In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the need for personal transformation and a deeper connection with God. He uses the analogy of wet wood producing smoke instead of fire to illustrate the lack of spiritual fervor in some people's lives. The preacher also highlights the importance of seeking signs from God, referencing the biblical story of Gideon. He encourages listeners to spend time alone with God and warns against the temptations and sins of the world. The sermon concludes with the reminder that in order to preach effectively, one must first receive a message from God.

We thank you lord that we have those who are already advanced in years in our midst. Our fathers and mothers in the lord. And lord, especially at this time of Christmas, we pray that you would bless them in a special way. That all those younger than them would be blessed through their lives. Help them, oh lord. That at this time, during this season, they would be a great blessing and that they in turn would be greatly blessed. Amen. Amen. We looked at in these days. From Luke chapter two. From verse eight. And they were shepherds living out in the field nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. And the angel of the lord appeared to them and the glory of the lord shone around them and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you. He is Christ the lord. This will be a sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in clothes and lying in a manger. Suddenly, a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest. And on earth, peace to men on whom his favor rests. When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the lord has told us about. So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherd said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in our heart. The shepherds returned glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told. We'll end reading there. We have said that Jesus was born in a stable. A place filled with horses and donkeys because that was their mode of transport in the past. And we, when we drive, go to places, we go with our cars and then we park our vehicles at the holiday inn, for example. Now it's also possible that there were cattle there, cows which they would milk and maybe even sheep. But it wasn't a room which they could close and have privacy. People would go in and out there. And even though people would just come in and go out as they liked, there were also those whom God had sent to go and see the child. Coming with great respect, revering the child and bowing down to him, who he, who is the Lord of Lords. The first ones who had the privilege to see him, who is the Word, who has become flesh, whose origins are of old, were the shepherds and they were uneducated people. They had no university degrees. They were just ordinary people. They were given the privilege, the honour of seeing the Christ child first. And after they had seen him, then the magi, the scientists came. The wise men, but first the simple. But firstly, those who are simple and learned, illiterate, they were given the honour of seeing the face of the Saviour. And after that, those who were learned and educated, were given the privilege to bow down to him, to bow down to the Lord and ask the Father for forgiveness. And those who are learned, those who are not asked for forgiveness, who are not just sent to be sent to be sent, those who had been sent to be sent, and that happens like that very often Paul says that there are few amongst you are wise according to the standards of this world there were many of them that were uneducated simple people and it's often like that that with those who are clever and intelligent that their mind gets in the way because they want to analyze things with their mind and then they start doubting in the Word and the power of God no power looted up on Shumaila Vangel gay and I'm in Shumaila and Paul also said when he came to preach the gospel he didn't do it with words of wisdom and a philosophy now he came and he brought a simple message because he said he didn't want the power of the cross to be made void and when God was incarnated when he came into the flesh into this world the first people who had the privilege of seeing the face of the Lord were those shepherds and only after that those were learned and so if you are educated and learned ask God to give you the heart of a child because Jesus said unless you become like little children you'll never enter into the kingdom of heaven and the faith of a child where you tell a child something and it believes it and these shepherds they came to see the great shepherd their shepherd and it says and they were shepherds living out in the fields out in the fields that's where they were living not in their homes they didn't have comfortable houses in which they lived they were living out in the fields perhaps that erected some tents for them there maybe they had some sort of a shack but they were living out in the fields maybe they had comfortable houses at home but in this time they lived out in the fields with the sheep and then that night the child was born and these sheep were grazing out in the fields day and night they weren't taken into a crawl at night they would be grazing day and night and so these shepherds would work and shift some would be there at night and some would be there during the day looking after the sheep it was during summertime there in Bethlehem and so they would begin and the summer would begin after Easter around about April and then they'd be out in the fields the whole of summer and during the wintertime they would come back to their homes and bring the sheep into a fold because it