0:02 let's just talk for a moment about the
0:05 reasons for the Angels at Christmas why
0:07 do they show up why are they present why
0:11 did God employ them in such a way well
0:13 let me give you some suggestions first
0:15 of all they are important in this story
0:17 because of their
0:20 curiosity the Angels had seen the Son of
0:24 God in his deity but never until now had
0:27 they seen him enshrined in
0:30 humanity God incarnate that was new to
0:32 them they had seen their lord as the
0:34 governor of the universe but never and
0:36 now un the subject of the universe he
0:39 was obeying his own law as if he were a
0:42 mere creature and in the attitude of a
0:44 servant they had seen thousands of
0:47 people worship and adore him but never
0:49 until now had they seen him so fragile
0:52 so small so
0:54 vulnerable can you understand coming at
0:57 it from an angel's perspective all of
0:59 your whole existence from the first day
1:01 of creation till day Jesus was sent into
1:03 this world all you did was worship the
1:06 Son of God and then one day the news
1:08 rattled Around Heaven that God the
1:10 father had a plan that included sending
1:12 his son into this world to become a man
1:15 can you imagine the Angels who would
1:16 worship Him from that day forward
1:19 wondering what that was all about
1:22 curious to know what God was up to
1:23 realizing everything they had been
1:26 accustomed to is about to change God the
1:29 Father in Heaven has sending his son to
1:31 the Earth and how will they be involved
1:34 and what will they do how will they have
1:35 a different Ministry than they already
1:38 have surely those are the thoughts that
1:40 went through the Angel's minds they
1:42 wondered after it the Bible actually
1:45 tells us they were curious about it they
1:47 wanted to know what was going on can you
1:51 imagine the Angels being curious about
1:55 you Billy Graham collected and retold
1:59 many reputable stories of experiences
2:00 with angels
2:02 including this family account of his
2:06 maternal grandmother's death he wrote
2:07 the room seemed to fill with a Heavenly
2:11 light she sat up in bed and almost
2:14 laughingly said I see Jesus he has his
2:16 arms outstretched toward me I see Ben
2:18 her husband who had died some years
2:21 earlier and I see the Angels then she
2:24 slumped over absent from the body
2:28 present with the Lord biligram said when
2:31 he was asked do you believe in angels He
2:33 said not only because they're in the
2:36 Bible do I believe them but because I
2:38 have sensed their presence in many
2:41 occasions when I would go to preach and
2:43 would be so spent from all that had
2:46 happened to me during the week that had
2:48 the Angels not attended me I would never
2:50 have been able to finish my
2:53 sermon God has become especially real to
2:56 me he said at times like that sent his
2:59 unseen Angelic visitors to touch my body
3:02 and let me be his messenger for heaven
3:05 angels are a pretty interesting subject
3:06 I actually wrote a whole book about
3:09 angels once and it was back during the
3:11 angel craze when everybody had an angel
3:14 for everything remember that someone has
3:17 said the Bible is a hive of angelic
3:20 activity Jesus had more encounters with
3:22 angels than just about anybody in the
3:26 course of his life time Angels both good
3:29 and evil have appeared to him many times
3:32 he has conversed with angels argued with
3:34 them silenced a few of them believe it
3:36 or not claimed on one occasion to have
3:39 several thousand of them at his
3:41 disposal he knows more about angels than
3:43 any other not just because of what's in
3:46 the Bible but because he created them
3:49 that's right Jesus created the angels
3:52 and as you study the story of his birth
3:54 you will find angels in fact if you
3:56 study the story of his life there are
3:58 seven major events in the life of Our
4:01 Lord where Angels show up it's a good
4:04 way to outline the life of Jesus every
4:06 important thing that happened to him an
4:09 angel was involved obviously at the
4:13 moment of his birth Angels were present
4:15 and they ministered to him during his
4:16 temptation in the wilderness Matthew
4:19 chapter 4 they strengthened him in his
4:21 hour of Agony they proclaimed the
4:22 Triumph of his
4:25 resurrection and they will accompany him
4:26 when he comes back the second time first
4:29 to take us to heaven and then with us to
