You
Alright brethren, welcome to the
Welcome to Christmas, Merry Christmas
to you all. Welcome to the Christmas
service this morning. Just a reminder
that we don't have an afternoon service today.
So it's just a morning service, so it's good to see you all
this morning. If you've got your hymnals, please
turn to hymn number 424.
Let's sing all the Christmas songs.
Let's start with 424
O come all ye faithful
424, O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
can you please stand. 424
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
and when you have found it
O come all ye faithful
to your house this morning, Lord to uh Lord as we're saying to adore to adore our Lord Jesus Christ.
I thank you so much Father for sending your son the Lord Jesus Christ to die in our place.
Lord that he was born to die. Lord that you gave him this mission to die for um ask Lord to die
for sinners and to offer us that free gift of salvation and Lord as we remember to give gifts
on this Christmas day, Lord I do hope that you'd remind each one of us Lord in our hearts and our
minds the true gift the free gift Lord offered salvation by Jesus Christ alone and Lord so we
just um come before you tonight uh this morning Lord. I pray you bless us. May the Holy Spirit
teach us from your word and we pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. You may be seated.
All right keep that good singing happening. Let's turn to 433. Away in a manger. 433. Away in a manger.
Away in a manger.
The stars in the sky.
The cattle of the wind.
The sky.
Jesus.
To stay.
I
all right 428 now 428 428 it came upon the midnight clear
428.
Singing really well. Keep it going.
To touch
to see
and
the
man
and
rest
is
all right one more song before the Bible reading let's go to hymn number 431 431
silent night holy night 431 silent night holy nights and after we do the four stanzas we do the
fifth stanza with john 316 okay 431 silent night holy night
silent night holy night
holy sun
holy
light
wrapped on virgin mother and child
holy infant so tender and kind
sleep in heavenly peace
silent night
holy night
shepherds wake at the sight
glory
stream from never
how far
heavenly
voice in
how ever
now
Christ
the savior
is born
Christ
the savior
is born
silent
night
holy
night
sun of
god
cast you
light
radiant
from my
holy
face
at the
dawn of
jesus
lord
at my
word
silent
night
holy night
what
will
stop
when
the
angels
let us
send
to
our king
Christ
the savior
is born
Christ
the
savior
is born
silent
night
holy
night
the
lord
that he
gave his
only begotten
son
that whosoever
believeth
in him
should
not perish
but have
everlasting
life
excellent singing
please take your Bibles now and turn to the book of Luke
Luke chapter 1
and after the Bible reading we'll have the special item from the youth group
Luke chapter 1 please
quite a long chapter
so I'm getting Nicholas
come up here and speed read for us
Luke chapter 1, thank you Nicholas
Luke chapter 1
For as much as many have taken in hand to set forth
in order a declaration of those things
which are most surely believed among us
even as they delivered them unto us
which from the beginning were eyewitnesses
and ministers of the world
it seemed good to me also
having had perfect understanding of all things
from the very first
that thou mightest see in order
most excellent Theopolis
thou mightest know the certainty of those things
wherein thou hast been instructed
that it was in the days of Herod
the king of Judea
a certain priest named Zacharias
of the course of Abia
and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron
and her name was Elizabeth
and they were both righteous before God
walking all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless
and they had no child
because that Elizabeth was barren
and it came to pass
that while he executed the priest's office before God
in the order of his course
according to the custom of the priest's office
his lot was to burn incense
when he went into the temple of the Lord
and the whole multitude of the people were praying
at the time of incense
and there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord
standing on the right hand of the altar of the incense
and when Zacharias saw him
he was troubled and fear fell upon him
but the angel said unto him
fear not Zacharias
and the angel said
and thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son
and thou shalt call his name John
and thou shalt have joy and gladness
and many shall rejoice at his birth
for he shall be great in the sight of the Lord
and shall neither drink wine nor strong drink
and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost
even from his mother's womb
and many of the children of Israel
shall return to the Lord their God
and he shall go before him in the spirit
and power of Elias
to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children
for the wisdom of the just
to make ready a people prepared for the Lord
and Zacharias said unto the angel
whereby shall I know this
for I am an old man
and my wife wealth stricken in years
and the angel answering said unto him
I am Gabriel that stand in the presence of God
and am sent to speak unto thee
and to show thee these glad tidings
and behold thou shalt be dumb
and not be able to speak
until the day that these things shall be performed
because I believe it's not my words
to be fulfilled in their season
and the people waited for Zacharias
and marveled that he tarried so long in the temple
and when he came out he could not speak unto them
and they perceived that he had seen a vision in the temple
for he beckoned unto them
and remained speechless
and it came to pass that as soon as the days
of his administration were accomplished
he departed to his own house
and after those days his wife Elizabeth conceived
and hid herself five months
saying
Thus hath the Lord dealt with me in the
days wherein he looked on me
to take away my reproach among men
and in the sixth month the angel Gabriel
was sent from God
unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth
to a virgin his spouse
to a man whose name was Joseph
to the house of David and the virgin's name was Mary
and the angel came in unto her
and said Hail, thou that are highly favored
the Lord is with thee
blessed art thou my women
and when she saw him she was troubled at his
saying it cast in her mind what manner
of salutation there should be
and the angel said unto her
fear not Mary for thou hast found favor
with God and behold thou
shalt conceive in thy womb and bring forth
a son and shall call his name Jesus
he shall be great and shall
be called the son of the highest and the Lord
God shall give unto him the throne of his father David
