Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Well, good morning again. Why don't we stand as we go to the Lord in prayer? Amen. And I want us to pray this morning. Tuesday is Christmas Eve, and some of our musicians are sick. So. Well. But I'm praying that they're going to recover before Tuesday shows around. But let's just really pray that God would really move in a beautiful way through this Christmas season. Amen. Because I just sense how many are feeling like there's a little spiritual awakening happening. I'm seeing it. A lot of young people are coming to church. We had. Can you imagine? We had 90 teenagers here on a Wednesday night a couple months ago on prayer and fasting night, we had more teens than adults that night. Wasn't that amazing? And they were praying for the adults. Yeah, it's just great. And so I've been running into people that are visiting our church, and some of them, I ran into a young man, now he's going to serve in the military. And I asked him what brought him here. Did you know anybody? He says, no, I don't know anybody. I said, well, what brought you to the service? Because he had no background whatsoever. And he said, there's got to be more to life than what I'm experiencing. Isn't that beautiful? God is working. So I want us to pray for Christmas Eve that God would draw people. Let's invite them.
[00:01:14] You know, we have kids participating. They're inviting their family, their grandparents, their aunts, their uncles, you know, So I just anticipate we're going to have great service. So let's pray. God's spirit would really move in a beautiful way. And some of you right now, I know this can be such a challenging season of life. Right? We've had a lot of people lose a loved one in this season. I want to pray for them, especially as they walk through this first Christmas without a meaningful significant other in their life. Maybe it's a parent. It could be a spouse. Let's just pray today as we bear one another's burdens and thus fulfill the law of Christ. So, Lord, we thank you that as we bear our burdens to you, Lord, and as we bear one another's burdens, we can come as a community of faith and bring these needs before you because you care about each of these situations. You love people. You're not willing that any should perish. And, Father, we pray that you would draw people, Lord, to yourself in this Christmas season. I pray, Father, that despite all the things that have happened in 2024, Lord, I just pray right now, that there would be a special grace, a special grace on every family, that it would be a supernatural grace, that people that have experienced loss would sense your divine presence in a way they've never experienced it before. I pray that this would be a comforting year, an encouragement, a time of great encouragement, Lord. I pray for those that are going to be coming to these services, Lord, over the Christmas break, Lord, that you're going to speak profoundly into their lives, that there'll be an awakening in their soul, that you know, that which they maybe have heard or known about or maybe have never considered, that all of a sudden your spirit will break into their lives. And the reality of your grace, the reality of your love, the magnitude of your love, it's amazing to me, the magnitude of your love would break into our hearts and we would respond to you in repentance, we'd respond to you in brokenness, in humility, and in grace, Lord, that it would be life defining. It would change some of our paths for all of eternity. I believe it can happen, Lord. You can literally change the direction of our lives and give us life worth living and meaning and purpose. And we thank you for that, Lord. Now, I pray as we look at your word this morning, that you would speak very powerfully into our souls and that we would leave here deeply encouraged. And we thank you for that. In Jesus name and God's people said, amen. You may be seated.
[00:03:55] So we're going to turn to the Gospel of Luke. We're looking at the early life of Jesus, his birth, his childhood, all the way up to 12 years, because Luke kind of takes us through that little bit of a journey. But I want to share a story. I know I've shared this with a few people, but I want to share something that happened to me about five years ago, that as I was ministering in Germany, Kelly and Marcia were with me and my wife, and we had. Our missionary, Raisa was there. So, you know, we had translators, and we were ministering to recent immigrants into the country of Germany. Germany actually opened their doors to 2 million immigrants. And so it's created, you know, challenges for that country. But we had the privilege of ministering to them. And many of them came from Afghanistan and Iran. And so they came from a Muslim background. And so, you know, sometimes you think, oh, these people have this background. Do they have any interest in, you know, the Gospel of Jesus? And as I was preaching and Risa was interpreting, you know, they were responding, and it was beautiful because that day, you know, nine of them gave their lives to Christ. About 120 people there. So I thought, that's amazing. How many things. That's pretty impressive. These are all people from a Muslim background. And so we were ministering to them. And then eventually I met this man who was in a wheelchair, and he was wheeled up forward, but eventually he could walk. He did stand. I did take a nice picture with him with his interpreter. And he said, pastor, I want you to pray for me. And I said, I'd love to do that. And I had no idea what he wanted prayer for. And so. But he said, before I have you pray, I think you need to understand my background. You need to understand my story. You need to understand, when you understand it, you'll understand why I want this prayer. I thought, okay, this sounds interesting. And so he began to share. He said, I grew up in Iran, and eventually I moved to Lebanon, and I was trained as a terrorist. I was trained by Hezbollah. I thought, this is already getting intriguing. And he said, just a minute. Opened his wallet, took out a picture, and there was a picture of himself. And he was, you know, he's carrying the machine gun, you know, the whole look, you know. And he said, my assignment was to go into Israel and assassinate the Israeli defense Minister. And I thought, this is getting serious, right?