4:31 set up his kingdom on this
4:35 Earth it should come as no surprise then
4:37 that when you tell the Christmas story
4:39 you can't do it without talking about
4:41 the Angels because they play such an
4:44 important role in the birth of our Lord
4:47 the Angels knew him long before he ever
4:50 came here as you know Jesus didn't begin
4:52 at Bethlehem he just became a man at
4:55 Bethlehem but he knew the angels and the
4:58 angels knew him long before that Paul
5:00 wrote in 1 Timothy
5:03 3:16 and without controversy great is
5:06 the mystery of godliness God was
5:09 manifested in the flesh justified in the
5:12 spirit notice seen by Angels that's
5:14 right seen by
5:17 Angels when Jesus came to this earth the
5:19 Angels watched they watched as he was
5:22 born into the world of humanity how they
5:23 must have been thrilled to see their
5:26 creator clothed in humanity but they did
5:29 far more than watch him from heaven they
5:32 were involved in every step of the way
5:34 for instance as we examine the role of
5:37 the Angels at Christmas we see that they
5:40 anticipated his coming 6 months before
5:43 the angel Gabriel came to Mary about the
5:47 birth of Jesus this very same Angel was
5:50 dispatched by God to a priest in Israel
5:52 whose name was
5:54 Zachariah now Zachariah and his wife had
5:57 been childless and they' been praying to
5:58 have a
6:00 child the purpose purp of the Angelic
6:02 visit to Zachariah was to tell him that
6:05 his wife Elizabeth was going to have a
6:08 baby and of course after many years of
6:10 childlessness this was good news that
6:12 son according to the angel would be
6:15 called John we know him as John the
6:17 Baptist and he would be the Forerunner
6:20 of Jesus Christ the angel said to himo
6:23 not be afraid Zacharias for your prayer
6:25 is heard and your wife Elizabeth will
6:28 bear you a son and you shall call his
6:32 name John this was a preview kind of a
6:35 Prelude to the coming of the Lord Jesus
6:38 for when John was born he was born to be
6:40 the voice crying in the wilderness
6:43 prepare ye the way of the Lord and
6:46 everywhere he went he said Behold the
6:49 Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the
6:49 the
6:53 world that anticipation in the birth of
6:58 John was the first instance of angelic
7:00 involvement but then then they announced
7:04 his birth first of all to Mary in Luke 1
7:06 we read about that 6 months after
7:10 Zachariah was told about John's birth
7:11 Gabriel appeared to Mary and told her
7:13 that she was going to give birth to a
7:15 child and that this child would be the
7:18 long awaited Messiah and savior of the
7:22 world in verses 26 and 27 of the first
7:24 chapter of Luke we read now in the sixth
7:27 month the angel Gabriel was sent by God
7:29 to a city of Galilee named named
7:32 Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man
7:34 whose name was Joseph of the House of
7:38 David and the virgin's name was Mary the
7:40 angel wasn't finished because as you
7:42 know when he told Mary that she was
7:44 going to be with child and it would be
7:47 of the Holy Spirit and not by Joseph and
7:50 she became pregnant this created quite
7:53 an issue and Joseph her betrothed
7:55 husband did not know anything about it
7:58 until the angel showed up one day in
8:00 love and concern God dispatched his
8:03 Angel to send Joseph special information
8:07 Matthew 1 20 and 21 says behold an angel
8:09 of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a
8:12 dream saying Joseph son of David do not
8:15 be afraid to take to you marry your wife
8:18 for that which is conceived in her is of
8:19 the Holy Spirit and she will bring forth
8:21 the son and you shall call his name
8:24 Jesus for he will save his people from
8:26 their sin a lot of other people called
8:29 Jesus in the day when Jesus Christ was
8:32 born but not any other Jesus could have
8:34 this said of them that he would save his
8:38 people from their sin Matthew 1:21 says
8:41 and she shall bring forth a son and they
8:44 shall call his name Jesus for he will
8:47 save his people from their
8:50 sins then of course there is the
8:52 announcement to the Shepherds of all the
8:55 events that surround our Lord's birth
8:57 the announcement to the Shepherds is the
8:59 most dramatic I like i' like to try to
9:02 imagine with you for a moment what it
9:04 must have been like in the hills of
9:06 Bethlehem when the message from the
