1 00:00:02,720 --> 00:00:06,320 Turn in your Bible to Luke chapter 1. 2 00:00:15,260 --> 00:00:18,260 I love to hear your paper bibles. 3 00:00:19,100 --> 00:00:21,820 Is it OK to read it on a screen? It certainly is OK to read it on 4 00:00:21,820 --> 00:00:24,820 a screen. The thing I love about a paper 5 00:00:24,820 --> 00:00:26,020 Bible. There's many things to love 6 00:00:26,020 --> 00:00:30,080 about a paper Bible still, not just the nostalgia piece of 7 00:00:30,080 --> 00:00:33,600 like, hey, remember books when they weren't on screens, but 8 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:36,240 also just the practicality. If you get to know where things 9 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,800 are visually in your paper Bible and you go, I remember where 10 00:00:39,800 --> 00:00:41,560 that is. I remember that's like later in 11 00:00:41,560 --> 00:00:43,800 my Bible and I remember that's on the right side of the page 12 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:46,160 and I remember it's on this column and I'm, and I remember 13 00:00:46,160 --> 00:00:48,000 that I've highlighted it. That's another thing I would 14 00:00:48,000 --> 00:00:50,400 encourage you to do is highlight your Bible. 15 00:00:50,680 --> 00:00:52,920 You can use different color highlighters if you want to, you 16 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,840 know, like, oh, I'll use yellow for promises or I'll use pink 17 00:00:55,840 --> 00:00:59,400 for warnings and I'll use green for just everything else that I 18 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:01,880 love, which you're going to have a lot of green in your Bible if 19 00:01:01,880 --> 00:01:04,440 you go that way. But the more you mark up your 20 00:01:04,440 --> 00:01:06,760 Bible, the more you get to know your Bible and it's helpful. 21 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:07,920 And then you can make notes as well. 22 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:10,880 And you go, Oh, this is a great passage to read for Christmas. 23 00:01:11,160 --> 00:01:12,880 Or you can go, Oh, this is about healing. 24 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:17,800 And you can, you start to have a, a, a reference that you're 25 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:19,480 studying that you're getting to know a lot better. 26 00:01:19,480 --> 00:01:20,840 Where is it when it's on the screen? 27 00:01:20,840 --> 00:01:23,640 I just find it difficult to go like, I can only see what's 28 00:01:23,640 --> 00:01:26,000 right here. And it's, even though it's 29 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:28,280 supposed to be intuitive and convenient, I find it still 30 00:01:28,280 --> 00:01:30,960 difficult to get around. Not to mention the fact that 31 00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:34,120 when I'm reading on the screen, I just got a text message. 32 00:01:34,760 --> 00:01:36,440 Why? I'll go ahead and check that. 33 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:38,960 I guess I just got another notification. 34 00:01:38,960 --> 00:01:41,320 I just got all the. So thankfully this doesn't pop 35 00:01:41,320 --> 00:01:43,400 up with notifications from anyone other than the Holy 36 00:01:43,400 --> 00:01:47,560 Spirit. So that's why, again, it's not 37 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,600 law for you to follow, but it is wisdom. 38 00:01:51,080 --> 00:01:55,400 So in Luke chapter 1, we're going to read the entire 39 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:58,360 Christmas passage. So it's going to be a long 40 00:01:58,360 --> 00:02:01,080 reading. It's not an apology, just to 41 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:04,280 prepare you and let you know. FYI, throughout church history, 42 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:08,120 pastors read massive portions of Scripture to the churches. 43 00:02:08,960 --> 00:02:12,280 Paul tells Timothy, he says do not neglect the public reading 44 00:02:12,520 --> 00:02:14,480 of scripture. So Timothy would just get up in 45 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:15,920 front of people and what would he do? 46 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:17,920 He would just read the scriptures. 47 00:02:17,920 --> 00:02:20,160 So it's a common thing. It's not a weird thing. 48 00:02:20,160 --> 00:02:21,800 It's not a strange thing. It might not be the template 49 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:24,000 that we're most familiar with, but it's a very good thing. 50 00:02:24,640 --> 00:02:29,200 So we're going to pick up in Luke chapter 1 in verse 5, and 51 00:02:29,200 --> 00:02:32,000 we're going to go all the way through chapter 2 to verse 21. 52 00:02:33,840 --> 00:02:37,160 In the days of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest named 53 00:02:37,160 --> 00:02:40,040 Zachariah of the division of Abuja. 54 00:02:41,040 --> 00:02:42,920 We'll just pretend that I said that, right? 55 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:46,200 And he had a wife from the daughters of Aaron, and her name 56 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:48,880 was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous 57 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:51,880 before God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and 58 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:56,240 statutes of the Lord, but they had no child because Elizabeth 59 00:02:56,320 --> 00:03:00,320 was barren and they were both advanced in years. 60 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:02,800 So just a quick pause before I continue. 61 00:03:03,920 --> 00:03:06,800 I want to remind you of what the Lord has already been reminding 62 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:09,400 us as a church and where we are in this moment and then this 63 00:03:09,400 --> 00:03:11,680 season together. And I'm continuing to pray 64 00:03:11,680 --> 00:03:13,040 through this and what this might look like. 65 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:15,720 And I think it's even going to change the way I preach, which 66 00:03:15,720 --> 00:03:19,080 is going to be, I think a bit of a learning curve for me, but I 67 00:03:19,080 --> 00:03:20,320 think it's going to be good for all of us. 68 00:03:21,200 --> 00:03:23,720 We, we had the moment of surrender in this season where 69 00:03:23,720 --> 00:03:26,040 the Lord was saying, surrender it, surrender it, surrender it, 70 00:03:26,280 --> 00:03:29,080 which leads to breakthrough, which then leads to growth. 71 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:32,040 And I have had this since this whole time that this growth that 72 00:03:32,040 --> 00:03:35,360 the Lord wants to take us into is a very, very practical 73 00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:39,360 looking growth, a very, what does it look like on a Tuesday 74 00:03:39,360 --> 00:03:42,760 kind of growth. A very how do I grow? 75 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:46,120 How do I build a life? And I know the Lord wants us to 76 00:03:46,120 --> 00:03:49,320 build our lives in a way that people could look at it and go, 77 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:51,920 man, that's just that's wisdom. Where'd you get that? 78 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:54,480 And you'll be able to say from the Lord, the Lord has blessed 79 00:03:54,480 --> 00:03:57,160 me with his wisdom. Like, because we don't have 80 00:03:57,520 --> 00:03:59,600 everything. Scripture isn't always 81 00:03:59,600 --> 00:04:02,760 explicitly plain. Scripture doesn't say, hey, 82 00:04:02,880 --> 00:04:05,000 spouses, you ought to go for a walk together regularly. 83 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:06,880 Doesn't There's not a verse for that. 84 00:04:07,320 --> 00:04:10,520 But marriages that are super strong. 85 00:04:10,520 --> 00:04:13,120 It found that's a really, really beneficial thing for us. 86 00:04:13,360 --> 00:04:15,680 Or, hey, you ought to have more conversations with your spouse 87 00:04:15,680 --> 00:04:17,760 and just where you're just hanging out and you don't have 88 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:19,600 anything on the agenda other than we're just being boyfriend 89 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:21,640 and girlfriend together. Still, we don't have a verse 90 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:24,000 that commands that. And yet this is still what it 91 00:04:24,000 --> 00:04:27,640 looks like to build a life. How do we discipline children? 92 00:04:27,640 --> 00:04:29,840 Well, Scripture tells us a few things about that, but he still 93 00:04:29,840 --> 00:04:33,000 doesn't give us the exact play by play. 94 00:04:33,160 --> 00:04:35,640 But when we consider all the truths of Scripture and all the 95 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:38,360 fruits of the Spirit, we can find that other Saints and other 96 00:04:38,360 --> 00:04:40,480 believers can show us, hey, here's what that's a look like. 97 00:04:40,640 --> 00:04:42,840 Hey, here's what it looks like when we spank the kids. 98 00:04:42,840 --> 00:04:45,720 Here's how we move forward and loving self-control to give them 99 00:04:45,720 --> 00:04:48,800 calm, consistent consequences. Here's how we bring them back to 100 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:51,680 Jesus into the gospel. Like, wow, this is what it looks 101 00:04:51,680 --> 00:04:54,920 like to build a life. Hey, you know what? 102 00:04:54,960 --> 00:04:57,400 Like we don't have any verses on telling us how to manage our 103 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:00,720 screen time, do we? But still, wise and faithful 104 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:03,680 believers are walking these things out in faithful, 105 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:06,320 wholesome disciplines that will bless us and build us up. 106 00:05:06,560 --> 00:05:09,160 These are the kinds of things we need more clarity on and more 107 00:05:09,160 --> 00:05:10,800 help on. Man, how do I deal with this 108 00:05:11,040 --> 00:05:14,520 toxic family member who, you know, they're, they call me 109 00:05:14,640 --> 00:05:17,200 intoxicated all the time on the phone and they're yelling at me 110 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:19,560 and they're frustrated with me and I feel like I owe them a 111 00:05:19,560 --> 00:05:21,320 phone conversation because they're family. 