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You know, ever since we've been 
here on Thanksgiving Eve, we 

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begin our Christmas celebration 
and why you come that the 

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auditorium is dark on Sunday 
mornings. 

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Some people like that and others
don't like it. 

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In fact, I received an e-mail 
this past week from a lady who 

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was so upset that it was dark in
here that she refuses to come 

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back ever again. 
But you missed the the symbolism

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of of why it is dark. 
It won't be dark on Sunday 

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because Christmas will have come
and gone. 

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But the important thing is, is 
that it's symbolic of the world 

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that's engulfed in darkness ever
since Genesis chapter 3. 

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The world is eclipsed with the 
shadow of sin, and all of 

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creation is steeped and 
entrapped in the snares of sin. 

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In fact, the the world is 
completely and totally dark 

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because of its spiritual 
blindness. 

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The world is unable to see the 
glorious gospel of the Christ 

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because they've been blinded by 
Satan himself, and therefore the

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Bible describes sinners in this 
way. 

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In Proverbs chapter 2, Solomon 
says it this way, that sinners 

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are those who leave the paths of
righteousness to walk in the 

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ways of darkness. 
In chapter 4, Proverbs, Solomon 

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says these words. 
He says the way of the wicked is

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like darkness. 
They do not know over what they 

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stumble. 
Man's mind is completely 

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darkened to that which is true, 
and that's because of sin. 

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And so the solution was to send 
the light. 

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And Christ himself, of course, 
is the light of the gospel. 

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He says that He is the light of 
the world, and He tells us that 

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He enlightens every man that 
comes into the world and 

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therefore our Lord is the 
solution to man's sinful state. 

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And you would think that that 
man in the the throes of 

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darkness would, would flock to 
the light, that they would 

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embrace the light. 
They would in the midst of all 

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their stumbling around in their 
immorality and in their iniquity

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and in their idolatry, that they
would look for a way out. 

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But man does not. 
In fact, man cherishes his 

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darkness. 
The Bible says in John chapter 3

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these words by our Lord. 
This is the judgment that the 

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light has come into the world 
and men loved the darkness 

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rather than the light, for their
deeds were evil. 

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Man in his sinful state loves to
remain there. 

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He loves the darkness even 
though the light has come, even 

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though the light has shone down 
upon us. 

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Man loves his sin, and yet there
are those who have given their 

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lives to Christ. 
They've embraced the light they 

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enjoy The light of the gospel in
the Bible says that we've been 

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rescued from the domain of 
darkness into the Kingdom of 

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God's dear Son. 
He says that we once were 

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children of the night, but now 
we're children of the light. 

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We were children of darkness. 
Now we're children of the day. 

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In fact, the Bible says in 
Ephesians 5 verse #8 we were 

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formerly darkness, but now we 
are light in the Lord. 

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Because of Christ, we are able 
to see the beauty of the gospel.

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And so as Christians we we 
celebrate the light. 

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We use this time of the year to 
accentuate that celebration. 

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It's a celebration that's the 
last all throughout our lives, 

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not just during a seasonal 
celebration. 

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It's supposed to envelope us 
every single day of our lives. 

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And yet we take a a moment 
during the Christmas season to 

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focus in on Christ, who is the 
light. 

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So tonight by by way of a 
devotional, I, I want you to to 

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learn to celebrate the light 
with me and to be able to take 

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it with you all throughout your 
life and to understand what it 

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is that Christ wants us to 
celebrate. 

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And we're going to do that by 
looking at the characters in the

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Christmas story. 
We're going to look at 9 

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specific characters that make up
the Christmas narrative in 

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Scripture that all of them to 
some degree celebrated the 

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light. 
To give us the principles that 

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will help us learn how we are to
celebrate the light of the 

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Gospel. 
We're going to begin where the 

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Gospel begins in Luke chapter 
one with the priest Zacharias. 

