MidTree Church
The sermon audio of MidTree Church in Harris County, Ga. BEHOLD // BELIEVE // BECOME
MidTree Church
Unwrapping the True Nativity Story: A Family Journey Through Faith and Prophecies | Pastor Will Hawk | December 22, 2024
Want to truly understand the nativity story? Join us as we seek to shed new light on this age-old tale. We journey through the books of Luke and Matthew, tracing the steps of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus from Nazareth to Bethlehem, and then to Egypt, unraveling prophecies along the way. Together, we bust common myths, revealing a more faithful understanding of what happened on that first Christmas.
We also reflect on the purpose-filled travels of the holy family, drawing rich connections to prophecies in Proverbs, Jeremiah, and Revelation. Each location—Nazareth, Judea, and Bethlehem—holds a deeper significance, pointing to Jesus as the prophesied ruler and "bread of life." This isn't just a story about the past; it's a blueprint for recognizing God's plans in our lives today. Even the smallest movements can lead to profound outcomes, and Jesus' life exemplifies the faith and purpose we can strive to emulate.
Finally, our discussion turns to faith as a journey of trust through yesterday, today, and tomorrow. By looking back at God's past actions—like the fulfilled prophecies in Matthew 2—we find strength for the future. This Christmas, as we celebrate with family traditions, we encourage you to keep a record of God's faithfulness. It's a powerful way to nurture a resilient faith that's ready for the challenges of the new year. As we reflect on where we've been and where we're going, let's embrace the spirit of Christmas with prayer and gratitude, trusting in God's faithful guidance every step of the way.
If you want to learn more about the MidTree story or connect with us, go to our website HERE or text us at 812-MID-TREE.
Good morning Midtree. My name is Zach, this is my wife Lauren, and these are our kids, asha, henson and Ella. Today's reading will come from Luke 2, 4-7, and then in Matthew 2. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child, and from Matthew 2. And he rose and took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt.
Speaker 3:But when Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt saying Rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the child's life are dead. And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled that he would be called a Nazarene. This is the Lord of the world.
Speaker 4:Way to go. Crew, awesome job. Kiddos All right. A couple of housekeeping things before we dive into God's Word. All right. Hey, kids, anybody know how many days we got till Christmas? No-transcript too big and it is not too complicated for children. In fact, adults, ears up. Jesus tells us to come to him like little children who are ready to hear the word of God and trust and obey the word of God. So we are super glad that you guys are here with us today. Adults in the room I did trim a little bit, so just know that on the front end, fear not.
Speaker 4:That being said, a couple of other housekeeping things. That I think is a kindness for you to know, especially if you're visiting or you haven't been with us for a while. If you have a young, young one like a baby, and they start getting hungry or ornery, we still want you to be able to hear. But right on the other side of those four windows is a nursing room. Men are not allowed, it's for ladies only. It's our only VIP club in the entire church and you are welcome to go in there. You'll still be able to see and hear. If you have older than baby kids that get a little ornery. We have a back porch that also has audio going to it. So feel free. It is way less disruptive for you to walk a little one out and go for a walk out there than it is for you to decide if today's the day that parenting is going to happen. So just know that that stuff is available to you, and I've been wanting to say this for a while because I grew up in a church where I was either sweating or freezing all the time. So let me just own this as we're in the colder days of winter to whatever degree we can. All right. If you look above you, there are two ducks in this sanctuary. This side, I think, is slightly warmer. That side, the back, is slightly cooler. So we can't do a lot. If you walk in with a sweater on, you can't take it off. Hey, we've done our absolute best. But just so you know, if you're always one or the other that may help you adjust your seating, everybody got it, say, got it. All right, good stuff, housekeeping over.
Speaker 4:Let's dive into the text. All right, kids, I knew that you were going to be in here, so let me get you caught up very quickly what the adults have been doing over the past four weeks is this fixing your nativity to fix your heart on the true and better story. So we've been looking at the nativity that we have in our homes, that we see in our yards, that you see, at Fantasy and Lights and a lot of common assumptions that are not actually biblically accurate and why the Bible tells us a true and better story. And so far we've fixed about six things in our nativities. Adults, I only got one for you and it is the hardest one yet. Sorry, it's going to be the hardest one yet. It is also my absolute favorite fix of the entire thing.
