Joseph Prince - Make Room For Christ

TOPICS: Christmas

Merry Christmas, everyone. What a beautiful sight. At least, you know that you are in the house of God. Anything is possible and everything is possible, not just because it’s Christmas. It’s because of his presence, amen? But during this Christmastime, we want to take time to acknowledge the Lord because he is the birthday boy, amen, amen? And every time we come before him, we stop for a while and we think that everything revolves around him. He is the one who has been watching you all these times in your struggles. He sees you with eyes of love, and he wants to come into your life, to touch those broken areas, to pour in the oil and the wine, and to give you his healing and restore you to wholeness and health. That is his desire.

Do you know the Bible says God wishes for you, «I wish above all things that you prosper and be in health, even as your souls prosper»? Because we know it’s never God’s will. In the very beginning, when God made Adam and Eve, God never made man to be sick, to become weak, to grow old, and to die. It was never his plan. «Then why all these things, Pastor Prince, why? Why all these things happening»? Well, man sinned against God, and sin brought all these things. Can you see the drama of redemption, how Jesus had to come? And during this Christmastime we are reminded of the Savior of all that came.

The Bible says, «Great is the mystery of godliness,» God incarnate in flesh. And I see him going about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil. If you find yourself oppressed, you can’t even explain, I mean, the doctors can just give you medicine for your depression, but you are depressed, and you know that your mind goes into all kinds of darkness, all kinds of obsessive, compulsive thoughts that you cannot control, and you’re always feeling discouraged. Jesus can set you free 'cause I see him. Just like by Galilee.

♪ By Galilee Emmanuel walked ♪
♪ And to the broken and humble ♪
♪ He talked in streams of beauty ♪
♪ Man could not see Angels of glory ♪
♪ Watching over him love has come down ♪
♪ Love has come down hear the joyful sound ♪
♪ Love has come down you went away ♪
♪ Back to your home, but you have said we ♪
♪ Will never be alone You sent your Spirit ♪
♪ Down from above Your Holy Spirit ♪
♪ Spirit of love, love has come down ♪
♪ Love has come down, tell it all around ♪
♪ Love has come down, love has come down ♪
♪ Love has come down, hear the joyful sound ♪
♪ Love has come down, hear the joyful sound ♪
♪ Love has come down, and his name is Jesus. ♪

Praise the Lord. Hallelujah. During this Christmas, may you find this wonderful Jesus, the Son of the Father, real in your life, amen. Let’s start with some scripture reading from the portion of Christmas that we always read from: Luke chapter 2. You all ready? It’s all up here. «And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered».

Caesar Augustus was the emperor of Rome at that time. «This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city. Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn».

There was no room for them in the inn. You know, it starts off by telling us about an emperor in Rome making a decree throughout his domain, throughout his kingdom, that has to be obeyed. In those days he was the sovereign, and the Roman Empire, at that time, based on the prophecy of Daniel, being the last Roman Empire, the revived Roman Empire that’s yet to come, and we see everything is converging now on Europe, and the Bible talks about a revived Roman Empire. But during that time there was an emperor who knew nothing about a carpenter in Nazareth, and the carpenter in Nazareth knows nothing about the emperor in Rome, but God moved in Rome to move the carpenter and his wife, who was now with child, to leave Nazareth, to make that journey down south all the way to Bethlehem.

Now, this is a beautiful, lovely story where every time we think about Christmas, we think of the beautiful story of God’s love for us. And here in this portion, we see sovereignty, mystery, and lovely humility, how God moved in Rome just to move a carpenter in Nazareth all the way to Bethlehem. You see, Joseph and Mary, they were from the tribe of Judah. Their lineage, both of them, came all the way from the line of David. In other words, David had two sons from which, if you trace down, it goes all the way to Mary on one hand and Joseph on the other. Yet we see this lovely humility, how Jesus was born to parents that were poor at this time, even though they are of the royal lineage, because the kingdom came to an end.

At the time when they were taken away to Babylon, there was no more king of Israel at that time. From that time on, there was a governor from the royal line from which Jesus came, from the line of David, whose name was Zerubbabel, by the time he came back, but he didn’t come back to become king. So, by now this royal family has become poor. I doubt that even the people of Nazareth might know about their genealogy, the fact that they are a royal family. We hear so much from history, right? You all know that, down through history, there are stories of the sons or the daughters of emperors and kings that dwindled into poverty, and they end up as servants, or beggars even, in the street.

