Had a protein shake and popcorn.
Yes, we're leading still, no speaking.
Guide us to thy perfect light.
The bird is mine, it's bigger her view.
Raise the light from gathering blue.
Star exciting, bleeding, dying, still in the storm come true.
Oh, star of wonder, star of night.
Star with loyal beauty bright.
Blessed were beings still, no speaking.
Guide us to thy perfect light.
Glorious now, behold him arise.
King and God at sacrifice.
Hallelujah, hallelujah, kids from the earth and skies.
Oh, star of wonder, star of night.
Star with loyal beauty bright.
Blessed were beings still, no speaking.
Guide us to thy perfect light.
And a great song to sing this morning.
I just feel like magic, so let's start with the word.
Father in heaven, once again, we thank you for the opportunity
to gather and to worship you, Lord.
Lord, we are eternally grateful for the gift of your son,
the Lord Jesus Christ, in whom we have salvation, Lord.
We thank you for this season in which we can honor
and remember the birth of our Savior, Lord.
We pray that as we go into the new year, Lord,
that you would just continue to strengthen us, Lord,
and encourage us in your word, Lord,
that we would go into your harvest, Lord,
and win souls that are lost, Lord.
We pray that you would bless the service today, Lord,
that you bless our lips as we sing praises unto you,
and also bless Pastor Anderson as he brings forth your word.
We ask all these things in Jesus' precious name. Amen.
Amen. Hymn number 426.
I heard the bells on Christmas Day, number 426.
A peace on earth, good will to men.
I thought now as the day had come,
the bells raise of all Christendom,
and hold along the broken song,
a peace on earth, good will to men.
And in despair I bow my head,
there is no peace on earth I send,
for faith is strong and mocks the song
of peace on earth, good will to men.
Then, feel the bells more loud and heed,
God is not dead, nor does he speak,
the wrong shall fail, the right prevail,
and peace on earth, good will to men.
Till ringing, singing on his way,
the world revolved from night till day,
a voice of time, a chance of light,
a peace on earth, good will to men.
At this time, we'll go through our announcements together.
If you don't have a bullet, then slip up your hand nice and high.
We'll get to you with one.
On the inside, we have our service times.
Sunday mornings at 1030 is our preaching service.
Sunday nights at six.
Wednesday nights at seven is our Bible study.
This week will be in Ezekiel chapter number 20.
We've got the soul-winning times listed there below,
as well as salvations and baptisms.
Across the page, Merry Christmas to everybody.
And below that, we've got some sad news.
Our beloved Hope Conklin has passed away.
She went to be with the Lord recently.
And so we're going to be having a graveside service,
tentatively planned for Thursday, December 30th.
That's not 100% for sure, but what is for sure
is that we're going to be having a memorial service
on Saturday, January 1st.
So this coming Saturday,
and we want to make sure that everybody understands
that everyone is invited to this.
I know a lot of you knew Hope,
and those who knew her knew that she was a very sweet lady,
always smiling and happy when she was here.
I always enjoyed spending the time that I did with her
when she was here.
And so even if you didn't know her well
or even if you didn't know her at all,
you're definitely more than welcome to attend
and celebrate her life with us and be there for this.
So don't be shy about coming to this.
This is on this coming Saturday.
Be sure to keep the Forte family in your prayers.
Obviously, this is a hard time for them.
But this Saturday at 11 a.m., everybody's invited.
We'll have a service remembering Hope,
and we will also have a catered lunch after that.
So I'll probably ask for a raise of hands on Wednesday
of who thinks that they're going to be coming.
But even if you don't RSVP, we'll order extra food.
That way, no matter who shows up, we'll be good to go.
And so that is going to be this coming Saturday.
And then on the back, we've got the cookie bake-up.
That is today at 4.30,
and there will be chances to win in these three different categories.
And so we'd love for you to come to that
and enjoy some Christmas fellowship with us today at 4.30.
And then we'll be having our normal evening service
at 6 o'clock this evening.
Below that, there's a homeschool field trip coming up
on Friday, January the 7th at 10.30 a.m.
So be sure to read the rules on that.
And then some soul-winning trips that are coming up below that,
including the big missions trip to Virgin Islands.
That's about it for announcements.
Let's go ahead and sing our next song.
Come lead us.
All right, in the front of your hymnals,
you should find the insert with the two songs.
We'll start with Born to Die.
If you don't have an insert, please raise your hand.
We'll get to you with one.
Born to Die.
On the night Christ was born,
Just before break of morn,
As the stars in the sky were fading,
O'er the plains where He lay,
Thou shadowed with rain,
Of the cross that would humble a king.
Born to die upon Calvary,
Jesus suffered my sin to forgive.
Born to die upon Calvary,
He was wounded that I might live.
Jesus knew when He came,
He would suffer in shame.
He would heal every pain and sorrow,
But He left paradise with His blood.
He paid the price by redemption to Jesus our Lord.
Born to die upon Calvary,
Jesus suffered my sin to forgive.
Born to die upon Calvary,
He was wounded that I might live.
