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#20241208 - Waiting Here For You - Luke 2:1-14 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's Word recorded live at Calvary
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Church in Aurora, Co. To learn more about the many
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resources available through Abounding Grace Media or to tune
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into our live stream services, visit us online at Calvary Co
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dot Church or download our free Calvary Church.
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App. Now let's open our Bibles and
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study God's Word. Amen.
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All right, waiting here for you. Now, I will be honest and say
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I'm not good at waiting. I don't know many people that
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are, but I'm not up here saying, hey guys, I'm a professional
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waiter. And let me just tell you how
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I've learned to wait on the Lord.
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No, as a matter of fact, patience is something the Lord
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has been growing in me my entire Christian life.
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And I'd like to say I've arrived, but I'm still so far
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from from waiting. I just don't like it if I'm at a
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red light. This happened this week and
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there's no cars around anywhere and I'm just sitting there and a
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minute passes and two-minute passes and you start thinking,
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is the light broken and I'm just trying to get home?
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I hate that and I don't do well, my wife will tell you that.
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Or if you're in a grocery line and you're there's a long line
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of people and they're there getting out all their coupons 1
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by 1 and scanning them. But then they've got a question.
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So they push the button and they're doing that just drives
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me crazy. And I'm in line literally
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saying, OK, Lord, I get it. You're working patients in my
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heart right now. Or any of us that have had
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little kids, we've all experienced this, dads or moms,
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you get out to the car, you turn the car on, you're waiting for
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them and they're just taking their sweet time.
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You're already running late. They don't even have their pants
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on yet, right. So it's just hard.
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It's hard to wait sometimes. I get it.
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Or how about those of us that have applied for a job, we did
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the interview and maybe we did the second interview and then
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we're just waiting. We're like, am I going to get
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the job? I'd really love to have that
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job. I don't know.
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We've all experienced that sense of waiting.
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We just have to wait till we get the call.
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We have to wait until we we hear the word.
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Some of us in the room right now are single, and I know from a
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number of you guys you're waiting on a godly spouse and
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you're like, where are they? I've been waiting for a long
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time and you're also in a season of waiting.
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I know that there are a number of people here who have recently
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gotten some concerning news about their health and they've
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been told come in and we need to take these tests and then we'll
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let you know when we find out the results.
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We took a biopsy and it's going to take a week or two and that
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week or two can feel like a month or two.
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That's a hard period of time to wait and all the what if
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thoughts that we can wrestle with.
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Some of you, I know in this room as well, are waiting for God to
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restore your marriage. You're sitting here this morning
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without your husband or you're sitting here without your wife,
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and you're just thinking, God, I just want them to be here to
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experience what we're experiencing this morning, to
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have a heart and a love for you. Lord, when are you going to show
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up? When are you going to do it?
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And then there are some of us here as well that are
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experiencing as we've talked about the grief of loss.
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And we're asking God, Lord, when is this going to lessen its hold
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on me? God, I, I feel every morning I
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wake up, I can barely breathe. God, I'm waiting for you to come
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through. But what we're going to hear
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this morning in, in the, in the Christmas story, whatever it is
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that you might be waiting for, maybe I didn't mention it, but
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the Lord right now is revealing what it is that you're waiting
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for. God often does some of his
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greatest work. I want you to hear that while we
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wait. I get it.
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It doesn't feel good. I just admitted I'm not a good
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waiter when it comes to the things of the Lord either.
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I often times wrestle with Him on His timetable.
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That's different than my timetable, and eventually I just
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have to surrender. God, you are all wise.
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You know what you're doing. I have no idea what I'm doing.
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You're in control, God, so I'm trusting you.
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I'm trusting you with these things.
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You know God's pattern as you read through the Bible is often
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one of wanting His people to wait on Him.
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It's one of the ways that He works.
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Here's a great verse. Psalm 2714.
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You don't have to turn there, but you can jot that down if you
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want to. Psalm 2714.
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Wait on the Lord, Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen
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your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.
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Or how about this one? Lamentations 326.
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It is good that one should hope and wait quietly for the
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salvation of the Lord. So as we work our way through
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the text here, we're going to end at the at the end of our
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study with three takeaways. So if you're taking notes, I
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hope that these three takeaways are something you can jot down
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and hold on to and remind yourself of if you're in the
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midst of awaiting season right now.
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But let's start here. And we're going to also take
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note of two things when it comes to the birth of Christ Here.
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We're going to divide these 14 verses into two sections #1 is
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that he became like us. If you want to write that down,
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He became like us. We're going to see here in
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verses one through 7, beginning here at Luke chapter 2, verse 1.
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And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from
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Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
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Now, right away, many of us have already heard these verses since
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we were kids, right? If you were raised in the church
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or if you were ever part of a Christmas pageant, you probably
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had these verses memorized even before you knew who Jesus was
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personally, right? So this is a classic Christmas
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verse. And sometimes when we go through
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the Christmas story, it's easy to lose the wonder of what we
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celebrate. We've been through many
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Christmases. We've read through the Christmas
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story so many times. I'm just praying this morning
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that God might shine a, a, a different kind of a of a light
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on it just to refresh our hearts again at the wonder of what all
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of this is. And the Bible gives us a
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description here in Luke chapter 2 of the birth of Jesus Christ.