Now, you start thinking that «Well, the Bible says Jesus, though he was rich, yet he became poor». Yeah, initially they were poor, but later on when the wise men came and brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh, you can say that, later on, when they had to flee to go to Alexandria in Egypt, the baby sponsored that trip. When Jesus comes into your life, get ready for an uplifting. Get ready for you to experience the good life. And I’m not referring to things that are just material, okay? Yes, he can bless you with those things because the Good Shepherd said, «The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not lack». David himself said that. That royal child said early in his life before he became king, «The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not lack».

You will not lack for anything, but more than anything else, the biggest hindrance between us and God is our sin. We have all sinned. I said we have all sinned and come short of the glory of God. But back to this lovely story, we see this sovereignty of God moving this family, this royal family, now poor, right? And Mary was now pregnant, in the advanced stage. So, what was she thinking of, you know? And what was Joseph thinking of, moving all the way from Nazareth to Bethlehem? It’s a long, arduous journey, a journey of about 65 miles. All the way from Nazareth, in the north of Israel, all the way down through Jerusalem is about 65 miles; and then from Jerusalem all the way south, even, to Bethlehem, about another 5 to 6 miles. It will take probably about three to four days for someone walking.

Probably Joseph was walking and Mary, very advanced in her pregnancy, sitting on the donkey. It would take about three to four days, but very arduous journey. And along the way there are also perils of robbers and all that. Of course, we know God will make sure his angels is watching over them, but they had to make their way all the way to Bethlehem; why? Why take this journey? People around will say, «Why take this journey when your wife is so advanced in her pregnancy»? Well, because of all that prophets prophesied that the baby will be born, this ruler who will shepherd. His people, Israel, will come forth from Bethlehem. You see, there are two Bethlehems in Israel. For those who do not know, just let you know that there’s one in Galilee, very near to their hometown, Nazareth, all right, but that’s not the one that’s prophesied. That Bethlehem is called Bethlehem Galilee.

So, there’s one Bethlehem near to Nazareth called Bethlehem Galilee, in Hebrew, but that’s not the one prophesied by the prophets. In Micah, it was prophesied that Jesus will come out of Bethlehem Ephrathah, and that’s Bethlehem Judah. The prophet Micah says this: «You, Bethlehem Ephrathah», this was written years before Jesus was born, in the Old Testament, all right? It was prophesied by Micah the prophet. «You, Bethlehem Ephrathah», so it locates the place. It’s Bethlehem Judah, the same Bethlehem that David came out of. The same Bethlehem, you have the beautiful love story of Boaz and Ruth. That’s the same Bethlehem; Bethlehem Ephrathah, or Bethlehem Judah, okay? «Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel,» notice this, «whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting».

So, this baby is no ordinary baby. This baby, his going forth is of old, from everlasting. The Bible says in Isaiah 9, verse 6, it says, «For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given». He was the Son before he was a child. Can you understand that? As the Son, he’s always with the Father. But as a child, he was born. That speaks of his humanity. The Son given. The Son cannot be born, because the Son is deity, God himself. The Son was given, but the child was born. Very beautiful. In the very first line, we see the prophecy of Isaiah. A child, «for unto us a Child is born,» the Son is given. «Unto us a Son is given». I love it. It’s very beautiful. Sometimes some of the things we don’t understand, like the virgin birth, the Bible says she brought forth her son.

Look at Luke 2 again and it says, «She brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn». No room for them in the inn. I was reading this one day, and I realized it does not say there was no room in the inn. It’s all used up. 'Cause during this time is the Feast of Tabernacles, and it’s one of the major feasts of Israel, and people from all over Israel, and even outside Israel the Jewish proselytes and also the Jewish, I should say Gentile proselytes, those who are not Jews, they will come in because they believe in the God of Israel, and they will converge on Jerusalem.

So, Bethlehem is about 5, 6 miles just south. So, you can imagine, the whole entire region, all the hotels are filled, right? In those days they don’t have hotels. They have guest houses, and there’s one in Bethlehem, a caravanserai. In those days they travel in groups for safety, okay? So, when they travel, they come to a location where they stop. You know when you travel right now, when you drive long journeys, there’s always a rest stop. What a blessing, isn’t it? And your wife will tell you, «Okay, 3 kilometers more. We got to go, we gotta go, we gotta go,» amen? Your son says, «I got to go». You know what that means, right? Because if not, he says, «I told you I had to go». That’s too late, amen?

