1 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:10,880 Well, it is the start of Advent, which is the first 2 00:00:11,120 --> 00:00:15,120 Sunday of the four Sundays leading to Christmas. And 3 00:00:15,120 --> 00:00:18,960 the Lord is always in the habit of saving the best for right now. And 4 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,480 today, Pastor Ronnie is going to bring the word. Would you welcome Pastor Ronnie? 5 00:00:31,200 --> 00:00:34,780 Good Springhouse. I 6 00:00:35,820 --> 00:00:39,340 want to start off by announcing that I will 7 00:00:39,500 --> 00:00:42,540 not be leaving here to coach the LSU Tigers. 8 00:00:43,500 --> 00:00:47,460 I really love it here, having a great 9 00:00:47,460 --> 00:00:50,540 time, especially since I retired. 10 00:00:53,980 --> 00:00:57,860 Okay. I just thought y' all would be interested in knowing that for 11 00:00:57,860 --> 00:00:59,100 some reason, I don't know. 12 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:07,400 Over 20 years ago, I wrote a monologue for 13 00:01:07,400 --> 00:01:10,160 this season and I titled it Joseph Davidson. 14 00:01:11,200 --> 00:01:14,800 And I, dressed in a biblical costume, brought out a big 15 00:01:15,120 --> 00:01:18,960 staff and told the story from 16 00:01:18,960 --> 00:01:22,840 Joseph's point of view. And I was asked to 17 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:26,760 do that again. It's probably been 10 years since I've done it. I don't remember 18 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:30,000 the last time I did it, but I was asked to do it again today, 19 00:01:30,320 --> 00:01:33,260 but I felt the need to do it differently. 20 00:01:34,220 --> 00:01:36,380 I feel as if I somewhat know Joseph, 21 00:01:37,980 --> 00:01:41,020 especially from writing that monologue. And 22 00:01:41,900 --> 00:01:45,900 I want to tell you his story in a 23 00:01:45,900 --> 00:01:49,900 little bit deeper way than I don't want to tell it 24 00:01:49,900 --> 00:01:52,940 in a way that is, oh, wow, he's 25 00:01:53,580 --> 00:01:57,380 performing. He's doing something. No, that's not what 26 00:01:57,380 --> 00:02:01,360 today is about. We want to present Joseph as a 27 00:02:01,360 --> 00:02:04,440 real person. And so I come to you as a 28 00:02:06,920 --> 00:02:09,400 slightly overweight, 29 00:02:10,520 --> 00:02:12,920 middle aged teenager and 30 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:18,520 regular person. Joseph was regular person. He's usually relegated 31 00:02:18,680 --> 00:02:22,560 to a very minor role in the story. In fact, if you 32 00:02:22,560 --> 00:02:25,400 want to be Joseph, you don't even have to learn any lines. 33 00:02:26,460 --> 00:02:30,460 You just need a costume. And hopefully one with a beard. 34 00:02:31,020 --> 00:02:33,100 That would make Doug Jones jealous. 35 00:02:36,380 --> 00:02:39,500 I don't know how anybody eats with a beard like that 36 00:02:40,140 --> 00:02:42,460 without consuming part of the beard. 37 00:02:44,220 --> 00:02:47,180 When we think of Joseph, we tend to think. 38 00:02:50,380 --> 00:02:53,740 We tend to think of him from the sublime. We tend to think of him 39 00:02:53,740 --> 00:02:57,260 in the stained glass thing, St. 40 00:02:58,200 --> 00:03:01,800 Joseph. But I want us to not go there today, because 41 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:06,160 he's not only presented in the sublime in our culture. He's also 42 00:03:06,160 --> 00:03:09,640 presented in the ridiculous Joseph and Santa Claus. 43 00:03:10,440 --> 00:03:14,200 And you may think, wait a minute, Joseph isn't in that picture. 44 00:03:15,560 --> 00:03:19,440 That's an angel and that's Mary. You 45 00:03:19,440 --> 00:03:23,080 see that brown thing kind of behind Mary sort of hanging down there? 46 00:03:23,920 --> 00:03:27,840 That's Joseph's costume back there. And that's 47 00:03:27,840 --> 00:03:31,720 where Joseph tends to fit into a lot of things. And then 48 00:03:31,720 --> 00:03:35,720 sometimes culturally, he's presented as old Joseph, which quite 49 00:03:35,720 --> 00:03:37,520 frankly, I find disturbing 50 00:03:39,600 --> 00:03:42,880 because Mary was a teenage girl. 51 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:47,040 And let's kind of Go. No, not old Joseph. 52 00:03:47,600 --> 00:03:51,380 That's not what he was. He's one of 53 00:03:51,380 --> 00:03:55,180 us. And if you're here today and 54 00:03:55,180 --> 00:03:58,820 you're young, then I'd like you to kind of 55 00:03:59,380 --> 00:04:01,380 really put yourself in his situation. 56 00:04:03,620 --> 00:04:07,300 To some extent, you may be. To some extent you will be 57 00:04:08,260 --> 00:04:11,620 through your life. If you're here and you're in the middle, 58 00:04:12,100 --> 00:04:16,100 I would like you to consider what it takes, 59 00:04:16,100 --> 00:04:20,060 what it took, what is God asking 60 00:04:20,060 --> 00:04:23,060 of you? And if you're here and you're old, then just 61 00:04:23,700 --> 00:04:27,380 reflect and understand, because you 62 00:04:27,380 --> 00:04:30,260 probably can look on it with some understanding. 63 00:04:31,780 --> 00:04:35,700 His story is one of the most fascinating stories of all time. 64 00:04:35,700 --> 00:04:39,380 I mean, this is an incredible story, really, what this guy went through. 65 00:04:40,340 --> 00:04:42,660 There's love, there's, 66 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:48,120 you know, we have to kind of fill in the blanks ourselves, but there's romance, 67 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:52,960 there's falling in love, there's 68 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:56,760 betrayal or seeming betrayal. 69 00:04:59,240 --> 00:05:02,600 It's the kind of thing that would keep you coming back to watch the next 70 00:05:02,600 --> 00:05:06,120 episode next week. There's also 71 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:09,160 travel prompted by politics, 72 00:05:10,450 --> 00:05:12,930 things and fraught with danger. 