1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:08,480 Our sermon title this morning is Jesus Moved into the 2 00:00:08,480 --> 00:00:14,120 neighborhood. Often times when people move 3 00:00:14,120 --> 00:00:17,200 into a community, one of the very first questions that comes 4 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:19,560 up is what kind of neighborhood is that? 5 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:24,200 What kind of neighborhood is it or what kind of neighbors would 6 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:28,200 you have? And I'm not saying that's a 7 00:00:28,200 --> 00:00:30,840 totally wrong question. There is a, there's a place in 8 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:35,520 time when we need to be conscious and aware where we're 9 00:00:35,520 --> 00:00:40,520 moving to have you have kids, small children, what the 10 00:00:40,520 --> 00:00:43,120 environment is. And it's not wrong to be 11 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:49,840 concerned in some sense. And there are people sometimes 12 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:51,840 that shouldn't be moving into next door. 13 00:00:51,840 --> 00:00:54,280 That happens, that's true. But there's another side to this 14 00:00:54,280 --> 00:01:00,120 coin and that is the people that are in the neighborhood who's 15 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:02,000 coming to move in next door to me. 16 00:01:02,640 --> 00:01:06,200 I know there's there are sometimes people who actually 17 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:09,600 move away from where they live because somebody else moved next 18 00:01:09,600 --> 00:01:12,840 door they can't stand. I'm not saying you've ever done 19 00:01:12,840 --> 00:01:21,440 that, but I remember many years ago we moved into town and and 20 00:01:21,440 --> 00:01:26,000 church. One of the ladies asked you have 21 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:29,880 good neighbors and I don't know exactly how our conversation 22 00:01:29,880 --> 00:01:32,800 went, but I remember saying something like I think it's just 23 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,640 as important that I think what kind of neighbor will I be to 24 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:40,600 the neighbors I move to that kind of kind of died there, but 25 00:01:40,600 --> 00:01:44,120 it's important. Our sermon this morning want to 26 00:01:44,120 --> 00:01:46,400 focus on Jesus being born in Bethlehem. 27 00:01:47,000 --> 00:01:51,040 What kind of neighborhood was it that he moved to? 28 00:01:51,840 --> 00:01:55,120 But then more importantly, secondly, want to look at what 29 00:01:55,120 --> 00:01:59,840 kind of neighborhood does Jesus move in today, now here, What 30 00:01:59,840 --> 00:02:02,680 kind of neighborhood has he got in US? 31 00:02:04,720 --> 00:02:07,360 And I know the question doesn't really work because Jesus is not 32 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:09,639 here in the flesh this morning, as we would say. 33 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:14,400 And we don't have to worry about somebody named Jesus Christ 34 00:02:14,680 --> 00:02:16,360 who's going to move in next door to me. 35 00:02:20,120 --> 00:02:23,400 But I want to just imagine that for a moment. 36 00:02:24,240 --> 00:02:29,160 Let's say he did, let's say Jesus would be physically 37 00:02:29,160 --> 00:02:33,920 present in our town and he would knock on my door one day, says 38 00:02:33,920 --> 00:02:36,840 Jake, I know, you know, you got a spare bedroom downstairs. 39 00:02:36,840 --> 00:02:39,640 I'm moving in. Uh oh. 40 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:45,880 Would that impact me in a way that I wouldn't like or would 41 00:02:45,880 --> 00:02:48,520 say, well, I, I, I'm sorry. It's, it's, it's actually, it's 42 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:50,120 not available. You have a spare couch in your 43 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:51,520 office. It's a, it's a folder. 44 00:02:51,520 --> 00:02:53,480 I'll sleep on that, but I'm moving in. 45 00:02:54,880 --> 00:02:58,000 Would I like it? Would he be welcome? 46 00:02:59,320 --> 00:03:02,920 I would have all kinds of reasons and excuses and ideas 47 00:03:02,920 --> 00:03:05,360 why it's not a good idea. And hey, we can be good friends, 48 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:11,440 but just keep our distance because honestly, so many people 49 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:13,560 who claim to be followers of Jesus, they keep him at a 50 00:03:13,560 --> 00:03:17,040 distance. He's a good friend, saved me 51 00:03:17,040 --> 00:03:20,000 from my sins and all. I go to church on Sunday morning 52 00:03:20,000 --> 00:03:23,000 and say hi and pray and sing, listen and dutifully do my 53 00:03:23,000 --> 00:03:25,840 things. But that's about the extent to 54 00:03:25,840 --> 00:03:30,160 which it goes. And let's say Jesus would come 55 00:03:30,160 --> 00:03:33,280 in and says, by the way, I'm going to come to your work. 56 00:03:33,280 --> 00:03:36,040 I know you drive truck and I'll be riding a shotgun with you. 57 00:03:36,040 --> 00:03:39,760 Or when you make this trip to London, I'll be sitting beside 58 00:03:39,760 --> 00:03:41,640 you. Would that impact how I would 59 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:46,800 drive or maybe my office work, how I would what I would do on 60 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,440 my computer? Or maybe it's a mother raising 61 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:54,480 your children and how the children will get treated with 62 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:56,440 Jesus sitting around, hanging around. 63 00:03:57,800 --> 00:03:59,920 What if Jesus was physically our neighbor? 64 00:04:02,240 --> 00:04:04,120 I know it makes us uncomfortable at some level. 65 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:10,480 Maybe we'd say I don't want him. He's too intrusive, too 66 00:04:10,480 --> 00:04:13,360 invasive, interrupts my schedule. 67 00:04:16,360 --> 00:04:20,240 There's an old song, an old hymn that illustrates in a very good 68 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:28,320 way this idea of Jesus being born into our culture and our 69 00:04:28,320 --> 00:04:29,320 time. This. 70 00:04:29,800 --> 00:04:31,440 I'll read the song. Actually, I'll just read it. 71 00:04:31,840 --> 00:04:35,440 It's the title, you know, Well, you've sang it many times and 72 00:04:35,520 --> 00:04:37,480 it's familiar to us. And I'll read it and then I'll 73 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:40,400 focus in on the last verse. There's, there's 4 verses. 74 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:45,080 Let me just read it. O little town of Bethlehem, how 75 00:04:45,080 --> 00:04:49,240 still we see the lie above thy deep and dreamless sleep. 