens had several kids and he was poor. One reason Dickens as well as George MacDonald and other writers of that day had these massive novels is in the Victorian days you were paid by the word. So they made sure that they wrote a lot to put bread on the table. he was poor, so he had not written a novel in a while, and there was no income coming in. And the novelists, I will say this, did not get paid the way they get paid nowadays, and certainly not the way that some of the entertainers do. So, he actually was doing this to get funding. He was relating to some of the poor in England. Matter of fact, you can see that when he gets into the Ghost of Christmas Present, how he begins to relate to the poor children a little bit more vicariously because he was hurting. Well, this was the turnaround. It was probably this one novel that, at this time, George McDonnell was the most read author of that time. He was the greatest influence on modern C.S. Lewis. MacDonald was. But MacDonald, who was a Presbyterian preacher, his novels did not become as famous in the 20th century, and one, and I believe it was a secular writer, said one reason why, no it wasn't a secular writer, it was Michael Wright, the editor of his books, I'm sorry, but Michael said this, he said, The characters of McDonald's novels were so pristine, so Christian, the modern world didn't accept it. So it wasn't until A Christmas Carol, I believe, that Dickens began to eclipse George McDonald as the most famous writer of England. And it was the story of A Christmas Carol. And in The Christmas Carol, we see Ebenezer Scrooge is a miserly, miserable man. who lived for himself. He was so cheap that even seven years prior when his associate Jacob Marley died, he was too cheap to get a new sign made. So it still read, you know, the names of Marley and Scrooge. So on this Christmas Eve, his nephew comes in and he rejects everything he says about Christmas with those words that now we all are familiar with. Bah humbug. Matter of fact, the name Scrooge is synonymous with miserly, miserable, unkind, cheap, Scrooge. So he bah humbugs everybody, just going home to get his modest bowl of stew or whatever that was, gruel I think he called it, and he sees Marley's face on the door knocker. Now that scared him a little bit, but not enough that he didn't go about his business. So he settles down, and while he's settling down, chains are rattling and voices are heard, and here comes the ghost of Jacob Marley. And when Scrooge was saying to him, if I remember correctly, he was trying to pretend like this wasn't happening. He said, there's more gravy than grave in you, meaning that you're a product of indigestion. You're not real. And at that time, Marley's chin drops because that's the way they did the dead people. They tied up their head together so at the viewing they weren't being, you know, looking at a corpse with an open mouth and I know that was more information than you needed so Marley undoes it and he screams and okay now Scrooge is a believer but not a believer. So he's told there's going to be three visitors through the night. Space through the night. And of course the first visitor was the Ghost of Christmas Past. And Scrooge is reminded of all of the missed opportunities because of his miserly, miserable, materialistic thinking and because he just was into himself. One of the saddest points was when past tells him of what he missed with Belle, the great love of his life. And she says to him, there's someone else that has taken my place. It was the God of gold. And he refused to listen to that, but they went ahead and broke up. So he never married. He saw his sister. reminisced of her death and her remaining son and how he really didn't watch over him like he should have. One episode in the past after the other where he made every major decision was a wrong decision. Every major decision was based on me-ism. What was best for me not what's best for the world at large or people that I really should be loving. But then in the middle of the night, here comes the ghost of Christmas present and has an opening line that I think is such a good invitation for everybody. Matter of fact, the last two Sundays has been in my mind as well when I say, Christmas is here. All are invited. Today it's Christmas is here. Don't miss it. But what did the ghost of Christmas present say? Know me better, man! And he's a jovial creature, and he's dressed like the modern-day Santa Claus to a degree, and he's showing him how, in the present moment, everything he's doing will profit nothing for time or for eternity. Showing him how he's ignored people that were in need and only took care of his own needs, and he wasn't taking care of those very well. But then the one ghost that he didn't want, by the way, kids, there's no ghost. I want to just say this. It's made up story, okay? I can just imagine some kid going home saying, brother, Pope believes in ghosts. I heard him say that I don't believe in ghosts, okay? Okay, I believe in the Holy Ghost, amen. All right, the Holy Spirit. Thank you for saying that because I might get emails off of that one, but anyway. So the one that he