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Miracles: The Angels Appear to the Shepherds
December 24, 2024 · 39 min
John Mark invites listeners to follow the example of the shepherds, encouraging them to seek a personal relationship with Christ to experience God's favor and peace in their lives.
Series "Pastor Talks" with John Mark Caton December 24, 2024 · 39 min · "Pastor Talks" with John Mark Caton
John Mark invites listeners to follow the example of the shepherds, encouraging them to seek a personal relationship with Christ to experience God's favor and peace in their lives. ...more Show the full description Show less John Mark invites listeners to follow the example of the shepherds, encouraging them to seek a personal relationship with Christ to experience God's favor and peace in their lives.
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John Mark is the Senior Pastor of the thriving Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen, Texas, where he has served since 1995.
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The Power of Miracles and God's Favor 0:00 Welcome, we've been in the middle of a series. If you happen to be new here entitled Miracles, the reality is, with God, nothing is impossible regardless of what you're going through, maybe trials, tribulations, family0:11 struggles, whatever it is, God can do a miracle in your life. And if you missed any of those, I want to encourage you go look at them online. Week number 1, we said that God sometimes chooses the natural to0:23 do a miracle. We looked at Zechariah and Elizabeth who were well advanced in age, they had been barren, never had children, and man, they thought they were way beyond the point in the season where they thought they could0:35 have a child, but God used the natural, Zechariah and Elizabeth, to bring about the supernatural, a miracle. Then a couple of weeks couple of weeks ago, we looked at sometimes God just shows up0:47 and does a miracle. He doesn't need the natural. He just showed up in a virgin's life named Mary. And the angel said, Mary, you will be with child. Remember her response? How can this0:59 be? Zechariah's response was a little different. He goes, we're too old. But God said, no you're not. In Mary's life, she said, this can't happen. I am a virgin, how can this be? And the angel1:11 said, the spirit of God will overwhelm you and overcome you and you will have a child and you will call him Jesus. Then last week we said, you know, God sometimes performs miracles through his word. You1:23 just heard us talk about, beginning in January as a congregation of believers, They were gonna read through the New Testament together, and I want to encourage you to be a part of that with us, because God does amazing1:34 things when God's people read God's word. And last week, we looked at the idea that from Genesis to Revelation is all about God revealing his purpose in life. And we looked at the Old1:46 Testament and, that there were over 300 what they refer to as messianic prophecies about Christ that were fulfilled in Christ. 61 major prophecies and those1:58 61, just those 61 have 2 71 specific ramifications about who the Christ child would be. Where he would be born, how he would be born, how he would be treated, the2:10 disciples he would choose, how he would be betrayed, how he would be delivered into the hands of sinful men, how he would die, how he would be buried, how he would rise again the third day. And so as you look back, the2:22 miracle of what God said through humans who authored God's word, we think about God truly does miracles through fulfilled prophecy. Now, today I want to talk to you about the reality2:34 of God sometimes does miracles through angels speaking to unlikely people. And maybe there's someone here today that you feel like, man, can God use2:45 me? Can God speak to me? Does God want to use me? When you think about angels, they're significant. You look at those 66, books of the Bible, 34 separate2:57 times God sends angels to speak or to defend his people. Oftentimes they just come with a message. They are a message of God that God says you want to do this or you need to do3:09 this or sometimes the angels say you need to stop doing this. Oftentimes, God would send angels to protect his people. And when you think about angels, when we look at them in3:21 scripture and study them, they're oftentimes powerful. They're frightful, because sometimes when the angel shows up, the first thing they have to say, to the child of God who is looking at the3:33 angel, do not be afraid. So they're powerful, they're frightful, they're insightful. They will help reveal God's knowledge and they serve God. You say, what do angels do?3:45 When they're not speaking to people, they're serving God. Angels are not to be worshiped. From time to time, people will. They will say, well I'm going to worship the angel. We're never told in scripture3:57 that we are to worship angels. They are created beings just like you and me. So you look back to the origin