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you you you you you you you Well good evening everyone welcome to Mountain Baptist Church take your psalm books and turn to song 421 Song 421 in your psalm books We'll sing the first Noel and if you would stand we'll sing song 421 The first Noel the angel did say was to certain poor shepherds and fields where they lay and fields where they lay keeping their sheep on a cold winter's night that was so deep Noel Noel Noel Noel Born is the king of Israel And by the light of that That same star three wise men came from Country far to see for a king was their Intent and to follow the star Wherever They went no well no well no well No Born is the king of Israel This star drew nigh to the Northwest or Beth Took its rest and there it did both stop and stay right over the place where Jesus lay No No No No Born is the king of Israel Then entered and those wise men three full Reverently upon their knee and offer their his Presence their gold and myrrh and frankincense No No No No Born is the king of Israel Let's pray. Heavenly Father the Lord again. We just want to thank you God for just bringing us back tonight for another church service that we get to hear your word preached. I pray Lord that you would give us ears to hear and hearts to obey and Lord we just love you and pray all of this in Jesus name. Amen. All right, you may be seated And Let's see We could do We Do song 426 I heard the bells on Christmas Day Song 426 I Heard the bells on Christmas Day their old Familiar carols play and wild and sweet The words repeat of peace on earth good will to men I Thought how as the day had come the bell of all Christian dumb had rolled along the unbroken song of peace on earth Good will to men and in despair I bowed my head There's no peace on earth. I said for hate is strong and the song of peace on earth Goodwill to men Then peel the bells more loud and deep God is Not dead nor doth He sleep the wrong shall fail the right prevail with peace on earth Goodwill to men till ringing singing on its way the world revolve from night to day a voice a chime a chant sublime of peace on earth Goodwill to men Amen back to Mount Baptist Church on this Christmas Eve Sunday I just want to get the soul winning number for the week What do we have today? As far as to know what wait what oh Do we have any today One okay, and then during the week we had one during the week right on Wednesday great Oh That's what I yeah, okay, so seven eight any others I think So I think it's eight yeah So we'll praise the Lord with the soul winning efforts there And And then as far as announcements here This week everything should be normal and as far as the service times and everything we have the Wednesday evening Lord willing will be continuing our study through the book of 1st Samuel and then on Sunday The church services and times will be the same there as well Going into the new year. Well, it's gonna be 31st, but we are gonna have This Friday, we're gonna have the men's prayer meeting at 6 p.m. And then on that's this coming Sunday We're gonna do the Lord's Supper. So Being your places there. It'll be after the afternoon service. So so it'll be in the evening there on Sunday and so It be in your places there if you can And then soul winning all that. I know that the regional sewing time that's gonna be probably I know Monday's not gonna be happening But then with the Tuesday Wednesday Saturday just get with the on the church group there as far as those times and places and all that I know that a lot of people are traveling and stuff like that with the holidays So it just really may depend on what everybody's doing where they're at And then as far as Bible memory Luke chapter 2 for our Bible memory for the for the month and in our Memory verse for the week is Matthew 1 21 and she shall bring forth a son and now shall call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins I'm thinking of this while coming into the new year as far as Reading schedules, I know I think this past year in January We did the month like reading the New Testament in a month. So I think we should do something like that again How did we do that do we have a chart or we have a lit we had a chart like our list of Like what chapters you had to read to accomplish that? I can't remember what happened to that Did we print off something with that I think so Yeah, because Verity was doing it I Think someone someone redid it and would put our like a logo on it. So we basically plagiarized them took it But I think that'd be a good thing to do again in January is to have that Kind of and maybe we can have prizes it didn't have it we had a prize I think at the end if you read through the whole New Testament within the month of January Can remember what it was probably Duluth gift card or something like that Yes, makes sense, you know. Yeah I see you're not wearing Duluth pants Well, that's totally When you have something with high quality like Duluth, you know this this message is not brought to you by Duluth, but Well, it's definitely not gonna be Carhartt I'll tell you that them in there, you know mandatory vaccinations and everything Anyway, so I think that'd be a good idea though I think we just need to find those We'll print off that for everybody so that you'll know what chapters you need to read each day to accomplish that But that's a good way to start off a new year as they read through the New Testament in one month So I don't recommend when it comes to that type of reading schedule. I don't think that that's That you should be trying to do that every month, you know I think that there's times where you can try to push through it and get kind of the bigger picture But there's when it comes to your reading schedule You need to have time to think about it, too So but I think it's sometimes it's good to get that like just overview Like you just get it all in once and get a lot of the picture there. So And then as far as the birthdays, I think we got that this morning anniversaries and and brother Jim will get you when your wife's Remember, so we didn't want to I didn't forget about you, but I Wasn't forgetting about you there, but a happy anniversary there and then pregnancies Alyssa Anastasia and Tabby there on the pregnancy list Coming into the new year. So yeah, I mean those are those due dates are coming up really quick there. So And then as far as so as far as getting our number for being our number from last year When it comes to salvation's we got some work to do in the next week. So I don't know if it's gonna happen, but it But I'll say this last year when it came to our soul winning numbers it was We like blew them out of the water last year. So we went from like we hadn't we I don't think we had broken 400 The year before I can't remember what we had before I'd have to see you like what our numbers were each year But for the first two years we hadn't broken 200 and then we broke 200 and we had like 300 or 400 and then like then we had Like seven hundred and eight and so it kind of like we blew through the ceiling So I'm not like looking at this is like, oh man, we really like Our backtracking because to be honest that that number on 2022 was Massive we had some we had some mission strips that like Belize that had some really good Numbers there and our mission trip to Greece. It just wasn't as fruitful. And so there's things like that that that'll make But I think there are regional sewing of sewing numbers and our local sewing numbers were up this year so we had some more like kind of Missionary type of sewing numbers that were really lending to that 708. So don't let that bother you I'm you know, so if we don't get to that break 700 you know, I still think we're our Local soul winning has been upped because we have more sewing times and more people going out soul winning So those like that that's that's going really well. So and hopefully Hopefully next year we can break it. So anyway That's about all I have for announcements We're gonna be reading Matthew chapter 2. I think David you're reading tonight, right? And so we're gonna be reading Matthew chapter 2 getting a sermon before that brother Dave's gonna sing one more song and we'll get into it All Right take your song books and turn to song 434 Song 434 in your song books will sing a little town of Bethlehem Song 434 Oh little town of Bethlehem How still we see thee lie Above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by Yet in thy dark street shineth the Everlasting light The hopes and fears of all the years are mad in thee tonight For Christ is born of Mary and gathered all While mortal sleep the angels keep their watch of wandering Love Oh Morning stars to gather Proclaim the holy birth And praises sing to God the king and peace to men on earth How Silently how silently The wondrous gift is give so God in parts to human hearts the blessings of his half No ear may hear his coming but in this world of sin Where meek souls will receive him still the dear Christ enters and Oh Holy child of Bethlehem Descend to us we pray