I recently heard an audio version of a book which was talking about Dr. Martin Luther King’s famous, “I have a dream” speech. It started out boring, people were even falling asleep. People had been outside for hours and they were hot and tired.[1] Then I recently read the following.

However, I have learned something additional lately—thanks in part to Mahalia Jackson and Martin Luther King, Jr. On August 28, 1963, King began his speech to 250,000 people on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. However, Mahalia recognized the potential power of the moment and need for a course correction in Dr. King’s speech. At that moment, she began to call out repeatedly from her spot behind him on the platform, “Tell them about the dream, Martin.” And the rest is history!

We need to dream and let those dreams lead our vision. Over the last year, our church and our leaders have talked a lot about our vision for the future. We have narrowed it down to Reach the Lost, Nurture Faith, Meet Family Needs. That is our vision statement, but I believe that flows out of our dreams.

Our Mission Statement comes from Matthew 28:19-20:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Our vision comes from the mission. We must think, “How do we achieve the Great Commission?”

So, we have the Vision Statement: Reach the Lost, Nurture Faith, Meet Family Needs

1. We, as a church, are called to “reach the lost.” This means that we are called to evangelism. We read the great commission up top.
2. We, as a church, are called to “nurture faith.” Once we reach people with the Gospel we cannot just drop them. No, they are then brought into our fellowship. We are to minister to them and alongside them, we want to “make disciples.” We want to worship the Lord together.

• We, as a church, are called to “meet family needs.” I wrestle with this because not everyone is a part of a biological family. Some are single young adults, some are single seniors, some are widows, or widowers; however, we are a family. When we say that we are meeting family needs this means that we are need meeting. This is “service” or another word would be “ministry.”

1. What can you do? To do this we must break down the “vision statement” into the “vision path.” We are starting with the big picture of the great commission and then we bring it more specific with the vision statement and now we are going even more specific to the vision path. Let’s get more specific as a church and then let’s see how you fit. The following come from the five (5) purposes of the church which are: evangelism, discipleship, worship, ministry and fellowship. We as a church will:
   1. Promote a culture  of fellowship: in fellowship we will “bear one another’s burdens,” “rejoice together,” and work together for the other four (4) purposes of the church recognizing that we sharpen each other and a cord of three strands is not easily broken.

Key Scriptures for fellowship:

Eccl. 4:12

Though one may be overpowered,

two can defend themselves.

A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Prov. 27:17

As iron sharpens iron,

so one man sharpens another.

1. Where do you fit: You fit everywhere in fellowship. You are part of the church by attending. But fellowship goes deeper. We are in fellowship when we are taking communion together and supporting each other in baptism. We are in fellowship when we share prayer requests together and when we pray for one another. We are in fellowship when we help each other.
2. You are helping in fellowship by attending, by praying, by supporting.

• You are helping fellowship when you participate in discipleship, evangelism, ministry and worship.

1. [We will] Nurture a culture of Discipleship- we will have opportunities of Christian Connections for spiritual growth in study, prayer, accountability. This allows our members to hold a Biblical Worldview. Discipleship must lead to evangelism, worship, ministry and include fellowship.

Key Scripture for Discpleship:

2 Tim. 3:16-17

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

1. We are helping in discipleship when we take part in Christian Connections, when we engage on Sunday mornings during the sermon.
2. If you are here and you like music but not preaching and so you just “get through the sermon” then you are inhibiting discipleship in your own life.

• We are helping in discipleship when we allow ourselves to be teachable and open to reading, studying, and listening to God’s word recognizing that we never stop learning all that God wants us to learn and that we always have a need for God to speak into our lives.

1. We are helping discipleship when we are disciples in our lives. When we are imitating Christ in our life we are helping the church in discipleship.
2. We are all helping in discipleship when we are about fellowship, ministry, evangelism and worship

1. [We will] Cultivate a culture of Evangelism- Disciples make disciples and we will have training in evangelism, encouraging evangelism and in corporate evangelism, relational evangelism, lifestyle evangelism, servant evangelism, invitational evangelism as well as direct evangelism. This will include encouraging the body of Christ to know why they believe, what they believe and the correct understanding of the Gospel.

Key verse for evangelism:

Matt 28:19-20:

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.

1. We are helping the church in evangelism when we are lifestyle witnesses and relational witnesses. This means our lives reflect Jesus and we build relationships and share the Gospel. We can also help with the evangelism movements of the church and directly share the Gospel.
2. My prayer, my dream, is that we have an evangelical mindset. I hope we think about the reality of the Gospel in all we do.

• Now, for our shut ins, our saints in their homes, they can still help. Please pray. Prayer is not the least that we can do, it is the greatest we can do. James 5:16: The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

No one comes to know Christ as Savior without someone praying for them.

1. I desire, I dream, that we would have a group meet here every week to pray for the lost. We need to pray for this giant spiritual need.

1. [We will] Celebrate a culture of vertical worship- we will have corporate opportunities to worship the Lord. We will have special opportunities of worship; we will train the body of Christ in what worship is.

Key verse for Worship:

Rev 4:10-11

The twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne, and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:

“You are worthy, our Lord and God,

to receive glory and honor and power,

for you created all things,

and by your will they were created

and have their being.”

1. We are part of the church’s vision in worship when we try our best to worship God in all we do. We all help in the worship on Sunday mornings or special services. Please take worship seriously.
2. We inhibit worship when we make it about us and not God.

• By the way, prayer helps worship. Prayer is always powerful.

1. [We will] Uphold a culture of Serving Others : In service we love God and love people, recognizing that even our enemy is our neighbor. We want to be full of grace and truth to everyone as Jesus is grace and truth (John 1:14). We will minister in mission opportunities and encourage smaller ministries.

Key verse for Serving others:

Matthew 22:37-38:

‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

1. We are helping with this part of our vision when we help with Mission Encounter, or serve at the food pantry, or somewhere else.
2. If you are serving your neighbor, or coworker, you are helping in this.
3. Don’t trivialize what you can or can’t do:
4. Do you bake meals to help the caring committing? You are serving.
5. Do you pray for our activities? That is helping in serving.
6. Do you visit the sick or the shut-in? That is serving.
7. Can you read to children in the childcare?
8. Can you help with our Altercare Ministry by simply showing up?
9. Do you help count money at events? Do you help with Carnation Days? Do you help with the facilities?

Close:

I want to give an opportunity for commitment. We are going to dismiss to the fellowship hall for lunch, but I hope our discussion will go on.

We will spend time in prayer and discussion with questions about how you fit into this vision statement and path. This way we can all help: Reach the Lost, Nurture Faith, Meet Family Needs.

Prayer

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

[1] Audio version of the book Killing Kennedy

Introduction:

Christmas is about a month away. Actually one month ago we celebrated Christmas Eve. Let’s flashback to Christmas season.

Begin with a video clip from the Movie Elf where Buddy the Elf finds out that Santa is an imposter.

How much confidence do we have in an imposter?

I would think none. We want the real deal. We want the real Santa or… the real Jesus, the real God.

As we look at the rest of Revelation chapter 1 we see that Revelation 1 shows Jesus as God. We see Jesus as the Judge. We see Jesus as the eternal One. We see Jesus as outside of time. We see Jesus as pure, wise and the conqueror.

Theme:

As we look at this passage my Theme is that John sees the glorified Christ and He is commanded to write.

Application:

My burning application is that Jesus is amazing, you’ll see.

Please turn with me to Revelation 1:9-20:

I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, ¹¹ which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”

¹² I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. ¹⁴ The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. ¹⁶ In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

¹⁷ When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

¹⁹ “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. ²⁰ The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

1. I want to briefly summarize the passage.
   1. In verses 9-11 John is identified as the messenger.
   2. John is in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day.
   3. The Lord’s Day may be Sunday, or it may mean that He was “in the Spirit” when the Day of the Lord came. The Day of the Lord is a time when God makes everything right. So, in this case it means when the Lord showed him this vision.
   4. What does it mean to be “In the Spirit”? This could mean that He was spending time in his devotions and I like to think that way but I don’t think it is likely. It is more likely that John was taken up by the Spirit.
   5. The Holy Spirit got ahold of him and he was in a state for God to speak to him.
   6. Are we in a place for God to speak to us? Think about that.

