CMLC 2025-12-24 Sermon (Christmas Eve)

Hey. Sometimes, if you're in the right place

at the right time, with the right meaning, you

might just happen to hear something from God.

That was what was on my mind as I was coming

over to speak to Jeremiah some months ago. Sorry,

I'm being rude. My name's Gabriel. It's nice

to meet you. Now I was coming up to see Zechariah

and I was so excited because I knew that I was

coming to him with the message He definitely

wanted to hear see Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth

They had never been able to have a child before

and finally I was going to get to bring them

that news and see Zechariah Hope the timing was

amazing He's a priest, but this particular time

He had then been chosen to light the incense

that brings the prayers up to God from the people.

Totally not a coincidence. That's me. But you

know, as we're there, and I come over, and I'm

so excited to let him know, you and your wife

Elizabeth, I have good news. You are going to

have a son, and he is going to prepare the way

of the Lord. And you know those moments? When

things don't go quite the way you were hoping

and all of a sudden he just looks at me and says

What are you talking about? I've been waiting

so long for this moment and To be let down so

much and I'm looking at him and I'm trying to

tell him the very thing that you've been waiting

for is yours and He just looks at me like I'm

crazy I'm an angel! I have a halo in everything!

Come on !" I muted him for now. He'll keep. But

you know, it was so different when I spoke to

the next person. There I was going up to this

young girl some months later, and everything

was so different. Right place, but terrible timing.

This young girl, she'd been betrothed. She was

getting ready to be married to this man and everything

was going well. The future was in front, the

marriage, the family, all of it. And then here

I come in the most inconvenient way. But you

know, you go to someone and you're telling them

something that's amazing. And that this is the

woman who's going to bring the coming Son of

God, the one who's going to bring salvation to

the world. And that would be so amazing. But

to come at a time like this, where now her whole

life is going to be upside down because of what

I have come to bring. But even though that old

guy had no idea how to handle what I was having

to say, here's this young girl. I am the servant

of the Lord, do as you have proclaimed according

to your word." So much maturity there. But when

somebody's faith is so strong that they know

in their mind whatever it is that God wants in

their life, that is exactly what they want to

see happen. But I got to get myself prepared,

because the other person involved in that, Gotta

go talk to him now Joseph's a good guy. All right,

I Nobody really faults him. Okay But when you

see that the person you're gonna marry Has a

child and you know that he's not yours But I've

got to go talk to him because she needs him she

cannot do this alone But I'm going to ask him

to now raise a son that he knows is not his own.

But knowing what God has in mind, that is the

only way that any of this will move forward.

Fear not! presumptuous. Peace. Maybe tone it

down a little bit. Fear not. What are you doing,

Gabriel? You're not a Marvel character. Okay,

let's see. Let me just say it normally. Fear

not. For behold, I bring you good news of great

joy that will be for all people. Yeah, that sounds

a little bit better. I know it's been a little

while since I've seen you guys, but... We've

been preparing, okay? We've got a choir, okay?

There's this whole choir ready to go. I'm a second

tenor. It's pretty, well, they keep trying to

make me a first tenor. That does not sound good

at all. But, you know, we've been preparing all

of these different characters for the roles they

have to play, but now it is time. And tonight,

we get a chance to announce this to people who

are going to go out and share the news. And we

get to do this with Shepherds. I'm so glad that

it is shepherds. If I had to go and deal with

kings, and if I had to be in a palace, oh man.

Do you have any idea how egotistical royalty

can be? I'm over there trying to give them a

message, and they're just acting like, oh, we're

just so cool and everything. I'm an angel! What

do you think? Come on. A little bit of awe would

be nice. But shepherds. Down to earth people.

You know, salt of the earth. And I can go and

I can get a message to them and they're actually

going to realize how important it is. But you

know, getting this message out there, it's wonderful

that we get a chance to do it here. But there

are so many other places that we need to get

it to. Oh wait. Did anybody talk to Simeon? Ah

Let me go. I'm gonna have to go check. I think

it might be the archangel Brandon I don't know.

Let me go figure that one out. Oh, you don't

know him. He's a you know terrible at cards,

but okay, the thing is Okay, we've been talking

this guy for a long time now. All right letting

him know he's gonna get to see the Messiah and

then he has to wait and wait and wait And now

the time has come and this is going to be amazing.

And just watch that somebody somehow forgot to

let them know that the child is coming. Okay,

we spend all these years and miss it at the last

minute. No, not on my watch. But did you happen

to notice? Weird star that's above in the sky.

It's not exactly a star star. All right, I mean,

a lot of stuff has been going on. Could you imagine

that before everything gets spinning and all

over the place, that all of this was geared up

for a specific time to align just perfectly?

I know the people at this time, they don't get

the whole spinning earth round thing and how

all the orbits happen and everything else. They've

got a few centuries before that. But the idea

that you've got this planet and this star and

they're aligning and it's so bright and amazing

But it's not just gonna happen for a moment Everything

has been happening for so long that at this one

point for two years They're somehow going to

be traveling to point to this one place Isn't

it amazing? It is just so outstanding but to

be able to realize that all these things had

to point to this one place, this one spot. These

shepherds are going to be coming over here and

they're going to be here in this humble place,

this cave, this area where all these animals

are going to be. And they're not going to be

seeing this king that has come into some palace,

but is instead going to be seeing him in this

eating trough. You know, I mean, if you're trying

to put some animal off to the side, but this

is not just some animal. This is the Messiah.

How humble, how hopeful. I don't know, this looks

a little bit nicer than we're probably going

to end up laying. This looks like something that

your pastor might have broken last year. But

as we realize, there are so many opportunities

that there are. Because we often think of the

right time, the right place, and the right way.

But how often is it that people are doing the

wrong thing in the wrong place at the wrong time?

And that's the thing about this Messiah. That's

the thing about the Son of God. Is that all the

people are going to be gathering around and to

end up punishing Him for things that had nothing

to do with who He is and what He's doing. but

just revealed how insecure they were. But then

He's going to willingly let them kill Him. The

wrong thing. The wrong time. But God is going

to raise up His Son on that third day. See, that's

the thing that we discover is that we spend so

much time worrying. Did we do things the right

way, the right time? And then God takes the things

that are the worst and uses them to His glory.

And that's the thing that's so amazing here.

There may be things that are going on that God

is trying to get our attention, and how often

is it that we ignore it? That we miss out? That

we are so tired and so frustrated, and we don't

see what is right in front of us? That He sends

His Son to be our Messiah. I cannot promise you

that you're going to get some angelic presence

that's going to come in front of you and light

up the sky and sing in some bold way to make

sure to get your attention. But what I can promise

you is that each and every week, the Gospel is

yours. The right place, the right time. Because

every moment of your life is the right place

and the right time. for the gospel of the Lord.

So may we be ready to hear his word and to trust

in his salvation now and always.