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Luke begins at the beginning 
simply because the world is 

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dark. 
For 400 years, there's been 

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nothing but silence. 
There's been no voice from 

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heaven. 
There's been no Angel that has 

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spoken. 
God has sent no prophet to 

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Israel. 
The last thing that the prophet 

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Malachi said was that the Sun of
Righteousness will rise with 

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healing in his wings. 
And so for 400 years people 

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waited, but they waited in 
silence, until one day the Angel

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Gabriel broke the silence. 
And so you have this priest 

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performing his priestly duties 
in Luke chapter one in the 

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temple in Jerusalem, doing what 
he always does. 

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And the Angel Gabriel comes to 
him and speaks to him and tells 

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him that his wife Elizabeth, in 
her old age, is going to 

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conceive Bear a son that will be
a forerunner to the Messiah. 

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But the problem is Zacharias 
doesn't believe in the certainty

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of the word that was spoken. 
He doesn't believe in the 

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reliability of the promises that
have been given. 

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And yet he's a priest. 
So the Angel says you will not 

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be able to speak until after 
your son is born. 

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Some commentators will say that 
he was unable to speak and 

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unable to hear, and probably 
that would be true simply 

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because the word that is used is
used of those in the scriptures 

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who are both deaf and dumb. 
So it's possible that Zacharias 

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was not just unable to speak as 
a priest, but he's unable to 

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hear as well. 
And so for nine months, 

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Zacharias sat in silence. 
And the Lord had a purpose 

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behind that. 
Because the very first principle

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that helps you understand how 
you celebrate the light is that 

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you need to consider the 
prophecies of Christ. 

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Zacharias was a priest. 
He should know about the 

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prophecies concerning the coming
to the Messiah, But the Lord 

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drove him to contemplate, drove 
him to concentrate on all the 

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things that were said in the Old
Testament to get him to realize 

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the importance of his son's 
birth, the forerunner to the 

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Messiah. 
And so he would think about 

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things maybe from Numbers 
chapter 24, which talked about 

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how the star will rise out of 
Jacob with a scepter in his 

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hand. 
He begin to think about Isaiah 

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Chapter 9, Isaiah chapter 60, 
and and Malachi 4 verse #2 where

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the son of righteousness will 
rise with healing in his wings. 

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Now why do we say that? 
Simply because after the son is 

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born, what Zechariah says tells 
us what was on his mind when he 

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speaks. 
And so the Bible says in Luke 

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chapter 1 verse #77 that the 
Messiah, or the Son of that the 

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foreign of the Messiah, is to 
give to his people the knowledge

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of salvation by the forgiveness 
of their sins, because of the 

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tender mercy of our God with 
which the sunrise from on high 

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will visit us. 
That's taken directly from 

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Malachi 4 verse #2 and then he 
says to shine upon those who sit

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in darkness and the shadow of 
death, to guide our feet into 

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the way of peace. 
That's taken from Isaiah Chapter

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9. 
And so we know that Isaiah would

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begin to understand more of what
the prophecies were given 

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because he doubted the certainty
and the reliability of the 

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promises that were given. 
And he was a priest. 

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He should have known them. 
And so the Lord drove him to 

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consider the prophecies, to 
contemplate on those promises, 

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to be able to concentrate once 
again. 

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Because if you're going to 
celebrate the light, you must 

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know all there is about the 
coming of the star, the coming 

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of the sunrise. 
That's why Christ says that he 

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was the bright or is the bright 
morning star that That's why 

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Peter says that when the day 
star rises in your heart, 

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salvation has dawned. 
It's all about the rising of the

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sun, the brightness of the 
Christ child, the light of the 

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world. 
So Zacharias teaches us that we 

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need to consider the prophecies.
And then you go from from 

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Zacharias, you go to the angels.
I'm sorry to the shepherds. 

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Let's go to the shepherds 
because the shepherds teach us 

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to embrace His deity. 
Embrace his deity. 

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Remember, it's over 12 months 
later from Luke chapter 1 to 

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Luke chapter 2. 
John the Baptist is born. 

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He comes. 
The Messiah is going to come 

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ever since Zacharias received 
the promise that his wife would 

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bear a son, and the Messiah 
would be born after that. 

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You have about a year between 
the two. 