didn't want to see was the ghost of future or Christmas yet to come. What a foreboding character. And I think that sometimes the father time was kind of modeled off that with the sickle and with the long draping garments and stuff. And he's pointed to his grave and he's rubbing the grave and he didn't, the gravestone, he didn't want that to be so. And then he woke up and realized it was a dream. And I love it. He goes, he opens the window, he breathes in the fresh air, and he talks about everything in nature being so much more beautiful than he ever remembered it. And then he sees a boy and hears, now I'm quoting verbatim from Dickens. What's today, cried Scrooge, calling downward to a boy in Sunday clothes who perhaps loitered in to look about him. Eh, returned the boy with all his might of wonder. What's today, my fine fellow, said Scrooge. Today, replied the boy. Why, Christmas Day. When Dickens wrote it, he put Christmas in large letters. It's Christmas Day, said Scrooge to himself. I haven't missed it. I love that. I haven't missed it. And the closing words of A Christmas Carol says, And it was always said of him that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May this truly be said of us, and so as Tiny Tim observed, God bless us everyone. Old Scrooge had missed a near lifetime of Christmases, but never again after his Christmas conversion would he ever miss Christmas again. As we return to the New Testament, we discover that there were four groups of people who miss Christmas. Hey, Christmas is here. Don't miss it. But there are four groups in the days of Jesus that miss Christmas. How sad to live in the days in which Jesus walked upon the earth and not to acknowledge who He is and why He came. Even sadder to miss the opportunity to love, worship, and follow Him. How sad. Let's talk about it. First of all, the preoccupied Miss Jesus. The preoccupied Miss Jesus. What comes to my mind when I think of this is Luke 2, 7. And she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes. And by the way, you know those were the same clothes that people who died were clothed in. You might say Jesus was born wrapped to die. A Christmas present, the original Christmas present from God who so loved the world, wrapping his son in grave clothes for he has come to die. 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. Now that's as much information as we receive about the innkeeper. That's all we know about the innkeeper. But there are some things that we're safe in presuming. We are safe in presuming that this was a Jewish man living in a Jewish world And I think that, Brother Ross, being Jewish yourself, you would probably say amen to this. In his day, there's no way that he was not aware that Messiah was coming. I mean, it was as much of their understanding as Jesus loves me, this I know, or memorizing. I never remember, Brother Pete Moore, I never remember memorizing John 3, 16. I mean, around our house, I heard it so much, I don't ever remember a mom sitting down and saying, now, Johnny, let's go over this, you know. Now, she may have and probably did, but I don't remember, because I've always known John 3, 16. I've always known amazing grace. I've always known this. Well, that's the world that Jesus was born in, a world that was very much aware that Jesus was coming. Had he known Had that innkeeper known that Mary is from the seed of David through Nathan, and Joseph was of the seed of David through Solomon, and she's with child, and they're in Bethlehem? Come on, folk, you don't have to use math or being a Bible eschatology expert to know anytime now Jesus. Jesus could have been born in one of his rooms. Can you imagine what that could have been like to a Jew who accepts Jesus as Yeshua Hamashiach? Can you imagine what that would be like? Jesus was born here. Imagine that advertisement. Jesus was born here. Oh yeah, I remember well the night. Can you imagine him gathering a crowd around? Oh yeah. You saw him raise the dead? Yeah. Heal the paralytic? Let me tell you something. I got to hold him. Oh yeah. Yeah. Mary and Joseph. Know them well now. We send Christmas cards to each other. Or something therein, you know. I do not think of the innkeeper as a wicked man. He's just preoccupied. You see, the Bible said there in Luke 2, 1, and it came to pass in those days that they went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. It is an amazing how that God, the Bible says, the heart of the king is in the hand of the Lord, and like the rivers of water, he turns it. So God Almighty tells Caesar Augustus, Make sure everybody gets taxed and make sure that the requirement is they must go back to the land of their heritage. God can easily move heaven and earth to get his will done because he made it all and the people that live in it. So Caesar Augustus makes this most weird decree and then the governor of Syria is going to, which is overlord of this area, is going to make sure that it happens So the Bible says in verse 3 of Luke 2, and all went to be taxed, everyone to his own city. So it was crowded. People were coming in. Well, look at Mary and Joseph. They're coming from the northern district. So