Cast out our sin and enter and be born in us today We hear the Christmas Angels the great glad tidings tell oh Come to us Abide with us our Lord Emmanuel All right take your Bibles and turn to Matthew chapter number two Matthew chapter number two, and we will have brother David come and read the force Matthew chapter two if you found any place amen And the Bible reads now in Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea and the days of Herod the king behold that him rise men From the east to Jerusalem saying where is he that is born king of the Jews? We have seen his star in the east and I'll come to worship him when Herod the king got hurt these things He was troubled and all Jerusalem with him when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together He demanded of them where Christ to be born They said unto him in Bethlehem of Judea for blessed is written by the prophet and thou Bethlehem in the land of Judah Are not the least among the princes of Judah for out of these I'll come a governor. That's a rule my people Israel Then Herod when he had trivially called the Rhizome Inquired them he cried of them diligently what time the star appeared and he sent them to Bethlehem and said go and search diligently for the Young child and when he had found him bring me word again that I may come and worship him Also when they had heard the king they departed and lo the star which they saw in the east went before them till it came and stood over where this young child was When they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy and when they were coming to the house They saw the young child with Mary his mother and fell down and worshiped him when they had opened their treasures They presented unto him gifts gold and frankincense and myrrh and being learned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod They departed into their own country another way And when they were departed behold the angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream saying arise Take the young child and his mother and flee into Egypt and be there there until I bring thee word For Herod will seek the young child to destroy him When he arose he took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt And was there until the death of Herod that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet Saying out of Egypt have I called my son then Herod when he saw that he was mocked of the Rhizemen Was exceeding wroth and sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem and all the coasts of old from two years old and Under according to the times he had diligently inquired of the Rhizemen Then was fulfilled that was spoken by Jeremy the prophet saying and Rhema was the heard was there a voice heard lamentation and weeping and great morning Rachel weeping for her children and Would not be comforted because they are not but when Herod is dead behold an angel of the Lord appears to him in her dreams Appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt saying arise and take the young child and his mother And go into the land of Egypt They are dead which sought the young child's life and when he arose and took the young child and his mother and came into the land of Israel But when he heard that Achileus his son did reign in Judea in the room of his father Herod He was afraid to go there notwithstanding being one of God in a dream. He turned aside into the pouch of Galilee When he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth that it might be fulfilled which is spoken by the prophet He shall be called a Nazarene. Let's pray dear Lord I thank you for this opportunity to come back to your house pray that you feel past your spirit and help us all be edified In Jesus name. Amen Amen so you're there in Matthew chapter 2 and the name of this sermon is we have seen his star we have seen his star and This is a sermon. I'm going to be dealing with the wise men that came out of the east and how they follow the star To find the Lord Jesus now the thing that you need to understand with this story obviously with the wise men Is that a lot of times you'll see those nativity scenes where you have the wise men and the shepherds and all that But at his nativity it was the shepherds that came And then it wasn't until later that the wise men came Uh, and you say well how much later well, um one they're in a house that you'll see here. So they're not at like, you know They're not where the manger scene is at They're actually in a physical house when when the wise men come to them But also if you think about it when Herod goes when he's when he's mocked of the wise men Uh, he kills all the children from two years old and younger so it could very well be that we're talking like a year or so after the birth of christ that that the wise men come now this gets into the idea of He came onto his own and his own receipt of not into the jew first and also to the gentiles or to the greeks And the idea that the wise men are obviously not of israel, you know They're gentile people that are coming in to see jesus And the shepherds were obviously right there so they were of israel in bethlehem When he was born, okay, so there's definitely that aspect that the difference between the shepherds and the wise men Uh as far as the story goes here But the thing that I want to really hit on is the idea of those that were not of israel those that were in gentile Nations that were in a dark place in the world how they were led to jesus how they found him, right? And more so applying this story to uh just the the world that we live in today and the idea that there are places that are dark spiritually when it comes to The word of god when it comes to the gospel being preached that there's dark places and what a lot of people want to say with that is that well because uh Because of those dark places, you know, basically, uh You know there's you either have to say like well You know god's not uh that they have no hope of salvation Or the fact that maybe somehow, you know, well you get to say well, I think that people can go to heaven that Don't hear the gospel and don't believe And I believe both those are wrong right? The idea here is that god wants everybody to get saved And they all need to hear the gospel But how do those people that are in those dark places get to that point of hearing the gospel? And I believe that these wise men are an example of how god can lead them to The true light right they're following the star but where does the star end as far as leading them? To jesus himself, right? Right over where jesus is at And so when you think about this as being a physical because you could say well is this star like an angel? Or is it you know? It doesn't say it's an angel so i'm going to assume that it's an actual star In some cases, maybe it could be talking about like how planets can look like stars because they can move right wandering stars Dealing with like planetary type of things where you see maybe like mars and it looks like a star because it's lit up but that being said is that uh what I want to get into is the fact that That those that are in dark places can find the truth But a lot of times they have to follow the light that's given them to begin with they don't maybe have the true light They don't have the the clear presentation of the gospel But they have some light to lead them to the next point to where they can find The actual truth. Okay, and I believe that this still applies today This applied back then this applies today it applied before that meaning this is the idea that that god wants everybody to get saved and that Everybody has a certain amount of light that's given to them and it's a matter of like how much do you follow that light? Determining on you finding the truth and matthew chapter 2 and verse 1 here It's just kind of answering that like what about that guy out on a desert island somewhere, you know that kind of Argument that's out there And it's always this crazy hypothetical That probably doesn't even exist And and it's kind of like oh that crazy hypothetical that we're going to talk about We're going to just brush the whole world with that right and so in the end, uh Well, I just want to get into this as far as how I believe this story really kind of helps answer that question As far as what about those people out? in a dark place And how does god reach them? How does god get to them? Like, uh, are they just without hope of salvation? And i'll just state this before we read this. I don't believe that anybody is born into this world with zero hope of salvation Yeah And and you say what about children, you know, what about people that die they can't acknowledge the truth, you know, they're innocent They're innocent spiritually Their their flesh has sinned and that's why they would die to begin with but spiritually speaking. They're alive They haven't come to that knowledge of good and evil And so in the end, it's really just answering it's answering this question about what about people That have come to the knowledge of good and evil but they're in this