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So when I invite you to turn to Matthew chapter one and chapter two is where we’re going to be today, and we’re studying this idea this Christmas season together. Uh, and this Christmas season, if we’re not careful, somewhere along the way, Christmas becomes a lot about stuff. And that stuff, um, has a tendency to be nothing related to Jesus. Um, more to to analyze and secularize the idea of what Christmas is about. But this Christmas season, we want to make the most of what Christmas is to us as followers of Jesus. If we don’t celebrate what Christmas is about, then, then who else will? And it’s interesting when you look at the the stuff that we fill Christmas with that has nothing to do with Jesus. Yet surrounded in our lives. In this Christmas season, we partake of certain traditions that relates to as it relates to Christmas, that that were entirely designed to direct us back to Christ. And in fact, I think I mentioned last week we we placed a book on the information table here at church during the Christmas season that points to some of the things that that were designed as it relates to the Christmas holiday, for the purpose of pointing us to Jesus. If you’ve ever wondered to yourself, why in the world we got to be pulling this tree out at this time of year, dusting it off and putting some things on it and hey, what? What is that all about? Or these candy canes.
I don’t even like peppermint. Why gift giving? Why stockings? What does that have to do? There’s the traditions rooted in that, uh, start in their simplicity as it relates to Christ. And we want to make the most of the opportunities God has given to us and worship of him. And one of the things that we do as followers of God is just to recognize that God has come for us. God has come to this world to to rescue us. And that is what the Christmas story is about, that God desires to to be near to you, that you may relate to him and experience life in him, and that life would last for eternity because of what Jesus has done for you in this. This season highlights it for us and and not only just for us, but it really gives us an opportunity in the celebration of what Christmas is, to direct everyone’s attention to the beauty of who Christ is. Uh, rather than just white beards and red suits. Right. And so the point of, of, of this holiday and what it means for us is significant for us and the busyness of the season just to pause and allow our hearts to worship. And last week we talked about your Christmas gift. What Jesus gave to you for Christmas was his life. And what we have the opportunity to give back and response to God is our life.
What God desires for you this holiday season and every day. As you. Because God. This holiday season and every day offers himself to you. Worship is experienced in all sorts of ways. And we looked at last week in the Christmas story, the way Mary worshiped in the singing of a song and and the treasuring of the Christmas moment in in her heart and the way the wise men, they gave gifts and and the way the shepherds rejoiced, all of them worshiping in different ways. We even talked about the way Scripture talks, uh, about the lifting up of hands in response to God. But all of those acts of worship, what’s important in any of them and in all of them, is that behind those responses to God, what we’re truly offering is our heart expressed in various ways. The way that we give our gift to God is seen in the way that you offer yourself to the Lord. Because what God is after is your heart. God desires you. And this morning we’re going to look at this Christmas story one more time, but we’re going to consider just a few more characters. We’re going to look at the wise men again. And this morning we’re going to look at Joseph, and we’re going to just look at one of the things that prohibits us from offering the Christmas gift that God desires for us. As we noted last week in the Christmas story, all the people that responded and rejoicing and worship and singing and praising and giving to the Lord, there was a response of people that when it came to worshiping God, they, rather than enter into that worship, sort of stood back in the backdrop and wondered at what God was doing, but never completely engaged in the worship before the Lord.
And you see, uh, thoughts of this expressed throughout the Christmas story. Those who engage in the worship and those who who are sort of on the fence or, or just getting busy or caught up in the moment and, and they don’t quite give to God what God desires from them. And we look at one of the most popular figures in the Christmas story, the wise men give a sort of a backdrop of of how Christmas worship takes place. And we’re going to look at the story of Joseph and and the way that he wrestled with the Christmas story himself. But it says in Matthew chapter two and verse ten, this comes in the middle of the story of the wise men, the wise men. It tells us in the East they see the star, they head towards Israel, they end up in Jerusalem, and they come before King Herod. And they ask the question, where is the one who is the King of the Jews? Where is he that was born? We seen we saw his star that appeared.
