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Good morning. You guys are a lively bunch today, huh? Why is it we tend to make life so complicated? No doubt life is considered by most as a journey. A journey in which entails all sorts of adventures. All sorts of ups and downs. Joys and pains, excitement and even boredom. In fact, the journey that we experience in life helps shape who we are as people. It brings us character. It carries with us some beliefs. It helps. It helps make who we are. But oftentimes in especially around the holidays, we tend to complicate that journey. Here at our church, we try to simplify that, knowing that as America, we are good at complicating things to Intel, that what life really is about is relationships. God created you for a relationship. He created you for a relationship with him, and he also created us to experience the depth of relationships with one another. God really designed us to experience the journey of life with him. We’ve been studying a series together. We just started last week called An Unbelievable Christmas, and today we’re going to look at an unbelievable Christmas through one aspect, and that being Christmas was about an unbelievable journey. In fact, when you study about Christmas, what you begin to discover is that Christmas didn’t start with Mary in a manger in O little town of Bethlehem. See, God created us from the very beginning to have a relationship with him. And the Bible records throughout all of the Old Testament and to the New Testament.
The response of man towards God has been to reject him. In fact, in Mark chapter 12 and verse 29, it says, we say to ourselves, let’s eat, drink and marry. And in verse 30 it says, you fool, your very soul will be required of you this day. And we have the tendency of robbing ourselves, of experiencing life with God, and just focusing life on just ourselves, not worrying about a relationship with him, not challenging ourselves to come to know him. But God has created us for that relationship. In Genesis chapter three, it records a very important point of all of history. After God created Adam and Eve, he breathing into the breath of life. He gave them his spirit for the purpose of communing with him. Adam and Eve rejected God and sin entered the world. Their relationship with God was forever marred. And throughout your entire Old Testament, there is the fulfillment or coming of a messiah who would die for the sins of this world. That way our relationship with God could once again be reunited with him. In fact, the first promise in Scripture comes in Genesis chapter three and verse 15, when we talk about an unbelievable journey and we think about the Christmas story. The Christmas story really began in Genesis chapter three, in verse 15, as her future promised to all people that a messiah would come and die for their sins.
Christmas it says in Genesis 315 it says, and I will put enmity between you and the woman. This is God talking to Satan, and between your seed and her seed, he shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the hill. Something significant about the life of Christ. Here we see that Jesus is going to be bruised on the hill as he was when he was crucified. And it says in the very beginning that it will come from the seed of the woman. Interesting when you read in all other parts of Scripture and you talk about the birth of children, it always refers to the seed of man. But when it came to the promise of the Messiah, it only referred to the seed of the woman. The reason we know is because Jesus was born of a virgin. It goes on in Scripture and begins to share more with us about the coming of this Messiah. As you read the Old Testament, you see all sorts of prophecy being fulfilled in the life of Christ when he came to this earth. A place where he would live, where he would grow up, the things that he would do in his ministry, how he would die, the specific people that would betray him, all hundreds of prophecies that exist on the coming of the Messiah. Specifically, this morning, I just want to focus on the ones dealing with his birth.
It says in Genesis chapter 12, and I will bless those who bless you, talking to Abraham and the one who curses you, I will curse in you. All the families of the earth shall be blessed. All the families of the earth being blessed through one man, because Jesus died for all. It goes on and says in Genesis 17, But God said, no, but Sarah, your wife shall bear you a son. He’s still talking to Abraham, and you shall call his name Isaac. And I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac, and the Bible tells us that the promise of the Messiah would come through the lineage of Isaac. In Deuteronomy chapter 18, Moses shows up on the scene hundreds of years after Abraham and says, the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, for from your own countrymen you shall listen to him identifying for the people that this Messiah was coming through Moses. He would be symbolic of Moses. It tells us in Genesis 49 and verse ten, the scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from between his feet. It’s saying to us, not only did the promise come through Abraham, through a prophet that looks like Moses, but it’s also going to come through the tribe of Judah. Israel had 12 tribes, one of which was the nation of Judah.
