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Luke chapter 2 · Scripture Unscripted

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  Luke chapter 2. Let us pray, O Heavenly Father,
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  let us have reverence for your word.
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  Let us have reverence, God, for such a time as this.
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  We thank you, Lord, that you came as a little baby.
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  We thank you, Lord, that you lived a perfect and sinless
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  life. We thank you, Jesus, for your
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  ultimate sacrifice. Lord, you are the greatest gift
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  that we could ever receive. Lord, you are our everything.
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  Lord. You are the reason that we have
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  our being. Lord, it's all about you, King
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  Jesus. It's not about things.
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  It's not about stuff, it's not about what we can get, but God,
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  you are our gift. You are our everything, Jesus,
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  and we love you. And Lord, we celebrate your
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  birth and we celebrate you coming in.
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  Lord, we know that we will be there with you, and we know that
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  you love us and that you gave first.
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  So Lord, let us love all of our neighbors and love our family
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  the way that you love us. And help us to know that, Lord,
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  You're the reason for the very life that we have, for the very
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  breath that we have for our very next heartbeat.
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  Lord, we love you and help us. Lord, help us to set a side time
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  to come and celebrate this monumental moment of you coming
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  into the earth to save us, save us from our sins, to wipe the
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  slate clean, to help us stand before God holy, to help us
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  stand before God spotless. Lord, it is only by your blood
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  that we enter in to the throne room of grace.
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  You ripped the veil from top to bottom so that we can come in to
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  the holiest of holy places and worship You in spirit and truth.
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  We love you Jesus, and it's in Your holy name that we pray.
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  Amen. Let's start in verse one.
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  And it came to pass in those days that there went out a
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  decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed.
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  What's he talking about here in verse one?
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  Well, what you're going to need to know is that Caesar Augustus
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  was being used by God. He had it in his mind that
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  everyone needed to be taxed, but God had it in his mind that the
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  Savior of the world was coming on the scene.
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  He was dawning upon creation. And we need to know that all of
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  these things were prophesied about and they were going to
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  come to fulfilment and the culmination of this moment of
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  Caesar Augustus not even being aware that he was fulfilling the
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  prophecy of little baby Jesus being born in Bethlehem. 2 And
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  this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.
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  So here we know that this is a reliable account that Luke set
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  out to write and he gives us a time stamp here so that we can
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  go back and search out this time and we can have our certainty in
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  the Word of God. We can have our sure footedness
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  in the Word of God. We can stand on the cornerstone
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  of Jesus Christ, knowing that this is the spoken word of God
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  Almighty. Verse 3 And all went to be
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  taxed, everyone into his own city.
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  For and Joseph also went up from Galilee out of the city of
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  Nazareth into Judea unto the city of David, which is called
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  Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David.
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  So here we know that Jesus Christ is the bread of life, and
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  he is to be born in this city of bread.
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  This Bethlehem is the House of bread.
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  So it is just like God to paint this beautiful masterpiece, and
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  he knows what he's doing. 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused
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  wife, being great with child, 6. And so it was that while they
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  were there, the days were accomplished that she should be
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  delivered. So here we know that they had to
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  travel while Mary was pregnant, and she did not give birth to
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  Jesus Christ until they had been in Bethlehem.
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  And we know that there was no room for them in the end. 6 And
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  so it was that while they were there, the days were
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  accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought
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  forth her first born son, and wrapped him in swaddling cloth,
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  and laid him in a Manger, because there was no room for
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  them in the end. Think about it.
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  Here comes the Saviour of the world, God coming as a little
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  baby, and there's no room for Him.
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  Do we make room for Him in our hearts today?
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  Friends, I pray that you will look at this Manger.
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  This would have been a feeding through that the animals would
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  have eaten out of and they lay God as a little baby in a
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  feeding through A and there were in the same country shepherds
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  abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.
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  So these shepherds would have been keeping all of the temple
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  flock. These would have been the flock
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  of sheep that would be used for the Passover.
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  And the shepherds were out in the fields watching over their
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  sheep by night 9. And lo, the Angel of the Lord
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  came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them,
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  and they were so afraid. This is always the response when
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  people see an Angel is, do not fear, do not be afraid.
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  And it would have been a very frightening sight to see this
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  Angel. 10 And the angels said unto them, Fear not, for behold,
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  I bring good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
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  people. Here this Angel is preaching the
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  good news of Jesus Christ coming into the world to be born and to
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  live a perfect life and to die a criminal's death.
