Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. If you want to experience and celebrate Christmas every day of your life, speak this good news. Tell people what God has done for you. This is the call of Christ, and the good news is that we don't go alone. On today's PowerPoint, Dr.
Graham brings a message about how you're called to tell the story of Jesus to the world.
Now here's Dr. Graham with his message. tell the story. In your Bibles, Luke chapter 2, verses 17 through 20. Uh This is in reference to the shepherds.
Who finds the babe Jesus wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger? And verse 17: And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told to them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things. pondering them in her heart.
And the shepherds returned. Glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen as it had been told them.
Now How do you keep it going? All year long. First and foremost. By celebrating the Christ. of Christmas.
And first and foremost, by being a Christian. That's how. You can know and experience the love and the joy and the peace always in Christ. That is Christmas, a real Christmas. Not magic, but the miracle.
Of Jesus' birth and his life and his death and his resurrection and his soon return. It is so very important that you be saved. In order to experience Christmas all year long, are you? Saved. To be saved is to be a Christian.
What it means to be a Christian is to be saved from our sin, and we've all sinned. It means to invite Christ into our lives, that we become a follower of Jesus, that we are trusting Jesus as our Savior and following Him as our Lord, inviting Christ into our lives and knowing Him not religiously but personally, individually, that we know Christ, that we have been born again from above, that there's been a spiritual birth. Christ was born so that we could be born again. To be saved means that you know that you're going to heaven because Jesus came to earth so that we could go to heaven and know that we're going there. What a wonderful way to celebrate Christmas every day.
That's where it starts. And I'm just getting started with this message, but I wanted to say it up front. How do you become a Christian? You recognize that you have messed up, that you have sinned against God, that you need a Savior. And you say, I am a sinner and I need a Savior.
And I believe that Jesus is the Savior. And not only the Savior, but you can say, Jesus is my Savior. That's where it all begins. Are you a Christian? If you are, you're forgiven of all your sins.
If you are, you can live in confidence and certainty that when you die or when Christ comes again, you will be ready and you will be with him. It means that his spirit fills your life and you live in hope and joy. The God of all hope, may you abound in this hope, filled with the Holy Spirit.
So let's begin right there. We're talking about celebrating Christmas all year long. It all begins and ends, it's all about knowing Jesus. and knowing him in your life as your Savior and Lord. And then what happens?
We see in Four specific ways. In which we celebrate, like these, Christmas all year long. Number one, proclaiming. Because it says in verse 17, That they saw it. They saw the wonderful miracle of the heavens when the angels spoke, and then they saw the babe wrapped in the swaddling cloth, lying in a manger.
They believed it, and then they made known the saying that had been told to them concerning this child. What was the saying that had been told to him? For unto you is born this day a Savior who is Christ the Lord.
So, believing that, and then seeing that, they began to proclaim this good news. Shepherds. We're not the lively suspects. To be attendants at the birth of Jesus. Shepherds were generally.
from the baser class of the society of that generation. They were considered frankly, lowlifes and vagrants and con men and shysters. I know David was a shepherd, and I don't want to sell all the shepherds short, but I just say to you: the shepherds in this era were not powerful people. In fact, they were poor people. They were impoverished.
And these shepherds, think about it, no doubt they were illiterate. And yet they saw and heard the angel speak that night when the heavens exploded with the glory of God. Remarkable. That God would speak in this way to these lowly, humble shepherds. And then these men went to Bethlehem and discovered Christ in a cradle, born in a barn, probably a cave.
So consider this. These shepherds. Outside of Mary and Joseph, the only people in the world. Who knew about this Jesus? And this story.
were those shepherds. Amazing. Just Shepherds. After 400 years of so-called silence between the Old Testament and the New Testament, there was no word from God. Not to a prophet, not to a priest, not to a king.
Silence. And when God broke the silence that night outside of Bethlehem, it was to shepherds. And with the silence now broken, They began to tell the world, this is not a likely way. to tell the world. Here they are, after being terrorized and traumatized out there in the shepherd's field when those angels appeared, and I don't blame them.
That was an awesome, awe-inspiring sight. They get themselves together and their fear turns to faith. And now, with ecstatic excitement, they are telling this good news. What did they do? They told everybody.
It's the middle of the night. But In the night, the next day, they're telling everybody they couldn't keep this good news of Christmas to themselves. And this is the challenge to us, isn't it? If you want to experience Christmas every day of your life, go tell somebody who Jesus is. If you want to experience and celebrate Christmas every day of your life, speak this good news.
Tell people what God has done for you. This is the call of Christ. This is the call of Christ to Christians. It's the call of Christ to the church. This is why we're focused always on Christ and the Bible and evangelizing, fulfilling the great commission.
And the good news is that we don't go alone. The Holy Spirit lives in us. In Acts 1:8, he says, But you will be my witnesses. When? After the Holy Spirit has come upon you.
And when we are filled with God's Spirit, we are speaking God's truth. I believe. In evangelism, that is telling the good news. That's what it means. You can call it whatever you want to call it.