and original, not only did God create heaven and earth and He ultimately created man in His4:09 image, mankind, man and woman in His image. He created the angels. So we don't want to worship created things, we want to follow the examples of the angels. They worship 2 people, God and4:20 Jesus. And so for us, we want to do the same thing through the spirit of God. We don't want to worship angels. They are created by God. We want to worship the God who created the angels.4:32 You say pastor, what do angels do today? Well, we're just told in the New Testament that they are ministering spirits. Sometimes people will say they are guardian angels. So, here's4:44 what we know about angels. They tell us who to worship. They share God's message. They protect God's people. And then ultimately, they reveal4:56 knowledge to God's children. So let's go back to a little outside of Bethlehem. A little over 2000 years ago, we had these shepherds who were just out in the field5:08 doing what shepherds do. Now I've never been a shepherd, but I don't know what you do in the middle of the night. But whatever shepherds were doing, that's what they were doing in the middle of the night and notice what5:18 happens to them. It says suddenly, in other words, can you just imagine you're out in this dark place, this dark sky, you're out in the middle of nowhere and all of a sudden suddenly in the sky something5:29 happens. It says a great company of heavenly hosts appeared with the angel. So this whole encounter started with an angel, 1 angel, and it ended up with a whole lot of5:41 angels. It says suddenly a great company of heavenly hosts appeared with the angel praising God. There's our example. Out of this, we don't praise the angels. We don't celebrate the5:53 angels. We do exactly what they do which is praise God in saying glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace. So notice that.6:05 Glory to God in the highest heaven and peace on earth and maybe there's some folks here today that you're not experiencing a lot of peace. Maybe this year has been filled with trouble and6:16 trials and difficulties and hardships. Can I encourage you? That's the message of Christmas, that there can be peace regardless of the season you're going through in life, and that6:28 word peace just means you can experience tranquility, harmony, security. It says glory to God in the highest heaven and6:40 on earth peace to who? To those on whom God's favor rests. So the angels show up, they bring a message of hope,6:52 they bring a message of peace and they bring a message of favor. You say, alright, Pastor, what is the difference between hope and peace and favor? Well, hope means that7:03 regardless of your humble past, you can still have an honored future. Maybe there are some that are in here or maybe there are some that are online. When you think about your life, it has been everything but an honored7:15 life. Maybe it's been everything but an honorable life. The message of the angels to those shepherds in that moment, in that day, is regardless of the the humble past, you can have an7:27 honored future. Then they say not only can you have hope of a better future, you can have peace, that idea of tranquility, of calm, of harmony and security7:39 along life's way, but the key there is peace. Glory to God in the highest heaven, peace on earth. That word peace is powerful as we look through7:51 God's word. That word peace is used over 4 30 times in the 66 books of the Bible. Why? Because we oftentimes don't experience peace. What did8:03 Jesus say and tell his disciples? He goes, in me you can have peace. In this world, you're going to have absolutely nothing but trouble. So as you think, hope, humble past, honored future.8:15 Peace, tranquility, and calm, but then notice it says, and favor from God. How many of you would love to have the favor of God? I want8:27 you to know as your pastor, I desperately desire the favor of God. But a lot of times people say, well, how do I gain or get the favor of God,8:39 or can I even get the favor of God? That's a great question. Now, let me tell you, there are some things you can do and I can do to gain God's favor. Now,8:51 that's different than salvation. Don't hear me saying there are some things that you can do, you can be good enough to earn your salvation. See, salvation comes by a word called grace,9:02 right? God's riches at Christ's expense. In other words, we can't be good enough, we can't go to church enough, we can't do enough good things to earn God's favor as it relates9:14 to salvation. That's all grace. That is an unmerited favor. That brings us salvation, the forgiveness of sins, the gift of eternal life. That's what brings salvation. That's called God's9:26 grace. That's different than favor. Favor is God's blessing on my walk or on my life or on my family or at my job.9:38 See, favor is something I can earn, salvation is something I can't earn. You say, alright pastor, that doesn't make sense to me. Let me give you an example that'll hopefully help