Love Came Down • He Came to Be With Us

Welcome to the Willow Ridge Sermons Podcast, where you can listen to audio from our most

recent sermons and more.

Thanks for listening, and be sure to add this show to your library if you'd like to automatically

receive new episodes each week.

Good morning.

My name is Josh Nix.

I'm on staff here at Willow Ridge Church.

For those of you who don't know me, I lead our young adult ministry here at the church,

so 18 to 24-year-olds, and I also oversee our facilities and our grounds here at the church.

So this last spring, much to my surprise, Pastor Bo asked me to preach during our summer series,

right, like commonly misused verses of the Bible.

I think in the moment when he reached out to me, I think my response was something along

the lines of, if you think I should.

And so you, obviously you guys may not realize this, but you know, Bo gets up here every

single Sunday and turns this mic on and makes this look super easy.

And he's never shared this with you before, but I'm going to tell you this, you guys are

kind of intimidating.

Now don't get me wrong, you're very loving, you're very supportive, you're absolutely very

encouraging, but also intimidating.

So imagine my surprise, a couple of months ago, Bo asked me to preach again, to which

I had a similar response.

If you think I should.

So here we are, right?

So you guys are stuck with me this morning, but if you haven't noticed, Pastor Bo is not

here.

He's actually on our mission team that's serving in New York City this weekend.

On Friday, it was like 22 degrees there, so I did tell my wife, I was like, look, it may

have been 22 degrees for you, but it was 45 and rainy on Saturday here, so yeah, beat that.

So, but they're part of the mission team, they're serving coats for the city, so they're handing

out coats to those in need in Queens, New York, and they're working alongside Pastor Walter

in Iglesia Batista Nueva Vida Church there in Queens.

I need you guys to do me a favor next week, okay?

So if you see my wife walking around here next Sunday, I need you to give her a hard time.

This is the second time I've preached, and she has missed them both, right?

So do me a favor.

So this morning we're kicking off our Christmas series, and when it comes to Christmas, specifically

Christmas decorating, I firmly believe that there are two types of people in this world.

There's two different groups of Christmasers, right?

You've got one group over here, not you guys specifically, but let's just pretend like the

group's over here.

You've got one group over here, and they're the ones who decorate like the day after Halloween,

right?

I mean like, last trick-or-treater walks up on the porch, you hand him candy, and before

he's hit the cul-de-sac, Joanne's throwing a wreath on her front door, right?

That kind of decorator.

You've got another group.

Let's say this group's over here, okay?

And I actually happen to fall into this category.

I'm this group.

We're the ones that wait until after Thanksgiving.

Okay?

Yep.

Thank you.

Thank you.

We also might be the ones that, you know, if you guys were possibly walking through Lowe's

in September, you might see us over there kind of unplugging an inflatable Santa Claus because

it's just wrong to have Santa Claus up in September, right?

All jokes aside, the Knicks household has officially decorated for Christmas, right?

So last Friday, only after Thanksgiving, much to the disappointment of my wife and kids, we

decorated for Christmas because they wanted to decorate back in September.

But in my house, we have a few parameters, right?

Like we have a few guidelines that we follow in our home, okay?

So this morning, before we get into the message, I'd love to share some of those parameters

with you.

Not because you asked for them, but just because I think they're funny.

So number one, and I've already kind of alluded to it, but we do not decorate for Christmas

until Thanksgiving is over, okay?

Listen, I need you to hear me out on this one.

Thanksgiving is the perfect holiday.

And here's why.

There's a parade, right?

And then we eat.

There's football.

Then we eat again.

There's more football kind of mixed in with a nap because you really don't care about the

two teams that are playing.

And then you eat again.

And then at the end of the night, you've locked up your house and you've shut off all

the lights, right?

And you put your kids to bed and you're walking through the kitchen on your way to the bedroom

and you look over and you see one last treat on the counter.

And then you eat one more time, right?

Who doesn't love Thanksgiving?

Okay, number two, we do not listen to Christmas music in our home until the day that we decorate.

Okay, look, I'm going to be honest with you.

A couple weeks ago, my oldest, Haley, is driving down the road.

Yes, you heard that right.

She's 15.

She's got her permit.

My prayer life has absolutely improved over the last couple months because of that.

So I'm riding down the road.

She's driving and I won't name the radio station, but then the song Mariah Carey's All I Want

for Christmas plays on the radio.

