Christmas-Eve-Beautiful-Feet

Let me read from Luke chapter 2 verse 8 to 11.

Luke 2:8–11

Luke 2, 8 to 11.

Luke 2, 8 to 11.

If you want a title for today, it's Beautiful Feet, Beautiful Feet.

Luke chapter 2, verse 8 to 11.

Luke 2:8–11

That's just our sound crew.

Our newest recruit tonight, because we are short staffed.

I won't name him.

Okay, Luke chapter 2, verse 8 to 11.

Luke 2:8–11

So this is the part where the angels announce the good news.

And so here's what it says.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

An 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, the Savior has been born to you.

He is Christ the Lord.

It's fascinating how the announcement that the angels make is the heart of the gospel,

because it says there in just three sentences that, listen, I'm bringing you good news.

It is joyful.

There is a Savior.

He is Messiah or the Anointed One.

And he is Lord.

And within these simple words lies the heart of the gospel.

Do not be afraid.

I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people.

Oh, yeah, that's the other thing.

All this is for everybody.

It's for everybody.

Hey, I want to say to Sophia and Jagan and Aaron that your lives will look very different in 2021.

God is literally going to cause things to shed.

It's almost like the skin you are in will molt, where it is not what you will carry anymore into 2021.

So your approach to God should be, Father, you want us to leave this skin behind,

and you're molting us into something else.

It's not new skin that he's giving you.

He's bringing you through a process where you go from caterpillar to cocoon.

And so the next stage is actually cocoon, not butterfly.

But it's inevitable that the butterfly thing will happen.

But the next stage is cocoon, where God will cocoon you and teach you things

and make you so different from what you are.

So get ready, Sophia, Jagan and Aaron, to begin to move in terms of shedding your skin

or shedding everything that you have been thus far based on your background,

based on your experiences, based on everything that has happened.

You'll be cocooned by God so that he may change you into something else.

So it's almost like a transitional phase that will happen next.

But look forward to it. It is good because God is involved.

So guys, the strange thing about the angelic announcement was one,

that it carries in it the heart of the gospel, that here is one who is Savior,

here is one who is anointed, here is one who is Lord,

here is one who is for all people, here is one who has arrived.

So that's one thing.

The other thing that the angels do, and I just wanted to touch on it.

This is not the thing I really wanted to go after.

The other thing that happens is God's glory, normally associated with the temple,

now moves into fields.

I mean, this kind of glory where angels turn up, where there's an angelic choir,

where there are angelic announcements, always happen in the vicinity of the temple.

And suddenly, with Jesus coming, God's glory, normally associated with the temple,

is now manifested in a field.

People should have realized then, we've kind of gone back from the fields into the temple.

And I'd say to you that the center of religion must shift from the building to the streets.

The center of religion must shift from buildings to the streets.

This is one of the reasons that house churches, if anything, must blossom.

The center of religious practices, religion, must shift from the temple to the streets.

Jesus did, I mean, the angelic announcement was beginning to bring in that kind of a pattern

anyways, until 300 years later, we reverted back to the temple, where everything happens in the temple.

Time to devolve the temple, because that's what happened when the curtain tore.

But the thing I really want to get to is Luke chapter 2, verse 17 and 18.

Luke 2:17

Luke chapter 2, verse 17 and 18.

Luke 2:17

And so this is about the shepherd.

And so this is about the shepherd.

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby who 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.

I found it fascinating.

They saw him, but what they conveyed was not what they saw.

What they conveyed was what they were told.

Fascinating, eh?

The shepherds saw Jesus lying in a manger with his dad and mom.

But having seen him, they did not necessarily go and talk about the experience of seeing him.

They actually talked about what they were told by the angels.

And that is critically.

So often we replace what God says he is in the word for the experience we have of God.

And while I'm not saying we need to set aside the experience I have in God,

I go back to spreading what the word says about him.

These are shepherds, man. They are unlearned.