76 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:53,880 The silent stars go by the everlasting light. 77 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,640 The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight, 78 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:02,360 for Christ is born of Mary and gathered all above. 79 00:05:02,800 --> 00:05:06,400 While mortal sleep, the angels keep their watch of wondering 80 00:05:06,400 --> 00:05:08,960 love. O morning stars together 81 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:13,080 proclaim the holy birth, and praises sing to God the King, 82 00:05:13,560 --> 00:05:18,400 and peace to men on earth. How silently, how silently the 83 00:05:18,400 --> 00:05:22,360 wondrous gift is given. So God imparts to human hearts 84 00:05:22,840 --> 00:05:27,200 the blessings of His heaven. No ear may hear His coming, but 85 00:05:27,200 --> 00:05:32,160 in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive him, still 86 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:38,520 the dear Christ enters. In that's neighborhood there's 87 00:05:38,520 --> 00:05:44,080 one more verse and when Jesus is welcomed into our hearts, this 88 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,080 is what it's like. And I want to read this last 89 00:05:46,080 --> 00:05:53,120 verse, verse 4, O holy child of Bethlehem, descend to us. 90 00:05:53,120 --> 00:05:59,560 We pray, cast out our sin and enter in, be born in US today we 91 00:05:59,560 --> 00:06:03,400 hear the Christmas angels, the great glad tidings tell will 92 00:06:03,400 --> 00:06:08,440 come to us, abide with us, our Lord Emmanuel. 93 00:06:09,320 --> 00:06:13,880 This encapsulates the whole story, how Jesus came and He 94 00:06:13,880 --> 00:06:23,560 didn't come loudly, boldly came peacefully, silent, meek and 95 00:06:23,560 --> 00:06:26,480 humble. No noisy fanfare, no allowed 96 00:06:26,480 --> 00:06:30,080 announcement of His arrival. Instead, hope helpless, not 97 00:06:30,080 --> 00:06:33,800 hopeless, helpless and vulnerable as a baby. 98 00:06:35,160 --> 00:06:37,720 No one in the town at that day knew what was happening. 99 00:06:39,000 --> 00:06:42,360 But the greatest miracle to ever happen on planet earth happened 100 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:47,000 that evening on the on the on the Christmas Eve, Jesus the 101 00:06:47,000 --> 00:06:51,360 Messiah came to live among people, and the little town of 102 00:06:51,360 --> 00:06:53,680 Bethlehem slept right through as if nothing had happened. 103 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:55,920 And we can't blame them for it, because that's not what God 104 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:58,200 intended for them to make, to make a loud noise. 105 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:04,320 But that does not take away from the value of the event or from 106 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:09,120 its importance. While the town slept, angels 107 00:07:09,120 --> 00:07:14,080 were not sleeping, and they came to the shepherds and presented 108 00:07:14,080 --> 00:07:17,080 them with the good news. And God did not focus on how 109 00:07:17,080 --> 00:07:20,360 loud the gift would come, the celebration that it would have, 110 00:07:20,360 --> 00:07:23,880 and so on. God's focus was to send His Son 111 00:07:23,880 --> 00:07:28,720 as a gift, silently, quietly into this little town. 112 00:07:31,200 --> 00:07:33,600 I want us to pause just for a moment and reflect on this 113 00:07:33,600 --> 00:07:37,880 fourth verse that I have on the slide here where it says be born 114 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:41,040 in US today. That's a prayer. 115 00:07:41,400 --> 00:07:45,760 That's a request. Imagine Jesus being born into a 116 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:49,920 human family. He was entering the human race 117 00:07:49,920 --> 00:07:53,960 at the deepest level. We cannot imagine a more 118 00:07:53,960 --> 00:07:57,560 vulnerable, emotionally dependent, physically dependent 119 00:07:57,560 --> 00:08:01,240 state than the state of being born as a helpless newborn. 120 00:08:01,960 --> 00:08:04,520 That's how he came. Yeah, of course, we know the 121 00:08:04,520 --> 00:08:06,000 story. I've talked about it the last 122 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:08,480 few Sundays. Jesus choosing God, choosing 123 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:11,120 Mary to be the mother. She was engaged to be married. 124 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:12,680 That was a big interruption for her. 125 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:14,640 She wasn't married yet, was going to be. 126 00:08:14,640 --> 00:08:16,080 Now this kind of comes in the way. 127 00:08:16,080 --> 00:08:19,280 And then Joseph, him not being sure what's going on with my 128 00:08:19,280 --> 00:08:21,920 fiance, Mary got to have to divorce her. 129 00:08:22,280 --> 00:08:24,680 And that culture, That's how engagement could be broken. 130 00:08:24,680 --> 00:08:26,120 That's the only way it could be broken. 131 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:30,640 Huge interruptions, one thing after another. 132 00:08:32,919 --> 00:08:35,480 From a worldly point of view, nobody knew anything. 133 00:08:36,720 --> 00:08:39,640 But in heaven was a big deal for Mary, it was a big deal for 134 00:08:39,640 --> 00:08:41,400 Joseph, it was a big deal. It was a big deal for the 135 00:08:41,400 --> 00:08:43,000 angels. It was a big deal for Jesus. 136 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:46,280 But Jerusalem, the capital, the news didn't even reach it until 137 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:48,880 much later, when the wise men from the east would come and 138 00:08:48,880 --> 00:08:51,080 they would ask, where's this king of the Jews that's supposed 139 00:08:51,080 --> 00:08:53,280 to be born? What king of the Jews? 140 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:55,920 He calls this Pharisees over anything about the king of the 141 00:08:55,920 --> 00:08:58,200 Jews to be born? Oh yeah, And Bethlehem and 142 00:08:58,200 --> 00:09:00,920 Judea, there's a son of David will be born there. 143 00:09:01,360 --> 00:09:03,240 And then he says to the wise man, go and check it out and 144 00:09:03,240 --> 00:09:06,840 then tell me and then let me know and I'll come worship too. 145 00:09:06,880 --> 00:09:09,200 Meantime, he wanted to kill them, kill him. 146 00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:11,480 And he did kill the boys because he got awaited. 147 00:09:14,400 --> 00:09:16,760 Any one of us here, all of us here have been born into a 148 00:09:16,760 --> 00:09:21,280 family to someone we call father, mother, sister, brother 149 00:09:21,280 --> 00:09:24,280 and so on. Jesus choose to become part of 150 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:28,520 that. Now imagine if God would tap you 151 00:09:28,520 --> 00:09:31,080 or me on the shoulder one day and say something like, OK, I'm 152 00:09:31,080 --> 00:09:34,080 sending you to become part of a family and such and such a place 153 00:09:34,080 --> 00:09:36,640 that needs help and your responsibility. 