How God Encourages Us Through Other Believers

God never intended us to follow Him alone. In this message from Luke 1, Pastor Chris Teien explores the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth and shows how God uses other believers to strengthen our faith, encourage us during difficult seasons, and prepare us for His purposes.

Throughout Scripture, God brings people together at just the right time. As we receive encouragement from mature believers, rely on the Holy Spirit, remember God's faithfulness, and invest in the lives of others, we experience the joy that comes from walking together in Christ.

In This Message: 

1. God Often Sends Encouragement at the Right Time

Mary's visit to Elizabeth was not an accident. God brought two faithful women together so they could encourage one another and confidently embrace His plan for their lives. (Luke 1:39-45; Luke 1:36)

2. The Holy Spirit Strengthens and Encourages Believers

Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke words of truth and encouragement to Mary. The same Holy Spirit empowers believers today to strengthen, comfort, and build up one another. (Luke 1:41-45; Ephesians 5:18; Acts 1:8)

3. Remember God's Faithfulness in Every Season

Elizabeth reminded Mary that God always keeps His promises. Looking back on God's faithfulness gives us confidence to trust Him with whatever lies ahead. (Luke 1:45; Romans 15:13)

4. Worship God for His Grace and His Plan

Mary responded to God's goodness with joyful praise and humble worship. Gratitude grows as we recognize God's grace and trust His perfect plan for our lives. (Luke 1:46-55; Psalm 103:1-5)

5. Become an Encourager in Someone Else's Life

Just as Elizabeth invested in Mary, God calls believers to encourage, disciple, and strengthen others in their walk with Christ. We never know how God may use our words and example to prepare someone for His purposes. (Hebrews 10:24-25; Ephesians 4:29)

Takeaway

Ask God to use you as an encourager. Be available to strengthen someone's faith, point them to Christ, and help them confidently follow God's calling for their life.

Illustrations

• Mary and Elizabeth demonstrate how God often provides encouragement through faithful relationships during life's most uncertain seasons.

• Moses and Aaron, Elijah and Elisha, Esther and Mordecai, and Priscilla and Aquila remind us that God frequently accomplishes His work through people serving together.

• The story of planting a church illustrates how God faithfully provides the right people at the right time to accomplish His purposes.

Key Quotes

"God often sends the right person at the right time."

"The Holy Spirit empowers believers to encourage one another."

"You may be the encouragement someone else has been praying for."

Search Topics

Luke 1, Mary and Elizabeth, encouragement, Holy Spirit, Christian friendship, discipleship, Christmas, spiritual growth, Christian community, Pastor Chris Teien

Full Episode & Transcript:

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2285086/episodes/18314232

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Helping you apply God's Word and follow Jesus in everyday life. Learn more at ChrisTeien.com and Rockwell.church  Find episode transcripts at Well.faith 

