Hey. Sometimes, if you're in the right place
at the right time, with the right meaning, you
might just happen to hear something from God.
That was what was on my mind as I was coming
over to speak to Jeremiah some months ago. Sorry,
I'm being rude. My name's Gabriel. It's nice
to meet you. Now I was coming up to see Zechariah
and I was so excited because I knew that I was
coming to him with the message He definitely
wanted to hear see Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth
They had never been able to have a child before
and finally I was going to get to bring them
that news and see Zechariah Hope the timing was
amazing He's a priest, but this particular time
He had then been chosen to light the incense
that brings the prayers up to God from the people.
Totally not a coincidence. That's me. But you
know, as we're there, and I come over, and I'm
so excited to let him know, you and your wife
Elizabeth, I have good news. You are going to
have a son, and he is going to prepare the way
of the Lord. And you know those moments? When
things don't go quite the way you were hoping
and all of a sudden he just looks at me and says
What are you talking about? I've been waiting
so long for this moment and To be let down so
much and I'm looking at him and I'm trying to
tell him the very thing that you've been waiting
for is yours and He just looks at me like I'm
crazy I'm an angel! I have a halo in everything!
Come on !" I muted him for now. He'll keep. But
you know, it was so different when I spoke to
the next person. There I was going up to this
young girl some months later, and everything
was so different. Right place, but terrible timing.
This young girl, she'd been betrothed. She was
getting ready to be married to this man and everything
was going well. The future was in front, the
marriage, the family, all of it. And then here
I come in the most inconvenient way. But you
know, you go to someone and you're telling them
something that's amazing. And that this is the
woman who's going to bring the coming Son of
God, the one who's going to bring salvation to
the world. And that would be so amazing. But
to come at a time like this, where now her whole
life is going to be upside down because of what
I have come to bring. But even though that old
guy had no idea how to handle what I was having
to say, here's this young girl. I am the servant
of the Lord, do as you have proclaimed according
to your word." So much maturity there. But when
somebody's faith is so strong that they know
in their mind whatever it is that God wants in
their life, that is exactly what they want to
see happen. But I got to get myself prepared,
because the other person involved in that, Gotta
go talk to him now Joseph's a good guy. All right,
I Nobody really faults him. Okay But when you
see that the person you're gonna marry Has a
child and you know that he's not yours But I've
got to go talk to him because she needs him she
cannot do this alone But I'm going to ask him
to now raise a son that he knows is not his own.
But knowing what God has in mind, that is the
only way that any of this will move forward.
Fear not! presumptuous. Peace. Maybe tone it
down a little bit. Fear not. What are you doing,
Gabriel? You're not a Marvel character. Okay,
let's see. Let me just say it normally. Fear
not. For behold, I bring you good news of great
joy that will be for all people. Yeah, that sounds
a little bit better. I know it's been a little
while since I've seen you guys, but... We've
been preparing, okay? We've got a choir, okay?
There's this whole choir ready to go. I'm a second
tenor. It's pretty, well, they keep trying to
make me a first tenor. That does not sound good
at all. But, you know, we've been preparing all
of these different characters for the roles they
have to play, but now it is time. And tonight,
we get a chance to announce this to people who
are going to go out and share the news. And we
get to do this with Shepherds. I'm so glad that
it is shepherds. If I had to go and deal with
kings, and if I had to be in a palace, oh man.
Do you have any idea how egotistical royalty
can be? I'm over there trying to give them a
message, and they're just acting like, oh, we're
just so cool and everything. I'm an angel! What
do you think? Come on. A little bit of awe would
be nice. But shepherds. Down to earth people.
You know, salt of the earth. And I can go and
I can get a message to them and they're actually
going to realize how important it is. But you
know, getting this message out there, it's wonderful
that we get a chance to do it here. But there
are so many other places that we need to get
it to. Oh wait. Did anybody talk to Simeon? Ah
Let me go. I'm gonna have to go check. I think
it might be the archangel Brandon I don't know.
Let me go figure that one out. Oh, you don't
know him. He's a you know terrible at cards,
but okay, the thing is Okay, we've been talking
this guy for a long time now. All right letting
him know he's gonna get to see the Messiah and
then he has to wait and wait and wait And now
the time has come and this is going to be amazing.
And just watch that somebody somehow forgot to
let them know that the child is coming. Okay,
we spend all these years and miss it at the last
minute. No, not on my watch. But did you happen
to notice? Weird star that's above in the sky.
It's not exactly a star star. All right, I mean,
a lot of stuff has been going on. Could you imagine
that before everything gets spinning and all
over the place, that all of this was geared up
for a specific time to align just perfectly?
I know the people at this time, they don't get
the whole spinning earth round thing and how
all the orbits happen and everything else. They've
got a few centuries before that. But the idea
that you've got this planet and this star and
they're aligning and it's so bright and amazing
But it's not just gonna happen for a moment Everything
has been happening for so long that at this one
point for two years They're somehow going to
be traveling to point to this one place Isn't
it amazing? It is just so outstanding but to
be able to realize that all these things had
to point to this one place, this one spot. These
shepherds are going to be coming over here and
they're going to be here in this humble place,
this cave, this area where all these animals
are going to be. And they're not going to be
seeing this king that has come into some palace,
but is instead going to be seeing him in this
eating trough. You know, I mean, if you're trying
to put some animal off to the side, but this
is not just some animal. This is the Messiah.
How humble, how hopeful. I don't know, this looks
a little bit nicer than we're probably going
to end up laying. This looks like something that
your pastor might have broken last year. But
as we realize, there are so many opportunities
that there are. Because we often think of the
right time, the right place, and the right way.
But how often is it that people are doing the
wrong thing in the wrong place at the wrong time?
And that's the thing about this Messiah. That's
the thing about the Son of God. Is that all the
people are going to be gathering around and to
end up punishing Him for things that had nothing
to do with who He is and what He's doing. but
just revealed how insecure they were. But then
He's going to willingly let them kill Him. The
wrong thing. The wrong time. But God is going
to raise up His Son on that third day. See, that's
the thing that we discover is that we spend so
much time worrying. Did we do things the right
way, the right time? And then God takes the things
that are the worst and uses them to His glory.
And that's the thing that's so amazing here.
There may be things that are going on that God
is trying to get our attention, and how often
is it that we ignore it? That we miss out? That
we are so tired and so frustrated, and we don't
see what is right in front of us? That He sends
His Son to be our Messiah. I cannot promise you
that you're going to get some angelic presence
that's going to come in front of you and light
up the sky and sing in some bold way to make
sure to get your attention. But what I can promise
you is that each and every week, the Gospel is
yours. The right place, the right time. Because
every moment of your life is the right place
and the right time. for the gospel of the Lord.
So may we be ready to hear his word and to trust
in his salvation now and always.