No Room in the Inn | Student Pastor Zach Hammond

we're we're going to go right into the Christmas story in Luke Chapter 2 and verse number one tonight and hopefully uh learn some things from the the scripture I I saw the other day just just kind of some food for thought um the number one searched word on Wikipedia in 2023 shocked me completely uh it's the word authentic number one search word in all the Wikipedia all the internet uh search of the definition of authentic which tells me that our world is still looking for something real our our world is still looking for something that that has some purpose some something that can change their life something that is authentic and so I challenge you throughout the the the final few weeks of of 2023 to finish the year strong there's a lost world the war of December is a powerful month around here we just believe in sewing seeds we believe that souls are going to make their way to the house of God we're going to be able to connect with people we've got the parade on on Saturday we're going to have Christmas Spectacular next Sunday it's going to be an opportunity for us to be able to let someone see something that they're looking for and that is the authentic Apostolic Church somebody that's got the power of God inside of them and so I just challenge you tonight and challenge you throughout the rest of the month finish s let's stay focused on seeing Souls uh and lives changed for the kingdom of God Amen Luke chapter 2 verse number one if you'll follow along with me I'll read just a few verses here and I'll allow you to be seated and it came to pass in those days that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed and this taxing was first made when cenus was governor of of Syria and all went to be taxed everyone into his own City and Joseph also went up From Galilee out of the city of Nazareth into Judea unto the city of David which is called Bethlehem everybody say Bethlehem bethle he it was it was called Bethlehem because he was of the house and the lineage of David City of David he was of the lineage of David I hope that all makes sense to you there to be taxed with Mary his espouse wife being great with child and so it was that while they were these days were accomplished that they should uh that she should be delivered and she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a Manger because there was no room for them in the end and there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field keeping watch over their flock by night and lo the angel of the Lord Came Upon them and the glory of the Lord Shone round about them and they were sore afraid and the angel said unto them fear not for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people and For unto you is Born This Day in the city of David a savior all of that so specific which is Christ the lord and this shall be a sign unto you you shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a manger and suddenly there was the the Ang the the angel a multitude of heavenly hosts praising God and saying glory to God in the highest and on the earth peace Good Will toward men I want to preach to you for just a few few minutes or teach to you rather than then maybe preach but um my title is no room in the end no room in the end lay your Bibles down let's lift our hands and ask the Lord to speak to us tonight God we thank you so much for the opportunity to study your word to look look in depth God into the scriptures I pray that it would just God open itself up and be a lamp and a light to somebody tonight Lord that you know every need you know every situation that your word is not just that lamp of Revelation but it's that light of of relevan see God that it would speak to somebody right where they're at tonight Lord that it would it would help us see and understand what you're doing in our lives Lord I pray for every person every man woman boy and girl that you would speak to us tonight and lead us with word in Jesus name we pray amen and amen you may be seated tonight thank you for standing in honor to the word we sometimes look at the Christmas story and maybe you've drove by some people who have that manger scene depicted outside of their home or maybe you have one on the the there on The Mantel above the fireplace or somewhere and and it's just you got to put it high enough that the the kids don't get a hold of it and start having a fight with another figurine you know there's nothing like Spider-Man coming into the manger scene you just want to make sure that you put it into a place where uh the boys can't get to it but there's some things that have um accurate information about the first Christmas just because um you know you read it in the Bible and then there's some things that we've told for years and it's depicted in maybe cartoons and maybe it's some of the things that are on display at the home deep but it's not really accurate right um it's not really um exactly the way that scripture says it is and so um sometimes we got to get our our facts completely straight some if not all the details are very important in the Fulfillment of scripture and so we're going to talk about a few of those things um tonight and I hope again I don't ruin any of your your your home decor um we picture we picture Jesus being born in this stable with U for example with all these animals present the necessary nativity scene of livestock that you got to have you got to make sure that even if we're going to have you know that that that shown there's got to be the the the the the sheep and there's got to be the donkey and there's got to be the random rabbit that's sitting down there I'm not really sure what that's about but um there's they've got like multiple animals and a lot of different things depicted and and I can tell some of you are just getting really offended right now I'm going to move on quickly but that the bible really never says anything about any of that it only tells us that