Transcript

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Chris T 0:16

Joy when you need encouragement. Joy when you need encouragement. I was trying to find something that really spoke to my heart and maybe would speak to yours when it comes to the Christmas story, because we all know the Christmas story. We've heard it many times, and we know the basic parts of it. But have you ever really thought what was going on between Elizabeth and Mary and why Mary would travel such a long distance to go hang out with Elizabeth for a bit, and what that was all about? It's interesting to think about, and that's what I wanted to talk about today, because they were both given a great plan, a great opportunity, a great purpose. So Elizabeth, in her old age, was going to have John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus, and Mary in her young life was told that she was going to give birth to the Savior, that she was going to give birth to Jesus, and she had no man for her to be pregnant. And you had an older woman who was delighted that her mess was finally coming to an end, her disgrace for not having a child, and you had a young woman who was looking at the future, trusting in what the angel said, and trusting God and being willing, but knowing that whole thing was going to be a mess because that was not socially acceptable in her time. How was she going to explain that to her parents or anyone else? This whole idea of a virgin conceiving a baby by the Holy Spirit wasn't a thought on anybody's mind back then. That was not in anybody's Christmas story. And so just think about what that was like back then. For both of them, they had their issues and they had their struggles even into the future. I mean, Mary and her young age, she's like, I am supposed to be the mother of the Savior of the world. I'm supposed to be the mother of the Messiah. That's a big burden. And Elizabeth is like, finally, I get to have a child. But the scripture points out that they were well along in years. Luke says they were old. And so how long would they live? What kind of energy would they have to chase after this child and all of this to be thinking about? And I think that's true in our life too. I think that we come to certain seasons in our life, or there's just different times in life when we really don't know what the future holds. We pray that God would help us with a problem that we struggle with, or a sickness, or a family issue, or all of those different things. And we look back and we just wish that God would set us free so that we could have joy, so that we could. Joy is more than just happiness. Joy is a contentment that God is in control. God has got it together. God is gonna get me through this, and God has a purpose for my life. But when we think about all of the difficulties, we think about the future. We think about the future, we wonder how we're gonna we're gonna get through. And sometimes God can use that fear as a perfect season for people to come to Jesus. In the midst of fear and not knowing what comes next and not knowing how they're going to get through, people will give their lives to Jesus and follow him. And if you can help somebody to enter into an eternal relationship with Jesus, then they will overcome the world. They will be assured heaven, they will be guaranteed eternal life. And so these two women in this story have been given a great opportunity to set the foundation for everything that would become meaningful to us, even the foundation of our nation, to think about how John the Baptist was a forerunner for Jesus and how he proclaimed righteousness and the life that he lived. But all of the trouble that he and his parents endured, and to think about Mary, who was just a young teenager, who didn't have a whole lot of life experience, didn't even have a husband at the time, to be willing to bring Jesus into the world so that he could be sinless, not with a human father, not with the seed of a man, and to be able to carry that out, to be able to live that out, to be able to suffer the shame and to be trusting God with the future. And it always amazes me how in scripture, as all these things are going on in Mary's life, as she watches Jesus do these things and good times and bad, that she treasured up these things in her heart, that she pondered them, that she just sat back and said, Okay, I guess this is what God is doing. I guess this is the plan. I guess this is the way it's supposed to be, from birth and from the shepherds showing up and saying, Hey, some angels showed up to us and told us that the Savior was here and told us to come see it, and here we are, and then the wise men showing up, and just the things in the Christmas story all coming together to have that celebration time, and then fast-forwarded all the way to when Jesus is being crucified on the cross for our sins. He planned to go there, he wasn't taken by surprise, but he came to die on that cross and he knew he would rise again. He took on our sin so that we could be forgiven in the in exchange. We get his righteousness, and that is the part of the Christmas story that is transformational in our life is that we can be born again, we can be made right, we can be adopted as child, children of God, we can be assured of heaven, we received the Holy Spirit to live the Christian life, and all of those things are exciting. So just think about what you know about the Christmas story. Think about what you know about what you've read and heard in the past, and think about what Elizabeth and Mary needed to know to have the confidence to move through. So I'm gonna show a video here right now. Just show this video.

SPEAKER_01 6:04

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be withchild from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resembled to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, you not fear to take Mary as your wife. For that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. He took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a summit for you. You will find a baby wrapped in swelling clouds and humming in a manger. Suddenly there was with the angeling multitude of the heavenly host breathing common and saying common in the heights.