dark place that's not hearing the gospel preach it's not like america where you could just like Find in any city someone that believes right and someone that that's there, right? um And too I think a lot of people have made up in their mind That it's like impossible for these people to hear it like or what they know They're just like well, they don't know anything about jesus. They don't know anything about this It's like do you know that for sure in a lot of these cases? now obviously you're talking about some native americans or something like, you know, like pygmy tribe is speaking some click language that You know And forgive me, you know, like you're racist, you know like the idea is that there's obviously some very remote stuff where people are being cut off from society to the point where Yeah, I get it. Like they're not hearing the story of jesus. They're not hearing about him as a person and all this Okay, so i'm kind of going to answer that Extreme example, okay of someone that's like in this dark place that they're not hearing anything about that You know, but I think that people take that extreme example and they apply it like to like people in china or people in japan It's like give me a break Especially in the day and age we live in today with the internet to think that no one can look up that Jesus existed or hear the story or look into it at all Is pretty you know Give me a break, you know when it comes to that especially today and it would when information is like at your fingertips But there are places and there are places where they don't have internet connections and they're not like that And they obviously are in a dark area, but i'm going to answer that with this story of Dealing with a star that's in heaven And that how the wise men were led to jesus by a star Okay So when it comes to this let's look at the story in verse one You're like man, it's gonna be a long sermon. We haven't got into the first passage That was i'm just trying to here's what my sermon's about. Let's get into it Okay, so here in matthew chapter two and verse one It says now when jesus was born in bethlehem of judia in the days of harry the king behold There was there came wise men from the east to jerusalem saying where is he that is born king of the jews? Where we have seen his star in the east and are come to worship him. So they are being led by this star They don't know where he's at And they're literally coming into jerusalem saying we're looking for him. We're trying to find him And this star is what how we're trying to find him And obviously harry's troubled at this And he's obviously inquiring of you know When did you see the star and he's inquiring of the wise of the priests and everything as far as like Where is the king of the jews going to be sent, you know, like where is he supposed to come and obviously in bethlehem? But when the when they're sent in verse eight there it says and he sent them to bethlehem and said go and search diligently for the Young child and when he and when you have found him bring me word again that I may come and worship him also So obviously harry didn't want to worship him. He wants to kill him But it says in verse nine when they had heard The king they departed then lo the star which they saw in the east Went before them Till it came and stood over where the young child was And when they saw the star they rejoiced with exceeding great joy So this star is leading them all the way just right over top of where jesus is at And notice what it says here This is why I don't believe this is you know, this happened right when the shepherds were there Because this is when they were come into the what house So they're in a house in bethlehem And it says they they saw the young child Now it doesn't say babe It says young child. Okay, so I believe this is a little bit of space of time It could be a year could be two years whatever, you know, but either way I believe you're dealing with A decent amount of time after the birth, okay With mary his mother and fell down and worshipped him and when they had opened their treasures They presented unto him gifts gold and frankincense and myrrh and being warned of god in a dream that they should not return to harry They departed into their own country another way So the story is is that basically harry wants to kill killed Jesus And they're warned of god don't go out there girls. You're gonna have to separate if you don't stop talking And so they they basically are coming To find jesus, but then they god is basically telling them like hey here, you know, this is a bad don't go back to him Okay, and obviously they flee it Joseph mary and jesus they they're they flee didn't flee into egypt and ultimately when they come back Back They don't end up going back to bethlehem. They go to nazareth which is where Mary was at to begin with right so mary and joseph were in nazareth. And so that's how the story goes there Now when it comes to this the light dealing with specifically nations outside of israel So think about it in our modern day. We would be more so thinking about america, right? nations outside of america because america you know Is the capital of christianity right now, let's just face it I mean, it's where there's the most churches that are preaching right on salvation that are sending out missionaries america is where it's at right now Not saying there aren't churches in other countries, but it's just the facts So when you're looking at this you think about like other countries that are dark right now You can think about europe, but I have more so think about countries that are more so not even claiming christianity, right? Because europe for example would claim some form of like false christianity like whether it's like greek orthodox or catholicism Or stuff like that there at least there's a a resemblance of christianity Whereas if you were to go into countries where it's more of like a buddhist Hinduism like india stuff like that and think about this Where are those places compared to israel in the east, right? india And china and all that's in the east and we even call their religions eastern mysticism, right? And it's like eastern mysticism and type of religions like that And so when you're dealing with this you're dealing with the idea of these dark places that people are being pulled out of to find the true god And it's this star that let him out there. But think about this when it comes to jesus's ministry And the fact that he grew up in nazareth now nazareth Uh was up in galley Okay, now look at uh, look at what it says here in luke chapter 2 In luke chapter 2 in verse 27, this is where simian, uh, we have uh, The the man that was basically ready to die like he's like i'm God promised him that he would see the lord's christ or you know Before he dies it says and he came by the spirit into the temple and when the parents brought in The child to jesus to do for him after the custom of the law Then took he unto took him up in his arms and blessed him and said lord now let us thou Thy servant depart in peace according to thy word for mine eyes have seen thy salvation Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people? A light to lighten the gentiles and the glory of thy people israel So notice how he understands before obviously You know when you think about when jesus raises from the dead It's like go on to the uttermost parts of the world. He understands that this is a light for the gentiles And isn't that the light? I mean the star was obviously leading them to the true light When it comes to the the men of the east these wise men from the east coming to find jesus And he's a light the light in the gentiles go to uh, go to john chapter one john chapter one Honestly, this is uh brother richie posted something about this uh dealing with uh basically that every man Uh has a certain light when it comes to that god has given them a certain amount of light To where they can try to come to the truth like not no one's just born in complete darkness And i'm gonna get to what I mean by that meaning that We at least they at least have a conscience, right? To where you at least have the law of god written in your hearts to where you know, like you don't have listen You don't need the bible to tell you that that Killing somebody is wrong like murdering somebody's wrong or stealing or lying, right? That's just inherently in your conscience, okay So whether you're talking about the the indians, you know native americans, you know back in back in the day here in america Or you're talking about like the mayans And in south america or you're talking about other places where you're going to have some dark type of times where people are not hearing the gospel and everything the idea is that they still had a conscience now people can Get that conscience seared and they can basically get to the point where they're they had Their minds are corrupt and and obviously get into the reprobate stuff, right? But they're born with a conscience everybody's born with a conscience to where they know right and wrong to a