1 00:00:00,060 --> 00:00:02,330 Thank you Adriana, that was awesome. 2 00:00:02,560 --> 00:00:04,880 See some of the faces on those kids and heard like some people 3 00:00:04,890 --> 00:00:07,330 have already opened their Christmas presents already like 4 00:00:07,390 --> 00:00:12,410 a little bit of a rippa. Anyway, Merry Christmas to you. 5 00:00:12,450 --> 00:00:15,000 Good morning to you friends. How are we all doing this 6 00:00:15,010 --> 00:00:17,900 morning? Doing alright, Great, we made it 7 00:00:17,910 --> 00:00:19,670 here. Awesome. 8 00:00:19,730 --> 00:00:25,890 It is good to be together. No other season is better than 9 00:00:26,180 --> 00:00:28,850 than Christmas to bring people together. 10 00:00:29,380 --> 00:00:33,490 The song is sung. You know, friends, faithful 11 00:00:33,500 --> 00:00:38,840 friends who are dear to us. Gather near to us once more of 12 00:00:38,850 --> 00:00:42,390 yourself, Mary, We will. Supposed to be joining me there, 13 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:43,750 friends. Yeah, sure. 14 00:00:45,250 --> 00:00:47,950 But Christmas? I don't know what is it about it 15 00:00:48,790 --> 00:00:53,960 that it's this reprieve that we all get in a very chaotic, 16 00:00:54,470 --> 00:00:58,870 conflict oriented, anxious world. 17 00:00:58,990 --> 00:01:01,580 So much pain. We get this opportunity to just 18 00:01:01,590 --> 00:01:03,470 take a break from that for a moment. 19 00:01:03,630 --> 00:01:08,320 And, you know, not just the stuff that's in the news that we 20 00:01:08,330 --> 00:01:11,440 hear around the world, but also the stuff that's going on in our 21 00:01:11,450 --> 00:01:14,100 own lives. Like, I just just ask, you know, 22 00:01:14,110 --> 00:01:18,140 what difficulties may you be facing this season, this 23 00:01:18,150 --> 00:01:20,990 Christmas season? Maybe it's chronic illness, 24 00:01:21,780 --> 00:01:25,710 maybe troubled children, maybe there's financial hardship or 25 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:29,550 the loss of a loved one. Maybe it's high anxiety or just 26 00:01:29,560 --> 00:01:33,810 really low depression. All of us are carrying 27 00:01:33,960 --> 00:01:36,510 something. Many of us are carrying weight 28 00:01:36,520 --> 00:01:39,270 and just kind of feels like, it feels like we're just surrounded 29 00:01:39,280 --> 00:01:42,150 with this and, and the weight is very, very heavy in a season 30 00:01:42,160 --> 00:01:44,750 like this. But Christmas, and this is one 31 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:47,170 of the reasons why we gather on a regular basis. 32 00:01:47,180 --> 00:01:50,920 But Christmas in particular speaks to all of what we're 33 00:01:50,930 --> 00:01:55,620 going through. We're going to take some time. 34 00:01:55,630 --> 00:01:58,170 And this is what the beautiful thing is about, gathering on a 35 00:01:58,180 --> 00:02:00,920 Christmas on a, on a Christmas Eve like this, to just take some 36 00:02:00,930 --> 00:02:06,320 time just to reflect on what it was that inspired so many 37 00:02:06,410 --> 00:02:11,420 heartwarming, peace giving, joy filled songs. 38 00:02:11,790 --> 00:02:14,800 Songs that we sing not only in a church service like this, but 39 00:02:14,870 --> 00:02:17,950 songs that were humming in the aisles of the grocery store and 40 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,940 in the shopping malls. These heavenly songs that speak 41 00:02:21,950 --> 00:02:23,790 of great joy gonna talk about the source. 42 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:26,090 What was it that inspired those things? 43 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:29,910 Have you brought your Bible with you this morning? 44 00:02:29,920 --> 00:02:34,410 We're gonna be in Matthews Gospel chapter 1 because the 45 00:02:34,480 --> 00:02:36,800 lights are dimmed a little bit. We don't want anybody straining 46 00:02:36,810 --> 00:02:39,030 their eyes. We're gonna have the Scripture 47 00:02:39,040 --> 00:02:41,400 passage up on the screen as well. 48 00:02:41,560 --> 00:02:43,930 But I just wanted to give you an opportunity if you did bring a 49 00:02:43,940 --> 00:02:45,990 Bible and you want to follow along, and there were in Matthew 50 00:02:46,000 --> 00:02:48,110 chapter 1. If you've been following along 51 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:51,810 with us over the last month, we've been in a series called 52 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:55,490 Name Above All Names, and we've been looking at the names of 53 00:02:55,500 --> 00:03:00,310 Jesus and particularly the ones that are related to the 54 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:03,420 Christmas story. So Son of David, for example, or 55 00:03:03,470 --> 00:03:06,580 Prince of Peace, Light of the World, we looked at that. 56 00:03:06,590 --> 00:03:09,360 But there are just so many names associated with Jesus. 