after his birth that he was laid in a Manger everybody say A Manger m a manger and there's quite if you really get into scripture and and and you really get into what the word a Manger means it actually is translated as the manger and there's even some there's even some uh some some head uh scratching on exactly what a Manger is but we picture the Shepherds and the three wise men and you know we're never told there were three but we assume there were three standing together at the manger but the Bible tells us that by the time the wise men arrived Jesus was about 2 or three years old and living in a house according to Matthew 21 uh 21 and6 and uh we picture everyone following a star to the manger but that didn't really happen that way the Shepherds from the fields near Bethlehem were the only ones who came to see Jesus right at his birth and they didn't see a star rather they followed some very very strange odd obscure instructions from an angel and this Angel gives them some instructions according to Luke 2 and verse number 10 he said they say fear not behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all people for unto you is Born This Day in the city of David a savior which is Christ Jesus the Lord and this shall be a sign unto you specific specifically you you shall find a babe wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a Manger it seemed vague to us but it seems as if the Shepherds knew exactly where to go the Shepherds go directly there in Bethlehem that city of David we see this Christmas Story begin to unfold unfold in a lowly manger we see that there's kind of this story within a story there's seems to always be this depiction it doesn't matter if it's Moses or who it is Mo Moses just it's it's very intentional in the scripture that he tells us that Moses came from just normal people it seems that when God chooses a man or God uses a man or uses a woman they seem to just that story within the story is that he lets you know you don't have to be that certain person that everybody expects right CU God always is going to get the glory and so we see that many times that it is depicted that God doesn't change the narrative with even himself he comes in a lowly manger he comes in this place that's that's that's not really uh he didn't show up in the in the king's uh the king's court he didn't even show up uh in anywhere but it's it's it's that that we would really think oh if God's going to show up if he's going to show up in a child form and all these prophecies are going to be fulfilled so I tell you tonight that no matter what it looks like you always got to remember that God's a work no matter what it's depicted like it's not usually what you think it's going to be and uh here we see that no no matter throughout the Bible how much uncertainty and how many boxes are not checked in the American dream category we got to know that God's in control and we got to know that God is working on our behalf according to the gospels Mary and Joseph they travel to Bethlehem and they've arrived weeks if not months before the birth of Christ due to the call of census for the city of taxing the people Mary and Joseph they're both from the city of David they both uh would have had to return to the city of David of the lineage of David for this time of census to be taxed so that's the reason they go there it's just it's perfectly um depicted and we can see that there very clearly but Bethlehem was important to God for many reasons many reasons it was the city where not just the the city of David and we know there's so many things in that lineage and all those things that make perfect sense but this the city of David was a city where the Lambs of the temple flock they were birthed they were raised they were birthed in this place called the Tower of the flock and you'll you'll see it referenced in scripture as something called migdal Adar and that just simply is the name of the Tower of the flock there they would have raised in in the rounding fields of the city of David just outside of Bethlehem they would have raised the actual Lambs that have would have been taken in for sacrifice not just not just any flock of sheep but they would have taken these Lambs in to be sacrificed for the sins of the people and if you remember you look back in Scripture it was the prophet Micah who told us that Jesus would be born in Bethlehem ephr but when we put the pieces together we find out that Michael was actually uh a little bit more specific than that Micah 5:2 says but thou Bethlehem e Freda though thou be little among thousands of Judah yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel whose goings forth have been from of old from Everlasting we first seen Bethlehem euphra but more than than thousands of years before actually though in Genesis chter 35 When Rachel dies bringing Benjamin into the the world look at this Genesis 35 and verse number 19 and Rachel died and was buried in the way of ephrath which is Bethlehem and Jacob set a pillar up upon her grave that is the pillar of Rachel's grave unto this day and Israel journeyed and spread his tent beyond the Tower of edar or the Tower of the flock we see it mentioned a few times throughout the Old Testament beginning in Genesis but making its way through some of the prophets and some of the things that are written there and this Tower of the flock this this place of migdal Adar was a watchtower for the Shepherds not just any Shepherds but the Shepherds over the sacrificial Lambs for the sins of the people there in the city of David everybody's still with me there would have been this surrounding Countryside of the city there there would have been many such structures in ancient Israel but this one took a special meaning because of Rachel's Tomb being nearby and as time went on it became much more important as as this place because the unclean nature of shepherding you've got to understand in the Biblical times and look at the levitical laws and