We noted last week how in the book of numbers it tells, I think in chapter 24, that there would be one who would rise out of out of Israel, there would be a scepter, and there would be a star that would appear the scepter talking about his authority and ruling the star, symbolizing his coming. And when the the wise men finally see the star, they travel to Israel. They go before King Herod. They go to the place that the king rules. Because obviously, if you want to find a leader, you go to the place where the leader lives. And Herod is bewildered by the approach of the wise men. He has no idea what’s going on. He brings in the scribes and and the prominent figures of Israel. He tells them, where does it say that this king would be born? They go to the prophecies of Micah. They say he is to be born in Bethlehem. And the wise men leave from Jerusalem to Bethlehem to meet this one born King of the Jews. It tells us they get ready to leave in verse ten, this is what happens. The star appears again. It says this when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with with great joy. So the wise men have made this journey, and they’re looking forward to the worshiping of of the Lord. And they know now Bethlehem is just outside of Jerusalem. They’re so close they can taste it.
The star has appeared again. And the way that they express their heart’s desire in coming to see this Messiah, this word for exceeding great joy is the way that that Matthew records this. This idea is like, if you were just to think about it in your own terms today, maybe we’d say these these people are going bananas, right? They’re, they’re they’ve got this, this such joy that the word in the Greek is almost like this expression of a violent joy. This they just can’t contain it. They are they are erupting. They are exploding. And it and it carries this idea that it’s not it’s not just this momentary thought that they have like, that makes me happy. Wow. That’s great. You know, like my son now he he uses the word epic like it’s going out of style. Like everything can’t be that amazing, you know? But but when the disciples, when the disciples rejoiced, it’s this thought of this high intensity for a sustained period of time and this whole journey on the back of these two humped camels that they’re bouncing around on, all that they can think about in the midst of that is the excitement, this violent eruption of joy within their hearts to see this Messiah. Now, we we, we share a little bit about this last week. But when the wise men, by the time they arrived to see Jesus, it’s likely Jesus.
Jesus has been around on earth in flesh for a while. Some people have estimated that Jesus could have been up to two years old, which is why Herod when when he was jealous that there was another ruler that was supposedly born in this land. When he goes into Bethlehem, he he gives the order to to take the lives of children at two years of age and under. So Jesus was a little bit older at this point, likely when the wise men come in and visit Christ. And I don’t know about you, but maybe this is an expression of just how much excitement is in the hearts of the wise men. But I’ve got a two year old, right? And I can tell you in our house we do not worship him. In fact, we say things to our two year old and our oldest child who was once two. We’re thinking, man, if anyone just had a camera right now to hear some of the things that we’re saying to our kids, it’s like, it’s like embarrassing something like, stop eating your boogers. Like, that’s not. But the wise, the wise men, they come in and and they, they, they love the idea and the opportunity just to worship Christ so much that they’re bowing before a two year old. I think. King of the Jews. One of the reasons. We can just acknowledge the beauty of the worship that the wise men expresses.
The Bible tells us that when they come before Christ. The gift, right? They give to Christ, they give to the family. I think that the the giving that they give in honor of Jesus is actually what the family uses to move to Egypt. They give the gold and the frankincense and myrrh. Offering it to Christ. One of the ways that we know the wise men are genuine in their worship. It’s not that they’re just giving. I think it’s possible to give to what we say is to God, but not really have your heart in it, right? I think it’s very difficult, though. To give to God. With a heart that’s overjoyed, right? In fact, the Bible says God loves a cheerful giver. And that passage, when you look at it in the Greek, it literally means a hilarious giver, like they’re giving with such joy and that God loves that heart. And you see the genuineness of the worship of these wise men, not just in the fact that they give. But that in their giving they are overjoyed to do so because they they know what they’re experiencing in coming before this Christ. You know, it’s one thing to say. I love Jesus, right? Someone comes up to you and says, you know, you say you love Jesus. Cool. But what demonstrates it? Because truthfully, talk is cheap. But when you really love something. Love is willing to give itself away for the benefit of another.