9:09 Angels Came Bethlehem was obscure and
9:11 when the message from the Angels Came
9:13 imagine several Shepherds huddled around
9:16 a small campfire in the middle of the
9:18 field they're wearing coats made of
9:20 camel's hair for warmth and they have
9:22 huddled in the valley to get out of the
9:24 wind some of them are talking softly
9:26 While others are curled up in beds made
9:30 by piling rushes and they sleep ing
9:32 except for the occasional tinkle of a
9:35 bell around a lead sheep's neck there
9:38 was no sound at all maybe the sound of a
9:40 stick crackling in the fire are you
9:42 getting the
9:45 picture and then the angel of the Lord
9:48 appeared and the angel saido not be
9:50 afraid for behold I bring you good
9:53 tidings of great joy which shall be to all
9:54 all
9:57 people Luke wrote and behold and we see
9:59 that word and we pass right by it
10:01 it means suddenly all at once without
10:05 any warning the Angels Came Upon
10:07 them must have been something like a jet
10:10 breaking the sound barrier it got their
10:11 attention I promise
10:14 you and scripture seems to state that
10:16 these angels are actually composed of flaming
10:18 flaming
10:20 fire have you ever noticed as you study
10:22 the scriptures that Angels appear with
10:25 fire a lot in the Bible men are made of
10:28 natural and chemical elements angels are
10:31 not in fact when you read your Bible
10:34 angels and fire appear in the same text
10:37 very often the scriptures seem to
10:39 indicate that there was something very
10:43 fiery about the angels I read something
10:44 recently where somebody said we treat
10:46 Angels like what you say to them is
10:48 they're there everything will be
10:51 okay we treat them as pets we treat them
10:54 as necessary people to fill in the
10:57 pictures but don't you ever do that
11:00 Angels were powerful
11:02 most powerful creatures apart from
11:06 almighty God in Matthew 28:2 in the
11:09 resurrection story we are told that one
11:11 Angel rolled the stone away from the
11:13 grave you see the stone that was in
11:17 front of the tomb where Jesus was buried
11:19 would have been a piece of granite 8T in
11:21 diameter and 2 feet thick and would have
11:25 weighed some four tons or 8,000 lb if
11:27 you read the story carefully you
11:29 discover that the angel didn't just pull
11:30 the shim out from under the stone and
11:33 let it roll back from the tomb no the
11:36 Bible says that the angel flipped the
11:37 stone as it were a pebble and it landed
11:41 in a field away from the grave by the
11:43 way the stone wasn't rolled away so
11:45 Jesus could get out but so that people
11:46 could get in and see that it was
11:50 empty but one Angel did that they're
11:54 strong angels are masculine and they
11:57 come with power and they came with power
12:00 into the story of the the Incarnation
12:03 angels are powerful they are not play
12:06 things they're not pets they're not nice
12:08 little things to believe in the angels
12:11 of God his immediate and first creation
12:14 of anything that has personality angels
12:17 are invincible they are not omnipotent
12:19 but they are
12:22 Mighty so that changes the Christmas
12:24 story just a little bit doesn't
12:27 it and they accompany Jesus not only in
12:29 his birth but in his
12:32 life Jesus is now born he's a young
12:36 child and wicked ha's coming after him
12:38 after the birth of Jesus the Angels do
12:40 not abandon him but they continue to
12:42 show great concern for him and it was
12:45 the Angels who warned Jesus and his
12:48 parents about herod's cruel plan now
12:50 when they had departed behold an angel
12:52 of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream
12:53 dream
12:56 saying arise take the young child and
12:59 his mother flee to Egypt and stay stay
13:01 there till I bring you word for Herod
13:05 will seek the young child to destroy him
13:07 so Jesus parents Joseph and Mary took
13:09 Jesus and they went to Egypt how would
13:11 they know when it was safe to come back
13:12 oh don't worry about that the angels
13:15 have got it God has an angel ready to
13:18 bring them news now when Herod was dead
13:20 an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream
13:23 to Joseph in Egypt saying arise and take
13:25 the young child and his mother go to the
13:27 land of Israel for those who sought the
13:29 young child's life are dead
13:32 so now jesus' parents know it's time to
