Pastor Nate Prazuch, lead pastor at Christ the Word Church in Lakeville, Minnesota, exposits the Scriptures of the Bible verse by verse. Expository teaching and preaching sermons and classes are available here at the Exposit podcast.
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The Scholar Series is a battery of multi-week Bible classes focused on a deeper dive into Scripture using an expository approach.
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[00:00:20] Well, it's great to see everyone here and as most of you know we've been going through the Gospel of John now for a while.
[00:00:29] But over this Advent season we're taking a break to focus on Christ, specifically His birth.
[00:00:35] And so through the Advent season, like Randy said, that word means arrival.
[00:00:40] We anticipate His coming and for us in our timeline here we're anticipating His second coming, which is very true.
[00:00:45] And that's where we get our hope, because without hope we really don't have anything to look forward to.
[00:00:51] And some people this Christmas season are looking forward to more than others.
[00:00:57] So keep people in your prayer throughout this time of year too and think about those who need it.
[00:01:03] Maybe if you're doing okay and you really feel like life's pretty good, think of someone you can pray for,
[00:01:08] because life isn't so great for everyone.
[00:01:10] And those people are on our minds and in our hearts today.
[00:01:13] And we all know some of them.
[00:01:17] Well, we're in Luke chapter 1 today in our series which I call Foretold,
[00:01:23] because there's so many times in Scripture where God foretells of the coming of His Son.
[00:01:28] And this is the third and final portion of that.
[00:01:32] And this account here is of Christmas.
[00:01:34] The account of Christmas is about Jesus, of course.
[00:01:36] We say, what's the reason for the season? It's Jesus.
[00:01:38] We all know that. We've always heard that.
[00:01:40] The Son of God coming to earth, being our Messiah, our King, our Savior.
[00:01:44] But it's really not, and I think you would all agree with this, it's not only about Jesus.
[00:01:50] It's also about the Father who sent His Son.
[00:01:53] It's about the Spirit who conceived the Son.
[00:01:56] And so it's about, it's a beautifully Trinitarian time of year if you think about it.
[00:02:03] God foretold His people that the Messiah would someday come.
[00:02:06] We've been looking at many passages in Scripture that foretell these things over and over again.
[00:02:12] And this Advent season we celebrate Jesus' first coming to us.
[00:02:16] And I'd like to read out of Luke chapter 1, verse 26 and following, where Luke the good doctor writes,
[00:02:26] In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
[00:02:33] to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David.
[00:02:38] And the virgin's name was Mary.
[00:02:40] And he came to her and said,
[00:02:42] Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you.
[00:02:45] But she was greatly troubled at the saying,
[00:02:47] and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
[00:02:51] And the angel said to her,
[00:02:52] Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
[00:02:56] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son,
[00:02:59] and you shall call His name Jesus.
[00:03:02] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
[00:03:07] And the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David,
[00:03:11] and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever.
[00:03:14] And of His kingdom there will be no end.
[00:03:17] And Mary said to the angel,
[00:03:19] How will this be since I'm a virgin?
[00:03:21] And the angel answered her,
[00:03:23] The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
[00:03:25] and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
[00:03:28] Therefore the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God.
[00:03:35] This is the word of God.
[00:03:37] Let's pray.
[00:03:40] Dear Lord Jesus,
[00:03:42] Once again we come to the word that tells us the truth of who you are,
[00:03:47] what you've done,
[00:03:48] the reason you came,
[00:03:50] and it puts us in our place to realize we need you.
[00:03:54] And we don't have any hope without you.
[00:03:57] Lord, let us see that today.
[00:03:59] Be glorified during this message.
[00:04:02] You be exalted and let us be diminished.
[00:04:06] Lead us Holy Spirit, we pray in Jesus' name.
[00:04:08] Amen.
[00:04:11] Well, here we are.
[00:04:12] It's Christmas week.
[00:04:13] And for our entire lives living in America,
[00:04:16] we have always, I'm assuming,
[00:04:18] thought of many things during Christmas time.
[00:04:20] And I'm not talking about things like elves and candy canes
[00:04:23] and Christmas trees and mistletoe.
[00:04:25] I'm talking about biblical things.
[00:04:26] We think of this scene in our mind since our childhood.
[00:04:31] But Jesus being born in a manger.
[00:04:35] And there's a stable there,
[00:04:36] and there's some shepherds there milling around.
[00:04:40] The wise men, of course.
[00:04:41] Gold and frankincense and myrrh.
[00:04:44] The star and Joseph and Mary.
[00:04:47] And there's an angel and there's a donkey in there somewhere.
[00:04:51] And it's a nice story, isn't it?
[00:04:52] It's a warm story.
[00:04:54] And even the world likes that story.
[00:04:56] They make movies about it,
[00:04:57] and it seems to comfort the world too, even non-Christians.
[00:05:00] They think it's a really nice story.
[00:05:02] But it's also, we understand as Christians, it's about real events.
[00:05:06] And it's not just nice.
[00:05:08] And it's not just cute.
[00:05:11] We just heard that rendition of Holy Night.
[00:05:15] And that pair of people up there singing with such passion,
[00:05:18] when they say,
[00:05:19] Christ is the Lord.
[00:05:23] God sent His Son.
[00:05:25] And here He is.
[00:05:27] This is a real event we're talking about.
[00:05:30] And none of us deserve that to happen.
[00:05:33] But it happened.
[00:05:36] It's not just a cute story.
[00:05:37] It's the account of God Almighty keeping perhaps the greatest promise He ever made to us.
[00:05:42] That He would send a Messiah.
[00:05:45] And He did that first in Genesis 3, way back in the garden.
[00:05:51] And He did that in the fullness of time, as we're told in Galatians 4.
[00:05:55] It's the grandest promise maybe He ever made.
[00:05:59] That He would send a Savior.
[00:06:00] In the Christmas story, as we know, God didn't just send a Savior, the Messiah.
[00:06:07] Really, and I've heard a different pastor say this, God sent God to save us.
[00:06:15] God the Father sent God the Son to save you and me through faith from our punishment that we face eternally from our sins.
[00:06:24] God sent God.
[00:06:26] He sent Himself.
[00:06:27] He did it Himself.
[00:06:29] Do you ever have a point in your life where you say, you know what, I'm just going to do it myself?
[00:06:33] Because it's got to be done right.
[00:06:34] It has to be done right.
[00:06:37] In the Christmas story lies the gospel.
[00:06:39] Imagine that.
[00:06:41] So we should already know from three weeks or two weeks ago that this idea we have in our head about Christmas and that we always think about these things,
[00:06:49] we should know from a couple weeks ago that the three kings part of it, it's not in Scripture.
[00:06:55] You won't find the three kings traveling across the desert on three donkeys or anything.
[00:06:59] It's not in Scripture.
[00:07:01] But there's also no mention of a stable, just a manger.
[00:07:06] And so we make that leap, small leap to make, but we make that leap of, well, it's probably in a stable.
[00:07:10] But it doesn't mention a stable.
[00:07:12] It mentions a manger.
[00:07:14] There's no mention of any angels hovering over the scene.
[00:07:16] You know, we have a nativity set in our home and there's a star there and there's an angel there, of course.
[00:07:23] But at the time, there's no mention of that.
[00:07:25] Now Gabriel, of course, is mentioned in this story leading up to it, but the Magi didn't show up until Jesus was a toddler.
[00:07:34] We read about Matthew 2 and the shepherds were there first.
[00:07:37] So there's just some details that we have in our mind sometimes about these things that are maybe not pinnacle of pinnacle importance, but we believe them as being true.
[00:07:46] And I wonder how many different areas in our lives we just take for granted what we believe as true, as biblical, because of how we were brought up.
[00:07:56] And we never really checked it out for ourselves.
[00:07:59] Are there other more important areas of doctrine that we just accept because mom and dad told us or because my pastor told me?
[00:08:08] Your first note, if you're taking notes, says, some things you quote unquote know about your faith may not be from the Bible.
[00:08:17] And I think that's just the default truth for everyone.
