Voice of the Nazarene 12-21-25

Voice of the Nazarene 12-21-25

Transcript

Unknown: 0:00

Ray, coming to you from North Central Ohio. We share with you the voice of the Nazarene a week by week. Venture into the Word of God, sponsored by the Bucyrus Ohio Church of the Nazarene. We join our pastor, Reverend Ray La Salle and the voice of the Nazarene

Pastor Ray LaSalle: 0:18

to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born king of the Jews, for we've seen his star in the east and are come to worship him. And when they saw the star, they were joyous with exceeding great joy. And when they were coming to the house, they saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and fell down and worshiped him. May I stop just for a moment and say that I have great respect for Mary, but they didn't come to worship Mary. There's only one that deserves worship, that's Christ. And how did they do it? They opened their treasures and presented him gifts. May I say, a great way to worship is by offering gifts to the master to his kingdom, not a tip, but providing gifts our time, our talents, maybe even a tithe. I'm amazed at how some folk have been around the church for years and have not gotten to the point where they want to really present gifts to the master, but that's okay. These were wise men, zoom and as wise men, they opened their treasures and presented them unto him, gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh, being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod they departed into their own country another way. Now, I've got a question. Okay, I've got a question. Why don't we start out following a star only to find a stable set out to follow a star and end up in a stable. It was the third Super Bowl, and the New York Jets were playing against the Baltimore Colts. That was Baltimore at that time, later became the Indianapolis Colts. I'm from Indianapolis, and it was going to be quite a game. The Baltimore Colts were said to win 20 at least 20 to one, and they were destined to win just like that. Now, the New York Jets had a had a quarterback by the name of Joe Willie Namath. If you know anything about Joe Willie Namath, he popped off at the mouth a lot. Always running his mouth. Sometimes he could even catch up with it, but not often. And he said, Now we hear a lot about how great the Baltimore Colts are and how they always win, and they have all of these skills, but the truth of the matter is they're not going to win. The New York Jets are going to win. And he said, I can guarantee it. What happened? Pastor, well, I'll tell you what happened. New York just won 16 to seven. Expectations really matter. His teammates begin to believe in what he said and begin to build momentum, and they begin to think we can win. And they won. Helen Hayes was a great actress in by gone days, she wasn't much of a cook, but she was a great actress. Christmas time came and she told the family, she said, I'm going to fix our Christmas dinner. And they started groaning, and she said, I don't want to hear any negative things said about my cooking when I bring the food in. Not one derogatory remark needs to be made. You sit down at that meal and you eat. If you don't like it, don't say anything. Just put on your hat and your coat, and if there's a restaurant open, we'll go out and eat at the restaurant. And she said she cooked a meal, and when she carried it into the dining room, the family, her husband or kids, were already standing there with their coats on and their hats on. Expectations do matter. I think some people's expect. Tour has already expired, but it was high in the atmosphere on that Christmas time story, a beautiful story. These wise men, may I say, first of all, they were not kings. That ruins a good song, doesn't it? These three kings just throw that song out. And by the way, there weren't really three of them. I don't think three men showing up would have disturbed Herod like he became disturbed. I would say an entire entourage came, guards and and many great men came from the east, and the Bible said that they they brought gifts, gold and frankincense and myrrh. And what were they? They were astronomers. They weren't kings. They were astronomers. Where did they come from? Probably Iran, Iraq, maybe, maybe Persia. But they were astrologers. And what they did. They they studied the heavens and they studied space and they studied the stars. They they understood. And here's what they said, we we have seen a star in the east, and it's interesting that God uses things that we are familiar with. God uses things to speak to you that you understand and you have a handle on and you're familiar with, and they saw a star in the east, and they had traveled for more than 1500 miles, maybe even 2000 miles. They had crossed the desert, they had crossed streams, they had crossed the Euphrates River. And a year and a half after two years has passed. Now I don't want to mess up the nativity scene. I don't want to destroy everything this morning, but the honest to God truth is they were not a part of the Nativity scene. They were not there when Jesus was born. Now go ahead and leave him in the in the scene. Just have three of them. Though, don't you have more than three. Stick with the story. But at least a year and a half had passed, and when they got there, they noticed that the scripture says they went to the house eventually, because Jesus was already in a house, not in a cave, but in a house. And I've often thought of this, I wonder what they must have thought they were looking for a Taj Mahal. They were looking for a castle fit for a king. In their