R520 The Innkeeper

We're just ready for Christmas, don't you think?

At least I am. And we are here at The Encouraging Word with a Christmas message from Dr. Don Wilton. It's been an interesting thing to talk with many of you who are loving this Christmas series of messages early in the month.

Sometimes we save these until later in the month. But no, we want to celebrate the Christ of Christmas all year long, but most certainly all month long here at The Encouraging Word. If you haven't been to our website lately, tewonline.org might be a resource for you to have some Christmas gifts to send to others that will help point them to Christ. Remember, during this holiday season, friends are more likely than ever to be open to you talking about the Christ of Christmas and what He means to you.

Again, details are online at tewonline.org for resources and more. Now let's open God's Word together. We're headed to Luke chapter 2 about The Innkeeper here with Dr. Wilton. Today I want us to move a little bit and I want us to think about The Innkeeper, someone for whom very little is said in Scripture.

In fact, there's not a whole lot at all. And I'm going to submit to you today that we're going to ask God by His Spirit to help us to understand what it was. I've often wondered in my own heart why the keeper of the inn said no to the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, Scripture does give us one perhaps significant reason, perhaps the best reason of all. But it seems to me rather remarkable that the events that took place in Bethlehem of Judea took place as they did. Of course we know that they stood in line with what God intended for them to be. They marched down God's intended purpose for the Lord Jesus Christ, this King of Kings, the Lord of Lords to be born in such humble origins as a lowly manger.

Can you imagine that? But why would that innkeeper have said no? What exactly happened on that special day when Mary and Joseph turned up at the inn? I want you to open your Bibles to Luke's Gospel chapter 2. The Gospel of Luke chapter 2, a well-known passage, we read this so many times I'm sure that many of us could even quote this passage by heart.

And yet it is as significant today as the day these events took place. Luke's Gospel chapter 2, and I'm going to read just the first seven verses. The Bible says that in those days, I remember by the way that Israel was a Roman protectorate.

It was under Roman rule and whatever Caesar Augustus said was law. And you remember last week that we discovered that Jesus was of the line of David. And so Joseph and Mary were in that line. Jesus was born of the line of David. His credentials were very much part and parcel with the acceptable royalty of his day. Jesus was able to validate his origin.

His credentials spoke for themselves. And we discovered that there was another side to this. Mary and Joseph being of the royal line or the line and lineage of David.

I guess there was a downside. Caesar said all of those who are of the line of David need to come and be taxed. You've got to pay the government and so Mary and Joseph stood in line. They went to Bethlehem in obedience just the same as everybody else did.

Listen to what happened. In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Cyrenius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to his own town to register just like we do when we vote and they give us a precinct. We call them precincts. And when the presidential election comes along, you and I are assigned a precinct. Maybe a high school or a municipal building or a post office or a middle school, whatever. And we go to that precinct where we are assigned as American citizens and we go and register our right to vote.

No different here. That's why they all went to their own town. They had to go to their place of origin. Look at verse 4. So Joseph, who was no exception, also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea to Bethlehem, the town of David.

Why? Because he belonged to the house and the line of David. He went there to register with Mary who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. Now while they were there, the time came for the baby to be born and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.

She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was found no room for them in the inn. I wonder what really happened that day and what went through the mind of the innkeeper. Would you join me as we pray? Our Father, we could never begin to understand the marvelous truth of the unbelievable eternal birth of our Savior Jesus Christ. We cannot even begin to understand what transpired in the mind of one solitary figure, the innkeeper. Father, speak to our hearts today and may we stand ready to open the door to the inns of our own hearts and lives.

In Jesus' name we pray. Studious, studious, it's you. You startled me.

How long have you been standing there, huh? None of your jokes now. I'm telling you, if you smile that hideous smile at me and shout, good morning, like you did yesterday, I'm going to throw you right out of here. Now if you're hungry, help yourself to some bread.

It's all, eat all you like, but watch out for your teeth. Oh, what a night. I feel like the soul of a sandal, and it's all Caesar's fault. So, what do you think of my cozy little inn, eh?

It wasn't as popular yesterday, was it? I usually have what, two, maybe three travelers for the night? Would you like to guess how many are here right now? Come on, come on, guess, guess. I do not make fun of you when you are wrong, just guess.