Speaker 4:That being said, kids, I thought we would start with a game. Does that sound good to y'all? All right, now listen. Fair warning this is going to be a true false game about the true Bible story of the nativity and the advent. And the adults in the room if they've been coming for a few weeks, they're pretty well coached up on this, so I think they would have to beat you by two to actually win.
Speaker 4:But I'm going to give you some true false questions. Will? Not as a pastor, but as a person likes competition, he really likes losers and he likes having winners. So pick somebody next to you to compete against. I will give you 15 seconds. If it's a kid and a parent, go for it. If there are two strangers that make friends in this moment, that would make me happy too. All right, it's all true. False. You should get two and a half of them right on average. All right, everybody got their partner. Here you go. Question number one on fixing our nativity Mary was in labor when she arrived in town on a donkey, so Joseph found whatever lodging he could.
Speaker 4:Mary was in labor when she arrived in town on a donkey. True or false? You don't have to scream it out. All right, all right. The answer to that one is lock them in. The answer is false. Yeah, all right. So a couple of things. Number one it doesn't seem as though Mary was in labor when she arrived. Lots of movies that we see and books that we read. Joseph's like trying to get there as quick as he can so that he can find an OB in the minute and make this thing work out. It doesn't look like Joseph was that poor at planning. It looks like they were there for a while and when the time came I'm quoting scripture here for her to have a child. Also, there's no donkey in the entire story. Can you believe that In the Bible that doesn't mean there wasn't a donkey there. I'm just saying in the Bible we don't have a donkey there.
Speaker 4:Christmas began very alone and one of the things we talked about as parents is it's okay for Christmas to have lonely feelings. God can handle that. The Bible can handle that. The first Christmas did as well.
Speaker 4:Question number two Mary and Joseph spent the night in a stable on the night Jesus was born. Mary and Joseph spent the night in a stable on the night Jesus was born. True or false? All right, five seconds to lock it in Four, three, two. All right, freeze it. Correct answer there is false. Now, this is important for today. All right, now, listen. The reason we're gonna say false is all of our assumptions that they were in a stable come from one word in the Bible and that word is manger, and I have built my fair share. Out of curiosity, how many folks in the room have built a manger for themselves or for the church at some point? Okay, I'm looking at at least half of the eight. Okay, all of us build them a certain way and what you're going to realize, hopefully, from our time in the Word is we're not building them right and the reason we assume that they were in a stable is simply because of the word manger. In all likelihood, they were in the lower floor of a guest house, which also had room for animals. All right, question number three. Then we're gonna see how you guys are doing. Pay attention, this one's a little bit longer.
Speaker 4:Zachariah and Elizabeth were the first New Testament couple to receive an angelic message about an unexpected pregnancy Kids. Let me decipher. What I'm saying is Zachariah and Elizabeth were the first one in the New Testament and the angel showed up and said you're going to have a baby. Go, true or false. Oh, this one's a little quieter. I like this. I will say this was the text that we did during the kids telling the Christmas story, so we didn't dig quite as deep. All right, lock them in. All right, answer, there is true. Yeah, john the Baptist was foretold by an angel to Zachariah and Elizabeth first, not Mary and Joseph. All right, raise your hand if you're batting a thousand. If you got three already, let's see the hand. Oh, all right, let's see how you handled this one. No, I'm just kidding. I got no trick questions for you.
Speaker 4:Shepherds were present with Jesus on the night of his birth, but the angels were not On the night Jesus was born. Shepherds were there, but the angels were not with him. Present with Jesus on the night of his birth? Shepherds, yes, angels, no. A little louder on this one. A little more confidence in the room. Audrina's not as confident, though Y'all's faces are great, hey, hey, y'all know this is a story you've heard for your like whole lives, right, alright, many of you. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.
Speaker 4:That is true, shepherds were there, but what we looked at last week, the angels were in the fields. The angels talked to Joseph. The angels talked to Zachariah. They would talked to Joseph. The angels talked to Zachariah. They would talk to Joseph another couple of times as well, but we don't read in the Bible that angels were actually right there. So you gotta move your angel out of the manger. Were angels there? I think they probably were, but you're not gonna find it in the text.
Speaker 4:And your last question is this the star which led the three wise men rested over Jesus's manger. The star that led the three wise men rested over Jesus's manger. And I'm not being funny about the word star, I know we talked about it last week. That isn't a trick for you guys. Is that for the sermon or for the question? Okay, all right. All right, correct answer here is true-false. I just messed with it. It's false.