Jonathon Edwards in the Spirit:

The first instance that I remember of that sort of inward, sweet delight in God and divine things that I have lived much in since, was on reading those words, I Tim. i:17. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever, Amen. As I read the words, there came into my soul, and was as it were diffused through it, a sense of the glory of the Divine Being; a new sense, quite different from any thing I ever experienced before Never any words of scripture seemed to me as these words did. I thought with myself, how excellent a Being that was, and how happy I should be, if I might enjoy that God, and be rapt up to him in heaven, and be as it were swallowed up in him for ever! I kept saying, and as it were singing over these words of scripture to myself; and went to pray to God that I might enjoy him, and prayed in a manner quite different from what I used to do; with a new sort of affection. But it never came into my thought, that there was any thing spiritual, or of a saving nature in this.[1]

Not long after I first began to experience these things, I gave an account to my father of some things that had passed in my mind. I was pretty much affected by the discourse we had together; and when the discourse was ended, I walked abroad alone, in a solitary place in my father’s pasture, for contemplation. And as I was walking there, and looking up on the sky and clouds, there came into my mind so sweet a sense of the glorious majesty and grace of God, that I know not how to express. I seemed to see them both in a sweet conjunction; majesty and meekness joined together; it was a sweet, and gentle, and holy majesty; and also a majestic meekness; an awful sweetness; a high, and great, and holy gentleness.

1. John was on an island called Patmos for preaching the Gospel. I like what the Life Application Study Bible says:
2. John was exiled to Patmos because he refused to stop preaching the Good News. We may not face persecution for our faith as the early Christians did, but even with our freedom few of us have the courage to share God’s Word with others. If we hesitate to share our faith during easy times, how will we do during times of persecution?[2]
3. John hears a voice and the voice comes from behind him and the voice was like a trumpet and He told John to write to the seven churches. We will come back to the seven churches in a couple of weeks. I want to move on to the description of Jesus.
4. Let’s walk through the descriptions of King Jesus and gain insight.[3]
   1. In 1717, King Louis XIV of France died. Preferring to be called “Louis the Great,” he was the monarch who declared, “I am the State!” His court was the most magnificent in Europe, and his funeral was the most spectacular. In the church where the ceremony was performed, his body lay in a golden coffin. To dramatize his greatness, orders had been given that the cathedral would be very dimly lit with only one special candle that was to be set above the coffin. The thousands of people in attendance waited in silence. Then Bishop Massillon began to speak. Slowly reaching down, he snuffed out the candle and said, “Only God is great.”[4]
   2. In the following verses we see Jesus as God. We see Him as the Great and Awesome God.
   3. Do you ever struggle in your faith?
   4. I’m serious, please honestly answer, I do [raise your hand]. There are times when the devil tries to work on me (Eph. 6:10-12) and I start to doubt this book [hold up the Bible]. I start to doubt the Bible. You know the parable of the sower in Matthew 13. I heard about a sermon from David Jeremiah where he says whenever God is doing something good, God is planting seed, imagine the devil trying to pluck those seeds up. The devil is the crows. (Matthew 13:4 and 19) Sometimes the devil likes to get at me.
   5. However, when I get into this book God speaks. God brings me back to my senses. In verse 9 the text says, “The Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.” Verse 2 says “The Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus Christ.” I think I see a theme laid out already. I heard it said:
   6. This book will keep you from sin and sin will keep you from this book.
   7. The cool think about Revelation is the cross reference. As I was studying these descriptions of Jesus I saw cross references in Daniel 7:1-14, but also in Isaiah, Ezekiel, the rest of Revelation and the Bible. The cross references prove this is from God. This is God’s Word. You see no one, let alone forty people over 1200 plus year, could write all 66 of these books and make this connect. This is God’s Word.
   8. All throughout Revelation we see that John uses an Old Testament pool of images. His audience would have known these.
   9. In verse 12 John turns to see who was speaking to him and he sees 7 Golden Lampstands.
   10. Lampstands: this comes from Temple imagery
   11. You would come in the sanctuary and see the curtain between the sanctuary and the Holy of Holies. There you would see the alter of incense. To your right would be the table of show bread, to the left was the seven branched candelabra.
   12. This is the first example of John using temple imagery.
   13. John sees us to be priests (verse 6) and that is another example of the Temple imagery. But as we go throughout this chapter we see Jesus as the High Priest and the King. Hebrews 9:11 shows Jesus as our High Priest.
   14. We see this Temple, Old Testament, imagery all throughout Revelation.
   15. John says that he sees one like a Son of Man in verse 13. This is the beginning of the cross references and connection with Daniel 7:1-14. This is the beginning of showing Jesus as God.
   16. Notice how John says, “like” a “Son of Man.” All the way through John’s vision we see “like” and “as”
   17. This is a signal to us that even though he uses this imagery it cannot fully convey the reality of the vision he is having.
   18. He is indicating this image I am explaining doesn’t fully contain the reality but it points to it.
   19. How do you describe the indescribable?
   20. One “like” a Son of Man. Clothed with a long robe and a golden sach.
   21. Clothing: the attire of the High Priest
   22. The attire of a King
   23. Jesus is the High Priest and the King
   24. Head and hair white as white wool, white as snow. This has the idea of purity.
   25. This image comes from Daniel 7 and the Ancient of Days.
   26. “Ancient of Days” was God in Daniel 7. John is saying that Jesus is God!
   27. John is using the Jewish pool of imagery to show that Jesus is God.
   28. Dan 7:9-10: As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated, and the books were opened.
   29. The thing is Daniel 7 is a major cross reference but only one among many. This passage is littered with connecting points throughout the Bible.
   30. Actually, I want to give you a homework assignment go home and use your study Bible, or if you don’t have one let me know and I will get you one. Walk through this passage this week and look at the cross reference and let God speak to you. You can easily do this on Biblegateway.com.
   31. The Ancient of Days is connecting Jesus as Lord. Is Jesus our Lord?
   32. His eyes like a flame of fire, His feet like burnished bronze refined as in a furnace.
   33. Images of light and fire in a Jewish pool of imagery are images for God.
   34. John is utilizing imagery to describe his encounter with Jesus to show that Jesus is God.
   35. His voice is “like the sound of many waters.”
   36. Verse 10: John had said that the voice is like a loud voice “like a trumpet.”
       1. Our logical left brain wants to know which it is.
       2. John would say both, it is both. These are images that transcend reality.

• John changes his description frequently. He modulates his imagery often.

1. He is showing to his readers that no images are sufficient to contain our reality.
2. We cannot substitute the image for the reality.
3. John is describing Jesus as overwhelming
4. Hebrews 12:29: Our God is a consuming fire
5. Verse 16: in His right hand… Sharp two edged sword: The Word is the unchangeable reality in which all that is unreal crumbles.
6. All that is false finds its demise when it encounters the WORD

• Let’s apply: We see in verse 17: When John sees him he falls at his feet as though dead.
  1. This was common in the Jewish pool of images when one encounters God. They fall down and worship.
  2. How do we respond to this passage?
  3. How do we respond with the image of Jesus as God?
  4. How do we respond with the double-edged sword? That represents the Word of God. You know how Jesus responded to the devil in Matthew 4, anyone can answer… with the Word.
  5. This passage encourages and convicts me. I am encouraged by the validity and importance of the Scripture. I am challenged and convicted to take the Word seriously. (2 Timothy 2:15 and 3:16-17)
  6. Just like the Jewish pool of imagery Jesus says “don’t be afraid”
  7. Jesus is the Living One: amplified: I was dead before, but I am alive forevermore.
  8. Jesus has the keys to death and hades, who? Only Jesus.
  9. Jesus is in charge.
  10. Jesus tells John to write the things that he has seen, that he is seeing and that will take place after this.
  11. Greek preposition translated “with” There is a standard Greek word for this preposition, but this never occurs in Revelation, nor in the LXX. So, how do you say “with?” So, he uses another preposition. The NASB and most all translations, translates it “after” as in “’after’ these things.” It could be that it really is “with” and “after” as in both. John could be playing off both.
  12. We use “after” in this context to get the idea that Revelation is to be translated in a futurist way.

Close:

Theme:

John sees the glorified Christ and He is commanded to write.

Application:

My burning application is that Jesus is amazing, I hope you have seen that. I hope you are encouraged and challenged by who Jesus Is as well as the Word of God is His Word.

I like what the Life Application Study Bible says:

Revelation will challenge your mental picture of Jesus Christ. What forms your impression of him right now— famous paintings, movies, Sunday school art? Do you ever picture Jesus with a gold sash and snow white, woolly hair? Do his eyes flash fire and his feet glow like bronze? When you imagine Jesus speaking to you, does his voice thunder like mighty ocean waves? Reevaluate the way you think of Jesus as you read and study Revelation. Allow his powerful presence to transform your life.[5]

The Real Jesus Christ

The greatness of God is most clearly displayed in his Son. And the glory of the gospel is only made evident in his Son. That’s why Jesus’ question to his disciples [in Matthew 16] is so important: “Who do you say that I am?”

The question is doubly crucial in our day, because [no one is as popular in the U.S. as Jesus]—and not every Jesus is the real Jesus. …

There’s the Republican Jesus—who is against tax increases and activist judges, for family values and owning firearms.