13:34 bring him back to Israel all along the
13:36 way from the announcements to the
13:38 protection from herod's Cruel plan we
13:41 see how the Angels fit in to the story
13:46 of Christmas the role of the Angels at
13:48 Christmas but let's just talk for a
13:50 moment about the reasons for the Angels
13:53 at Christmas why do they show up why are
13:56 they present why did God employ them in
13:59 such a way well let me give you some
14:01 suggestions first of all they are
14:04 important in this story because of their
14:08 curiosity the Angels had seen the Son of
14:11 God in his deity but never until now had
14:14 they seen him enshrined in
14:17 humanity God incarnate that was new to
14:19 them they had seen their lord as the
14:21 governor of the universe but never and
14:24 now unto the subject of universe he was
14:27 obeying his own law as if he were a mere
14:29 creature and in the attitude of a
14:32 servant they had seen thousands of
14:34 people worship and adore him but never
14:37 until now had they seen him so fragile
14:39 so small so
14:42 vulnerable can you understand coming at
14:44 it from an angel's perspective all of
14:46 your whole existence from the first day
14:48 of creation until Day Jesus was sent
14:50 into this world all you did was worship
14:53 the Son of God and then one day the news
14:55 rattled Around Heaven that God the
14:57 father had a plan that included sending
15:00 his son into this world to become a man
15:02 can you imagine the Angels who would
15:04 worship Him from that day forward
15:06 wondering what that was all about
15:09 curious to know what God was up to
15:11 realizing everything they had been
15:13 accustomed to is about to change God the
15:16 Father in Heaven is sending his son to
15:18 the Earth and how will they be involved
15:21 and what will they do how will they have
15:23 a different Ministry than they already
15:25 have surely those are the thoughts that
15:27 went through the Angel's minds they
15:29 wondered after
15:31 the Bible actually tells us they were
15:33 curious about it they wanted to know
15:36 what was going on can you imagine the
15:40 Angels being curious about you wondering
15:41 what's going on with you that's the way
15:44 they were in fact here's what Peter says
15:46 about that in 1 Peter
15:49 1:12 to the prophets it was revealed
15:51 that not to themselves but to us they
15:53 were ministering the things which now
15:55 have been reported to you through those
15:57 who have preached the gospel to you by
15:58 the Holy Spirit Sent From Heaven now
16:02 watch this phrasee things which Angels
16:05 desire to look into you would think well
16:07 what would Angels desire they would know
16:08 everything wouldn't they no angels are
16:11 not omnicient and I can tell you one
16:12 thing they don't know anything about
16:14 they don't know anything about what it
16:17 means to be saved because theyve never
16:22 been lost angels never knew the joy of
16:24 Salvation and the Bible says they desire
16:27 to look into it they want to understand
16:29 it how could you understand salvation if
16:32 you've never been lost how could you
16:33 understand salvation if you'd never gone
16:35 through the Journey that we've gone
16:37 through the Bible says because we have
16:39 been where we were and God brought us to
16:43 where we are our status privilege wise
16:45 is greater than that of the Angels
16:47 they're more powerful than we are no
16:49 question but we have much greater
16:52 privilege they're also important because
16:55 of their contribution when you study the
16:57 life of angels you realize they're
17:00 always for good the angel who spoke to
17:02 Zachariah was comforting but he was an
17:04 angent of discipline for instance if you
17:06 remember the story when Zachariah
17:08 doubted the Angel's prophecy about the
17:10 birth of Elizabeth's child the angel
17:12 struck him speechless until the child
17:15 was born he didn't speak a word until
17:17 John the Baptist was
17:19 born that son John would play such an
17:22 important role in the life of Jesus that
17:25 same messenger Gabriel visited Mary and
17:27 encountered his visitor in a dream but
17:29 the message was just just as important
17:32 Mary needed the support that her husband
17:34 could bring and in each case the Angels
17:37 gave careful instruction in fact the
17:40 entire biblical record shows us just how
17:44 eager angels are to help us in scripture
