Speaker 1: 0:13

You all may be seated as we prepare for today's message. Well, good morning Now. Typically, we have these students come up. We've, through all the fall, they've been reading scripture to kind of get us into our time together, which they're doing. A fantastic job, I would agree. I would agree, for today we are looking at the life of both Mary and Joseph, and a little bit of it, separate in their interactions that they have with the angels that are sent to them, and so, because of that, I wanted to invite two students to come and read from Mary's perspective and then Joseph's. So, with that, I'm going to pass it off to them and let them do their thing.

Speaker 2: 0:48

My name is Charlotte Bachman, I'm a freshman at Benicia High School and I'm reading Luke 1, 26 through 38. In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged. The man named Joseph of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary, and the angel came to her and said greetings, favored woman. The Lord is with you. But she was deeply troubled by the statement, wondering what kind of greeting this could be. The angel told her do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. Now listen. You will conceive and give birth and you will call him Jesus. He will be named son of the most high and he will be great and will be called son of the most high, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father, David. He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom will have no end.

Speaker 2: 1:39

Mary asked the angel how can this be, since I am a virgin? The angel replied to her. The Holy Spirit will come upon you and the power of the most high will overshadow you. Therefore, the Holy One will be called the Son of God. And consider your relative, Elizabeth. Even she has conceived a son in her old age and this is in the sixth month for her who was called childless, For nothing will be impossible with God. See, I am the Lord's servant, said Mary. May it happen to me as you have said, and the angel left her. This is the word of the Lord.

Speaker 1: 2:08

Thanks be to God.

Speaker 3: 2:13

Hi, hi, I'm Eli and I go to SPSV. I will be reading Matthew 1, 18 through 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, because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace. He had in mind to expose her to public disgrace. He had in mind to divorce her quietly.

Speaker 3: 2:41

But before 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. 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. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and take Mary home as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son and gave him the name Jesus, the word of the Lord.

Speaker 1: 3:33

Thanks be to God. All right, thank you so much. You're going to hang out here with me for a second. Welcome everyone. My name is Jeff Bachman. I'm one of the pastors here on staff and I get the privilege of teaching you today. I will say, as you've probably been hearing, merry Christmas. Merry Christmas.

Speaker 1: 3:49

I know it was reminded of you earlier today, but I will say it again For those who are enjoying coffee in the first 10 minutes of service no judgment, it's a safe space, right? We would encourage you get your Christmas Eve services, because in one week from today, christmas Eve services start on the 22nd, so we have them on the 22nd, on the 23rd and the 24th. We would encourage you and I in fact asked just so we know where numbers are going to be and, as you were inviting people, that you just get tickets to those hours and you do that, okay. And as you were inviting people, that you just get tickets to those hours and you do that, okay. And, as it was also reminded, don't be late for those, because it's going to start and it's going to be an amazing experience. So we'd love for you to see all of that, all right.

Speaker 1: 4:26

So, my friend Eli, he's hanging out here because I asked him to do something. I want you to think about a time when you were asked to do something by faith. Does that apply to you? You do something by faith. Does that apply to you? You do something by faith? And you're probably sitting there going I don't do those things, pastor. That's your job. You're a professional Christian. You get paid to do this. You do things by faith. I do not.

Speaker 1: 4:47

But I would disagree. I think that we are wired as human beings to be creatures of faith. Eli, would you do me a favor and just go ahead and have a seat on that stool? Did you see what he did? He sat down. Let's give him a big hand. Come on, man. I mean, like, have you been practicing that for a long time or are you just like are you like a professional level of a sitter or no, you just do it right. And here's the thing you didn't even like here stand up. You didn't even pick up the stool and like check out its integrity. You just went and sat down. You rebel right. Why? Because you have sat thousands of times right and most of the time, except for those couple of times that maybe your brother pulled it away or something is that it's gone fine for you. So you trust the integrity of the seat, that it's going to do what it says it's going to do. Right, my friend, you are a person of faith, we are people of faith and we live that out. Thanks so much. Give him a big hand and take that for me.