So, you thank God for the rest stop, amen? You can relax, stretch your legs if you’re driving. I love driving when I’m abroad. I love driving. In those days they have a place called, they call it caravanserai, where they would just come and bring their donkey, some of them horses, and they’ll bring all their goods. They put it right in the center. Usually, it’s like a U-shape, and then they will stay inside. Those who are wealthy, of course, will have rooms in those buildings. It’s called a caravanserai. What is interesting is that this inn in Bethlehem, I can show you from scripture, that, originally, it belonged to David. David was born there. How come David the king was born there?

Now, he was born there. He wasn’t a king yet. He was just a shepherd boy from a shepherd family. He was born there because he was the great-great-grandson of Boaz and Ruth. You know the story of Boaz and Ruth, amen? Ruth was not a Jew. But through believing in the God of Israel, she became a Jewish proselyte. And from her came the royal son. And from David came Jesus Christ, the greater son of David, amen? So, it was their home, in Bethlehem, and where did this story happen? You can read all about it in the Old Testament, in that lovely, little, small book. In fact, it takes just less than an hour to read it in one sitting. Just a few chapters, but a lovely story of how a Redeemer is needed. When you have lost everything, you need someone from your own family.

In those days, among the Jewish people, they have a law that if you have become bankrupt, if your land is forfeited, you can have someone from your own family to redeem for you the land, provided he has the means, provided he is willing, very important. Not all relatives are willing. You know they say wealth is relative? More wealth, more relatives, okay? And he must be from your family circle, in those days. Why did God give this law? And this law was there in the Old Testament. It’s all about Jesus. It’s all about how Jesus will come part of a human family, number one. He has to be among your family to be a Redeemer, to redeem you out of your lost state, to redeem you out of your bondage, amen, to redeem you of all that you have forfeited through your own foolishness, through your own sins. He can redeem what is lost.

You see, even healing is nothing more than redeeming what was lost, amen? So, another thing, that relative must be willing. Is Jesus willing? Oh, yes. How willing? Like this…on the cross, and that’s why he said, «For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life». He must be willing. Does he have the means? Oh how. He says, «All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth». He went about, and with all the power he has, you know, some people with just some authority, some power, they abused it to enrich themselves. They step down on others. They use others.

There are people who use people to love money, when we should be loving people and using money to bless them. But Jesus, with all the power that he has, how does he use that power? He used the power to cleanse the leper, to open the eyes of the blind, to heal the sick, even to raise the dead. Which goes to tell us, when he did this, and He did this so often. Three-fourths of his ministry is in healing, restoring, cleansing, forgiving. That tells us that it is God’s will, that something has gone wrong with mankind. Man has sinned, and sin has brought in disease, destruction, depression, becoming decrepit, and finally death. It was never part of God’s plan. God calls death an enemy. Hence, we have the story of Christmas. It’s all planned by God, amen.

Now, God didn’t plan for man to sin. Man chose to sin. Then you say, «Why didn’t God just stop man»? In fact, my son, he has come to the age where he’s asking questions, so one time I was driving him, just me and him. We have some time together a few weeks ago abroad somewhere. I’ll bring him somewhere while the girls are out, my wife and my daughter are out shopping. I must teach him not to be addicted to shopping. He’s got to do a man’s stuff, you know. What do men do? We go to amusement park, amen. We go to an amusement center, amen. So, on the way there, he asked me questions, like, Bible questions. «Why didn’t God just… God knew what was going to happen. Why didn’t he just stop man»? I said, «Huh, that’s the thing, Justin. Do you want me to force you, you have no choice? I program into you something that you are just nothing more than an AI robot».

Nowadays you have robots bringing you food, right, in the restaurant. I mean, they are so smart. They know which table to go to, amen? Would you like to marry one of them? They will always obey you, always bring food for you. Some of them know how to make good coffee. Yeah, there are baristas who are robots now. They say that one day they will take over our jobs. No, there’s no substitute for human intelligence. It was the human intelligence that produced the artificial intelligence. If there’s an artificial intelligence, there’s a real intelligence, right? So, I said, «Would you like to be a robot, obeying me? I tell you what to do, you do, amen. You will never disobey me. I will never be disappointed, right? But is that what I want? Is that what God wants»?