[00:08:21] We can't know everything.
[00:08:23] So we rely on people we trust, like parents that bring us up in the church and even pastors.
[00:08:30] So with that in mind, we want to be accurate about what we believe, about what our foundation is on the faith.
[00:08:35] So let's read now from God's word to get it from the source in verse 26 of Luke chapter 1.
[00:08:43] Luke writes,
[00:08:59] Gabriel appears in scripture as a divine messenger many times.
[00:09:05] And we've seen this leading up in this Advent series.
[00:09:06] He's talked to Daniel many times in the book of Daniel.
[00:09:10] In dreams, he brings God's messages to the people.
[00:09:14] He announced the miraculous birth of John the Baptist in Luke chapter 1 a little earlier.
[00:09:19] He announces to the Virgin Mary that she'll be having a son, even though she's a virgin, in Luke chapter 1.
[00:09:27] This passage, by the way, that we're looking at today is called the, referred to as the Annunciation.
[00:09:32] Where Gabriel announces to Mary, you'll be the mother of the Messiah.
[00:09:38] Scholars are in broad agreement now of this very first line, in the sixth month of the pregnancy, that it's of the pregnancy of Elizabeth.
[00:09:46] It doesn't mean that it's in June necessarily.
[00:09:48] We would say June, the sixth month.
[00:09:50] They had a different calendar back then.
[00:09:52] But through some research, I just realized that scholars are in agreement that they're speaking about the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy.
[00:10:01] And that's told to us later on in Luke.
[00:10:04] So with that in mind, Gabriel comes, announces this to Mary.
[00:10:11] And as far as Elizabeth goes, we're not exactly sure how Elizabeth and Mary are related.
[00:10:15] Some people say, well, that was, they were cousins.
[00:10:18] Or maybe some people say Elizabeth was Mary's aunt.
[00:10:21] We're not quite sure.
[00:10:23] We're not quite sure.
[00:10:23] The Greek word means kin or a kinsman.
[00:10:28] It's sunganes.
[00:10:30] Sunganes, it just means a kinsman, close kinsman.
[00:10:32] And we know that Mary is from the tribe of Judah.
[00:10:35] Elizabeth is from the tribe of Levi.
[00:10:36] They're Jews and they're kinsfolk.
[00:10:41] So she knows her.
[00:10:42] They know each other.
[00:10:43] They're close.
[00:10:45] But Mary lives in Nazareth.
[00:10:46] And I say it like this.
[00:10:47] I lift my hand up because Nazareth is in the north.
[00:10:51] Elizabeth lives in the south in Judah.
[00:10:54] The hill country of Judah.
[00:10:55] Traditionally, this is thought to be the town of what they call Ein Kerem, just outside of Jerusalem.
[00:11:01] And that's really close to Bethlehem.
[00:11:03] We talked about there's two Bethlehems, one in the north, one in the south.
[00:11:07] This hill country of Judah where Elizabeth lives, who is John the Baptist's mother,
[00:11:13] who is Jesus' kinsman, they live in the south.
[00:11:17] So Mary goes to visit Elizabeth a bit later in Luke.
[00:11:22] Now understand, this is about 90 miles between.
[00:11:25] It's not just down the road.
[00:11:28] So in Luke 1.39, a little bit further than we'll read today.
[00:11:32] I'm just going to read this here for now.
[00:11:34] Mary goes to visit Elizabeth.
[00:11:36] In verse 39, we read,
[00:11:44] Now she made the 90-mile trip.
[00:11:48] And she was in haste.
[00:11:49] She was hurrying.
[00:11:50] When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb.
[00:11:55] She's pregnant with John the Baptist.
[00:11:57] And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.
[00:11:59] And she exclaimed with a loud cry,
[00:12:01] Blessed are you among women.
[00:12:03] And blessed is the fruit of your womb.
[00:12:07] Elizabeth, pregnant with John the Baptist, is visited by Mary.
[00:12:12] And the baby leaps in her womb.
[00:12:13] And Elizabeth says, You're blessed.
[00:12:17] Your womb is blessed.
[00:12:20] So to recap, after Mary receives her message in verse 26 from Gabriel,
[00:12:26] She goes to Nazareth.
[00:12:29] To Elizabeth's house.
[00:12:30] Or she goes from Nazareth to Elizabeth's house.
[00:12:33] 90 miles.
[00:12:34] Hill country of Judah.
[00:12:35] This is an uphill trek, by the way.
[00:12:37] And after three months, she stays with her three months,
[00:12:39] probably until after the baby is born, John the Baptist.
[00:12:42] Stays with her close relative.
[00:12:45] Then she returns back to Nazareth.
[00:12:47] Another 90-mile trip.
[00:12:49] We know this from Luke 1.56.
[00:12:51] And so to recap, Mary's at home at Nazareth.
[00:12:55] She gets the message from Gabriel.
[00:12:56] You're going to have a son.
[00:12:58] But I'm a virgin.
[00:13:00] Then she goes to Judea, 90 miles away, uphill.
[00:13:03] Stays for three months with Elizabeth.
[00:13:05] John the Baptist is born.
[00:13:07] Then she goes back to Nazareth.
[00:13:10] Now, Mary's a young girl.
[00:13:11] She's probably pretty strong and healthy and can make those trips.
[00:13:14] When's the last time you walked 90 miles?
[00:13:17] Let alone twice.
[00:13:21] So this is a long trip.
[00:13:23] And it happened twice.
[00:13:24] So this back story is going to become more important in a moment here.
[00:13:28] Let's go to verse 27.
[00:13:30] So Gabriel comes to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph of the house of David,
[00:13:36] and the virgin's name was Mary.
[00:13:40] As we read here, we can see that all these facts are fulfillments of the Old Testament.
[00:13:44] And Luke is an educated man.
[00:13:46] He's a doctor.
[00:13:47] He writes exquisitely very well.
[00:13:49] He wants to get...
[00:13:50] He knows what he's doing.
[00:13:51] He's putting these points.
[00:13:52] Every phrase, every line, it seems, is a fulfillment of prophecy for those who understand.
[00:13:59] It says here, to be born to a virgin.
[00:14:03] We know that from Isaiah 7.
[00:14:06] And this word betrothed, it kind of means to be engaged.
[00:14:10] In the U.S., we think of engagement as, well, okay, now we're engaged.
[00:14:13] We're committed to each other to be married.
[00:14:15] But if it breaks, if they break up, if it just falls apart, they can just say, you know what?
[00:14:20] We're not getting married anymore.
[00:14:22] And that's the end of it.
[00:14:24] Betrothal is a little more serious and formal.
[00:14:26] If you're betrothed in this culture, first century, you have to actually give the wife a certificate of divorce.
[00:14:34] You can't just say, hey, you know, the wedding's off.
[00:14:36] So this is more serious.
[00:14:38] They're committed to be married.
[00:14:40] And that's why we're told in Matthew, it mentions that Joseph heard about the pregnancy
[00:14:46] and he was going to give Mary a certificate of divorce.
[00:14:49] You say, well, they weren't married.
[00:14:50] No, but they were betrothed.
[00:14:51] This is more serious.
[00:14:54] And here in verse 27, it also says that to Joseph, Gabriel is coming to Joseph of the house of David.
[00:15:00] And we know from last week that the Messiah would come from David.
[00:15:04] 2 Samuel, we talked about that.
[00:15:07] So it just seems like Luke is having punch after punch here of prophecy, prophecy being fulfilled and fulfilled in the story of the Nativity.
[00:15:16] Now on to verse 28.
[00:15:17] Setting the scene here for you.
[00:15:20] And Gabriel, he came here and said, came to her and said, greetings, oh favored one.
[00:15:24] The Lord is with you.
[00:15:25] Can you imagine an angel showing up and telling you this?
[00:15:29] She's a young girl.
[00:15:31] Probably younger than we think.
[00:15:33] But she was greatly troubled at the saying and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
[00:15:37] And the angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary.
[00:15:40] How many times has God said that to us in scripture?
[00:15:44] We see an angel.