the way that shepherding would have taken place that Shepherds were not you you weren't that that was something that took place far outside of the city you weren't allowed to that the Shepherds would have been ones that wouldn't have been close by the city it was considered unclean it was considered one of those things where you you don't want uh the the sheep and all of all the livestock or anything like that in close to the city but this was an exception hundreds of lambs were needed for temple sacrifice every single year and so they had to keep a flock that was considered the temple flock they needed to be in close proximity of Jerusalem they had to be in close proximity of the Temple and so we see thankfully just five miles away in this little village of Bethlehem was nice Hills and Valleys perfect perfect for sheep to Grace and so Bethlehem became the one place in all of Israel where sacrificial Lambs would be raised it begins to somewhat start to make sense it was the lower level of the tower where the the Shepherds would go up top and watch over the flock but it was the lower level of that tower that they would brought those spotless Lambs in not just any Lambs but the sacrificial Lambs that would take on the sins of the people that would be brought in that would be sacrificed by the priests and the Lambs were brought and they were brought in so that they were not blemished or they were not bruised they would take them and they would wrap them up they would swaddle those Lambs to make sure that they were perfect they were without blemish they were without bruising for sacrifice and so the Shepherds that tended to them they were no ordinary Shepherds and they tended to them uh and they were skilled and they knew the law they knew what had to happen in the temple and they they discerned exactly what a perfect lamb was and what an imperfect lamb was and what needed to be kept and what needed to be protected and what needed to be to happen and so this would have been the most pure place that you could have found in all of of what what the process if you could just see this would be this process of getting what needed to be taken to the temple this would have been the most pure place for a lamb to be born these men again were not ordinary they knew the law they knew the procedures of the step they knew everything that had to take place they knew the levitical law as much as the priest would have these Shepherds were vital in making sure that the sins of the people were covered so Israel had had without these people had no sacrificial Lambs for the temple offering this Temple flock was very vital these are the Shepherds that the angel would have appeared to and so the angel appears the angel says I bring you good tidings of great joy and they didn't say hey follow that star they didn't say hey go exactly over here all they had to say is there is a babe lying in a Manger huh it doesn't make much sense to us right but it makes sense to some group of people that knew exactly where they were talking about these are the Shepherds that the Angels appeared to when the angel says this sign is unto you there's a b a babe wrapped in swadding clothes lying in a Manger they just turn and go right there it was very clear because this is what they had been doing they were not vague instructions rather they pointed to a very specific location and this manger within the tower was where every other sacrificial lamb would have been laid wrapped in swaddling bands that were inspected Ed by these same Shepherds they knew exactly where to go on the night of Jesus's birth and these Shepherds they had trained all their lives for this moment what an amazing amazing picture that God paints that those Shepherds had trained and trained and been through all of the proper protocol for years taking Lambs in covering doing God's work doing Kingdom work if you could see it that way with me doing what was required of doing them making sure that everything was exactly the way that the law was written they had no idea that they were going in this time and they were doing it for the one final time if you could see it that way huh how many times in our life do are we playing such a vital role I can look back over pivotal moments in my life where I had no clue that what I was doing was going to impact something way way greater than what I think think about the the moments in your life that maybe you took for granted in that moment but you didn't realize that you were swaddling a savior you didn't realize that what was laying right in front of you was something that was going to change the life of everybody in the entire world you had done everything you had done up until this moment for this moment you had prepared and all the things that had happened in your life and we we see that these these Shepherds were were were so trained but they they they knew exactly where to go but perhaps they didn't really understand the impact of what was happening at that moment I encourage you tonight to really at the end of this year look back over the year look back over the things in your life that maybe you took that moment for granted but it came it had some fruit you didn't realize you were planting something there but something came of it you didn't realize that that simple service where you really pushed yourself to come to church and you came and God really touched you to never take for granted a service right you didn't realize how much impact that one conversation had on that individual that now they're still living for God or they you help get them through that season over that one text message and just being a part of the kingdom and being a part of your what you would consider maybe your duties or your thing I came to church that day and God didn't do anything for me but I was able to pray for that person I was able to talk to that person I was able able to make impact fulfilling what what looked like just the law and procedure and what