and he shall reign over the house of Jacob
forever and of his kingdom there shall be no end
then said Mary unto the angel
how shall this be seeing I know
not man and the angel answered and
said unto her the Holy Ghost shall come upon thee
the power of the highest shall overshadow thee
therefore also that holy thing which shall be born
of thee shall be called the son of God
and behold thy cousin Elizabeth
she hath also conceived a son in her old age
and this is the sixth month with her
who was also who was called baron
for with God nothing shall be impossible
and Mary said behold
the handmaid of the Lord be it
unto me according to thy word
and the angel departed from her and Mary
arose in those days and went into the hill
country with haste into a city of Judah
and entered into the house of Zacharias
and saluted Elizabeth it came to pass
that when Elizabeth heard the salutation
of Mary the babe leaped in her womb
and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost
and she spake out with a loud voice
and said blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb
and whence is this to me that the mother of my Lord
shall come upon me for lo
as soon as the voice of thy
salutation sounds into my ears the babe
bleeped in my womb for joy and blessed is
she that believed for there shall be a performance
of those things which were told her from the Lord
and Mary said
my soul doth magnify the Lord
and my spirit regardeth the low state of his handmaid
for behold
from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed
for he that is mighty hath done
to me great things and holy is his name
and his mercies
are then that fear him from generation to generation
he hath showed strength
with his arm he hath scattered the proud
in the imagination of their hearts
he hath put down the mighty from their seats
and exalted them of low degree
he hath filled the hungry with good things
and the rich hath he sent away empty
he hath hope in his servant Israel
in remembrance of his mercy
as he spake to our fathers, to Abraham
and to his seed forever
and Mary abode with her about three months
and returned to her own house
now Elizabeth's time came that she should be delivered
and she brought forth a son
and her neighbours and her cousins heard that
how the Lord had showed her great mercy upon her
and they rejoiced with her
it came to pass that on the eighth day
they came to circumcise the child
and they called him Zacharias
after the name was his father
and his mother answered and said
not so, but he shall be called John
and they said unto her, there is none of thy kindred
that is called by that name
and they made signs to his father
how he would have him called
and he asked for a writing table
and wrote, saying, his name is John
the name Malphidor
and his mouth was opened immediately
and his tongue loosed
and he spake and praised God
and fear came on all of them that dwelt round about them
and all these things were noise abroad
throughout all the hill country of Judea
and all that heard them laid upon
their hearts, saying
what manner of child shall this be
and the hand of the Lord was with them
and his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost
and prophesied, saying
blessed be the Lord God of Israel
for he hath visited and redeemed his people
and was raised up in horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David
and he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets
which have been since the world began
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all that hate us
to perform his mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant
the earth which he sware to our father Abraham
that he would grant unto us
that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies
might serve him without fear
in holiness and righteousness before him
all the days of our life
the child shall be called the prophet of the highest
for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord
to prepare his ways
to give knowledge of salvation unto his people
by the remission of their sins
through the tender mercy of our God
whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us
to give light to them that sin in darkness
and in the shadow of death
to guide our feet into the way of peace
and the child grew and waxed strong in the spirit
and was in the desert
till the devil is showing unto Israel
let's pray
thank you that we could come here to church today
and that we could sing to you
and I pray that we can learn something from the sermon
Jesus and I pray, amen
you
So let's fucking go.
Let's do this thing, right?
Pull together this time, all right?
["Who Is He In Anderson"]
["Who Is He In After School"]
Thank you guys. Well done. Well done.
Okay.
Once again,
Merry Christmas.
Welcome to the Christmas server.
Merry Christmas.
Okay.
Merry Christmas. Welcome to the Christmas server.
My goal is not to preach for too long. That's my main goal.
Just to celebrate Christmas, sing a little bit more songs than we usually sing.
That was the main point of the service this morning. But if you look at Luke chapter 1
where we had the reading, Luke chapter 1, and where's my water? There it is.
Luke chapter 1 and verse number 44.
Luke chapter 1, verse number 44.
It says, for lo, as soon as the voice of thy
salutation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in
my womb for joy. The babe leaped in my womb
for joy. The poet of the sermon this morning is, leap for joy.
Leap for joy this Christmas. If you want to put it that way, but leap for joy.
This is the story where, you know, obviously Mary who had
fallen pregnant by the power of the Holy Ghost and she was going to deliver Jesus Christ,
she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth. And you may recall that Elizabeth
was struggling to fall pregnant. She fell pregnant in her older age and of course
she would bring forth the man that we would know as John the Baptist. And when
Mary heard the great news that God had chosen her to be the
mother of this child, to deliver this child, Jesus Christ, she went
to see her cousin Elizabeth. And Elizabeth says, as soon as you came into the door,
again verse number 44, and lo, as soon as thy voice of thy
meditation sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
And so you see John the Baptist in the mother's womb,
as soon as he hears the voice of the mother of Jesus Christ, the one that
would bring him into this world, he leaps for joy, he's excited.
Alright, what is he excited about? I hope this morning you're
excited, I hope you're excited to be in church, I hope you're excited for Christmas. Christmas always
carries this sort of nice feeling, just, they call it the spirit of Christmas.
