WEBVTT

00:00:29.719 --> 00:00:35.420
You know, sometimes, you're in the right place,

00:00:35.840 --> 00:00:40.159
at the right time, doing the right thing, and

00:00:40.159 --> 00:00:43.399
maybe, just maybe, God might have something to

00:00:43.399 --> 00:00:47.159
say to you. You know, a few months ago, I was

00:00:47.159 --> 00:00:50.799
pretty excited. I had a message for this guy,

00:00:51.679 --> 00:00:56.840
Zechariah. He's a priest, and you know, the times

00:00:56.840 --> 00:01:00.030
whenever you go to someone, that you know is

00:01:00.030 --> 00:01:03.030
ready for you. You know that you've got something

00:01:03.030 --> 00:01:05.450
for them and that they are so excited and you

00:01:05.450 --> 00:01:07.689
are ready to give them exactly what it is that

00:01:07.689 --> 00:01:10.930
they've been wanting all this time. This is the

00:01:10.930 --> 00:01:13.269
time when He finally was chosen to go and to

00:01:13.269 --> 00:01:16.010
light the incense. To finally be in front of

00:01:16.010 --> 00:01:18.209
the Holy of Holies. To be able to have the prayers

00:01:18.209 --> 00:01:21.430
of the people to rise up to God. He is bringing

00:01:21.430 --> 00:01:23.569
the prayers onto God. And then what happens?

00:01:23.689 --> 00:01:26.650
I get to go on behalf of God to tell Him, you,

00:01:26.909 --> 00:01:29.930
your wife, you're finally going to have a son.

00:01:32.109 --> 00:01:35.209
And then he says, what are you talking about?

00:01:37.549 --> 00:01:40.510
You know those moments where you've built something

00:01:40.510 --> 00:01:43.310
up in your head the whole time, and then all

00:01:43.310 --> 00:01:45.769
of a sudden it just lets you down? And you're

00:01:45.769 --> 00:01:47.969
trying to look at the person saying, I have just

00:01:47.969 --> 00:01:50.810
given you exactly the news that you've always

00:01:50.810 --> 00:01:52.969
wanted. And not only that, but that he's actually

00:01:52.969 --> 00:01:55.269
going to be pointing out the Messiah, the Son

00:01:55.269 --> 00:02:00.510
of God. And he won't even believe me. As I'm

00:02:00.510 --> 00:02:02.790
standing right in front of him, I have the halo.

00:02:08.110 --> 00:02:11.250
You know, the times whenever a person is at the

00:02:11.250 --> 00:02:13.870
right time, the right place, and finally the

00:02:13.870 --> 00:02:16.689
right message has come to them, and some people

00:02:16.689 --> 00:02:20.389
just don't want to believe it. It's okay. I've

00:02:20.389 --> 00:02:24.669
muted him for a while. He should be okay. But

00:02:24.669 --> 00:02:28.419
the next person though, Very, very different.

00:02:29.620 --> 00:02:31.419
You know, sometimes when you're going to tell

00:02:31.419 --> 00:02:34.379
somebody a message, and you know that it's a

00:02:34.379 --> 00:02:38.159
great thing, but it's not easy for them to hear.

00:02:40.139 --> 00:02:43.699
Here's this young woman that she's betrothed.

00:02:43.780 --> 00:02:47.120
She's about to be married. She's about to complete

00:02:47.120 --> 00:02:50.020
the marriage to this man that will start this

00:02:50.020 --> 00:02:52.900
family with her, and now I have to go and interrupt

00:02:52.900 --> 00:02:58.370
her life. I have to go and interrupt everything

00:02:58.370 --> 00:03:03.150
because this is a part of God's plan. The thing

00:03:03.150 --> 00:03:05.389
about God's plan is that it's amazing, it's beautiful,

00:03:05.430 --> 00:03:11.370
but man, it's inconvenient sometimes. So many

00:03:11.370 --> 00:03:14.849
things that she must have had in mind. But you

00:03:14.849 --> 00:03:19.110
know, the old guy didn't know how to accept the

00:03:19.110 --> 00:03:22.449
joy that was right in front of him. But here's

00:03:22.449 --> 00:03:25.750
this young girl. who's being told that she is

00:03:25.750 --> 00:03:28.969
about to be the mother of the one who has to

00:03:28.969 --> 00:03:32.530
come to bring salvation to the people. And instead

00:03:32.530 --> 00:03:36.830
of yelling and screaming and crying, I am the

00:03:36.830 --> 00:03:39.770
servant of the Lord. Let it be to me according

00:03:39.770 --> 00:03:44.110
to your word. What kind of maturity is that?

00:03:45.689 --> 00:03:49.599
What kind of faith is that? That this young woman...