mind, they they thought that probably it'd be a palace, and so they went to Herod's palace, thinking, maybe that's where he was born, only to find that he was born in a barn. Mama used to say we were born in a barn, since we couldn't close the door. I just thought I'd mention that it came to mind. It's not in the notes, but it came to mind. I can't get a lot of things out of my mind that Mama said, she said, I was good, and then under a breath for nothing but born in a barn, just a stable, nothing more than a cave, and and it would have hay, and it would have a manger, perhaps, and and animals. And they came looking for a castle, but they found a cave, and I wonder what they felt when they learned that after having followed a star only to find that he was born in a stable. Do you know what I've learned about life? Most of the time, we start out following a star, don't we? We hang our hopes and our dreams on a star, only to find that life furnishes us more of a stable and when you don't always win. Maybe you started out like a beautiful marriage, but it's not turning out quite like you thought it would turn out. Maybe that career that you had, and you dreamed of, and you educated yourself for and suddenly you find you're not happy in that scene, and it's not working out like you'd hoped it would. Maybe you think about your health, and then you never dreamed you'd get the diagnosis that you got. Maybe those kids that you had hung your hopes on and they were going to be your legacy and your future, and the disappointment has broken your heart, and they're dealing with issues. What do you do when you start out following a star only to find you're ending up at a stable and it didn't work out like you thought it would? I'd like to give you four things that I learned from these wise men. Number one, look for God in the stables of life, right in the middle of the story of Jesus being born, is a prophecy. It's handed down to us from Jeremiah, the weeping prophet. Matthew picks it up and he's quoting for. But in chapter two, verse 17, a direct quote from Jeremiah, then, was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah, the prophet, saying in Rhema, there was a voice heard lamentation and weeping and great mourning. Rachel weeping for her children and would not be comforted because they were not. That's in the very same chapter about Christ and the coming of these wise men for Herod put to death all the male children from around Bethlehem from two years of age and under. Now we know that Bethlehem was small, and according to some of the great thinkers, there may have been up to 20 little children that were slain due to the horrific hatred and jealousy of Herod, fearful that a king was born and would dethrone him. And so I know from reading this there was a lot of families that were struggling having lost their boys. And then Jeremiah's prophecy. Let's read it again. In Rhema, there was a voice heard, lamentation, weeping, great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children would not be comforted because they were not. And then just go back to Jeremiah, 3115, Thus saith the Lord. A voice was heard in Rhema, lamentation, bitter weeping. Rachel weeping for her children refused to be comforted, for her children because they were not and thus saith the LORD, refrain thy voice from weeping and thine eyes from tears, for thy works shall be rewarded, saith the LORD, And they shall come again from the land of the enemy, and there is hope in the end. Hope in the end. Now, three prophecies, I believe are being fulfilled in this one little passage. There was a present tense, there was a future tense, and I believe it even hands off to us who are in the present tense. The first prophecy was 586, BC, Nebuchadnezzar invades Jerusalem. You remember that reading about that? And he takes captive children. Now I can name a few of those children. One was Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, and then there was Daniel, four of them that we know of, and they're taken captive. Now I believe it's also a prophecy for us as well, that Jesus Christ came, and it brings hope for our children, because Christ came, and I'm saying, look for God in the stables of life. And when you can't see God in the good times, and most of the time, that's the only time we look for him, you need to also look for him in the sad times, the tough times, the stables of life. Now let me throw something at you, just for a moment. We have those three Hebrew boys, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. If you can't remember it, do it like my mama taught me. Shadrach or shake a bed. Make a bed to bed. We go. She used to tell us that a lot of nights, and we didn't agree. We wanted to be Daniel set up with the lions. But here's these three Hebrew boys, and they wouldn't bow to the king, and so they were throwing and throwing into a fiery furnace. Remember the story, and when they came to see if they were burned up, they saw a fourth man in the furnace with those three Hebrew boys. I want you to notice something. It never said that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego saw that fourth man. Those looking in saw the fourth man, but they didn't what. I want you to know he was in there with them. And I don't know what you're going through this Christmas time, but I want you to know he'll be with you in whatever you're dealing with, if it's a bad diagnosis, if there's been a death, if there's whatever tragedy you're dealing with right now, I want you to know he's going to be with you during this Christmas season, and he'll get you through. You got a verse