Action4Canada - December 24, 2022


Celebrate the King of Kings and Lord of Lords


Episode Stats


Length

1 hour and 28 minutes

Words per minute

121.84256

Word count

10,739

Sentence count

641

Harmful content

Misogyny

3

sentences flagged

Toxicity

6

sentences flagged

Hate speech

12

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

Join Pastor Aaron and Heather as they celebrate the birth of our Lord in a manger with the Hallelujah song and a special message from Pastor Ron Riewald of Action For Canada's Ministry of Pastoral Support.

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
00:00:00.000 I'm excited about tonight. This is our annual Christmas service. We're going to be doing this
00:00:10.400 every year. It was funny because I was watching the video from last year and it was quite a hoot.
00:00:15.420 We had an ugly Christmas sweater contest and one of our team, Ray, told a story and it was just so
00:00:23.240 incredible and it was well received. So we're excited about this and providing this service
00:00:30.080 to all of our members and to honor our Lord Jesus Christ. And so I'm just going to do one of my quick
00:00:37.040 updates. I'm just going to share my page for a moment, Terenzio. So we're going to begin with an
00:00:45.560 amazing song tonight, the Hallelujah Song. And this song goes way beyond the Christmas message
00:00:51.300 of the Christ child born in a manger. It also reveals that Jesus' death on the cross was a
00:00:57.480 voluntary sacrifice to cover our sins. Through his miraculous resurrection, he conquered death and
00:01:05.080 the grave. Because Jesus was sinless and the Son of God, death had no hold on him. He died for us
00:01:13.500 so that we too would have victory over the grave. Our physical body will one day die, will pass away,
00:01:21.300 but through the gift of salvation, we receive everlasting life. To him be the glory and honor
00:01:28.920 and praise. This will bless you.
00:01:32.120 I've heard about this baby boy who's come to earth to bring us joy. And I just want to sing this song to you.
00:01:51.300 It goes like this, the fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift. With every breath I'm singing
00:02:04.320 Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
00:02:17.940 Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
00:02:29.640 A couple came to Bethlehem
00:02:38.160 Expecting child
00:02:40.160 They searched the inn to find a place
00:02:44.320 For you were coming soon
00:02:48.340 And there was no room for them to stay
00:02:54.660 So in a manger filled with hay
00:02:58.920 God's only Son was born
00:03:01.980 Oh, hallelujah
00:03:04.280 Hallelujah
00:03:07.580 Hallelujah
00:03:12.080 Hallelujah
00:03:15.940 Hallelujah
00:03:20.160 Hallelujah
00:03:28.920 The shepherds left their flocks by night
00:03:35.620 To see this baby wrapped in light
00:03:39.960 A host of angels led them all to you
00:03:45.980 It was just as the angels said
00:03:52.720 You'll find Him in a manger bed
00:03:55.780 You'll find Him in a manger bed
00:03:56.540 Emmanuel
00:03:58.080 And Savior
00:04:00.060 Hallelujah
00:04:01.980 Hallelujah
00:04:05.580 Hallelujah
00:04:09.700 Hallelujah
00:04:14.760 Hallelujah
00:04:15.060 Hallelujah
00:04:18.060 Hallelujah
00:04:19.060 Hallelujah
00:04:22.240 A star shone bright up in the east
00:04:33.720 To Bethlehem
00:04:35.940 The wise men
00:04:36.940 The wise men three
00:04:37.760 Came many miles
00:04:40.340 And journeyed long for you
00:04:44.340 And to the place
00:04:48.540 At which you were there
00:04:51.000 Breaking scents and gold and myrrh
00:04:54.620 They gave to you
00:04:56.620 And cried out
00:04:58.180 Hallelujah
00:04:59.940 Hallelujah
00:05:02.440 Hallelujah
00:05:04.440 Hallelujah
00:05:06.640 Hallelujah
00:05:07.680 Hallelujah
00:05:09.980 Hallelujah
00:05:12.860 Hallelujah
00:05:18.280 I know you came to rescue me
00:05:31.420 This baby boy would grow to be
00:05:35.600 A man and one day died for me and you 0.95
00:05:42.460 My sins would drive the nails in you
00:05:48.360 That rugged cross was my cross too
00:05:52.500 Still every breath you drew was hallelujah
00:05:57.880 Hallelujah
00:06:01.460 Hallelujah
00:06:05.700 Hallelujah
00:06:09.740 Hallelujah
00:06:15.480 Hallelujah
00:06:18.220 Hallelujah
00:06:26.520 Hallelujah
00:06:28.560 Hallelujah
00:06:30.560 Hallelujah
00:06:34.620 Hallelujah
00:06:36.960 Hallelujah.
00:06:49.140 Wow, thank you, Terenzio.
00:06:53.300 Sorry, I have a hard time every time I watch that video.
00:06:56.100 I've watched it numerous times, getting ready for the show tonight.
00:06:59.340 And I almost wonder how anybody cannot be moved, you know, by the sacrifice that Jesus made on our behalf.
00:07:08.120 And so we just welcome you tonight.
00:07:10.200 We're excited to get this going.
00:07:12.880 So, Heather, can I hand that back to you? 0.58
00:07:14.660 Would you please introduce Ron?
00:07:17.060 And thank you.
00:07:20.440 Thank you, Terenzio.
00:07:21.740 And it's always such an honor to have Ron Riewald joining us on the Empower Hour.
00:07:26.600 Ron is Action for Canada's pastoral support lead and a man of faith and prayer who has encouraged, supported, and equipped pastors and congregants to remain open during the unlawful government restrictions.
00:07:42.540 Ron has served on prayer teams and leadership positions in churches in the Lower Mainland, Colorado, and Australia, as well as leading couples and men's study groups.
00:07:53.240 Armed with prayer and Action for Canada's resources, Ron continues to be a driving force in empowering Canadians to assemble together in fellowship, worship, and prayer within the church.
00:08:06.140 Will you please all help me give Ron a big, warm welcome?
00:08:11.200 Hello, Ron.
00:08:12.020 It's so nice to have you on the Empower Hour once again.
00:08:15.340 Oh, thank you so much.
00:08:17.720 I just, I love being here.
00:08:20.000 I was on last week with a panel of three pastors who chose God over government in Pastor Artur and Pastor Phil on the East Coast and Pastor Randy on Vancouver Island.
00:08:34.820 And now we're blessed with Pastor Aaron joining us this evening.
00:08:39.180 But this is a beautiful time to get together and give God the praise and the glory and the honor for sending his son into this world and to be the hope of our salvation.
00:08:49.120 So my prayer is that many who are sitting on the fence, that the Lord has been nudging at you.
00:08:56.860 If you're, if you're feeling moved by that video, there's a reason because we understand, you know, what it is to, if you have children, what it is to sacrifice for them.
00:09:08.280 You know, it just may be of your time, but God sent his only son as a sacrifice for all of mankind and died on the cross for us so that we could have eternal salvation.
00:09:19.780 And so, Ron, I'm just going to hand it back over to you.
00:09:22.960 I can't wait to have Pastor Aaron on and hear his service.
00:09:26.520 Yes, we are truly blessed people to have a hero of Canadians, a true legend of the faith.
00:09:38.320 Aaron Rock was born in St. Thomas, Ontario in 1973 as the second of six children.
00:09:44.980 In 1979, four years after I gave my life to the Lord, while sitting in a gospel meeting, he experienced a great weight of conviction for his sins.
00:09:58.000 And later that evening surrendered his life to Christ and was saved.
00:10:04.600 Even though he was still very young, he felt like he was being crushed under the burden of his sin and desperately hopeless to do anything about it.
00:10:16.320 While he was initially confused about the purpose of Jesus' death in relationship to his sin,
00:10:25.540 when he finally realized that Jesus had died in his place and that he needed to trust in him alone,
00:10:34.620 he felt as though a light had been turned on in his clouded thinking and everything became clear.
00:10:43.580 Aaron repented and believed.
00:10:46.600 His faith has been tested many times since, including the divorce of his parents,
00:10:51.660 the near loss of a brother in a car accident, the near death of his wife and childbirth,
00:10:58.280 and the challenges of ministry.
00:11:00.560 Yet God's enduring faithfulness and the realization that he exists for his glory
00:11:06.200 has served to strengthen and equip him in faith and service.
00:11:11.960 You know, when I first heard about Aaron, Pastor Aaron Rock,
00:11:15.460 it was when the lockdowns took place and churches were going virtual.
00:11:22.120 And through all this, our brother Aaron wrote a wonderful thing.
00:11:27.340 She was going to post it.
00:11:29.120 It was just wonderfully inspired and anointed by the Holy Spirit, scripture-based.
00:11:35.600 And it was entitled, A Call to Divine Obedience Over Civil Obedience.
00:11:40.400 And I'm just going to read a couple of excerpts.
