Episode Transcript
[00:00:04] Christmas seems to have come a bit early this year. Do you think? Oh, thank you.
[00:00:10] We had a neighbor that had one of those massive inflatable snowmen and Father Christmases at the beginning of November on their front porch.
[00:00:20] Yeah, the wind deflated it somehow, but it's still hanging onto his porch and it's enormous. Thank you very much. That's much better.
[00:00:28] But even so, I think Christmas still has a power to sneak up on you and take you by surprise, doesn't it? Has everybody here done all their Christmas shopping yet?
[00:00:38] No. Well, that's because it does creep up on you. When I was a kid, I used to love Christmas. I used to look forward to Christmas. I used to look forward with anticipation for the presents and the Christmas morning. Now, a bit longer in the tooth. I look forward to the family gathering and just being all together as a family. And I'm getting kind of used to being retired because things are changing for us most. Well, yeah, we have three children. Two of them live in the same town as us, Chudleigh. One lives in Plymouth. So they're not going to be staying overnight, whereas before, we've had, I don't know, up to 12, 13, 14 people staying with us for quite a long Christmas period. So it's kind of weird to be just seeing them on Christmas Day, for sure, and then other times as well, over the Christmas period. And there's also a thing called Wamageddon. Does anybody here know about Wamageddon? Well, Wamageddon is an informal competition to see how close you can get to Christmas without hearing Last Christmas by Wham. And even that was broken for me this year in November, when a friend of mine went to Cyprus and was sat outside of a restaurant when he heard the dulcet tones of.
[00:02:00] I nearly said Boy George, but it's George Michael singing Last Christmas.
[00:02:06] So I'll tell you what, there's one group of people that never have any trouble knowing that Christmas is coming, and that's kids. And kids just can't wait for Christmas. So I went onto the Internet this year and I had a look at what children have been writing to Santa.
[00:02:26] Can we have the first slide?
[00:02:29] Okay. These are genuine letters to Santa. And to prove it, there's a photo of the letter on each slide, and I'll read it to you, although the words are transcribed as well. So the first one says, dear Santa, I don't want all the other nine things on the list that I sent to my father. I only want the puppy. Every time I think about not Getting a puppy, it makes me sadder and sadder. I just want one little puppy. Perhaps a Labrador, German shepherd or husky. Thank you. If I discover a puppy in a box under a tree. And that's sweet. Love, Emily.
[00:03:09] This one is not asking for anything, it's giving a strong hint. There are. Dear Santa, there are three of my Nintendo games set out for you. You can play them if you have time. There are also some cookies me and my mum made. The games are Super Mario, Bart's Nightmare and Buster Busts Loose. And my new one, Super Mario, is missing. There's the hint. The system is in the living room. Please clean my room.
[00:03:38] The next one. Dear Santa Claus, how are you doing? I'm doing fine. I do not care if I get coal or not. I just want to spend time with my family. But I do like opening presents from Lucy.
[00:03:52] Dear Sanzy, I was wondering if I could get a couple of things for Christmas. Here's the list. You might need to flip the page. A puppy, a dog, a kitten, a cat, a fuzzy puppy, a fuzzy kitten. And I didn't see the other side, but I think you get general gist of that direction for that one.
[00:04:09] Now this one. Dear Sansa, how are you? Well, enough chit chat. Let's get down to business.
[00:04:14] This year I want a big space Lego set, some jellybeans, a shark's jacket and hat, an AK47 assault rifle, and any Nintendo game. What are they going to do with an AK47 assault rival?
[00:04:30] Dear Sansa, how are you and the reindeer doing? I'm fine. I want a new football game and a football because my little brother always tries to steal mine. He may look sweet, but he's the devil.
[00:04:43] I also want a remote control truck. Love, Evan. P.S. how do you get into my house on Christmas?
[00:04:49] And then this last one. Dear Santa, if you want to grab a beer, feel free to get the lot. Or just one. P.S. the fridge is near the door from Flynn and the reply from Santa is just one was great. Thank you.
[00:05:04] Christmas is often associated with waiting. We sung that wonderful hymn Hark the Herald Angels, and I don't know how many of you noticed, but it said he was laid in time. I don't know what that means. He's late in time. And it encourages us to wait and to recognize. I've never worked out if he was late in time because he took like nine and a half months or ten months. But the song says he's late in time and I guess that's themed in with this thought of waiting For Christmas. I wonder what you're waiting for. That's the title of the sermon this morning, by the way.