57 00:03:09,490 --> 00:03:14,440 King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Chief cornerstone, the Bread 58 00:03:14,450 --> 00:03:18,090 of Life, the Bright Morning Star, the Lion of Judah, the Elf 59 00:03:18,100 --> 00:03:20,010 and the Omega just goes on and on and on. 60 00:03:20,090 --> 00:03:24,640 Almost 200 names and titles have been spoken of in terms of 61 00:03:24,650 --> 00:03:26,780 Jesus. Names for Jesus. 62 00:03:27,060 --> 00:03:31,230 Now, how special of a person do you have to be in order to have 63 00:03:31,240 --> 00:03:35,630 200 names associated with you? I just think of myself, John 64 00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:37,750 Digiovanni. You know, I get called Johnny 65 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:40,570 sometimes and my wife calls me Jake every once in a while. 66 00:03:40,640 --> 00:03:44,270 I might get Deja or Deege or Dude, right? 67 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:48,550 But except for that last one, all of the names that I am, you 68 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:52,330 know, referred to as are derivatives of my main name. 69 00:03:52,480 --> 00:03:55,850 But with Jesus, when it comes to Jesus, every single name that he 70 00:03:55,860 --> 00:03:59,370 has been given is different, is unique. 71 00:03:59,580 --> 00:04:04,220 Is is, is, is is completely separate from the other, all 72 00:04:04,230 --> 00:04:08,880 talking about referring to who he is, the kind of person that 73 00:04:08,890 --> 00:04:14,600 he is. We're going to look at the last 74 00:04:14,610 --> 00:04:20,760 name today, and this is probably one of the most shocking names 75 00:04:20,829 --> 00:04:23,930 of all. As soon as that association has 76 00:04:23,940 --> 00:04:27,240 been made, Jesus, this now up on the screens, you know what it 77 00:04:27,250 --> 00:04:28,720 is, right? We're gonna be looking at this 78 00:04:28,730 --> 00:04:32,880 name, Emmanuel. But to talk about what it means 79 00:04:32,890 --> 00:04:37,180 in the impact that this name has on our lives, it's good for us 80 00:04:37,190 --> 00:04:40,910 to look at the context in which the Scripture speaks about it. 81 00:04:41,660 --> 00:04:44,410 And so we're gonna take a look at this now. 82 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:47,110 We're as we're coming back to a very old, old story. 83 00:04:47,180 --> 00:04:50,110 Actually, we're we're returning to the very place we started in 84 00:04:50,120 --> 00:04:51,930 the series of Matthew chapter one. 85 00:04:52,090 --> 00:04:54,510 We have to particularly those of us have been raised in the 86 00:04:54,520 --> 00:04:55,980 church. We're going to make sure we're 87 00:04:55,990 --> 00:04:58,860 not lulling ourselves to sleep. So if anybody, you know, maybe 88 00:04:58,870 --> 00:05:01,800 just pinch the person next to you, wake up, wake up, wake up. 89 00:05:02,520 --> 00:05:07,630 We need to allow these old, old words, ones that are very 90 00:05:07,640 --> 00:05:10,830 familiar to us. We need to allow them to address 91 00:05:10,840 --> 00:05:14,640 us, speak to us, not just on a even on an intellectual one, an 92 00:05:14,650 --> 00:05:18,420 emotional level as well, just to take some time to let them 93 00:05:20,060 --> 00:05:24,020 minister to us, touch us in the deepest places because they're 94 00:05:24,030 --> 00:05:27,080 incredibly profound. So before we read this text, 95 00:05:27,190 --> 00:05:29,740 let's just OfferUp a prayer to God. 96 00:05:30,790 --> 00:05:39,210 Lord, we ask that as we read these, these old, old words, you 97 00:05:39,220 --> 00:05:41,280 would touch us in a fresh, new way. 98 00:05:42,170 --> 00:05:43,840 For the glory of your name we pray. 99 00:05:44,290 --> 00:05:46,000 Amen. Amen. 100 00:05:46,010 --> 00:05:48,650 Matthew chapter one Start Universe 18. 101 00:05:49,110 --> 00:05:53,180 This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about. 102 00:05:53,510 --> 00:05:57,360 His mother, Mary, was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before 103 00:05:57,370 --> 00:06:00,780 they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the 104 00:06:00,790 --> 00:06:05,730 Holy Spirit. OK, so here we have two people. 105 00:06:05,740 --> 00:06:08,100 They are engaged to be married, married. 