If anything, they should be talking about the experience.

And yet it very clearly says in Luke chapter 2 verse 17 and 18,

Luke 2:17

When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about the child.

And all who heard it were amazed.

The seeing was just validation of what they had been told.

That's how it should work.

And people who heard them were amazed.

So much so that Isaiah 52.7 comes to mind.

Isaiah 52.7 from the message puts it this way,

A sight to take your breath away.

Grand processions of people telling all the good things of God.

And that's where we'll park.

Guys, here's what Isaiah 52.7 says in most normal versions.

And I learned this in a hymn that was very popular 20 years ago,

Which was, How lovely on the mountains are the feet of them that bring good news,

Announcing peace, proclaiming news of happiness.

Just listen to those words, eh?

How lovely on the mountains or how beautiful on the mountains are the feet of them

That bring good news, that announce salvation and proclaim news of happiness.

Isaiah 52 verse 7.

Isaiah 52:7

And so here's what we want to look at today.

Hey Phoebe, how you doing? Distraction, eh? As usual?

I'm on camera. This is not looking good.

So how beautiful are the feet of them? How beautiful are the feet of them?

How beautiful are the feet of them?

Hey guys, beautiful feet when it comes to the kingdom are usually dirty, worn, scarred feet

For many miles of carrying the good news.

When it comes to the kingdom, it's that picture there.

Beautiful feet are always feet that carry, that are worn, that are scarred, that are sometimes bleeding, that are dirty.

Beautiful feet in the kingdom are always dirty because they carry, they carry the good news for miles.

They carry this idea of wholeness or peace wherever it needs to go.

They carry this idea of salvation or rescue wherever it needs to be brought to.

They carry the idea of the reign of a king who died, rose again, and now lives forever.

That is the, when it comes to the kingdom, beautiful feet are feet that are dirty, scarred, and worn.

And the strange thing is, why am I stuck talking about beautiful feet on Christmas?

Because one of the things God wanted to say to you as a church is that at the end of the year when he looks at your feet,

he's found Acts 29 with feet that are dirty, feet that are scarred, and feet that are worn

because he just wants to acknowledge today that Acts 29, you have done well when it comes to carrying the good news.

You have done well when it comes to proclaiming the news of happiness to people around you.

You have done well when it comes to releasing peace to people.

You have done well when it comes to rescuing people. You have done well.

That's the reason I need to preach this.

This is not so much to teach you some new truth.

This is to tell you what God actually thinks of you and what God actually thinks of me.

That I've got feet that are beautiful, and if you were to take these shoes and socks off,

you would find that my feet are scarred, worn, and dirty.

That if you were to take off your socks and shoes, you would find the same thing.

That your feet are scarred, worn, and dirty.

And God is saying to you, precious are you in my eyes for what you have done for the last 365 days or 360 days.

You've done well, says God.

This is more a message of gratitude from God on Christmas.

It's a gift to you.

So listen to it as I tell you what he wants to say to you.

But before that, remember what we are carrying here.

You have carried, God says, the good news to different corners of Vancouver, different corners of the earth, at least till March.

You have brought people relief.

You have brought people peace and wholeness.

You have prayed for people and they've gotten whole.

You have let people know that I died, I rose again, and that I now reign.

You have proclaimed good news with a degree of joy and happiness that I'm so proud of, says God.

I'm taking some of the credit, but most of it is you.

He wants you to know that.

I just want to pause and I just want us to join Emily as she sings this song, which takes three different songs and combines them together.

One is, were you there when he rose up from the dead?

The second is that chorus from Fall on Your Knees or Holy Night.

And the third is, yours is a kingdom, yours is a power.

So join along, eh?

Just sing this.

God is saying to you, listen, you've done well.

Give him back the glory and then I'll come back and finish what I have to say.

Were you there when he rose up from the dead?

Were you there when he rose up from the dead?

Oh, sometimes it calls me to tremble, tremble, tremble.