154 00:09:36,640 --> 00:09:40,120 And your task is to love that family as you love yourself and 155 00:09:40,520 --> 00:09:42,920 and care and teach and train. And then in the end, most of 156 00:09:42,920 --> 00:09:45,920 them will turn against you and they will kill you, but I will 157 00:09:45,920 --> 00:09:48,640 raise you back to life. Now I know I'm just making 158 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:50,800 things up here, but this is an essence. 159 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:54,800 What would we would go through? We would bristle, we say, Oh no, 160 00:09:55,040 --> 00:09:58,800 I don't want to. Now, of course, God will never 161 00:09:58,800 --> 00:10:01,920 do that because we're not Jesus. But nevertheless, when he left 162 00:10:01,920 --> 00:10:05,920 this earth to bring the gospel here and start as a baby, that 163 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:10,360 was a huge deal. God has done big things before. 164 00:10:10,440 --> 00:10:12,720 It wasn't just Jesus that that was the biggest thing he ever 165 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:15,680 did. But even in history and the Old 166 00:10:15,680 --> 00:10:19,680 Testament, the greatest character we have is Moses, and 167 00:10:19,680 --> 00:10:21,160 we know Jesus. Moses talked in the Mount of 168 00:10:21,160 --> 00:10:23,360 Transfiguration, and so they had something together. 169 00:10:24,800 --> 00:10:28,480 But think of him as a as a man. He would have never guessed at 170 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:31,880 age 80 that the greatest task of his life was before him. 171 00:10:32,920 --> 00:10:35,240 You see, that's the thing. When people get close to God, 172 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:37,840 all of a sudden things start happening in their lives they 173 00:10:37,840 --> 00:10:40,080 had never imagined, never dreamed. 174 00:10:41,040 --> 00:10:43,920 That's what happened to Zechariah in a small way, to 175 00:10:43,920 --> 00:10:46,920 Mary in a small way, and to Joseph. 176 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:50,480 And no, God's not asking us to be any of one of those 177 00:10:50,480 --> 00:10:54,080 characters, but he's asking us, you and I, today to welcome him, 178 00:10:54,360 --> 00:10:58,360 walk with him, be his witness, allow Him to lead us so that 179 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:01,120 other people will see, take note, and they too will want to 180 00:11:01,120 --> 00:11:03,640 follow Jesus. In essence, that's what it's 181 00:11:03,640 --> 00:11:15,050 coming down to in John chapter one, verse 14. 182 00:11:16,570 --> 00:11:18,930 See if this slide works. It does work. 183 00:11:21,610 --> 00:11:26,320 The Word became flesh, flesh and blood and moved into the 184 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:29,240 neighborhood. We saw the glory with our own 185 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:33,880 eyes, the one-of-a-kind glory, like Father, like son, generous 186 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:35,760 inside and out. True from start to finish. 187 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:38,640 That's Eugene Peterson's translation paraphrase, but I 188 00:11:38,640 --> 00:11:42,000 like the way he says it in simple English. 189 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:45,960 The Word became flesh and blood and moved into the neighborhood. 190 00:11:46,440 --> 00:11:51,400 You see, God has always wanted to be part of humanity in the 191 00:11:51,400 --> 00:11:53,440 Garden of Eden. He wanted to be part of Adam and 192 00:11:53,440 --> 00:11:56,840 Eve's relationship there. And he was until they sinned, 193 00:11:56,840 --> 00:11:58,680 and then that was it. Then that was over. 194 00:11:58,680 --> 00:12:00,760 They had to get kicked out of the garden. 195 00:12:01,680 --> 00:12:03,960 And the whole Old Testament was a journey back to that. 196 00:12:05,040 --> 00:12:07,600 And John the Apostle says God moved into the neighborhood. 197 00:12:08,040 --> 00:12:10,000 He's still busy moving into the neighborhood. 198 00:12:10,000 --> 00:12:12,560 The question we want to ask ourselves is, is this 199 00:12:12,560 --> 00:12:15,720 neighborhood accepting? Am I accepting him? 200 00:12:18,680 --> 00:12:24,080 Am I embracing the story? Am I embracing him as a as a 201 00:12:24,080 --> 00:12:29,720 welcome master, Lord and Savior? Well, let's look at the story a 202 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:33,080 little bit. Go to Luke chapter 2 beginning 203 00:12:33,080 --> 00:12:35,920 verse one. Luke chapter 2 beginning verse 204 00:12:35,920 --> 00:12:37,240 one. I want you to read along with me 205 00:12:37,240 --> 00:12:39,480 and you have your phones or your devices, whatever you can follow 206 00:12:39,480 --> 00:12:41,600 there. It says in verse 2, And it came 207 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:45,320 to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar 208 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:48,640 Augustus that all the world should be registered. 209 00:12:48,840 --> 00:12:51,720 The census first took place while Carinius was governing 210 00:12:51,720 --> 00:12:53,520 Syria. So all went to be registered, 211 00:12:53,760 --> 00:13:01,320 everyone to his own city. This was not a time of peace in 212 00:13:01,320 --> 00:13:03,480 the sense that there were no problems. 213 00:13:03,920 --> 00:13:06,760 Yes, the Roman Empire had expanded worldwide. 214 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:09,120 Things were happening and here's a bit of a picture of what it 215 00:13:09,120 --> 00:13:12,120 may have looked like, and that's the picture of Southern Europe, 216 00:13:12,120 --> 00:13:14,400 Western Europe, and North Africa. 217 00:13:14,680 --> 00:13:17,800 Rome basically had all of this in its grasp. 218 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:21,320 Caesar Augustus ruled this whole empire, the dark Reds where 219 00:13:21,320 --> 00:13:23,800 Italy is, and that's Rome, but all the rest of it. 220 00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:26,960 And if you see to your to your right, that little red piece 221 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:30,520 there, that's Palestine, and that's where in that little 222 00:13:30,520 --> 00:13:32,160 country, that's where Jesus was born. 223 00:13:32,960 --> 00:13:38,600 Everybody in his empire had to now go and get registered. 