God gave man, what? A free choice. If God made man a robot, I’ll tell you this. If God made man like an AI, okay, with intelligence, right, but to obey him, no choice but to obey Him, like a robot, no free choice, we won’t be in the fall. There will be no sickness, there will be no disease. So, I said to him, «It’s because God really respects man’s free choice. When God saw Adam reaching out for that fruit, if God stopped him, God says, 'Stop it. I have all power, I can stop you anytime I want, ' is that giving the man the free choice»? He says, «No». Say, «However, you cannot choose the result of your choice. You cannot say, for example, 'I put my finger into the fire. Okay, I choose to put my finger in the fire, but I don’t choose burn.' No, no. If you put your finger in the fire, you choose burn, you understand»?

So, God gave the choice to man, «If you sin against me, in the day that you do it, you will surely die». Now, Adam didn’t die immediately, but he died spiritually, why? Because you are not just a body. You are a spirit, you are a soul, you live in a body. This body is your house. So, God says, «The day that you sin, you will surely die». In fact, Adam lived to nearly a thousand years, but in the day, a thousand years is like to God one year… or, sorry, a thousand years is like to God one day, amen. God doesn’t measure time the way we measure time. God is outside time, amen. So, if you look at what is happening in the world today, you cannot blame God. You know, someone got knocked down in the street down there. It’s a child, the child is innocent, the child got knocked down. You don’t go to the minister of transport and say, «What are you doing»? Right?

There are laws, there are rules governing the whole thing. There are parents who are supposed to tell the child what to do and what is the red light all about and what is the green light for and what is the amber light there for. You know, there are rules. You cannot just say, «You know, forget about the law of gravity,» and just step out from a 50-story building. Thou shalt be crushed, amen. You cannot choose the result, you can choose to step out, you cannot choose the result of your choice. So, hence the story, just to let you all know how complicated I get when I explain to my son, all right? So, I believe that if we can see things in its perspective, we understand what’s going on in the world, we won’t see this world that we are living in as a perfect world. It’s not a perfect world.

Hey, come on. It’s not a perfect world. And you look at the people today, I mean, they have so many more conveniences, modern conveniences. We have a smartphone, we have a, you know, automatic hair dryer. In those days you just gotta let your hair dry, you know? And we got all kinds, we got social media, we can watch television live, you know, just live somewhere, you know, somewhere in the world that’s happening right now. I can see it in my box, right? I can see how ManU you got defeated yesterday. Really bad, you know. And I can see all that, right? No, I didn’t see it. I was asleep. No, it was earlier, so I was still awake, preparing the message for you all, amen. But I couldn’t stay up, of course, for Liverpool.

So, don’t tell me the result, okay, because I was sleeping. The things you sacrifice to serve the Lord. So, God gave man a choice, and man chose the wrong thing, hence the story of what the history of man is all about. Everyone dies. It’s not God’s plan for man to die, but man dies. The wages of sin is death. You all like wages, right? Yeah, but the wages of sin is death. The Bible says that. Now, God cannot say, «Okay, Adam sinned, okay, it’s okay. Boys will be boys». No, God is a God of his word. If God says something, there is a devil out there to make sure that God keeps his word, amen, or else he would challenge God. So, how can God now bring sinful men back into his presence, man that he loves so much? Jesus himself, out of Jesus’s own mouth, Jesus says, «For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life».

So, Jesus said God so loved the world, God so loved you. You might not know it, but you are loved. God loves you. And this love doesn’t change because of your behavior. You cannot turn off God’s love. But how can God receive sinful men into his holy presence? Because God is holy, right? Heaven is perfect. In fact, if you enter heaven right now, you’ll be miserable, because everything in heaven is perfect and you are not. You are not in sync. You got to be born again, amen, to relish the heavenly things, amen. Are you with me so far?

So, back to the story of that inn, the caravanserai. It was originally the house of Boaz and Ruth and then David, their great-grandson, royal grandson, David. And then from David, David actually gave it to Barzillai, a man who was very kind to David when he was wandering, fleeing. And that man, the elderly man who was a wealthy man, he was very kind to David. David gave to his son called Kimham that inn, his own house, that later on became to be known, in the Old Testament, you can find this, it began to be called on the way to Bethlehem there is a Kimham Inn. That word there is caravanserai. Later on, it became the center in Bethlehem where people who traveled for, you know, pilgrimage to Jerusalem, they would stop there.