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And so the glory of the Lord 
would shine all around the 

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shepherd fields in Bethlehem. 
And the Angel would say to them,

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For unto you this day in the 
city of David has been born a 

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Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 
In other words, who was born is 

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important. 
He is the Messiah, He is the 

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Savior. 
And the shepherds would know 

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about the God of Israel, who was
the only Savior, and this Savior

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is the Lord. 
Now note, the glory of the Lord 

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would shine all around them, and
they knew from the book of 

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Ezekiel that the glory of the 
Lord had departed from 

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Jerusalem. 
They knew that while they were 

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in captivity in Babylon, Ezekiel
had this vision of the glory of 

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the Lord leaving the temple, 
moving out of the gates of 

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Jerusalem, passing up over the 
Mount of Olives, out into the 

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Judean wilderness because 
Ichabod had been written across 

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the nation. 
The glory of the Lord has 

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departed. 
That's what Ichabod means. 

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And so they they were waiting 
for, for the glory of the Lord 

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to come. 
At the very end of Ezekiel, the 

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very last phrase in Ezekiel is 
Yahweh, Shema. 

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The Lord is there. 
In other words, there is hope 

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for Israel because the Lord will
be there once again. 

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And so now all of a sudden, the 
glory of the Lord signs all 

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around them. 
And now the shepherds know that 

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the Lord is here. 
They know that the Lord is among

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them because the glory of the 
Lord is the is the presence of 

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God manifested it in brilliant 
light and he was shining all 

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around them. 
And they would begin to realize 

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that this, this Christ child is 
the Lord. 

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He is God in the flesh. 
This is the Messiah of Israel. 

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And they would embrace his 
deity. 

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And they would go with haste to 
to see Mary in Bethlehem, to see

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Joseph in Bethlehem. 
And they would, they would go in

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haste to make known this 
statement that had been given to

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them because they wanted others 
to hear what they had heard. 

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They embrace the Christ child. 
They embraced him as the Son of 

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God, Son of Man, Son of David, 
Lord of the universe. 

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And when you want to celebrate 
the light, it begins because you

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consider his prophecy, and then 
you embrace his deity, and then 

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#3 you long for his mercy. 
And that's where Anna the 

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prophetess comes in. 
Anna, the prophetess, she was 

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there when when Simeon would 
take the Christ child into his 

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arms in a Luke chapter 2. 
She was one who was looking for 

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the consolation of Israel. 
And that word look means there's

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a there's a longing in her 
heart. 

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Remember she had been a a widow 
for 84 years and she had spent 

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all of her time in the temple 
praying and fasting and talking 

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to people because she was a 
prophetess about the arrival of 

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the Messiah. 
And when Simeon would would take

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take in his arms, the Christ 
child Anna was there and she 

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would begin to speak more and 
more about the mercy of God upon

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them. 
Mary when she spoke, spoke about

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how God's mercy was from 
generation to generation. 

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When Zacharias spoke, he talked 
about the tender mercies of God.

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You see, God gives mercy to 
those who are miserable, and 

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those who are in darkness are an
absolute misery. 

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But the light had come and sort 
of celebrate the light. 

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Once you consider the prophecy 
concerning the Messiah and you 

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embrace His deity, you realize 
who He is. 

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You long for His mercy because 
His mercies are new every 

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morning. 
And it's because of His mercies 

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that we are. 
We are not consumed. 

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And so you move to principle 
number four. 

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In the fourth principle is where
Mary the mother, the Messiah 

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comes in and she exalts His 
Majesty. 

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And if you're with us on Sunday,
we talked about how Mary would 

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with her soul and with her, all 
of her heart would rejoice in, 

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in God her Savior, because her 
whole song is a song of 

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exaltation, where she would 
exalt the, the majesty of the 

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Messiah, knowing in full well 
all that God had done for her. 

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And she would begin to consider 
all the promises that had been 

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given. 
And she would accentuate the, 

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the, the attributes of her God 
by talking about his mightiness 

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and talking about His Holiness 
and talking about his mercy. 

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And she would recognize that God
had shown her mercy in her 

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humble state and she would exalt
the Lord. 

