Participants:
Series Code: IIWC
Program Code: IIWC202312S
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00:02 >> Hello and thank you for
00:03 joining us on It Is Written 00:05 Canada. 00:06 At this time of the year, 00:08 Christmas, we are reminded of 00:11 God's one desire which can be 00:13 summarized in one word. 00:16 >> In fact, the entire message 00:17 of the Bible can be summarized 00:19 in one word and that one word 00:21 is W-I-T-H, "with." 00:24 >> "With" is the reason Jesus, 00:27 our Saviour and King, came to 00:29 planet earth. 00:30 [MIKE] The Bible says... 00:38 ...which, when translated, 00:40 means "God with us." 00:43 >> So Jesus is God with us. 00:47 Jesus was born a humble 00:49 infant, cradled in an animal's 00:51 feeding trough. 00:53 >> God's character was 00:55 revealed in His one and only 00:56 son, Jesus Christ. 00:58 The Bible says... 01:03 So Jesus, the fullness of God, 01:07 wrapped Himself in human flesh 01:09 permanently to be with us as 01:11 one of us eternally. 01:15 God in the likeness of sinful 01:17 human flesh, as the Bible 01:18 says, and yet He was 01:20 without sin. 01:21 >> He even became a servant to 01:23 sinners and then He died the 01:25 most humiliating death on a 01:28 rough, wooden crucifix to save 01:31 us from our sins. 01:34 And one of His dying 01:35 guarantees was to a thief. 01:38 He promised... 01:43 >> So that is the picture that 01:45 the Bible paints for us of God 01:47 with us. 01:49 >> You need not fear Him. 01:52 Who would fear a humble infant 01:54 cradled in a manger? 01:56 For God says to you... 02:21 [distant bell tolling] 02:30 [violin begins playing 02:32 Oh Little Town of Bethlehem] 02:34 ♪♪ 02:46 [piano and orchestra join] 02:51 ♪ In the little village 02:54 ♪ of Bethlehem 02:57 ♪ There lay a Child one day 03:02 ♪ And the sky was bright 03:04 ♪ with a holy light 03:07 ♪ O'er the place 03:09 ♪ where Jesus lay 03:12 ♪ Alleluia 03:15 ♪ Oh how the angels sang 03:17 ♪ Alleluia 03:20 ♪ How it rang 03:23 ♪ And the sky was bright 03:25 ♪ with a holy light 03:29 ♪ 'Twas the birthday 03:32 ♪ of a King 03:34 ♪ Let us adore Him 03:38 ♪ Oh come let us 03:40 ♪ adore Him 03:43 ♪ Oh come let us 03:46 ♪ adore Him 03:49 ♪ Christ the Lord 03:54 ♪ 'Twas a humble birth-place 03:57 ♪ but oh how much 04:00 ♪ God gave to us that day 04:05 ♪ From the manger bed 04:07 ♪ what a path has led 04:10 ♪ What a perfect, holy way 04:15 ♪ Alleluia 04:18 ♪ Oh how the angels sang 04:21 ♪ Alleluia 04:24 ♪ How it rang 04:26 ♪ And the sky was bright 04:29 ♪ with a holy light 04:33 ♪ 'Twas the birthday 04:36 ♪ of a King 04:39 ♪ Alleluia 04:42 ♪ Oh how the angels sang 04:46 ♪ Alleluia 04:49 ♪ How it rang 04:53 ♪ And the sky was bright 04:57 ♪ with a holy light 05:02 ♪ 'Twas the birthday 05:06 ♪ of a Saviour 05:09 ♪ Alleluia, Alleluia 05:17 ♪ 'Twas the birthday 05:21 ♪ of a King 05:36 >> So Jesus came to our world 05:38 to be God with us, but there 05:40 was no room for Him to stay 05:42 anywhere except in an 05:45 unhygienic, filthy shelter for 05:47 animals, not exactly a palace 05:49 or a five-star hotel. 05:52 >> Is it possible that the 05:54 safest place to hide from God 05:56 is behind closed doors in our 05:58 cozy, warm houses or maybe 06:01 inside our comfortable 06:03 churches? 06:05 I mean, have you noticed how 06:07 the rich shut themselves away 06:09 from the poor in luxury houses 06:12 and splendid churches with no 06:13 room for the homeless? 06:15 >> And yet Emanuel, God with 06:17 us, always had His heart open 06:20 to and identified with the 06:23 least of these. 06:25 So can you see the twinkling 06:27 stars and the still, black sky 06:30 on a lonesome dirt path, the 06:32 exhausted couple struggle to 06:34 find lodging, knocking on one 06:37 door after another and yet 06:38 they received the same 06:40 response, "Sorry, no room 06:42 for you." 06:43 >> "Sorry, we're full. 06:45 No room!" 06:46 [MIKE] "No room." 06:48 >> "No room." 06:50 >> "No room for you," so the 06:51 mantra echos in their ears, 06:53 driving them deeper into 06:55 despair. 