you understand the difference between9:49 grace and favor. How many of you remember the story of the prodigal son? Remember the prodigal son? Alright, he was born to an amazing father who was apparently pretty wealthy,10:01 had everything he could have imagined, lived in the favor of his father's house. Never had to wake up and wonder what am I gonna eat today? Where am I gonna lay my head tonight?10:13 Never had to worry. Always had the favor of his father, right? And then 1 day, he chose to do his own will and walk away from the father. Remember the story. So he goes into his dad and10:25 hopefully nobody will do this to you on Christmas, hey dad, can I have my inheritance? And if you're like me, yeah here's 8 bucks, enjoy, right? So, or here's a 10, just10:37 leave. So, he says, Dad, give me my inheritance. I know you're not dead, I want to go do my own thing. So the father, in an amazing show of10:49 favor and grace, gives him his inheritance. Remember what the son did. The son left, grabbed his buddies, it says went to a distant and foreign land,11:00 and spent everything he had on wild living and crazy things, alright? So what happened? He's out there, he spins it all,11:13 he hits rock bottom. So much so that this guy that was favored in his father's house is now out here taking a job feeding pigs. Can you imagine?11:25 And not only feeding the pigs, he is so broke and he has so little favor, it says he began to eat the same pods that the pigs11:37 ate. Can you just imagine that conversation? Here's 1 for you, 1 for me, 1 for you, and pigs turn their head and go, woah, that's for us. And remember what it11:49 says? It says the prodigal came to his senses and thought to himself, how much12:00 better do even the servants have in my father's house than I have now? Guess what? He's beginning to long for his father's12:12 favor again. Remember, he said, this is what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna turn and I'm gonna make a journey back to my father's house. And as soon as I see my father, I'm gonna fall down on12:24 my face and say, father, I've sinned, I've broken your trust, I've wasted everything, I'm not asking to be your son again, I'm just asking to be a servant. Remember that? It's12:36 almost as if when he was making his way all the way back to the father's house, he was repeating that over and over again, I'm sorry, I repent, make me a servant. I'm sorry, I repent, make me a servant. I12:48 don't deserve to be a son, I just need to be a servant. Remember what happens? He comes over a hill and he looks across and it says his father was standing there, staring off into12:59 the distance, longing for his son to come home. Now before I finish this illustration, can I just tell you this Christmas season, I believe the Heavenly Father13:13 is looking for some of you, longing for you to come home? And some of you say, well what's it gonna be like when I come home? What's it gonna be like when I go back to church? What's it gonna be13:25 like? And can I just tell you the Father's not looking to make you a servant, he wants you to be his son? And so give God a hand for that. There might be some online that you feel13:37 the same way, that's why you don't come to church. You say, I used to go to church. But what would happen if I walked back into church? Can I tell you the Father of Heaven would smile? And so here's what13:48 happens, listen. The son begins to make his journey back, and sure enough he sees the father and the father comes running to him and the son begins to share14:00 this statement that he had been rehearsing over and over again and it's almost as if the father says, don't even say it. I'm just glad to have14:12 my son back. And he says, put up the tent, kill the animals. This son who had gone away is coming back, and I want to throw a party.14:24 When he came back, he wasn't treated as a servant. He was treated as a son. So here's the difference between grace and favor. Grace14:37 is the unmerited salvation and favor of God where we become a child of God and once you receive it, you can never lose it. You say how? Was there ever14:49 a time, even in his most distant place and disobedient lifestyle, that the prodigal son wasn't still the father's son?15:02 He was always the father's son. See, that's grace. You say, what about favor? See, favor is something I can get and lose.15:14 You say, how did he lose God's favor? He left God's house with his family, went and wasted all that he had on his wild living, but when he came back to15:26 the father, he came back to the father's favor. Does that make sense? See, you can't lose your salvation and regain your salvation, but you and I can lose God's favor and then regain15:38 God's favor. So, maybe there's someone here today, maybe there's someone here that you have a prodigal And you wonder, is there somehow, some way that this child of mine, this son, this daughter of mine can again walk in15:49 God's favor? Can I tell you, here's the beauty and hope of Christmas? Absolutely. You