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And when you celebrate the 
light, you want to lift up the 

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majesty of Christ. 
When you celebrate the light, 

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00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:04,720
you want to lift him way above 
yourself, because that's what 

229
00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:09,400
believers do, that they want to 
They want to exalt the name of 

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Christ. 
They want to lift his name above

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00:17:12,319 --> 00:17:15,480
their name, above everyone 
else's name, above everything 

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else in their lives, because 
Christ is preeminent. 

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00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:23,000
And those who celebrate the 
light, they consider the 

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00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:29,160
prophecies and then they they 
embrace his deity, long for his 

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00:17:29,160 --> 00:17:34,680
mercy. 
They exalt His Majesty and #4 

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00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:40,320
those who celebrate the light, 
they bow to his authority. 

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00:17:41,480 --> 00:17:44,280
And there's a, there's a, 
there's a silent character 

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00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:46,640
pretty much throughout the 
Christmas story. 

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We don't talk much about him. 
His name is Joseph. 

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00:17:51,800 --> 00:17:56,760
But Joseph is the classic 
example of one who bows to the 

241
00:17:56,760 --> 00:18:01,520
authority of God in his life. 
That's how he would celebrate 

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the light. 
The Bible tells us in Matthew 

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00:18:04,360 --> 00:18:07,200
chapter one that he wanted to, 
he wanted to divorce Mary. 

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00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:10,160
He wanted to put her away 
secretly. 

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00:18:10,520 --> 00:18:13,680
Why? 
Because even Mary could not 

246
00:18:13,680 --> 00:18:18,520
convince Joseph that she had not
been with another man. 

247
00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:24,040
And so the Angel Gabriel came to
Joseph. 

248
00:18:24,800 --> 00:18:27,600
And the Bible says these words 
in the book of Matthew. 

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00:18:30,080 --> 00:18:33,480
It says these words, Joseph son 
of David. 

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00:18:33,480 --> 00:18:37,240
Do not be afraid to take Mary as
your wife, for the child who has

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00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:40,080
been conceived in her is of the 
Holy Spirit. 

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00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:44,160
She will bear a son, and you 
should call his name Jesus, for 

253
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he will save his people from 
their sins. 

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00:18:47,240 --> 00:18:50,520
Now all this took place to 
fulfill what was spoken by the 

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prophet through the spoken by 
the Lord through the prophet. 

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00:18:53,920 --> 00:18:58,120
Behold, the Virgin shall be with
child, and shall bear a son, and

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00:18:58,280 --> 00:19:01,720
they shall call his name 
Emmanuel, which translated means

258
00:19:01,720 --> 00:19:06,080
God with us. 
And Joseph awoke from his sleep,

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00:19:06,360 --> 00:19:12,920
and did as the Angel of the Lord
commanded him, and took Mary as 

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00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:18,160
his wife, but kept her a virgin 
until she gave birth to a son. 

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00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:24,200
And he called his name Jesus. 
As soon as he awoke from his 

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00:19:24,200 --> 00:19:31,600
dream, he immediately bowed to 
the authority of God in his 

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00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:34,720
life. 
And then as you read on in the 

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00:19:34,720 --> 00:19:42,400
story, it says verse #13 it says
now when they had gone, behold, 

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an Angel of the Lord, that is 
the Magi, appeared to Joseph in 

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00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:48,880
a dream and said, get up, take 
the child and his mother, flee 

267
00:19:48,880 --> 00:19:52,560
to Egypt and remain there until 
I tell you, for Herod is going 

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00:19:52,560 --> 00:19:54,800
to search for the child to 
destroy him. 

269
00:19:55,400 --> 00:19:59,280
So Joseph got up and took the 
child and his mother while it 

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00:19:59,280 --> 00:20:03,840
was still night and left for 
Egypt again. 

271
00:20:04,280 --> 00:20:09,280
He bowed immediately to the 
authority of God in his life. 

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00:20:09,640 --> 00:20:11,920
It wasn't like, you know what, 
I'll wait till the morning to 

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00:20:11,920 --> 00:20:14,680
go. 
No, I'll wait till it stops 

274
00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:19,120
raining to go. 
No, he obeyed immediately. 

275
00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:23,360
He bowed to the authority of God
in his life. 

276
00:20:24,160 --> 00:20:26,200
And then you read on in the 
story. 