00:11:42.480 I want you to read the whole thing in its entirety because it's just amazing.
00:11:47.300 The Word of God instructs God's people to meet for the ministry of the Word,
00:11:53.300 to take the elements together, the sacrament, worship, laying on of hands,
00:11:59.940 greeting one another with a holy kiss, praying over the sick,
00:12:04.520 and fulfilling the one another's of scripture.
00:12:07.260 You know what, Pastor Aaron, I have quoted that many times
00:12:11.040 and attributed the anointing and the Word through you for it being written.
00:12:16.620 You also were saying, and this is just a challenge to the pastors across our country,
00:12:21.700 I am calling the church in Canada to divine obedience over civil obedience.
00:12:26.900 In doing so, I am prepared to answer to my Lord and endure all penalties meted out by civil authorities
00:12:37.000 should I be forced to disobey them.
00:12:39.880 They can take my freedom, my finances, and my life, but I will not bow.
00:12:45.580 Nor will I be shamed, bullied, chided, or threatened to back down.
00:12:52.420 Oh, people, we have a hero.
00:12:56.220 And I just pray, it is my prayer that pastors across this country
00:13:00.200 would emulate the same dedication, devotion, obedience, and choosing God first.
00:13:05.880 We want to welcome you, Pastor Aaron, and we look forward to God's Word through you.
00:13:10.940 Good, thank you.
00:13:12.200 Well, I love you guys, too.
00:13:15.340 And even though we've not had the opportunity to meet in person,
00:13:18.980 I feel like I have an extended family across our country and into the U.S.,
00:13:22.540 and it's been a joy to meet so many faithful believers across the country
00:13:28.140 and around the world that while we're still the minority, I think the Lord is using us.
00:13:35.240 And thank you, Ron, for your kind words.
00:13:37.040 I'm humbled by them.
00:13:38.360 I'm grateful to the Lord for my salvation and for the little gifts he's given to me.
00:13:44.880 And if I can bless others with them, I'm happy to do that for as long as he sees fit.
00:13:50.060 A special thank you to Tanya and Action for Canada and Ron
00:13:54.700 for their unwavering commitment to righteousness and pursuing justice in our country.
00:14:01.520 What I want to do tonight is I want to encourage you,
00:14:05.000 usually in my podcasts or in my public speaking,
00:14:10.320 we're often dealing with heavy theological issues or political philosophy or these sorts of things or apologetics.
00:14:17.400 But I just want to encourage you in a very real and practical way tonight.
00:14:22.500 So we're here because we all know that we live in a fear-filled world.
00:14:31.520 And from a human perspective, there's all sorts of things to be afraid of.
00:14:35.520 We've gone through lockdowns.
00:14:39.080 Many of us have been fined.
00:14:41.460 We have been harassed, vandalized, surveilled.
00:14:44.960 We're constantly hearing all the bad news in the media.
00:14:50.200 We know what the World Economic Forum is up to.
00:14:53.880 We know that several federal bills have been passed in the last year or so
00:14:58.080 that are an absolute affront to the word of God and the historic Christian underpinnings of our nation. 1.00
00:15:03.820 There's a lot of stuff out there that can appear to be scary.
00:15:10.600 And I want to acknowledge that, that in our humanness, it's a vulnerable world.
00:15:16.020 We often feel vulnerable and we often perhaps wonder in our humanness, what do we do about all this?
00:15:22.520 It seems like we're trying to bail water out of a tugboat with a thimble.
00:15:29.400 And the task just seems sort of hopeless.
00:15:32.900 But my fundamental message to you tonight that I want to deliver from God's word is very simply, fear not.
00:15:39.560 That's the message.
00:15:41.200 So if you forget everything else, I want you to remember this message, fear not.
00:15:46.460 Because our king has come and our king is still very much firmly on his throne,
00:15:54.460 whether or not our leaders recognize that or not.
00:15:57.120 Now, he's very much firmly on his throne.
00:16:01.920 And in one sense, he's inviting them to surrender to him.
00:16:06.420 But in another sense, he's just declaring it.
00:16:08.680 He's the king, like it or lump it.
00:16:10.840 He's the king of kings and the Lord of lords.
00:16:12.680 And one day we know that he will make all things new.
00:16:17.460 And every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, the glory of God the Father.
00:16:24.980 So where do we see this in scripture?
00:16:27.120 I don't want to issue mere pastoral sentiment.
00:16:29.880 I want to anchor this truth in scripture.
00:16:31.800 So I want to take you to Luke chapter 2.
00:16:34.560 And Luke chapter 2 is taken from one of the four gospels of the New Testament.
00:16:39.880 And Luke is recording the early events of Christ's birth and the response that people had to him.
00:16:50.880 So let me read for you from Luke chapter 2, verses 8 through 14.
00:16:55.900 Here's what the word of God says.
00:16:57.240 Now, I want you to keep in mind who the angel of the Lord is appearing to.
00:17:12.060 We're going to circle back to this.
00:17:14.220 The angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them.
00:17:19.320 And they were filled with great fear, which I think all of us would be if we had that out of the blue encounter.
00:17:27.180 But the angel said to them, fear not.
00:17:29.620 Okay, so he says, fear not.
00:17:32.020 The question is, why?
00:17:33.380 What is it?
00:17:34.460 What is it he has to say next that enables them to have encountered the supernatural event, but not to live in fear of it?
00:17:41.960 For behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
00:17:49.740 For unto us is born this day in the city of David a savior.
00:17:54.420 So the city of David to the Jewish year meant Bethlehem, Bethlehem, the house of bread, the ancient ancestral home of the Davidic king, David.
00:18:09.000 And we know that in Old Testament prophecy, the Messiah, the Christ, the anointed one would come from the line of David.
00:18:17.500 So there's a tie in there.
00:18:19.100 It's speaking to the royal nature, the Davidic kingship, the messianic nature of this savior.
00:18:25.900 And he is named now who is Christ.
00:18:29.160 That means anointed one, the Lord.
00:18:32.240 That's another word for king.
00:18:34.500 And this will be a sign for you.
00:18:36.580 You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a gold gilded cradle.
00:18:46.100 No, it doesn't say that.
00:18:47.960 Because while he's a king, he's a humble king.
00:18:50.780 He's lying in a manger, which is the equivalent of a cattle trough.
00:18:54.580 It's a trough you feed cows and donkeys out of.
00:18:58.380 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts, meaning angels, praising God.
00:19:05.500 And they were saying glory to God in the highest.
00:19:08.740 So this is a beautiful historical record for us of this encounter between the angelic messengers of God and these shepherds pointing them to the manger where Jesus lay.
00:19:29.200 There's two things I want to draw out of this text that I think will be an encouragement to all of us.
00:19:35.580 And the first is, it's actually quite fascinating that the God of the universe, when he revealed himself in Christ, chose to send his angels.
00:19:45.980 And among the first recipients, the first to hear this incredible gospel message were shepherds.
00:19:54.700 Now, we've probably all been to Christmas shows, maybe even back into our childhood.
00:19:59.700 And we have maybe a fond view of shepherds.
00:20:03.040 We see them as gentle men.
00:20:04.480 We have those images in our mind of them wearing their bathrobes and having the head thing on and the staff and smiling and being gentle with their sheep.
00:20:14.740 But if you were to go back into the first century, shepherding was an extremely lowly occupation.
00:20:23.780 It was the kind of occupation, frankly, that you'd probably be embarrassed by if someone were to ask you, hey, what do you do for a living?
00:20:31.600 You said, well, I'm a shepherd.
00:20:34.200 What was that?
00:20:35.560 Well, I'm a shepherd.
00:20:37.280 I'm a shepherd.
00:20:39.240 It's like, oh, really?
00:20:40.440 You are?
00:20:41.500 I mean, low life, right? 1.00
00:20:43.540 Loser. 1.00
00:20:44.020 This was not anything that you'd be esteemed for. 0.98
00:20:47.880 This was the kind of, like, last-ditch occupation that the common man would want to pursue as his career.
00:20:58.900 But God comes to the unexpected.
00:21:02.700 And that's part of the beautiful ongoing theme of the gospel.
00:21:05.640 God chooses the secondborn when in ancient cultures it was the firstborn that was supposed to be chosen.
00:21:11.400 God chooses the prostitute, Rahab, to free the spies. 1.00
