In this sermon, the speaker discusses the importance of being able to see Christ in this generation. He emphasizes the role of the faithful pastor or minister who cares for the flock of God and seeks to encourage and strengthen them. The speaker also highlights the lack of mercy in the world and the political motivations of religious leaders. He reminds believers that although they may face sorrow and difficulty, joy is coming their way. The sermon also touches on the signs of the end times and the need for spiritual discernment in these last days.

Now, Father, I just thank you so much, Lord, for the anointing of your Holy Spirit. I thank you for the strength of God, the joy of the Lord that is so evidently here today. Lord, I thank you that the Bible says that the entrance of your words gives light. And so, Lord, would you give me the ability to clearly speak what you put on my heart and give us all the ears to be able to hear it, hearts to embrace it, Lord. You speak to us for good and never for evil. Lord, you are good and your mercy endures forever. I believe that with all my heart. Thank you, Lord, as we sang today, you overlook our faults and you see our need. And today we have needs in this house. And I do believe that you will meet many of them. And I thank you for it in Jesus' mighty name. Psalm 30 in the Old Testament. If you'll turn there, we're gonna begin there. My message title is, Get Ready to Light Your Lamp and Dance. Get ready to light your lamp and dance. I fully believe the joy of the Lord is going to be our strength in these last days. Now, this is a song that David the king wrote. Psalm 30, verse one. I will extol thee, O Lord, for the house lifted me up and not made my foes rejoice over me. O Lord, my God, I cried unto thee and thou hast healed me. O Lord, thou hast brought up my soul from the grave, thou hast kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit. Sing to the Lord, O ye saints of his, and give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. For his anger endures but a moment, and in his favor is life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. And in my prosperity, I said, I shall never be moved. Lord, by thy favor, thou hast made my mountain to stand strong. Thou didst hide thy face, and I was troubled. I cried to thee, O Lord, and unto the Lord I made supplication. What profit is there in my blood when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise thee? Shall it declare thy truth? Hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me. Lord, be thou my helper. Thou hast turned from me my mourning into dancing. Thou hast put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness. To the end, that my glory may sing praise to thee and not be silent. O Lord, my God, I will give thanks unto thee forever. I love the honesty of the psalmist King David. I love the fact that when he writes his psalms, there's an incredible mixture of faith and honesty. Talks about moments in his life when he said, God, I feel like I've lost strength. And when I felt strong, I said, I shall never be moved. And then suddenly it seemed like your presence was gone. And I was surrounded by sorrow and difficulty in the grave. And I got to the point of feeling like dust. And I said, Oh God, I have hardly anything left to praise you. Is there a point? Is there a purpose to all of this? And in the midst of it all, he comes to the conclusion. He said, weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning, thus seasons and times when God may allow forms of sorrow into the heart for his own purpose. But it never lasts for the true believer in Jesus Christ. You might be in a season of sorrow. It might be a difficult time for you right now, but joy is coming your way. As a matter of fact, joy unspeakable and full of glory. I know that in my heart. Now, Matthew 24 and 25, Jesus is talking about in these chapters, the last days. It starts with a question. His disciples said, tell us what will be the end times and what will be the signs of your coming? And what's the end of the world going to look like? And then he goes on in Matthew 24 and he describes spiritual deception will be rampant. There'll even be people who are able to do miracles, but they're deceiving and false miracles leading to the worship of other Christs and other gods. There'll be wars and rumors of wars. There'll be famines. Diseases will begin to break out in the earth. Now he speaks of all these things, earthquakes in different places, distress and perplexity among nations, governments not knowing what to do, getting into such a tailspin of trial, not knowing how to get out. Their hearts are failing them for fear. Then he says something at the beginning of Matthew chapter 25. He said something very interesting. There are gonna be two types of people that have at least some form of profession of knowing God. They're in the house of the Lord. And I don't know, some may have come fully through and some are partway through and some are just curious. They're never really been serious about their commitment to the things of God. But you know, those who really never were serious are gonna get caught in these days. You know, it's possible to intermix with the church, interfellowship, sing the songs, clap your hands. But if there's some form of serious spiritual deficiency in the heart, it's, I tell you lovingly, it's going to catch you at this time that we're living in. So those who are going to see God in the midst of