224 00:13:40,240 --> 00:13:42,760 And he wanted to know how many people he had. 225 00:13:43,600 --> 00:13:46,760 And rulers like Caesar and governments do this for various 226 00:13:46,760 --> 00:13:48,680 reasons. But one thing that Cesar 227 00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:51,240 Augustus wanted to know is how many people do I have? 228 00:13:51,760 --> 00:13:54,040 And for the purpose of how much taxes can I take? 229 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:58,760 And maybe how strong am I militarily and what can I all do 230 00:13:58,760 --> 00:14:01,040 with what I have? And she was very, very rich, 231 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:05,000 very, very powerful, ruled with an iron fist, so to speak. 232 00:14:05,160 --> 00:14:07,880 Now the Jews had the freedom of religion, so to speak. 233 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:11,160 They could worship Yahweh, Jehovah God, as long as their 234 00:14:11,440 --> 00:14:14,200 religion did not counter or fight against Rome. 235 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,560 And so they had a very delicate dance there, but it worked. 236 00:14:18,600 --> 00:14:21,200 And so here everybody has to go to their hometown to get 237 00:14:21,200 --> 00:14:27,960 registered and it's for the purpose of political gain and 238 00:14:27,960 --> 00:14:30,840 never thinking that this would play right into what God had 239 00:14:30,840 --> 00:14:33,760 planned that he would bring the Messiah into the world through 240 00:14:33,760 --> 00:14:37,560 this through this event. God had prophesied in Micah 241 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:41,720 chapter 2 five verse 2, the words but you Bethlehem Ephrata, 242 00:14:42,440 --> 00:14:45,400 though you're little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of 243 00:14:45,400 --> 00:14:49,320 you shall come forth to me the one to to be the ruler in Israel 244 00:14:49,440 --> 00:14:52,560 whose goings forth or from of old from everlasting. 245 00:14:52,640 --> 00:14:56,680 This is old prophecy in this event, this registry that was 246 00:14:56,680 --> 00:15:00,720 destined to happen, it was ordered by Caesar Augustus, and 247 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:03,960 that would put Mary and Joseph right where God wanted them for 248 00:15:03,960 --> 00:15:06,200 the birth to happen. So let's continue reading 249 00:15:07,680 --> 00:15:10,760 chapter 2, verse 47. Joseph also went up from Galilee 250 00:15:11,160 --> 00:15:14,000 out of the city of Nazareth into Judea to the city of David, 251 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:17,360 which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and 252 00:15:17,360 --> 00:15:20,200 lineage of David to be registered with Mary, his 253 00:15:20,200 --> 00:15:22,760 betrothed wife, who was with child. 254 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:26,840 So it was that while they were there, the days were 255 00:15:26,840 --> 00:15:30,080 accomplished, completed for her to be delivered, and she brought 256 00:15:30,080 --> 00:15:33,360 forth her first born son and wrapped him in swaddling 257 00:15:33,360 --> 00:15:37,160 clothes, laid him in a Manger, because there was no room for 258 00:15:37,160 --> 00:15:40,320 them. In the end, while Caesar's 259 00:15:40,320 --> 00:15:43,520 focused on power and control and domination and wealth and so on, 260 00:15:43,520 --> 00:15:46,400 God's focused on arranging for the arrival of His son to bring 261 00:15:46,400 --> 00:15:52,840 his Kingdom into this world. Everything about this was 262 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:58,400 unsuitable. I mean, Mary's pregnant, going 263 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:02,280 on nine months now to the end of nine months, pretty much not a 264 00:16:02,280 --> 00:16:05,600 good time to travel, by the way, from Nazareth to Jerusalem to 265 00:16:05,600 --> 00:16:09,000 Bethlehem. We don't have exact information, 266 00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:11,800 but as I mentioned in my last few sermons, this distance to 267 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:18,080 would have been days of travel. She didn't have coach or a nice 268 00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:22,160 vehicle or anything like that in the last days of her pregnancy. 269 00:16:23,440 --> 00:16:24,880 Pregnant women don't walk too fast. 270 00:16:24,880 --> 00:16:28,640 You know, maybe she rode on a donkey, let's say that benefit 271 00:16:28,640 --> 00:16:30,040 of the doubt there, but we don't know that. 272 00:16:30,240 --> 00:16:32,320 Maybe they had a group of people going not there. 273 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:33,920 Maybe we're not alone. We don't know. 274 00:16:34,880 --> 00:16:38,000 But anyway, this was not an easy trip. 275 00:16:38,000 --> 00:16:43,000 This is not an easy walk. If it was a walk in her physical 276 00:16:43,000 --> 00:16:46,320 state would have been a slow and lengthy journey. 277 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:51,720 Then they get to Bethlehem and they're kind of everything, just 278 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:55,240 snowballs. Just think the town is crowded. 279 00:16:56,360 --> 00:16:59,720 The census has caused a lot of people to go to Bethlehem for 280 00:16:59,720 --> 00:17:04,839 the same purpose, to register, to please Caesar Augustus. 281 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:07,599 And a lot of people are there, and it's a town. 282 00:17:07,599 --> 00:17:10,960 People are maybe milling about, but all there for the same 283 00:17:10,960 --> 00:17:13,000 reason. It makes you wonder, why would 284 00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:15,680 God do that? Could he have not ordained it? 285 00:17:15,680 --> 00:17:18,640 So they went a little earlier, maybe in a month or two earlier, 286 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:21,960 and so that this could all be taken care of and maybe they had 287 00:17:21,960 --> 00:17:24,560 a there would have been room, maybe rent a house by that time. 288 00:17:25,560 --> 00:17:29,960 God has strange ways of doing things, often uncomfortable, 289 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:36,320 inconvenient, and disruptive. And it seems as if it doesn't 290 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:38,200 matter a whole lot to me. I'm not saying it doesn't. 291 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:42,400 I'm just saying he's using that. So they need a place to sleep 292 00:17:43,160 --> 00:17:44,720 and there's no room in the end. Duh. 293 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:49,240 What do you do if there's a big sport event in some town, you 294 00:17:49,240 --> 00:17:51,160 want to rent a motel there? You can't because it's all 295 00:17:51,160 --> 00:17:54,760 booked. And that's the case here. 296 00:17:55,520 --> 00:17:58,200 Registration is going on. No room in the end, no place to 297 00:17:58,200 --> 00:17:59,480 sleep. Oh, yeah, There's one place. 