Chris T 8:37

Joy grows when we share life with each other. So the scripture passage, Luke chapter 1, verse 39, after Mary hears about this. A few days later, Mary hurried to the hill country of Judea, to the town where Zechariah lived. She entered the house and greeted Elizabeth. At the sound of Mary's greeting, Elizabeth's child leaped within her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. So to think about, Mary finds this out. We don't know anything about Mary's parents. We don't know how supportive they would have been of this whole thing. We don't know if she even told them. All we know is that scripture points out that Elizabeth was a relative, was a cousin of some kind. And so it appears that Mary went on a trip by her own. One commentator said it was like 70 miles or something like that. But to uh go and to leave her home and everything and say, I'm gonna go stay with Elizabeth. She's I hear she's old and she's having a baby, and maybe I can be helpful or whatever. But God wanted Mary, young Mary, to go to be with Elizabeth old Elizabeth, who was a priest's wife, who had probably a lot of knowledge and wisdom. So Mary was able to piece together very quickly that once she started to show, once people found out that she was pregnant, there could be a lot of troubles. So in that culture, betrothal, and she would be was betrothed to Joseph, was legally binding. So the if she became pregnant in that period and it wasn't Joseph's, then she was automatically considered adultery. And to say when angel appeared to me, they would probably just think that she was crazy. And she feared that she might lose Joseph because he wouldn't understand. And so no one really knows how old Joseph was. So some say Mary's probably somewhere between 13 and 16 or so. And Joseph, if he's able to enter into betrothal and support a family, maybe he's like in his late teens, early twenties. Some make him out to be a lot older, but that's not necessary. So think about a young couple. Think about the girl of your dreams that you're planning on marrying, all of a sudden shows up pregnant. And so that's a problem. So from a legal standpoint, while it was possible, probably unlikely, but possible, they could stone her for being an adulteress or at least ridicule her, lots of public shame, and even shame her parents who lived in a small town. And as I mentioned before, that Mary is going to carry, protect, and raise the Son of God is overwhelming. So I think that any mother, they're already thinking about how they want to do everything they can to make sure that they are good parents. But how in the world could you be that perfect of a parent? But yet she wholeheartedly chooses God. And I asked myself, why did God have her go to Elizabeth's instead of her mother? Why didn't Mary go talk to her mom about this? And like I said, don't know anything about her parents. But I do know that Elizabeth is six months along with a miracle baby herself. As I mentioned in the last message, that Zechariah found out while he was serving in the temple from the angel that they were going to have a baby, and this baby is on the way. And so Elizabeth is quite familiar with angels and miraculous things happening. So she understands miracles. And in this passage, it says that Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. Now I mentioned before that when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we all receive the Holy Spirit. We can yield our lives to the Holy Spirit. We can be filled with the Spirit. So if you're truly in Christ, you have this Holy Spirit, but you can have the Holy Spirit empowering you more. You can do everything you can to confess any known sin and to not quench the spirit, but to keep moving forward in the power of the Holy Spirit. And Elizabeth has the Holy Spirit, and I'm going to talk more about that in a minute. But Elizabeth is older, wiser, and godly. Luke 1 6 says she and Zechariah were righteous and obedient, and Mary could learn from this older woman's faith. So Elizabeth's pregnancy validates Mary's. Luke 136 mentions that Elizabeth's miracle is the sign God gives Mary. So if God could do that, then God could do what he promised Mary. And we see that at the sound of Mary's greeting, Elizabeth's child left with her. John the Baptist took notice, and that was a sign. It was a sign that God was up to something. So Mary didn't have to tell Elizabeth what was going on. Elizabeth already knew that Mary was carrying her Savior, the Messiah. And God intentionally puts them together. So Mary doesn't go to Elizabeth because she's running away. She goes to Elizabeth because God wants her to run to a source of encouragement, to a sense, to a source of hope, to a source of information to help her to be equipped, to have the knowledge, to have the foundation for all that she's going to face in the future. We know that Mary is a humble and righteous girl, but to be able to have some theological training based on what you're going to get into, carrying the Messiah of the world, is a very helpful thing. It gives great confidence, it gives great help. And so Elizabeth was someone who was brokenhearted because she went through her whole life wanting so badly to have a child, and she wasn't able to. And when she finally was able to, it brought her joy. And so to put those two broken people together and to have them care for each other, to have them humbly submit to one another, think about it. If Elizabeth was selfish, she could have said, wait, this is so unfair. Why am I carrying the forerunner to the Messiah when I should be carrying the Messiah because I'm older, more experienced, and my husband's a priest. But instead, she, in her submissiveness to the whole thing, realized that God had chosen Mary and was going to celebrate with Mary, was going to delight with Mary and all of those other things. Another question they had of the text over the week that I was wondering about is that if Elizabeth and Mary got together before John the Baptist was born and they had that connection and they were relatives, how come John the Baptist and Jesus didn't hang out together when they were young? But if you look further on in the passage, you'll realize that Herod set out to kill all the children. And that's why Jesus had to go to Egypt. So