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So the scene that we are in here in Luke chapter 2 is about the
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year 4 BC. And again, it says in verse one
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it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from
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Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.
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This census, which by the way, likely included a tax as well.
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So some translations say that this taxation first took place
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while Quirinius was governing Syria.
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So there is a census here which is the numbering of the people.
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And it was taken at this time because the emperor of the Greco
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Roman world, his name was Caesar Augustus, he wanted to show his
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history tells us his supremacy as the great world, ruler of
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this great world empire at the time.
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And I did more study on him than I probably needed to read up a
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lot about this. But but what the text is telling
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us here is that first took place when Korinius was governing
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Syria. And the reason that's important
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is because scholars then give us a specific timeline of when
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these things took place. So we can literally narrow it
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down in history. And there were two reasons here
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why a census or a registration would be given here in Rome.
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Number one, it was given for military purposes, to find out
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how many fighting men were in in the land.
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If we were to take a census here, it'd be like, OK, who have
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you guys look like you could be part of our great Roman army?
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Which one of you guys are the warriors among us?
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And if you know anything about the Roman armies, you know that
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what they did is they would find men.
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They would train them to be some of the world's best and most
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elite soldiers and warriors. And then on top of that, at
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their technology, the swords that they would carry, the
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breastplate, I mean it, it was remarkable.
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So number one, of course, they were, they were taking the
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census for military purposes #2 it was a taxation, as we
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mentioned, to get more revenue because the Roman government was
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providing the world at this time with some pretty great perks.
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Now, if you're a history buff, you have heard of the Pax
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Romana. That's just Latin for the Roman
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peace. And it was a forced Roman peace
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that was forced by the soldiers. And these soldiers would be
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stationed on roads that would be stationed in cities all across
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the world. And what they were doing is they
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were ensuring a relative peace in these days.
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However, of course it was brought on by the force of the
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Romans, but but they were ensuring some level of peace in
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some of these cities, some of these villages and also perhaps
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you've heard of what was called the Roman roads as well.
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At their peak, they built 50,000 miles of Rd. without the
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technology that we have today. So Rome was full of incredible
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builders and innovators. And the importance of those
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roads is that they were tying parts of the world together that
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hadn't been connected in this way.
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And it was at this specific time in history that this connection
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was being made in the world as the result of what Rome was
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doing. The taxation then would help pay
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for these roads as well. And by the way, if you were to
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ever visit Rome, some of you have been there.
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You can walk on these roads still today, which is pretty
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remarkable, 2000 plus years old, but it's all this is happening.
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God's Word tells us this in Galatians chapter 4, verse four.
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He says when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth
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His Son. So it was the fullness of time,
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the perfect time for God to send his Son into the world, because
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the Gospel at this point would spread from Jerusalem to Antioch
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and all around the world on these Roman roads.
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It was the perfect time. The Gospels were written in a
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language that Rome upheld, and that language spread as well
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throughout the world. It was called Koine Greek, and
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that's why, again, our New Testament is written in Greek.
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So again, yes, there was 400 years of silence for God's
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people. But, and it's it's good to take
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note of this. God was working behind the
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scenes in all of this, just as he's working behind the scenes
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in your life as well. And we're going to take note.
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So this registering, this census meant all the people had to go
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back to their hometown where they were born.
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So it would be like wherever you were born, you'd need to leave
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here and go back there. I was born in Minnesota.
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I'm from Philly, but I was born in Minnesota for three months.
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I don't remember it. That would be mean.
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OK today, guys, I got to go back to Minnesota for the census
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that's being taken. And now we know that Jesus was
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raised with his parents in Nazareth, but he was born in
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Bethlehem because that's where his dad was from.
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Joseph was from Bethlehem, and this proves as well that he was
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from the tribe of Judah. He was from the house or the
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lineage of King David. So his birth was fulfilling
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prophecy of the Messiah. That's really important.
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So it says here in verse 3. So all went to be registered,
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everyone to his own city, that is again the city of his origin.
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Now very quickly going back to their own city of origin was
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probably not a Roman requirement, because again, all
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Rome cared about was how many men are there to be counted for
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their army. And then the taxation.
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The taxes, but going back to the city of origin was probably a
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stipulation for the Jewish people that the Jewish leaders
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added to this required Roman census.
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Because as we know, the Jews were meticulous about what tribe
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you're from or what family you belong to.
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And so they closely monitored all those records and then they
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kept them intact in the hometowns.
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So they probably added that then to this Roman census that was
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being taken. So verse 4 tells us Joseph also
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went up from Galilee out of the city of Nazareth.
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This is where he and Mary were living into Judea, to the city
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of David, which is called Bethlehem.
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Now that would be an 80 or 90 mile trip, but they didn't have
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cars, they didn't have motorcycles, they didn't have
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bicycles, so people would walk. So this was no small thing to
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walk 80 or 90 miles for the census.
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And at this point, hundreds of thousands of people are upended
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and on this journey all throughout the land.
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And it says they're going to 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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It's important that that's noted there to be registered with
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Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.
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Now, again, to be betrothed to somebody in this culture is
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different than what we would call engagement in our culture.
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It's even beyond engagement. It's pretty much marriage.
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It's as close to marriage as you can get.
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But the marriage wasn't consummated until the husband
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and the wife were intimate. But at this point, Joseph and
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Mary had not been intimate together.