[00:06:23] So. But I noticed now he's probably in his 50s. So when he showed me that picture, he's probably in his 20s, you know, probably 30 years ago. So this, you know, so something had happened. And as I was looking at him, I noticed, because he had been in the wheelchair, but I noticed his one arm was kind of, you know, there was something wrong with his arm. So the assumption I'm making the whole time he's talking is he wants God to heal him, right? I mean. But I don't say anything. I'm listening to a story. So then he says, when I was about to go in to Israel, God struck me. Those are the exact words he used. And immediately he said, I found myself in hell. And when I was in hell, he said, I looked around and there was all of these mullahs and ayatollahs. And I was stunned. I was shocked. And I said, what are you guys doing here? And they said, we have been following the wrong religion and the wrong God.
[00:07:16] And he goes, well, who's the true God? And they pointed up. And he said, as they pointed up, immediately I was out of hell. And I was standing, and there was a bright light. And eventually this man came towards me, and I said, who are you? And he said, my Name is Jesus, and I've waited a long time for you, Yon.
[00:07:36] And he said, you know, that's a pretty powerful moment.
[00:07:43] I don't know what else they talked about. He didn't go into that, but he said, Jesus finally asked me, he said, what do you want me to do for you, Yon? And at that moment he said, I could hear my little boy. He was laying on my chest, near my chest, crying and saying, daddy, please don't go, please don't go.
[00:08:01] And he said, I want to go back.
[00:08:06] And Jesus said to him, okay, John, I'll send you back, but if I do, you'll have to serve me the rest of your life. And he said, okay, Jesus, I will do that.
[00:08:17] And so this man who was a terrorist going in to do this terrible thing, awakens from this coma in this state where he's been to hell, he's been to heaven. Now he awakens and he's a full blown follower of Jesus Christ.
[00:08:33] How many go? That's a very dramatic conversion experience.
[00:08:37] Now I just want to say this. Most of us don't have those kinds of experiences. Ok? You know, sometimes people come to me and go, pastor, I don't even know if I'm a Christian because I can't remember when and anything happened. Well, I want to just say many people grew up in a Christian home. All they've ever heard is Jesus. They grew up knowing about Jesus. The line of when they became a follower of Jesus was so imperceptible in their mind, it was so gradual that they hardly even could look back and say, I have this moment that I know that I gave my life to Jesus. They don't necessarily have that moment, but they love Jesus and they've been growing in their faith ever since. Now, why am I telling you this radical story? Because I want to point out to us that there is a power.
[00:09:29] I mean, first of all, the power of reaching someone who had no interest in the truth and who was bent on doing something that was radically what you and I would consider terrible and evil and all of a sudden be apprehended by God and transformed is so beyond our comprehension. I mean, when I think about that, well, the story gets better because now he's going to tell me what he wants me to pray for him for. So I have no idea what that is now. But how many say that's a pretty impressive story. So then he says to me, he said, I'm a recent immigrant to Germany, but he said, I have a concern and a passion to Bring the gospel of Jesus to the Jewish people in Germany.
[00:10:18] He was a man who was anti Semitic. He was a man who hated the Jewish people, who was trying to kill them, and now wants to go out and bring the gospel to them. And then I noticed on his lapel there was a little flag with two different countries on it. You know, the flag had two sides to it. On the one side was the flag of Germany, on the other side was the flag of Israel. He said, pastor, pray that God would use me in a more fruitful and effective way to bring the good news of Jesus to these beautiful people. How many go, this is a miracle. Not only was he wonderfully transformed, but his whole thinking and focus and purpose went from a 180 turn. Is that amazing? I was stunned. I said, absolutely, I will pray along that line. Do you know, looking at this man, you would have had no idea. Now looking at him, this incredible story of transformation, isn't that true? Unless somebody revealed it to you or showed it to you or explained it to you, you just wouldn't know. So how often is it in life that things aren't always what they appear to be? As a matter of fact, events have no meaning apart from revelation.
[00:11:38] Isn't that true? You have to have an understanding before it even makes sense. Just like the story I told you. The word revelation literally means an unveiling. And it's only as Jan shared his story that this amazing expression of God's grace began to unfold before me. So what about Mary and Joseph? You know what would bring attention to these two peasants traveling about 90 miles or 150 kilometers from the northern part of Israel down to Bethlehem, because Bethlehem is right near Jerusalem.
[00:12:14] What would attract anybody's attention? I mean, we read the story, we know it from hindsight. We go, wow, this is so amazing. God's appeared to Mary, you know, God appeared to Joseph in a dream. We got all these amazing things going on. But can you imagine being somebody living in Bethlehem and a whole bunch of peasants are dropping in because there's been a new census decreed by the emperor that they have to be taxed and registered in the town of their lineage. And there's a whole bunch of people showing up. Do you think that they would have stood out among everybody else?
