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Good morning.

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Merry Christmas to you all.

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I hope you are all doing well

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and if you are visiting our church

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for the first time this morning here in our sanctuary

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or if you're watching online for the first time,

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we wanna say welcome.

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We're so glad that you're joining us here

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on Christmas morning at Hosanna.

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I am Pastor Nathan and yeah,

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today we are gathered together to celebrate

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the birth of Jesus Christ,

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the world-changing, history-changing moment

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that for so many of us has changed the course of our lives,

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changed the course of our families

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and yesterday we had the opportunity

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at our Christmas Eve service to look at the Christmas story

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from the perspective of Jesus' adopted father, Joseph.

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This morning we're gonna look at it

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from the perspective of Mary.

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And as many of you know,

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the Christmas story starts about 2,000 years ago

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in a little Jewish town called Nazareth.

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This place, this time was not very politically correct.

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And what I mean by that is at this time in that nation

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and in that little town,

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invoking the name of God publicly in public places,

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asking for the blessing of God upon everything in life

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was expected, it was just a normal part of everyday life

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for pretty much everybody.

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But what wasn't so common and not nearly as common

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as it is today was for a teenage girl to end up pregnant

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before she was married.

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That was scandalous.

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That was crazy.

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That didn't happen.

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And yet this is the predicament we find Marian

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in the Christmas story.

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Now it is a beautiful story,

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regardless of the challenges

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that we're gonna be talking about today

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because it brought us our Lord and our Savior Jesus Christ.

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Now today as believers,

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we reflect on that beautiful story of Mary,

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the mother of Jesus.

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And as mentioned yesterday,

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there are so many Christmas songs

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that we sing throughout the season

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that have Mary as the focus.

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And these songs, they speak of her experience.

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They speak of her wonder.

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They speak of her blessing

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and their beautiful Christmas songs to sing

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as we remember this time.

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And at the point in history

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where Mary's story is told,

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we can't forget that at that point in history,

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God had been silent for 400 years.

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It had been 400 years with no prophetic messages.

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400 years with no miraculous occurrences.

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400 years with no angelic visits of any kind,

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but everything was about to change.

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Everything was about to change.

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And after 400 years since the last big event

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of the Old Testament,

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the story of Mary opens with an angel from heaven

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appearing to her.

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And not just any angel,

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but one of the big dogs.

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One of the powerful angels,

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the angel Gabriel himself,

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come down to a very obscure town in northern Galilee

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called Nazareth to this very poor young Jewish girl

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where he gave her some news.

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And this news that she received

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shook her up quite significantly.

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It was news that would change her life forever

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and the lives for millions over the course of history.

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Today we're gonna look at Christmas from her perspective.

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We're gonna look at the Christmas story

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from the perspective of Mary

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and we're gonna see her humility.

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We're gonna see her spirituality

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and we're gonna see her necessity.

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All of it to encourage us today

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that our greatest needs are met.

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Our greatest needs are always met

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by the greatest gift of all, Jesus Christ.

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God come in the flesh.

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A baby born into this world to live a life,

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a perfect life, ultimately,

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to be the atoning sacrifice freely given for us all

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granting salvation to all who would call

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upon the name of Jesus Christ.

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But before we get into the story this morning,

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we're gonna spend some time celebrating God in worship

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and praising his name because he is worth it.

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Of all days today, we wanna say,

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God you are almighty, you are so great

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and we are so grateful that you came to this earth,

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that you died for us, that you are our salvation,

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that you are the greatest gift we could ever receive, amen?

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Let's pray.

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Father God, we love you so much.

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And we're so grateful God

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that you came to this earth 2,000 years ago.

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Lord, there are so many details

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to the story of your birth, God,

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that we could spend weeks and weeks and weeks

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going through all of it.

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But today, Lord, we wanna start just by praising you,

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celebrating you, receiving that gift you've offered to us.

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Lord, so many of us have come to that point in our lives

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where we received the free gift of salvation.

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God, through our faith in you, we have been saved,

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eternally saved and we're so grateful God.

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And Lord, today as we look at the story of your mom,

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your mom here on earth, Lord,

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and look at what she went through leading up to this moment,

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this miraculous moment of giving birth to the Messiah.

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God, that we would be encouraged by her humility

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and encouraged by her spirituality,

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encouraged by her recognition of her need,

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a need that only you could fulfill

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and that you fulfilled for so many of us

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and that you continue to fulfill

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for all who would call upon your name.

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We love you so much.

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We say happy birthday.

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We say Merry Christmas.

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We worship you now, Lord.

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In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

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Well, as I mentioned in our intro this morning,

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we're gonna be looking at Mary's perspective

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of the Christmas story.

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And every year she comes up in so many different ways

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as the Christmas season is coming by

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and there are many who might go, who was Mary?

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What was her background?

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What was her story?

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And truth be told, we don't know a whole lot about Mary,

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but we do have a few pieces from scripture

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that we can put together.

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And so if you will join me in Luke chapter one,

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we're gonna start in verse 26 this morning.

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It says there, in the sixth month,

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the angel Gabriel was sent by God

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to a town in Galilee called Nazareth

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to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph

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of the house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary.

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Now, Mary was a very young, very poor teenage girl.

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Now, if you're a teenager,

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I hope me calling you young doesn't offend you, okay?

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But from my perspective, teenagers are young, all right?

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Now, we know that Mary was young and poor

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because right in this verse,

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we get a couple details that tell us that.

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One, it tells us that she was from a town in Galilee

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called Nazareth.

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Well, we know from archeology and studies of that nature

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that Nazareth was a very poor working class town,

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a very blue collar type place

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where people weren't very wealthy.

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It was considered a backwater town of its day,

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and so people who lived there were very poor.

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We also can surmise and figure out that she was a teenager

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because it tells us that she's engaged.

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Now, engaged is a word we use today,

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but in the day, it was called betrothal.

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It was this official custom, this contract

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that was usually set up by parents of children,

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could be as young as 12, as old as 17,

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where they would be committed or betrothed

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to marry another individual,

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and it was this formal process they would go through.

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But betrothal typically happened

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while the kids were teenagers,

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and so that's why we surmise and understand

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that Mary was a teenager.

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We're also gonna see in the story of Mary

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that she was a very spiritual person.

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She was a very on fire for God young person,

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and that is a wonderful thing to see.

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You see, God often uses the young

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to do amazing things in our world,

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to accomplish mighty things in our world.

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If you remember, Paul said to Timothy,

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let no one despise your youth.

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You know, don't let anybody,

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if you're a young person hearing this message today,

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don't let anybody despise or dismiss

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what God can do through you because of your youth.

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God can use you to do amazing things,

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mighty things, world-changing things.

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And so commit to God and know him

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that God would use you to change lives,

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to change history even.

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If you think about the disciples,

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the 12 disciples that Jesus picked,

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they were all young fishermen whose lives were changed

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and then went on to change the world because of Jesus.

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We also know that Mary was from the tribe of Judah,

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a descendant of King David,

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and we get this from genealogies.

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In the gospels, we have Matthew has a genealogy

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in Matthew chapter one, and then we have a genealogy

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in Luke's writing in chapter three.

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Now, I don't have time to get into all the details,

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but the genealogy in Luke chapter three

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is understood by most scholars and commentators

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to be tracing Mary's bloodline.

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It's the genealogy of Jesus through his mother, his mom.

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So it's a bloodline genealogy

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tracing Jesus's line back to King David.

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Whereas the genealogy we have in Matthew

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is his adopted father's lineage back to King David,

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but that's Jesus's legal lineage

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through his adopted father.

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And so through those two genealogies,

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we understand that both of his parents

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were from the tribe of Judah.

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And what that just tells us is that Jesus Christ

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was the fulfillment of so many messianic prophecies

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regarding who he was gonna be,

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regarding that he was gonna be an offspring

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and a descendant of King David

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and the one worthy to sit on the throne of David.

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But it's an interesting detail

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because it's not just showing us

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that he is a biological descendant,

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a blood descendant of David,

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he's also the legal descendant of David

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and the only one who can inherit the throne.

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We also know that Mary had at least one sister

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in John chapter 19 verse 25.

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It tells us this.

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It tells us that Mary's sister was also named Mary.

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So you had Mary Mary in that family.

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And Mary was just a common name of the time,

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a very common name of the time.

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We also know that Mary, the mother of Jesus,

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was also related to the priesthood

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that existed in Jerusalem at that time

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through her cousin Elizabeth.

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Her cousin Elizabeth was married to a man named Zacharias

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and he was a priest serving in the temple

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and so she had a connection to the priesthood there.

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But the significant detail,

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the important detail that the gospels give us about Mary,

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about Mary's story,

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and it's what sets up all the drama of Christmas for Mary

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was the fact that she was engaged.

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That is the detail that the accounts focus on

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that she was engaged to this man named Joseph.

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Now we spoke about Joseph at length yesterday

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and if you didn't get to hear that message,

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it's on YouTube and so feel free to go back and watch it.

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But if we know little about Mary,

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we know even less about the personal

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and practical details of Joseph, Jesus' adopted father.

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In fact, we only have one word in the entire New Testament

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that describes who Joseph was

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or what he did.

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And that word is found in two places

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in Mark chapter six verse three

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and Matthew chapter 13 verse 35

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where he is called a carpenter.

268
00:12:03,760 --> 00:12:06,160
That's all we know about Joseph.

269
00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:09,240
As far as practical details, he was a carpenter.

270
00:12:09,240 --> 00:12:10,400
Now that word carpenter there,

271
00:12:10,400 --> 00:12:13,960
it's a Greek word that simply means builder, right?

272
00:12:13,960 --> 00:12:17,000
It was a word incidentally often used for stone masons

273
00:12:17,000 --> 00:12:19,560
and so even though it's rendered carpenter,

274
00:12:19,560 --> 00:12:23,200
it's very possible that Joseph wasn't just a woodworker

275
00:12:23,200 --> 00:12:26,200
but he was also a stone mason working with stone and wood

276
00:12:26,200 --> 00:12:28,640
because it was kind of a broad word there.

277
00:12:28,640 --> 00:12:32,280
But the picture that we have of Mary and Joseph here

278
00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:35,160
is that Jesus' earthly parents were both young,

279
00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:38,000
hardworking individuals living poor

280
00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:40,400
in this town of Nazareth.

281
00:12:40,400 --> 00:12:42,720
But they were happily engaged.

282
00:12:42,720 --> 00:12:43,840
That's the detail.

283
00:12:44,680 --> 00:12:46,280
They were happily engaged.

284
00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:48,880
Now, as I mentioned, that word engaged

285
00:12:48,880 --> 00:12:51,520
is the concept of being betrothed, right?

286
00:12:51,520 --> 00:12:53,760
Being betrothed in those days was a formal

287
00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:56,080
contractual arrangement by parents.

288
00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:59,680
I mean, it was very official, very business, right?

289
00:12:59,680 --> 00:13:03,720
It was so formal that if you were betrothed to someone,

290
00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:04,720
you were engaged.