Mary and Joseph were warned that Herod was killing all the babies, so they fled to Egypt. And so some say that is what pushed John the Baptist into the wilderness, into hiding. And some commentators point out that, as it was mentioned before, that John the Baptist's parents were really old. And so therefore they probably died sometime in John the Baptist's youth. God had his hand on him. And so all of that to ponder. Sometimes I think the best thing you can do when you come to the Christmas story, two things actually, is one, to ponder and ask a lot of questions of the text. You don't have to make stuff up, but it's just interesting to wonder. I wonder what it was like. I wonder what Mary was thinking. How did that all work out? So that's the first thing is to ask questions and see what you come up with for good, solid answers, because it's a good way to learn and it's also a good way to be enter into conversations with people when it comes to Christmas time. Because like I said, a lot of people have already heard the message. Sometimes people have heard the wrong message, but when we can share the message. And the other thing is when you hear the message over and over again, and I mentioned this in Sunday school class today, is that think about how is this person telling the story? How could I tell this story? What could I do to be better at presenting this message? What could I do to be better at pre- asking the questions that people around me might be interested in discussing? What can I do to be a better ambassador for Christ, a minister of reconciliation? How can I better tell the gospel story? But I want to think about God putting people together. It seems to be a common theme in the Bible. So I remember when Moses was at the burning bush and God is saying, Hey, Moses, you got to go back to Egypt and set my people free. And he's like, No, man, I'm not good at speaking. I'm slow of speech. I don't know what that meant. I don't know if that meant you stuttered or what. But he's like, send someone, someone, send someone else. And he's like, you know what? I am sending someone else. I'm sending Aaron to help you. So I'm sending Aaron and he is going to help you. And the two of you are going to go to Egypt and work my plan. And when you think about the Bible, you know, you have Elijah, and God sent him Elisha to encourage. So Elisha encouraged old Elijah, and also Elijah trained up Elisha, so Elisha could take over. So Queen Esther had Uncle Mordecai. And so Mordecai, he could see the big picture, he could see the strategy, he could see the plan. Esther had the personality and the beauty and the opportunities, and the two of them work together. And it's beautiful to read that. So Daniel had Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. So Nehemiah and Ezra work together. So Nehemiah came back and said, I'm going to help you build the wall. And Ezra said, While you're building the wall, I'm going to help people to restart worship. And we're going to work together. So Priscilla and Aquila helped Apollos. So many that we could talk about. So Jesus had his disciples, but he also had Peter, James, and John, the inner three. Jesus had friends too. And so many times when God calls you to something, so many times when God calls you to do a new thing, he will send someone to come with you. He will send someone to help you. So just real quick, I know that you you know this, but years ago I left Chisholm Baptist to go plant a church in this town. We didn't know anybody, there wasn't anybody, no contacts, nothing. And so I was sent, somebody gave me a phone number to call these people that had some music equipment to donate. Because when you plant a church, you're looking for donations of everything. You're looking for money and resources and guitars and amps and pianos and whatever else. And so I was told to go visit this couple in Waconia. So I showed up at their door and I said that I'm from this church we want to get started in this town. And heard you had some musical equipment. And this lady is, tell me more about the church. And I told her, and I said, But we don't want to steal you from your other church. And she said, Should I be offended that you just said you don't want me? And I'm like, no, no, I just don't want your pastor to be mad at me that I stole somebody. And so I told them about the church. And I guess these people had been trained up to be missionaries, but hadn't actually gone out on the field, but were serving in their church and were musical and had lots of skills and gifts. And it turns out that not only did they come with us, but they sold their house and they built a house in the community that we were trying to reach. And they served alongside of us for 20 years as an elder, as a friend, as people that were really important to get it done. So God sent my wife and I, my family to this town to plant a church, but he also sent other people to get involved and just the way we came up with people and the friends that we met along the way. And as I look back on my life, I see all of these different times where God has sent people for short term or long term to help me, to get the resources, to get the training, to help me hear the insight, or to help me get the perspective, or to give me some kind of wisdom or caution or warning or something like that. And sometimes they're with us, with me for a long time, and sometimes they're for a short time. And the same thing is true of Mary. Elizabeth wasn't around for a really long time in her life, but it was a foundational time that she was around. And think about could you be that kind of person? What could you do to encourage somebody around you? Who needs to hear your testimony? Who needs to hear your message? Who needs to hear your encouragement? Who can you impart your skills to? Who can you help to become more godly? Who can you help to grow in their knowledge and power of the word, to understand God's word and to share it with others, to put it into practice? What is it that you have that someone else needs? Who could God send to you if you were willing and available? All of those things. Now, let me just focus on the Holy Spirit for a minute. So Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. So we can be filled with the Holy Spirit. And