There’s Democrat Jesus—who is against Wall Street and Wal-Mart, for reducing our carbon footprint and printing money.

There’s Therapist Jesus—who helps us cope with life’s problems, heals our past, tells us how valuable we are and not to be so hard on ourselves.

There’s Starbucks Jesus—who drinks fair trade coffee, loves spiritual conversations, drives a hybrid, and goes to film festivals.

There’s Open-minded Jesus—who loves everyone all the time no matter what (except for people who are not as open-minded as you).

There’s Touchdown Jesus—who helps athletes fun faster and jump higher than non-Christians and determines the outcomes of Super Bowls.

There’s Martyr Jesus—a good man who died a cruel death so we can feel sorry for him.

There’s Gentle Jesus—who was meek and mild, with high cheek bones, flowing hair, and walks around barefoot, wearing a sash (while looking very German).

There’s Hippie Jesus—who teaches everyone to give peace a chance, imagines a world without religion, and helps us remember that “all you need is love.”

There’s Yuppie Jesus—who encourages us to reach our full potential, reach for the stars, and buy a boat.

There’s Spirituality Jesus—who hates religion, churches, pastors, priests, and doctrine, and would rather have people out in nature, finding “the god within” while listening to ambiguously spiritual music.

There’s Platitude Jesus—good for Christmas specials, greeting cards, and bad sermons, inspiring people to believe in themselves.

There’s Revolutionary Jesus—who teaches us to rebel against the status quo, stick it to the man, and blame things on “the system.”

There’s Guru Jesus—a wise, inspirational teacher who believes in you and helps you find your center.

There’s Boyfriend Jesus—who wraps his arms around us as we sing about his intoxicating love in our secret place.

There’s Good Example Jesus—who shows you how to help people, change the planet, and become a better you.

And then there’s Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God. Not just another prophet. Not just another Rabbi. Not just another wonder-worker. He was the one they had been waiting for: the Son of David and Abraham’s chosen seed; the one to deliver us from captivity; the goal of the Mosaic law; Yahweh in the flesh; the one to establish God’s reign and rule; the one to heal the sick, give sight to the blind, freedom to the prisoners and proclaim Good News to the poor; the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world.

This Jesus was the Creator come to earth and the beginning of a New Creation. He embodied the covenant, fulfilled the commandments, and reversed the curse. This Jesus is the Christ that God spoke of to the Serpent; the Christ prefigured to Noah in the flood; the Christ promised to Abraham; the Christ prophesied through Balaam before the Moabites; the Christ guaranteed to Moses before he died; the Christ promised to David when he was king; the Christ revealed to Isaiah as a Suffering Servant; the Christ predicted through the Prophets and prepared for through John the Baptist.

This Christ is not a reflection of the current mood or the projection of our own desires. He is our Lord and God. He is the Father’s Son, Savior of the world, and substitute for our sins—more loving, more holy, and more wonderfully terrifying than we ever thought possible.[6]

Prayer                                                                     

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

[1] http://mith.umd.edu/eada/html/display.php?docs=edwards_personalnarrative.xml

[2] Tyndale House Publishers (2011-08-01). Life Application Study Bible NLT (Kindle Locations 161629-161631). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

[3] I benefitted from Dr. Mulholland’s lectures on Revelation at Asbury Theological Seminary. I was not able to take his class while there but listened on Itunes U.

[4] Jeff Arthurs, “Laying the Foundation for Peace,”PreachingToday.com

[5] Tyndale House Publishers (2011-08-01). Life Application Study Bible NLT (Kindle Locations 161625-161631). Tyndale House Publishers. Kindle Edition.

[6] Kevin DeYoung, “Who Do You Say That I Am?” from his DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed blog (posted 6-10-09)

Introduction to the message:
Another time and another place Meagan and I lived in the Great Plains. We didn’t live in the real Great Plains, no; we lived in the Great Plains of Western, OH. Now, if you have been to both places, they certainly aren’t the same, but compared to here they are the Great Plains. One thing I love about this area is if you drive out of town there are rolling hills. But one thing I love about Western, Ohio is when you drive out of town you can see forever.
Well, we lived in a farmhouse in the country. We were just outside Pleasant Hill.
Do any of you know where Pleasant Hill is? Don’t be surprised, I would bargain only about 1000 people in Ohio know where Pleasant Hill is. Well, we were west of Troy, Ohio and 40 minutes or so northwest of Dayton, Ohio. There is a large church in the country that we were a part of. One summer evening, we were driving back home from the country church, down the country road, in the Great Plains of Western, OH. On this particular night a storm was brewing. So, as we drove home from the country church, on the country road, in the Great Plains of Western, Ohio we could see forever, and what we saw was, not a Tornado, not a Hurricane, not an earthquake, not Santa’s sleigh, but we saw lightning and it was cool. In that environment it was as if we were looking out at a lightning storm over the ocean.
How do you describe the indescribable?
The answer is that we do the best we can. Have you ever heard a child tell a story? Babysit sometime, I’ll give you the chance. We will be sitting around the dinner table and Mercedes will say, “You know what Paul did at school today? He, ha, ha, He he, he, he walked this way and it was so funny, ha, ha, he he, and then milk came out of his nose!!!!” She will tell the story about something and she uses the vocabulary she knows and she’ll laugh in between her words, but sometimes we are wondering what really happened. It is cute and funny all the same.
In Revelation, John does the best he can to describe the indescribable. Interesting thing is that the language is formed or John seems to be bending the language for visionary experience. Verse 4: “grace to you and peace from the One who is, the One who was and the One who is to come.” There is kindergarten grammatical error in the sentence. Later we see that John knows how to use his prepositions, so why would he make a kindergarten error grammatically. In chapter 16 it changes: “the One who Is and Who Was…” but the coming disappears. One of my Asbury professors, Dr. Mulholland, thinks that John is alerting his readers to watch this phrase. To the Hellenistic world writing meant a lot and John would not mess up this phrase if not intentional.
John is describing the indescribable.