291
00:13:04,720 --> 00:13:07,920
You hadn't even been married yet in the marriage ceremony

292
00:13:07,920 --> 00:13:09,720
but it was such a formal thing

293
00:13:09,720 --> 00:13:12,100
that if you wanted to break the engagement,

294
00:13:12,100 --> 00:13:15,320
you had to go through a formal divorce ceremony

295
00:13:15,320 --> 00:13:18,720
because in those times, being betrothed

296
00:13:18,720 --> 00:13:23,720
was just as relevant, or just as enforceable as being married.

297
00:13:24,400 --> 00:13:26,280
It carried the same weight as being married

298
00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:27,940
is what I'm trying to say.

299
00:13:27,940 --> 00:13:29,680
So just because you were only engaged,

300
00:13:29,680 --> 00:13:32,300
you were still a committed married person.

301
00:13:32,300 --> 00:13:34,920
So it was a big, big deal in those days.

302
00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:36,460
And typically an engagement period

303
00:13:36,460 --> 00:13:37,960
would last around 12 months,

304
00:13:37,960 --> 00:13:39,880
but there were cases where a couple

305
00:13:39,880 --> 00:13:43,080
was inappropriately young for marriage

306
00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:45,160
and so the betrothal period could last longer.

307
00:13:45,160 --> 00:13:47,320
But it was typically a 12 month period

308
00:13:47,320 --> 00:13:49,920
where the couple would spend time

309
00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:51,480
getting to know each other,

310
00:13:51,480 --> 00:13:53,840
where the couple who were both intended

311
00:13:53,840 --> 00:13:55,380
and expected to be virgins

312
00:13:55,380 --> 00:13:57,820
were saving themselves for one another

313
00:13:57,820 --> 00:14:00,400
so that during the wedding ceremony at the tail end

314
00:14:00,400 --> 00:14:01,800
when they went into the wedding chamber

315
00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:03,360
and consummated the marriage,

316
00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:06,020
it was just this beautiful, wonderful picture

317
00:14:06,020 --> 00:14:07,960
of the intimacy that is intended to be

318
00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:10,920
between a husband and a wife.

319
00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:12,560
And so during this engagement period,

320
00:14:12,560 --> 00:14:16,120
the couple would talk and get to know each other

321
00:14:16,120 --> 00:14:18,360
and get their affairs in order

322
00:14:18,360 --> 00:14:20,920
and they would just get ready for this marriage,

323
00:14:20,920 --> 00:14:23,880
this lifetime commitment that they were gonna have.

324
00:14:23,880 --> 00:14:26,840
But they lived apart during this engagement time

325
00:14:26,840 --> 00:14:31,260
and they had absolutely zero physical contact of any kind.

326
00:14:31,260 --> 00:14:32,440
Why?

327
00:14:32,440 --> 00:14:35,880
Because sexual intimacy was reserved

328
00:14:35,880 --> 00:14:37,760
for the sanctity of marriage.

329
00:14:38,800 --> 00:14:42,640
And it is still reserved for the sanctity of marriage

330
00:14:42,640 --> 00:14:46,100
in God's eyes despite what our culture says.

331
00:14:46,100 --> 00:14:47,700
So after the engagement time was up,

332
00:14:47,700 --> 00:14:51,200
there would be a wedding ceremony which could last days

333
00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:53,800
and dads who have daughters,

334
00:14:53,800 --> 00:14:56,320
you might be happy you don't live in those times

335
00:14:56,320 --> 00:14:59,220
because it was a party that could last up to a week

336
00:14:59,220 --> 00:15:00,400
and you had to pay for it.

337
00:15:00,400 --> 00:15:02,360
And the entire community was invited.

338
00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:05,920
So good thing we don't have to do that today, right?

339
00:15:05,920 --> 00:15:10,040
But this ceremony which could last days and days and days

340
00:15:10,040 --> 00:15:12,120
would finally culminate with the couple

341
00:15:12,120 --> 00:15:14,240
retiring into the wedding chamber

342
00:15:14,240 --> 00:15:16,720
and then the union would be consummated.

343
00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:19,380
But during this time, during this engagement,

344
00:15:19,380 --> 00:15:22,340
during this patrol of time, the couples were watched.

345
00:15:22,340 --> 00:15:24,120
They were watched by their family,

346
00:15:24,120 --> 00:15:25,880
they were watched by the community,

347
00:15:25,880 --> 00:15:29,460
they were watched to see if they're maintaining their purity,

348
00:15:29,460 --> 00:15:32,360
their commitment to one another and their commitment to God.

349
00:15:32,360 --> 00:15:35,760
So it was during this time of them being watched,

350
00:15:35,760 --> 00:15:37,560
verse 28, Luke one says,

351
00:15:37,560 --> 00:15:39,200
and the angel came to Mary and said,

352
00:15:39,200 --> 00:15:41,480
"'Greetings, favored woman.

353
00:15:41,480 --> 00:15:42,680
"'The Lord is with you.'

354
00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:44,920
"'But she was deeply troubled by this statement,

355
00:15:44,920 --> 00:15:47,520
"'wondering what kind of greeting this could be.

356
00:15:47,520 --> 00:15:52,200
"'Remember, God had been silent for 400 years at this point.

357
00:15:52,200 --> 00:15:57,200
"'No prophecies, no words, no angel sightings of any kind,

358
00:15:57,280 --> 00:16:01,480
"'and yet, poof, here's an angel appearing to Mary.'"

359
00:16:02,800 --> 00:16:07,800
Appearing to this poor, young, insignificant girl

360
00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:12,800
in a backwater, insignificant town of Nazareth,

361
00:16:12,880 --> 00:16:14,760
appearing to her.

362
00:16:14,760 --> 00:16:17,040
And so it says that she was deeply troubled.

363
00:16:17,040 --> 00:16:19,080
In modern translation, she's freaked out.

364
00:16:20,040 --> 00:16:21,920
She's freaked out by this.

365
00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:23,480
Not only at seeing an angel,

366
00:16:23,480 --> 00:16:25,520
which I think all of us would be deeply troubled

367
00:16:25,520 --> 00:16:27,120
if an angel appeared to us, right?

368
00:16:27,120 --> 00:16:28,520
Oh, wow.

369
00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:30,080
But then what does he say to her?

370
00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:31,240
"'Greetings, favored woman.

371
00:16:31,240 --> 00:16:32,520
"'The Lord was with you.'"

372
00:16:33,800 --> 00:16:36,200
But it says she was wondering what kind of greeting

373
00:16:36,200 --> 00:16:38,280
this could be. Was this a good thing?

374
00:16:38,280 --> 00:16:39,760
Or was this a bad thing?

375
00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:42,520
Right, you read through the Old Testament,

376
00:16:42,520 --> 00:16:45,200
and God appears both ways, doesn't he?

377
00:16:45,200 --> 00:16:46,960
Sometimes he would appear to his enemies,

378
00:16:46,960 --> 00:16:48,640
and that was not a good thing.

379
00:16:48,640 --> 00:16:50,560
And then sometimes he would appear to his people,

380
00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:51,720
and it was a good thing.

381
00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:53,280
And sometimes he appeared to his people,

382
00:16:53,280 --> 00:16:55,600
and it was a bad thing because of what they were doing.

383
00:16:55,600 --> 00:16:56,680
So she was concerned.

384
00:16:56,680 --> 00:16:59,680
We hadn't heard anything from God for 400 years.

385
00:16:59,680 --> 00:17:01,520
"'And yet, now an angel is standing before me,

386
00:17:01,520 --> 00:17:03,520
"'greeting me in the name of the Lord.'"

387
00:17:03,520 --> 00:17:04,720
Verse 30, it says,

388
00:17:04,720 --> 00:17:06,760
"'The angel then told her,

389
00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:08,000
"'Do not be afraid, Mary,

390
00:17:08,000 --> 00:17:10,360
"'for you have found favor with God.

391
00:17:10,360 --> 00:17:13,720
"'Now listen, you will conceive and give birth to a son,

392
00:17:13,720 --> 00:17:15,920
"'and you will name him Jesus.'"

393
00:17:15,920 --> 00:17:19,800
That word Jesus is the word Yeshua in Hebrew.

394
00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:23,800
It's a name that means the Lord is salvation.

395
00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:25,080
So the angel's telling her,

396
00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:27,000
look, you're gonna get pregnant,

397
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:28,440
you're gonna give birth to a baby,

398
00:17:28,440 --> 00:17:31,080
and you're gonna name him the Lord is salvation.

399
00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:33,560
Verse 32, "'He will be great,

400
00:17:33,560 --> 00:17:35,000
"'and will be called the Son of the Most High,

401
00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:36,240
"'and the Lord God will give him

402
00:17:36,240 --> 00:17:38,440
"'the throne of his father, David.

403
00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:40,440
"'He will reign over the house of Jacob forever,

404
00:17:40,440 --> 00:17:42,720
"'and his kingdom will have no end.'

405
00:17:42,720 --> 00:17:44,240
"'And Mary asked the angel,

406
00:17:44,240 --> 00:17:45,320
"'How can this be,

407
00:17:45,320 --> 00:17:48,440
"'since I have not had sexual relations with a man?'

408
00:17:48,440 --> 00:17:51,600
Now, I think that is the most obvious

409
00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:52,840
and understandable question

410
00:17:52,840 --> 00:17:55,520
that may have ever been asked in the history of questions.

411
00:17:57,200 --> 00:17:58,600
You're telling me I'm gonna have to ask you

412
00:17:58,600 --> 00:18:01,920
if you're telling me I'm gonna get pregnant.

413
00:18:02,880 --> 00:18:05,400
I haven't been with a man, I'm a virgin.

414
00:18:05,400 --> 00:18:09,000
In fact, I'm engaged to be married.

415
00:18:10,040 --> 00:18:12,120
I'm saving myself from my husband.

416
00:18:13,040 --> 00:18:14,720
Everybody's watching us.

417
00:18:14,720 --> 00:18:15,920
The community's watching us.

418
00:18:15,920 --> 00:18:17,000
My parents are watching us.

419
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:18,480
My friends, everybody's.

420
00:18:18,480 --> 00:18:20,360
What are you talking about?

421
00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:21,520
How can this be?

422
00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:25,720
And she understands biology,

423
00:18:25,720 --> 00:18:29,600
which I know is a problem in today's scholastic environment,

424
00:18:29,600 --> 00:18:31,920
but she understands biology.

425
00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:34,200
She understands how pregnancy occurs,

426
00:18:34,200 --> 00:18:36,440
and so she's like, how is this gonna be?

427
00:18:36,440 --> 00:18:38,120
The angel replied to her in verse 35,

428
00:18:38,120 --> 00:18:40,280
"'The Holy Spirit will come upon you,

429
00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:42,720
"'and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.

430
00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:45,200
"'Therefore, the Holy One to be born

431
00:18:45,200 --> 00:18:47,880
"'will be called the Son of God.'"

432
00:18:48,800 --> 00:18:53,000
What an incredible moment for this young woman.