Wrong. I have 21 guests. I have even had to turn away regular customers because I just didn't have any rooms left. All of Bethlehem is like this, and all because of the census. Well, you know, Caesar, he's very hungry for our money, and so Cyrenius has ordered the census, and with the census comes a taxation, and we must be taxed. Otherwise, how else will Caesar afford his gladiators and his conquests and his feasts? But it's not just wrong, Theudius. I know, I know the order came down from Cyrenius, but I say Herod had a hand in it. Otherwise, why would everyone be ordered to the homes of their fathers to be counted, huh? Only a Hebrew would know to do that, Theudius. A Jew like you and like me.

I say it was Herod's idea, and I say he's getting rich from it at our expense. So the census brought me a lot of business, but it's not been easy. The rooms down there, they have families in them, and I had to put two families together in the upstairs room, and every available space is rented. Last night, very late, a couple arrived.

A large family offered me three times the price for any rooms I had left, but I didn't have any rooms left, so I rented them my room. Of course, they didn't bother telling me until after they had already settled in that they intended to pay me in goat meat. Yeah, goat meat on the hoof. Well, one of their very fine, valuable goats decided to eat my rug. Yes, there's a hole in the rug right there by your left foot. Yeah, you see?

Yeah. So, we ate the goat for dinner. Well, it was either us eat the goat or we let the goat eat the inn, so we ate the goat. And there was plenty for everybody.

That family had a sentimental attachment to that particular goat, and they didn't seem to have much of an appetite. So, they may have gotten my room, but I got their goat. I bet you didn't even see that one sleeping in the corner there, did you? Yeah. And he paid me good money for that spot, too, and he was happy to get it. And so was that one over there by the water jar. Yeah.

All the available space is rented, even my stable. No, no, I'm not kidding. It was necessary. Well, last night, very late last night, a young couple arrived from Nazareth.

Yes, it was from Nazareth. And I had to put them somewhere. I mean, she was about to have a baby.

I mean, any moment about to have a baby, and that's a very frightening thought when they're standing right in front of you. I couldn't just have them wander around, could I? I thought about letting them stay in here, but there would be no privacy should the baby come. And this floor makes a very hard bed, so I showed them my stable.

Well, we cleaned out one of the stalls, and I brought in some fresh straw, and I brought in all the blankets from in here that I could spare. And Joseph, Joseph, the young man, his name was Joseph, he fixed the manger. You know, he said that tomorrow if the baby doesn't come, he will rehang that door there so it will close more properly, huh? Of course, I guess if the baby does come, well, I'm stuck with the door the way it is. And Mary, the young girl, Mary, seemed so sweet, so calm.

She didn't seem to be a bit nervous about having her baby so far from home. So, that's how my day went, Julius. Busy, busy, busy. And when it was over, there was no bed for me, so this is where I slept. If it wasn't for the census, business wouldn't be so good. But at least young couples about to have babies wouldn't be forced to wander around in the middle of the night searching for a warm place to sleep.

Oh, it should make you and I very grateful that we live in the homes of our fathers, huh? Otherwise, you and I might be traveling to who knows where, paying money to someone like me, sleeping in the corner like that one. No, no, instead I get to rent out my rooms for the price of a few measly goats and end up sleeping at the table.

So, Caesar may be very good for my business, but I don't think he's so good for my back. Did I tell you that I dreamed of angels, huh? Yes, it was quite a dream too. I know, I know. You sit down and I'll tell you my dream and you can interpret it.

It will be just like Joseph and the Pharaoh of Egypt, huh? I'll even pay you. Well, then go to me, huh? How about it, huh? Good, good.

You sit down. Good. Now, let's see, there was angels and Joseph and Mary, the young couple from last night, they were in my dream also. And even my sister's husband, Zachar, and the other shepherds. Oh, it all seemed so very real, as solid as you and me and this inn. Ah, let's see now, where did it begin? I remember I was gathering food to take to the shepherds.

I usually do that late in the evenings. And I had some cheese and some bread and some wine and some goat meat. Yes, you know, the dream seemed so real, I can even remember smelling the meat and getting some grease on my hands. I had just started out the door and was walking towards the terraced hill, so tonight it was clear. Oh, the stars. Oh, the stars were magnificent. It was as if you could reach up and touch each one. As I started up the first terraced hill, I thought I could see a light. And as I climbed each terrace, I could see the light a little better. And so I hurried a little because, well, the thought of a warm fire, well, that was a very welcome thought.

And I had just gotten to the top of the last hill when I stopped, and I could see very clearly. The light wasn't coming from a fire at all. Would you like to guess where the light was coming from? Come on, Theodious, guess, guess.

Wrong. Theodious, it was an angel. It was an angel, Theodious, an angel so bright he lit up the night, I could see it as if it were day. And where do you suppose the shepherds were, my friend?