00:21:16.940 God, time and time again in human history, chooses those that are unexpected to reveal himself, first and foremost.
00:21:26.700 So God comes to them, not to the elite, not to the experts, not to the highly educated.
00:21:35.920 He comes first to the lowly, to the humble, to those that are living on the fringes of society.
00:21:43.600 And he demonstrates that God's love and grace is not dependent upon your status.
00:21:52.620 It's not dependent upon your status.
00:21:55.800 But it's for the humble and the contrite.
00:21:58.840 Now, unfortunately, the fact of the matter is, is that when you gain the applause of men because of your education or because you're an elected politician or because you have a large social media following, you have to guard your heart.
00:22:14.860 Because what often happens is, when we receive the applause of men, pride and arrogance starts to build up inside of us and we no longer need God.
00:22:25.880 We start to deify the self, start to think of ourselves as more highly than we ought.
00:22:31.940 We also live in a culture, how often, in a nauseating way, have we heard the term the experts?
00:22:39.160 The experts, the experts, the constant appeal to the experts.
00:22:44.580 The experts are telling us to do this.
00:22:46.600 The experts have decided this.
00:22:48.340 The experts are telling us we have to close our churches.
00:22:51.600 The experts are telling us we have to mask up.
00:22:53.740 The experts are telling us we have to have endless jabs.
00:22:57.680 The experts, the experts, the experts.
00:23:00.700 Now, we know, as common sense thinkers, that no one's an expert in anything, in everything.
00:23:06.380 And while we appreciate people with specialized skills and abilities, we live in a culture that's really reserved or boiled expertise down to those that are experts in biotic health.
00:23:18.560 That's it.
00:23:20.160 We don't consult people that have expertise in spiritual health or really understand human economics or these sorts of things, the effect of lockdowns on children.
00:23:31.220 So that's a little bit of a sidebar.
00:23:33.140 But even in our culture, we have this notion that if you're if you're if you are called upon to make decisions or if we're going to listen to you, you must be among the expert class.
00:23:47.460 The expert class.
00:23:49.800 And most of us are just average people.
00:23:51.820 And we know it in our heart of hearts.
00:23:53.680 We're just average people.
00:23:55.000 We may have skills in a certain area, but we're average people.
00:23:58.220 And the beauty of the gospel is that God comes to the humble.
00:24:04.300 God comes to those that are maybe lowly in position.
00:24:07.880 And he reveals himself to us.
00:24:10.400 So that's an encouragement, because I think at times, you know, during this pandemic, because I've sought sought to shepherd our people there.
00:24:18.300 There has been a lot of questions asked of people because God people haven't said this with their words, but you can kind of see it in their eyes.
00:24:24.600 It's like, has God abandoned us?
00:24:27.080 Has God forgotten about us?
00:24:30.600 You know, what's God trying to do in all of this?
00:24:33.020 I just don't see the the end in sight.
00:24:34.880 But we need by faith, by reasonable faith, through God's revelation to believe that God is interested in us.
00:24:46.260 God is interested in the common man.
00:24:49.240 And he is working out a wonderful plan that will ultimately bring him much glory.
00:24:55.020 And us much good.
00:24:57.920 Secondly, this is kind of where I want to want to land the plane, so to speak.
00:25:04.880 We see in this passage that there are two responses from those that God reveals himself to.
00:25:13.100 The first one is natural.
00:25:15.100 And the second one is supernatural.
00:25:18.400 The natural response is fear.
00:25:21.580 When God speaks, when God reveals, when God manifests himself, it's a scary thing.
00:25:27.280 This is why many people don't want to read scripture, because it brings conviction.
00:25:34.420 This is why many people want to clutter up Christmas with the commercialization of it, but they don't really want to hear the Christmas story.
00:25:42.620 Because the Christmas story is actually laying a claim on us.
00:25:47.800 It's not just a story about something that happened.
00:25:50.320 It's a claim to Christ's lordship over us.
00:25:54.820 So their initial response is fear.
00:25:57.180 But when they understand what God has done and is doing for them, and keep in mind, they don't understand as much as we understand now.
00:26:04.220 They didn't receive the full message.
00:26:06.020 This is just the birth at this point.
00:26:08.640 But their second reaction, which is really supernatural in nature, is worship.
00:26:14.060 And brothers and sisters, that's ultimately what God is looking for.
00:26:19.700 The mission of God is the glory of God.
00:26:24.300 God saves us.
00:26:26.040 God redeems us.
00:26:27.060 God rescues us.
00:26:28.080 God provides for us.
00:26:29.660 Not just for us.
00:26:31.060 That would be a selfish gospel.
00:26:33.920 God does these things because he deserves our glory.
00:26:39.040 He deserves to be glorified.
00:26:40.520 He deserves our worship.
00:26:42.020 So when we encounter Christ, and admittedly, this would have been a terrifying scene.
00:26:47.680 You're out in the field trying to pay attention to where your sheep are in relationship to the wolves and lions of ancient Judea.
00:26:54.220 And suddenly, these massive numbers of angelic hosts just barge into the scene.
00:26:59.780 I mean, you can understand this was a terrifying situation.
00:27:04.240 But they eventually go and they worship Christ.
00:27:06.820 And that's what God wants us to do.
00:27:08.140 He wants us to worship him.
00:27:09.300 Now, our circumstances differ from theirs.
00:27:12.860 But there's still a lot to be afraid of in life.
00:27:16.180 And we might be afraid of the circumstances around us, not God specifically.
00:27:20.420 We might just be afraid of the circumstances around us.
00:27:23.060 Or we might be afraid when God lays a claim to the Lord of our lives.
00:27:27.160 I mean, a lot of people don't like to be told that they're sinners.
00:27:29.300 But we all are by nature.
00:27:32.100 And they don't really like to hear that God is not impressed with them.
00:27:36.220 But that's true.
00:27:38.200 And they don't really like to hear that God's not impressed when we try to rule our own lives.
00:27:42.800 But he wants us to repent of our sins and put our faith in Christ.
00:27:46.220 But these are facts that he is our king.
00:27:50.860 And if he's our king, think about this.
00:27:55.280 If he's our king, then we are his subjects.
00:28:00.360 And if we are his subjects, then we must submit ourselves to him.
00:28:06.900 Now, I know we live in a country that has a king, King Charles III.
00:28:13.440 And so we may have sort of have a bit of a misguided view of what a king is.
00:28:18.580 Because in our society, our king is more or less just a figurehead.
00:28:23.960 It's more or less just a figurehead.
00:28:26.020 But a true king rules his people.
00:28:30.820 And there's two kinds of kings.
00:28:32.340 There's the tyrant king that rules for his own benefit and, frankly, destroys his citizens.
00:28:39.380 Or there's a benevolent king who rules us, but he does it out of love, even when we may not understand it.
00:28:47.640 And that's the kind of king that is calling us to submit to him tonight,
00:28:52.820 either for the first time or the thousandth time, to submit to him.
00:28:57.280 He is indeed our king, and he is demanding our submission.
00:29:01.060 The language that he is of David, of the city of David, a savior who is Christ the Lord,
00:29:10.420 speaks to his Davidic ancestry, which speaks to his messiahship.
00:29:17.820 He's the one that was long prophesied of, and finally speaks to his kingship.
00:29:22.780 So, in the gospel message, the gospel asserts, fundamentally, the kingship of Christ over all of mankind.
00:29:35.140 Or for the benefit of our prime minister, over all people kind, if you prefer that language.
00:29:40.900 But I don't.
00:29:42.320 You get my drift.
00:29:43.840 He asserts his lordship over all men.
00:29:47.060 And this is why even the heavenly beings, think about this, the heavenly beings, they also showed up to worship the Christ child.
00:29:59.100 So, properly understood, this is the good news.
00:30:02.960 The good news of Jesus Christ involves the call to submit and to repent, to confess our sins,
00:30:10.300 and to accept the free gift of salvation, for our salvation.
00:30:14.660 But what is that predicated on?
00:30:18.160 It's predicated upon the declaration of Christ that he is the king.
00:30:23.240 And because he's the king, we are his subjects.