433
00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:55,080
This young teenage girl from Nazareth

434
00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:59,000
being told, and she understood the terminology there.

435
00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:01,560
You're gonna give birth to the Messiah.

436
00:19:02,560 --> 00:19:04,440
You're gonna give birth to the Holy One

437
00:19:04,440 --> 00:19:07,080
that you and your people have been waiting for

438
00:19:07,080 --> 00:19:09,400
for generations.

439
00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:12,600
You are gonna give birth to the one

440
00:19:12,600 --> 00:19:15,720
that has been prophesied and written about

441
00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:17,400
and spoken about.

442
00:19:17,400 --> 00:19:18,880
You're the one.

443
00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:20,440
What an amazing opportunity.

444
00:19:20,440 --> 00:19:23,960
Every Jewish girl of the time

445
00:19:23,960 --> 00:19:27,040
dreamed of growing up

446
00:19:27,040 --> 00:19:29,400
and becoming the mother of the Messiah.

447
00:19:29,400 --> 00:19:31,960
It was the highest honor

448
00:19:31,960 --> 00:19:35,800
that a young Jewish girl could expect

449
00:19:35,800 --> 00:19:38,520
to be the one who gave birth to the Messiah.

450
00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:40,680
They knew that's how it was gonna happen

451
00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:43,040
because that's what the prophecy said.

452
00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:45,640
It was the hope of every single person

453
00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:50,640
that was a Jew that one day this Messiah would come.

454
00:19:50,640 --> 00:19:53,960
Every Jewish girl as they approached the age of betrothal

455
00:19:53,960 --> 00:19:55,920
which was in their teenage years

456
00:19:55,920 --> 00:19:58,240
and they approached that phase of life

457
00:19:58,240 --> 00:20:00,560
where marriage was gonna happen,

458
00:20:00,560 --> 00:20:01,400
they were all dreaming,

459
00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:05,040
maybe I will be the one to give birth to the Messiah.

460
00:20:06,320 --> 00:20:08,440
Then one day this angel shows up,

461
00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:10,040
hey Mary, guess what?

462
00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:12,600
Ding, ding, ding, you win.

463
00:20:13,720 --> 00:20:16,040
You're gonna be the one.

464
00:20:16,040 --> 00:20:18,560
Out of all the Jewish girls in history,

465
00:20:18,560 --> 00:20:20,800
out of all the Jewish girls in history,

466
00:20:21,880 --> 00:20:24,560
out of all the women on the earth,

467
00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:26,480
you have been chosen.

468
00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:30,520
You have been singled out to bring forth the Son of God.

469
00:20:31,440 --> 00:20:33,640
Wow, what a big deal, right?

470
00:20:33,640 --> 00:20:35,760
What an amazing thing to be told.

471
00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:37,160
But as exciting as that was,

472
00:20:37,160 --> 00:20:39,680
it created a very difficult scenario for her

473
00:20:39,680 --> 00:20:41,520
as her question indicated.

474
00:20:41,520 --> 00:20:43,040
How am I gonna become pregnant?

475
00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:44,320
I've not been with a man.

476
00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:47,360
You see, she was engaged

477
00:20:47,360 --> 00:20:49,560
and we talked a little bit about this yesterday

478
00:20:49,560 --> 00:20:51,840
but according to Deuteronomy chapter 22,

479
00:20:51,840 --> 00:20:55,200
the law said that if a young woman became pregnant

480
00:20:55,200 --> 00:20:59,200
before marriage, it was the death penalty.

481
00:20:59,200 --> 00:21:01,360
She would be stoned.

482
00:21:01,360 --> 00:21:03,840
And that's not stoned like we think of today, okay?

483
00:21:03,840 --> 00:21:06,480
That's big rocks thrown at her until she's dead.

484
00:21:07,480 --> 00:21:11,280
That was the penalty for getting pregnant before marriage.

485
00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:13,440
Why?

486
00:21:13,440 --> 00:21:16,760
Well, part of it was because sexual intimacy was sacred,

487
00:21:16,760 --> 00:21:19,920
sacred and reserved for the marriage bed.

488
00:21:21,960 --> 00:21:25,240
And so for her, now it's a difficult situation.

489
00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:27,320
You know, when others find out that I'm pregnant,

490
00:21:27,320 --> 00:21:28,920
it's gonna be scandal.

491
00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:31,520
Her life is gonna be ruined.

492
00:21:31,520 --> 00:21:32,480
Everybody's gonna be like,

493
00:21:32,480 --> 00:21:34,720
you guys had sex before marriage.

494
00:21:35,640 --> 00:21:36,960
You've dishonored your family.

495
00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:38,000
You've dishonored God.

496
00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:40,520
You've dishonored the community.

497
00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:42,680
They're gonna call her all kinds of things.

498
00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:45,040
You can imagine what words they would use.

499
00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:47,240
But they hadn't had sex before marriage.

500
00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:48,080
She was pure.

501
00:21:48,080 --> 00:21:51,640
She had been saving herself as she was supposed to.

502
00:21:51,640 --> 00:21:54,120
But as others were gonna accuse her of doing that,

503
00:21:54,120 --> 00:21:57,080
Joseph was likely gonna say as much defending himself.

504
00:21:57,080 --> 00:21:58,680
We didn't do anything.

505
00:21:59,920 --> 00:22:01,160
We didn't do anything.

506
00:22:01,160 --> 00:22:03,960
And so thus, the accusations were gonna go from

507
00:22:03,960 --> 00:22:07,160
sex outside of marriage to you're a cheater.

508
00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:09,800
You cheated.

509
00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:12,520
You slept with someone who wasn't your husband.

510
00:22:12,520 --> 00:22:14,120
You cheated on her husband.

511
00:22:15,640 --> 00:22:17,600
Wow, that was gonna be a tough situation for her.

512
00:22:18,960 --> 00:22:21,600
And then of course, in Matthew chapter one,

513
00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:23,680
it tells us that when Joseph did indeed find out,

514
00:22:23,680 --> 00:22:25,120
he was shocked.

515
00:22:25,120 --> 00:22:25,960
He was shocked.

516
00:22:25,960 --> 00:22:27,840
How could this be?

517
00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:30,240
How could my virgin bride-to-be be pregnant?

518
00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:32,240
What does it mean?

519
00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:33,720
But as we looked at, he loved her.

520
00:22:33,720 --> 00:22:36,080
He loved her very much.

521
00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:38,080
He didn't want her to face the death penalty,

522
00:22:38,080 --> 00:22:41,160
and so he chose not to publicly shame her.

523
00:22:41,160 --> 00:22:43,760
He didn't want to privately divorce her because well,

524
00:22:43,760 --> 00:22:47,480
I can't really believe that you're miraculously pregnant

525
00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:49,960
by God, come on, okay, really.

526
00:22:49,960 --> 00:22:51,360
So I'm gonna privately divorce you.

527
00:22:51,360 --> 00:22:52,280
We're just gonna separate.

528
00:22:52,280 --> 00:22:54,640
Let's go our different ways, and I will be fine.

529
00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:59,240
But he came to that after considering all his options.

530
00:22:59,240 --> 00:23:01,040
I believe part of that was trying to protect

531
00:23:01,040 --> 00:23:02,480
both of their reputations,

532
00:23:02,480 --> 00:23:05,360
because his reputation was gonna be ruined by this.

533
00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:06,520
But I believe because he loved her,

534
00:23:06,520 --> 00:23:08,800
he didn't want her reputation to be completely,

535
00:23:08,800 --> 00:23:09,640
radically wrecked.

536
00:23:09,640 --> 00:23:12,040
And so, private divorce.

537
00:23:12,040 --> 00:23:13,400
But before Joseph even knew,

538
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:15,280
and we touched on this yesterday,

539
00:23:15,280 --> 00:23:18,600
Mary, knowing she had a very difficult situation before her,

540
00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:19,600
she needed advice.

541
00:23:19,600 --> 00:23:20,680
She needed encouragement.

542
00:23:20,680 --> 00:23:21,640
She needed support.

543
00:23:21,640 --> 00:23:23,520
And so she ran to the one person

544
00:23:23,520 --> 00:23:27,440
who would understand this unexplainable miracle,

545
00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:30,200
the miracle of a young virgin teenage girl

546
00:23:30,200 --> 00:23:32,280
becoming pregnant by the power of God.

547
00:23:32,280 --> 00:23:35,400
And so it tells us in verse 36,

548
00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:40,400
the angel says, consider your relative Elizabeth.

549
00:23:40,640 --> 00:23:43,480
Even she has conceived a son in her old age,

550
00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:45,080
and this is the sixth month for her

551
00:23:45,080 --> 00:23:47,480
who was called childless.

552
00:23:47,480 --> 00:23:50,200
For nothing will be impossible with God.

553
00:23:52,080 --> 00:23:53,600
Then I'm skipping 38 right now.

554
00:23:53,600 --> 00:23:54,440
I'll come back to it.

555
00:23:54,440 --> 00:23:55,760
But then in verse 39, it says,

556
00:23:55,760 --> 00:23:58,280
in those days, Mary set out and hurried to a town

557
00:23:58,280 --> 00:23:59,480
in the hill country of Judah,

558
00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:02,680
where she entered Zechariah's house and greeted Elizabeth.

559
00:24:02,680 --> 00:24:06,840
Who would believe her?

560
00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:09,840
Who would believe her story?

561
00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:12,760
The angel Gabriel visited me.

562
00:24:12,760 --> 00:24:13,640
Come on, Mary.

563
00:24:15,440 --> 00:24:16,960
You've been drinking a little too much.

564
00:24:16,960 --> 00:24:18,040
What's going on?

565
00:24:18,040 --> 00:24:19,920
Partying a little too hard?

566
00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:22,120
No, really, the angel Gabriel visited me.

567
00:24:22,120 --> 00:24:24,160
Who would believe her,

568
00:24:24,160 --> 00:24:26,480
but the only other woman at this time

569
00:24:26,480 --> 00:24:30,160
who had also been visited by the angel Gabriel,

570
00:24:30,160 --> 00:24:33,720
who was also told, you're gonna have a miracle baby?

571
00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:35,560
Who would believe her when she said,

572
00:24:35,560 --> 00:24:37,680
I'm gonna give birth to the Messiah,

573
00:24:38,560 --> 00:24:40,040
but the woman who was told,

574
00:24:40,040 --> 00:24:42,440
you're gonna give birth to the Messiah's herald?

575
00:24:43,560 --> 00:24:47,560
It was Elizabeth, the one who gave birth to John the Baptist.

576
00:24:47,560 --> 00:24:50,240
So Mary knew, and she was encouraged by Gabriel,

577
00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:52,960
that if anybody would understand and believe this miracle,

578
00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:54,600
it would be her cousin Elizabeth.

579
00:24:56,280 --> 00:24:58,920
And so she goes to visit Elizabeth,

580
00:24:58,920 --> 00:25:01,320
but before she does that, before she goes there to say,

581
00:25:01,320 --> 00:25:03,640
okay, how do I deal with the implications?