trial, those are going to have a clear view of Jesus Christ. There's gonna be joy in them. They're going to be, they're gonna have a lamp, which is a type of God's presence within them. And there's something of excitement that's going to be in their hearts and they're going to lift their heads because there's an awareness of the nearness of Christ. They can actually see God in the midst of their calamity. And yet there are others who sat in the same places of some form of worship who say, I don't see what you see. I don't see the presence of God in all of this. I don't know how God could be in charge of a world that is dissolving into chaos so rapidly. And they come to those who can see and say, well, whatever you got, can you give it to me? And the righteous say, we can't give it to you. You have to get it for yourself. And it's really time to get oil now. It's really time folks to make sure that you are able to see the nearness of Christ as he approaches. We are quickly approaching the second coming of Jesus Christ and we can understand how to see him in the midst of all of what we're experiencing by carefully looking in scripture at the time of his first coming. Now, all scripture that Bible tells us is given by inspiration of God, is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction and for instruction in righteousness or that means what is right. All scripture, even the Christmas narrative in Luke chapter two. And if you'll turn there with me very quickly, please, if you would. Now, in Luke chapter two, the society of that day looked very much like ours is becoming. I want you to think about this just for a moment. Now, Israel was occupied, a foreign nation. So godless elements had come into the land and were attempting to impose rules and values, which many of the people had been taught to believe were not right according to the word of God. We're living at such a time in this country today, when there seems to be a value system which the majority of people don't agree with. We don't agree with same sex marriage in America. And it just seems that no matter how many times people go to the ballot box and vote against it, it suddenly becomes law, irrespective of what the people want, it becomes the law. We're forced now to accept, it seems an outside influence of the redefining of culture, the redefining of family, the redefining of what is right and what is wrong. And it seems that everything that made America good and what this country stood for is suddenly being thrown to the wind. And that must have been how the people of Israel felt when they're suddenly just literally invaded by godlessness and all of these rules and values and regulations are being imposed on them. Day by day, there had to be new rules coming. And many people are just scratching and trying to hold on to what they knew was right. It seemed as if the whole country was being uprooted. People were forced to leave their jobs and their homes while being brought under the burden of giving more, though oftentimes they had less to give. Cyrenius, the governor, got it in his mind that all of the world, or Caesar Augustus, rather, that all the world should be taxed, which really means numbered for the purpose of taxation. And everybody had to leave where they were and they had to go back to the city or the town of their birth. They had to register so that they could be taxed. And there was no mercy in this. I mean, you can see it just in the simple narrative of Mary being just days away from giving birth, but yet there's no mercy. It didn't matter if a woman was in their ninth month, still had to get on a donkey and travel perhaps dozens, if not hundreds of miles to go to a hometown to be registered. There was absolutely no mercy. It was really just all about money now. Religious leaders were increasingly politically motivated and they were using their positions to establish for themselves a place of seeming security. John 11, verse 48, here's what they said about Jesus. If we let him alone, everyone will believe on him and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation. Don't you find it interesting they put themselves before the nation? Like we've worked hard to get into these positions. We've worked hard to get influence in government. We've worked hard to be politically correct. We've worked hard to be accepted and palatable to the masses. And now if this nation turns to Jesus, we're gonna lose what we have because obviously it would be exposed as deficient, as deficient as it actually was. Society had become increasingly selfish to the point where a young couple about to give birth to a child were turned out into the cold with few, if any, seemingly willing to help them. God help us that we don't get like that. No matter what happens to the nations, God help us as a church, as the people of God, that we stay kind, that there's never comes a knock on this door with somebody in that kind of distress. And we ever get to the point of saying, listen, I'm sorry, the place is full. There's no room for you. You're on your own. And so the question then arises, who's able to see God in the power of his hand at work? Who's able to have joy and vision in dark times like these? Who will see God in our generation? That's really the question. So in order to answer it, we have to look back at who saw God in that generation. Because the times were very, very, very similar to where we're living today. It started with shepherds. Look to chapter eight. It