From this dawn Jesus came,
Laid aside heaven's name,
In exchange for the cross of Calvary.
For my sins He bore the cross,
He was wounded and I was set free.
Born to die upon Calvary,
Jesus suffered my sin to forgive.
Born to die upon Calvary,
He was wounded that I might live.
Dearest Lord ever born,
May thy cross I adore,
As I follow the path to Calvary.
Upon death I will take,
My ambition I will sing,
While I will I surrender to Thee.
Born to die upon Calvary,
Jesus suffered my sin to forgive.
Born to die upon Calvary,
He was wounded that I might live.
Amen.
If you flip that sheet over we'll sing,
O Holy Night.
O Holy Night,
The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.
Long lay the world,
In sin and error fighting,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope,
The weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn,
On your knees.
O hear the angel voices,
O night divine,
O night when Christ was born,
O night, O Holy Night,
O night divine.
Led by the light,
A great supremely meeting,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
Over the world,
A star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wise men from Orient land.
The King of Kings,
Laid us in holy danger,
In all our trials,
Born to be our friend.
He knows our need,
Our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King,
Behold Him,
In lowly man.
Behold your King,
Behold Him,
Holy man.
Truly He taught us one for one another,
His law is done,
And His Gospel is pleased.
James shall pray,
The slain is our brother,
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy,
In grateful chorus praise ring,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord,
O praise His King forever,
His power and glory evermore proclaim,
His power and glory evermore proclaim.
All right, this time we'll pass offering plates around.
As the plates go around,
let's turn in our Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 20.
Acts chapter number 20, as we always do.
We'll read the entire chapter, beginning in verse number 1.
Acts chapter 20, starting in verse number 1.
Follow along silently with Brother Raymond as he reads.
Acts chapter 20 and verse 1, the Bible reads,
And after the uproar was ceased,
Paul called unto him the disciples and embraced them,
and departed for to go into Macedonia.
And when he had gone over those parts,
and given them much exhortation,
he came into Greece, and there abode three months.
And when the Jews laid wait for him,
as he was about to sail into Syria,
he purposed to return through Macedonia,
and there accompanied him into Asia,
Sopater of Berea and of the Thessalonians,
Aristarchus and Secundus and Gaius of Derbe,
and Timotheus and of Asia, Tychicus and Trophimus.
These going before tarried for us at Troas.
And we sailed away from Philippi,
after the days of unleavened bread,
and came unto them to Troas in five days,
where we abode seven days.
And upon the first day of the week,
when the disciples came together to break bread,
Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow,
and continue to speech until midnight.
And there were many lights in the upper chamber,
where they were gathered together.
And there set in a window a certain young man named Eutychus,
being fallen into a deep sleep,
and as Paul was long preaching,
he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft,
and was taken up dead.
And Paul went down and fell on him,
and embracing him said,
Trouble not yourselves, for his life is in him.
When he therefore was come up again,
and had broken bread, and eaten,
and talked a long while,
even till break of day, so he departed.
And they brought the young man alive,
and were not a little comforted.
And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Asos,
there intending to take in Paul,
for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot.
And when he met with us at Asos,
we took him in, and came to Mytilene,
and we sailed thence,
and came the next day over against Chios.
And the next day we arrived at Samos,
and tarried at Trogelum,
and the next day we came to Miletus.
For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus,
because he would not spend the time in Asia,
for he hasted, if it were possible for him,
to be at Jerusalem, the day of Pentecost.
And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus,
and called the elders of the church.
And when they were come to him,
he said unto them,
Ye know from the first day that I came unto Asia,
after what manner I have been with you at all seasons,
serving the Lord with all humility of mind,
and with many tears and temptations,
which befell me by the lying and weight of the Jews.
And how I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you,
but have showed you, and have taught you publicly,
and from house to house,
testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks,
repentance toward God,
and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
And now, behold, I go bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem,
not knowing the things that shall befall me there.
Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city,
saying that bonds and afflictions abide me.
But none of these things move me,
neither count I my life dear unto myself,
so that I might finish my course with joy,
and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus,
to testify the gospel of the grace of God.
And now, behold, I know that ye all,
among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God,
shall see my face no more.
Wherefore I take you to record this day,
that I am pure from the blood of all men.
For I have not shunned to declare unto you
all the counsel of God.
Take heed therefore unto yourselves,
and to all the flock,
over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers,
to feed the church of God,
which he hath purchased with his own blood.
For I know this, that after my departing
shall grievous wolves enter in among you,
not sparing the flock.
Also of your own selves shall men arise,
speaking perverse things,
to draw away disciples after them.
Therefore watch, and remember,
that by the space of three years
I cease not to warn every one night and day with tears.
And now, brethren, I commend you to God,
and to the word of his grace,
which is able to build you up,
and to give you an inheritance
among all them which are sanctified.
I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.
Yea, yourselves know that these hands
have ministered unto my necessities,
and to them that were with me.
I have showed you all things,
how that so laboring ye ought to support the weak,
and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus,
how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
And when he had thus spoken,
he kneeled down and prayed with them all.