would be cold outside with frost and they'd have to have the sheep indoors from after Passover till autumn after Easter after the Passover until autumn and then they'd go back home during the winter now from that you should be able to deduct that Jesus wasn't born on the 25th of December but that is of no great meaning doesn't mean anything even with the Queen of England even with the Queen of England when her subjects celebrate her birthday they don't do it on the exact day of her birthday they choose another day and then they celebrate her birthday I'm not sure if that's still the custom today but when I was young that was the way in which they did it and we also do that sometimes if a person can't be there at the exact on the exact day then we just celebrate the birthday on another day but that doesn't trouble us now there are some people that say that we should do away with Christmas because Jesus wasn't born on the 25th of December well we can say those people use their minds but only half of it the other half they don't use. And so these shepherds were out in the fields on the mountains probably and possibly far away from Bethlehem at night at midnight all of a sudden the heavens oh they saw the heavens at night full of stars it was quiet looking at the moon and the stars but it was silent only the sheep were grazing out in the fields and they would only see the lights of the heaven shining the stars shining down upon them. It was beautiful and it was great that which they saw and experienced at And it's good if you can have such opportunities where you're alone where you can meditate and it doesn't trouble me if I cannot sleep at night some people say oh they can't sleep at night to me I'll say it's wonderful thank you Lord that you've taken the sleep away from me because now I have a opportunity to read my Bible to pray and to speak to you. When you read the Bible and people make a noise and they distract you there's very little that you gain at a time like that. But when it's quiet silent and you read God's word it's a totally new experience it's as if you're reading a different book. Often we find in the Bible that when people were alone that's when God revealed himself to them. There is a chorus that says be quiet now my heart be silent I want to listen to God's word. One day Nathaniel came to Jesus. One of the disciples came to Nathaniel saying to him we have found the one the Messiah of whom the prophets have foretold and have spoken. And he said what do you say? And then Jesus said Nathaniel whilst you are still sitting there beneath that fig tree I saw you. And then Nathaniel realized that it's him. What was Nathaniel doing beneath that fig tree? And then he said to him be quiet now my heart be silent I want to listen to God's word. And he said what do you say? And then Nathaniel realized that it's him. What was Nathaniel doing beneath that fig tree I saw you. And then Jesus said what do you say? And then Nathaniel realized that it's him. What was Nathaniel doing beneath that fig tree I saw you. And then Jesus said what do you say? And then Nathaniel realized that it's him. What was Nathaniel doing beneath that fig tree I saw you. And then Jesus said what do you say? And then Nathaniel realized that it's him. What was Nathaniel doing beneath that fig tree I saw you. And then Jesus said what do you say? And then Nathaniel realized that it's him. What was Nathaniel doing beneath that fig tree I saw you. And then Jesus said what do you say? And then Nathaniel realized that it's him. What was Nathaniel doing you know when they cannot sleep at night. They wake up. They light a cigarette. Smoke their pipe and that's what they keep themselves busy with but we who are not enslaved in that way when we wake up we pray to God and God reveals heavenly mysteries to us at that time. very often preachers say they don't have a word to preach about they've got no message why not because in order for you to be able to preach God first of all has to speak to you God has to reveal himself to you that you hear his word from him and then you will have a message that you can pass on to people are there any people preaching in our midst there's no message as wonderful as that one that you've heard from God and then pass on John all alone there on the isle of Patmos a rocky island barren island sitting there on a rock experienced and saw God's revelation where God revealed himself to him while he was there all alone on that barren island and so these people in the times in which they were alone were busy praying and that's why God could reveal himself to them and Nathanael and Simeon those were praying people and so if we want to receive heavenly mysteries then we need to have our times where we are alone before God just like Jacob when he sent his family and everything else to the other side of the Jabbok and he remained behind wrestling with God and that's where God could reveal himself to him and his name was changed from Jacob to Israel very often we get people coming here saying that they want to spend time with God they want to see God's face and yet if they are told sorry we are quite full the men and the wives have to part so that they can sleep in different dormitories we don't have accommodation for families then they say oh no I can't sleep alone I've got to be with my wife now what are you wives like that the husbands serve and worship you to such an extent that just shows me that man doesn't know God. He wants time with his wife. It would be better that that person is honest saying well I'm coming here to Crosses Abundant to spend time with my wife not seeking God's face. and so Jacob took his wives his children all his