[00:05:39] Christmas this year is coming at a time when the world seems to be very unstable. Wars and rumors of wars, cuts to funding, prices rising. It's a kind of a collective dismay, which is a term coined by Jeremy Green of John Hopkins University. He says, this collective dismay, there's a universal ache for an end to our current distress. Romans 8, 22. But what strikes me is that Advent Christmas always has the power to transform thoughts to generosity, to the giving and receiving of joy. I don't know if any of you saw the news this morning, but the Syrian. One of the groups of Syrian rebels have taken Damascus. Now Assad has run away. I don't know if you keep up with world news, but Assad wasn't a great person at all. And it's kind of interesting that he's gone. He was being supported by Russia, but the group that's taken Damascus, supported by Al Qaeda. And they've urged them to go for the Jews and the Crusaders. Crusaders are Christians. That's their name for Christians. We need to pray for those people in Syria because they must be very confused. They must be thinking, well, it's good to get rid of one dictator. But what's coming next?
[00:07:02] Christmas, of course, can be a very lonely time for many. But the season represents hope, peace, joy, and love. But because of the brokenness of a fallen world, there will be people that find loneliness and sadness at Christmas as well. And we mustn't forget them. So let me ask you for some questions. What are you waiting for this Christmas? Are you longing for anything in particular? What are you expecting to receive? Are you looking forward to anything special this Christmas? In the Christmas story in Scripture, there are two characters who are often overlooked. And it's those two that I want to look at this morning from Luke, chapter two.
[00:07:45] They make their appearance in the final acts of the Christmas drama, and they were both waiting with anticipation for that wonderful day. One is named Simeon and the other is a woman named Anna. I can't remember ever seeing them in nativity scenes or Christmas cards, but they are significant players in the Bible. And if you're into Bible study, you can use them as a comparison to Joseph and Mary. And I'll do that a little bit in my sermon later on.
[00:08:15] So Luke 22. So Luke 2, 22, 38.
[00:08:20] Now, Luke uses a word of anticipation that identifies them as waiting with expectation for the coming of the Messiah or Savior. It literally means that they were alert to his appearance and ready to welcome him. We see this word in Luke 2:25 in reference to Simeon, where we read that he was waiting and in 238 to describe a woman named Anna who is looking forward to. Let's read their story from Luke 2:25.
[00:08:52] Now, there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the law required, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, sovereign Lord, as you have promised you, now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the sight of all people. A light for revelation for the Gentiles, and a glory to your people Israel. The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother, this child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed and a sword will pierce your own soul too.
[00:09:59] There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She was very old. She'd lived with her husband seven years after her marriage and then was a widow until she was 84. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying, coming up to them. At that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who are looking forward to the redemption of Israel.
[00:10:27] Let's pray, Father. There's loads of people here today that and each of them will come with a different perspective on Christmas. Some here will be waiting with excitement. Some people will be waiting and will need something else from you. Father, I know that when we come to meet you, you have all that we need for peace and for joy. Because you are peace and you are joy. So teach us this morning. Lord, speak to us. Give us life from your word. Add your spirit as we look at it together. In Jesus name, Amen.
[00:11:10] You know, sometimes in life you meet up with somebody who obviously knows and loves God, not because of the way that they speak, although it may be that, but probably by the way that they act. Jordan Peterson recently was asked in an interview by Piers Morgan, are you a believer? He's Just written a book. And he says to him, are you a believer? Piers Morgan said, I am, which might surprise some of you, but he said, I am. But are you? And Jordan Peterson said, I would hope. He said, I'm not going to tell you, but I would hope by the way that I live my life, you would know if I'm a believer or not. Which is a fantastic answer, isn't it?
[00:11:54] Speak with a bit more enthusiasm about that. Because it's a call to us to live our lives in such a way that people know that we're believers. And I've met people like that. I've met people that are so full of the Spirit, they don't have to tell me, they just are. And they always make me feel cleaner, they always make me feel more peaceful. They always encourage me. They never condemn me, but they always encourage me. Simeon, I think, was a people like that, a peaceful person, loving and loved people, know people like that and hold them in affection, whether they're Christians or not. Because these people just seem to exude something that is easy to love.
[00:12:41] Simeon, it says here in the Bible, was a good man, and it says that he knew God, and it says that he was a Pentecostal because he listened to the Holy Spirit. And that's what we're all about, isn't it? And it was the Holy Spirit that told him to go to the temple on that day.
