David Berg
—Another Grandpa Story!—By Father DavidDFO94924-12–79
1. (MARIA: I HOPE OUR FAMILIES ALL OVER ARE CELEBRATING CHRISTMAS EVE!) I hope so! Just because we wrote "Happy Birthday Dear Jesus" doesn't mean we can't celebrate His birthday! I believe in celebrating Christmas! I've said that before‚ they should have no excuse for not. (Sings:)
"Happy birthday to You,
Happy birthday to You!
Happy birthday, dear Jesus!
Happy birthday to You!"
Amen! TYJ!
2. CHRISTMAS IS REALLY FOR CHILDREN—THEY'RE THE ONLY ONES WE ALLOWED YOU TO BUY PRESENTS FOR!—And we can certainly celebrate it as Jesus' birthday & have a nice Christmas dinner, Christmas communion & a nice time of Family Fellowship. So I don't understand anybody who doesn't want to celebrate Christmas! I woke up this morning with Christmas in my bones! I had to go down to the store & buy David, Davida & Techi some presents. (Family: How sweet!) It wasn't sweet of me, I enjoyed it!
3. (MARIA: DADDY PLAYED WITH THEM WITH DAVID FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS, SO SWEET!) David & I, we had a few arguments over how to run his fleet! I'll never forget my Christmas just before my 5th birthday. I got my first little wind-up train & my father played with it. Of course he had to put it together & show me how to use it, but I stood there & cried because he wouldn't let me have it until he showed me how to use it!
4. I GUESS THAT'S AN OLD STORY WITH LOTS OF FATHERS, THEY LIKE TO PLAY WITH TOYS, TOO! Grandpas like to play with toys too! (Maria: And Sara & I wanted to play with the babydoll!) These gals went into ecstasies over those dolls! I never saw the like! I think they got more excited & happy about it even than Davida did! (Listens to Christmas music tape playing "12 Days of Christmas":)
5. THERE'S AN OLD TIMER! JUST THINK, THEY CELEBRATED CHRISTMAS FOR 12 DAYS, A FEAST EVERY DAY! Look what you missed, Alfred! That made your wine almost jump off the table! Well, I was just going to let you watch the Christmas shows on TV tonight, but like a little boy I couldn't wait! I thought‚ why should we have to wait till tomorrow? (Alf: Really!)
6. THAT TO ME WHEN I WAS LITTLE WAS THE WORST PART OF CHRISTMAS, THE WAY THE ADULTS KEPT YOU WAITING! First you had to have a big dinner & wait till all the presents were there at the tree; then you had to wait till everybody was through & could get away from the dishes & everything—at least that's the way my Mom did it.
7. EVERYBODY WOULD BE THERE & WOULD SIT AROUND THE BIG CIRCLE IN THE LIVINGROOM, & then you were only allowed to open one present at a time around the circle so everybody could watch you open your present & appreciate it. So someone there would open their present first while we all watched & said praise the Lord! Then the next person would open one present, & round & around we went till all the presents were gone. I was a very Christmasy boy in those days, I really loved Christmas! My Mother would give me $5 to buy presents for everybody—about 25 cents each!
8. (DITO: TECHI, I HAVE A PRESENT FOR YOU!) Oh, isn't that sweet? Hello, Sweet Baby! (Maria: She really appreciates it, David, that was really nice of you! She really likes it. David knew what she'd like!) Everybody's allowed three glasses of wine tonight, depending on the size of your glass! You guys with glasses this big should only have two, but those with glasses this small should have three! (Maria: If the Family only knew how we rationed wine!—They need to know that!)
9. I USED TO ENVY MY LITTLE COUSINS BECAUSE THEY HAD THE PRACTICE OF OBSERVING CHRISTMAS EVE. They got their presents on Christmas Eve & we didn't get ours till the next afternoon, so we really wished we were in their family at Christmastime! ("Ave Maria" comes on the tape:) I used to sing this, one of my favourite songs! This is the one night we can really observe Mary too, amen? Don't laugh!—This is her big night too!
10. DID EVERYBODY GET ENOUGH DINNER?—YOU CAN HAVE SECONDS OR THIRDS TOO, BECAUSE THIS IS CHRISTMAS! I think the cooks were in the kitchen when we gave them three cheers awhile ago, let's give them three cheers! Three cheers for the cooks: Hip hip, hooray! Hip hip, hooray! Hip hip, hooray! God bless'm! TYL! (Maria: We'd better give three cheers for the dishwashers when it's done.) Yes, three cheers for the dishwashers: Hip hip, hooray! Hip hip‚ hooray! Hip hip, hooray!
11. MY MOTHER WOULD RATHER DO DISHES THAN CLEAN OFF THE TABLE. She said that was really the biggest job, was cleaning off the table. (Maria: Yes, putting away the food.) She'd say, "You clean the table & I'll do the dishes gladly! At TSC we had 250 people eating at a sitting, so we had a system there where everybody had to pick up their own plate‚ knife & fork after the meal & walk by the garbage can & scrape off the garbage—which we didn't waste either—we fed it to the pigs!
12. THEY HAD TO REALLY GET THAT PLATE CLEAN, scrape it off with knife, fork & spoon & then hand it through the window to the dishwasher. But even then the dishwasher cleanup crew was usually working two hours after the meal!—The Ministry of Sanctification! (See No.566.) (9-month old Techi chews on her new car:)
13. ISN'T THAT CUTE?—MY DAUGHTER TEETHED ON A FORD ESQUIRE! It feels good on her teeth, Honey, helping her teeth come through! (Maria: She knew David gave that to her! He wanted to buy three Ford Esquires, but instead he only bought two.) He said, "Look at this multitude!" (Maria: Daddy said they'd have to last him the rest of next year, though!) We don't really do very much for him, so I told him‚ "Are you sure this is going to last you till next Christmas?" (Sara: He gives away a lot of his cars & things to other little kids.) That's really sweet!
14. BUT WE HAVEN'T GIVEN TECHI HER PRESENT YET! (Gives Techi her new duckie:) She's really happy! You're going gaga with the duckie, aren't you! Look, Mommy! Quack, quack, quack‚ quack, quack, quack‚ so excited! She even put the car down! Duckie, duckie‚ duckie, duckie‚ duckie! You can squash it & pet it & beat it & hug it & it won't cry! She loves it! That really made a hit! She's so excited about it! How about that, Mama? You guys are pretty smart! Mama & David picked it out!
15. WELL NOW, ARE YOU ALL HAPPY? Look at her, she rubs her face in it! Do you like your little duckie? It's such a nice & sweet little duckie, so sweet! She loves it! Can I see your duckie? Nice duckie! Look at her, she's kissing it! It can stand loving & rough treatment too.
16. WHY DON'T WE TURN OUT THE LIGHTS & JUST LEAVE THE CANDLES & SING A FEW CHRISTMAS CAROLS? I wouldn't exactly call this a silent night! I don't know why that always is the one that seems to come first, but I think it is a beautiful one! They even sing that in German. (Dora: It's an Austrian song originally.) I remember they taught it to us in school in German: "Stille Nacht," was that it?
17. WELL, PTL! I THINK WE OUGHT TO BE ABLE TO SING AT LEAST ONE VERSE BY MEMORY, but you can help us from the book, Honey, in case we forget any verses, OK? I don't know if your dinner is settled enough yet to make room for any sound or not, but with my stomach now sitting on top of my diaphragm, I don't know how that's going to work!—Ha! (Begins singing:)
18. "SILENT NIGHT, HOLY NIGHT!
ALL IS CALM, ALL IS BRIGHT!
'Round yon Virgin‚ Mother & Child!
Holy infant so tender & mild!
Sleep in heavenly peace,
Sleep in heavenly peace!"
—I think the children can participate now while we're singing carols, & they can stop playing. David, Davida, you have all day tomorrow to play, now we're going to sing Christmas carols to the Lord, OK?