Speaker 1: 5:48

Yeah, we are people of faith, and I think we see scripture. The same thing is true. All throughout scripture. We see that Sarah and Abraham they couldn't have kids and they didn't. But then they did because of God. But they were people of faith.

Speaker 1: 6:04

Moses rescued the Jews out of slavery and he said but I can't do that, I have a speech impediment, there's no way. But he did it by faith. We see David fight Goliath and he said I can't do it, but because I'm standing up and protecting the honor and character and nature of my God, I will do it, even though the armor doesn't fit me. And today, mary and Joseph would bring Jesus into a weary world, rejoicing for something that they don't necessarily even know yet. And Mary and Joseph are creatures that step out in faith. And while I think that God is calling all of us to live a faith-filled life. I don't think it's as far away as you may think it is, because, my friends, we are built for this. We are creatures of faith. And let me turn around and say you are built for this, you are a creature of faith, and I believe God has equipped you to do that very same thing.

Speaker 1: 7:02

So then, as we head into our time together, I would love to read just a blessing over you, because here's what I do know about this Christmas season this is the last Christmas service that you are going to if you're at Northgate. This is the last Christmas gathering that we're gonna have before we jump into Christmas Eve services in a week, and in that week's time, you're going to have finals, your schools are going to be done, people are going to be coming home or traveling. Like it's going to hit from this point on, and so, before we go out those doors, can we just agree? It's kind of calm and quiet here right now, and I don't want to alarm you, but you're late and you haven't shopped enough and you haven't cooked enough and you haven't wrapped enough, and so you better right. So then could we just make this a holy space for just a moment, that God is doing something today, so I like to read something for you.

Speaker 1: 7:56

This is a blessing. It was actually written by a professor. Her name is Dr Kate Bowler. She's a professor at Duke University. She teaches Christianity and theology, and I would love to just give this to you as a way to enter into our time today of just kind of clearing your head and your heart and seeing what God could have for you. So, if you want to sit there with your hands open, close your eyes, whatever you want to do, but I just want to read this over you, blessed, are you agreeing to stand still long enough to let your eyes adjust to the darkness until the starlight begins to appear, the dawning of God's promises In the gentle light. Find a corner of your heart where hope can stay protected, a place from which we can nurture a little gratitude, a little compassion, enough to go around, some for God and some for yourself, and some for the next unsuspecting soul that wanders into your life. Amen, amen. So for today.

Speaker 1: 8:56

In third grade I had to learn the preamble of the Constitution. Does anyone else know the preamble of the Constitution? Prove it. Just kidding, I had to learn it and I'm going to say it for you right now. We are the people of the United States. In order to form a more perfect union, establish justice and ensure domestic tranquility, to provide for the common defense and promote the general welfare. To secure our blessings to ourselves for the common defense and promote the general welfare. To secure our blessings for ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America. Let's pray. Just kidding, I said it and I think I'm pretty accurate. I don't know what do ordain means. I'm not sure what I just said, but I said it.

Speaker 1: 9:37

Could we also agree that there is a danger when we look at the story of Mary and Joseph, which are the characters that were the human beings in the story and the account that we're going to be going through today, is that it would be easy to go. I've heard that one before. We're fine, mary and Joseph, little baby, silent night, let's go. I got some packages to wrap. Could it be that there's something else there? And oftentimes we can know it so well that we don't even know what it says, because I would love for you to look at this with fresh eyes. There is in the middle of a silent night. There's a political revolution that's happening.

Speaker 1: 10:14

There's a brilliant and cruel and jealous ruler who has experienced years of success. King Herod started in 37 BC, went all the way until his death in 4 BC and in that time, he was considered the king of the Jews, based on where he was ruling over and then the people that he was ruling over. And all that time he was considered the king of the Jews based on where he was ruling over and then the people that he was ruling over. And all of a sudden, he hears that the king of kings is coming and he's like I'm sorry, what? That isn't going to happen because I'm the king of Jews. And so, all of a sudden, he begins to get jealous, so jealous from this prophecy that he hears that he decrees that every male who is under two years old will be killed.