112 00:05:21,320 --> 00:05:24,360 Like scripture doesn't tell you, hey, you don't have to answer 113 00:05:24,360 --> 00:05:26,080 that phone call and you don't have to call them back. 114 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:28,600 But wise and faithful Christians would be able to teach you that 115 00:05:28,600 --> 00:05:31,200 kind of thing. This is how you build a life. 116 00:05:31,200 --> 00:05:33,200 Is this making sense? So I'm going to, we're going to 117 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:35,680 more and more beginning into even more practical things. 118 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:38,040 We always have an eye towards practicality when we're looking 119 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:40,120 at the scriptures. But I think the season, the 120 00:05:40,120 --> 00:05:42,200 Lord's taking us and two together, there's going to be 121 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:44,960 even more of that. The thing I wanted you to notice 122 00:05:45,280 --> 00:05:47,400 from the Christmas story, as we're going to continue to read 123 00:05:47,400 --> 00:05:50,520 it together, is the Lord is calling us to simple things. 124 00:05:50,880 --> 00:05:52,920 Everything I just listed is not rocket science. 125 00:05:53,240 --> 00:05:56,080 It's not complicated. Building a faithful, wholesome 126 00:05:56,080 --> 00:05:58,280 Christian life looks like a basic obedience. 127 00:05:58,280 --> 00:06:01,760 It looks like a long obedience in the same direction, but it's 128 00:06:01,760 --> 00:06:03,640 not flashy. It's reading your Bible. 129 00:06:03,800 --> 00:06:07,120 It's praying real prayers. It's giving your spouse and your 130 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:09,240 kids your full, unhurried presence. 131 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:13,440 That kind of life doesn't feel flashy, but Scripture shows us 132 00:06:13,440 --> 00:06:14,720 that God loves to work through it. 133 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:17,040 So that's exactly what we're going to see here this morning. 134 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:20,040 The Lord is showing us that ordinary people are living 135 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:23,680 ordinary lives. Zachariah and Elizabeth were not 136 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:25,200 special. You think? 137 00:06:25,440 --> 00:06:26,640 I think they were because yeah. Yeah. 138 00:06:26,640 --> 00:06:29,280 Yeah. But until then, until they make 139 00:06:29,280 --> 00:06:31,440 it into the Canon of Scripture, they weren't. 140 00:06:31,880 --> 00:06:33,960 They're just doing their regular life stuff. 141 00:06:33,960 --> 00:06:36,480 They're just loving God and loving each other. 142 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:39,560 And just today's a Tuesday. What's on the docket? 143 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:41,760 How do we love God and follow him today? 144 00:06:41,760 --> 00:06:44,600 Same thing with Joseph and Mary. I think they're really special. 145 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:46,280 Yeah, but they weren't until they were. 146 00:06:46,960 --> 00:06:49,320 And, and what got him, there wasn't anything special that 147 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:50,840 they did. It was just the Lord's choosing 148 00:06:51,280 --> 00:06:54,440 to work through people who are walking at a faithful and simple 149 00:06:54,720 --> 00:06:58,200 ordinary obedience. So the Lord is showing ordinary 150 00:06:58,200 --> 00:07:02,200 people living ordinary lives. Zechariah, Elizabeth are one 151 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:04,200 picture of that. Joseph and Mary are another. 152 00:07:05,000 --> 00:07:07,320 Through them we see God advancing His mighty plan 153 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:10,400 through quiet faithfulness. Amen. 154 00:07:12,520 --> 00:07:15,120 They had no child because Elizabeth was barren and they 155 00:07:15,120 --> 00:07:17,640 were both advanced in years. That's verse 7 of Luke one, 156 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:20,440 verse 8. Now, while he was serving as 157 00:07:20,440 --> 00:07:23,160 priests before God when his division was on duty. 158 00:07:23,160 --> 00:07:25,880 So it's a, it's a cycling thing and it's his turn to do this 159 00:07:25,880 --> 00:07:27,240 job. And he's doing this thing 160 00:07:27,520 --> 00:07:29,240 according to the custom of the priesthood. 161 00:07:29,600 --> 00:07:33,200 He was chosen by lot. So they, they cast lots and they 162 00:07:33,200 --> 00:07:36,120 said, all right, who's going to go do this job now to enter the 163 00:07:36,120 --> 00:07:38,800 temple of the Lord and to burn incense. 164 00:07:39,240 --> 00:07:42,080 And the whole multitude of people were praying outside at 165 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,240 the hour of incense. And there appeared to him an 166 00:07:45,240 --> 00:07:48,440 Angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of 167 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:52,560 incense. So Zechariah's life just changed 168 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:54,960 dramatically. He has never seen angels. 169 00:07:55,280 --> 00:07:58,040 He hasn't had grand visions. He's just amazed, like it's my 170 00:07:58,040 --> 00:07:59,600 turn to do the incense. What an honor. 171 00:07:59,800 --> 00:08:01,560 I'm going to take it in. I'm going to do my job. 172 00:08:01,560 --> 00:08:05,400 I'm going to come out, insert the Angel of the Lord. 173 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:07,440 Things have just taken a massive turn. 174 00:08:08,240 --> 00:08:10,880 Verse 12. And Zechariah was troubled when 175 00:08:10,880 --> 00:08:13,720 he saw him, and fear fell upon him. 176 00:08:13,840 --> 00:08:17,320 And the Angel said to him, Do not be afraid Zechariah, for 177 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:20,240 your prayer has been heard. And your wife Elizabeth will 178 00:08:20,240 --> 00:08:22,880 bear you a son. And you shall call his name 179 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:25,520 John. And you will have joy and 180 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:27,920 gladness. And many will rejoice at his 181 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:30,360 birth, for he will be great before the Lord. 182 00:08:30,920 --> 00:08:33,360 And he must not drink wine or strong drink. 183 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:36,559 And he will be filled with the Holy Spirit even from his 184 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:39,159 mother's womb. Babies can be filled with the 185 00:08:39,159 --> 00:08:41,400 Holy Spirit in their mother's womb. 186 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:46,040 We have plenty of verses in our Bibles to show us that babies in 187 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:48,720 the womb are human beings made in the image and likeness of 188 00:08:48,720 --> 00:08:51,640 God, with souls and spirits that matter to the Lord. 189 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:55,200 This is another one of them, verse 16. 190 00:08:55,520 --> 00:08:58,520 And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord 191 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:00,560 their God. And he will go before them in 192 00:09:00,560 --> 00:09:03,640 the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the 193 00:09:03,640 --> 00:09:08,080 fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the 194 00:09:08,080 --> 00:09:11,760 just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared. 195 00:09:12,240 --> 00:09:15,480 And Zachariah said to the Angel, How shall I know this? 196 00:09:15,560 --> 00:09:18,360 For I am an old man, and my wife has advanced in years. 197 00:09:18,840 --> 00:09:23,080 And the Angel answered him, I am Gabriel, I stand in the presence 198 00:09:23,080 --> 00:09:25,320 of God. And I was sent to speak to you, 199 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:29,280 to bring this good news. And behold, you will be silent 200 00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:32,720 and unable to speak until the day that these things take 201 00:09:32,720 --> 00:09:35,760 place, because you did not believe my words, which will be 202 00:09:35,760 --> 00:09:39,440 fulfilled in their time. And the people were waiting for 203 00:09:39,440 --> 00:09:41,600 Zachariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the 204 00:09:41,600 --> 00:09:44,240 temple. And when he came out, he was 205 00:09:44,240 --> 00:09:46,720 unable to speak to them. And they realized that he had 206 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:49,800 seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them 207 00:09:50,040 --> 00:09:53,920 and remained mute. And when his time of service was 208 00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:57,880 ended, he went to his home. After these days his wife 209 00:09:57,880 --> 00:10:01,320 Elizabeth conceived, and for five months she kept herself 210 00:10:01,320 --> 00:10:05,240 hidden, saying, Thus the Lord has done for me in the days when 211 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:08,760 he looked on me, to take away my reproach among people. 212 00:10:10,000 --> 00:10:14,520 In the sixth month, the Angel Gabriel was sent from God to a 213 00:10:14,520 --> 00:10:19,240 city of Galilee named Nazareth to a virgin betrothed to a man 214 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:23,240 whose name was Joseph of the House of David, and the virgin's 215 00:10:23,240 --> 00:10:26,760 name was Mary. A regular guy and a regular 216 00:10:26,760 --> 00:10:28,720 girl. A working man and a regular 217 00:10:28,720 --> 00:10:30,040 girl. They're going to get married. 218 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:32,160 They've made preparations. They're engaged. 219 00:10:32,160 --> 00:10:34,520 It's official. Everybody knows they're looking 220 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:36,160 ahead to a wedding at some point. 221 00:10:36,800 --> 00:10:42,520 Normal life, normal folks. And he came to her and said 222 00:10:42,800 --> 00:10:45,720 greetings. Oh, favored one, The Lord is 223 00:10:45,720 --> 00:10:48,360 with you. But she was greatly troubled at 224 00:10:48,360 --> 00:10:51,200 the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might 225 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:53,520 be. And the Angel said to her, Do 226 00:10:53,520 --> 00:10:57,160 not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God, and 227 00:10:57,160 --> 00:11:00,440 behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and 228 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:02,840 you shall call him his name, Jesus. 