[00:15:44] We see the Lord.
[00:15:46] He says, don't be afraid.
[00:15:48] Isn't it nice to know that someone so powerful enough to instill fear in your heart is on your side?
[00:15:55] Sometimes I've been around people to say, man, I'm glad he's on my side.
[00:15:58] If you have to go to court for something or if you have to go to wherever, if you're in trouble, and you've got someone, an advocate there for you,
[00:16:05] who knows what they're doing and can instill fear in the enemy, you say, I'm glad he's with me.
[00:16:12] Mary's hearing this from Gabriel.
[00:16:13] Don't be afraid.
[00:16:14] You found favor with the Lord.
[00:16:16] Verse 31.
[00:16:17] And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
[00:16:22] He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High.
[00:16:26] Now, I looked into this and we don't know how old Mary was.
[00:16:30] Many people say she might have been between 12 and 15 or 16.
[00:16:35] Maybe she was, I don't know, 18, 19, 20.
[00:16:38] Probably younger than we think.
[00:16:40] Back then you could get betrothed when you were 12 or 13 as a young girl.
[00:16:44] Now that doesn't mean you're married right away, but you're betrothed.
[00:16:46] And they were, for the most part, arranged marriages.
[00:16:49] And so the parents say, okay, in a few years you guys are getting together.
[00:16:52] So it's you two.
[00:16:54] So a couple more years and then they have the wedding ceremony.
[00:16:58] She's young.
[00:17:01] And that's a lot for her to take in, to say the least.
[00:17:04] Angel shows up.
[00:17:05] She's afraid.
[00:17:05] He says, don't be afraid.
[00:17:06] She says, I can't not be afraid.
[00:17:09] It's easy to say, don't be afraid.
[00:17:12] I'm going to have a child.
[00:17:13] I'm a virgin.
[00:17:14] We're not getting married.
[00:17:15] You know, all these things are going through her head.
[00:17:18] And he's going to be the son of the most high.
[00:17:22] But Gabriel tells her twice, you found favor with God.
[00:17:25] Isn't that a great message to hear?
[00:17:28] You found favor with God.
[00:17:29] I pray for favor on my kids and on myself and on our church.
[00:17:33] And we pray for God's favor.
[00:17:34] You want God to smile upon us.
[00:17:37] And when you get the confirmation from the angel, God has found favor with you.
[00:17:41] That must have made Mary feel a little more at peace.
[00:17:45] And it's true for every Christian that God has found favor with you.
[00:17:51] So we could take some peace from that this Christmas season.
[00:17:56] Even though we may not feel like it once in a while.
[00:17:58] It's true.
[00:18:00] God chose her, of all the people who'd ever lived, to be the mother of the Savior.
[00:18:06] From the beginning of time, he knew it would be Mary.
[00:18:12] In Galatians 4, we get this term.
[00:18:16] Paul uses it.
[00:18:17] He says, we also, when we were children, he's talking to believers now in Galatia.
[00:18:22] When we were children, and he's saying children in the faith, when we were young believers,
[00:18:26] we were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world.
[00:18:30] Before you were saved, we were all enslaved to sin.
[00:18:33] That's the elementary principles of the world.
[00:18:35] If you broke it down to the lowest common denominator of all the people in the world,
[00:18:39] the lowest common denominator is the sinful heart.
[00:18:42] We all have a sinful heart.
[00:18:44] And when we were children, we were enslaved to these elementary principles of self
[00:18:52] and just sin, enslaved to.
[00:18:56] We were slaves of sin.
[00:18:58] But, when the fullness of time had come, Paul says, God sent forth his son.
[00:19:03] Born of a woman.
[00:19:05] In the fullness of time, God sent his son.
[00:19:08] We were enslaved to sin.
[00:19:10] And he sent his son to Mary.
[00:19:13] When the fullness of time, what does that mean, the fullness of time?
[00:19:16] When the fullness of time had come, that's when he sent Christ.
[00:19:19] It means at exactly the right time.
[00:19:22] That's what it means.
[00:19:24] If you look toward, you know, our Advent season, looking forward to his second coming,
[00:19:31] it says in scripture that, when the fullness of the Gentiles have come in.
[00:19:35] Have you heard that?
[00:19:37] He'll return after the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
[00:19:40] Well, when is that, Lord?
[00:19:41] Give me a date.
[00:19:43] Well, he might say, the fullness of time is when I say so.
[00:19:45] That's when.
[00:19:47] And it's going to be at the exact time.
[00:19:49] At the perfect time.
[00:19:51] Determined by God.
[00:19:52] Your next note says, this is an important point.
[00:19:55] We need to understand what sovereignty is.
[00:19:58] And that God is sovereign.
[00:20:02] God is sovereign.
[00:20:03] And what does that word mean?
[00:20:05] He gets to determine when he sends his son to save.
[00:20:08] He gets to determine all things.
[00:20:11] We're told many times in scripture.
[00:20:13] Take, for example, a painted masterpiece.
[00:20:15] We might get a lot of blessing out of a painted masterpiece.
[00:20:18] The beauty of the painting, boy, you could say, I'm looking at this painting in a museum
[00:20:23] and it's really speaking to me and really speaking to my soul.
[00:20:26] The brush strokes and the colors really just do something for me.
[00:20:29] And that's just such an amazing painting.
[00:20:33] But what's even more amazing is the person who painted it, don't you think?
[00:20:38] That's the sovereign in that case.
[00:20:39] In that example, the sovereign is the person holding the brush.
[00:20:42] Because I get to decide where I'm going to put that paint and how I'm going to do that stroke.
[00:20:47] And this shading here and the lighting there.
[00:20:49] The sovereign is the one who holds the brush in this example.
[00:20:53] The painting, great.
[00:20:55] That is a great thing.
[00:20:56] Creation is amazing.
[00:20:57] The trees, the birds, how they do the migration patterns.
[00:21:00] It blows my mind.
[00:21:02] What's even more amazing is the person who made it, isn't it?
[00:21:06] The sovereign.
[00:21:08] And looking at a beautiful tapestry.
[00:21:11] The sovereign is the one holding the needle and thread.
[00:21:14] The tapestry might be beautiful and amazing.
[00:21:17] How could someone ever do that?
[00:21:18] What a great piece of work.
[00:21:21] But the real amazement is in the person who made it.
[00:21:25] Somewhere in their mind and their talents.
[00:21:30] The sovereign is the one that says, I'll decide where this thread goes.
[00:21:35] And I'll make it how I want it to be.
[00:21:38] Or for a breathtaking symphony.
[00:21:40] We just heard an amazing piece of music that moved me.
[00:21:44] Oh, holy night.
[00:21:47] But the sovereign is the one who composes those notes together to make it do that to me.
[00:21:55] And so God is our sovereign.
[00:21:57] He gets to decide when the Savior comes.
[00:22:00] Creation is beautiful.
[00:22:02] But the Savior did that.
[00:22:04] That's where the beauty lies, really.
[00:22:06] A sovereign is one who determines.
[00:22:11] The sovereign is the one who determines things.
[00:22:14] Determines how they will go.
[00:22:15] It sounds like a king, doesn't it?
[00:22:17] And our God is sovereign.
[00:22:19] He's the one who determines all things.
[00:22:23] Mary's told to call her son Jesus, which means the Lord saves.
[00:22:28] Why? Because God determined it.
[00:22:31] God could have determined his name be Gary.
[00:22:35] And somehow that would have been the most glorifying thing to God.
[00:22:39] Because he would have told us why and it would have been the most glorifying name.
[00:22:42] But he chose Jesus.
[00:22:44] Because his name means God saves.
[00:22:48] Gabriel says, he'll be called the son of the most high.
[00:22:54] And then I like this part.
[00:22:55] The angel adds, Gabriel adds, maybe the most profound understatement of all time.
[00:23:01] He says, he'll be great.
[00:23:04] Like he's going to be great.
[00:23:06] We say that word a lot too.
[00:23:08] Well, that was great.
[00:23:09] That was a great game.