My theme:
Be encouraged, Jesus is coming again and He will make all things right.
We’ll read the passage as we talk about it.
I. As I study this passage I am encouraged that Jesus will make things right.
a. This is the theme of Revelation. Look at verse 7. “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.
b. Jesus is coming again. If you remember the book of Acts, in Acts chapter 1:10 we have the disciples look to the sky as Jesus ascends and then we have an angel say: “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
c. He is coming back and He will make things right. He will come again. We will see more of that idea in Revelation. Right now, it can be discouraging to turn on the news and see a million candidates running for the President of the United States and they all claim to have the solution, but there is really only one solution. There is really only One who will make things right and He is not a Republican or a Democrat, nor any other party. He is the Rock of Ages (Psalm 18:2).
d. GOD WILL MAKE THINGS RIGHTS. He is the future Leader.
e. Jesus is partially making things right now.
f. Every time a person accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior Jesus is making things right. Every time someone lives for Him and surrenders to Him, He is making things right. When we surrender to Jesus, He is stomping on the devil.
g. I struggle, I am frustrated and I am a worrier. Seriously, I have news alerts come to my phone. I read the headlines. I hear about another shooting and another one and another one. I hear about boys getting into girls locker rooms, I hear about the culture going to literal hell. We, as a culture, are a mess. We are a mess in morality, we are a mess in real violence and we are a mess spiritually. I look at my innocence four year old and I think, “What is going to happen?”
h. In this book, [hold up the Bible] in Revelation, Jesus tells me what is going to happen. Things are going to be okay.
i. It is as if Jesus is saying, “Here is some encouragement, I am coming.”
j. Jesus says that He is coming in the clouds and every eye will see Him. We used to wonder about that. Well, Jesus can work that out anyway He wishes. He may be on all the cable channels or whatever.
k. All the people will wail. This is possible because He is coming and He will judge.
II. As I study this passage I am encouraged that Jesus is outside of time.
a. Look at verse 8:  “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
b. We talked about this last week, but let me emphasize again: Nothing happens without God knowing it. God is not taken by surprise.
III. I am also encouraged that Jesus is almighty.
a. Look at verse 6 and then we’ll look at verse 8.
b. Verse 6: and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.
c. I mainly want to emphasize that God is to be glorified forever and ever and His is the power. God is almighty. Look at verse 8 again: “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
d. Notice that final noun, “almighty.”
e. God is almighty. When you are trusting God, He is the almighty.
IV. I am encouraged with the Gospel: God loved us and set us free with Jesus’ blood.
a. Look at verse 5:  and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood…
b. Notice the end of the verse: we are freed from our sins by His blood.
c. We know that we needed a sacrifice. In Genesis chapter 22 we have Abraham take Isaac up to be sacrificed and Isaac asks his father, “Where is the lamb.” (Genesis 22:7)
d. For human history we have needed a Lamb for our sacrifice. God provided Jesus. We are set free.
Let’s apply this:
1. Jesus will come as judge. We all must surrender to Him now. If we can’t surrender now, how can we surrender later?
2. God is Awesome, what we get right here, what we begin to see right here is this amazing picture of our amazing God. Seven Spirits before the Throne, wow! He has all dominion (verse 6), He is outside of time (verse 8). I know that Cher might want to turn back time, but only God can go anywhere at any time. We have all seen amazing images. But God is bigger than a lightning storm. Actually, I think the lightning and thunder happens in God’s presence because when God is present the surrounding area recognizes it and responds with splendor.
3. Do we, can we, love the Gospel? I am not only talking about surrendering and recognizing Jesus as Lord. I am saying can we be satisfied in the Gospel? Please, think on this.
a. This is a real struggle for me because we have temptations. I have an example:
i. [example, take out a Steelers hat with candy hanging from it, a hot wheel hanging from it, some other things.]
ii. See these: they are all trying to give me satisfaction. But it doesn’t work. The worst of it all is many times they hang right in front of my face. Look the chocolate is hanging here, but I can’t get it in my mouth.
iii. I have this struggle like you do, I would think you do. Here, up here, I have marathon medals, you think they bring satisfaction? They don’t. There is always someone faster than you. Then afterwards, there is a letdown. You know the worst part, you lose weight running and you get faster and everything is going well. That was me three years ago. But then… your body gets used to running and you no longer lose weight. You can no longer reward yourself with that milk shake.
iv. I think God has set up everything as if to say, “be satisfied in me.” To me, the world says, “That new car will give me satisfaction.” God says, “Only for a while, then the bill will come, then the rust will come, then the damage will come.” To me, the world says, “That Chipotle across the street, oh yea, it will give satisfaction.” God says, “Yes, you need to eat and you can enjoy food (Psalm 104), but only so much.” God continues, “I am the Lord and there is no other, rejoice in Me. I can fill your deepest void. You need Me. I want to help.” (Ecc. 3:11) To me, the world says, “You will be satisfied if the Steelers get to the super bowl, that Mac Book, that iphone, that book, that tool, those will all add to satisfaction, that big TV, Oh yea, that is satisfaction, that electronic, you name it, I feel like that will be satisfaction, that vacation destination it will satisfy, that house, that man-cave, they will bring satisfaction.” I want them to fill a void within me. I want it all. But God says, “Are you kidding Me? Are you really, actually, seriously kidding Me? I am God and there is no other (Isa. 46:9), you are in the richest country in the world, if that does not prove that you need Me, what will. Turn to Me, be satisfied in Me.” God says , I love you.”
v. Do you get that? The Gospel is right here in verse 5: this letter is from the One, Jesus, Who has freed us from our sins, by His blood.
vi. God says, “I love you, be satisfied in me.”
Mercedes will often say, “I love you.” We will say, “I love you too.” She will say, “I love you more.” Abigail will chime in “I wove u.”
God loves you and He loves you more.
Revelation is God showing us the future. Be encouraged He will make things right. Be encouraged you are loved. Be satisfied in Jesus, in the Gospel. The Gospel is Amazing.
Do you know Jesus?
God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)
Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)
Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)
Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)
Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)
Pray

Intro:

We need the whole Bible, watch this:

https://www.russellmoore.com/2015/11/18/you-need-the-whole-bible-even-if-you-dont-know-why/

Back in the eighties there was a show called Quantum Leap. In this show the main character would leap between different time periods. A thought to think about is that God is outside of time and so He can leap between any time period He wants to. God is the keeper of the timeline. He is in charge.

As I do this, take the rope down the center aisle.

I have a rope up here, I have many feet of rope and I am going to pull it out and just watch as it falls to the floor. Now, suppose that this first end of the rope is Genesis 1:1. This is creation. Now, as I move, look at this rope and imagine all of this rope is time. So, we would have Abraham somewhere close to the same end and then Moses and then David and then Ezekiel and then Isaiah and then we would get to Ezra and that would be, oh, about 3500 years of history and then we go another 400 years and we have Jesus’ birth and then we have 2000 years until now and then we keep going until Jesus comes again and makes thing right. Now, as we look at this rope type of time line we are on the rope around, I don’t know, maybe here [point towards the opposite end of the beginning]. We are bound by our little time. We are stuck in the rope. Oh, but God, He created the rope. God created the time and He is powerful and in control. Take this thought a little bit further and understand that God put you in your spot for a reason, wow!

Be encouraged, seriously be encouraged. We can easily look at this rope and be discouraged about all of time and all of existence, but, no, be encouraged because God, Who is not bound by time, chose to put you on this earth at this time. God can go anywhere He wants on our rope timeline. God can, “quantum leap.” But let’s go a step further: God is to time as we are to this rope. He looks down on the time all at once. He is not limited by it, for He created it.

As we look at Revelation 1:1 we are going to “Quantum Leap” back in time to, around, 96 A.D. But not only us, notice that Jesus is also entering John’s realm of existence through an angel and even Himself later on.

My theme today is:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, God Tells Us The Rest of the Story, An Intro to Revelation (Revelation 1:1-3)

Our Two Applications:

1. Be encouraged, God is in control of everything [everyone say everything], even time.
2. Take this book seriously.

Let’s read Revelation 1:1-3:

The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ² who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. ³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

1. This letter is revelation from Jesus Christ. This is all in verse 1.
   1. It is from the Father to the Son.
   2. It is from the Son, Jesus, to the angel.
   3. It is from the angel to John.
   4. It is from John to us.
   5. Look the verse says that God gave this to His servants to show His servants what soon must take place.
   6. Be encouraged that God is not limited. There is nothing limiting God. God wanted to show us and all Christians through the ages things that must take place.
   7. I must pause here because you are likely looking at this and thinking, “But it says must ‘soon take place.’” Let’s handle some of the background to this letter.
   8. First notice that it is titled the “’Revelation’ to John.” It is not “Revelation’s.’” This work, which is a letter, in the New Testament format, is one gynormous Revelation of Jesus Christ given to John.
   9. Remember that to God, He is outside of time. The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:8, when talking about the end times: But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. So, when this passage says, “soon” we can know that it could be soon in our thinking or God’s thinking and God is outside of time.
   10. There are four primary ways of interpreting Revelation.
       1. One of these is the Historicism method:
          1. This method interprets chapters 1-3 taking place in the first century, chapters 4-20:6 taking place between the second century and the end times and then chapters 20:7-22 being when Jesus makes things right.
       2. Second, is Futurism: This method most of Revelation is in the future, chapter 4 and throughout chapter 22.
       3. Then there is the Preterist. The preterist which is a past fulfillment or contemporary to John’s readers. Those would believe that it had to do with the Roman Empire and the fall of the Roman Empire. Fulfillment is entirely in the past by the fall of Constantine and Rome in 476 AD. Some see it as the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD but this is a very narrow view. This seemed to start in the late 1500’s or early 1600’s. This would be the earliest understanding of Revelation in the period following its dissemination
       4. Then there is the idealist: Sees Revelation operating at two levels.
          1. General spiritual principles operating at all ages.
          2. There was an immediate meaning for John and his readers but there is a profound spiritual reality for all ages.
          3. Idea that there is a clash between good and evil
       5. There are variations on each of those interpretations especially when we get to the Millennial reign and the tribulation period and we are not getting into that today.
       6. Next, let’s look at dating. It appears that John is exiled to the island Patmos and this was under persecution. He might have been there forced to work the mines. This could have been the great persecution under Caesar Nero in the 60’s AD or in the 90’s AD under Domitian which many believe.
   11. John witnessed for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ with all that he saw. This is verse 2.
       1. We may wonder what he saw. This gets into the type of literature Revelation is. It is a letter with apocalyptic literature and prophesy. Think of the idea of pulling back a curtain and revealing something. That is the idea of apocalyptic literature. It means that God is showing us the spiritual realm. God is pulling back the curtain and showing us the end.
       2. John uses a pool of images that are very familiar to him and to his readers, but not familiar to us.
       3. John uses a Jewish pool of images.
       4. He uses a few from Hellenistic culture.
       5. Most of the imagery is from the Old Testament and intertestamental period. They are plain to his audience.
       6. We must understand this. If we divorce Revelation from its original context and meaning we can have multiple understandings and make it say whatever we want it to.
       7. There was an early 80’s Reader’s Digest article titled the Motel of the Mysteries. It was written as if it was an archaeological report. It was about the late twentieth century America that is now buried under dirt. An Archaeologist comes across a motel, but with the description they say that this was a late twentieth century burial site. The toilet seat was something you wear around your head. The bath tab was a sacred tower and the shower was a musical instrument. The article goes on and on, but we know better. If we don’t know better it makes perfect sense.
       8. Time Magazine in 1992 when the Republicans took over congress shows a Donkey under the Republican Elephant. We understand the image because it is part of our time, but in hundreds of years they may not know that.
       9. John’s audience understands the image.
       10. Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah are primary examples of John’s Old Testament imagery.
       11. Also imagery from Baruch, Song of Songs and some other intertestamental imagery.
       12. There is no single quotation in Revelation. John is steeped in his Jewish context that these images just flow out of him.
       13. John was a witness of what God was showing him.