say, what brings favor? Man, being in God's house, living God's16:01 way, studying God's word, serving alongside God's people and worshiping the same God the angels worship. So, if you want God's favor in 20 25,16:13 man it starts with understanding, I want to be as close to God as I can be. Because even the prodigal never understood God's favor when he's out in a distant land doing bad things. He found God's favor when he made16:25 his way back. So, the invitation of hope and the hope of Christmas is regardless of how far you've gone and how much life you've wasted, when you begin to come back, God throws a party for you because16:37 you are his child. And when we experience God's favor, that's when we experience God's peace. Look at what Isaiah the prophet said long before Jesus showed up. Here's what Isaiah said. IsaiahFinding Peace and Favor in God's Message 16:49 chapter 26 verse 3, he says you will keep, so my God, in perfect peace, that's favor and tranquility and harmony and security, those in perfect17:01 peace whose minds are steadfast, why? Because they trust in you, not something else. What brings us perfect peace? When17:13 our minds trust in God, that regardless of who I am, maybe you feel like a shepherd outside of Bethlehem, someone who's not invited to Jerusalem, just go do your job. We want the benefits of17:25 your labor, but I ultimately don't want to know anything about you. I don't want to ever want to see you. God says, no, no, no, no. When you trust me, you gain favor.17:37 See, we spend a lot of times trusting a lot of things, but we will never have peace until we truly learn to trust God. Ran across an17:49 article not long ago, that just did a survey of Americans. We'll put a chart on the screen. And when it say, what do you want in life? They listed18:01 10 things. Alright, here were the 10 things. Do you want purpose, meaning, healing, peace, hope, forgiveness, truth, guidance, growth, or salvation? Which 1 do you want? And18:12 notice, I've basically done 3 separate categories for you. Those who are the general population, these are believers and non believers alike, church goers and non church goers alike,18:24 what is the number 1 thing that they wanted? Peace. What's number 2? Hope. What what is general population want more than healing? That probably means that many of these people, they know18:36 someone, either they're struggling with their physical health or they know someone and they would love healing, alright? Interesting, a lot of people say, well you know what, everybody wants a purpose. Yeah, we need a18:46 purpose. But that's not the first thing people want. They want peace. They want calm. They want security. They want tranquility. Now, look to the next group. Christians, what do Christians18:58 want? The same thing as general population. First 2, peace. They want hope. I may have had a humble past but I want an honored future. And Christians want forgiveness. Why do we want19:10 forgiveness? Because the truth is we understand that we are wretched people, Alright? How many of you committed at least 1 sin this week? How many of19:22 you went well beyond that? Yeah, yeah. Some of you need to repent for what you said to your family on the way to church. Right? So here, we know we need forgiveness.19:34 Now go over to those people who identified, self identified, I have no faith. I am an atheist. I'm an agnostic. I don't go to church. What do they want? Peace.19:46 What's number 2? Hope. And then number 3, I love this, they want truth. Man, I see all kinds of opportunities for the gospel here. So whether you're at the19:58 gym or your work, whatever, can I tell you? Whether they're saved or not served, whether they go to church or not, don't go to church, what do they want? They want peace. How does Isaiah the prophet say that we get20:09 peace? Listen, here's how. When our minds are steadfast on God and we trust in Him. And then all of a sudden, you're in a conversation and someone's talking about their job20:21 and man, it's been difficult at the office or financially it's been a hard year or inflation is this. What are they doing? They're trusting and hoping for peace in something other than20:32 God, and it's an opportunity for a conversation. For you to say, you know where I find peace? In my relationship with God. Being surrounded by God's people. And then20:44 you also know if they say well I I don't go to church or you know, I don't have any faith. You say what you need more than anything, peace, hope, but they want the truth. And that gives us an opportunity20:56 just to share the truth of the gospel and God's word, a miracle that God performed through the natural, a miracle that God performed through the supernatural, a miracle that God performed through the Old Testament21:08 prophecies ultimately fulfilled in Christ, and then you say, have you ever thought about that? So, everybody wants peace, and so these angels show up with a message of hope,21:21 with a message of peace, with a message of favor. Because I'll tell you, everybody