06:57 >> When they came to the inn, 06:59 the last ray of hope urged 07:01 Joseph to knock and when the 07:04 door creaked open, a slim 07:06 shaft of light filtered into 07:09 the darkness. 07:11 >> His voice, I imagine it's 07:13 edged with desperation, 07:15 Joseph, this weary traveller, 07:17 pleaded for a room. 07:19 >> And the rough response hit 07:21 him like a cold wall of 07:23 rejection, "Sorry, sir, we 07:26 have no room." 07:28 >> Can you see his shoulders 07:30 slumped under this added 07:33 weight of sorrow and he heads 07:35 back into the shadows where 07:37 the least of these live. 07:39 >> The innkeeper's eyes 07:42 silently followed the dragging 07:44 steps and the scene pierces 07:47 his heart. 07:48 At that moment he remembers 07:51 another option although it's 07:53 not very comfortable, "We do 07:55 have a stable in the back," 07:57 the innkeeper says. 08:00 >> Can you imagine Joseph's 08:01 head swivelling around and he 08:04 responds, "Sir, I would be 08:06 grateful for anything." 08:09 You know, every deed of mercy 08:11 makes music in heaven. 08:16 ♪ Infinite Lord ♪ 08:21 ♪ my Infant King 08:27 ♪ Throned in humility 08:35 ♪ Your only robes 08:38 ♪ Your swaddling clothes 08:43 ♪ Crying Your first decree 08:51 ♪ Your grand domain 08:55 ♪ Your crown and train 09:02 ♪ Darkness and dust 09:05 ♪ and sheep 09:10 ♪ Jesus, in dust 09:14 ♪ and hay I kneel 09:19 ♪ Stabled in deepest need 09:27 ♪ My only robes 09:30 ♪ Your righteousness 09:35 ♪ Mercy my only plea 09:42 ♪ My light Your gaze 09:46 ♪ My song Your praise 09:53 ♪ My hope and prayer 09:57 ♪ Your peace 10:02 ♪ Infinite Lord 10:06 ♪ You are my King 10:11 ♪ I give my life to You 10:25 >> That innkeeper, he led the 10:27 couple in the dark and the 10:29 stench of the sheltered 10:32 animals wafted up that dingy 10:34 track as the stable eventually 10:36 came into view. 10:38 [RENÉ] Entering the stable, the 10:40 couple glances around, a cow 10:43 mooed while hens clucked to 10:45 ward off these intruders. 10:48 After making Mary and Joseph 10:50 as comfortable as he could, 10:52 the innkeeper returned home. 10:55 [MIKE] Hours later, a cry 10:57 filled that filthy, 10:59 foul-smelling structure. 11:01 But an overjoyed father 11:04 watched from above while 11:06 angles sang the praises of 11:08 Him, the one who chose to send 11:10 His son, His only son, on this 11:13 dangerous mission to rescue a 11:16 planet in rebellion. 11:19 [RENÉ] Our heavenly Father's 11:21 heart rejoiced when the infant's 11:24 cry reached His ears because He 11:26 knew His son would bring real 11:28 hope to a world that 11:31 desperately needed hope. 11:41 [piano and cello playing 11:42 Oh Holy Night] 11:45 ♪♪ 15:31 [MIKE] Sir Winston Churchill 15:33 once said... 15:40 You know, sometimes I think 15:41 about how God has provided us 15:44 with more than enough 15:45 blessings. 15:48 >> And He has even blessed us 15:50 with enough to give to those 15:51 who are needy. 15:54 But too often it is spent 15:56 pampering our own selfish 15:58 desires and we actually rob 16:01 the poor of the necessities 16:03 of life. 16:04 We crowd our wardrobes with 16:06 designer fashions, clothing we 16:09 seldom wear, and the least of 16:11 these are covered in flimsy 16:13 garments that do very little 16:15 to shield them from the bitter 16:17 cold weather. 16:19 [MIKE] I think of how we 16:21 pursue our pleasures while 16:23 certain less-fortunate souls 16:24 like those who are suffering 16:26 in prison cells, for example, 16:28 they have no one to speak to 16:30 them comforting words of 16:31 encouragement. 16:34 >> Like Mary and Joseph, poor 16:36 people still hear the words of 16:38 rejection, "Sorry, we have no 16:41 room for you." 16:43 [MIKE] While the favoured rich 16:46 are at ease in their expensive 16:47 homes, too many have nowhere 16:49 to lay their heads. 16:51 There is no room for them. 16:53 [RENÉ] No room. 16:54 [MIKE] No room. 16:56 [RENÉ] No room for the least 16:58 of these. 