Jerusalem is full. So he's probably very, very happy that every room was taken. And he was preoccupied with making money perhaps and doing business. And again, maybe not a wicked man, I mean, he may have been thrilled to tell his wife that Hanukkah was going to be great. I don't know if they were celebrating it big back then, but anyway. But I don't know what was going through his mind, but I don't think of it as something overtly wicked. He was just simply preoccupied. Today, Christmas, is full of preoccupied people. Think of this. On the night that Jesus was born, there were more animals present than people. Isn't that amazing? It's the most commercialized holiday in the world, bar none. So many are caught up with their own little world, they haven't given a thought that we are celebrating Christ coming to earth. Imagine a little boy has a Christmas party. He invites a lot of people. A lot of people come. A lot of his friends come. But he's a wallflower at his own birthday party. Nobody's talking to him. And nobody gives him a gift. They're all exchanging gifts between each other. But the little boy whose birthday is totally ignored. By the way, I can't resist telling you this. You know the last Sunday of this month we're having double tithes? It's our Christmas gift to Jesus. boom, threw that one in real quick, didn't I? It's his birthday! And again, as I think about, and I think it's nice, and I think it's good to keep in mind that when we give gifts to one another, that in essence we're remembering that this is what love does. Love makes a purchase. And love gives a gift to the one that you love, the object of your love. That the gift is a wonderful representation of your love. And I think it's a good time to remember that as we have our gifts under the tree, that God placed His gift upon the tree for us. And so let us all be thinking about this, but many people are not thinking about Jesus. They're thinking of the celebration, but there are no mood for coronation. Which brings me to my second point, the preoccupied like the innkeeper, missed Christmas. He missed Christmas! Jesus was born in the manger! Can you imagine what it must have been like years later when people were talking about Jesus? Oh, he was the, his, oh my, he missed it. The totalitarian missed Christmas as well. Those that are their own king, like Herod. It says in Matthew 2, 1, 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 his 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. Now let me say a word about Herod. Herod was one of the most ruthless despots that ever served as a monarch. First of all, he was a puppet king. He had some Jewish blood in him, but he was more Arab than he was Jewish. But he loved to refer to himself as the king of the Jews. And he wanted no competition, so much so that if he saw competition even smoldering in his family, he took care of it. He killed his own children. He killed his wife. And, I mean, relatives beyond that. He even had his brother-in-law put to death and then came to the funeral crying like crazy, like it really mattered. I mean, when you thought it couldn't be much worse, Herod, on five days before he died, ordered the chief men of every prominent city in the Jewish community to be killed so that there will be mourning on the day of his death. Whether the tears are for him or not, people are going to mourn when I die. Now that's as bad as it can get just about. Maybe. I don't know which is worse. We know he was the one that ordered the slaughter of the innocents when he saw that Jesus the Messiah was possibly born, he decided to kill him. And so since the wise men were instructed by the angel to go home by another way, he says, okay, let's go to this area and just kill everybody male, two years of age and under. Wow. The slaughter of the innocents. Rachel weeping for her children in the area especially of Bethlehem, Judea. What was Herod's, we had a lot of problems, but one problem we had is he didn't want anybody to be king except himself. He wanted no one else to be king but himself. One of the underlying reasons people miss Christmas is because, listen, if we acknowledge Jesus for who he is, He is Lord. He is Savior. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. By the way, if you don't acknowledge Jesus as Savior, Lord, and King, you have missed Christmas. For to acknowledge Jesus for who He is means that you must abdicate being the King or the Queen of your life. Jesus is Lord. The Bible says in Romans 125, "...who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." Think of it. Our Creator comes to the earth and He is rejected as King and substituted for an unworthy monarch oneself. Yes, the totalitarian those who refuse the kingship of Jesus miss Christmas. Are you Lord of your life or is Jesus Lord? Number three, there's another group that missed Christmas. It's found also there in Matthew 2 in verse number four. The religious world missed Jesus. The Pharisees No doubt, the very highest ranking members of the Sanhedrin. The reason we know this is because of what it says in Matthew 2, 4, and when he had gathered, that's