[00:12:56] He was right with people and he was right with God. And he lived in a time when Israel was not right with other nations. It was not too good with God either. Israel hadn't heard from God. In contrast, actually to Simeon, Israel as a nation hadn't heard from God for quite some time. And it was under Roman rule. And the Romans loved to insult the people of Israel. So they called it the administrative district of Palestine, which was the first time ever that that nation had been given the name Palestine. It's a Roman word and it's an insult to Jews.
[00:13:38] The Israel had lost their political independence and were living in fear of King Herod, who was corrupt, cruel and uncaring for his people. And many were wondering if the Messiah would ever come late in time. Behold him. Come.
[00:13:53] But Simeon was old and patient and knew that something outstanding was going to happen in his lifetime. Verse 26 shows us that Simeon had good reason for his hope and anticipation. It says it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die until he'd seen the Lord's Christ. What a promise.
[00:14:16] Simeon's expectation focused on the consolation that Word is in the scripture that Jesus would bring.
[00:14:24] Here's the other word that was in that carol that doesn't help me this morning, because it says not just that he was laid in time, but it changed the sun of righteousness to the song of righteousness. Now, Jesus is a song of righteousness, there's no doubt. But Wesley wrote he's the son of righteousness. And consolation fits exactly with that. Because when I preach, I sometimes reveal that I like words. I like to understand words. It's important to understand words, isn't it? Words are powerful. And consolation here means the giving of hope and strength in times of suffering. I know that there's people here today that are suffering. That's not a revelation of God. It's just that I know people, and I know that in a group like this, there would be people that are suffering. So like Simeon. Maybe you're hoping for consolation this Christmas.
[00:15:21] It's interesting that here is Simeon, a righteous man, sensitive to the Holy Spirit and the spiritual state of Israel, who were suffering. They'd once been the most powerful nation in the world. Did you know that about Israel? There was a time when they were the superpower and nobody could touch them. They had the wealth, they had the power, the might. They were like, well, America's in the descendency and China's probably in the ascendancy, but they were that level of nation in the world. And now they were being reduced to a Roman province, an administrative province, giving money to the Caesar who demanded that they called him God rather than God. God. They demanded that he was worshipped as the Holy Roman Emperor rather than God, which was awful for those people that lived at that time, of course. So Simeon grieved for his nation. They were nothing more than a Roman province.
[00:16:18] But you know what? Religion had nothing to do to help a nation that was grieving over the loss of intimacy with God. Religion has nothing to offer people who have lost a sense of intimacy with God. Religion has nothing to offer a nation that was ruled over by powerful soldiers of a foreign nation that demanded their ruler replace God as an object of worship.
[00:16:46] Do we live in those times?
[00:16:49] Do you feel that way? I don't feel we're far off it. Not really.
[00:16:55] Religion has nothing to offer a nation whose young people were turning away from its restrictions and reveling in the apparent freedoms of a society that worshipped the body, celebrity, sex, and drunkenness.
[00:17:10] That sounds a bit more familiar, doesn't it?
[00:17:13] It does to me. Maybe I'm a miserable person, but it does to me. Religion has Nothing to offer anybody at all.
[00:17:22] Simeon knew this, and he knew that his nation would continue to suffer unless it was reconciled to God.
[00:17:30] But Simeon also knew what God had promised him, that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Christ, the one who would console God's people in their spiritual suffering.
[00:17:45] Now, I looked up this word console. I couldn't find much that would help me with the study of words is called etymology, the origins and the development of concepts in words. And I couldn't find a good one for this. But I know a little bit about words, and the one website helped me a little bit, and it said that there are two words here. Con, which means with, and sol, which means son. Hail the Son of righteousness. I think Charles Wesley knew that in our reading, Simeon, when he sees Jesus, says that Jesus is the light of the world and a revelation, and that the light of the world was with them. This is an amazing thing, folks. He looked at the baby and he knew, Emmanuel, God was with us.
[00:18:37] And he also knew the consolation is a person.
[00:18:41] It's not an idea. I'm nicking this from Esther. It's not an idea or a concept or an application. It's a person.
[00:18:49] It was when he saw the person of Jesus that he knew that consolation had come.
[00:18:56] Is there a darker time than this?
[00:18:59] Maybe there has been in history, maybe there is in the future, but we're living today.
[00:19:03] You may have had good news recently, and there could be darker days. I guess for those that have lost someone this year in particular, this Christmas will be particularly difficult.