And that’s what love is. It’s unconditional. It’s sacrificial. When it comes to worshiping Jesus, there are all kinds of ways to give to him. Mary, a young lady sings a song of praise. The shepherds rejoice and declare that Jesus is come before the town as they’re going to worship him. And the wise men give of their resources. But the attitude in which they expressed in the giving to God is demonstrating where their heart is in worship. Irrational generosity almost to the extent that they, they, they are giving themselves to this moment to honor the goodness of who God is because he has come in the flesh. It’s interesting though, when you back up just a little bit from the story in chapter one. Uh, I wish that I could say when it comes to the Christmas season, everyone is overjoyed with Christmas. But it’s not always the case. And it wasn’t even the case in the first century. I look at the story of of Mary and Joseph, and when I find out how Joseph is responding in the story, I think to myself, man, the Christmas almost not happened here. Like when Joseph first interacts with with finding out about Mary. It tells us in Matthew chapter one, this is how the story precedes the the wise men who come to worship. It says this in verse 18, 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 with child from the Holy Spirit.
And her husband, Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. The Bible doesn’t tell us between verse 18 and verse 19, I’m going to ad lib a little into the story. It doesn’t share exactly how that interaction went down with Mary and Joseph, but I can imagine it goes something like this. Now maybe. Maybe. Who knows? Bible tells us that Mary is with Elizabeth for a little bit and. And then she gets some time to respond to Joseph. Maybe Joseph hasn’t seen her in a while, and she comes walking in the room, and the next thing you know, she’s like, what? You know, like something different when you look at Joseph, like. And and Joseph looks at Mary and he’s just thinking, you know, the Bible doesn’t tell us, but if you just read the scripture, you think Mary just sits there silently like you figure it out, big boy. How’s this happening? Joseph’s looking at this moment like, what in the world is going on? But but, you know, Mary could have had an opportunity within these verse 18 and 19 just to sit down with Joseph and say, look, look, Joseph, I know this is a shock to you. But let me just let me just do a Bible study with you for just a minute.
I want to take you through some of the things that God’s pointed out to me. And I want to show you something, and I want you to know I am, um, conceived. I have conceived a child, but this is going to be a virgin birth. And Joseph’s like, okay. Yeah, yeah. Right. Mary. Well. And Mary opens up the Bible and she turns to Isaiah chapter seven and verse 14, A virgin shall conceive and give birth, or Isaiah chapter nine and verse six, unto us a child is born, and unto us a son is given. Like God gave this son, but the son is also born. And the way this son was to be born, the Savior Joseph was to be conceived by a virgin. And God picked me. Now, I don’t know about you, but maybe you’ve been in this predicament of Mary. Where? You’ve come to recognize who Jesus is. And you’ve got that person important to you that you first come to, and you’re just saying, man, the way God opened my eyes, I want him to open their eyes and you start opening up the Bible and you start to show them and and they just they don’t get it. And you’re thinking, why? I mean, I got this. How could you not get this? And and Joseph, he’s in that place in this story with Mary where where it tells us that Mary was conceived.
But when Joseph is saying Mary I in verse 19, I’m not having any of that. There’s no way that this has happened to us. I mean, you’re you’re very young and and I’m young and and to think that this would happen and but I, I love Joseph’s heart. Verse 19. Even though he may believe that. Mary has wronged him. And this honored their relationship. Bible tells us that or excuse me. History tells us that Joseph was completely in his right to bring this before Israel, and Mary could have been stoned. But in verse 19. Being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame. Joseph still wanted to honor Mary. He still cared about Mary. And so it tells us he resolved to divorce her quietly. But in verse 20. The story goes on. But as he considered these things. So Joseph is torn in his wrestling in his heart for the the love that he has for Mary, the way that he feels for her and how he wants to honor her. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. Saint Joseph, son of David. Do not fear to take Mary as your wife. For that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. The story goes a little bit further and explaining to us where Joseph’s concern is, and I think I think it resonates with what’s happened in the life of Mary.
But now Joseph is thinking even beyond the effects of his relationship with Mary. But how now their relationship will impact the society around them, right? And it tells us this, this response by what the advice is from the angel appears to Joseph. Joseph, do not be afraid. Or do not fear. To take Mary. As your wife. So Joseph in his mind now is starting to play out. You know this angel saying to me and confirming what what Mary has said that she is indeed with child, and it is a virgin birth, and God will become flesh and dwell among us. But now, now within Joseph’s mind, he begins to think about the repercussions because he himself was skeptical. Yeah, right. Mary. And now he looks out into the rest of Israel and he thinks, you know, if I’m skeptical and now and I love this young lady, and I didn’t want to trust in what she was saying, how how might the rest of society perceive us as we begin to explain this story to people? And what’s told to to to Joseph is do not be afraid. This word for fear. Is where we get the same word in English for phobia. Fear. I think for us as human beings, it’s one of those experiences in life that you can’t escape. Right. All of us have concerns in this world. All of us have certain fears in this world.
