Why The Shepherds Ran - 12/14/25 - Bro. Jerry Whitlow

Welcome to [music] Meadows Baptist

Church of Walnut Cove, North Carolina.

We're so glad you joined us today. If

you enjoy today's [music] message, be

sure to subscribe, follow, and share

with your friends. [music] Now, let's

join Pastor Charlie Branch with a word

from God.

[music]

>> Thank you for being here, brother. We

appreciate it. Thank you.

>> Have you have you want to close up? It's

all yours.

>> All right. Thank you so much. Thank you,

sir.

>> All right. Good evening, everybody.

Thank you for being here tonight.

And uh when I talked to your pastor

earlier and uh the first time I don't

think he knew he was going to the home

office and then he texted me back and he

said, "I want you to know when you are

going to be representing Rock of Ages,

I'm going to be at Rock of Ages." I

said, "Well, praise the Lord." And so

he's there at the home office helping

them and I greatly appreciate that.

But uh go ahead and take your Bible to

go to Luke chapter 2. And then I'm going

Luke 2 · chapter mention

to give you an update real quickly about

the work that's going on. The first

thing I'd like to do is thank you for

praying for my wife. And my wife is here

tonight. So uh Dreamer, would you please

stand? And uh uh the Lord has blessed

her tremendously. And I want to thank

you so much for praying for her. I know

uh many of you knew that she was in the

hospital here a while back and and they

they thought that her cancer had

returned and so they were testing her

every way imaginable and uh after all

those tests was over, she heard

something that she had never heard

before.

the doctor came in and looked her eye to

eye and said, "You are absolutely

cancer-free."

>> Amen.

>> She'd never heard that. And so that's

now what 10 years. Uh and so to God be

the glory. We we knew she didn't show

signs, but a doctor had never said,

"You're cancer-free."

The only problem was they just they

still didn't know what was wrong. And so

they continued to do tests. They found

out her neck vertebrae was not um I

don't want to I don't know how the right

way to say it. It wasn't aligned

properly. And so uh uh she has been

having to go to a specialist that does

uh chiropractic work up here next to the

skull and she sees him three times a

week. And uh they have found out that by

moving that back it is helping her

tremendously.

And so to God be the glory. We thank God

for that. And so thank you so much for

praying for her. We didn't know if we

were even going to get to make this

trip. And so I'm glad that she's able to

be with me. Her mom's with us tonight.

We're visiting with her. And so we

appreciate her traveling down with us

this evening. And then to give you an

update, last year we were praying that

we would see approximately 500 inmates

saved in the state of California. Well,

to give you an update, we didn't see 500

saved this year.

>> We saw over 700 saved this year in the

state of California. To God be the

glory. And not only that, but we were

praying that God would send another

family to California to help us. God

answered that prayer. We now have

another family that is there in

California and going into the prisons

helping us. Also, the go uh not only

that, but God has enlarged our coast and

Dr. Ellis met with me and talked with me

back in the summer and asked me if I

would be willing to serve as the western

representative of Rock of Ages

Ministries. And what that means is now

not only am I working in California, but

I'm working in all nine western states.

And uh so we have 13 missionary families

that are in nine western states. And so

God has enlarged our coast and we're

seeing some amazing things happening.

One of those things is this. We're

getting ready to start a work in Canada.

That is amazing. It's never uh we've

never had a ministry in Canada. And I

went to Spokane, Washington here

recently and and uh one of the pastors

came and met with me there. We we talked

for three days about different things

about reaching Canada. And I want you to

pray. the end of February, I'll be

flying to Vancouver and uh and I will be

teaching pastors how to go into the

prisons and how to have a prison

ministry and how they can be part of

Rock of Ages and how they can uh have a

Bible institute and all this type of

stuff. And so we'll be working with them

and for about a week there in Vancouver.

So, and then since we lined this up, now

we're having other areas of Canada get

in touch with us. And so, I don't know

how far this will go, but we're praying

that a sweep all the way across the

country there. So, please pray about

that. And then I want to thank you for

your support for us and the office in

California. And now that office is the

Western Regional Office of Rock of Ages.

And uh I want you to pray about this

when I get back. I've already talked to

the owner about this and uh he has

agreed he's going to meet with me. I've

already made an offer and and I don't

know what he'll do on this. But the

office where we are, there's an office

right beside it that is twice the size.