I reach over in a moment of panic and shut off the volume and I do what any responsible,

you know, father would do.

I remove that radio station from our presets, all right?

I will not have that in my car.

Will not.

And last but not least, and number three, this one's important.

So don't miss this.

We do not watch our first Christmas movie of the year until we are in the act of officially

decorating our Christmas tree.

And I'm not saying this one has to be yours, but this is absolutely ours.

If you're wondering, there is only one acceptable first movie of the year.

Okay, calm down.

Miracle on 34th Street, the 1947 edition, okay?

When that postman walks in with a bag full of letters and throws them on the ground right

there in front of the judge, it still tears me up every time.

And then like 40 other postmen come in with like letters and they're like, see, he is saying

it.

Yeah, so now listen, I can already see the look on some of your faces and you're judging

me and that's okay.

I need you to understand my wife's been trying to change me for a long time now.

It's not going to work.

And over the years, though, I'll admit we've had a few bumps in the road when it comes to

these parameters, okay?

No better example than two weeks ago.

It's a normal Tuesday night, the week before Thanksgiving.

My wife, Kim, is cooking dinner.

I'm doing some dishes.

Our sweet seven-year-old Olivia, some of you know her as Via, turns on the TV and I don't

have to look up to know what she's done.

I just heard the intro.

To my surprise, I run over to shut off the TV because she's turned on the movie Home Alone.

Which, listen, in our house, we don't watch that movie probably until a week before Christmas.

It's top of the list, okay?

So then I did what any good dad would do.

I calmly and patiently took her by the hand.

I walked her over to the timeout corner.

And I let her take a few moments and think about her actions.

No, seriously, though, like Olivia's been in our home for seven years now, okay?

We've got rules.

She's got to follow them.

However, I will say I'm not a monster.

I did show her some grace.

I did not report this infraction to Sparkles the Elf.

So we're good.

We're good.

Okay, just so nobody panics, that was absolutely a joke.

I've probably never put Olivia in the timeout corner once in her life because she's got me

wrapped around her finger.

So, but as we enter into this Christmas season, we all have things that we do every year, right?

We have days that we take off from work.

Our kids get out of school early.

We have family traditions that have been handed down from generation to generation.

We watch all of our favorite movies, right?

We put up those decorations.

We cook the same dishes for Christmas Day.

And it's just this joyful season that we've become comfortable and familiar with.

But as we start our Christmas series this morning,

my hope is that we won't settle for something familiar or comfortable.

Sorry.

We won't just turn to a passage that we've read every December and think,

oh, yeah, I know this one.

We won't just sing Christmas songs and check them off the list.

My prayer is that this morning,

as we open up a passage that honestly we've heard countless times,

that we wouldn't just open it and read it in the same way that we always have.

I pray that it wouldn't just be this normal thing.

I pray that it would impact our hearts in a refreshing way,

in a surprising way,

maybe even in an extraordinary way.

So if you have your Bibles with you,

would you turn with me to Matthew chapter 1?

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

To be honest, we're going to be all over the place,

but Matthew chapter 1 is kind of a good place for us to kind of hang out.

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

Verse 22, Matthew writes,

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall call his name Emmanuel,

which means God with us.

Would you pray with me?

God, I pray that you would open our hearts and our minds this morning to hear your word,

and I pray that we would be impacted by it.

Lord, I pray just help us respond to what you have for us

as we enter into this Christmas season.

In your name I pray, amen.

So over the last couple of months,

Pastor Bo has been speaking from the book of Daniel, right?

We've learned of Daniel's faith

and how he remained faithful to God

through the trials and through the Babylonians

trying to completely change who he was, right?

We learned that they wanted to change the things that he ate,

the clothes that he wore,

the people that he associated with.

They wanted to change every part of him,

especially the God that he bowed down to.

We also talked through different prophecies and visions

in the book of Daniel.

And as I began preparing for this message,

it got me curious, so I did some research.

It turns out there are approximately 400 Old Testament prophecies

pertaining to Jesus.

And in those 400, we learn things like

Jesus was to be born in Bethlehem.

That's in Micah 5.2.

We learn he'll be from the house of David.

That's in Jeremiah 23.

We also get insight into his death

and his resurrection in Psalm 22.

And as we read of things to come,

you know, we see evidence of God's love for us

and that he has a plan.

So to be honest, this morning I was planning

to go through all 400 of those prophecies,

but Bo advised me that we probably didn't have enough time,

so I figured we'll get through half of them.