certain extent obviously the law was given that that basically Your sin would be exceeding sinful right? It's kind of like the idea that when moses brought in the law It's like oh, there's a lot more stuff that i'm doing wrong And then when jesus came in he basically just annihilated the law, right? No, he didn't he actually said I didn't come to destroy the law but to fulfill and actually he put more Boundaries on that right? He's like you've heard that you should not commit adultery But I say into you if you look upon a woman to lust after you commit adultery over your heart That doesn't sound like he's taking it away. It sounds like he's kind of putting a little more Meat on there, isn't he? Same thing with murder and the fact that if you're angry with your brother without a cause you're a murderer Or if you hate your brother, you're a murderer, right? So that being said is that we have it in our hearts to begin with but the law just Magnifies it and when jesus came in, you know what he did he put an even bigger magnifying glass on the law I'm, like you're a sinner Even more so than you thought, right? so In john chapter one and verse one here says in the beginning was the word word was with god and the word was god The same was in the beginning with god all things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made Notice this in verse four in him was life and the life was the light of men And the light shineth in darkness and the darkness comprehended it not So obviously jesus is this light in the world, but it says there there was a man sent from god whose name was john The same came for a witness to bear witness of the light That all men through him might believe he was not that light meaning john the baptist was not that light But was sent to bear witness of that light that Was the true light which lighteth every man that cometh into the world So let me ask you a question. Does every man that comes in the world have a certain amount of light Does every man in the world have a certain measure of faith? Everybody in the world has the ability to believe That can be taken away And that light can be taken away Right, but the idea is that god is given that that light and that ability to believe to every single person that comes into the world okay And jesus says in john 9 5 it says as long as I am in the world. I am the light of the world Now obviously the bible even talks about how we are the light of the world too, right? Because obviously if christ in you the hope of glory if you let your your inner man shine Then you can let christ shine through you as ambassadors of christ and be that light in the world and uh Go to john, uh, john 12. John 12 verse 32. John 12 and verse 32 And then we'll be getting into this this argument about the some guy out on the island somewhere by himself. That's never heard anything And he's just saying ooga booga as he's out there Spearing fish. I mean like It always gets more extreme, you know when people are just like what about what if We got a guy with web feet. He's got gills And like I mean like how far do you take it through you're like, all right I think you're getting a little about out and left feel here about this being a real possibility but I think it could be really answered with the bible as far as um How god deals with those situations? And this will be important when it comes to soul winning because if you take the route that Well, god's just going to forgive all these people that haven't heard it Then why would I go there and preach the gospel to him? You're almost doing them a disservice because if they're ignorant then you might as well just let them be ignorant But In in john chapter 12 verse 20 verse 32 it says and I if I be lifted up From the earth will draw all men unto me This he said signifying what death he should die the people answering answered him We have heard out of the law that christ abideth forever and how sayest thou The son of man must be lifted up Who is this son of man then jesus said unto them yet a little while is the light with you Walk while you have the light lest darkness come upon you For he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth While you have light believe in the light that you may be the children of light These things spake jesus and departed and did hide himself from them and then he's going to go on the fact that they could not believe because You know, it gets into isaiah hardening their hearts and everything meaning this is there's a point where that light is taken away That light is hidden from them, right? and the idea here is that While you have the light believe in the light and I believe When you're dealing with people that are from let's say in some dark place God has given you a certain amount of light believe that light And move forward and he'll give you more light and he'll give you more light and he'll give you more light And you may have to travel a long distance to get to jesus Now we that are nigh because We're in america We don't have to travel as long Right, it's not it's not a big it's not as much of a leap to get to where we're at because you let's say you grew Up in a christian home, but you didn't know that it was by grace through faith Right, you knew that jesus is god and the trinity and you grew up with the christmas story But you just didn't know what you needed to believe exactly Do you see how you're nigh to that? You're not having to travel very far But yet there's people that reject that light that are nigh But the idea is that those that are outside of that have to travel a further distance Now, I believe that everybody has the opportunity meaning that they don't have a zero percent chance of of Getting safe meaning this is that no one is just born into this world and there's just no hope of salvation for them Okay That would contradict the fact that the bible says that god is not willing that any should perish But that all should come to revenge so I have all men to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth So he wants everybody to get saved And he's trying to get everybody saved. Okay, and obviously we don't see god's Thoughts and minds but he has a plan of trying to get everybody saved as much as he can. Okay Without tampering with free will meaning this is that he doesn't force people to get saved You have to choose it but When it comes to this there's light in the world and you need to believe in the light And go to roman chapter one roman chapter one And this is where a lot of people will go to and say well, you know, you don't need to necessarily Uh believe on christ like there's some people that don't have to believe on christ. They just have to uh Basically call out the god or they can just you know, see something in nature and they're saved God That is not what the bible teaches. Okay. Now, let me go to the place that they would point to okay But when you look at a passage you should probably get context too because notice before we get to this point about the fact that That by the creation his eternal power in godhead is clearly seen Let's look at verse 16 Okay Romans chapter 1 and verse 16 for i'm not ashamed of the gospel of christ for it Is the power of god unto salvation to everyone that believe it to the jew first and also to the greek? So let me ask you a question. Does it sound like salvation is by? Anything other than believing the gospel So far that we see here It says for therein is the righteousness of god revealed from faith to faith as it is written the just shall live by faith Sounds like someone that believes gives the gospel to someone else that doesn't believe they believe and they get saved And that righteousness is imputed unto them And that is the gospel that saves Okay by faith in christ. Jesus Then it goes on to say for the wrath of god is revealed from heaven against all unrighteous All ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Now, let me ask you a question Who are we talking about here? Are we talking about just any unbeliever? Are we talking about just any Just unsaved person that's out there. Are we talking about a specific group of unsafe people that hold the truth in unrighteousness? It says because that which may be known of god is manifested in them for god has showed it unto them Notice what it says for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen being understood by the things that are Made even his eternal power in godhead so that they are without excuse Because that when they knew god they glorified him not as god neither were thankful became vain in their imaginations and their foolish heart was darkened So we're talking about people being darkened You think about the fact that he hid himself from them right while you had the light believe in the light now I'm not saying that You know when it comes to these they knew the truth You know, they knew the truth and they they rejected it Now you could say well, I don't think maybe they knew that the whole gospel. Okay, whatever The idea is that they had truth that they rejected They had information and knowledge that