It already has the secretarial area of

the office. It's already there. The desk

is already there. The executive office,

the desk, the bookcases, chairs,

everything is already there. Internet is

already there. And so what we're talking

about is switching offices. And I want

you to pray about that. I know there

will be an added cost. Uh everything's

expensive out there. There's nothing

cheap. And just for the office we have,

it's $1,000 a month. But in California,

that's cheap because I'm getting the

electricity and I'm getting the internet

and I'm getting the the trash and and

septic. We have restrooms and all this

along with the office. And so we know

this will be more than that, but I want

you to pray. I believe God wants us to

have it. And uh I've already talked with

my pastor, Pastor Jack Triber at North

Valley. I've talked with uh Dr. Ellis.

And we're praying. And I believe that's

what God wants us to do is move forward

in the ministry. And we have already

seen prisons taking notice of a

particular place that you're based at.

They take notice of that. And you say,

"Well, what's the big deal about having

an office?" Well, when you can give them

an exact spot and an address,

they say, "Oh, you mean you're here in

California or you're on the West Coast

or you're here to stay or you're here

serious about and they look at it as

being serious about this." So do

churches.

Years ago, Rock of Ages had an office

out in Portland. Well, what happened

with that office is Dr. Ellis was in

that office and when he left to become

the president of Rock of Ages, then that

office closed. So people thought Rock of

Ages left the West Coast and was no

longer there. So what we're doing now is

letting people know we are here. There

is a work going on and God is blessing

that. So please keep that a matter of

prayer. So let me just give you a quick

schedule. When I get back to California,

we'll be here three weeks. We'll go

back. I'll be in four prisons. As soon

as I finish those four prisons, I'll fly

to Tucson, Arizona. I'll be there for a

weekend teaching and preaching. Then

I'll leave there and go to Salt Lake

City, Utah, where I'll be preaching at

the Utah State Prison. Fly back, be in

this uh uh prisons in California, and

then fly to Vancouver and be there for a

week and teaching and preaching. Come

back. Then we'll be bringing all the

western missionaries to where we are in

California. We'll be working with them

there for a week teaching and training

and then we'll get ready to go to

Alaska. And I had to postpone my trip to

Alaska when my wife was in the hospital.

But we'll be headed back to Alaska and

I'll be meeting with three missionary

families there, going into all the

prisons throughout Alaska, meeting the

different ones that are in charge there.

And so we have a busy schedule and a lot

of airtime, a lot of air miles, a lot of

plane trips, and it gets very expensive.

So I want to say thank you so much for

your support because without you,

there's no way we could be getting into

the places we're getting into. And uh

thank you so very, very much for that.

All right, and keep praying and keep

praying for my wife if you would too.

All right, we appreciate that so much.

All right, let's take our Bibles

tonight. Let's go to Luke chapter 2, and

Luke 2 · chapter mention

I know at Christmas time, if you're like

me, every year at Christmas time,

especially when when the children were

growing up, which me my wife and I still

do this, we go through and read the

Christmas story. And it's just not

Christmas without the Christmas story.

Uh when the uh kids were growing up, we

always Christmas day, we read the

Christmas story. She baked a birthday

cake for Jesus and we had had a birthday

party and all that type of stuff. We we

wanted our children to understand

Christmas is about Christ,

>> right?

>> That that's You say, "Well, well, we

don't know that he was born on that

day." Well, we might not know he was

born on that exact day, but I know he

was born.

>> So, I'm going to celebrate it. All

right.

>> And uh so that's what we did as a

family. You may do the same thing.

And as I was reading through here and

honestly the thought never really hit me

like this to just recently, you know,

it's amazing. The Bible gives you

something new all the time.

>> Amen.

>> And I I don't know how many times I've

read through this. And what I give you

tonight, you probably say, "Well, I've

known that. We've been teaching that for

years." Well, I just didn't think of it

this way. In Luke chapter 2, of course,

Luke 2 · chapter mention

we know the first seven verses talks

about the Lord Jesus being born. They've

went up to uh out of the house and

lineage of David and uh they've went out

of the city of Nazareth into Judea into

Bethlehem. And we know that she gave

forth her firstborn son, wrapped him in

swaddling clothes, laid him in a manger.