says that there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field and keeping watch over their flock by night. And lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them and the glory of the Lord shone round about them and they were sore afraid. The angel said to them, fear not, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a savior, which is Christ the Lord. This shall be a sign to you, shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, goodwill towards men. Then 15 to 19 tells us about them going to see this child. And verse 20 says the shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them. Who is going to be able to see Christ in this generation? Number one, the faithful pastor, the faithful minister of God who is taking seriously the caring of the flock of God, the people of God. Those that are listening today on the internet, those who'd be listening in the future, the pastor of 15, 20, 25, 30, 35. You don't necessarily have a mega church, but you're a faithful man or woman of God. And you are watching over that flock in the nighttime. You know it's a dark time. You're watching over that flock and you're encouraging the people that God has placed under your care. You are seeking an honest word from the Lord and you are seeking to speak into people's lives and give them strength. You will have vision in these last days. You will see what the politically motivated don't see. You'll see what the selfish don't see. You'll see what those that are using ministry for personal gain don't see. The watchful mother who cares about her children, who's in the prayer closet praying for her sons and for her daughters, whose only strength is in God, who watches by night when her sons are out, her daughters are out in places perhaps she feels that they shouldn't be, but should be there at home, praying, watching, believing, guarding that little flock that has been put into her hands, seeing her own children as tender and precious jewels in the sight of God. You will see, you will see in this dark time, you'll see something of God that's gonna make you dance in the days ahead. The caring friend, people who are living outside of their own comforts and concerns. People are sitting out, maybe today you just feel outside of all the activity, you feel outside, you feel like you have no say in anything. Everyone in Bethlehem was, historians tell us there was only one major inn in Bethlehem and they're all perhaps sending emissaries ahead of them to reserve rooms, everybody's pushing for themselves, they're all involved in, there's complaining, there's bitterness, there's political argument going on and these people are outside of it, they're outside in the field at night. And sometimes you can just feel like you're living outside of it, all the hustle, the bustle, the self-seeking, the culture of blame, but you faithfully care for that which God has given to you and you are suddenly made aware of how much God cares for you. David, the psalmist said it this way and I believe it's Psalm 8. Just gonna pull it up for you very, very quickly, I'll read it to you. Listen to what he said, "'O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name "'in all the earth. "'You've set your glory above the heavens.'" David had time. If you're outside of it all, thank God that you are. If you're outside of all the argument going on, if you're outside of all the endless speaking about nothing, thank God that you're outside of it. If you feel all alone, thank God you're all alone. If the only comfort you have is a Bible in your hand and the ability somewhere, you might have to drive out to Staten Island to be able to see the stars in New York City, but at least if you can look up and say, "'God, you are so much bigger than everything going on "'in this world.'" Sometimes you have to be alone to be able to get an eternal perspective, to be able to stop and think about the things of God. Think about eternity, think about God who holds the whole universe in the palm of his hand. And David says these marvelous words in Psalm 8, verse two. He says, "'Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings "'you have ordained strength because of your enemies, "'that you might still the enemy and the avenger.'" David is sitting on the hillside, he's looking after the sheep that are under his hand, he's looking into the heavens, says, "'God, you're so powerful that if you choose to, "'you can set every enemy of God to flight by a baby. "'You can do it through a baby if you chose to do it.'" That was David's conclusion, wasn't he right? "'Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings "'you have ordained strength because of your enemies. "'When I consider the heavens,' he said, "'the work of your fingers, the moon, "'the stars which you have ordained, "'what is man that you are mindful of him, "'and the son of man that you visit him? "'You've made him a little lower than the angels "'that have crowned him with glory and honor, "'and made him to have dominion over the works of your hands. "'You put all things under his feet, "'all sheep and oxen, beasts of the field, "'the fowls of the air, the fish of the sea, "'and whatsoever passes through the paths of the seas. "'Oh Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name "'in all the earth.'" Oh, thank God. You know, sometimes isolation is not fun. I don't like it any more than you do. Sometimes when your life seems to be getting very narrow and you seem to be outside of