<TITLE>04. Par 19-26</TITLE>L-19 And right now, from the--from the twenty-first to the twenty-fifth, the sun almost stands in its same track as it's passing. What is it you call that? Been a... I thought I knew it, but I can't think of it. When the sun's--is... it--it gains so much time and loses so much time, until the twenty-first, between twenty-first and twenty-fifth of December. Oh, I forget what they call it. What? [Someone in congregation says "Eclipse?"--Ed.] No, the eclipse is when it passes, the sun and moon passes together. It's something in there, oh, I--I--I can almost say it but can't right now. However, it's that standstill of the sun which is called by the Romans (that's when the circus went on), it was called the sun-god's birthday. They celebrated it from the twenty-first to the twenty-fifth of December.

L-20   So then, being that this was converted, Rome into... Christianity was accepted, in their way in Rome, then they said, "We'll make the same celebration, and make Son of God's birthday." See? The sun-god, Jupiter's birthday, then Son of God's birthday, twenty-fifth of December, and that...

L-21 But what difference does it make? See, today when we are... Even if it's a... if they was doing it in July or August, or whenever it might be, it's still the sacredness of remembering that "God gave us the hope that we have in us."

L-22 And now, you say, "Well, the rest of them's all Santa Claus and going on like they do; why, we just might as well do it." No, sir! No, this is not a pagan celebration to us, this is a sacred hour. If there had been no Christmas, there would been no resurrection. If there been no Christmas: there'd been no love, there'd been no peace, there'd been no hereafter for the believer; if there'd been no Christmas.

L-23   And now, you say, "Well, if the rest of the world, they just..." Well, see, the forked lightning in the black, cloudy skies, show that there can be light in the time of darkness. These lights tonight prove that, that there can be light in the time of darkness. And when does light shine its best? In darkness. You turn these lights on in daytime, the sun is shining in, you'll hardly notice they're on. But just one little, wee light will shine real bright in a time of darkness. And right now is the darkness when every Christian should give a testimony of the hope that's in him, of Jesus Christ the Son of God; not some Kriss Kringle that was born back yonder, you know, and some kind of a tree lit up and went down through the forest one night, some fiction story that there's no bottom to it. But we believe solidly on the promised Word of God of a coming Messiah, and He was borned on Christmas day, twenty... pretty near two thousand years ago, we believe.

L-24   So, tonight we're going to speak a little bit on a different way. I guess your pastor's already spoken, and probably speak Wednesday night again 'cause I--I know he laid back some text or something, to give me this platform tonight. And I want him to bring it, I want to listen to him.
But, just before now we do this, let's just bow our heads again for a moment of prayer:

L-25 Heavenly Father, this great sacred moment, when we think of the different things in the Scripture here, that everywhere we go, back in the Old Testament, speaks of that day when God shall send His Son. How those prophets back there alloted their time for prophecy of the Word of God to come to them. And they prophesied in their days and foretold the things that would come to pass, and we see it all met there in Bethlehem that night when God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. We thank Thee for this.

L-26 And now, Lord, tonight as we settle down here to--to speak on Thy Word; and It's so sacred, Lord, that's the reason we like to speak to You first. And we ask that You'll open our understanding to Thy Word. In Jesus' Name we asked it. Amen.


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