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00:20:26,840 --> 00:20:32,080
After Herod dies, it says, 
behold, an Angel of the Lord 

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00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:36,440
appeared in a dream to Joseph in
Egypt and said, get up, take the

279
00:20:36,440 --> 00:20:39,840
child and his mother, and go 
into the land of Israel, for 

280
00:20:39,840 --> 00:20:42,160
those who sought the child's 
life are dead. 

281
00:20:42,560 --> 00:20:47,680
So Joseph got up, took the child
and his mother, and came into 

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00:20:47,680 --> 00:20:51,400
the land of Israel. 
He didn't say, you know what, I 

283
00:20:51,400 --> 00:20:54,160
like it in Egypt. 
You move me here. 

284
00:20:54,280 --> 00:20:57,600
It's great here. 
It's warmer down South. 

285
00:20:58,080 --> 00:21:01,880
The sun is brighter down here. 
We just bought a house in Egypt.

286
00:21:02,240 --> 00:21:03,800
We don't want to leave now. 
Nope. 

287
00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:06,640
He got up and went right back to
the land of Israel. 

288
00:21:06,640 --> 00:21:08,600
Why? 
Because if you're going to 

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00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:13,680
celebrate the light, you need to
bow to the authority of God in 

290
00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:16,600
your life. 
You can't say you celebrate the 

291
00:21:16,600 --> 00:21:20,000
light and then argue with God. 
You can't say you celebrate the 

292
00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:23,480
light and debate with God. 
No, when God says move, you 

293
00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:25,520
move. 
When God says you do this, you 

294
00:21:25,520 --> 00:21:28,920
do that. 
When God says you are to be the 

295
00:21:28,920 --> 00:21:31,840
leader of your family, 
gentleman, you lead your family.

296
00:21:32,520 --> 00:21:37,200
Think about Joseph. 
He was the leader of Mary, the 

297
00:21:37,200 --> 00:21:42,200
mother of the Messiah. 
She had to follow Joseph's lead.

298
00:21:42,840 --> 00:21:46,360
So Joseph, in order to be the 
effective leader of his family, 

299
00:21:46,560 --> 00:21:50,400
had to bow to the authority of 
God in his life. 

300
00:21:50,600 --> 00:21:52,200
In the same is true for you and 
me. 

301
00:21:53,120 --> 00:21:56,640
If you want to celebrate the 
light, you need to first of all 

302
00:21:56,640 --> 00:22:04,280
consider, contemplate, 
concentrate on the prophecy 

303
00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:10,760
concerning the Messiah, and then
you need to embrace His deity. 

304
00:22:11,560 --> 00:22:16,240
This is the enfleshment of God. 
This is the incarnation of the 

305
00:22:16,240 --> 00:22:23,280
sun God coming down to man. 
And then you long for his mercy 

306
00:22:24,360 --> 00:22:29,080
as Anna did, as she was longing 
for the for the redemption of 

307
00:22:29,080 --> 00:22:34,760
Jerusalem. 
You exalt His Majesty, you bow 

308
00:22:35,480 --> 00:22:40,160
to his authority. 
And next, in order to celebrate 

309
00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:45,280
the light, you need to radiate 
his glory. 

310
00:22:46,240 --> 00:22:50,200
When the angels came and the 
glory of the Lord would shine 

311
00:22:50,240 --> 00:22:55,440
all around, the heavenly host 
would say glory to God in the 

312
00:22:55,440 --> 00:23:03,480
highest peace on earth toward 
those whom God, who who truly 

313
00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:06,560
fear the Lord. 
And these were the people who 

314
00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:10,200
who gave glory to God. 
Angels never missed an 

315
00:23:10,200 --> 00:23:12,040
opportunity to put God on 
display. 

316
00:23:12,560 --> 00:23:15,720
Angels never miss the 
opportunity to glorify the name 

317
00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:17,600
of their God. 
And when you celebrate the 

318
00:23:17,600 --> 00:23:21,160
light, you always radiate with 
the glory of God. 