[00:12:47] The answer is, of course not. You wouldn't have known anything different about this young couple. And here they were, you know, they were poor, looking for a place to stay, struggling because now they have a baby that's going to be born at any moment. And sometimes it's amazing and hard to believe that Jesus himself was born in such poverty, struggle and such obscurity. I mean, he didn't have to choose to come that way. If you thought about it, you know, just stepping down from heaven as God and becoming a human being was a big jump down, you know what I mean? But now he goes down to the most humble of circumstances to be born. But not only that, to be born in pilgrimage, to be born where there's no room for him. And by the way, the manger, you know, the scene of the inn, you know, we have this idea of the innkeeper and all of this stuff. Folks, that wasn't the way it was. It was, it was. The word that's used there in the Greek language just suggests a place where pilgrims would stop by and they would actually have a place where there'd be a little bit of a shelter and some walls and stuff like that. But there was no people fixing dinner or anything for them. This wasn't the Holiday Inn or, you know, another one of the, you know, the Ramada or whatever inn that you're talking about. This was just, you know, a place to park your animal. Maybe there's a little bit of food nearby. And there was absolutely such crowded conditions. Jesus, Mary and Joseph couldn't stay there. There was too many people there. So they had to find a place nearby. And they probably found a little cave that somebody was using to take care of their animals. And there was a manger there, and it was there that Jesus was born.
[00:14:33] Interesting, isn't it?
[00:14:36] I mean, wouldn't we question God's grace and don't we sometimes question God's grace and love and wisdom when we find ourselves seemingly forsaken and forgotten? Yeah, I know that they went down there, but let's face it, it didn't look like God made a big provision for them. Did it not? I mean, come on, let's be honest here. We're all Christians, most of us anyways, and we're sitting down and we're going on a trip and things aren't working out for us and we feel like God's let us down.
[00:15:06] Come on, come on, let's be realistic. Hey, you know, we got bumped, you know, we missed our flight, you know. You know, aren't we God's favorite kids? We get really uptight about stuff like that here. These guys, they have a major mission on their hands. The son of God, the savior of the world is coming. And this is the, you know, no room in the inn.
[00:15:30] Being born in the cave, the little stable where the animals are. How many think that's kind of amazing? How do you view your present circumstances?
[00:15:39] You sometimes question, where's God in the equation?
[00:15:43] You know, Mary and Joseph, we don't hear anything from them. They know something special is happening. Nobody else does.
[00:15:51] Had God forsaken this young couple? We go, of course he didn't. But it certainly wasn't an interesting. And it was a very difficult situation to be in, you know, And I think sometimes we read the wrong message in our outward circumstances of life. How many say that's probably true, especially when they're not going the way we want them to? We just kind of read it like, you know, God doesn't care about me? Well, he does care. So when things are not going the way we'd like them to, we're tempted to question God's love and his goodness or possibly his faithfulness toward us. But I'm just pointing out to you, Mary and Joseph had some, you know, difficult circumstances, and I think they had a pretty significant mission on their hands. Now, we see from scripture that there was no family support.
[00:16:38] This is her first child. How many know having a baby is a big deal? Nobody there.
[00:16:44] She's got a guy that she's been engaged to that thought about divorcing her because he thought that she was unrighteous. I mean, maybe she didn't feel the ton of support. I don't know what's going on in their relationship. But Joseph's it, Mary's it. This is a challenging moment. She's going to have a baby. And the people in the town didn't do a lot to assist them. I don't read anywhere in the Scripture that anybody came along and helped them. They were alone. So the birth of Jesus, the Messiah, I think, would have gone totally unnoticed by humanity if it had not been for a little divine intervention. You go, what's that? Well, I think for the most part, the community would have never known that the most important person to have ever lived was being born in their town. That's what I'm trying to tell you. They would not have hazarded a guess that one of the prophecies of scripture was now being unfolded at this very moment, where Micah says in chapter five, verse two, but you, Bethlehem, Ephratah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from. Of old, from ancient times. In other words, that last expression, speaking of really, God's going to be born in your town.
[00:18:02] Wow. They had no idea. I'm going to say something to all of us right now. God's doing something and you have no idea.
[00:18:10] God is doing something in your life and you have no idea.
[00:18:15] How's that?
[00:18:17] You know, sometimes we go, I don't know what God's doing in my life. God's working.
[00:18:22] You just don't know. You may not know the full extent of what God is up to, you know, because I think that happens.
[00:18:32] God is now going to intervene and reveal to a group of people who this child is. In our text, we learn that God is always at work revealing himself to people. You know, I pray for a lot of people to get saved. And you know what? I believe God's working, even though I may not see it.
[00:18:50] And then, you know, over time, when I've been listening to people, I'm praying. I'm going to encourage some of you parents. You're praying for your kids. Let me tell you something. Keep praying. Don't give up. Because every once in a while they're going to say things. You go, oh, maybe God is working.