[00:19:16] But actually, even Simeon recognizes that this darkness was a much deeper darkness than Roman occupation. This was a spiritual darkness that overshadowed Israel. And then he saw the baby and he said, hail the Son of Righteousness, if his name was Charles Wesley. But he'd been praying for consolation. And here was the consolation that he was praying for that first Christmas. The anticipation of Simeon was for light and revelation. What are you waiting for this Christmas?
[00:19:48] Well, only you know what you'd like in your heart. But, you know, I think that we need the light and revelation of Jesus, the person who brings peace and everything else, salvation to our lives.
[00:20:04] What about Anna? Well, Anna was waiting for forgiveness.
[00:20:08] The other Christmas character waiting with anticipation in this sermon is Anna. After her husband died, she dedicated herself to fasting, praying in the temple. In fact, the Bible says that she never left the temple, but worshiped day and night. And she was looking forward to the same person that Simeon was, but she had a different perspective. And instead of looking for comfort, Anna was looking for forgiveness.
[00:20:38] Take a Look at verse 38 coming up to them at that very moment. She gave thanks to God and spoke, spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Israel. Redemption. Redemption means buying something back. Back in the day in London, there would be these shops that had three brass balls outside them, and they, for some reason were called Angkor. They were pawn brokers. And if you needed money. And by the way, I was a marine for a while and I used to do this every time I took Alice out, I would take my watch and I would go to the pawnbroker and I would pawn it and he would give me a ticket to redeem it later on. So until I went back and paid him the loan back, the watch was his. And if I didn't pay it back on time, he could sell it. That's what uncle did.
[00:21:28] I think it was so that people could say, I've got some money from Unkor. I had to go to the pawnbroker.
[00:21:34] But the ticket was important because when I got my money, I could go back to the pawnbroker with my ticket and I could redeem my watch.
[00:21:44] Israel was sold into the ownership of the devil because of the way they behaved, because of the values they lived, because of the things that they desired in their lives. They were effectively sold out to sin and to the devil. The Bible tells us that, doesn't it? That we can be sold out to sin?
[00:22:05] Yeah, I think it was Bob Dylan said, you got to serve someone. It may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you got to serve somebody.
[00:22:13] Jesus was the redemption. He, in his life and death, was able to take the ticket and buy back Israel, buy back you and I and bring us into the kingdom of heaven. That is the global picture of the time that Jesus spent on earth. And Anna saw it when she met the baby, the Christmas baby. She knew that this person was going to bring freedom and forgiveness and redemption and reconciliation to her and to her people.
[00:22:51] She knew that redemption is a person.
[00:22:56] Redemption is not a concept. It's not a theological word that's hard to apply. It's a person. And that person is Jesus.
[00:23:07] There's been a lot of local concern this year about the rise of county lines and a gang culture with its attendant knife culture coming out and being exported from London. In a news report I saw a little while ago, there was a hooded figure sat in the shadows silhouetted against the window, and he was explaining why people joined gangs. He said that it was for love and Respect.
[00:23:31] He said that if you can do something well in the gang, then the leader will encourage you and give you respect. In this way, he will control your life and the life of everyone that you know.
[00:23:45] Those kids are selling themselves to the control of the gang leader.
[00:23:49] And that love is a corrupt love. It's not a real love. The gang leader will use them and burn them up and throw them away as soon as look at them.
[00:23:58] They go there not necessarily because of a lack of love at home, although for some that's the reason. They go for parental failure and they can't cope with living at home, so they join a gang.
[00:24:10] But for some, it's just out of fear and a corrupted idea of acceptance, respect.
[00:24:17] Now, if someone's going to redeem them from the gang culture, then it would have to be someone who is willing to risk their lives and to demonstrate to them forgiveness and a greater love, a greater encouragement and a better way than the gang leader.
[00:24:34] But it will start with the demonstration of forgiveness based on a greater love. Just like Jesus, greater love has no man than this, that he steps down and gives his life. The Son of God gives his life to redeem you and I, to buy us out of the gang culture and the sin culture that we find ourselves living in.
[00:25:00] You may not be in a gang. In fact, I doubt that many of you would consider yourself serious bloods from the hood. But I tell you this. If you have not received Christ's forgiveness, his greater love and his restoration to the Father, then you are sold to sin. You are sold to the devil, whether you know it or not. And those sinful desires will control your life.
[00:25:25] What are you waiting for this Christmas then? The fulfillment of Christ. When Jesus came, he provided the very things that Simeon and Anna were waiting for. God's comfort and God's forgiveness, redemption and restoration.
