Christmas: The Divine Orchestration of Grace

Could have been a night

just like this one.

The air

filled with anticipation.

And that light

so bright in the night sky.

That it beckoned.

For shepherds and wise men to follow.

Imagine to their surprise.

When they arrive.

And find a tiny baby laying in a manger,

surrounded with nothing more than farm animals.

How could this be their king?

How could the Savior of the world

be here in this place?

And yet they were compelled

to bow down right there and worship him.

You see, they knew that something

beyond comprehension had just transpired.

The hope of all mankind has just shown up before them

that Jesus, although a baby, had come for you

and for me, you came to give us a hope and a future.

You came so that

we might have joy and light.

He came so that no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in.

All we have to do is call on his name and we would be saved.

This is the story of Christmas.

This is the story of the greatest gift

ever given in the story of a king,

the Savior of the world.

Born in a manger.

For you and for me.

The story of Christmas is,

simply put, two fold.

One is the story

of trusting God.

Orchestration.

See, when when Jesus shows up.

Things

he disrupts.

Things.

And in the middle of that disruption,

we're forced to answer the question.

Can I trust his orchestration?

The other part of the Christmas story is this.

That the highest of heights,

lowest of lows,

for the lowest of lows.

That's the Christmas story.

The highest of heights

taken on human flesh,

becoming the lowest of lows

for humanity.

For the lowest of lows.

We've been looking at the Christmas story

through two gospels, the Gospel of Matthew in the Gospel of Luke.

We started in Matthew chapter one.

Then we went to Luke, chapter one.

Today we'll be in Luke chapter two and wrap it up in two days on Christmas Eve

with Matthew chapter two.

We've jumped back and forth because I want to look at some kind

of chronologically how events transpired.

And so this morning we're in Luke chapter two with the account

of Jesus's, the announcement of the birth of Jesus to the shepherds.

And Mary having this child.

And so, in whatever form you use to look at Scripture,

if you'll turn to Luke, to go to Luke two, please,

I just want to read the passage.

And then we'll talk about it

and see what God reveals of these two lessons of Christmas,

trusting his orchestration

and the realization that the highest of highs

becomes the lowest of lows for the lowest of the low.

And so the Bible says

in Luke chapter two, in those days, Caesar

Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world.

This was the first census that was that took place while Quirinius

was governor of Syria, and everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth

in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem.

Now he did, because he belonged to the house and the lion of David.

He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him.

I was expecting a child.

Mary's life.

Joseph's life

dramatically, drastically and forever interrupted.

They, like us, has to answer the question.

Do I trust God's orchestration

or will I push back and fight against it?

You know what's interesting?

As I look at our world

and, those of us who call ourselves Christians.

So look at this.

This term nationalistic protest movement.

When we don't like something, we protest, we revolt.

We post

God's people in the beginning.

They were under severe Roman

occupation, depression and taxation.

And rather than revolt, and rather than hold

marches and rather than post.

They trusted God's orchestration.

And they said, Lord,

what we're going through right now is very, very difficult.

And we trust that you will make it right one day. But.

We're going to trust

your orchestration of all things.

And they lived these

quiet, humble lives of obedience and trusted

God's orchestration, even of difficult things.

And that's where we find Mary and Joseph.

Caesar Augustus issued

a decree that a census should be taken up the entire Roman world.

They were under Roman occupation in the Holy Land.

And then the Bible says in verse two, this was the first census

that was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria.

Well, let me just let me just do a little,

little prep work here.

Any of you who are like hardcore

nerdy history students

of ancient times, this verse is going to cause a problem for you

because it says Caesar Augustus issued a decree.

Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem.

We know all of that happened in our back

at about somewhere between 4 and 3 BC.

And then it says this was the first census that was taken

while Corinthians was governor of Syria.

We know from history that Quirinius was governor, ensuring at six A.D..

See, anybody see a problem?

And those with knowledge will look at the work.

Let me first say that all knowledge.

We'll look at that and see. You see, the Bible can't be trusted.

Well, let me put you at ease now.

I'm going to answer a question for you that most of you never even had.