Speaker 4:In all likelihood, by the time the wise men arose at the place, jesus was about one and a half two years old, and the Bible uses a different term for him. All right, guys, let me pray for us and then we will dive. Oh, out of curiosity, raise your hand. If you beat the person that you were playing against, Raise your hand. Congratulations, good job. Hey, if you lost, that's okay.
Speaker 4:You're in a great place to learn more about the Bible. Let's pray, let's pray. Heavenly Father, I'm grateful for this time and I'm grateful for these people. Thank you for every man, woman and child. Thank you that the word of God is living and active. It's sharper than any double-edged sword that you call us to come to this as little children. I pray against distraction on a Sunday. That that is a worthwhile prayer for, and I also pray, father, that, simply put, your spirit would be in and amongst our time, that you would move us nearer to you, and I pray all of these things in Christ's name and everybody said amen, all right.
Speaker 4:So now that we've seen some misconceptions, I want you to see how the true story draws us closer to God's heart and what the Bible actually says about God's plan for Jesus's birth. So we're going to look at the account of Luke together, starting in Luke 2, verse 3. And all went to be registered, each to his own town. I don't often say this. I'd rather you have your noses in the books than on the screen a lot of the time, but I do want you to notice this.
Speaker 4:Joseph and Mary and Jesus go through so many movements. It is one of the ways our Christmases are very much like the first Christmas. There is so much moving, there is so much shaking, there is so much packing, there is so much going. But I want you to notice which is why I prepped you with Proverbs 16, 9. I want you to notice that every movement that God sends his son on is purposeful. And Joseph went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. I want you to notice these three cities to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. I want you to notice these three cities, from Nazareth to Judea, to a place called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who is with child. And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth, and she gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger.
Speaker 4:Every one of these movements is precisely perfectly planned by a God who knows your life better than you ever can, and Jesus's own life is a model and example to us of what faith in God should be like. If I just take verse 4 and I pull it out, this is verse four, and the reason that I bring this out is because I want us to look at these three movements. Nazareth, if you break it down, is another word for branch, another word for like branch or stick. If you look into Judea, you realize that that is the place that the prophets promise, that there is a lion of the tribe of Judah, there is a ruler who is coming out of this and bonus points to the camp store.
Speaker 4:If anybody can tell me what Bethlehem means, it's not an easy one. It means okay, go, team. I heard one over here. Who was it? All right, but no, you're on staff. All right way to go. Mitch. Awesome, free book. You can pick out anyone you want right next to the restroom. All right, they're all free.
Speaker 4:By the way, those Branch lion and bread why is it that God sends his son prophetically through these three places? Well, I think it matters, and I think it matters in a pretty profound way If we look at it closely. This is what we would have read in Jeremiah Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land from Nazareth, which, by the way, is this little, no name. The fact that it's called branch makes all the sense in the world because it's basically out in the sticks. You would never expect something great to come from there.
Speaker 4:The prophet Jeremiah, long before Jesus is sent incarnationally, he says there is going to be a branch, this sprout, this unexpected life that is going to come from this place when we move on to Judea, the city of David. You would read this in Revelation 5. One of the elders said to me weep no more. Behold the lion of the tribe of David. You would read this in Revelation 5. One of the elders said to me weep no more. Behold the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root, the branch, the sprout of David has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals. When we go to Bethlehem, it means the house of bread, and of course, jesus would say in John 6, I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me shall not hunger, whoever believes in me shall never thirst.
Speaker 4:I put this in front of you because I want you to see what God is doing in the many times unseen realities of life. It wasn't just that Herod was a punk king who was trying to protect his own rule. It wasn't just that Herod was a punk king who was trying to protect his own rule. It wasn't just that God needed Jesus to be in a quiet place. No, every movement listen, because I want to make an application to your own life in this Every movement that God sent his son on was perfectly and precisely planned for the future he desired to come.
Speaker 4:He wanted you to know that life was going to come. This branch was going to come from unexpected places. And it wasn't just going to be this branch or life from the unexpected. It was going to be life that would rule, that would be in charge, that would look at a chaotic, broken, dark world where people are constantly trying to serve themselves in power, and this life that came from an unexpected place would rule and would rule forever. But not only would this Messiah rule forever, he would provide for his people. He would be able to feed them in a way that none of us had been fed before. He would break his own body so that you, if you have faith and trust in Christ, would be able to receive from him sustenance for your soul that would last forever.