106 00:06:08,110 --> 00:06:10,530 They're they, they pledged to be married. 107 00:06:10,770 --> 00:06:14,340 No physical intimacy whatsoever, but Mary's pregnant. 108 00:06:14,940 --> 00:06:17,210 There's a problem, right? Obvious problem. 109 00:06:17,260 --> 00:06:20,000 Three things to note about this. Number one is this slide. 110 00:06:23,830 --> 00:06:30,600 Abstinence is 99.99% effective. Good fan of vaccines. 111 00:06:30,610 --> 00:06:33,500 But this is so. Anyway, the next next point 112 00:06:33,750 --> 00:06:37,220 thing to note is that this is a very unique situation. 113 00:06:37,300 --> 00:06:38,640 This has not happened all the time. 114 00:06:38,650 --> 00:06:43,390 This is what we call a miracle, a divine miracle. 115 00:06:44,100 --> 00:06:48,160 And then the third thing to note about this is the difficulty 116 00:06:48,170 --> 00:06:49,920 that this would have been for Joseph. 117 00:06:50,100 --> 00:06:52,580 Now, I know it's going to be difficult for Mary too, but 118 00:06:52,590 --> 00:06:55,690 we're going to just talk about Joseph for a few minutes this 119 00:06:55,700 --> 00:07:00,520 morning. He's got an incredible decision 120 00:07:00,530 --> 00:07:01,730 to make. Don't just just picture it. 121 00:07:01,740 --> 00:07:04,130 Mary comes to Joseph and says, you know what? 122 00:07:05,330 --> 00:07:08,460 I don't know how I got pregnant. I mean, I mean, there, there was 123 00:07:08,470 --> 00:07:12,180 an Angel and you talk something about the Holy Spirit, but I 124 00:07:12,190 --> 00:07:15,040 can't really explain it. You gotta believe me. 125 00:07:15,310 --> 00:07:20,980 What are you gonna say to that? It's like, I mean, seriously, 126 00:07:21,130 --> 00:07:22,330 how are you gonna respond to that? 127 00:07:22,370 --> 00:07:25,080 Joseph had an incredibly difficult, difficult decision to 128 00:07:25,090 --> 00:07:26,610 be making here. So let's move on. 129 00:07:26,620 --> 00:07:31,140 There's 19 because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law 130 00:07:31,190 --> 00:07:34,560 and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace. 131 00:07:35,030 --> 00:07:38,360 He had in mind to divorce her quietly. 132 00:07:39,090 --> 00:07:43,960 So here we have Joseph who loved Mary, just adored Mary, but he 133 00:07:43,970 --> 00:07:48,860 also had a love for God's law. And he knew that adultery was a 134 00:07:48,870 --> 00:07:52,970 very serious sin and that there were consequences, necessary 135 00:07:52,980 --> 00:07:55,430 consequences to someone who committed adultery. 136 00:07:56,640 --> 00:08:01,330 And and so here he is trying to uphold the law. 137 00:08:01,340 --> 00:08:06,700 He knew that he couldn't take her as his wife, but he didn't 138 00:08:06,710 --> 00:08:09,780 want her to go through the consequences, the heavy duty 139 00:08:09,790 --> 00:08:11,120 consequences that would be heard. 140 00:08:11,170 --> 00:08:13,100 He just his, his heart was for her. 141 00:08:13,150 --> 00:08:15,480 And so he wanted to divorce her quietly because the amount of 142 00:08:15,490 --> 00:08:18,610 shame that she would go through publicly would just absolutely 143 00:08:18,620 --> 00:08:22,720 destroy her life. There's no chance that she would 144 00:08:22,730 --> 00:08:25,650 ever find another husband. And once her parents passed 145 00:08:25,660 --> 00:08:28,020 away, she'd have no one to look after her like this would be 146 00:08:28,030 --> 00:08:30,600 absolutely devastating. So he wanted to just keep it 147 00:08:30,610 --> 00:08:34,640 quiet and just move on. But then look what happens. 148 00:08:34,650 --> 00:08:36,620 Verse 20. But after he had considered 149 00:08:36,630 --> 00:08:40,080 this, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and 150 00:08:40,090 --> 00:08:44,140 said, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home 151 00:08:44,150 --> 00:08:47,640 as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the 152 00:08:47,650 --> 00:08:51,150 Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, 153 00:08:51,340 --> 00:08:54,660 and you were to give him the name Jesus, because he will save 154 00:08:54,670 --> 00:08:59,810 his people from their sins. So here we have an Angel who has 155 00:08:59,820 --> 00:09:03,770 confirmed to Joseph this is actually a work of God. 156 00:09:04,040 --> 00:09:08,270 This is the the it's the Holy Spirit through which Mary is 157 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:12,190 conceiving a child. In other words, God himself is 158 00:09:12,200 --> 00:09:19,150 the father of this child. And so Mayor Joseph does end up 159 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:23,270 taking Mary as his wife. But as he takes her as his wife, 160 00:09:23,280 --> 00:09:25,990 he also takes all of the consequences that were gonna be 161 00:09:26,000 --> 00:09:30,890 upon her, upon himself, because now he would be subject to 162 00:09:30,900 --> 00:09:33,330 public shame. Because if he's going to marry 163 00:09:33,340 --> 00:09:38,030 her, that means he's responsible for this predicament. 