But the reason I'm doing this is so you will understand

that you can trust this.

It's without error.

When the Bible says that this was the first census, take governor of Syria

in the Greek, which the New Testament is written in that word.

First census is, wow, wow.

Chris was governor.

That work can also mean before Quirinius was governor.

Now, just during so literally if we read it that way

before Carinus was governor, the you understand?

But not only that, even if you say, no, no, I'm going to I'm going to say it.

It says, wow, fine. No problem.

Because what we know from archeology that there was a governor in Syria

who reigned two times, he reign took a break

from.

What?

We're not told his name the first time,

but we know his name the second time.

Guess what? It was.

Yeah.

So it could be that this was the guy.

This took place during his first reign

in Sam.

So what?

That tells me I trust this

if even if someone throws up.

Yeah, but I trust this.

And what this tells me is that there was this young girl

who was chosen by God

to be the one true God.

Savior of the world, would enter humanity

in the first in the days of Caesar Augustus, when he issued a decree

that since this should be taken up, the Roman world,

everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee

to Judea, to Bethlehem of David.

Because you belong to that line, house and line of David.

Everybody around him,

the whole area was concerned about a census.

God was concerned about something different.

So they go to him.

And I want you to know, since they went up from the town of Nazareth

in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem, if you look at a map geographically,

they have to go from Nazareth down to Bethlehem geographically.

But the Bible says they went up. Why?

Because every time,

Bethlehem, every

time in Scripture it says that you're going up.

Because when you take steps towards God,

you understand.

If you want to know what your next steps are in life

that are right and good and will progress,

take steps towards God.

Go up.

And enter the house in line,

because he around the house of the line of David.

Well, he went there to register with Mary while they were there.

Verse six. Watch this.

While they were there,

the time came, for the baby gave birth to her firstborn, a son.

She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger,

because there was no room for them in the inn.

When the Bible says there was no room for them, in the end we seek hotel.

That's not.

That's not the context.

Bethlehem was so small.

It was so small that they didn't have a hotel in Bethlehem.

There was no inn in Bethlehem.

That word in is the Greek word

that is called Catalina.

And what it is, is historically

in the small town that would receive travelers for whatever

reason, they would have these little one room shacks, all in a great big circle.

Think, think,

What the.

Like the wagons of the pioneers in the circle.

The wagons type thing. Think of that.

And so these visitors would come in

one little room, and they, the animals that they travel with,

they would just put in the center of this big caravan here.

Okay.

And so when the Bible says there was no room for them in the inn,

there was no room for them in this big circle of little one room.

Rundowns

with all the animals in the middle.

And so it's very likely that as they show up to Bethlehem,

where there are no room, there's no ends and hotels, they go to

what most travelers would go to this little caravans here,

and they look for one of those little shacks.

Everybody's so concerned with the census

and what's going on in the room

for baby Jesus.

And so what they do is they sleep in the middle, where

all of the animals are kept outside

in the dirt,

in the dorm

with the animals. Why?

Because so preoccupied with what's going on in their lives,

there's no room for Christ.

Everybody. So this is so important.

This is so.

This is taken over our lives.

And this is where our focus is. So there's

there's no room

for someone.

How many times you and I

get so wrapped up

and so overwhelmed

and so involved in everything else

that in our lives, two

there's.

The thing I love about my Jesus, he's

not afraid to go to the places of the dirt

and the dung in the mess.

And so that's where he goes.

The room.

See, the people were concerned about the census

when Jesus wanted to occupy their city.

But they didn't have room for him.

I wonder how much of that is true for us.

We got room for if you.

Yeah, yeah.

There's a room for him to.

I mean, the question that we have to ask ourselves,

it begs the question, how much room do you have available?

Not if you room.

Well, I got room for Sunday every now and then.

Right.

I got enough room to get me into heaven.

You right.

So the question really isn't, do you have room?

The question is, how much have you made a.

Profoundly different questions.

I got out from the keep them out in the mess.

Like when the stuff hits the fan.

I got room for him.

Then.

But as far as taking up residency

and living in.

You understand?