I don't know what kind of spirit that is, but anyway, there's a good feeling around the place
usually speaking, right? I needed some help with my vehicle
just yesterday and a guy came to just help me out with the van and he was very
nice, Merry Christmas, all of that, big smile on his face and
we had a neighbour come and deliver us some chocolates to our door,
people that you don't usually come across, right? You go to the stores and you might even just go to the
local Woolworths and people just have a grin on their face, they're kind of just happier
and you know, I was walking through the yard, there was a guy just dancing to the Christmas tunes there,
I'm not sure if those tunes were great to listen to, but anyway, there's a nice
feeling generally speaking when it comes to Christmas and it's been that way pretty much
I recall since being a child and you know, we're coming into a time
and in fact, this has been happening for the last ten years, that people
are trying to remove Christmas, like from the celebrations, instead
of saying Merry Christmas, they want to say Happy Holidays or
anything else, they don't want to say Christ, they don't want to say
those words, they don't want to think about a father sending his son
to die in our place, they don't want to think of that, but listen when
John the Baptist, and by the way, we're a Baptist church, we're New Life Baptist Church
so if John the Baptist can get excited, you know, about the story
of Jesus, that he would come into this world, then it's something for us to get excited about as well
and you know, I like Christmas, I think it's
you know, people say well, what about the pagan roots and I'll cover that in a sermon one day
alright, but we're not here worshipping some pagan god, this is the
house of the Lord, this is, you know, this is Sunday, we come on a Sunday to
come and worship and praise our Lord God, even if today was
Halloween, I don't care, I don't care what pagan background there might
exist or what influences, listen, at the end of the day we come to worship Jesus
even if Halloween fell on a Sunday, I don't care, I'm going to be in the house of the Lord
worshipping Jesus Christ, it doesn't matter, because every day is created by God
every day is an opportunity to worship and praise our Lord God
and so we see John the Baptist get excited, I'm saying
leap for joy, be happy this Christmas, be excited this Christmas, let's start a little
let's backtrack a little bit in that story, verse number 39, Luke chapter 1
verse number 39, and Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country
with haste into a city of Judah, of course she heard the great news that she would fall pregnant
verse number 40, and entered in the house of Zacharias
and saluted Elizabeth, and it came to pass that
when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb
and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost, and so you can
definitely see that Elizabeth, she saved, of course she is, Mary she saved
alright, Zacharias, these all saved people, it's a saved family, and they're filled with the Holy Ghost
look what Elizabeth says by the power of the Holy Ghost, verse number 42
and she spake out with a loud voice and said, blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb
now it's quite interesting, look at verse number 43
why is she blessing Mary, why is she blessing the fruit of the womb
verse number 43 she says these words, and whence is this to me
that the mother of my Lord
should come to me, she says Mary you're the mother
Mary you're the mother of my Lord
the babe that is in your womb is the Lord Jesus Christ
he's the creator of all things, you know, he did not just
come into existence when he was
conceived or at birth, no, she says this is my Lord
this is my God, you've got the mother, you're the mother
of my Lord, and so she says you're blessed Mary, and the fruit
of your womb is blessed, we have to think about
you know, a babe being born in Bethlehem's manger, you see these decorations
and these nativity sets set up with a babe in the manger, you often see that
okay, and it's depicting that our Lord, our God
our creator came into this world
so humbly, not with all the power and authority that he would receive
coming directly from heaven, but that he took on a body
a body that would be sacrificed for you and I, coming to
just a little child, a little babe, a babe that needed nurture
that needed to be taken care of, that needed to be fed, a babe that was not ready to take care
of itself, with such humility came Jesus Christ
and I love how John the Baptist sleeps in the womb, yes
the babe in the womb, you know I've heard recently
just this week someone called me and said I don't believe in Jesus, because I was saved at four years old, I believed
on Christ, I was not a babe in the womb, I was four years old when I believed in Jesus Christ
I was four years old when I trusted him as my saviour, and I told someone on the phone this week
that I trusted Christ when I was four years old, and the person on the other line said
I don't believe a four year old can be saved, what, a four year old
but you've got a babe leaping in the womb, excited for Jesus
in fact Jesus Christ said that unless you become, you be converted and become like little children
you shall not see the kingdom of heaven, you know when we talk about
placing our faith on Jesus Christ, we're saying look just be converted, become like a little child
once again, just like a little child gets excited about Christmas
or a little child gets excited about hearing about a free gift
we gave our kids some gifts last night, you know, they open one gift
on Christmas eve and then they open the rest on Christmas day, but they're excited aren't they
little children mostly, I think the older kids kind of get a bit tired of it after a little while
but little kids, they get excited for the free gift
when we talk about the free gift of Jesus Christ, the free gift of salvation
as adults we find it hard to receive, so come on, can't be free
surely there's something I've got to do, surely there's some good work that I need to do
surely I need to be in church, surely I need to do some religious practice in order to receive my salvation
that's a free gift, leap for joy, it's been free
and see John the Baptist, even in the mother's womb, gets excited, yes
you know, I'm assuming, we know that John the Baptist was
the Holy Ghost from the very beginning, so of course it's a new man, you know the Holy Ghost
within John the Baptist that's causing him to leap to be excited
but you know, little children, they in fact
please don't take this view that little children can't be saved, or they can't
understand the gospel, little children, they don't understand free gifts
really, because my kids understood free gifts very well last night
and some of them are younger than I was when I was four years old when I saved Jesus Christ as Savior
you know, don't delay the gospel, don't delay our children from hearing the gospel
make sure they're ready to ask the questions, like don't force your kids
to just say some prayer, and then they're trusting some prayer for salvation
no, we want them trusting the one they're praying to, the one they're asking salvation to
you know, my practice in my family, look we've got eleven kids and
how many of you are saved now? I think there's only three, so that's eight
eight out of eleven kids, is that right? Yeah, eight out of eleven kids are saved, have called upon Christ
have trusted Christ, but every time they have come up to us individually
and say, mum or dad, I want to be sure of going to heaven
what do I have to do, you know, what does it mean that Jesus Christ was Savior
and sometimes, you know, you'd have to tell your children a few times, and it goes over their head
a little bit, but as they mature and grow, they hear it a little bit more, they have time to
to digest it, you know, they've been able to receive easily, you know
the free gift of salvation, usually when they're about six years old, is, you know, the usual time
when they receive it, but you know, don't delay, you know, speak to your children
and the great thing about having many siblings is that sometimes the older siblings are the ones that are putting
the thoughts into the younger siblings' minds, you know, look I know where I'm going to go
I know where I'm going when I die, I know I'm going to heaven, where are you going to go, are you going to be with us?