164 00:09:38,940 --> 00:09:42,630 He's the one who made Mary pregnant outside of wedlock. 165 00:09:42,640 --> 00:09:46,660 And in those days particularly, wow, that was heavy duty stuff. 166 00:09:46,830 --> 00:09:50,280 And so all of the shame would be upon him as the responsible one. 167 00:09:50,350 --> 00:09:53,320 And as a young Carpenter who is trying to make it with a 168 00:09:53,330 --> 00:09:56,280 business, with a with a carpentry business, his whole 169 00:09:56,290 --> 00:09:59,240 market would have been blown up right on the spot because of 170 00:09:59,250 --> 00:10:02,980 word of mouth. And so life would not be easy 171 00:10:03,660 --> 00:10:09,040 for Joseph. But here's the commentary verse 172 00:10:09,050 --> 00:10:13,080 22. All this took place to fulfill 173 00:10:13,090 --> 00:10:14,940 what the Lord had said through the prophet. 174 00:10:15,240 --> 00:10:18,390 The Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they 175 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:25,180 will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us right here. 176 00:10:25,190 --> 00:10:29,420 Matthew the the writer of the gospel is referring back to a 177 00:10:29,430 --> 00:10:35,240 prophecy of the prophet Isaiah chapter Isaiah Chapter 7 verse 178 00:10:35,250 --> 00:10:37,740 9. And so you can actually go back 179 00:10:37,750 --> 00:10:42,360 and read it. Whatever Isaiah had in his mind 180 00:10:42,370 --> 00:10:46,540 700 years before this happened, Matthew recognizes that he was 181 00:10:46,550 --> 00:10:50,550 ultimately talking about this event, that this was the virgin 182 00:10:51,020 --> 00:10:54,710 who would conceive and give birth to a son and his name 183 00:10:54,800 --> 00:11:00,050 would be Immanuel, a manual. It's just just ponder this word 184 00:11:00,060 --> 00:11:02,750 for a minute. Emmanuel, which means God with 185 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:04,310 us, right? God with us. 186 00:11:04,380 --> 00:11:06,770 If you were to look at this name and break it into its component 187 00:11:06,780 --> 00:11:13,510 parts, a man you means with us an L means God. 188 00:11:13,920 --> 00:11:16,490 And so literally it is. If you look at the word order, 189 00:11:16,500 --> 00:11:21,890 it is with us God. In other words, God wants us to 190 00:11:21,900 --> 00:11:28,230 know him as the with us God. He is the with us God. 191 00:11:28,240 --> 00:11:32,030 That means that he's personal. He's not just this impersonal 192 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:34,520 force that created the universe. He's very personal. 193 00:11:34,710 --> 00:11:37,230 He cares about you and he cares about me. 194 00:11:37,610 --> 00:11:40,340 And as well, He wants to be intimate with us. 195 00:11:40,990 --> 00:11:44,190 He wants us to know Him like he knows us. 196 00:11:45,900 --> 00:11:50,510 So what does it mean when we say God is with us? 197 00:11:50,960 --> 00:11:53,710 What exactly does that mean when we say God is with you? 198 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:57,530 What does that mean? If you're hurting, If you're 199 00:11:57,540 --> 00:12:00,430 going through a rough time and someone says, hey, you know, I'm 200 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:02,900 with you, bro, What does that mean? 201 00:12:03,860 --> 00:12:06,240 That means I'm thinking about you. 202 00:12:06,320 --> 00:12:09,450 And hey, if you reach out at any point and I'll be there to help, 203 00:12:09,460 --> 00:12:15,230 to support you or maybe maybe a dear one has passed away like 204 00:12:15,240 --> 00:12:17,810 grandma has. Grandma has passed away, and I 205 00:12:17,820 --> 00:12:21,550 know that Grandma has died, but Grandma's still with us. 206 00:12:23,220 --> 00:12:24,670 That kind of language. What does that mean? 207 00:12:24,680 --> 00:12:26,750 It means that. It means that her memory is 208 00:12:26,760 --> 00:12:32,680 living on with us. That is not what this means when 209 00:12:32,690 --> 00:12:36,140 we say God is with us. It means so much more than that. 210 00:12:36,310 --> 00:12:40,450 What does it mean when we say God is with you? 211 00:12:41,720 --> 00:12:45,650 First of all, it means that he is extremely close. 