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And here's Mary, who was with child.
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So Mary at this point is in her third trimester, and
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commentators tell us that she was very likely 14 years old or
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15 years old or 16 years old. She was pregnant, as we know, by
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the Holy Spirit. You can imagine that that caused
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all sorts of problems. Dad moms, how would you respond
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if your 16 year old daughter came home and said, hey guys,
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that's some news, I'm pregnant, but don't worry, it's by the
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Holy Spirit right? There would be a conversation
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that would be had. Yet here she is.
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She is pregnant, but her and Joseph never slept together.
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She's betrothed to her husband. She's in her third trimester
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under the scandal, no doubt in her hometown in Nazareth.
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You can just all imagine all the conversations that are being had
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behind the scenes. At one point, as she was
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beginning to show, she left and went to her cousin Elizabeth
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just to be away for a little bit.
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But the constant ridicule that they must have endured, I can't
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imagine. We do know that later Jesus as
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an adult, when he was in his public ministry, the Pharisees
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would say to him, well, we weren't born of fornication.
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So even they knew the the the things that were being said.
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So not only, again is all of that going on, but now Caesar
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says in Mary's third trimester, everybody needs to get up and go
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to their husband's homeland for a census.
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Again, an 80 or 90 mile walk or as we know with Mary, because
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she was pregnant, she was on a donkey.
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This would be anywhere from a week and a half to a two week
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trip, travelling just to get there and then another week and
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a half, two weeks to get back. So you're talking about a month
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to make all of this happen, if not a little bit more.
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Again, third trimester and interview ladies that have been
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pregnant. Can you imagine that That's one
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way to get labour going? I guess that would be helpful.
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I remember when, when my wife was pregnant and this was our
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first son, we'd never done this before.
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We were just so new at this. And she's beginning to have
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contractions. And so we run to the hospital
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and it's a big deal. And we get there and they're
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like, well, you're not really that far along.
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We don't have a room for you yet.
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So go back home and just walk a lot.
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So we did. We went back home.
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We're walking in the streets. This was February.
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It was winter, it was cold. We're walking around our house.
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And after a period of time, the contractions begin to get more
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intense, and they get closer and closer.
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And she's like, OK, OK, I think it's time.
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And so we rushed back to the hospital again, and they check
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her out again. And they're like, OK, well,
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she's closer now, but she's still not there.
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We're going to get you a room, but we just want you guys to
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walk around the hospital. So I can't remember how many
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times we walked up and down those hospital rooms.
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And meanwhile, she's stopping to catch her breath, and she's in
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pain. And I'm like, is this how it
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always goes? You just help people in pain to
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walk? But I realized how hard it was
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for her, and the only way that my wife Becky would have ever
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taken an 80 to 90 mile trip on a donkey would have been is if
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Caesar demanded it from her. That's the only way she would
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have ever done that. So here's the whole world
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literally up and moving at this time in history.
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Here's what's remarkable. The prophet Micah and Micah
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chapter 5 verse two had predicted this 700 years before
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this happened. So Micah 52 here's what it says,
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but you Bethlehem Ephratha. What's amazing about Ephratha
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there is he's not only saying Bethlehem, that's the specific
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district in Bethlehem. So he's saying, You Bethlehem,
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Ephratha, though you are little among the thousands of Judah,
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yet out of you shall come forth to me the one to be ruler in
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Israel, whose going forth are from old, from everlasting.
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So Christ the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem.
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The prophets had spoken of it hundreds of years previous.
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God had in all of this. Now the perfect man for the job
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to make this happen. And that man's name was Caesar
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Augustus. Now he was Caesar.
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That was his title. Augustus wasn't his name.
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He took that name upon himself. Augustus means of the gods.
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So that just tells you a little bit about who he thought he was.
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He was Caesar of the gods and he wanted everybody to call them
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that Caesar Augustus. Now, Caesar thought that he was
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in control here. But what we'll take note of is
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he wasn't Caesar wasn't the big man that he thought he was,
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right? He was a little Caesar.
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And I heard he later made pizzas at some point.
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So the the timing of all of this was meticulous and purposeful.
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God was orchestrating all of this behind the scenes.
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The commentator, John Darby said this about this, and I love
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this. God's ways are often behind the
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scenes, but he moves the scenes that he's behind.
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And that's exactly what's taking place here.
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The reason the whole world is up and moving is not because Caesar
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of the Gods demanded it. It was because God was
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orchestrating this behind the scenes, just as Micah prophesied
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that this would happen, that the Messiah would come from
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Bethlehem. And little did this whole
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powerful Roman Empire in the Greco Roman world know that they
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were actually the ones revolving around this little baby inside
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this virgin's womb. But it's happening here because
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God was from everlasting. It's happening because God
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called things before they happened or before they came to
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pass. And it's good for us to just
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take note that there's a lot of things as Christians that happen
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in our lives that we don't understand.
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There's things that come into our lives that are inconvenient,
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like this couldn't possibly have come at the worst time.
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You know, when you get a bill and you're like, I don't know
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how I'm going to pay for that. And then another bill shows up
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and then your hot water heater breaks down.
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Then your car needs new tires. And you're just like, what is
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going on? And it's painful.
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But I just want you to know this as a son, as a daughter.