In the old days, people used to call it soul winning. That's okay. Then, you know, it's witnessing. And then, you know, people today talk about having gospel conversations. And all that's fine, but I don't care what you call it, just do it.
Just do it. Tell people the good news. And now they didn't go buy them some posters and Put it up in the next town and say, you know, evangelists coming. We saw the angels speak. And, you know, they weren't advertising anything.
They had no technology. They had nothing but a heart full of Jesus, and they were telling this good news. Simply tell people. People, you can do this. What you've seen and heard, like the apostles, when they were threatened and told never to speak the name of Jesus again, they were beaten, and within an inch of their lives, they say, if you keep talking about Jesus, it will be the end of you.
And they said, We cannot help but speak of those things we have seen and heard. We can't help it. Because we have seen him. We know him in our hearts, in our lives.
So it means share your faith, share your story, talk about Jesus. Invite people to come to Jesus. Good news is too good to keep. Amen? Amen.
This is the first way. We celebrate Christmas every day. By proclaiming. The second way not only proclaiming But wondering. Look at verse.
18 again. Verse 18 says, And all who heard it, that is, the shepherds were sharing their faith, and so all these people are hearing it. And what did they do? They wondered at what the shepherds told them. Were their wonder Pretty self-descriptive.
It's not the word questioning. They weren't. questioning what the shepherds were telling them. But they were in amazement. They were amazed.
They were. Starstruck, if you will, by What they were told. About the angels. What the angel said about Jesus. And Mary and Joseph and The Christ in the cradles.
And these shepherds Just by their testimony and their presence, somehow These smelly guys We're effective. They were convincing. They were just so filled. With The Shekinah glory of God that was upon them, the holy wonder and awe. God was moving in this little town of Bethlehem.
Just a little place. But God was at work. History was changed. The world was changed. No wonder they are amazed.
So let me ask you: are you still amazed? You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham, and the message: Tell the Story. We're excited to share that we have a new way for you to connect with us. It's our texting service designed to keep you connected with everything happening here at PowerPoint. You'll be the first to know about upcoming events, special announcements, and truly enriching content.
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Now let's get back to today's message. Tell the story.
So the townspeople We're amazed at the work. That was happening. It's inexplicable what God has done in my life, in your life. And God is still doing The inexplicable, the unexplainable. And people who trust him, miracles.
Saving people that are far, far from God. Restoring lives and marriages and homes and families, delivering the addicted. Comforting the grieving, healing the sick. God still does all of this and more. God is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to the power that works within us.
Why? Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I'm just telling you, like these townspeople, let's be all struck, amazed at this story of Jesus. That's how you have Christmas. All Year long.
You know, the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation, is filled with signs and wonders. of the last days amazing Wonders. And one of these days when Christ comes. With awestruck wonder, we'll see him face to face when he returns. And in Revelation 19, verse 16, we're told that the wonder is going to happen when Jesus comes back, and there will be on his thigh and on his robe these words: King of kings and Lord of lords.
What a day of wonders! This is.
So Christmas all year long. It is first. It is first proclaiming. like the shepherds. And then it is wondering.
in amazement. And then thirdly, it is pondering. Look again in chapter 2 and verse 19. And this is what Mary did. For it says Mary treasured up or pondered up.
or pondered all these things. pondering them. Inner hearts. Meaning that Mary was cherishing these moments. Not wanting to miss Any of it.
The word treasured or cherished. It actually describes counting. Considering I make lists. My life runs on my... Lists that I keep of all kinds.
And so it's like a it's like Mary was making a reminder list. She was reflecting and pondering in many ways is deeper. Then wondering. Wondering is one thing, and it is so external, and it's a big part of it, but pondering is deep within, just as Mary is reflecting and remembering and reflecting. resolving no doubt to be the best mother that Jesus needed.
the kind of person that would mother the Son of God. She must have been asking herself, have you ever considered what she was considering? She must have been asking herself. Am I up to this? Can I do this?
How about Joseph? Is he ready for this? to be the adopted father. Of the Heavenly Father's Son. Why has God?
Chosen me. How did this happen? Can you imagine what she was thinking? She's pondering. She's saying, God, what?
Why me? Many of you know I love Billy Graham and I'm so grateful for his influence on my life. Billy Graham was asked just a few years before his death. Was that? Is there anything you're going to ask God?
When you get to heaven. And Billy quickly said yes. Me. Just a farm boy from North Carolina. God, why me?
And that should be the spirit of all of us. God, why did you save me? God, why did you choose me? Lord, why me? She's pondering that.
It is so important to treasure God's word in your heart and to meditate upon spiritual things in your life. My friend Robert Morgan has written a wonderful book on biblical. Meditation. I would advise you to get it. I don't know the title, but it's Robert Morgan on Biblical Meditation, something like that.
But it's a powerful book that will show you the value of meditation upon God's word and spiritual meditation. I'm not talking about transcendental. Ooh. That day. Where you just, the goal of that is to empty your mind.