And they all wept sore,
and fell on Paul's neck and kissed him,
sorrowing most of all for the words which he spake,
and they should see his face no more.
And they accompanied him unto the ship.
Brother Fidel, will you pray for us?
Father in heaven, thank you for giving us the opportunity
to congregate together on Christmas weekend.
Thank you for sending your son Jesus.
Please bless Pastor Anderson,
and let his sermon edify us, Lord.
It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Amen.
The title of my sermon this morning is,
It is more blessed to give than to receive.
It's more blessed to give than to receive.
The Bible says there in Acts chapter 20 verse 33,
I've coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel.
Yea, ye yourselves know that these hands
have ministered unto my necessities,
and to them that were with me.
I have showed you all things,
how that's so laboring,
ye ought to support the weak,
and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus,
how he said,
It is more blessed to give than to receive.
You know, we read the four gospels,
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
we're only getting a small little taste
of all the things that Jesus said and did
while he was on this earth.
The Bible says at the end of the book of John,
that if all of the things that Jesus said and did
were written down,
then the world itself could not even contain
the books that should be written,
but specific things are written in Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John to make the particular points
that those books are making,
and to tell the story that those books are taking.
And in the case of the book of John,
it's so that we would believe that Jesus Christ
is the Son of God,
and that believing on him,
we would have light through his name.
But here's another saying of the Lord Jesus Christ
that is preserved by the Apostle Paul here,
telling us in the book of Acts,
that Jesus said,
It is more blessed to give than to receive.
He says this in the context of the fact that
he had not lived a covetous lifestyle.
He didn't spend his time trying to figure out
how many possessions he could get.
He wasn't into making money,
or becoming rich,
or laying up treasures upon the earth.
He did not live a covetous life.
He worked hard so that he could support his own needs
and the needs of those around him,
but his life was about other people,
not about serving himself.
Now if you would go to Philippians chapter 2,
here's another great passage about the Lord Jesus Christ
in regard to the fact that it's more blessed to give
than to receive.
It's more blessed to give than to receive.
Christmas is a time when a lot of people
are giving gifts to one another,
and a lot of people are receiving gifts from other people,
so we think of gift giving at this time of year.
But also for some people, it's a sad time of year
because many people are sad about family problems,
or maybe the loss of a loved one,
or perhaps just that their family isn't the way
that they want it to be,
maybe they have strife in their family,
or maybe their family is very far away,
and they miss their family.
For some people it's a happy time,
for some people it's a sad time.
But for all of us, obviously as Christians,
we're celebrating the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We want to give honor and glory to Christ above all else
on Christmas.
And when we think about the giving of gifts
and the receiving of gifts,
I think that this is a great custom,
and it's biblical.
The Bible talks about in, for example,
the book of Ezra, that we should give gifts to one another
and celebrate and so forth.
It's not a bad practice at all,
but we want to be careful that we don't become materialistic
or covetous at this time of year either.
Because for a lot of people, it's just all about the stuff.
It's all about the gifts,
it's all about the goods that they can acquire,
or receive more than they give, or whatever.
But the Bible says it's more blessed to give
than to receive.
Gifts should be given out of a heart of love
and a care for other people.
But look at what the Bible says in Philippians 2, verse 3,
Let nothing be done through strife or vain glory,
but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other
better than themselves.
Look not every man on his own things,
but every man also on the things of others.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
So all that to say this, at this time of year,
if you want to have a blessed Christmas holiday,
even if your situation is not what you want it to be,
or even if you're going through hard times right now,
if you want to have a blessed Christmas,
then focus on giving and not on receiving.
Now this is just great life advice in general
because I'm telling you,
the people that are the most depressed in life
are the people who are focused on themselves.
People who set out to be happy in life,
and their biggest goal is to get their life a certain way
and to get all their ducks in a row
and to please themselves
and to live the happy life that they want to live,
these people will end up being the most unhappy people
and they'll end up being the most miserable.
Ironically, those who seek happiness don't find it.
And those who seek to bless other people
and care about other people and serve the Lord
and do things to make other people's life better,
they end up having the better life just as a side effect.
You know, if you seek to save your life, you'll lose it,
but if you lose your life for Christ's sake,
you'll find it.
Happiness is one of those things
that if you seek after it, you will fail,
but if you ignore it, it will come to you.
Spend time thinking about other people
and what you can do to make them happy
and you will make yourself happy in the process.
Spend your life making yourself happy
and you're going to become a spoiled, miserable brat
that's never happy no matter what situation they're in.
The Bible says in the lowliness of mind,
let each esteem other better than themselves.
Whether or not people are better than you isn't the point.
Esteem others better than yourself.
Now, I'll promise you this, nobody was better than Jesus.
Was anybody better than Jesus? No.
But yet this mind of esteeming others better than yourself
and looking every man, not on his own things,
but every man also on the things of others,
this was the mind that was in Christ Jesus.
That was the mentality that Jesus had
while he was on this earth.
So you can't sit there and just say, well, you know,
how can I esteem other people better than myself
when I'm the ultimate?
Jesus was the ultimate.