[00:23:10] That was a great apple pie.
[00:23:13] But this word here in Greek is a little different.
[00:23:16] The Greek word here is megas.
[00:23:19] Megas.
[00:23:20] It's where we get the word mega.
[00:23:22] He'll be great.
[00:23:24] Mega great.
[00:23:25] It's where we get the word megawatt.
[00:23:28] Which means a million watts.
[00:23:31] It's a lot of watts.
[00:23:34] It's where we get the word megabyte.
[00:23:35] It's a million bytes.
[00:23:38] I don't know what a byte is, but it's a million of them.
[00:23:40] That's a lot.
[00:23:41] It's where we get the word megaphone.
[00:23:43] It probably doesn't mean a million phones.
[00:23:45] But I think you get the idea.
[00:23:46] It's like the most greatest thing ever.
[00:23:50] And she's going to have this boy.
[00:23:53] But Gabriel doesn't stop there.
[00:23:54] In verse 33 he goes on and he says,
[00:23:59] Now that's a big deal.
[00:24:02] What was Jacob's name changed into?
[00:24:05] Israel.
[00:24:07] He will reign over the house of Israel forever.
[00:24:10] And of his kingdom there will be no end.
[00:24:16] This keeps getting bigger and better and more mega.
[00:24:20] This little girl thinking,
[00:24:22] Are you serious?
[00:24:24] I'm going to raise this person?
[00:24:29] Verse 33.
[00:24:30] And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.
[00:24:33] And of his kingdom there will be no end.
[00:24:35] More prophecies being fulfilled.
[00:24:37] More prophecies that God has determined.
[00:24:41] And he has determined it.
[00:24:42] And when God determines something,
[00:24:44] we should take peace with that.
[00:24:46] God has determined the gospel saves.
[00:24:49] And if you believe the gospel in faith,
[00:24:51] you are saved.
[00:24:52] We talked about it a week or two ago.
[00:24:54] Where the Bible tells us,
[00:24:56] If you believe in Christ,
[00:24:57] and believe his gospel message,
[00:24:58] which is God's power unto salvation,
[00:25:00] you, what did Paul say?
[00:25:01] Have been saved.
[00:25:04] We are saved.
[00:25:06] So we should take peace with that.
[00:25:08] We believe God.
[00:25:09] We believe his words.
[00:25:09] He's determined it.
[00:25:10] He's the sovereign.
[00:25:11] He gets to determine it.
[00:25:13] He says, Messiah will reign over the house of Jacob forever.
[00:25:15] We learned that from when Jacob
[00:25:17] was blessing his sons in Genesis 49.
[00:25:20] Do you believe the words in the Bible?
[00:25:22] Or don't we?
[00:25:23] I mean, when we doubt,
[00:25:24] and when we worry and complain,
[00:25:25] it's like we're implicitly saying,
[00:25:27] I don't really believe that part, God.
[00:25:29] Because it doesn't feel like it's happening right now.
[00:25:32] So that's a me problem.
[00:25:34] It's not a God problem.
[00:25:36] And where Gabriel mentions to Mary that
[00:25:39] his kingdom,
[00:25:40] of his kingdom,
[00:25:41] there will be no end.
[00:25:42] We learned that from Daniel 7.
[00:25:44] Again, who told him that?
[00:25:45] The same person.
[00:25:45] Gabriel told him that.
[00:25:47] Came back to Daniel,
[00:25:48] in Daniel 7, 600 years previous,
[00:25:50] and says,
[00:25:51] there will be a Messiah whose kingdom will never end.
[00:25:54] 600 years later,
[00:25:55] follows up with Mary,
[00:25:57] the mother of this Messiah,
[00:25:58] and confirms this prophecy.
[00:26:00] His kingdom will never have an end.
[00:26:05] Simple truth.
[00:26:06] Your next note.
[00:26:06] But it's so true.
[00:26:08] God keeps his promises.
[00:26:15] Boy, if there's anyone that you would hope
[00:26:19] would keep their promises, it's God.
[00:26:21] And he does keep his promises.
[00:26:24] It just makes us ask ourselves,
[00:26:26] why don't I believe him sometimes?
[00:26:28] Everyone does that.
[00:26:29] It's the natural state of the fallen human.
[00:26:32] I'm not sure.
[00:26:33] I don't know the future.
[00:26:34] So I worry.
[00:26:36] Even when Mary is speaking with the angels,
[00:26:37] she's afraid.
[00:26:39] What's going to happen?
[00:26:39] I don't know.
[00:26:40] Am I safe?
[00:26:41] Is this right?
[00:26:42] All that doubt all the time.
[00:26:44] I break through that sometimes,
[00:26:46] even though it goes against our emotions and feelings.
[00:26:49] I believe what Jesus said.
[00:26:52] More than what my feelings are telling me right now,
[00:26:54] or what my friends are telling me,
[00:26:56] or what my logic is telling me,
[00:26:57] I believe what Jesus said.
[00:26:59] Just this morning before church,
[00:27:00] we were having a conversation about how
[00:27:03] when we go to the pearly gates, basically,
[00:27:05] you're not going to have a theological exam.
[00:27:08] You can have wrong theology and be saved.
[00:27:11] Look at all the people in the Old Testament.
[00:27:12] They didn't even have the New Testament.
[00:27:15] They got in.
[00:27:17] Do you believe the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
[00:27:21] or not?
[00:27:22] His promises.
[00:27:25] The dividing line.
[00:27:26] Do you have faith in his promise of a coming Messiah,
[00:27:28] as Daniel did, or not?
[00:27:31] Do you have faith in the fact that
[00:27:33] now the Messiah has come, or not?
[00:27:36] There's not many dividing lines.
[00:27:39] But the big one is faith in what God said.
[00:27:43] God keeps his promises.
[00:27:48] In verse 34, we continue.
[00:27:50] Now Mary's responding.
[00:27:51] Mary said to the angel,
[00:27:53] How will this be, since I'm a virgin?
[00:27:56] I mean, case closed, right?
[00:27:57] That's all I have to say.
[00:27:59] She's smart enough to know,
[00:28:00] Hey, how is this going to even be possible?
[00:28:03] And the angel answered her,
[00:28:04] The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
[00:28:06] and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
[00:28:09] Therefore the child to be born
[00:28:11] will be called Holy, the Son of God.
[00:28:16] Mary is old enough and smart enough
[00:28:20] and sharp enough to know,
[00:28:21] Angel, I don't know if I believe you
[00:28:23] because of this fact.
[00:28:26] I'm a virgin.
[00:28:28] Case closed, right?
[00:28:29] But the Bible, or the angel's retort is,
[00:28:32] Well, here's the thing.
[00:28:34] God's going to have a hand in this.
[00:28:36] Okay, well, that's enough for Mary.
[00:28:40] And for me.
[00:28:41] Okay, so it has to be a God thing here.
[00:28:43] And it is a God thing.
[00:28:45] The angel tells her,
[00:28:47] The Holy Spirit's going to come upon you,
[00:28:48] and you'll be overshadowed,
[00:28:50] and God's going to make this happen.
[00:28:51] And that's why he's going to be called,
[00:28:53] your son, the Holy One,
[00:28:54] the Son of God.
[00:28:57] And here again,
[00:28:58] a beautifully Trinitarian passage.
[00:29:00] The Father's involved here.
[00:29:04] The Spirit will come upon her.
[00:29:06] The power of the Most High God,
[00:29:09] God the Father,
[00:29:10] and the child, of course,
[00:29:10] God the Son.
[00:29:14] And so now, briefly,
[00:29:15] I'd just like to read the parallel passage
[00:29:17] in Matthew 1,
[00:29:19] in verse 18.
[00:29:20] Parallel to Luke.
[00:29:21] A couple different facts here.
[00:29:23] Filling in some color for us.
[00:29:26] Verse 18 of Matthew 1.
[00:29:28] Now the birth of Jesus Christ
[00:29:29] took place in this way,
[00:29:30] Matthew says.