they rejected and they just denied it And but the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen Being understood by the things that are made Even his eternal power in godhead so that they're without excuse now. Let me ask you a question if you understand from creation That god is a is a trinity. For example, like the godhead is talking about the being of god, right godhood It would be a modern vernacular saying that kind of like childhood the state of being a child The being of god, you know his is being you know, like we're human beings. He's god, right? He's a god being you know, that doesn't flow very well, but the idea is there's only one but the the thing is is that His eternal power in godhead is is is known in nature So you can kind of you can see the trinities within nature and you can see his handiwork You can see how the by the things that he made you can see his eternal power in godhead, right? And so They can see that and they're without excuse that they reject that Okay So what are we dealing with here we're dealing with nature now part of nature is The sun moon and stars, okay when he created the heaven and the earth he created on one day the sun moon and stars And specifically with the story with the wise men, what did they follow a star? Now go to psalm 19 psalm 19 And for the guy that's out there on an island somewhere That's looking up at the stars Looking up at the sun the moon and stars And seeing god's creation and they and they and they look at that and say Someone created that that is not just by accident that there's and they want to know the truth I believe god will get him the truth It'll be like a cornelius where he's praying trying to do what he think, you know what he thinks he should have to do And god sends an angel to them to him to send for a soul winner And Here's the thing when it comes to this I I believe that that's what the bible is teaching here when it comes to The wise men having to come from the east out of the dark mysticism of eastern mysticism And religion and coming out of that and coming over to jerusalem and to bethlehem specifically to find the lord. Jesus What led him there a star? You know and I believe it's a physical, you know, that could be a planet that's moving It could be whatever you we can get into the weeds on what we think That specifically is you know, the bible talks about wandering stars So there are stars according to the bible that can move and move around and we can have the debate whether that's a planet That looks like a star. Okay but either way It was some heavenly type of uh host if you will that was leading them To where jesus is at? Psalm 19 and verse one here It says the heavens declare the glory of god And the firmament showeth his handiwork So this is very similar to what romans want is teaching and the idea that you can see in nature in the creation You know his eternal power and godhead, right? Day unto day other speech and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard Their line is gone out through all the earth and their words the end of the world in them Hath he set a tabernacle for the sun? Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber and rejoices as a strong man to run a race His going forth is from the end of the heaven And his circuit unto the ends of it and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof now think about this on a physical level Is anybody in the world not able to see the sun moon and stars Everybody sees it doesn't matter what language you speak doesn't matter if you can even speak a language Does it matter if you can read write? Now I guess if you're blind then you wouldn't be able to necessarily See that right? But you can understand that the idea here is that It doesn't matter what nation you're of where you're at on the globe and I said globe flat earthers that They can see it the circuit of uh You know the earth spinning and the sun going down coming up going down coming up going down coming up Seeing the moon seeing the phases of the moon seeing the stars Everybody sees that it doesn't matter what language you have. It doesn't matter what religion is around you It doesn't matter what that situation is You're like, well, I live in some third world country. You'll see it better Because you have less lights Right you ever look at you ever look at gps and or you look at the google earth and you look at south korea and north korea South korea is like, you know, just like all kinds of lights everywhere in north korea is just black and dark Because they're under a dictatorship and they're in this like state of darkness Guess what? The more the less light that you have as far as like all the you know things on the earth The easier it is to see the stars Go through the city and look up at the sky and see if you can see the stars very well then go to the country And see if you can see the stars So that being said is the darker it gets easier. You can actually see that and so What are you saying someone getting saved by seeing the stars? No, notice the next verse there verse seven the law of the lord is perfect converting the soul What converts them? You know people bring up these passages And they'll say Well, see, you know, they can see the stars and they can see this and they can get saved Romans 1 wait a minute What saved them? belief of the gospel in that passage in this passage what say what converted the soul there was it the Was it the sun moon and stars or was it the law of god? But what the truth of the matter is is that the sun moon and stars which is seen by everybody the creation itself Can lead those that are in dark places to the word of god Just like the wise men that were from the east That followed a star and led them to the word of god made flesh And you say well, you know, that's your belief it's like I have a story explaining that I have you know, I have physical proof to state that but here's the thing I'm, not just going to make up some Other way that people are getting saved you're either innocent because you don't have the knowledge of good and evil and your and your soul Is still alive Or your soul is dead in trespasses and sins it needs a savior And i'll say this it has to be by faith in the word of god now what's interesting about this passage in psalm 19 Is that it's actually brought up in romans chapter 10? okay, so when you're looking at this passage where they're like they Anytime i've heard people use this argument. They'll always quote psalm 19 1 Where it's like You know the heavens declare the glory of god and the firmament shows his handiwork and they'll quote that and say well see You know people can look at that and get saved and all that or they'll Talk about romans one yet. They won't use them They won't read the verse where it says the law of the lord is what converts the soul, right? and they won't look at well, it's uh The power of god into salvation is the gospel and to everyone that believeth to the jew first and also to the greek Okay Let me ask you a question. Are the greeks near or far away? They're far away, right? If you're going to look at gentiles Like it's either, you know The greek to the greek to the jew first into the gentile to the jew first into the greek Throughout romans it uses that and the idea is that the gentiles are those that are far off ephesians chapter 2 And but in roman chapter 10 here, it's actually quoted now. I want you to read this This is the soul winning passage here for sure So Romans chapter 10 and verse 12 Romans chapter 10 verse 12 says for there is no difference between the jew and the greek For the same lord over all is rich unto all that all that call upon him for whose service a call upon named lord Shall be saved how then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed and how shall they believe in him? And whom they have not heard and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except to be sent as it is written How beautiful are the feet of them to preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things the progression is extremely clear here You send people out to preach the gospel And when you preach the gospel people hear it and when people hear it They have the choice to believe it and if they believe what they're hearing they have the choice to accept it Right, they have the choice to pull the trigger and put their faith in it, right? And call upon the lord for salvation Pretty simple progression, right? Nothing hard about that. Keep reading there It says in verse 16, but they have not all obeyed the gospel for isaiah saith lord who has believed our report So he's basically saying not everybody believed it They haven't all obeyed it in the fact of putting their faith in it So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god Let me ask you a question. How do people have faith? by the word of god You know Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen You can look at the creation by faith. We understand that the worlds were framed by the word of god, right? But it's by the word of god that we have that faith in that