Herod, all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born. Now remember, Christ is the name for, Greek name for Messiah. This is insane, isn't it? They're calling Him Yeshua. They're calling Him Messiah. They're calling Him the Savior. The Anointed One is what Christ literally means. Where He should be born. Herod had no intention of joining the wise men to find and worship Jesus. He just wanted to know His whereabouts. Not so he could worship him, but so he could eliminate all possible competition. Amazingly, it doesn't seem like that the ruler of the Jews had to be dismissed to discuss the whereabouts of Jesus. For it says in Matthew 2, 5, and 6, and they said unto him, you know, again, You know, there's a lot of people that have discussions and disagreements on the return of the Lord, the event of the return, the rapture versus the coming in glory, the tribulation, pre-trib, mid-trib, post-trib. I mean, when theologians get into the second coming of Christ, it can really get convoluted. You say, well, what is the right teaching? Well, mine, of course, But on this, where the Messiah would be born? There was no discussion. There was no, excuse me, King Herod, can we get together and have some Torah study on this? Some prophet study on this? You know, I'm trying so hard to be accurate to the Jewish world right now with a Jew sitting here, amen. He's nodding his head right. He only nodded his head no once. Okay, but anyway, I think it was on Hanukkah, but anyway Tell me at lunch. Okay, anyway So it says and they said unto him in Bethlehem of Judea No, no, do you understand why it was so important to say in Bethlehem of Judea there was more than one Bethlehem and They knew exactly where Jesus would be born. Folks, I'm not talking about a hamlet even as big as Tombaugh. Seriously. I'm talking about a very small community in comparison to Jerusalem. Oh, Bethlehem. Oh, by the way, the one in Judea. Now let this sink in for a moment. Five miles. When we were in Israel, I wanted so badly, I could see the lights of Bethlehem. And I said, I want to go. No, we can't go. We're six miles from there. I felt like saying, well, you cut me one mile short. You're adding one mile to it. You don't want me to go. But one of these days, we'll get to go over there and see it. But five miles. But the religious guys didn't go with the wise men. They weren't very wise, were they? And yet, to be a ruler of the Jews, you must know much of the Bible by heart. These guys weren't unscrolling. These guys were rattling it off. Here's what they said. Listen to this. And they sent him in Bethlehem of Judea. For thus it is written by the prophet, And thou, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not the least among the princes of Judah. For out of thee shall come a governor that shall rule my people Israel. Do you understand? The King. The Messiah. I'm a Shia. This is Him. He has come. That's where He's coming. If He comes, this is where He's coming. They knew exactly where Messiah would be born. They were five miles away, but they didn't go. Many people today are caught up in religious tradition while Jesus is lost in the bright lights and customs with the Santas, with the Yule Logs. And it seems like we can't get enough Traditions and customs we have to invent some shelf only elf really The Grinch that stole Christmas is more popular than the King of Kings I Remember when we had our first nativity or I We've always had a nativity in our front yard, but when our boy Jonathan was younger, one of his playmates ran over to him and said, what is that? It was Christmas time. They had lights decorated, no doubt, in their house and around. He says, what is this all about? And the little boy was pointing to the little manger and Jesus in the manger and Joseph and Mary. What's this all about? But we've got our customs. We know about certain musical pieces. I tell you what, if I hear that song, Last Christmas, you broke my heart, I hate that thing. That girl needs to find somebody and stick with them, okay? She's picking the wrong boyfriends. It's like every time I go in the store, Last Christmas, oh, no, no, no more! Just get saved and get in the will of God, girl, but anyway, man. There's no one outside and the jingle bells, jingle bells. Where's Jesus? By the way, I'm not against jingle bells. I'm not against jingle bells. I'm just against jingle bells taking Jesus' place. That's all. It's not all about jingle bells. It's not all about the Grinch. It's not even all about Ebeneezer Scrooge. It's all about Jesus. It's His birthday! People are singing away in a manger, but their hearts are far from there. Matthew 15, 7 through 9, did not our Lord explain what was happening? Ye hypocrites, well did He say us. That's Isaiah. Prophesy of you saying this people draw off nigh unto me with their mouth and honor with me with their lips But their heart is far from me, but in vain do they worship me teaching for doctrines the commandments of men Even some of the more formal churches will stay up late on Christmas Eve, all into the night, lighting candles, moaning and groaning. Oh brother. Rigmarole. Got the incense going. Folks, that went out with the old