Were you there when they crucified my life?

Christ is the Lord.

Oh praise his name forever.

His power and glory evermore proclaim.

His power and glory evermore proclaim.

Yours is the kingdom, yours is the power.

Yours is the glory forever.

Amen.

Yours is the kingdom, yours is the power.

Yours is the glory forever.

Amen.

Yours is the kingdom, yours is the power.

Yours is the glory forever.

Amen.

Yours is the kingdom, yours is the power.

Yours is the glory forever.

Amen.

Let heaven come.

Let heaven come.

Let heaven come.

Yours is the kingdom, yours is the kingdom.

Yours is the kingdom, yours is the power.

Yours is the glory forever.

Amen.

Yours is the kingdom, yours is the power.

Yours is the glory forever.

Amen.

Let heaven come.

I just wanted to do that in between to give God back for what he's saying to us.

So the first thing he said to us is, hey church, Acts 29, you've got beautiful feet.

But if I were to take your shoes off, I'd find tired, scarred, not tired, I'd find scarred, worn, dirty feet because of what you've done.

And what have you done?

Throughout the year, each one of you, for my sake, went out with a lot of joy, rescued people, healed people, delivered people, told them about me.

Guys, these are God words, eh?

What he's saying to you is, cherished or treasured in my eyes are you because of your dirty feet.

Cherished or treasured are you because of your dirty feet in my eyes.

Guys, remember Isaiah 52 is being said by God.

God is the one saying it.

It's not Isaiah saying it.

It is God saying, how lovely on the mountains are the feet of them that bring good news.

How lovely on the mountains are the feet of them that bring good news.

It's God who's saying it.

And so cherished or treasured in my eyes are you, Acts 29, because of your dirty feet.

Every time I needed a personal errand that I wanted you to run on, you would go on a personal errand for me.

You would go wherever I told you to go.

You would do whatever I told you to do.

You were Isaiah 6 being lived out.

Every time I said, who shall I send, who will go for us, you would say, send me.

The number of places you went to, the number of places you went to at work,

the number of places you went to around the world.

Some of you went to Brazil.

Some of you went to Vietnam.

Some of you went to Sri Lanka.

Some of you went to India.

You went wherever I told you to go.

Who shall I send, who will go for us?

And in Acts 29, hands would go up.

It's very odd to hear gratitude from God.

You almost think thanksgiving and gratitude always goes from us to him.

And here he is thanking us.

And that too on Christmas.

You have beautiful feet, says God.

But every time I remove your shoes, I find scarred, dirty, worn feet.

And he's happy about that.

Do you know that people in this church, and you don't know these stories,

these stories will be told one day, that there are people in this church who would be directed by God to turn left or turn right

and end up either at a bank or a safe way or a super store,

and there would be a beggar sitting at the door that needed to be told of Christ or given food.

Do you know that the CFO of Huawei, Meng Wanzhou,

someone had this strong feeling from God that she needed to be witnessed to.

You're talking about a beggar and you're talking about the CFO of one of the biggest companies,

both being touched by people in this church.

And the strange thing is these things happen on the quiet.

I can tell you story after story where God would wake up, God would give a dream,

God would put an impression on somebody and you would go.

How lovely are the feet, how lovely upon the mountains are the feet of those that bring good news, and you've done that.

Just trust me as I say this to you that it is God just thanking you for what you've done.

That's all I'm supposed to convey.

You know, the strange thing is when you think of how lovely are the feet of them that bring good news,

the idea was a city that was besieged and the army had gone out to fight the enemy

and everybody's waiting on the walls, waiting to know whether there was a victory or there was a defeat.

If there's a defeat, they'll lose everything. If there's a victory, they know they are free.

And then at a distance they see a runner and the runner keeps running and they're looking at him thinking,

what news is he bringing? And then at some point they realize the guy is not running.

He's dancing as he's walking towards the city. Why? Because he's got good news to bring.