But but the reality is when when God says this to to Joseph or with his angel appears to Joseph, and he tells him, don’t be afraid, is that he’s acknowledging? Yes, there is fears. There are concerns that we carry in our heart, especially as we walk with the Lord and how people may respond to that and interact with that. But rather than give in to the fear. You can learn to manage it. To respond in a godly way in which gives God glory. So the truth is, when it came to Joseph experiencing the Christmas story. And walking with Mary in the days ahead. Fear could have stopped it. Fear could have limited him and experiencing his pursuit of life with God. The. There is difficulty for us to follow God’s leading and find security in him. When you’re more concerned with what’s going on around you, and rather you fear others more than you trust in God. In fact, if I were just to point out a verse to us, I think that’s significant in Scripture. I think Jesus shared this, this verse that sometimes we read this verse when we think about sin. But I think fear fits this perfectly in the sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter five and verse eight, Jesus said this blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. This word for pure. You know, we think sometimes, you know, that means just just not sinning.
As long as you’re just not sinning, then that’s what pure is. But this word for purity, it really means that you get away. You get from all of the encumbrances, all of the filth. You think about the refining of gold. You want to make it pure, you want to get everything out of there. But the gold itself, the gold is where the value is. And fear. Fear is one of those things. One of those experiences in life. That limit us from experiencing the goodness of God, right? Pursuing the purity of who he is. And rather than seeking after him. My concern for what others might think is more important. I’m afraid of the way I might be perceived. I’m afraid of the way others might react. I’m afraid of the difficulty of walking in life as young people. With this woman because. I don’t know how we’re going to be treated. And fear giving in to the fear. Takes away from the purity of experiencing God. Jesus, maybe even thinking about his relationship between his father and and mother, Joseph and Mary, or his earthly father, I should say at least. Was reminded that his dad over came this or his earthly father over came this. And he says, blessed are the pure in heart, for they they shall see God. So when you let fear win over following God. What we’re saying without even using words to express it, is that I believe the power of that which I fear is greater than the power of the God that I may claim to follow.
I. And what else is it? The opportunity to stand before God and then your your concern for what others might think. Overpowering that and rather than standing for him, you give in to that perception. It’s it’s fear. The Christmas story begins with this this journey of fear, this initial reaction of all this concern. But the Bible tells us in second Timothy one seven, God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of sound mind. And the story goes on in verse 21, she will bear a son, Joseph, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. And 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 is with us. I guess the good question for all of us in this morning looking at Joseph’s stories to say. How does one overcome it? And to to to say to us this morning that, that you can cast out all the fear that you might face. I think, um. Is a bit ignorant to the fact that we will continue to go through life, and there will be things that will challenge us in our relationship to God.
I’m not going to propose to you this morning that. Hey, I’ve got a method to cast out all fear, right? But I think what’s important this morning is to say. That regardless of the fear that you may face in pursuing God in your walk. Your God is bigger. Your God is bigger. God will call you to things in this world. And standing for him. And just like Joseph. You’re going to look at taking that first step and following after him. And you’re going to be reserved and you’re going to want to throw up red flags and you’re you’re going to want to worry about what others might think. And you’re going to might want to challenge the pursuit of your relationship with God. And, and those things will be real. And you may encounter those things in life. But here’s what’s more important than all of those things is that your God is bigger. I think the the Bible does a beautiful word way in expressing this to us. There’s a there is a solution that that really resonates beyond fear. And I think the Bible uses this firm refuge. In fact, in the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms, you see David expressing this repeatedly as he experiences adversity in his life, reasons that he might say he’s afraid. But this thought of God being a refuge was important to him. And I’ll talk about how to how to take refuge in God in just a moment.