I do every single day but It ultimately changed the life of somebody else it's pretty amazing when you start seeing the prophet Micah gave us another prophecy was even more specific than his words in chapter 5:2 he says in Michael 48 and thou oh Tower of the flock the stronghold of the daughter of Zion unto thee shall it come even the first Dominion the kingdom shall come to the daughter of Jerusalem see Luke's original audience would have immediately picked up on the significance of the Angel appearing to the Shepherds in Bethlehem they knew that when you you said Bethlehem you were saying sacrificial Lambs when you when you said the word Bethlehem that's what they were known for that's what that that's what they represented and certainly would have recognized the significance of Jesus being laid in a manger and wrapped with swaddling clothes no no doubt many of them even remembers Micah's prophecy that the Messiah the first Dominion the first Kingdom we see all of that would have been revealed at the tower of the flock so when they said Bethlehem it it made more sense to them than it made maybe to us when we were reading it for the first time it made a whole lot more sense to them than perhaps even us reading it tonight and we know why he came but there's so many more reasons when you really begin to see all the prophecies that he fulfilled he fulfilled a ton of them in the first few pages of just where he was born what happened to him when he was born but specifically the location this Tower of the flock was this this this powerful prophetic sign these were levitical shepherds and would have helped the birth the the and protect the sacrificial Lambs but this they they helped birth and protect the sacrificial lamb that was slain for the foundation of the world they came to fulfill the law but little did they know they were wrapping up the high priest in the garments of a priest so the swaddling of of of of a of the Lamb's they got the fabric brother Joel to to to wrap around those lambs and protect them they got them from the garments of the priest that had been used when the priest would go in he would operate and do all the things he was supposed to do and then when he was done he couldn't use those garments again they would take those garments they would rip them up and they would use them at ignal matar or at the tower of the flock for wrapping so how prophetic how powerful to know that they were wrapping the King of Kings and the Lord of lords they were wrapping the high priest they were wrapping up the lamb that was going to take away the sins that they were wrapping him up in his very garments it was so powerful to see it wasn't just another lamb for sacrifice it was the lamb for sacrifice and all of it begins to pan out just like salvation came it went first to the Jews the Shepherds and then it went to the wise men the Gentiles they came from a far off about two years later it only makes sense and I want to point something out to you tonight and I hope this this Rings true and kind of sticks with you throughout this holiday season it all comes to fruition and it all pans out plays out like it was supposed to be written you say all that seems so clear if you go start reading Micah 4 and Micah 5 and you start looking back at Genesis and you start looking back at ex start looking back at all of these things it all makes perfect sense but one sentence could have changed it all there was no room in the end all of that happened every little minute detail that maybe we don't even comprehend some of the stuff that we jumped over in Leviticus in our yearly Bible reading that fulfills some of this stuff that makes a lot of sense right we skipped over and so it don't make as much sense to us as it did those Shepherds but when there was no room in the end and it put them in the bottom of that Tower birthing the lamb that would be slain for the foundation wrapping him in his Priestly garments and all the things that would take place right there in that very moment was all because of rejection all because it didn't go how we thought it would go that in is actually depicted the same way it's depicted with Jesus later on the gospels and it's the same word for a guest room it would have been a family room it would have been somewhere they would have been expected to they didn't just show up in Bethlehem they didn't show up in this city of David and and and not know anybody they're from here their fames here they show up to the family's house for Christmas pregnant and there's no room for them they're rejected by their own they're rejected by the people and I can imagine the narrative had already got there Joseph's got a word from some Angel all of a sudden they're not even married and she's pregnant huh they're they reject there's not even room for them in their own family's home and so the rejection and the things that that definitely don't look like they're going right if you're sitting in Mary and Joseph's shoes that is the one thing that puts them in the most perfect place wrapped in swaddling clothes lying in a Manger had Jesus been born in the in or anywhere else it he would have been swaddled just like any other baby has ever been swaddled up to this day perhaps the scripture says that he was wrapped with those Priestly garments and they came with haste look at this Luke Chapter 2 and verse number 16 we'll keep reading and they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph and the Babe lying in a manger and when they had seen it they made known abroad saying which was told them concerning this child and all that had heard it wondered at the those things which were told to them by the Shepherds but Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart that's us we sit here sometimes you say well why why does why is that in there Mary she kept all these things and pondered them in her heart because the Shepherds knew more than she did the Shepherds understood what was going on they come