319
00:23:21,520 --> 00:23:23,880
That's why the Bible says the 
First Corinthians 10/31 that 

320
00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:26,640
whatever you do, whether you eat
or drink, you do all to the 

321
00:23:26,640 --> 00:23:29,800
glory of God. 
First Corinthians chapter 6 says

322
00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:32,200
that our body is a temple of the
Holy Spirit. 

323
00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:35,600
Therefore God must be glorified 
in our bodies. 

324
00:23:35,720 --> 00:23:38,480
That's why Paul says in 
Ephesians chapter 3 verse #21 

325
00:23:38,680 --> 00:23:40,600
let there be glory in the 
church. 

326
00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:42,720
Why? 
Because we are the ones who are 

327
00:23:42,720 --> 00:23:48,880
to reflect the the radiant glory
of our Redeemer in all that we 

328
00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:50,960
say, in all that we do. 
Why? 

329
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:54,480
Because that's what the angels 
did and they were created 

330
00:23:54,480 --> 00:24:00,880
perfect and they always magnify 
and glorify the name of Christ. 

331
00:24:01,080 --> 00:24:06,080
And if you want to celebrate the
light, then you radiate with His

332
00:24:06,680 --> 00:24:09,280
glory. 
And then if you want to 

333
00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:14,160
celebrate the light, you must 
adore His identity. 

334
00:24:14,760 --> 00:24:18,520
And this is where the magi come 
in, because the magi were were 

335
00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:23,360
led by this * and the star 
really truly is not a normal 

336
00:24:23,360 --> 00:24:25,680
star. 
It was a supernatural star. 

337
00:24:25,760 --> 00:24:32,360
It was the Numbers 2417 star. 
It was the glory of the Lord. 

338
00:24:32,360 --> 00:24:35,320
It was the presence of God 
manifested in brilliant light 

339
00:24:35,320 --> 00:24:37,480
that took them from one place to
another. 

340
00:24:37,520 --> 00:24:41,960
And they followed that star 
until they came, Matthew 2 says,

341
00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:45,560
to a house. 
And there was the child, not a 

342
00:24:45,560 --> 00:24:49,320
baby, but there was the child, 
right? 

343
00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:54,080
And therefore they would fall 
down, they would worship him, 

344
00:24:54,320 --> 00:24:58,240
and they would give him gifts of
gold, frankincense, and myrrh. 

345
00:24:58,520 --> 00:25:00,320
Why? 
Because they understood his 

346
00:25:00,320 --> 00:25:03,360
identity. 
They worshipped his identity. 

347
00:25:03,760 --> 00:25:06,240
They gave him gold because he 
was a king. 

348
00:25:06,680 --> 00:25:10,520
They celebrated his royalty. 
They gave him frankincense 

349
00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:12,600
because they celebrated his 
deity. 

350
00:25:12,760 --> 00:25:15,160
Why? 
Because frankincense was an 

351
00:25:15,160 --> 00:25:19,680
incense offered only to God. 
And then they gave him myrrh 

352
00:25:19,960 --> 00:25:22,800
because they celebrated his 
humanity. 

353
00:25:23,120 --> 00:25:27,520
Myrrh was that which is used to 
embalm bodies and wrap bodies 

354
00:25:27,520 --> 00:25:29,200
that were that were going to 
die. 

355
00:25:29,480 --> 00:25:31,840
That they understood the 
identity of the Messiah. 

356
00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:34,640
They knew he was the King. 
They knew he was God in the 

357
00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:36,600
flesh. 
They knew that he had come to 

358
00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:39,080
die. 
And in their worship of God, 

359
00:25:39,200 --> 00:25:43,040
they adored his identity. 
They adored him for who He was. 

360
00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:47,040
And if you want to celebrate the
light, you adore the identity of

361
00:25:47,040 --> 00:25:53,400
the Christ child, who is the 
light of the world, and then you

362
00:25:53,400 --> 00:25:57,800
come to Simeon. 
And Simeon would celebrate the 

363
00:25:57,800 --> 00:26:03,640
light when he would trust in his
sovereignty because Simeon was 

364
00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:10,680
told by the Lord that he would 
not die until he saw the Lord's 

365
00:26:11,200 --> 00:26:13,520
Messiah. 
Remember, it's the Lord's 

366
00:26:13,520 --> 00:26:18,480
Messiah. 
Christ is not Israel's Messiah. 