They put those kind of thoughts in the minds of the children, which is great, alright
you know, in many ways my older children have been soul winners
you know, for seeing the younger siblings get saved
let's keep going there in verse number 44, so we saw that Elizabeth does understand
that Mary is carrying the Lord Jesus Christ
verse number 44, for lo, as soon as the voice, I've read that one, verse number 45
sorry, and blessed is she that believed
for there is a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord
and Mary said, now we have Mary's response, and Mary said
my soul doth magnify the Lord
isn't that interesting, like, she's carrying the Lord in her womb
she says, my soul doth magnify the Lord
she's already praising and worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ
and she's like the mum, right, but she's exalting
the Lord Jesus Christ, and then she says in verse number 47, and my
spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour
she says, I've already put my trust in God my Saviour, the Saviour was
Jesus Christ in her womb, she goes, I rejoice in my Saviour
as I said to you, the title for the sermon was Leap for Joy
we see Elizabeth joyful, we see John the Baptist joyful
we see Mary joyful, okay, what are they joyful about?
They're rejoicing in the gift of salvation, they're rejoicing in the gift
of salvation, that's point number one for the, you know, I guess if you can
if you're taking down points, that's point number one, if you want to leap for joy this Christmas
then you need to rejoice in the gift of salvation
now the gift is free and we hear about it quite often at church
and, you know, there's someone from church every week out there
trying to give the gift of salvation to somebody, you know, I think we had
two salvations last week, praise God, from the door to the soul wedding efforts, praise God
for that, you know, but we're to rejoice in the gift of salvation
you know, have you lost your joy? You know, because
the thing is, okay, we got saved, it's a one-time thing, it's an immediate thing
as soon as we trust Christ, we're saved
but, you know, tomorrow still comes and the problems that you had yesterday are still there
right, the trials, the difficulties, the burdens
right, the stresses of life, whether they're relationships, whether they're
financial, whether they're physical or, you know, sicknesses
in your body, you know, the stresses are still there in life
and they don't go away the moment you believe in Christ, they don't go away the moment
you open the free gift, and so we go through the stresses of life
and, you know, you might be excited about salvation the first time you've trusted Christ
you heard about the free gift, you heard about the good news and you're like, yes, I get it now
it makes perfect sense now, man, it's so easy, this whole time
all these religions have made it so hard, but it's so easy to put your
faith in Christ and Christ alone, but then as I said, we go through
the difficulties, the struggles in life, and then we lose sight, we, instead of thinking
of eternity, instead of thinking about our own soul, we start thinking about just the carnal
the earthly problems that come into life, and, you know, I don't blame you
because we all do, we all have to deal, we can't just ignore struggles
we can't ignore problems, we've got to go through them, okay, but when you go
through them, then you start to lose sight of salvation, you forget about
the great joy that you once had when you received Christ the Saviour
but, let me remind you, and you already know this, but let me remind you
the greatest difficulty that anybody could go through
is to suffer in hell for all eternity, that's the greatest difficulty
and you've already overcome that, you've already overcome the most
difficult thing that anybody could go through in life, to be rejected
by God for rejecting his son, and to be cast into hell for all eternity
you've already been delivered from that, you don't have to worry about that if you've trusted Christ
if you're not sure about your eternal destination, please speak to me
after the service, or speak to somebody that you know from this church
okay, but truly, salvation, knowing that you're going to heaven
is as easy as receiving a Christmas gift, and saying yes, I want that gift
thank you, that's as easy as it is, Jesus Christ died
in your place, rose again from the dead, he paid for your sins
he paid for your way to heaven, it's a free gift
you don't have to step a foot in this church to receive the free gift
it's free, do you want it?
it's paid for, it's not based on how good or bad you are
it's all been paid for by the shed blood of Jesus Christ
it's a gift, and if you want to receive that gift, again, talk to me after the service
if you don't know that already, okay, we'll talk to someone that's invited you to church this morning
but you see that John the Baptist
Mary, Elizabeth, they're all rejoicing in this gift of salvation
can you please turn with me to Psalm 51
Psalm 51, you can keep a finger in Luke if you want
but you can go to Psalm 51, Psalm 51 and verse number 12
Psalm 51 and verse number 12
Psalm 51 is a very famous Psalm, you know, after King David
committed adultery with Bathsheba and killed her husband
quite a wicked thing to do, I mean, if salvation was based on how good you are, David would not pass
but King David is known as a man after God's own heart
God says those words about David, this is a man after my own heart
okay, because salvation is not based on how good or bad you are
this is a man that's committed adultery and killed the woman's husband
okay, please understand that, and look, I doubt that some of you guys would even go that far
okay, please don't, please, if David can receive
the free gift of salvation, nothing's stopping you from receiving that free gift either
okay, but when he's done such horrible sins
he feels far from the Lord, he realises the Lord
is not happy with him, he's been challenged by a prophet
and he realises, man, I've really messed up life, I've really stuffed up here
but what does it say in verse number 12, Psalm 51 verse 12
he says to the Lord, restore unto me the joy
of thy salvation, and uphold me with thy
free spirit, he says to God, God, can you restore
unto me, not salvation, he doesn't say Lord give me back salvation, I lost
no, he says can you restore unto me the joy of my salvation
or joy of thy salvation, you see
King David lost the joy, he was in such bad sins
okay, going for such difficulties right, and brethren you can be
in the same place, you can be so far from the Lord, so
busy with earthly matters, or so deep in sin
that you say Lord I've lost the joy of salvation, I'm not excited about it anymore Lord
I mean you know you should be, but you're not
you know, and you start to find joy in other places in life
you try to find joy in earthly things, in carnal things
maybe you start to try to find joy in being wealthy or
gaining possessions or maybe you try to find joy on social media
you know, if enough people just like my posts I feel better about myself
people start to look for joy in other places, you know this is why
social media is so addictive because you get a kick with all these likes for a period of time
and then everyone stops liking you because I mean it's down, you know
it's down the list, and then you've got to post something else, it's like likes, likes, likes
I feel good, and then that's gone, oh man I don't feel good about myself, let's post another one
like yeah I feel better about myself, but we start to
look for joy in other places, I'm not saying there's something wrong with social media, if you want to use it
I'm just saying make sure that you're looking for your joy in your salvation
because you can lose it, David lost it, a man after God's own heart
can you truly say that about your own heart, that you're a person after God's own heart
I don't know, my heart's desperately wicked, who can know what the Bible says, it's not always right
it's not always good, okay, and I can
honestly say there's been times that I've lost the joy of my salvation, I've just not been excited