livestock sent it across to the other side of the Jabbok River and he stayed behind with God and if you want to find God then you need to do the same send everything else across and you spend time with God and you'll find him if you seek him with all your heart some people come here saying they want to have a prayer meeting and when they have their prayer meeting they make a prayer chain and it's a boy girl boy girl arrangement and they can then pray for hours on end like that and they saw it's so marvelous they experienced God's presence so close to them no that's utter humbug it's not God's presence it's just your fleshly and sexual lust that you experience don't play the fool with the gospel I once came here to the close to the in front of the switchboard there was a girl seated over there and a young man who was a drunkard kneeling in front of her with his head on her lap and I looked at them and I noticed that their eyes were closed so most probably they were praying but I thought well let me interrupt their prayer and ask them now what are you doing here I thought yeah looked up being interrupted and looking upset saying well you're disturbing us now we are busy in such deep prayer and now you come and you disturb our prayer you see that's just playing the fool and you see how people can play the fool with the gospel if you want to pray in that way well then go and pray at the just naughty boys and naughty girls up to mischief we don't need that yeah if you want to really see God then part from boys part from girls and be alone before God got the food so we cut a CB so we start in love oh ain't home please come on us or dr. never found a beta bond in green geese never know so could be no I'm such a Mr. Bean and now we are living in evil days we girls lust after other girls and young men lust after other young men you parents don't take things lightly and so they just brothers and sisters no even amongst brothers and sisters things go wrong and they get up to abominable things so you watch after your children and look on and look after them I've a new singer a bus so go good truly busy music asses we need these shepherds out in the field at night when it was silent heard heavenly music the angel of the Lord appeared to them maybe these shepherds were busy praying maybe they were asking God to send the Messiah and speaking about the Messiah and the angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them and they were terrified when God reveals his glory it's usually like that that people are afraid well Daniel was praying and God revealed his glory to him he was afraid when John saw the Lord Lord Jesus revealed himself to him he fell down like one dead and after the angel had spoken suddenly there was a great company of the heavenly host in the Greek it uses this word company in its military sense a company of soldiers regiments that came together God is the God of hosts he has his heavenly hosts but niggas are be saying to them do not fear over namsa is a little one on whom Cindy see the angel said today and Savior has been born to you but to bonk a Israel won't get okay for all the people not only Israel but all the nations don't wish you guys I at nine eighty verse six knees a little one the P way in dot on according to Isaiah 9 where it says verse 64 to us a child is born to us a son is given Oh Christo equals he who has Christ the Lord this is the only place in the Bible where these two terms are used together Christ the Lord and other references it's referred to Christ and other references to the Lord but this is the only reference where both of these terms are referenced together and that is what this great the angel of the Lord said he is Christ the Lord and after that heard that that glory disappeared because that glory didn't come to remain for them with all for all time it was just a for that short time about to connect a baby Lucy but as happy massy Nani see a pet lahema she'll born local is big and yet as shepherds spoke to one another saying let's go to Bethlehem to see this thing which has happened which the Lord has told us about but I see a baby say let's go to see when it's really like that they said let's go to see this thing that has happened they accepted it with all their hearts and they were sure that that was the truth but and what they were saying was in the present tense they said let's go they didn't say shall we go or let us go in the future I said let's go right now I see many people lose out on God's blessings because they delay their obedience when God has spoken to them they say well I'll see about it another time maybe in the future I don't feel like it yet right now it's not yet the time but in the meantime it is the time it's the time for you to do what God has told you and that's what they said let us go immediately it said that today is the opportune time today is the day of salvation and seek him today while it is still the time of grace God doesn't know about it seeing about at some other time when God has spoken to you be obedient immediately what Duncan Campbell obey Zala in Timbuktu music while Duncan Campbell was playing the bagpipes in an orchestra in a band at a performance he was very good at it he had a vision of Jesus on the cross and at halftime during that interval he packed his things and he said he's stopping right there and he went to his friend Trevor and he said Trevor I've seen the Lord let's turn to him let's repent and then Trevor said to him well you can do it but it's not yet the time for me the time hasn't yet come for me why Kaya why we need a He went home, found his mother in the kitchen and he told her mum I'm repenting today and his mother said now you go