It's about.

She wrapped him in cloths.

And placed him in a manger.

Because there's no room.

The clause that she wrapped him in.

It's the same words, the same wrapping as burial cloths.

When Jesus was crucified and they wrapped his body,

they covered him in 100 pounds of spices.

Part of the embalming process.

They wrapped him in what the Bible calls swaddling cloths.

Same thing from the beginning.

This child pictured his death

and the Bible makes it clear that this as a baby

that we celebrate, came for one purpose

to die

and then to raise himself from the dead,

wrapped in swaddling cloths

because people didn't have room.

You know why he was crucified

and wrapped in swaddling clothes?

Because you and I didn't have room.

It's a Bible call. Sin.

Verse eight.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields

nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night.

To them in the glory

of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified,

no doubt.

I love the fact that it says the time came

for this baby to be born,

and once that happened, God showed up to shepherds.

Things let me draw

your attention to when the Bible says the time came.

Hunt.

What it literally means is, Time came.

The word for the time is a

is is a feminine word, and the root of that word is gentle.

So God was gentle with her

in giving her two her time,

not just the time of the delivery,

but the her appointed time for God's purpose.

When the Bible says her time came, it

literally means her appointed time was accomplished.

Here's what I know.

The moment we attach ourselves to Jesus,

his plan starts to become

developed and unfolded in our lives.

And if we trust his orchestration enough

to stay in those moments,

he is faithful to develop us.

Into the accomplishment

of his purpose in time.

Our problem is

when we walk into these moments that are unknown and moments

of fear and moments of questions and moments about and moments

of difficulty and moments of defeat, we want to go

on, say God,

you often can't be a part of this

because this doesn't fit my.

And rather than staying in that moment

and trusting his orchestration of all things,

we back out of that and say, God,

if this is a way to sit down.

And when we stay in it with him,

he has the freedom to, in gentleness,

walk us and develop us into the accomplishment

of what he began,

which the Bible says over and over and over, faithful

is he to complete what he started.

And for some of you this morning, I want to call you back.

Some of you have backed out

of trusting God's orchestration.

Richly detailed plan.

And I want to call you back.

Because if you'll let him in gentleness,

he will walk you into the time

when it is accomplished in you.

I'm telling you.

When the time came for it to be accomplished.

God is so detailed

and so he's he's so intricately.

It is.

He's developed a time for you.

If you trust him

in Thomas.

He will accomplish it.

The time came for her to be born.

She wrapped him in cloth

place and there's no room for them.

In the end, the shepherds are living out.

Verse eight. In the fields nearby.

Keep watch over their flocks by night.

And the angel showed up there to up.

Angels are scary, scary, scary beings.

Just please understand

they're not little fat babies sitting on clouds, playing harps, wearing diapers.

And that's not what angel angels are.

Fearful creatures are fearful when they show up in the Bible.

Everybody's afraid to show up in.

These guys are terrifying.

I love the fact that when God is going to break into human history,

his announcement first goes to shepherds.

Here's why I love that.

Because these shepherds were anywhere from 10 to 16 year

old young men, the 16 young.

You know why God showed up to the young ones?

Because the young ones are naive enough

to believe God's word.

See what happens.

As you get older, you start living life and you got some experience

and you've been around a block and you know how life works.

And sometimes we convince ourselves that the way God works.

Has been our experience.

And so we don't believe it anymore.

So much.

We're so old and wise

when I say believe God's Word anymore.

Not like the young, naive

and part of us want to say, just wait to grow up.

You'll understand. Then.

Then what we're really saying is in which you'll grow up

because you'll lose your faith.

And so he goes to these young ones

who are just ignorant and naive enough.

They have been around the block yet

they still believe the word

and they hear it

and this was kind of the lowest rung,

in Judaism's ladder, because what it meant for them to be a shepherd

is you were never ritually clean to go into the temple for worship.

You were always dirty.

And so these guys were excluded from the religious establishment because they were

in it.

That's where God goes.

And I love the fact that that when Jesus shows up,

he shows up to the ones

who think that they're not worthy,

who think that they're just a little bit too dirty.