00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:52.639
who's still at such an early place in life already

00:03:52.639 --> 00:03:56.360
knows her life is nothing if it's not following

00:03:56.360 --> 00:04:01.740
what God has in mind. But I've got to head over

00:04:01.740 --> 00:04:04.479
this way because I've got to go talk to this

00:04:04.479 --> 00:04:09.960
guy Joseph. How hard is it going to be that he

00:04:09.960 --> 00:04:12.740
is going to be told that his first son won't

00:04:12.740 --> 00:04:19.920
even be his? He's not a bad guy. I can only imagine

00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:23.379
how hard all of this has been. How many thoughts

00:04:23.379 --> 00:04:25.759
have been running through his mind. A person

00:04:25.759 --> 00:04:31.100
is living out what God has given them. And all

00:04:31.100 --> 00:04:35.800
he sees is that his wife is with someone else's

00:04:35.800 --> 00:04:42.180
child. But I have to go to him and ask him, do

00:04:42.180 --> 00:04:48.240
not leave her. She needs you. It'll work out.

00:04:49.319 --> 00:04:52.939
But don't leave her. Because that's sometimes

00:04:52.939 --> 00:04:54.579
the thing about being the right person in the

00:04:54.579 --> 00:04:57.199
right place at the right time is because you

00:04:57.199 --> 00:05:00.360
have to decide to still be in the right place

00:05:00.360 --> 00:05:04.800
at the right time to do what God has in mind.

00:05:19.879 --> 00:05:22.939
Kind of sounds a little, yeah, presumptuous.

00:05:23.939 --> 00:05:27.600
Fear not. I'm not a Marvel superhero. Okay, let's

00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:31.560
try that again. Okay, let me just try to say

00:05:31.560 --> 00:05:35.339
it though. Fear not, for behold, I bring you

00:05:35.339 --> 00:05:37.819
good news of great joy which will be to all the

00:05:37.819 --> 00:05:41.379
people. Yeah, yeah, that's coming out a whole

00:05:41.379 --> 00:05:46.500
lot better. Okay, good. We're about to go and

00:05:46.500 --> 00:05:50.120
see the shepherds. There's been a lot going on

00:05:50.120 --> 00:05:53.019
for the last several months. But we get a chance

00:05:53.019 --> 00:05:54.720
to now. We've been practicing with the choir.

00:05:55.100 --> 00:05:57.379
It's pretty amazing. I'm a second tenor. I know,

00:05:57.379 --> 00:05:59.699
I feel pretty good about that. They always keep

00:05:59.699 --> 00:06:01.660
trying to make me a first tenor. It does not

00:06:01.660 --> 00:06:05.300
match my vocal range. But the wonderful part

00:06:05.300 --> 00:06:09.259
about this though is that we get to go to Shepherds.

00:06:09.439 --> 00:06:12.759
Do you know how annoyed it is to have to go off

00:06:12.759 --> 00:06:15.240
to talk to kings and queens and all the people

00:06:15.240 --> 00:06:18.180
who think that they're better than you? It's

00:06:18.180 --> 00:06:23.660
like I'm an angel. What do you think I am? But

00:06:23.660 --> 00:06:27.959
shepherds, I love shepherds. Shepherds are the

00:06:27.959 --> 00:06:30.939
people who do their work, live out in the field.

00:06:31.560 --> 00:06:33.420
They're like the salt of the earth kind of people.

00:06:34.319 --> 00:06:37.360
And we get a chance to go to them and let them

00:06:37.360 --> 00:06:39.879
be the ones to bring this message into the city.

00:06:40.980 --> 00:06:45.779
The city of David was born a child, the Savior,

00:06:46.180 --> 00:06:51.189
Christ the Lord. But you know, you oftentimes

00:06:51.189 --> 00:06:55.029
are trying to see where this might be, the right

00:06:55.029 --> 00:06:59.569
time, the right place. This doesn't look like

00:06:59.569 --> 00:07:03.449
the right place. This doesn't look like the place

00:07:03.449 --> 00:07:06.810
that the King is going to be. That being off

00:07:06.810 --> 00:07:08.949
in this cave, this place where all the animals

00:07:08.949 --> 00:07:11.990
are, that we're going to be seeing, that in this

00:07:11.990 --> 00:07:15.810
manger, you know, I don't even know if that's

00:07:15.810 --> 00:07:18.139
quite what it's going to look like. That kind

00:07:18.139 --> 00:07:21.100
of looks a little nicer. That looks like somebody's

00:07:21.100 --> 00:07:26.680
pastor broke it last year. But realizing that

00:07:26.680 --> 00:07:31.259
in this place, the animals will eat and the shepherds

00:07:31.259 --> 00:07:36.259
will often even put the sacrificial lamb up in

00:07:36.259 --> 00:07:39.860
this place. This is where we're going to find

00:07:39.860 --> 00:07:45.540
a child. But the thing is, when God's plan is

00:07:45.540 --> 00:07:50.519
in place, where He decides that's the right place.