298 00:17:59,480 --> 00:18:03,040 There's one place to sleep. That barn or that stable, that 299 00:18:03,040 --> 00:18:04,840 part of the house where the animals are kept. 300 00:18:05,240 --> 00:18:09,960 There's a there's a there's a, there's some room there and it's 301 00:18:09,960 --> 00:18:12,200 time for her to give birth. What to do? 302 00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:14,480 There's no hospital to go to. They don't have those in those 303 00:18:14,480 --> 00:18:17,640 days. And so she had gives birth to 304 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:21,080 this baby, this little tiny baby, wraps him up and puts him 305 00:18:21,080 --> 00:18:26,320 in the feeding through not a lot to give. 306 00:18:28,920 --> 00:18:31,640 And there in that through maybe a stone through as commentators 307 00:18:31,640 --> 00:18:34,360 suggested, might have been where the animals eat their feed their 308 00:18:34,360 --> 00:18:37,880 hay or whatever they had. That's where he's put. 309 00:18:40,360 --> 00:18:43,920 If God would send you and me an omission, what kind of 310 00:18:43,920 --> 00:18:47,040 conditions would we set? A long checklist? 311 00:18:47,040 --> 00:18:49,400 OK, we're going to go if and we're going to go when, and 312 00:18:49,400 --> 00:18:52,400 we're going to only if we have a long checklist of conditions 313 00:18:52,400 --> 00:18:54,440 that have all lined up ducks in a row. 314 00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:57,720 And then maybe we'll think about it and pray about it, and then 315 00:18:57,720 --> 00:18:59,920 we might, we might say, yes. Is that how we do things? 316 00:19:00,280 --> 00:19:02,760 I'm afraid so. Often times that's the reality. 317 00:19:05,400 --> 00:19:08,400 Better timing. Once this happens, once that 318 00:19:08,400 --> 00:19:11,720 happens, we would have thresholds which God would have 319 00:19:11,720 --> 00:19:16,480 to meet for us to obey. Jesus came into a world, 320 00:19:16,960 --> 00:19:20,240 difficult world in a very simple way. 321 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:25,520 He came as Lord, yes, but in the most humble of circumstances. 322 00:19:27,160 --> 00:19:29,760 He came into the neighbor. He wasn't choosy or selective as 323 00:19:29,760 --> 00:19:32,600 we might be. And God ordained that he would 324 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:36,320 be born to the simple couple, nothing to offer except 325 00:19:36,320 --> 00:19:40,440 themselves. And I want to say it's safe to 326 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:43,320 say that Mary, the young mother of Jesus, experienced all the 327 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:46,720 things that young mothers go through who expect the baby and 328 00:19:46,720 --> 00:19:48,440 the traveling, the stress that caused. 329 00:19:48,560 --> 00:19:51,240 She must have been exhausted, bone tired. 330 00:19:54,920 --> 00:19:57,440 And of the different things we need to learn about Jesus, we 331 00:19:57,440 --> 00:20:00,240 need to be mindful. He doesn't come at our 332 00:20:00,240 --> 00:20:03,400 convenience. Either it's at his call or no 333 00:20:03,400 --> 00:20:06,840 enough at all. If we set the bar, if we set the 334 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:14,080 conditions, he ain't coming. He's not welcome when it suits 335 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:18,360 us. He comes when he sees. 336 00:20:18,360 --> 00:20:21,600 We need growth. We need lessons and trust, 337 00:20:22,440 --> 00:20:26,960 lessons and patience. Lessons in humility, lessons in 338 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:28,640 surrender. And so on. 339 00:20:29,880 --> 00:20:32,840 And as glorious and grand as that event was for the world was 340 00:20:32,840 --> 00:20:35,560 just not even, didn't even exist because the world didn't know. 341 00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:38,800 No local news going on, reporters and TV crews 342 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:40,560 televising what's going on in Bethlehem. 343 00:20:40,840 --> 00:20:43,360 Those things didn't exist in those days, but it did get 344 00:20:43,360 --> 00:20:45,560 spread. Not in the normal way, however. 345 00:20:45,560 --> 00:20:49,760 Let's continue reading now. There were in the same country, 346 00:20:51,440 --> 00:20:53,120 shepherds living out in the fields. 347 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:55,800 That's not the people you go to share stories with, because 348 00:20:55,800 --> 00:20:57,240 there's the most unreliable people. 349 00:20:57,240 --> 00:21:00,720 They had keeping watch over their flock by night. 350 00:21:01,040 --> 00:21:04,480 And behold, an Angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory 351 00:21:04,480 --> 00:21:07,400 of the Lord shun around them, and they were greatly afraid. 352 00:21:08,840 --> 00:21:11,040 Then the Angel said to them, do not be afraid. 353 00:21:11,040 --> 00:21:14,200 For behold, I bring you good news, good tidings of great joy, 354 00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:18,240 which will be to all people. For there's born to you this day 355 00:21:18,240 --> 00:21:21,720 in the city of David a Savior who's Christ the Lord, and this 356 00:21:21,720 --> 00:21:25,040 will be the sign to you. You'll find a babe wrapped in 357 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:27,880 swaddling clothes lying in a Manger. 358 00:21:28,440 --> 00:21:32,600 God wants his news to spread, just not in the way the world 359 00:21:32,600 --> 00:21:36,600 would normally do it. He sent his Angel to some 360 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:40,080 shepherds who were watching over their flocks. 361 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:44,880 By night, maybe these shepherds were sitting around a fire. 362 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:48,120 Maybe they were standing. But anyway, I would assume they 363 00:21:48,120 --> 00:21:51,480 would have had a fire to keep warm during the long hours of 364 00:21:51,480 --> 00:21:55,160 the night, watching the sheep, making sure that no predators 365 00:21:55,160 --> 00:21:58,800 would would get close. And as they had been out in the 366 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:02,080 field watching many countless nights before and would continue 367 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:04,440 again doing so countless nights into the future, something 368 00:22:04,440 --> 00:22:07,800 happened that night, totally unexpected. 