And God says, you've been like that. It doesn't matter what you've been through.

It doesn't matter what you've been through. Many of you went through aches and pains.

Many of you lost things. Many of you were scared. Many of you had different situations happening to you.

And yet God says every time you would come at some point, your fear, your pain, your running would change into dancing.

And God wants to say, thank you. You actually turned your mourning into dancing.

You actually turned your mourning into dancing. And he saw that. And he loves it about you.

At some point I want to listen to this teaching. You know why? Or this message. You know why?

Because I want to hear it too from God. Right now when I'm speaking, I almost feel like I'm speaking on his behalf to you.

I want to listen to this so that I can receive it. That you, Jacob, did well.

That you turned your mourning into dancing. That you would come running and then your running would turn into dancing

because you had good news to bring.

God says because you've done this.

As you go into 2021, you have shoes that are ready.

Ephesians 6.15, he says, will become something that you will possess.

God says people ask me for the gospel shoes of peace.

They ask me for it. They pray for it. God says you went about it the right way.

The gospel shoes of peace are given to those that are prepared to take what I have and speak it out.

And you've done well, says God.

Next year, this church will have the gospel shoes of peace. You know what that will do for you, says God.

That will give you the kind of alertness and a stance that cannot be shaken. It's part of your armor.

Once you put those shoes down, it's very hard for you to be moved. Why?

Because you both appropriated the gospel and then you proclaimed it not in some crusade, but to people that you encountered.

Do not despise the day of small beginnings. You've done well.

Every time you created a pathway, you began a conversation I watched and I marveled, says God.

Well done.

You have no idea how next year spiritual conflict will be so much easier simply because you decided that you would have your feet fitted with readiness that comes from the gospel of peace, giving you a firm footing in spiritual conflict in 2021.

God says, I just want you to do two things before we finish.

One, next year be even more deliberate about it. Let the unfolding of Romans 10, 13 to 15 happen through you.

What does Romans 10, 13 to 15 say? That someone needs to be sent because if someone is not sent, then there is no way that things can be proclaimed or preached.

Once it is preached, people will hear. Once people hear, they will begin to believe. Once they begin to believe, they will call on God.

God says, be more deliberate in the unfolding of Romans 10, 13 to 15. Be more deliberate about it.

I'll bring lives into your paths that have not been penetrated with the gospel yet.

I'll bring lives into your paths that have not been penetrated by the gospel yet.

I'll put you in situations where people have not heard.

And the reason I'll put you there is I've seen a willingness in your heart to do this.

God says, Jacob usually tells you that you need to pull your socks up in this. You need to change this. You need to do better in this.

And God is saying, don't listen to Jacob today, listen to me. You've done well.

I love your feet, says God.

He almost sounds like one of those manicure persons, but what he's saying is, man, your feet are so dirty, they are beautiful.

And the last thing he wants to say is from Isaiah 52, verse 9, where God, and these are my words, says God, all of Isaiah from 52.1 to 52.9.

Isaiah 52:9

Those are my words. It's not Isaiah saying them. Isaiah is not saying how lovely the mountains are, the feet of them.

I am saying it says God. And I'm saying it to you.

And in verse 9, here's what I say. I say to Israel, listen, burst out in song, burst out in songs of joy. Why?

Because you need to start giving thanks in anticipation of what I'm going to do next year, where many will be comforted and redeemed through you.

Many will be comforted and redeemed through you.

So in faith, in thanksgiving and praise, begin to participate with me for the souls that I have marked out, for the encounters I have marked out,

where you will meet the rich man, you will meet the poor man, you will meet the beggar, you will meet the Ethiopian eunuch, you will meet the magician, you will meet the governor,

you will meet these different people, you will meet the thief on the right side.

And through these encounters, begin to praise God, even today as I end, says God, that these lives will be redeemed, will be comforted. Why?

Because I died, I rose again, I rule, and I have found you with dirty feet, which in my sight are beautiful.