We know there was no room for them in

the end. Now, I want us to get down to

the shepherds.

The Bible says in verse number eight,

"And there were in the same country

shepherds abiding in the field, 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, they were sore

afraid." Now, I don't know about you, if

I'd have been out there and that was

happening, I probably would have been

scared to death, too. That's

>> right.

And the Bible says, "And the angel said

unto 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. And

this shall be a sign unto you. Ye shall

find the babe wrapped in swaddling

clothes, lying in a manger." And

suddenly there was with the angel a

multitude of the heavenly hosts praising

God and saying, "Glory to God in the

highest, and on earth peace, good will

toward men." And it came to pass, as the

angels were gone away from them into

heaven. The shepherds said one to

another, "Let us now go even under

Bethlehem, and see this thing which has

come to pass, which the Lord hath made

known unto us." and they came with haste

and found Mary and Joseph and the babe

lying in a manger. Now the Christmas

story is filled with wonder, is filled

with worship and divine purpose.

Yet among all the characters in the

nativity,

there's probably none more surprising or

more instructive than the shepherds.

They were simple men.

They were working the night shift.

They were unnoticed by the world.

But heaven noticed them. And God

bypassed the palace,

ignored the temple elites,

stepped past the wealthy and the noble,

and he sent the angelic announcement to

men whom society considered unimportant.

>> Right?

And when the angels departed,

the Bible tells us [clears throat]

the shepherds did something interesting.

The Bible says in verse 16, they came

with haste.

Now, I want you to understand something

for just a moment. I've read that for

years, but in reality, this is what that

verse is saying. The shepherds ran,

>> right?

They did not walk.

They did not wait.

They did not delay.

The shepherds

ran.

As I began to think about, I'm thinking,

wait a minute, the running shepherds,

man, the shepherds, they they took off.

They ran. And then the question was

this. What moved them with such urgency

to run to Christ?

what compelled their feet and filled

their hearts to make them run to Christ.

So, I want to give you a few reasons

tonight why I believe the shepherds ran

to Jesus. Let's pray together. Father,

we love you. I pray that you would help

us this evening. I pray that you would

guide my words, give me wisdom, and

Father, I pray that you would speak to

our hearts. Thank you for these

wonderful people tonight. Lord bless our

time together in Jesus name. Amen.

[snorts]

>> They ran. They ran. Why would a group of

shepherds run? Well, first of all, I

believe they ran because of a heavenly

revelation.

You look back at verse number 15 where

the Bible says this. Let us now go even

unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which

has come to pass, which the Lord hath

made known unto us. The shepherds move

because God spoke to them. When heaven

reveals something, it demands a human

response,

>> right?

>> God himself revealed his glory to the

shepherds. Think about that.

>> Well, the night sky exploded with the

divine glory of God. And the Bible says

the glory of the Lord shone round about

them. Think about that. The majesty of

Almighty God was on display that night

for all the shepherds to see. Can I tell

you, there was no way you and I could

get to God. But I sure am glad God came

to me. And I sure am glad God came to

you. And over in the book of Acts,

chapter number 7, the Bible says this

concerning Abraham. He said, "Men and

brethren and fathers hearken, the God of

glory appeared unto our father Abraham

when he was in Mesopotamia before he

dwelt in Heron. The God of glory

appeared unto him. I'm talking about the

God who created glory. THE GOD WHO

STEPPED OUT OF GLORY. The one who had a

glorious birth and announced a was

announced by a glorious star. Who lived

a glorious life and then died a glorious

death and he had a glorious resurrection

and then a glorious ascension. And he

sent his glorious spirit and gave us joy

unspeakable and full of glory. Has God

to prepare us a glorious mansion? AND A

GLORIOUS angel is going to blow a

glorious trumpet. AND THE DEAD WILL HAVE

A GLORIOUS RESURRECTION. And those alive

will have a glorious ascension. AND WE

WILL LIVE in glory FOR ALL ETERNITY.

WHY? BECAUSE THE GOD OF GLORY was on

display that night. Right.