[00:25:44] So what are you waiting for this Christmas? Whatever it is, the deeper your spiritual need, the greater your spiritual gift. Because Jesus, the person of Jesus coming into your life, can release you from all of that stuff. You can walk away from those values, even if they chase after you to try and seduce you back. You can say no, because you will have the power to say no. You'll have the vision and the purpose and the ability to live a new life with new values, even if you don't fully understand them. You can be obedient.
[00:26:23] And that's what I want to do now, is to compare Simeon and Anna to the other adults in the Christmas story. Shepherds aside, angels, obviously aside, wise men aside, both of these Two people are quicker than Joseph and Mary to comprehend who Jesus is.
[00:26:46] We may hear about Jesus, but not completely understand.
[00:26:50] There are a lot of people like that.
[00:26:53] This word is an encouragement to you.
[00:26:57] Mary was the first to be told that Jesus would be the Messiah. Luke adds that she treasures the words in her heart.
[00:27:05] But Mary is also perplexed and puzzled and dazed and confused, which is a lyric in a Led Zeppelin song, but they borrowed it from the King James Version. She was dazed and confused.
[00:27:19] You can check this. In Luke 1:29 and 2:19, she must ponder the words that she's been given. So contrast that with Simeon and Anna, two elderly individuals who are in the Temple when Joseph and Mary bring the infant Jesus to Jerusalem for the first time. When they see him, they know the family is approached by Simeon, who's been told by the Holy Spirit that he wouldn't die until he's seen the Messiah. He takes the child in his arms and praises God. And now, having seen the Messiah with a sense of completion, Simeon is prepared to die.
[00:27:57] Anna, I love Anna.
[00:28:00] Anna then approaches the family. She too recognizes Jesus as Messiah. But she has a very different reaction.
[00:28:09] She began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. She met Jesus and immediately wanted to evangelize. She wanted to go out onto the streets and start to tell. Sometimes you hear preachers say that the woman at the well was the first evangelist. I think it was Anna right at the beginning, at the first Christmas she met with Jesus. As she went out and she started to preach the Gospel.
[00:28:40] She doesn't want to die. She wants to evangelize.
[00:28:43] Like the disciples who will follow her, she's inspired to bear witness to what she's seen.
[00:28:49] Mary was the first to have the good news announced to her. But Anna beat her in understanding it.
[00:28:56] And she's the first to speak out to Jesus, to all that were looking for him. Mary doesn't fully understand what Anna immediately recognizes, and she won't for several years.
[00:29:07] Twelve years later, the family returned to Jerusalem, and Mary and Joseph lose sight of Jesus for three days. Three days. That's an echo of something, isn't it? But anyway, they lose sight of him for three days, and then they find him in the Temple. Mary questions him, and Jesus responds. She says, basically, where have you been? If you're a mother and you lose your child for three, you might not be so calm and peaceful as Mary. But anyway, she says, where have you been? He says, didn't you know that I must be in my father's house.
[00:29:39] Luke says that even at that point in the story, they didn't understand what he said to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart.
[00:29:48] There's so many people that can identify with her, and I'll put myself in that bracket there. It was for a long time I knew who Jesus was, but I didn't know anything about my relationship with him. And I wasn't a Christian. I followed the values of the world, but I knew that Jesus was God. I just didn't know that he cared about me.
[00:30:11] When I gave my life to him, the landscape didn't change that much for me. I knew that I'd come into the kingdom, but I didn't know what that meant. If that's jargon, I'm sorry. It was moving from not being saved to being saved. And I had a confidence that I was now in relationship with God, but I couldn't understand it all. I still don't understand it all. I got a master's degree. I still don't understand it all. In fact, I found that when you go to Bible college, you find out that you don't know more than you didn't think you knew before you ever went.
[00:30:46] So you might be struggling.
[00:30:48] You might know the reality of Jesus, you might know that he's the son of God, but you might not understand where you fit into the bigger picture. And quite incredibly, Mary ministers to you because she could say, well, I was like that even when he was preaching. I went with my sons and said, come home, you're mad. She thought that Jesus had gone mad when he was preaching his own gospel.
[00:31:14] But we find her at the cross, but she becomes a hero of the early church, but she becomes somebody who is venerated all over the world. Now we are Protestants, so we don't think that she's somehow other than human being.
[00:31:29] But she is a very special person.
[00:31:33] God chose her, you know, to discipline Jesus. Can you imagine trusting Jesus to Joseph and Mary and says, you know what? Give him a thick ear.