229 00:11:03,840 --> 00:11:06,800 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, 230 00:11:07,400 --> 00:11:10,880 and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his Father 231 00:11:10,880 --> 00:11:14,840 David, and he will reign over the House of Jacob Forever, and 232 00:11:14,840 --> 00:11:16,960 of his Kingdom there will be no end. 233 00:11:17,560 --> 00:11:20,680 And Mary said to the Angel, How will this be, since I'm a 234 00:11:20,680 --> 00:11:23,320 virgin? And the Angel answered her, The 235 00:11:23,320 --> 00:11:26,320 Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High 236 00:11:26,320 --> 00:11:29,200 will over shadow you. Therefore the child to be born 237 00:11:29,200 --> 00:11:31,760 will be called holy, the Son of God. 238 00:11:31,960 --> 00:11:35,880 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has 239 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:40,120 also conceived a son, and this is the 6th month with her who 240 00:11:40,120 --> 00:11:43,240 was called Baron. For nothing will be impossible 241 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:46,680 with God. And Mary said, Behold, I am the 242 00:11:46,680 --> 00:11:50,240 servant of the Lord, let it be to me according to your word. 243 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:55,320 And the Angel departed from her. In those days Mary arose and 244 00:11:55,320 --> 00:11:58,480 went with haste into the Hill Country to a town of Judah. 245 00:11:58,680 --> 00:12:01,720 And she entered the House of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 246 00:12:02,280 --> 00:12:05,640 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby 247 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:08,920 leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the 248 00:12:08,920 --> 00:12:11,680 Holy Spirit, and she exclaimed with a loud cry. 249 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:17,240 Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your 250 00:12:17,240 --> 00:12:20,360 womb. And why is this granted to me, 251 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:22,960 that the Mother of my Lord should come to me? 252 00:12:23,840 --> 00:12:27,040 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, 253 00:12:27,040 --> 00:12:29,600 the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 254 00:12:30,400 --> 00:12:33,800 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a 255 00:12:33,800 --> 00:12:36,680 fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord. 256 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:42,240 And Mary said, my soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices 257 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:44,600 in God my Saviour. Can you imagine the beauty of 258 00:12:44,600 --> 00:12:46,600 this moment? These are just two normal 259 00:12:46,600 --> 00:12:51,080 ladies, 2 normal loved ones who are experiencing a supernatural 260 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:54,120 blessing, and the Holy Spirit is filling them and they're 261 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:56,840 rejoicing together and weeping together and celebrating 262 00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:58,400 together. And the Holy Spirit comes upon 263 00:12:58,400 --> 00:13:02,200 Mary, and now she's singing and prophesying and glorifying the 264 00:13:02,200 --> 00:13:04,240 Lord. My soul magnifies the Lord, and 265 00:13:04,240 --> 00:13:06,320 my spirit rejoices in God my Savior. 266 00:13:06,600 --> 00:13:09,240 For he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. 267 00:13:09,520 --> 00:13:12,400 For behold, from now on all generations will call me 268 00:13:12,400 --> 00:13:15,040 blessed. For He who is mighty has done 269 00:13:15,040 --> 00:13:19,960 great things for me, and holy is His name, and His mercy is for 270 00:13:19,960 --> 00:13:23,080 those who fear him. From generation to generation He 271 00:13:23,080 --> 00:13:26,640 has shown strength with His arm. He has scattered the proud in 272 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:29,800 the thoughts of their hearts. He has brought down the mighty 273 00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:34,320 from their Thrones and exalted those of humble estate. 274 00:13:34,680 --> 00:13:38,160 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he 275 00:13:38,160 --> 00:13:41,360 sent away empty. He has helped his servant Israel 276 00:13:41,480 --> 00:13:44,760 in remembrance of His mercy as he spoke to our fathers, to 277 00:13:44,800 --> 00:13:47,840 Abraham, and to his offspring forever. 278 00:13:47,840 --> 00:13:51,880 Hallelujah, the offspring of Abraham forever. 279 00:13:51,880 --> 00:13:55,920 Those are the people of faith who trust in Jesus like Abraham 280 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:59,400 trusted in God. And Mary remained with her about 281 00:13:59,400 --> 00:14:01,800 3 months and returned to her home. 282 00:14:02,600 --> 00:14:06,040 Now the time came for Elizabeth to give birth, and she bore a 283 00:14:06,040 --> 00:14:09,480 son, and her neighbors and relatives heard that the Lord 284 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:11,840 had shown great mercy to her, and they rejoiced with her. 285 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:15,120 And on the 8th day they came to circumcise the child. 286 00:14:15,440 --> 00:14:18,240 They would have called him Zachariah after his father, but 287 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:20,720 his mother answered, No, he shall be called John. 288 00:14:21,040 --> 00:14:23,160 And they said to her, None of your relatives are called by 289 00:14:23,160 --> 00:14:25,320 this name. And they'd made signs to his 290 00:14:25,320 --> 00:14:28,480 father inquiring what he wanted him to be called. 291 00:14:29,720 --> 00:14:32,920 And he asked for a writing tablet, and he wrote, His name 292 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:35,120 is John. And they all wondered. 293 00:14:35,360 --> 00:14:38,640 And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, 294 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:41,960 and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all their 295 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:44,360 neighbors. And all these things were talked 296 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:46,880 about through all the Hill Country of Judea. 297 00:14:47,400 --> 00:14:51,080 And all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What 298 00:14:51,080 --> 00:14:55,840 then will this child be? For the hand of the Lord was 299 00:14:55,840 --> 00:14:59,000 with him, and his father Zachariah was filled with the 300 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:02,280 Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, Blessed be the Lord God 301 00:15:02,280 --> 00:15:04,560 of Israel. For he has visited and redeemed 302 00:15:04,560 --> 00:15:07,480 his people. And he has raised up a horn of 303 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:10,960 salvation for us in the House of His servant David, as he spoke 304 00:15:10,960 --> 00:15:13,920 by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we 305 00:15:13,920 --> 00:15:17,120 should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who 306 00:15:17,120 --> 00:15:19,680 hate us. To show the mercy promised to 307 00:15:19,680 --> 00:15:23,240 our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath that He 308 00:15:23,240 --> 00:15:26,720 swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being 309 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:29,760 delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without 310 00:15:29,760 --> 00:15:32,560 fear and holiness and righteousness before him all of 311 00:15:32,560 --> 00:15:35,320 our days. And you, child, will be called 312 00:15:35,320 --> 00:15:38,440 the prophet of the Most High, for you will go before the Lord 313 00:15:38,440 --> 00:15:41,800 to prepare His ways to give knowledge of salvation to His 314 00:15:41,800 --> 00:15:45,440 people in the forgiveness of their sins, Because of the 315 00:15:45,440 --> 00:15:49,120 tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from 316 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:52,440 on high, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the 317 00:15:52,440 --> 00:15:55,640 shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. 318 00:15:56,760 --> 00:16:01,520 And the child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in 319 00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:05,600 the wilderness until the day of his public appearance to Israel. 320 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:10,000 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all in 321 00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:13,120 the world should be registered. This was the first generation, 322 00:16:13,200 --> 00:16:16,240 first registration, when Quinarius was governor of Syria. 323 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:19,320 And all went to be registered, each to his own town. 324 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:22,120 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of 325 00:16:22,120 --> 00:16:24,760 Nazareth to Judea, to the city of David, which is called 326 00:16:24,760 --> 00:16:27,720 Bethlehem, because he was of a house and lineage of David to be 327 00:16:27,720 --> 00:16:30,720 registered with his, with Mary his betrothed, who was with 328 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:33,240 child. And while they were there, the 329 00:16:33,240 --> 00:16:36,560 time came for her to give birth, and she gave birth to her first 330 00:16:36,560 --> 00:16:40,640 born son and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him 331 00:16:40,640 --> 00:16:43,760 in a Manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 332 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:48,480 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, 333 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:53,480 keeping watch over their flock by night, and an Angel of the 334 00:16:53,480 --> 00:16:56,680 Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around 335 00:16:56,680 --> 00:16:59,280 them, and they were filled with great fear. 336 00:16:59,840 --> 00:17:04,800 And the Angel said to them, Fear not, for behold I bring you good 337 00:17:04,800 --> 00:17:07,720 news of great joy that will be for all the people. 338 00:17:08,319 --> 00:17:13,839 For unto you is born this day in the city of David, a Saviour who 339 00:17:13,839 --> 00:17:17,200 is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. 