You're not.
And he esteemed others better than himself,
so can we also put other people first,
let other people go first,
think about their needs more than our own.
Let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus.
That's the mind we're talking about.
The mind that doesn't look on your own things
but looks on the things of others,
that lives for others,
that thinks about what they can do for other people.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus
who being in the form of God
thought it not robbery to be equal with God
but made himself of no reputation.
So although Jesus Christ was equal with God,
the Bible says he made himself of no reputation
and took upon him the form of a servant
and was made in the likeness of men
and being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross,
wherefore God also had highly exalted him
and given him a name which is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
of things in heaven and things on earth
and things under the earth,
and that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
So by humbling himself, being lowly, right,
riding upon the colt, the foal of an ass
at the triumphal entry because he was humble,
he was meek, he was lowly, he was a servant,
he esteemed others better than himself,
he is exalted to the highest possible position
where he's been given a name which is above every name,
higher than any other name.
He is the Lord of all things in heaven,
in earth, and under the earth.
The way up is down, okay,
because if you want to be exalted,
you've got to humble yourself.
If you want to be happy, make someone else happy.
And so it makes perfect sense
that if this was the mentality
that was in the Lord Jesus Christ,
it makes perfect sense that he said this famous quote,
it's more blessed to give than to receive
because he lived that way in his earthly ministry.
Go to Mark chapter 10,
the Gospel of Mark chapter 10,
Mark chapter number 10.
He made himself of no reputation.
What does that mean?
That means he was not going around
trying to just always improve his brand name
or his image or glorify himself.
Now if anybody had the right to glorify themself,
it's the Lord Jesus Christ, the creator of the universe.
But yet he humbled himself
and he did not go around glorifying himself.
His voice was not heard in the streets
and he was humble.
Other people praised him.
Other people glorified him.
The Father bestowed glory upon him.
The Holy Spirit lighted upon him and gave him glory.
But he himself was meek and lowly and humble,
according to the Bible.
And we are supposed to follow that example.
Look at Mark chapter 10 verse 42.
It says,
But Jesus called them to him and saith unto them,
Ye know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles
exercise lordship over them,
and their great ones exercise authority upon them.
But so shall it not be among you,
for whosoever will be great among you shall be your minister.
And the word minister is just another word for servant.
It's just an old word for servant.
It's not talking about being some kind of a clergy member
or pastor or deacon or something like that.
It just means servant.
And whosoever of you will be the chiefest
shall be servant of all.
For even the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto,
but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many.
He said,
I didn't come to be served, I came to serve.
And this is the mentality that should be in us as well.
Go to Romans chapter 15.
Romans chapter number 15.
Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.
Be humble.
It's more blessed to give than to receive.
A surefire recipe to being a miserable person
is just think about everything you want
and just working toward what you want
without considering the people around you,
without considering others.
You know what we need to consider?
Obviously first and foremost what the Lord wants us to do.
That's number one.
We need to also consider how our actions affect our spouse,
our children, our parents, our siblings, our friends,
our church, and also even just the lost.
You know, once we get that down,
once we first learn to show piety at home
and to love and respect our parents, our children,
our siblings, our friends, and close people to us,
you know, then we extend our love and compassion out
even to the lost, even to strangers,
even to people that we don't even know.
And we think about the fact that, you know what?
My life could be used to actually get other people saved.
I could actually take somebody who's on their way to hell
and get them on their way to heaven
by preaching them the gospel of Jesus Christ,
by showing them the path of salvation from the word of God.
You know, that's something that is important for us
to be doing with our lives,
and it involves caring about other people
and thinking about them.
You know, we're going to heaven no matter what,
those of us who believed on Jesus Christ,
but we need to be thinking about other people.
We need to be thinking about the people out there
that are not saved, that are damned eternally,
if they don't believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
And so we need to care about how our actions affect our family,
how do they affect our friends, how do they affect our church,
and how do they affect the lost and dying world that we live in
that needs us to be a light of the gospel.
The Bible says in Romans chapter 15 verse 1,
we then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak
and not to please ourselves.
Life is not about just pleasing yourself.
But I'm telling you, for a lot of people it is.
A lot of people, their life is just what can they enjoy,
how can they succeed, how can they become rich or popular
or famous or well-known or how can they just enjoy
the most pleasure and good times.
But you know what?
That's not a way to live your life.
And you say, well, it sounds fun.
No, it's not fun because anybody who lives their life that way
will realize that it's they're chasing an illusion, you know,
and they're just always going to want more,
nothing ever satisfies.
You know, when you're a kid, you lack understanding
about the way the world works and the way life works, right?
Kids don't really understand the deep things of God
and the deep things of life.
You know, as you grow up, you get older
and you get a greater understanding of life.
But you know, when you're a kid, you know, happiness to you as a kid,
and look, kids, I've been there, okay?
You've never been a 40-year-old man,
but I have been a 6-year-old, I've been a 9-year-old,
I've been an 11-year-old, I've been a 12-year-old.
I know what it's like to be a 9-year-old, okay?