73 00:05:14,530 --> 00:05:18,530 Joseph's story, he kind of went from the highest to the lowest 74 00:05:18,530 --> 00:05:22,530 and back to the highest and back to the lowest. And it was. 75 00:05:22,530 --> 00:05:25,570 It was a real, real roller coaster of a life. 76 00:05:27,170 --> 00:05:30,130 It contained instructive prophetic dreams, 77 00:05:31,330 --> 00:05:35,330 angelic visitations. And since 78 00:05:35,330 --> 00:05:38,880 I want to go deeper into his story than we usually go, 79 00:05:39,280 --> 00:05:41,840 I felt the need to ditch the costume 80 00:05:43,520 --> 00:05:47,120 and the accent and just try to bring him home 81 00:05:47,600 --> 00:05:51,400 as one of us. I called him 82 00:05:51,400 --> 00:05:54,480 Joseph Davidson. Not because he ever heard the word 83 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:58,680 Davidson in his life. And that's not just because he 84 00:05:58,680 --> 00:06:02,400 didn't speak English, but Davidson is what we 85 00:06:02,400 --> 00:06:06,360 speak, and that's what he would be called here today if he were. If 86 00:06:06,360 --> 00:06:10,080 he were Scottish, he'd be Mac David. 87 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:14,240 If he were Irish, he'd be O David. Or if they shortened 88 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:17,040 it, it'd be O Day. Maybe 89 00:06:20,160 --> 00:06:23,920 that's Connie. I know it is. Back there. 90 00:06:25,120 --> 00:06:28,480 Most of us have a surname that was passed down to us 91 00:06:29,440 --> 00:06:33,290 by a notable ancestor. Or perhaps maybe you were. 92 00:06:33,370 --> 00:06:37,130 You were. The surname that you have had something to do with the 93 00:06:37,130 --> 00:06:40,090 trade. We have some Smiths here. 94 00:06:42,250 --> 00:06:46,130 My maternal grandmother was a Bateman, so I 95 00:06:46,130 --> 00:06:49,850 suspect that had something to do with what 96 00:06:49,850 --> 00:06:53,770 her. Somebody in her family did at one time. Or 97 00:06:53,770 --> 00:06:57,530 perhaps your. The name that you have, that's a 98 00:06:57,530 --> 00:07:00,860 surname, comes from a traitor that was specific in your family, 99 00:07:01,340 --> 00:07:02,460 like Meek. 100 00:07:05,100 --> 00:07:08,060 We used to have a guy who came and spoke here a few times. His 101 00:07:08,060 --> 00:07:11,980 name was James Ryle and James was a terrific speaker. He's 102 00:07:11,980 --> 00:07:15,460 Gone on to be with the Lord now. But I remember him coming to me 103 00:07:15,460 --> 00:07:18,420 after one of the services and going, you know, have you ever thought how weird 104 00:07:18,420 --> 00:07:22,340 it is that we're kind of here doing this thing together and you're meek 105 00:07:22,340 --> 00:07:26,340 and I'm Ryle? No, I hadn't thought about 106 00:07:26,340 --> 00:07:29,920 that. James had. And 107 00:07:29,920 --> 00:07:33,640 Joseph was named. His given name was for an illustrious 108 00:07:33,640 --> 00:07:37,640 ancestor who was also a dreamer. Instructed 109 00:07:37,640 --> 00:07:41,320 by dreams and also beyond being a dreamer. He was the 110 00:07:41,320 --> 00:07:45,280 archetype of the one who was to come of Christ. He 111 00:07:45,280 --> 00:07:49,240 was foretold. What he was going to do was foretold. He 112 00:07:49,240 --> 00:07:52,720 was rejected by his brothers, and yet God 113 00:07:53,300 --> 00:07:57,220 brought him through many difficulties to not only save his 114 00:07:57,220 --> 00:08:00,500 brothers, but to save the lives of many people. 115 00:08:01,780 --> 00:08:05,580 And he was from the great. The line of the 116 00:08:05,580 --> 00:08:08,340 great King, from whose line 117 00:08:08,980 --> 00:08:12,980 Messiah was to come. Nevertheless, he 118 00:08:12,980 --> 00:08:16,580 was an unlikely candidate. He was simply a 119 00:08:16,580 --> 00:08:20,020 tradesman living under Roman oppression. 120 00:08:21,500 --> 00:08:25,500 He was also relatively young, and as is 121 00:08:25,500 --> 00:08:29,500 usually the case, he became interested in a young woman. 122 00:08:30,860 --> 00:08:34,780 And so that brings Mary into the story. 123 00:08:37,340 --> 00:08:41,260 Okay, I'm going to say this. It's probably going to offend somebody, but I 124 00:08:41,260 --> 00:08:45,180 got to say it anyway because this is the way my brain works, 125 00:08:45,180 --> 00:08:46,780 and it's kind of cool. 126 00:08:49,460 --> 00:08:52,980 It may sound sacrilegious to say that Joseph had the hots for Mary, 127 00:08:54,580 --> 00:08:58,340 but Joseph had the hots for Mary. He 128 00:08:58,340 --> 00:09:01,380 absolutely did. I mean, come on, he's one of us. 129 00:09:02,980 --> 00:09:06,860 When I was. When I was a teenager, the church I went to had 130 00:09:06,860 --> 00:09:10,700 this magazine that would come out monthly. And I think 131 00:09:10,700 --> 00:09:14,620 it was. I think the title of the magazine was High Call. It was 132 00:09:14,620 --> 00:09:18,520 for teens, and it was either High Call or. Or High 133 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:22,520 Teens, which isn't a good title for Christian 134 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:26,040 magazine. But it came out. And I only remember one 135 00:09:27,400 --> 00:09:31,320 installment of this magazine came out every month. But this one 136 00:09:31,400 --> 00:09:34,600 month it came out and it was all about 137 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:40,600 sex. It's all about sexuality. 138 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:44,510 And I thought, I'm going to read that. And I did. 139 00:09:45,470 --> 00:09:49,190 About 10 years later, I met a man named Gail Irwin. And it turns out 140 00:09:49,190 --> 00:09:53,190 that Gail was the editor of that magazine. And his intention 141 00:09:53,190 --> 00:09:57,190 had been to make that an annual issue that 142 00:09:57,190 --> 00:10:01,150 they would send out. However, the day after 143 00:10:01,230 --> 00:10:04,870 it hit the churches, he got a visit from the 144 00:10:04,870 --> 00:10:08,590 assistant General superintendent of the Assemblies of God, 145 00:10:08,670 --> 00:10:12,420 who came down from on high. Tell him you're never 146 00:10:12,420 --> 00:10:16,420 going to do that again. And the reason he gave 147 00:10:16,420 --> 00:10:20,180 him was because our kids aren't 148 00:10:20,180 --> 00:10:21,740 interested in such things. 