But then there are these what he says

everybody else has cast me aside, but not Jesus.

I love that,

and these little flocks that they're in can take care of what they were taking

care of, were the lambs that were to be slaughtered for the Passover.

So they're taking care of the lambs that were Passover,

and they're invited to see the lamb

who would be killed on the cross

as our Passover.

So that's what Passover us.

From the beginning, the story has been, do we trust God's orchestration?

Because from the beginning, God has orchestrated

for the highest the heights to become the lowest of lows,

for the lowest, a low, so we can attain the highest of heights.

It's a beautiful story

and it's a great reality for

guarding their flocks at night, keeping watch over the flocks.

Angel. Lord Peter, hear them.

They're terrified.

Verse ten.

But the angel said to them, do not be afraid.

I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

Do not be afraid.

Today in the town of David, a Savior has been born to you.

He is Christ the Lord.

This will be a sign to.

You'll find the baby wrapped in cloths. Why?

When the angel said to them, don't be afraid.

Have any of you ever seen, like, I don't know, like on Pinterest or some some.

Thing.

But where are the Bible lists?

Don't be afraid 365 times.

Have you seen that?

Yeah. Okay. Don't believe it. It's a lie.

That's not what the Bible says.

Okay?

It makes a great little sticker or.

The thing

is just not true.

The Bible says 70 times.

Don't be afraid.

I'm so sorry to ruin that for you.

But I want to be knowledgeable biblically and 70 times.

But here's the deal.

It doesn't matter if God says 365 times.

You're 75 says 512 times 783 times says 1870.

Says one time.

If God says at one time, don't be afraid.

That's enough.

That's enough.

That is enough to trust his orchestration.

That is enough.

But God, you don't understand.

Like I got all this going on.

Don't be afraid.

But you don't understand.

Now don't be afraid.

But you don't understand what's happened.

Like you, if you knew. Hey,

don't be afraid.

But I run up against the daddy, and I run up against the difficulty

I run up against to defeat the.

I only need to.

Don't be afraid.

Trust my frustration.

I'm gonna get you

to that place of my accomplishment

in your life.

When we start wiggling out of that,

that's great problems for ourselves,

right?

Right.

I guarantee

every one of us, we have the story of the problem

we created for ourselves and we might convince ourselves

was because they did whatever fine arts

respond how we did.

Thing we stay in there

or I'm not going to be afraid.

I'm going to trust your orchestration

because I know you're going to get me

to your accomplishment.

I know that's going to be good.

Don't be afraid.

You'll find

this baby wrapped in claws, lying in a manger.

Let me just try a little bit more of your Christmas story.

You know that little manger that we see?

The little wooden thing with the little hay and it looks all pretty and pristine.

But let me show you what the was.

That's the manger.

The stone struck, the stone

hewn doubt.

When this baby was born,

wrapped in burial clothes.

Laid in a hewn out stone.

Which is what the graves

were made of back then.

Everything about his birth prefigured

his death.

And into this little caravanserai where there's no room.

Because everybody's so concerned about other stuff.

He's wrapped in these clothes cloths

and laid and assumed out stump.

Because he is orchestrating all things

to communicate that the highest of heights

has become.

For the lowest of the low.

It's incredible.

Verse 13, suddenly

a company of heavenly host appeared to the angel, praising God and and saying,

Glory to God the Son on earth, peace to men on

whom his favor rests.

These angels show up,

this one angel with the announcement and all these other names show up.

And what do they do?

What all these angels do?

The what it says.

As a great company, the heavenly host appeared to the angel praising God.

And what?

Saying

they didn't seem.

The company of angels did not seem.

Let me.

Let me give you a little bit of Bible info here.

There's only two of the Bible where angels sing.

Did you know that?

Only two places.

And they're significant because of what it means.

The two places where the angels sing.

One is in the book of job.

And job.

Is this incredibly heartbreaking, yet really end of it,

where job has his life torn apart and he's in this conversation

with other religious people who are just dumb

and they're paying all these charges.

Well, all this stuff happened because you're a sinner.