Just kidding.

So the Old Testament is full of a plan by God, right?

Full of evidence of a plan by God.

And as we read through our main passage this morning,

we'll focus on one Old Testament prophecy in particular

in the book of Isaiah.

So in Matthew chapter 1, we'll read our whole passage,

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

verses 18 through 25.

Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way.

When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph,

before they came together,

she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit.

And her husband Joseph, being a just man

and unwilling to put her to shame,

resolved to divorce her quietly.

But as he considered these things,

behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream,

saying, Joseph, son of David,

do not fear to take Mary as your wife,

for that which is conceived in her

is from the Holy Spirit.

She will bear a son,

and you shall call his name Jesus,

for he will save his people from their sins.

All this took place to fulfill

what the Lord had spoken by the prophet.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and they shall call his name Emmanuel,

which means God with us.

When Joseph woke from sleep,

he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.

He took his wife,

but knew her not until she had given birth to a son.

And he called his name Jesus.

So point number one this morning for you note-takers,

God with us tells us that God had a plan.

In Isaiah chapter 7, verse 14,

Isaiah 7:14

Isaiah writes,

Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,

and shall call his name Emmanuel.

Emmanuel, God with us.

So what's in a name?

It's a famous line from Shakespeare's

Romeo and Juliet, right?

While this question may be fitting for Juliet

to use to suggest that

that Romeo's last name was merely a label,

what we see in Matthew chapter 1,

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

the name Emmanuel carries more meaning

than any name ever given.

And the prophet Isaiah tells of this

700 years before the angel visited Joseph in a dream.

You see, my name is Joshua Caleb Nix.

That's Caleb, not Kayla.

People get that wrong all the time.

But for the purpose of this exercise,

we're going to start with my last name.

My last name tells you who my parents are, right?

It'll tell you where my father's family's from.

They could tell you where my family originated.

But you see, Joshua and Caleb are given names,

given to me by my parents.

And those given names, I mean,

they could be used in different ways, right?

Those names could be given to carry on someone else's name

that had come before you.

They could be given just because your parents

like the way they sound.

But the meaning of those two names

could also speak to who my parents hoped I would become.

What we see in Isaiah chapter 7

Isaiah 7 · chapter mention

is not a hope that he would be God with us.

What we see in Isaiah chapter 7

Isaiah 7 · chapter mention

is a foretelling that he will be God with us.

In Galatians chapter 4, in verse 4, Paul writes,

Galatians 4 · chapter mention

but when the set time had fully come,

God sent his son, born of a woman,

born under the law.

Set time.

This means that God didn't just take a glance down at earth

and think, man, it's getting pretty rough down there.

I better do something.

He didn't just look down and think,

oh, man, that's crazy.

This means that God had a plan from the very beginning

and that that plan was good.

So what's in a name?

Well, in this name, we see that God with us

speaks to God having a plan.

And it being foretold tells us

that that plan was not reactionary.

It was not random.

Not by chance.

But we don't just have prophecies to look at

for evidence of God's plan.

We also have history.

All throughout the ages,

God shows a consistent pattern

of desiring relationship with man.

It says he spent time walking

with Adam and Eve in the garden.

We see it in the covenant

that he established with Abraham.

And then when he tabernacles with the Israelites

in the wilderness.

We see God create all things

in Genesis chapter 1.

Genesis 1 · chapter mention

But in Matthew chapter 1,

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

we see God with a clear plan

from the beginning of time

to be right related

with that which he made

in his own image.

So that means God planned

to provide coverings

for Adam and Eve

when they felt shame

in their nakedness

after the fall.

That means that long before

he was patient

with Abraham and Sarah's disbelief,

he had a plan.

That means that when he continued

to guide and provide

for the Israelites

after they had showed disobedience

and lack of faith

over and over and over again,

he had a plan.

God shows us that he wanted

to be with that

which he created.

And that pattern

that we see throughout history

doesn't just apply to them,

it applies to us.

God with us tells us

that he had a plan.

So let's continue on

in Matthew chapter 1,

Matthew 1:21

verse 21.

It says,

She will bear a son

and you shall call

his name Jesus

for he will save

his people

from their sins.

Point number two.

God with us tells us

that God had a purpose.

And to understand

God's purpose,

we must first better

have an understanding

of who he is.