149 00:10:24,780 --> 00:10:28,780 Wrong. Our kids were interested in such 150 00:10:28,780 --> 00:10:31,660 things, and so was Joseph. The man fell in love, 151 00:10:35,100 --> 00:10:39,100 as is also Often the case, he had no idea what this was going 152 00:10:39,100 --> 00:10:42,990 to end up. Involving him in places this was going to 153 00:10:42,990 --> 00:10:46,350 end up leading him, but it ended up leading him to a 154 00:10:46,350 --> 00:10:50,070 betrothal. Mary became 155 00:10:50,070 --> 00:10:53,990 betrothed to him. I guess that's the way it works. During 156 00:10:53,990 --> 00:10:57,670 the years that I was in Zimbabwe, their culture was in many 157 00:10:57,670 --> 00:11:01,510 ways similar to what Joseph's culture would have been. And 158 00:11:01,510 --> 00:11:05,470 if a young couple became betrothed, they would present them before the 159 00:11:05,470 --> 00:11:09,150 body, they'd present them before the church, and they would go, this 160 00:11:09,150 --> 00:11:12,690 girl and this boy going to be 161 00:11:12,690 --> 00:11:16,410 married. And for the next year, they will be 162 00:11:16,810 --> 00:11:20,770 betrothed to one another. And we are presenting them to you, and we 163 00:11:20,770 --> 00:11:24,250 want every one of you to keep an eye on them. 164 00:11:26,890 --> 00:11:30,650 Everyone in the village knew everyone was 165 00:11:30,650 --> 00:11:34,450 watching. But what a great thing for everybody to be 166 00:11:34,450 --> 00:11:38,160 watching. Your happiness and, and your. Your 167 00:11:38,160 --> 00:11:41,280 overflowing joy. Until 168 00:11:43,760 --> 00:11:46,160 one day Mary came to Joseph with some news. 169 00:11:48,240 --> 00:11:51,120 This had to have been a very difficult conversation, 170 00:11:52,400 --> 00:11:56,080 especially, especially for Mary to bring, 171 00:11:56,240 --> 00:11:59,320 to bring this news to Joseph. And you know what the. You know what the 172 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:00,880 news was? She was with child. 173 00:12:03,530 --> 00:12:07,210 What kind of man believes that his 174 00:12:07,690 --> 00:12:11,610 fiance, with whom he knows 175 00:12:12,490 --> 00:12:15,290 he's never had those kinds of relations, 176 00:12:18,010 --> 00:12:21,930 what kind of man doesn't believe that she must have cheated on him with 177 00:12:21,930 --> 00:12:25,850 another man, but was 178 00:12:25,850 --> 00:12:29,690 instead pregnant by the Holy Spirit? 179 00:12:31,970 --> 00:12:35,570 What, what, what a story to 180 00:12:35,570 --> 00:12:39,570 convey to him. Were he a certain kind 181 00:12:39,570 --> 00:12:42,450 of man, were he like most men, 182 00:12:43,650 --> 00:12:47,650 he could have gone public denouncing her, proclaiming 183 00:12:47,650 --> 00:12:51,170 his innocence. He could perhaps even have her 184 00:12:51,170 --> 00:12:55,170 stoned. You know, I wonder. This is, 185 00:12:55,170 --> 00:12:58,130 this is kind of a little side thought, but I wondered this week when I 186 00:12:58,130 --> 00:13:01,880 was coming across this point, wondered if Jesus, who sure 187 00:13:01,880 --> 00:13:05,640 knew the story of his parents and how they came 188 00:13:05,640 --> 00:13:09,600 together and all that was. I wonder if that. If 189 00:13:09,600 --> 00:13:13,520 that story entered his mind when they brought him the woman taken in 190 00:13:13,520 --> 00:13:15,880 adultery and said, should we stone her? 191 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:21,960 He was a real person, had a family. 192 00:13:24,600 --> 00:13:27,800 Well, Joseph was not that kind of man. Did he get angry? 193 00:13:29,880 --> 00:13:33,430 I am pretty certain he got angry. I 194 00:13:33,430 --> 00:13:36,590 suspect it probably took him a few days to 195 00:13:37,150 --> 00:13:40,510 cool off, a few days to calm down with things. 196 00:13:41,470 --> 00:13:45,230 Was he crushed? Absolutely 197 00:13:45,630 --> 00:13:46,350 crushed. 198 00:13:49,790 --> 00:13:53,310 You know, I remember being first engaged and thinking, 199 00:13:54,110 --> 00:13:58,030 oh, wow, this is just great, and this is just wonderful, and my 200 00:13:58,030 --> 00:14:01,910 life is getting ready to change, and this is more 201 00:14:01,910 --> 00:14:05,290 than I could have ever imagined. And then this, 202 00:14:07,210 --> 00:14:08,490 then this comes along. 203 00:14:12,730 --> 00:14:16,490 Instead of going public because he wasn't that kind of man, 204 00:14:17,450 --> 00:14:21,370 and proclaiming his innocence and shaming Mary, 205 00:14:21,610 --> 00:14:25,450 he made the selfless, reasoned decision 206 00:14:25,690 --> 00:14:29,530 to put her away quietly to divorce her quietly. 207 00:14:29,930 --> 00:14:33,650 Once they were betrothed, there actually had to be a divorce for them to 208 00:14:33,650 --> 00:14:37,020 separate. And the decision was, you know, we'll do it 209 00:14:37,020 --> 00:14:39,820 quietly, and maybe all of this will just blow over. 210 00:14:41,420 --> 00:14:45,220 And I can walk away from it. Obviously, Mary couldn't walk away 211 00:14:45,220 --> 00:14:48,660 from it, but I can walk away from it. And that's a very 212 00:14:48,660 --> 00:14:52,460 reasonable thing to do and a very honorable thing to do. 213 00:14:54,620 --> 00:14:57,740 But wrong. But wrong. 214 00:14:59,500 --> 00:15:03,440 We. We tend to think that if something makes a lot of sense, 215 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:07,480 and if it's. Especially if it's honorable, then this 216 00:15:07,480 --> 00:15:11,480 must be what we're supposed to do. And oftentimes it is. I 217 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:14,320 remember growing up. Well, actually, not just growing up, but 218 00:15:15,360 --> 00:15:19,200 often I would hear at funerals, 219 00:15:19,520 --> 00:15:23,520 he was a good man. I'm sure the Lord will 220 00:15:23,840 --> 00:15:27,640 accept him because he was a good man. And because of how I was 221 00:15:27,640 --> 00:15:30,960 raised and what I was taught, what I was thinking, my thinking would be, 222 00:15:33,060 --> 00:15:36,580 being a good man doesn't cut it. You know, 223 00:15:36,740 --> 00:15:40,660 it's not what you know, it's who you know. And the question is, did 224 00:15:40,660 --> 00:15:44,180 he know Christ? And, you know, 225 00:15:44,420 --> 00:15:47,940 I'm not the judge, and I don't know the final answer, but I know that 226 00:15:47,940 --> 00:15:51,700 just being a good person who does the honorable 227 00:15:51,700 --> 00:15:55,660 right thing is not necessarily what God has in mind. Because there is 228 00:15:55,660 --> 00:15:59,570 a way that seems right to a man. But the scripture says that 229 00:15:59,570 --> 00:16:03,330 in the end, it leads to destruction. And his 230 