17:46 Heavenly Messengers delivered lot from
17:49 Sodom they guided Israel through the
17:51 Wilderness they fed Elijah under the
17:54 juniper tree they surrounded Elisha with
17:57 chariots they gave Hezekiah victory over
17:59 Assyria they LED Isaiah to spiritual
18:02 commitment they directed Ezekiel to
18:04 Ministry and they gave John a tour of
18:07 Heaven Angels did all that the Bible
18:10 teaches us that in ways we don't fully
18:13 understand God has assigned angels to
18:16 minister his children on Earth Hebrews
18:19 1:14 says are not all Angels ministering
18:22 Spirits sent to serve those who will
18:25 inherit salvation and the question comes
18:27 up Pastor Jeremiah do you believe in
18:30 guardian angels there's no specific
18:31 verse in the Bible that says every
18:34 Christian has his own
18:36 angel I can't prove that I don't want to
18:39 argue about it when I was getting ready
18:41 to go into the ministry I was going
18:44 through my ordination service and back
18:45 in those days when you were ordained
18:49 when you presented your theology paper a
18:51 group of pastors and Christian leaders
18:54 would interrogate you about what you
18:55 believed it was kind of like going
18:56 before the
18:59 Sanhedrin on my ordination was quite
19:01 different because my parents were both
19:04 there including my
19:07 mother and one of the questioners asked
19:10 me this question Mr Jeremiah do you
19:12 believe in guardian angels and before I
19:14 could answer my mother said if he
19:20 do she had watched how many times I
19:21 could have killed myself doing the
19:24 stupid stuff I did I could tell you some
19:25 stories but I
19:27 won't yeah we all probably have an
19:29 Inkling that somewhere along the way in
19:33 our life an angel may have stepped in to
19:36 provide protection or Assurance for us
19:39 I'll be honest I've never seen an angel
19:41 except my wife
19:42 wife [Music]
19:45 [Music]
19:48 yeah I wrote a book about angels years
19:49 ago and whenever I would sign that book
19:53 I'd write this in the book Psalm 9111 he
19:56 shall give his angels charge over you to
19:59 keep you in all your way
20:01 and then there's Psalm 34:7 the angel of
20:03 the Lord encamps around all those who
20:07 fear Him and delivers them I have read
20:10 several books on encounters with angels
20:12 I would say the majority of them happen
20:15 on the mission field where God's
20:18 Messengers are isolated and there's no
20:20 other way for help to come except
20:22 through a divine intervention do I
20:25 believe those stories I do I believe
20:27 that God still uses his angels in the
20:29 world in which we live when it's
20:32 necessary for him to do that they are
20:35 important because of their curiosity and
20:37 their contribution and they are
20:40 important because of their celebration
20:42 oh what a celebration they had outside
20:44 of Bethlehem when the announcement came
20:47 about Jesus they continued to worship
20:49 what were they doing in heaven before
20:50 the Angels came to this earth they were
20:52 worshiping what did they do when they
20:54 first showed up they were worshiping
20:56 what do you think they're doing now
20:58 they're worshiping when we get get to
21:00 heaven we will worship with them there's
21:03 an abundant places where it says Saints
21:05 and Angels we're going to be in the
21:08 angel choir we're going to sing together
21:10 when we get there our our voices will be
21:12 perfected and the angel's voices always
21:16 have been what a moment that will be so
21:18 in this message about angels remember
21:20 there's nothing wrong with being curious
21:23 about them they're a blessing to us we
21:26 know that for sure but let's not get it
21:28 backwards they aren't the focus of
21:31 Christmas Jesus is as one author put it
21:33 let us wonder about the Angels but
21:36 worship their God for every look we take
21:38 at them let us take 10 looks at the
21:41 object of their gaze Jesus Christ the
21:42 one who was made lower than angels that
21:45 he might raise us above them if you
21:47 focus on what the Bible says about the
21:50 Angels you will be drawn to Jesus
21:53 because the angels are all about Jesus
21:55 and when you allow Jesus to be the focus
21:59 of your life he changes everything
22:00 I'm going to tell you an interesting
22:02 little story you might think a bit
22:04 strange to be in this message but it
22:07 really spoke to me some of you may