Speaker 1: 10:50

And just think about this. I mean, how many conspiracy theories are out there right now? About 742. And those just came from yesterday on TikTok, right Like? There's a lot. There's a lot of conspiracy theories. When was the world supposed to end? 2012?, 2018?, 19?, 20? I mean, like we hear them all too. A couple of weeks ago, there was supposed to be a fight in the skies or something like that. Did anyone hear about that? Okay, just me.

Speaker 1: 11:13

But here's the thing after all these conspiracy theories, as valid as they may seem, you know what I do after I hear every one of these conspiracy theories I go to work, pay my bills. I don't drain my savings account. So then there's something of all these things that I go. It's not really true. It's interesting to watch, but I'm not changing the trajectory of my life. King Herod, however, was like wait a minute, what is this that you are saying? I need to know more about it, so much so that I'm going to take action and kill all of the infants who were males under two years old.

Speaker 1: 11:51

Mary found out that she was going to be giving birth and and she was shocked and scared and fearful, as she should be, and this wasn't because she was trying to figure out what kind of a baby shower to have by her saying yes, and this thing that God was asking her to step into was meaning that she was saying yes to a life of running and hiding and potential suffering. Somebody even say as Jesus arrives, it changes everything. So this is a big deal. Now, there's tons of beauty. There's tons of beauty in the Christmas story. There's tons that we can learn from this, but don't forget that these are real people that walk this earth and experience this. Real lives, real risk, real pain, real joy.

Speaker 1: 12:24

Mary and Joseph were a young couple. The shepherds were tired and a scraggly bunch. Zachariah and Elizabeth were very confused as to how they were to have a baby, because the scripture says how would you like to be described like this? They were very old. How old are you? I don't know, I'm just very old. How old's your dad? He's very old. No, thank you.

Speaker 1: 12:51

So, then, as we talk about Mary and Joseph today, it may even feel a little incomplete, but that's by design, because, again, we've looked at all these different characters, but none of them are Jesus. Two weeks ago, we looked at Zachariah and Elizabeth and discovered that there is hope in what appears to be a hopeless situation. And then, last week, we looked at the shepherds, unlikely humans or unlikely people that are being called into a life that is extraordinary in the plan that God has for them. And then, today, even Mary and Joseph, of what they're being called into, and none of them are Jesus. That's next week, but for today, I believe that, as we look at this account of two parents who are dirt poor and they have no place to go and they're in a lot of trouble and they have no money and no doctor and nobody that they knew and no respect.

Speaker 1: 13:44

But they were the ones that God chose to bring change into the world, and so they said, yes, I will, despite my comfort, despite what this world that I know, I will say yes to this and I think that we can, through the lives of these heroes of faith, put ourselves into an experience where we too can grow again, because I believe, for every person in here and we don't have the time to do this today, but I believe every person in here God is asking you to step into something. So, then, could we make an agreement that, for today, is that we get to see what Christmas can do to us if we allow it to go through us. That's what we get to do with this, and you're going to see in these passages and truth be told that in the entirety of scripture, the account of Jesus and Mary and Joseph. It's small, proportionally, there's not a lot there, but I think that God is taking Mary and Joseph through an experience, and you see them evolve, you see their faith evolve and you see it grow, and it starts at one place and it ends the next, and we get to see that, because I believe God is doing the exact same thing for you and for I. They were changed by God calling them into a purpose that was larger than themselves, which, let's be honest, isn't that what we want? We don't want to live for ourselves. Sometimes I find myself getting very selfish, but we want something that has. It's got to have legs to it, it's got to have substance to it, and that's what God is doing for them. And so I think it starts at a place that, when they discover what God is calling them into, they experience inevitably, fear and doubt, because that's what you're supposed to.