>> AND THE SAME GOD THAT SHOWED HIS GLORY

TO ABRAHAM. AND THE SAME GOD THAT SHOWED

HIS GLORY TO THE SHEPHERDS, I SURE AM

GLAD HE SHOWED ME HIS GLORY ONE DAY. AND

THE HOLY GHOST OF GOD CONVICTED ME. AND

I SAW MY NEED OF A SAVIOR. AND I BOWED

MY KNEES TO HIM. AND I CRIED OUT FOR

MERCY. AND IMMEDIATELY God saved my

soul.

>> Amen. And can I tell you tonight,

church, that's why they ran. They saw

the majesty of Almighty God. And they

were saying, you know what? This is not

a message for you. This is not a message

for them. This is a message for me. God

came to me. God is speaking to me.

Before they ever ran to Bethlehem, light

ran to them. Before they found Christ,

Christ found them. And the church,

listen to me. Anytime the Lord shines a

light of his word into a human heart, it

demands movement. And the shepherds ran

because revelation always calls for a

response.

>> Right?

>> I want you to notice. Secondly, God

revealed good news to them. I'm getting

tired of hearing bad news all the time.

>> Amen.

>> You cannot even turn on Fox News anymore

without something bad being said.

>> Right.

>> CNN is all bad. MSNBC is all bad. I

mean, you name it, it's all bad. And you

go around and you can tell and it's

affecting people all the time. People

who hear bad news, they walk around mad

all the time,

>> right?

>> And frustrated and down and and and the

last thing you want to do is ask

somebody how they're doing because for

the next 30 minutes, they're going to

tell you how bad it is,

>> right?

>> But can I tell you, we need some good

news.

>> Amen. And the good news is the gospel of

Jesus Christ. The angel said, "I bring

you good tidings." That's good news of

great joy. For unto you is born this day

in the city of David a savior. You see,

this wasn't religion. This wasn't a

ritual. This wasn't another law. And it

wasn't another burden. This was good

news of great joy for every single one.

You're

>> right. A savior had come.

>> Not a judge, not a general, not a

religious reformer. A savior.

>> Amen.

>> The answer to sin, the answer to sorrow,

the answer to eternal separation. Hey,

Jesus had come.

>> No wonder they ran. Right?

>> When God reveals a savior, the only

reasonable response is urgency.

>> Right?

>> God revealed good news to them. And

then, may I say, God revealed a personal

message to them. I I can't get away from

the word you. Unto you is born this day,

>> right?

>> Unto you. I want you to think for just a

moment. Hey, when I think about the

goodness of God and the blessings of

God, I believe all of us could say, "God

has been good." But how many of us can

say, "God's been good to me."

>> Amen.

>> Hey, God's been good to me. It's

individual. God has been good to me. God

has been good to you. And here he is

coming to those shepherds. He didn't

come to Israel alone. He didn't come to

the priest alone. He didn't come to the

kings alone. He didn't even come to the

elite alone. HE CAME to you and to me

when he spoke to those shepherds that

night.

>> You see the shepherds understood

God spoke to me.

God came for me.

>> Right.

>> Heaven noticed me.

>> Amen.

>> You'd be amazed

sometimes when I talk to those inmates

and I begin to describe to them the love

of God. You'll be amazed as they will

sit there with tears running down their

face and they'll look back and say,

"Preacher, are you telling me God loves

me?"

>> Right?

>> Many of them have never heard anybody

loving them before.

>> Right?

>> Many of them can never imagine anybody

loving them because they all they know

is about what they did and what they

have done and and what's going to

happen. And when you begin to explain to

them the love of God, how that the Bible

tells us, but God committed his love

toward us and that while we were yet

sinners, Christ died for us. AND WHEN

THEY GET A GRIP on that and get a hold

on that, God changes their whole life.

You see,

>> right?

>> I want you to notice they ran because

God revealed demanded God revealed

demanded a response from their feet.

I want you to notice secondly tonight

they ran because of a holy

responsibility.

>> Yes,

>> a holy responsibility. Verse number 15

says, "Let us now go and see this thing

which has come to pass."

They understood that when God speaks,

man must act. You're

>> right.

>> Uh they refuse to delay.

Notice notice the words. Let us now go.

Now go. Delayed obedience is

disobedience. You're

>> right.

>> Amen.

>> They didn't wait for sunrise.

They didn't wait until their shift was

over. They didn't wait until it was a

more convenient time.

>> Good.