But before we talk

about who he is,

I think we should establish

just how badly

we needed saving.

Since the fall

in the Garden of Eden,

man has rebelled.

man has done evil

in the sight

of the Lord.

In Jeremiah it says,

the heart is deceitful

and wicked.

Paul in Romans chapter 3

Romans 3 · chapter mention

I think paints

a pretty alarming

but good picture

of this.

He starts by referencing

Psalms,

but then speaks

to this universal

depravity and guilt

of mankind.

Romans 3.10

he writes,

As it is written,

none is righteous.

No, not one.

No one understands.

No one seeks for God.

All have turned aside.

Together they have

become worthless.

No one does good.

Not even one.

You see,

and as we continue,

if you continue reading

in chapter 3,

Paul literally starts

at the head

of the human body

and works his way

all the way down

to their feet

and he gives

a depressing,

hopeless look

at the human condition

apart from God.

The picture he paints

is of a man

completely incapable

of saving himself.

But it wasn't just enough

that it wasn't enough

just to paint a picture

of man unable

to save himself.

Reality is,

left to our own hearts,

man doesn't seek God.

Left to our own hearts,

man doesn't love God.

Left to our own hearts,

man does not desire God.

It illustrates

that the fall

of mankind

touches every part

of man's being

and corrupts him

and separates him

from a good

and perfect,

holy,

blameless God.

The picture Paul

paints for us

is just how badly

we needed saving.

And you see,

our problem of sin

needed a divine solution.

The corruption

of man's heart

needed God

with us.

To understand

that purpose,

let's talk a little bit

about God.

1 John,

it tells us

God is love.

His very nature,

His love.

His essence is love.

Notice,

it's not just used

as a verb

to depict an action

or something

that He does.

It's who He is.

John wanted so badly

to communicate this to us,

he said it twice

in 1 John chapter 4,

1 John 4 · chapter mention

starting in verse 8.

Anyone who does not love

does not know God

because God is love.

In this,

the love of God

was made manifest

among us

that God sent

His only Son

into the world

so that we might

live through Him.

In this is love.

Not that we

have loved God,

but that He loved us

and sent His Son

to be the propitiation

for our sins.

Beloved,

if God so loved us,

then we also ought

to love one another.

So as we move down

to verse 16,

we see John say it again,

but this time

we kind of get a glimpse

of the impact

that God's love

has on the heart

of a believer.

Verse 16,

so we have come

to know

and to believe

the love that God

has for us.

God is love.

And whoever abides

in love

abides in God

and God abides

in him.

So as we're discussing

evidence of a plan

in the spirit

of being consistent,

we should also discuss

evidence of this purpose.

We can establish

two things

from these verses.

Number one,

in God's purpose

we see that He loves us.

Romans 5, 8,

it says,

but God shows

His love for us

and that while

we were still sinners,

Christ died for us.

Second thing

we can establish

from evidence

of God's purpose

is that in God's purpose

we see He wants

relationship with us.

2 Corinthians 5, 21,

for our sake

He made Him

to be sin

who knew no sin

so that in Him

we might become

the righteousness

of God.

You see,

by light of His nature

God is above us

yet He initiates

relationship with us.

By light of His law

God is against us

yet He pursues us.

But by light

of His gospel

God is with us.

God with us

tells us He had a purpose.

This past March

I had the opportunity

to go on a mission trip

to India.

It's actually

my second time

going to India.

So one day

we had the opportunity

to visit

what they call

the Amber Fort.

So it's like

a massive

fortified palace

and to be honest

it was incredible.

I learned a lot

that day.

Also learned

a few things

about myself.

First I learned

that when your

tour guide

says yeah

we can park here

it's just a short

walk up the street.

What he actually

means is

prepare yourself

for a mile long

vertical hike

straight into the clouds.

Because that's

what it was.

About 700 feet

of elevation later

I decided

it might be time

to get in better shape.

Later that day

I also discovered

that Indian food

is not for me.

That's all I'll say

about that.

But as we're

walking up this road

I also learned

something else.

Auto rickshaws

and buses

do not always

stop for people.

You guys have seen

the movie Elf

where you know

Buddy's like

first time

I think he comes out

like the Lincoln Tunnel

or something

and he's running

over the road

he just crosses the street

and gets like

just smacked

by a yellow taxi cab.

Right?

And then like

later

he goes on

later he goes on

and he like

I think he's got

a friend with him

or his brother

or something

and they go

across the street

and he's like

whoa whoa whoa

the yellow ones

don't stop.