367
00:26:19,560 --> 00:26:22,880
He's not your Messiah, He's not 
my Messiah. 

368
00:26:24,040 --> 00:26:29,920
He is God's Messiah. 
And so the Bible tells us that 

369
00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:34,360
Simeon was given his promise 
that he would not die until he 

370
00:26:34,360 --> 00:26:42,400
saw the Lord's Messiah. 
Now how long it was before he 

371
00:26:42,400 --> 00:26:46,160
was told that and he actually 
embraced the Christ child, we 

372
00:26:46,160 --> 00:26:49,520
don't know. 
But he had to trust in God's 

373
00:26:49,520 --> 00:26:53,520
sovereign plan for his life. 
He had to rely upon what God was

374
00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:56,440
going to do in his life, 
trusting the sovereign purposes 

375
00:26:56,440 --> 00:26:58,560
of God. 
So when he went to the temple, 

376
00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:03,320
he would wait and trust and 
depend upon God leading the 

377
00:27:03,320 --> 00:27:06,760
Christ child to him. 
So here comes Mary and Joseph 

378
00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:13,320
and they had the Christ child. 
How did Simeon know that Mary 

379
00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:16,760
and Joseph held the Christ 
child? 

380
00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:21,760
Did he have a Halo around his 
head so that when he came in 

381
00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:24,640
there was this glow about him? 
No. 

382
00:27:25,560 --> 00:27:28,280
Did Did Mary and Joseph had a 
glow about them? 

383
00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:32,200
No. 
How did Simeon know? 

384
00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:35,360
Every day he would go to the 
temple, Every day he would wait.

385
00:27:35,480 --> 00:27:40,840
Every day he knew that he was 
going to live until he saw the 

386
00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:45,320
Lord's Christ, and then he could
die after that. 

387
00:27:46,360 --> 00:27:48,320
And so he would tell everybody, 
I'm not dying until I see the 

388
00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:50,920
Messiah. 
And so people go to the temple. 

389
00:27:50,920 --> 00:27:53,400
Hey, Simeon's still here. 
He's still alive. 

390
00:27:53,720 --> 00:27:57,440
The Messiah has not come yet. 
But whenever Simeon would 

391
00:27:57,440 --> 00:28:01,280
eventually die, you would think 
that the people who heard and 

392
00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:06,200
saw him would know that the 
Messiah had arrived because he 

393
00:28:06,200 --> 00:28:08,600
lived and trusted in the 
sovereignty of God. 

394
00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:13,600
So the Bible tells us in Luke's 
Gospel these words, when he 

395
00:28:13,600 --> 00:28:18,640
takes the Christ child in his 
arms, he says, Now, Lord, you 

396
00:28:18,640 --> 00:28:23,920
are releasing your bondservant 
to depart in peace according to 

397
00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:27,640
your word. 
For my eyes have seen your 

398
00:28:27,640 --> 00:28:31,120
salvation, which you have 
prepared in the presence of all 

399
00:28:31,120 --> 00:28:37,040
peoples, a light, a revelation 
to the Gentiles, and the glory 

400
00:28:37,600 --> 00:28:41,680
of your people, Israel. 
When you celebrate the light, 

401
00:28:42,560 --> 00:28:48,040
you truly consider, you truly 
contemplate the prophecies 

402
00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:52,840
surrounding the Messiah. 
When you do that, you embrace 

403
00:28:53,520 --> 00:28:58,480
His deity, you long for His His 
mercy. 

404
00:28:58,960 --> 00:29:08,360
You exalt His Majesty, and then 
you bow to His authority. 

405
00:29:09,040 --> 00:29:15,760
You radiate with His glory and 
you adore His identity. 