Speaker 1: 15:15

It says that each one of them were interacting with an angel of the Lord. It said that Gabriel was sent to the town. Now, in other scripture, in Daniel, we see that he had a face like lightning and eyes like flames. I don't know about your interactions with people, but that seems a little alarming. I don't know about your interactions with people, but that seems a little alarming. And so you've got to believe that these people were expectedly very shocked, not even the information, but just the interaction.

Speaker 1: 15:40

We can see it in how Mary responded in her account in Luke. It says in Luke 1.29 that Mary was troubled and she wondered you think Mary was afraid in Luke 1.30 because not only do you now see an angelic being that is before you, but understand that the thing that they're asking her to step into is that she's putting at risk her name and her very life, because and we'll look at it later if somebody believed in these times that they would be giving birth to a baby outside of wedlock, they would have been taken outside of the city and stoned or at least excommunicated. So her yes meant more than just yes, I'm willing to do this. Mary questioned in Luke 1.34, rightfully, and then Mary would obviously be confused.

Speaker 1: 16:19

But I think here's the interesting thing about this when the angel of the Lord, gabriel, interacted with Mary is that he promised five things. And here's the fun thing on these five things. Look at this list of things that the angel of the Lord promised. He said he was promised that he, jesus, will be great, he will be called the son of the most high, sit on the throne of his father, david, he will reign over the house of Jacob forever and his kingdom will never end. So those are the things that were promised.

Speaker 1: 16:47

And, interestingly enough now for us is that we step back from this and we go. Well, yes, of course, these are all things that I'm familiar with. I've spent my years reading this. I've come to church. This is something that I'm familiar with. So for us, we sit here at 30,000 feet in the entirety of scripture and go well, yeah, it makes sense.

Speaker 1: 17:02

But for her, this was totally new news. Now, I would actually expect, because of her culture and where she came from, she was waiting for a Messiah, just like everyone was at that point in time. So the fact that Jesus was coming, she was probably very excited about the fact that they're like he's coming and then she goes. Okay, but how, I'm sorry, like me, not only humbled because it was chosen, but then it's to go. It's going to be done in a way that is unnatural and that is tough to understand, and I'm going to have a hard time explaining that to other people. How Okay, jesus, that's fine.

Speaker 1: 17:35

But how Joseph was similar. He struggled too. Joseph was an honorable man. He said that he would quietly, he would divorce her in Matthew 1.19. Joseph was afraid, as we see in Matthew 1.20. And I've just got to think like, think about this Again. We don't know how Mary and Joseph got connected with each other, but we know that they were engaged to be married and so there had to be some sense that Joseph's heart was given towards Mary. And yet now, all of a sudden, he was coming to find out that she was pregnant. And before the interaction with the angel of the Lord, you've got to believe that he was, on some level, heartbroken or at least confused. This woman that he had trusted was now, all of a sudden, pregnant. Oh, it's an angel of the Lord, it's the Holy Spirit. That's how you have a baby Like I've heard that one before. I don't know how you have a baby Like I've heard that one before.

Speaker 1: 18:33

Do you see these two people as they willingly step in to whatever it is that God is calling them to? Is that they are risking everything? Risk has got to cost you something. You can't just. If you're going to risk something, there's got to be something that you're willing to lose Comfort, finances, your name, power, status, whatever it is, it's got to cost you something. And do you see that they were risking everything in obeying God?

Speaker 1: 18:58

God is inviting an unlikely participant into a calling that is much bigger than them asking them to trust him, asking them to allow them to grow in faith for God, grow in confidence for God, not in themselves, but in the one who has called them, not saying that anything that you and of yourself are going to do is going to bring you there, but it's trusting in me, the one who has called. And I think I doubt that in our lives we will all be called into the same experience as Mary and Joseph. That'd be super weird, wouldn't it? That'd be a weird Christmas. But I do know, if you haven't yet been called, that at some point God is going to call you into something that is bigger than you can handle on your own. And it may not be, it's not going to be the same as the person to the left or the right of you, but it's going to be bigger than something that you can't handle on your own. And it's something that if God, if you don't show up, then I am going to look like a fool or I will be ruined or I will lose everything. And I'm going to be honest.