I'll tell you this

in India

turns out

yellow ones

don't stop

green ones

don't stop

red ones

don't stop

blue ones

don't really

none of them

stop.

But the palace

itself was

absolutely

breathtaking.

Originally built

in the 9th century

and then expanded

in the 16th

it was

massive.

One of those

places where

as you walk

through

you're kind

of just

blown away

that this

was built

with far

fewer tools

far less

resources

and just

far less

technology

than we

have.

It was

literally

built and

made to

where there's

like a lake

at the bottom

of the mountain

and so the

wind would

blow and

utilize the

water off

that lake

to cool

the place

which was

just

just insane

right.

The year

before

when I

went the

first time

it was

like 117

degrees

there

one day

so they

absolutely

need air

conditioning

in that

place.

But as we

continued on

our tour

of this

palace

they took

us to

an area

this area

of the

palace

called

the

Shish Mahal

probably

saying that

wrong

but that's

okay.

So you

walk in

here and

as our

guide is

talking about

it

it turns

out

that

they're

on the

walls

and the

ceilings

of this

place

there's

like

over

thousands

of

mirrors

right

and it's

set up

so that

the smallest

bit of

light

would shine

in there

and reflect

off those

mirrors

and create

like a

dazzling

display

pretty cool

and as

our guide

continued to

tell us

about it

and talk

about it

he said

that it

was

literally

built

for one

of the

queens

at the

palace

so that

she could

see the

beauty

of the

stars

inside

so guys

no pressure

but

if you're

still shopping

for a

christmas

present

you've

got some

catching

up to

do

so that

guy's

got us

all

beat

inside

the fort

though

there's

this

temple

right

like

it's

dedicated

to

to a

hindu

goddess

where

like

devout

followers

could

come

and

could

come

and

just

worship

and

pay

respects

to

this

hindu

goddess

right

like

this

false

god

in

my

experience

there

it kind

of

reminded

me

of

something

something

that

I read

in a

book

it's

the

story

that

a

pastor

tells

and

he's

speaking

of

a

time

that

he

had

with

two

other

two

other

religious

leaders

right

in

this

story

he's

sitting

down

they're

kind

of

they're

at

some

temple

but

they're

just

kind

of

sitting

out

in

the

courtyard

of

it

and

they're

having

this

conversation

and it

shifts

to

like

faith

and

beliefs

one of

the

men

made

the

statement

that

you

know

we

may

have

different

views

about

small

issues

but

when

it

comes

to

the

most

important

issues

our

religions

are

the

same

to

which

the

pastor

responded

he

says

it

sounds

as

though

you

both

picture

God

or

whatever

you

may

call

God

at

the

top

of

the

mountain

while

we

are

here

at

the

bottom

and

I

may

take

one

path

up

the

mountain

while

you

may

take

another

just

different

path

up

the

mountain

but

in

the

end

we'll

all

end

up

in

the

same

place

they

excitedly

responded

reacted

they're

like

yeah

yeah

exactly

exactly

that's

what

we

mean

but

then

he

asked

them

a

question

that

would

set

the

tone

for

a

fundamental

life

changing

answer

he

said

what

if

God

doesn't

wait

for us

to

find

our

way

to

him

but

instead

comes

to

us

you

see

that's

the

beauty

in

Emmanuel

God

with

us

when

the

prophet

Isaiah

wrote

of

Emmanuel

and

the

angel

of

the

Lord

told

Joseph

his

name

will

be

Jesus

it

was

a

declaration

of

a

beautiful

plan

and

purpose

that

God

not

as

a

distant

deity

separated

from

us

and

all

of

our

hurts

and

our

heart

aches

but

not

not

God

on

the

top

of

this

mountain

waiting

for

us

to

overcome

our

challenges

and

somehow

overcome

the

sin

in

our

life

but

Emmanuel

God

with

us

love

coming

down

to

be

with

us

to

meet

us

where

we

are

and

to

make

a way

for

us

to

have

life

with

him

I

read

in a

commentary

earlier

this

week

says

this

astounding

truth

of

Christianity

the

reality

that

God

became

flesh

may

be

incomprehensible

to

many

but

to

those

who

believe

it

is

irresistible

there's

an

infinitely

great

God

mighty

in

power

who

out

of

his