19. THIS IS OUR TIME TO WORSHIP THE LORD & PRAISE JESUS—IT'S HIS BIRTHDAY! Now on Jesus' birthday you wouldn't want to be so busy with your own presents you forget all about Him, would you? So we're going to sing about Jesus, amen? That was so nice! Let's sing it again! We don't have to remember the next verse. (Everyone sings "Silent Night" again.) This is one night we can sing & we don't have to worry about how loud we are, because people won't be surprised at people singing Christmas carols on Christmas Eve, right? (Sings:)
20. "HARK, THE HERALD ANGELS SING,
GLORY TO THE NEWBORN KING!
Peace on Earth & mercy mild,
God & sinners reconciled.
Joyful all ye nations rise,
Join the triumph of the skies;
With angelic hosts proclaim,
'Christ is born in Bethlehem!'
Hark, the herald angels sing!..."
(Tongues:) Hallelujah! Thank You Jesus, we can sing Thy praises, Lord, to Thyself & Thy Father, in Jesus' name! Hallelujah! PYJ!
21. THANK YOU LORD FOR THIS NIGHT! THANK YOU LORD THAT WE CAN SING WITHOUT ANY PROBLEMS TONIGHT! TYJ! PYJ! Amen‚ amen, amen! TYJ! PTL! That's a good one! (Sings: )
"O come‚ all ye faithful,
Joyful & triumphant!
O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem!
Come & behold Him,
Born the King of Angels!
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
O come let us adore Him,
Christ the Lord!"
22. I THINK IT'S BETTER TO KNOW JUST ONE VERSE & BE ABLE TO SING IT WELL than try all the verses & everybody get lost! So let's sing it again, shall we? (They sing it again!) Hallelujah! TYJ! PTL! Amen! Even Techi's clapping her hands, isn't that sweet? TYJ! Hallelujah! Well, let's see‚ what else can we sing? (Sings "Joy to the World!"—See Christmas Carol insert!) That's a really good one! (Sings it again!) Hallelujah! That's a beauty‚ amen? PTL! What's another one that comes to you?
23. "O LITTLE TOWN OF BETHLEHEM," THAT'S A BEAUTY! Well, let me catch my breath between songs here & between burps!—Ha! Techi likes it, she's clapping away! (Dora: She loves it!) (Sings: )
"O little town of Bethlehem,
How still we see thee lie!
Above thy deep & dreamless sleep,
The silent stars go by;
Yet in thy dark streets shineth,
The everlasting Light;
The hopes & fears of all the years
Are met in thee tonight!"
24. I LIKE ALL THE VERSES OF THIS ONE BECAUSE IT'S SUCH A STORY! (Sings next two verses, then:) I think this has probably got the greatest message of almost any of the carols‚ & then this last verse makes it personal:
"O holy Child of Bethlehem, descend to us we pray;
Cast out our sin & enter in, be born in us today!
We hear the Christmas angels,
The great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
Our Lord Emmanuel!"
25. WELL, THE ONE I ALWAYS USED TO LOVE TO SING WHEN WE HAD OUR CHRISTMAS PAGEANTS—& I think I like this one the best of all! (Sings:)
"We three Kings of Orient are,
Bearing gifts we traverse afar.
Field & fountain,
Moor & mountain,
Following yonder star!
O, star of wonder,
Star of light!
Star of wondrous beauty bright!
Westward leading,
Still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light!"
—Good for you! Some of you remember the words better than I do!
26. EACH OF THE OTHER VERSES IS A VERSE OF A DIFFERENT KING. I don't know whether you can remember them or not, but it goes through frankincense, myrrh & gold. That has a message too. (Dad & the family sing what they can remember, then:) Pardon me‚ but I think ever since I was a little boy I always used to cry on that third verse about the Myrrh & the Lord's death. TYL! Amen, that's a beautiful song. Anybody else remember another Christmas carol?
27. I KNOW ONE THE CHILDREN KNOW!—WHAT'S THE CHILDREN'S CHRISTMAS CAROL? (Family: "Away in a Manager"!) That is Martin Luther's good old Christmas hymn! (Sings:)
"Away in a manager, no crib for a bed,
The little Lord Jesus lay down His sweet head;
The stars in the sky looked down where He lay,
The little Lord Jesus asleep on the hay!"
(See Christmas Carol insert for next two verses!)
28. (MARIA: DID WE SING "O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL"?) (Everyone sings it!) We did sing it, but that's a good one anyhow! PTL! I used to be able to play that in chimes on the piano!—Ha! What else? Can anybody else think of another? (Sings:)
"The first Noel the angel did say,
Was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay;
In 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!"
—I wish He were right now!—Ha!—Well, He will be one of these days, & throw out those impostors, amen?—And we'll take over! Hallelujah!
29. LET'S REMEMBER TO PRAY FOR THOSE POOR HOSTAGES THAT ARE BEING SO CRUELLY MISTREATED RIGHT NOW. They may deserve it, but you even pray for your enemies. It's pretty pitiful the way they're being treated. At least the dear Ayatollah said they could have Christmas services. Well, let's hope that they're also singing Christmas carols tonight, amen? PTL!—And they might be! So let's remember them right now:
30. LORD, WE ASK YOU TO GIVE THEM GRACE, STRENGTH & PATIENCE, PARTICULARLY THOSE WHO ARE THY CHILDREN‚ Lord. We know You are. They're the ones who have the victory, Lord‚ & the others perhaps they're leading to You, Jesus, through this experience. We believe probably it's good for all of them—the proud haughty Americans—teaching them a lesson of humiliation & humility.
31. WE KNOW YOU LET IT HAPPEN & "ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THEM THAT LOVE THE LORD" (Rom.8:28), so if they love You, Jesus, we know that it's working good. And even if some of them haven't loved You, Lord, no doubt it's working for their good too, to teach them to look to Thee‚ Lord, when all else has failed—even their own country has failed them. So we ask Thee‚ in Jesus' name, to bless & help & strengthen them.
32. AND ALL THE POOR ORPHANS & THE PEOPLE WHO ARE STARVING & HUNGRY & THE PEOPLE WHO DIDN'T HAVE A GOOD DINNER TONIGHT, those who are suffering in war, & those who are in darkness tonight, Lord, & know Thee not & know little or nothing about Thee & Thy love. We ask Thee to somehow bring them the light, Lord‚ through some of our children or Thy children somewhere, in Jesus' name we ask it. Help the poor people around the World who don't know You, Jesus, & who don't know Thy love, & who don't understand Thy sacrifice; may they find the light‚ Lord, in Jesus' precious name, for Thy glory. Amen. TYL!
33. ANOTHER CAROL WHICH I THINK IS REALLY ALMOST THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF ALL IS "O HOLY NIGHT." I never have learned it & I never even heard it until after I'd known all these others‚ but do you know it at all? I know the tune, that's about all. (Some sing while Dad hums the tune & weeps a little.) I think that is almost the most beautiful carol I ever heard! Do you think we could get the words back?—Let's try it. You who know it, sing it. (The Family sing the words while Dad hums the tune:)
34. "O HOLY NIGHT, THE STARS ARE BRIGHTLY SHINING,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the World, in sin & error pining,
Till He appeared & the soul felt its worth!
A thrill of hope, the weary World rejoices;
For yonder breaks the new & glorious morn!
Fall on your knees, O hear the angel's voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born.
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!"
35. SOME OF YOU ARE REMEMBERING IT REAL WELL! I don't know why I never learned that! I don't know why they don't sing that in Protestant churches. I remember the Protestant churches consider that a Catholic hymn. It's called the French Noel, isn't it? Let's sing it again! (Everyone sings‚ & Maria sings all the words into the microphone.) Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! TYJ! PTL! TYJ!