And God gives us a promise that when the Messiah comes, it would come through the name of Judah. God has been writing his Christmas story since creation began. It says in Micah five two, but as for you, Bethlehem Ephrata To those who are Hebrew scholars, that means a fruitful house of bread. Too little to be among the clans of Judah. From from you one will go forth to me to be ruler in Israel and listen to this. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity. As God gives us the promise of the coming of the Messiah, and he writes his Christmas story from the beginning of creation, that man could experience a relationship with him. He tells us that this Messiah is going to come from maybe the term podunk town of Bethlehem would fit. We sing it in your songs, right? How big is Bethlehem? Oh, little town of Bethlehem, right? But yet the Messiah came from this humble town. Such a small town that when Mary and Joseph journeyed to this town, there weren’t enough hotels and motels in the area to find a place. So they had to spend the night in a cave at Christmas. Imagine those temperatures. But yet it tells us that Jesus came from Bethlehem of Epitath from from all eternity. His going forth had come from writing the story of eternity, and it tells us, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I shall raise up for David a righteous branch, that this Messiah, when he comes, not only will come from Abraham, not only will come from Judah, not only will come from Bethlehem of Epitath, but he’s also going to come from the house of David, from King David.
His descent will be and he himself will be a king. It says, I will rise up for you, David a righteous branch, and he will reign as king and act wisely, and do justice and righteousness in the land. In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is his name, by which he will be called the Lord our righteousness. This Messiah would come from the King of David. And finally the Bible tells us in Isaiah chapter seven and verse 14, therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign behold, a virgin will be with child, and will bear a son, and his name shall be called Emmanuel, which in Hebrew means God with us. Jesus has declared to us his coming in the Christmas story through the nation of Israel, to the tribe of Judah from the King of David and the town of Bethlehem. And to top it all off, born of a virgin. God is writing his Christmas story for us. Christmas isn’t about a time where we just stop and think about the birth of Jesus, but it’s a time for us to stop and reflect on the sovereign hand of God dictating all of history.
At the moment in which Jesus was born is not just a simple fruition that came true, but something that God has been proclaiming to us as people throughout the ages since the beginning of creation to the time of Mary. Until we sit today, the Bible has proclaimed that what God desires, nothing more from you as as to experience a relationship for you to have an unbelievable Christmas by having an unbelievable journey with God. This story, we know, culminates in the life of Mary. If you brought a Bible this morning, I’m going to encourage you to turn to the Book of Luke. We end in in chapter one, and I think in verse 20 last week, we’re going to pick up in verse 26 and carry on in the book of Luke together and together, what we’re going to understand and an unbelievable journey with God. We’re going to ask Mary this question. I’m going to pretend to be a girl today. Yeah. Connecting to my lady audience. Uh, we’re going to look at Mary chapter one and verse starting in verse 26. Excuse me, Luke chapter one and verse 26, looking at the life of Mary. We’re going to ask this question, Mary, what was it like to experience this unbelievable journey with God? It starts off in Luke chapter one and verse 26. It says, now in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man who was name was Joseph, of the descendants of David.
And the virgin’s name was Mary. That’s good. We’ve got two prophetic fulfillments here Virgin and the descendant of David. And coming in he said to her, greetings, favored one, the Lord is with you. But she was very perplexed at this statement, and kept pondering what kind of salutation this was. The angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bear a son, and you shall name him Jesus. By the way, in verse 28 and 29, the words favored and favored in Greek is grace. It’s Keras. Mary found God’s grace. It says in the next verse that he will be great and will be called the son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and his kingdom will have no end. And Mary said to the angel, how can this be, since I am a virgin? The angel answered and said to her, The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. And for this reason the holy child shall be called the Son of God. And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age.
And she who was called barren is now in her sixth month. I’m just going to stop right there for a moment. The story of Christmas culminates in the life of Mary, and everything that God desires comes to fruition in this lady who finds the grace of God working in her life, and pause for a moment and wonder what the circumstance would have been like for Mary if she were to sit amongst us today. And we were to ask the question, Mary, what was it like for you to experience this journey with God? What do you think she would say? It was unbelievable. Mary’s Christmas story is just another story of what a journey with God is all about. She began to learn. It tells us in verse 37 that with God, nothing is impossible. And as we ask Mary this question this morning, Mary, what was it like for you to journey with God? We’re going to begin to understand that as God intertwined his story with the life of Mary, what would it look like if God intertwined his story from the beginning of creation to begin to for us to experience our story with him? This morning, I’m going to give you seven points. What I don’t want you to do is leave today trying to remember seven points. But as we look at the life of Mary, what we want to ask ourselves is, as she began to experience this journey of God, what thing could I take away from this message this morning that’s going to encourage me to to continue to pursue God with my life? For Mary, as she began to experience this journey, the first thing I think Mary found was it’s bigger than herself.