• Verse 3 tells us we are blessed when we read this letter.
  1. This is the only Bible book which says this.
  2. But we may not feel blessed. We may feel cursed as we try to get through.
  3. I remember sitting with my older brother on his bed, and I was probably in grade school, as he read the whole book of Revelation to me. I was confused. Yet, we are interested, aren’t we?
  4. The great Martin Luther mistrusted Revelation because of its obscurity. “A revelation should be revealing” he said.
  5. One wrote (Dr. Constable): “The symbolism is drawn from many previous Bible books. Revelation is similar to an airport, or a railway terminal, where materials from many other sources come together.” I like that description.
  6. We must read the letter. We must study the letter.
  7. Revelation 22:10: And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.

Close:

1. Be encouraged, God is in control of everything [everyone say everything], even time.
2. Take this book seriously.

I don’t know about you but I can get discouraged when I hear the news. But isn’t it encouraging to know that God is in control. Look at this rope. [have someone in the back row pick up the other end] God is in control of time. God placed each of us here for a reason. God entered John’s time and told Him of the things to come.

Revelation is part of the Bible, the Word of God.

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

Opening:
Video clip of the Elf Code from the movie Elf— “Treat every day like Christmas”
Christmas is not over and that is good because some have missed Christmas. Let me tell you about some of the Bible characters who missed Christmas and exhort you that it is not too late. You can celebrate Jesus’ life death and resurrection any day of the year.
Read with me Matthew 2:1-12:
The Magi Visit the Messiah
2 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2 and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him.4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.

I. Herod missed Jesus (Matthew 2:1ff).
a. Herod was afraid of another king. Herod was the local king of Jerusalem. Herod was not even Jewish as he was an Edomite which means he was a descendant of Esau. Jewish kings were to be descendants of David.
b. Herod not only missed Christmas, Matt 2:16 tells us that Herod killed children 2 and under. Herod was so afraid of another king that he slaughtered the children of that age range.
i. Now, what about you? Have you missed Christmas
ii. Instead of simply taking stuff out like sin management, let’s make our Christian life a passion pursuit. Let’s follow Jesus so adamantly that we are so focused on Jesus and His greatness that we can’t miss Him.
iii. As the magi followed the star, let’s follow Jesus.
iv. It is not too late. We should worship Jesus as Lord every day of the year. We should celebrate His birth, life and resurrection every day of the year.
II. The teachers of the law and priests missed Christmas. In Matthew 2:3-4 Herod called them together and asked them where the Messiah was to be born and they responded, “In Bethlehem of Judea…”
a. They knew this. They had to have known why Herod asked. Why did they not go and look for the Messiah?
i. I think they were obviously indifferent. They were happy as religious scholars.
ii. We have the Messiah, we have the Gospel and His Word.
b. Please don’t be indifferent. Acknowledge Christmas. Don’t let the busyness of this time of year rob you of the joy of this time of year.
Something More at Christmas
What is supposed to be a time of peace and good will becomes, for some, a time when the reality of human greed and folly and cruelty mocks the lovely sentiments of the season. But I’m not sure anyone can experience what Christmas really means without confronting that sense of lost innocence and the potential for disillusionment the holiday can bring. Only after we truly face up to Christmas without Santa can we as adults begin to grapple with what Christmas is all about … God’s gift of ultimate hope that our human destiny is something more than a brief doomed moment in “the benign indifference of the universe.”
c. A few weeks ago I decided to put the Christmas tree up. It was prior to thanksgiving and Mercedes was very excited. She literally jumped up and down as she saw me bring the decorations up. Abigail watched with big eyes as I pulled the tree out of the box. She exclaimed “wow!” She really did. She was an amazement, real, true amazement. They were overjoyed. They watched intently as I was running our antique Lionel train.
d. I find myself missing the significance of Christmas. I am no longer like a child mesmerized. I wonder if I could be as excited as Mercedes and Abigail. Could I think with fresh eyes, “God became a man!”
e. It is not too late. Every day it is important to acknowledge Jesus as Lord.
III. I bet that is not all. It appears from Scripture that the people living in the immediate vicinity of the birth of Jesus missed Christmas. He was born in a stable. I know, I know, they didn’t know any better. No one knew the importance of this baby.
a. You now know. You know the importance of Christmas.
IV. Let’s be like the wise men who worshipped Jesus.
a. They recognized who Jesus Is and worshipped.
V. In verse 11, while Herod missed Christmas, in humility, the wise men worship Jesus.
a. They bowed down.
b. The N.E.T. Bible has a note that reads: “they fell down.” BDAG 815 s.v. πίπτω 1.b.α.ב has “fall down, throw oneself to the ground as a sign of devotion, before high-ranking persons or divine beings.”
c. Are we here to worshipping God in reverence?
d. Listen, I also have no problem with hand raising in worship but know what that means. What does that mean? It means surrender. We are surrender to Jesus and we raise our hands surrendering and exalting Jesus.
e. These wise men, or magi were wealthy, very wealthy and very wise and they surrendered and bowed down to a toddler.
f. My toddler wants me to surrender to her, but Jesus was and is worthy.
g. Whether we bow down or not, are we surrendering?
h. Are we metaphorically bowing down when we sing songs to God? What about when we pray to God?

Linus didn’t miss Christmas. Listen:
Play clip from the Peanuts.
This dog didn’t miss Christmas:

John 3:16 for God so loved you that He sent His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life.
Do you believe that? It is something amazing! This is something to worship about every day.
Pray

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)
Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)
Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)
Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)
Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Intro:

A few weeks ago I was visiting with one of our senior saints. I was talking about Christmas and she said, “I don’t know how they had babies back then.” I said something like, “yes and to be traveling during the ninth month of pregnancy!” We continued our conversation, I then parted ways, but I have to imagine the travel that happened in order for the first Christmas was very difficult.

But think about Christmas today. Our difficulty and even our busyness is of our own doing.

What do you have to get done for Christmas?

Shout some things out:

Bake cookies

More shopping

More decorating

Wrap gifts

Travel

Groceries

Etc.

These are all great things, but they are nothing compared to what Mary and Joseph went through. I am not meaning to criticize anyone here either.

Now, switch gears, think with me about a difficult time that ended okay… Maybe you did not know that God was going to use it for good until sometime later. Maybe you were laid off for a while but then God gave you a better job. Maybe you were laid off but then you realized you didn’t even need the job. Maybe something else was taken from you…

I also believe that God can use our hard times.

We are going to look at Luke 2:1-7 and mainly focus on the journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

A few years ago, I had Elvis playing on the CD player while Meagan, myself and our two girls were driving around looking for a fishing spot. I thought it was great fun. But Meagan said something like, “Great, my idea of fun, driving around getting car sick while listening to Elvis.”

But when we think about Mary and Joseph traveling it was not in a car, they had no CD player, and, unfortunately, no Elvis music.

Think about it, they are traveling, Mary is in her ninth month of pregnancy. Mary could not have been enjoying this as a sight-seeing journey. But God used this difficult journey to bring the Savior into the world.

Let me say right now, I greatly benefited in ideas as well as cultural, geographical information from Adam Hamilton’s book, The Journey.[1]

Theme:

Mary and Joseph had a difficult journey heading into Jesus’ birth. God was going to use this for the good.

Application:

Let God use difficult things you go through for His glory and purposes.

Let’s read the passage:

Luke 2:1-7:

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ² (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³ And everyone went to their own town to register.