340 00:17:18,160 --> 00:17:21,079 You'll find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a 341 00:17:21,079 --> 00:17:23,240 Manger. And suddenly there was with the 342 00:17:23,240 --> 00:17:26,640 Angel a multitude of the heavenly hosts, praising God and 343 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:30,160 saying glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace 344 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:32,640 among those with whom he is pleased. 345 00:17:33,160 --> 00:17:37,040 Normal shepherds, normal night, They've done this 1000 times. 346 00:17:37,400 --> 00:17:40,680 But suddenly the sky breaks open, and heaven is meeting 347 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:42,920 them. When the angels went away from 348 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:45,800 them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, Let us go 349 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:49,080 over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which 350 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:52,440 the Lord has made known to us. And they went with haste, and 351 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:55,560 found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in a Manger. 352 00:17:55,560 --> 00:17:58,280 And when they saw it, they made known the things that had been 353 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:02,920 told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at 354 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:06,560 what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these 355 00:18:06,560 --> 00:18:10,080 things, pondering them in her heart, and the shepherds 356 00:18:10,080 --> 00:18:13,720 returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had 357 00:18:13,720 --> 00:18:16,200 heard and seen as it had been told them. 358 00:18:17,360 --> 00:18:20,120 And at the end of the eight days, he was circumcised. 359 00:18:20,400 --> 00:18:24,600 He was called Jesus, the name given by the Angel before he was 360 00:18:24,600 --> 00:18:27,200 conceived in the womb. Heavenly Father, we thank you 361 00:18:27,200 --> 00:18:30,880 for your powerful word, your living Word, your active word. 362 00:18:33,600 --> 00:18:38,080 We rejoice and I pray that you would help us to apply the 363 00:18:38,080 --> 00:18:41,480 goodness, the greatness and the glory of your magnificent plan. 364 00:18:42,280 --> 00:18:44,600 Help us to see what we should see, that we will walk out our 365 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:49,880 obedience at Christmas and always in Jesus name, Amen. 366 00:18:51,080 --> 00:18:53,320 I've got multiple points I'm going to move through quickly. 367 00:18:55,680 --> 00:18:59,360 We see two couples here though 2 couples that give us a great 368 00:18:59,360 --> 00:19:01,880 example of faith. One older couple who has waited 369 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:05,280 a long time for something. One younger couple who obeyed 370 00:19:05,280 --> 00:19:08,200 while they were under pressure. The first point I want to make 371 00:19:08,200 --> 00:19:10,520 to you is that God delights and quiet faithfulness. 372 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:14,040 He celebrates it. He honors it. 373 00:19:14,040 --> 00:19:17,000 He honored it in the shepherds. He honored it in Joseph and 374 00:19:17,000 --> 00:19:19,280 Mary. He honored it in Zechariah and 375 00:19:19,280 --> 00:19:22,440 Elizabeth. He honors it in Simeon and Anna 376 00:19:22,440 --> 00:19:24,480 in the temple. And a few verses that follow, 377 00:19:26,880 --> 00:19:30,200 Luke 16 says they were both righteous before God, walking 378 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:34,080 blamelessly in the commandments and statutes of the Lord. 379 00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:39,880 And then we see Mary's response, Behold, I am the servant of the 380 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:41,200 Lord. Let it be according. 381 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:43,280 Let it be to me according to your word. 382 00:19:43,480 --> 00:19:45,400 Zechariah, Elizabeth, Joseph, and Mary. 383 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:48,640 They weren't chasing highlights. They weren't trying to do 384 00:19:48,640 --> 00:19:51,320 anything quote great. They were being faithful with 385 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:52,840 the faithfulness that was put in front of them. 386 00:19:53,200 --> 00:19:56,600 And the Lord caught them doing exactly what he left them to be 387 00:19:56,600 --> 00:19:59,600 doing. Remember, that's the parable 388 00:19:59,600 --> 00:20:01,400 that Jesus told. The master leaves. 389 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:02,800 He gives the servant assignments. 390 00:20:03,120 --> 00:20:06,680 Jesus said blessed is the one who his master finds doing when 391 00:20:06,680 --> 00:20:08,800 he returns. That's what the Lord requires of 392 00:20:08,800 --> 00:20:10,400 you. What is the Lord put in front of 393 00:20:10,400 --> 00:20:12,520 you to do? That's what he expects you to 394 00:20:12,520 --> 00:20:14,600 do. What a relief that you don't 395 00:20:14,600 --> 00:20:16,560 have to obey somebody else's obedience. 396 00:20:16,800 --> 00:20:18,960 What a relief you don't have to live somebody else's life. 397 00:20:19,120 --> 00:20:21,560 What a relief that you don't have to compare yourself to your 398 00:20:21,560 --> 00:20:24,880 favorite dead preacher who did all these great and mighty 399 00:20:24,880 --> 00:20:27,320 things. He was supposed to walk out the 400 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:29,600 obedience set in front of him for the day. 401 00:20:30,040 --> 00:20:32,320 And you and I are supposed to do the same thing today. 402 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:37,160 We look at the Saints, we honor them, But their example was 403 00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:39,720 simple obedience and simple faithfulness to what the Lord 404 00:20:39,720 --> 00:20:42,240 had given them. Whenever the Angel comes to 405 00:20:42,240 --> 00:20:45,240 Mary, she doesn't pull out her vision board and say, well, hang 406 00:20:45,240 --> 00:20:47,280 on, the next year. Here's here's some of the things 407 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:49,520 that I had planned. And you know, I'd like to 408 00:20:49,520 --> 00:20:52,080 negotiate a little bit. Maybe if we could set this into 409 00:20:52,080 --> 00:20:53,760 motion in the way that I had envisioned. 410 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:57,680 She just gave her simple yes, and Joseph doesn't get a lot of 411 00:20:57,920 --> 00:21:00,800 screen time here in the film, but what does he do? 412 00:21:00,800 --> 00:21:06,120 He protects, he provides, he leads simple loving masculinity 413 00:21:06,120 --> 00:21:08,520 stuff. He's doing what he needs to do. 414 00:21:08,520 --> 00:21:09,920 He's doing what the Lord requires of him. 415 00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:11,520 He's doing what the law required of him. 416 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:13,320 Caesar says he's got to go to Bethlehem. 417 00:21:13,320 --> 00:21:16,200 So he's like, all right, I have to protect and take care of my 418 00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:20,280 my bride or soon to be bride. I'm not to I'm not to be with 419 00:21:20,280 --> 00:21:22,800 her sexually until after we're married. 420 00:21:23,280 --> 00:21:25,120 So we're going to do all these things. 421 00:21:25,400 --> 00:21:28,040 Just the simple obedience that the Lord has given him. 422 00:21:28,200 --> 00:21:30,000 He's not a man who makes great speeches. 423 00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:33,400 He's a man who obeys God and the Lord is pleased with Joseph. 424 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:37,320 Most of your Christian life is not going to be dramatic. 425 00:21:37,840 --> 00:21:39,480 It's doing what you already know to do. 426 00:21:39,680 --> 00:21:43,160 It looks like reading the Bible. It looks like repenting quickly. 427 00:21:43,520 --> 00:21:47,160 It looks like praying honestly. It looks like giving your spouse 428 00:21:47,160 --> 00:21:50,240 and kids your devoted presence. It looks like worshipping 429 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:52,600 loudly. God sees that life. 430 00:21:53,600 --> 00:21:56,280 God honors that life. You don't need to chase big 431 00:21:56,280 --> 00:21:58,840 moments. What we need to chase is simple 432 00:21:58,840 --> 00:22:01,760 faithfulness. That is what we need to maximize 433 00:22:01,760 --> 00:22:03,120 our effort. Where do I need to put all of my 434 00:22:03,120 --> 00:22:03,640 effort? Man? 435 00:22:03,640 --> 00:22:05,960 I really want to do something great for God, brother. 436 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:07,800 I know you do, sister, I know you do. 437 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:12,920 And you can get there whatever you have in mind for great, but 438 00:22:12,920 --> 00:22:15,760 it will always start with the small obediences that everybody 439 00:22:15,760 --> 00:22:19,000 wants to overlook. The small obediences that that, 440 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:23,120 that most people, I will tell you honestly, most people never 441 00:22:23,120 --> 00:22:25,720 master. It's the small obediences that 442 00:22:25,720 --> 00:22:27,360 make the difference. The scripture says it's the 443 00:22:27,360 --> 00:22:30,000 little foxes that spoil the vines. 444 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:33,320 It's the small things. It's death by 1000 cuts. 445 00:22:33,760 --> 00:22:37,120 Many Christians are experiencing death by 1000 cuts. 446 00:22:37,640 --> 00:22:39,680 It's not some massive chronic thing. 447 00:22:40,360 --> 00:22:43,080 It's attacking their life. The massive chronic thing is 448 00:22:43,080 --> 00:22:45,880 their lack of focus. The Lord is saying I love you, 449 00:22:45,880 --> 00:22:47,680 I've saved you, and they're saying I love you, Lord, thank 450 00:22:47,680 --> 00:22:50,800 you for saving me. But I still can't build a life. 451 00:22:50,800 --> 00:22:52,400 I'm still a wreck and I'm still a mess. 452 00:22:52,400 --> 00:22:54,400 And Lord saying I want you to walk out. 453 00:22:54,400 --> 00:22:57,760 Simple faithful obediences, simple faith. 