I've just been so busy with the things of the earth
so busy with difficulties and problems and you lose that joy
I want you to leap for joy this Christmas, number one, leap for joy
by the gift of salvation, I'm going to quickly read to you from Habakkuk chapter 3
verse 17, Habakkuk chapter 3 verse 17
this is about Israel, shortly before they would be taken over by the Babylonians
not Israel, it's about Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel, right, before they were
taken into captivity by the Babylonians, Habakkuk preaches this to them
he says, although the fig tree shall not blossom
neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labour of the
olives shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat
the flock shall be cut off from the fold
and there shall be no herd in the stalls
even if the whole nation
can't produce fruits anymore, even if there's nothing coming
there's no produce, there's nothing good coming out of our nation anymore
even if that happens, in verse 18, it says
yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy
in the God of my salvation
even if everything fails, even if I'm not successful in life
even if I just, we can't produce anything
right, we just fail in all the accomplishments I have in my life
he says, yet will I rejoice in the Lord
I will joy in the God of my salvation
there's only one thing that will cause you to late for joy this Christmas, and keep it sustained
okay, it's if you can rejoice in your God of your salvation
if you can rejoice in salvation, then it says in verse number 19
the Lord God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds feet
and he will make me to walk upon my high places
hinds feet, like deer feet, you know how deer can run
and leap and, you know, he goes like, I'm going to be excited about life
I'm going to be excited about salvation, even if life fails
I can be excited, I can be walking on high, I can
be in a great mood, as long as I rejoice in the God of my salvation
so point number 1 brethren, is rejoice in the gift of
salvation this Christmas, come with me to the book of Acts
Acts chapter 20 verse number 33, Acts chapter 20 and verse number 33
now when it comes to church ministries
you know, one thing that
ministries require is support, like it requires finance
it requires giving, you know, of the church
and, you know, I say this just to make sure that we're all on the same page here, right
I mean, I give to the church as well, I want you to understand that, you know
and, you know, all ministries need some level of support, right, even just to lease out this building
even if it's just to print out tracts, even if it's just to have enough
bibles on hand, you know, there are finances that are needed in a ministry
and of course we look at the apostle Paul, and Paul
was often on missionary journeys, starting churches, right
and he needed support, like he needed people to get behind him
but there were times that he just did not have enough, so Paul himself would have to get out there
and just work a job, okay, and it says here in Acts chapter 20
in verse number 33, he says, I have coveted
no man's silver or gold or apparel
you see, when someone is doing the work of God, well, if they've got the right intentions
like Paul does, they're not doing it to be rich, they're not doing it to
say, hey, you know, bring in the finances, because I just want your gold and silver
right, no, he's working in ministry, that's not his desire
his desire is to serve Jesus Christ, his desire is
to win souls, then he says in verse number 34
ye yourselves know that these hands
the hands of Paul have ministered unto my necessities
and to them that were with me, he goes, look, there are times that
I just could not be provided enough by the church, so I've had to go and work
you know, I've had to go and labour by his own hands, provided for myself and also those
that are in the ministry with me, then he says this in verse number 35
which has a very famous passage here, it says, I have showed you
all things, how that so labouring
you 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
it is more blessed to give than to receive, that's a very famous
verse in the Bible, Paul is saying, look, I'm not whining
or complaining about the fact that I've got to go to work, okay, because I'm happy
that I've given you an example of what it is to give
he's laboured, he's taking care of his needs, but he's taking care of the needs of others
he says, man, you know, one thing that he found is, it's just more blessed
it's better to give than to receive
the little kids, they don't get this right now, they're excited about the free gift, they're excited
yeah, I get a gift, eventually as they mature and get older
and they're able to have their own finances, their own
ability to take care of other people or give other
people gifts, they'll actually understand just how good it feels to do something nice
for others, like it felt good to receive those chocolates
from my neighbour yesterday, but I'm sure my neighbour was extremely happy
to have done such a nice gesture, it's more blessed to give than to
receive, so not only should we rejoice
in the gift of salvation, we should rejoice in giving
we should rejoice in giving, and one good thing about having a church is that
we know that within a church we often open up to one another
we know what we struggle with, right, we know each other's faults
we know where we might be able to step in and help one another
it could be financially, but it could just be in prayers
it could be support as a friend, it could be in support
of carrying out a service that you can do, you put in some efforts that you can
give of yourself, the bible says you're more blessed to give than to receive
Paul says, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus
when did the Lord Jesus say these words? Well come back with me to
Luke chapter 14, come back with me to the book of Luke
Luke chapter 14 please, Luke chapter 14, because Jesus Christ
did teach this in Luke chapter 14
Luke chapter 14 and verse number 12
then said he also to him that bade him, so these are the words
of Christ, he says, when thou makest a dinner or a supper
call not thy friends, nor thy
brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich
neighbors, you got rich neighbors? Oh have them come
all right, lest they also bid thee again
and a recompense be made be made thee. All right so I just learnt a lesson
Kristina's right now preparing lunch, I did invite my friends and my church family
you guys aren't invited anymore, I'm sorry
because here's the thing, I'm just joking, of course you're welcome, okay, but
this is the teaching, the teaching is look, if you just go out and just hang
around and just do nice things to the people that you know, they can
recompense you, they can pay you back one day, right? Like if I invite
you over for lunch and you guys will be like you know let's have the supporters over next time for lunch
and that can be paid back in that sense and there's nothing wrong with that in of itself
okay, but when Christ walked this earth he lifted the standard even
higher, okay, like truly
you cannot save yourself is the point
right, even if you could just keep all the commandments of the law which you can't because you've
already broken them all, even if you're told a single lie you've already broken all the commandments, okay
even if you could, when Jesus Christ came and he walked
this earth, he lifted the bar even greater, like for example
remember in the commandments it says that I shall not commit adultery, alright
so yeah I've never committed adultery but you say well Jesus Christ said that if any man looks upon
a woman in lust, he has committed adultery with her already in his heart
see Christ lifts the standard higher and higher and higher
and of course the only one that was perfect was Jesus Christ
he's the only one that could actually save us and pay for our way to heaven
is by his own perfection, by his own
righteousness and then it continues in Luke 14