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In the same way that he's working behind the scenes here,
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he's orchestrating his plan in your life too, so you can just
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take a breath and know that he's working.
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He loves you, He promised, though you may not hear from Him
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in this season the way you want to.
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He may not be answering your prayer right now in the timing
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that you hope He will, that he too will never leave you.
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He too will never forsake you. He says He is for you.
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And, and imagine what good He's accomplishing that we just can't
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see right now. But by faith, we believe it and
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he will come through. He will come through on his
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promises. So when you don't see the
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immediate results or when you don't understand why life seems
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to be so difficult right now or when you're in uncertainty and
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you're like, I can't see how we're going to get there.
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Some of us here are thinking, man, Christmas, I don't know how
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I'm going to be able to buy gifts for my kids this year.
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Lord, I'm just so overwhelmed. Yet you can know God will show
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up. God is orchestrating his perfect
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plan in your life. So this trip here from Nazareth
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to Bethlehem was actually a divine set up.
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Caesar may be ruling, but God is over ruling here.
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That's what's taking place. Nothing escapes God's gaze.
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He's sovereign. He is in control behind the
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scenes. And so here they go.
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They're on their way to Bethlehem, pregnant with Jesus.
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Imagine that. Still amazing to me that God
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would leave glory in heaven and then come to be wrapped in flesh
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in the womb of a woman. I'll never get over that.
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And verse 6 says this. So it was that while they were
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there, Bethlehem, the days were completed for her to be
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delivered, and she brought forth her first born son and wrapped
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him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a Manger because
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there was no room for them in the inn.
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So again, there's this census, there's the crowds, hundreds of
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thousands of people, all the commotion, and they're missing
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God in the details of all of that.
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It says here that there was no room for them in the inn.
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This wasn't the Holiday Inn as we might picture it in our
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minds. This was what was called a
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caravan Zeri, A caravan Zeri. It was a place where caravans
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would stop. So if you had camels and you had
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donkeys and you had horses and all the goods that you would be
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traveling with, especially if you're doing a round trip, month
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long trip. It it, it was a large open
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courtyard. And in the center of this
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courtyard was a fountain. And you could bring your animals
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there and they could drink from the fountain.
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And around the courtyard here were wooden doors that opened
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into small stone stalls That would be a place you could let
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your animals roam in the courtyard or you could put them,
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especially if it was cold, into the stalls there.
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And then above the stalls, they would have a second and third
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floor and guests would be able to come and stay there while
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their animals were also were also safe.
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And so because this was for travelers, they wouldn't need to
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pay much, if anything at all. So it wasn't like Joseph needed
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to come up with a little bit more money.
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There just was no room. So again, here, here it was.
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You would stay there. You'd let your animals wander
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around on the 1st floor down by the fountain, or you'd put them
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into these stone stalls. And then the guests could stay
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on the second or third floor whenever there was an open room.
23:57
But when Joseph and Mary came, there was no room for them in
24:01
this inn, in this caravan Zerry, in this cattle yard here.
24:08
So it wasn't the nice batched roof nativity scene that we all
24:12
picture in our minds. We probably got them in our
24:15
homes. We have them out in our front
24:16
yards with lights on them. I've actually got one in my home
24:19
I bought in Israel a number of years ago.
24:21
It's made of olive wood. It's beautiful, I love it.
24:24
But it's not really an accurate scene of what this is Caravan's
24:28
area here. So here they are.
24:31
And in verse 7, Mary brought forth her first born son
24:36
herself. It says there no OBGYN doctor,
24:42
no fetal monitor, no epidurals, no midwife.
24:48
Again, she's likely 14 to 16 years old.
24:52
So she, a teenager here, brings forth her own son.
24:57
Can you imagine? She is no doubt laying out
25:01
somewhere in a dark alleyway somewhere.
25:05
Some say perhaps, maybe she was in a cave and a nearby field
25:09
while her animals perhaps were at this in here.
25:13
But there were no St. lights. There's no electricity.
25:17
There was no running water. We don't know how cold it could
25:21
have been that night. We know that there was the smell
25:24
of cow manure. There was filth.
25:28
And then it says she takes her baby and she wraps him again.
25:32
She does this. She wraps him in swaddling
25:35
cloth. Now, swaddling cloth would have
25:38
been a band that was about four to five inches wide, 18 feet
25:44
long. And a child would be wrapped in
25:46
this very, very tightly so that they couldn't move their limbs,
25:50
maybe somewhat because that brought them some comfort coming
25:53
out of the womb. But more so it was an ancient
25:56
practice because they believed that the limbs of an infant
25:59
wouldn't grow straight unless they were kept very, very, very
26:02
tight for the first several days of their birth.
26:04
And so this was a practice in this culture, which by the way,
26:08
as I think about it, was very similar to the same way that
26:11
Jesus was buried as well. You remember that much in the
26:14
same fashion. So she wraps him in the
26:17
swaddling cloth. This, this 18 foot band and then
26:20
it says she takes him and she lays him in a Manger.
26:24
We've got a picture of what a Manger looks like here on the
26:27
screen. It's not perhaps the Manger that
26:29
we thought it looked like. We may not have a lot of these
26:32
in our nativity scenes, but a Manger is a stone feeding
26:36
through that your animals would eat out of or you'd put water in
26:39
there. So this one in particular,
26:41
there's a number of these that they've unearthed and found that
26:44
go back to these days in Israel today.