582
00:25:03,640 --> 00:25:04,880
How do I deal with the outcome?

583
00:25:04,880 --> 00:25:07,680
How do I deal with the gossip and the slander and the rum,

584
00:25:07,680 --> 00:25:09,360
how do I deal with all of that?

585
00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:12,920
Verse 38 tells us Mary's heart.

586
00:25:14,280 --> 00:25:16,280
It tells us Mary's humility.

587
00:25:16,280 --> 00:25:18,040
Look at what she says there.

588
00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:19,560
See, I am the Lord's servant.

589
00:25:20,440 --> 00:25:21,880
May it happen to me as you have said,

590
00:25:21,880 --> 00:25:23,240
and then the angel left her.

591
00:25:25,960 --> 00:25:27,960
How amazing is that?

592
00:25:27,960 --> 00:25:31,360
Despite everything, she submits herself completely

593
00:25:31,360 --> 00:25:34,720
in humility to the will and word of God for her life.

594
00:25:36,320 --> 00:25:37,560
You see, part of the Christmas story

595
00:25:37,560 --> 00:25:41,440
is understanding what Jesus can do, what Jesus does do.

596
00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:44,160
See, how many of us facing a situation like this,

597
00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:47,960
where the impossible is being told to us,

598
00:25:47,960 --> 00:25:51,080
and then we're called to embrace that impossible thing,

599
00:25:51,080 --> 00:25:52,960
knowing that embracing that possible thing

600
00:25:52,960 --> 00:25:55,520
is gonna ruin our reputation and ruin our life

601
00:25:55,520 --> 00:25:58,320
from the worldly perspective.

602
00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:02,480
Ladies, what if you were in this position,

603
00:26:02,480 --> 00:26:05,000
facing a scenario like that,

604
00:26:05,000 --> 00:26:07,320
in a culture that said if you get pregnant

605
00:26:07,320 --> 00:26:09,080
before you're married, we're gonna kill you.

606
00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:10,240
It's the death penalty.

607
00:26:10,240 --> 00:26:11,840
It's such a horrendous thing.

608
00:26:13,360 --> 00:26:14,960
And yet, here's an angel of God saying,

609
00:26:14,960 --> 00:26:17,840
hey, guess what, yeah, all that's gonna happen.

610
00:26:17,840 --> 00:26:20,280
Not the death part, but you are gonna get pregnant.

611
00:26:21,440 --> 00:26:23,240
And you knew all that was gonna come with that.

612
00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:24,080
What would we say?

613
00:26:24,080 --> 00:26:25,800
What would you say?

614
00:26:25,800 --> 00:26:30,400
I think most of us would, at least on our best day,

615
00:26:30,400 --> 00:26:31,440
negotiate.

616
00:26:33,080 --> 00:26:37,160
Well, okay, God, but how about,

617
00:26:38,360 --> 00:26:40,560
can I adopt instead?

618
00:26:40,560 --> 00:26:43,280
Do I have to go through the pregnancy, right?

619
00:26:43,280 --> 00:26:44,280
We would negotiate.

620
00:26:44,280 --> 00:26:47,760
At our worst, we flat out say, no, I'm not gonna do that.

621
00:26:47,760 --> 00:26:49,400
The cost to me is too great.

622
00:26:49,400 --> 00:26:50,760
The difficulty is me too great.

623
00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:55,680
So God, I'm not gonna obey you.

624
00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:58,200
But she's told, hey, you're pregnant.

625
00:26:58,200 --> 00:27:00,120
You've never been with a man.

626
00:27:00,120 --> 00:27:02,520
I know it, you know it.

627
00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:05,080
But I know you can figure this out.

628
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:07,360
You're not gonna be able to hide it.

629
00:27:07,360 --> 00:27:10,000
Biologically, your belly grows as the baby grows.

630
00:27:10,960 --> 00:27:12,800
But you're gonna be able to handle it.

631
00:27:14,240 --> 00:27:16,640
And she says, yes.

632
00:27:16,640 --> 00:27:18,600
May it happen to me as you have said,

633
00:27:18,600 --> 00:27:20,440
knowing that for the rest of her life,

634
00:27:20,440 --> 00:27:22,720
she was gonna live with a stigma.

635
00:27:22,720 --> 00:27:23,640
For the rest of her life,

636
00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:25,480
she was gonna live with a reputation.

637
00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:28,000
If you remember in the gospels,

638
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:30,320
it tells us that Jesus, even in his adult life,

639
00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:32,160
was still being accused as people said,

640
00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:34,040
you're the kid born of fornication.

641
00:27:36,560 --> 00:27:39,520
I'm gonna translate that into modern day terms.

642
00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:40,800
Your mom's a whore.

643
00:27:42,640 --> 00:27:44,520
That's what Jesus had to deal with his whole life.

644
00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:48,320
That's what Mary had to deal with her whole life.

645
00:27:48,320 --> 00:27:53,320
And yet, she said, God, if you're calling me to this,

646
00:27:53,520 --> 00:27:54,360
I'll do it.

647
00:27:55,600 --> 00:27:58,120
If you're calling me to give birth to the Messiah,

648
00:27:59,080 --> 00:27:59,920
I'll do it.

649
00:28:01,600 --> 00:28:04,000
God, if you wanna lay this blessing in my life

650
00:28:04,000 --> 00:28:05,920
that's gonna come with difficulty, I will do it.

651
00:28:05,920 --> 00:28:06,760
Why?

652
00:28:06,760 --> 00:28:08,200
Because you're God.

653
00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:10,840
You're God and obeying you is what we're called to do.

654
00:28:10,840 --> 00:28:12,960
What an amazing example of humble obedience

655
00:28:12,960 --> 00:28:16,720
and trust and faith we have in Mary's Christmas story.

656
00:28:16,720 --> 00:28:19,880
And again, considering that every Jewish girl

657
00:28:19,880 --> 00:28:21,680
was looking forward to this moment,

658
00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:23,640
like every girl wanted to be the one

659
00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:25,360
to give birth to the Messiah.

660
00:28:26,720 --> 00:28:29,040
Considering that, Mary could have gotten

661
00:28:29,040 --> 00:28:31,240
pretty prideful over this, couldn't she?

662
00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:33,360
Imagine.

663
00:28:34,440 --> 00:28:37,120
She's like, wait, I'm giving birth to the Messiah?

664
00:28:37,120 --> 00:28:38,940
I must be pretty special.

665
00:28:39,960 --> 00:28:41,480
I mean, gosh, there's something in me

666
00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:43,960
that caused God to pick me over every other girl.

667
00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:47,740
You all need to bow down to me

668
00:28:47,740 --> 00:28:50,040
because I am Mary, the mother of God.

669
00:28:50,900 --> 00:28:53,660
I am superior to everyone, right?

670
00:28:53,660 --> 00:28:56,540
She could have gone there in her head,

671
00:28:56,540 --> 00:28:58,620
but that's not what happened.

672
00:28:58,620 --> 00:29:02,620
Mary humbly surrenders, humbly submits.

673
00:29:02,620 --> 00:29:05,180
She resolves, she accepts.

674
00:29:05,180 --> 00:29:07,020
She lays down her life before God

675
00:29:07,020 --> 00:29:08,740
and then she goes on to pray this,

676
00:29:08,740 --> 00:29:11,020
this beautiful, wonderful prayer of praise.

677
00:29:11,020 --> 00:29:14,300
It's a section of scripture that's called The Magnificent

678
00:29:14,300 --> 00:29:15,860
because of how she opens this prayer

679
00:29:15,860 --> 00:29:18,100
and it starts in verse 36.

680
00:29:18,100 --> 00:29:22,580
And Mary said, my soul magnifies the Lord

681
00:29:22,580 --> 00:29:25,280
and my spirit rejoices in God my savior

682
00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:28,540
because he has looked on me with favor

683
00:29:28,540 --> 00:29:31,620
on the humble condition of his servant.

684
00:29:31,620 --> 00:29:33,700
So she recognizes her condition.

685
00:29:34,860 --> 00:29:37,940
She recognizes that out of all the possible choices,

686
00:29:37,940 --> 00:29:41,120
she's probably in the lowest part of the choices.

687
00:29:42,060 --> 00:29:44,140
In her own mind, from her perspective,

688
00:29:44,140 --> 00:29:46,260
there's probably many other young women

689
00:29:46,260 --> 00:29:48,680
who were better choices to birth the Messiah.

690
00:29:49,900 --> 00:29:51,420
She's saying, I'm a nobody from nowhere

691
00:29:51,420 --> 00:29:53,460
and yet God called me of all people.

692
00:29:56,240 --> 00:30:00,260
Do you all realize that every single one of us in this room,

693
00:30:00,260 --> 00:30:02,280
every single one of us watching,

694
00:30:02,280 --> 00:30:07,980
we're all nobodies from nowhere and God chooses us.

695
00:30:07,980 --> 00:30:10,500
God has chosen us to be his dwelling place

696
00:30:10,500 --> 00:30:12,400
for his Holy Spirit to live.

697
00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:15,020
God has chosen us to do his work in the world.

698
00:30:15,020 --> 00:30:17,260
He has chosen us to shine his light.

699
00:30:17,260 --> 00:30:19,260
He has chosen us.

700
00:30:21,380 --> 00:30:24,540
If we're honest, we're all going,

701
00:30:24,540 --> 00:30:26,140
are you sure about that, Lord?

702
00:30:27,700 --> 00:30:29,860
Because I know me.

703
00:30:29,860 --> 00:30:32,300
I know it goes through my head.

704
00:30:32,300 --> 00:30:34,220
I know the doubts I have.

705
00:30:34,220 --> 00:30:36,300
I know the times where God, I've gotten mad at you

706
00:30:36,300 --> 00:30:39,400
and shook my fist and said, I don't like you anymore.

707
00:30:40,940 --> 00:30:43,500
Lord, I've had times where I even said, I hate you.

708
00:30:45,380 --> 00:30:46,980
And yet you still choose me?

709
00:30:48,420 --> 00:30:49,600
Yeah, he does.

710
00:30:50,820 --> 00:30:52,480
That's how great the gift is.

711
00:30:53,940 --> 00:30:56,540
He chooses everyone and when we come to the place of saying,

712
00:30:56,540 --> 00:30:59,140
God, I receive that gift, I'm gonna unwrap that gift,

713
00:30:59,140 --> 00:31:03,100
I'm gonna apply that gift, man, he steps into our lives,

714
00:31:03,100 --> 00:31:07,100
the filth of our lives and he does mighty things.

715
00:31:08,180 --> 00:31:13,500
And it's miraculous, it's wondrous that he uses us,

716
00:31:13,500 --> 00:31:14,340
but he does.

717
00:31:16,220 --> 00:31:20,780
Because just like the clay in the potter's hands,

718
00:31:20,780 --> 00:31:23,020
God is the one who makes something wonderful

719
00:31:23,020 --> 00:31:25,700
and miraculous out of our lives.