369 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:11,920 They're totally not prepared. A bright light comes, an Angel 370 00:22:11,920 --> 00:22:15,000 of God is there, and of course they're afraid we would be too. 371 00:22:16,480 --> 00:22:19,320 Now again, notice that for the shepherds this was a surprise 372 00:22:19,920 --> 00:22:24,760 and not exactly the best time in the 24 hour day to bring good 373 00:22:24,760 --> 00:22:26,880 news. Wouldn't there be a better time 374 00:22:27,280 --> 00:22:30,760 then at night time? I mean, maybe after breakfast 375 00:22:30,760 --> 00:22:33,800 everybody's kind of rested up a little bit ready to go for the 376 00:22:33,800 --> 00:22:36,080 day. Maybe an announcement, some good 377 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:42,400 news is coming. But think from it about it from 378 00:22:42,400 --> 00:22:46,360 a human perspective. If God had sent notice and said 379 00:22:46,360 --> 00:22:49,480 that He would send an Angel to bring them some good news and 380 00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:52,440 wanted them to set a time, when could I come? 381 00:22:57,160 --> 00:22:59,680 We don't know how it would have turned out, made made any 382 00:22:59,680 --> 00:23:00,720 difference. We don't know that. 383 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:03,200 But God comes on His timing, not on ours. 384 00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:11,120 It almost seems as if God has no regard for human schedules. 385 00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:16,560 Not with Zechariah, didn't with Moses in the Old Testament, not 386 00:23:16,560 --> 00:23:19,920 with Moses, not with Zechariah, not with Mary, not with the 387 00:23:19,920 --> 00:23:22,400 shepherds. He does things when He wants to 388 00:23:22,400 --> 00:23:26,120 do them. The people He includes in His 389 00:23:26,120 --> 00:23:30,560 plans, they just go along and they get their lives rearranged, 390 00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:32,760 readjusted and turned upside down. 391 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:37,360 God doesn't call meetings with the people He chooses to carry 392 00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:42,200 out His mission with to see when it works, when we when would we 393 00:23:42,200 --> 00:23:44,280 be ready? He just takes over. 394 00:23:45,720 --> 00:23:49,040 And the people He chooses, they get to go for the ride. 395 00:23:51,760 --> 00:23:54,000 Now here with the shepherds, the news is great. 396 00:23:55,080 --> 00:23:57,040 Well, the timing is strange, but the news is great. 397 00:23:58,280 --> 00:24:00,720 And here's the something we want to focus in on a little bit. 398 00:24:00,720 --> 00:24:04,240 He says do not be afraid for behold, I bring you good tidings 399 00:24:04,240 --> 00:24:06,800 of great joy, which will be to all people. 400 00:24:07,560 --> 00:24:11,160 For there's born to this day in the city of David a Savior who's 401 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:12,920 Christ the Lord. This will be the sign to you. 402 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:16,840 You'll find a babe wrapped in swabbing clothes lying in a 403 00:24:16,840 --> 00:24:20,320 Manger. The city of David was the place 404 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:23,960 where the Messiah had been prophesied would be born. 405 00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:26,080 And they were waiting for one. All the Jews were. 406 00:24:26,640 --> 00:24:30,400 But now it had happened, and the most unlikely people to get the 407 00:24:30,400 --> 00:24:32,080 good news first were the shepherds. 408 00:24:32,640 --> 00:24:36,160 Not the priests, not the rulers or the elders of the nation. 409 00:24:36,440 --> 00:24:40,440 Simple shepherds. The Jews had big expectations of 410 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:42,400 what would happen when the Messiah would come. 411 00:24:42,680 --> 00:24:44,680 To them. That meant freedom from Rome. 412 00:24:44,880 --> 00:24:49,040 No more taxes, independence, no more senses, no more registries, 413 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:53,880 nothing. Just peace and independence from 414 00:24:53,960 --> 00:24:58,840 the control of Rome. Jesus did not come for what they 415 00:24:58,840 --> 00:25:02,320 expected him to come. They expected a physical, 416 00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:07,000 financial, economic freedom. That was not Jesus priority. 417 00:25:07,360 --> 00:25:11,520 His prayer was spiritual freedom and relationship with him free 418 00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:15,200 from sin and and bondage to sin. And the Angel gave the shepherd 419 00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:16,640 the instructions on where to find the baby. 420 00:25:16,800 --> 00:25:20,320 Go to Bethlehem, you find the baby wrapped in swaddling 421 00:25:20,320 --> 00:25:26,640 clothes and lying in a Manger. That's his residence, a borrowed 422 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:30,360 feed through. And thinking about this, one 423 00:25:30,360 --> 00:25:34,960 cannot help but ponder and think of how little value, how little 424 00:25:35,200 --> 00:25:39,120 earthly value, God places on earthly stuff. 425 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:46,520 Earthly recognition, earthly power, everything he lines up to 426 00:25:46,520 --> 00:25:51,440 serve His purpose. It doesn't mean that God's not 427 00:25:51,440 --> 00:25:53,760 interested in celebrating earthly things. 428 00:25:53,760 --> 00:25:56,200 When people have joy and gladness of heart, that's fine, 429 00:25:56,200 --> 00:25:58,320 that's good, but it needs to align with God. 430 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:02,720 God made a big deal out of this. Continue reading verse 13. 431 00:26:02,720 --> 00:26:06,600 It says, and suddenly there was with the Angel, a multitude of 432 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:10,760 the heavenly host praising God and saying glory to God in the 433 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:14,160 highest and on earth, peace, goodwill toward men. 434 00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:18,600 God was very invested, very involved. 435 00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:22,920 I do wonder sometimes what must this have sounded like? 436 00:26:23,480 --> 00:26:27,280 We love good music. I love good music, and we have 437 00:26:27,280 --> 00:26:30,680 people who do great job. Our worship team and others do 438 00:26:30,680 --> 00:26:32,520 very good work. I love listening to good music 439 00:26:32,520 --> 00:26:35,520 online, but I think that must have sounded unique. 440 00:26:36,840 --> 00:26:40,120 Glory to God in the highest and on earth. 441 00:26:40,120 --> 00:26:46,520 Peace, goodwill toward men. That's the message God gave 442 00:26:46,520 --> 00:26:49,800 them. It was for the shepherds, yes, 443 00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:52,600 but also for everybody else. Let's continue reading verse 15. 444 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:57,560 So it was when the angels had gone away from them into heaven 445 00:26:58,240 --> 00:27:01,480 that the shepherds said to one another, Let us now go to 446 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:04,000 Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the 447 00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:07,360 Lord has made known to us. And they came with haste, and 448 00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:10,400 found Mary and Joseph and the babe lying in a Manger. 