[00:29:31] When his mother Mary had been
[00:29:33] betrothed to Joseph
[00:29:34] before they came together,
[00:29:35] she was found to be with child
[00:29:37] from the Holy Spirit.
[00:29:38] They had not consummated the marriage.
[00:29:40] And her husband Joseph,
[00:29:41] being a just man
[00:29:42] and unwilling to put her to shame,
[00:29:44] resolved to divorce her quietly.
[00:29:47] But as he considered these things,
[00:29:49] behold, an angel of the Lord
[00:29:50] appeared to him in a dream,
[00:29:51] saying,
[00:29:52] Joseph, son of David,
[00:29:53] do not fear to take Mary as your wife,
[00:29:58] for that which is conceived in her
[00:29:59] is from the Holy Spirit.
[00:30:01] She will bear a son,
[00:30:02] and you shall call his name Jesus.
[00:30:05] Why?
[00:30:06] For he will save his people
[00:30:07] from their sins.
[00:30:11] Gabriel shows up to Mary.
[00:30:13] And you know,
[00:30:14] if he would have left it at that,
[00:30:15] that would have been a harder sell
[00:30:17] for Mary.
[00:30:18] Don't you think?
[00:30:20] Joseph said, no, seriously.
[00:30:21] An angel from heaven came,
[00:30:22] told me I was pregnant.
[00:30:24] You believe me?
[00:30:26] Well, Joseph didn't believe her at first
[00:30:28] because he was ready to divorce her,
[00:30:31] gracefully.
[00:30:32] But he still didn't believe her.
[00:30:35] He said,
[00:30:35] that's right there.
[00:30:37] But the angel knew that,
[00:30:39] so he also let Joseph know.
[00:30:41] Now that's a better plan.
[00:30:44] Because when they both see Gabriel,
[00:30:46] the angel coming,
[00:30:47] now they're in.
[00:30:48] It happened to you too?
[00:30:49] This is what happened to me.
[00:30:50] Really?
[00:30:50] I can't believe it.
[00:30:51] Okay, so then they had that conversation.
[00:30:53] So I'm really glad
[00:30:54] he didn't just tell one of them.
[00:30:56] But this happened.
[00:30:57] They came together.
[00:30:58] They were all in together.
[00:31:00] In verse 22,
[00:31:01] all this took place to fulfill
[00:31:03] what the Lord had spoken by the prophet.
[00:31:05] He foretold us.
[00:31:07] And this is why this is happening.
[00:31:09] To fulfill the promises of God
[00:31:11] because that's what God does.
[00:31:12] He fulfills his promises.
[00:31:13] Every last one of them.
[00:31:17] Verse 23,
[00:31:18] Behold, the virgin shall conceive
[00:31:20] and bear a son,
[00:31:22] and they shall call his name Emmanuel,
[00:31:24] which means God with us.
[00:31:29] When Joseph woke from sleep,
[00:31:30] he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.
[00:31:33] He took his wife but knew her not
[00:31:35] until she had given birth to a son
[00:31:37] and he called his name Jesus.
[00:31:41] Smooth sailing after that visit
[00:31:43] from the messenger of God, Gabriel.
[00:31:47] Sometimes we have big decisions in our lives.
[00:31:49] I know some of us have big ones coming up.
[00:31:51] And we want a message from God, don't we?
[00:31:54] God, what do I do?
[00:31:55] Give me a sign.
[00:31:56] You know, you pray for signs.
[00:32:00] He's given us signs.
[00:32:02] He's given us the truth, the light.
[00:32:05] And if need be,
[00:32:06] I think he would even send us an angel somehow.
[00:32:09] The Bible says sometimes,
[00:32:10] some of us may even entertain angels and not know it.
[00:32:15] But he'll make sure you know,
[00:32:17] if you're one of his children, what to do.
[00:32:19] And a lot of times it defaults to the old wristband,
[00:32:23] do what Jesus would do.
[00:32:26] If you're pondering whether or not
[00:32:27] you should forgive a person, forgive them.
[00:32:31] But they don't deserve it.
[00:32:32] Well, you didn't either when Christ forgave you.
[00:32:37] If you're wondering about maybe holding that grudge
[00:32:39] until after the holidays, don't.
[00:32:43] Because Jesus wouldn't do that.
[00:32:46] The default that we should go to is normally,
[00:32:50] I'd say all the time,
[00:32:52] do what Jesus would do.
[00:32:54] Be like Jesus.
[00:32:55] Simple.
[00:32:56] If we don't have a clear message from an angel
[00:32:58] showing up in our bedroom at night,
[00:33:00] if you don't have that, then do what Jesus would do.
[00:33:03] And he's told us what to do in scripture.
[00:33:08] And so the Messiah here, we say,
[00:33:12] will be born of a virgin?
[00:33:14] How's that going to happen, God?
[00:33:15] Even Mary knows that.
[00:33:16] She's maybe a teenager.
[00:33:18] She knows that can happen.
[00:33:20] No, with God it's just a stroke of a brush,
[00:33:23] like a canvas.
[00:33:24] Oh, we're going to have the Messiah be born of a virgin?
[00:33:28] No problem.
[00:33:28] I got it.
[00:33:29] Stroke of a brush.
[00:33:31] He's God.
[00:33:34] An angel will declare this both to Joseph and to Mary.
[00:33:37] An angel from heaven?
[00:33:38] Really?
[00:33:39] That's kind of elaborate, isn't it?
[00:33:41] No, it's just how God brushes his strokes on a canvas.
[00:33:46] Just a stroke of a pen for God.
[00:33:51] Okay, but how are we going to get a pregnant woman?
[00:33:53] In her third trimester from Nazareth down to Judah,
[00:33:58] 90 miles away, uphill,
[00:34:00] she's seven, eight, nine months pregnant, walking.
[00:34:02] She probably didn't use a donkey
[00:34:04] because that would have slowed them up
[00:34:06] because when the donkey got tired, he wasn't moving.
[00:34:09] How are you going to do that, God?
[00:34:11] I mean, how many women in here,
[00:34:13] you don't have to raise your hands,
[00:34:14] have been seven, eight, nine months pregnant, right?
[00:34:17] And do you want to take a 90-mile trip,
[00:34:19] walking in the desert uphill?
[00:34:21] How's that going to happen, God?
[00:34:23] I mean, I get the whole born of a virgin thing,
[00:34:27] maybe an angel showing up at night thing,
[00:34:28] but how are you going to get this woman pregnant?
[00:34:31] 90 miles south,
[00:34:32] in time to fulfill all these prophecies, God.
[00:34:35] How are you going to do that?
[00:34:38] God says, let me get my paintbrush.
[00:34:40] It's easy, watch.
[00:34:41] And he does it.
[00:34:42] How?
[00:34:45] I'll tell you how.
[00:34:46] And then I'll elaborate.
[00:34:48] Our God does it with style.
[00:34:50] Isn't that cool?
[00:34:52] God doesn't do easy things and say,
[00:34:54] hey, look what I did.
[00:34:55] It's a lump of clay.
[00:34:57] Anybody could do that.
[00:34:58] No, he says, watch what I'm going to do.
[00:35:01] I'm going to send a savior
[00:35:03] in the fullness of time
[00:35:04] at exactly the right precise moment in history,
[00:35:08] and I'm going to have the stars involved.
[00:35:10] And I'm going to have this happen over here
[00:35:12] with an angel showing up
[00:35:13] and I'm going to have the Messiah come from a virgin.
[00:35:16] Things like that.
[00:35:17] That's the paint on his canvas.
[00:35:21] That's what he uses.
[00:35:22] Not simple, easy things that you or I could do.
[00:35:24] He does it with style.
[00:35:26] He does it with flair.
[00:35:29] Your next note here says,
[00:35:30] When the Lord God paints a picture or writes a symphony,
[00:35:33] he does it with style.
[00:35:38] Now, I think you'd agree with me.
[00:35:39] Some of us in this room have more style than others.
[00:35:41] That's okay.
[00:35:42] I don't know.
[00:35:44] I'm kidding.
[00:35:47] But, I don't want any fingers pointing.