And when you're a 9-year-old, happiness is, you know,
getting that item out of that catalog or whatever.
You know, back then, the Internet did not exist,
and so it was the JCPenney catalog
or it was some kind of other Lego catalog or something, you know.
And you'd be looking through that catalog
and just be just lusting after those items in that catalog,
those toys and electronics and the stuff.
And you wanted that stuff in that catalog.
And you know what?
When you're a child, you believe that getting those items
will actually bring you happiness.
You know, I mean, to a child, happiness is just an all-you-can-eat buffet
and getting a few items out of that catalog,
and it's like, you know, what else do you need in life?
You know, an ice cream cone and these things.
But you know, when you become a little bit older,
you find that the ice cream cone and the goods out of the catalog
do not satisfy you.
They do not make you happy, okay?
And I'm telling you, anything that this world has to offer
will not ultimately make you happy, period.
Now, it can provide, you know, momentary joy or pleasure or enjoyment.
Obviously, there are things in this world that are fun.
It's fun to ride a roller coaster.
It's fun to eat the ice cream cone.
It's fun to get a cool gift for Christmas.
But ultimately, it's not going to be enough
because we are not animals.
We are human beings, and we are made in the image of God,
and we're not just a body and a soul.
We're a body, a soul, and a spirit.
And if you do not actually have a spiritual component to your life,
you're going to be miserable.
You know, something's going to be missing all the time.
And also, even just from a soul and body perspective,
when you are out there just for yourself, it's an empty feeling.
It doesn't really satisfy.
It doesn't really live up to what it's promising.
And so you've got to understand that living a life about pleasing yourself
is the wrong way to live your life.
So the younger you are when you figure this out,
the better off you're going to be when you realize, you know what,
it's not enough to just have a good time and get what I want.
You know, I need to serve God with my life.
I need to make a difference in the lives of other people.
Once you realize that, you can actually be on a path toward true happiness.
And you know what?
God is such a good and gracious God that he gives us the desires of our hearts.
He gives us so many blessings, and our cup runneth over,
and he gives us all the things that we don't even ask for.
You know, the King Solomon, you know, he, when he was a young, humble man,
being put in a position of power over the nation of Israel,
he could have asked for anything.
He didn't ask for a long life.
He didn't ask for money.
He didn't ask for power.
He didn't ask for winning on the battlefield.
He asked for knowledge and wisdom because he said, I want to do a good job.
You know, who can rule this so great of a people, your people, God?
I just want to make sure I do a good job.
You know, we often think of Solomon, and we think of the guy decades later
who's got way too many wives, and he's way too rich,
and he's a little too focused on himself.
That's the guy that we often think of, but you know what?
Let's forget about that guy for a moment, okay?
And let's think about King Solomon the day that he becomes king, right?
Let's stop and think about him at the beginning of his ministry,
at the beginning of being king.
Here's a guy who cares about other people, and we often say, oh, he was smart
because instead of asking for money, he asked for wisdom.
Instead of asking for, you know, goods or length of days, he asked for wisdom.
It's smart to go after wisdom.
True, but you know what?
I think we're missing part of the point there.
I think part of the reason why God liked his prayer so much
and why God gave him the desires of his heart
is not just because he chose wisdom over money, which is a great choice,
but really, I think what some people miss about that story
is that he chose other people over himself.
I think that's something that we often overlook there,
but he says, I want wisdom so I can be the smartest man.
I want people to come from all over.
I want the Queen of Sheba to come from the ends of the earth to hear my wisdom.
That's not why he asked for wisdom.
Why did he ask for wisdom?
The Bible says that he was nervous about doing a good job
because he wanted to be a blessing to the people.
He was in a position of leadership, and he said, you know,
your people is such a great people.
I want to have the knowledge and the wisdom to rule them well.
It'd be like a pastor saying, you know what?
I just want to be the best pastor I can be so that my church people can be blessed,
or I just want to be the best dad that I can be so that my children will be blessed.
I want to be the best husband I can be so that my wife will be blessed.
You know, I just want to be the best boss at my job that I can be
so that my workers will be blessed to work with me.
That's the kind of prayer that Solomon was praying.
That's what he was saying.
That's the greatness.
It's not just that he was smart enough to know that wisdom is more valuable than rubies
because, you know, it'd be possible to seek out wisdom just for yourself.
It'd be possible to just want to be the wisest man just so that you could just be the wisest man.
But let's stop and read that passage, and what does he say?
He says, it's so that I can lead your people and I can do a good job.
That's why it was important to him.
So the Bible says in Romans 15, 1,
we then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please ourselves.
We need to be in it for other people, use our strength, use our wisdom,
use whatever resources we have to bless others.
Let every one of us please his neighbor
It's not Omicron, folks.
I'm as healthy as a horse.
Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification.
Please your neighbor for your neighbor's sake for edification.
Be blessed even Christ please not himself.
Why did he come to this earth?
To be ministered unto?
No, to minister and to give his life a ransom for many.
You know, he got some pretty serious gifts at his baby shower.
You know, when Jesus was born, right?