look at verse number 13, who shall we invite instead, but when they'll make
us a feast, call the poor, the maimed
the lame, the blind
have you ever done that, have you ever put on a feast in your house, got out the best
plates, got out the best food and said let's just get
everyone that's downtrodden right now, instead of inviting
church family, instead of inviting pastor over, instead of inviting our friends and family over
let's just get everybody that's struggling in life right now to come and feast
with us, this is what Christ is teaching us to do
it's a high standard, alright, because we naturally, we wouldn't want to do this
you know if we're going to put on a feast, we're going to want to
invite our friends generally, you know, you're putting that much work in, right, you kind of want to
get your friends around you, but then it says in verse number 14
and thou shall be blessed, if you
do this, you'll be blessed, there's a special blessing for those that
actually do nice things for people that you don't even know
people that you don't naturally care about, okay, but thou
shall be blessed, for they cannot recompense thee, they can't
pay you back, they're too poor, or too disabled, or they're
suffering so much in life, they can't pay you back, so you're blessed
then it says this, for thou, look at this, for thou shall be
recompensed at the resurrection of the just
whoa, they can't recompense you
but God says if you do this, Jesus Christ says if you do this, you're going to be rewarded when I come
back again, you're going to be rewarded at the rapture, at the resurrection of the
just, see when Christ comes back, he's going to reward us for
what we've done on this earth, right, you know, salvation's not a reward, salvation's
a free gift, but what we do for Christ will be rewarded
okay, if we do good things, if we labour, if we live after these
ways, if we preach the gospel, if we see souls saved, if we put
on a lunch or a dinner, and we invite people that we don't even know, people that
we don't naturally care about, people that we know, hey look, they're just going to leave a mess, they're not going to
appreciate even what we've given them, they've got no chance of repaying what we've done for them
there's something great like that, Christ says but hey, you'll be recompensed
when he comes back, at the resurrection, at the rapture
wow, that's a high standard, so he says you'll be blessed, so it's blessed
it's more blessed to give than to receive
and I want you to remember this because, you know
I've worked in corporations, in big businesses
and generally speaking, again there's nothing wrong with this in of itself
but generally, and look, I've done the same practice, I'm the same
generally speaking, you do nice things for your work colleagues
if you can get something nice in return, you know, you'll implement a change
in the business if there's a win-win scenario, yes you win
but I win, or I'll do you this favour, I'll scratch your back if you scratch
my back when the time comes, that's how the world operates
and again there's nothing inherently wrong with that in of itself
it's not saying that's sinful or anything else, but there's no reward from Christ
in that regard, but if you step out and do something good
and you know this person has no chance to repay it
then Christ says he's going to reward you at the resurrection
it's more blessed to give than to receive
so rejoice in giving, you know, as I said people are
extra nice at Christmas generally speaking, right, you know, it's actually a really good
time to give the gospel, because people are generally a little bit more receptive to hearing
the good news of salvation, that's something that people can never repay by the way
if you go out and give them the gospel to the maimed
to the poor, to the lame, to the blind, they'll never pay you back, they don't have to pay you
back, because that doesn't cost you anything anyway, except your time and your effort
but the gift itself is free isn't it, the gift of salvation
is one of the greatest ways to be blessed, you're given something, those people can never
pay you back, because you're already saved, like they can't give you the gospel in return and save you
you're already saved, it's done, truly the greatest blessing
you can do is in giving, yes being kind to your fellow man
doing that which is good, but most importantly giving people the gospel
giving people the good news, come with me to Luke chapter 6
Luke chapter 6 and verse number 31, Luke chapter 6 and verse
number 31
and this verse is known as the golden rule, people
often quote it as do unto others, but that phrase is not in your Bible
but people think it's in the Bible, like do unto others, but it comes from this
it comes from Luke 6 31, and as you would
that men should do to you, do you also to them likewise
this is the teaching of Christ, right, the way
you want to be treated is the way you ought to treat others
I want you to really think about that, right, like
I love our church, I love our church family, I try to be
nice and kind and friendly to you guys, but
generally speaking, our neighbours are all around us
our community, you know, treat people with respect, especially
people that work during Christmas and these hours, they're not usually happy to do that
I want you to understand that, and they're kind of forced to give a smile and give you a good service
because they want some time off and you know, they're working, but you know, it's good to be
kind, even though the shops can be busy and you might get frustrated
why hasn't, you know, Coles or Woolworths put on that extra checkout person
you might get, look, just be kind, be nice
treat people with respect, you know, treat them the way you would like to be treated
this is not some, you know, new age
this is the words of Jesus Christ, this is what he's
telling you to do, okay, verse number 32
and if you love them which love you, what thank have ye
for sinners also love those that love them
so brethren, if I love you, I love you, but I know you
love me back, that's good, okay, but
what thank have ye, like it's been returned, right, I'm doing nice things
for you, you do nice things for me, or each other, vice versa, we care for one another
it's great, we should care for one another, don't get me wrong, but what thank have ye
what does Jesus Christ mean by this, verse number 33
and if you do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye
for sinners also do even the same, like you're not different
than anyone else, okay, verse number 34
and if you lend them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye
for sinners also lend to sinners to receive as much again
so it says look, just lend
and have the mindset that that may never come back to me, now it should come back
to you if you're lending it, it should come back to you, but have the mindset, look if I'm going to lend
this item, it may never come back to me and I'm okay with that
so in other words, be careful about what you lend
right, like if I lend, I don't know, if there's something
that I just can't afford to lend, then I won't lend it, okay
but what I can, what I'm happy to lend, I will lend, knowing full well that may
never come back to me, whether it's a good, whether it's a service, whether it's
even financial, you know, verse number 35
but love ye your enemies, this is what
Jesus Christ is getting to, love ye your enemies, don't just love
those that love you, don't just be good to your friends, love
ye your enemies and do good and lend
hoping for nothing again, hoping for nothing
I hope I get nothing in return, wow
hoping for nothing again and your reward
shall be great and ye shall be the children of the highest
for he is kind unto the unthankful
and to the evil, God is
kind to the unthankful and to the evil, God has given
them life, he's given them opportunities in life, he gives them
time, he gives them mercy, he gives them grace, he gives them opportunities to hear
about the gospel so they can be saved, God is kind even to the sinners
Brethren, who are your enemies this morning, have you got enemies?