She says in verse 37, Or God says to her, for with not for nothing will be impossible with God. Mary’s first understanding in her relationship and journey with God is it’s much bigger than me. See, in life. And we find this oftentimes in churches, and I’m glad the Lord works this way. I wish he didn’t always have to work this way in our lives. I wish we were more in tune to him. But many times what you find when people begin to come to church, when they come to church, the reason they come is because, um, we’re broken. And finally, we’re in a position in our lives that we’re so broken that we don’t know where else to turn. And so we look to God for help. And I’m glad God’s able to answer our needs. But I wish we didn’t require us to get to a point of desperation where we’ve been in life just trusting ourselves. We’re eating, drinking, and being merry and thinking everything’s fine with me until all of a sudden something bad happens. Mary, in this situation, she began to realize that in order for God to meet her needs, she had to understand that God was bigger than herself.
Looking at the situation as God began to communicate with her God, how in the world is all this going to happen? How am I a virgin going to conceive? Do you know how the people of my time are going to view this? No one has babies without being married. God says to her, With God all things are possible. For Mary, she began to learn the lesson that God and this journey is bigger than ourselves. So when God begins to interact in our lives, he allows us to realize that life is bigger than me, and that when God wants to work in my heart, he doesn’t just want to work in my heart, he wants to work through me and the lives of other people. And Mary, could you imagine this moment? She’s just thinking about herself. She’s about to be married to this Joseph. She’s just went and shopped for a wedding gown and it didn’t look very good. And she’s wondering what in the world she’s going to win or where. And she’s thinking, mee mee mee mee mee mee mee. And then all of a sudden God comes into her world and says, listen, I’m going to give you this baby. And the reason I’m giving you this baby is because through you, all of the world will be blessed. You’re thinking so small, Mary.
You’re thinking about you and just your family. But when I come into your life, it requires something bigger than just you. He says to Mary, with God all things are possible. Isaiah chapter 55 and verse eight, my thoughts are not like your thoughts, says the Lord. My ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. When God calls us on a journey with him, that journey is bigger than ourselves. Second, I would say this is a pretty simple statement to think, but it requires faith. Do you know you’re never going to journey further with God than you trust him to take you? Meaning, when something in life looks bigger to you than your God, you’re going to stop depending on your God to see you through it. For Mary, it could have been the same situation. God, you’re going to do what? And people are going to think all of this bad stuff about me. Forget that man. Go pick another virgin somewhere down the road. I’m not up for that. But it says in verse 38, after Mary spoke with the angel, it says, Mary responded, I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true. And then the angel left her a little bit later. It tells us in that passage in chapter one that Mary goes and visits Elizabeth, and Elizabeth says, you are blessed because you believe that the Lord would do what he said.
Elizabeth simply says to Mary, Mary, you have exercised faith and trusting in God. And this is the reason why God is choosing to work through you. The Bible tells us in Hebrews chapter 11 and verse six, without faith it is impossible to please him. A journey with God is always built on trust. A journey with God is always about realizing that God is more capable of satisfying you than anything else. For Mary, it could have stopped as the angel came and visited her, but she desired to trust in the Lord. Matthew chapter 17 Jesus said, I tell you the truth, if you had faith even as small as a mustard seed, you could say to this mountain, move from here to there, and it would move. Nothing would be impossible. When we journey with God, we recognize it’s bigger than ourselves. When we journey with God, we recognize it’s about faith. When we journey with God, it it causes us to grow. I love this story. I know this skips just a little a little bit ahead, but if you look in Luke chapter two, Mary goes and visits Elizabeth until nine months is up and she jumps on a donkey. Brave woman journeys to Bethlehem, right? They don’t make them like they used to. Mary has a baby and the angels come from heaven.
And they share to the shepherds in the field that the Messiah has been born, the long awaited Messiah. And the shepherds go and visit Jesus, baby Jesus. And they’re worshiping a baby as God And it says in verse 19 of chapter two, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought often about them. A journey with God causes us to grow. Um, I recognize this morning that when we talk about growing, Mary did grow in a particular way. But what I’m not talking about her circumference. I’m talking about her faith. Mary’s faith began to grow. You know, sometimes we recognize in our life that God has a goal for us to achieve. It says in Ephesians chapter two and verse ten, for you created in Christ Jesus for good works. God wants to work in you to magnify himself in this world. You were created in Christ to display. When he created us, he said, be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth. No better way you have in this world to reflect the glory of God than by living through works. It reflects this world, the glory and goodness of who God is, but an understanding the goal that God has desire for us to achieve. We forget to experience the journey along the way. We get so fixed on accomplishing the task. We forget all about the moment to reflect on the goodness of God. And I can think, as Mary was desiring to have some sort of thermostat in the cave that she was living in, probably still kicking Joseph for riding a donkey for so long.