00:30:26.400 And we can be rebellious subjects and run from him and try to set up our own little kingdoms,
00:30:31.760 but he'll ultimately prevail.
00:30:33.200 So, this is a good reminder to us.
00:30:36.200 The gospel is always a good reminder.
00:30:38.480 It's good news.
00:30:39.860 One day, all of us will bow before the king of kings.
00:30:44.100 If we haven't done so now, what's holding us back?
00:30:49.080 Because that is ultimately what's going to happen.
00:30:52.060 We are called to surrender ourselves to him and worship.
00:30:54.700 So, as you enter into this Christmas season, I just want to encourage your hearts, if you're
00:31:02.760 a believer, if you've surrendered your life to the Lord Jesus, just be reminded when you
00:31:08.220 feel a little lonely, maybe you feel a little anxious, a little desperate, you're not quite
00:31:13.760 sure if he's paying attention to you.
00:31:16.720 I mean, after all, he's really busy because he listened to my little prayers.
00:31:20.680 He does.
00:31:22.060 God is interested in the common man.
00:31:24.700 And then make sure that you translate your fear into worship, be it for the first time
00:31:31.620 or the thousands of times.
00:31:32.740 He is worthy of our worship.
00:31:35.580 Worship takes many forms.
00:31:38.860 Praising God with our mouths.
00:31:43.240 Meditating upon his word.
00:31:45.780 Being charitable and generous to others who are in need.
00:31:49.360 Purifying our minds with the truth of God's word.
00:31:52.140 Exercising self-control over our body and on and on and on and on.
00:31:56.440 The fruits of the spirit.
00:31:57.640 Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, self-control.
00:32:03.340 These are, there's many ways to worship God.
00:32:05.840 And as we study scripture, he allows us to be increasingly skillful worshipers, if you will,
00:32:12.460 as we encounter more and more of him.
00:32:14.700 So I hope that you'll be encouraged by these words.
00:32:17.740 And if you don't mind me being so bold, I'd like to just lead us in prayer.
00:32:20.900 So Heavenly Father, we want to just bow before you tonight.
00:32:28.840 Here we are spread across this great nation.
00:32:31.600 And we do acknowledge the difficulty and the trying times that we find ourselves in.
00:32:42.020 But you have seen fit in your sovereignty to place us in this generation at this point in history for such a time as this.
00:32:52.600 Help us to be bold and courageous warriors for Christ.
00:32:55.700 But in our heart of hearts, we also pray that you would encourage us, because we are vulnerable and weak in and of ourselves,
00:33:04.480 encourage us with ample reminders of your presence.
00:33:09.920 And we pray, Lord, that any fear that we might have would be translated into worship,
00:33:15.560 as we acknowledge in a fresh way your absolute lordship over everything.
00:33:20.540 We pray, Lord, a desperate prayer that more and more people across our country would also surrender themselves in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:33:32.320 And that they would acknowledge that there is only one benevolent king that truly has their best interest in mind.
00:33:39.240 And that is you, our Heavenly Father.
00:33:42.480 So continue to bless us, bless our churches, bless our ministries, our institutions,
00:33:47.540 our organizations that seek to advance your purposes, bless action for Canada.
00:33:53.460 May they bear much fruit in this generation.
00:33:55.980 And we ask this in Jesus' beautiful and loving name.
00:33:59.440 Amen.
00:34:01.180 Amen.
00:34:02.200 Amen.
00:34:03.880 Oh, thank you, Pastor Aaron, so much.
00:34:06.840 Trinzio, would you have Pastor Aaron on with me for a moment as well?
00:34:12.560 Bring us both on.
00:34:14.400 Okay, so I'm not sure what's going on there.
00:34:17.140 All right.
00:34:18.300 Pastor Aaron, thank you so much for that message.
00:34:21.440 It is, to me, a message of hope.
00:34:25.580 And what we have been talking about quite a bit at Action for Canada is that fear is not of God.
00:34:32.900 And you talked about fear.
00:34:34.660 And for those of us who have our hope in Christ Jesus, that we are secure in our faith,
00:34:39.840 we don't live with a spirit of fear because fear is from the enemy.
00:34:43.220 And so I really appreciate you talking about fear.
00:34:47.440 You also had talked about the relationship with Christ and what that does in our own personal lives as a whole,
00:34:57.440 like the feelings of love, the fruits of the Spirit you mentioned as well.
00:35:01.600 And I love the part as well that there is an order of things here as well,
00:35:06.480 that if God truly is our King, then we are His subjects, and we need to be subjected to Him.
00:35:12.600 Subjected, yeah, subjected to Him.
00:35:14.260 And I think that is much of the downfall that has happened in Canada over the last decades is that we have been conditioned to turn from glorifying God
00:35:25.560 and the Bible and the principles as the foundation of this nation and rather have turned it to carnal living.
00:35:33.200 And, you know, the government has tried to convince us that this is a secular nation.
00:35:38.540 And for so many, we want to encourage you, like, you may be here tonight, you may listen to this video afterwards,
00:35:46.340 and you may say, well, I'm agnostic or I'm an atheist, I'm an unbeliever.
00:35:50.100 But you can still appreciate the values and principles from which this country has been founded on.
00:35:55.980 If you turn to the 57 Islamic-majority countries, there's a different system of faith which forms their government.
00:36:04.060 And good people live there living under tyranny, or Pakistan or China.
00:36:08.680 It's just having a shift in our thoughts that if you can consider in the last two and a half,
00:36:15.200 almost three years of this COVID fraud, that you were deceived by the government,
00:36:20.740 is it just possible that you've been deceived in believing that this is a secular nation,
00:36:27.040 that we're not actually a nation that has been blessed based on faith?
00:36:33.060 And so, just to almost translate to some of the people that are on tonight that may not have the Spirit of the Lord in them,
00:36:42.600 it is a special gift when we talk about the Spirit of God.
00:36:45.860 And God comes in the form they call the Trinity, or three-in-one.
00:36:50.820 So there's God the Father, Jesus Christ his Son, and the Holy Spirit.
00:36:55.360 And we know who God the Father is.
00:36:57.660 You understand who Jesus Christ his Son is, but you can say, well, who is the Holy Spirit?
00:37:02.340 And when my kids were little, I would compare that sometimes to the Jiminy Cricket.
00:37:07.740 That's how people could see that little voice on your shoulder trying to tell you the right things to do.
00:37:12.220 And so when you receive Christ, you receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
00:37:15.860 And that Spirit ministers to you and is a voice between you and the Lord and appeals for you on your behalf
00:37:24.780 and knows your needs and your innermost thoughts.
00:37:28.500 And so there are things that unbelievers may say, well, I don't understand what you're saying.
00:37:33.640 And that's one of the benefits of, you know, asking Christ into your life is because you receive this gift of the Spirit.
00:37:40.480 And so just on that, before we carry on, we're going to go to some beautiful Christmas carols,
00:37:45.320 because you said that we are also to worship him through praise and thanksgiving and meditation,
00:37:50.200 but also through song.
00:37:53.660 Terrific.
00:37:55.500 Okay, amen.
00:37:56.620 So how about we do some Christmas caroling, Terenzio?
00:38:00.620 Sounds good.
00:38:01.380 Away in a manger, no crib for his bed.
00:38:21.140 The little Lord Jesus
00:38:25.320 Lay down his sweet head
00:38:29.820 The stars in the heavens
00:38:34.560 Look down where he lay
00:38:38.720 The little Lord Jesus
00:38:43.380 Asleep on the hay
00:38:48.120 The cattle are lowing
00:38:59.260 The poor baby wakes
00:39:03.740 But little Lord Jesus
00:39:08.060 No crying he makes
00:39:12.600 I love thee, Lord Jesus
00:39:17.100 Look down from the sky
00:39:21.720 And stay by my cradle
00:39:26.320 Till morning is night
00:39:30.740 Be near me, Lord Jesus
00:39:42.360 Be near me, Lord Jesus
00:39:51.800 I ask thee, Lord Jesus
00:39:53.800 I ask thee to stay
00:39:58.100 Close by me forever
00:40:03.460 And love me, I pray
00:40:08.600 Bless all the dear children
00:40:13.640 In thy tender care
00:40:18.140 And fit us for heaven
00:40:22.620 To live with thee
00:40:27.100 There
00:40:29.140 Amen
00:40:34.360 Amen
00:40:36.360 Amen
00:40:48.360 Amen
00:40:49.820 Yeah, thank you so much
00:40:53.280 From the hearts of babes
00:40:54.780 Right
00:40:55.420 From the hearts and mouths of babes
00:40:57.240 That little girl is just so precious