everything, you seem to have no, you just seem to be, it's just the only comfort you're getting is from the Lord himself. Do you ever stop and think that might be God wanting to give you eyes to see something that other people don't see? The crowd in the inn can't see it. The travelers, the soldiers, the politicians, everyone around, those that are using their ministries to push and influence the situation, the society don't see it. Do you ever wonder why God had to go to shepherds to give a revelation to the glory of his son? I don't think anybody else was listening. He did send his son to the inn, but nobody would let him in. There's just so much going on there. Who knows, they might have a prayer meeting going on in one part of the inn for all we know. And people are eating and they're making their beds and they're putting their children to bed and here comes the son of God and there's no room in all of this. So he has to go to a place where people are outside of it all. And you might feel like in society you're marginalized, you're pushed to the borders as you're outside of it all. But today, can you just thank God for it? Because if history repeats itself, you are the ones that are going to see what nobody else can see. In quietness and confidence, Isaiah said, shall be your strength. God himself said in Psalm 46, be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. And the psalmist comes to the conclusion in verse 11. He says, the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Be still and know that I am God. Be still. Take time, folks, in this book. Don't go to the news before you go to this book. Take time to be still before God. Take time to contemplate the things of the Lord. And secondly, in Luke chapter two, we see a man in the temple called Simeon. In verse 25, it says, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And the same was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed to him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him after the custom of the law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and says, Lord, now you'll let your servant depart in peace according to your word. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared before the face of all people, a light to lighten the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel. And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him. And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign which shall be spoken against. And yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed. I want you to picture this for a moment. The temple in Israel is, or in this particular area is probably buzzing with activity because people are traveling from everywhere. And of course, the temple, wherever it was located, is the center of religious life of this society at this time. And in the midst of it all, all the activity, the sacrifice, the chanting, the praying, the talking, in the temple, here comes this poor couple with a little baby, just eight or so days old. And they come into the temple and I can see the Pharisees. Maybe they don't have watches, but looking at the sun where it is in the sky and saying one to another, oh no. Here comes the poor couple. You see they're poor because they only have turtle doves. That's the sacrifice of the poor that you offer. And obviously they have nothing to add to our agenda. They have nothing to add to the temple treasury. Who's gonna take the time now to minister to this family and minister to this child? And they're probably looking at one another and figuring out who's gonna take the time to do this, the nuisance that it must have seemed. You know, religion always despises the poor folks. Whenever religion moves away from God, it always despises the poor. And that's why Jesus came in measure this way because it tests the heart. It tests the heart. When the church begins to move towards the middle and upper class, it has lost the heart of God, folks. Then Christ himself could come into the temple and not even be recognized. And yet there's this old man. The scripture says he was an old man. His prayer of his heart was, God, let me see your salvation before I die. And the scripture says he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. Now he's old and we don't know why he's alone in the temple every day. Maybe his family abandoned him. We don't know his circumstances. And a lot of people when they're alone can start praying always about themselves. You know, oh God, please comfort me. Lord Jesus, I'm alone. God, you can get into the temple and be overwhelmed with your own situation and your own need, especially if you feel alone at any age. But the scripture says he was a just and devout man and his prayers were focused on the consolation of the comfort of Israel. He was in the temple saying, God, comfort your people. Comfort your people, oh God. Comfort your people. Lord, you won't let me die until I see how you're going to comfort your people. They're an occupied nation. The whole nation is in upheaval. There must have been atrocities being committed by Roman soldiers because there were really no laws governing them. They could do to those that were not citizens of Rome whatever they wanted and nobody could say anything about it. And it would be a time of incredible hardship and trial. And yet Simeon, rightly so, could complain about his own situation, but he's in the temple. He's just, he's devout. And the scripture says the Holy Ghost is on him and he's