26:46
You can see them, get your pictures taken with them.
26:49
This one was a taller one, probably would go to about my
26:52
waist. And so your horses could drink
26:54
from here. They also have lower ones as
26:57
well. But this was very likely not the
27:00
one, but one similar to this, a Manger.
27:03
This is what a Manger is, a stone feeding through where
27:06
Jesus was laid after he was swaddled and placed into this.
27:12
Now, I don't know how you'd be feeling, but I wonder what 16
27:17
year old Mary is thinking at this point in time.
27:19
So again, an Angel came to Mary earlier in the story, told her
27:23
you're going to have a very, very special son.
27:26
He's going to be the Messiah that you've been waiting for now
27:28
for over 4000 years, and he is going to save the world from its
27:35
sin. And on top of that, here's going
27:37
to be his name. You ready?
27:38
It's going to be Jesus. Jesus.
27:41
And then it says the Holy Spirit came upon her.
27:44
She becomes pregnant without ever being intimate with a man.
27:48
And now here she is, without the care of a doctor, without a
27:53
Children's Hospital, and in an alley with the smell of animals
27:58
and hay. Not even with a room, not even
28:01
with a bed for her. And I can imagine there she is.
28:05
The contractions are coming. Joseph is next to her.
28:09
Push, honey, push. You're going to be okay helping
28:12
her out again. When?
28:13
When Becky and I were having our first son, after all of our
28:19
walking, finally we get into a hospital room.
28:21
And what we didn't know is that she was going to be in labor for
28:24
36 hours. That was a long labor.
28:27
You're not sleeping. I felt horrible.
28:29
She was in constant pain. Nothing seemed to be working for
28:32
her. And somewhere at that point, in
28:34
the halfway point of all of this, she's absolutely
28:38
exhausted. She's in a lot of pain from the
28:40
contractions. I'm delirious because I haven't
28:42
slept, but I'm trying to be that strong husband for her.
28:45
Like, I'm going to just help her through this.
28:47
And what can I say to encourage her?
28:48
So I remember saying to her and honey, you are so strong.
28:51
I'm so glad it's you and not me. The the absolute worst thing to
28:56
say, by the way. So guys, don't take don't take
29:01
that as advice at all. I now know what that phrase of
29:03
looks could kill means because she just looks at me and through
29:07
her teeth she says, you're not helping me.
29:10
And all the nurses are laughing and I'm feeling horrible.
29:12
At that point in time, I had to go to the bathroom and splash
29:15
water on my face, which is it was not a pleasant moment.
29:18
But of course, eventually he was born.
29:20
He was healthy. He's 22 years old today.
29:23
Such a privilege. But here's Mary and Joseph.
29:26
They're in an alleyway or again, in a cave.
29:29
We don't know exactly. People are passing by.
29:33
We know it's night time. We do know that because that's
29:35
when the angels came to the shepherds.
29:38
There's no nurses again, no midwives, cold, alone.
29:44
She's a teenager. And again I got to believe she's
29:47
wondering. Lord, I don't get it.
29:51
I don't get it. You told me who was coming.
29:53
You told me who I'm carrying. I felt the privilege of this now
29:58
for the last nine months. So, Lord, why here?
30:02
Why now of all places? Lord, this is not what I would
30:06
imagined when I would be giving birth to this special child.
30:11
Why am I not back in Bethlehem? Why couldn't we have made it
30:13
back first? Lord?
30:14
Why am I that at home with my parents, in my own home,
30:18
surrounded by my family? But again, He was prophesied of
30:23
his people, waited 4000 years. And when He did arrive, after
30:29
all of that waiting, there was no room for him.
30:33
There's no room for him. He could have and would have had
30:37
the right to be born into luxury, the king.
30:42
He could have been born into royalty.
30:45
But what's remarkable about this is that he was born where we
30:49
live. He was born in crowded streets.
30:54
He was born out in the open. He was born, born in the in the
30:58
cold, in the dark, in the filth, much like the condition of most
31:05
of our hearts when he was born into our hearts, cold, dark,
31:10
filthy. And the Bible tells us John says
31:14
this. He came because God so loved the
31:19
cold, dark, filthy world. And this morning he came because
31:26
God so loves you. God so loves you.
31:30
The angels would say this to the shepherds.
31:33
Unto you shepherds is born this day, a Savior, which is Christ
31:39
the Messiah, Christ the Lord. And so this is the news you
31:43
would think the whole world would want to take hold of.
31:45
Like he's finally here. We've been waiting, and yet
31:49
there was no room for him. It's remarkable.
31:54
Yet here he is. He's born.
31:56
And you can imagine these little pink, soft little hands of his
32:02
in the Manger would one day be the same hands that those Roman
32:06
spikes would be driven through. Or those little feet of his
32:10
laying there in the Manger would one day walk on the dusty roads
32:14
of Galilee and they would be put onto a Roman cross.
32:19
Or that little head of his would one day wear a crown of thorns.
32:27
He became like us. He had to, he had to take on
32:30
humanity. The Bible says that He became
32:32
like us in every way, yet without sin, so that he could
32:37
become the perfect substitute to forgive our sin, to bring us out
32:42
of the cold and the dark and the filthiness of our sin.