You know, like that's circular reason. It doesn't matter. That's that's facts. It's just the way it works The bible is the final authority. The bible is the reason that you have That you're going to believe it And the word of god is is how you're going to believe the gospel now in verse 18. This is where it's quoting psalm 19 so It's not contradictory like psalm 19 19 is not contradictory It says here But I say have they not heard that's a good question, right? It's like they have not all obeyed the gospel Because isaiah saith lord who have believed our report And Who are we talking about? Well, we're talking about jews and gentiles specifically But in right here what we're talking about is more so just the world because it says have they not heard yes verily You know, that means truly. Yes, they have heard it right? It's there's there's yes They've heard Their sound went into all the earth and their words until the ends of the world now in context What are we talking about those preaching the gospel The words of god Now What I believe is happening here is that it's equating as much as every language and nation Sees the sun moon and stars The word of god is spread out and people are preaching the gospel and the word of god can be sent to those places as well And he's saying that they've heard there's this idea of like, you know, well, what about the people that haven't heard It's like well, let me ask you a question. Do you believe the bible or not? Now they've heard obviously they've seen the sun moon and stars. They've seen all that now I'll say this those people have a very a lot smaller chance of getting saved than the people that are closer When I say that no one is born into the world with a zero percent chance of salvation That doesn't mean that there's different percentages based off where you're at in the situation you're in Obviously my children are going to have a higher percentage of getting saved Growing up in a christian home where both their parents believe right on salvation And that are teaching them salvation at a young age Right and you're disciplining them and they're you know Does that make sense like in a church like this? Your chances are a lot higher of being saved because you actually have the right gospel You don't have to weed through a bunch of like false gospels to get where you're at So the chance is higher When it comes to where you're at So in these dark places, i'm not saying that we have the same percentage Or chance of salvation Okay But there's still a chance because The creation can lead those to finding the word of god or people will be sent to them In order for them to hear it Okay So it doesn't contradict it actually is bolstering it because here's the thing Faith comes by hearing him by the word of god go to first peter chapter one first peter chapter one We can't contradict what the bible teaches about salvation Either they don't need saved Which you know In some cases they're like kids, for example You can't you're not going to get a two-year-old saved because they can't even comprehend the gospel, right? They're innocent And when it comes to you know, like how do you know whether they're innocent? Well, I one rule of thumb and i'm not saying this is the only rule that like this discounts someone from being innocent But listen if you don't if a child for example children that will run around naked in front of everybody Think about like adam and eve what's the first thing that was mentioned to him when they fell they knew that they were naked And you kind of see that in kids like there's a point where they're just like I don't want to be naked around people, right? And so you can think about like that innocence that's lost of them realizing they're naked or that they should be ashamed of it, right? And so there's things like that. So there's people that are born in this world with Mental issues to where they never come to the knowledge of good and evil They're just in a childlike mentality Guess what they could be 50 60 70 years old die and they're innocent And This could apply in some cases when it comes to some cultures where let's say it's just so dark where they just don't Come to that knowledge of good and evil You know, i'm not here to play that game and i'm not here to like say like I can tell you that that happened You know or that someone went to heaven that was in this dark place And then they never came to the knowledge of good and evil when it came to the law of god Because my kids that are younger will know That something's wrong to do because I told them something it was wrong to do and they've recognized that right? Like my son that's two will know like hey, he shouldn't do that because I told him not to But does he know that he's broken a commandment against god that he's transgressed god's laws Does he know that and that's where paul gets into the idea of I was alive once But then when the law came sin revived and I died Meaning that they physically have sin because everybody's born with sin at sin nature physically, but Spiritually speaking. There's a point where you die And then you need saved, okay So there is an aspect where there's going to be people that are in heaven that were just innocent spiritually and obviously, uh You know, they couldn't even they didn't have the opportunity to come to that knowledge of the truth and You know, so it's not like these calvinists that believe basically well just the elect are saved and basically most babies are going to help Most most babies that die And most babies that are aborted they're all in hell right now, which is insanity. Okay, and so But that being said is that okay. Well that happens with babies Where's the line go with certain kids and I think that can vary depending on the situation you're in Okay, if you're in a church that you're hearing the right thing all the time It's probably going to be a lot earlier than if you're in a place where you're not hearing the truth You're not hearing god's word. You're not hearing that to where it really clicks and you're just like, oh i've broken god's commandments okay, so Some of this stuff is something that's more of a hypothetical of like are they still innocent? Are they not innocent? But i'll say this is that God is obviously wanting everybody to get saved And he's not going to bring people in the world just for the the case of them going to help And now there are people that lose that opportunity to be saved and then he uses them knowing that they're going to hell And uses them for the furtherment of the gospel and all that stuff, but that's another story first peter chapter 1 in verse 23 It says being born again not of corrupt will see but of incorruptible by the word of god which liveth and abideth forever So what are we born again by jesus said accept a man be born again and cannot see the kingdom of god Is that true or not is that it just apply to those that are around the truth Or is that just an ultimate truth Right if you are dead in trespasses and sins, how do you get out of that? There's an ultimate truth there. You must be born again. You must be quickened You must be saved And there's none of the name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved by the name of jesus christ And that doesn't change whether you're in some like Island somewhere off with the pygmies or you're off in china or in hindu in some hindu country It doesn't change the fact that that salvation is by jesus christ alone and it's by the death metal resurrection of jesus christ So when it comes to this that Salvation is by faith and it's by the word of god And How does god work with those people right that's the question, you know God's not willing to any should perish. He wants everybody to get saved. How does he work with those people in those dark areas? Well one even in the old testament he states in isaiah 45 Look unto me and be saved all the ends of the earth So he's calling out to the ends of the earth and there's it it's funny when people like talk about They talk about like these situations as if they've been there like i've been over here in china and I know like No one has ever heard of jesus or no one's ever heard of this or whatever, right? But and i'm not saying there aren't places where that's a thing, right? Whereas people are just completely ignorant of what's going on around and and hadn't heard certain things I mean, there's people today in america. That's like I don't know the story Don't get me wrong. Okay, and they got it right in front of their faces So Go to a Ephesians chapter 2 ephesians chapter 2 The bible says this in first peter chapter 2 You're going to pheasant chapter 2 but first peter chapter 2 says But you are a chosen generation a royal priesthood and holy nation a peculiar people that you should show forth the praises of him Who have called you out of darkness into his marvelous light? Which in time past were not a people but now the people of god which had not attained mercy But now I have obtained mercy. Who's he talking about? He's talking about gentiles Those that are in pontus glacia