right in and they get to work and they're helping and they're doing what they've done with every other lamb and and it's it's a very powerful thing and again you always have this story within a story when you're reading the scriptures and if you can get that story within the story you're really going to see something that maybe that God's trying to speak to you and the story within the story right here is that God is working through the shepherd who a lot of the times if not most of the time and let's just be honest if you're under the right Shepherd all of the time knows what what's going on long before you do sees understands comprehends has a vision knows the law sees the prophecy sees what's going on in your life how many times I've went to Pastor I've went to my father I've went to my grandfather over the years and I'm I'm like brother sister hey uh Papa I'm I'm I'm I'm thinking this he's like I was wondering when you were going to come talk to me about that huh I was wondering when you were going to figure that out I was wondering when you were going to see that because it seems that he always comes to the shepherd before we completely understand it even all the way up into the process of Jesus and him growing and and and in his life you could see that there's probably a lot of things that Mary's pondering in her heart that those Shepherds knew the word will always come to the shepherd first it really really makes if you take that scripture it really that that that whole thing of Mary pondering it in her heart it really brings a lot of light to that song Mary Did You Know huh just be honest with you there's a lot of things she didn't know cuz why she was supposed to be in the end that's what they were traveling for hey it's us sorry you can stay out there in the tower huh she didn't know she didn't comprehend but thank God that that that in this process and she was giving birth in the most sacred place in all of town but perhaps in all the world Micah had prophesied without it there is no covering of sin for the people you understand that after seeing this more clearly that the no room in the end was this this pivotal moment of Prophecy is this pivotal moment it could be some would argue as powerful as the prophet Joel saying in the last days I will pour out my spirit it put him in that perfect moment in that perfect place so specific that it fulfilled so many prophecies and I I I just want to preach to you for just a few moments on this Wednesday night that I believe with all my heart that some of us are M missing out on what God has has is if we could look at this way has prepared has has made perfectly laid out for us has done all that he's done for us some of us are missing out on it because we we we truly feel entitled to the end we will force ourselves into what we feel like we're entitled for and we'll miss the miraculous moment of the manger that's where some of us if I could just have a fireside chat with you on this Christmas sermon just sit down and just be truly honest with somebody tonight stop living stop living in this this this thought process that oh if if I just would there's some of you that are 40 50 60 year old tonight and if you really could Trail it all back to that one moment where you knocked on the door and you got rejected by someone something at some moment maybe it was a move maybe it was a job maybe it was a relationship whatever it was you didn't get in and therefore you lived thinking that that moment was you and you've car characterized Yourself by the person that didn't get in therefore I got bitterness I got frustration I got a chip on my shoulder I'm just not who I'm I'm supposed to be all the while you missed the miracle of God trying to show you the power of missing what you feel like was right maybe you weren't supposed to grow up the way you thought thought you were supposed to grow up huh we we we sing about it we preach about it we talk about it but do we live by it all things work together sounds good except when nobody answers the door except when somebody says I'm sorry there's no room here I'm sorry but but but but when that rejection and when that thing says no you didn't get the job you didn't get the promotion it's not your opportunity yet and they say hey we've got a place for you but it's not really what you're looking for huh it's all positioning you to make sure that I'm pleasing God and not trying to please people that I am I'm serving God it is they weren't a stranger and and I'm here to tell somebody tonight maybe there's a young person maybe there's an older person it doesn't matter if it was your family who kicked you out you can be first generation and be in the lineage of Christ we must all realize that things in the kingdom of God are not going to be the way that we process them as human beings Mary pondered it in her heart there's some of us that really need we need to really think through some things we really need to look back over our lives and think had it not been for that rejected moment had it not been for that time where somebody told told me and steered me and moved me and this happened and that happened I wouldn't be where I'm at today and I can live in regret and I can live in frustration or I can live as a redeemed child of God this aspect of faith that we have to really look at in all things working for the good and it's hard to act in it when we we feel like we're entitled and we are dealing with some of the most entitled uh mindsets and and philosophies of any generation ever God doesn't owe us anything huh we're we're not in all the things in the Bible that a lot of us feel like we're just supposed to get that that says a gift huh I'm thankful that I'm able to get it we we we we've got to understand that living for God we will not desire Heaven until we realize we deserve hell I I don't deserve to go in here I don't deserve to be in the family of God I don't Des deserve his grace I don't deserve his Mercy I'm thankful