22:09 remember this from literature in high
22:10 school or
22:13 college it's from a book by Brent Hart
22:16 and the story is the luck of the Roaring
22:20 Camp was written in 1868 it's a short
22:24 story that takes place in California in
22:27 the story Roaring Camp is the meanest
22:31 toughest mining town in the wild west of
22:33 1805 it's a terrible Place marked by
22:36 theft and murder the camp is inhabited
22:39 entirely by men and one woman who tries
22:42 to save and serve them all her name is
22:45 Cherokee s but she dies while giving
22:48 birth to a baby so the men take the baby
22:50 and put him in a box that used to hold
22:53 Dynamite sticks and they Place some old
22:56 flannel Rags around the baby and they
22:58 bury the baby's mother and then they're
22:59 trying to figure out what are we going
23:02 to do with this baby send him to the
23:05 closest camp with women that's 40 mil
23:08 away to make a short story shorter they
23:10 decide to keep the baby right there in
23:13 Roy Camp all these mean men and they
23:16 name him luck Tommy luck they send some
23:18 one man to a town to buy a real cradle
23:21 for the baby another's dispatched to
23:23 Sacramento to get some proper blankets and
23:24 and
23:27 supplies but the Rosewood cradle and the
23:30 baby blankets make the house look filthy
23:32 so the tough men get on their hands and
23:34 knees and scrub the floor clean that
23:36 only makes the dirty walls look dirty so
23:39 they wash them down and on and on it
23:42 goes since babies need lots of sleep the
23:44 men stop Their Rockers brawling and
23:47 fighting as the baby begins to imitate
23:49 sounds and learn the language they clean
23:51 up their vocabularies and stop
23:54 swearing and when the baby begins to
23:57 walk and play Outdoors they plant grass
24:00 and put flowers in the garden you're
24:01 following the
24:04 story that baby changed
24:07 everything I want you to know the story
24:10 of a baby who really changed everything
24:14 his name is Jesus born in Bethlehem and
24:19 today we Revel at the changes he made
24:21 and remark about the fact that he's
24:24 still making changes is he not is he not
24:25 changing our lives every day this
24:27 Christmas many of our Lives will be
24:31 changed as we realize that God sent his
24:33 only begotten son into this world yes he
24:37 was a baby in a baby's time but he grew
24:41 to be a man and in that adult body went
24:43 to a cross and paid the penalty for your
24:46 sin and mine the baby keeps changing
24:50 things changed my life changed yours and
24:52 he will change any life that will invite
24:56 that savior into their heart just as the
24:59 inkeeper ultimately found a place for
25:02 Jesus I want to ask you will you find a
25:04 place for him will you invite him into
25:06 your life will you let him be born into
25:08 your spirit so that he can guide and
25:11 direct you and keep changing things in
25:12 your life for the better from this
25:15 moment on that's what Christmas is all
25:17 about that's the message of the Gospel
25:19 it's the message of Christ who came at
25:22 the beckon call of his father said in
25:24 coming lo I come in the volume of the
25:28 book it is written to do thy will oh God
25:31 and the will of God he did and salvation
25:33 is the gift that
25:35 comes at this [Music]
25:42 [Music]
25:45 season thank you for joining us for this
25:47 special Christmas edition of Turning
25:50 Point as Dr Jeremiah explored the why
25:53 Behind The Wonder of Christmas this
25:55 season reminds us that Jesus Christ was
25:58 God's great gift to you if you have
26:01 never accepted that gift Dr Jeremiah
26:03 would like to send you two resources to
26:06 encourage you to do so the first is a
26:08 booklet called your greatest turning
26:11 point which will help you begin your
26:14 relationship with Christ and the second
26:16 is our monthly devotional magazine
26:19 turning points to give you encouragement
26:22 and inspiration each month these
26:25 resources are yours completely free when
26:33 day next time on turning
26:35 point how can it be said that the one
26:37 who was born in the manger and hung on
26:39 the cross could pay the penalty for the
26:41 sin of the world the only way that can
26:43 be true is if the one who was born in
26:47 the manger was El Gabor the Mighty
26:50 God join Dr Jeremiah next time for his
26:52 message why a
26:56 child here on turning point
26:59 point [Music]