00:40:59.140 And you can see
00:41:00.260 The spirit of the Lord
00:41:01.680 Within her
00:41:02.500 And so next we're going to be singing
00:41:04.760 Angels we have heard on high
00:41:06.840 This one will have words
00:41:08.340 So we're going to ask you
00:41:09.240 To sing along
00:41:10.100 And join us
00:41:11.660 Okay, thank you Terenzio
00:41:13.000 Angels we have heard on high
00:41:36.780 Sweetly singing
00:41:39.240 O'er the plains
00:41:41.620 And the mountains
00:41:44.500 Every part
00:41:46.440 Echoing their joyous praise
00:41:51.220 Glorium in excelsis Deo
00:42:05.300 Glorium in excelsis Deo
00:42:20.780 Shepherds, why this jubilee
00:42:34.060 Why your joyous strength prolonged
00:42:39.100 What the gladsome tidings be
00:42:43.880 Which inspire your heavenly song
00:42:48.680 Glorium in excelsis Deo
00:43:02.880 Glorium in excelsis Deo
00:43:09.880 Glorium in excelsis Deo
00:43:16.260 Come to Bethlehem and see
00:43:31.820 Him whose birth the angels sing
00:43:36.680 Come adore on bended knee 0.96
00:43:41.540 Christ the Lord, the newborn King
00:43:46.140 Gloria in excelsis Deo
00:44:00.620 Gloria in excelsis Deo
00:44:16.140 Gloria
00:44:25.340 Gloria
00:44:30.620 Gloria
00:44:35.140 Gloria
00:44:39.740 Gloria
00:44:48.060 that's awesome
00:44:49.080 we may not have heard you but we sure hope your neighbors heard you
00:44:54.920 let's let's continue on we've got an incredible illustration it's a video that we're going to
00:45:00.460 present to you and um it was first articulated i believe like decades ago by paul harvey who's a
00:45:07.840 very famous american radio broadcaster and then david jeremiah picked it up and i heard him talk
00:45:14.100 about it the other day and i was just talking to tanya said we got to share this because it really
00:45:18.720 you know uh explains you know why jesus came in the form he did and why he came to mankind uh and so
00:45:26.800 we're going to play the video and and then the illustration we're going to ask pastor aaron to
00:45:32.820 come back and just give kind of a uh a correlation on how that illustration connects and ties in with
00:45:40.520 with the message of jesus birth the hope of our salvation so go ahead tarenzio why don't you
00:45:46.480 just play that and uh and let's let's uh take it in and then we'll ask pastor aaron to come back
00:45:52.820 ben warren was a good man an honest fellow decent and generous he loved his country loved his family
00:46:14.960 but hated hypocrisy so when his wife asked him to come with her and the kids to the christmas eve
00:46:21.120 worship service he stood his ground shook his head and said no i'm sorry to disappoint you but no
00:46:28.560 i'd be a hypocrite i don't believe any of it why if there were a god and i don't believe there is 0.67
00:46:36.280 why would he bother to come to earth as one of us to save our sorry souls
00:46:41.380 it's fine if you guys go i just can't stomach all the christmas story stuff you all go and i'll
00:46:49.500 wait up for you knowing her husband was just too honest to pretend he believed the story about god
00:46:56.280 coming to earth as a man cynthia drove the kids to the church as the snow began to fall
00:47:03.080 getting more wood for the fire ben noticed the snow flurries getting heavier inside he stoked the
00:47:10.240 fire and sat down to read quickly dozing off by the warm hearth after a while he was startled by a
00:47:17.960 thudding sound and then another was someone tossing snowballs at the window and then more thuds
00:47:25.540 outside ben found a flock of birds huddled miserably in the snow they had been caught in the storm and
00:47:33.680 in a desperate search for shelter had tried to fly through his picture window well he couldn't let the
00:47:39.900 poor confused creatures lie there and freeze he had an idea quickly he put on a coat and boots grabbed
00:47:47.240 some matches and tramped through the deepening snow to the barn he opened the doors wide and lit his
00:47:54.440 camping lantern but the birds wouldn't come in surely food will entice them to come in so he hurried
00:48:01.760 back to the house got some bread broke it into crumbs on the snow the birds did not come to the warm
00:48:08.600 lighted barn they ignored the crumbs still flopping helplessly in the snow he tried catching them but
00:48:15.800 they scattered in every direction except toward the warmth and safety of the barn finally ben realized
00:48:23.780 they were afraid of him to them he reasoned i'm a huge strange and terrifying creature
00:48:30.860 if only i could let them know they can trust me i'm not trying to hurt them i'm trying to save them
00:48:37.440 from this storm but how how could i every move i make frightens them the snowfall continued but the
00:48:46.460 lost bird simply would not follow ben into the barn they would not be led or cajoled or shooed because
00:48:54.080 they feared him if only i could be a bird he thought to himself and fly with them and speak their language
00:49:02.540 what a miracle that would be he chuckled imagining himself to be a bird smiling he said if i could be
00:49:10.840 one of them they could see and hear and understand i would tell them don't be afraid i've come to lead
00:49:18.100 you to the warmth and safety of the warmth and safety of at that very moment distant church bells
00:49:26.920 rang out oh come all ye faithful suddenly speechless ben looked at the helpless bird so in need of saving
00:49:37.840 so blind to the lantern's light so ignorant of the sanctuary of the barn so unaware their savior was
00:49:46.780 nearby and quietly ben looked to heaven and dropped to his knees in the snow
00:49:56.100 so
00:50:03.360 so
00:50:06.600 so
00:50:10.040 what a beautiful illustration
00:50:25.440 illustration and so thought-provoking. And in the end, this man got it. And Pastor Aaron,
00:50:34.660 if you could just share just some of your thoughts around that to drive, tie in a correlation
00:50:39.800 to this illustration, which is very powerful. And just connect the dots for those, the listeners.
00:50:48.100 I think we look forward to your comments and feedback.
00:50:50.680 Yeah. Well, you know, it's interesting as we've seen so much, so many terrible things take place in
00:51:01.280 our country over the last couple of years. One of the things that I think people are increasingly
00:51:07.140 becoming aware of is that we do not live in a spiritually neutral world. You know, over the
00:51:12.460 course of my ministry, many people, like the fellow in the video, questioned the existence of God
00:51:17.440 or questioned God's love or questioned God's involvement in the world, almost like it's a
00:51:22.520 philosophical conversation. But when rubber, when the rubber meets the road, what we, what we see
00:51:28.600 is that when a nation or when an individual does not accept the things of God, life literally falls
00:51:35.220 apart before their eyes. You know, the Bible tells us in, in second Corinthians chapter,
00:51:41.000 I just looked this up as I was listening, watching there, first Corinthians chapter two, verse 14.
00:51:48.720 The natural person does not accept the things of the spirit of God, for they are folly to him. 0.92
00:51:56.320 God seems ridiculous to the natural man. And he is not able to understand them because they are 0.96
00:52:02.880 spiritually discerned. Then it goes on to say that the spiritual man judges all things.
00:52:07.340 God, by his grace, reveals himself to us, not just in a series of facts, but he reveals himself to us
00:52:14.560 on a spiritual level. And when we accept him by faith, and what we mean by faith is not checking
00:52:21.080 your brain at the door. It's not fairy tale. It's not religious sentiment. It's actually believing
00:52:27.200 and receiving and accepting what God has declared through his word. We are blessed and nations are
00:52:33.360 blessed. Tanya mentioned earlier, this whole idea of a secular nation. I think there's a tie in there
00:52:39.340 too. People have this very strange notion that secularism is sort of spiritually neutral,
00:52:47.580 that it's sort of the playground upon which all religions and worldviews can sort of dance around
00:52:54.400 and interact and get by. But that's a lie. But what we now see very clearly is that secularism is a
00:53:03.160 religion. Secularism just simply replaces the God of the Bible with the God of the state.
00:53:11.180 The word of God, which is our codebook for what's right and wrong, that's replaced with Bill C4,
00:53:17.780 and whatever other bills they want to come up with, that determine the definitions of marriage,
00:53:26.000 who can live, who can die, who can work, who can't work, who has power, who doesn't have power.
00:53:32.080 It rewrites the codebook on biblical economics. So we are living in an extremely religious state.
00:53:40.920 It just pretends it's not religious, but it's in a very, very religious state.