But listen to this in Psalm 61 and verse three. This is where it comes from. For you have been my refuge, talking to God, a strong tower against the foe. God had become his refuge. God was bigger than those around or the pressures around. What does it mean to take refuge? I think we have. We naturally do this as people. We naturally take refuge in things. Well, sometimes in fear, we may actually take refuge in people’s opinions of us more than the Lord. But since a child, you’ve been taking refuge. Let me give you an illustration. You know, as a kid, you ever you ever played that game with yourself at night where you know that there’s something living in your closet and probably under your bed, right? And then all of a sudden, you’ve developed this rule in your head that as long as you stay tucked under the covers, everything’s okay. But the minute one of those arms crosses the the boundary line of the bed, right, that is free game for what’s ever underneath to come up and suck that arm off. Right. So, so for you that night, you take refuge in your bed playing the game of the boundary of I’m not moving because of the monster under my bed. I remember when I was a, a young kid, my my mom was worried about me when I was little because because all my, my, my mom’s, my aunts and uncles, they all had kids, but they were all girls, man.
I was like, I was like stuck in in Barbie or whatever you want to call it. So. So my mom concerned with me when I was a little kid. I would go out and I’d play in the dirt and I just wouldn’t. I would just play by myself because all my relatives were girls. And sometimes I’d meet boys outside and we’d play together and stuff. But. But I started watching this commercial when I was a little kid. It was. It was this doll that came out. It was my buddy. Right? And I remember that stinking song. My buddy, my buddy. Wherever he goes, you’re gonna go, you know, just over my head. And so I started singing it. So my mom got this bright idea. She’s going to buy me a my buddy doll because I. And the picture shows you pulling your little red wagon with my buddy everywhere you go, right. So. So she got me this, my buddy doll like this. That was going to replace, like, a human person, but so. So now I’m a kid carrying a doll, and it’s better off with the Barbies, but so, so. So my mom’s got me this, my buddy doll, and I’m running. I’m running around with it. And. But this unfortunate thing happened before my buddy came to my house to stay and be my friend.
Um, I happen to see at a young age lots of horror movies. And well, at that time there was a movie that came out called Child’s Play, and there is this strong resemblance between my buddy and and Chucky. Right. And, and I would say, I remember at night I would it was me and my buddy who could last, who would last the longest. My friend and I would sit him at the edge of my bed, and I would lay with my arms tucked in at night, not letting the monster get me, and I would look across at the chair in my room and we would play a staring contest. Whoever blinked first would lose, and I would watch my buddy all night long. Right? You were not coming to life. You will not touch me, my buddy at night. I don’t know what happens, but you turn into a demon. And eventually I would get so scared I could feel my eyes getting heavy. My buddy was going to win the game again. His eyes are still open, mine are going to sleep. And I would just yell, mom, you know? And she’d come running in the room. But in that moment. What did I want? Refuge, right? The fear. It was becoming too much. I wanted the comfort of refuge. You know what it’s like this time of year. Where? Christmas can maybe wear you out. Work demands may be heavy at night.
You’re headed to the bed, you know, especially if you’ve got young kids. It’s like when I see my bed at night. It is. It is like the finish line of victory. Like I’m about to cross into my bedroom and get into that bed and it’s cold. And when I get that cover over top of me, praise God. And then you put your head on that pillow at night. You know how it goes. But then. Then about an hour into it, you flip it over. You get that cool side of the pillows. You’re snug under there. I mean, you just take comfort in that refuge. That’s what it’s like. When you recognize. Your God is bigger, right? There are things in this world that, in fear, may look powerful. But your god is bigger. Joseph isn’t out of the norm here for human beings when he has this concern and God reminds him to have, not to be afraid. Now someone may say, you know, Joseph never said, Joseph never said he was afraid. How do you know he was afraid? Well, I think it works like this in Scripture. God comes and he shares things when it’s relevant to your life, right? The Bible is written for people experiencing things in life to fit them in that moment with advice or encouragement towards the Lord when it’s relevant to their life. So here’s how I know Joseph’s struggling with fear is because God tells him, don’t be afraid.
But when you look within in the Bible at individuals that the Lord calls, what you see within Scripture is that lots of individuals struggle with trusting in God. They’ve got to experience learn. Their God is bigger. It happens. If you look at this word fear in Scripture, this word is used numerous times within the Bible. And here’s the way. Here’s the way Joseph learns to wrestle through his fear. The first thing that God points out to him is that God has been faithful in the past to the present. God has been faithful in your life. When you struggle, when you’re when you’re thinking about what to trust in, maybe you haven’t experienced the faithfulness of God personally in your life, but here’s what you get to do in Scripture. You get to go back through Scripture and see that God has been faithful. In fact, he reminds Joseph in these moments, look, I’m telling you, the virgin that will conceive shall bear a son. His name will be Emmanuel. God is quoting Micah five. Look, Joseph, I have I have been faithful. Not only that, but but God is connecting with, with with Joseph in the moment. And I would say this as well. The third thing that God is also recognizing the future, that God has taken care of not only the past, but not only the present, but also the future. And he says this to Joseph.