And just like, shut up.

That's not it.

A your conversation with God and God.

Fine.

God never answers his questions, which is amazing to think about.

All these questions we don't answer forgot from God.

He's under no obligation to answer our questions.

They give us reasons.

And his response to job is basically this job.

Answer me now stand up man. Be.

Tell me how I set the limits of the ocean.

Tell me how I hung the stars.

Tell me how I set the moon in place.

And set the sun. Tell me,

tell me how I made the galaxy.

You can't because you weren't there.

Because you don't know.

So God is dream job

on. Why were its footings

set or who laid its cornerstone while the morning stars.

In other words phrases well, the angels sang.

There it is

together, and all the angels shout for joy in the creation of all things.

When God was putting it all together, the orchestration of the angels

sang at his creation.

Loving, watching the God of all creation put it all together.

God loves work in the background, music.

And at the creation

of all these things, he says, the angels sang.

And after the for all of the rest of human history, they don't sing.

Not another case in the Bible where the angels sing,

you know, the next place and the only other place they sing in the Bible.

Revelation chapter five.

When the curse is being removed from humanity and from the world,

they sang a new song saying, you, God,

Jesus, are worthy to take the scroll and open.

It seals because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased

God for God, persons from every tribe and language of people and nation.

At the creation of all things.

They sang of celebration, faith and power and creative work.

And then they were once sin and of the world.

They apparently they were silent and have been silent since.

And they will not see

you until God comes and reverse and takes away the curse from humanity.

And then they'll burst out in song again.

Guess who's left in their stead to sing praises to God.

This is why God said, if you are silent,

the rocks will cry out and sing my praises.

And I've got to wonder just for a moment.

Wonder with me.

The angels sit in heaven down at us.

And they look at God and they think, God. Why?

Why do you love them so much?

Why are you so gracious to them?

Why are you so merciful?

They have no room for you.

They're so involved in everything else that's going on around them and in them.

They make you sleep out in the cold and the dirt in the dumb.

Why do you love them so much?

If you were just a we would sing your praise.

They have the opportunity to

they're they're redeemed ones who sit in silence of you.

We know how great you are.

We know how good you see your hand.

And yet they sit in silence.

I wonder what the angels would say to us.

I think I know.

I think they would say, you who are redeemed,

you have. No.

I know what God has done.

Christ, the eternal one from eternity.

The highest of heights became the lowest of lows

as a baby with the animals and the dumb.

For you who the lowest of low

shout. See?

Do you realize who this is?

You sit there unaffected.

Look, you got no room

you want for eternity, but not your life.

Shout!

I think they'd say something like that.

Thank you for.

Your.

When the angels had left him, they had gone into heaven.

The shepherds said to one another.

Let's go.

Let's go see this thing that's happened.

Where's the Lord told us about?

And so they hurried off and

found Mary and Joseph and the baby who was lying in a manger

a little.

Let's go. Wait.

How can we sit here unaffected

when we realize when we see the.

How can we sit around the fact,

let's go.

Can you imagine if they had the suspension like.

Man, I hope we don't waste moments.

So they heard off and found Mary and Joseph.

And the baby was lying in a manger.

When they had seen him,

they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.

And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to.

But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.

Can you imagine?

You know when

when you've seen Christ,

when you've heard him.

You can't be unaffected.

When you see him, you talk about him.

One of the greatest prayers any of us could pray is God.

Open my eyes that I might see.

Because when you see him, it changes.

Here's my great fear.

My great fear is that people sit in church time after time of time,

with just enough Bible and just enough Jesus to get inoculated

so they don't get infected.

The goal of a life

attached to Jesus infected, not inoculated.

And we know when we're inoculated,

when we get a little bit and go out.

And we play safe

and there's no spreading.

And we know we've been infected.

When we go out

and others get infected because of us.

To understand,

these guys got infected.

Each of us has to discern for ourself

and populated.

Or am I infected?

Jesus calls us to a life of infection

when he said, come, follow me,

become like me.

Look at verse

27 and glorifying and praising God for the things they had seen and heard

or heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Here's what I know.