[00:19:04] Come on now. It's the way it works. God is working. That's what you need to hear today. God is at work even when you don't think he is. He's up to something.
[00:19:16] Norval Glendenhouse writes, Epictetus, the pagan thinker of the first century, wrote at the time concerning the Pax Romana, which is really the idea of the Roman Empire brought peace to that world at that time. He says it this way. This is not a Christian writer. He's a first century writer. He says, while the emperor may give peace from war on land and sea, he's unable to give peace from passion, grief, and envy. How many say that's true? What is he saying is, you know, we can't change human nature. We can't change the human condition. Only God can work at that. He goes on to say he cannot give peace of heart for which man yearns more than even for outward peace.
[00:19:57] Because you can have, you know, we've been so blessed, I don't think we realize it. We have lived in a place where there's been no war. Right now, there's war going on in different parts of our world. And I'm going to tell you, if you study human history, there's been very few years where there hasn't been war and conflict. And let me tell you, that's a very unsettling experience because life is chaotic.
[00:20:18] There's no stability. You and I have lived in relative peace, prosperity and security. It's absolutely mind boggling. Think about that for a minute. And yet so many people in our society are yearning for peace. It's not this outward peace and prosperity they're yearning for. It's a peace of mind, it's a peace in their soul. It's a peace of sense of well being. There's a longing for that.
[00:20:43] But here in the early years of Jesus, I think we're going to see three means or ways that God reveals Christ in the lives of people. And usually all three are at work addressing the attention, what I call of a destroyer, distracted people. Because let me tell you, right now, most people in North America are distracted to the hilt.
[00:21:03] We got so many distractions, we can get so far away from God, we can drift so quick, it's unbelievable. There's just so many options, choices that we can make in life. But a lot of times we don't focus in on the most important thing. And that's what we're doing right now. We're worshiping God. That's the most important thing. Let me take a look at that first way. First of all, it's through divine intervention. How many know these angels kind of show up to shepherds with a message pointing them to the one who's being born in little town of Bethlehem. Now for some, as I said, God supernaturally appears to them. And by the way, when I was in Germany, you know why it was so easy to preach to these people? They got saved. You know, this is what they told me afterwards through interpreters. They said Jesus had appeared to them in dreams and all I had done was explain the message of Jesus to them. How many think that's amazing? So all the people that have been praying for the 1040 window, that's the window where all these people were living in that probably, you know, seemed like closed doors for the gospel to penetrate. God was revealing himself to them. And when God allowed this mass immigration out of those places and they came to other places, now they were exposed to the message, they immediately responded to the gospel. How many think that's amazing? I think it's incredible. I got excited, you know, let me move on here.
[00:22:22] So God reaches, I think there are these dramatic moments, as I've said, but God reaches people sometimes in very simple, normal ways. And people, as I've said, grew up, you know, and they're exposed to the gospel and they respond to it. And that's wonderful. I mean we've already, you know, you can look at the Dramatics like Paul of Tarsus. And I'm. You know, I was going to read these verses, but I think we know the story of when he gets saved. You know, he's persecuting the church, and all of a sudden he becomes a follower of Christ. It's as we are engaged in our activities, in life that God comes to us. Okay, look at verse eight. And there were shepherds, chapter two, Luke. There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flock at night. Now, to them, this was just an ordinary night. You know, we celebrate Christmas on December 25th. Nobody knows what day he was born. We just pick a day, right?
[00:23:19] We know he was born. That's the point of Christmas, to declare to the world that God came to the planet. Right? But this is an ordinary night for these guys.
[00:23:29] They're not expecting anything abnormal to happen. You know, some of these guys were younger, some of these guys were old. They just. Ordinary day.
[00:23:38] Then it says verse nine. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
[00:23:48] Yes, this is a great moment. This is when the supernatural breaks into the natural. This is when the extraordinary breaks into the ordinary. This is when something happens that you just did not anticipate. It's a great moment. But when angels show up, most people respond this way. They're terrified.
[00:24:07] It wasn't something they were looking for. It wasn't something they were seeking. It wasn't something they were anticipating. I want to point out to all of us, God can break in at any moment when you least expect it. That's the point I'm making here. You know, most biblical scholars believe because of Bethlehem's proximity to Jerusalem, and these guys were shepherds by the fields near Bethlehem. They may have been the temple shepherds. They may have been the people that took care of sheep that were being slaughtered every single day in Jerusalem. And to give you an idea of the magnitude of their job. Excuse me, the magnitude of their job.
[00:24:40] I was reading once where on one Passover celebration in one year, you know, they slew a quarter of a million lambs.
[00:24:49] Does that give you an idea of the intensity of the sacrificial system? Does that give you an idea why you had to have temple shepherds, you know, taking care of sheep so that you'd have sheep in order to sacrifice? And that all speaks of the heinousness of sin. It speaks of the need for us to be reconciled to God. And so there's this whole system built in place so we can be made right with God. But now the ultimate Lamb of God is breaking in on the scene.