720
00:31:25,700 --> 00:31:28,220
He is the one that makes something beautiful

721
00:31:28,220 --> 00:31:30,180
out of our lives.

722
00:31:30,180 --> 00:31:32,260
We just have to remember to trust him

723
00:31:32,260 --> 00:31:34,900
and to follow his will and to walk in obedience

724
00:31:34,900 --> 00:31:36,940
and to let him do what he is doing.

725
00:31:36,940 --> 00:31:39,500
But she says, my soul magnifies the Lord.

726
00:31:41,040 --> 00:31:43,260
She goes on, surely from now on,

727
00:31:43,260 --> 00:31:45,300
all generations will call me blessed

728
00:31:46,820 --> 00:31:48,820
because the mighty one has done great things for me

729
00:31:48,820 --> 00:31:50,020
and his name is holy.

730
00:31:50,020 --> 00:31:51,500
Now you might think, oh, see right there,

731
00:31:51,500 --> 00:31:52,700
she's getting prideful.

732
00:31:53,860 --> 00:31:55,820
Well, guess what, everybody in every generation

733
00:31:55,820 --> 00:31:58,200
is gonna call me blessed, but listen to her words.

734
00:31:58,200 --> 00:32:01,100
Listen to who she has given the glory to.

735
00:32:01,100 --> 00:32:02,860
The mighty one has done great things for me

736
00:32:02,860 --> 00:32:04,020
and his name is holy.

737
00:32:04,020 --> 00:32:06,140
His mercy is from generation to generation

738
00:32:06,140 --> 00:32:07,580
on those who fear him.

739
00:32:07,580 --> 00:32:10,500
He has done a mighty deed with his arm.

740
00:32:10,500 --> 00:32:11,940
He has scattered the proud

741
00:32:11,940 --> 00:32:13,340
because of the thoughts of their hearts.

742
00:32:13,340 --> 00:32:15,540
He has toppled the mighty from their thorns

743
00:32:15,540 --> 00:32:17,420
and exalted the lowly.

744
00:32:18,700 --> 00:32:19,540
She gets it.

745
00:32:20,660 --> 00:32:21,580
She gets it.

746
00:32:23,020 --> 00:32:25,300
She says, he's done it, he's done it,

747
00:32:25,300 --> 00:32:27,620
he's done it, he's done it.

748
00:32:27,620 --> 00:32:29,780
What's my part in the whole process?

749
00:32:29,780 --> 00:32:31,760
I'm just the lowly that he's using.

750
00:32:32,760 --> 00:32:36,140
She again recognizes her own circumstance.

751
00:32:36,140 --> 00:32:38,860
She has humility, the humility she has

752
00:32:38,860 --> 00:32:41,720
in the face of being the one to birth the Messiah.

753
00:32:42,940 --> 00:32:45,380
She's hitting on a very important biblical principle,

754
00:32:45,380 --> 00:32:47,740
incidentally, and that principle is this,

755
00:32:47,740 --> 00:32:51,400
that God exalts the lowly and lowers the prideful.

756
00:32:51,400 --> 00:32:56,400
He exalts the lowly but lowers the prideful.

757
00:32:58,200 --> 00:33:02,200
If you think highly of yourself,

758
00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:04,160
God has a way of humbling you.

759
00:33:05,480 --> 00:33:08,700
And in most cases, I don't think you're gonna like it.

760
00:33:08,700 --> 00:33:10,900
But conversely, if you were lowly,

761
00:33:10,900 --> 00:33:13,120
if you were humble before God,

762
00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:14,720
he has a way of raising you up.

763
00:33:16,920 --> 00:33:20,760
God himself, God Almighty examples this

764
00:33:20,760 --> 00:33:23,960
in the birth of Christ and the life he lived, right?

765
00:33:23,960 --> 00:33:27,460
God Almighty came and was born in lowly circumstances.

766
00:33:27,460 --> 00:33:29,040
He set aside his divinity.

767
00:33:29,040 --> 00:33:30,600
He didn't cease to be God.

768
00:33:32,140 --> 00:33:35,000
He just simply didn't tap into what he could have.

769
00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:39,320
He lived a lowly life, being the creator of everything.

770
00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:41,480
But through that humility, he was highly exalted.

771
00:33:41,480 --> 00:33:43,620
We know that from Philippians chapter two, verse five.

772
00:33:43,620 --> 00:33:46,320
It says this, adopt the same attitude

773
00:33:46,320 --> 00:33:49,500
as that of Christ Jesus, who existing in the form of God

774
00:33:49,500 --> 00:33:51,480
did not consider equality with God

775
00:33:51,480 --> 00:33:53,100
as something to be exploited.

776
00:33:53,100 --> 00:33:56,480
Instead, he emptied himself by assuming the form

777
00:33:56,480 --> 00:33:59,320
of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity.

778
00:34:00,460 --> 00:34:03,100
And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself

779
00:34:03,100 --> 00:34:04,980
by becoming obedient to the point of death,

780
00:34:04,980 --> 00:34:07,900
even to the death on the cross.

781
00:34:07,900 --> 00:34:10,240
For this reason, God highly exalted him

782
00:34:10,240 --> 00:34:12,860
and gave him the name that is above every name,

783
00:34:12,860 --> 00:34:15,520
so that at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow

784
00:34:15,520 --> 00:34:17,600
in heaven and on earth and under the earth.

785
00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:20,240
And every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord

786
00:34:20,240 --> 00:34:22,800
to the glory of God the Father.

787
00:34:25,200 --> 00:34:28,200
You see, in the mystery of the Godhead, the Trinity,

788
00:34:28,200 --> 00:34:32,040
the Father exalted the Son because the Son humbled himself

789
00:34:32,040 --> 00:34:34,440
by being obedient to the Father and becoming man

790
00:34:35,440 --> 00:34:39,360
and living as a man and doing the Father's will.

791
00:34:39,360 --> 00:34:41,160
He humbled himself.

792
00:34:42,640 --> 00:34:44,200
In the picture of our perspective,

793
00:34:44,200 --> 00:34:47,200
the Son could have been like, Dad, I'm God.

794
00:34:47,200 --> 00:34:48,600
I'm not gonna go be a man.

795
00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:49,760
They're filthy animals.

796
00:34:49,760 --> 00:34:50,880
They got problems.

797
00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:52,880
Have you seen what they do to each other?

798
00:34:55,240 --> 00:34:57,720
But no, he said, I'll go do it.

799
00:34:57,720 --> 00:34:59,560
Right, we even see that struggle in the garden.

800
00:34:59,560 --> 00:35:01,820
You remember Jesus in the garden?

801
00:35:01,820 --> 00:35:04,960
Father, please take this cup from me.

802
00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:06,060
There's any other way.

803
00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:08,840
Like, I get the plan, Dad.

804
00:35:08,840 --> 00:35:12,040
I understand the plan, but if there's any other way,

805
00:35:13,920 --> 00:35:14,980
let's vote for that.

806
00:35:14,980 --> 00:35:18,240
But what did he say at the end of that?

807
00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:22,560
Nonetheless, not my will, but your will be done.

808
00:35:24,600 --> 00:35:25,740
That's humility.

809
00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:29,240
That's the humility we saw in Jesus.

810
00:35:29,240 --> 00:35:31,120
It's the humility we see in Mary.

811
00:35:31,120 --> 00:35:33,240
It's the humility we saw in Joseph.

812
00:35:34,280 --> 00:35:37,800
To step into a situation that would bring great discomfort,

813
00:35:37,800 --> 00:35:40,460
great difficulty, but God, if this is what you're calling me

814
00:35:40,460 --> 00:35:43,200
to do, I will be obedient.

815
00:35:43,200 --> 00:35:46,840
And Mary recognizes that it's God giving her this blessing

816
00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:48,160
through his mercy.

817
00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:49,560
It's God doing this work.

818
00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:51,200
It's not because of her.

819
00:35:51,200 --> 00:35:52,840
It's not because she earned it.

820
00:35:52,840 --> 00:35:55,940
It's not because she's special.

821
00:35:55,940 --> 00:35:58,360
She says that right there.

822
00:35:58,360 --> 00:36:01,380
His mercy is from generation to generation.

823
00:36:02,960 --> 00:36:06,440
That God's choosing me is because God chose to choose me.

824
00:36:07,620 --> 00:36:10,480
And the mystery of why is in God's domain.

825
00:36:10,480 --> 00:36:12,280
And some of us, we wrestle with that.

826
00:36:12,280 --> 00:36:13,360
Oh, I'm so bad.

827
00:36:13,360 --> 00:36:14,760
God can't choose me.

828
00:36:14,760 --> 00:36:15,600
Yes, he can.

829
00:36:16,880 --> 00:36:19,000
I'm so horrible, God will never use me.

830
00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:21,320
Yes, he will if you submit yourself to him.

831
00:36:22,440 --> 00:36:24,720
I've done A, B, C, there's no way.

832
00:36:24,720 --> 00:36:26,640
God already knows and he died for it

833
00:36:26,640 --> 00:36:28,000
before you were even born.

834
00:36:29,720 --> 00:36:32,320
And he says if you trust me, if you put your faith in me,

835
00:36:33,560 --> 00:36:34,720
you'll be forgiven.

836
00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:37,480
Your life will be changed.

837
00:36:37,480 --> 00:36:39,120
I'll give you a new heart.

838
00:36:39,120 --> 00:36:41,080
My spirit, I will live within you.

839
00:36:42,240 --> 00:36:44,520
And then, wow, look what we're gonna do.

840
00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:47,920
But it's receiving that gift.

841
00:36:47,920 --> 00:36:49,520
It's humbling ourself.

842
00:36:49,520 --> 00:36:53,320
Verse 49, we see that Mary recognizes and praises God

843
00:36:53,320 --> 00:36:54,160
for who he is.

844
00:36:54,160 --> 00:36:56,680
She calls him the mighty one and the holy one.

845
00:36:58,200 --> 00:36:59,840
You know, again, that just ties into that saying.

846
00:36:59,840 --> 00:37:01,560
The bigger your concept of God,

847
00:37:01,560 --> 00:37:03,160
the smaller your problems are gonna seem

848
00:37:03,160 --> 00:37:05,440
before him and before you.

849
00:37:06,800 --> 00:37:08,640
But again, conversely, if you're calling him

850
00:37:08,640 --> 00:37:11,720
the mighty one, conversely, if your concept of God is small,

851
00:37:11,720 --> 00:37:13,720
wow, your problems are gonna seem mighty.

852
00:37:15,160 --> 00:37:18,000
He is the mighty one, not your problems.

853
00:37:18,960 --> 00:37:22,120
He is the mighty one that can do everything and anything.

854
00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:25,480
He can accomplish the impossible, Gabriel told Mary.

855
00:37:25,480 --> 00:37:27,800
And here is a girl who was just told,

856
00:37:27,800 --> 00:37:29,640
you're gonna get pregnant.

857
00:37:29,640 --> 00:37:31,640
There's gonna be a baby growing in your womb,

858
00:37:31,640 --> 00:37:34,040
despite it being impossible.