When you get infected,

you tell your humble your story.

In this church, we talk about our huddle, those

8 to 15 people that we have,

that we have influence with,

some of them, our family, some of our people go to school with some people.

We work with,

but we got 8 to 15 people that we call our huddle.

They're close to us.

And when we're infected,

they know.

And they get infected to.

And when this has been your experience, like the shepherds,

you get infected.

And it is good.

I want to I want to go back to verses one,

two, three, four because there's something I want to point out here, okay?

So just just hang with me.

Let's go back to verses one, two, three, four.

In those days, Caesar

Augustus issued a decree that a censorship take of the entire Roman world.

It was the first census.

It was taken a while before Carinus was governor of Syria.

Ever went to his own town to register?

Remember that. Now watch this.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem,

the town of David, because he was he belonged to the house and line of David.

This was why this is so important.

The census was a Roman,

regulation.

So all the Hebrews, all the Jewish people in the nation, in the Promised

Land, were living under Roman occupation law.

The civil law and part of the civil law was to hold a census for taxation

purposes, to know how many people do we have, how much money they owe us.

That's what government does. Okay.

And it was unjust, and it was unfair

because that's.

Government up and so

and so so they were under Roman obligation.

The census. They run a Roman obligation.

But to go back to their home town was not a Jewish regulation.

That was a Jewish stipulation.

Okay.

So the Roman obligation is that you will be taxed,

because the Jewish stipulation is that they went back to their homeland.

What, because the Jews were very concerned with the with the land

that had been granted originally through the tribe to family lines.

And so

they were under Roman obligation, living under Jewish stipulation.

But God was working everything for a divine restriction.

Sometimes you and I live under oppressive obligation

and other stipulations over our lives, but God will use even

that as a divine orchestration to do what God wants to do.

So don't question it,

even when the obligation and stipulation are all and oppressive.

For a moment, live under it

because it is working together for God's divine orchestration.

Let me tell you a house. How specifically?

So they went back to Bethlehem, the town of David.

Mary had to get back to that Bethlehem

because that's what the prophecy said

in my way back in the Old Testament.

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small

among the clans of Judah, out of you will come,

one who will be ruler over

Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times.

And so the prophecy in the Old Testament

that from Ephrathah would come the Messiah.

Here's why this is important.

There were two Bethlehem's back in the day.

Two there wasn't just a little town of Bethlehem.

There was the Bethlehem of Judah

and the Bethlehem of Zebulun.

And back in Micah five

it says, but you, Bethlehem, Ephrathah Bethlehem,

Efrat was the small little Bethlehem from whence David was born.

Mary had to give back to that Bethlehem

because there were two.

And the prophecy specified that's what so had

the Roman obligation of his census not taking place.

And the Jewish stipulation to go back to your homeland,

Mary would have never been back in Bethlehem.

Ephrathah fulfilling the Scripture centuries before.

That's recorded in Micah five two out of you.

And God says, I will orchestrate everything

in your world to get you to a place where you've got to be.

Trust me with it.

The obligations that are oppressive, the stipulations that other people have on

you, will work together as a divine orchestration

to do exactly what I have determined to.

Through you and with you.

Trust me, you understand.

It's amazing.

Out of you will come the one who will rule over

Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.

John one one in the beginning

was the word Jesus, and the word was God, and the word was God.

He was with God from the beginning.

All things that have been made have been made through him

from ancient times.

All at the orchestration

of the father.

And. Sometimes

as difficult as this might be,

what looks like an obligation or stipulation imposed upon

you from others is actually God's orchestration for you.

If you can't believe that right now,

I want to believe it for you.

I can lend you my faith.

I would.

There's nothing better that you and I can do

than to trust God's orchestration

and obediently follow him into it.

See, everybody thought that Caesar was ruling.

He's the one that issued the decree.

But overruling

a right.

Now, some of you think this thing is ruling over my life,

this difficulty, this pain, this defeat, the struggle, this is ruling over my life.

I want you to hear me say these words.

It might feel as though that is ruling your life, but God is overrule that

you trust a divine orchestration

and I invite you to trust it,

because that's really the question of Christmas.