[00:25:16] I bet you a lot of little lambs are happy that Jesus showed up.
[00:25:22] I couldn't resist.
[00:25:27] Leon Morris says as a class, shepherds had a bad reputation. And because of the nature of their calling, they were not observing the law ceremonially. They were always doing the wrong thing. You know, they had a job to do, and they were doing their job. But, you know, they were not what we would call religious. You know, they were not like the Pharisees. You know, they were straining at every ritual. And so they were considered these people that were. You know, they were. They were. It wasn't saying that they weren't godly. It wasn't saying that they didn't believe. It was just saying that they didn't follow the rules. Okay? They're not the rule keepers. And they were looked down upon. They were looked down as a class of people.
[00:26:08] And it says there is no reason for thinking that Luke's shepherds were other than devout men. Else why would God have given them such a privilege? But they did come from a despised class. People despised them.
[00:26:21] The nature of the revelation. So God's going to reveal something to them. The angel came with a message. That's what angel means, means messenger. They came with a message and they came to communicate. And here's what the communication. But the angel said to them, don't be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. So it's a message of joy. Listen, the Gospel is a message of joy. It's a message of hope. It's a message of peace. Today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you. He's the Messiah, the Lord. Now, we notice that from Scripture, you know, even the scribes knew that the Messiah would come from Bethlehem, or they knew that.
[00:27:09] That's why they had a problem with Jesus, by the way, because they didn't really understand. They thought he was from Nazareth, but reality was, he was born in Bethlehem. So that's what messed up with their heads. They didn't do their research.
[00:27:21] You know, sometimes what you think you know could be dangerous. Because if you think you're right and you're wrong, guess what? You're going to be in trouble. These guys certainly got in trouble.
[00:27:32] It's interesting, Leon Morse says the Lord, that's used here, the term in the Septuagint, which is the Greek Old Testament. It's the Old Testament translated in Greek. It's used in this way, to translate the name of the Lord, Yahweh.
[00:27:47] So basically what he's saying is Yahweh is being born in Bethlehem. And that's why Micah chapter 5, verse 2, he comes from of old. It's really saying this is the birth really of God becoming a man. This is something that they hadn't fully processed or totally understood. They didn't get this, but that's what was happening. We get it now because we're looking back in hindsight, okay? This is none other than God himself becoming flesh. Even as John reveals to us, in the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. And then it says in verse 14, the word became flesh and he made his dwelling among us, or he tabernacled among us, or he templed among us. In other words, God inhabited a human body. Pretty powerful stuff.
[00:28:39] We call this the Incarnation. You know, Paul talks about this in his letter to the Philippians. He said he's talking about having the same attitude, a relationship with one another, the same mindset that Christ had. What was Christ's mindset? Well, he describes it. He says, who being in very nature God. If you're in very nature God, you're God. Okay? Did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. He was God. He didn't use it to his own advantage.
[00:29:06] I mean, if you're God, you can do a lot of things. But he didn't take. He didn't use his power in a way that he could have. He chose a different pathway to redeem humanity. It says here in verse 7. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. Isn't that amazing? You know, King James says he humbled himself.
[00:29:32] It's about humility.
[00:29:35] If we're like God, if we're going to become like Christ, there's going to be a growth of humility in our lives. And you say, well, what is humility? Humility is a recognition of our spiritual poverty and absolute dependency on God. How's that?
[00:29:49] We're not walking around thinking, you know, we're God's gift to humanity, okay? It's not the attitude that he's talking about here, but being found in appearance as a man. He humbled himself and he became obedient to death, even death on a cross. So the message is the message of salvation from our sins through the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us. Now God creates signs for us to find Christ. It's interesting in verse 12. He says, this baby will be born in a manger. Now, how many know these guys? You know, there could have been other babies born that night. And, you know, I know it's a small town, but you're not going to go around every door, door to door, hey, do you have a baby that's being born tonight? You know, know. He said, no, this is the sign. You're going to find him not in a house. So that eliminates a lot of embarrassment, right? You're not going door to door. You're just going to find the place where a baby's being born in a manger.
[00:30:45] Where's that? And they did discover, you know, that. Yeah, maybe they went to the inn and was talking to some of the travelers and they said, well, there was a young couple and, you know, there was a.
[00:30:58] This young woman was pretty pregnant. And we sent them, you know, they found the place where the animals are tended to over there. And she had a boy. She had a baby. Shepherds run over there, right, because they have a message from the angels of God saying, this is what's going on. He said, this will be a sign.
[00:31:20] And John himself talks about this in his Gospel. It says, Jesus did many miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you might have life in his name. So signs are designed to point us to Christ. You know, having delivered the message, the angel is joined.