36. I DON'T KNOW WHY THAT ONE ALWAYS MOVED ME THE MOST! I couldn't sing it, but it always moved me to tears! PTL! So I don't think we could out-do that one. I think maybe we ought to let Maria sing a solo, she did so well, she's the only one who knew it. (Maria: No, Path knew it better than I did!) Path come over here, come over & sing it! We're going to have a duet from Path & Maria now, they're going to sing that song together one more time.
37. OH, THAT'S A BEAUTIFUL SONG! I guess I've done used up all my tissues! Hallelujah! We've got to get it sung at least one time real good. I just know certain parts of it that I remember hearing that always impressed me. Boy, I'll tell you, that song is inspired! I don't know why I never learned it. I don't think I ever had the words or knew anybody that knew it. I never knew till this minute that Maria knew the whole song!
38. OK, HERE WE GO! THIS IS MARIA & PATHWAY SINGING "O HOLY NIGHT," to me one of the most beautiful Christmas carols ever, praise God?—It has a real message to it! All right, 1, 2, 3: (They sing it one time through.) That's really the way it goes, although they don't usually hit those high notes because they usually can't! PTL, it's a beautiful song, beautiful song, TYL! Maybe if we sing it enough times we'll learn the words a little bit. So one more time, a duet! Third time's the charm! Has everybody had your second big glass or your third small one of wine? OK, that way you can sing better!
39. THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS CAROL & I JUST THINK IT'S A SHAME THAT WE DON'T KNOW IT REAL WELL, all because it's considered Catholic! Isn't that a shame? I think you'll find the Catholics have some beautiful music, God bless them, some of the greatest in the World too. I'll never forget at John Kennedy's death, the famous cardinal of New York celebrated his mass, & I don't think I ever heard any more beautiful music‚ it was so gorgeous!
40. THEY REALLY DO HAVE SOME BEAUTIFUL MUSIC, SOME OF THE GREATEST OF THE COMPOSERS & some of the greatest of those big philharmonic numbers & beautiful choir numbers composed by some of those great men who were really Christians who knew & loved the Lord! So PTL, amen? They had some beautiful music even before there were any Protestants. So God bless 'em, they're not all bad.
41. SOME OF YOU WERE IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH & YOU MUST HAVE GOTTEN SOME GOOD OUT OF IT, AMEN? Some of you were even raised in the Protestant Church & you might have even gotten a little good out of that! Some of you weren't raised in church at all & maybe that did you good, I don't know!—Ha! So "all things work together for good to them that love the Lord." This is really a beautiful beautiful beautiful carol & I think we ought to know it.
42. SO GOD BLESS DEAR MARIA & PATHWAY FOR SINGING IT FOR US, & Jus is back there, & I chime in on what I know, that's all. I know the first, & the last, the beginning & the end, but I guess that's better than nothing! (Maria: I think everybody knows it now!) All right, are you ready? "O Holy Night": (Everyone sings it one more time!) Hallelujah! TYJ!
43. PRAISE YOU LORD FOR THIS NIGHT THAT WE CELEBRATE & COMMEMORATE THE NIGHT OF THY BIRTH, Lord‚ by Thy sweet little mother. TYJ! PYL!—So much like so many of our little mothers, Lord. She had eight, Lord, seven more brothers according to history. We thank You, Lord, for such a mother that was willing to bear so many, & most of all You, Lord! TYJ! PYL! What a wonderful mother & what a wonderful blessing. TYJ!
44. WHAT A MIRACLE, ALL FOR OUR SAKES‚ THAT HE MIGHT LIVE HERE & LIVE LIKE US & like a normal person, Lord‚ through all the things that we have to go through; yet never to waver in faith, never to quaver in His determination‚ Lord, to serve Thee above all! Hallelujah! TYJ! Help us‚ Lord‚ to be so determined & to be so strong in faith, Lord, to trust Thee so much that we'll never fear, never waver, never quaver, Lord but always go through in Jesus' name! TYL! That reminds me of another old one: (Sings:)
45. "I AM DETERMINED, I'VE MADE UP MY MIND, I'LL SERVE THE LORD!
I've left the World & its pleasures behind, I'll serve the Lord!
I'll follow wherever He leadeth,
I'll pasture wherever He feedeth.
I am determined, I've made up my mind, I'll serve the Lord!"
You guys don't know that one! How many of you ever heard it before? Oh, we've really been failing‚ Honey, my oh my!
46. OH! IT'S FOLLY! "I'VE LEFT THE WORLD & ITS FOLLY BEHIND"—THANK GOD WE DON'T HAVE TO LEAVE THE PLEASURES BEHIND! I'm a firm believer in pleasure! (Sings:)
"I'm determined, I've made up my mind, I'll serve the Lord!
I've left this World & its follies behind, I'll serve the Lord!
I'll pasture wherever He feedeth,
I'll follow wherever He leadeth.
I am determined, I've made up my mind, I'll serve the Lord!"
Hallelujah! You like that one? One more time!: (Sings it again!) TYJ!
47. WELL, WE PROMISED A STORY FOR THE CHILDREN—A GRANDPA STORY! I was thinking about reading it out of the Bible, but maybe if I just tell it like I used to tell it to my children, maybe that would be even better! TYL!
48. ONCE UPON A TIME THERE WAS A BEAUTIFUL YOUNG GIRL ONLY 16 YEARS OLD!—THINK OF THAT!—WHO WAS ENGAGED TO BE MARRIED, OR BETROTHED. They called engagement in those days betrothal, & they didn't break them, they kept them. She was engaged to be married to a poor young carpenter in a little village in Northern Palestine, or Israel, named Nazareth. And his name was Joseph, & her name was Maria, or Mary.
49. AND ONE NIGHT NOT LONG BEFORE THEY WERE TO GET MARRIED, AN ANGEL SUDDENLY APPEARED TO HER IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!—No ordinary angel either, a big very important angel that sometimes helps us too! His name was Gabriel, the Angel Gabriel. And he was not just an angel, he's an archangel! That means he's a top head officer over a lot of angels—he's one of the big angels, one of the most important angels of all!
50. WHENEVER GOD HAD A BIG VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT TO MAKE, HE WOULD USUALLY SEND EITHER GABRIEL OR MICHAEL. Now the Lord has said that Michael is our special archangel for these last days, but it seemed like Gabriel was a special archangel for the earlier days of God's children. So Gabriel came to dear Mary in the middle of the night.
51. AND ALL OF A SUDDEN A LIGHT BEGAN TO SHINE IN HER ROOM, BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN, BUT IT DIDN'T HURT HER EYES! Have you read the beautiful "Life After Death" Komic about meeting the being of light?—The archangel or angel or whoever it is who shines so bright, brighter than day, but it doesn't hurt your eyes? (No.850.) The sun's so bright, you look at the sun & it hurts your eyes, right?—And if you look too long it could make you go blind.
52. BUT GOD'S BEAUTIFUL LOVING LIGHT IS EVEN BRIGHTER THAN THE SUN OR THE DAY, YET IT DOESN'T HURT A BIT, IT EVEN FEELS GOOD! And so Mary wondered, "What in the World is happening?"—Because she was just a simple young girl about to be married to a poor young carpenter named Joseph, & she didn't know that anything very great or wonderful was ever going to happen to her! She didn't know she was anything special at all.
53. BUT JUST THINK WHAT A WONDERFUL GOOD SWEET GIRL SHE MUST HAVE BEEN FOR GOD TO PICK HER‚ you might say, almost for His wife, to become the mother of His Son! And I couldn't say it in better words than He said it Himself‚ because it's just beautiful! When it comes to prophecy & some of those beautiful beautiful things that the Lord has said, it's best to get it right out of the Bible!
54. LOOK AT THE BEAUTIFUL KIND OF BOOK MARKERS I HAVE IN MY BIBLE! (Shows Family nudie cutie!) After all‚ I couldn't have anything prettier than one of God's gifts of love, right? They're about the next best thing to Jesus, is all these pretty girls the Lord has given us! And do you know where you find this part of the story the best? As I recall‚ it's found in Luke.