For that I do. It's right here in Isaiah, 714, the Lord Himself shall give you a sign. I'm passing it on to you. Behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son and shall call his name. What Emmanuel, which means God with us. God with us. So I've got great news this Christmas, God is with you, just like he was with those three Hebrew boys. So when you follow a star and you find a stable, look for God in the stables of life, but something else, when you follow a star but you wind up at a stable, you still need to give God your very best. And they brought their best, gold, frankincense and myrrh, expensive gifts. Now, a lady was preparing a dinner for Christmas, and when she got in the freezer, all. She found was an old Turkey. It had been in that freezer for a long, long time, and she kind of worried about it, so she finally called butter ball, and she asked the company said, this turkey that I've got, said it's pretty old. Said, is it safe to eat? They said, How old is it? She said, It's been in the freezer 30 years. Some of us been in the freezer longer than that. And they said, Well, that's a long time. Said, you it's safe to eat, but it'll probably taste very bland. It won't have much flavor. She said, That's what I thought. Said, I guess I'll just give it to the church. And these wise men could have had the propensity to give less, in light that he was born in a barn and not in a castle. We don't believe. We'll give the gold and the frankincense. We'll give something less. We'll throw in our broken glasses and some old cell phones and worn out shoes and put them in the missionary barrel, let them have the worn out things. And in light of the fact that born in just a stable, we're not giving anything of any value. Now, how does that make sense to us? Pastor? Well, a lot of times when we're struggling in a marriage, we get to thinking, I'm not going to put my heart in it anymore, then I'm not going to give my best. And we've got a job, and somebody's dealt with us a little bit on the job, and we get crosswise and we say, well, I'll just show up, but I'm not going to work hard anymore. I'll just be there. We who are ministers? Are we minister teaching a class from music or whatever, and things don't go the way we want, we just say, well, I'll show up, or I'll not show up at church like I used to, and I'll not read my Bible like I used to. I've been I was an evangelist for 23 years, full time. Boy, this pastoring thing is sure different. Somebody quits the church. You don't show up at church, you think they died, and you can't find their headstone. You walk all over these cemeteries trying, to, you know, they die, and I'll be in Mansfield or somewhere in a restaurant, look up, and there they are, and they're dunking down. They're trying to hide. I don't know what disease they've got, but I know I've got to walk over and speak to them. Or they said the pastor, he was here, but we haven't been to church for a while. He don't even speak to us anymore, so I hung him up, and they'll sheep us, or they, most of the time, tell me, Well, after covid, we just kind of got out of the habit of going to church. Yeah, I noticed. Isn't it wonderful, though, that covid is not at the restaurant, it's only at church you're safe at the restaurant. And I've had them say, Well, we haven't been to church for a while because we've got problems. First off, I've never had a day that I haven't had a problem. And by the way, if you're having problems, it ought to motivate you to literally run to the church. Many times when we're in a stable, we don't want to give our best. It's when we should give our best. It was 1972 of the Olympics, and America only had one chance of winning the gold medal, and that one chance was a girl by the name of Kathy Rigby. You remember the story? She's 89 pounds about my weight scale is messed up. It says one at a time, please. She was four foot 11, the only hope that America had in winning a gold that year was Cathy. She happened to be a devout Christian. Did Cathy Rigby win a gold? No, she didn't. And she broke down and began to sob. Her mother was a Christian. Her mother walked around the arena and got over to her daughter and slipped her arm around her, and she whispered to her, she said, Honey, there's something more important than being the best. It's doing your best, doing your best, good, better, best. Never let it rest until your good is better and your better is best. Now get this folk, when you're going through a tough, tough time and you end up in a stable, look for God in the stables. And don't quit giving your best. Always give your best. Never give up. And then, thirdly, when you're in the. Tables claim the promises of God, and I'm going to give you verses for Matthew. Two, two saying, Where is he this? Born King of the Jews, for we have seen his star in the Easter to come to worship him, traveled over 1500 miles, and they arrive in the capital city, and they ask, where's he at? Where's the king? And what's amazing now I want you to catch this. What's amazing? Where's he at? Nobody seemed to know he was only five miles south of the city, in little place called Bethlehem. Five miles all they had to have done was to have read the Word of God. If they had read the scriptures and claim the scriptures they would have known where he was at. For here's what it says, 750 years before, Micah wrote chapter five, verse two, that he be born in Bethlehem. But thou Bethlehem afraid, though thou be little among the 1000s of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth? Unto me, that is to be ruler in Israel. What I'm trying to