Gold and myrrh and frankincense at his baby shower.
But you know, you never see Jesus setting out for those things in his life.
Those things come to him.
He gets a lot of praise.
He gets a lot of accolades.
People are coming from all over the world there.
But Jesus did not set out to be famous, did he?
No way.
Because if you remember, his brethren make fun of him.
In, what is it, John chapter 7?
They make fun of him and they basically say to him,
well, you know, no man, and I'm paraphrasing,
you know, they basically say to him, you know,
if you want to be known openly, show yourself to the world.
I mean, don't you want to be popular?
Don't you want to be famous?
Isn't that why you're doing this, Jesus?
That's what his brothers said to him.
They accused him of that and they make fun of him for not being more public,
for not glorifying himself more, if he's such a big shot or whatever.
You know, thankfully, later they got saved and believed in him.
But at that time, the Bible says his brethren believed not on him at that time.
They didn't yet believe in him.
And so they're down on him for not promoting himself.
And constantly, when people are saying, you're the son of God,
you're the king of Israel, he tells them at times, hey, hey,
quiet that down a little bit, buddy, right?
My hour is not yet come.
Let's keep that quiet.
Then finally, people are coming from all over the world and everything.
He says, okay, my hour has come.
And he does the triumphal entry into Jerusalem and so forth.
But the bottom line is, Jesus Christ, while he was on this earth,
did not please himself.
He's constantly doing things for other people.
He didn't aggrandize himself.
And he's the son of God.
He had the right to aggrandize himself and he didn't.
How much less us, who are but clay and ashes,
should we really be out there glorifying ourself,
just making ourselves online to be like we're the coolest person ever online?
And let me just tell you something, that's what people do.
Okay, so don't ever be so foolish as to see something online
and feel like someone else's life is so much better than yours.
Because when people put their life online, they really polish the apple.
Am I right?
I mean, you look at, you know, if you look at somebody's social media account,
that's not what their life is actually like.
It's what they want their life to be like.
You know, I mean, how many times have you basically been in a real-life situation
and then seen it online and it looked a lot cooler online than actually being there?
Okay, there are all kinds of filters going on.
There's all kinds of touching up and Photoshop going on.
There's all kinds of staging and posing and things that are going on.
You know, but is that really something that we need to be a part of as Christians,
like going online and just glorifying ourselves and promoting ourselves
and praising ourselves online?
Absolutely not.
Why, so we can make other people feel bad about their life that's not as good as ours?
You know, we need to think about other people and be a blessing to other people.
And even Christ didn't please himself.
Even Christ didn't glorify himself.
So, you know, we shouldn't be into self-glorifying either.
But the Bible says in verse 3, even Christ pleased not himself,
but as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.
For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning,
that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.
Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be like-minded one toward another
according to Christ Jesus.
So Christ is the example of how to be toward one another.
That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
wherefore receive ye one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
Flip over to 2 Corinthians chapter 5, 2 Corinthians chapter 5.
Receive one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God.
How did Christ receive us?
Just as we are, right, in our sinful condition.
He forgave us.
I mean, he said, him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
You know, we need to have the same mentality toward others that Christ had toward us.
As Christ received us, we ought to receive other people.
Love other people, please other people, care about other people, put other people first.
Don't be selfish, don't be egotistical, don't be narcissistic, don't glorify yourself.
And look, I'm not against social media.
I'm not against being online.
I'm not against posting family pictures and pictures of vacations and fun things.
But you know what, though?
At the end of the day, though, just realize that those things are not necessarily real
when you see them coming from other people.
And realize that you need to be content with what you have and not look at other people
and covet what they have.
But remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ.
What did Paul say?
I didn't covet other people's stuff.
I didn't go online.
I'm paraphrasing, but you know, I didn't go online and look at other people's life
and wish that that was my life.
I didn't covet my neighbor's wife.
I didn't covet my neighbor's house.
I didn't covet my neighbor's ox or his ass or anything that was my neighbor's.
I didn't go online and covet.
I didn't go in a catalog and covet.
You know what?
I just remembered the words of our Lord Jesus Christ that it's more blessed to give than
to receive.
And I just spent a life about giving to others and helping others and blessing others.
Yeah, I worked hard at my job.
Yeah, I made money.
But I did it so that I could meet my own needs and so I could meet the needs of those around
me, so I could support my family, so I could be a blessing to people that are in need.
I did not do it for myself.
And you know, I believe the Apostle Paul lived a happy life.
I don't think the Apostle Paul was a miserable guy.
I think he was a happy guy, surrounded by people who loved him, surrounded by his friends.
You know, he went through some hard things, but he said, I've learned in whatsoever state
I am therewith to be content.
You know, and when I hear the English word content, I think about the Spanish word contento,
which means happy.
Because you know what?
Contentment is happiness.
I mean, if you think about it, if you're content, you're happy.
If I'm content with what I have, I'm going to be a happy person.
But if I'm always wishing that I had something else, if I'm always upset because I'm single
or I'm upset because I'm poor or I'm upset because I'm sick or I'm injured or whatever,
my job's not going right, you know what?