upstairs to your room and you go and you wrestle with God there and that's what he did and you repented turned to God wholeheartedly and after that he became a preacher a man of God greatly used of God through God worked mighty miracles. The time hasn't yet come for me in the meantime it was God's time. He became a businessman later on businessman he was very prosperous and a very successful businessman made a lot of money and when he was old he became ill and a minister came to see him on his deathbed there in the hospital and said to him Duncan Trevor hasn't it isn't it yet the time for you to repent and to turn to God he said no he said my time has passed my time to repent and turn to God was there when Duncan spoke to me so my time has passed my opportunity has passed and he died in his darkness. Most probably he went to hell and he's burning there right now. Don't postpone it when God speaks to you very likely it will be with you like it was with Trevor where the time will come when you'll say it's too late God has already spoken to me so obey God when he speaks to you today. These shepherds could have had many excuses saying well it's nighttime we can't go now or they could have said the mother's most probably still weak or perhaps she's sleeping so we can't go and disturb them in the middle of the night but straightaway they set out and they said we want to go and see this thing that has morning to the tomb of the Lord Jesus when she got there an angel appeared to her and said to you he's not with the dead he's alive and then immediately she ran back to the disciples to report to them that Jesus is risen she didn't just walk she ran. That Samaritan woman at the well of Jacob when Jesus sat there and he spoke to her and then he said to her when she said that she's got no husband he said well it's true you don't have a husband you've had five men and the one that you're living with right now is not yours and then she ran back to the village saying to the people come and see whether this isn't the Messiah because he's told me everything I've ever done. Do you hear that? They didn't drag their feet they didn't hesitate they don't say well we'll see about this another time no they were diligent in putting things into action and taking a step concerning that which they heard. Not that you say I'm so tired I'm so weary so when God speaks to you hurry be obedient immediately don't postpone it till another time. So if God speaks to you don't worry about her she's got something on her heart. I'm just telling her she must be quiet she can pray in her heart but she mustn't disturb you. So when God speaks to you be in a hurry obey immediately be urgent about it. You see how she is coming forward she felt something in her heart and she said well I can't wait any longer until the end of the service. We've got nothing against it. So when God speaks to you be urgent about it do it immediately like those examples that we have mentioned otherwise if you drag your feet you get to heaven and the portals of heaven will already be many people lose God's blessings because they are slick they are slow in responding but they are not like that blind man that when Jesus passed by he cried out and when Jesus didn't answer he cried all the louder until eventually I said to him about keep be quiet you're making a noise but he didn't listen to them and then Jesus called him and his eyes were open he wouldn't have received that blessing had he been quiet and so they hurried off and they found Mary and Joseph and the baby and when and exactly as what as according to what they were told and then they returned praising God and they told people about that which they had seen and heard and all that just as they had been told they told spoke about that which they had heard and seen and that was the same with Peter and John when they were before the Sanhedrin and they were commanded not to speak any longer in the name of Jesus they said how can we be quiet about that which we have seen and heard you see the testimony of Jesus when you speak about what you've seen that which you've seen and heard you can't testify with authority of something that somebody else has seen somebody else has heard you need to testify about that which you personally have seen and heard is there anything that you've already seen and heard where haven't you heard and seen anything I only do you only know God by the hearing of the ear just from hearsay but you've never had a personal meeting with him you've never seen him Job said Lord I've heard of you from the hearing of the ear but now mine eye has seen you are you still in that mode where you've just heard about God from hearsay or have you gone into that mode into that experience where you've seen him we've just heard about Jesus that he has been he was born there in a stable in Bethlehem but he hasn't yet been born in your heart in your life will Christmas time pass by with Jesus not having been born in your heart it will be a very sad Christmas if that is is for to us a child is born to us a son is given the Christmas season is a season for giving gifts and receiving gifts and God has also given us a gift the greatest gift of all time his only son have you already received that Christmas gift from God have you already received the son will you thank God and say thank you our Lord for the gift that you've given me no Simeon no Anna where you see the face of the Savior where you see his appearance like the shepherds did and the wise men and Simeon and Anna and where they said marvelous things about this child that astounded Joseph and Mary things that they had received from God that God had revealed to them about this child foreign