Speaker 1: 20:02

There's times in my life that God has called and I've said no, thank you that I've passed, I'm too scared, I don't trust, I can't do it. God, and I don't think that God punishes us when he invites us into something and we miss on it. We just we miss out on it. We miss out on the fullness of what God has for us, whether it is a calling or a conviction, or a movement or a moment. And do you blame us when we say no? I mean, it's safe, it's warm here, I like it here, I don't know what's out there. I'm not sure what's out there, and yet I feel like God's calling me, but I'm scared and I have fear and I doubt and I'm confused. But right here, it's not a lot, but it's at least something right. I believe in so many of our lives that oftentimes the promise of more may not be enough to entice you to let go of the small portions that you may already have. And yet what you will miss is what God is calling you to step into.

Speaker 1: 21:04

This isn't limited to you and I, and it's not limited to Mary and Joseph. It is all throughout scripture that you see God calling people into something that they can't do on their own, and if God doesn't show up, that they are going to be ruined. And yet we also see that usually, when that happens, the first answer what's the first answer? No, no, don't you understand God? This is, you picked the wrong person. No, I couldn't possibly do that. And then people start to fight after that. I think it's interesting.

Speaker 1: 21:31

You look at Moses when he rescues the Jews out of slavery and they're sitting there in the desert and they're hungry and they're confused. They're directly in the center of God's will and yet they are hungry and confused and tired. And they say well, at least when we were in slavery we were getting food. To thank God for Moses, I've been there, because a yes to God doesn't necessarily always mean that everything is gonna flourish. But I do believe that for fear to transform into something else, hope must grow, trust must grow and faith must grow. And it's gotta have an anchor. It has to anchor to something that is bigger than itself, because you don't ever see an anchor hook onto its own boat, right. It's got to anchor to something else. It's got to anchor to something that is big enough to hold the weight of the purpose. And for these two, for Mary and Joseph, it was trusting in God, saying we're going to anchor everything into that, because we have nothing else to trust in.

Speaker 1: 22:28

Now, as we see them kind of move through their journey, we see them go from fear and doubt and then all of a sudden they step into a kind of a sense of almost being convinced. Now here's what I know in this is that as you move from kind of season to season or emotion to emotion, it's not like you're ever going to leave that other one behind, but there is one that is going to be a more of a driving factor in it. It's kind of like at the start of this whole thing, for fear and doubt is that that's the one driving the car, but all of a sudden you stop and you invite you invite being convinced in, and they at least get to drive. So it's not linear. You're going to kind of move in between all these, but for me, I think that being convinced is coming to a place of believing that something that you see is true, and you don don't know what that means. But you go. This is true, I don't necessarily have all the steps, but yeah, I believe. Whatever it is that God is doing right now, I need to respond to it. I wonder what that convinced looked like for them.

Speaker 1: 23:22

There was an individual risk that they had. But then there was also the sense that they were putting their name on something and someone else that Mary and Joseph were saying, okay, yes, god, but I'm going to trust this other person as well. The engagement process for Mary and Joseph, like we said, we didn't know how they got connected, but we do know that when you're pledged to be married, it's a year-long process and it's essentially like kind of a hybrid between marriage and engagement of marriage that we understand today. So it's like all the responsibility of marriage with none of the fun. So that sounds like an awful year. But, as I mentioned in this, they were risking excommunication, potential death, because if they believed that Mary was pregnant out of marriage, they would have something to say about that in the community and in the culture there. And so Joseph says he comes to the place after interacting with the angel of the Lord. He says I'm with her, I'm willing to not only put my name on what God has called me to, I'm willing to extend that to another person, which is essentially that's kind of what marriage is, if you've been around for any amount of time.