55. WE FIND FIRST IN LUKE ABOUT ZACHARIAS & ELISABETH WHO WERE THE FATHER & MOTHER OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. And next we find in Luke about how Elisabeth praised the Lord when Mary came to visit her when she was about six months along. I don't know which one is the best, maybe more people are more accustomed to the story in Matthew. Let's try it, shall we?
56. IN MATTHEW IT TELLS US HOW THE LORD'S ANGEL APPEARED TO JOSEPH TO PREPARE HIM FOR THIS SHOCKING NEWS that his wife was going to have a baby by somebody else! Think of that! That might not be too shocking in our Family, but in System families it's quite shocking if a man was engaged to a girl & found out she already had a baby by somebody else, he probably would break the engagement!—And Joseph probably would have too.
57. BUT THE LORD GAVE HIM A DREAM & AN ANGEL OF THE LORD APPEARED TO HIM SAVING: "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a Son, & thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins." (Mt.1:20,21.)
58. NOW WHERE IS THAT ANNOUNCEMENT BY GABRIEL? See, we have several different accounts of this story: One by the Apostle Matthew‚ one by Mark & one by Luke. I still think that one is in Luke, isn't it? PTL! TYL! Here it is in Luke 1:26.
59. THE ARCHANGEL GABRIEL CAME TO THE CITY OF NAZARETH, A LITTLE TOWN IN NORTHERN ISRAEL‚ "TO A VIRGIN ESPOUSED TO A MAN WHOSE NAME WAS JOSEPH." A virgin is a girl who has never made love with a man. She was of the House of David & her name was Mary. "And the angel came in unto her"—that is an expression used throughout the Bible for having sexual intercourse, how about that?—Fucking!
60. YOU MEAN IT'S POSSIBLE FOR ANGELS TO HAVE INTERCOURSE?—YES! You can read about it in the Book of Genesis. They saw the daughters of men were very beautiful & they came down & they fucked them & they had babies by them, & the babies became what?—Great big giants!—Twice as tall even as Jus over there! Think of that! Great big giants! And they were still around for a long time. There are a few even left today, but not quite as big.
61. WHAT WAS THAT STRANGE MOVIE WE SAW THE OTHER NIGHT THAT HAD THAT BIG GIANT IN IT? (Sue: That was "Moonraker.") Yeah‚ "Moonraker." It has one of the remaining giants in it—a great big fellow, head & shoulders above anybody else. I saw one of those giants in a circus once—he was over eight feet tall! Most men are not even six feet tall, but he was even two feet taller than that, like that!
62. SO THIS ANGEL CAME DOWN & WENT IN UNTO MARY BY THE SPIRIT OF GOD & said, "Hail, thou art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women!" The Lord said a prophecy to our Maria here very similar to this, I think the first prophecy we ever got! We were lying in bed together praying & she began speaking in tongues & the interpretation came‚ & it was just beautiful! It was about her, that she was like Mary, & that's where we first got her name, Maria.
63. "AND WHEN SHE SAW HIM SHE WAS TROUBLED"—SHE WAS WORRIED, SHE WAS AFRAID! Because my goodness, you don't see angels every night, much less archangels, right? "And she cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be."—"Who in the world is this? What is this he's saying to me?"
64. "AND THE ANGEL SAID UNTO HER, FEAR NOT, MARY: FOR THOU HAST FOUND FAVOUR WITH GOD. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb & bring forth a Son, & shalt call His name Jesus. He shall be great, & shall be called the Son of the Highest: & the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of his Father David."—How about that?—Because he was a descendant of the famous King David.
65. "AND HE SHALL REIGN OVER THE HOUSE OF JACOB FOR EVER & OF HIS KINGDOM THERE SHALL BE NO END."—The dear Israelites, ai yai yai!—They're not the ones, no! He's talking about the spiritual Israel, spiritual Jacob, those who are Israelites by faith! That is very clear in the new Testament. It has nothing to do with those who hate Jesus!
66. IT'S SPEAKING OF THE DESCENDANTS OF ABRAHAM, ISAAC & JACOB—OR ISRAEL—BY FAITH!—Those who believe in Jesus, amen? They're the ones Jesus is the King of! He's certainly not king of those wicked Jews over there that are persecuting the Palestinians!
67. "THEN SAID MARY UNTO THE ANGEL, HOW SHALL THIS BE, SEEING I KNOW NOT A MAN?" She said, "How can this happen? I've never fucked a man, how can I have a baby?" "And the angel answered & said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, & the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee"—a holy ghost, how about that!—"Therefore, also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God!" Think of that!
68. "AND, BEHOLD, THY COUSIN ELISABETH, SHE HATH ALSO CONCEIVED A SON IN HER OLD AGE"—she was already six months along by this time, because John the Baptist was six months older than Jesus—"And this is the 6th month with her, who was called barren." Elisabeth, Mary's cousin, was an old lady, & she & her husband Zacharias were very sad because she'd never had any children. But the Lord had also appeared to her & told her she was going to have a baby, & told her that her cousin Mary was going to have a baby, how about that?
69. THEY WERE HAVING SOME MIRACLE BABIES, RIGHT? "FOR WITH GOD NOTHING SHALL BE IMPOSSIBLE!"—That's where that verse comes, isn't that beautiful? "With God nothing shall be impossible." And did Mary argue with the angel & say, "But no, I can't do that, I'm already engaged! It's going to cause me a lot of trouble! I can't FF with the Lord & then get in trouble with my husband–to–be!" What did she say?:
70. "BEHOLD THE HANDMAID OF THE LORD; BE IT UNTO ME ACCORDING TO THY WORD!" She just received what the Lord said! "And the angel departed from her." When she believed it & accepted it, Gabriel left & went back up to Heaven. So "Mary arose in those days & went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda."—She went to see her cousin right away to tell her the big news!—& hide her pregnancy!
71. HER COUSIN ELISABETH WAS HER BEST FRIEND‚ SO SHE WANTED TO GO TELL HER REAL QUICK THAT SOMETHING VERY IMPORTANT WAS GOING TO HAPPEN! So she entered into their house, the house of Zacharias‚ & saluted Elisabeth. But before she even had a chance to tell her anything, do you know what happened?
72. "IT CAME TO PASS THAT WHEN ELISABETH HEARD THE SALUTATION OF MARY," Mary came & said, "Hi Elisabeth, guess..." She didn't even have a chance to tell her, the babe—John the Baptist who was in Elisabeth's six months pregnant tummy at that time, leaped in her womb! He was just a little baby only six months old inside of her tummy, & he jumped! Think of that! Did you ever see a baby jump in your mommy's tummy? (David: Just like Techi used to do!) You used to feel her how she jumped.
73. THE BABE LEAPED IN HER WOMB WHEN THE BABY HEARD MARY'S VOICE! It shows you that babies can hear things going on‚ see? "And Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, & said‚ Blessed art thou among women, & blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me‚ that the mother of my Lord should come to me? For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy!"
74. ELISABETH TELLING MARY, "THE MINUTE I HEARD YOUR VOICE, JOHN JUMPED UP & DOWN INSIDE MY TUMMY FOR JOY!"—Because he heard the voice of Jesus' mother! Think of that! Now Elisabeth's still speaking by the Spirit of God: "And blessed is she that believed"—she's talking about Mary‚ Mary believed—"for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord!" So Mary believed, & therefore the Lord did it.
75. THIS NEXT PASSAGE IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL OF ALL, THIS IS THE MAGNIFICAT! This is the one we got for Maria, as I recall, & part of it fit her. Mary said, "My soul doth magnify the Lord, & my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. For He hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden." Maria was nobody then, nobody ever heard of her, & she didn't think she was anybody either. (Maria: I'm still not!) But look what the Lord did!