wants favor in their life, whether they're Christians or not.21:33 Everybody wants peace. So you can have peace today. Let me give you a couple of thoughts and I'm gonna take them straight from the angel's words to those shepherds outside of Bethlehem through this miracle. Thought21:44 number 1, you can have peace regardless of who you are. I don't care who you are, if you're the prodigal in a distant land, in a distant place, whether you're in person or whether you're online, you can21:56 still have peace regardless of who you are. Pick it up in verse 8. It says, and there were shepherds, alright, not an honored group in the new testament, living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over22:07 their flocks at night. Look at verse 9, an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shown around them. And what was their natural response? They were22:19 terrified. Now, there was a drastic difference between the Old Testament view of shepherds and the New Testament view of shepherds. If you go to the Old Testament, remember Abraham? Abraham22:31 was a shepherd. God called him, said I'm gonna bless you and your seed is gonna be a blessing to all people. Remember Moses? The children of Israel were in slavery. What was Moses doing? Moses was a22:42 shepherd at the time. God showed up at a burning bush, an unlikely hero, says Moses, I want to choose you. Moses said, I think you've got the wrong guy. But God said, no, no, no.22:54 I am going to use you to deliver my people to bring them to the promised land. Remember that great king David? When Samuel the prophet showed up to the town of Bethlehem23:06 looking to anoint the next king. He had 6 brothers. They all seemed more suited to be a king. And then finally Samuel says none of these are gonna be the king. Do23:18 you have another son? He goes, well, I've got this boy. It's David. Kind of left him out there. He's not the kingly type. And so in the Old Testament, let me tell you what, shepherds were23:30 loved and shepherds were honored. Probably the greatest psalm in all of God's word is Psalm 23 called the shepherd's psalm. But by the New Testament time, many people felt23:42 like shepherds were nothing more than thieves and vagrants, that if they had money in their pocket, they had probably stolen it from somebody. And so, maybe you need to understand this, regardless of whether you have an23:53 honored profession or a dishonored profession, whether you feel like you have an humble past or an honored past, God can use you. God shows up to these angels24:05 and gives them a message of hope and peace and favor, which is something we all need. I don't know how you feel24:17 like, your year is going to end at the office. My guess is, there are a lot of people in here that you're employees. There might be a lot of people that you're business owners. Not long ago, I ran24:29 across a Forbes article that, a lot of people make transitions at the end of the year. They get that year end bonus and they're gone. A lot of times managers or business24:41 leaders will say well they left for more money. Matter of fact, managers, about 90 percent of managers when they say why did people leave your company, In the last year, about 89 to 90 percent of24:53 managers said they left for more money. You don't want to know what the truth is? When employees say I left my office, I left my last job, only about 12 percent say they left for more25:04 money. Then you ask a follow-up question. Forbes, you can see this data. It says what do you want more than anything at the office? 2 things. Recognition of my accomplishments25:17 and appreciation for what I do at the office. So think about these shepherds. They didn't have recognition. They didn't have appreciation. As a matter of fact, the priest would25:29 say bring us your best lamb, but don't even come in the city gates. But God showed up to them and said listen, I've got this. Do not worry. So thought number 1,25:41 if you truly want peace in your life, is that regardless, it doesn't matter who you are. Here's number 2, let's pick it up, verse 10. If you will simply listen to the right message. You want peace? Listen to the right25:52 message. Where do you spend the majority of your time on a weekly basis getting your information from? Is it from a news channel? Is it from a26:04 podcast? Is it from, some social media? Is it X or is it, Instagram or Facebook? Where do you gain most of your information? Is it just people talking to you?26:16 Can I tell you, if you and I are going to truly have peace, we have to listen to the right message? Here's the right message. Luke chapter 2 verse 10, and the angel said to them, do not be afraid. Remember angels are26:28 fearful, they're inspirational, they're powerful. Do not be afraid. Why? Look at what happens. I bring you key number 1, a good news. Number 2, that will cause great joy.26:40 Number 3, it's for all people. Then notice what? Today, here's the message, in the town of David, Bethlehem, a savior has been born to you and he