17:02 [whistle and guitar playing] 17:05 ♪♪ 17:15 ♪ I wonder as I wander 17:20 ♪ out under the sky 17:24 ♪ How Jesus the Saviour 17:29 ♪ had come for to die 17:33 ♪ For poor ornery creatures 17:38 ♪ like you and like I 17:43 ♪ I wonder as I wander 17:50 ♪ out under the sky 17:55 ♪ I wonder as I wander 18:00 ♪ out under the sky 18:05 ♪ How Jesus the Saviour 18:10 ♪ had come for to die 18:14 ♪ For poor ornery creatures 18:19 ♪ like you and like I 18:24 ♪ I wonder as I wander 18:33 ♪ out under the sky 18:43 ♪ Amen 18:56 [Mike reading verse] 19:12 >> Here Jesus painted a 19:14 picture for His disciples, the 19:17 scene of the Great Judgment 19:18 Day, and He described its 19:20 decision as resting on one 19:23 point. 19:24 In the end there will be only 19:26 two classes and their eternal 19:29 destiny will be determined by 19:31 what they have done or have 19:34 neglected to do for Him in the 19:36 person of the poor and the 19:38 suffering. 19:39 >> So all the days of your 19:41 life, all the days of my life, 19:43 Jesus has been very near to us 19:45 in the people that we would 19:47 perhaps consider to be the 19:49 least of these. 19:51 >> Did you turn toward Him? 19:55 Or did you treat Him with 19:57 contempt? 19:58 [MIKE] Did you give Him food 20:00 when He was hungry, water when 20:02 He was thirsty and care for Him 20:04 when He was sick? 20:06 >> Did you know His name or 20:09 were you too busy to ask? 20:11 [MIKE] "For the poor you will 20:13 have with you always," 20:14 Jesus said. 20:15 So essentially, He was saying, 20:17 "You don't have to feel like I 20:20 am very far from you." 20:22 [RENÉ] Millions upon millions 20:24 of human souls are ready to 20:26 perish, bound in chains of 20:28 ignorance and sin. 20:31 They've never so much as heard 20:33 of or seen Christ's love for 20:35 them. 20:36 >> So were your condition and 20:38 theirs to be reversed, what 20:40 would you desire them to do 20:42 for you? 20:44 >> Christ's law of love, the 20:46 standard by which everyone of 20:48 us will stand or fall in the 20:50 judgment is this... 21:02 [lively orchestral music] 21:08 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 21:12 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 21:13 ♪ Hallelujah! 21:16 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 21:19 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 21:21 ♪ Hallelujah! 21:23 ♪ For the Lord God 21:26 ♪ omnipotent reigneth 21:29 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 21:31 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! ♪ 21:33 ♪ For the Lord God 21:35 ♪ omnipotent reigneth 21:39 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 21:41 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! ♪ 21:43 ♪ For the Lord God 21:45 ♪ omnipotent reigneth 21:48 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 21:51 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! ♪ 21:54 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! ♪ 21:56 ♪ For the Lord God ♪ 21:59 ♪ omnipotent reigneth 22:02 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 22:06 ♪ The kingdom of this world 22:12 ♪ Is become 22:16 ♪ the kingdom of our Lord 22:19 ♪ And of His Christ 22:22 ♪ and of His Christ 22:24 ♪ And He shall reign 22:25 ♪ for ever and ever 22:28 ♪ And He shall reign 22:31 ♪ for ever and ever 22:34 ♪ And He shall reign 22:35 ♪ for ever and ever 22:39 ♪ And He shall reign 22:41 ♪ for ever and ever 22:44 ♪ King of kings 22:46 ♪ For ever and ever 22:48 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 22:50 ♪ And Lord of lords 22:52 ♪ For ever and ever 22:54 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 22:56 ♪ King of kings 22:58 ♪ For ever and ever 23:00 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 23:02 ♪ And Lord of lords 23:04 ♪ For ever and ever 23:06 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 23:08 ♪ King of kings 23:10 ♪ For ever and ever 23:11 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 23:14 ♪ And Lord of lords 23:16 ♪ King of kings 23:18 ♪ and Lord of lords 23:20 ♪ And He shall reign 23:22 ♪ for ever and ever 23:25 ♪ And He shall reign 23:26 ♪ for ever and ever 23:30 ♪ King of kings 23:32 ♪ Forever and ever 23:33 ♪ and Lord of lords 23:35 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 23:37 ♪ And He shall reign 23:39 ♪ for ever and ever 23:44 ♪ King of kings 23:45 ♪ and Lord of lords 23:48 ♪ King of kings 23:49 ♪ and Lord of lords 23:51 ♪ And He shall reign 23:53 ♪ for ever and ever 23:57 ♪ For ever and ever 23:59 ♪ and ever and ever 24:01 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! 