the Spirit opened Mary's eyes to what God was doing, opened Elizabeth's eyes to what God was doing. So I don't think the text says that Mary was filled with the Holy Spirit, but when she sings her song that we might look at if we have time, that obviously the Holy Spirit is on her and has been on her to bring in Jesus into her womb. But the Spirit was at work. The Spirit was empowering life-giving words. The Spirit was there to help Elizabeth to know what to say about the past history of God in this plan and the future prophecy of God in this plan and the way that God works. And when we have the Holy Spirit, it can help us too to understand Scripture and to be more effective at proclaiming his word and teaching and carrying out his ways using his gifts. So Ephesians 1 13 says, when you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit. So that means that everybody who has believed in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior has received the Holy Spirit. But Ephesians 5.18 says, Don't get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, to be filled, to have more of the Holy Spirit, to have the Spirit flowing through you, to have the Spirit overflowing. I like what D.L. Moody said years ago. He was a great preacher, so an amazing man really. I heard that he could, in Chicago, he could stand in the streets and with just his voice, without amplification, that he could preach to 20,000 people. I don't, my voice isn't that loud, and if it was, it wouldn't last very long. But an amazing man of God. And he said, I constantly need to be filled because I'm a cracked pot. Is what he said. He knew that he needed to constantly be filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus says in Luke 11, 13, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him, and to ask the Holy Spirit to fill you, to confess, sin you know, and sin, to ask the Holy Spirit to empower you and use you. Ephesians 4 29 says, Only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. So spirit-filled people become encouragers. We need to encourage each other in the Christian life. We need to help people move forward in the Christian life. We need to show grace and forgiveness and realize we're all in a process and we're all moving towards the same goal, glorifying Jesus and being with him forever. So Romans 15, 13 says, May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. So we're encouragers, but then the Holy Spirit can also help us to overflow with hope. So hope is the thing that helps us keep moving forward. Hope is the thing that helps us get out of bed in the morning, even when things aren't perfect. So we have hope that God can change circumstances. We have hope that God can get us through. We have hope that we are secure in Jesus forever. We have hope that when we get to the end of the difficulty in this life, we will be with Jesus without sickness, without sadness, without sorrow, and all of those things. So let the Holy Spirit use you to bring encouragement to others. Acts 9 31 says the church was strengthened and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, and we need to encourage each other and build each other up. And to know that God uses the Holy Spirit for us to grow the church, for us to make disciples, for us to reach others. Acts 1.8 says, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses. And I've said before, I think that power kicks in like a turbocharger, kicks in when you are when you have been faithful to show up. When you have been faithful to show up and you start to serve, I think that's when the Holy Spirit kicks in. When you started to share your faith with someone else, and maybe you're terrified, but I think that's when the Holy Spirit kicks in and helps you to have the words to say, helps you to know when to listen and when to speak, helps you to know how to guide the conversation. And maybe you can even be prepared in every way and carry maybe like a gospel Bible tract in your back pocket just in case someone comes to you and asks you questions about faith, or even asks you a great question. What must I do to be saved? Or how can I know Jesus like you say? To be prepared for that, to be filled with the Spirit, to be used by the Spirit, to have the fruit of the Spirit. So Elizabeth is filled with the Spirit, and she is investing, she is sharing, she is guiding, she is showing Mary the things of God, to train her up, to help her. And I think that if we have an opportunity for our kids and our grandkids and those younger people around us, that we should do everything we can to try to impart our wisdom and our knowledge. And so when we have a church that has people that are past empty nesters, when we have a church of empty nesters, we have a church of all ages. But when you have churches of empty nesters, a lot of times they say, Well, we're past the kids stage. Our grandkids come to visit and everything, but not this church, but other churches are like, well, we'll let someone else take care of the kids because that's a pretty big burden. But what if what if we were like, our mission is to do everything we can to help children to know Jesus so that they can spend a lifetime living for him and serving him. You know, if you it's supposedly it's a lot easier to lead a young person to Christ than it is an old person. But when an old person receives Jesus, that's great, because then they have a few years to experience the joy of the Lord and all of that. When a young person receives Jesus, they have their whole life ahead of them to live for Christ, to make an eternal difference, to follow his purposes, maybe even to give their life in full-time ministry as a minister, as a missionary, as a Christian teacher, or whatever else. So to just think about how God sent Mary to Elizabeth, and how Elizabeth was the person that she needed to build a foundation, to give the encouragement, to help her to have the confidence that she would need when she's going to have to stand against the world who accuses her of doing things that she didn't do, accuses her of being immoral, accuses her of all of these things, who thinks she's crazy, who doesn't believe her story. Or what if, what if it's the other way around, and that she knows this story, but she can't really tell anybody because nobody