454 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:01,240 Not not to earn heaven. Jesus has already earned heaven 455 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:04,360 for you. But because you're mine now, I 456 00:23:04,360 --> 00:23:06,880 want you to stop living like a peasant now that you live in the 457 00:23:06,880 --> 00:23:09,120 palace. I need to teach you that we, we 458 00:23:09,120 --> 00:23:11,920 act differently in the palace. You don't look like all the 459 00:23:11,920 --> 00:23:15,120 other kids out in the streets. You don't talk like they talk. 460 00:23:15,120 --> 00:23:18,160 You don't dress like they dress. Things are different in the 461 00:23:18,160 --> 00:23:20,160 Kingdom. So if you're a child of the 462 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:22,560 king, there's a whole different, there's a whole different thing 463 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:25,360 to learn. And if I don't do it right, then 464 00:23:25,360 --> 00:23:28,040 I won't be a child of the king. No, that's not what's being 465 00:23:28,040 --> 00:23:30,120 said. You are a child of the king. 466 00:23:30,720 --> 00:23:33,520 That's been done, that's been sealed by Jesus, thank God. 467 00:23:34,480 --> 00:23:37,360 And because you're a child of the King, now you need to renew 468 00:23:37,360 --> 00:23:39,680 your mind to learn how to think differently. 469 00:23:39,680 --> 00:23:43,120 We have been adopted in, we have been grafted in. 470 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:45,680 And now as such, we need to learn the rules of this 471 00:23:45,680 --> 00:23:47,280 household. And we need to learn what wisdom 472 00:23:47,280 --> 00:23:50,320 looks like and how the king perceives things and how he 473 00:23:50,320 --> 00:23:52,560 thinks about things. We're not chasing big moments. 474 00:23:53,520 --> 00:23:55,200 We're chasing simple faithfulness. 475 00:23:55,680 --> 00:23:59,560 Second point I want to make is that we need to focus on the, I 476 00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:02,360 want you to realize that God's timing is not our timing, but 477 00:24:02,360 --> 00:24:07,320 God's timing is perfect. Scripture says that they had no 478 00:24:07,320 --> 00:24:10,320 child and they were advanced in years. 479 00:24:10,320 --> 00:24:14,520 And then he comes to Zechariah and he says your prayer has been 480 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:17,800 heard. What prayer was this an old 481 00:24:17,800 --> 00:24:19,480 prayer that Zechariah had stopped praying? 482 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:21,960 Was this a prayer that Zechariah was still praying? 483 00:24:22,360 --> 00:24:25,240 Lord, would you give us a child and our old age? 484 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:27,080 Did he have something to stand on? 485 00:24:27,080 --> 00:24:29,960 He most certainly did. He remembered Abraham, he 486 00:24:29,960 --> 00:24:33,520 remembered Sarah, so the Lord did it for them. 487 00:24:34,000 --> 00:24:35,960 So I don't know why Zechariah was praying the way he was 488 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:38,480 praying. And even then when he receives 489 00:24:38,480 --> 00:24:41,480 the answer, he doesn't believe. Have you been there? 490 00:24:41,960 --> 00:24:43,800 You've been praying, you've been praying, you've been praying. 491 00:24:43,800 --> 00:24:46,040 And it turns out I wasn't even praying in faith. 492 00:24:46,200 --> 00:24:50,000 I was just praying with words that I actually, when the answer 493 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,960 came, I was shocked. Hey, guess what, God's answered 494 00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:56,880 your prayer. What two things. 495 00:24:56,880 --> 00:24:59,800 Number one, yes, He's really answered your prayer #2 you just 496 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:01,640 revealed that you actually weren't actually expecting 497 00:25:01,640 --> 00:25:05,200 anything from the Lord, which is means that the Lord is just 498 00:25:05,200 --> 00:25:08,400 blessing you with His kindness, disconnected from your faith. 499 00:25:08,400 --> 00:25:10,600 Unfortunately, because you didn't have any faith, you were 500 00:25:10,600 --> 00:25:13,720 double minded, which makes you unstable in all your ways. 501 00:25:14,040 --> 00:25:17,920 But God, in his sovereignty, God in His goodness is blessing you. 502 00:25:19,320 --> 00:25:22,240 But God's timing is not ours, but His timing is perfect. 503 00:25:22,400 --> 00:25:26,680 God sees Zechariah, He sees Elizabeth, He sees their pain, 504 00:25:26,680 --> 00:25:29,800 and He loves them and He's not in a hurry. 505 00:25:31,040 --> 00:25:33,320 I want God to answer my prayer the moment that I pray it. 506 00:25:34,680 --> 00:25:36,600 That's my preference. I know you all are more 507 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:38,360 spiritual than me. So you're like, no, Lord, let it 508 00:25:38,360 --> 00:25:39,920 be decades. Let me just walk out of 509 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:42,520 faithfulness. And but for me, when I pray, I'm 510 00:25:42,520 --> 00:25:46,200 like, you know, today would be great, tomorrow at the latest. 511 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:49,720 Lord, you know, we can really, you know, 3:00 tomorrow if we 512 00:25:49,720 --> 00:25:51,000 could set a deadline on this thing. 513 00:25:51,360 --> 00:25:53,960 But it's through faith and patience that we inherit the 514 00:25:53,960 --> 00:25:56,960 promises of God. I've got faith, I've got faith, 515 00:25:56,960 --> 00:25:58,520 I've got faith, I've got faith. That's good. 516 00:25:58,520 --> 00:26:00,600 It's important and it's necessary and it's a command, 517 00:26:01,000 --> 00:26:02,720 and we should get faith from the Word of God. 518 00:26:02,920 --> 00:26:06,360 But it's through faith and patience, and those always go 519 00:26:06,360 --> 00:26:08,680 together. Because if you and I prayed and 520 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:11,760 we had instantaneous responses to everything that we pray for, 521 00:26:11,960 --> 00:26:14,400 we actually wouldn't be a people of faith and we would not be a 522 00:26:14,400 --> 00:26:16,960 people of endurance. We would not be a people who 523 00:26:16,960 --> 00:26:19,520 know how to suffer well. And Christians are supposed to 524 00:26:19,520 --> 00:26:21,000 be a people who know how to suffer well. 525 00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:23,800 Not just suffer, but suffer well. 526 00:26:24,320 --> 00:26:26,480 I've suffered poorly before anybody else ever suffered 527 00:26:26,480 --> 00:26:27,920 poorly. Just me. 528 00:26:27,920 --> 00:26:30,160 Not, not just me good. I've suffered poorly. 529 00:26:30,160 --> 00:26:33,240 I go through the season, but it's full of griping, it's full 530 00:26:33,240 --> 00:26:35,040 of complaining, it's full of self pity. 531 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:37,840 It's full of eyes on me instead of eyes on Jesus. 532 00:26:39,200 --> 00:26:41,800 But there have been a couple of times where I've actually had 533 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:45,480 moments where I was suffering well, what a relief when my eyes 534 00:26:45,480 --> 00:26:48,120 were on Jesus. And he builds endurance and he 535 00:26:48,120 --> 00:26:51,280 blesses with a special a special touch of his presence. 536 00:26:51,280 --> 00:26:52,960 And I remember that he's my reward. 537 00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:56,640 Not the thing that I think that I need so bad, not the thing 538 00:26:56,640 --> 00:26:59,320 that I want desperately, or even the thing that he's promised me 539 00:26:59,680 --> 00:27:02,240 that I'm still expecting and still counting on. 540 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:03,920 Don't get me wrong, I haven't let go of it. 541 00:27:06,200 --> 00:27:09,280 But his timing is different. But his timing is perfect. 542 00:27:10,440 --> 00:27:13,640 For Elizabeth, she's waited decades for this moment. 543 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:16,120 But for Mary, there's no waiting at all. 544 00:27:16,120 --> 00:27:19,000 There's just a sudden surprise. We see things different in 545 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:22,600 different believers lives. Why is this happening for them 546 00:27:22,760 --> 00:27:24,960 so quickly? But for me it seems like it's 547 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:27,080 taking so long, like it just dropped out of them out of 548 00:27:27,080 --> 00:27:30,280 nowhere. Yep, Mary can relate and for me 549 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:32,160 it's taking forever and Elizabeth can relate. 550 00:27:33,720 --> 00:27:35,960 God's timing is different for each of us depending on what 551 00:27:35,960 --> 00:27:38,240 he's doing. Now I want to clarify this 552 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:42,000 passage is not saying if you're faithful you'll get what you 553 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:44,440 want. You always receive the promises 554 00:27:44,440 --> 00:27:46,040 of God. So if there's a promise for it 555 00:27:46,040 --> 00:27:48,480 in Scripture, then yes, that much is certain. 556 00:27:49,720 --> 00:27:53,280 But it's not every every single inkling of every desire that I 557 00:27:53,280 --> 00:27:56,120 might personally have. Well, I got a promise for that, 558 00:27:56,120 --> 00:27:57,640 Pastor. God will give me the desires of 559 00:27:57,640 --> 00:28:00,480 my heart. Yes, you do have a promise for 560 00:28:00,480 --> 00:28:03,760 that. And also as as long as you 561 00:28:03,760 --> 00:28:05,520 stand, you can expect to receive. 562 00:28:05,680 --> 00:28:09,720 And also the world is broken, the devil is bad, you are 563 00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:12,480 imperfect. And those things cast their vote 564 00:28:12,480 --> 00:28:16,240 into our lives and they create changes in our timelines of how 565 00:28:16,240 --> 00:28:19,880 we can experience things. God told Moses that he was going 566 00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:21,760 to raise him up as a mighty leader, and he was going to lead 567 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:23,280 God's people into the Promised Land. 568 00:28:24,240 --> 00:28:25,880 Did Moses go into the promised land? 569 00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:28,960 Everybody say no, no. Why didn't Moses go into the 570 00:28:28,960 --> 00:28:30,800 promised land? Because Moses disobeyed the 571 00:28:30,800 --> 00:28:32,600 Lord. And the Lord said, because you 572 00:28:32,600 --> 00:28:35,400 disobeyed me that day when I told you to speak to the rock, 573 00:28:35,400 --> 00:28:37,760 and instead you hit the rock with your stick, You're not 574 00:28:37,760 --> 00:28:39,800 going into the Promised Land because you didn't believe my 575 00:28:39,800 --> 00:28:43,880 word. And Moses like man, but you 576 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:46,840 promised. No, we don't see Moses press. 