>> When God calls, the time is right now.

>> You're right. You see, the Bible says it

this way. Behold, now is the accepted

time.

>> Now is the accepted time. You know, when

I get excited is when I'm preaching

sometimes in the prisons there. I've

seen this out in the yard. I've seen it

even in the chapels. And I'll be

preaching and while I'm preaching, I'm

talking I'm not even done yet. I'm still

preaching. I'm still giving them thus

sayaith the Lord. And I'll see men get

up out of the pews and out of the seats

and and off the bleachers and begin

walking down. And they get down here

with tears running down their face and

they start asking God for mercy and

start asking God for grace. YOU SEE,

WHEN GOD SPEAKS, now is the time, not

some other time.

>> Hey, I I I don't have to wait till an

invitation is given. I I I don't have to

wait until somebody says come forward.

When God speaks, that's when you need to

uh act upon the the what he tells you to

do. So many times we sit back and we're

we're glued in, man. We got our hands on

the pews and we're we're you know, we

sing that song, I shall not be moved,

you know,

>> and here we are. We're going to stay

right here.

What are we going to do when God speaks?

>> I was told this years ago. There's only

two times you need to go to an altar.

Number one is when God speaks to you.

>> You're right.

>> The second time is when God doesn't

speak to you.

>> You're right. Amen. That's good.

>> Because if God's not speaking to you,

something's wrong somewhere,

>> right? I

>> I mean, it it should be automatic. We

walk and talk with God. I mean, that

that just ought to be the way it is. I

talk with him. He talks with me. And you

say, "Well, how does he talk to you?" He

talks to me through his word as I read

the word of God. He speaks to me. He

speaks to me during the preaching as I

listen to the preacher. God begins to

speak to me. He speaks to me through my

mind. He puts things in my mind

immediately. Have you ever been in

church and it seemed like the preacher

was preaching exactly what you needed at

that very moment. Can I tell you how

THAT WORKS? THAT'S GOD speaking to you.

>> And boy, when God speaks you, that's the

time to act.

>> Right?

>> Do it right then. I might not have

breath at the end of THE SERVICE. I

MIGHT NOT HAVE BREATH TO COME back

Sunday night. I MIGHT NOT HAVE BREATH TO

COME back next week. BUT AS LONG AS I

GOT BREATH IN ME RIGHT NOW, God wants to

see me move for him.

>> And they ran. They ran.

Oh, I find here that the reason many

Christians live powerless lives is that

they know about Christ, but they do not

run to Christ. Good.

>> I want to know him.

>> I want to know him. I want you to notice

not only they wanted to see for

themselves. As the Bible says, and see

this thing which has come to pass, these

shepherds, they said, "Look, we got to

get to where he is. I don't want to take

somebody else's word for it. I realize

that was the angels, but let me tell

you, I want to go see for myself. I I I

want firthand knowledge. I don't want

hearsay salvation. I want to know for

sure. I want to see with my eyes. I want

to experience it.

>> Amen.

>> And they took off running.

Too many people today know about the

Lord, but they don't know the Lord.

>> Good.

>> Just because they use God's name does

not mean they're serving the same God

you and I are serving.

>> Amen.

>> Just because they say Jesus once in a

while does not mean that they know the

Jesus you and I know tonight.

>> Amen. That's right. Can I tell you Jesus

Christ is the virginborn son of Mary. He

is not Satan's brother. That's

>> right.

>> There are people tonight that believe

that Jesus and Lucifer are brothers.

>> Hey, can I We live in a sad state

tonight. I go into prisons where they

teach that stuff. Jesus and Lucifer are

brothers. I go into prisons where they

have lockers all over. One of them will

say Catholicism. One of them will say

Mormons. One of them will say uh Jehovah

Witness. One of them will say Seventh

Day Adventist. One of them will say

Wikah. One of them will say Mormons. And

then they'll have one that says other.

>> Guess where we are?

>> We're the other.

We're the one that's different from all

those. You're

>> right.

>> You see, we're the one that serves a

living savior. Amen.

>> We're the one that has something to

celebrate come Christmas morning. The

birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus

Christ,

>> God incarnate, God in the flesh. We've

got something to celebrate,

>> right?

>> We've got something to run about.

>> I want you to notice they ran. They ran.