00:16:03,330 --> 00:16:07,050 thoughts are not our thoughts, and his ways are not our ways. 231 00:16:07,050 --> 00:16:10,810 So what was he supposed to 232 00:16:10,810 --> 00:16:13,849 do? In my monologue, I had 233 00:16:14,650 --> 00:16:18,250 the character of a rabbi who Joseph treated as a 234 00:16:18,250 --> 00:16:22,210 confidant. And he went to the rabbi and he told him what 235 00:16:22,210 --> 00:16:26,170 Mary had said. And the rabbi was shocked because he had known Mary since 236 00:16:26,170 --> 00:16:30,150 she was a little girl. Can't believe that Mary would do something 237 00:16:30,150 --> 00:16:34,030 like this. And Joseph, I can't believe it either. And the rabbi advises him, why 238 00:16:34,030 --> 00:16:37,830 don't you take some time and ask God what to do? 239 00:16:42,470 --> 00:16:45,190 And Joseph's going, well, God will talk to me. 240 00:16:46,630 --> 00:16:50,470 Yes, he will talk to you. And 241 00:16:50,470 --> 00:16:54,350 he won't just talk to St. Joseph. He'll 242 00:16:54,350 --> 00:16:57,850 talk to you. And he'll do remarkable things, 243 00:16:58,650 --> 00:17:02,330 things that you'd never, never think of God doing. You know, sometimes we think about. 244 00:17:02,890 --> 00:17:06,770 That was a great testimony, Connie. We think about somebody being 245 00:17:06,770 --> 00:17:10,770 saved and their life being changed. And that's great. Or maybe, you know, 246 00:17:10,770 --> 00:17:14,770 the check came in the mail or some big 247 00:17:14,770 --> 00:17:18,650 thing. It's not all. It doesn't have to be a big thing. He wants to 248 00:17:18,650 --> 00:17:20,490 be involved in every area of Our lives. 249 00:17:24,849 --> 00:17:28,849 About three months after I came back to the Lord, I bought myself 250 00:17:28,849 --> 00:17:32,609 a Bible. And it was. It was this Bible. 251 00:17:33,489 --> 00:17:37,325 Bought it on July 12, 252 00:17:37,733 --> 00:17:41,489 1975. And I know that 253 00:17:42,049 --> 00:17:44,929 because I wrote it in here when I bought it. 254 00:17:45,969 --> 00:17:49,249 And a couple of years later, two or three years later, I lost it. 255 00:17:50,870 --> 00:17:54,830 I lost it. It was gone. I looked. This meant a lot to 256 00:17:54,830 --> 00:17:58,790 me. Oh, and by the way, this cover, some friends of mine who got 257 00:17:58,790 --> 00:18:02,670 saved shortly after I did bought this for me at Christmas 258 00:18:02,670 --> 00:18:06,550 that year. People wear T shirts now. This is how we used 259 00:18:06,550 --> 00:18:10,470 to advertise. You know, we go around with a big old 260 00:18:10,470 --> 00:18:14,070 Bible and a big old cover on it. Why, yes, I'm a Christian. Why do 261 00:18:14,070 --> 00:18:17,870 you ask? You know, let me tell you how you can get one of these 262 00:18:17,870 --> 00:18:21,640 Bible covers, too. It's a beautiful 263 00:18:21,640 --> 00:18:25,400 thing. But anyway, I lost it. 264 00:18:27,000 --> 00:18:30,760 Search. Scoured the house, searched the car, 265 00:18:31,000 --> 00:18:34,720 looked under the seats in the car, got a flashlight and 266 00:18:34,720 --> 00:18:38,280 bent down back when I could, bend down and 267 00:18:38,760 --> 00:18:42,440 looked under the seats and everything, and it was gone. 268 00:18:44,840 --> 00:18:48,420 And Margaret and I just went, well, you know, 269 00:18:49,060 --> 00:18:52,820 I don't know anything else to do. Let's just pray. And 270 00:18:53,060 --> 00:18:56,980 so we prayed. We prayed, lord, you know where this Bible 271 00:18:56,980 --> 00:19:00,500 is and just 272 00:19:00,660 --> 00:19:03,380 send an angel to go get it and bring it to us. 273 00:19:05,300 --> 00:19:09,100 That's a stupid prayer, isn't it? I mean, that's just. 274 00:19:09,100 --> 00:19:12,220 That's so out there. I mean, we, when we. When we were praying it, we 275 00:19:12,220 --> 00:19:15,780 thought, that's kind of out there. But we're going to pray it anyway. 276 00:19:16,580 --> 00:19:20,380 Next morning I get up to go to work and 277 00:19:20,380 --> 00:19:24,380 I go down to get in my car, and laying in the middle of the 278 00:19:24,380 --> 00:19:27,620 back seat is this Bible 279 00:19:28,980 --> 00:19:31,940 kind of thing. Well, you're going to. Thank you, Connie. 280 00:19:33,780 --> 00:19:36,980 You probably think, well, you were going to be a preacher, and God knew that, 281 00:19:36,980 --> 00:19:40,110 so he had to do something special. You do it for anybody. 282 00:19:46,270 --> 00:19:47,710 Somebody check on Will. 283 00:19:51,790 --> 00:19:55,070 I was telling Michelle about this story this week, 284 00:19:56,910 --> 00:20:00,750 and she had a chit. Is that what it's called? 285 00:20:01,470 --> 00:20:05,460 Chip. Okay, It's a chip. It's not a chit. I 286 00:20:05,460 --> 00:20:09,340 mean, who says that it was a chip that 287 00:20:09,340 --> 00:20:11,180 she had gotten for her time at. 288 00:20:13,180 --> 00:20:16,300 For completing the cr. Yeah. 289 00:20:17,820 --> 00:20:21,100 And she lost it. She said, I can't find this thing. 290 00:20:23,100 --> 00:20:27,100 And she said, I've looked everywhere in the house. I've looked in my 291 00:20:27,100 --> 00:20:29,900 car. Said, have you looked in your car? I've looked in my car. This is 292 00:20:29,900 --> 00:20:33,860 a very thorough woman, by the way. Very thorough looker when she goes 293 00:20:33,860 --> 00:20:36,530 looking for something. And I said, well, 294 00:20:38,850 --> 00:20:39,970 why don't we pray. 295 00:20:42,770 --> 00:20:46,730 You heard the story. And, you know, when she 296 00:20:46,730 --> 00:20:50,330 heard the story, I think there was a little bit of kind of in it. 297 00:20:50,330 --> 00:20:53,410 But anyway, we prayed. And 298 00:20:54,530 --> 00:20:58,490 I go out to the car and I lift up a sweater, and laying 299 00:20:58,490 --> 00:21:00,850 on the seat in the middle is a chip. 300 00:21:02,780 --> 00:21:06,660 Here you go. Yeah. Oh, yeah. Isn't it cool when 301 00:21:06,660 --> 00:21:10,220 something like that happens? Yeah, it is. It can happen 302 00:21:10,540 --> 00:21:14,540 to you. You just have to open your eyes and believe. God 303 00:21:14,540 --> 00:21:17,500 will speak to you. God will do stuff. 