Well, they were lying on the ground, Theodious, for who can stand before an angel of God? Even Zakir was frightened, I was frightened, and I knew it was a dream. Theodious, Theodious, the angel didn't just shine, he spoke. It was an excellent dream, huh?

Well, you guess what he said. Come on, Theodious, guess, guess, you're never going to earn your goat meat this way, Theodious. He said, do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which should be for all of the people. For today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you, that is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you, you will find the baby wrapped in strips of cloth and lying in a manger. You see, Theodious, an excellent dream. Not only speaking angels in the beautiful night, but the birth of Messiah as well. You should pay me for dreams like this one, huh?

I would sleep every night at this table to dream such dreams. What would you say if I told you there was more than one angel, huh? Well, you guess. You tell me how many you think there were. Come on, I will not make fun of you again. Come on, come on, guess.

That's silly. There was a whole host of them, Theodious. There were more angels than you could count. Angels without number, they were wonderful, they were glorious, they were angels. And together they praised God, they praised God, and God should be praised. They said, glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests. I heard the angels, Theodious. My heart was so full of wonder, so full of joy, so full of awe, it nearly burst. I don't know what all of heaven would be like, Theodious, but I must hear the angels again. I want to give glory to God with the angels, eh? What do you think of that, my friend? Who else do you know who can dream such dreams? Now don't you forget anything. When I am finished, you're going to tell me what it all means.

The lights, the color, the sounds. I remember this dream to the day I die. After the angels had gone, the shepherds, they got up and they tried to decide what they should do. They made up their mind to go into town to see this thing that God had told them. I just stood there watching them as they went to town. I thought my dream would be over. But after a while, I got kind of cold just standing there. I decided to follow my dream, since my dream had some place to go. I tried to catch up with them, but they were walking so fast and I was carrying all of that food. Now, theodists, can you guess where they found the Christ child?

Come on, guess, guess. Yes, yes, in my stable, yes, very good, very good. But who else did they find in the stable, huh? Yes, yes, Joseph and Mary, yes.

Very good, theodists, you were right, you were right, okay. There was Joseph and there was Mary and the baby. Wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in the manger. You know, that's what the angels had told to the shepherds, that is exactly what happened. I just stood there with my mouth open, holding on to the food and thinking about God and the shepherds. They got up and they decided to go into town to tell everybody what they had seen and what they had heard. I didn't know what to do. Sometimes in a dream you shouldn't speak and there's no one there to tell you what to do. That's why I missed something that Joseph was saying to me and he came a little closer and he said, Akim, Akim, come in, come in, see the Messiah.

Come in, your arms are full, your cheeks are flushed. But something puzzled me and I said to Joseph, but didn't the prophet Isaiah say that Immanuel would be born to a virgin? And Joseph, he smiled and said, but Akim, Mary is a virgin. An angel appeared to Mary and told her of God's plan. The Holy Spirit has conceived this child in Mary's womb. An angel appeared to me also, Akim. He told me the name we were to give to the Messiah. He shall be called Jesus.

I couldn't help it. I cried for the child. And Joseph, he said, Akim, what is wrong? I told him that Isaiah had also written that his anointed would be despised and rejected, that he would be cruelly treated. I told him that I was very sorry that he'd been born in my stable, why he should be in a palace, he should have attendance and servants and music.

But Joseph said, but Akim, this is all that was left and God has his own plan for the Christ. Well, since the shepherds had gone, I gave Joseph the food and I asked him if there was anything else that they might could need. Mary, she looked so tired, she gave me a smile and I was about to ask her if she was alright when the baby moved a little and I looked at him, I did. And I saw the Messiah of God wrapped in swaddling clothes, just brand new, little, vulnerable.

I had never thought of the anointed one in this way as a child. Oh, how beautiful a dream, how wonderful a moment to hear the angels and to meet Messiah. Joseph, he said to me, Akim, if you could spare them we could use some clean linen and some fresh water. If I could spare them, I have just seen the Messiah, I am ready to give my entire ill to this dear child and Joseph, he asked, do whatever I can spare. Mary said, Joseph, Jesus is awake now and I think perhaps Akim would like to hold him.

And I did, I did want to hold him, but not just then. My hands were all dirty, they covered in gold grease and they needed a few things. So I told them that I would be back after I had gotten the things washed and I came in here and I washed and I got the linen and the water and I sat down there and I sat down to think, you know, for a little and that's all I remember, that's it, until I saw you standing over there. So, what do you think of my wonderful dream, huh? It begins with shepherds and angels and the birth of Messiah in the stable and it ends with these linens in this water. It's tedious, it's tedious, the linen and the water, they're right there. Isn't that a coincidence because Joseph had said, if you could spare them we could use some linens and some water and I came in here and I got the linen and the water and I sat down and I fell asleep.