She will bear a son. And you shall call his name Jesus. For he will save his people from their sins. Joseph, not only is the past taken care of. Wherever I’m leading you in the future. There was a rescuer. There is, there is a rescue there. And the Bible even tells us that don’t fear him who could destroy the body, but also fear that which can destroy the body and the soul. This Christ is bigger regardless of what people do physically. Jesus has the resurrection power. Joseph. Whoever comes. The sphere. And walking with the Lord. I examining how God and His past, present and future through this angel that communicates to him that God is faithful. His his God is bigger. And throughout Scripture you see individuals who wrestle with this. This is a normal human interaction. In fact, can I just, on a personal note, just share a story with you? When I when I first became a Christian, I started reading the Bible. I’m like the things that cause us to in the Lord and the things that you see people doing. I’m like, there’s no, that is not about me. I cannot do that. God wants me to what I am, I am just I’m the sideline guy. I will I will grab a pom pom and I will cheer for that person. But that is not me. And then I started reading through the Old Testament. I got to the book of Joshua.
And I knew when. When God rescued me. And God’s Spirit indwelt me. I knew there was a change in my heart. Because the desires of my heart were new. They were different. Letting go of the past and grabbing a hold of the things that the Lord. Or directing my heart to. And a part of me was fighting against it. Now, when I told you this at the time, I would have just been like, you know, that’s just not me, you know? But the truth was. I’m a shy kid from a country town. I was afraid. Then I read the story of Joshua, who was leading Israel. Out of Egypt. He’s a warrior. Then Joshua chapter one you find when Moses dies and Joshua takes over. Joshua was afraid. And in fact, in verse five of chapter one it says this no man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. I will not fail you or forsake you. And then he says this in verse nine, have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage. Be not afraid, neither be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you whithersoever thou goest. That’s King James Version there. Joshua. You’ve got your eyes focused on everything else. Don’t be afraid. And when I saw that. Not only to my heart resonate with Joshua.
I’m looking at this leader thinking he’s afraid to. But at the same time God is saying to Joshua, look, go back in verse five, go back into history and look at what I’ve done with Moses. Look at the way I was with him as he walked with me. And he trusted me even when he had reason to be afraid. In fact, if you read in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 27, it says this about Moses. Moses was faithful, and he did not fear the king. He chose to walk with God. When you think about Moses in the land of Egypt, when he goes before Pharaoh, and he has to say repeatedly to a man that could chop off his head at any moment, let my people go. And finally, the 10th plague that comes in, God tells the nation of Israel, sacrifice a lamb, put the lamb above the door. The death angel is coming. For those who put the blood above their door, you will be rescued. Your firstborn will not die. And here’s the back end of that. Had God not delivered. Everyone in that town who decides, you know, what my door needs is red blood. Let’s put a target on their back. It’s the ruler of Egypt knows. These are the ones who stand against me. And if God were not faithful. That ruler could have come in and taken their lives. Joshua. Do you remember that? Don’t be afraid.
Your God is bigger. Coming back from Colorado City this week. We did a ministry down in Colorado City. And I appreciate everyone that helped out with that cause for us to take Christmas down there. This was the second year that we’ve done that in both years that we’ve done it. This was the first time most of those people have even celebrated Christmas. And while I’m down there. I’m outside of the bounce house. We we upstairs. We’re doing a we’re at this community center building that’s that’s being utilized for this ministry. We’re getting ready to hand out gifts to families, and we’re feeding families Christmas meals. We’re seeing Christmas carols, someone’s reading scripture, and we’re doing this celebration. But outside they have this bounce house. And when you’re in Colorado City, there’s lots of kids, lots of kids in Colorado City. And I’m thinking, man, I want to be upstairs with the adults interacting and talking to people. And I’m just out here in the cold, stuck with a kid. This is no fun. I’m just like, starting to have my own pity party out there. Like, it’s just all my job became put. It was muddy, just dirty. Gross. My job was put boards down so the kids could all stand on it, and their line kept getting longer and longer so they wouldn’t get their feet muddy when they jumped on the bounce house. The bounce house. That was my job.