[00:35:49] I got a red velvet jacket on today.
[00:35:52] I don't know if that's good or bad.
[00:35:53] But, but it's what I mean.
[00:35:57] I think you understand.
[00:35:58] We're going to take a step back now
[00:35:59] and look at what I mean.
[00:36:00] Remember when Mary and Joseph, they were in Nazareth.
[00:36:04] That's the city or the town.
[00:36:06] Galilee is the region up north.
[00:36:08] And it's 90 miles from Bethlehem in the south.
[00:36:11] And it's uphill.
[00:36:12] And she was just there to visit Elizabeth.
[00:36:15] And she was hurrying.
[00:36:16] So she's probably tired out, right?
[00:36:19] She was just there to visit Elizabeth in Judea,
[00:36:22] 90 miles south, uphill.
[00:36:23] This young woman makes the trek.
[00:36:25] Okay, no problem.
[00:36:26] I got there.
[00:36:27] Stays for three months.
[00:36:29] Goes back home.
[00:36:30] 90 miles.
[00:36:31] At least it's downhill this time.
[00:36:33] Still, long trip.
[00:36:35] I mean, the climate's probably hot over there.
[00:36:39] It's that Mediterranean climate.
[00:36:41] Dry.
[00:36:42] Rough terrain.
[00:36:44] Hill country.
[00:36:47] But now she's in her sixth month herself.
[00:36:50] Past her sixth month.
[00:36:51] She just made the trip twice.
[00:36:55] And now it's time to go?
[00:36:56] She might be wanting to settle in now.
[00:36:58] No, I'm getting more tired every day.
[00:37:00] Don't feel so great.
[00:37:03] If Joseph said, hey, let's go down to Nazareth,
[00:37:05] or let's go down to Judea again.
[00:37:07] What do you think, honey?
[00:37:07] She's going to give him that look and say,
[00:37:10] what, are you kidding me?
[00:37:11] I just made the trip twice.
[00:37:13] I'm not going.
[00:37:14] You want to go?
[00:37:14] Go ahead.
[00:37:15] I'm standing right here.
[00:37:19] So here's the question.
[00:37:21] How are we going to get this woman who's pregnant,
[00:37:24] third trimester,
[00:37:25] who just made a trip twice,
[00:37:27] down to Judea from Nazareth
[00:37:30] in time to fulfill all God's promises
[00:37:32] from the Old Testament?
[00:37:36] We've been talking about it for a couple weeks here.
[00:37:40] In the last two weeks,
[00:37:41] I use words like God writes his story in profound ways.
[00:37:46] Not in the way that you would or I would.
[00:37:48] We would be more boring
[00:37:49] because we don't have God's power and authority.
[00:37:51] We would try to make it great,
[00:37:53] but it's not that profound.
[00:37:56] He would do it not the easy way,
[00:37:59] not the simple way.
[00:38:00] He does things the hard way.
[00:38:02] He does things the impossible way.
[00:38:07] Why?
[00:38:08] To exhibit his greatness,
[00:38:10] his mega-ness,
[00:38:12] and to show us his almighty power and authority
[00:38:14] over all things,
[00:38:16] that he is sovereign
[00:38:17] and he determines how things go.
[00:38:20] And he does it all with style.
[00:38:23] Because when you look up,
[00:38:24] you're amazed and you marvel at the sky.
[00:38:27] That's pretty stylish, isn't it?
[00:38:29] It's not a boring just canvas,
[00:38:31] like a gray wall.
[00:38:32] No, God says,
[00:38:33] I'm going to put the stars here.
[00:38:35] I'm going to have these beautiful mountains and oceans
[00:38:38] and we are amazed by the creation.
[00:38:42] But look back who made that.
[00:38:44] There's even more mega-ness up there
[00:38:48] than our creation.
[00:38:50] He does it with style.
[00:38:51] A few examples of how God does things
[00:38:53] compared to how men do things.
[00:38:55] Abraham gets this message
[00:38:56] that he's going to have a son.
[00:38:58] He's 75 years old.
[00:39:01] He says, okay, well,
[00:39:02] I guess I'll wait for that to happen.
[00:39:03] Ten years go by.
[00:39:04] No son.
[00:39:05] So Abraham says, I think I've got to maybe help God along here.
[00:39:08] So I'm going to have a boy with Hagar.
[00:39:10] So he does that.
[00:39:12] Well, he does that the easy way.
[00:39:14] And God says, yeah, you have Ishmael with Hagar
[00:39:16] ten years after I promised that I'll give you a son
[00:39:18] because you're impatient.
[00:39:20] And Abraham says, ten years?
[00:39:22] I thought I was pretty patient.
[00:39:26] God says, I didn't do that.
[00:39:27] You did that.
[00:39:27] That's easy.
[00:39:28] You made a son.
[00:39:29] That's not how I do things.
[00:39:32] So later when Abraham's 100 years old,
[00:39:34] Sarah has a son.
[00:39:36] She's 90.
[00:39:38] That's impossible.
[00:39:40] No, that's how God does things.
[00:39:42] He waits and he waits and he waits
[00:39:44] so that it is so far gone beyond any possibility.
[00:39:48] That's when he says, okay, now do it.
[00:39:51] When Lazarus died, why did Jesus wait?
[00:39:53] He waited a couple of days.
[00:39:55] And he says, I'm glad I wasn't there for your sake.
[00:39:59] But you love him.
[00:40:01] Yeah.
[00:40:02] When he got there, by the time he got there,
[00:40:04] they knew Lazarus was dead dead.
[00:40:07] Why?
[00:40:07] Because he stunk.
[00:40:09] There's no coming back from that.
[00:40:11] That's how God does miracles.
[00:40:13] If Jesus would have got there in the nick of time,
[00:40:15] well, then you're going to hear all the people say,
[00:40:16] well, maybe he wasn't actually dead.
[00:40:19] Maybe he was just mostly dead.
[00:40:26] Lazarus was dead as a doornail dead.
[00:40:29] That's when God says, now.
[00:40:31] Now we've reached the fullness of time.
[00:40:34] Raise him up.
[00:40:36] He waits for Sarah to be 90 years old,
[00:40:38] way past the point of giving birth.
[00:40:41] And that's when God says, now.
[00:40:43] Why? Because it's impossible without me.
[00:40:50] Before the foundation of the world,
[00:40:51] when God determined to provide this human savior to the world,
[00:40:55] he didn't go through natural means, but supernatural means.
[00:40:58] Through a virgin.
[00:40:59] That's impossible.
[00:41:02] No, that's what God does.
[00:41:04] He does the impossible.
[00:41:05] And he makes it apparent.
[00:41:07] And he points it out.
[00:41:08] Hey, guys, this is impossible.
[00:41:10] I've made sure that no one has ever had a child
[00:41:13] through the entire history of mankind
[00:41:16] who's a virgin, but my son.
[00:41:20] And it stood out.
[00:41:21] Didn't it stand out?
[00:41:22] We say it's impossible.
[00:41:25] So now we have Mary in Nazareth.
[00:41:28] I go like this. It's north.
[00:41:31] Right after she came back from Judah.
[00:41:34] Nine miles away.
[00:41:36] She's got to get there within three months
[00:41:37] to make the prophecies hold true.
[00:41:40] How is he going to get there?
[00:41:41] How is he going to get her there?
[00:41:43] You know how hard it is to get, you know, let's just say seven, eight month,
[00:41:49] a long woman to go, I don't know, somewhere you want to go really bad
[00:41:53] and she doesn't want to go really bad?
[00:41:55] It's hard.
[00:41:56] Let alone all these other obstacles.
[00:41:59] How is he going to get her there?
[00:42:01] Here's how.
[00:42:04] Luke chapter 2 tells us how God did this.
[00:42:08] Another brush stroke from the master artisan, our God.
[00:42:14] Luke writes, and this is out of the NIV.
[00:42:17] In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.
[00:42:27] This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
[00:42:32] And everyone went to their own town to register.