[00:31:46] Now, this is pretty good. By an angelic host. Now, I know we like to think they're singing, but suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel praising God and saying. They were saying this. Maybe they sang it, but it says they said it. Okay. Glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace to those on whom his favor rests. Peace can only be experienced when we're reconciled to God. That's the answer. You want peace. You see, you have to have peace with God so he can give you the peace of God.
[00:32:24] And a lot of people today don't have peace. They're living with internal turmoil all the time. There's a conflict, and it's within ourselves.
[00:32:32] We can have peace within ourselves. There can be a cessation of all kinds of mental anguish as we get right with God. Peace of God. Sorry. The peace with God which leads to the peace of God. Now, the second way that God reveals Christ is through the work of the Holy Spirit. It was the Holy Spirit. Now, a little later on in the story, Jesus is now being dedicated. We do this a lot, but Jesus was dedicated. This was by law requirement. He goes to the temple. Mary and Joseph are at the Temple dedicating Jesus. Now, just to give you a little picture of timeline and chronology, this is probably some weeks later, okay, they're going to dedicate Jesus at the temple. And they're still staying in Bethlehem. They haven't gone back to Nazareth. They're still in Bethlehem, which is not a very far distance away from Jerusalem, a few miles. And so they go to the temple. And the Bible says in verse 25, now, there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon who was righteous and devout, and he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him. Let's go back in our theology a little bit. The Holy Spirit comes on certain people in the Old Testament to do certain things. Not everybody has the Holy Spirit. It's not like the New Covenant. It's the Old Covenant. But the Holy Spirit was on Simeon. He had a revelation. And this was his revelation had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit. He would not die before he had seen the Lord's Messiah.
[00:33:59] Now, the Holy Spirit is the third person in the Divine Trinity. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit has said, you're going to see the Messiah. And then verse 30, it says he sees this young couple. Immediately the Spirit says, there's the Messiah. And it says, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all nations a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel. So he has this amazing prophetic utterance. He's speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, Mary and Joseph. I mean, think about Mary and Joseph are, like, stunned because they're probably standing in front of a priest. But all of a sudden, this guy shows up, this older dude shows up and all of a sudden starts saying these things. And of course, Mary and Joseph know that this is not a normal child. Right off the hop, right? They know this is a miracle child. And now they're hearing it, afraid once again. So the work of the Holy Spirit is to reveal to our hearts and minds the things of God. And we can see that he's revealing truth to Simeon. That's exactly what God does in our lives. Listen to what Paul says to the Corinthians. However, as it is written, what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, what no mind has conceived, the things God has prepared for those who love them, these are the things God has revealed to us by His Spirit. So God reveals things to us by His Holy Spirit. And, you know, without the Holy Spirit revealing who Christ is, you're not getting it.
[00:35:32] As a matter of fact, Paul says it this way. A little later on in Corinthians, he's further down in the chapter. He says, the person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God.
[00:35:45] So you have to have the Holy Spirit to accept Christ, you know, because that person will consider these things foolishness and cannot understand them because they're discerned only through the Spirit. So here's what you need to understand. If you're a child of God today, the Holy Spirit made Christ real to you as a child, as an adult. I mean, it can be as dramatic as John's testimony, which is very dramatic, or Paul's testimony, whatever the testimony is. But you know what? If you believe that Jesus died for your sins and rose again from the dead, the Holy Spirit made that known to you. And the Holy Spirit now lives within you, and he's a revealer of truth. That's powerful stuff, okay? And the Holy Spirit also reveals the true condition of our souls.
[00:36:39] The Holy Spirit can actually be grieved by our behavior. You ever have those moments you go, oh, I feel bad. I did something wrong here? That's the work of the Holy Spirit. He's going to call you out. It's an internal work. Joseph and Mary are amazed at what's happening. And right at that moment, something else happens. It says in verse 33, the child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary's mother, the child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel and will be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed and a sword will pierce your own soul, too. So what's he saying? He's saying that Jesus isn't going to be accepted by everybody. That's what he said. If you go back to that verse ahead of time, I just read.
[00:37:31] There we go. It says, and a sign that will be spoken against. Some people will speak against this. Why? Because they're not spiritually discerning. They're just not with the program. They're not getting it. They don't see it. They don't understand it. But then we read here.
[00:37:48] But Mary is certainly going to experience a piercing in her soul. And we know that that happened at the cross when she saw Jesus crucified.