212 00:12:46,530 --> 00:12:52,860 God is extremely close to you. You ever wondered where is God? 213 00:12:53,770 --> 00:12:56,380 Maybe if you're a parent, your children might may ask that 214 00:12:56,390 --> 00:13:02,850 question, where is God? Well, in Psalm 139, the psalmist 215 00:13:02,860 --> 00:13:05,270 is kind of grappling with this and thinking about where is God? 216 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:07,350 Well, this is what he says. Where can I go from your 217 00:13:07,360 --> 00:13:08,910 presence? Or, sorry, where can I go from 218 00:13:08,920 --> 00:13:11,350 your spirit? Where can I flee from your 219 00:13:11,360 --> 00:13:13,770 presence? If I go up to the heavens, 220 00:13:13,820 --> 00:13:16,690 you're there. And if I make my bed and the 221 00:13:16,700 --> 00:13:22,030 depths you were there. In other words, he's everywhere 222 00:13:22,040 --> 00:13:24,650 all at once. There is no place that he is 223 00:13:24,660 --> 00:13:25,910 not. Look at the person next to you 224 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:29,110 right now. God is in between you right now. 225 00:13:29,280 --> 00:13:32,910 He is that close. He's extremely close. 226 00:13:34,030 --> 00:13:37,620 Even if you were to smooch the person next to you, he's there. 227 00:13:38,320 --> 00:13:41,340 Actually, don't do that. Don't do that. 228 00:13:42,190 --> 00:13:45,560 But he is close. Now we can't see him, right? 229 00:13:46,070 --> 00:13:49,600 We can't see him. But what Christmas does it it 230 00:13:49,610 --> 00:13:54,460 it, it, it makes everything concrete because God suddenly 231 00:13:54,530 --> 00:13:59,570 becomes a person, physically comes to earth, takes on flesh 232 00:13:59,640 --> 00:14:03,310 so that we can see him, to show us just how close he is. 233 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:14,450 He literally is God with us. He wants to show us how close he 234 00:14:14,460 --> 00:14:18,000 is. And I would imagine Joseph, no 235 00:14:18,010 --> 00:14:21,030 matter how difficult a time that he was having, there was some 236 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:23,700 assurance He's with me and my family. 237 00:14:24,110 --> 00:14:27,780 He's with me and my family. Now I, I remember the day that I 238 00:14:27,790 --> 00:14:31,770 woke up to this fact about how close, extremely close God is, 239 00:14:32,140 --> 00:14:35,520 because all the way through my life I had sort of thought God 240 00:14:35,530 --> 00:14:38,160 was sort of up there and out there. 241 00:14:39,180 --> 00:14:41,850 But when I received Jesus, when I became a Christian in 242 00:14:41,860 --> 00:14:46,170 university, suddenly God became real for me. 243 00:14:46,280 --> 00:14:49,670 And he was not just a God who was up here, but he was right 244 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:52,810 here, right here. He was a God that I could turn 245 00:14:52,820 --> 00:14:55,050 to. He's a God that saw me, that 246 00:14:55,060 --> 00:14:57,440 knew me, that loved me, that cared for me. 247 00:14:57,450 --> 00:15:00,650 And I could turn to him at any moment and have a conversation 248 00:15:00,660 --> 00:15:03,910 with him. Remember writing exams knowing 249 00:15:03,920 --> 00:15:05,910 I'm not alone in this exam anymore. 250 00:15:07,350 --> 00:15:09,760 I can talk to the creator of the universe and that's no excuse 251 00:15:09,770 --> 00:15:13,190 not to be studying. But it's amazing what he helps 252 00:15:13,200 --> 00:15:15,290 us to recall in in an exam period. 253 00:15:15,300 --> 00:15:18,830 He is literally with me, with us. 254 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:21,190 Now, you may not be feeling. It's like, yeah, yeah, yeah, 255 00:15:21,200 --> 00:15:24,860 right. But I don't feel that my my life 256 00:15:24,870 --> 00:15:28,090 is more marked by God's absence than God's presence. 