capadocia asian and bithynia You're not talking about israel here You're talking about nations and he's saying that god has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light The question is how did he call them out of darkness, right? And there's going to be many different ways that god can bring people to the light But it doesn't change the fact they still have to believe in that true light and that's jesus christ it's like well we want And the reason I preach this and the reason why I think why this is so important Because we don't want to be some kind of ostrich christian where we stick our head in the sand and say well You know what? Uh, I think that those people are just going to be all right When it comes to preaching the gospel See the problem with And a lot of christianity is people just want to believe that more people are saved than they really are That's why people don't go soul winning in a lot of cases Because they they know well one salvation is so easy and god is merciful and he's gracious and we know that okay but They want to believe that most people believe that that most people are saved So then they're not like thinking up at night like hey, there's a lot of people going to help Because that's a horrible feeling isn't it? But sometimes you have to have that horrible feeling so that hey when he's calling these people out of darkness There's someone there to give them the gospel Can you imagine if someone's like trying to come out of this dark place and they're just like hey, you know I'm i'm trying to find out you know, like what happens after you die, you know, where do you go? Like who's the true god and there's just no one to tell them the truth Listen how should they hear without a preacher? how how can I you know, it's asked like You know, do you understand this without readers? How can I accept some man should guide me? so We can't take away the fact that we are ambassadors for christ that the righteousness of god is revealed from faith to faith That is a christian that begets another christian that is a believer that begets another believer They don't just pop into existence without someone begetting them with the gospel Yes, god can use nature and can use the stars and the moon and and he can use a lot of things to lead people And to give them light to get them out of darkness But ultimately that light that's leading them that star that they were following didn't save their souls Believing in that star that they looked up into the sky wasn't going to save them. You know, who's going to save them? Jesus christ That true light and as much as we are to be lights in this world, it's not faith in us It's faith in the true light It's faith in the lord. Jesus christ Don't take the gospel out of the equation when it comes to those that are in dark places the gospel needs to be preached to them and instead of saying well, I hope that they That god is merciful to them and gracious to them. You know what? We should say let's get the gospel to them Let's let's uh, let's let's make it easy and accessible for them to get to the light Knowing that god wants them to come to the light But they have to make that choice and the thing is is that a lot of times in these countries that are really dark They have made the choice before they even got to the point of the gospel to say I don't want that light And that's a hard thing to to take in To say that hey, they've rejected the little bit of light that's already been given them And maybe god has cut them off before they even get to the point where they hear a clear Clear presentation of the gospel do you know that probably most people that are in hell didn't hear a clear presentation of the gospel Does that change the fact that they're in hell right now? Does that make god unjust? And that's the argument that's a lot of times made it's like well god is unjust because you know They didn't have the opportunities that we had God is not unjust to send people to hell So But know this is that god is merciful and gracious and god is not willing that any should perish And listen as much as we want them to get saved. God wants them to get saved more than we do God's not willing to that any should perish he'll have all men to be saved You know that I want all men to be saved but not as much as god does You know how I know that because I didn't strive against sin going to the cross And and die for the sins of the world like god did That's how much he wanted everybody to get saved and If you don't think that he's doing everything that he can To get people saved then you're you got another thing coming God is working And god is doing everything he can but he uses us to get that gospel out And guess what? He's not going to force us To go out there and preach the gospel He's not going to force that person that's in a dark place to follow the light You know what? He didn't force those wise men to follow the star did he? Did the wise men say hey listen, uh, we've been just like being pushed out here by some like force And we just like somehow got here like I didn't want to be here but No, not at all. There's like we followed it and you know what when they saw the light You know what they did they rejoiced greatly when they saw it Amen Here's the difference when someone's in a dark place. Do they rejoice when they see that light? Do they accept that light? Do they believe in that? Do they hey, that's right. That's that makes sense They're not rejecting it out of hand and there's a lot of people that'll just reject What they see and the nature that's in in front of them and they'll just reject it Just like the evolutionists that are out there that can see the designer they can see the the the handprint of god and in nature and when a Say person and a believer looks at it like how can you miss that? How can you think that came by chance? You know, they've rejected the light and there comes a point where the light there is basically taken away It's like blowing out the candle before the person dies Right And you know the bible calls them it calls them twice dead plucked up by the roots Wandering stars to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever And so I think that this story is really showing us that hey, there's There's a I had you go on ephesians 2 That's really just talking about the i'm going to skip past that That's talking about the fact that we're brought nigh by the blood of christ as the gentiles And there's people that are nigh and there's people that are far off and it's by the same spirit That we're brought nigh onto onto god the father Whether you're close or whether you're far away, it's the same thing. Listen, whether it's the jew that's close They're saved by faith in christ. Jesus whether it's the gentile far off. They're saved by what faith in christ. Jesus That he saves You know, therefore we conclude that a man is justified that a man is justified by by by faith and not by the disease of law That he justifies the jew through faith and the gentile by faith. It's like same thing Same thing There's not like two ways to heaven It's not like the jew gets one way and the gentile gets another way No, it's all by faith and it's all by hearing the gospel and believing the gospel And Go to uh, act chapter 17 act chapter 17 Like I said in isaiah 45 and verse 22 says look unto me and be saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is none else so from the very beginning god is calling out to the whole world to be saved It's not like this is a new testament thing That he wants the world to be saved Naaman the syrian Ruth the moabites Rahab the harlot The list goes on and on and on about people that got saved that were not of israel How about abraham wasn't of israel because it wasn't a thing yet. How about noah wasn't of israel because it wasn't a thing yet How about that god's always wanting everyone to get saved and he chose obviously israel to be this this this holy nation. So what? Preach the gospel to every creature to be the lighthouse to be the men that are on the wall that are not ceasing to proclaim that Thy god reigneth the idea of preaching the gospel and publishing peace and salvation to the world That was israel's job and they failed And ultimately obviously they were rejected and it was given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof and in the new testament We have local new testament churches that are out there preaching the gospel sending out preachers In order to preach the gospel for people to get saved and to pull people out of darkness And this is a very important subject that where people are going to try to pull you in to say hey, you know You know these people over here they're okay. No, we need to have the mindset to say they're not okay And listen people will come out of these countries and find the truth But we need to do everything we can To give them the best opportunity listen, we can't get everybody saved we You know, our job is not to Force people to believe on christ Our job is to give the best opportunity for everybody that we run into and everywhere