is the messiah.26:52 Now, you say what's the difference between a savior and a messiah or Christ and the messiah? That word messiah, that's just a Hebrew word which is exactly the Greek word Christ. Basically, a Messiah, an anointed27:04 1 that is gonna come to do something special and powerful. So, if you're gonna listen to the right message, there are 5 things that these angels tell them. Number 1, they talk about good news. What's the27:16 good news? It is the gospel, it is grace. For God so loved the world that he gave his 1 and only son that whoever, everybody say whoever. Whoever believes in him would not perish27:28 but have everlasting life. That is the Greek word gospel. It is the good news that regardless of how bad you are, God's good enough to love you27:40 anyway and offer you salvation. Then it says, a good news of a great joy. What is the great joy? That is lifted spirits, that's encouragement, that's the favor of God. So, the angel said, listen,27:52 after you've experienced the good news, then you can experience great joy because when you have the good news, you are forgiven of your sins, then you can walk in God's favor as you walk with God's people, spend time in28:03 God's house, live obediently to him. And then you say, alright, well who's this for? That's the third point. It is for all people, the whosoever. See, this message28:15 just wasn't for the shepherds. It just wasn't for Mary and Joseph. It wasn't for the temple priests. It wasn't just for the kings. It was for everybody. I love this idea. God's28:27 grace brings God's favor, which can be for all of God's people. Then the fourth thing says, today in the town of David, a savior is born.28:40 What is a savior? Often times, someone who saves someone from their own difficulties. See, I need to be saved from my28:52 sin. The Bible says for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That's me. Bible says for the wages of sin is what? Death. But29:03 the free gift of God is eternal life through the savior Christ Jesus our Lord. What an incredible thought. And then finally he says29:15 today a savior has been born to you. See, there certainly is an all people aspect of Christmas, but there's also a you and a me aspect of Christmas.29:28 That we can celebrate all we want the joy of knowing that Jesus was born, that he died for all people. But there has to be a me aspect where I do business with29:39 God and receive his son as savior and Lord, but it starts with me listening to the right message. The angels spelled it out for us. It's 1 thing for us to sit here and think, thank God29:52 that the angels went to the shepherds, But the reality of it is, has God showed up in your life? Have you come to a place when you say man, I take Christmas and I make it my own? So here's30:04 a third way you receive peace first, Doesn't matter who you are. Number 2, you have to listen to the right message. Here's number 3, if you know what you're looking for. As you journey into30:15 20 25, what are you looking for? Man, what's on your priority list? What goals have you already set? Do you want a new relationship, more relationships? Do you want a new job? Do you want a new30:27 car? Do you want better health? What do you want? So, here it is. Look at Luke chapter 2 verse 12. The angel said, this will be a sign. Alright, folks, here's your sign. You ready? This30:39 will be a sign to who? To you, you will find a baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger. So, the response to that was when the angels had left him and gone30:51 into heaven, the shepherds said to 1 another, they had this conversation. Can you imagine? My guess is there wasn't a whole lot of talking going on when they were looking at the angels. How many of you know that? Just31:01 kind of a I've been working on that look a lot. Right? That you're like, you're really good at that pastor, I got this dumb look down. Alright? Just can you imagine you're31:13 standing there, you're fearful, you're afraid and they say, do not be afraid and you hear the message. And then, all the angels go away. And after a while, you begin to31:25 look at each other and you start having a conversation with each other. And notice their conversation, When the angels had left them and gone back into31:36 Heaven, the shepherds said to 1 another, let's go to Bethlehem. Child of God, if you don't go to Bethlehem, you miss31:48 Christmas. If you don't heed the words of the angels, you miss Christmas. And if you don't get introduced to the savior, you miss heaven and I miss32:00 heaven. And so they said, let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened to him which the Lord has told us about. You know, we love singing the carols of the32:12 season. 