temple. Come on now. I can meet you playing dominoes. No, you can't. No, you can't. Okay. That's an old joke. Okay. But come on. Quit trying to spook our kids at Christmas time with all your tradition. And I know we Baptist, we have our tradition. We got our cantatas. Hey, come to our cantata. What? But it still all has to focus on him. It's not the bells, but it's the one we're ringing the bells for. It's not the songs, it's as much as who we're singing to. It's not even my sermon as much as who I'm lifting up. Ye hypocrites, well did it say, as prophets say, this people draw nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoreth me with their lips, but their heart is far from me. But in vain do they, do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. How weird and sad. These religious leaders of Jesus' day accepted the written word, but rejected the living word. They adored the book, but not the author. They magnified the gold of the temple, but brought no gold to the one of whom the temple was dedicated. By the way, in case you don't know what I'm talking about, let me read you this. I wasn't going to do this, but let me take a little time and read two verses. In Matthew 23, 16, and 17, Jesus said, woe unto you. You blind guides would say, whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing. But whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor. Ye fools and blind, for whether is greater the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold. Now, there are different interpretations of it. Some say it's the gold on the temple, or it's the gold of the ornaments, the furniture of the temple. I think not, because Jesus said, you swear by the gold your debt tore. What was he saying? Here's what he was saying. You blind guides, you can swear by the temple which represents God on earth, The Holy of Holies was virtually the throne of God on earth until Jesus came. You swear by the temple, you do in virtually His name in vain, and that's okay. But if you swear by the gold, meaning that if you make a vow to give a certain amount to the temple and you don't do it, you're a debtor! You've got to keep your word to get the money to the temple! Get the money to the temple! Swear by the temple, that's okay. Swear by the gold, no, that's not okay. Jesus saying, you missed it. That's so wrong. Like today, many are into the gold, but they bring no gold to Jesus, which represents when we give unto the Lord, what are we saying? Here's me, Lord, not some of me, but all of me. Religious leaders. Yes, the most religious men in the world of that day chose ritual over relationship. They missed Christmas! John 1 46. I want to bring something to your attention here because there's another group, fourth group that missed Christmas, and that is the familiar. Now we bring you to Nazareth. Jesus was born in Bethlehem. The angel of the Lord said to Joseph, go to Egypt. They went to Egypt, sent the wise men home another way. At this time, Jesus is a toddler, because the wise men came to see Jesus in the house. So he goes down to Egypt. Then Herod has died, and they come back, but they come back to the land where they had lived for the better part of their life, into Nazareth. So Jesus was reared the better part of his life in Nazareth. This is where Jesus lived and walked and talked, interacted, did carpentry with Joseph, did errands for Mary. Can you imagine? Jesus barring sugar for his mother. I don't know if they need hummus. Okay, whatever. John 1 46 and Nathanael said unto him, when he hears about Jesus the Messiah, can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? I like what Philip said, come and see. You have to see for yourself. No, no, no, no, no. When I think of kings, when I think of Messiah, don't, don't tell me he came from Nazareth. So think about what area in Houston would you least suspect the King to come from. Well, that's where Jesus was being reared up. In Luke 4, 16 it says, And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. That's what it says, where Jesus was brought up. And as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read. Jesus then takes the Scripture and he reads from Isaiah, which nails him, my friend, as the Messiah. Would you like to know the response? Luke 4.22. I made a mistake in the church bullet and I put Matthew 4.22. It's Luke 4.22, the latter part of it. Here's what they said. Is not this Joseph's son? In other words, wait, wait, what? What? See, Jesus sits down. They said, no, no, no, wait, wait, wait. No, no, I know Jesus now. No, I know his dad. This is not son of God. This is Joe's boy. The Bible is very clear that he was son of God. Joseph was serving his stepfather. Isn't that Joseph's son? This cannot possibly Messiah. We know who he is. Oh, but they did not know who he was. And this is the ironic thing. After Jesus identifies Himself in His home district among His own people, they said, okay, this is more serious than we realize. He's going to have to die. He's blaspheming. He was reared up there. Some of the people that were ready to take Him by the arm and take Him to the cliff and stone Him or some of the fathers of his friends that he was reared with. Maybe some of the friends themselves started coming to Jesus, ready to throw him off a cliff and stone him to death for daring to claim himself as the Prince of Peace, the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords. And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country and in his own house. Matthew 13 and 57. Wow. The familiar. Far too many times I have witnessed the people through the years. And every so often I have somebody say this. Oh yeah. I know everything you're saying. I was reared up in that. You ever heard that? I was reared up in that. You ever heard that, Brother David? I've heard it. I know. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know Jesus died. He was buried. He rose again the third day. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I know. I was in Sunday school. I was in vacation Bible school. I went to youth camp and had to dress like a Mormon. I just, you know, or a Quaker, I should say. I think we do better than Mormons, but anyway. No Amish. I like what my daughter said to me once, Juliana. She said, Dad, I know who we are. I said, Who are we, sweetheart? She said, I love it. We're Amish with a TV. That's who we are. Oh, I've heard all of this. I've heard all of this. Years ago, when I was in college, my wife and I worked a bus route together, we went to a rather underprivileged area in the part of South Chicago in the Higwash, a very rough area where a lot of when you hear much of the violence in Chicago, that's where our bus stop was. And so we would have a 66-passenger bus, and we would go into this area, and we would visit on Saturdays many times, at least six hours, four hours or six hours. On big days, we would visit for 10 hours, knocking doors, winning people to Christ, let's get on the bus. I had a jarring moment. There were a group of kids that rode on our bus. Family had several kids. And so what you would do if you were a bus captain, you would go try to find new prospects, kids that weren't going to church. You'd find the house. You'd say, hey, do you all go to church anywhere? No. Are you planning on going to church this Sunday? Well, no. I said, would you like your kids to come to church? Well, And many times the kids would come there, and that's when you have bubble gum in your pocket, or, hey, would you like to come to church? Would you bribe them? Oh, yeah, anything to get them to church, right? And we got criticized for that. But I like what our pastor used to say whenever he got criticized for that. He said, I like the way that we're doing it better the way you're not doing it. And so we would sometimes give them a candy. But now I want to just say this, that the mom said, no, they don't get candy. I said, that's fine. Would you like some hummus? OK, but anyway. I ate so much hummus when I was in Israel, I just called it silly putty after a while. That's what it looked like. But I like it now. We would recruit young people to ride the bus, and many of them never heard the gospel, never even had a clue on who Jesus was. One of the greatest thrills of my life, and I can hear it now, hearing kids who had never been in church give their heart to Christ and get baptized, and on the way home from church, they're singing the great children's songs of Sunday school. They never heard them before, never sang it before. So, we would visit and make new recruits to come on the bus. On my big day, I had 112, and on my bus, it was mostly teenagers. I've always been with teenagers. So, I mean, and it's a long story, but I even had a South Side gang on my bus, and they all came to the church one day in matching sweaters. So to the Northside gang, we had a rumble in Sunday school. I'm telling you, some of my early evangelism was rough and ready, I'm telling you. Switchblades, brass knuckles, you name it. I mean, I didn't use them, I was just... Trying to keep them and we did keep them from using it. I had the game. Matter of fact, the gang leader was on our bus. I didn't realize it. Great. I'll tell you that story some other time. But here's the story I'm trying to tell you. So we would find new recruits and then we would always go back to the kids who rode the bus. And we would simply come back and say, hey, Mr. Jones. Hey, how you doing, Miss Jones? Hey, just want to make sure we'll be here tomorrow morning at 830. Everybody going to be ready. All right. All right. By the way, I just gotta tell this one, I just gotta tell this one. A mother promised me that their kids could ride our bus one day. So I came to the door on Sunday morning, like 8.30ish or so. And she said, ah, I did promise you. I said, yeah. So she had four kids. I said, well, where are they? She said, they're at St. Michael's. I said, St. Michael's? I know right where that is. I said, well, ma'am, if I go ask them if they would like to write, is it OK if they come with us? She said, I gave you my word. Go for it. So I went to St. Michael's, which is called a near cathedral in Chicago, meaning it didn't become a cathedral. It was a near cathedral, huge, gigantic. I mean, spires that went in the clouds. And so I came in right when the priest was