⁴ So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵ He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶ While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷ and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

1. Let’s start by talking about what led up to the journey.
   1. It is likely that while Mary was visiting her relative, Elizabeth, she went to see Joseph and tell him that she was pregnant. During that time She would have been in Ein Karem which is close to Bethlehem, which is where Joseph is from. Of course, Joseph was likely upset but then God spoke to him in a dream (Matthew 1:20-23) and he decided to stay by her.
   2. Following that, it is likely that they talked to her parents and planned a wedding. We could call it eloping if we want. It is likely that they got married when she was about five months pregnant with our Lord.
   3. There could have been people questioning things, likely there were.
   4. It is likely that they traveled the 70 some miles back to Nazareth for the wedding.
   5. It was common in that day that there would be a formal engagement. Following the formal engagement a husband would build a room onto his father’s house. About a year later he would marry the bride to be and they would live at the father of the groom’s house until they could afford their own house and land.
   6. In this case things are different. Maybe, they planned to live at Joseph’s parent’s house after baby Jesus was born. However, they were in Nazareth prior to the census. It seems that they were planning to give birth in Nazareth. Nazareth would allow Mary to be close to her parents and maybe a midwife that she would know.
   7. But then the census comes. The census meant that they would have to travel to Bethlehem. Bethlehem was Joseph’s hometown and since Mary was married to him she would have to register with him in Bethlehem. It is likely that Joseph’s parents had a home in Bethlehem.
   8. So, now they have to travel.
   9. Mary is likely nine months pregnant, do you think she was excited to travel? What do you think?
   10. I think she might have been thinking, “This is not how it was supposed to be. Why am I going through this?” She likely was having a hard time.
   11. Sometimes we, also, are in difficult situations and we may be asking questions of the Lord as well. We may be going through cancer, loss of a loved one, out of work, dealing with difficult children. We can be sure that God is with us. We can be sure that God can also use what we are going through for His glory and will.
   12. The route: There are two likely routes: and the following information about the route comes from the book The Journey by Adam Hamilton
       1. (There is a third route but not mentioned that often by scholars)
       2. The first route would have taken Mary and Joseph to the east, crossing the Jordan, then south sixty miles, and finally recrossing the Jordan near Jericho and west to Bethlehem. This route would have been followed by the Jews wishing to avoid the Samaritans who were a people of mixed race whose faith was largely influenced by Judaism but that had its own distinctive elements. The land of the Samaritans, Samaria— separated the Northern region of Galilee from the southern region of Judea. Many Jews considered the Samaritans unclean, or heretics, or worse. Because of the conflict with Samaritans, some Jews felt it might be dangerous to travel through Samaria; hence, for purity or safety many Jews went out of their way to avoid passing through it. But taking this route around Samaria would have added twenty or thirty miles to Mary and Joseph’s journey— perhaps two days.

• This first route is believed by many pastors, teachers, and Biblical scholars to be the route that Joseph and Mary would have taken. Some argue that this route along the Jordan would also have been easier to travel because the Jordan River valley is a plain, and there is some truth to this.

1. The second route and the one Adam Hamilton thinks likely, was more direct. It took them nearly due south from Nazareth through the Jezreel Valley and along the road known as the Way of the Patriarchs. This route was easier through the first half of the journey, though the second half included some hills and mountains, with well known places to stop for water along the way. This route would have meant two fewer days of travel than the first route described.
2. In following the route through Samaria, the holy family would have been retracing sixteen hundred years of Biblical history.
3. The first century Jewish Historian, Josephus, is said to have noted that during the Passover, when large numbers of Jews were making their way to Jerusalem, it was not uncommon for Jews to go through Samaria.

• Hundreds of thousands of others would be traveling south from Galilee just like Mary and Joseph.
• It was in this area, in the center of this country that God appeared to Abraham and promised to give this land to his descendants.
  1. Here Jacob saw angels ascending and descending to and from Heaven.
  2. [If they went this way] Mary and Joseph’s Caravan made camp near springs and wells each night that had been used since the time of the Patriarchs, including “Jacob’s Well” near the town of Sychar.
  3. They passed the place where Joseph, the son of Jacob, whose story we recall from the Old Testament, was buried after his bones were brought back from Egypt.
  4. They came to Shiloh, where Joshua had set up the tent of meeting and the Ark of the Covenant.
  5. They walked where the great early prophets Samuel, Elijah, and Elisha ministered.
  6. They followed the path of the Assyrian army when it came to destroy the northern kingdom of Israel and where the armies of Babylon marched as they invaded Judea and Jerusalem itself and carried away its people.
  7. They also retraced the steps of the exiles who returned singing “unto Zion” after the Exile was over.
  8. God walked with His people through all of these journeys.

1. If they took this route it would have been a recounting geographically of God’s salvation history. Also, the Baby in her womb was and is the Apex of this history.
2. Later in John 4:10 and 14 we see that Jesus stopped in Samaria at Jacob’s well in Sychar and offered a woman “living water.”
3. Luke 10 and Jesus’ scandalous parable of the good Samaritan in which He made a Samaritan man the example of what it means to “Love your neighbor as yourself,” showing the Samaritan to be more righteous than either a Jewish priest or a Levite.
4. Did Jesus learn this attitude from His mother and father?
5. Who are our Samaritans and where is our Samaria?
6. Which groups do we feel an aversion for?
7. Where are the places in our own city, country or world that we would avoid because we are uncomfortable with “those people”?

1. Let’s think about the travel
   1. There is no mention of a donkey though Joseph likely would have procured an animal for her to ride on. The apocryphal Gospel of James does mention a donkey.
   2. They would have a descent from the hills into the Jezreel Valley. This would have been the easiest part of the journey and may have taken the first two days.
   3. The Jezreel Valley was the location of so many of the ancient battles that it became synonymous with war and bloodshed. The writer of Revelation saw the final, apocalyptic battle between good and evil—the battle of Armageddon— taking place here. (Armageddon means “hill of Megiddo,” with Megiddo being a city built upon a hill along the Jezreel Valley— see Revelation 16:16.)
   4. The child in Mary’s womb would be called the Prince of Peace yet someday will return on a white horse, to wage war against evil and ultimately to triumph over it (Rev. 19:11-16).
   5. The journey would get more difficult after several days. Following the ancient road that curved back and forth as it ascended and descended the hills and mountains of central Israel.
   6. Mary and Joseph would have traveled up higher and higher hills.
   7. From Jerusalem it would only be a few hours walk to Bethlehem across several miles of arid desert and some hills.
   8. Then they arrive at Bethlehem.

• But think about Jesus’ birth. If Joseph is from Bethlehem, why no place to stay.
  1. Think about a first century home:
     1. central room that served as a kitchen and living area
     2. sleeping quarters where parents slept

• guest room where children slept and they yielded to guests when there was company

1. when there were guests the children slept with their parents or in the living area
2. there was also a stable or small barn either behind the home or, in the case of homes built around caves, beneath the home. The stable protected the animals from predators or animals at night.

1. Assuming that Joseph’s family was of modest income, they would have had one guest room. The guest room might hold bed mats for 6 people sleeping side by side. The main living room and kitchen could hold several more.
2. How many of Joseph’s extended family were in Bethlehem because of the census?
3. If Joseph had four or five siblings and each of them had family, it is easy to see why there would have been no room in the guest room.
4. Imagine her sitting on the birthing stole, between contractions choking back the tears, thinking this is not how it was supposed to be. She was not supposed to be giving birth in her in-laws barn.

1. Some final applications:
   1. This was not a silent night
   2. All was not calm and bright
   3. It was a disappointing and depressing night. It was hard.
   4. He was born not in a hospital, or in a guest room but in a stable.
   5. We all have journeys that are difficult:
      1. Jacob’s son, Joseph, was sold into slavery. (Gen. 37)
      2. David fled Saul and fled to the Philistines for a few years (1 Samuel 19ff and chapter 27) and he wrote Psalms asking, “Why do You allow my enemies to prosper?” “When are You going to save me?” That was not the end of the story.
      3. Shadrach, Meshech and Abednego were told to bow down and worship the king’s image, but they didn’t. (Daniel 3) That was not the end of the story.
      4. The people of Israel were exiled for 50 years but that was not the end.
      5. Now, the child born in a stable would walk to Calvary, but that was not the end of the story.

All of us take difficult journeys but God walks with us on the journeys. God redeems the journeys and that is not the end of the story.

Mary could not see that the angels would be rejoicing. She could not see that we would be reading the story two thousand years later.  However, we are.

Prayer

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

[1] Rev 2:20-23

Hamilton, Adam (2011-09-01). The Journey: Walking the Road to Bethlehem. Abingdon Press. Kindle Edition.

Opening:

The American storyteller Garrison Keillor recently claimed that you don’t have to believe in Jesus to have a great Christmas. Keillor said,

Although you may decide that instead of Christmas carols you are going to hold hands and breathe in unison, Christmas will still live deep in the cockles of your heart—or actually in your neo-cortex, stored as zillions of neuron impulses … It’s [your brain] that sends tears to your eyes when you smell the saffron cookies that your grandma used to make or you sing Silent Night. So Christmas is: number one lights, number two food, number three song, number four being with people you like. You need no more.