[00:42:35] So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea to Bethlehem to the town of David
[00:42:41] because he belonged to the house and line of David.
[00:42:45] He went there to register with Mary who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.
[00:42:51] While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born.
[00:42:54] And she gave birth to her firstborn, a son.
[00:42:57] She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger
[00:42:59] because there was no guest room available for them.
[00:43:03] So how was the Lord God Almighty going to get this woman, third trimester, tired,
[00:43:13] probably not feeling great, just made the trip twice?
[00:43:18] How's he going to get her to turn around and go back?
[00:43:22] By using something outside of her control.
[00:43:25] By using something outside of her desire.
[00:43:28] By using something outside of any volition she might have.
[00:43:33] A census from Caesar.
[00:43:39] Not a Christian.
[00:43:41] Magi, not a Christian.
[00:43:44] These people.
[00:43:45] Balaam we talked about a few weeks ago.
[00:43:48] About he sees a star coming, not near, but a savior's coming.
[00:43:53] Not a believer.
[00:43:54] God uses these people around us who don't even believe in him to do his bidding for him.
[00:44:01] Is he not sovereign?
[00:44:04] Even using people who don't believe to do his work, to paint his portrait.
[00:44:12] Amazing.
[00:44:13] How hard is it to get someone to do something that they don't believe in?
[00:44:17] For you.
[00:44:18] It's hard.
[00:44:20] How's he going to get her there?
[00:44:22] He's going to use a census to get her there.
[00:44:24] From the imperial leader, Caesar Augustus.
[00:44:27] Just took over from Julius Caesar.
[00:44:29] In the Roman Empire, when Caesar speaks like E.F. Hutton, you listen.
[00:44:34] He says, jump.
[00:44:36] You don't say no, you say how high.
[00:44:39] When Caesar makes a decree, there's no exceptions.
[00:44:41] He says, you know what?
[00:44:43] We're doing a census.
[00:44:44] Everybody go back to where your hometown is and register.
[00:44:46] And do it now.
[00:44:48] So Mary says, I got to go back again.
[00:44:52] I was just there.
[00:44:54] Third trip.
[00:44:55] So she went.
[00:44:59] She went uphill, made the trip 90 more miles to the place where Messiah was to be born.
[00:45:04] Prophesied to be born.
[00:45:06] Why?
[00:45:06] Because God determined it.
[00:45:08] And I love Proverbs 21, the first verse.
[00:45:15] That kind of sheds some more light here and explains how this happens.
[00:45:19] Proverbs 21 says this.
[00:45:23] The king's heart, Caesar, is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord.
[00:45:30] He turns it wherever he will.
[00:45:41] Friends, if you don't know it by now, God wrote this story.
[00:45:48] It's beautiful.
[00:45:51] He painted this masterpiece of sending his son.
[00:45:56] He composed this symphony.
[00:45:59] With all the little notes and the details with the stars and the idea, quote unquote, of Caesar.
[00:46:06] Do you think that idea really came from Caesar's brain?
[00:46:10] I think I'll do a census.
[00:46:11] When do I want to do it?
[00:46:12] Oh, how about right now?
[00:46:13] He didn't know when the Messiah was to be born.
[00:46:17] It was God's perfect timing.
[00:46:18] Your next note says,
[00:46:23] Our Lord God is the one who determines all things.
[00:46:27] That means he's sovereign.
[00:46:28] He gets to decide.
[00:46:29] And he determined that those who believe his promises will be saved.
[00:46:34] And thank God for that.
[00:46:36] Because he could have determined that everyone who lives a perfect life should be saved.
[00:46:43] Now, Jesus did live a perfect life.
[00:46:48] And God accepted that.
[00:46:51] And Jesus gives us that through faith in him.
[00:47:01] If you're a Christian today, and I don't ever want to assume people are or aren't.
[00:47:07] But I think it's a safe assumption to say we're believers here.
[00:47:13] If you're a Christian, I want to ask you, do you still, I don't know how long you've been a Christian.
[00:47:18] Do you marvel over God?
[00:47:20] Or is that just like a first one or two years of being a Christian thing?
[00:47:26] Even now, after maybe decades and decades of being a Christian, do you still marvel over him?
[00:47:35] Like, I can't believe what he's done.
[00:47:38] For me?
[00:47:41] I hope that would humble our hearts to say,
[00:47:44] Boy, I didn't deserve that.
[00:47:46] I sure don't deserve that.
[00:47:54] And do you understand that our God is, as the Greeks would say,
[00:47:57] Megas.
[00:47:59] Our God is mega.
[00:48:01] I'd rather have a mega God than a small, weak God.
[00:48:07] The Greeks took that word seriously.
[00:48:10] And it reminded me of that song.
[00:48:11] And I grew up with hymns and with a hymnal in my hand and that old son.
[00:48:14] It says, how wonderful, how marvelous.
[00:48:18] So my song shall ever be.
[00:48:21] How marvelous.
[00:48:23] How wonderful.
[00:48:25] How often do we say that?
[00:48:28] We should say it more.
[00:48:29] And just take a few minutes just to think about how marvelous is God.
[00:48:36] Not only that he's painted this beautiful creation for us,
[00:48:40] but that he's composed this amazing gospel message for us.
[00:48:44] And he used people from hundreds of years past,
[00:48:47] hundreds of years to the future,
[00:48:50] kings, unbelievers, the universe, the stars,
[00:48:53] and put it all together and sit here.
[00:48:55] That's for you.
[00:49:02] Not only did he save you, which he didn't have to do,
[00:49:05] but he did it so beautifully.
[00:49:10] You know when you get a Christmas card and it says,
[00:49:12] Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
[00:49:15] And people give it to you and they sign their initials on it.
[00:49:18] It doesn't have as much emotional weight
[00:49:20] as someone writing you a handwritten letter three pages long
[00:49:24] and say, hey, I wrote this.
[00:49:25] I took a lot of time when I wanted to let you know how I feel.
[00:49:31] There's a lot more to something like that.
[00:49:34] That's how God did it.
[00:49:36] He didn't just say, okay, I'm going to save my people.
[00:49:39] Boom, they're saved.
[00:49:41] Could have done that.
[00:49:43] But he says, I'm going to save my people.
[00:49:45] Here's how I'm going to do it.
[00:49:47] And then he does this amazing thing.
[00:49:49] And then he says, here you go.
[00:49:52] We should marvel at him.
[00:50:00] Not only did he save us, but he did it so beautifully in this marvelous way
[00:50:03] and in a way that to a fallen world probably seems ridiculous.
[00:50:08] The little world would say, wow, that's a great story.
[00:50:11] It's cute and it's nice.
[00:50:13] And there's a donkey in it.
[00:50:14] There's no donkey in it.
[00:50:15] And there's three wise men.
[00:50:16] There's no three wise.
[00:50:17] It's a nice story.
[00:50:18] But you don't really believe that, do you?
[00:50:20] The world is saying, I mean, that's just a myth, right?
[00:50:25] A little baby being born as a savior.
[00:50:30] A little podunk town, backwoods, off the beaten path.
[00:50:34] Not really paid attention from anyone.
[00:50:40] But God delighted in doing it that way.
[00:50:42] We say a lot.
[00:50:44] He uses foolish things to confound the wise.
[00:50:50] And it takes faith to believe it.
[00:50:52] But all of God's people, we heard in John 6,
[00:50:55] all of his people will believe it.
[00:50:57] How you know if you're God's people or not, you believe God.
[00:51:00] That's how.
[00:51:04] And he did it in the most elegant way.
[00:51:05] And he delighted doing it for you, his children.
[00:51:11] Some people don't have a great dad.
[00:51:14] Regardless, you have God the Father.
[00:51:17] He did this for you, your child.
[00:51:20] You're a child of God.
[00:51:22] Our utterly amazing God who has done this for us
[00:51:25] also points us then to Christ, his son.
[00:51:29] He said on the Mount of Transfiguration,
[00:51:31] this is my son, listen to him.
[00:51:34] I know I sent you Elijah.
[00:51:36] I know he sent you Moses.