We're at in order for them to have the best opportunity to get saved. That's all we can do It's all we can do is I gave that that person a better percentage of them getting saved And hopefully they get saved some people do get saved now that percentage is 100 percent because they're safe, but You know when it comes to Missions when it comes to soul winning when it comes to all of this what we're trying to do is give them the opportunity A better opportunity make it easier. Hey instead of them having to travel 400 miles. Let's make them travel 200 miles Let's meet them halfway That's what missions is about, isn't it? Hey, listen people could come out of the country. They can find us online now They can find different resources to get there. But how about we meet them halfway or we can meet them where they're at And get the gospel to them It's the gospel that saves so unless we're talking about someone that's innocent spiritually speaking They need to be saved by the gospel of jesus christ. They need to be saved by believing on jesus christ And unless you show me some other passage in the bible, uh stating some other way that someone's saved That's in some dark place somewhere I don't see it. Actually. I see where have they have they not heard? Yes, barely That's my answer to it. Yes, barely but here's the thing there are places where they haven't heard it as much They haven't it hasn't been uh proclaimed like it is in other places And therefore we need to be the ones to go out there and make it more accessible Acts chapter 17 verse 22 then paul stood on in the midst of mars hill and said ye men of athens I perceive that in all things you are too superstitious for as I passed by and beheld your devotions I found an altar with the inscription to the unknown god whom ye there whom therefore ye ignorantly worship him to declare I unto you God that made the the world and all things therein seeing that he is lord of heaven and earth and And dwelleth not in temples made with hands neither is worshipped with men's hands as though he needed anything Seeing he giveth to all life And breath and all things and hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on the earth To dwell on the face of the earth and hath determined The times before appointed in the bounds of their habitations. So notice that he's made we're all come from adam and eve my friend We're all coming from the same two people We all have the same blood and he also is is determining habitations And bounds and all these different things and just as much as when I preached about how That god has darkened israel to provoke them to jealousy with the gentiles and that we don't always understand the bigger picture That he's doing things to cause more people to get saved I believe god is doing everything he can to get as many people saved as possible and Notice what it says here though in verse 27 that they Should seek the lord if happily they might feel after him and find him though He be not far from every one of us So this idea That well god is just so far away from them and they're just so far out of reach Is that what the bible teaches though? Is that god is just so far out of reach from these people to get saved I mean, it doesn't sound like it here. He's saying if you feel after him, he's not actually that far away You know when you think about like well, you know, have they not heard it's like well Is it that far away their voice went into all the world the words of the gospel went into all the world at the time in paul's day And you say well, you know, it's more spread out now and there's more people well we have the internet now We have a lot we have bigger, you know, we can get around a lot easier we can fly You know, like there's things that are here and that we can do now to take care of that problem of the bigger population Or this like remote area. Let's fly in there. Guess what people did that? Jim elliott and his men back in the 50s died from going to a remote tribe to give them the gospel and guess what? They died, but their wives went back and won them to christ should they have just said well, they'll be innocent Because you know or they'll be they'll be you know, they're ignorant. No, they're a murderous tribe that needed the gospel So instead of saying well, you know There's another way to get to heaven. There's another way to be saved. How about we get the gospel to him? jim elliott is one of those guys that I I don't know that much about him I you know, but at the same time like what i've read about him one of his quotes was I don't want to live a long life I want to live a full one like you lord. Jesus And you know another one is that he is not a fool To to give that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose I'm talking about a christian here about someone that gave his life for the gospel and that He understood the value of eternal things He understood that hey if we don't go and give them the gospel they're not getting it So it is important when you think about preaching the gospel when it when it comes to Hey, that's a dark place Do we leave it dark? Or do we shine the light? And I believe that god is pulling people out of darkness Leading them out of darkness with maybe stars with the sun the moon or you know different things that are causing people to say hey I need to find a light. I need to find who this god is. I need to find who made all this Where am I going when I die? You know using the light that's given unto them to lead them to the true light, which is jesus christ You know what? Let's make it easier for them To those people that are grabbing onto that light and trying to follow that star to jesus You know, it's kind of like the idea of like, you know, what jesus healed people where he didn't even go to their house Because they had faith We're the messenger to say hey, you don't even have to go where jesus is at we're gonna bring it to you Right, you don't have to come to america we'll bring it to you Now will people come to america and get saved praise the lord, yeah But hey, let's go get it to them And I see this story with the wise man as being a great example of how Nature and god's creation can lead people to the true light But make no mistake about it believing in his creation is not what saves anybody People are not saved without hearing the word of god because faith comes by hearing here by the word of god You're not born again without that incorruptible seed And you have to be born of that incorruptible seed which liveth in the body forever I'm, not saying it has to be in the king james bible. I'm not saying it has to be english, right? But god's work can be in any language just as much as the sun moon and stars are understood and seen by Everybody on the earth no matter where you're at god's work can do the same But they still have to hear god's word I don't care if it's in spanish and french and german in hindi and cantonese and japanese and korean I don't care what language it is. They need to hear the word of god and they need to believe in the lord of jesus christ And the wise man, I believe is a great example of those that Follow the light to the true light And there's light that lighten every man that cometh into the world While you have that light believe in it because there may come a time where that light is taken out to where you don't have You don't have the ability to believe in it anymore. And there are countries that have become really dark because of that Because people are just constantly just rejecting that light and just that light's being taken away And it makes it harder and harder and harder for them to get out of that hole So that's the end of the word of prayer. Dear heavenly father. We thank you today Thank you for your word and pray you to be with us. Uh As a church to lead the loss to you to be the light to all nations and lord, we just pray that you to Uh be with us as we celebrate christmas and celebrate your birth. We thank you for coming into this world We thank you for the story of the wise men that came to to see you and to uh that came out of the east lord and and lord just pray that you to Bless our families be with those that aren't feeling well And lord, we uh, thank you again for coming into this world to save us and we pray else in jesus christ name Amen, but they will come sing one more song and then we'll be dismissed All right, take your song books and turn to song 426 Actually, i'm sorry song 424 We'll sing. Oh come all ye faithful if you would stand we'll sing song 424 Oh come all ye faithful Joyful and triumphant Oh come ye oh come ye to Come and behold Him born the king of angels Oh, come let us adore him. Oh, come let us adore Him oh come let us adore him Him The lord Sing choirs of angels Sing in exaltation Oh sing all ye right hosts Glory to god all glory and the highest Oh come let us adore him. Oh come let us adore Him oh come let us adore him christ The lord Yea lord we greet thee Born this happy morning Jesus to thee be all glory Give Word of the father Now Appearing oh come let us adore him. Oh come Let us