So, you think about it, Mary and Joseph, from the line of David, actually they had the right to have the presidential suite there. Am I right? But there was no room for them in the inn. It doesn’t say there’s no room. There’s no room for them. They’re poor. You know, one look at them and, you know, you think about, «If I give up that room, somebody else might come who is able to pay for it». So, there’s no room for them in the inn. Did they fight it? Did they say, you know, «Don’t you know who I am»? No, that’s a beautiful picture of humility. If I were to write the story of the Christmas, it would be like this. All right?

On a mountain that was glowing there was lightning and thunder, and there was a crack of a loud sound, and all of a sudden you see a strong being, shining bright with a sword glittering, and he steps down. He has six… no, eight packs, and he comes down with big biceps, amen. He takes off his royal robe, and he says, «I’ve come to be a man». You’ll cause him at least to be born, if you want him to be born, born in a palace. But Jesus was so kind, even to children. He chose to be a child, to come from the very beginning of mankind’s life. He didn’t come, just drop down, you know, even to become a man. He can just become a full grown man, isn’t it? Like Adam, Adam was created a full grown man, the very first man. But Jesus came not like Adam. He came as a child. I think that’s lovely humility. It’s lovely humility.

You know, a child might be thinking, «Does Jesus understand me»? Every stage you are at, Jesus understands you. You got a child at six years old, you can tell him Jesus was once upon a time six years old, amen. If you have a child that’s 12 years old, you can say Jesus one time was 12 years old. In fact, there’s a story in the Bible where he was, when he was 12 years old, they were astounded at his understanding and answers, amen. Jesus came as a child to go through all the vicissitudes of human life, amen. To sit where we sit, amen. But he could choose to be born in a palace with gilded ceiling, pillars of marble, but he chose to be born, not in a guest house in his rightful home, at least his ancestral home. But they say that, «You know what? Seeing that your wife is so advanced and all that, we’ll give you where the cows are and where they put the horses and the donkeys. You can find some place there, can lay your child, to lay your child».

So, the Bible says amongst that stable, which was a cave actually in those days, nearby to where he was. Most houses then was also in a cave. Jesus was born. Here’s another beautiful, lovely humility. The Son of God became the Son of Mary. The Ancient of Days became an infant in time. Heaven of heavens cannot contain him, but here he lies in a manger. You know, Mary probably picked him up from the ground after he was born and put him in a manger. A manger is a feeding trough, the place where the animals would feed. Literally, the word manger, the original word there, it actually says, it has the idea of eating. So, it tells you the place where the animals would eat, this wonderful child, this beautiful Jesus, he himself said later on, «I am the bread of life. He that eats me will never die. Believe thou this»?

Jesus didn’t come to set an example primarily. That’s not the purpose for which he came, to give us an example or teaching that we should adopt and follow and pattern ourselves after. No, he came that you might eat him. He came to be the bread of life. Unless you feed on him, unless you appropriate him, there’s no life in you. Many of us, we want to follow Jesus. «I like his teachings, I want to follow his teachings». His teachings, trying to follow his teachings cannot save you. It is death at the cross and his resurrection that saves you, amen. And since we are on that, none of us can follow his teachings. You know, he says, «Love your enemies». We got a problem loving our relative. So, you go by his teaching to justify yourself, we are all done for.

You know, Jesus preached a Sermon on the Mount. Thank God after he preached a Sermon on the Mount, he came down to where the people were. If he didn’t come down, we are all finished. He came down so that one day he knows he was going to come back to us by his Holy Spirit, live in us, and live out the Sermon on the Mount for us as we rest in him, amen. None of us can do it. None of us. And if you criticize me for saying that, there you go. He says also in the Sermon on the Mount, don’t criticize your neighbor. «Judge not that you be not judged,» amen. So, «A Child is born, a Son is given».