That's an unhappy person.
But you know what?
It's possible to even be content even in those bad situations.
Paul did it.
You know, Paul went through those things.
Jesus went through those things.
Jesus was tempted in all points like as we are, and yet without sin.
And so Jesus knows what we're going through.
He's touched with the feeling of our infirmities.
And I'll tell you how Jesus pushed through.
How did Jesus power through these hard times in his life?
How did he get through is because he thought about other people.
He realized it was more blessed to give than to receive.
Jesus came not to be ministered unto but to minister.
You know, even when he was on the cross, you know, what a beautiful song.
Father, forgive them, thus did he pray, even while his life's blood flowed fast away,
praying for sinners while in such woe, no one but Jesus ever loved so.
Hey, think about that.
Being in that situation and you're thinking about other people.
I mean, if I were being crucified right now, literally crucified,
I'm not thinking about other people.
You know what I mean?
No one but Jesus ever loved so.
Now, maybe I would.
I mean, you know, maybe God would give me the grace.
Maybe I'd get some kind of infusion of the power of the Holy Spirit to think about other people.
But, you know, most of us, humanly speaking, that'd be pretty hard to imagine being in that kind of agony and pain
and saying, oh, Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.
I mean, that's a guy who has spent his whole life thinking about others.
That's Jesus Christ, the Son of God, thinking about other people the whole time, right?
Not in it for himself.
He came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.
And he left us an example that we should follow in his steps.
That's what the Bible says.
2 Corinthians 5, verse 14, for the love of Christ constraineth us.
What does it mean to constrain?
It means to force someone to do something, right?
To urge them and say, no, I insist you need to do this, right?
If I were offering something to someone and they turned it down and I constrained them, I'm saying, no, you must receive this.
You must take this.
The love of Christ constraineth us because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead.
And that he died for all, that they which live, don't miss this, should not henceforth live unto themselves.
Right?
We are saved, Christ died for us, and we are not supposed to be living for ourselves.
That we should not live unto ourselves, but unto him which died for them and rose again.
Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh.
Yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature, old things are passed away, behold all things have become new,
and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them,
and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead,
be ye reconciled to God, 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.
Do you see how everything Jesus did was for us?
He did it for us.
He was made sin for us, so that we would be made the righteousness of God in him.
He did it for us.
Why did Jesus carry the cross up Mount Golgotha?
It's for us.
Why did he go through it?
He could have called 12 legions of angels, right?
That would come and release him, and he could have ended it.
Jesus said, I could call on my Father right now to send 12 legions of angels and he'll do it.
I don't need you fighting for me, Peter, because I've got other troops that I could call upon.
But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled?
You know, how then am I going to die for the sins of mankind?
And so he endured the cross.
He endured and was faithful unto death, for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.
What's the joy?
I mean, what is the joy?
You know, the joy is saving us.
That's the joy for him.
You know, the Bible says, what is our hope?
What is our joy?
What is our crown of rejoicing?
Is it not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ in his coming, for ye are our glory and joy?
So if the Apostle Paul would say, hey, my greatest joy is the reunion in heaven with the people that I've won to Christ,
how much more Jesus Christ himself does he have joy at seeing people be saved and go to heaven?
The Apostle Paul, feeling that way, is a shadow of Christ ultimately enduring the cross out of love, right?
And it's not just Jesus who had the love.
It's the Father who had the love because the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
And the Bible says God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son.
Now, giving the only begotten Son is the ultimate gift.
The Father loved, so he gave.
Jesus loved, and so he gave his own life.
He laid down his life.
He said, no man taketh my life from me.
He said, I offer it up freely.
I have power to lay it down.
I have the power to take it up again.
And so Jesus gave.
The Father gave.
God loved the world.
And we as Christians need to also be people who are generous, who give, who think about other people,
and don't sit around thinking about ourselves.
You know, people that are down all the time, it's typically because they're feeling sorry for themselves.
You know, I mean, I've never met someone, and maybe this person's out there,
I've never met somebody who's just always down, always depressed, always sad, always upset,
always in a bad mood, just because they just feel so bad for other people.
And they're just like, my life is so great, but I just feel so bad for other people.
You know, I mean, maybe that person's out there, but I've never met them.
Because I find the people that are always gloomy and down in the dumps,
if you ask them what's wrong, they're typically going to tell you about what?
Oh, these are the problems that I have.
They're not going to sit there and be like, oh, it's just Brother so-and-so, he's having such a hard time.
You know, I mean, it'd be great if that's how people were.
But here's the thing, the person who really is weeping for Brother so-and-so,
the person who really is weeping for that sister in Christ,
the person who really does care that much about other people,
you know what, they take those things to the Lord in prayer, they weep, they're sad,
they feel those things, but you know what, there's so much joy of the Holy Ghost
that they don't end up being a down person.
They end up actually being a happy person, ironically.
And you know, most things about the Christian life are ironic.
Most things about life are ironic.
Most things about the world are ironic.
You know, if you study science, everything ends up being ironic.
You know, it's just things are not the way they seem.