Do something good for them today, maybe
maybe that'd be great, today's Christmas, you got someone that hates you
hates your guts, maybe send them a nice Christmas message
alright, so it's not worth it pastor
yes it is, and your reward shall be great
but again that reward's gonna come at the resurrection of the
just, when Christ comes back to reward you, alright, for the great things that you've
done for him, so brethren if you've got some enemies, think about it
alright, let's do some good to each other this morning, how about let's do some good for our enemies
this is the commandment of Jesus Christ, come back with me to
Luke chapter 1, Luke chapter 1 verse number 42
so I'm up to my third point, my first two points was number 1, rejoice in the
gift of salvation, point number 2 is rejoice in giving, yes even to your
enemies, maybe that's why my neighbour came and gave me some chocolates
nah nah, I don't think we're enemies, that's all good
alright, point number 3 is rejoice in others
rejoice in others, you know when something goes good for
someone in our church, you ought to rejoice, you ought to get excited
when something good happens to our church family
or to someone that you know, many people have the attitude of envy
oh that should be me, or he doesn't deserve it, or she doesn't deserve
that, no you know what, if something good happens to others
rejoice in others, it's going to increase your joy
because look, you've got a certain amount of joy, you have a certain amount
of things that happen, that good happens for you, and you can rejoice in those
good things that happen for you, but look, I can maximize, how many of us are here
this morning, maybe 40, I don't know, okay, I can
maximize my joy times 40 if I learn how to be joyful
for each good thing that happens to each one of you
I can increase my joy times 40 if I stop thinking about myself all the time
and think of others, rejoice in others
we're back to the story there of Elizabeth and Mary
let's look at it again, verse number 42, Elizabeth says these words
and she spake out with a loud voice and said, blessed art thou among women
and blessed is the fruit of thy womb
look, I guarantee you that there can be two
ladies, I'm saying ladies because there's ladies here right, let's say two men
so don't offend anyone, alright, two ladies, one lady and one man
I don't know, whatever, okay, they both have good things
happening for them right now, both have good things happening
for them, okay, in this scenario, Elizabeth has
John the Baptist, what a great man, a man that God
will use to open the doors for Jesus Christ for people to be ready
to receive him
but Elizabeth could go, oh but Mary you've got the Lord
you've got something better, you've actually got Jesus, you've got God
in your womb, I've only got a man
but no, what does Elizabeth do, she goes, I'm going to rejoice in you Mary
blessed are you Mary, I mean she's excited about her own
pregnancy and she gets excited about Mary's pregnancy
that's how it ought to be, but there can be two people in this church
good things going on for them and one says but yours is better
frustrated, that should be me, you don't deserve that, that should be
me, now we've got to learn how to rejoice in others
brother Caleb you recently got a new job, I'm rejoicing
in that, praise God, praise God in a new job here in Caloundra
so you can go to work on a Wednesday and be right here in church, song lead, I'm rejoicing
in that as well, praise God, when good things happen
to my church family, I'm rejoicing, I want you to know that
it's going to increase your joy, it will cause your joy to leap
come with me to John 3, John 3
John 3, verse 25
again we're looking at the difference
not just now the mothers of John the Baptist and the mother of Jesus, but now we're looking at John the Baptist
and Jesus, you know John the Baptist started his ministry before Jesus
you know John the Baptist had thousands of people flocking to him
I mean he was a great preacher, he was a great preacher
but you know what, he didn't care for top spot
as soon as Jesus Christ started his ministry, he said everyone
go listen to him, it was all about him to begin with
we'll read about the story here in John 3 and verse 25
so I'll just bring you up to speed, Jesus Christ already had come to John the Baptist
to get baptised, to start his ministry
and John says behold the lamb of God
which taketh away the sins of the world, that's what he says about Jesus
this is the lamb of God, this is the saviour
and John the Baptist, if you know the story, has a hard time even baptising Jesus
he doesn't feel he's worthy to do such a thing
and then we come up to here in John 3, people start following Jesus
people that were listening to John the Baptist
are now listening to Jesus
John the Baptist had a huge ministry, but now those people are flocking to Jesus
but John the Baptist the whole time was saying hey, it's all about Jesus
it's all about him, it's all about the lamb of God
and then some people come to John the Baptist about this question, John 3, verse 25
then arose a question between some of John's disciples
and the Jews about purifying and they came unto John and said unto him
Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan
he that was with thee, he's talking about Jesus there, to whom thou barest witness
the one that you've been preaching about, behold
the same baptiseth and all men come to him
he goes John the Baptist, you were baptising
now Jesus is baptising and everyone's going to him
I bet you there will be some Baptist pastors
that will be frustrated that their ministry is not taking off
it's not getting the numbers that they think it should be getting, but look at that pastor
that pastor over there, he's getting all the numbers, oh man, frustrating
you know what, if there's another church right here on the Sunshine Coast
that is of saved brethren, preaching the gospel