saying, oh God, it's like you and I coming into the prayer meeting and truly in our heart, yes, we have needs and we might feel alone. And yes, there's been wounding and we might feel abandoned by family, but we come to a prayer meeting and it's in our hearts, oh God, comfort New York City. Oh Jesus, don't let this city die in its sin. Lord, don't let me die until I see what you're gonna do and how you're going to comfort your people. Then suddenly this poor couple comes in with this little baby and he's led of the Holy Spirit into the temple and he has eyes that nobody around has. None of the temple officials have these eyes. Not even Mary and Joseph can see at this time what he sees and not only does he see the Christ, he sees the cross. He has a full panorama of what God is about to do and how he's about to do it. Who will see the Lord? The prophet Isaiah said, to whom shall the arm of the Lord be revealed? He comes out of the ground like a dry root and when we see him, there's nothing attractive about him that we should desire him. But here's a just and devout man whose prayers are not for himself but for others. Led of the Holy Ghost, his eyes open. Can you imagine the temple priests? Oh, there's that foolish old man here again. Just hangs around here all day praying, groaning and crying out for Israel. Poor old guy. He's just so blind. Doesn't he see that we're occupied by Rome? Doesn't he understand that there's only one way out of this and we're working at it and yet he groans and cries and what a nuisance Simeon must have seen as he interrupts in a sense, perhaps part of the ceremony or the beginning or the middle of the end, whatever it was, and takes this child in his arms and it's as if everybody has to stand back in the religious world and just endure this man who's got a vision given him of God. The Holy Ghost was upon him with incredible revelation and he brought words to Mary that must have brought some comfort to her in her deepest sorrow. What he was essentially telling Mary is that a sword is going to pierce your heart because of this child. But I think about how those words must have come back and reminded her as she looked at her son on the cross that God is in control of all things and nothing happens without a purpose. That God foreknew. It had to bring, his whole reason was to bring comfort to others. And even the godly, if you're in a godly church, sometimes you'll hear a word that pierces your heart, but ultimately it will protect you and ultimately it will give you comfort in the day of struggle when you truly need something from the Lord. And lastly, there was this woman called Anna and the scripture tells us that she was of great age and she had had a husband for seven years and now she's a widow about, they didn't know exactly, Luke didn't know exactly her age, she's about 84 years old. And she didn't leave the temple, but serve God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise to the Lord and spoke of him to all that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. Anna's the type of person who's had, she's had a hard life. She's lost her dreams. She probably really loved this man, perhaps so much so that she decided never to marry again. We don't know how she lost him. Says she was a widow. Was he murdered? Did he die of a disease? We don't know what happened to him. What we do know is that she chose not to blame anyone for her situation, not even God. She accepted what life had given her. It's sometimes, some people that are here today, you've been dealt a hard place in life. And I wish I could tell you it's going to get better. In the natural sense, it might not. But in the spiritual sense, it can be a wonderful place that God has placed you in. Your life might be one of sorrow. And you look back and it's broken dreams and the shattered image of what you thought your life was going to be. And the heartache just wants to eat at you every day. But she began to speak when she saw this child. She began to speak to everyone about him who looked for redemption. And in her heart, it was God. I have looked, Lord. I've looked for deliverance. I've looked, God, all my life for a way out of the situation I find myself in. And now I've seen it. Simeon has seen this child as the one who's going to bring consolation to all who turn to him. I've seen this child as the one who's able to bring me out of sorrow and heartache and difficulty and trial, and to give me a meaning and purpose for my life. Have you ever thought for a moment that these things, isolation, the shepherds were isolated. Simeon was old and lonely and somewhat vulnerable, and Anna was a woman of sorrow. Has it ever occurred to you that some of these things might actually be mandatory for you and I to be able to see Christ in the midst of crisis? For you and I to be able to have oil, because in the last days, it talks about a bride who are going to see him in calamity. Now, those who have used Jesus for other purposes won't see. Those who've had a casual relationship with him won't see. Those who have been political won't see. Those who've been selfish won't see. Might I suggest to you, those who have suffered will be given a vision of God that is second to none that this world has ever known. In the last days, it says, Jesus said it will be like this. There'll be five of 10 who had oil in their lamps. And oil means the ability to see in darkness. It means they can light a lamp and actually hold it up and they can see when