Speaker 4:The whole story, the whole story is in one verse Luke, chapter 2, verse 4. As God said, this has been the plan from the beginning, which means Jesus came to exactly the right family at exactly the right time. And, even though Joseph's family was far from perfect, it was perfect for the story that God was telling. Do you want to know why this matters? Because I would be willing to bet that your family is far from perfect, and I'm willing to bet it because I read your prayer requests. I know for a fact that the vast majority of the people sitting in this room right now, when I say Joseph's family is far from perfect, but it was perfect for the story that God was telling, you begin thinking about individuals in your family Immediate family, extended family, family that you haven't seen in a long time, immediate family, extended family, family that you haven't seen in a long time sort of worrisome questions of how is this Christmas dinner, christmas lunch going to go?
Speaker 4:What about this conversation? What about all this awkwardness? How beautiful is it for us not only that God sent his son to be life out of unexpected life, a ruler which we desperately need, but who is going to live sacrificially and be the bread for our own souls. Isn't it great to know that he came into a family that was far from perfect. He wasn't placed in a family that had a massive house on top of the hill in a gated community. He went to two of the poorest people in Mary and Joseph they had no accommodations for a king and God said perfect for my son In your own family.
Speaker 4:God did not make mistakes. The family that you are in, god did not make mistakes. The family that you have in, the family that you don't. God did not make mistakes. He places us precisely where he wants for us to be, and Christians. You are not passive in this. He places you there unto righteousness that you would bear fruit in keeping with repentance Matthew 3.8, luke 3.8. It is God's expectation that you would be an active participant in the spirit of God, walking into dark places as a conqueror, dead places as life that is unexpected, and sacrificial places, as you are willing to lay down your own desires. I'm not telling you that the family you're in is on purpose, even if it's broken, because my family is easy. That is not the case.
Speaker 4:I talk, I think, maybe too much about my relationship with my dad and I apologize if y'all get tired about hearing it, but I did want to tell you one thing that happened this past week. He had a doctor's appointment and we were going to sort of figure things out and kids in the room. If you don't know this, that's okay. I don't have the best relationship with my dad on earth.
Speaker 4:I have a really good relationship with my father in heaven and I was going to pick my dad up for an appointment and I called my wife after I left and I said I just want you to know, karen Ann, I am not as good of a person as God is calling me and making me be in this moment.
Speaker 4:I went to get my dad and he wasn't up. He needed help getting dressed. He couldn't tie his own shoes and he was not the warmest father to me, and so stooping down to tie his shoes is not something that Will wants to do. And as it's happening, I am literally thinking, god, thank you that you put on display in the littlest of ways, like tying someone's shoe, that you are an active participant in the lives that we live, that it is not just a Sunday morning kind of a thing, and I called my wife and I was like I am not this good of a person, but what God is putting on display is he has yet to stop working on me and making me like the very savior whom I love.
Speaker 4:The second thing that I think we must notice from this passage is faith is not just believing forward, but believing backward as well, and I'll prove it to you right now. If you are a kid in this room and you are excited about Christmas day, raise your hand. If you're a kid in this room and you're excited about Christmas day, raise your hand. Okay, Y'all can put your hands down. Any adults in the room want to guess why? I'm not going to make them say it, and church, because we're supposed to be giving people, but I can tell you why. Most of the children are excited about Christmas day. Most of them are excited about receiving a gift. Is that fair to say? Kids are all excited about getting presents on Christmas. Yes, Okay, Thank you for being honest. I appreciate that. It's one of the beautiful things about children, but do you know why they're excited about this Christmas? Because they had one a year ago and they had one a year before that, and they had one a year before that. And this is one of the things about faith, adults, that I do not want you to miss so often. We believe that faith in God is about us having trust for what is coming on Tuesday or what is coming in the next business cycle, or what is coming in the next business cycle or what is coming in that next conversation we have with that person. God, I need faith for. I need faith for. But do you realize? Most of the scriptures that you are going to read is in the past tense. You can grab some stuff in Daniel, you can look in Revelation, you can look at some kingdom promises in the New Testament, but most of what you are going to read in this book is pointing backwards in your life. Why does God do that? Because it is not just about you having faith for something, it's about you having faith from something. And every one of these kids looks over their left shoulder at the Christmas before and the Christmas before and the Christmas before and they say I've got a very good reason to be excited about what's coming three days from now. Adults, should we be any different? Should we not be able to look back over our left shoulder and say look at how God was faithful in this difficult thing. Look at this unexpected blessing that God brought into our life. Look at this answered prayer and this answered prayer. Should we not be able to look backwards, that our faith would grow, that we would look forward as well. Faith is not only forward facing, it is backward facing as well, and one of my favorite passages is actually this one that Mary would wrap Jesus in swaddling cloths and lie him in a manger. But I don't wanna tell you why that's one of my favorites.