[00:37:58] Now, the work of the Holy Spirit, his work is to guide us into truth. Here we see in Luke's introduction the guiding providential work of the Holy Spirit. And he brings another person on the sc. You know, how many know that God does confirm what he's doing. He's just going to keep confirming things. And there was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Peniel of the tribe of Asher. And she was very old. She had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage and then was a widow until she was 84. So she's 84 years old in an ancient world. That's old. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Very devout person coming up to them at that very moment that Simeon's prophesying. How many can see, oh, that's providential. That's timing. How many know God does things in a providential manner. He brings things at a certain point. It's not happenstance, it's not random. It just so happened. Sometimes the Bible says it just so happened, but that's a fancy way of saying, yeah, but God was behind it, pulling it all together. That's exactly what's happening here. It says, and she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
[00:39:12] Isn't that amazing? So here's another person confirming by the power of the Spirit, testifying to the reality of who Jesus is. The work of the Holy Spirit, his greatest work is to testify of Christ. That's his greatest work. We need to know that. Let me look at the final way that God reveals Christ. And it's through the Word of the Son.
[00:39:34] Now, the Word of the Son is Jesus. Now when we talk about the Word of God, you know, sometimes we say about the Word of God, we keep thinking of the Bible, the written word, but you know, the Word of God is also the Son of God. I read that in John's Gospel, Jesus is the word of God. So whatever Jesus said is God's Word to us. And God primarily speaks to us today through the Son.
[00:40:00] And we're going to see that. So we need to understand the message of Jesus. So here it is, another incident in Luke's little story. It's another vignette. He's moving from the birth of Jesus, the dedication of Jesus. Now we're going to go to the bar mitzvah of Jesus, where Jesus now is deemed a son of the law. And we pick up the story. Every year, Jesus parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of The Passover. So they did an annual yearly pilgrimage, which by law was required of all male Jews.
[00:40:34] And when he was 12 years old, he went up to the festival according to the custom, and the festival was over. While his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of. Of it. Hmm, you say how in that. How could that be that they did not know that their kid wasn't with them? Well, it's because they traveled in caravans and they had a lot of family and relatives, and they all traveled together down to going up to Jerusalem. Geographically, it's, you know, it's up. And they went up to Jerusalem and then they'd go back home. But when they were heading back home, they just made an assumption Jesus was with somebody in the family.
[00:41:11] But we're going to find out that wasn't what was happening. So thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began to look for him among their relatives and family members. Okay, you know, their friends. And when they didn't find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. Like, where in the world did Jesus get off to? You know, this is a crisis moment, right? We lost Jesus. Where's Jesus? Right? After three days, they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. Yeah, so I'm going to say it right now. At 12 years old, Jesus probably knew who he was. He had a sense of his identity. He knew what was going on. And, you know, it's really amazing.
[00:42:02] So this is not your usual situation. He's engaged with these leaders. Mary and Joseph are frantic looking for him when they finally find him. It says here, when his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, son, why have you treated us like this? You could see she was upset.
[00:42:20] How many say she was upset?
[00:42:23] How many know she was probably, you know, I don't know what she said to Jesus, but I mean, this, this is the. The sanitized, you know, I don't know. I don't know her personality type. Who knows? But she was not happy. I can tell you that your father and I have been anxiously searching for you. Depending on your personality, there'll be a lot of other things said. But let's just keep reading now. I love Jesus response to this.
[00:42:54] Why were you searching for me?
[00:42:57] Didn't you know I had to be in my father's house?
[00:43:01] Oh, that gives you a clue that Jesus now knows who he is, but I like the next part. But they did not understand what he was saying to them. That's a great line. They weren't picking up what he was laying down. You know, a lot of times God is trying to say something to us, but we're not getting it.
[00:43:21] Isn't that true? I think so. But we need to hear what the Son has to say. You know, the writer to the Hebrews says this. In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways. But in these last days, he has spoken to us by His Son, whom he's appointed heir of all things and through whom he made the universe.
[00:43:43] Wow. The word God is going to speak primarily through the message of Christ.
[00:43:49] Then he goes on to say here that the Son is the radiance of God's glory, the exact representation of his being sustaining all things by his powerful word. And after he had provided purifications for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. So we get a picture of who Jesus is.
[00:44:06] Now, what we need to realize is that salvation from sin, death and judgment can only come through the Son. As a matter of fact, Jesus himself laid it out. He said, listen, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. It's through who I am and what I've accomplished on your behalf that you actually have access to the Father. As a matter of fact, Peter's preaching to his religious leaders, and he says, listen, salvation is found in no one else, for there's no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. It's the name of Jesus. Jesus said it himself in his high priestly prayer in John 17. After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed, father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you, for you granted him authority over all people. So let me pause and ask the question, who has authority over all people?
[00:45:02] Jesus does. All people. All nations.
[00:45:07] All nations.
[00:45:10] You need to hear that. I think sometimes you go, he's the Jesus of the West. No, he's the Jesus of all nations. He's got all authority over all nations.
[00:45:22] He granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given to him goes on to say, now this is eternal life, that they might know you, the only true God in Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. So just as at the first Christmas season, God revealed his purpose, his message, His Savior, to our world, he's still Doing that today, God can reveal himself through supernatural intervention like he did the shepherds, or like he did the apostle Paul, or like the man I met in Germany. How many go, that was pretty supernatural. Yeah. The Holy Spirit is still revealing spiritual truth within the human heart. And apart from him, we just don't get it.