76. "FOR, BEHOLD, FROM HENCEFORTH ALL GENERATIONS SHALL CALL ME BLESSED!" Isn't that beautiful? Only this came in the second person as to her, as we got the prophecy: "All generations shall call her blessed," isn't that beautiful? TYJ! Many generations have, amen? "For He that is mighty hath done to me great things; & holy is His Name." It wasn't to her credit, it was God doing it, right?
77. "AND HIS MERCY IS ON THEM THAT FEAR HIM FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION!"—We've got at least two or three generations in the Family now‚ PTL? "He hath showed strength with His arm; He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts."—God's defeated our enemies, hasn't He?—Proven His arm‚ the arm of the Lord is stronger! TTL!
78. "HE HATH PUT DOWN THE MIGHTY FROM THEIR SEATS, & EXALTED THEM OF LOW DEGREE," PTL? We had quite a few mighty ones in the Family that the Lord has put down‚ & is still exalting them of low degree. For a long time people never even knew Maria existed, & never even knew who she was‚ & it was just the Lord.
79. "HE HATH FILLED THE HUNGRY WITH GOOD THINGS"—THE MAGAZINE, PTL!—"& THE RICH HE HATH SENT EMPTY AWAY!" Quite a few rich we had that have left us empty because they didn't prize the Words above all, right? They didn't really prize God's Word, they didn't really honour His Prophet, much less His Prophetess, sad to say. And "He hath holpen"—or helped—"His servant Israel"—that means you, His children—"in remembrance of His mercy; as He spake to our fathers‚ to Abraham, & to his seed forever."
80. WHO ARE THE SEED OF ABRAHAM?—HIS CHILDREN BY FAITH! The bloodline means nothing to God. The Jews & the Israelites are not the ones, but the children of Abraham by faith! Those of us who like Abraham believe God's Word by faith & receive Jesus, they're his children.
81. "AND MARY ABODE WITH HER ABOUT THREE MONTHS‚ & RETURNED TO HER OWN HOUSE." Elisabeth was six months along when she came, so Mary stayed three months till John the Baptist was born!—She of course wanted to stay & help her cousin until the baby was born. "Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; & she brought forth a son." Then there's the story all about Elisabeth & how her baby was born‚ but we don't have time to read it all tonight.
82. AN ANGEL OF THE LORD HAD APPEARED UNTO ZACHARIAS & TOLD HIM THAT ELISABETH WAS GOING TO HAVE A BABY IN HER OLD AGE, but he wouldn't believe it. So the angel struck Zacharias dumb & said he wouldn't be able to speak until he believed it! (Lk.1:20.) And do you know when he believed it? Well, when finally the baby was born he believed it.
83. AND DO YOU KNOW WHAT THE FIRST THING WAS THAT HE SAID?—Well, really, he wrote it down, because God had told him that he was supposed to call the baby John. In those days the father usually named the children after the father, & when he said, "His name is John!" they said, "But that's not your name! Zacharias is your name‚ he's supposed to be named after his father!"
84. BUT ZACHARIAS SAID, "HIS NAME SHALL BE CALLED JOHN!"—And when he was firm in his faith & his obedience to the Lord, the Lord opened his mouth & he said a beautiful prophecy! (Lk.1:67-79.) But we don't have time to give you that tonight because this is just about the Story of Jesus, & we'll have to read it pretty fast because it's quite a story!
85. SO MARY WENT HOME, & JESUS KEPT ON GROWING IN HER TUMMY. Now they'd been living in Nazareth, but the Lord had prophesied many hundred years ago that Jesus was going to be born in Bethlehem—the Messiah, the Saviour, was going to be born in Bethlehem. (Mi.5:2.) But they were way up in Nazareth about 200 miles from Bethlehem. That's a long trip, huh? And how could that ever happen? How could it ever happen now? The Jews today still wait for the Messiah. Bethlehem is almost solid Arab Christians, so how could the Messiah be born there now? Well, He couldn't, because He's already born, born way back yonder!
86. SO JUST ABOUT THE TIME MARY WAS ABOUT TO HAVE JESUS, the great king of all the World, Roman Caesar Augustus, sent out an edict, or an order, a law, that everybody in the whole World had to go back to their hometown where they were born to pay their taxes! I think that was a pretty cruel law, don't you?—Because a lot of them had moved a long ways away. Imagine if everybody here had to go back to your hometown to pay your taxes!—I hope you Americans never have to!
87. WELL, MARY & JOSEPH HAD TO TRAVEL A LONG LONG WAYS, & THEY HAD TO WALK! It usually shows you a little donkey carrying Mary, & maybe there was one she rode on, but it was still a long ride. If you've ever ridden a donkey, it's pretty rough! Donkeys are not really made for riding, they're made for loads & carrying luggage & things like that.
88. YOU FEEL LIKE EVERY STEP A DONKEY TAKES IS A JOLT‚ JOLT, JOLT LIKE THAT! It just practically cracks your backbone! But at least it was better than walking, I guess. Although I'll never forget when we passed some of those mule trains coming down the Grand Canyon. By the time they were halfway down the trail & they saw us walking down they said, "We wish we were walking!"—Because the mules rode so rough!
89. WELL ANYWAY‚ THEY HAD TO TRAVEL A LONG LONG WAYS TO THEIR HOMETOWN DOWN IN BETHLEHEM, just about five miles south of Jerusalem. And they got there just in time, because Mary was about to have the baby! Now can you imagine, they didn't know what doctor they were going to have & they didn't know what hospital they were going to go to. And it was so far & they hadn't been there for so long‚ they were almost like strangers to their own relatives. Obviously they must have been‚ because none of their relatives took them in, right? Think of it!
90. THEY MUST HAVE HAD OODLES OF RELATIVES‚ BUT NOBODY TOOK THEM IN BECAUSE EVERYBODY WAS COMING HOME.—All the relatives' houses were all filled up with relatives who were coming to pay their taxes, they were filled up just about like our Christmastime! In fact, it was Christmastime‚ think of that! It was about to be Christmas, but they didn't know it!
91. BECAUSE IN THOSE DAYS THERE WASN'T ANY CHRISTMAS, WASN'T THAT SAD? There had never been any Christmas & people didn't know anything about Christmas.—Because it was Jesus' birth that made Christmas! See‚ that's Christ-mas! Christmas is Christ-mass—it's His birth celebration!
92. SO THEY KNOCKED ON THE INN DOOR (KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK) & THE INNKEEPER CAME OUT—that's the hotel—& they asked if he had any rooms. He said, "Oh ho ho‚ no, of course not! Everybody's here paying their taxes, they've come from all over the World & everything is full, I'm running over!—No!" And poor Joseph said, "But look, my poor wife is great with child & about to have a baby! The baby's about to be born, I've got to have someplace to put her!"
93. WELL, THANK GOD, THE DEAR INNKEEPER WAS AT LEAST KIND-HEARTED ENOUGH TO TAKE A LITTLE PITY ON THE BIG PREGNANT WOMAN. Who knows, maybe he had a few rooms left, but he saw they were pretty poor & couldn't pay for them. So he said, "Well, you can go out there in the stable—you can stay in the barn tonight!" Well, at least that was in out of the cold with the animals & with a roof over their heads where it didn't rain on them, & they found a nice manger full of nice soft straw, or hay.
94. DO YOU KNOW WHAT A MANGER IS? HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A MANGER? It's about this long, usually made out of wood, & it's about this wide. If you've ever been on a farm in the barn, it's where you bring the cows in every night to feed them. You put the straw in & you put a little grain in too, & some other things—vitamins & whatnot like Mama mixes up! In fact the stuff the cows eat looks a lot like what your mother eats almost everyday!—Ha! All kinds of—I started to say rubbish—not rubbish, I mean forage, I mean fodder!—Mudder, not Fodder! Anyway, Mudder eats it!