officiating. I mean, he was into it. And I saw the kids on the third row from the front. Wouldn't you know it? So, you know how, you know when the priest, he does this, and then he does this, and then he does this, and he does this, da-da-da-da-da-da-da, but anyway, so, I'm being unkind now, forgive me. So, when the priest turned around, I timed it, I thought perfectly, so I went in there and I saw the kids, oh, and the eyes got real bright, and they started coming out, and as soon as they started coming out, the priest turned around and went, and I went, See you later." We took the kids. They came to our church. Anyway, I love that story. I am so sorry to chase that rabbit. It had nothing to do with the sermon. But for a moment, I was back in Chicago, okay? Well, thank you very much. Oh, that was Cedric, wasn't it? Was that Cedric? Okay, thank you. I wasn't ready for that, Cedric, but thank you. For those of you that are listening online, he just said, have myself a time. That's the way they say in the camp meeting. Hi, man. Thank you, my brother. So I was coming back to get the five kids that normally rode on our bus just to get a reminder. So I was talking to kids, it was a three-story government housing, very run-down place, and I saw these five kids and I said, hey, you're gonna be ready tomorrow morning, gonna be ready tomorrow morning, and their dad and mom came. They had been up all night drinking, all night. Not trying to be gross, but their dad had even wet himself in a stupor. And they're staggering in. I said, hi, I'm just confirming the kids will be ready for Sunday school tomorrow morning. They said, yeah, we'll be ready. We'll be ready. And so as they're going up the stairs, there were three levels of stairs, he goes up the first flight and he collapses on the rail just before the first flight. And he begins to cry and begins to boo-hoo. And I said, everything okay? He said, yeah. He said, how's Dr. Lee? I said, sir? He said, how's Dr. Lee? And then he said, Dr. Lee Roberson. I said, what? You know Dr. Lee Roberson? Dr. Lee Roberson was the pastor of the Highland Park Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee. He was the founder of Tennessee Temple University. At that time, I think you would agree with me, at that time, Tennessee Temple was the most famous, independent, fundamental Baptist college in America. Dr. Lee Roberson was, without a doubt, he had no peer, he had close peers, but he was the most respected fundamentalist preacher in America. And this guy says to me, how's Dr. Lee Roberson? He's urinated all over himself, totally drunk. I said, you know him? Here's what he said. I was one of the first missionaries that went out from Highland Park. I said, what? Well, I believe it was missionary to China. I was on the mission field and he told me some of the things he did. And I knew he had to be telling the truth because he knew too many of the people that I knew. He knew too much about how missions are accomplished. And then he started crying profusely and said something to this effect, I turned my back! I turned my back! He was totally familiar with the Christmas story. He gave the Christmas story, but he didn't seem to own the Christmas story. This is one of the saddest groups, the ones that are familiar with Christmas. But they missed it. But they missed Christmas. I want to share with you one of my very favorite stories of all time. It's a classic story from 1966. And it really puts a true meaning of Christmas on it. For years now, whenever Christmas pageants are talked about in a certain Midwestern town, someone is sure to mention the name of Wallace Purling. Wally's performance in one annual production of Nativity play has slipped into the realm of legend. But the old-timers who were in the audience that night never tire of recalling exactly what happened. Wally was a nine-year-old in the second grade. Of course, he was supposed to be in the fourth grade. You see, most people in town knew that he had a difficulty keeping up. He was big, he was awkward, slow in movement, slow in mind. But still, Wally was well-liked by all the other children in his class, all of whom were still smaller than he, though the boys had trouble hiding their irritation when Wally would ask to play ball with them or any other game, especially when winning was important. They find a way to keep him out, but Wally would just hang around anyway, not sulking, just hoping. He was a helpful boy, always willing, always smiling, and the protector, paradoxically, of the underdog. If the older boys chased the younger ones away, it would be Wally who'd say, can't they stay? They'd be no bother. Wally fancied the idea of being a shepherd in the Christmas pageant. But his plays director, Miss Lombard, assigned him a more important role, one that didn't require too many lines. After all, she reasoned, the innkeeper didn't have too many lines, and Wally's size would make his refusal of lodging to Mary and Joseph more forceful, more believable. And so it happened that the usual lar partisan audience gathered for the town's extravaganza of crooks and crutches and beards and crowns and halos and whole stage