Speaker 4:For another moment, have you taken time to look back at a hard season long after you left it? Have you taken time to allow yourself to feel those feelings, Think those thoughts and say, God, you are so good and gracious that I'm sitting in church today with a Bible on my lap? Can you look back at the good times and remember to give him praise? Christians, I will just tell you, I think some of us want to have more faith, and we think the way to have faith is to read our Bibles more and pray more. That is not wrong, but one of the greatest ways that you can increase your faith is write down God's faithful things throughout your life. His people did this all over.
Speaker 4:In the Old Testament. They were called Ebenezers stacks of stones, and as they walked by with their children, God said when your kids say, why are these stones here? You will be able to say because our God fill in the blank. You ought to have in your life written in the back of your Bible, saved on a note in your phone, displayed in a picture frame in your home, how God has been faithful to you. And one of the greatest exercises you can do as a family, as singles, with your roommates, as new year is approaching is sit down at a table with food in front of you and look across the table at whoever is there. And if you're by yourself, look across the table at God, who is there with you in spirit, and say how has God been faithful to me this year? And get it on paper and then don't toss it, Put it on the fridge, put it on the mirror. Let that previous faithfulness propel you into faith for tomorrow. These four weeks of Advent should be to us a promise that God's going to be faithful in the next 48. That's what these four weeks of Advent should be for us every single year. If we can remember these promises of old, I know in the next 48, God is going to be good, he's going to fulfill what he said he would do.
Speaker 4:And I want to show you one other passage of scripture from Matthew 2 to drive this point home. All right, kiddos, if y'all can see the screen three times, we're going to be looking for a phrase, and that phrase is as the Lord had spoken, or as the Lord had said. So see, if you are able to find it, as I read Now. When they had departed, that, by the way, would be the wise men In Matthew, chapter two. The wise men had just left.
Speaker 4:Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and he said rise, take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt. Remember, every movement is on purpose. Here and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him. And he rose and he took the child and his mother by night and departed to Egypt, and he remained there until the death of Herod. Here you go. Here's number one. This was to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet Out of Egypt I call my son, by the way, in case you're curious. That's the prophet Hosea.
Speaker 4:Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious and dot, dot dot. I'm not gonna tell you everything that Herod did because of our mixed audience. If you need something for your Bible reading plan. Go ahead and just finish this. Just know that it's not a very Christmassy passage and it is not a white Christmas. It is a different color. And that is still picking up on verse 17,. After Herod does this then was fulfilled I'm sorry, stuff's breaking. There we go. Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah. So already Hosea's hopped in on this, Jeremiah's hopped in on this.
Speaker 4:I'd like to show you one more. When Herod died, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt saying rise, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, For those who sought the child's life are dead. That was a message from an angel, and he rose and he took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. And, being warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee and he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, in the sticks branch fill, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled. This is likely out of Isaiah, which I just misspelled. Sorry, I do read my Bible, All right.
Speaker 4:Why am I pointing this out for you? Because God's word wants you to realize this. This is God saying hey, I told you this was gonna happen. I told you through Jeremiah this was gonna happen. I told you through Hosea this was gonna happen. Now look, you had to wait a couple hundred years to see the whole thing play out. I told you through Isaiah this whole thing was going to happen. The other thing that I would just simply point out when God is speaking in angels and God is speaking in dreams, I absolutely love this.