00:53:45.440 So I would just say to those that are listening, you have to choose today whom you're going to serve.
00:53:51.940 You can say you don't believe in God. You can say I'm not interested in God. But either way,
00:53:56.680 you are going to serve a God. That God might declare himself to be you. You might declare yourself to be
00:54:03.380 God. Or it might be that you bow down to the state or a false religion. Or you can bow down to the 0.75
00:54:09.640 benevolent king who welcomes us into his home, who cares for us, who nurtures us, who calls us out of
00:54:17.920 the cold, who blesses us, who speaks truth into our lives. You know, I have yet to meet, I have yet to
00:54:26.780 meet one single Christian person in my entire life who has said to me, you know what? The worst mistake I
00:54:34.680 ever made was obeying God. Never met a single person like that. I've met a lot of people who've
00:54:43.480 said I've disobeyed God and regret it. Or I didn't choose God. I pushed him away and I regret it. But
00:54:50.320 I've never met anyone who's disproven the fact that God is a benevolent God who lives for his own glory,
00:54:56.800 but also has our best interest in mind. So those are some thoughts. I mean, a lot of thoughts come to
00:55:02.280 my mind, Ron. Those are some thoughts that come to my mind in the moment. Thanks for asking.
00:55:07.960 Amen. Well, thank you for sharing that. And so true. But right now we are going to sing another
00:55:16.080 song together. And that song together that we will sing is Oh Holy Night. So Terenzi, you're going to
00:55:23.820 play it and we're going to sing out loud. Doesn't matter where we are, if we're at work, if we're at home,
00:55:29.020 if we're outside, but we're going to sing and worship God together and sing Oh Holy Night. What a
00:55:34.700 beautiful song.
00:55:44.380 Oh Holy Night. The stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear Savior's birth.
00:56:00.760 The weary world rejoices from yonder.
00:56:02.760 The weary world rejoices from yonder
00:56:06.560 Long way the world in sin and error
00:56:09.820 pining
00:56:11.500 longtime
00:56:15.720 A thrill of hope
00:56:24.480 The weary world rejoices
00:56:29.160 From yonder breaks
00:56:32.820 A new and glorious morning
00:56:36.840 Fall on your knees
00:56:44.160 Oh, hear the angel voices
00:56:51.960 Oh, night divine
00:57:00.040 Oh, night when Christ was born
00:57:07.240 Led by the light
00:57:13.040 Of fate serenely beaming
00:57:17.040 With glowing hearts
00:57:20.380 By His cradle we stand
00:57:25.040 Led by the light
00:57:30.040 Our stars sweetly gleaming
00:57:35.840 Here come the wise men
00:57:39.480 From the Orient land 1.00
00:57:43.640 A thrill of hope
00:57:48.440 The weary world rejoices
00:57:53.140 From yonder breaks
00:57:56.640 A new and glorious morning
00:58:00.940 Fall on your knees
00:58:08.740 Oh, hear the angel voices
00:58:16.540 Oh, hear the angel voices
00:58:24.340 Oh, night when Christ was born
00:58:32.140 Fall on your knees
00:58:39.940 Oh, hear the angel voices
00:58:47.940 Oh, night divine
00:58:53.740 Oh, night when Christ was born
00:59:03.740 Oh, night divine
00:59:09.740 Oh, night when Christ was born
00:59:13.540 Oh, night when Christ was born
00:59:15.540 Oh, night divine
00:59:17.540 Oh, night when Christ was born
00:59:19.540 Oh, night when Christ was born
00:59:29.340 Unmute, Ron
00:59:29.840 Yes, sorry about that
00:59:33.380 That is a wonderful classic
00:59:35.900 I love that song
00:59:37.340 And now I have the privilege
00:59:38.640 To bring to you
00:59:39.580 The story of the virgin birth
00:59:43.100 Jesus coming into this earth
00:59:45.300 As noted in Luke chapter 2
00:59:48.280 And so in those days
00:59:50.320 Caesar Augustus issued a decree
00:59:52.960 That a census should be taken 0.95
00:59:55.360 Of the entire Roman world 0.94
00:59:57.440 This was the first census
00:59:59.460 That took place
01:00:00.420 While Quirinius was governor of Syria
01:00:03.520 And everyone went to their own town
01:00:06.500 To register
01:00:07.300 So Joseph also went up
01:00:09.720 From the town of Nazareth
01:00:12.580 In Galilee to Judea
01:00:14.420 To Bethlehem, the town of David
01:00:16.920 Because he belonged to the house
01:00:19.280 And line of David
01:00:20.800 He went there to register with Mary 0.90
01:00:24.040 Who was pledged to be married to him
01:00:27.260 And was expecting a child
01:00:29.500 While they were there
01:00:31.460 The time came for the baby to be born
01:00:34.320 And she gave birth to her firstborn
01:00:37.420 A son
01:00:38.100 She wrapped him in cloths
01:00:40.760 And placed him in a manger
01:00:43.040 Because there was no guest room
01:00:45.660 Available for them
01:00:46.880 And then there were shepherds
01:00:50.880 Living out in the fields nearby
01:00:53.160 Keeping watch over their flocks by night
01:00:56.480 An angel of the Lord appeared to them
01:00:59.600 And the glory of the Lord shone around them
01:01:02.640 And they were terrified
01:01:04.400 But the angel said to them
01:01:06.360 Do not be afraid
01:01:08.080 I bring you good news
01:01:10.520 That will cause great joy
01:01:13.300 For all the people
01:01:14.860 Today and in the town of David
01:01:17.700 A Savior has been born to you
01:01:20.560 He is the Messiah
01:01:22.580 The Lord
01:01:24.100 This will be a sign to you
01:01:26.680 You will find the babe
01:01:28.480 Wrapped in cloths
01:01:29.880 And lying in a manger
01:01:31.340 Suddenly
01:01:32.920 A great company
01:01:34.420 Of heavenly hosts
01:01:35.480 Appeared
01:01:36.200 And the angel
01:01:37.600 Praising God
01:01:39.440 And saying
01:01:40.040 Glory to God
01:01:41.740 In the highest heaven
01:01:42.920 And on earth
01:01:44.060 Peace to those
01:01:45.200 On whom his favor rests
01:01:47.160 When the angels
01:01:48.680 Had left them
01:01:49.740 And gone into heaven
01:01:51.380 The shepherds said
01:01:53.160 To one another
01:01:54.200 Let's go to Bethlehem
01:01:56.180 And see this thing
01:01:57.800 That has happened
01:01:58.560 Which the Lord
01:01:59.760 Has told us about
01:02:00.860 So they hurried off
01:02:03.260 And found Mary and Joseph
01:02:05.140 And the baby
01:02:06.620 Who was lying in a manger
01:02:08.500 When they had seen him
01:02:10.820 They spread the word
01:02:12.420 Concerning what had been
01:02:13.860 Told them about this child
01:02:15.800 And all who heard it
01:02:17.980 Were amazed
01:02:19.060 At what the shepherds
01:02:20.820 Said to them
01:02:21.620 But Mary treasured up
01:02:23.800 All these things
01:02:24.860 And pondered them
01:02:26.480 In her heart
01:02:27.520 The shepherds returned
01:02:29.940 Glorifying and praising God
01:02:32.980 For all the things
01:02:34.960 They had heard and seen
01:02:37.000 Which were just as
01:02:38.780 They had been told
01:02:39.940 Amen
01:02:41.280 We have another song
01:02:45.900 That we're going to sing together
01:02:47.140 And that is
01:02:50.540 Let me just slide down here
01:02:53.800 Sorry
01:02:54.280 It is
01:02:57.480 Oh come all ye faithful
01:02:59.160 Terenzio
01:03:00.200 If you could play that
01:03:01.360 That would be wonderful
01:03:02.400 And all sing together
01:03:05.160 Oh come all ye faithful
01:03:24.120 Joyful and triumphant
01:03:29.000 O come ye
01:03:31.000 O come ye
01:03:32.000 O come ye
01:03:33.820 To Bethlehem
01:03:37.900 Come and behold him
01:03:43.500 Born the king of angels
01:03:48.000 O come let us adore him
01:03:52.000 Oh come let us adore him
01:03:53.000 Oh come let us adore him
01:03:57.000 Oh come let us adore him
01:04:02.000 Christ the Lord
01:04:06.000 Sing choirs of angels
01:04:18.000 Sing in exultation
01:04:23.000 Sing all ye citizens
01:04:27.000 Of heaven
01:04:28.000 Of heaven
01:04:29.000 Of heaven
01:04:30.000 Of heaven
01:04:32.000 Glory to God
01:04:37.000 Glory to God
01:04:38.000 Glory in the highest
01:04:42.000 Oh come let us adore him
01:04:46.000 Oh come let us adore him
01:04:47.000 Oh come let us adore him
01:04:51.000 Oh come let us adore him
01:04:56.000 Christ the Lord
01:05:01.000 Yea Lord we greet thee
01:05:24.000 Born this happy morning
01:05:29.000 Jesus, to Thee be all glory, yeah.
01:05:39.060 Word of the Father, now in flesh appearing.
01:05:47.260 O come, let us adore Him.
01:05:52.740 O come, let us adore Him.
01:05:57.300 O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
01:06:11.760 O come, let us adore Him, Christ the Lord.
01:06:22.300 O come, let us adore Him.
01:06:31.620 O come, let us adore Him.
01:06:35.620 O come, let us adore Him.
01:06:44.940 O come, let us adore Him.
01:06:47.940 I am hoping that you're enjoying the evening as much as we are.
01:06:51.120 It is just such an incredible time to come together.
01:06:54.260 The only thing that would make this better is if we are all actually, you know, in a church together.