Speaker 1: 24:27

I, a couple months ago, talked about the process of getting engaged to my wife and how I bought a really fancy ring at Costco for her. It was a really fancy ring, came in a 12 pack, but I remember that was the day that I decided to slide in all my chips on her now. I had prayed for her. I had prayed for a wife. I had prayed for that life, but that prayed for a wife. I had prayed for that life. But that was the day that, as I bought the ring and I sat at the picnic bench inside Costco and I had the engagement ring here and I had a hot dog and a soda, and I just sat there and I just looked at it for a while. I was like waiting for it to like talk to me or something like that, and I was like I'm all in, I'm all in on her, on us, that I'm going to extend my name and my character to her and she's going to do the very same to me.

Speaker 1: 25:16

And, as somebody who has been all in in different areas and parts of my life, is that I wonder for them, is that? What is it that got them to that point of convinced, of being convinced and conviction? When were they willing to slide in on them and just say I am all in, here's all my chips, I'm betting it all, I'm betting the house. Was it that they wanted the payoff and they trusted in God's nature and his character? Had they run out of options or were they ready to risk it? They said, god, I believe in you and who you are, but here's what I, as I look at scripture. Here's what I believe, because scripture says absolutely nothing else about it. And this is the nature and the character of who we see God to be and how he interacts with them. Is that there's a deep sense of trust and being convinced in the character of the one who called them. So they said you can have every part of it.

Speaker 1: 26:06

Did you know that, right after the verse that Charlotte read up here about Mary is that Mary wrote a song. She wrote a song about her conviction. She wrote a song about being convinced. It's in Luke. It's in Luke 1, 46 through 49. I'm going to sing it for you right now, not a chance. But it says this and Mary said my soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on, all generations will call me blessed, for the mighty one has done great things for me. Holy is his name Interesting, and I don't know how much time there is between these verses, but somewhere in the twenties she was afraid and confused and scared. And she now says God, holy is your name and I am blessed because you chose me. So there's some sense of growth and development, going from fear to being convinced.

Speaker 1: 27:03

Can we get back to that this Christmas? Can we get back to being at a place of being convinced in the Jesus who is also called us, being so caught up in the account of Jesus and his purpose that we slide all of our chips in on him, like they did Like to say if it works, then I win everything? Let me ask you this what if it does work? What if it works? What if everything that Jesus says? What if everything that God is calling us to step into of a life filled with faith? What if it works? Probably not the way that you would expect it to, but what if it works?

Speaker 1: 27:44

We say, god, I've got nothing else to hope for, to live for, but it's you, and so I'm going to give you my addiction, I'm going to give you the illness that I'm dealing with. I'm going to give you the job that I have or I need or that I don't want. I'm going to give you the conflict. I'm going to give you the relationship. I'm going to ask for the relationship, but I'm going to slide all my chips in on that and I have nothing else to lose. And so I'm going to give it to you. And I know like hear me when I say this I know what I'm asking for. I know what I'm asking for and asking you to trust in God and God alone.

Speaker 1: 28:15

Because what if he doesn't come through like you expect him to? What if you put all of your hope out there and you're like God, this is all I've got and it's just a little bit left. And I'm gonna give it to you. And I understand, because when you hope and you don't get it the way that you want it to, that's when it gets you. It's dangerous. But what if, in that risk, god is gonna meet and maybe it's not the end result that you hope or you expect? That God has got something bigger, that he's working in and through you for this Saying yes to God and then he's calling you into it?