304 00:21:21,660 --> 00:21:25,180 Anyway. God is no respecter of persons, by the way. 305 00:21:27,910 --> 00:21:31,710 So he goes in my monologue, he goes and takes the rabbi's 306 00:21:31,710 --> 00:21:35,070 advice and asks God, what. What am I supposed to do? And he had a 307 00:21:35,070 --> 00:21:39,070 dream. And in this dream, 308 00:21:39,070 --> 00:21:42,990 he's visited by an angel. Now, I don't believe 309 00:21:42,990 --> 00:21:46,790 that all dreams are divinely inspired, but clearly God 310 00:21:46,790 --> 00:21:50,230 speaks to us in dreams. He spoke to people in 311 00:21:50,230 --> 00:21:53,910 dreams in the Bible. And the angel said to him, joseph, 312 00:21:54,530 --> 00:21:58,450 son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home 313 00:21:58,450 --> 00:22:02,330 as your wife, for what is conceived 314 00:22:02,330 --> 00:22:06,330 in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give 315 00:22:06,330 --> 00:22:10,250 birth to a son, and you're to give him the name Jesus because he will 316 00:22:10,250 --> 00:22:12,690 save his people from their sins. 317 00:22:14,530 --> 00:22:18,250 Joseph was not just an honorable man. Joseph was a man of 318 00:22:18,250 --> 00:22:22,100 faith, Great faith. Mary had been 319 00:22:22,100 --> 00:22:26,020 visited by an angel. She saw the angel. The angel told her his 320 00:22:26,020 --> 00:22:29,940 name. I'm Gabriel. I've come from God. I've come to bring this 321 00:22:29,940 --> 00:22:33,780 message. And once she said 322 00:22:33,780 --> 00:22:37,420 yes. And that took faith, that took 323 00:22:37,420 --> 00:22:41,140 courage to say it. But once she said yes, the 324 00:22:41,140 --> 00:22:45,060 die was cast, the deed was done. She didn't have 325 00:22:45,060 --> 00:22:48,540 much choice, since she knew she was a virgin 326 00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:52,680 and she knew she was with child. 327 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:57,160 She knew this angel was speaking the truth. 328 00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:02,160 Joseph. Joseph didn't have that kind. He did 329 00:23:02,160 --> 00:23:06,160 not know with such certainty. He only had the 330 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:09,160 word of Mary and what he had heard in a dream. 331 00:23:11,320 --> 00:23:13,880 But he listened and he had faith. 332 00:23:15,890 --> 00:23:19,650 We attach faith to things 333 00:23:19,650 --> 00:23:23,410 like being saved. You need faith to be saved. Yeah, you do need faith to 334 00:23:23,410 --> 00:23:27,250 be saved. And probably back around 50 years ago, 335 00:23:27,810 --> 00:23:31,610 some point in the 70s, we began in this culture anyway, to 336 00:23:31,610 --> 00:23:35,090 attach faith to getting your miracle or 337 00:23:35,890 --> 00:23:39,570 getting something that you need or making something 338 00:23:39,650 --> 00:23:40,050 happen. 339 00:23:44,290 --> 00:23:48,170 But that's not. There is faith attached to 340 00:23:48,170 --> 00:23:51,810 that. You know, that's kind of like having your birthday. 341 00:23:52,210 --> 00:23:55,890 Well, there are 364 other days in the year. 342 00:23:56,849 --> 00:24:00,730 And faith is about how 343 00:24:00,730 --> 00:24:04,210 you live. Living by faith, 344 00:24:04,850 --> 00:24:08,310 not by sight, not by 345 00:24:08,470 --> 00:24:11,670 reason. Isaiah 346 00:24:12,550 --> 00:24:16,390 wrote, the virgin will conceive and will give birth to a son, and they will 347 00:24:16,390 --> 00:24:19,830 call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. 348 00:24:20,630 --> 00:24:23,670 And it's perhaps unlikely that Joseph knew that scripture, 349 00:24:25,030 --> 00:24:27,590 knew that prophecy, but his confidant did, 350 00:24:29,910 --> 00:24:33,270 the rabbi that I had in my monologue and 351 00:24:34,820 --> 00:24:38,500 imagine being Joseph and hearing that news. Hey, 352 00:24:38,500 --> 00:24:42,500 Joseph, you know, Mary told you this and we both knew, 353 00:24:42,500 --> 00:24:45,660 know Mary, we thought, well, we'll give her the benefit of that. And then you 354 00:24:45,660 --> 00:24:48,740 had that dream and an angel came and talked to you. 355 00:24:49,540 --> 00:24:53,060 Isaiah, the prophet said this was supposed to happen. 356 00:24:53,620 --> 00:24:56,980 Can you imagine how he felt that day? I mean, you know, 357 00:24:57,940 --> 00:25:00,890 he would be floating, hearing that news. 358 00:25:02,810 --> 00:25:05,850 I told you, it's kind of some ups and downs because there was some other 359 00:25:05,850 --> 00:25:08,730 news as well that would be coming. 360 00:25:09,610 --> 00:25:13,490 You know, the Bible doesn't always say what we want it to 361 00:25:13,490 --> 00:25:16,890 say, what we would like for it to say, and 362 00:25:18,410 --> 00:25:22,290 nor do we always understand what it's saying. You know, and I have 363 00:25:22,290 --> 00:25:25,930 people come to me sometimes and they go, well, you know, 364 00:25:26,090 --> 00:25:28,650 I tried reading the Bible, but I just don't understand it. 365 00:25:30,280 --> 00:25:32,600 I would read the Bible, but I don't understand it. 366 00:25:35,160 --> 00:25:38,120 You don't understand stranger things, but you keep watching it. 367 00:25:41,000 --> 00:25:44,040 There's a lot of things that we don't understand, 368 00:25:45,400 --> 00:25:49,360 but we keep, we persevere, we keep going 369 00:25:49,360 --> 00:25:53,280 with it. So why not the Bible? 370 00:25:53,280 --> 00:25:56,440 Why not the word of God, for crying out loud? 371 00:26:00,070 --> 00:26:04,030 The rabbi continued to search the scripture and 372 00:26:04,030 --> 00:26:08,030 he came up with some other news. Oh, by the way, Messiah is supposed 373 00:26:08,030 --> 00:26:09,590 to be born in Bethlehem. 374 00:26:12,550 --> 00:26:15,190 Now I was trying to think of a, 375 00:26:17,750 --> 00:26:21,710 something to compare that to. Now, you know, if you were going to have 376 00:26:21,710 --> 00:26:25,620 a child and you're living in Smyrna, Tennessee, 377 00:26:27,700 --> 00:26:31,660 and for some reason you discover this is not where this child is supposed 378 00:26:31,660 --> 00:26:35,460 to be born. This child is supposed to be born in Papua New 379 00:26:35,460 --> 00:26:39,180 guinea. And you have no idea what Papua New 380 00:26:39,180 --> 00:26:42,940 guinea even is. But here's the thing. You could get to Papua New 381 00:26:42,940 --> 00:26:46,820 guinea from here a lot quicker than you could get from 382 00:26:46,820 --> 00:26:48,500 Nazareth to Bethlehem. 