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  To be buried and raised again on the third day, To appear to many
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  and to ascend to the right hand of God and to redeem us from all
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  of our sins, so that we can stand before God Almighty one
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  day, righteous and blameless, because of the blood that he
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  shed on that cross. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city
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  of David, a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.
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  He is the anointed, He is the Son of God, the only begotten,
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  that whosoever will believe in him will not perish, but have
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  eternal life. Believe in your heart that God
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  raised him from the dead. Confess him with your mouth.
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  Confess that Jesus is Lord today and be saved. 12 And this shall
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  be a sign unto you. You shall find the babe wrapped
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  in swaddling clothes, lying in a Manger.
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  Notice how he appeared to these poor shepherds.
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  That would have been of the Jewish lineage. 13 And suddenly
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  there was with the Angel a multitude of the heavenly host,
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  praising God and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest and
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  on earth, peace, goodwill towards men.
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  This is what we desperately need, friends.
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  We need this peace that only comes from a right relationship
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  with God through His Son Jesus Christ.
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  We need this goodwill towards our neighbors.
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  Love God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all
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  your soul, with all your strength, and love your neighbor
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  as yourself and with food and clothing.
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  Be content. And here you can see this
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  multitude of the heavenly host. This is a beautiful sight,
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  friends, that these lowly shepherds, these unclean
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  shepherds would have been able to witness in this Angel of the
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  Lord with the great multitude chose this outcast of society to
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  reveal the birth of Jesus Christ.
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  You can see that Jesus is love is for the whole world.
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  He is no respecter of men. 15 And it came to pass, as the
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  angels were gone away from them into heaven.
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  The shepherd said, one to another, Let us now go even unto
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  Bethlehem, to see this thing which has come to pass, which
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  the Lord has made known unto us. This is power from on high.
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  These shepherds have abandoned their profession to follow the
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  Lord, to follow the trail, to go and see the thing that the Angel
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  of the Lord has proclaimed to them, this good news of Jesus
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  Christ. They've left everything.
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  They've laid everything down to go and to see this thing. 16 And
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  they came with haste, and found Mary and Joseph and the babe
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  lying in a Manger. It was just as the angels had
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  told them. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad
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  the saying which was told them concerning this child.
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  And This is why the angels of the Lord came to them, because
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  He knew they would publish it round and about.
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  He knew that they would not be perplexed by it, but they would
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  go out and tell everybody about it.
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  And it's just like God to reveal Himself to the lowest estate,
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  and you can see how the Lord works and how the Lord thinks.
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  He could have came in a palace, He could have came in a golden
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  crib. But what did he do?
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  He came lowly as an innocent baby, and was laid in a feeding
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  through to a set of poor parents. 18 And all they that
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  heard it wondered at those things which were told them by
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  the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered
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  them in her heart. There was something peculiar
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  about this whole event for Mary. She was visited by Gabriel.
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  She was told that she would house the Saviour of the world,
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  the Son of God. It's amazing, when you really
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  stop and think about it, of what Mary must have thought her whole
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  time of knowing that she housed the Son of God, but she loved
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  him as her own. She pondered all these things in
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  her heart. I am sure that she was perplexed
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  by the complexity of the whole matter. 20 And the shepherds
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  returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things
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  that they had heard and seen as it was told unto them.
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  They found it just like the Lord said that they would.
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  And that is what you'll find, friends, when you search out and
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  seek out the face of God, you're going to find that every single
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  one of the words that contained in this good book, the Bible,
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  What you're going to find is it all checks out.
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  And that it has the power to produce the peace and the
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  contentment and the joy and the love that you so desperately
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  desire. The worth and the dignity that
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  God desires to give to you is found with trusting every single
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  one of the words that are contained inside of the Bible.
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  Nothing added and nothing subtracted.
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  Friends 21 And when 8 days were accomplished for the
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  circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was
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  so named of the Angel before he was conceived in the womb.
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  So we do know that Gabriel told Mary that his name was to be
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  called Jesus. He was the Savior of the world,
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  and here she was obedient. Here they were obedient to carry
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  out the plan of the ages to name him appropriately. 22 And when
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  the days of her purification, according to the law of Moses
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  were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him
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  to the Lord. 23 As it is written in the law of the Lord, every
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  male that opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.