Speaker 1: 28:48

It could start small, with a yes or a no, or it could be big, with changing some part of your life, but with the knowledge that there is nothing more than the foundational character of God that I can anchor my life on and to allow my hope, faith and trust to grow in. And I am saying this from one of the worst seasons I've had in my life, where I have lost friends and I've lost family and I'm dealing with illness of people that I care about and disappointment of seasons, of things that I did not think that I would be dealing with at this point in my life. And so I recognize that, as I ask you to gently place your hope into something that is that big is to say it's all I've got. And so I stand up here with every breath in my lungs and I say, based on the Holy Spirit and his word and God's leading, I am placing my hope and trust in that very same thing and I'm gonna continue to run towards daylight and I'm inviting you to come with me, because that's all I got, I've got nothing else. And if I stand back here and stay where it's safe and warm and little and small, I go, god's got something bigger and I don't know what it's going to be and it's probably not going to be exactly what I expect it to be. But I'm going to trust in that because God's character and nature is good and I recognize that you may not be there, I understand, because I'm not always there. I probably wasn't yesterday and I probably won't be again. But for today I say I'm going to run towards that and I would love for you to come with me and I would ask for you to then spend time in God's word and allow his spirit to move you and motivate you towards that of trusting in the thing that he's calling you in and knowing that you're not alone in that of trusting in the thing that he's calling you in and knowing that you're not alone in that, knowing that you're not alone in both the faith-filled life and the fear-filled life.

Speaker 1: 30:26

On Mark 9, 24, there's an interaction between a man who's got a sick son and he talks to Jesus and he says will you heal my son? I believe in you, but help me in my unbelief. And so there's this sense of going. He will take whatever amount of belief we have and he can do something with that and he will meet us in our unbelief and he will change and he will nurture that and he will grow that in us and I am so grateful that we have a God who can take both of those and do something with that. But we see Mary and Joseph move from then conviction to then actual action. They were convicted and they were convinced that God was worth trusting in and then they began to obey through action.

Speaker 1: 31:06

Obedience is definitely one of the areas where it becomes probably even more difficult, and it plays a strong role in this. Because here's the thing Obedience does not promise success and I'm sorry I wish that that was somewhere on the banner Is that if you say yes to God, everything is going to be rainbows and puppy dogs. That would be wonderful, and yet what we see in here is that a life in the center of God's will may be more uncomfortable, but it's right where you need to be and it's right where he wants you to be, and obedience actually implies that things are going to get difficult. The word obey means compliance to a rule or a law and let's be honest, you don't have to obey to eat pizza, right, like okay, if you want me to, I'll obey. You don't have to obey to skip leg day at the gym. You're just more than happy to do that. So obeying something means that it's going to come at a cost and it's going to be difficult.

Speaker 1: 31:59

So, then, when we see Joseph obey, it's because the path doesn't make a ton of sense. It's because he is trusting in the nature and the character of the God who's called him, and that he's trusting in the one that is giving him an outcome that is more than he could ever expect and probably not the one that he planned and probably going to be more difficult than the one that he had planned for himself. But as he did. Matthew 1, 24 and 25 says that that when Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife, but he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son and he gave him the name Jesus. It comes from a sense of hope and trust and a belief that there is something more Saying, even as uncomfortable or as miserable as this may be right here, or if I'm in the center of that, of saying God, I believe that you are doing something and so I'm going to trust you in that. My yes means that it's going to allow you to continue to be the God who you are and you promise to be. Matthew 1.21 says like this give him the name Jesus because he will save his people from their sins. And Joseph and Mary got to be a part of that. You might even say that they said yes because there was something bigger, that they didn't understand what was happening, probably at their own sake of comfort, and yet God was doing something bigger.

Speaker 1: 33:18

Another word for that I call it's a holy discontent. It's a desire for something it hasn't happened yet and that you can't let go of. What it is that God is calling you into, and so it would be considered a vision or a not yet, but it's birthed out of the Holy Spirit that is working in you to do something, and he's invited you into it, knowing that that life that you get to step into is bigger than anything that you can imagine in and of yourself. And then you hope in that which we learned two weeks ago from Pastor Ken hope is always in the future. So then, my friends, hope is right out there. So then let's go get it, and I think that this is why it's hard to wait. It's hard to wait and believe that he who has began a good work in you will bring it on to the day of completion through our Lord, christ Jesus and yet that's what we are built for Says it like this Not all can wait, certainly not those who are satisfied, contented or feel that they live in the best of all possible worlds.