Tim Keller comments on Keillor’s quote:

Keillor is saying that it doesn’t matter whether you believe in God or not. You can still hold hands, you can still breathe in unison. All the good feelings of Christmas are just a reaction in our brain. But here’s why that doesn’t work. I know enough about Garrison Keillor to know that he is very upset with cruelty and prejudice. But if it’s really true that there is no God, if there is no supernatural or miracles, and if everything is a function of natural causes—if that is all true, then it is also true that love, and joy, and even cruelty and prejudice are just all chemical reactions stored in our brain. Keillor is against cruelty and prejudice, but if it’s true that everything is just chemistry, then how in the world can you say there’s a moral difference between love and cruelty, between kissing someone or killing someone? They’re both nothing but neuro-chemical responses. So if there is no God, and if Christmas is all about lights, songs, and being with nice people and your neo-cortex going crazy about it, then I don’t see how Keillor can stand up and say that there is something wrong with cruelty and prejudice. He can’t do it. Without the theology behind Christmas, you lose the core meaning of Christmas.[1]

So, as we move towards Christmas remember the importance of what is happening. Remember the reality and the truth of what is happening. Next, to get closer to today’s message, we see certain values present in Mary’s Magnificat. We see certain values addressed. The Magnificat is addressing injustice. We’ll look at that in a moment, but let’s look at a bigger picture. The Gospel is addressing injustice. Somehow we know and we believe in morality. Somehow we know and we believe that certain things are wrong and others are right. Somehow we believe in love. We believe in joy. We get these values somewhere. The Bible teaches that we get these values from God. (Romans 1:18-19; 2:15) Even more than that, we believe that certain things are wrong. If we believe certain things are wrong like murder, stealing, telling lies and just being mean, which the Bible calls sin. How do we make it right? Jesus’ death and resurrection takes care of our sin.

So, Mary is pregnant with Jesus. She is likely a little bit down. She may be very down. She doesn’t know how she is going to handle everything coming her way, but she is encouraged by her relative Elizabeth.  Have you ever been encouraged?

Have you ever thought you had more coming your way than you could handle?

Who encouraged you?

Who motivated you?

Let’s look at the passage.

Let’s read Luke 1:39-45:

At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea,  where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.  When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!  But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?  As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!  

Theme: Mary visits Elizabeth and she is encouraged

Applications: Kneel before Jesus as Lord and be used of God to encourage others.

1. Kneel before Jesus as Lord.
   1. We need to notice who the first person to call Jesus Lord was. If you look at this passage it was Elizabeth.
   2. Let me put this in context. The angel Gabriel visit Mary and tells her she is going to be pregnant with the Messiah. That happens in Luke 1:26-38. That passage ends with Mary saying, “I am the Lord’s servant…” Then Mary leaves and goes to visit her relative Elizabeth. This was likely an 8-9 day journey through Mountains and rough land. She is going from Nazareth to Ein Karem which is the traditional location of Elizabeth and Zachariah’s home.

• Adam Hamilton believes that another reason for Mary to visit Elizabeth would be the proximity of her home to the home of Joseph. Tradition says that her home would have been in Ein Karem just about an hour walk and a few miles from the Temple mount in Jerusalem. Ein Karem is mentioned in Jeremiah 6:1 and Nehemiah 3:14 as “Beth-Haccherem” Ein Karem is 80 miles from Mary’s home in Nazareth. This may have taken 8-9 days and she would not have traveled alone. Mary stayed with Elizabeth until the end of the pregnancy.[2]

1. Mary enters Elizabeth’s house and says, “Elizabeth, it’s me!” Then the baby in Elizabeth’s womb, John the Baptizer, leaped in her womb. Verse 41 says that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Understand that is an amazing statement. In the Old Testament only prophets and certain kings received the Holy Spirit. So, in Psalm 51:11: King David laments: “Take not the Holy Spirit from me.” There was a fear of losing the Holy Spirit.
2. It was once said, “I wonder what it was like for Moses to talk to God as he did.” Yet Moses could have thought, “What is it like to have God with you?” We receive the Holy Spirit when we commit to Christ (John 14-17). We have God with us. (2 Cor. 6:16) Don’t take this lightly.
3. Now, having the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth encourages Mary.

• She says in verse 42: “Blessed are you among women and blessed is the child that you bear.”
• Imagine Mary being down and struggling with this task and now her relative is saying, “You are blessed.” “You are really blessed.”

1. But verse 43: “But why am I so favored that the mother of my Lord should come to me?”
2. Catch this: Elizabeth is an ordinary person and God calls her to do an extraordinary thing. She is bearing John the Baptizer. She is encouraging Mary. She is saying, “Who am I?” But then she calls Jesus Lord.
3. How would she know? She is filled with the Holy Spirit and so she is the first to call Jesus Lord.

• Romans 10:9-10 tells us to call Jesus Lord, do you?
• In verses 39-45: 3 times the word “blessed” is used. Twice it refers to Mary and once to Jesus.

1. Be an encourager.
   1. Mary is likely 10 days pregnant at this point. She has not been pregnant long.
   2. She needs encouraged and Elizabeth gave her that encouragement.

• Everyone needs an encourager. Let me jump to mentors. Elizabeth is an older woman, that is not Mary’s mom, who can voice wisdom in her life. I have often heard that everyone should have a mentor, everyone should be mentoring someone else and everyone should have a peer that they can connect with. How are you doing in this area?

1. I heard about a church that decided to take this mentoring seriously, so on all of their committees they chose to have one third of the participants be fifty-five and older, one third are to be thirty-five through fifty-five years old and one third of the committee are to be thirty five and younger. What a great idea for mentoring.

• The Gospel is counter-cultural, let’s look at the Magnificat.
  56. I want to put out some verses from the Magnificat. Mary’s Magnificat is in verses 46-56.
  57. Magnificat comes from the Latin: “magnify” or “praise” this is based on the way Mary began her Psalm: “My Soul Magnifies the Lord.”

• Mary was from a town so small it could barely be a dot on a map. Joseph was a carpenter and his net worth could fit in a tool box.

1. He scatters the proud and pulls down the mighty from their thrones. (verses 51-52)
2. Compare this with what Jesus will later say:
3. Jesus had said, “the first shall be last and the last shall be first.”

• Jesus said, “if you really want to be great you will be the servant of others.”
• Jesus said, “If you are invited to a wedding banquet take the lower seat.”

1. Jesus said, “Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He will lift you up.” (Matthew 20:16, 26; Luke 14:8-11; James 4:10)
2. In Mary’s Magnificat we find a picture of a God who is for the underdog and is for people who have been made to be feel like nobodies. Those are the ones He lifts up. That is the character of the God proclaimed in the Scriptures. That is the character of His Son.
3. The Magnificat says that “He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away empty handed.” (verse 53)

• This is an opportunity for the rich to humble themselves and be used of God.
• The Magnificat is counter-cultural. The Magnificat is about how God uses ordinary people for extraordinary things.

So, review:

Mary and Elizabeth, two ordinary people who God used to do the extraordinary.

Theme: Mary visits Elizabeth and she is encouraged

Applications: Kneel before Jesus as Lord and be used of God to encourage others.

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

[1] Adapted from Tim Keller, “God with Us: Conversations with Tim Keller about Christmas”

[2] Hamilton, Adam (2011-09-01). The Journey: Walking the Road to Bethlehem. Abingdon Press. Kindle Edition.

Tell me about Joseph. Shout out something that you know about Joseph.

Think about your nativity scene. How many of you have a Nativity Set?

Is Joseph old or young?

So little is known about Joseph that by the beginning of the second century, Christians began to develop traditions about him— traditions that are not likely historically accurate, although we cannot be sure. They began to teach that Joseph was an elderly widower when he married Mary; one source says he was 93 at the time and lived to be 111, dying when Jesus was 18. This tradition seemed to have developed as a way of asserting that a kind elderly gentleman took Mary in to care for her, and since he was more like a grandfather than a husband, the marriage was never consummated and Mary remained a virgin throughout her life. This picture of Joseph also provided one possible explanation for the brothers and sisters of Jesus mentioned in Matthew 13: 55-56 and elsewhere: they could have been Joseph’s children by a deceased wife. (Roman Catholics, for whom the doctrine of the perpetual virginity of Mary is important, will also point out that “brothers and sisters” in the Gospels can also mean cousins or close family members.)

This idea that Joseph was elderly is represented in a good deal of art from the Orthodox and Roman Catholic traditions, where Joseph is often portrayed as an older man. Most Protestants who regard the second-century traditions that developed about Joseph as spurious assume that Joseph was likely the age of any other young man getting married at the time— around fourteen or fifteen. So, Protestant portrayals tend to show Joseph as a young man. (As an aside, take a look at your nativity set and see if your Joseph is portrayed as an older man or a young man; if he is older the artist likely came from a Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox tradition.)