You know, there are 11 ways the Bible refers to Jesus as the Son. The Son has the idea of deity. He is the Son of God, he is the Son of the Father. Ten to eleven ways, eleven ways the Bible describes him as the Son. Son of God, Son of the Father, Son of the Highest, Son of the Blessed. These four refers to his heavenly origin, his deity. He’s the Son of Mary, Son of Joseph, Son of the carpenter. These three refers to his manhood, his humility. And then the Son of Abraham, the Son of David, the Son of Man. This refers to his royalty. And then the Son of his love. That’s the Son of God. He’s the Son of God, people. The Son of God eternally. He’s the Son of the Father relationally, the Son of the Highest uniquely, he’s the Son of the Blessed morally, Son of Mary miraculously, Son of Joseph legally, Son of the carpenter practically, Son of Abraham prophetically, Son of David royally, Son of Man dispensationally, the Son of His love intimately. Unto us a Son is given. And everything revolves around him.

Once upon a time, the astronomers thought that the earth was the center of the system. So, they did all their calculations based on that. That in the solar system, the earth is the center. So, based on the center being the earth, they did all their calculations and as you know, all their calculations failed. All the calculations did not add up. Everything failed. Why? They had the center wrong. Now we know, and later on the astronomers discovered what we know now. It’s all very simple. Earth is not the center. The sun is the center. And when the sun is the center, everything, even the calculations, everything falls into place. The Bible says of Jesus that all things were made by him.

Colossians chapter 1. «For through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can’t see and the things we can’t see, such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him. He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together. Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything». «All things were created by Him,» you saw that? Let’s look at the verse again. «For through him God created everything». All things were made by Christ. And it goes on to say, «Everything was created through him and for him». Not just that, «He holds all things together». Look at this, «He existed before anything else».

So, before he was a child that was born, he’s a Son, always there with the Father. And he holds all creation together. Whenever I think of Mary holding that baby close to her heart, I think of the one, the helpless babe. Look so helpless. Mary holds him, the one who holds all things together. This is lovely humility. We don’t ask you to understand it. We don’t ask you to explain it. We just ask you to come and worship him. We bow before this beauty. See, I don’t care whether you’re talking about study of Scripture, whether the arrangement of your life, the ordering of your family, your home. Put Christ in the center. When the center is wrong, nothing falls in place. Nothing prospers. When Christ is the center, everything falls into place. He holds all things together.

That’s why a marriage must have a third party: the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Every successful marriage must have a third party. If I take from you, I take from you and you take from me, you take from me, we take from each other, we are going to kill each other. If not physically, verbally, in our hearts. We’ll end up, because we are not meant to live without him being the center of our marriage or the center of our lives. You know, when they use the word «integrated,» that means what? Everything is in its place. Integrated. In Israel, there’s a very beautiful expression you will hear people saying. When they greet you, they say, «Shalom». And when they leave, they say, «Shalom».

When they are really excited, they will say, «Shalom, shalom». Or they didn’t see you for a long time, they will say, «Shalom, shalom». Twice. Shalom, in other words, wholeness is a beautiful picture of peace. That’s how they say it in Hebrew, Jesus’s native tongue, right? They say it, «Shalom». Say, «Shalom». Peace on earth. Shalom. Shalom means wholeness, integrated. Everything is in its place. In other words, if your body is in shalom, there’s no part sick. There’s no part diseased. If your mind, your soul is in shalom, you have peace of mind. No part depressed. No part is obsessed with dark, compulsive thoughts and imaginations. Shalom, shalom. Shalom for your outside, shalom for your inside. And if you know that verse that says, trust in the, «Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee».

I used to wonder what’s the word «perfect peace». Peace I know is shalom. What is perfect peace in the Bible? «Thou will keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee». Well, if you look at the original it says, you will keep him in perfect peace. You will keep him in shalom shalom. To God that’s perfect peace. Wouldn’t you say so? If you’re complete on the outside and complete on the inside. That’s what God wants for you. Only when we keep our mind on him. When our lives revolve around him. What about your life today? Sovereignty, his power can come into your life and arrange that even someone doesn’t know you, can make decisions that will influence you in your humble situation. Amen. And there’s a mystery. A virgin shall be with child. Or we can discuss all about, you know, the fact that, well, how can a virgin have a child and not?

We’re not called us to understand, we are asked to just bow before it. Today even, based on modern discoveries and all that, they realize that the placenta of the baby brings in the oxygen, nourishment from the mother, amen, into the child, and the child’s waste and all that goes back through the placenta. But never during that time does the mother’s blood and the baby’s blood mix. We’ve discovered that. But what a beautiful picture that confirms that the blood of Mary that was sinful, because everyone sinned, have sinned. But this baby is called the holy thing by the angel. He has no sin. But if you think that the placenta of Mary brought in sin through her blood, none of the blood comes into the baby. Hallelujah. All the blood in Jesus is in him to be shed on the cross to wash away your sins. It’s royal blood. It’s holy blood. Can I have a good amen?