That's crazy. You empty your mind, and all kinds of bad stuff's gonna get in there. Including demon spirits. I'm serious. But biblical meditation is filling your mind.
What we need are Christian thinkers. Who know their Bibles, who know. Truth. And who meditate on this and know this and learn this. And so The third way, after proclaiming and then wondering and then.
pondering or treasuring in your heart. these things to keep it going. The final thing is glorifying him. Glorifying and praising him. Look at verse 20 once again, Luke 2, verse 20.
And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen as it had been told to him. The shepherds would never be the same. What a difference just a day makes, or a night in this case. Everything has changed. The world is now upside down.
Because God is changing it. Wise men came later to worship. They were impacted and empowered to the degree that rather than going back through Jerusalem to tell Herod what had happened, they were warned and they went back in a different direction. Their lives were changed. Christ takes us in a brand new direction.
And these shepherds, what did they do? What did these shepherds do? They went back to their fields. Just back to what they were doing. They told all the townspeople.
And then they went back to smelly sheep. How mundane. But this is really it, isn't it? Christmas every day is the miraculous in the midst of the monotonous, the miraculous in the midst of the mundane. glorifying God in whatever we do.
Small or large, or something in between. The scripture says, whatever you do, 1 Corinthians 10:31, in word or deed, Do it and glorify God, which means to make to magnify him. That's what they did. They went back to the same place. Where the angels spoke to them.
And maybe every night after that, they kept looking for the angels, and we're not told the angels came back. That was a one-night thing. But they just went back to doing What they were doing, but never the same because now they knew Jesus.
Now Christ It was raining. in their world.
So Many people want the magic. of Christmas, the spirit of Christmas. the fun, the days off, whatever, to stay. But in just a few days We'll take down the lights and the trees. And the candles.
Pay the bills for the gifts. And Christmas. as a holiday. will be over for another year. But for the Christian Not everything, not every day is a holiday.
But every day is a holy day. The great devotional writer Oswald Chambers says: every Christian should be supernaturally natural. and naturally supernatural. You know what that means? In all things natural, our normal lives, we're to live supernatural, spiritual lives.
And in all things spiritual, we are to live normal, natural lives. Being spiritual doesn't make you weird. But you're full of Jesus. And the miracles happen. Yeah.
Christmas. What is it to you? You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message, tell the story. We want to invite you to give a year-end gift to help ensure PowerPoint steps into the next year of ministry in the strongest position possible. The good news is that a generous friend has provided a $250,000 matching grant, which means any year-end gift you give by December 31st will be doubled to take the life-changing message of the gospel to more people around the world, people searching for the peace only Jesus gives.
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Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? I love the story of I heard the bells on Christmas Day, and I want to close with this. The story of I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day is based on a poem by Henry Longfellow. In 1860, Longfellow was at the peak of success as a poet. He had overcome the death of his first wife.
and regained after season of great grief his equilibrium and he would begin to write and the great works such as Hiawatha and his poems and all that. He was writing high. 1860, Abraham Lincoln had just been elected president. giving hope to the nation. And though his first wife was now gone, he had been led to another woman and he was remarried.
things soon turned dark for America. and for Henry himself. The Civil War began the following year, and Longfellow's wife died of severe burns when she was lighting a candle in the house, and her dress caught on fire, and she burned to death. Longfellow himself had multiple burns all over his body, trying to save his wife.
So, in his diary on Christmas Day, 1861, he wrote these words: How inexpressibly sad. are the holidays. In 1862, the Civil War escalated and the death toll from the war began to mount and Henry hated the Civil War. And in his diary for that year, Longfellow wrote of Christmas: A Merry Christmas, say the children. But that is No more.
For me. In 1863, Longfellow's son, who had run away to join the Union Army, to fight for freedom for the slaves. was severely wounded and returned home in December. And there is no entry in Longfellow's diary. for Christmas.
in 1863. Yet on that Christmas day of that year, he decided to take a walk trying to Lift his spirits. He wanted to pull out of his depression and despair and somehow capture the joy of Christmas. And he began to listen as church bells began to chime on Christmas Day. He wrote down these words.
I heard the bells on Christmas Day. Their old familiar carols play, and wild and sweet the words repeat of peace on earth. and goodwill to men. He began to write more of this stanza. You stopped to think of the Condition of his beloved country.
The Battle of Gettysburg was not long past. Days looked dark, and he began to ask himself the question: how can there be peace on earth and goodwill to men in this war-torn country where brother fights against brother, where people are oppressed, where fathers fight against sons? How can there be? But he kept writing, and oh, did he write. He said in in despair, I bowed my head.
There is no peace on earth, I said. For hate is strong and mocks the song. of peace on earth. Goodwill to men. This could be said of our day.
But then, inspired, he wrote these words. Then peal the bells more loud and deep. God is not dead. Nor doth he sleep. The ROM shall fail.
The right. Prevail. A peace on earth. Goodwill. Amen.
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So text the word match to 59789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about how you can be ready for Christmas and any day after. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.