[00:51:37] But I want you to listen to my son.
[00:51:41] He points us to his son.
[00:51:44] Your next note here says,
[00:51:46] having all this in mind,
[00:51:47] let me be diminished and Christ be magnified.
[00:51:53] Boy, if I was going to think up a way to save my people from their sins,
[00:51:56] I couldn't come close to this.
[00:51:57] I'm just a fallen human being.
[00:52:00] I could try to write the best symphony I could
[00:52:02] or paint the best picture I could.
[00:52:05] That would be about it.
[00:52:06] Write a song.
[00:52:07] But God uses all creation to his delight to save his people.
[00:52:14] You be magnified.
[00:52:16] I'm going to diminish myself.
[00:52:17] I'm going to diminish my complaints and my problems
[00:52:19] and everything I throw at your doorstep.
[00:52:22] I'm going to diminish that, Lord.
[00:52:23] Seeing after seeing all that you've done for me.
[00:52:26] I'm going to take me down a couple of notches now.
[00:52:29] Be humble.
[00:52:30] Be meek.
[00:52:31] He chose meekness when he came here on earth over majesty.
[00:52:35] He could have shown up with the heavens opening
[00:52:37] and the hosts of heaven coming down.
[00:52:41] But he chose meekness over that.
[00:52:43] The little child that no one even noticed was born.
[00:52:45] That's how.
[00:52:46] And look at him today, his kingdom today.
[00:52:49] There will be no end.
[00:52:53] We serve a megas God.
[00:52:56] Do you know him?
[00:53:00] Or do you just think you do?
[00:53:05] Because remember what you quote unquote know about your faith,
[00:53:11] what I quote unquote know about my faith,
[00:53:17] does it come from the Bible?
[00:53:19] Or does it come from just my upbringing?
[00:53:23] Or from TV?
[00:53:24] Or for Christian music lyrics?
[00:53:26] Because a lot of people get their theology
[00:53:28] and their foundation from those things.
[00:53:31] Don't take anyone's word for it.
[00:53:33] Don't take my word for it.
[00:53:34] Your parents, your pastor.
[00:53:36] Look for yourself.
[00:53:37] You have a Bible.
[00:53:38] And if you don't, we'll get one for you.
[00:53:40] But that's where God's truth is.
[00:53:43] Don't take anyone's word for it.
[00:53:44] Your last note says,
[00:53:46] read the words of God and believe them.
[00:53:51] Period.
[00:53:52] I wrote the word period out.
[00:53:54] Meaning that's it.
[00:53:56] Read the words of God and believe them.
[00:53:58] What if we never had a Bible?
[00:54:00] We would be saying,
[00:54:01] God, if you just would have written it down for us.
[00:54:04] Well, we have it.
[00:54:06] So we have no excuse.
[00:54:10] And I could have made this another note.
[00:54:12] Don't filter the words of God through your upbringing.
[00:54:16] Don't filter what the Bible says through your background.
[00:54:19] Because we all have different upbringings.
[00:54:21] Maybe we believe it because we heard it first that way.
[00:54:23] And we just thought, well, that's how it is.
[00:54:26] Grow up this way.
[00:54:27] Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Lutheran.
[00:54:29] That's just how I grew up.
[00:54:30] So that's, I default to that.
[00:54:32] Well, default to the Bible.
[00:54:37] Don't be afraid to learn something new about your faith.
[00:54:39] Ever.
[00:54:41] I mean, after all, don't you want to know the truth?
[00:54:43] Tell me where I'm wrong.
[00:54:47] Don't you want to know the truth?
[00:54:48] The truth is found in the scripture.
[00:54:51] Not in your upbringing.
[00:54:52] And not in mine.
[00:54:55] And so this Christmas, this week,
[00:54:59] I encourage you to focus on Jesus.
[00:55:04] As if you've never focused on him before.
[00:55:07] Maybe you just learned a few things over this Advent series
[00:55:11] that opened your eyes.
[00:55:12] Some people have said, you know, I didn't know this or that.
[00:55:15] Well, take another look at Jesus and focus on him
[00:55:17] as if you've never focused on him before
[00:55:19] and say, I want to meet him again for the first time almost.
[00:55:23] It's not like you stopped being a Christian for a while,
[00:55:25] but just say, you know what?
[00:55:26] I've got to revisit you again, Jesus.
[00:55:28] Because I thought I knew it all for a while
[00:55:30] and it got me through the last 20 years.
[00:55:31] But I'm going to actually read it again.
[00:55:33] Holy Spirit, help me to see what I missed before.
[00:55:36] What I'm assuming is true and maybe he's not even there.
[00:55:41] He was born for you to die for you.
[00:55:46] He was born to die.
[00:55:49] To provide salvation to you.
[00:55:52] Best gift you could ever receive at Christmas.
[00:55:57] He was worth, Jesus was worth the Lord God Almighty
[00:55:59] taking the time to compose this beautiful symphony
[00:56:04] for you, his people.
[00:56:06] He was worth it.
[00:56:07] And if there was ever any hope in the world,
[00:56:09] we talk about hope at Christmas time, Advent, anticipation.
[00:56:13] It was given to you by God above.
[00:56:15] In a man called Emmanuel, which means God with us.
[00:56:22] What more could we ask for?
[00:56:24] We're complainers, we're selfish, we don't have enough,
[00:56:27] you're not doing enough, God.
[00:56:28] What more could you ask for?
[00:56:29] I sent you God.
[00:56:30] He's with you.
[00:56:33] He's Jesus, the Christ, which means Messiah, the anointed one.
[00:56:38] That's his divinely given name, Jesus.
[00:56:40] Why?
[00:56:41] Because that's what he would do.
[00:56:42] Save his people from his sins.
[00:56:44] Why?
[00:56:44] Because God said so.
[00:56:46] Because God is sovereign.
[00:56:48] He is the most magnificent gift, Jesus, given to us by the Father.
[00:56:53] And his grace is the most marvelous gift given to us through our faith in him.
[00:56:59] The greatest gift we could ever receive at Christmas.
[00:57:02] The gift of eternal life with him.
[00:57:05] And through faith you all already have it.
[00:57:08] You've already opened that gift.
[00:57:09] I just want to close with one passage of scripture from Isaiah chapter 9.
[00:57:18] Famous passage.
[00:57:20] Isaiah writes,
[00:58:40] It's not something we should ever ask for, it seems.
[00:58:44] You've given us eternal life.
[00:58:45] You've given us all hope.
[00:58:49] You fulfill every promise you make.
[00:58:51] We just have to get through this world of pain and suffering and injustice.
[00:58:59] But you tell us, you'll be with us every step of the way.
[00:59:03] You tell us, don't be surprised when you go through these things.
[00:59:07] But we still fight our feelings and we fight our humanity and our fallenness.
[00:59:12] Because some things are harder for us to believe.
[00:59:13] But Lord, help us to believe.
[00:59:15] Help us to see through all that fog and believe your words.
[00:59:19] Lord, I know we're going to come across people in our families that are not saved this month.
[00:59:25] Give us the words.
[00:59:26] Give us the boldness.
[00:59:27] Give us the grace.
[00:59:30] The wisdom to just open a door.
[00:59:32] Even if it's just to love on them.
[00:59:34] If they know we're Christian, they know where our hope comes from.
[00:59:37] I pray that seeds are planted this Christmas season in people's hearts so that they would come to you.
[00:59:42] Because of our interactions with them.
[00:59:44] Lord, keep us safe this week.
[00:59:47] Christmas time, New Year's.
[00:59:49] Bless our relationships.
[00:59:51] Restore relationships.
[00:59:53] Get people healthy again.
[00:59:54] People are still sick and in hospitals this week.
[00:59:57] Get them healthy, I pray.
[01:00:00] And heal our spirits if we're down.
[01:00:03] We don't need to be.
[01:00:04] We have you as our hope.
[01:00:06] Lord, bless us all.
[01:00:08] Expand your kingdom as always.
[01:00:09] In Jesus' name we pray.
[01:00:10] Amen.