I want you to notice they recognized God

was inviting them to come.

Have you ever thought about that? God is

inviting each one of us to come to where

he is.

>> Right?

>> I'm not talking about you say, "Well, I

know when I die, I'll be in heaven." I'm

not talking about that. He wants a close

fellowship with you right now.

>> That's good.

>> I mean, he he just he he just wants to

talk with you.

>> Yes,

>> man. I I I I talked with mom and and and

[snorts] mom is now 90 years old and and

I was talking with her the other day and

I said I said, "Mom," I said, "I really

believe you're going to get to be a

hundred."

My dad always said he was going to live

to be a hundred. And dad didn't make it.

And and but he's in heaven now. He'll

live for all eternity there. But uh but

mom, I said, "Mom," I said, "I believe

you're going to be hundred." She said,

"I" she said, "You really think so?" I

said, 'Yeah. She said, "I hope not." She

said, "I don't want to get old."

[laughter]

And I got to laughing. I said, "You

don't want to get old?" She said, "No, I

don't want to get old." And I said,

"Mom," I said, "What is it? What is it

that you think has helped you to live

all this time?" She said, "I don't

know." She said, "God's just good to

me."

>> Amen.

>> And every time I talk to her, she's

talking about how good God's been.

That's

>> right.

>> How good God's been. How good God's

been. I I said, "Mom, you talk to God

all the time, don't She said, "Oh,

yeah." She said, "I talk to him in the

morning. Talk to him all day." She said,

"I don't do anything without talking to

God." She said, she said, "We just talk

all the time." She said, she said, "We

just talk all the time." I was telling

my wife, I don't think I've ever heard

her grumble about anything.

Everything she's thankful for. She will

call me to tell me somebody held the

door for her. She said, "You're not

going to believe how good God is." She

said, "I was walking in a grocery store

and this little boy held the door for

me. She's in Isn't God good?

>> Amen.

>> I mean, she just thanks God for

everything. You know what that tells me?

God wants us to talk to him.

>> You're right.

>> You say, "Well, that's little silly

things." It might be, but I tell you one

thing, I I wish I talked to God as much

as she did.

>> Amen.

>> I mean, she just does it all the time.

And God is inviting us to do the same.

He invited the shepherds to come. Come.

I want you I want you to come and see

for yourself. And these humble men

understood something that was so

profound.

If God made this known to them,

if heaven sent angels to them,

if the message was given to them,

then a divine invitation

had been extended. You're

>> right.

Revelation always comes with

responsibility. You're

>> right.

>> So God has come to us and God has spoken

to us. Are we going to do what he says?

>> Come on.

>> You say, "Well, well, I've already

trusted Christ as my savior. I've

already done what he says." Surely he's

talked to you since then.

>> Amen.

>> I mean, surely he's talked to you since

you got saved. Surely he has told you

some things you ought to do in your

life. Surely he's talked to you about

how to spend your day today. Surely he

has talked to you about uh uh when

you're reading his word and and he

begins to converse with you and begin to

speak with you and begin to teach you

things in the word of God. There's

nothing any greater than hearing God

speak.

>> They ran because heaven had opened a

door

and they dared not ignore it. Let me

give you the last point of the message.

I believe they ran because of a humble

redemption.

A humble redemption. Look at verse 16.

The Bible says, "And they found Mary and

Joseph and the babe lying in a what?

>> Manger.

They weren't running to a palace,

>> right?

>> They were running to a manger.

>> They weren't seeking a throne. They were

seeking a feeding trough.

>> Yes.

>> And what they found was not what men

would expect, but was precisely what God

had promised.

>> Right.

>> Amen.

>> They found the Christ in humility.

>> Right.

>> Jesus did not come clothed in royalty,

but he came wrapped in rags.

>> Yes.

>> He did not come surrounded by servants,

but surrounded by straw.

He did not enter the world in grandeur,

but he entered the world in grace.

>> Right?

>> And the shepherds ran because the savior

of all had come low enough for anyone to

reach.

>> Amen.

>> Doesn't matter who it is,

>> right?

>> Aren't you glad tonight

that the gospel is for whosoever will?

>> Yes.

I've met some people that had done some

pretty rough things.

I've met some people that

to be honest with you, I'm probably glad

they are behind bars.