577 00:28:47,560 --> 00:28:49,240 I have a theory. I think Moses was tired. 578 00:28:50,160 --> 00:28:54,280 I think Moses like death would be relief at this point, Lord, 579 00:28:54,840 --> 00:28:57,400 like I don't need to go. I know you're going to take your 580 00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:01,000 people, you know, I think, I wonder what it might have looked 581 00:29:01,000 --> 00:29:03,680 like if Moses had interceded a bit for himself and been like, 582 00:29:04,160 --> 00:29:06,800 surely, Lord, I wonder what how that might have played out. 583 00:29:06,800 --> 00:29:09,280 But also I think Moses like, count me out. 584 00:29:09,800 --> 00:29:12,600 Like I know you're going to finish your work with the people 585 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:17,280 who I love and bring me home. Just a theory, can't prove it. 586 00:29:18,320 --> 00:29:22,920 God's timing is perfect, but he's not in a hurry. 587 00:29:24,960 --> 00:29:28,200 We don't control his timing. Part of simple obedience is 588 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:31,560 humble trust. Our waiting is not God's 589 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:35,280 absence. Often it's just his preparation. 590 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:40,360 We need to be a people who endure, a people who can endure. 591 00:29:40,880 --> 00:29:43,640 I've preached this way, I've raised my children this way, and 592 00:29:43,640 --> 00:29:45,720 I've preached this way as long as I've been a preacher. 593 00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:47,960 You need to have the kind of faith in Christ. 594 00:29:48,200 --> 00:29:50,120 You need to have the kind of relationship in Christ. 595 00:29:50,120 --> 00:29:53,560 You need to have the kind of life in Christ that can sustain 596 00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:56,520 anything, that can sustain you being dropped in the middle of 597 00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:58,720 Pakistan. You need to have the kind of 598 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:00,880 life in Christ that's not built upon the comfort of your 599 00:30:00,880 --> 00:30:04,000 geography and the comfort of the culture around you that 600 00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:08,000 encourages you. And now more than ever, I can 601 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:09,720 see why. The why. 602 00:30:09,720 --> 00:30:13,400 That has been the grace of God to me, the sovereignty of God 603 00:30:13,680 --> 00:30:16,800 and those that I preached to. And I'm the mercy of God because 604 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:19,400 I'm more than I could never see things with my eyes before. 605 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:24,240 I've been preaching for two decades now. 606 00:30:26,160 --> 00:30:29,560 Yeah, something like that. A little over 2 decades, and 607 00:30:29,560 --> 00:30:32,800 whenever I would preach that way and emphasize to the Saints and 608 00:30:32,800 --> 00:30:35,680 emphasize to my sons that we will love and follow Jesus no 609 00:30:35,680 --> 00:30:39,200 matter what I really could. I really didn't have a picture 610 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:41,760 in mind of why that was going to be so important. 611 00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:44,680 I had this sense that it was going to be important, but I 612 00:30:44,680 --> 00:30:47,960 didn't have a play by play of what that might actually look 613 00:30:47,960 --> 00:30:50,120 like and how things might fall apart. 614 00:30:50,400 --> 00:30:54,160 More than ever in my life, it's not hard for me to have much 615 00:30:54,160 --> 00:30:57,480 imagination for how this world could fall apart very quickly, 616 00:30:57,960 --> 00:31:01,800 whether it's an AI invasion or a Muslim invasion or anything 617 00:31:01,800 --> 00:31:03,640 else. I'm not afraid. 618 00:31:04,480 --> 00:31:07,400 You know why I'm not afraid? Because there's oil in my lamp. 619 00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:11,200 And when you have oil in your lamp and people say it's getting 620 00:31:11,200 --> 00:31:13,200 dark, you go, I got plenty of oil. 621 00:31:13,920 --> 00:31:16,120 I'm not looking forward to it. I'm not saying yippee. 622 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:19,720 I would prefer none of the crazy chaos break loose in this world. 623 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:22,680 I would like to be a very old man surrounded with lots of 624 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:25,080 great grandbabies who all love and follow Jesus. 625 00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:27,040 And we just have this idyllic life. 626 00:31:27,360 --> 00:31:29,800 And it's just been, it's just been the blessing of the Lord. 627 00:31:30,120 --> 00:31:32,240 May I tell you, I don't think that's going to happen. 628 00:31:32,880 --> 00:31:34,560 I just don't. And I'm not afraid. 629 00:31:35,120 --> 00:31:36,960 And the Lord doesn't owe me that picture. 630 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:39,640 I want that picture. I've dreamed about that picture. 631 00:31:39,640 --> 00:31:42,120 I've prayed for that picture. The Lord does not owe me that 632 00:31:42,120 --> 00:31:44,320 picture. Anything could happen in this 633 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:46,320 world. The only thing I need to focus 634 00:31:46,320 --> 00:31:51,440 on is I'm your servant and I want to walk with you and I need 635 00:31:51,440 --> 00:31:56,080 to prepare my children and my wife and my church and whoever 636 00:31:56,080 --> 00:31:58,960 hears my preaching. They need to build lives that 637 00:31:58,960 --> 00:32:01,640 can withstand anything. Just be full of oil. 638 00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:03,480 What if you're wrong about all that? 639 00:32:03,480 --> 00:32:06,640 First of all, I hope I am. I hope this whole conversation 640 00:32:06,640 --> 00:32:08,840 ages very poorly and we all laugh about it later. 641 00:32:09,240 --> 00:32:12,080 That would be great. And in the meantime, it's always 642 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:14,240 good to have more oil. It's always good. 643 00:32:14,240 --> 00:32:17,520 What should we do to prepare? I'm not talking about saving up 644 00:32:17,520 --> 00:32:20,400 water or, you know, increasing your food supplies in the 645 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:22,560 basement. I'm talking about building a 646 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:24,200 life in Christ. That's what matters. 647 00:32:24,640 --> 00:32:26,720 That's what matters. What does it look like on a 648 00:32:26,720 --> 00:32:30,480 Tuesday walk with Jesus? Wake up and follow Jesus. 649 00:32:30,760 --> 00:32:33,360 I've preached that for faith faithfully for 20 years as well. 650 00:32:33,600 --> 00:32:37,640 Just wake up and follow Jesus and build a faithful life. 651 00:32:39,680 --> 00:32:42,680 The Third Point I want to make, don't let your waiting turn into 652 00:32:42,680 --> 00:32:46,400 doubt. Zechariah doubts and the Lord 653 00:32:46,400 --> 00:32:49,080 corrects him for it. He disciplines him for it. 654 00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:55,840 Gabriel says, I'm Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God 655 00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:57,640 and I came to bring you this good news. 656 00:32:57,640 --> 00:32:59,040 Like Gabriel's kind of like disappointed. 657 00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:01,160 He's like, dude, I you're supposed to be excited, man. 658 00:33:01,240 --> 00:33:02,640 I was looking forward to this assignment. 659 00:33:02,640 --> 00:33:04,360 Here you are like really? How's it going to work? 660 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:08,560 I don't know if that he's like you shut up until the baby's 661 00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:09,360 born. How about that? 662 00:33:12,160 --> 00:33:14,520 The word corrects him not because God is harsh, but 663 00:33:15,080 --> 00:33:18,840 because unbelief poisons and ruins faithful perseverance. 664 00:33:19,640 --> 00:33:22,600 Zechariah's How should I know this is different from Mary's? 665 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:27,840 How shall this be? Zechariah is being skeptical. 666 00:33:28,760 --> 00:33:31,240 Mary is stumped, but she's still surrendered. 667 00:33:31,600 --> 00:33:35,720 Mary is saying, am I supposed to go make a baby happen? 668 00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:38,960 You know, Mary, Mary is like, I love it. 669 00:33:40,200 --> 00:33:45,440 Is there anything I need to do, particularly with Joseph for any 670 00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:47,320 of this stuff to happen? He goes, no, no, no, no. 671 00:33:47,560 --> 00:33:49,240 The Holy Spirit's going to over shadow you. 672 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:53,240 Oh, I'm the Lord's servant. Whereas Zechariah is just giving 673 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:55,560 resistance. There's a way where we can ask 674 00:33:55,560 --> 00:33:58,040 questions where we're saying I want to believe, help me 675 00:33:58,040 --> 00:33:59,720 believe. And there's a way we ask 676 00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:03,200 questions where we are seeking to justify our own skepticism. 677 00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:06,160 I got a question I want to believe. 678 00:34:06,800 --> 00:34:08,159 I got a question I want to believe. 679 00:34:08,159 --> 00:34:12,719 Help me believe versus the skeptic, the cynic, the really, 680 00:34:13,639 --> 00:34:16,400 those are very different. The question, the language might 681 00:34:16,400 --> 00:34:19,080 even sound the same. But the heart makes all the 682 00:34:19,080 --> 00:34:24,159 difference. Jesus told us to be childlike, 683 00:34:24,280 --> 00:34:28,239 dependent, and trusting. Hope deferred can make the heart 684 00:34:28,239 --> 00:34:32,480 sick, and if we are not watchful over our own hearts and our own 685 00:34:32,480 --> 00:34:37,120 minds, the promise of God can quietly replace God as the 686 00:34:37,120 --> 00:34:44,560 treasure we have promises from the Lord and hope deferred, hope 687 00:34:44,560 --> 00:34:47,080 set, set back longer can make the heart sick. 688 00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:51,600 And if we are not watchful over our own hearts and our own 689 00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:56,400 minds, the promise of God can quietly replace God as our 690 00:34:56,400 --> 00:35:02,560 greatest treasure. We treasure the creation over 691 00:35:02,560 --> 00:35:04,800 the creator. It's idolatry. 