where they couldn't keep quiet about this Christ child the Lord Jesus and can you keep quiet about Galatians you heard that these days I gave some people a quail and as I was coming back with my car I saw a girl uh not so small but bigger girl foreign now now a container is an amount but how foreign not how country so I told this girl that there's a quail coming that she could get free of charge and as I carried on I told some older old woman next to the road I said you're going in the opposite direction come you can get some free aquiline and I don't know in a short short time there was a long row of people there already I don't know how they got the news whether these people have got cell phones already that they call each other on the cell phone or that they use the field telephone that where they call to each other the zulu telephone the but in a short time the news had spread people were there were their containers filling them up and I said oh my if only the gospel could spread in this way how marvelous wouldn't it be because the gospel is much greater the Lord Jesus is much it's much greater than this aquila and the news spread so fast about it and Jesus is much better and was more very much more than aquila water so why is it that the gospel makes such slow progress is it prayers because you as a preacher of the gospel you are so slow how can you expect others that receive the gospel from you that they would run if you are so slow so you get out of the way because you're only hindering okay so these people having heard these heavenly mysteries they went and they spread the news God's fire burned in their hearts and they were zealous about it they were like dry wood that was such a light so why doesn't the fire burn in your life is it because the wood is wet when you try to light it then there's only smoke no fire but may this Christmas time be a time where your life will change they said let's go and they went immediately with radiant faces and when they got there they found things exactly as the angel had foretold them foreign and the angel gave them a sign he said you will find christ the lord as a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger black Gideon that hero of old also asked for a sign not because he was testing God God but he wanted to be sure and make absolutely sure and so God gave him a sign foreign and the angel appeared to him and he said you most blessed God is going to use you and give you victory and then he said oh uh please give me a sign that indeed it is like that and he asked he put that uh sheepskin out fleece fleece out all the sheep skins all right and uh then asked that it should be uh moist all around and that it should be dry and it was like that foreign and so when he went out early in the morning he found that it was wet with dew all around that fleece but the fleece was dry foreign and then he prayed again he said oh lord just so that i'd be absolutely sure because this could have been the devil that came as an angel of the light said please oh lord let the fleece now be and that it would be dry all around foreign go and then the next morning when he got there he found that that fleece was soaking wet when he wrung out the water it filled a bucket and it was dry all around and then he realized this is God speaking to him and then he went and he did as God had commanded him he didn't doubt and you too shouldn't doubt pray and ask God to make things clear to you and then be obedient and do what God tells you now i'm closing foreign foreign maybe it's just for the blacks i was just saying we whites we are troubled by our hair i don't like it when it falls here foreign it's got to go back and God has made them gave them such good hair sometimes i'm envious of their of their hair when we're in the wind and we've got to preach then our heads go that way and that way but they aren't troubled by it but some of them are perming them and then they like our way that is so troublesome and i i can't really understand that why it's much easier the other way me some people spend up from 200 up to four thousand four thousand rand a month for to do their hair these uh perm styles and i say well you blacks are so rich if you can afford that they're very rich although you've you get even whites that sit before the mirror for quite a while you know perming and curling the hair foreign foreign all right is is you've heard the matter now about the birth of the christ child and of the shepherds and how they spread the message of the gospel about the birth of this child this savior that has been born to us and you be like that as well you further this message and propagate this message that a child a savior has been born to us May this Christmas be like the very first Christmas. But even though there were those who were unconcerned, like those people that didn't have room in their houses for the Lord Jesus, or in their inns, or the Pharisees and the scribes who knew the truth, they had the knowledge, but they didn't go to Bethlehem. And so they disregarded that. But you, don't be like them, but like those who went and saw the Christ child. Let's pray. Lord, we heard about your birth and your first coming into this world. But Lord, it would be heartbreaking if we celebrate this time and yet nothing has happened in our hearts. If we are like those from Bethlehem who had no room. But may we open to you that you might come in. And that which hinders you, that we'll get rid of it. That you might enter in, Lord, and be born in us. We heard about those that when they heard the news, they got up. They hurried to that place. They ran there. Lord, give us that same speed. Give us that same attitude. Amen.