00:07:51.879 --> 00:07:56.600
I am going to show you exactly how to see the

00:07:56.600 --> 00:08:00.920
coming Christ child. But what's wonderful about

00:08:00.920 --> 00:08:03.459
this is that it's meant to be getting a message

00:08:03.459 --> 00:08:06.040
to all these different people. I need to double

00:08:06.040 --> 00:08:09.759
check. We need to get back over to Simeon. He's

00:08:09.759 --> 00:08:12.579
been on hold for quite some time. We let him

00:08:12.579 --> 00:08:14.920
know a while back that he was going to get to

00:08:14.920 --> 00:08:20.050
see the Messiah. Man, he was thrilled. And then

00:08:20.050 --> 00:08:24.110
another year came. And another year went. And

00:08:24.110 --> 00:08:27.290
year after year. You know those times when you

00:08:27.290 --> 00:08:29.850
know that God has something going on in your

00:08:29.850 --> 00:08:33.049
life, but you just wish He'd finally show you

00:08:33.049 --> 00:08:38.090
what it is? How hard must it be for Him to be

00:08:38.090 --> 00:08:42.350
waiting? But more than that, that He's going

00:08:42.350 --> 00:08:44.809
to be the one who has to see and proclaim the

00:08:44.809 --> 00:08:49.950
Christ child. I don't know if you know what we're

00:08:49.950 --> 00:08:53.409
looking at over here. You notice the star that

00:08:53.409 --> 00:08:57.210
we've got going on over here? It's fascinating.

00:08:57.529 --> 00:08:59.690
Nobody during this time period actually has any

00:08:59.690 --> 00:09:02.230
idea what's actually going on out there, but

00:09:02.230 --> 00:09:05.669
they can generally see as the planet and as a

00:09:05.669 --> 00:09:09.490
star align. But it's going to move in such a

00:09:09.490 --> 00:09:12.850
strange pattern that for the next two years...

00:09:13.159 --> 00:09:16.220
It's going to still point in exactly the spot

00:09:16.220 --> 00:09:19.679
that it needs to be. Because this isn't just

00:09:19.679 --> 00:09:22.139
for the people that are right here in the right

00:09:22.139 --> 00:09:25.860
place in all of history in the right time. It's

00:09:25.860 --> 00:09:27.259
going to be for the people who are not in the

00:09:27.259 --> 00:09:30.759
right place. The people who are off in some other

00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:33.159
land who didn't even have the opportunity to

00:09:33.159 --> 00:09:35.360
physically be here, but they are desperately

00:09:35.360 --> 00:09:39.299
going to get here as fast as they can. How many

00:09:39.299 --> 00:09:44.019
people would you know that haven't had the chance

00:09:44.019 --> 00:09:47.559
to hear this message and need somebody to get

00:09:47.559 --> 00:09:51.299
to them as quickly as possible to make sure that

00:09:51.299 --> 00:09:57.919
they know it. See, you're in a time and in a

00:09:57.919 --> 00:10:02.600
place that is very privileged. You're in a spot

00:10:02.600 --> 00:10:04.899
where you have all the information of the world

00:10:04.899 --> 00:10:08.500
at your disposal, but it's so easy to wonder

00:10:08.500 --> 00:10:12.460
where truth can be found. You're in a place where

00:10:12.460 --> 00:10:14.740
all the comforts of the world can come to your

00:10:14.740 --> 00:10:17.639
very doorstep not even having to leave to get

00:10:17.639 --> 00:10:24.659
a pizza and yet People are so afraid to welcome

00:10:24.659 --> 00:10:28.299
God into their very homes or to find their way

00:10:28.299 --> 00:10:32.720
to a place to even worship him But with all of

00:10:32.720 --> 00:10:35.720
these things that you may see all that there

00:10:35.720 --> 00:10:41.210
may be in front of you the right person at the

00:10:41.210 --> 00:10:45.529
right time is always in your life because the

00:10:45.529 --> 00:10:51.330
right time to know the Messiah is now. So wherever

00:10:51.330 --> 00:10:53.990
you may be looking this next year at what your

00:10:53.990 --> 00:10:58.750
life may be, it always comes back to this child.

00:11:00.070 --> 00:11:03.549
It always comes back to the one to bring us light

00:11:03.549 --> 00:11:08.000
and life everlasting. It always comes back to

00:11:08.000 --> 00:11:12.960
the one who will sacrifice for you. Because the

00:11:12.960 --> 00:11:17.840
wrong people did the wrong thing in the worst

00:11:17.840 --> 00:11:22.779
way. But the God who loves you took it and made

00:11:22.779 --> 00:11:26.100
it exactly what you need for your salvation.

00:11:27.980 --> 00:11:33.399
So you may not have someone special each and

00:11:33.399 --> 00:11:36.710
every day coming to bring you a message. But

00:11:36.710 --> 00:11:42.889
you do have someone each and every week joyful

00:11:42.889 --> 00:11:45.190
at the chance to bring you back to this message

00:11:45.190 --> 00:11:49.370
and to the Savior who is the purpose and the

00:11:49.370 --> 00:11:53.549
point of it all. So wherever you may be, not

00:11:53.549 --> 00:11:58.450
just today, but from here forward, welcome to

00:11:58.450 --> 00:12:02.629
the Kingdom of God in Christ Jesus. Amen.