406
00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:20,760
You trust His sovereignty. 
And then the last thing you do 

407
00:29:21,600 --> 00:29:30,560
is you explain His story. 
And every one of them were 

408
00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:34,160
involved in explaining the 
story, whether it was Anna, 

409
00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:38,440
whether it was the the 
shepherds, whether it was the 

410
00:29:38,480 --> 00:29:42,840
angels, whether it was Simeon. 
All of them were involved in 

411
00:29:42,840 --> 00:29:48,360
some way in explaining to other 
people the excellencies, the 

412
00:29:48,360 --> 00:29:53,280
extraordinary acts of God. 
The Bible says in first Peter 2 

413
00:29:53,400 --> 00:29:59,400
verse #9 that we are a chosen 
generation, a royal priesthood 

414
00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:06,320
designed to declare the 
excellencies of Him who called 

415
00:30:06,320 --> 00:30:11,280
us out of darkness into His 
marvelous light. 

416
00:30:12,160 --> 00:30:15,760
And when you've been called into
the light, you celebrate the 

417
00:30:15,760 --> 00:30:18,760
light. 
And one of the ways you truly 

418
00:30:18,760 --> 00:30:24,320
celebrate the light is that you 
just explain the story you tell 

419
00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:29,280
others about the extraordinary 
acts, the excellencies of God, 

420
00:30:29,440 --> 00:30:33,960
the heroic acts of God. 
You want them to know that 

421
00:30:33,960 --> 00:30:38,520
Christmas is all about the light
that came into the world and 

422
00:30:38,520 --> 00:30:42,880
that we truly celebrate the 
light of the gospel of Christ 

423
00:30:43,360 --> 00:30:46,000
because he is the author of the 
gospel. 

424
00:30:46,240 --> 00:30:48,840
He is the good news that brings 
great joy. 

425
00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:53,520
And that's why we as believers 
live in the realm of joy. 

426
00:30:53,520 --> 00:30:58,280
That's why we rejoice is because
we understand the light has 

427
00:30:58,280 --> 00:31:01,040
dawned. 
We understand the sunrise from 

428
00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:08,840
on high has come down to us and 
we embrace the light tonight as 

429
00:31:08,840 --> 00:31:13,080
we as we close our time. 
What I want to do is have you 

430
00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:17,360
have you take the candle that 
you have in your possession this

431
00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:20,080
evening. 
And what I'm going to do is I'm 

432
00:31:20,080 --> 00:31:24,120
going to light my candle with 
the the candle that's right 

433
00:31:24,120 --> 00:31:28,520
there. 
And as the men come down this 

434
00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:31,280
morning or this afternoon, 
excuse me, or this evening, I 

435
00:31:31,280 --> 00:31:33,520
guess it's night time now that 
they're going to come down here,

436
00:31:33,520 --> 00:31:34,600
I'm going to light their 
candles. 

437
00:31:34,600 --> 00:31:38,080
And then they're going to walk 
down the aisles and light each 

438
00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:41,160
person on the end of the Pew. 
And then you will light the 

439
00:31:41,160 --> 00:31:46,000
person on the inside of you. 
And we're going to sing a song, 

440
00:31:46,280 --> 00:31:48,600
a very familiar song called 
Silent Night. 

441
00:31:49,360 --> 00:31:52,440
And as we light the candles, 
we're going to sing this song 

442
00:31:52,440 --> 00:31:55,960
together because it's going to 
be a reminder to everyone of us 

443
00:31:56,160 --> 00:32:00,600
that we are the light of the 
world. 

444
00:32:01,240 --> 00:32:04,360
Christ, who is the light, 
indwells us. 

445
00:32:05,160 --> 00:32:07,440
That makes us children of the 
light. 

446
00:32:08,400 --> 00:32:12,440
And we should shine bright for 
Christ, not just at Christmas, 

447
00:32:12,640 --> 00:32:18,120
but all throughout our lives. 
And may this be a symbolic 

448
00:32:18,120 --> 00:32:22,160
gesture in all of our lives to 
remind us that the light has 

449
00:32:22,160 --> 00:32:24,880
come. 
And if you've embraced that 

450
00:32:24,880 --> 00:32:30,120
light, if you've given your life
to to Christ, you now become the

451
00:32:30,120 --> 00:32:36,360
light of the world, and you 
shine so others might see your 

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00:32:36,360 --> 00:32:40,720
good works and glorify your 
Father who is in heaven.