But God came for them also.

>> Right?

>> You see, God came for them. No matter

what they would do,

God loves them.

>> All right?

I've seen some men's lives change so

drastically

that when they used to be in heavy metal

bands and they used to be out here and

doing all the things of the world and

and they have done so many crimes that

we can't even speak about it to now see

them using their talents for the Lord

Jesus Christ.

>> Amen.

>> Their lives have so changed.

You say, "Well, what made the

difference?"

Jesus did.

>> You're right.

>> Jesus did. Uh the the programs is not

making a difference.

>> You're right.

>> It I see programs of all kinds. They're

not making a difference. What's making a

difference is Jesus.

>> Amen.

>> Only Jesus can satisfy the soul.

>> Yes. Only Jesus

can take a drug addict.

>> Yes.

>> And make him into a brand new person.

>> Right.

>> Only Jesus can take a murderer.

>> Come on.

>> And wipe the slate clean.

>> And give him a new life in Jesus Christ.

>> Right.

>> I had a inmate come to me one time and

he said, you know, he said, "I'll never

get out of here." I think he's on like

three life sentences. He said, 'I'll

never get out of here.' He said, ' But I

know one thing. He said, 'I know I've

been saved.

>> And he said, even though I will never be

able to live in a house on this earth,

he said, when I move out of here, I'm

moving into a mansion up there.

>> Amen.

>> Only Jesus can do that.

>> You're right.

>> Only Jesus can do that.

And when Jesus came to those shepherds

that night,

he said, 'I want you to know something.

I'm coming to where you are.

>> I'm I'm I'm not I'm not here for the

elite. Hey, I want the elite to come,

but I'm going to the lowest of the low.

>> Yes.

>> So that you know, everyone is welcome.

I want you to note

that they found everything exactly as

God said they would.

>> Yes. The Bible says, "And they came with

haste and found

there." He was every detail exactly as

heaven had declared.

God's word is always accurate.

>> Right?

>> God's promises will never fail.

>> Amen.

>> And what God says, God will do.

>> Yes.

>> Their running was not wasted. Their

faith was not disappointed.

You see, when you run to Christ, you

will always find him faithful. You're

>> right.

>> I wonder tonight if there's somebody

here that just needs to run to Jesus.

>> He says, "Come unto me all you that

labor and are heavy laden, and I will

give you rest."

>> Amen.

>> There's some tonight that might even

need to run for salvation.

You see, just because it's Wednesday

night doesn't mean everybody in church

has been saved. You're

>> right.

>> I've seen people get saved on Sunday

night, Wednesday night. I've seen get

people get saved on Thursday night and

Friday night and Saturday night. The

night doesn't make a difference,

>> right?

>> It's when God speaks.

>> Yes.

>> When God speaks.

You see, they knew they needed to run to

him. And when they found him, here's

what they found.

Now they need to run for him.

>> Yes.

>> You see, they found a savior worth

sharing. Verse number 17 says, "And when

they had seen it, they made known

abroad. They let everybody know, hey,

you know what happened? Guess what?

Guess what we saw? They got the case of

the can't help it. You're

>> right.

>> You know what the can't help it are? You

just can't help but brag on the Lord.

>> Amen.

>> Hey, I I mean, God's just been so good.

And God's been so wonderful. And I just

can't help but tell somebody of the

goodness of God. I can't help but tell

somebody about how God blessed me. I

can't help but tell somebody how God

saved me. I can't help but tell somebody

how God took care of me. I can't help

but tell somebody how God SUPPLIED MY

NEED. I'VE GOT TO TELL SOMEBODY HOW GOD

took care of me. You just can't help it.

You got to run for Jesus and tell

somebody about him.

>> Right?

>> You see, why did they run to Bethlehem?

I believe they ran to Bethlehem so they

could run to the world.

>> Good.

>> The gospel ran into their hearts and

they ran with it to others.

A genuine encounter with Christ always

leads to sharing the gospel with someone

else.

>> Right?

>> Because those who find him cannot keep

him to himself.

>> He's just too big for that.

>> Amen.

>> God can't just stay right here. He's too

big. He's going to come out some way

somehow.

>> He's going to come out.

>> Right.

>> So why did the shepherds run? They ran

because God spoke.