95. SO MARY HAD THE BABY RIGHT THERE IN THE BARN & SHE WRAPPED IT UP IN SWADDLING CLOTHES, it says. That means like little baby blankets, just really almost like rags in those days. And she laid it in this little manger that the cows usually ate out of. That was nice of the cows to let her use it, huh? Well, it was probably past eatin' time, they'd had enough, so anyhow, there it was!—And there were the horses & the cows & the pigs—well, maybe they didn't have pigs because they were Jews—but they had sheep & goats & things like that.
96. AND RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF IT ALL WAS THIS LITTLE BABY BORN & PUT RIGHT INTO THEIR FEEDING TROUGH! A manger is a feeding trough. And do you know while it was happening, what was happening out on the hillside? Did you hear about that? Some shepherds were out there watching their flocks by night, sleeping on the ground under the trees. It was cold‚ but they had to take care of them.
97. DADDY USED TO PLAY A SHEPHERD WHEN I WAS A LITTLE BOY LIKE YOU IN OUR LITTLE CHRISTMAS PLAY! I used to play the shepherd's little boy, & we had shepherds & we sang songs about shepherds & watching our flocks—I wonder if I can remember one of those songs. Well, Lord, if You want me to think of it, You can remind me of it. They were watching their flocks...ah, it almost came! "While mortals sleep the angels keep their watch of wondering love," oh, what is that?—"O Little Town of Bethlehem," that's what it is! We sang that because we were shepherds on the hills just outside of Bethlehem.
98. THEY WERE AROUND THEIR CAMPFIRES WATCHING THEIR SHEEP WHO WERE SLEEPING FOR THE NIGHT, & all of a sudden, do you know what happened? There was a big bright light burst on them from the sky, & a whole bunch of angels appeared & began to sing: "Glory to God in the highest! Peace on Earth to men of good will!" And they said to the shepherds, "Fear not, for unto you this day is born in the City of Bethlehem‚ a Saviour, Christ the Lord!"
99. SO THEY WERE ALL EXCITED ABOUT IT, & WHEN THE ANGELS DISAPPEARED THEY SAID‚ "WOW, LET'S GO SEE HIM! It's only just down there‚ we're just outside the city, let's go see Him‚ let's find Him!" So they went down there, & I wonder how they found Him? Have you ever thought about that? It was a pretty big town! Maybe they went to the hotel first? Or maybe they went to the Rabbi or the Chief Priest or something? They must have not been able to get much information from any of those church people or from the commercial system‚ because I don't think they knew much about Jesus‚ right?
100. THE LORD MUST HAVE LED THEM JUST LIKE HE DID THE WISE MEN TWO YEARS LATER WHEN THEY CAME WITH A STAR, & they found their way. The shepherds found Jesus in the manger, & they knelt down & praised the Lord & sang & must have made Mary & Joseph very happy! Imagine, they must have been quite excited when they heard the news that angels had appeared to these shepherds & told them that Jesus was being born!
101. SO THEY STAYED THEN IN BETHLEHEM, APPARENTLY WITH THEIR RELATIVES OR SOMEWHERE, because pretty soon—two years later by the time the kings came—they were living in a house. You can read it right in the Bible, it says "the house." (Mt.2:11.) Usually they'll have it all at once in a Christmas play because the audience can't wait two years, but it was about two years later that the Wise Men came from the East, from way over in Mesopotamia or the old country of the Medes & the Persians & Babylonians, now called Iraq.
102. THEY WERE WISE MEN OF THE EAST & THEY HAD READ IT IN THE STARS! They apparently were astrologers & they read the stars & they could tell about great things that were happening. So they found out in reading the stars—or the Lord had probably revealed it to them directly also—that a great King was being born in Israel, although they didn't really understand who He was.
103. AND THE LORD SHOWED THEM A STAR THAT LED THEM‚ more than any astrological stars, because this star travelled & stood right over the house where Jesus was living!—Not the manger, like you see in the pictures, not the barn or stable, but over the house that they'd moved to. After all, they weren't going to stay in a barn for two years, were they?
104. JOSEPH WAS A GOOD HARD WORKER & HE PROBABLY PICKED UP A LITTLE BUSINESS & DID A LITTLE CARPENTRY WORK, maybe first for the Innkeeper. Hotels are always falling apart & they always have to fix them, so he probably went to work for him. The dear Innkeeper probably gave him a job so he could stay in the stable for awhile until he found a house. And then he moved to a house, & in two years the Wise Men came & they brought Him some marvellous gifts!
105. BUT ON THEIR WAY TO FIND JESUS, DO YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED? God had been guiding them by the star, but when they got there they apparently used their natural reasoning & wisdom—their own heads instead of following God's way. They figured, "Oh well, we're here now, we'll go ask the King! Of course he'll know where this Messiah, this great King has been born. We'll go ask King Herod, he'll be able to tell us, & his wise men"—instead of going ahead by faith & just following the star!
106. SEE, YOU'D BETTER FOLLOW THE LORD & NOT MAN, BECAUSE IT GOT THEM IN A LOT OF TROUBLE & IT CAUSED A LOT OF DAMAGE! They went to the bad wicked King Herod to find out where Jesus was being born, & he said, "Jesus? Who? Who's Jesus? Who's the King? What other king besides me has been born in this country?—I'm the king!" Then crafty old wicked Herod thought, "I'd like to know where this King is too!"
107. HE SAID‚ "I'LL TELL YOU WHAT‚ WHEN YOU FIND HIM, YOU COME BACK & LET ME KNOW & I'LL COME & WORSHIP HIM TOO!"—Big liar! He wasn't planning to worship Him at all, was he? What did he want to do? What he did exactly—he tried to kill Him! So the Wise Men saw that the king was no help. But at least he called in his wise men & said‚ "Hey, where's this guy supposed to be born, anyway?—This Messiah of the Jews, this King of the Jews?" And they said‚ "Well‚ according to the prophecies in the Bible, He's supposed to be born in Bethlehem."
108. THE PROPHET HAD SAID‚ "AND THOU BETHLEHEM, IN THE LAND OF JUDA, ART NOT THE LEAST AMONG THE PRINCES OF JUDA: for out of thee shall come a Governor‚ that shall rule My people Israel." Way back in the Old Testament it said those things. (Mt.2:6; Mi.5:2.) "Oh, Bethlehem? That little stinking village down south of here five miles? Ha! How can anything good come out of Bethlehem?"
109. WELL, THEY WENT TO BETHLEHEM & THERE THEY FOUND HIM! They saw the star, & the star guided them again & they followed God's leading then instead of the wicked king & the bad people, & they found Jesus. And they had three kinds of gifts. There were three kings, in fact some traditions say there were four kings, but somehow or another one of them got lost! But I don't know whether that's true or not!—Ha!
110. DID YOU EVER HEAR THE STORY ABOUT THE 4TH WISE MAN? Someday you'll have to read to David about the 4th Wise Man, it's a very interesting story & maybe it happened, I don't know! But they came, & we sang a song tonight about the three kinds of gifts they had for the little baby King Jesus. You know what they were? (Sings:)
111. "WE THREE KINGS OF ORIENT ARE,
BEARING GIFTS WE TRAVERSE AFAR.
Field & fountain, moor & mountain, following yonder star!
O-oh, star of wonder, star of light‚
Star with royal beauty bright!
Westward leading, still proceeding,
Guide us to thy perfect light."
Then the king sings:
"Frankincense to offer have I,
Incense owns a Deity nigh"
—in other words, it's a sign of God—
"Prayer & praising all men raising,
Worship Him, God most High!"
The gift of Frankincense signified that he was God—the Son of God!
112. THE NEXT GIFT WAS MYRRH, & THAT'S ALWAYS THE ONE THAT MAKES DADDY CRY, because hear what he says, sing it: (Girls sing:
"Myrrh is mine, 'tis bitter perfume,
Breathes a life of gathering gloom;
Sorrowing, sighing, bleeding, dying,
Sealed in the stone cold tomb!")