24:03 ♪ Hallelujah! Hallelujah! ♪ 24:07 ♪ Hallelujah! 24:28 [MIKE] From the cradle to the 24:29 cross, Jesus understood the 24:31 difficulties of the least 24:33 of these. 24:33 Although all things were 24:35 created by Him, as the Bible 24:37 says, He did not feel Himself 24:39 superior to those He called 24:42 "the least of these." 24:44 [RENÉ] His heavenly Father 24:46 agonized as demonic, malicious 24:48 men executed His son. 24:51 These executioners were also 24:54 the least of these and even 24:56 though His father's heart was 24:58 torn in two and He could not 25:01 bear to watch, He loved them 25:04 as well. 25:05 >> Cloaking the scene in dark 25:07 clouds, His Father's heart 25:10 wept. 25:11 >> But that was not the end. 25:14 [MIKE] Three days later, death 25:16 lost its grip on the source 25:18 of life. 25:20 [RENÉ] All this He freely 25:22 offers to the least of these, 25:25 to you and to me. 25:27 [MIKE] And one day very soon 25:29 He will return as He promised. 25:31 And if someone asks Him... 25:42 So even though human beings 25:44 like me and like you nailed 25:46 Him to a criminal's cross, 25:48 Jesus still calls us His 25:51 friends. 25:52 >> That is what God is like. 25:55 The Bible promises... 26:07 He is counting on being with 26:10 you eternally. 26:12 >> So we want to invite you to 26:14 pray with us that God will 26:16 help us all to love Him and to 26:19 be filled with love for those 26:21 that Jesus called "the least 26:23 of these." 26:25 So let's pray together. 26:28 [RENÉ] Father, we thank You 26:30 for revealing to us in Your 26:32 Word Your one desire to be 26:35 with us eternally. 26:37 You sent Your one and only 26:39 son, Jesus, to be Emanuel, God 26:42 with us. 26:44 [MIKE] Father, forgive us for 26:46 closing our hearts to the 26:48 needs of others and please 26:50 help us not to shut ourselves 26:52 away from the poor in our own 26:54 houses, our churches even, 26:57 with no room for the least of 27:00 these in our hearts. 27:02 We thank You, Father, for 27:03 hearing and answering our 27:05 prayer, in the name of our 27:06 Saviour, Jesus Christ, we 27:08 pray, amen. 27:13 Whenever we bless others, we 27:15 receive a greater blessing. 27:17 Even here at It Is Written 27:19 Canada, God often gives us the 27:21 privilege of experiencing the 27:23 joy of giving when we make 27:25 free offers to people watching 27:27 our programs. 27:29 >> But we also realize that 27:31 those free offers are not free. 27:35 It is because of the support 27:36 of people like you that we can 27:39 send these Christian books and 27:41 Bible studies to people all 27:43 over Canada every day and we 27:46 want to thank you for making 27:48 this possible. 27:50 >> We have a request so that 27:52 we can continue to keep this 27:53 ministry on the air and 27:55 continue providing these free 27:57 books and Bible studies to 27:58 people. 27:59 Could we also ask you to 28:02 consider supporting It Is 28:03 Written Canada at this time of 28:05 the year? 28:07 >> In faith, we want to thank 28:09 you so much for your financial 28:11 support and for your prayers 28:14 and may God richly bless you 28:16 this holiday season. 28:21 You, too, can experience the 28:23 fullness of life found in the 28:25 words of Jesus when He said, 28:28 "It is written, 'Man shall not 28:30 live by bread alone, but by 28:32 every word that proceeds out 28:35 of the mouth of God.'" 28:39 ♪♪ |
Revised 2023-12-14