full of squeaky little voices. Bathrobes that were supposed to be robes and dad's bandana supposed to be their headdress. No one on stage, on or off, was more caught up in the magic of the night than Wallace Perling. They said later that he stood in the wings and watched the performance with such fascination that Miss Lombard had to make sure he didn't come on stage before he was supposed to. Before his cue. Then the time came when Joseph appeared slowly, tenderly, guiding Mary to the door of the inn. Joseph knocked hard on the wooden door set into painted backdrop. Wally, the innkeeper, was there waiting. What do you want? Wally said, swinging the door open with a brush gesture. We seek lodging. Seek it elsewhere, Wally spoke vigorously. The inn is filled. Sir, we have asked everyone in vain. We have traveled far and are very weary. There is no room in this inn for you, Wally looked properly stern. Please, good innkeeper, this is my wife Mary. She is heavy with child and needs a place to rest. Surely you must have some small corner for her. She is so tired." Now for the first time, the innkeeper relaxed his stiff stance and looked down at Mary. With that, there was a long pause, long enough to make the audience a bit tense with embarrassment. No, be gone, the prompter, the play director said. No, be gone. Wally kind of snapped out of it for a moment. No, be gone. Joseph Sally placed his arm around Mary, and Mary laid her head upon her husband's shoulder, and the two of them started to move away. The innkeeper did not return inside his inn, however. While he stood there in the doorway, watching the forlorn couple, his mouth was wide open. His brow creased with concern. His eyes filling unmistakably with tears. And suddenly this Christmas pageant became different from all others. Don't go, Joseph! Wally cried out. Bring Mary back! And Wallace Perling's face grew into a bright, beautiful smile. You can have my room! Some of the people in town thought the pageant had been ruined. Yes, there were others, many, many others who considered it the most Christmas of all Christmas pageants they'd ever seen. Wait, you can have my room. Wally might have been slow of movement and slow of mind, but his was the quickest mind that night. Wally Perling did not miss Christmas that night. Are you going to miss Christmas this year? Let's bow our heads. Heavenly Father, we thank You for the wonderful, wonderful gift of Thy Son, Jesus. O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all of the earth, and yet so many, many, the majority, are not reverencing Thy holy name. Your Word tells us in Matthew 1 and verse 21, And Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins. On this Sunday before Christmas, we pray if there's any that are missing Christmas, that they'll not miss it this year, but they'll get in on Christmas. And not wait till Christmas Eve, but today, call upon Jesus as Lord and Savior. with heads bowed and eyes closed. I'm thinking especially not only of those that are in this building, but those that are listening through the internet. If you don't know Christ as Savior, admit that you're a sinner. That's not hard, is it? All have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Repent of your sins. Don't be just sorry you got caught sinning. Be sorry that you've sinned. Realize that when Christ died, he died to take your place and your punishment and God's wrath for your sins. For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And then in the stillness of the moment, wherever you're at, call upon Jesus to save you. The Bible says, for whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And that word, Lord, is important, isn't it? It's the word, cuirass. At one time, it's translated master. Another time, it's translated emperor. Another time, it's translated king. Whosoever shall call upon Jesus to be the king. See, the devils believe in tremble. Some of you are familiar with the story, but you don't own the story. You know the facts of Christmas, and the facts of Calvary, and the facts of the Word of God, but you don't know the author of the book, and you don't know Jesus personally. And ladies and gentlemen, Christianity is never real until it's personal. You must be born again. Where you're sitting, where you're standing, wherever you are, even in a car listening to this, pull over. Pray something like this. Dear Lord, I know that I'm a sinner. Forgive me of my sins. I'm sorry. I believe you die for me. I believe you shed your blood for me. I believe you rose again from the grave and you're knocking at my heart's door. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him. And today, Lord, I open my heart's door to you, Jesus. I don't want to miss Calvary. I don't want to miss the resurrection. I don't want to miss Christmas, the reason you came, to save me. So save me now. Redeem me by your blood. In Jesus' name. We certainly hope and pray that the Bible message you heard today on It's Preaching Time was a spiritual help to you. You might want to visit our website at wzyn.org to download this message and many more. Tune in same time tomorrow to hear more good Bible preaching. you