—That showed that Jesus was going to be crucified & die & be buried in a cold tomb. Myrrh was what they put on people when they died, a perfume that they embalm people with.
113. FRANKINCENSE WAS A LOVELY PERFUME THAT YOU GAVE TO KINGS & THE SON OF GOD, BUT MYRRH WAS A SAD PERFUME that breathed of the tomb to show that He was not only a King‚ but He was going to die for us. But there was another gift‚ & this was a very important gift as you'll see in a minute. What was it? (Family: Gold!) (Sings:)
"Born a king on Bethlehem's plain,
Gold I bring to crown Him again.
King forever‚ ceasing never,
Over us all to reign!"
Now why did He need gold, anyway?—Well, I'll tell you why:
114. GOD THEN GAVE THE KINGS A DREAM & SAID, "DON'T GO BACK TO THAT WICKED KING HEROD, GO BY ANOTHER WAY HOME. Make a shortcut & forget about him, because he doesn't want to do any good‚ he doesn't want to worship Jesus. He really wants to kill Him because he's afraid & jealous that if Jesus is going to be such a great king, He might take his kingdom!"—Herod's kingdom‚ see? He was afraid.
115. SO THE KINGS WENT BACK ANOTHER ROUTE, A SHORT-CUT, & THEY BYPASSED THE WICKED KING HEROD. And King Herod waited & waited & waited for the kings to come back, but they never came back. So finally he realised that they had tricked him & that they weren't coming back. Do you want to hear the end of the story & what finally happened? We're going to find out why Jesus needed the gold!
116. AN ANGEL ALSO APPEARED TO JOSEPH & SAID, "YOU'D BETTER BEAT IT, MAN‚ SCRAM!—Because this king is a bad character, he doesn't mean any good, & if you don't split right away & get out of town, you're going to be in trouble!" So he took his wife & Jesus & the donkey & they lit out for Egypt!—Imagine!—And that was about 200 miles away, a long trip!—And they went out by night. (Mt.2:12-14.)
117. WHY DO YOU SUPPOSE THEY WENT AT NIGHT?—So nobody would catch them & know they were leaving, right? Sometimes we've had to split a few towns at night too! Also‚ in those days, because it was very hot in the daytime, they travelled at night. They travelled at night‚ & they'd pitch their tent & sleep in the shade of their tent in the daytime. We used to do that too: Sometimes we'd travel at night & then take a motel or camp in the daytime because it was too hot to travel. It can burst your tires & burn up your engine on a desert & make you very tired!
118. WELL, THEY DIDN'T WANT TO BURN UP THEIR DONKEYS & MAKE THEM GET THE HOTFOOT FROM THOSE HOT DESERT SANDS, so they travelled at night. And they went all the way down to Egypt. 200 miles is a long trip, huh? Now how do you suppose they could afford a trip like that when he was just a poor carpenter, hmm? It cost money! He didn't have to buy a ticket on the donkey, but it took food & they took provisions & they had to carry a tent with them & they had to be equipped for camping out.
119. HOW DO YOU SUPPOSE THEY COULD AFFORD ALL THAT STUFF? WHERE DO YOU THINK THEY GOT THE MONEY? (Dad shows David a gold coin.) Can you read anything on there at all? It's all capital letters, that's kind of hard to read. What's it say? (David: South Africa.) South Africa, how about that? And what does it say on this side?—The big word that's hard to read, can you try to figure that out at all? Kruger ... what's the last part? (David: Rand.) Rand!
120. THAT LITTLE PIECE OF GOLD IS A KRUGERRAND, & THEY BROUGHT JESUS A WHOLE BOX OF PIECES OF GOLD LIKE THIS! And do you know what that's worth? I'll show you how much it's worth. This is one ounce of pure gold like they gave Jesus, & I've got something else here. Some of you Americans have never seen one of these, but this happens to be not a quarter, but the latest Silver Dollar! (Shows S.B. Anthony Dollar.)
121. YOU'D THINK THAT THE U.S.A. WOULD BE ASHAMED TO PUT A THING LIKE THAT OUT! In fact, people in the United States are refusing to accept it & refusing to use it! They're ashamed to admit that the dollar is not even worth that much anymore. Did you know that these U.S. dollars used to be as big as this gold coin? And they used to be big & heavy like that too!
122. THIS IS, AS I RECALL, ONLY ABOUT 1 1/2% SILVER, SOME NICKEL & ALUMINUM & A FEW OTHER THINGS, & IS NOT EVEN WORTH TEN CENTS! It's actually only worth four cents! The amount of metal in it is only worth four cents, & yet they still have the nerve to call it the Silver Dollar—when it's not even any bigger than a quarter! A quarter is 25 cents, or supposed to be, one-fourth of a dollar. But today this so-called Silver Dollar as big as a quarter is only worth 10 percent of what a dollar used to be worth when I was your age—10 cents!—& only 4 cents in metal!
123. BUT DO YOU KNOW WHAT? EVEN IF WE SAID THIS IS WORTH A DOLLAR, THIS GOLD COIN IS WORTH 600 OF THESE! So that was a lot of money that they gave Jesus! And why? Because He went down to Egypt & He had to live there for two whole years! Being a foreigner in a foreign country, Joseph probably couldn't legally hold a job, just like nowadays. He probably couldn't speak their language & he probably couldn't do carpentry work.
124. THEY HAD TO LIVE IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY AMONGST FOREIGNERS FOR TWO WHOLE YEARS ON ALL THOSE PIECES OF GOLD that the king gave them! How about that? Well, now maybe to help you remember this little lesson & because you are pretty important to the Lord, how would you like to have this gold piece? Daddy doesn't get to give you very much or do very much—well, I really do, but you don't know it! But this is good to keep for a reserve in case you & Alfred & Sara ever run out of money.
125. SO WHY DID THE KING HAVE TO GIVE JESUS SO MUCH MONEY? (David: Because they were going to Egypt.) Right‚ they had to take a long trip‚ hundreds of miles‚ to Egypt. And they had to live in a foreign country for two whole years without a job‚ without even knowing the language or anything, & so they had to have some money to live on.
126. SO THE KING GAVE THEM A NICE LITTLE CHEST OF GOLD COINS LIKE THAT, & THEY HAD PLENTY OF MONEY TO LIVE ON! Wasn't the Lord wonderful?—He provided every need! It's wonderful how the Lord took care of them & knew just what they were going to need! And that's the story of the First Christmas!
127. WELL‚ THE HAPPY ENDING TO THE STORY, THAT BAD MEAN WICKED OLD KING HEROD DIED! He was so bad & wicked, he knew that nobody was going to be sorry when he died‚ so you know what he did? He gave orders that on the day that he died, 2,000 of his officers of his army & noblemen & leaders of his country should also be killed so that there would be weeping & mourning in the country!—He knew nobody was going to cry over him! But you know what really happened when he died? They didn't kill one of those officers, but they had a day of rejoicing instead!
128. BECAUSE DO YOU KNOW WHAT HE DID AFTER JESUS LEFT TOWN? He went over there & had his soldiers kill all the little babies that were less than two years old! Just think, if Techi had lived in Bethlehem then, they would have come & cut off her head with a sword!—How wicked! How bad that bad king like that can be! It seemed like he couldn't even burn in Hell long enough‚ right? Well, I'm sure he's getting his!
129. THEN AFTER TWO YEARS THE LORD TOLD JOSEPH, "DON'T WORRY ANYMORE, KING HEROD IS DEAD! YOU CAN GO HOME TO NAZARETH NOW!" Because where was their home? It wasn't really Bethlehem, was it?—They were just kind of visiting there. So they went all the way back home to Nazareth which was about 500 miles, a long trip clear back to Nazareth their home town.
130. IMAGINE HOW LONG THEY'D BEEN GONE! THEIR PEOPLE MUST HAVE WONDERED WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THEM! They might have thought‚ "Oh my, they must be dead or something! We haven't heard from them for years! They went down to Bethlehem to pay their taxes & we heard they were there for a couple years, but then they just disappeared!"