I’m like, this is not how am I serving Jesus here? This is not good. And then while I’m standing there, one of the guys from the community came, pulled me over. And he said, you know. I just want to thank you. I want to thank you for coming here. And in fact, I want you to go back and thank other people for coming here. And I said, well, I’ll be happy to do that. He goes, no, I don’t know if you understand how important this is. He said, uh. These kids have been through a lot, and this guy recently left that community. He said. Most of these kids, this is the first time they’ve ever celebrated. Some of these kids have been abused, actually, he said. Most of these kids have been abused and all of them have been through a lot. And this is something that they’re going to look back on in their life and remember and love and cherish that someone came down and did this for them. So I just want to thank you. I got to find out this. This individual was also an individual that lost some grandchildren in the flooding that happened in Colorado City this year. But he just stood there the whole night outside. Just watch the kids play. I’m so excited. I had the opportunity. I’ve been looking forward to times my kids got older, to be able to take them on trips like this, and I got to take my son down, and he was there when this guy pulled me aside.
I was holding him and this guy pulled me aside and said this. And it’s funny as I wonder what his heart would take in as we’re down there doing this. My older boys, five years old and and as we left that night, these individuals that wanted to know that we weren’t welcome in town decided as we’re loading them, loading my son in the car, they decided they wanted to drive past this building a few times, revving up their engine fishtailing spinning around circles, whatever. I don’t know if they’re trying to provoke fear. It just felt like I’m watching a display of ignorance to me. But they were revving up their engines like it’s some sort of threat. When you have big trucks and you make loud noises that people are like peeing their pants, I don’t know, but but that’s what happened. And my son’s watching that take place as well. And and while we’re outside of the bounce house, my kids down there playing, all of a sudden there are some kids from the neighborhood that came down and some parents come screeching in the parking lot. They run down to this bounce house, grab their kids, and just take running back up the hill with them and, and my, my kids watching that, like what is going on. And on the way home.
He says this, he says, um, dad. The bad guys have super powers. I don’t know what he’s asking. That do have a reason to be afraid, right? I said, son. There are people. That may look tough. But you remember. Your God is bigger. Your God is bigger. And the walls are. Family. We live on a side. God’s got all the superpowers in the world. He’s got more super powers than all the bad guys. He said, dad, what are we going to do about the bad guys? It’s the first son. We’re going to pray for him. Because our God that has the superpowers has the ability to change their hearts. Just like God changed mine. They all need him. And we’re going to pray that their hearts come to embrace him. Because it’s his power that’s greater. Bible says this. Ephesians chapter six, verse ten. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. And second Timothy, chapter two, verse one, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. This word for strong in this passage means be empowered. In First Corinthians chapter 16. Be on your guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. When the Bible talks about strength, it’s not talking about the self-made strength. It is talking about this refuge strength that you don’t find within yourself, but you find as the source which comes from God. There is nothing that can replace allowing your soul to be filled with the power of God as you take refuge in Him and His strength.
And this is the response of Joseph. When Joseph woke from his sleep. He did as the angel of the Lord commanded him. And he took his wife. Here’s my encouragement. As it relates to Christmas, redeeming our culture and pointing to Jesus. There is a nature within all of us that wants to have fear. We feel led to point to Jesus. And sometimes we let fear rule. And the reality is you won’t live for the glory of God through fear, but rather through the refuge that leads to a faith in him. To say in life that you’re just going to remove all fear. I think is a is a bit unrealistic, but to learn how to respond to it. So that’s where the battle’s won. The truth is, your God is bigger. Taking the opportunity to see his hand both past, present and future helps our heart to take refuge in him. Christmas for Joseph maybe wouldn’t have happened if he’d given into the fear. Walking with Jesus. Living with Jesus, we lose the opportunity when we give in to that fear. But God is gracious, and God gives us the opportunity to take refuge in him. So here’s encouragement and Christmas as cool as the other side of the pillow. Let your soul rest in the goodness of a God who is greater.