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  So here he was the first born, and here we can see that Mary
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  had more children after Jesus. She was not in perpetual
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  virginity. Friends, we can see here that
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  that Jesus was dedicated as the first born unto the Lord, and we
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  can see that he needed to identify himself with sinful man
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  by being circumcised, 24 and to offer a sacrifice according to
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  that which is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves
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  or two young pigeons. The actual sacrifice would have
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  been a lamb, but they were too poor, and so they brought these
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  two turtle doves or two young pigeons to sacrifice instead.
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  But the reality was, they brought the Lamb of God.
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  How amazing is this story? 25 And behold, there was a man
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  in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and the same man was
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  just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the
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  Holy Ghost was upon him. Praise the Lord for Simeon.
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  He waited patiently for this moment.
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  God had revealed to him that he would see it, 26 And it was
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  revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see
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  death before he had seen the Lord's Christ, the anointed, the
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  chosen, the only begotten. 27 And he came by the Spirit into
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  the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do
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  for him, after the custom of the law, 28 then took he him up in
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  his arms, and blessed God, and said, Lord, now let your servant
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  depart in peace according to your word.
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  How amazing is this that God had revealed to Simeon that he would
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  see the Saviour of the world before he tasted death.
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  I pray, friends, that you have seen the Saviour of the world,
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  that you have dined and supped with the Saviour of the world,
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  that you have reached out and touched the hem of his garment,
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  friends, and that you have received your healing and
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  wholeness. Friends, I pray that you have
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  locked eyes with him. 34 My eyes have seen your salvation.
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  Can you say that today, friends? 31 which you have prepared
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  before the face of all people? 32A light to lighten the
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  Gentiles and the glory of your people, Israel.
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  We can see God's infinite plan from all eternity for all ages
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  is for the Gentiles and the Jews.
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  Friends, you can see that this Jewish man caught a glimpse of
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  God's glory, and he saw that God's plan of the ages was for
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  all people. 33 And Joseph and his mother marveled at those
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  things which were spoken of him. We know that Mary treasured all
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  these things in her heart. We know that Simeon's word must
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  have cut them. We know that they were perplexed
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  by all of it, and they marveled. Of what was being spoken of this
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  little baby and how he rocked the world with his birth and
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  everything changed. And here we are, friends,
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  completely undone by this moment in history.
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  It changed everything. 34 And Simeon blessed them, and said
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  unto Mary his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall,
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  and the rising of again of many in Israel, and for a sign which
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  shall be spoken against. So here we know that Jesus is a
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  lot like a magnet for some. He draws them in and you just
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  are so attracted. And for the other side of the
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  coin, it's this repelling as you get close.
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  It is such a repulse to those who refuse to believe in the
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  truth, and they delight themselves in evil and they are
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  delusional, and they war against a loving God who loves them. 35
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  Yes, a sword shall Pierce through your own soul also that
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  the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
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  That is a prophecy. Here Simeon breaks out and he
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  starts speaking the truth and he tells Mary that a sword will
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  Pierce her heart. And this is the complexity of
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  her perplexity. This is her being thrown all
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  around in her emotions because here is this helpless little
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  baby that needs her, but he is her Saviour.
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  What a thought, friends, and we know that Jesus reveals the
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  thoughts, and He knows our very next thought.
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  He knows all of our thoughts, friends, and he can hear them.
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  And we need to bring them to him and give them over to him and
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  take everyone captive and do not let them take root unless they
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  are holy and pure and blameless and right. 36 And there was 1
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  Anna, a prophetess, the daughter Ephanuel of the tribe of Asser.
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  She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years
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  from her virginity. And she was a widow of about
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  four score four years which departed not from the temple,
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  but served God with fasting and prayers night and day.
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  We can see this adoration of Anna.
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  We can see that through this fasting and prayer and her being
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  given over to the worship of Yahweh, the Yahweh was pleased
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  to allow her in on this moment. 38 And she, coming in that
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  instant, gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and she spoke of
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  him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
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  He is our Redeemer, and our Redeemer lives, and he is alive
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  today. 39 And when they had performed all things according
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  to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee and to
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  their own city of Nazareth. We know that Jesus is the
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  branch. He is a Nazarene. 40 And the
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  child grew and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and
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  the grace of God was upon him. Can you imagine?