She took time to stop and think. Think to herself and how how grace filled God has allowed me to be. Because not only is this moment special, as I’m seeing the shepherds come and worship this baby, but God has been declaring the coming of this Messiah throughout history. And I am in this moment, and I’m experiencing this joy when it comes to your relationship with God. Now there’s some times when we become new Christians in Christ, we get frustrated very easily that we’re not growing as fast as we want to. We don’t know everything as much as what we would want to know. But don’t forget to enjoy the journey. And you people who would call yourself seasoned Christians in Christ, gotten so used to the Christian lingo and routine and knowing what needs to get done. When you walk into a room for the church and whatever ministry we’re carrying out, don’t forget to enjoy the journey. Every moment with God is an unbelievable journey and a special journey that he has desired to intertwine his story with your story. It says in verse 19 that Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. It’s all healthy for all of us, as we understand that God desires to intervene in our lives, to reflect on his goodness as it’s been made known.
Meaning, when you became a believer in Christ, when you started to follow Jesus in your life, just taking the opportunity to reflect on that special moment in God’s glorious hand being made known to you. Don’t forget about the journey in spite of the goal that God desires for you to achieve. I would say for us this morning as well, others might not understand it. Faith in Christ is bigger than ourselves. It requires us to exercise faith in finding ourselves, exercising, exercising faith, we begin to grow. But what we find is we desire to follow Jesus and pursue God in our lives. Other people just don’t understand it. Some people will challenge us and question us in our desire to pursue God with our lives. Not knowing that the pursuit of God and journeying with him in this world is the reason for which we were created, and we desire to have a relationship with God. All other areas of our lives are blessed from it. Rather than thinking selfishly, we begin to think about others. Rather than pursue relationships in our marriage and with our kids for my own gain and emotional fulfillment. We begin to think the way Jesus would think. How can I love my spouse more greatly? How can I love my my children better? How can I love the way that Jesus has shown me to love? But others might not understand it.
You know, when the story came to Mary, the reason we often look at it as an unbelievable Christmas is that everyone who got the message about Christmas didn’t first believe the message. Zacharias on the birth of John the Baptist, the one who would proclaim the coming of Jesus, couldn’t believe that an angel was speaking to him. It says in Luke chapter one and verse 29, Mary was confused and disturbed. Mary tried to think what the angel could mean, and not only was Mary confused, but so was Joseph. It says in Matthew 119, And Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. Now look at this moment. And I say, for both of them, I couldn’t blame them for feeling the way that they feel. Mary and Joseph would have been very much ashamed in their society in which they grew up. Having Mary been pregnant without being married to her would have been a difficult circumstance for both of them to face much ridicule in their community. In fact, when you read the Gospels, Jesus was called various names because Mary had Jesus out of wedlock.
People don’t understand it. Isaiah chapter seven. No matter how many times they could quote the verse that a version would give birth to Jesus, people still didn’t understand it. But at the end of the day, the reality is that you have to lay your head on the pillow for the decisions that you make in this world. And when you know Jesus is who he claims to be and that Jesus is more than capable of meeting your needs, as Mary saw in verse 37. Then you know Jesus is worth it. Amen. Don’t fear man. The Bible tells us in acts chapter four, don’t fear what man can do with you, but fear God. God’s rewards and your sacrifice is worth it. And even though other people may not begin to understand it, you can understand and see in Scripture that God created you for relationship with him. And regardless of what other people think, that’s why God made you. And it’s worth pursuing. I’d say we also find if we were to ask Mary this morning, I know I haven’t used my Mary voice, but I didn’t want to scare anyone. Mary, what else was a relationship with God like? We understand that you grew understand it took faith. We understand that other people didn’t understand it. What else was it like? I think she would say to us this morning, it was scary, but it was exciting. I love that her kids are having a great time.