say, when you're in the stables of life, claim the promises of God. Don't believe everything you see. Believe everything that he said. Let me give you a couple. Grab a whole of Romans, 828, and we know that all things work together for good. To them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. Grab a hold of Proverbs 35 trust in the Lord with all thine heart, lean not into thine own understanding. In all thy ways, acknowledge him. He shall direct thy paths. And then grab a hold of Psalm 30 verse five, for his anger endureth but a moment in his favor may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning. And what about Psalm 34 verse 18, the Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart, and say with them such as have a contrite spirit, then I like Hebrews 13 five, Let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have. For he has said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. You say, Pastor, I'm listening for for a voice. No, you need to look for a verse, a verse, and most of the time, and most of the ways that God speaks to us is through his word. Have you want to know what's on God's mind, you've got to get into his word. Pastor, I followed a star and found a stable. We'll look for God in the stable. Don't forget, give God your best and claim a promise. And last of all, let the stable make you better or better. How do you get that pastor? It's Matthew 212 look at what it says. And it says they departed into their own country. Another way, a stable experience will change you. If you allow it to, you'll never be the same. It'll either make you better or it'll make you bitter. The same sun that hardens the clay will melt the ice and the stables of life will either make you cold and callous or it'll make you caring and compassionate. You've got a choice. So what are you going to do with a stable pastor? And let me tell you, we're all have our stables. It'll make us better. It'll make us bitter, and God wants us to use everything that happens in life. How many regrets Do you have? The things that God has allowed to be in my life, I've no regrets, bad decisions I've made, I've got a lot of regrets, but the things that God has allowed my life to go through has given me sympathy and empathy for others. You never really learn how to love people until you've been hurt yourself, you've had tragedy in your life, and you get softened to where you're caring about others. Anthony Ray Hinton, locked up in prison, wrongfully accused, spent 30 years behind bars, living behind bars knowing he had been innocent, knowing that he had been lied on, falsely accused 30 years, and when he was released, they asked him said, What are you going to do now? What are you going to do to the people that did this to you? And his answer was, I'm going to forgive them. They've already taken about half of my life. I'm not going to let them have the rest of it. I'm going to forgive them. And everything that happens focal either make you better or bitter. It'll make us more resourceful. It'll make us more understanding. When you come into. That stable remember one thing, you won't come out of it the same as you went in. You'll be better, or you be bitter. Father, just for a moment, Speak to our hearts. We come to the close of a service. We don't know just whom this message may have been for today, we walked the little old office that we used for the last 33 years, and out of all the messages that we've ever preached at Christmas, we knew this one was different, and it was more directed to some that are dealing with things, speak to us right now. Let us hear your voice. Let us feel your hand, not only on our shoulder, but in the regions of our heart. I pray in Christ's name, I'd like for you to stand with me, if you would bow your heads for a moment just give one another some privacy. Can I ask you this in closing, how many would say pastor, the message this morning was for me. Would you slip a hand up? It's for me. I needed the message, I felt like it was directed to me. If God is whispering to your heart, I'm not going to just slam the door on the altar call and just close it. But I think just Terry, just for a moment. Is there anybody who feel like Pastor? I'd like to pray this morning. I know the message, God had something to say, and I'm trying to handle it this morning. I'd like just to slip out and come I don't want the sun to harden my heart. I want it to melt my heart. I want to be tender, not callous. Is there anyone else this morning, just waiting, just for a moment? I couple of you guys gathering around the altar, Father, we thank you for this time. We want to find you. And you're in the hovels of life. You're along the highways of life. You walk Roman roads, and so you walk the roads where humanity travels. We're glad that we can know you in the tough issues. We find you when life is throwing storms into our horizon, when we're hurting, you don't walk off. You're still there like an earthly father that cares. We've got a good father in heaven that cares for us on Earth, and I pray for whatever people are dealing with today, may they, may they find the help that they're longing for. Be God to us, Father, would you? Would you bless us as we honor you with our giving, as we leave and put the treasures, put things that are valuable to you and to us, and we offer to you as an offering and as our tithe. Be with us into our Christmas season.

Unknown: 28:41

Thanks for being a part of the voice of the Nazarene. Visit us every Sunday at 9am with B and C's pastor Ray la salle. For more information regarding B and C, visit Bucyrus. Nazarene.org, you.