257 00:15:29,660 --> 00:15:33,330 That is a completely natural statement like that is 258 00:15:33,340 --> 00:15:37,010 completely natural. Ever since the fall that's 259 00:15:37,020 --> 00:15:40,090 recorded in Genesis chapter 3. Ever since that time, there has 260 00:15:40,100 --> 00:15:43,630 been a barrier between us and God that we haven't been able to 261 00:15:43,640 --> 00:15:48,580 sense His presence. This is what makes Christmas so 262 00:15:48,590 --> 00:15:52,160 incredibly special. And that God himself came to 263 00:15:52,170 --> 00:15:54,690 break that barrier. That's what Jesus did. 264 00:15:54,830 --> 00:15:57,480 Through his life, death and resurrection, the barrier has 265 00:15:57,490 --> 00:16:00,000 been brought down and we have been brought into an intimate 266 00:16:00,010 --> 00:16:04,620 fellowship with God Himself, with the removal of our sins 267 00:16:04,710 --> 00:16:06,500 that are no longer standing against us. 268 00:16:06,550 --> 00:16:08,720 It's a beautiful thing. So now we have full access to 269 00:16:08,730 --> 00:16:11,420 God. Now that's something that we're 270 00:16:11,430 --> 00:16:14,990 not used to because our our natural tendencies to think that 271 00:16:15,000 --> 00:16:18,410 God is very distant from us. But we have now, through our 272 00:16:18,420 --> 00:16:22,570 faith in Jesus Christ, been given full access to God. 273 00:16:22,740 --> 00:16:24,320 And we just gotta get used to that. 274 00:16:25,120 --> 00:16:27,990 One of my favorite books that's ever been written, 17th century 275 00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:31,670 monk, Brother Lawrence wrote the book Practice of the Presence of 276 00:16:31,680 --> 00:16:35,070 God. And it means that we need to, we 277 00:16:35,080 --> 00:16:39,830 get, we need to get used to the fact that God is extremely close 278 00:16:40,280 --> 00:16:42,310 and we need to engage him on that level. 279 00:16:42,680 --> 00:16:45,310 The way that he defines practicing the presence of God 280 00:16:45,320 --> 00:16:50,990 is is that we're to take delight in and become accustomed to his 281 00:16:51,000 --> 00:16:56,060 divine company, speaking humbly, talking lovingly with him at all 282 00:16:56,070 --> 00:16:59,280 times, at every moment without rule or system. 283 00:16:59,760 --> 00:17:04,040 That is what God's desire is for you, for us to know Him on that 284 00:17:04,050 --> 00:17:06,700 intimate level as one who's extremely close. 285 00:17:06,750 --> 00:17:11,730 Second thing that it means that God is God is with you, and that 286 00:17:11,740 --> 00:17:14,510 is that He's highly involved in your life. 287 00:17:15,390 --> 00:17:19,020 He's not just extremely close. He is highly involved in your 288 00:17:19,030 --> 00:17:21,480 life. You know, people might say, you 289 00:17:21,490 --> 00:17:23,920 know, God is with you when you're going through a hard 290 00:17:23,930 --> 00:17:25,119 time, but it's like, you know what? 291 00:17:25,130 --> 00:17:26,859 That doesn't really help me very much. 292 00:17:26,990 --> 00:17:31,120 God could be with me, but if he's just watching kind of as an 293 00:17:31,130 --> 00:17:34,720 innocent bystander, what, how, how does that actually help me 294 00:17:34,730 --> 00:17:36,740 at all? It's like God's on the sidelines 295 00:17:36,750 --> 00:17:40,680 of my life and I'm out here in the field, but the testimony of 296 00:17:40,690 --> 00:17:43,800 Scripture again and again and again is a God who is in the 297 00:17:43,810 --> 00:17:45,470 field. It's not just on the side. 298 00:17:46,310 --> 00:17:52,250 He is always at work in our life, constantly at work. 299 00:17:54,690 --> 00:17:58,940 Now you might think, OK, but my life is hard. 300 00:18:00,110 --> 00:18:02,620 There's an incredible amount of suffering in my life. 301 00:18:02,830 --> 00:18:05,720 So does that mean that God is at work in my life? 302 00:18:05,770 --> 00:18:07,830 Like it's not helping me very much. 303 00:18:09,450 --> 00:18:14,280 Don't assume that because your life is hard that God is not 304 00:18:14,290 --> 00:18:17,750 present. Look at Joseph's life. 305 00:18:18,540 --> 00:18:22,550 God is literally physically with him and he had no easy life. 306 00:18:22,600 --> 00:18:26,310 God with us does not mean things are gonna go easy, but what it 307 00:18:26,320 --> 00:18:29,270 does mean is that we're never going to face anything in this 308 00:18:29,280 --> 00:18:32,800 life alone and that he would. He is with us and he's going to 309 00:18:32,810 --> 00:18:34,970 help us. One of the Scripture passages 310 00:18:34,980 --> 00:18:38,030 that I think has given incredible comfort to many 311 00:18:38,040 --> 00:18:41,190 Christians through the ages and myself, as well as Romans 312 00:18:41,200 --> 00:18:44,520 chapter 8, verse 28, where it says that we know and we know 313 00:18:44,530 --> 00:18:48,880 that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him 314 00:18:49,130 --> 00:18:50,810 and were called according to His purpose. 