I felt, it wasn't a dream, it was real, it wasn't a dream at all. So what am I doing standing here talking to you? I should be out there. They've probably been waiting for these things for hours. It's tedious, it's tedious, I want you to wake up everyone in the inn, all 21 of them, that one over there, the one in the corner there, the families in that room, the two families together in the upstairs room, the family in my room. I want you to tell them the Messiah has been born. Tell them He's in my manger, in my stable. I want you to tell them all that if they want to see the Messiah they must come outside, huh? What?

Well, it's tedious, it's tedious. You tell them, you tell them where they can find the Messiah. If they don't want to come to Him, that is up to them.

But you tell them, huh? I just remembered, Mary said I get to hold the baby. I'm going to hold Messiah.

I'm going to hold Messiah. Wake them up, hurry, wake them up. We went on that day when Mary and Joseph came by that inn. I wonder what the real reason was. Have you ever wondered about the innkeeper?

I've always wondered that. Forgive the interruption, we'll be back with the rest of today's message from Dr. Don Wilton in just a moment. But Dr. Don insists I remind you, we're here for you. I mentioned the number quickly at the beginning, so if you need to jot this number down or store it in your cell, let us be a contact. Hit that plus and put 1-866-899-9673 in your phone. Let it be a way that you know that, as Dr. Don would say, we'd be happy to be a 2 a.m. friend of yours.

You can call anytime. We'd love to pray with you and for you at the encouraging word. Now back to today's message with Dr. Don. There must have been so much that was going on in his heart. The Bible says that they went into the manger because there was no room for them in the inn. But I began to think of you and me, of ourselves, and I wonder why so many people today seem to have no room in the inn. I wonder why it is that there are so many people today who would be about every conceivable activity we could ever imagine this Christmas, but they will not open the door to the inn. That may be pure conjecture, maybe speculation, but I think somewhere, somehow, that God speaks to our hearts through the innkeeper. Let me make a number of suggestions. Yes, maybe because of saturation.

It was certainly true in the case of the innkeeper. Saturation, too busy, too much, too much going on. The busyness of the world today, everyone running here and there and everywhere. I meet men, ladies, moms and dads who've got so much going on they don't have enough time for their own children. They don't have time to order a pizza or to throw a Frisbee. They don't have time to go to a ball game, just too busy.

I meet people who are just too busy. They've got too many business decisions to make, too many places to be, too many homes to build. The inns of their lives have become saturated and there's no room for Jesus at the inn. Well, what about status?

Maybe status is enough of a reason. I certainly would not suggest this because after all the innkeeper I'm sure had a remarkable experience but is it not perhaps possible that he took one look at Mary and Joseph and he said, you know, they don't quite measure up to the standard that I'm used to in my inn. But I think he was onto something because that same one that he talked of encountering is the same one who turned to me one day and said, Don Wilton, come to me because you are laden and you are heavy laden and I will give you rest. It's an incredible thing to know the Lord. It is an incredible thing and it all starts with a simple choice, a choice you can make today. Would you open your heart to what our pastor, Dr. Don Wilton, is ready to share next? Are you ready to give your heart and life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Why don't you pray this prayer with me right now? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner and I know that Jesus died for me on the cross. Today I repent of my sin and by faith I receive you into my heart. In Jesus' name. My friend, I welcome you today into the family of God.

This is exciting news. I believe some of you actually prayed along with Dr. Don moments ago and gave your life to Jesus Christ for the first time. Some of you have rededicated your life. It wasn't just during that prayer, but all through this message today, maybe even in some other teachings from Dr. Wilton or others you've been hearing on these stations, you know God is at this holiday season calling you home to himself.

He's asking you to recommit, to refocus. We would love to put resources in your hands that will help you do that. Everything from our daily encouraging word Bible guide, to a little booklet that's available just by calling 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. You can find ways to connect on our website as well at www.tewonline.org. That's www.tewonline.org. Just know that we're here for you. That phone number is not just a connection to resources, but it's a connection to people. 24 hours a day, as Dr. Don would say, that we would be honored to be one of your 2 a.m. friends, to know you can talk with us, pray with us, and we'd love to connect you with resources and help you grow. Until next time, it's our prayer that you will know that God is ready to encourage you through the living word, the Bible itself, so that you'll have more great teaching at the same time tomorrow.