and they're happy and they're rejoicing and they're getting great numbers
you know what brethren, I'm not going to become envious
I'm going to get excited, I'm going to leap for joy
and say praise God, there's another church on the Sunshine Coast
serving Jesus Christ
but you have some people, John what about that preacher
they're all going to him, he's baptising more than you John
I mean look, if John's just in the flesh
yeah he can get, he can become envious
definitely, he can become bitter, definitely if he's in the flesh
but how does he answer, verse number 27, John answered and said
a man can receive nothing, except
it be given him from heaven, he goes look, I know what Jesus Christ
is doing, it's all from heaven, it's all from the Father
verse number 28, ye yourselves bear me witness
that I said, I am not the Christ, but I am sent before him
he that hath the bride is the bridegroom
but the friend of the bridegroom which standeth in here of him
rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice
this, look at this, this my joy therefore is fulfilled
he must increase, but I must decrease
wow, he goes look, I'm not the bridegroom, I'm not the groom
alright, I'm not the one that the day's all about
that's the groom, I'm just the best man at the wedding
I'm just having a great time, I'm just rejoicing that my best friend is getting married
and brethren
where do you think John the Baptist got this from? Definitely from his mum
because his mum could look at her cousin and rejoice in her
that she got selected to bring in Jesus and then she was able to teach her own son
hey, rejoice in others, and so even though John the Baptist's ministry
was taken off, soon it would come to an end
and everyone's fucking to Jesus and goes man, I'm just having the time of my life
I'm like at a wedding celebration, this is awesome, I'm just a friend of the bridegroom
I'm the best man, I'm enjoying the ride, we need to learn how to
rejoice in others, alright, one more passage, come with me to
Luke chapter 2, Luke chapter 2, in conclusion, Luke chapter 2
so brethren, the three points that I have for you this morning, I want you to leap for joy
leap for joy this Christmas, number one, rejoice in the gift of salvation
number two, rejoice in giving, number three, rejoice in others
rejoice in others, and in conclusion, Luke chapter 2
verse number 8, it says, and there was in the same country
shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch
over their flock by night, and lo the angel
of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them
and they were sore afraid, and the angel said unto them
fear not, for behold I bring you good
tidings of great joy, good tidings of
great joy, it's going to be about the birth of Christ
look at this, which shall be to all
people, look we don't believe in Calvinism
we don't believe in, what do they call it, reform theology
where they teach that Jesus Christ only came to some
in fact, very few, no, this is a joy
to all people, I'm happy that in Australia
we still celebrate Christmas, I'm happy it's still happening, I know it's
commercialised, I know some pagan roots, I get all of that
I know they're just trying to drain your pockets of your money
the corporations, right, I understand that but
just for a brief moment, just a brief moment of the year
Jesus Christ, just the word Christmas is in the minds
of our fellow Australians, okay, and this is why
people generally are in a good mood, I mean
this is the joy of all people, that the Father would send his son
that the Father would offer a free gift
verse number 11, for unto you is born this day
in the city of David a saviour, which is Christ
the Lord, Jesus Christ is the Lord
Jesus Christ is the saviour, and it's a free gift
that has been offered to us by the Father, this is the joy of all people
if you've not received the joy of salvation, then let me strongly encourage you
this morning to get this settled once and for all, become like a
little child, become like a five year old, a six year old, that gets excited
about their Christmas present, hey get excited about Jesus, he's offered
himself for you, it's a free gift, do you want it or do you not
okay, I want you to leap for joy, I want you to rejoice
in the God of your salvation, alright let's pray
Heavenly Father, Lord thank you so much for this day, Lord thank you that we can be in the house of the Lord
this Christmas, Lord that we can think about the free gift of salvation
and Lord I just pray that if anyone's struggling with joy this morning, they would find joy
once again thinking about the great sacrifice of our Saviour, Lord the free gift
that you've given us, Lord what a wonderful gift that we can think about every year
Lord I just want to thank you once again for church, I pray that you would be blessed
in all that we say and do, and that you'll just be helping Christina right now while she's
home getting things ready for the lunch, we pray these things in Jesus' name, Amen
Alright please take your hymnals
Let's turn to hymn number 423
423
I said I wasn't going to try to preach too long, so my apologies
but 423, Joy to the World
423, Joy to the World
23 Joy to the World
24 Joy to the World
25 The Lord is come
26 Let every Savior came
27 Let every heart prepare Him room
28 And heaven and nature sing
29 Joy to the World
30 The Savior reigns
31 Let men their songs employ
32 World fills and floods
33 Rocks, hills and plains
34 Repent the sound in joy
35 Repent the sound in joy
36 Repeat the sound in joy
37 No more let sins and sorrows
38
Run from thorns he bares the crowns
39 He comes to make his blessings pour
40 Far as the curse is found
41 Far as the curse is found
42 Far as the curse is found
43 He rules the world with truth and grace
44 And makes the nations prove
the glories of his righteousness, and wonders of his love,
and wonders of his love, and wonders and wonders of his love.