859
00:37:35,240 --> 00:37:36,680
But what does he say?

860
00:37:36,680 --> 00:37:39,880
God, nothing is impossible with God.

861
00:37:39,880 --> 00:37:43,040
And so Mary says, okay, I believe that.

862
00:37:43,040 --> 00:37:46,640
I will submit to that despite all the ramifications.

863
00:37:46,640 --> 00:37:48,440
And as that baby grew in her womb,

864
00:37:49,520 --> 00:37:51,880
I believe Mary just believed more and more

865
00:37:51,880 --> 00:37:53,240
the mightiness of God.

866
00:37:54,200 --> 00:37:57,640
That as she stepped in faith to believe God,

867
00:37:57,640 --> 00:38:01,320
her faith that God is mighty just kept growing

868
00:38:01,320 --> 00:38:02,720
and kept growing.

869
00:38:02,720 --> 00:38:05,600
Verse 53, she says, he has satisfied the hunger

870
00:38:05,600 --> 00:38:08,480
with good things, the hungry with good things

871
00:38:08,480 --> 00:38:10,120
and sent the rich away empty.

872
00:38:11,400 --> 00:38:13,800
He has helped his servant Israel remembering his mercy

873
00:38:13,800 --> 00:38:15,960
to Abraham and his descendants forever,

874
00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:18,120
just as he spoke to our ancestors.

875
00:38:18,120 --> 00:38:20,400
So here in this praise that she's erupting

876
00:38:20,400 --> 00:38:22,760
and giving to God and just overwhelmed

877
00:38:22,760 --> 00:38:27,760
with the glory of God's decision to choose her of all people.

878
00:38:27,920 --> 00:38:30,600
She's now reflecting in God's provision to the lonely.

879
00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:34,280
She's like, I'm lonely, lowly, I'm a nobody.

880
00:38:34,280 --> 00:38:36,600
But God takes care of the nobodies.

881
00:38:36,600 --> 00:38:38,640
God provides for the humble.

882
00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:40,880
That's what the word tells us.

883
00:38:40,880 --> 00:38:44,040
To those that believe in God, God takes care of them.

884
00:38:44,040 --> 00:38:45,720
She's reflecting on God's faithfulness,

885
00:38:45,720 --> 00:38:47,920
remembering the promises he's made to Abraham

886
00:38:47,920 --> 00:38:50,480
and the promises to her nation and her people.

887
00:38:50,480 --> 00:38:52,600
And the greatest promise that they were all

888
00:38:52,600 --> 00:38:55,400
looking forward to was the coming of the Messiah.

889
00:38:56,480 --> 00:38:59,200
And she's like, it's happening, it's real.

890
00:39:00,160 --> 00:39:02,220
Now what's interesting here is in this prayer,

891
00:39:02,220 --> 00:39:04,640
this magnificent that we're looking at,

892
00:39:04,640 --> 00:39:08,360
she quotes the Old Testament like 15 different times.

893
00:39:08,360 --> 00:39:10,020
And we don't have time to go through

894
00:39:10,020 --> 00:39:12,440
every single one of them, but 15 different times

895
00:39:12,440 --> 00:39:15,080
she directly quotes the Old Testament

896
00:39:15,080 --> 00:39:17,640
as she's praying this spontaneous prayer

897
00:39:17,640 --> 00:39:20,080
that is just flowing out of her spontaneously.

898
00:39:20,080 --> 00:39:22,520
What does that tell us about Mary?

899
00:39:22,520 --> 00:39:23,720
She knew the word of God.

900
00:39:24,800 --> 00:39:26,520
She was well acquainted with the word of God.

901
00:39:26,520 --> 00:39:29,920
It was a part of her that it's now flowing out

902
00:39:29,920 --> 00:39:32,520
of her spontaneously as she's praising God.

903
00:39:34,200 --> 00:39:37,680
And it really teaches us that a character of humility

904
00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:39,600
is a fruit of knowing God's word.

905
00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:42,760
The more you know God's word, I believe more

906
00:39:42,760 --> 00:39:45,580
the fruit of humbleness grows within you

907
00:39:45,580 --> 00:39:47,580
and expresses itself through your life.

908
00:39:49,460 --> 00:39:52,740
So Jesus, the truth is, Jesus, the word,

909
00:39:54,060 --> 00:39:56,560
the word of God, the word that Mary knows well,

910
00:39:56,560 --> 00:39:58,120
that her husband Joseph knew well,

911
00:39:58,120 --> 00:40:02,080
the word of God came that we would know him.

912
00:40:02,080 --> 00:40:04,640
It's a part of the gift that he is to us.

913
00:40:04,640 --> 00:40:08,280
That is why God came and was born in the flesh.

914
00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:10,200
That you would know him.

915
00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:12,240
That he would be a part of your life.

916
00:40:12,240 --> 00:40:14,340
That he would be a part of my life.

917
00:40:14,340 --> 00:40:16,400
That he would be a part of our life together.

918
00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:18,040
That he would flow out from us.

919
00:40:18,040 --> 00:40:19,840
He wants us to know him.

920
00:40:20,980 --> 00:40:22,420
That was the point of this miracle.

921
00:40:22,420 --> 00:40:24,440
He wants us to know him.

922
00:40:24,440 --> 00:40:28,320
And then as an integral part of our life,

923
00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:30,320
he would just flow out constantly.

924
00:40:32,120 --> 00:40:34,200
That we would be people that can just bust out

925
00:40:34,200 --> 00:40:36,200
in spontaneous praise and the word of God

926
00:40:36,200 --> 00:40:37,620
is just flowing off of our lips.

927
00:40:37,620 --> 00:40:38,460
Why?

928
00:40:38,460 --> 00:40:40,640
Because we're well acquainted with it.

929
00:40:40,640 --> 00:40:42,840
We know his word, we know him.

930
00:40:42,840 --> 00:40:44,680
That when we find ourselves in situations

931
00:40:44,680 --> 00:40:46,200
and we're like, well how do I react?

932
00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:48,400
We're so well acquainted with the character of our creator

933
00:40:48,400 --> 00:40:50,680
that we know exactly how we're supposed to react.

934
00:40:50,680 --> 00:40:52,320
We know how we're supposed to help.

935
00:40:52,320 --> 00:40:54,320
We know how we're supposed to serve

936
00:40:54,320 --> 00:40:57,360
because we know our shepherd.

937
00:40:58,720 --> 00:41:00,520
We know the greatest servant of all.

938
00:41:02,720 --> 00:41:05,080
Jesus is the one that said the mouth speaks

939
00:41:05,080 --> 00:41:06,640
from the overflow of the heart.

940
00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:10,880
Does the truth of Jesus, the hope of Jesus,

941
00:41:10,880 --> 00:41:13,860
the promise of Jesus, does it just flow from your mouth?

942
00:41:15,840 --> 00:41:17,620
If it doesn't, don't be ashamed.

943
00:41:18,520 --> 00:41:22,180
God's just saying, hey, nudge nudge.

944
00:41:22,180 --> 00:41:23,680
Just get in my word more.

945
00:41:23,680 --> 00:41:26,840
That it would be an integral part of your life.

946
00:41:26,840 --> 00:41:29,880
Paul said, let the word of Christ dwell richly among you.

947
00:41:29,880 --> 00:41:31,100
Why?

948
00:41:31,100 --> 00:41:33,280
That your character would be one of humility,

949
00:41:33,280 --> 00:41:35,080
ready to receive what God would have for you

950
00:41:35,080 --> 00:41:37,960
and I believe that was why Mary was chosen by God.

951
00:41:37,960 --> 00:41:40,040
She had a character of humility already.

952
00:41:42,140 --> 00:41:44,120
God knew that he could give this blessing to her

953
00:41:44,120 --> 00:41:47,120
and she wouldn't go create a social media page saying,

954
00:41:47,120 --> 00:41:50,380
praise me, the mother of God, buy my merch.

955
00:41:50,380 --> 00:41:52,800
But instead, she was just humbly like God.

956
00:41:53,760 --> 00:41:56,000
I'm just so blessed that you would choose me.

957
00:41:57,480 --> 00:41:59,640
Now all of this begins from a place of understanding

958
00:41:59,640 --> 00:42:00,640
our great need for him.

959
00:42:00,640 --> 00:42:03,040
In verse 46, Mary opened this thing where she says,

960
00:42:03,040 --> 00:42:04,840
my soul magnifies the Lord.

961
00:42:04,840 --> 00:42:08,720
And then she said, my spirit rejoices in God, my savior.

962
00:42:10,240 --> 00:42:12,280
Who needs a savior?

963
00:42:14,960 --> 00:42:17,400
A person in need of saving.

964
00:42:17,400 --> 00:42:19,800
A person in need of saving.

965
00:42:21,200 --> 00:42:23,420
That's who needs a savior and Mary,

966
00:42:23,420 --> 00:42:25,200
by her own admission right here,

967
00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:30,200
we see in her own admission, I need saving.

968
00:42:30,360 --> 00:42:33,240
I need salvation.

969
00:42:33,240 --> 00:42:37,920
She opens this praise by saying, I need salvation.

970
00:42:37,920 --> 00:42:40,600
She was overwhelmed that a holy, righteous,

971
00:42:40,600 --> 00:42:44,320
transcendent God would condescend to her

972
00:42:44,320 --> 00:42:49,320
poor, teenage, engaged woman from Nazareth.

973
00:42:51,560 --> 00:42:53,800
That God would come into her life to bless her,

974
00:42:53,800 --> 00:42:56,840
to love her, to show her favor,

975
00:42:56,840 --> 00:43:01,720
all in contrast to her own recognized sinfulness.

976
00:43:01,720 --> 00:43:05,080
I believe Mary was very aware of her own sinfulness,

977
00:43:05,080 --> 00:43:08,820
thus, or else she would not have said, God is my savior.

978
00:43:10,200 --> 00:43:11,800
I magnify him.

979
00:43:11,800 --> 00:43:15,340
My spirit rejoices in him, my savior.

980
00:43:16,840 --> 00:43:18,360
But in that, she's also recognizing

981
00:43:18,360 --> 00:43:21,200
not just her own sinfulness, but God's innate holiness,

982
00:43:21,200 --> 00:43:24,880
God's perfection, and so must we all.

983
00:43:25,760 --> 00:43:29,120
We all have to be people that recognize

984
00:43:29,120 --> 00:43:31,600
God's innate holiness.

985
00:43:31,600 --> 00:43:34,480
And in recognizing God's innate holiness,

986
00:43:34,480 --> 00:43:38,060
we also then recognize our own lack of holiness.

987
00:43:38,060 --> 00:43:43,060
We recognize that God condescends to us in the same love,

988
00:43:43,840 --> 00:43:47,200
to give us the same blessings and the same favor,

989
00:43:47,200 --> 00:43:48,700
and that is Christmas.