Can you trust God's orchestration when you can't trust others,

and when you feel like you have no control?

That's really kind of Christmas,

is it?

Christmas is the question Mary had to answer.

It's the question Joseph had to answer.

It's a question every one of you and I must answer.

Can we trust God to put restriction?

I don't want to suggest you can.

Because of his amazing grace.

Because his amazing grace

that says I am going to,

from the highest of heights, become the lowest of lows

for the lowest of lows.

Because I have so much love and mercy and grace to pour out of them, and I want

them to experience that.

Because of God's amazing grace,

we can trust his orchestration.

He loves you.

And he doesn't just want to spend eternity

with you, wants to spend your right now with you,

and he want you to spend your right now

with him.

And if you're willing to step into

this thing called faith.

Faith is the antidote for your every fear.

I know that sometimes life gets scary.

I know that sometimes the circumstances that feel like they have an I'm scary

faith is the antidote.

The faith that says, God, I trust you

and I'm going to trust your orchestration,

and I'm not going to wiggle out.

His grace for you and for me is so amazing.

It is sufficient. He.

And it's because of that amazing grace that he chose

to take up the form of a human and come to this planet

and offer his life

as a ransom for our sin.

So that we can have eternal life

starting right now.

And there's no greater invitation

that you can accept than that.

So the question.

Because of his grace,

will you trust his orchestration

and give yourself.

Why don't you pray with me?

God, you are a good God.

I believe what your word says,

that you've loved us with an everlasting love.

And I believe you showed us how much your love, how great it is for us.

By sending your son to earth.

And Jesus, you confirmed

the magnitude of the father's love

by willingly going to the cross and then picking your life

back up again.

So that through you, Jesus, we could have a right relationship with the father.

God, I believe that.

There are many here who do believe the same,

and there are some who are who are

beginning to believe that.

Father, I ask for grace to believe.

For those who are yet

undecided, for those who have wiggled out, for those

who have walked away, I ask

for them on their behalf for grace

that they might believe again.

And friends, I'd invite you in this moment.

To say to the Father, God,

I'm going to trust your orchestration.

Because I'm going to choose

to believe that you love me.

And as much as I know how.

I'm going to love you back.

I choose to follow you.

Guys, a simple prayer,

a simple decision in your heart.

I don't want you to walk out of here without making that decision.

It's the best decision you can make.

That the highest of heights became the lowest lows

for people like me.

And people like you, who are the lowest of low

that we might become and live.

Would you just say in your own heart, God,

I trust you.

Lead and rule in my life.

Help me follow you.

Today I give myself back.

Father, I thank you for decisions that are being made.

I thank you for people

who are choosing to trust.

God, I pray that you continue

to give us grace to believe.

I thank you for your amazing grace.

How sweet the sound that it saved a wretch like me.

I oh God, I once was lost, but now I'm found.

I once was blind, but now I see. Your grace is amazing.

Your love is profound.

And I thank you that you are in the business right now of orchestrating

for an appointed time, an appointed purpose.

You're a good God.

And in the angels

stead, we want to praise you.

In your name I pray.

Amen.

Listen, I love you.

In two days,

I want you to come back to us at 5:00.

Get there early.

We're going to wrap up this Christmas story

with the wise men and their approach to Jesus.

It's amazing. It's just amazing.

I want you to come back.

I want to invite your family and friends.

I want to invite your huddle. Destroy.

We need to be reminded of.

If any of you made

some decision to follow Jesus

or to come back a

you got to tell somebody.

You can let us know on those cards.

You let us know on I'm going to be here after serving.

Come talk to me now.

My friend John McElroy is Laura, Bob and Jennifer.

There's the we're going to be down there. Just people down here.

You going to talk to us alone?

Talk with you, pray with you, help solidify this thing.

Listen, it's been good to be together.

Two days.

Where are we meeting again?

Less. What time?

Who are you going to invite?

Like a good football team, man.

That's good right there.

Yeah, man, I love you guys, I love you.

Stand up and sing because angels can't let us go get.