Speaker 1: 34:16

If you are fine here, then this message isn't for you. All possible worlds If you are fine here, then this message isn't for you. If everything's okay and you're at peace with everything that you see in your own life and everything out there, then you're welcome to go get some coffee. But what I'm saying is that Jesus promises something more, that there's a vision for that, and that's what we trust. Those who learn to wait are uneasy about the way of life, but yet have seen a vision of greatness in the world of the future and are patiently expecting its fulfillment. That's what you promised, god, and so I'm waiting on that.

Speaker 1: 34:46

The celebration of Advent is possibly only for those who are troubled in soul, who know themselves to be poor and imperfect and who look forward to something greater to come. What if, by allowing the experiences of Mary and Joseph to impact you, then you experience Christmas totally differently, and that then allows others to, because maybe they haven't caught a vision for this yet, but you have. You've seen that there's something else out there, and so then you allow the faith and the fear and the trust and the doubt of Mary and Joseph to have an impact on you this week and impact others, and it's why we, for the entire year, have been talking about this idea of representing Jesus to those who need to see that, and not a cleaned up, fixed, pretty tidy Christmas. You'll get parts of that, but it's a Christmas and a season that is filled with doubt and fear and being convinced and faithful, conviction and life change, because I am aligning my life with a God who has called me in and to say, god, I've got nothing else. I'm risking it all on you and I'm trusting you in that, and God wants to meet you in that and to give you that purpose and to give you peace and conviction. I need that and I would suspect that you do too. So then, how we live, how we respond in this Christmas season, and even trust in the anchor of God alone, then becomes our worship, and then we have the opportunity for it to impact others, not just ourselves.

Speaker 1: 36:20

There's a story of a song that was written. It was written in 1847. And there's a story of how it was created. There's also a story of how that song was then banned from churches in the late 1800s because people didn't like it or it was just messing with their understanding of who God was.

Speaker 1: 36:36

But in 1871, during the middle of some fierce fighting, in the middle of the Franco-Prussian war between the French and the Germans, is that there was one French soldier who broke battle lines and he stood in the middle of the battlefield and he lifted his eyes to heaven and in the middle of his fear, I'm sure, and his doubt and his conviction and his fear, I'm sure, and his doubt and his conviction and his convinced and his belief that there was something bigger than this he raised his eyes and he began to sing the song Cantique de Noel, or oh Holy Night.

Speaker 1: 37:15

And the story goes that both sides joined him in singing and the French and the German sides joined him in singing, and the French and the German, in those times they stopped fighting for 24 hours on Christmas Eve and they enjoyed a temporary time of peace and Christmas together. Oh holy night, the stars are brightly shining. It is the night of our dear savior's birth. Long lay the world in sin and error, pining till he appeared and the soul felt its worth. A thrill of hope. Hear this the weary world rejoices.

Speaker 1: 37:56

I believe that it is only in a life with God and sitting in the middle of a purpose that is bigger than yourself and trusting in a God that is bigger than the pain that we are experiencing now, that we can both live in the weariness of the world and the rejoicing of a savior I absolutely do and to move us from a place of fear and doubt and wondering and thinking what are you up to? And allowing our confidence in God's nature and his character and promises to be the things that then transform us, and then we trust that he will fulfill and he will do the thing that he says he will do, because he's never late, and then our life looks both faith-filled and fear-filled, probably at the same time. Sometimes, in God's grace, through the coming of Jesus, can we hold both the weariness of the world. We hold both the weariness of the world and the rejoicing of a Savior through the face of Mary and Joseph. We'll see you at Christmas Eve services.