that God died on a cross and he took a path that was one that that that nobody would have wanted that nobody would have desired and took on a Crown of Thorns so that I could stand here today and I could feel his presence he felt rejection he felt pain he felt all of these things that he was he was mocked he was made fun of all of it was unfair he didn't deserve it but it positioned him that's the narrative it begins here there was no room for him in the end there seemed to be no room for him anywhere foxes have holes huh birds have nest on there's no room everything seems to play out to this same narrative Turn the Page well that's what Luke said let's see what John said let's see what Mark had to say about it there was no room for him anywhere Redemption came through rejection but when we feel rejected all of a sudden we feel like I can't deal with with this I can't hang out with these people I'm going to have to go find me another crowd you'll never find a crowd you'll never find a people you'll never find anybody that's not going to do you wrong and that's what brings forth you say I don't feel like I'm entitled if you're living thinking that no one's ever going to tell you there's no room you are acting like you're entitled to something that Jesus Christ never got he never did any wrong he in fact he did more than good right Mary and Martha you're not entitled to a resurrection huh you're not entitled to a cleanse leopard you're not entitled to open up blinded eye you're not entitled that that's but but all of a sudden in our flesh we just we want all the good and we want all the Perfection and we want all the things and we can look back over it now and we can see that that Tower was that miraculous moment and everybody wants it but Micah knew and the Shepherds knew God knows but you've got to be willing to put your life in God's hands and know that if he allows something to be birthed in you in a place where you never thought it was going to be birthed right see the story within the story it's not it's it's it's so powerful to see that this his whole narrative his whole life all becomes this place where there was no room in the end we all fight it but we must acknowledge the spirit of entitlement there's no room in the end because God is trying to fulfill prophecies and he's trying to fulfill promises as he's trying to do good things and and fulfill that perfect will for your life and though he was that Lamb slain and he was that ultimate sacrifice he was born in Bethlehem in the tower of the flock because that was how it was supposed to happen John 1:29 the next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him and saith Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world there is no John 1:29 if there was no room in the end 1 Peter 1:18 for as much as you know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers but with the precious blood of Christ as the lamb without blemish and without Spot 1 Peter 1:18 and 19 makes must makes much more sense because he came out of the Tower of the flock the temple flock he was wrapped he was taken care of so don't get upset because there's no room in the end 1 Peter 2 and verse number N9 says but you're a chosen generation a royal priesthood a holy nation A peculiar people that you should show forth Praises of him who ha called you out of Darkness into this Marvelous Light No matter how good or bad I did tonight you're going to love me because I'm going to let you out early everybody say amen amen it's been stated that the mystery of the Messiah in the Bible again all because there was no room in the end all of a sudden when the angel appeared if you could see this with me if you study if you study the godhead if you study any of those things that that you see the process of why Jesus was killed and the using of the name and if you really study out the gospels The Mystery of the Messiah all begin right here they said there was no room in the end all of a sudden an angel appears it's the narrative that all of a sudden some shepherds are in on what's happening this isn't a lamb this is a a baby this is a a human being and if you go back could you imagine their conversations brother Ericson huh you go back and everything takes place those Shepherds go back out in the field and they're like hey you remember reading about huh do you you remember that they said there was a there was a a child was going to be born Bethlehem ephra that that that you remember what Micah said you remember that that it's could that have been could could we have just played a part in that all of a sudden the Mystery Begins to happen that perhaps he is the Christ perhaps this is what they prophesied perhaps it's not about the Lambs in the temple anymore huh if you really look at all the things that begin to happen when when all that starts taking place in the and the the levitical process of the the scapegoat and the Lord's goat and all the things start happening when Jesus Christ is crucified the veils rent all the things that happen the temple doors start flying open and all of a sudden the veil the cord won't turn red anymore it's just it it just stays White and the fire inside the temple just continually goes out all that starts changing and for 300 years you see just mystery mystery mystery mystery mystery that's all the Jewish people could right is we can't figure out what's going on I tell you what's going on go talk to those Shepherds they know what's going on that's why Mary is sitting there and perhaps I can't help but just just put myself in the room and perhaps she's sitting there and she's hearing what they're talking about and she's just having to ponder these things in her heart because she she's now in the room she's now in this Tower with some people that know what's going on at this point my husband heard from from an angel I've been carrying this baby that I don't know where it came from huh think about all the question marks she's got going on