Speaker 4:Why didn't the angel just show up and tell Joseph hey, you're going to go to Nazareth. No, he says, you're going to go to Israel. He gives him this big movement to make and then, as he's getting to Israel and he sees Archelaus, who would not be very warm towards toddler Jesus, he says oh my gosh, how can this be the thing? And in a dream, God redirects in a minor way. This is specifically where I want you to go. Do you know how amazing that is? Do you know how amazing it is that God would show up to tell him? I want you to drive from this state to that state and as soon as he crosses the state lines and he says this doesn't look like a really good place In a dream, he says yes, but in this state I want you to go to this specific city.
Speaker 4:Do you know what this tells me? This tells me that God is a good enough shepherd to give you big movements to make, while simultaneously speaking into the very small realities of your life. This is the grandeur and the size and the majesty and the scope and the precise accuracy of a God who knows all things. And I pause here to say this to you Adults I'm looking mostly at you in this moment. Some of you have big movements you need to make, Big movements of faith, big movements of forgiveness, big movements of confession. And some of you have small movements you need to make. If you are breathing, you have not graduated from movement when God is in the picture, so maybe you don't have any big movements to make. Maybe you look at your life and you're like, honestly, I'm kind of humming along. I love the Lord, I'm trying to be faithful to the things that he has put in my hands work, family, children, life, et cetera, and so on. Yes, and there are small movements that the spirit of God still wants you to make, to put you more into the image of Christ.
Speaker 4:Three times, going back, three times, the text says I told you this was happening. Hosea Told you this was happening. Jeremiah, I told you this was going to happen. Isaiah why? Because, when it comes to Jesus's advent, eight prophecies were given to us. Eight of them. We were told in Isaiah 7 that he would be born of a virgin. That happens in Matthew 1. In Micah 2, we're told he'll be born in Bethlehem. That happens in Matthew 2. He would be a descendant of David from Jeremiah, which Luke shows us, and that a star would be a sign From all the way back in Numbers happens in Matthew 2. But he doesn't stop there. He's going to be worshipped by kings. May the kings of Tarshish and distant shores bring tribute to him. I don't know, Maybe it would be stuff like gold and frankincense and Myrrh, yeah. Except they knew that all the way back in the Psalms before it happened, even though we wouldn't see it until Matthew 2. He'd be called out of Egypt, which I just read to you. Herod would attempt to destroy him in Jeremiah. And he would be born in humility, where we see in Isaiah, Do you realize these eight prophecies are?
Speaker 4:There was a guy I wrote his name down, Give me a second. In Peter Stoner's book Science Speaks. He did the math on the statistical likelihood of a child being born and all eight of these Advent prophecies happening for them. And it was 10 to the 17th power, which means kids. You'd have to fill up the prayer sheet with zeros for you to understand how likely it was for this to randomly happen. So he said if you wanna understand how to picture it I love this. Heard this when I was in college. He said take the state of Texas and then start throwing silver dollars in it. And I want you to fill up the state of Texas two feet deep with silver dollars. Then grab some random guy, put a blindfold on him, put an X on one silver dollar, toss it into Texas. Toss the guy into Texas, ask him to pick one. If he picks the one with the X, that's the likelihood of this happening just by happenstance. And do you want to know what's way cooler than that? This is eight prophecies.
Speaker 4:Anybody want to guess how many prophecies Jesus fulfilled in his life here on earth? Just throw out a number. Okay, Don't ruin the thing. I hate it when people are like 8 million and I'm like why do you do that? Why do you do that? We're starting at eight. Be reasonable, All right.
Speaker 4:How many prophecies? Somebody just throw out a number. All right, we're going to go with 140. Nope More, All right? Okay, stop with that. All right, Somewhere between 300 to 500 prophecies, depending on whether you're not. Is that a one or is that a two, I don't know? Okay, Three to 500 prophecies Jesus fulfilled just by being who God sent him and called him to be. The entire life of Christ was a fulfillment of prophecy, from his birth to his death, and it reminds us that God's promises never fail. Why so many prophecies? Why doesn't even matter, Because the way in which Jesus came shows us God will do what he says he will do, and they knew this. Please pay attention to this because they took the time to open the scroll and read it.