383 00:26:50,990 --> 00:26:54,510 So maybe, and. But 384 00:26:54,990 --> 00:26:56,830 that was Joseph's ancestral home, 385 00:26:58,990 --> 00:27:02,830 but it wasn't where they are now. But we 386 00:27:02,830 --> 00:27:06,790 could make that happen. But yeah, let's 387 00:27:06,790 --> 00:27:10,750 get on our donkey and ride right now. Let's make it happen. 388 00:27:10,910 --> 00:27:14,670 That is not how God operates. It's how we 389 00:27:14,670 --> 00:27:18,660 operate, how we tend to operate with things. Those of you 390 00:27:18,660 --> 00:27:22,460 who've been here for a while, you know, know my story, 391 00:27:22,460 --> 00:27:26,340 my journey into the ministry. I actually 392 00:27:26,580 --> 00:27:30,580 felt like I was called to the ministry when I was 16 393 00:27:31,140 --> 00:27:34,860 and I was, I went out and preached some and I 394 00:27:34,860 --> 00:27:38,860 discovered that was so wrong. The people 395 00:27:38,860 --> 00:27:42,580 who had to hear those sermons. God Loved them. There is a special 396 00:27:42,580 --> 00:27:46,250 place in heaven for those people if they continued to believe 397 00:27:46,490 --> 00:27:50,290 after they heard me preach. And then I 398 00:27:50,290 --> 00:27:53,210 got away from the Lord. And then when I came back to the Lord a 399 00:27:53,210 --> 00:27:56,970 couple of years after that, I had, you know, 400 00:27:56,970 --> 00:28:00,330 that assurance in my heart that I was supposed to be 401 00:28:01,210 --> 00:28:04,010 a pastor, be in the ministry. So I applied for 402 00:28:05,450 --> 00:28:08,570 seminary and they told me no, 403 00:28:09,610 --> 00:28:13,450 they didn't want me there. My undergraduate 404 00:28:13,450 --> 00:28:16,780 career had been something less than stellar. And 405 00:28:17,020 --> 00:28:20,500 God said. I said, well, what am I supposed to do now, God? And God 406 00:28:20,500 --> 00:28:23,260 said, nothing. 407 00:28:24,140 --> 00:28:27,740 Wait, you know, sometimes 408 00:28:27,820 --> 00:28:31,619 God tells us about something and we do have to do something. When he called 409 00:28:31,619 --> 00:28:35,500 Abraham to leave his home in Ur of the Chaldeans and go to 410 00:28:35,500 --> 00:28:38,460 a land that I will show you, he had to get up and go 411 00:28:39,660 --> 00:28:43,510 to do something. But most. If it's something that God 412 00:28:43,510 --> 00:28:47,470 is going to do, if it's something that God is going to fulfill in 413 00:28:47,470 --> 00:28:51,030 your life, and especially if it's something that only God can do, 414 00:28:52,230 --> 00:28:55,510 then it's a bad idea to try and do it ourselves. 415 00:29:01,110 --> 00:29:04,470 So they just couldn't up and move. John says, over in. 416 00:29:05,830 --> 00:29:09,190 John the Baptist says, over in John 3, a person can 417 00:29:09,350 --> 00:29:13,350 receive only what is given them from heaven. And 418 00:29:13,350 --> 00:29:17,030 so God gave them something from heaven. And that was 419 00:29:17,110 --> 00:29:21,030 instructions from the government. This was 420 00:29:21,030 --> 00:29:24,390 Augustus Caesar. He called for a 421 00:29:24,550 --> 00:29:28,430 census of the entire Roman world. And it 422 00:29:28,430 --> 00:29:32,390 was highly inconvenient because people would have to go to their ancestral 423 00:29:32,550 --> 00:29:36,350 home. And so that meant that Joseph was going to have 424 00:29:36,350 --> 00:29:39,970 to take his pregnant wife, very pregnant 425 00:29:39,970 --> 00:29:43,930 wife, and travel the 70 to 90 426 00:29:43,930 --> 00:29:47,610 miles, whatever it was, to get to Bethlehem through some 427 00:29:47,610 --> 00:29:51,610 dangerous, dangerous territory at a dangerous time. There's going to 428 00:29:51,610 --> 00:29:53,850 be a lot of thieves on the road because there's going to be a lot 429 00:29:53,850 --> 00:29:57,730 of people on the road. You 430 00:29:57,730 --> 00:30:01,730 know, we sometimes rail against the government. The Bible doesn't, but 431 00:30:01,730 --> 00:30:05,540 we do. And our attempts. But 432 00:30:05,540 --> 00:30:09,540 our attempts to change the government, you see, we're kind of going back to, we 433 00:30:09,540 --> 00:30:12,100 got to do this thing. No, we don't. 434 00:30:13,540 --> 00:30:17,540 God's going to do this thing. And you know what? He's not going 435 00:30:17,540 --> 00:30:21,100 to change the government. He's going to do away with it and 436 00:30:21,100 --> 00:30:25,020 establish a kingdom with a king. And I 437 00:30:25,020 --> 00:30:28,860 say, come, Lord Jesus, the quicker the better. But you 438 00:30:28,860 --> 00:30:32,780 see, our attempts to change the government into something godly are bound 439 00:30:32,780 --> 00:30:36,600 to fail because that's not what Jesus came to do. That's not what 440 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:40,560 he commissioned and anointed us to do. He commissioned and anointed us 441 00:30:40,560 --> 00:30:44,400 to go and spread the news. There's a kingdom coming, there is a 442 00:30:44,560 --> 00:30:47,600 far better way than what the world 443 00:30:48,080 --> 00:30:51,560 knows. And also because we're kind of ignorant of the 444 00:30:51,560 --> 00:30:55,400 consequences, we think if we pull this string here that this is going to 445 00:30:55,400 --> 00:30:59,080 happen. But as soon as we pull this string, that happens because we don't know 446 00:30:59,080 --> 00:31:02,920 what's going on, but God does. And so, you know, he had 447 00:31:02,920 --> 00:31:06,800 Augustus Caesar in Rome proclaiming 448 00:31:06,800 --> 00:31:10,160 this census and not 449 00:31:10,160 --> 00:31:14,080 understanding that the most important consequence 450 00:31:14,080 --> 00:31:17,440 of this. What is that called? 451 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:22,720 Census. The most. I'm getting. I'm old. 452 00:31:23,360 --> 00:31:26,000 The most important consequence of this census 453 00:31:27,400 --> 00:31:30,680 there was a peasant couple that he had no knowledge of 454 00:31:31,160 --> 00:31:33,800 in Galilee. They were going to have to go to Bethlehem. 455 00:31:36,280 --> 00:31:39,960 And it seemed like a dangerously bad thing for 456 00:31:39,960 --> 00:31:42,840 Joseph and Mary, but in fact, it was absolutely perfect. 