990
00:43:50,760 --> 00:43:55,120
That God lowered himself to the form of a man,

991
00:43:56,620 --> 00:44:00,320
to live as a man, that he would identify with us

992
00:44:00,320 --> 00:44:04,960
in every way, that he would then be the atoning sacrifice

993
00:44:04,960 --> 00:44:06,640
on the cross for all of our sins,

994
00:44:06,640 --> 00:44:08,160
the sins we can't stop doing,

995
00:44:08,160 --> 00:44:10,380
the sins we can do nothing about,

996
00:44:10,380 --> 00:44:11,880
that we would have the opportunity

997
00:44:11,880 --> 00:44:15,120
to have a restored relationship with our creator.

998
00:44:15,120 --> 00:44:17,020
What a wonderful gift that is.

999
00:44:19,080 --> 00:44:22,280
The Bible tells us blessed are the poor in spirit,

1000
00:44:22,280 --> 00:44:24,140
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

1001
00:44:25,880 --> 00:44:27,460
And in the presence of the perfect one,

1002
00:44:27,460 --> 00:44:30,000
she says, whatever you want, Lord, let it be done.

1003
00:44:31,280 --> 00:44:33,600
I'll lay down my life for you, I'll give my life to you.

1004
00:44:33,600 --> 00:44:37,480
I am lowly, yet I have received your mercy.

1005
00:44:37,480 --> 00:44:39,160
It is you who has blessed,

1006
00:44:39,160 --> 00:44:41,240
it is you who has done great things for me.

1007
00:44:41,240 --> 00:44:42,660
God, I am yours.

1008
00:44:44,520 --> 00:44:48,280
Now, Christmas is about Jesus.

1009
00:44:49,600 --> 00:44:51,720
Right, I know we've spent a lot of time looking at Mary,

1010
00:44:51,720 --> 00:44:54,800
yesterday we spent a lot of time looking at Joseph.

1011
00:44:54,800 --> 00:44:59,200
And the point is, is what this man,

1012
00:44:59,200 --> 00:45:01,780
who was God, Jesus, did in their lives,

1013
00:45:01,780 --> 00:45:03,520
even before he was born.

1014
00:45:04,420 --> 00:45:07,860
The effect he's having on their life.

1015
00:45:09,600 --> 00:45:12,240
Highlighting the character traits that were in them,

1016
00:45:12,240 --> 00:45:15,700
that are good character traits that God wants in his people.

1017
00:45:15,700 --> 00:45:18,720
Highlighting the response that they made to this news

1018
00:45:18,720 --> 00:45:22,520
that was really gonna wreck their lives in a lot of ways.

1019
00:45:22,520 --> 00:45:25,920
And that they said, no, no, no, we believe in God,

1020
00:45:25,920 --> 00:45:29,240
we trust God, we follow God.

1021
00:45:29,240 --> 00:45:31,720
And so despite what God is calling us to do

1022
00:45:31,720 --> 00:45:34,580
and putting before us, we're gonna step into it.

1023
00:45:36,160 --> 00:45:38,700
Mary may have got there a little quicker than Joseph,

1024
00:45:38,700 --> 00:45:39,540
that's okay.

1025
00:45:40,700 --> 00:45:43,040
Some people always say, well, the guys are a little,

1026
00:45:43,040 --> 00:45:43,920
okay, whatever.

1027
00:45:46,200 --> 00:45:48,480
But every person that gets there and gets it,

1028
00:45:49,800 --> 00:45:52,680
are the ones that God is gonna pour out his blessing upon.

1029
00:45:53,640 --> 00:45:56,360
And so Christmas, it's about Jesus.

1030
00:45:56,360 --> 00:45:57,880
It's about God coming to the flesh

1031
00:45:57,880 --> 00:46:00,460
that we might know him personally.

1032
00:46:00,460 --> 00:46:02,360
Knowing that he fully identifies with us

1033
00:46:02,360 --> 00:46:03,960
in our struggles and our sin.

1034
00:46:05,260 --> 00:46:07,680
But also knowing that our full reconciliation

1035
00:46:07,680 --> 00:46:09,920
to our creator comes ultimately

1036
00:46:09,920 --> 00:46:12,800
and came ultimately with his death on the cross.

1037
00:46:12,800 --> 00:46:15,080
You see, a lot of people wanna stop at the birth of Jesus,

1038
00:46:15,080 --> 00:46:16,440
oh, baby Jesus, how fun.

1039
00:46:18,120 --> 00:46:19,440
But they don't wanna carry the story

1040
00:46:19,440 --> 00:46:20,880
all the way through to Easter.

1041
00:46:22,360 --> 00:46:24,280
They don't wanna carry the reality all the way through

1042
00:46:24,280 --> 00:46:27,080
of why was this cute little baby born?

1043
00:46:27,080 --> 00:46:30,320
So that he could die for you.

1044
00:46:31,640 --> 00:46:34,680
So that he could be the atoning sacrifice for your sin.

1045
00:46:34,680 --> 00:46:36,340
Being the only perfect and spotless

1046
00:46:36,340 --> 00:46:37,940
and blameless atoning sacrifice.

1047
00:46:37,940 --> 00:46:39,680
The only possible sacrifice

1048
00:46:39,680 --> 00:46:42,800
that would fully satisfy the justice of God.

1049
00:46:42,800 --> 00:46:44,460
That is who Jesus is.

1050
00:46:45,720 --> 00:46:49,580
The arrival of that Jesus is what we celebrate in Christmas.

1051
00:46:50,800 --> 00:46:52,960
You know, there's a pretty famous song,

1052
00:46:52,960 --> 00:46:54,360
sung during Christmas season,

1053
00:46:54,360 --> 00:46:55,320
and I mentioned it yesterday.

1054
00:46:55,320 --> 00:46:58,960
It's a song that says, it's entitled Mary, Did You Know?

1055
00:46:58,960 --> 00:47:00,160
Right?

1056
00:47:00,160 --> 00:47:01,640
And the first stanza of the song says,

1057
00:47:01,640 --> 00:47:04,320
Mary, did you know that your baby boy

1058
00:47:04,320 --> 00:47:06,680
would one day walk on water?

1059
00:47:06,680 --> 00:47:08,600
Mary, did you know that your baby boy

1060
00:47:08,600 --> 00:47:11,120
will save our sons and daughters?

1061
00:47:11,120 --> 00:47:14,940
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?

1062
00:47:15,860 --> 00:47:19,800
The child that you've delivered will soon deliver you.

1063
00:47:21,720 --> 00:47:23,560
Did she know?

1064
00:47:23,560 --> 00:47:25,360
I think she did.

1065
00:47:25,360 --> 00:47:26,240
I think she did.

1066
00:47:26,240 --> 00:47:28,200
I'm pretty sure she did.

1067
00:47:28,200 --> 00:47:30,300
The question for us today is, do you know?

1068
00:47:31,680 --> 00:47:35,560
Do you know that that baby boy came to save you?

1069
00:47:37,140 --> 00:47:41,080
Do you know that he came to set you free from sin?

1070
00:47:42,040 --> 00:47:45,400
Do you recognize that you need a savior

1071
00:47:45,400 --> 00:47:48,400
because you have sinned against a holy God?

1072
00:47:48,400 --> 00:47:49,680
I believe Mary knew that.

1073
00:47:50,560 --> 00:47:52,320
And if it was true for Mary,

1074
00:47:52,320 --> 00:47:55,160
my goodness, it's true for every single one of us.

1075
00:47:56,040 --> 00:47:58,800
That we need a savior.

1076
00:47:58,800 --> 00:48:02,520
And Christmas is about that savior being born.

1077
00:48:02,520 --> 00:48:04,840
But because we need to know about Jesus,

1078
00:48:04,840 --> 00:48:07,920
or because what we need to know about Jesus

1079
00:48:07,920 --> 00:48:11,560
in the Christmas story wraps around that whole concept

1080
00:48:12,440 --> 00:48:15,400
that it wasn't just about gifts, it was about salvation.

1081
00:48:16,480 --> 00:48:18,760
What we need to know about Jesus during Christmas

1082
00:48:18,760 --> 00:48:21,120
and every day is that he is so much more

1083
00:48:21,120 --> 00:48:23,280
than just a baby in the manger.

1084
00:48:24,360 --> 00:48:29,360
That he is God Almighty, the savior of our souls.

1085
00:48:30,880 --> 00:48:34,040
["The Christmas Story"]

1086
00:48:34,040 --> 00:48:37,040
["The Christmas Story"]

1087
00:48:50,800 --> 00:48:52,480
It was that silent night

1088
00:48:53,520 --> 00:48:56,880
when the stars turned their gaze to marvel at the earth.

1089
00:48:59,560 --> 00:49:01,560
When the heavens gathered breathless

1090
00:49:01,560 --> 00:49:04,160
around the lowly stable.

1091
00:49:04,160 --> 00:49:06,400
["The Christmas Story"]

1092
00:49:06,400 --> 00:49:09,680
When a young mother wept tears of worship,

1093
00:49:09,680 --> 00:49:11,880
falling on the baby in her arms.

1094
00:49:14,480 --> 00:49:18,080
And the song of the earth arose in Bethlehem,

1095
00:49:18,080 --> 00:49:20,880
soft as the tender beating of his heart.

1096
00:49:22,840 --> 00:49:26,680
And all was calm, all was bright.

1097
00:49:28,160 --> 00:49:31,280
Yet could this be the same God of Abraham,

1098
00:49:31,280 --> 00:49:36,280
the conqueror of Israel, this baby, this fragile life?

1099
00:49:37,920 --> 00:49:41,760
Is this child the one who burned his name in rapture

1100
00:49:41,760 --> 00:49:44,640
across the gasping skies?

1101
00:49:44,640 --> 00:49:48,640
Whose voice spoke the oceans into crashing rhythms?

1102
00:49:48,640 --> 00:49:52,080
Who crafted the mountains into guardians of the firmament?

1103
00:49:53,160 --> 00:49:56,440
Whose hand ignited the thirst of the deserts

1104
00:49:56,440 --> 00:49:59,920
and a warring surge of the elemental hosts?

1105
00:49:59,920 --> 00:50:02,760
Who breathed life from dust,

1106
00:50:02,760 --> 00:50:04,840
broke the oppressor's rule,

1107
00:50:04,840 --> 00:50:08,200
scattered the chains of his people like sand,

1108
00:50:08,200 --> 00:50:10,000
and led them through the wilderness

1109
00:50:10,000 --> 00:50:11,400
with the pillar of flame?

1110
00:50:12,520 --> 00:50:14,880
Is this child the one whose presence

1111
00:50:14,880 --> 00:50:17,720
billowed thunderous on Sinai's peak?

1112
00:50:18,680 --> 00:50:22,040
Who surrounded Job with a roaring wind,

1113
00:50:22,040 --> 00:50:25,320
stood defiant in the raging furnace,

1114
00:50:25,320 --> 00:50:27,840
wrote judgment against tyrants,

1115
00:50:27,840 --> 00:50:30,720
and blazed on the lips of the prophets,

1116
00:50:30,720 --> 00:50:34,240
scorching history's pages with the fury of his might?