32:46
So our first point again, he became like us #2 and we'll,
32:50
we'll work through verses 8 through 14 here a little bit
32:53
quick, quicker #2 He came to be with us.
32:57
So He came to be like us #2 He came to be with us.
33:04
Verse 8 says this. Now there were in the same
33:08
country shepherds living out in the fields, and they were
33:13
keeping watch over their flock of sheep here by night.
33:17
And behold or take note of this. An Angel of the Lord stood
33:23
before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them.
33:28
Can you imagine? You're just going to work, doing
33:31
the same thing you've done, night after night, year after
33:33
year. But this was no ordinary night,
33:36
right? This silent night quickly became
33:38
something much different. And it says that they were
33:41
greatly afraid. So here are these country
33:45
shepherds out in the fields at night.
33:48
If you know anything about shepherds, by society standards
33:51
in this day, they were considered dirty, smelly people
33:56
by the Jewish leaders. They were ceremonially unclean
33:59
according to the Levitical law because they were always
34:02
watching sheep. So they didn't comply with
34:05
Sabbath regulations. So they were out Sabbath.
34:09
The shepherds, when they would come into the villages and come
34:13
into town, it was said that they would, people in the villages
34:16
would lock their doors because things tended to disappear when
34:20
these shepherds were around. And so imagine these shepherds
34:24
doing what they do every night and the Angel appears and they
34:28
were greatly afraid. They were terrified because of
34:31
the glory that's shown around this particular Angel.
34:34
If an Angel showed up in your room, what would you do?
34:37
I think my heart would pound just like these shepherds did,
34:41
right? I would be afraid as well.
34:43
And the ancient Jewish collection of writings called
34:46
the Talmud tells us this, that the shepherds in the fields of
34:50
Bethlehem, they were specifically watching over the
34:54
sheep that would be slaughtered in the Temple.
34:57
So if you know, a sheep would be sacrificed every day and every
35:01
evening in the temple and, and, and likely these shepherds were
35:05
caring for those sheep. But sadly, what would happen is
35:09
it all became about the money. It became a racket, a money
35:12
making scheme in these days. So the religious, religious
35:16
leaders would take what God instructed for good, and they
35:19
were making all kinds of money off of it.
35:23
But what I love here is that when God wanted to send the
35:26
greatest news ever to mankind, he goes to the lowest rung of
35:33
the ladder. He goes to these blue collar
35:36
workers who were excluded from so much of society.
35:40
They were certainly outcasts in society.
35:43
And I can just imagine it's as if God was saying that this good
35:47
news is not just for the religious.
35:51
This good news is not just for the elite.
35:54
It is for all of you. It's for all people.
35:59
Look at what it says here in verse 10.
36:01
Then the Angel said to them, do not be afraid, for behold, I
36:07
bring you good tidings, good news, gospel.
36:12
That's where we get that word from.
36:13
I bring you good tidings of great joy, which will be to all
36:18
people, not just the religious, not just the elite in society,
36:24
to all people. And by the way, all people
36:26
includes you, and it includes me here as well.
36:29
So I'm thankful for this verse. And then it says, for there is
36:33
born to you. The Angel here is speaking to
36:36
these dirty, filthy shepherds for unto you.
36:42
And by the way, you can put your name in there as well.
36:46
I've done that. For unto Josh is born this day
36:52
in the city of David, a savior. Hey shepherds, I know that you
36:58
are casted out by society, but I want you to know that this news
37:02
is for you. You have been given today a
37:07
Savior who is Christ, who is the Messiah, who is the Redeemer,
37:12
the Lord. The Lord dares the name Yahweh.
37:16
And verse 12, this will be the sign to you.
37:19
The Angel could have said, hey, go find him, but he said no
37:22
specifically there's a sign you're going to, there's going
37:24
to be something you're going to need to take note of.
37:26
This will be the sign to you. You will find a babe wrapped in
37:29
swaddling clothes and lying in a Manger.
37:33
What did they think of that? A Manger.
37:35
What's that about? And then it says in verse 13,
37:39
suddenly, immediately here there was the with the Angel, a
37:43
multitude of the heavenly hosts, a multitude of all these other
37:47
angels, countless angels. And it says that they were in
37:50
the sky. Here they are praising God and
37:52
saying verse 14, glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace,
37:58
goodwill toward men and these shepherds minds must have been
38:02
blown at this point. I can't imagine.
38:05
What we do know is we continue to read the story.
38:07
The shepherds go on to find the baby Jesus.
38:10
They become some of the first evangelist because they were so
38:14
overwhelmed, so excited and with worship in their hearts.
38:18
It says that they went into the villages and they were telling
38:20
everybody you guys will not believe.
38:22
We were just doing our thing. And then an Angel appeared and
38:25
then there was a countless sea of angels and we went exactly as
38:28
the angels told us. And there was the baby and and I
38:31
know he was in a he was in a Manger.
38:32
I can't believe it a feeding through.
38:33
But there he was and we worshipped him.
38:36
Remarkable picture here. And it's not what you would
38:39
expect. I get it.
38:40
It's this is not how I would have written it for the Messiah
38:44
to come into the world. It's probably not how you would
38:46
have written it. But here he is nonetheless born
38:49
in a feeding through outside no room long journey from home.
38:59
The first guests that show up are these dirty, filthy
39:03
shepherds. But the Lord, in his wisdom and
39:09
His goodness knew exactly what he was doing.