131. THEY PROBABLY GOT SOME WORD BACK & FORTH WITH TRAVELERS FOR THE TWO YEARS THEY WERE IN BETHLEHEM that they were still living there, but then all of a sudden they disappeared & went off & nobody knew what happened to them! They had to run away to keep their enemies from killing them! So the folks in Nazareth must have thought that maybe they were dead or something because they never heard anything from them anymore.
132. UNTIL ONE DAY, FOUR YEARS AFTER JESUS WAS BORN, GOD SAID: "YOUR ENEMIES ARE DEAD, YOU CAN GO HOME NOW!" (Mt.2:20.) Think of it, he was a little boy four years old, just about your age! You're almost five now & maybe He was almost five too. He was just about your age when they finally left the foreign country. Jesus was just like you: He had to live with His parents in a foreign country amongst foreigners that spoke a foreign language. They were exiles, fugitives from injustice, but finally they were able to go home.
133. CAN YOU IMAGINE, ALL THAT TIME THEIR HOUSE HAD BEEN SITTING THERE & HIS BUSINESS HAD BEEN WAITING FOR HIM! Nobody knew what happened to them, but one day, all of a sudden they showed up in town & there they were! They went away just a young couple with a pregnant wife, & they came back with a four-year-old little boy! How about that! So that's the happy ending to that part of the story at least, so PTL!
134. THAT'S A LONG ENOUGH STORY, I THINK, & IT'S ALMOST MIDNIGHT WHEN MOST CHURCHES & PEOPLE CELEBRATE THE COMING OF JESUS. We can just pray now & you can go to bed; I'm sure you must be very tired. Remember, that coin is worth 600 of those no-good American dollars, & it's really worth a lot more really than that! Some day it will probably be the only thing around that's worth anything, outside of food & lodging.
135. SO THAT'S HOW THE LORD TOOK CARE OF BABY JESUS WHEN HE WAS A LITTLE BOY ONLY TWO YEARS OLD, a little younger than Davida, when He went to a foreign country to live. And look, here we are living in a foreign country that's foreign to nearly all of us. Does Jesus take care of us? We have a nice house to live in, right?—And we had a nice big dinner tonight.
136. THE LORD HASN'T FORGOTTEN OR NEGLECTED US, HAS HE?—Amen?—Even though we're fugitives from injustice, exiles in a foreign country because our own country hates us & tried to kill us‚ & here we are! The kings of our own country hated us, & that's probably why they're suffering right now & having a lot of trouble.
137. THEY RAN US OUT OF THE COUNTRY & WE HAD TO FLEE FOR OUR LIVES LIKE JESUS‚ to Europe & lots of places around the World. But as we go, we can go to all these places & preach the Gospel & tell folks about Jesus & how much He loves them & how He'll take care of them if they'll just believe on Him‚ receive Him & serve Him‚ like us, amen? PTL? Isn't that wonderful?
138. OK! WELL THAT'S THE CHRISTMAS STORY & THAT'S WHAT WE'RE CELEBRATING TONIGHT IS JESUS' BIRTH THAT NIGHT, CHRISTMAS EVE. And that's what the Lord did for Him! He loved Him so much, He took good care of Him. He sent kings & shepherds to worship Him, & enemies to hate Him, just like us. But this helped Him to obey the Lord & go where God wanted Him, & He probably learned a lot.
139. YOU'VE BEEN A PRETTY SMART BOY SINCE YOU WERE TWO TO FOUR, & He probably learned a lot from all those smart people in Egypt. That was a very big wise country in those days. That's where God sent Moses to get his education too, & Jesus got part of His education in Egypt when He was a boy. It says, "Out of Egypt have I called My Son." (Mt.2:15; Hos.11:1.) So PTL! Maybe someday we'll go to Egypt too!
140. RIGHT NOW, IN A SENSE‚ WE'RE LIVING IN THE LAND OF EGYPT, that's for sure, in the World. And we just have to stay close to the Lord & obey His will to make sure He takes care of us like He did Jesus‚ PTL? Amen! So thank You Lord! Thank You for another Christmas Eve, another whole year, Lord, since the last one which we celebrated together. TYJ! PYL! Hallelujah!
141. I REMEMBER LAST CHRISTMAS EVE WE WERE CROSSING A BORDER WHICH WE PRAYED VERY HARD THE LORD WOULD HELP US GET ACROSS WITHOUT ANY PROBLEM. We said, "Lord, please make it easy."—& we didn't realise how easy the Lord was going to make it! It was Christmas Eve, cold & snowing‚ when we came to the border. The border guard was standing inside of his little house where it was warm, talking to the other border guards very busily, so we drove up alongside the house & stopped.
142. THEY USUALLY COME OUT & WANT TO SEE ALL YOUR PASSPORTS & LUGGAGE & EVERYTHING, but he just looked at us a little & didn't bother, just went on talking. He never even came out & talked to us or looked at our passport or inspected our luggage or anything, just waved us on! That's how the Lord takes care of you, see? So this is just a year from that night—we crossed that border on Christmas Eve.
143. WE WERE FLEEING ONE COUNTRY INTO ANOTHER LIKE JESUS‚ & here we are in another country now & the Lord's still taking care of us a whole year later! So it doesn't pay to worry about it at all, does it? The Lord always takes care of us, amen? PTL! TYJ! Hallelujah! Amen.
144. THANK YOU JESUS FOR KEEPING US ALL OF THIS TIME, LORD, ME ALL THESE MANY YEARS, OVER HALF A CENTURY! You've always provided, You've always kept, You've always protected, You always have given health, Lord. Although we've been through many trials & scares & attacks of the Enemy & ups & downs, Lord, You've never failed us, not once. You've never failed to feed us, protect us, even give us good housing, Lord, tents & trailers & good houses & all kinds of things that we've lived in.
145. YOU ALWAYS TAKE GOOD CARE OF US—LIKE YOU DID JESUS WHEN HE WAS A LITTLE BOY—& LIKE YOU DO DAVID, DAVIDA & TECHI NOW. So bless & keep them all‚ in Jesus' name. We thank You, Lord, for how You have kept us all & how You will always keep us, Lord, until You take us home to be with You, in Jesus' name. TYL! Help us not to worry, but to trust You always. As we pray together, Lord‚ the prayer you taught us to pray: (Prays Lord's Prayer.)
146. THE LORD BLESS THEE & KEEP THEE, THE LORD MAKE HIS FACE TO SHINE UPON THEE & BE GRACIOUS UNTO THEE; the Lord lift up His countenance upon thee & give thee peace, in Jesus' name, amen. TYJ! PYL! Hallelujah! Amen, & thank You for such a wonderful dinner & such a good time together! (Sings: )
147. "GOD BE WITH YOU TILL WE MEET AGAIN,
By His counsels guide‚ uphold you,
In His arms securely fold you;
God be with you till we meet again.
Till we meet‚ till we meet,
Till we meet at Jesus' feet!
Till we meet, till we meet,
God be with you till we meet again!
148. "AND GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU,
THROUGH EVERYDAY, O'ER ALL THE WAY!
God will take care of you,
God will take care of you!"
PTL! Hallelujah! TYJ! Amen‚ amen! It's midnight striking & almost time for your midnight Mass which the Pope's going to celebrate, & you can watch it too. PTL? Amen, TYJ! (Toasts:) Well, here's another one for Jesus, PTL?—Whether you have wine or water left! Hallelujah! The Lord is good to us, amen? He even turns water into wine! PTL!
149. SO THAT'S THE STORY OF THE VERY FIRST CHRISTMAS NEARLY 2000 YEARS AGO!—But Jesus is still here with us tonight, amen? Hallelujah! PTL! God bless & keep you & make you a blessing! "May all your Christmases be bright!" Goodnight! I love you!—D.