1 of my favorite little Christmas carols is O Little Town of Bethlehem. How many of you love that song? Do you know the history of that song? All the way32:24 back in 18 61 to 18 65, what was America going through? The civil war. You had a pastor in Philadelphia32:36 named Phillips Brooks. He was pastoring a church and he was broken. It said through the Civil War, oftentimes when he would get into the platform, he couldn't preach without crying. Because he was so32:48 broken, it seemed the moms and the dads losing their sons, their sons coming back maimed forever and he would walk through the hospitals and see the tragedy that the country was going through. And all of a sudden, in 1833:00 65, about April ninth of 18 65, the33:13 the Abraham Lincoln, was assassinated. And, if you just want to go Google an amazing eulogy, just go Google33:24 Phillips' eulogy of Abraham Lincoln. When people talk about a eulogy, although this was not the official eulogy, they actually go to this 1.33:36 So after his friend and someone he loved, Abraham Lincoln, was dead, it was said that he was broken. That his congregation looked and said, we don't know that we're ever going to get him33:48 back. So the congregation says, we're going to send you on a vacation. I'm always worried about that if they tell me that. Pastor, we're going to send you on vacation. It's 1 way.34:00 Good luck. But his congregation looked at just the weight of the pastor, that everything he had seen, all the funerals he had done, all the hospitals he's walked through, watching34:12 loss of limb and loss of life, They sent him to the Holy Land. And if you go listen to Philip Brooks in 18 65 after the war was over, after the34:24 assassination, he goes to Holy Land. And he goes to all these majestic places. He goes to the Sea of Galilee and that was nice, but it didn't do it. He went to Caesarea Philippi and that was34:35 nice, but that didn't do it. He went to Nazareth and that was nice, but that didn't do it. He went down to Jerusalem, that was nice, but that didn't do it. But, you hear him tell the story of going out 1 night and34:47 sitting outside on a hill outside of Bethlehem, just broken and carrying the heaviness and hurt from the civil war and assassination of a president.35:00 He says, I just turned and I began to look back at that little town of Bethlehem. He says, it was in that moment that I finally gained a35:11 peace. And he began to write and think about these words, we'll put them on the screen, oh little town of Bethlehem, not Jerusalem,35:24 not the mightiest of mightiest cities, not the most powerful place, it's a little town of Bethlehem. How still we see thee lie. Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the35:36 silent stars go by, yet in thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light. The hopes and fears of all the years35:49 are met in thee tonight. See the hopes and fears of all the years? He was talking about the last 5 or 6 years he had been through.36:01 That he hoped for so much more, but the country was so divided. But it was in that moment that he turned and he looked back toward Bethlehem, and he36:12 felt a peace that he thought he could never have. Maybe there's some of you in this room or perhaps online that when you think about your life the last couple of years, the36:24 last year, the last 6 months, you like peace. The words of the angels to the shepherds outside of Bethlehem can still be words to you and36:36 me. The peace that Phillips Brooks, that pastor from Philadelphia felt when he looked at Bethlehem can be your peace. If what?36:49 You'll listen to the right message. I bring to you a good news that will bring great joy for all people. For that day in the37:01 town of David, a savior was born to you. It's 1 thing to hear those words, but the best thing we can37:12 do is follow those shepherds' example. They turned to each other and said, let's go. The question for you is when it comes to the offer that God37:24 has God has had of salvation and his son to you, has there ever been a moment in your life where by faith you have said, let's go? I want to invite37:36 us just to bow our heads now as we close. The shepherds, they knew what to do. The wise men,37:49 they knew what to do. The question for you and me is have you done it? Maybe there's someone here that what you need is to accept Christ as savior and38:01 Lord. It could be done in a simple prayer like this where you simply by faith say let's go. You oh God, in this moment, this season, I understand that I38:13 am a sinner, so filled with failure that I'm separated from you, but you love me so much that you sent your son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross38:25 after being born in Bethlehem. I believe he died, was buried and rose again the third day. And by faith, I receive him as my savior and I make him the38:37 lord of my life. If you prayed that prayer, you could say, God, thank you for your grace in saving me. And then say, now God, I wanna make you the lord of38:49 my life. I wanna walk in obedience to you and I wanna know your favor and your blessings because of how I live. In Jesus'39:01 name we pray, amen and amen.In this video 0:00 The Power of Miracles and God's Favor16:39 Finding Peace and Favor in God's Message
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