457 00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:48,880 You know, Mary was away from her hometown. She 458 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:51,680 was in the right place, but she was also in the right place because she 459 00:31:51,680 --> 00:31:55,520 wasn't in the wrong place. She was away from her hometown. When the baby was 460 00:31:55,520 --> 00:31:59,220 born, well, people must have known she was pregnant. Oh, come 461 00:31:59,220 --> 00:32:03,180 on. She didn't go to the maternity shop to get 462 00:32:03,180 --> 00:32:07,140 her clothes. You know, she had these robes and things on. 463 00:32:09,060 --> 00:32:12,340 Why do you think I now, when the occasion 464 00:32:12,580 --> 00:32:16,500 warrants, why do you think that I now like to wear my T shirts out 465 00:32:17,860 --> 00:32:20,980 and come dressed in clothes that hide this 466 00:32:23,940 --> 00:32:24,740 billowy. 467 00:32:31,700 --> 00:32:35,380 Talking about the clothes. I'm not talking about me being the clothes. 468 00:32:38,500 --> 00:32:42,340 Bethlehem, the night of the birth, two wonderful 469 00:32:42,340 --> 00:32:46,340 things happened. And I got to get going here, but I'm going to. Two 470 00:32:46,420 --> 00:32:48,980 wonderful things happened. First of all, Jesus was a boy, 471 00:32:50,990 --> 00:32:54,230 and had it been otherwise, it was going to be. It was going to kind 472 00:32:54,230 --> 00:32:58,070 of blow the whole thing out of the water. And here's the thing. 473 00:32:58,070 --> 00:33:01,830 When God gives you something, something that you're 474 00:33:01,830 --> 00:33:04,590 supposed to order your life around, 475 00:33:05,790 --> 00:33:09,350 things are going to happen and the enemy is going to plant 476 00:33:09,350 --> 00:33:13,310 doubts in your mind every day. That's not really 477 00:33:13,310 --> 00:33:16,710 God. You're not really supposed to do that. Do you know how stupid you're going 478 00:33:16,710 --> 00:33:20,600 to look when this happens 479 00:33:20,600 --> 00:33:24,560 or when that happens? The enemy 480 00:33:24,560 --> 00:33:28,360 plants these doubts in our minds all the time. And 481 00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:31,400 I'm sure that Joseph was having to deal with some of them, but that doubt 482 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:35,000 got erased for sure. And then they were visited by 483 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:38,920 shepherds. Shepherds, for crying out loud. You 484 00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:42,080 know, they're in this town where they don't know anybody and they just had this 485 00:33:42,080 --> 00:33:45,890 baby that they think they've been told 486 00:33:46,050 --> 00:33:50,050 by angels and such is the Messiah of the world. And this 487 00:33:50,050 --> 00:33:53,970 gang of guys that don't smell very good and don't Look, 488 00:33:53,970 --> 00:33:56,850 Very good. Come in the middle of the night and 489 00:33:58,050 --> 00:34:01,890 you don't know them. And they're going, where is the one who's born to be 490 00:34:02,050 --> 00:34:05,570 the Savior of the world? Wow. 491 00:34:06,050 --> 00:34:10,050 Angels appeared to us and sang to us. And of course, God 492 00:34:10,050 --> 00:34:13,930 announced the birth to the poor. Jesus came to bring good news 493 00:34:13,930 --> 00:34:17,549 to the poor. The poor don't get a lot of good news. But. But 494 00:34:17,549 --> 00:34:21,349 Jesus came to do that. Herod was asleep in his 495 00:34:21,349 --> 00:34:25,229 palace while the shepherds were outside seeing this 496 00:34:25,389 --> 00:34:28,269 thing, this incredible thing. 497 00:34:33,469 --> 00:34:36,269 The announcement to the shepherds was peace on earth, 498 00:34:37,069 --> 00:34:40,909 goodwill toward men. Think 499 00:34:40,909 --> 00:34:44,210 about that for just a second. Peace on earth. 500 00:34:44,610 --> 00:34:46,450 Can you even imagine it? 501 00:34:52,370 --> 00:34:53,730 What a pronouncement. 502 00:34:57,650 --> 00:35:01,330 And so this was for the shepherds. It was for all of mankind, 503 00:35:02,130 --> 00:35:04,050 but it was also for the young couple. 504 00:35:06,610 --> 00:35:10,510 Luke says that Mary stored up these things and pondered them 505 00:35:10,510 --> 00:35:13,710 in her heart. And while Luke doesn't say so, I'm going to step out and 506 00:35:13,710 --> 00:35:17,710 boldly proclaim. So did Joseph. He 507 00:35:17,710 --> 00:35:21,670 kept these things in his heart and he pondered them. And then a year or 508 00:35:21,670 --> 00:35:25,310 so later, Magi from the east appeared. 509 00:35:25,310 --> 00:35:28,990 Matthew says they came to the house where the young child was. 510 00:35:29,070 --> 00:35:32,830 And imagine all that Mary and Joseph had been through 511 00:35:33,630 --> 00:35:37,020 all of this stuff, and now they're. They've perhaps 512 00:35:37,020 --> 00:35:40,740 established a home, he's perhaps established his trade 513 00:35:41,380 --> 00:35:45,260 and in Bethlehem and the world, and their whole world is getting ready to be 514 00:35:45,260 --> 00:35:46,420 turned upside down again. 515 00:35:49,300 --> 00:35:50,180 I hear the music. 516 00:35:54,820 --> 00:35:58,540 Who told you guys to come out here? Did an 517 00:35:58,540 --> 00:36:02,290 angel? Never mind. I'm gonna finish 518 00:36:02,290 --> 00:36:04,770 anyway. Yeah, it's okay. 519 00:36:09,250 --> 00:36:12,850 Just as they're settling in, their world's about to be turned upside down again. 520 00:36:13,650 --> 00:36:17,530 The Magi were not actually kings, and we don't know how many they 521 00:36:17,530 --> 00:36:19,090 were, but they were Gentiles. 522 00:36:21,330 --> 00:36:23,810 Think about that. The circle is now complete. 523 00:36:25,730 --> 00:36:29,520 Sometimes people would. Would kind of get on to me and go, well, 524 00:36:29,520 --> 00:36:33,360 you know, why are you doing celebrating Christmas? Don't you know that's pagan holiday? 525 00:36:34,560 --> 00:36:38,480 Not for me. I mean, we try 526 00:36:38,480 --> 00:36:40,160 to make it a pagan holiday, 527 00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:44,960 but not. Not for me. That's not how I look at it. 528 00:36:46,560 --> 00:36:50,200 Well, the Bible doesn't tell you you have to celebrate it. Well, no, it doesn't, 529 00:36:50,200 --> 00:36:54,140 but it tells me that Jewish shepherds observed it and 530 00:36:54,780 --> 00:36:58,380 gentile Magi observed it and angelic 531 00:36:58,380 --> 00:37:01,660 beings observed it. So I think I'm okay 532 00:37:02,780 --> 00:37:03,820 getting to do that. 533 00:37:07,180 --> 00:37:11,100 And they brought expensive gifts and amazing. I mean, imagine 534 00:37:11,100 --> 00:37:15,100 you're living in a little carpenter's home in these, and a caravan 535 00:37:15,100 --> 00:37:18,860 pulls up with all this stuff. 