You know, I find in a relationship with God it is never boring. I love my position in place of where I am in my relationship with the Lord. Um, being able to move to Utah to start a church, asking people to to jump on board and help us out that aren’t even from this state. Man, it requires you every day to get on your knees and pray. My family can’t live without help from other people. It is a scary time of trust in God, but it’s also exciting. A relationship with God can be scary, but it’s also exciting. It says in verse 29 that Mary was confused and disturbed, but the angel said to her, don’t be afraid, Mary, the angel told her, for you have found favor with God. By the grace of God, go forth I. Why are we even able to begin to experience the blessings of God in our life? Why are we even be able to experience a relationship with God in our life? Well, the short answer is it’s nothing apart from the grace of God at the moment. That man chose to sin against God and reject God and His position over us. God could have wiped us off the face of the earth, but instead God has continued to extend us his grace and his grace whenever we as people have need. God gives us his grace. And when we find in the Christmas story is that we, as all people, have had a need and God has extended his grace to all people for all time through Jesus.
Mary recognized that the ridicule was nothing compared to knowing and experiencing that relationship with Christ. You ever heard of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego? Do you know that song forsook the Lord? But the king said, no. Well, it says this about these guys. They came before Nebuchadnezzar. It says, O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, that God whom we serve is able to save us. He will rescue us from your power, Your Majesty. But even if he doesn’t, we want to make clear to you that if we will, that we excuse me will never serve your gods or worship the gold statue you have set up, following and pursuing God in your life. We recognize that it can be scary and exciting, but we also recognize that it’s it’s not always safe. Mary traveling by night on a donkey that would have been done there. I don’t ride things that are bigger than me. Mary is traveling on a donkey by night. She’s going to Bethlehem to birth this child away from all of her family. And the only thing she’s going to be able to lay him in is a bunch of hay and some swaddling clothes. What in the world are swaddling clothes? Right? But Mary journeys into this unsafe situation trusting in God.
And as if that wasn’t enough, it tells us that wise men begin a journey following the star from the east, and they come before King Herod. And King Herod says to the wise men, tell me where this Messiah is born, that I can go and worship him when you discover him as well. But it tells us that King Herod had a separate motive for what King Herod ultimately really desired to do was kill Jesus. And so now, when the wise men come to to the throne of Christ, and they begin to worship him, not only is Mary thinking about the journey that she had on this donkey, but now just after having this baby, she’s got to get back on this donkey and run from the king. It is not the safest place in the world to be. And 40 tells us 40 days after Jesus was born, uh, Mary and Joseph take Jesus into the temple. They take him into the temple to perform a special ceremony in which they were all all the children of Israel were supposed to do when they had their first child. It was to make a sacrifice for purification for the first born kid. And they walk into this temple, and they begin to make the sacrifice of some turtledoves. And it tells us while they’re in the temple, this man named Simeon comes up to Mary and as if her situation didn’t seem safe already, this man gives this prophecy to her, and he says, And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be oppressed, and a sword will pierce even your own soul to the end, that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.
And this is when life gets complicated. You know, safety is kind of a tricky thing. I really think in many ways it’s an illusion to us. We live life as if it’s promised to us, but no one can really guarantee that we have tomorrow. We buy all the insurances in the world to protect us from different problems. What can I tell you? The safest place in the world to be is in the center of God’s will. Amen. Amen. Nothing in this world is going to happen apart from God allowing it to happen as you walk with Him in His will. And Mary may have described the situation as not being safe, but Mary knew that she was safe, resting in the will of God. And this man comes to her and tells her that even her own soul will be pierced. We know what she’s talking about, having known the rest of the story that Jesus would die. Now, having had a kid recently. I would have to say to this world, tough luck. If there’s one thing I’m not going to experience, it’s the loss of my kid.
You can think about the life of Mary in this moment. She’s going through all this trauma, thinking about and pondering in her heart this unbelievable journey of Christmas that began from the beginning of time, this grace and favor from God. And she gets this moment and she realizes how much this is going to cost. Mary, that this pain will be so real that even your soul will be pierced. You know what? I look at people like this throughout history that have given their lives for the sake of Christ and continued to be reminded, man, it’s it’s worth it. It’s worth whatever heartache I might experience that other people may come to know the joy of Jesus in their life. It’s worth those scary moments of getting on your knees and just asking God to depend or depend on God in particular situations to meet your needs, no matter how unsafe it may seem. Because the safest place to be is in the center of God’s will. And it’s important that people need to know Christ. And I’ve determined when we talk about being unsafe and and scary and exciting in this world, the best place you could be to really depend on God in this life is to have a teenager. You think about that for a minute. Teenagers really get you trusting in God because now they’re asking for the keys, and they’re going places that you don’t know what they’re doing sometimes and the decisions that you’re making.