315 00:18:51,980 --> 00:18:55,150 It's not saying that in some things God's at work doing good. 316 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:59,200 No, in all things, absolutely everything that happens, God is 317 00:18:59,210 --> 00:19:02,430 at work bringing about good, no matter whether it might feel 318 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:06,320 difficult or not. In other words, don't give up. 319 00:19:07,170 --> 00:19:12,140 Never give up believing that God is extremely close and that He 320 00:19:12,150 --> 00:19:15,060 is highly involved putting your trust in Him. 321 00:19:15,110 --> 00:19:17,940 You know one foot in front of the other. 322 00:19:18,170 --> 00:19:21,340 Life might look a little messy, but God truly is with us. 323 00:19:22,120 --> 00:19:25,750 Reminds me of a story by the concert pianist, a Polish 324 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:27,430 concert pianist. What is his name? 325 00:19:28,070 --> 00:19:34,180 Ignacy Petruski and he was putting on a concert. 326 00:19:34,250 --> 00:19:36,740 This is how the story goes. Put on a concert and before the 327 00:19:36,750 --> 00:19:40,000 concert began, a little boy got up under the platform and 328 00:19:40,010 --> 00:19:42,250 started playing chopsticks on his piano. 329 00:19:42,900 --> 00:19:45,620 And the audience, of course, is 1 Reno kind of confused. 330 00:19:45,630 --> 00:19:47,070 Like, what's going on here, right? 331 00:19:47,140 --> 00:19:51,150 Well, Petrosky comes on to like comes out of the curtain toward 332 00:19:51,160 --> 00:19:53,610 the toward the young boy behind him. 333 00:19:53,620 --> 00:19:56,330 But we can see him and he whispers over his shoulder, 334 00:19:56,340 --> 00:19:58,660 don't stop while the boys playing chopsticks. 335 00:19:58,860 --> 00:20:02,370 And while he's playing chopsticks, Paderewski starts 336 00:20:02,380 --> 00:20:05,880 playing the bass. Right next to him, base keys, 337 00:20:05,970 --> 00:20:07,880 and then with the other hand, the melody. 338 00:20:07,950 --> 00:20:13,340 And he's just weaving into this very rudimentary chopsticks 339 00:20:13,430 --> 00:20:16,620 piece, this absolutely gorgeous melody. 340 00:20:17,290 --> 00:20:21,440 Now there's a lot of versions of that story, but the one 341 00:20:21,450 --> 00:20:26,220 principle remains true is that there is a master musician who 342 00:20:26,230 --> 00:20:30,100 is taking our feeble attempts at living and He's making something 343 00:20:30,110 --> 00:20:34,820 beautiful out of our lives. Do not give up trusting and 344 00:20:34,830 --> 00:20:36,320 believing in the goodness of God. 345 00:20:36,330 --> 00:20:39,710 He is going to use you powerfully for His glory and for 346 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:43,510 your good. So God is with you. 347 00:20:44,330 --> 00:20:46,720 What does that mean? He's extremely close. 348 00:20:47,090 --> 00:20:50,680 He's highly involved in the last thing is that he is on your 349 00:20:50,690 --> 00:20:56,700 side. God is on your side. 350 00:20:57,010 --> 00:21:02,250 That doesn't mean that He is on your side of every argument that 351 00:21:02,260 --> 00:21:06,370 you make, because sometimes we're just dead wrong, right? 352 00:21:06,610 --> 00:21:08,880 But even when we are wrong, we can know. 353 00:21:08,890 --> 00:21:10,980 We can be assured that He has always for us. 354 00:21:11,470 --> 00:21:15,860 He loves you, He cares about you, He is for you, He created 355 00:21:15,870 --> 00:21:22,020 you, He's given his life for you and He wants you on his team. 356 00:21:23,680 --> 00:21:27,010 Now you may not feel worthy to be on his team. 357 00:21:27,020 --> 00:21:28,970 You look at your life, you think, man, the things that I'm 358 00:21:28,980 --> 00:21:31,240 doing, they just don't measure up to the way they should be. 359 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:32,910 I don't love God the way that I should. 360 00:21:32,920 --> 00:21:36,390 I don't love my neighbors myself, but this is where 361 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:39,770 Christmas becomes so sweet. Because at Christmas, when God 362 00:21:39,780 --> 00:21:44,710 came down, made us dwelling among us, He took the initiative 363 00:21:45,760 --> 00:21:52,590 to reconcile us to Himself. This is what the name of Jesus 364 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:59,000 in verse 21 means. You would save his people from 365 00:21:59,010 --> 00:22:01,080 their sins. That's what Jesus has done. 366 00:22:01,090 --> 00:22:04,970 You know, the same Jesus that was born and placed in the 367 00:22:05,030 --> 00:22:11,240 wooden crush is the same Jesus who took the nails on that 368 00:22:11,250 --> 00:22:17,560 wooden cross and died taking the weight of our sin upon Himself. 