39:13
He lays the baby Jesus here, out in an alleyway where the crowds
39:18
were. He lays them out where the
39:20
people were. The first ones that he invites
39:24
to come see Jesus are these outcast shepherds, the lowest
39:29
ranking in society and in culture, because the reason that
39:35
he came was to be with us. That's why he came.
39:39
The reason that he came this way, I believe, is so that
39:42
nobody in the room here this morning can ever be embarrassed
39:47
to come to him, no matter who you are or no matter what you've
39:51
done or no matter what kind of brokenness is in your past.
39:55
Even if you were the one that broke the the thing things that
39:59
are a part of your life right now.
40:01
God brought him in the world this way so that all of us would
40:05
be approachable to him. Every single person in this
40:08
room, every single person listening to my voice.
40:12
And this is important because sometimes in the church we can
40:16
feel that Jesus is far from us. We can feel he's unapproachable
40:23
that that he. He doesn't want to draw dear to
40:25
us because of our sin, because of our failures, because of our
40:30
addiction, because of our anger issues, because of the doubt
40:34
that we have. But the Christmas story would
40:37
say this. He came into our mess and even
40:44
when we knew it not, He wanted to be close to us.
40:49
Romans 5 While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
40:54
He came to us, He approached us, and today he is still here.
41:01
He is among us this morning. No matter who you are or what
41:05
you've done, He is approaching you as we move our way into
41:10
Christmas. And this is the thrill of hope
41:14
that we sing about every time of year when it comes to Christmas.
41:17
Jesus came to the lowest place. Jesus came to the most common
41:23
among us. Jesus came so that we could all
41:26
come and approach him and be with him.
41:30
So if you feel far from God today, know this.
41:33
When Jesus came to us, it was so that he could give his life for
41:39
us. That was the purpose.
41:41
He's the hero of the story. But he did come for you
41:46
individually. The Bible tells us this.
41:48
Every man and every woman has a conscience, and our conscience
41:53
is guilty because of our sin. And that's what we feel when we
41:57
feel like, no, there's no way. There's no way that God could
42:00
accept me. Maybe you feel so guilty because
42:04
your thoughts have told you nobody in life really wants me.
42:08
Why would God want me? Maybe you're thinking, Pastor, I
42:12
hear you, and it makes sense for the person next to me, behind
42:15
me. But you don't know what I've
42:16
done. And the truth is, you're right.
42:19
I don't know what you've done. But here's what I do know.
42:22
The Bible tells us this. The good news is that all you
42:26
provide is the Sinner. He provides the Savior.
42:30
That's the good news. You provide the broken, filthy
42:36
person that you've acknowledged that you are.
42:41
And you say I, I recognize I'm in desperate need for a savior.
42:45
If anybody needs a savior, it's me.
42:49
If anyone feels their utter hopelessness to do anything
42:51
about my, my problem of sin, it's me.
42:54
And so because you needed rescuing, a savior came.
42:59
Because there was great need on your part that you couldn't get
43:02
out of yourself. A Savior came.
43:05
The Savior came to die for our sins, to pay the price for our
43:09
sins, to set us free from our sins.
43:12
And I love this, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
43:18
So He came to save us. But I also want to say this, He
43:22
came for those of you who have had to bury a loved one this
43:25
year. We've had so many funerals.
43:29
I've been a part of a number of them this year, and when you do
43:33
approach the holidays and there's an empty seat at the
43:35
table and you feel the sting, just be reminded of this.
43:40
The Savior came. And because of that, there's a
43:44
reunion that's coming that the loved one that's not here today
43:48
is alive and well. They're more alive than they've
43:50
ever been before. That someday you're going to be
43:54
able to see them and hug them again and look into their faces
43:59
again and hear their voices again.
44:02
And we look forward to that. Why?
44:04
Because a saviour has come. If you're facing an illness this
44:09
time of year, maybe this time of year you were diagnosed with
44:12
cancer and you're coming into Christmas like that for the
44:14
first time, feeling so different than what it felt like a year
44:18
ago. And your hearts are broken.
44:20
You have a Savior who's never going to leave you.
44:24
He's going to walk with you through all the chemo and
44:27
through all the treatments. And his word says his joy will
44:30
hold you up because a savior has come.
44:34
So as the worship team comes out again, if you are in a season of
44:38
waiting today, just like God's people for so many years were
44:44
waiting, I just want to quickly give you 3 takeaways that you
44:47
can jot down that maybe something you can hold on to in
44:52
the weeks ahead. 3 takeaways for those who are waiting this
44:55
morning. Number one, God's delays are not
44:58
God's denials. God's delays are not His
45:03
denials. Again, 4000 years since the
45:09
Messiah Savior had been promised all the way back in Genesis
45:13
chapter 315. Then 400 years of waiting
45:18
between the Old Testament as you move into the New Testament with
45:24
no word from the Lord, no prophet speaking on his behalf,
45:28
and the people who were waiting for the Messiah after 400 years
45:32
of silence. The story of Christmas tells us
45:35
he was never distant, that he was moving behind the scenes all
45:40
the while. They thought perhaps he had
45:43
forgotten them, they thought perhaps he had forsaken them.
45:47
But the reality is He never did. His delays are not His denials.