Speaker 4:The wise men showed up because these pagan astrologers read the book of Numbers, wanting to understand the wisdom of the world in their day and age. If you want to be well-led by God, if you want to have a well-lived life in the world that he created, you must know him, and the best way to know God is by picking up the word that he has given to us, and one of the easiest things you can do is spend the next seven days figuring out how am I going to read my Bible in 2025? We have Bible reading plans for you. They have tons of great ones online for you to sign up to. But when we do that, we remember the promises of God. Kids, there are promises in the Bible like I will never leave you or forsake you when you feel alone or scared and, by the way, adults feel that way too Come to me all who labor and are heavy laden. That is a promise I need constantly. The Lord is my shepherd, not just a shepherd. If I confess my sins, he is faithful to forgive them. Last thing that I wanna show you today is one more place to look back in faith so that you can look forward, and I pointed to it a minute ago, but I told you I wasn't gonna tell you exactly what it was. This is the last thing that I would have you fix in your nativity. She wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger.
Speaker 4:Step seven For those of you who have been trying to fix your nativity. This is the last one I've got for you. Get a manger that is made out of stone. Get a manger that is made out of stone. All those hands that went up in our manger building crew, I guarantee you used wood and I bet you 20 bucks you'd take two pieces of wood and you made an X and then you filled in the trough, because that's how every manger looks that we have ever put on a stage. Except in Bethlehem, wood was not a very prominent thing and most of the homes were carved into caves, which means the lower level of those things probably had a manger, a feeding trough for an animal that was carved into stone. It would never wear out like wood would. It would never rot. So when you brought the animals in, you would go to the back wall of the house where a carpenter which, by the way, is not just somebody who works with wood but is an artisan with their hands, where a carpenter would have gone and carved into the wall of the home a manger to put food for the animals.
Speaker 4:Can I tell you why I think this is beautiful? I think this is most beautiful and my absolute favorite fix, Because when Mary wrapped him in cloth and laid him in stone. Jesus breathed his first breath on earth wrapped in cloth and laid in a stone and he would breathe his last and be wrapped in cloth and laid in a stone. And I find God's precise, perfect storytelling compelling that from the first time Mary likely laid him down, God said do you see the story? Can you see what I'm telling you? Now? Look, you don't have faith to see this forward yet, but one day you're gonna look back and you're gonna see that my son came. He was life in the most dead places. He was a ruler that you never would have expected but absolutely needed, and he would sacrificially come. He would break his body that your soul could receive nourishment. And on day one I wrapped him in cloth and I laid him in stone. And 33 long, hard ministry years later he would be wrapped in cloth and he would be laid in a stone.
Speaker 4:Because this story that I am telling you has been prepared for all time. I was not surprised when Adam and Eve flubbed it and I am not surprised when you flub it. I have made a way in my own son for you to come. God knows what he's doing long before we see it and the things that don't make sense in your life. One day will I want them to make sense from the perspective of heaven, not the perspective of torment. Oh, I wish I would have seen it, I wish I would have known. No, I want you to get to heaven and I want you to look back and say God, all of these things that I thought were coincidences and mistakes and unexpected happenstances and, honestly, things that weren't supposed to happen, Every one of them was dominoes in God's beautiful story of showing me his love and his care for me.
Speaker 4:You can trust God with yesterday, you can trust him with today and you can trust him with tomorrow. That's what saving faith is, and if you're in this room and you're not a Christian and you're like, that's pretty compelling. I want to follow a God who knows my life. That way, here is. It is as simple as this. Trust God with your past. He promises he will forgive you for every wrong ill. Trust God with your present. He promises his spirit will be with you to empower you to live the life he calls you to. And trust God with your future. He promises that he will bring you all the way home, to a much greater home than you will ever find here. That is what believing in Jesus is all about. Whether I look down at where I am, where I have come from or where I am going, I see Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. That is the gift of Christmas. That is what Christmas is all about, and that is why we worship him today, tomorrow and forever. So may our Christmases not only be forward-facing get excited. May they be backward-facing as well, as we realize what God has called us from and ultimately calls us to.
Speaker 4:If you guys would go ahead and stand, we are going to respond in song, but there are a couple other ways that you can respond as well. If you would like to receive prayer, I'll be over on this. Actually, Greg, will you take that side, Do you mind? Greg will be over on that side. Thomas and I will be over on this side. It can be prayer for anything. It could be prayer because you need to make a big decision. It could be prayer because you need to make a small one. It could just be prayer because you want to praise God for what he's done as an Ebenezer of his faithfulness. But make sure that, before we leave this place, you do business with God. Let's worship him together.