692 00:35:05,520 --> 00:35:07,440 Like I'm never going to worship a wooden statue. 693 00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:10,240 I'm never going to call upon the name of some false God. 694 00:35:10,240 --> 00:35:11,520 I'm never going to do anything like that. 695 00:35:11,520 --> 00:35:16,800 But anytime I take the treasures and the creation and I go, this 696 00:35:16,800 --> 00:35:19,160 is the most important his, the promise is the most important 697 00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:20,440 thing. He's going no, no, no, no, hang 698 00:35:20,440 --> 00:35:22,200 on. I'm the most important thing. 699 00:35:23,320 --> 00:35:25,480 And then from there, yes, there are benefits and there's 700 00:35:25,480 --> 00:35:27,440 privileges and there's pleasures and there's joys. 701 00:35:27,800 --> 00:35:29,960 I remember whenever I would come home from work when the boys 702 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:34,560 were little and my oldest would come out and greet me so 703 00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:36,360 excited. Daddy's home, which is the best 704 00:35:36,360 --> 00:35:38,240 feeling in the world. That's the only downside to 705 00:35:38,240 --> 00:35:40,800 working from home is that only, you know, I when I come 706 00:35:40,800 --> 00:35:42,240 downstairs, everybody doesn't celebrate. 707 00:35:42,320 --> 00:35:46,920 You know, I mean, he's home from the office. 708 00:35:47,400 --> 00:35:49,320 But I would come home and he would come out and greet me and 709 00:35:49,320 --> 00:35:51,280 we would hug and then he would get to honk the horn on my 710 00:35:51,280 --> 00:35:53,600 truck. So we, that was, that was our 711 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:55,640 process. And one day he came out and he 712 00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:58,000 jumps in my truck and he goes straight to honking the horn. 713 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:00,360 And I said stop, stop, stop, hang on. 714 00:36:01,280 --> 00:36:05,440 Daddy's home. Daddy's the special thing. 715 00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:08,160 Daddy's the most important thing. 716 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:10,440 You and me together, that's the most important thing. 717 00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:13,000 And then we'll honk the horn after that. 718 00:36:13,440 --> 00:36:16,120 So that's what we do. We recalibrate and we want to 719 00:36:16,120 --> 00:36:17,200 retrain. Well, he's little. 720 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:18,480 Yeah, I know. But you have to train your 721 00:36:18,480 --> 00:36:20,880 children. You train them, you have to 722 00:36:20,880 --> 00:36:23,240 teach them how to think. You have to teach them what to 723 00:36:23,240 --> 00:36:23,840 believe. You have to. 724 00:36:24,000 --> 00:36:25,080 And he got it. And he learned. 725 00:36:25,080 --> 00:36:28,240 He's like, you're right, Daddy. Now, did he maybe just like 726 00:36:28,560 --> 00:36:33,360 Daddy Horn, maybe I'll take it, You know, like we're growing, 727 00:36:33,600 --> 00:36:35,440 we're in process and we're in progress. 728 00:36:36,480 --> 00:36:39,440 But we want to make sure that the thing doesn't, that we don't 729 00:36:39,440 --> 00:36:41,560 latch on to the creation instead of the creator. 730 00:36:42,840 --> 00:36:45,320 God is our greatest treasure, and Christmas helps us to 731 00:36:45,320 --> 00:36:48,000 correct all of that. Christmas helps us to 732 00:36:48,000 --> 00:36:50,680 recalibrate and remember what our treasure is. 733 00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:52,160 Yeah, we give gifts. Yeah. 734 00:36:52,160 --> 00:36:53,200 We love to be generous. Yeah. 735 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:54,480 We love to see people open things. 736 00:36:54,760 --> 00:36:57,240 Why? Because we're like our Father 737 00:36:57,800 --> 00:37:01,000 and we love to give. But all this is intended to draw 738 00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:04,120 us back all of our traditions and habits, but maybe not all of 739 00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:06,000 them. What they should be doing is 740 00:37:06,000 --> 00:37:08,720 pointing us back to the point. There is one gift. 741 00:37:09,520 --> 00:37:11,400 There is one gift above every gift. 742 00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:15,040 God gave His Son to the world that He loved. 743 00:37:16,800 --> 00:37:20,440 That recalibrates our hearts. So we do not want to let our 744 00:37:20,440 --> 00:37:27,120 waiting turn to unbelief #4 we want to wait well and not wait 745 00:37:27,280 --> 00:37:31,200 bitterly. Notice how Zechariah and 746 00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:33,400 Elizabeth, we don't notice that there's any bitterness in their 747 00:37:33,400 --> 00:37:35,760 lives. We don't see that they have any 748 00:37:35,760 --> 00:37:40,600 sort of a complaint going on. He's doing faithful work. 749 00:37:40,600 --> 00:37:43,800 He's working in the temple. Elizabeth is a godly woman. 750 00:37:43,880 --> 00:37:46,320 Zechariah meets God in his routine. 751 00:37:46,320 --> 00:37:49,560 Obedience, ordinary worship, his ordinary duty. 752 00:37:50,040 --> 00:37:53,040 Joseph takes his wife, takes a journey. 753 00:37:53,160 --> 00:37:56,080 No complaints are recorded. His obedience isn't passive, 754 00:37:56,320 --> 00:37:58,600 it's active. He's not grumbling. 755 00:37:59,040 --> 00:38:01,000 We don't see Joseph saying this is a RIP off. 756 00:38:01,000 --> 00:38:03,000 My wife's about to have a baby and I haven't even been with my 757 00:38:03,000 --> 00:38:05,320 wife yet. We don't see any of that. 758 00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:10,920 We don't hear any of that. Waiting well means staying in 759 00:38:10,920 --> 00:38:14,440 God's presence while you wait, shepherding your own heart, 760 00:38:14,440 --> 00:38:17,920 taking thoughts captive, refusing subtle idolatry. 761 00:38:18,840 --> 00:38:22,040 Mary protected her heart by what treasured all these things, 762 00:38:22,040 --> 00:38:25,800 pondering them in her heart. Keeping the things of God as 763 00:38:25,800 --> 00:38:29,360 your meditation will be your protection no matter what you're 764 00:38:29,360 --> 00:38:30,800 facing. Whether it's a promise you're 765 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:33,800 holding on to that hasn't been fulfilled yet that you're still 766 00:38:33,800 --> 00:38:38,160 praying for or whether it's just a a discouragement. 767 00:38:38,200 --> 00:38:41,280 Maybe you're disappointed with how your life has gone over all 768 00:38:41,760 --> 00:38:44,680 the whole thing decades back that you regret. 769 00:38:44,960 --> 00:38:48,080 No matter where you're at, this is your protection. 770 00:38:48,600 --> 00:38:50,200 This is what will change you and bless you. 771 00:38:50,400 --> 00:38:52,200 Keeping the things of God as your meditation. 772 00:38:53,080 --> 00:38:56,160 Waiting seasons should not be wasted seasons. 773 00:38:57,360 --> 00:39:00,080 When God has you waiting, do not waste the season. 774 00:39:00,080 --> 00:39:02,320 It's supposed to form you and it's supposed to make you look 775 00:39:02,320 --> 00:39:07,080 more like him. And then our last point, the 776 00:39:07,080 --> 00:39:11,840 Manger also tells us why the Lord came in. 777 00:39:11,840 --> 00:39:18,120 Luke 117 says, and He will go before him in the spirit and 778 00:39:18,120 --> 00:39:21,680 power of Elijah, talking about John the Baptist to turn the 779 00:39:21,680 --> 00:39:23,560 hearts of the fathers to the children. 780 00:39:24,240 --> 00:39:29,040 And the disobedient will turn to the wisdom of the just to make 781 00:39:29,040 --> 00:39:31,800 ready the Lord, a people prepared. 782 00:39:32,440 --> 00:39:35,360 John is preparing the way so that the King can actually 783 00:39:35,360 --> 00:39:39,160 prepare the people for God. Jesus prepares us to walk with 784 00:39:39,160 --> 00:39:41,000 God. Jesus makes us fit to walk with 785 00:39:41,000 --> 00:39:44,960 God because we're not fit to walk with God until Jesus 786 00:39:44,960 --> 00:39:47,760 changes us and makes us new, God can't have fellowship with us 787 00:39:48,520 --> 00:39:51,800 until we become a Christian. God cannot have fellowship with 788 00:39:51,800 --> 00:39:54,920 us because we're not holy, we're not purified, we're not marked. 789 00:39:55,680 --> 00:39:57,640 He can't live in us, He can't dwell in us. 790 00:39:57,640 --> 00:39:59,320 But now we can become the temple of God. 791 00:39:59,520 --> 00:40:02,320 So John prepares the way. God is setting the table. 792 00:40:02,840 --> 00:40:06,080 Eve was promised a seed thousands of years ago. 793 00:40:07,080 --> 00:40:11,880 Generations waited, humanity sinned, suffered, and groaned as 794 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:14,920 slaves under sin. And then in the quiet of the 795 00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:19,720 night, a baby cried. God could have fixed everything 796 00:40:19,720 --> 00:40:22,360 instantly and forcefully if He had chosen to. 797 00:40:22,840 --> 00:40:26,280 But that's how man does things. God, in His perfect wisdom works 798 00:40:26,280 --> 00:40:29,240 through seasons, and He works through humility. 799 00:40:29,680 --> 00:40:31,640 Seasons. His timing is not my timing. 800 00:40:31,640 --> 00:40:34,640 It's not your timing either. God has worked through season 801 00:40:34,880 --> 00:40:36,720 after season. Adam and Eve sinned. 802 00:40:37,080 --> 00:40:43,000 OK, your next baby is going to be the hero. 803 00:40:43,000 --> 00:40:44,600 Your next baby is going to be the saviour. 804 00:40:44,840 --> 00:40:48,160 Or one of your daughters will be a virgin and then she'll give 805 00:40:48,160 --> 00:40:48,560 birth. Why? 806 00:40:48,720 --> 00:40:51,360 Why didn't God do all the things right then? 807 00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:56,000 I don't have every answer I can theorize, but we know God is 808 00:40:56,000 --> 00:40:58,520 good. We know He wants to be chosen. 809 00:40:58,800 --> 00:41:02,040 We know who He wants to be loved, and we know He's giving 810 00:41:02,040 --> 00:41:04,880 himself more glory over time, not less. 811 00:41:06,320 --> 00:41:08,320 God didn't drop Jesus into a palace. 812 00:41:08,760 --> 00:41:11,280 He entrusted him to a faithful young couple. 