[00:46:12] It's amazing how some brilliant people can hear this message and it just goes right on by. They don't pick it up. Why Holy Spirit needs to be revealing it to them. Otherwise you don't get it. Apart from him, we're not going to get it then. God is speaking through the words and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The only means to true joy and peace is found in this baby that was born 2,000 years ago. God became a man. He lived among us. So how do we receive the gift of life, of joy and of peace? I'm glad you asked that question. So I'm going to close it. Just a few verses. 3.
[00:46:56] John says this, yet to all who received him, to those who believe in his name, he gave the right or the authority or the ability to become children of God. Isn't that neat? And Paul said it this way. If you declare with your mouth Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. It's just that simple. The Gospel is very simple. You have to believe. And then if you really believe, you're going to say it. You know he's going to come out of you. He says, for it is with your heart that you believe and are justified. And it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. So let's stand.
[00:47:38] So many of us in this room, you're going, pastor, I know this stuff. Good. I'm glad. That's what we want. We want you to understand it. This is a very small, simple message. You go, but why is this important that we get it? Amen. And we have to understand, Listen, there's a lot of pressure in our world today, first of all, to minimize the exclusivity of the gospel of Jesus Christ. What I mean by that is there is no other way to God. This is it. This is the road. This is the path. Jesus said, you know, broad is the way that leads to destruction. Narrow is the way that leads to. To life. It's found in a person and in the work that that person accomplished on our behalf. We need to understand that.
[00:48:24] And I'm going to just say that to you because a lot of people from a lot of different expressions of Religion and faith and all the rest of them. People say to me, pastor, why do you believe that Christianity is the only way I go? It's real simple for me. I'll tell you what I tell them. I said, religion is humans. Humanities endowment endeavor to somehow make themselves pleasing in the sight of God. It's human effort.
[00:48:47] And I'm going to tell you, we're all sinners in this room. And no matter how good you are, you'll never be perfect.
[00:48:53] Let's all accept that we're all broken in some measure or not. We need a Savior. And so God Himself came to Earth. This is amazing to me. And came and died in our place as a substitute for our sins so that you and I no longer have to die for our sins. He died in our place. That's why Paul says he died for you and for me. He died for us.
[00:49:22] I have an amazing allegiance in my mind to Christ because I go, there's no other one. There's no other name. You know what? It's all about Him. He's the Creator of the universe. He's the Creator of your life. He's the Creator of my life. He designed you and I for him, not for us. And you and I will never become all that God designed us to be until we get to know him and surrender our agenda to him and allow him to live out his agenda for you. And when that begins to happen, now you're really living. Now you're really experiencing life in its fullness. And that's what he promises.
[00:50:09] I made you for me. He's telling you, and I made you for a reason.
[00:50:14] So if you and I don't know him, we're never going to experience ultimately what God has in mind.
[00:50:20] And just with every head bowed this morning. And I can't make the assumption that every one of you knows Christ. Personally, I think most of you do, but I'm not sure.
[00:50:29] But maybe today, you know, sometimes we have it. We can be sitting in a church for 30 years, and then one day we have an epiphany. There's an awakening, and we go, oh, my goodness. I know this story. But it never really dawned on me the full ramification of that story and how that applies to me.
[00:50:47] And so I want to give you the opportunity this morning, if you don't know Jesus, you've never surrendered to him as Lord and Savior.
[00:50:58] Call out to him today and ask him to come into your life and save you from your sin so that you can experience this amazing life that he wants to impart to you. He wants to give to you this life of forgiveness, this life where it brings peace, this life that brings a joy, life that brings hope, life that brings a meaning that transcends just. It's about me. But now it becomes something far greater. It's about doing his will. It's about fulfilling God's divine purpose for why you were made.
[00:51:35] And if that's you today, I want to give you that opportunity. Just raise your hand, say, pastor, that's me. God's spirit is speaking to me, it's not you. God is speaking to me right now. His spirit is speaking into my inner being. Just raise your hand. Yeah, that's good. Anybody else looking around? It's great, it's beautiful.
[00:51:56] I'll tell you, all you need to do is say, jesus, forgive me, come into my life. I want to serve you. He's going to change you. He's going to set you on a new path and it's a beautiful one.
[00:52:09] Lord, I just thank you.
[00:52:11] I thank you for what? You're speaking not just to the one gentleman here, but for the people that are watching livestream right now. People are responding in other parts of our nation, North America, some are responding around the world right now as they've heard the message of Jesus and Lord, I believe that you're speaking into some pretty powerful situations right now. People who are besides inside themselves, people are filled with anxiety, people are in despair, people have no hope. I pray right now as they respond to you that you will pour grace into their situation.
[00:52:49] We thank you for that. In Jesus name, amen. God bless you as you leave this morning.