would believe her, but she has this amazing story and she has this joy and she has this future and she knows all these things, and she just she can't run around and tell everybody because they would reject her. That would be a tough thing, but she could tell Elizabeth, and maybe I was just thinking again, maybe it was somehow that Elizabeth and Mary somehow got together with Mary's parents and said, We want to talk to you about something and then explain these things. And instead of just young Mary, you know, oh Mary, you must be crazy, to have Elizabeth and Mary coming together and saying, Hey, we spent some time together and we want you to know that this is what's going on and this is what's gonna happen, and everything that they maybe that's what her parents needed to hear. Sometimes parents just jump to wrong conclusions. Sometimes parents aren't quick to listen. Sometimes parents think they have it all figured out when they don't. But moving on, joy flows when we remember God's faithfulness. Joy flows when we remember God's faithfulness. So, again, carrying on in the story, verse 42. Elizabeth gave a glad cry and exclaimed to Mary, God has blessed you above all women, and your child is blessed. Why am I so honored that the mother of my Lord should visit me? And again, so here's this Elizabeth's submission to Mary, realizing that Mary is carrying the savior of the world, the Messiah, that Elizabeth, Mary didn't even, she just Mary just walked to the door, and she doesn't even have to explain anything. And Elizabeth is like affirming her, and she knows what's going on, and she knows what God's plan is for her life, and she knows all these things, and she's like, You, because Mary, maybe she's so troubled and she's like, I don't, I'm so trusting God, but I am so afraid of what happens next. Like when you quit your job to follow Jesus in ministry, but to know that God is blessing Mary, that Mary is the one, and to for Mary to have that affirmation is such a good thing. And so as we read through the scripture, we see, as you continue to read to the book of Luke and stuff, we see how God works out his plan. We see how God helps and provides for Mary. We watched in the video how while Mary thought she might lose Joseph, that the angel showed up to Joseph and said, Don't be afraid to take Mary as your wife, even though he was thinking about divorcing her quietly. And so all of those things worked out. Sometimes we look back at what God has done and he gives us confidence for what God's gonna do in the future. Sometimes we look at the future and we have no idea of how anything good is gonna come out of the future, but then we see God at work and we're absolutely amazed at his guidance, at his provision, at his help, and the people he sends along the way. The people that he sends to encourage us, the people that he sends to help us accomplish his will. Numerous times people have done amazing things in my life to guide me. I was going to take a youth ministry seminar, I was gonna pay for a youth ministry seminar when I was still a volunteer in ministry, but I didn't know how to pay for it. And I didn't know if I should do it or not, I didn't know how to pay for it. And I think I mentioned it to somebody at work, and I didn't really say a whole lot about it. I just said, hey, is there a chance I could have a week off to go to this youth ministry seminar if I'm able to go? I'm not sure if I'm gonna go because it's expensive. And to my surprise, that person came back a little later and said, We used to support this missionary, but they're no longer on the missions field. So we have this extra money, so we want to give this money to you so that you'll go to that youth ministry seminar, so that you'll be able to take that week and be able to pay for that. Here's that money. And many times people have come up with blessings to give me the resources to move forward, and that's probably true in your life too. But anyway, this is what was said. And then finally, joy glows through worship and trust. Joy glows, and I'm not gonna spend a whole lot of time on this, but when God's at work in your life, when he's answering your prayers, when you're spending time in God's word, and even though your circumstances aren't perfect, you see how it's gonna work out in the future, you see how God has a plan, you see what God is doing in your life, then it causes you to want to praise him, to want to tell other people the amazing things that he has done. So we'll just read through this real quick here. But Mary responded, Oh, how my soul praises the Lord, how my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior. So this is Mary's magnificat. And she says, He shows mercy from generation to generation to all who fear him. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with empty hands. He has helped his servant Israel and remembers and remembered to be merciful. So to know that God had a plan to reach out and to praise God for what he is doing and the way that he is doing it is so exciting. And you can read more in that passage. As you read the Christmas story and as you share it with other people, I just want you to think about your part in God's plan, your part to make a difference, your part to be a friend. There's only so much time and so many relationships you can handle. But what if you could be a good friend to a particular person that God has put in your life so that you could help them be all that they could be? So Elizabeth's investment was in John the Baptist, he was the future. Mary's investment was in Jesus, he was the future. Who is it in your life that you can invest in because they're going to be the future? Let me pray. Jesus, I thank you for your word. I thank you for this time. I thank you for these people, I thank you for Christmas, where we have a chance to pause for a month and think about all the things of the Christmas story and your wonderful plan. I pray that if there's anybody here that doesn't know you as their Lord and Savior, that they would ask me about it before they leave here today. God, I pray that you would encourage us, empower us through your spirit, help us to be those good friends, and help us to invest in the lives of others for your good and glory, for our good and your glory in Jesus' name. Amen.