So, man, I wish there were more listening to this tonight. Gosh, listen, guys, this is Jacob speaking now.

When these events happen live, try and be there when it happens live. It ain't the same watching it later.

Because right now when we begin to praise God, it would be so much better if you were there to praise with us.

Let me go back to what God was saying. He says, just praise me. Praise me and if necessary, call out names that you think you want to see saved.

How lovely are the feet of those that bring good news. This is Phoebe.

Thank you, Phoebe. That was a prophetic action. Thank you, Father.

Guys, so let's just praise him and then we'll conclude with that song, I've been touched by a fire.

You know, when I started this message, when I started writing it down, I was thinking God was saying to us, hey, you need to do this.

I was so surprised when he turned things on me and said, you don't need to do this, you have done this, you can only do it better.

And he wanted to say thank you. Such an odd message. I've never preached something like this.

Go listen to it again, because I'm going to. I want to receive this too.

So can you just begin to praise God for the souls, for the people, for the encounters, for the Ethiopian eunuch, for the magician, for the sorcerer, for the governor, for the poor man, for the rich man, for the thief, for the prostitute, for the tax collector?

Could you just begin to praise God with everything you have within you, thanking God for the comfort and the redemption he's going to bring into lives here in Vancouver and across the earth through us.

Yeah. What a cool thing to participate in. It's no longer angels, guys. It's no longer angels that are announcing it.

People will be amazed at what we bring, what we bring. Yeah. So let's just praise God.

Father, I praise you. I praise you for every encounter that is being lined up for me, for every person in Acts 29, every encounter that is being lined up in 2021.

Father, I so look forward to it. Thank you for giving us dirty feet. Thank you for saying our feet are beautiful.

Thank you, oh God, these feet are meant for you. You gave us these feet to go out. We go out happily, Father. It is our pleasure.

It is our pleasure. We want to be your errand boys and errand girls. When you say, who shall I send?

Don't even look because you will find them here, Father. Next year, may your pleasure be double of a, may your pleasure be double.

If you thought this year was good and you wanted to thank us, what are you going to do next year, Father? Holy Spirit, would you conspire with us?

Holy Spirit, would you conspire with us so that when the Father wants, he'll have to turn this way. Oh, God, I thank you for every person I'm going to meet.

I thank you for the courage. I thank you for the boldness. I thank you for a heart that will cry out, Father, for everyone who does not know yet.

Father, for you said how lovely, how beautiful are the mountains or the feet of them that bring good news, that announce salvation and that proclaim a news of happiness.

Father, thank you that you're going to distribute the kingdom through us. Let heaven come. Let heaven come. Let heaven come.

Father, we say yes to this, oh God. We say yes to this, Father. We thank you for the privilege of working with you.

You don't need us, but you want us there as you redeem lives, as you comfort lives. We give you praise, Father. I give you praise and thanksgiving.

I give you praise and thanksgiving for the people that'll be added to the flock, for the people that'll know you, for the people that'll be comforted,

that will be comforted, for the people that will be redeemed, for the people that will be healed, for the people that will be delivered,

for the people that will be fed, for the people that will recognize that Jesus Christ alone is Lord, not just in Vancouver,

in towns and villages around, in cities and nations around, our God reigns, our God reigns.

We bless you Father, we give you praise Abba, we give you praise oh God, we thank you Lord, we participate in your mission,

we participate in your mission, we realize Abba how precious this is to you, how precious this is to you.

The proclamation will happen in places where they haven't heard and the word of God will progress and Jesus Christ will be lifted up

and when we lift him up he will draw all men unto himself Father.

We come Lord to join you in your mission, conspire with us Holy Spirit, let us know what God is thinking

and allow us to put our hands up before he asks a question.

Thank you for being the gift giver on Christmas, that's always what it's been, you're the gift giver.

What an odd message Father to give on Christmas, there you are again, giving gifts away to this church.