01:07:00.320 But we're making the best of this, being across the miles from sea to sea, and we're just so blessed and grateful that you've joined us here tonight.
01:07:09.080 And so, as Ron had mentioned earlier, we want to give you an opportunity.
01:07:14.660 We believe that when God is actively on the move, and He is, His desire is that we would all come to know Him as our personal Lord and Savior.
01:07:28.560 And He gives us all an opportunity to make that decision.
01:07:32.980 And you could be in the wilderness.
01:07:36.500 You could be in the jungle.
01:07:38.020 You could live far away from what would be considered, you know, having close neighbors by your side and able to come to your aid if you were in need.
01:07:49.600 And I don't know, you know, the situations and the scenarios, but what God says, what the Bible says, is that He gives everybody an opportunity to come and know Him.
01:07:58.220 And there's also this incredible song that says,
01:08:01.120 To deny Him now would be to crucify Him all over again.
01:08:06.140 And if you just think about that, right, like He came, the whole evening tonight is talking about the birth of Christ and God sending His only Son.
01:08:15.080 But what we'll be celebrating in a few more months is that death and resurrection and what that sacrifice on that cross meant.
01:08:25.080 So it's not, we're not just talking about the birth of Christ right now.
01:08:28.000 We're talking about what He did for humanity and that by leading a life with Christ-centered life,
01:08:37.140 the freedom that you experience, the love that you have, the understanding that you have of the things that are happening around you,
01:08:44.040 the comfort that you have.
01:08:46.140 And, you know, not living in a spirit of fear is a magnificent thing to have.
01:08:50.540 So many people will be participating in this evening as far as viewing.
01:08:56.260 And we just want to give you an opportunity that if you are one of those people that God's been speaking to,
01:09:01.580 you may feel it in nudges.
01:09:03.020 You may be thinking, you know what, maybe you were brought up in a Christian home.
01:09:06.920 Maybe a friend brought you to church when you were younger and there was always something about it that has resonated with you.
01:09:14.060 And so we just want to give you an opportunity tonight to surrender everything to the Lord.
01:09:19.700 And we are all sinners.
01:09:21.280 Pastor Aaron said that none of us are perfect.
01:09:23.780 And guess what?
01:09:24.960 When you receive the Lord, Christians aren't perfect either. 0.98
01:09:27.960 We wrestle with sin every day.
01:09:29.960 But through Christ, we've conquered sin.
01:09:32.160 We can ask for forgiveness.
01:09:34.240 We're not talking about going out and intentionally sinning every day thinking,
01:09:37.440 oh, I can just ask for forgiveness and I'll have a clean slate.
01:09:40.220 That's not what this is about.
01:09:41.980 It's a relationship with the Lord where you have a desire to serve Him.
01:09:48.260 And as Pastor Aaron had said in the service that he gave, he talked about us being subjects.
01:09:54.900 Because He is the King and we're subject to Him.
01:09:58.580 And that He created the Word of God.
01:10:01.240 It's God breathed.
01:10:02.540 Every word in the Bible is God breathed.
01:10:05.180 And that's our instruction.
01:10:06.920 And He gave us that instruction manual for our good.
01:10:11.080 Because as you know, there's a lot of things happening in the world today.
01:10:15.200 We talked about having secularism as a religion, almost a cult, we could call it.
01:10:21.980 And that it is truly, choose this day whom you will serve.
01:10:26.380 And so all we need to do is recognize that we are fallen, that this is a sinful world,
01:10:32.280 and that we don't want to be lost in that sin.
01:10:34.780 We want to have confidence that we too will have everlasting life.
01:10:40.060 And so if you want to say that prayer tonight, I'm just going to pause here for a minute.
01:10:44.960 I'm going to give you an opportunity to bow your heads.
01:10:48.440 And all you need to do is you just need to go before God and say,
01:10:51.820 You know, Lord, I've been having that nudge.
01:10:54.000 And you have been making yourself real.
01:10:56.020 You've been speaking to me.
01:10:57.740 And so I just want to take that leap of faith and offer my life to you.
01:11:01.400 And so I pray for forgiveness of my sins.
01:11:04.520 And I thank you that you will fill me with your Holy Spirit and that I will have my name
01:11:11.060 written in the book of life.
01:11:12.640 And I am yours, Lord.
01:11:14.040 And from this day on, I will live as a subject to you.
01:11:18.580 And I ask this in Jesus' name.
01:11:20.740 So I'm just going to give you a moment of silence for a moment that if you want to pray,
01:11:25.740 that you would do that now.
01:11:34.520 Lord, I just thank you for this evening.
01:11:38.600 I just thank you for everybody that's joining us tonight for this special service.
01:11:45.280 Heavenly Father, I thank you that you sent your one and only Son as a way so that we could
01:11:50.200 have eternal life and that we would be secure over that, that you have conquered death and
01:11:55.240 the grave and that we too will.
01:11:57.380 That yes, our earthly body will decay, we will die.
01:12:00.540 But Heavenly Father, we are guaranteed eternal life.
01:12:05.100 And we're just so grateful for the sacrifice that you made.
01:12:08.540 And we just thank you for this evening.
01:12:10.300 I thank you for everybody that's attending.
01:12:12.540 And Heavenly Father, I thank you for possibly tens of thousands of people who will view this
01:12:19.580 service afterwards and in the year to come.
01:12:21.780 And I pray for those who need to hear from you, Lord Jesus, that they will receive it, that
01:12:27.120 they will hear this word at just the right time in their lives.
01:12:31.220 Keep pressing in to everyone in this nation, Lord Jesus.
01:12:34.360 I pray that you would bless them with eyes to see and ears to hear, a heart to receive it
01:12:40.760 and to walk your truth out in life, liberty and freedom.
01:12:45.260 So we just continue to commit this evening to you.
01:12:47.720 And as we come to a close, I just pray for a special blessing over this nation, Lord.
01:12:52.140 You are in control of all things.
01:12:54.960 And we appeal to you tonight to come, Lord Jesus, come and heal our land.
01:13:00.540 Amen.
01:13:02.840 We want to hear from you.
01:13:04.960 We want to get you connected.
01:13:06.760 We've got a prayer team.
01:13:07.860 We have a prayer warrior team.
01:13:09.760 Prayer-requestedactionforcanada.ca
01:13:13.000 Come send us an email and let us know that you received Jesus.
01:13:17.780 Or if you haven't yet, we would love to pray with you one-on-one.
01:13:21.300 Men pray with men. 0.98
01:13:22.540 Women pray with women.
01:13:24.060 And just let us know prayer-requestedactionforcanada.ca.
01:13:28.060 We want to also help you get connected to a church in your area.
01:13:31.820 So we're developing a database of those churches that are choosing God over government.
01:13:37.700 And we want to direct you to a church that should the mandates come back, it's going to
01:13:41.780 remain open and you'll be able to worship with other people as you've been purposed.
01:13:45.340 Ron has already given you a huge shout out.
01:13:47.340 But we have had just so much joy in our hearts and respect for you as a true man of God leading
01:13:54.900 his church, as for the biblical standard of that.
01:13:59.160 And I know that one day you're going to stand before the Lord and he will truly say, well
01:14:03.660 done, good and faithful servant.
01:14:06.360 And so we're praying for more Pastor Aaron's across the nation.
01:14:09.760 And so please give us a few words before we finish the evening.
01:14:14.840 Well, you know, yesterday marked the two-year anniversary since that infamous service that
01:14:21.680 at the time kind of went across the nation where I got charged.
01:14:26.180 And after that, it just sort of became almost like weekly or monthly news.
01:14:30.480 Someone else was charged or guys were being thrown in jail.
01:14:33.060 But back then it was quite a thing.
01:14:34.820 It was two years ago, December the 20th, and people have asked me, you know, what's going
01:14:40.160 on?
01:14:40.520 Well, really, nothing has happened with my numerous finds.
01:14:43.080 They're still all outstanding.
01:14:44.560 But I can tell you, God has borne so much fruit.
01:14:48.400 I don't regret it for a moment.
01:14:50.420 We've seen, I think, 150 people come to faith in Jesus Christ and be baptized in our church.
01:14:57.280 There's been numerous opportunities for people who have never done the doorstep of a church to