Is God speaking to you tonight?

Is there something in your life that you

need to run to God for?

Or has it been too long since he has

spoke and you need to run so you can

hear his voice again?

They ran because they must respond. When

God speaks, it's time to move.

>> Right?

>> They be they ran because a savior had

come.

Today the same savior calls us to run

from sin to the savior. Run from fear to

faith. Run from doubt to devotion.

Run from apathy to worship.

>> Good.

>> Is there something God wants us to do

tonight? Then let me ask you, don't you

think it's time we quit just sitting

there hanging on

>> and run to him?

>> Amen.

and spend some time just talking with

him. Let's stand for prayer tonight,

shall we please? Every head bowed, every

eye closed, no one looking around. And

if there's someone that can play the

piano, just a verse or two, that would

be wonderful. Every head bowed, every

eye closed. And during this time, if

God's speaking to you, why don't you

come? The altar's open. The altar's This

is your time. Is God speaking to you?

What is it he wants you to do?

Is there someone he wants you to contact

before the [music] actual Christmas day?

Maybe there needs to be some boldness

because we're going to be getting with

some people over the Christmas holiday

and we might need the grace of God to

give us some boldness just to be able to

share with them what God has done in our

life.

Maybe we need to say, "God, help me to

run for you.

Help me to go and tell people about you.

Help me to go and share my faith. Lord,

help me not to be fearful, but help me

by boldness

be willing to share you with others.

The altar is open tonight. If you need

to come, please do so.

Just as the angels appeared to [music]

the shepherds

and those shepherds ran, they ran to see

the Christ.

So should you and I

run to be with the Lord.

Run to spend [music] time with him.

Run to talk with him. Run to listen to

him.

and then after that run for him

and make known abroad all the things

that God has done in your life.

God has been so good.

He has blessed my wife and I.

We were praying for 500 to be saved. We

saw over 700.

We were praying for around 500 to enroll

in the Bible institute. [music] We saw

that happen.

We were praying for a family to come and

join us and help us in California. God

answered that prayer.

We were praying to be able to open an

office in California for Rock of Ages,

and God's helped us to be able to do

that.

God's been good to us, but he's not done

yet. So, this coming year, we're praying

again. God, we want to see more saved

this year than we did last year.

Lord, this past year, we prayed for 500

saved. Why don't we pray this year we

see over a thousand say

we need to pray that they're going to

enroll in the Bible institute and and

how about over five let's go for 600 in

the Bible institute we we're praying

that God would help us be able to get

into the new office and to advance and

we're praying that God would help us to

get a work going in Canada. We're

praying that God would send us another

family to California. We're praying for

more volunteers. We're praying for

missionaries to rise up in Washington

State and Utah and uh Wyoming and other

parts of the world.

God can do that

because the same God that [music] sent

his glory to the shepherds

is the same God that's on the throne

tonight.

And there's nothing

my God cannot do. That's

>> right.

>> Father, we love you tonight. Thank you

so much for each and everyone that's

here. Lord, be with the pastor as he's

there helping Dr. Ellis and those at the

home office. And Father, I pray that you

will help us, Lord, as we go back to

California here in a few weeks and then

be able to branch out into other states.

I pray, Lord, that you'll watch over us

and help us to see many, many come to

know you as savior. Not a jailhouse

religion, but true salvation in Christ.

And then, Father, may we see a work

started in Canada. May we see the office

expanded. May we see more enrolled in

the Bible institute. May we start

getting into schools in the West Coast.

And God, our heart's desire is that

through it all, we'll be found faithful.

>> Thank you for this church. They've been

so good to us. And Lord, I pray you'll

bless them. be with their pastor, guide

him, and Lord, I pray give them a

wonderful, wonderful new year. For it's

[music] in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

>> Thank you for joining our service today.

We'd love it [music] if you'd join us in

person the next time you are able at

Meadows Baptist Church. Our physical

[music] address is 2988 Stewart Road in

Walnut Cove, North Carolina. Our service

[music] times are Sunday school at 10:00

a.m., Sunday morning worship at 11:00

a.m., Sunday evening [music] worship at

6:00 p.m., and Wednesday evening Bible

study at 700 [music] p.m. For more

information, visit us at

meadowsbaptisturch.com.

Thanks again for tuning in.