45:53
The baby was born. Jesus was born because God keeps
45:58
His promises to awaiting people. And He is the same yesterday,
46:02
today, and forever. And if you've got an example of
46:06
His faithfulness in your past, I can promise you He is just as
46:10
faithful today and He will be ever faithful tomorrow.
46:14
That is His promise to you. So if you're waiting here for
46:17
him, let me just tell you this. He will come through, He will
46:22
come through. So hold fast, don't give up,
46:27
don't throw in the towel, and you will see the goodness of God
46:31
in the land of the living. Just as the psalmist said #2 God
46:35
works while we wait. God works while we wait.
46:39
Think about it. The census, the crowds, the
46:42
people gathering, moving, just all of this insanity, all the
46:46
hustle, all the bustle. God was working.
46:50
God was working, Mary and an alleyway.
46:55
God, I don't understand your ways.
46:56
Why here, why now? God was working, God was
47:01
working. So what you're walking through
47:04
this morning may not make sense to you either.
47:08
But listen, I want you to hear this.
47:10
Waiting is never wasted when waiting on God.
47:15
Waiting is never wasted while waiting on God.
47:19
Listen again. I read this at the beginning,
47:20
but I want to read it one more time.
47:22
Psalm 2714 says this. Wait on the Lord.
47:26
That word wait, by the way, doesn't mean a passive waiting
47:29
like I'm just going to sit down and do nothing until God shows
47:33
up. That waiting literally means
47:35
this. A patient confidence.
47:41
Wait on the Lord patiently with confidence, Be of good courage.
47:49
And then here's His promise to you today He shall strengthen
47:54
your heart. You're feeling weak today.
47:59
You're feeling weary today. Well, join in the song of the
48:03
ages. The weary world rejoices.
48:06
He says, wait, I say on the Lord.
48:09
So if you are in a waiting season right now, you can be of
48:13
good courage. You can be confident today with
48:17
the authority of God's Word, by the power of the Holy Spirit
48:20
speaking to your heart, that while you wait, He is working
48:24
just as he did 2000 years ago. He's doing on this day today, in
48:30
your heart, in your life #3 and finally, while we are waiting on
48:34
God, we are waiting with God. While we are waiting on God, we
48:40
are waiting with God. In other words, God is there the
48:44
whole time. God has never left you.
48:49
You know another one of his names is Emmanuel.
48:53
You guys know what that means, right?
48:55
God with us, He's never going to leave you.
49:00
He promised that He's never going to forsake you.
49:04
So for those of you here waiting on that doctor's diagnosis that
49:07
we mentioned, He's here with you and He's not going to leave you.
49:12
You're waiting on a marriage to be healed and your heart is
49:14
broken. He is with you, those of you
49:17
single people in the room, and you've been waiting for a godly
49:20
spouse. While you're waiting, He is with
49:23
you. If you're waiting for a prodigal
49:25
son or a daughter, the pain of that, especially this time of
49:30
year, or a husband or a spouse or a parent, you're not waiting
49:35
alone. God is with you.
49:38
If you're waiting for a loved one to come to faith and you're
49:40
thinking, Lord, this year, this Christmas, I pray that they come
49:43
to the service. I pray as Pastor Edge gives the
49:46
Gospel Lord that they'll receive it well while you're waiting.
49:50
Whether that does or doesn't happen this year, God is going
49:52
to be with you while you're waiting on God, in the grief and
49:57
in the heartache to try to navigate through the holidays
50:00
without that loved one. While you're waiting on God,
50:05
you're waiting with God. And He's working while you're
50:09
waiting. Because His delays are not His
50:13
denials. So as I close, I just want to
50:20
briefly share something with you that a dear sister wrote a
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number of years ago just to encourage you as we finish this
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up. And then we're going to stand
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and we're going to sing and just pray that God seals these things
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up in our hearts today. But here's what she wrote.
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I love this. Just because it's hard doesn't
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mean God's not in it. Just because it hurts doesn't
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mean he can't use it. Just because you feel alone, it
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doesn't mean he's not working. Just because no one on earth
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applauds you doesn't mean heaven's not cheering you on.
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Just because because others are against you doesn't mean that
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God's not for you. You say, Lord, I'm waiting here
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for you. Well, joy to the world.
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The Lord has come to you, and He will make good on every single
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one of his promises. You believe that I do, I do.
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So let's stand together. God, we thank you for your word.
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We thank you for the promise, the coming promise of our King,
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of our Savior. We are now waiting, Lord, for
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the second coming of our King and our Savior.
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We believe, Lord, you could be back at any moment, but we
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believe, God, you're working while we're waiting.
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And so we trust you today. We love you today.
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And we are so thankful, Lord, even in the heartache, even in
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the pain, even in the confusion, we know that there has been joy
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that has brought to the world because the Lord has come, and
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heaven and nature can sing because of that.
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So we love you, Jesus, we trust you.
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This morning You've been nothing but faithful to us, and we know
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you will be nothing but faithful still.
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And we pray these things now in Jesus good name, Amen.
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We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible study
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delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church for
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prayer. Call us at 87730 Grace that's
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877-304-7223. To listen to this message in its
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integrity or to join us for our live stream services, visit us
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online at Calvary Co dot Church or download our free Calvary
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Church app. Be blessed as you worship Jesus
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this week.