Reality is not always the way they seem.
Reality is not always the way that it appears.
And so that's why God said, judge not after the appearance, judge righteous judgment.
Because if you judge according to the appearance, you're going to think that the person with the great job
and the money and the car and the house and the trophy wife,
you're just going to assume that's the happiest person.
Because you're judging by the appearance.
But ironically, the person who loves money and follows that path ends up being unhappy,
no matter how many toys they have.
And the person who ends up just sacrificing for others,
you might look at that person and say, what a miserable life,
because he's constantly doing things for other people, he never gets a break,
he never does anything for himself.
But you know what, he has meat to eat that you know not of.
You know, he has joy that you can't even imagine.
And so don't get sucked in to the illusion that this world offers of what it means to be happy,
what it means to be blessed.
Because you know blessed and happy are kind of used interchangeably sometimes in the Bible.
Have you noticed that?
You know, sometimes they'll say blessed is the man, X, Y, and Z.
Sometimes they'll say happy is the man, X, Y, and Z.
You know, those two terms are very similar.
Because obviously the one who's blessed is, you know, hey, it's more blessed to give than to receive.
Another way of paraphrasing that would be to say, you know what, you're happier giving than receiving.
Spend a life of giving, spend a life of serving, spend a life thinking about other people.
And you know, if you catch yourself slipping into depression or sadness,
and like I said, this can be a hard time for people, you know, the holidays.
And there's a time to mourn, and I'm for mourning.
I'm not one of these people that thinks you're supposed to be happy all the time.
If you just lost a loved one, mourn about it.
I mean, that's normal, right?
We all mourn.
But you know, we don't mourn like those who have no hope.
You know, but we do mourn, don't we?
When we go through hard things, we mourn.
If you're going through a hard thing, maybe you're going through a sad thing.
But you know what, there's a difference between mourning and being swallowed up into overmuch sorrow.
And many people this time of year, because they're single and they wish they were married,
they get swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
Or maybe they're really poor, and they're struggling financially, and they get swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.
You know, I don't know, whatever.
Maybe health problems are just, they've just been bothering them, and it's been years,
and they're still suffering physically, and they just get swallowed.
You know, if you find yourself getting swallowed up, if you find yourself falling beneath the waves,
if you find yourself sinking into despair, you know what?
Think about someone else that you can help.
Think about someone else whose day you can brighten, someone else you can be a blessing to.
And you say, well, I just can't think of anything, you know?
Everybody around me seems so happy.
You know, I'm the only one.
You know, that's because you just don't see the needs of the people around you.
But if that's true, and you say, well, I can't think of anybody to help.
I can't think of anybody to cheer up.
I can't think of anybody to visit.
I can't think of anybody to be a blessing to.
Well, then you know what?
We've got a whole slew of soul-winning times for you to go out and be a blessing to someone
and offer them the gift of eternal life.
You know, you say, you know, I'd love to give a gift, but I don't have any money to give a gift.
Well, hey, Jesus already paid for a gift that you can give to people all day long.
And you know what?
I've never come back from soul-winning depressed.
I've gone out soul-winning depressed.
I've headed out soul-winning depressed many times.
Okay.
But you know, you go out and do some serious soul-winning, especially if you win someone to Christ
or get to present the gospel.
You know, you come home feeling better.
You know, because you're thinking about other people.
You're thinking about heaven and hell.
And you're thinking about eternal things.
You're loving other people and thinking about them.
And that will fix you up.
Let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer.
Father, we thank you so much for your unspeakable gift.
And we thank you for this Christmas holiday when we can celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The greatest event in the history of mankind is when the Word was made flesh and dwelled among us.
And Lord, even our own calendar, even the fact that we're celebrating a new year in a week, 2022,
we're really just celebrating 2022 years since Jesus was born.
And so, Lord God, we're thankful.
We're blessed.
Help us to be focused on other people and help us to love one another as you loved us.
And Lord, if there's anyone who's depressed or grieving or sad, Lord, I pray that you give them comfort of the Holy Spirit.
And in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Amen.
Take your hymnals and we'll be dismissed and sing in number 428.
Hymn number 428, it came upon the midnight clear, number 428.
We'll sing it out on that first verse all together, number 428.
Angels bending near the earth to touch their hearts of gold.
Peace on the earth, goodwill to men from heads, all gracious king.
The world in solemn, still this way to hear the angels sing.
Still through the golden skies they come with peaceful wings unfurled.
And still their heavenly music floats o'er all the weary world.
Above its sad and holy wings they bend on hovering wing.
And ever o'er its babble sounds the blessed angels sing.
And deep beneath life's crushing loam whose forms are bending low.
Who toil along the climbing wing with hateful stems and snow.
Look now for glad and golden eyes constantly on the wing.
Oh, rest beside the weary road and hear the angels sing.
For lo, the days are hasting on by profit bonds foretold.
When with the ever circling years comes round the age of gold.
When peace shall over all the earth its ancient splendors cling.
And the whole world give back the song which now the angels sing.
Amen. Excellent singing this morning. You are dismissed.