449 00:27:11,280 --> 00:27:13,920 Now when they had seen him, they made widely known the saying 450 00:27:13,920 --> 00:27:17,520 which was told and concerning this child and all those who 451 00:27:17,520 --> 00:27:19,800 heard it marvel at those things which were told them by the 452 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:22,200 shepherds. But Mary kept all these things 453 00:27:22,200 --> 00:27:25,360 and ponder them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned 454 00:27:25,640 --> 00:27:28,840 glorifying and praising God for all the things that heard and 455 00:27:28,840 --> 00:27:32,880 seen as it was told them. So in the night the shepherds 456 00:27:32,880 --> 00:27:36,280 hurry off to this town of Bethlehem define the story is 457 00:27:36,280 --> 00:27:38,920 true. There's a newborn baby in a 458 00:27:38,920 --> 00:27:41,800 feeding through in a Manger, and that's the Messiah. 459 00:27:42,840 --> 00:27:44,280 And so they share this good news. 460 00:27:44,280 --> 00:27:48,440 Simple guys that they were, and as surprising it was to them, 461 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:49,920 surprising it was to everybody else. 462 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:53,280 But it didn't reach Jerusalem for as far as we know. 463 00:27:55,080 --> 00:27:56,960 You see, that is not the finish line. 464 00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:00,840 That is not work. Begin, it stands, That is the 465 00:28:00,840 --> 00:28:03,480 starting line. While Jesus had moved into the 466 00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:09,440 neighborhood, he would grow up and 33 years later or so, he 467 00:28:09,440 --> 00:28:12,240 would end up being nailed to a Roman cross. 468 00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:15,440 He would die by crucifixion. But that was still several 469 00:28:15,440 --> 00:28:18,600 decades in the future. But for now, the young couple, 470 00:28:19,000 --> 00:28:21,480 Joseph and Mary, had the privilege and the 471 00:28:21,480 --> 00:28:26,080 responsibility, the opportunity of being mom and dad to the 472 00:28:26,080 --> 00:28:28,560 Christ child. And it wouldn't be easy. 473 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:30,680 You know the story. They had to flee to Egypt in a 474 00:28:30,680 --> 00:28:36,320 very short while. Well, maybe we would say, well, 475 00:28:36,320 --> 00:28:38,520 we could never do what Joseph and Mary did. 476 00:28:38,520 --> 00:28:42,000 And that's true. We're not called to that, but 477 00:28:42,000 --> 00:28:45,280 the mission for which Jesus came was to give us what we could not 478 00:28:45,280 --> 00:28:48,840 achieve ourselves to take from us what we could not get rid of 479 00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:51,360 ourselves, Jesus came to take on himself. 480 00:28:51,360 --> 00:28:53,960 Our sins is the Lamb of God, and following that he came to give 481 00:28:53,960 --> 00:28:57,000 us his righteousness. When Jesus moved into the 482 00:28:57,000 --> 00:28:59,400 neighborhood, he came to give us the righteous, the righteousness 483 00:28:59,400 --> 00:29:02,440 that we could not attain to free us from their sin, that we could 484 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:06,240 not get free from by ourselves. Jesus moved into the 485 00:29:06,240 --> 00:29:08,240 neighborhood to give Himself to us. 486 00:29:09,640 --> 00:29:13,000 There never was a better offer than that offer, and it still 487 00:29:13,000 --> 00:29:18,640 stands today. Some people get it, some don't. 488 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:26,120 We're not questioning whether or not Jesus lives today in our 489 00:29:26,120 --> 00:29:28,960 neighborhood. We know from his teachings he is 490 00:29:28,960 --> 00:29:32,000 here today. We know. 491 00:29:32,040 --> 00:29:35,560 We do not know how He will meet us, we just know He does. 492 00:29:36,320 --> 00:29:38,560 He presents Himself to us in the opportunities we have. 493 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:43,960 Jesus, the Creator of time and space and matter, entered his 494 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:46,760 creation, became part of what he had created. 495 00:29:47,560 --> 00:29:50,600 He became the image he had created and entered this world 496 00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:53,640 as the most dependent, defenses, helpless, frail human being 497 00:29:53,880 --> 00:29:55,160 imaginable. A baby. 498 00:29:56,760 --> 00:30:01,200 He's among us as one who came to give Himself and someone whom we 499 00:30:01,200 --> 00:30:05,120 need to give ourselves to. I was reading a sermon recently 500 00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:10,040 by someone that I love to read sometimes and he wrote something 501 00:30:10,040 --> 00:30:13,840 about Christmas. And as I was preparing the 502 00:30:13,840 --> 00:30:17,600 sermon for Christmas Day and going over what the sermon wrote 503 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:21,000 about, it's not mine. If somebody else wrote it and I 504 00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:26,080 want to read a paragraph of his writing and this is what he 505 00:30:26,080 --> 00:30:29,960 says, I'll read a few paragraphs, is those who believe 506 00:30:29,960 --> 00:30:35,120 in God, once they've seen him in a stable, they can never be sure 507 00:30:35,120 --> 00:30:39,120 where he will appear, or to what lengths he will go, or to what 508 00:30:39,600 --> 00:30:45,240 ludicrous depths of self humiliation he will descend in 509 00:30:45,240 --> 00:30:50,040 his wild pursuit of humankind. If holiness and the awful power 510 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:54,000 and majesty of God were present, and this least suspicious of all 511 00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:58,680 events, this birth of a peasant's child, then there's no 512 00:30:58,680 --> 00:31:04,320 place or time so lowly and earthbound but that holiness can 513 00:31:04,320 --> 00:31:10,560 be present there too. And this means that if we try to 514 00:31:10,560 --> 00:31:13,560 hide, we're never safe. There's no place where we can 515 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:16,600 hide from God, no place where we are safe from his power to break 516 00:31:16,600 --> 00:31:21,440 in pieces and recreate the human heart, because it is just where 517 00:31:21,440 --> 00:31:25,280 He seems most helpless, that he's most strong, and just where 518 00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:28,600 we least expect Him, that He comes most fully. 