1117
00:50:35,680 --> 00:50:38,560
Could this be the same God who chose to come

1118
00:50:38,560 --> 00:50:40,120
as the vulnerable king,

1119
00:50:41,040 --> 00:50:43,920
setting his throne on straw and manger,

1120
00:50:45,240 --> 00:50:48,000
drawing forth the tears of shepherds,

1121
00:50:48,880 --> 00:50:52,600
receiving the gifts of wandering travelers,

1122
00:50:52,600 --> 00:50:57,600
his fame unknown in this world?

1123
00:51:00,320 --> 00:51:02,080
He is Jesus,

1124
00:51:03,000 --> 00:51:05,760
the one who thunders through the heavens,

1125
00:51:05,760 --> 00:51:08,040
yet whispers to our hearts,

1126
00:51:09,120 --> 00:51:11,480
who reigns victorious,

1127
00:51:11,480 --> 00:51:13,560
yet bows to serve the broken.

1128
00:51:14,840 --> 00:51:17,600
He is God in the fury,

1129
00:51:17,600 --> 00:51:19,320
God in the silence.

1130
00:51:19,320 --> 00:51:24,320
He holds this mystery balanced in his hands,

1131
00:51:25,080 --> 00:51:28,440
holds our questions till they lose their need,

1132
00:51:29,440 --> 00:51:33,440
until all we see is him.

1133
00:51:36,120 --> 00:51:37,200
We need a savior,

1134
00:51:39,040 --> 00:51:40,360
and we need his mercy,

1135
00:51:41,480 --> 00:51:43,680
and we need his grace,

1136
00:51:43,680 --> 00:51:48,080
and he is Jesus, God Almighty.

1137
00:51:48,080 --> 00:51:50,800
And today we celebrate the fulfillment of that promise

1138
00:51:50,800 --> 00:51:52,440
that was given to Mary,

1139
00:51:52,440 --> 00:51:57,440
the free gift given of God for us.

1140
00:51:57,440 --> 00:52:00,560
Today we celebrate the truth told by the angel

1141
00:52:00,560 --> 00:52:02,600
to the shepherds in Luke chapter two,

1142
00:52:03,520 --> 00:52:05,600
where it said, today in the city of David,

1143
00:52:05,600 --> 00:52:10,160
a savior was born for you who is the Messiah, the Lord.

1144
00:52:10,160 --> 00:52:12,400
This will be a sign for you.

1145
00:52:12,400 --> 00:52:15,040
You will find a baby wrapped tightly in cloth

1146
00:52:15,040 --> 00:52:16,840
and lying in a manger.

1147
00:52:16,840 --> 00:52:18,680
And with that, Mary's first Christmas

1148
00:52:18,680 --> 00:52:21,400
became the fulfillment of the hope of all mankind

1149
00:52:21,400 --> 00:52:22,240
for all time.

1150
00:52:23,480 --> 00:52:24,800
And he could be your hope.

1151
00:52:26,040 --> 00:52:28,000
He could be your savior.

1152
00:52:28,000 --> 00:52:30,880
He could be your grace, your mercy.

1153
00:52:30,880 --> 00:52:33,080
And if you don't know Jesus Christ

1154
00:52:33,080 --> 00:52:35,640
as your personal Lord and savior today,

1155
00:52:36,680 --> 00:52:40,240
all you have to do is receive the free gift

1156
00:52:40,240 --> 00:52:41,520
that is freely given.

1157
00:52:42,960 --> 00:52:45,400
He already died on the cross.

1158
00:52:45,400 --> 00:52:49,520
He already lived that life 2,000 years ago.

1159
00:52:49,520 --> 00:52:51,680
Today he sits at the right hand of the Father

1160
00:52:51,680 --> 00:52:52,920
and says, believe in me.

1161
00:52:53,960 --> 00:52:57,400
Receive the salvation that I came to give to you.

1162
00:52:58,240 --> 00:53:01,920
And all you have to do is say, Jesus, I receive that.

1163
00:53:01,920 --> 00:53:03,960
I believe in who you are.

1164
00:53:03,960 --> 00:53:06,040
I know I've sinned against you.

1165
00:53:06,040 --> 00:53:07,120
Please forgive me.

1166
00:53:08,000 --> 00:53:12,040
Come into my life as you came into Mary's life.

1167
00:53:12,040 --> 00:53:15,320
Come into my life as you came into Joseph's life.

1168
00:53:15,320 --> 00:53:17,920
Come into my life as you entered into this world

1169
00:53:17,920 --> 00:53:21,920
to do a mighty work of healing and salvation.

1170
00:53:21,920 --> 00:53:24,600
And he will do that, the Bible promises.

1171
00:53:24,600 --> 00:53:27,560
All who call upon the name of Jesus will be saved.

1172
00:53:30,000 --> 00:53:31,800
I pray you receive that gift today.

1173
00:53:33,240 --> 00:53:36,200
And in that you have the most merry of Christmases

1174
00:53:36,200 --> 00:53:37,800
that you've ever had.

1175
00:53:37,800 --> 00:53:38,920
Let's pray.

1176
00:53:38,920 --> 00:53:42,200
Father, we love you so much.

1177
00:53:42,200 --> 00:53:44,800
God, we know it takes a humility to come before you

1178
00:53:44,800 --> 00:53:46,880
and to say, you are God.

1179
00:53:49,560 --> 00:53:51,120
That although you entered this world

1180
00:53:51,120 --> 00:53:53,040
in the most helpless of ways,

1181
00:53:54,920 --> 00:53:57,800
being born of the Virgin Mary,

1182
00:54:00,400 --> 00:54:02,120
God born of a young teenage girl

1183
00:54:02,120 --> 00:54:03,880
who had not been with a man.

1184
00:54:06,120 --> 00:54:08,680
And yet Lord, as the power of God overshadowed her,

1185
00:54:08,680 --> 00:54:10,520
she found herself in a place

1186
00:54:10,520 --> 00:54:12,520
where she was born of a child.

1187
00:54:12,520 --> 00:54:15,200
And then Lord, she was born into this world,

1188
00:54:15,200 --> 00:54:17,120
you were born into this world

1189
00:54:17,120 --> 00:54:19,120
in a manger in a feeding trough.

1190
00:54:22,240 --> 00:54:25,640
Lord, that you were raised in very poor conditions

1191
00:54:25,640 --> 00:54:28,240
but with such great love from your parents.

1192
00:54:29,520 --> 00:54:31,400
That you grew in stature as a man,

1193
00:54:31,400 --> 00:54:32,840
you learned as a man.

1194
00:54:36,040 --> 00:54:37,400
And then God one day,

1195
00:54:37,400 --> 00:54:40,720
as you entered into your ministry,

1196
00:54:40,720 --> 00:54:43,280
you walked this earth healing,

1197
00:54:45,080 --> 00:54:48,160
bringing hope, preaching salvation.

1198
00:54:50,600 --> 00:54:52,600
And then Lord, you died on the cross.

1199
00:54:54,920 --> 00:54:57,880
A horrible and gruesome death, God.

1200
00:54:57,880 --> 00:54:59,800
But you did it willingly.

1201
00:55:01,120 --> 00:55:04,400
Lord, you did it with joy set before you, God.

1202
00:55:04,400 --> 00:55:06,240
That we would be saved.

1203
00:55:07,240 --> 00:55:08,520
Lord, what a gift that is

1204
00:55:08,520 --> 00:55:11,760
and it's a gift we could never ever possibly earn.

1205
00:55:12,880 --> 00:55:16,280
But it is a gift you give us simply through faith.

1206
00:55:18,080 --> 00:55:20,080
And so Lord, I pray God that as we learn

1207
00:55:20,080 --> 00:55:21,880
from the example of your mother,

1208
00:55:23,560 --> 00:55:25,840
that we see her humble state.

1209
00:55:27,200 --> 00:55:30,560
We see that she was a woman who knew you.

1210
00:55:30,560 --> 00:55:31,720
Knew your word.

1211
00:55:33,640 --> 00:55:35,280
But most importantly,

1212
00:55:35,280 --> 00:55:38,280
she was a woman who recognized her need for a savior.

1213
00:55:39,160 --> 00:55:41,840
That God, we would learn from that example this Christmas.

1214
00:55:44,360 --> 00:55:46,480
And that we would recognize our own lowliness

1215
00:55:46,480 --> 00:55:47,720
and our own humility.

1216
00:55:49,080 --> 00:55:51,400
And our own need for you, God.

1217
00:55:53,360 --> 00:55:55,600
So that we wouldn't push you aside this Christmas

1218
00:55:55,600 --> 00:55:56,720
for decades,

1219
00:55:56,720 --> 00:55:57,560
for decades,

1220
00:55:57,560 --> 00:55:58,400
for decades,

1221
00:55:58,400 --> 00:55:59,240
for decades,

1222
00:55:59,240 --> 00:56:01,160
for decades, this Christmas for decorations

1223
00:56:01,160 --> 00:56:02,720
and gifts and celebrations, Lord.

1224
00:56:02,720 --> 00:56:04,800
All those are great things.

1225
00:56:04,800 --> 00:56:06,600
But we would keep you at the center.

1226
00:56:08,280 --> 00:56:10,520
That baby who was wrapped tightly in a cloth,

1227
00:56:10,520 --> 00:56:11,680
lying in a manger.

1228
00:56:13,360 --> 00:56:14,480
Who grew as a man.

1229
00:56:16,240 --> 00:56:18,400
Who died for us as the atoning sacrifice.

1230
00:56:18,400 --> 00:56:20,520
Thank you so much, Lord.

1231
00:56:20,520 --> 00:56:21,360
We love you.

1232
00:56:22,120 --> 00:56:24,040
And we praise your holy name, God.

1233
00:56:24,040 --> 00:56:26,600
Be glorified in our lives.

1234
00:56:26,600 --> 00:56:28,000
Be glorified in our church.

1235
00:56:28,000 --> 00:56:29,920
Be glorified in our world, God.

1236
00:56:30,800 --> 00:56:33,840
And we pray for all those who don't yet know you.

1237
00:56:33,840 --> 00:56:35,880
That they would come to know you.

1238
00:56:35,880 --> 00:56:38,720
And experience the hope and the mercy and the grace

1239
00:56:38,720 --> 00:56:40,560
and the blessing that is in you, God.

1240
00:56:41,640 --> 00:56:44,880
Thank you for loving us so much that you came to this earth.

1241
00:56:46,040 --> 00:56:49,440
Thank you for loving us so much that you died for us.

1242
00:56:49,440 --> 00:56:50,280
We love you.

1243
00:56:51,320 --> 00:56:52,440
Happy birthday, Lord.

1244
00:56:53,480 --> 00:56:54,880
Merry Christmas.

1245
00:56:54,880 --> 00:56:56,560
It's in Jesus' name we pray.

1246
00:56:56,560 --> 00:56:57,380
Amen.

1247
00:56:57,380 --> 00:56:58,300
God bless you guys.