536 00:37:19,180 --> 00:37:23,050 Well, they brought gifts and 537 00:37:23,210 --> 00:37:27,090 encouragement, but they also brought trouble. Why 538 00:37:27,090 --> 00:37:31,090 would this young family need expensive gifts? Well, maybe because they were getting to 539 00:37:31,090 --> 00:37:34,930 uproot and go be refugees in a foreign 540 00:37:34,930 --> 00:37:38,930 country. And Joseph was the one who had to 541 00:37:38,930 --> 00:37:42,890 make that decision. And he was warned in a dream that Herod 542 00:37:42,890 --> 00:37:46,860 would seek to kill the child. Is the story getting interesting yet? 543 00:37:47,660 --> 00:37:51,180 Herod would seek to kill this child, and in fact, he 544 00:37:51,260 --> 00:37:55,020 killed many in the attempt to do so. But child wasn't there 545 00:37:55,020 --> 00:37:58,660 because Joseph listened. And he made the 546 00:37:58,660 --> 00:38:01,740 arduous journey trek 547 00:38:02,540 --> 00:38:06,420 with Mary and Jesus. And then he was later told to return to 548 00:38:06,420 --> 00:38:10,140 Israel and then specifically to Galilee. 549 00:38:12,390 --> 00:38:15,030 Joseph Davidson, you guys can come out now. 550 00:38:19,990 --> 00:38:22,470 I love you guys. I really do. 551 00:38:24,470 --> 00:38:28,150 The man God chose to raise the Christ, 552 00:38:29,910 --> 00:38:33,870 he was just like us. Or at least like we can 553 00:38:33,870 --> 00:38:37,670 be. He 554 00:38:37,670 --> 00:38:41,510 listened. I know this is a touchy subject for 555 00:38:41,510 --> 00:38:44,710 some of you, Justin, 556 00:38:46,630 --> 00:38:48,870 but Vanderbilt's got a good football team. 557 00:38:52,470 --> 00:38:56,430 Anchor down. That's right, baby. And I've got a 558 00:38:56,430 --> 00:39:00,070 good friend I went to high school with who is a big 559 00:39:00,070 --> 00:39:03,650 supporter of their athletic department. He 560 00:39:03,650 --> 00:39:06,730 graduated from there, so he gets a pass and 561 00:39:07,530 --> 00:39:11,290 knows a lot of people in the athletic department. He told me this last summer. 562 00:39:11,770 --> 00:39:15,610 I. I asked him, I said, why, you know, why is. Why is Clark 563 00:39:15,610 --> 00:39:19,490 Lee had this kind of success? Why is he such a good coach? And he 564 00:39:19,490 --> 00:39:22,810 said, ronnie, I have asked several people 565 00:39:24,090 --> 00:39:27,850 associated with that program that very question, and they all had the same 566 00:39:28,330 --> 00:39:30,990 answer. He listens. 567 00:39:33,790 --> 00:39:35,790 He doesn't feel like he knows everything. 568 00:39:37,710 --> 00:39:41,630 So he'll listen. We can 569 00:39:41,630 --> 00:39:45,309 hear and hear and hear and hear 570 00:39:45,710 --> 00:39:49,710 again. But until we listen and we realize that 571 00:39:49,710 --> 00:39:52,510 God can speak to me and is speaking to me, 572 00:39:54,830 --> 00:39:58,670 we don't take the next step. He was 573 00:39:58,670 --> 00:40:02,550 brave. Taking Mary as his 574 00:40:02,550 --> 00:40:05,390 wife required courage. He said, well, you know, 575 00:40:07,390 --> 00:40:11,390 we usually associate bravery with something you do in a. In a fight, 576 00:40:11,390 --> 00:40:15,230 but there are more kinds of fights than fistfights and gunfights and knife 577 00:40:15,230 --> 00:40:18,910 fights. In fact, those are just kind of stuff. 578 00:40:19,630 --> 00:40:21,070 These are real fights. 579 00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:27,560 Taking his very pregnant wife to Bethlehem required courage. Well, you know, it 580 00:40:27,560 --> 00:40:31,200 required a lot on her part, too. Yeah, I know, but it was his decision, 581 00:40:32,560 --> 00:40:34,840 and he could have said, no, we're not going to do it. I'm not going 582 00:40:34,840 --> 00:40:37,720 to. This is supposed to be the savior of the world, and this is the 583 00:40:37,720 --> 00:40:41,000 woman that I love, and I'm going to put them in danger. No, I can't 584 00:40:41,000 --> 00:40:44,960 do that. I can do that because I trust in God. 585 00:40:48,150 --> 00:40:51,910 Being willing to uproot and go to a foreign land required 586 00:40:51,990 --> 00:40:55,550 courage. Being willing to come back to Israel required 587 00:40:55,550 --> 00:40:59,270 courage. His courage was born of 588 00:40:59,270 --> 00:41:03,230 faith. He was a man of faith. Faith is not 589 00:41:03,230 --> 00:41:06,710 about making something happen. It's not about 590 00:41:07,750 --> 00:41:11,550 getting your miracle. Faith is a component there, 591 00:41:11,550 --> 00:41:15,190 but that's not. When the Bible says 592 00:41:15,590 --> 00:41:19,590 the righteous will live by faith, that's not what 593 00:41:19,590 --> 00:41:21,750 it's talking about. It's talking about, 594 00:41:23,110 --> 00:41:27,030 okay, that's what you said. It's what we're going 595 00:41:27,030 --> 00:41:30,950 to do, and we're going to walk it out. Not 596 00:41:30,950 --> 00:41:34,710 just on the special day, we're going to walk it out 597 00:41:35,190 --> 00:41:39,030 365 and a quarter days a year. 598 00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:44,800 Faith is about how you live. And faith without 599 00:41:44,880 --> 00:41:46,960 works is dead. 600 00:41:48,640 --> 00:41:49,840 Would you stand with me? 601 00:41:54,000 --> 00:41:57,200 For those who are going to minister to people, come forward. 602 00:41:59,120 --> 00:42:03,000 You, you may have come here today needing a miracle. You may have come 603 00:42:03,000 --> 00:42:06,160 here today, you know, with something big going on, and, 604 00:42:06,890 --> 00:42:10,490 hey, that's part of the deal. 605 00:42:11,610 --> 00:42:15,530 But you may have come here today with something else that 606 00:42:15,530 --> 00:42:18,650 matters to you. And you go, well, this doesn't matter to God. 607 00:42:20,170 --> 00:42:24,130 What matters to your children matter to you. What's important 608 00:42:24,130 --> 00:42:27,850 to them is important to you. And 609 00:42:27,850 --> 00:42:31,610 so if you need prayer, you come forward. 610 00:42:31,770 --> 00:42:34,780 We're going to worship for a few moments, will wait on you.