No wonder the apostle Paul says, to put him in the center, he says this at the end, the climax of Romans 11. He concludes like this, «'For of Him, and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen». «For of Him,» that means the source must be from him, amen. «Through Him,» means the channel is also through him. «And to Him,» is the object. It’s all to him. If you live your life like that, you are living your life the way God wants you to live. And you will find everything will fall into place. Amen. May you find the Son of God real in your life during this time. Don’t forget the reason why He died on the cross. The Bible says it’s as if God was looking for this opportunity, and I close with this, that at the culmination of all the ages, the age of the law, the age of dispensation of innocence, the dispensation of government, everything comes to a head.

Here in Hebrews 9, it says, «But now once for all time, Jesus has appeared at the end of the age». And this word «age» here is in plural. All the ages combined came to the final culmination. Why? He appeared, why at this time? «To remove sin by his own death as a sacrifice. And just as each person is destined to die», hey, hello, a hundred years from now, not a single person here will still be alive. We can try not to talk about it, don’t want to focus on it. «On Christmas day you talk about death». But we need to be reminded because it’s a reminder of love. Prepare yourself. For a Christian, the Bible used the word, «fall asleep,» they don’t die. And anyway, we are not looking down. For the believer, the right posture, Bible posture to take is not looking down to the grave, looking up to the sky. He’s coming back for us as we shall see presently in this portion.

«And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again». He will come again. «He will come again, not to deal with our sins». Now, his First Coming was to deal with our sins. He died on the cross. That’s why he died on the cross. All right, he bore all our sins so that you and I can be forgiven. You and I can be justified by faith, not by our performance or our works. Amen? But when he comes again, it is not to deal with our sins. So many Christians are so afraid that when Jesus comes again, you know, «I’m still not perfect, I’m not this, I’m not that».

Hey, he has not come to deal with your sins. When he comes again, he is going to come to be the ruler of all. Amen. After so many thousands of years of man’s rule, he’s going to show us what the rule of the Son of God is going to be like. Amen. «So also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation».

Now this word «salvation» is our bodily salvation. Even our bodies will be saved. The Bible says when Jesus comes again, amen, all of us will receive instantly our brand new bodies. A body that will never grow old, never become sick again, never feel bored, never fall asleep when the pastor is preaching, and a body that will live forever and forever young, forever healthy, forever strong. Forever is quite a long time. And whoever believes, this Son of God says, «Whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life». Amen? Put Jesus in the center of your life, amen. Every head bowed, every eye closed just for a moment. All right. Just remain in your position just for a moment. Pray this prayer with me.

Now, if you have never put your trust in Christ, the Bible says, «Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved and your house,» your whole family. If you confess with your mouth Jesus Christ is your Lord, accept him, believe on him, and believe that God raised him from the dead. Today, if you go to Israel, there is an empty tomb. Jesus rose from the dead. Why? I told you just now, death is an enemy. So, God also has a deal with death and he conquered death. That’s why for a Christian, there’s no death. You may fall asleep if Jesus waits before he comes again during our time. There will come a time we will just fall asleep. That’s the term the Bible used. And we’ll wake up in heaven.

So, Jesus rose from the dead. If you believe that, the Bible says you shall be saved. Pray this prayer with me if that is you. You want to put your trust in Christ, pray this prayer with me from your heart. Say:

Heavenly Father, I thank you. Christ died for my sins, and you raised him from the dead when I was acquitted, when I was justified in him. Jesus Christ is my Lord and my Savior now and forever. Fill me now with your Holy Spirit and give me that wonderful abundant life in Jesus’s name.

And all the people said, «Amen». If you prayed that prayer, do a big wave. Yeah, praise the Lord. If you prayed that prayer, do a big wave. Praise God, praise God. Stand to your feet. Merry Christmas. Merry Christmas to all of you.

Wendy Prince: Merry Christmas, everyone, and I wish you a very blessed 2024. Have a confident expectation of good. The Lord is faithful. Amen.

Joseph Prince: Amen. Amen. The Lord bless you and the Lord keep you throughout this week. The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance on you and grant to you and yours his shalom peace. Amen.