And the only thing you could do as a parent is drop to your knees and say, God help. If you’re looking to grow in faith, I guess I’m saying get a teenager or borrow somebodies. God’s desire for us is to grow in that faith and depend on him, even in those scary moments, because the safest place to be is in the center of God’s will. Jesus, when he delivered his sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapter five, he said this. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Meaning God sees everything that you’re going through for his sake, and he is busting those doors wide open in the kingdom of heaven to allow you in with great praise for your sacrifice for him. God loves that you give up the luxuries of life for him. And can I say no greater time in your life when you reflect Jesus to this world than when you’re sacrificing for him? Because Jesus came to this world and sacrificed everything for you. A relationship with God. Mary. It’s not safe. It’s scary. What else is it? How about this? It’s filled with all in wonder. It says when the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other. Let’s go to Bethlehem. Let’s see this thing that has happened which the Lord has told us about.
And they hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby lying in the manger. And after seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened, and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds story were astonished. And the shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. And it was just as the angel had told them. Do you realize as people God, in that relationship he created you for, also created you to stand in awe and wonder? Do you know why? Sometimes on vacation we like to go to the beach, and other times we want to go to the Grand Canyon. Sometimes when you get a day off, you go to a major sporting event. Things that are spectacular. You want to be captivated with your mind. You want to stand in awe and glory of things that are glorious. God created you to stand in all of his creation, and in seeing the glory of his creation, began to worship him. You think about standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon, or on on the side of the beach and thinking about the glory of God. Now magnify that in the presence of God in heaven. God created you to stand in awe and glory of everything that he is. And it says, when Jesus appeared on the scene that the shepherds saw this glorious king lying in a manger, and the response to the people was to stand in all and wonder.
God created you to stay that way. A journey with God, which I love, is never boring, but it’s always inspiring to continue to reflect on his goodness and to see his presence working in this world, to magnify back to him the glory in which he’s deserving of. I would say last this morning. Whoa. What happened? There we go. A relationship with God gives life meaning. A journey with God gives life meaning. The same man that told Mary that her soul would be pierced begins to share. In verse 25 of Luke it says, at that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was righteous and devout, and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel. The Holy Spirit was upon him, and had revealed to him that he would not die until he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. That day, the spirit led him to the temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to present the baby Jesus to the Lord as the law required, Simeon was there, and he took the child in his arms and praised God, saying, sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace, as you promised. I have seen your salvation, which you have prepared for all people. God had promised Simeon that in his relationship with God and as he pursued God with his life, God would validate that relationship by allowing him to see the Messiah who would come.
And he tells us that all people would be blessed through this, that all people would find meaning in life through this Christ. This is like, um, I think Tim McGraw said it right. Skydiving, Rocky Mountain climbing, 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu Manchu. Right? Live like you were dying. You’ve not found anything worth living for in this life. Till you find something worth dying for. It says in this passage that for Simeon, Jesus validated his life’s meaning. A relationship and a journey with God gives life meaning. Paul said it this way in Philippians three. I do not mean to say that I have already achieved and achieved these things, or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me. No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it. But I focus on this one thing forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead. I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. Our relationship with God gives life meaning. God’s call to salvation in Christ. God’s journey with you as a calling of hope. God gives us something worth dying for. You know, I think when you get to the end of this journey and you see the story of the life of Mary and knowing that it gave her life meaning.
I think at the very end Mary would say this, and I would do it all over again. That’s the kind of life I’m after in this world. When I lay down my head at night, I didn’t make decisions based on what other people wanted me to believe, but I pursued Jesus because I knew it was worth it. And in the end, I could say to myself, and I would have done it all over again. You think about Christmas. Christmas isn’t just about a moment in which Jesus was born, though it is important. Christmas is a reminder to all of us that God’s sovereign hand has been working throughout all of history to the culminating of the birth of Jesus in the life of Mary. And the reason that God has written his story throughout all of Scripture about the coming of Jesus, that we may experience a relationship with him, is so that one day when your opportunity came to trust in Christ, you would choose to journey with God as well. And take a moment in this Christmas story and pause and thank God that it’s not just a random chance that we have the opportunity to know Jesus, but God has been sovereignly working his hand in history to the point that you are present here today to know him, and that a journey with God is worth it.