369 00:22:17,610 --> 00:22:20,640 All of the consequences of our sin were placed on Him so that 370 00:22:20,650 --> 00:22:24,010 we could be forgiven, washed clean, that we could get that 371 00:22:24,020 --> 00:22:28,680 full access to God and that we could know His presence every 372 00:22:28,690 --> 00:22:34,150 moment of every day. That's why, Paul, you possibly 373 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:35,770 just think about the implications of that. 374 00:22:35,980 --> 00:22:40,370 If if God does that for us when we're at our worst, think about 375 00:22:40,380 --> 00:22:44,370 what he think about his approach to us as we're trying to live 376 00:22:44,380 --> 00:22:46,380 for him. That's why the postal police 377 00:22:46,390 --> 00:22:49,740 said if God is for us, who can be against us? 378 00:22:49,830 --> 00:22:54,640 Like seriously, what can we not face if the living God of the 379 00:22:54,650 --> 00:23:02,140 universe is truly for us? And so Joshua 19 I love this 380 00:23:02,150 --> 00:23:05,640 charge, one that Joseph would have known well. 381 00:23:05,870 --> 00:23:10,120 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid, do not be 382 00:23:10,130 --> 00:23:14,340 discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever 383 00:23:14,350 --> 00:23:20,420 you go, wherever you go. Do you believe it? 384 00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:25,570 You know the beginning and the end of Matthew's Gospel. 385 00:23:25,740 --> 00:23:27,800 We hear a promise at the beginning. 386 00:23:27,810 --> 00:23:32,770 We read it that when Jesus came, it was God with us. 387 00:23:33,790 --> 00:23:37,120 And then at the very end of the gospel, when Jesus is now going 388 00:23:37,130 --> 00:23:39,890 to ascend and leave, the last words that he spoke to his 389 00:23:39,900 --> 00:23:43,280 disciples is surely I am with you always to the very end of 390 00:23:43,290 --> 00:23:46,020 the age. It's all about His presence with 391 00:23:46,030 --> 00:23:49,770 us. How would your life be different 392 00:23:50,260 --> 00:23:54,090 if at the beginning and in the end of your day you would be? 393 00:23:54,160 --> 00:23:58,350 You would have that conviction that God is with you, that he is 394 00:23:58,360 --> 00:24:02,670 extremely close, that He's highly involved, and that He is 395 00:24:02,740 --> 00:24:04,760 on your side. How would your life be 396 00:24:04,770 --> 00:24:06,490 different? How would your relationships be 397 00:24:06,500 --> 00:24:11,140 different just the way you conduct yourself in life? 398 00:24:11,190 --> 00:24:14,820 You and I, we can be an unambitious presence in the 399 00:24:14,830 --> 00:24:21,270 midst of a very anxious world simply because we know deep in 400 00:24:21,280 --> 00:24:24,300 our heart that God truly is with us. 401 00:24:26,020 --> 00:24:29,470 Whatever difficulties that you're facing during this season 402 00:24:29,480 --> 00:24:31,930 of your life, I want you to take a moment. 403 00:24:31,940 --> 00:24:35,770 We can do that even now. And I don't want you to picture 404 00:24:36,060 --> 00:24:38,620 yourself being surrounded by your difficulties. 405 00:24:39,600 --> 00:24:43,090 I want you to envision being surrounded by the presence of 406 00:24:43,100 --> 00:24:46,440 the living God who loves you and cares for you. 407 00:24:50,260 --> 00:24:54,560 You're growing awareness of that and you're growing delight in 408 00:24:54,570 --> 00:24:56,540 that is what your life is all about. 409 00:24:56,620 --> 00:25:00,210 That is the reason why we're here on this planet is to enjoy 410 00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:03,500 and engage the presence of the living God. 411 00:25:04,770 --> 00:25:07,930 That's my prayer for you. That is my prayer. 412 00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:12,430 And maybe you have never opened up your life to Jesus Christ, to 413 00:25:12,440 --> 00:25:14,470 the presence of God. You can do that. 414 00:25:14,920 --> 00:25:18,530 It is not a complicated process. In fact, there are three words 415 00:25:18,540 --> 00:25:22,310 that we use that we learned in kindergarten that we can use for 416 00:25:22,320 --> 00:25:24,630 a prayer like that. God keeps it very, very simple. 417 00:25:24,900 --> 00:25:27,930 As complex as he is, He keeps it very simple. 418 00:25:29,130 --> 00:25:34,650 Sorry, thanks and please. Those are the three words. 419 00:25:35,530 --> 00:25:38,190 Those are three words and invites us to pray them. 420 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:39,450 And that's a prayer that we can all pray.