01:15:02.140 hear the word of God.
01:15:03.560 I think the church has been strengthened across our country.
01:15:08.100 The true remnant has been strengthened.
01:15:10.360 And so I just want to encourage everyone, we don't know what the Lord has in store for
01:15:14.240 us.
01:15:15.180 You know, he may give us a little bit of a reprieve or he may have further suffering and
01:15:19.220 trials ahead.
01:15:21.740 But we, if we have the Lord in our side and we do the right thing day after day after day,
01:15:29.340 with the help of the Lord, we will prevail.
01:15:31.340 And so do not live with any regrets.
01:15:34.840 Do not live with any fear.
01:15:36.560 Obviously, we want to be wise and thoughtful and loving and caring with our words.
01:15:41.940 But we will not back down.
01:15:44.920 And we don't back down.
01:15:46.100 It's not because we're tough guys or tough girls.
01:15:48.560 It's because we have a strong God on our side.
01:15:52.480 And he's done such an amazing work in our lives.
01:15:56.340 We owe him our worship.
01:15:59.100 We owe him our worship.
01:16:00.860 And in our lifetimes, let's all just make the commitment.
01:16:03.320 We will never surrender the worship and ministry of the Christian church to the state or any
01:16:08.320 other idol.
01:16:09.420 It just won't do that.
01:16:10.540 That's our red line.
01:16:11.840 We will never surrender the worship and ministry of the church to anyone else but the Lord Jesus
01:16:16.560 Christ.
01:16:16.960 So be encouraged by these words.
01:16:19.240 We will stay in touch for sure.
01:16:22.440 Great.
01:16:23.200 I appreciate your willingness to have me on.
01:16:26.680 And just as I was watching you, I just love the spirit in the Zoom room here.
01:16:32.520 It's not a literal room, but in the Zoom room.
01:16:34.800 And here we are all across the country, right?
01:16:38.240 But we're united in Christ.
01:16:40.500 I will say, I don't want to make you jealous, but one of the, I think it was Heather said 1.00
01:16:45.500 it's minus 22 or something.
01:16:47.360 It's only minus two here in Windsor today.
01:16:50.560 I want to make you jealous.
01:16:52.680 But we have it pretty good down here.
01:16:56.980 But no matter where you live, no matter where you're at, the Lord is there.
01:17:00.820 And you can access him through prayer and through the reading of his word.
01:17:03.780 And if you're not part of a healthy Christian church, do the drive and get connected.
01:17:11.680 I know there's a lot of people here in our big province that sometimes are driving two
01:17:14.820 hours to find a faithful church, kind of like what they do in Saudi Arabia.
01:17:18.720 But it's worth it to be connected and encouraged by God's people.
01:17:22.660 So it's a blessing to be here and just to reconnect.
01:17:27.000 All right.
01:17:27.580 Well, thank you, Pastor Aaron.
01:17:28.760 And I especially want to thank you for your testimony of how the Lord has blessed you,
01:17:34.020 even through the suffering, even through the persecution.
01:17:37.000 The testimony of the faithful pastors has been that not only did God see them through it,
01:17:43.640 but above and beyond expectations and how the churches that stayed open are growing
01:17:48.400 and being blessed for their faithfulness.
01:17:51.660 And how so many are coming to know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior.
01:17:55.740 So, again, thank you for your faithfulness.
01:17:58.460 We need to have you back on in the new year because we'd like to hear more from you and
01:18:03.380 the journey and how things are going at your end of the world.
01:18:06.400 Normally, B.C. would be able to beat you on that.
01:18:09.620 But normally we have very mild temperatures, but we're struggling with over a foot of snow
01:18:14.300 and minus 10.
01:18:15.160 So, wow, we're supposed to get a real dump of snow in the next few days.
01:18:24.340 So it's going to be interesting trying to get people to church.
01:18:26.600 By the way, we're open Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and every church across our country should be.
01:18:31.720 Yes.
01:18:32.260 Yes.
01:18:32.600 We need to be open to worship the Lord.
01:18:34.260 Put him first.
01:18:36.260 Put him first in all things.
01:18:38.060 You'll never regret it.
01:18:39.540 Yeah.
01:18:39.980 Amen.
01:18:40.580 Super.
01:18:41.400 Thank you.
01:18:42.020 Thank you, my brother.
01:18:42.620 The Lord bless you and your family, your church family.
01:18:46.540 Just wonderful.
01:18:47.860 Amen.
01:18:48.040 What a good evening.
01:18:49.660 It truly has been, Ron.
01:18:51.440 You know, I just considered, you know, as we were preparing for tonight and the agenda
01:18:57.100 and just picking all of these precious songs that would help us to glorify the Lord, but
01:19:02.080 bring joy in our spirit.
01:19:04.120 And that is what worship is about.
01:19:06.640 It can bring us to tears, but it also can bring us, those tears can be tears of joy as well.
01:19:11.980 They're tears of gratefulness.
01:19:13.800 These next couple of songs are going to fill your heart with joy.
01:19:16.920 They're going to give you the joy of the Lord.
01:19:19.400 And so shall we move to, we're going to wish you a Merry Christmas.
01:19:23.880 That's it.
01:19:24.540 You got it.
01:19:25.180 We're all going to sing together.
01:19:26.400 We wish you a Merry Christmas.
01:19:38.100 We wish you a Merry Christmas.
01:19:40.140 We wish you a Merry Christmas.
01:19:42.160 We wish you a Merry Christmas.
01:19:46.320 We wish you a Merry Christmas.
01:19:48.360 We wish you a Merry Christmas.
01:19:50.440 And a Happy New Year.
01:19:52.820 Good tidings we bring to you and your kin.
01:19:56.800 We've come here to tell you the countdown's begun.
01:20:01.200 Good tidings we bring to you and your kin.
01:20:04.880 We hope you will find friendship and days full of fun.
01:20:09.620 We wish you a Merry Christmas.
01:20:11.600 We wish you a Merry Christmas.
01:20:13.400 We wish you a Merry Christmas.
01:20:15.780 And a Happy New Year.
01:20:17.700 We wish you a Merry Christmas.
01:20:19.740 We wish you a Merry Christmas.
01:20:22.000 We wish you a Merry Christmas.
01:20:24.040 And a Happy New Year.
01:20:26.220 We wish you a Merry Christmas.
01:20:28.200 We wish you a Merry Christmas.
01:20:30.180 We wish you a Merry Christmas.
01:20:31.920 And a Happy New Year.
01:20:33.820 Good tidings we bring to you and your kin. We've come here to tell you the countdown's begun. Good tidings we bring to you and your kin. We hope you'll find friendship and days full of fun.
01:20:50.740 We wish you a Merry Christmas. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
01:21:20.740 I just love it. All right. And so, Trendy, would you please bring that the verse up?
01:21:36.240 We're going to close with this verse and then we're going to go to our final song.
01:21:41.180 So, Romans 10, 9 to 10, that if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the death, you will be saved.
01:21:52.900 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.
01:22:00.500 Thank you. And again, Merry Christmas and wishing you a Happy New Year.
01:22:05.220 And we're going to see you in the new year and we're going to win some more battles.
01:22:09.100 Amen. Amen. Merry Christmas. God bless you. Have a blessed Happy New Year as well.
01:22:15.720 All right.
01:22:39.100 Joy to the world, the Lord is come
01:22:56.220 Let earth receive her King
01:23:02.820 Let every heart prepare Him room
01:23:12.940 And heaven and nature sing
01:23:16.680 And heaven and nature sing
01:23:20.660 And heaven and heaven and nature sing
01:23:32.820 Joy to the world, the Savior is
01:23:50.540 Let men, their songs employ 1.00
01:23:56.940 Wild fields and floods
01:24:03.440 Rocks, hills and plains
01:24:07.480 Repeat the sounds in joy
01:24:10.700 Repeat the sounds in joy
01:24:14.700 Repeat the sounds in joy
01:24:22.120 Sound in joy
01:24:30.620 He rules the world with truth and grace
01:24:44.920 And makes the nations prove
01:24:51.420 The glories of His righteousness
01:25:00.320 And wonders of His love
01:25:08.820 And wonders, wonders of His love
01:25:16.820 And wonders, wonders of His love
01:25:25.820 Sing a joy to the world
01:25:36.320 Sing a joy to the world
01:25:38.320 Every boy and every day
01:25:44.320 Sing a joy to the world
01:25:50.320 Sing a joy to the world
01:25:52.320 Amen
01:26:09.820 Something 최 Understanding
01:26:12.820 Sounds in joy
01:26:15.220 I love you
01:26:16.940 You're not livingurar 1.00
01:26:17.820 You're not living JA-7
01:26:19.400 To the world
01:26:21.820 Or disclaimer
01:26:22.760 If a story is chasing you
01:26:23.320 You're not living
01:26:32.780 You're not living
01:26:34.840 You're not living
01:26:35.820 Here it comes from
01:26:36.720 The description
01:26:38.320 Thank you.
01:27:08.320 Thank you.
01:27:38.320 Thank you.