813 00:41:11,440 --> 00:41:14,760 A teenage girl gave her humble yes, and a working man gave his 814 00:41:14,760 --> 00:41:17,280 common obedience. We're closing. 815 00:41:18,680 --> 00:41:21,960 So why did Jesus come? He did not just come. 816 00:41:22,120 --> 00:41:24,920 The baby in the Manger didn't just come to show us how to 817 00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:28,000 live. If we only hold up Jesus as a 818 00:41:28,040 --> 00:41:32,880 moral example as many have done, non Christians make this mistake 819 00:41:32,880 --> 00:41:35,640 all the time. They think that Jesus is a moral 820 00:41:35,640 --> 00:41:39,160 example, that Christians go I need to try and live more 821 00:41:39,160 --> 00:41:43,560 perfect like that. Which is yes, but that's not why 822 00:41:43,560 --> 00:41:46,560 Jesus came. I want to live more and more 823 00:41:46,560 --> 00:41:49,440 like Christ because Christ has already saved me. 824 00:41:49,880 --> 00:41:53,240 That's the point. Christ came to save people from 825 00:41:53,240 --> 00:41:56,320 sin. He came to set people apart and 826 00:41:56,320 --> 00:41:59,120 make them holy. Anyone who looks at Christ as a 827 00:41:59,120 --> 00:42:03,400 moral example will be crushed by Christ and will spend eternity 828 00:42:03,400 --> 00:42:05,560 in hell. Why? 829 00:42:05,840 --> 00:42:07,880 I'll try. I'll try my very, very, very 830 00:42:07,880 --> 00:42:10,960 best to look like Jesus. But you can't. 831 00:42:12,360 --> 00:42:15,040 There's only one Lord Jesus. There's only one Christ. 832 00:42:15,040 --> 00:42:17,160 Well, if he sees my best effort, will that be enough? 833 00:42:17,520 --> 00:42:19,960 No. Which is why he had to die. 834 00:42:20,600 --> 00:42:22,920 It's why he suffered, it's why he was raised again. 835 00:42:22,920 --> 00:42:25,880 If Jesus just came to be a moral example, he wouldn't have needed 836 00:42:25,880 --> 00:42:28,400 to go to the cross. He could have just lived a 837 00:42:28,400 --> 00:42:32,600 sinless life as an old man and then died and been like, hey 838 00:42:32,600 --> 00:42:36,080 everybody, I showed you how to do it from the cradle to the 839 00:42:36,080 --> 00:42:38,880 grave. I lived 97 years. 840 00:42:39,320 --> 00:42:42,120 I lived a perfect life. Obey what I did. 841 00:42:42,880 --> 00:42:46,440 That's not what happened. His blood had to be poured out 842 00:42:46,560 --> 00:42:49,960 for all of us guilty sinners so that we could actually be 843 00:42:49,960 --> 00:42:53,360 rescued, which is why he had to be born from a virgin. 844 00:42:54,240 --> 00:42:57,160 Jesus couldn't have been born from a woman who had already had 845 00:42:57,160 --> 00:42:58,680 sex with a man. Why? 846 00:42:59,080 --> 00:43:02,560 And he, he couldn't have come from another man because sin 847 00:43:02,680 --> 00:43:06,120 travels through Adam. Sin travels through the Father. 848 00:43:06,760 --> 00:43:09,080 So all of us are born sinners, because all of us have fathers. 849 00:43:10,680 --> 00:43:14,400 And sin travels through the head, which is the man, which is 850 00:43:14,400 --> 00:43:17,480 the husband, which is the Father, which means every single 851 00:43:17,480 --> 00:43:24,600 baby ever born is sinful, except for that one baby who didn't 852 00:43:24,600 --> 00:43:29,960 have an earthly father. That's why he had to be born 853 00:43:29,960 --> 00:43:34,560 from a virgin. So Jesus is born truly without 854 00:43:34,560 --> 00:43:38,000 sin, and then he is tempted in every way, as we are. 855 00:43:38,640 --> 00:43:42,720 He had temptations come against him, fleshly temptations, it 856 00:43:42,720 --> 00:43:46,520 would say. I would actually prefer that, 857 00:43:47,040 --> 00:43:50,480 and I actually reject that because ultimately I don't 858 00:43:50,480 --> 00:43:53,880 prefer that. He never sinned, not in thought, 859 00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:58,360 not in deed, not for a moment. And if he had, then he wouldn't 860 00:43:58,360 --> 00:43:59,840 have been the qualified sacrifice. 861 00:44:00,160 --> 00:44:01,960 How do we know he's a qualified sacrifice? 862 00:44:02,240 --> 00:44:06,200 Because God raised him up from the dead on the third day. 863 00:44:07,720 --> 00:44:10,200 The baby in the Manger doesn't say the baby in the Manger. 864 00:44:10,680 --> 00:44:14,400 The baby comes to save the whole world, perfect and sinless. 865 00:44:15,320 --> 00:44:17,360 That's why he had to be born from a virgin. 866 00:44:18,000 --> 00:44:20,960 He lives perfectly of his own doing. 867 00:44:22,000 --> 00:44:23,960 His own doing. He lives a perfect and sinless 868 00:44:23,960 --> 00:44:26,000 life. Then he pours out his blood on 869 00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:29,760 the cross. God the Father treats him like 870 00:44:29,880 --> 00:44:32,760 he should treat you and I. I deserve that cross. 871 00:44:32,800 --> 00:44:36,280 You deserve that cross. All of us deserve to suffer and 872 00:44:36,280 --> 00:44:37,120 be punished. Why? 873 00:44:37,120 --> 00:44:40,040 For our sins against God. I don't think I'm that bad. 874 00:44:40,120 --> 00:44:42,480 Well, that just means you just don't know how great God is. 875 00:44:43,600 --> 00:44:45,640 He's infinitely perfect, infinitely good. 876 00:44:45,760 --> 00:44:48,360 Can people be worse and and better than one another? 877 00:44:48,360 --> 00:44:49,960 They can. Morally, we can. 878 00:44:50,200 --> 00:44:52,480 They're they're people we know like they're the worst. 879 00:44:52,680 --> 00:44:54,480 They killed 900 people with an axe. 880 00:44:54,920 --> 00:44:57,400 That's objectively worse than the person who. 881 00:44:57,400 --> 00:45:00,440 You know what? Yeah, I did. 882 00:45:01,600 --> 00:45:03,680 I didn't help the old lady across the street that I should 883 00:45:03,680 --> 00:45:05,960 have. And still, in every case when we 884 00:45:05,960 --> 00:45:10,600 don't obey the direction of the Holy Spirit, and in every moment 885 00:45:10,680 --> 00:45:13,080 that we don't perfectly fulfill God's will for our life, we've 886 00:45:13,080 --> 00:45:16,240 sinned. It's possible that we've all 887 00:45:16,240 --> 00:45:20,120 sinned this morning already, and because of it, we deserve 888 00:45:20,120 --> 00:45:23,200 punishment. But God, who is rich in mercy, 889 00:45:23,920 --> 00:45:29,920 sent his Son Jesus. He came to die in a place in 890 00:45:29,920 --> 00:45:33,760 place for our sins because our obedience could never save us. 891 00:45:34,280 --> 00:45:36,160 Thought we're supposed to have this humble, simple obedience, 892 00:45:36,160 --> 00:45:38,440 Pastor, we are. We do that out of the overflow 893 00:45:38,440 --> 00:45:41,240 now as the people who have already been redeemed, as the 894 00:45:41,240 --> 00:45:43,400 people who have already been saved and as the people who want 895 00:45:43,400 --> 00:45:46,280 to continue to build a Kingdom life to say, oh, I live in the 896 00:45:46,280 --> 00:45:48,160 palace now. Oh, it needs to look different. 897 00:45:48,400 --> 00:45:50,520 Teach me, Lord, teach me your ways. 898 00:45:50,520 --> 00:45:52,920 That's why we live differently now and we don't do it in our 899 00:45:52,920 --> 00:45:55,400 own strength. We have to do it in the power of 900 00:45:55,400 --> 00:45:58,240 the Holy Spirit. So we enjoy this side of the 901 00:45:58,240 --> 00:46:00,960 Manger. God put us here on this earth 902 00:46:01,200 --> 00:46:04,560 for such a time as this. Whatever you're going through in 903 00:46:04,560 --> 00:46:07,800 your life, God put you here for this purpose and for this 904 00:46:07,800 --> 00:46:09,640 moment. And there's somebody He wants to 905 00:46:09,640 --> 00:46:12,160 bless through you for whatever is coming next. 906 00:46:12,480 --> 00:46:15,080 The Lord wants you to be have a life that's built up. 907 00:46:15,360 --> 00:46:18,760 He wants you to have plenty of oil in your lamp, come what may. 908 00:46:21,360 --> 00:46:22,840 We are filled with the Holy Spirit. 909 00:46:22,840 --> 00:46:24,440 We have real power to live for Him. 910 00:46:24,640 --> 00:46:28,960 We obey, not to earn His favor, but because He empowers us to 911 00:46:28,960 --> 00:46:30,800 obey. We build our lives on the 912 00:46:30,800 --> 00:46:34,280 cornerstone from Bethlehem because he came to save us. 913 00:46:34,400 --> 00:46:37,960 At Christmas, we remember that we are a people who can endure 914 00:46:38,040 --> 00:46:42,320 with joy because the Christ who came before is the same Christ 915 00:46:42,320 --> 00:46:44,400 who will come again. Jesus is coming soon. 916 00:46:45,040 --> 00:46:48,280 He came once, He's coming again. Joy to the world. 917 00:46:52,960 --> 00:46:57,800 Heavenly Father, thank you so much for your your perfect 918 00:46:57,800 --> 00:47:01,480 wisdom that's so far above ours. I pray you will continue to 919 00:47:01,480 --> 00:47:04,200 bring us revelation that we that your thoughts would be our 920 00:47:04,200 --> 00:47:06,240 thoughts. Lord, I know they're not, but I 921 00:47:06,240 --> 00:47:09,440 pray that we would think more like you that we would see 922 00:47:09,440 --> 00:47:14,120 things the more the the way you do God, I pray you would fill 923 00:47:14,120 --> 00:47:18,320 our lamps with oil, that we would fear no darkness, that we 924 00:47:18,320 --> 00:47:20,600 would be prepared. I pray you would build our lives 925 00:47:21,400 --> 00:47:24,440 that they would sustain anything and that we would endure with 926 00:47:24,440 --> 00:47:28,240 faithfulness. Not only that we would endure, 927 00:47:28,240 --> 00:47:32,440 Lord, but that we would be just like our Savior Jesus. 928 00:47:32,440 --> 00:47:36,080 That we would be on a mission to see as many people come to know 929 00:47:36,080 --> 00:47:37,960 the grace and the love of God as possible. 930 00:47:38,880 --> 00:47:40,960 Fill us with boldness and fill us with love. 931 00:47:42,320 --> 00:47:44,880 Particularly this Christmas, as we see family members and 932 00:47:44,880 --> 00:47:51,720 friends who we might not always see, give us opportunities to 933 00:47:51,720 --> 00:47:56,280 bless with the gospel. Not just with the Christmas 934 00:47:56,280 --> 00:47:59,160 parties, not just with the delicious food, not just with 935 00:47:59,160 --> 00:48:02,120 the fun gift exchanges. But I pray that you would give 936 00:48:02,120 --> 00:48:08,640 us opportunities for each of us to have a real conversation to 937 00:48:08,640 --> 00:48:13,040 glorify Jesus and to lead somebody closer to him. 938 00:48:15,360 --> 00:48:19,440 That would make this Christmas special, Lord, that would honor 939 00:48:19,440 --> 00:48:22,200 you and that would fulfill your purpose and mission for our 940 00:48:22,200 --> 00:48:25,120 lives. Help us to walk out our faithful 941 00:48:25,120 --> 00:48:30,280 obedience today and every day, in Jesus name we thank you. 942 00:48:33,360 --> 00:48:33,640 Amen.