[00:31:45] Did he misbehave? Well, he never sinned. But kids do misbehave, don't they? They do get lost. For three mine kids never got lost for three days. But my son used to go and hide, you know, in the shops in Plymouth. They had these great big round things with shirts on them, hundreds of shirts. Henry used to hide in the middle. So I know what it's like to lose your kid for a while. And the more you say, henry, come here. The less he comes you know, sometimes kids just deserve a thick ear. And I know nowadays that has to be metaphorical, but, you know, when I was a kid, the local policeman was called Wally, which was unfortunate, but he had a leather glove with fishing weights sewn into the ends of the fingers. And if he gave you a thick ear, it was with his leather glove.
[00:32:40] Anyway, Luke never leaves Mary in confusion. Rather, her story ministers to us. That phrase his mother treasured all these things stresses the pattern of grace for us. She takes what she has not yet understood and continues to be obedient.
[00:32:59] Folks, I'm not promoting the idea of confusion in Christianity, but take what you've been given, take the revelation that you have and be obedient to it.
[00:33:14] Consolation revelation as a person. Forgiveness revelation. It's a person.
[00:33:24] Understanding revelation. It's a person.
[00:33:29] Grace is so important.
[00:33:32] Let me read you this song now. Santa Claus is coming to town, you better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout. I'm telling you why Santa Claus is coming to town. He's making a list, he's checking it twice. He's going to find out who's naughty or nice. Santa Claus is coming to town. He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake. He knows if you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.
[00:34:01] He sees you when you're sleeping, he knows when you're awake. He knows when you've been bad or good, so be good for goodness sake.
[00:34:11] You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout. I'm telling you why Santa Claus is coming to town. Now we're going to hear that song every Christmas for the rest of our lives. You know that, don't you?
[00:34:27] It's catchy.
[00:34:28] It's actually creepy, but it absolutely does not represent the Christian message of Christmas.
[00:34:38] I thank God that Jesus isn't Santa Claus. All the light and revelation, the consolation and the reconciliation of Jesus is not based on whether you're naughty or nice, whether you're awake or sleeping. Whatever's going through your head, your forgiveness and your restoration to God does not depend on that.
[00:35:03] Because grace says not dependent on you, it's dependent on Him.
[00:35:10] It doesn't matter to a certain extent how you behave.
[00:35:15] It matters how you respond.
[00:35:17] It matters on what you do with this Jesus. Now, at Easter, we're going to see him on the cross. At Pentecost, we're going to receive the Holy Spirit. But here at Christmas, even the sight of the baby, even the sight of the baby can release you from all that stuff in your life and bring you into the kingdom and give you enough of an understanding that you can be obedient as Jesus continues to reveal himself to you. Revelation literally means the gradual unfolding of something. That's why the ideas of God at the beginning of the Old Testament are different from the ideas of God at the end. He's the same yesterday, today and forever. But the way people respond and understand all the rest of it grows.
[00:36:08] It's in the way. When you unfold an ordinance survey map, that's what that means. It means the general unfolding of God's revelation.
[00:36:18] So take what you've got, take what you know, take what you understand and be obedient, just like Mary. And if you're looking for consolation, the light of the world will give you comfort.
[00:36:33] And if you're looking, well, it doesn't matter what you're looking for. What are you waiting for this Christmas? He's here. He's here today. He says you don't have to wait for the 25th of December. He says, I'm not familiar with that date anyway, but I can come to you at any time, anytime you open your heart, anytime I can come. And even as a baby I can set you free. But certainly as a man on the cross, because that's the whole of his story.
[00:37:04] Jesus is here, His Holy Spirit is here and he wants to say to you, if you need any of those things today, make a response today.
[00:37:15] Take the revelation that you have and be obedient to it. Let's pray.
[00:37:24] Father, I just thank you for grace.
[00:37:28] I know for me, Lord, in my Christian walk, the grasping of the principles of grace have really helped me. It freed me from legalism, freed me from religion, freed me from a self critical spirit. And it's taken me to that place where I can relate to Jesus and know that I'm free and receive consolation and see light and revelation and know forgiveness and be inspired to live differently and to take the understanding that I have and live with that because it's enough. And when I need more, you'll give me more.
[00:38:15] Lord, I pray for those people here today that are seeking consolation, that are seeking forgiveness, that are seeking to understand the gospel. And I pray that you come in power and invest your Holy Spirit in them. In Jesus name, amen.