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  We're getting to see a little bit of the boyhood of Jesus our
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  Savior. And we know that He was perfect
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  and lived a sinless life. And we know that He was all God
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  and all man. And we know that as he hit each
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  one of the milestones, He was at the top of the chart, friends.
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  He grew and he was strong and he knew that he was here for his
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  father's business. 41 Now his parents went to Jerusalem every
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  year at the feast of the Passover. 42 And when he was 12
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  years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom of
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  the feast. 43 And when they had fulfilled the days, as they
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  returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem, and
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  Joseph and his mother knew not of it.
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  So here Jesus knows that he must be about his Father's business,
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  and it is around 12 years old that a Jewish boy would take up
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  his Father's business. And Jesus knowing that he was
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  the Son of God, and knowing all the prophecies that were
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  foretold, he knew that he must be about his Father's business.
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  So he goes into the temple to teach. 44 But they supposing him
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  to have been in the company when a day's journey, and they sought
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  him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. 45 And when they
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  found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.
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  What a thought that his parents had somehow misplaced the Savior
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  of the world. 46 And it came to pass that after three days they
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  found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors,
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  both hearing them and asking them questions.
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  So here Jesus has all authority, Jesus has all wisdom, Jesus has
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  the heart of God and the mind of God, friends, and Jesus is God,
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  and Jesus is teaching them. He's only 12 years old and he is
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  already teaching them all of the foundations of the world and how
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  everything all fits together intricately.
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  And He is the culmination of all knowledge and all wisdom.
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  He is the very Christ. He is the anointed, He is our
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  all sufficient sacrifice, the atonement for all of our sins,
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  and he has all authority and He is omniscient.
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  Friends. Don't miss it, friends.
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  He knows all. He can discern everything.
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  He knows all of our prayers all at once.
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  He knows all of our thoughts all at once.
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  He knows all of our emotions all at once.
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  Nothing is too grand for Him. We are His created and He is the
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  Creator. And can you even imagine the
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  angels looking down and seeing the Creator of the world
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  choosing to come as creation would have thought?
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  47 And all that heard him were astonished at his understanding
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  and answers. You cannot outwit him.
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  You cannot back him into a corner.
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  He is all knowledge. 48 And when they saw him, they were amazed.
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  And his mother said unto him, Son, why have you thus dealt
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  with us? Behold, your father and I have
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  sought you sorrowing. 49 And he said unto them, How is it that
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  you sought me? Did you not know that I must be
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  about my father's business? Praise the Lord God, He knew
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  what he was here for. He set his face like a Flint.
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  He knew that he had come to be about his father's business. 50
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  And they understood not the saying which he spoke unto them.
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  51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was
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  subject unto them. But his mother kept all these
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  sayings in her heart. So here we can see Mary again,
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  the complexity of her perplexity, how she was just
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  turned around by how this little boy needed her, but he was also
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  her Lord. She kept all these sayings in
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  her heart. We'll end on 52.
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  And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature and in favor with
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  God and man. He was perfect in all of his
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  ways, friends. He was blameless and he was all
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  man and all God. And he hit every milestone
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  exactly when he was supposed to. And he was exceedingly great,
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  friends, but He also never used his divinity to reach in and
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  grab anything that he wasn't supposed to.
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  If you just think about it for a minute, friends, how Jesus could
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  be all man and He didn't perform all these silly little miracles
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  during this time. He was about His Father's
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  business. And He knew that he was the Lamb
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  of God and he knew that he would be slain before the foundations
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  of the earth and he would hang on a cross and die a criminal's
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  death. And He knew that He was the
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  Passover lamb that everything pointed towards.
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  And as we get further away from that moment, everything points
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  back to here is the most monumental time in all of
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  history is right here in this moment, friends, that we are in
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  and we are reading about. And Luke was so meticulous in
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  all of his details to go and find all of this.
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  And we don't need to add anything to the Bible, Friends.
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  Everything that the Bible speaks of, we need to meditate upon.
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  And if the Bible does not speak about it, we do not need to try
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  to entertain silly ideas of what Jesus's boyhood must have been
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  like. Let's lock in and believe every
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  word and every syllable and watch how the peace of God
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  floods in. Friends, I hope you've been
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  blessed by this chapter. I know I sure have, many times
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  over. I love you, so does God.
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  We'll see you back here tomorrow.
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  God bless you.