her head but all of a sudden she's in the room with some people in in the in the middle of of a field with some some sheep in this Tower and they seem to know what's happening here it's just this powerful powerful narrative all because of rejection so the lamb spotless swaddled in Priestly garments in a place of pure they said that you possibly in that day could not have given birth to a child in a cleaner environment perfect it would have been dirtier probably in there this place was clean it was without SP spoted it was without blemish it was holy it was lawful it was a place where only the King of Kings and the Lord of lords should have came in just stand to your feet tonight Tower of the flock is a pretty cool place and so I thought why not check it out for the white see if you you know Google Map this thing and see what it looks like you know is there some pictures of it maybe get a Yelp review you know see if we could go visit this place so I I look it up and brother or it's gone it's not there anymore um it's been tore down and uh it was you can you it's it's been converted into to something else and so there's now you can you can't visit the Tower of the flock in its original state but actually in 325 ad Constantine built the Church of the nativity pretty interesting Church of the Nativity over it and and it's there and you can you can actually visit that is it's now called manger square if you're looking to go um the the review says you find long lines of people visiting the birthplace of Christ you can pay an extra $20 to skip the line according to Travelocity manger Square when seeing that though and and and just looking it up out of curiosity seeing that name and that date my memory was jogged and began to look back over some research of mine and I saw where 325 ad I don't know if you recall or any of you study to know that's that's when the nian council met and brought together a group of Bishops where they formed what we know as the false doctrine of the Trinity makes sense would you believe in the same year at the same same time and the same person emperor Constantine built over the Tower of the flock in 325 ad and the same year it took in the same year he divides him up into three persons with a counsil huh I don't know about you but that frustrated me to read it was extremely extremely frustrating but he tore down this Tower the flock and I would say out of the Same Spirit built the doctrine of the trinity in the same year while my frustration wanted just to chalk it up to another ignorant move of false Doctrine I couldn't help but think you know we don't need that Tower anymore anyways we don't need another lamb we don't need another swaddling we don't need another manger huh the Shepherds can just be Shepherds huh we we don't have to have another sacrifice for sins he didn't just take on the sins of Bethlehem and his people he took upon the sins of the world he took upon the sins of every person under the sound of my voice tonight and as much as I'd like to see the Tower of the flock I couldn't help but think that Proverbs 18 and verse number 10 says the name of the Lord is a strong tower the righteous run into it and are safe because he was that Lamb slain because he was not just a lamb but the lamb and he was treated and taken there we watch people come in to this Tower and be born again of the water and of the spirit they take upon a name that's above every name and they're they're wrapped in garments of righteousness and all of a sudden lives are changed and you can find safety here huh therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear son shall call his name Emanuel Emmanuel why God With Us Jesus he saves For unto you unto us a child is born unto us a son is given and the government shall be upon his shoulders his name Shall be Called wonderful counselor the Mighty God the Everlasting father and the Prince of Peace he's all you need but I ask you tonight can you hear what the shepherd's saying can you Ponder some of those things in your heart can you see that all things work together for the good that even when there's no room in the end you got to know that God is positioning you God is positioning you in the perfect place for his prophecy and his promises and his goodness and I don't know about you but I want to at all times be able to come into His presence and oh come let us adore him could I bless his name no matter what it I thought it was supposed to be no matter I wonder if there could just be a release tonight and in prayer and dismissal there could just be this release of that's what I thought it was stop living in that that mode stop living with that thought of regret and just know that where you're at is where you're supposed to be could I just give you some peace in this this this season I I know there's some things that you could look back and you could just regret and you just say what if I could have got in the room you weren't supposed to get in the room and I want to pray that over you tonight I want you to feel that release tonight before you leave here I feel the Lord wants to do that for somebody would you lift your hands across this place God I thank you come on lift up your voice to him for a moment God I thank you God for all that you did in our lives God from the very pages of scripture God you've shown us that you are for us you're with us God you'll never leave us you never forsake us Lord but I pray over somebody in the name of Jesus tonight Lord that you would let them see God that they're right where they need to be they're right here in your presence they're right here in your grace and your mercy God I pray that you would allow some some man some woman some young person to see that you are at work and you are molding you are shaping us and you've allowed us to be right here for such a time as this in a new season but most of all God in your new mercies oh God God and you are with us and you're working right now in the greatest way