Theme:

Today, I want to talk about Joseph. I want to tell you that Joseph was ordinary. I want to tell you that God used Him.

Application:

I want to tell you to never discount the ordinary. God will use ordinary events, ordinary people and you.

Let’s read Matthew 1:18-25:

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet^[e] did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet:²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. ²⁵ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the name Jesus.

1. Let’s start by talking about Joseph as ordinary.
   1. Joseph never said a word in the Gospels. He is never quoted.
   2. Joseph is from Bethlehem.
   3. In Matthew, Nazareth is not mentioned until 2:23. Then Jesus would have been at least two years old.
   4. In Matthew’s Gospel, Bethlehem appears to be Joseph’s hometown. Luke 2:3 would seem to corroborate this when it notes that, with the census.
   5. Since Nazareth was certainly Mary’s hometown, Joseph and Mary’s engagement was most likely long-distance, arranged by their respective families in Bethlehem and Nazareth. Mary’s visit to her cousin Elizabeth (Luke 1: 39-56). The traditional location of Elizabeth and Zechariah’s home is called Ein Karem, only four miles from Bethlehem. So, immediately upon discovering she was pregnant, Mary traveled nine days south to a town four miles from Bethlehem, where she would spend the next three months.
   6. Since Joseph’s hometown was Bethlehem, then it would have been during this time that Joseph visited Mary and learned that his betrothed was pregnant. It would have been during this time, these first three months of Mary’s pregnancy, that Joseph would have had his own “annunciation” by means of a dream.
   7. I learned something recently and that is Following those events, he would have taken Mary back to Nazareth, where the couple was married and began their life together until forced to return to Bethlehem for the census.
   8. Bethlehem means “House of Bread.” It was home to laborers and sheepherders, but it was also home to farmers who grew wheat and barley and likely to millers and bakers— hence the name, “House of Bread.” We can surmise that bread was baked there and then probably delivered to customers in Jerusalem.
   9. Bethlehem and Nazareth were both common, ordinary places. Joseph was a common, ordinary man.
   10. A few years ago I mentioned that Joseph would have been a common day laborer and I received a question later on. Carpenter in that day was not the same as a carpenter today. As I wrote in my Chimes article, to be a carpenter meant “one who works with their hands.”
   11. There was not a lot of wood in Israel and Joseph likely worked with stone or even in the fields. This was a common, ordinary job. It was not a respectable job. It was hard work. It was back breaking work. The occupation was just above the servant status.
   12. Joseph was ordinary. Don’t discount what God will do through the ordinary.
2. God did the extraordinary through Joseph.

1. Joseph could have had Mary stoned. He could have divorced her. But he did not. First he could expose her as unfaithful and maybe she could be stoned, though that was rare in the first century. She would probably suffer shame of a public divorce. (Deut. 22:23-24)
2. A second option was to grant her a private divorce, in which case Joseph needed only to hand her a written certificate in the presence of two witnesses (cf. Num. 5:11-31).75
3. His third option was to remain engaged and not divorce Mary, but this alternative appeared to Joseph to require him to break the Mosaic Law (Lev. 20:10).
   1. You know I bet that once it was out that Mary was pregnant Joseph had all kinds of people telling him what to do. Don’t you think there were many people telling Joseph their opinion? If your spouse is pregnant by another man wouldn’t some of your co workers be telling you various things? People are probably telling Joseph to have her stoned. People are probably telling him to make a statement with this. People are probably telling him to divorce her quietly. And I am sure he has friends saying, “Ya know Joseph, I have known Mary’s family. We are waiting on the Messiah, maybe she is pregnant by the Holy Spirit.” There may be those saying, “Ya know Joseph, I have heard about Zechariah the priest, his wife wasn’t supposed to get pregnant and she is. Supposedly, he saw the angel Gabriel. Maybe God is doing something new. Maybe you should believe her.”
      1. God spoke to Joseph in a dream. (Matthew 1:20-21) Joseph obeyed. Joseph likely went to see Mary while she was at Elizabeth’s place and that is when he found out she was pregnant. In the walk home he may have been boiling. He might have been weeping as he walked away. But he calmed down. He would have had about a ninety minute walk home. During this time he must have thought about how much the news would damage Mary. He must have thought about how she could be stoned. Then God spoke to Joseph.
      2. He surrendered to the Lord (verses 20-25 show how he followed what the Angel of the Lord said. Verse 24 specifically says that he obeyed)
      3. So verse 19 says that he would divorce her quietly.
      4. Verse 19 says that he was going to do that because he was a righteous man.
      5. Then verse 20 has the angel of the Lord coming to Joseph in a dream. The child to be conceived is from the Holy Spirit.
      6. Verse 21 has the angel telling Joseph that He will save His people from their sins. Then verse 22 is stating that this is happening to fulfill what and Isaiah 7:14 says. Verse 23: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel”(which means “God with us”).
      7. Verses 24-25 show that Joseph obeyed what the angel said.
      8. Joseph was faithful to God’s Word including purity (Verse 25 says that he kept her a virgin until the birth.).
      9. This was the man who was the earthly father of Christ the King.

• The purpose of this passage is not to talk about ordinary, the purpose is to talk about the birth of Jesus. But God did use the ordinary.
  1. Are you willing to be used of God?
  2. What about ordinary people, events, places, do you discount them?
  3. Do you think, “God could never use me…”?
  4. Do you discount others?
  5. Now, notice that Joseph obeyed and we must as well. Notice that many times in Scriptures God uses people who were discounted such as John 8 and the woman in adultery, but also notice that Jesus says, “Go and sin no more.” (John 8:11)
  6. But He first said, “I do not condemn you” (she was given forgiveness) and we all need forgiven, we need to know that we are forgiven.  It is that forgiveness that drives us to serve God, to live for Him, to honor Him.  Forgiveness is a stronger force than saying “go sin no more.” The “sin no more part” will naturally follow and flow out of our gratitude of being forgiven so extravagantly, so completely. How can we resist loving a God who does that? How can we resist giving our all for Him who gave His all? How can we resist doing whatever He asks of us?  If we do resist, then we either do not have an understanding of His extravagant forgiveness or we are unable to forgive ourselves.  But He has forgiven us, so if we refuse to forgive ourselves, we are sinning by not accepting His forgiveness.[1]
  7. We must follow Him. Are you following?
  8. Follow Jesus, God will use you.
  9. Trust that God will use your children and grandchildren as well. Trust that God will show up and use the most unlikely of circumstances.
  10. I believe this and I believe this is so that He is more glorified. Our lives are about God’s glory.

In a short devotional for Christmas, writer Paul Williams reflects on why he still remembers one particular Christmas pageant from 1981. It all starts with a strep-stricken son. He writes:

The dull eyes tipped me off before he could open his mouth. Jonathan had strep throat. It seemed the children in our family picked up strep two or three times a year, and someone always had it during the holidays.

Jonathan had been excited about the nursery school Christmas play for a couple of weeks. He would be Joseph. Mary would be played by a Jewish girl from down the block. Yes, her parents had given permission for her to be in the Christmas pageant.

With neck glands swollen and his voice a nasally whine, Jonathan begged to go to the festivities. Against our better judgment, we acquiesced. Bundling our son in his warmest coat, we drove the five short miles to the Central Islip Church of Christ. By the time all the parents had squeezed into the small auditorium, Jonathan was as white as the pillowcase he was wearing as a head covering. He looked fragile and diminutive.

Cathy and I sat on the front row. Jonathan came down the aisle hand in hand with Mary, and the two sat down on the second step below the manger, recently retrieved from its usual home in the boiler room. Jonathan was looking paler still, all the light out of his big blue eyes. He looked at us and managed a weak smile.

As soon as the play was over we hauled Jonathan off to the doctor’s office. Since our family doctor was a friend, we sneaked in and out in no time. Filled with penicillin, our son was feeling better the next morning. I do not remember much about the rest of that Christmas season, though I am sure it was utterly delightful, as all Christmas celebrations are.

I have often pondered why that is my only remembrance of that Christmas, in December of 1981. Of all the memories of all our family Christmas experiences, what makes that one event stand out?

I know the reason.

Christmas is truly about frail vulnerability, freely chosen. With heart in throat God watched his infant Son cry and squirm in the cold manger, where there was no penicillin.

I know how I felt watching my son with his head resting in those small hands, wanting to be brave, but weak and unsteady. I can only imagine what my heavenly Father thought, seeing his infant Son in the hands of a frightened young girl.[2]

Used by permission. For more articles like this, visitChristianStandard.com.

Paul Williams, “And So It Goes: One Christmas Pageant,”ChristianStandard.com(11-18-09)

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

[1] Janet Wise’s comments

[2] http://www.preachingtoday.com/search/?query=joseph&searcharea=illustrations&type=keyword