nobody else can see. And suddenly they start saying, behold, the bridegroom. Can't you see the bridegroom? Don't you see the nearness of Christ? Don't you see the power of God unfolding in this generation? Don't you hear what I hear? I have a vision in my heart. I can hear, I can see heaven open. I see that Jesus Christ is about to do something profound. I see the church about to leave this earth and to be gathered together with him and to forever be with the Lord. I see that there's no calamity. There's no foreign power. There's no famine. There's nothing can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. I see Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of almighty God, filled with power and filled with authority, never has lost control of anything. I see him as the head of the church. I see him as the one who fills his body with oil, that oil of God, that oil of life, that oil of Christ. He fills his church. His church is more than victorious, more than conquerors. God help us in this generation to get ahold of this truth and realize that we are in Christ and Christ is in us. We are more than conquerors in Christ. We're already seated at the right hand of almighty God in Christ. There's not an army of hell that can come against what God did to his son on Calvary. When he redeemed you and bought you, you were purchased, you became possessors, you were sealed in the hand of God the Father, and nobody can ever take you out of the hand of God. And to those that are lonely and isolated and suffering, I'm telling you today, thank God for it because you're going to have a vision that others don't have in this last hour of time. You're gonna be able to see because of your suffering if you've made right choices, if you've chosen to forgive, if you've chosen not to blame God for your situation. If you decided to come out of the crowd that just spends their whole day bellyaching about the situation, you've gotten alone with God and looked into the heavens and said, Lord, thank you that you're in control of everything. Thank you that your plan is so much bigger. No wonder it says in the scriptures, you laugh at the heathen. You laugh at those that say, we're gonna break the chains of God off of us and of God's people, and we're gonna be free from the control of God. It says you sit in the heavens and laugh. The foolishness of these little specks that you'd need a microscope from the throne of God to see. And shouting into heaven saying, there is no God. The foolishness of humanity. Behold, he comes. We sing it, riding, riding. Behold, he comes. Jude said, with 10,000 of his saints, he comes. King of kings and Lord of lords to rule and to reign forever. Speak of him to those that are looking for comfort. Speak of him to those that are looking for consolation. And like the shepherds, the scripture says they returned glorifying and praising God for the things they'd heard and seen and as was told unto them. The shepherds had oil in the midst of the night. They returned glorifying and praising God. Folks, it's nice that you and I can sing in church, but we gotta be able to sing outside of church. We gotta be able to sing on the subway now. We gotta be able to sing in the workplace. We gotta be able to sing on the street, folks. Glorifying and praising God, not because it was a good service, not because the choir hit all the right notes, not because you got a bonus paycheck last Friday, if you even have a paycheck. Folks, it's not because of that. It's because of what you are seeing in your own heart and in your own mind of God. It's the vision of Christ that you are getting from God himself. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. When you see these things, Jesus said, lift up your head for your redemption draws nigh. That's why David said, I will extol thee, O Lord, for you've lifted me up and not made my foes to rejoice over me. There are so many here today that the devil is after you. You're a loner, you're isolated. If you're serving God, why is there sorrow and loss in your life? Why are you old and lonely if you're serving God? You bite into the lie and all you're going to do is look down and end up with no vision for the future. But David says, O Lord, I cried to you and you've healed me. And there's a time when we just simply have to cry to God and say, Lord, take me farther than myself. Take me farther than my own struggles and farther than my own needs. God, help me to see, Lord. Help me to see where strength is. Help me to see your redemptive hand in my situation. He said, O Lord, you brought my soul up from the grave. You've kept me alive that I should not go down to the pit. Sing to the Lord, he said, you saints of his. Give thanks at the remembrance of his holiness. Anger endures a moment in his favor, his life. Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30, the last three verses. He says, hear, O Lord, and have mercy upon me. O Lord, be my helper. You've turned for me my mourning into dancing. You've put off my sackcloth and girded me with gladness to the end that my glory may sing praise to thee and not be silent. O Lord, my God, I will give thanks to thee forever. David said, you've turned my mourning into dancing. You've helped me to put off this garment of mourning. This garment of woe is me. This garment of why is my life so hard? You've helped me to put off this garment. You've opened my eyes and you've clothed me with gladness. I know some people, life has been very hard. But think of it this way. Just think if you'd been born a billionaire, lived in the Caribbean, you had 10 yachts, houses on every continent. You'd probably be going to hell right now. And so rather than have you go to hell, the Lord had you born in the Bronx or Brooklyn, gave you an old rusty car or a few subway tokens, a longing in your heart for something real. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. It's time to light your lamp and dance, folks. Time to light your lamp and dance. Behold the bridegroom. Behold the bridegroom. I don't, when I go home, I don't see a mansion and I don't see a brand new car. And I don't even see, I don't see a lot of things in this world attached, but I do see eternity. I see a savior. Hallelujah. I see glory. I see reason and purpose for my life. Hallelujah to the Lamb of God. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. I see my sons and daughters coming home. I see my family alive in God. I see a mansion being built for me right now in glory. Hallelujah. I see those that are close to me that I love worshiping God. I see this choir in heaven one day. We're going to have a reunion. We're going to sing when we get to heaven. Hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah, hallelujah. Glory to God. Oh, the religious crowd are going to be so left out. They're going to accuse you. They brought in the blind man and said, you agree with us, this man is a fraud. And he said, well, I don't know what he is, but I know one thing. I once was blind, but now I see. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I can see. I can see. I can see. I can see. I can see. Thank God I can see. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. No wonder the prophet Isaiah says come dance ye lame. Come sing ye that had no voice. Come see the Lord ye that couldn't see anything. Thank God. Thank God. Thank God for spiritual eyes and a spiritual heart. I want to give an altar call for everyone who feels lonely and outside and sorrowful and are in need of comfort. I want you to come and do something in the spiritual realm. Just light your lamp and begin to rejoice and say God thank you that I am who I am. I live where I live. I was born where I was born. Instead of mourning it, start thanking God for it. Thank God for the life you've had. Thank God for the home you were lived in. Thank God it brought you here. It brought you to him folks. It's good enough. It brought you to him. It brought you to understanding what Christmas is all about and who Christ is. Glory to God. Glory to God. We're going to worship for a few moments and if this applies to you and you just feel like coming to this altar and you just want to spend some time rejoicing, I'm going to invite you to come. Give God thanks for your life. Instead of mourning, give God thanks for your life. Let's stand together in the annex. You can stand between the screens. Balcony would either exit, but it's time to thank him. It's time to thank him for where we are. Thank him for your home, your marriage, your children, your job, your lack thereof. Just it's time to thank him. Thank him for giving you eyes to see spiritual things. Hallelujah. Just slip out of your seat. Come, but I don't want any weeping here. This is a time to rejoice. This is a time to hold your lamp up. Praise be to God. Praise be to God. What we're going to do is pray a simple prayer. Those at the altar and those who'd like to pray it. And it's just, it's this simple. Lord, thank you for who I am. Thank you for where I am. Thank you for what I am. Thank you, Jesus, that you've opened my eyes and opened my heart and you've allowed me to see the wondrousness of God. I love you, Jesus. Thank you for giving me life and vision and a clear path and hope and joy and a word of comfort and a fresh vision to get through the days that are ahead of me. God, thank you for loving me so much that you've given me these things. I love you, Jesus. I love you, Lord. My prayer is that others through my life may be comforted in the same way that I feel your comfort this very moment. Help me to look away from my own needs and to be able to see others. Oh, Jesus, thank you. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. We sing joy to the world. You know, the difference between the genuine Christian and the religious is that in these hours that we're living in, there'll be someone saying, where is God? And you'll be singing joy to the world. The Lord is come. Let every seemer give. Let every heart prepare Him room. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven, heaven and nature sing. Joy to the world, the Savior reigns. Let men their songs employ. While fields and floods, while jails and plagues, repeat the sounding joy. Repeat the sounding joy. Repeat, repeat the sounding joy. He rules the world with truth and grace, and makes the nations move. The glories of His righteousness, and the wonders of His love, and the wonders of His love, and the wonders, wonders of His love. Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let every seemer give. Let every heart prepare Him room. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven, heaven and nature sing. Joy to the world, the Lord is come. Let every seemer give. Let every heart prepare Him room. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven and nature sing. And heaven, heaven and nature sing. Give a shout of glory to the Lord today. Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah. Glory to God.