519 00:31:30,440 --> 00:31:32,640 You see, friends, that's what happened in Bethlehem that night 520 00:31:33,440 --> 00:31:35,240 when he came into the neighborhood of Bethlehem. 521 00:31:36,160 --> 00:31:39,800 We know Herod tried to kill him. God rescued him, and he escaped. 522 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:42,400 But many people did die. Many babies did die because of 523 00:31:42,400 --> 00:31:45,840 this evil king. See, that's how God comes, not 524 00:31:45,840 --> 00:31:50,560 with an army, not with defenses, humble, surrendered, and 525 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:53,280 vulnerable. And that's where the strength 526 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:57,880 and the power lies. He comes to us in the same terms 527 00:31:57,880 --> 00:32:01,560 that he expects us to meet him in humble, vulnerable and 528 00:32:01,560 --> 00:32:03,760 surrendered, embracing our struggles. 529 00:32:03,960 --> 00:32:05,280 Let me read him one more paragraph. 530 00:32:05,280 --> 00:32:08,800 He, this writer says for those who believe in God, it means 531 00:32:08,800 --> 00:32:11,760 this birth that God himself is never safe from us. 532 00:32:13,440 --> 00:32:17,600 He comes in such a way that we can always turn him down as we 533 00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:19,760 would crack the baby skull like an eggshell. 534 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:23,840 Think abortion or nail him up on the cross when he gets too big 535 00:32:23,840 --> 00:32:27,080 for that. Think of crime and injustice. 536 00:32:28,040 --> 00:32:31,000 God comes to us and the hungry people we do not have to feed. 537 00:32:32,280 --> 00:32:35,800 He comes to us and the lonely people we don't have to comfort. 538 00:32:37,120 --> 00:32:39,840 He comes to us and all the desperate human need of people 539 00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:44,120 everywhere that we are always free to turn our backs upon. 540 00:32:44,760 --> 00:32:49,000 It means that God puts Himself at our mercy, not only in the 541 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:52,080 sense of the suffering that we can cause him by our blindness 542 00:32:52,080 --> 00:32:56,120 and coldness and cruelty, but by the suffering that we can cause 543 00:32:56,120 --> 00:32:59,200 him simply by suffering ourselves, Because that's the 544 00:32:59,200 --> 00:33:03,200 way love works. And when someone we love 545 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:06,040 suffers, we suffer with him. And we wouldn't have it 546 00:33:06,320 --> 00:33:08,360 otherwise, because the suffering, the love, are one, 547 00:33:08,360 --> 00:33:10,400 just as it is with God's love for us. 548 00:33:11,040 --> 00:33:14,320 The end of that paragraph. Where there's suffering, Jesus 549 00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:16,560 suffers too. Where there's pain, Jesus 550 00:33:16,560 --> 00:33:20,240 experiences too. The pain of his earth is our 551 00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:22,840 pain too, as our pain in this world has pain too. 552 00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:25,960 To Jesus entered a neighborhood of suffering. 553 00:33:26,680 --> 00:33:29,640 That's this world. He's joined us in our suffering. 554 00:33:29,840 --> 00:33:31,360 He's sharing us in our suffering. 555 00:33:31,520 --> 00:33:34,920 He invites us to join him and he wants us to invite Him. 556 00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:40,080 We we have to ask, do we want to be his neighbor? 557 00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:44,000 Do we want him as our neighbor? Jesus teaches. 558 00:33:44,240 --> 00:33:48,400 Without him we don't have eternal life as a man. 559 00:33:48,400 --> 00:33:51,920 He became one of us. He's the one in whom and through 560 00:33:51,920 --> 00:33:56,040 whom we have our future destiny. Whether he comes in the form of 561 00:33:56,040 --> 00:33:58,480 a newborn, the form of a sick person, the form of a lonely 562 00:33:58,480 --> 00:34:03,480 person, whatever it may be, when we have opportunity, we have 563 00:34:03,480 --> 00:34:06,760 opportunity to be a neighbor to him, and he wants to be neighbor 564 00:34:06,760 --> 00:34:09,600 to us. Today is Christmas and he's 565 00:34:09,600 --> 00:34:12,560 moved into the neighborhood. He wants us to receive the gift. 566 00:34:12,560 --> 00:34:16,679 He brings hope and peace and joy and all of that as we surrender 567 00:34:16,679 --> 00:34:19,800 ourselves to Him and lay down our agendas and take His agenda 568 00:34:19,800 --> 00:34:23,840 for our lives. As I've often said and say we'll 569 00:34:23,840 --> 00:34:29,639 say it as many times as I can, He wants a relationship. 570 00:34:30,760 --> 00:34:34,400 That's it. He came to connect with us, to 571 00:34:34,400 --> 00:34:37,120 bring Him some self. No greater gift than that. 572 00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:43,120 But to do justice to this, that's what it requires 573 00:34:43,199 --> 00:34:48,239 ourselves. He came and moved into the 574 00:34:48,239 --> 00:34:50,159 neighborhood. So how is it between me and 575 00:34:50,159 --> 00:34:51,600 Jesus? Between you and Jesus? 576 00:34:53,040 --> 00:34:56,360 Are you the neighbor whom Jesus will find warm and welcoming 577 00:34:56,360 --> 00:35:00,240 with humility and commitment? Can we give ourselves to him the 578 00:35:00,240 --> 00:35:02,640 way he gave himself to US? Open and humble, independent. 579 00:35:04,440 --> 00:35:06,920 The way he gave Himself is the way we need to give ourselves. 580 00:35:08,320 --> 00:35:10,280 He's asking for it all. He gave it all. 581 00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:12,560 He's asking for it all. He wants to be our neighbor. 582 00:35:13,120 --> 00:35:16,240 Today we have that opportunity. So I will encourage us. 583 00:35:16,240 --> 00:35:19,000 Let's give ourselves to Jesus. Invite him in. 584 00:35:19,400 --> 00:35:22,040 Let's spread the good news of what Jesus has done by how we 585 00:35:22,040 --> 00:35:25,920 embrace, encourage, and live among our neighbors and our body 586 00:35:25,920 --> 00:35:28,880 of faith and our community. Let us pray. 587 00:35:30,240 --> 00:35:31,960 Thank you, Lord, for the words of Scripture. 588 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:34,960 May our hearts be today in tune with you. 589 00:35:35,880 --> 00:35:38,800 We pray that as your people, we will be an extension of your 590 00:35:38,800 --> 00:35:40,760 love and compassion toward the hurting world. 591 00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:42,920 Thank you, Lord, for the work you did for us. 592 00:35:43,240 --> 00:35:46,480 Help us to enjoy, to embrace, and to celebrate the gift this 593 00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:49,360 Christmas season. You've done so much for us. 594 00:35:49,360 --> 00:35:51,440 Lord. May we serve you faithfully and 595 00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:52,400 joining me pray. Amen.