love

for

us

has

not

simply

sent

a

messenger

to

tell

us

about

his

love

even

better

he

has

come

himself

and

what

he

came

to

do

is

the

greatest

news

in

the

whole

world

we've

been

given

a

gift

like

the

best

gift

like

the

kind

of

gift

that

makes

all

the

other

gifts

just

kind

of

seem

like

they're

just

not

very

good

gifts

one of

my

favorite

traditions

that

our

family

has

was

actually

passed

down

from

my

wife's

family

each

year

we

have

a

family

ornament

and

our

kids

get

like

an

individual

ornament

so

like

family

ornament

will

be

like

you know

there's

like

five

black

bears

and

you know

you put

your name

on them

and then

one year

was like

you know

hot chocolate

cups

or something

I don't

know

each year

is a

different

thing

we're

kind of

running out

of ideas

at this

point

but our

kids

get like

an

individual

ornament

right

and typically

that ornament

would

give some

insight

into what's

going on

that year

in their

life

so

as we

turn on

Miracle

on

34th

street

and we

begin

to take

these

ornaments

out of

their

container

that's

my job

pretty

good

at it

we

unwrap

them

and as

I

unwrap

them

and kind

of

organize

them

my

wife

and my

kids

they

come

up

and they

just

start

to look

for

their

ornaments

and we

just

take

this

walk

down

memory

lane

together

right

just

long

walk

down

memory

lane

2007

an

ornament

with a

guy

and a

girl

fancy

clothes

reads

Merry

Christmas

Newlyweds

2010

it's like

a little

baby

with a

pacifier

says

Haley's

first

Christmas

2017

this

little

girl

with

pigtails

and a

backpack

and

doesn't

say

attitude

but a

little

bit

of

attitude

and it

says

Samantha's

first

day

of

school

2023

is like

a

dinosaur

but

like

listen

not like

Jurassic

Park

you know

velociraptor

like

like a

little

cute

one

with

like

the

rounded

teeth

reads

Olivia

because

she was

just

obsessed

with

anything

to do

with

dinosaurs

that

year

as

great

as

those

memories

are

and

as

much

as

they

do

a

fantastic

job

of

putting

us

into

the

Christmas

spirit

that's

not

the

gift

and

underneath

this

tree

with

all

of

our

memories

on

it

there

are

presents

there's

like

the

kind

of

presents

that

you

look

down

there

and

you

see

your

name

on

it

and

you

look

at

the

shape

of

the

box

and

when

nobody

is

in

there

you

might

shake

it

a

little

bit

and

you

think

is

this

the

red

rider

BB

gun

I've

been

asking

for

there's

another

type

it's

the

kind

that

makes

you

smile

because

you

look

at

it

because

you

know

the

shape

of

the

box

because

you're

the

one

that

wrapped

it

and

you're

the

one

that

put

something

inside

of

it

you

know

who

it's

for

and

you

can't

wait

that's

not

the

gift

either

verse

24

when

Joseph

woke

up

he

did

what

the

angel

of

the

Lord

had

commanded

him

he

took

Mary

home

as

his

wife

but

he

did

not

consummate

their

marriage

until

she

gave

birth

to

a

son

and

he

gave

him

the

name

Jesus

you

see

God

with

us

tells

us

that

God

had

a

plan

and

God

with

us

tells

us

that

that

plan

had

a

purpose

and

our

final

point

this

morning

point

number

three

God

with

us

tells

us

that

we

must

respond

you

see

we

know

little

about

Joseph

we

know

he's

from

the

house

of

David

we

know

that

Mary

is

to

be

his

wife

we

know

of

his

character

because

in

verse

19

it

says

he

was

a

just

man

but

Joseph

knew

that

God

had

a

plan

and

while

that

plan

included

it

absolutely

deviated

from

the

one

that

Joseph

had

for

himself

and

what

unfolds

in

verses

24

and

25

is

a

picture

of

obedience

to

God's

plan

it

it

it

Joseph

letting

go

of

his

expectations

and

when

Joseph

did

as

the

Lord

commanded

and

gave

him

the

name

Jesus

we

then

see

the

greatest

gift

of

all

that

God

the

one

who

made

heaven

and

earth

the

sun

and

the

moon

and

the

stars

and

the

plants

of

the

field

and

the

birds

of

the

air

the

one

who

made

you

and

me

he

came

down

to be

with

us

and

he

did

it

just

as

he

planned

it

because

he

loves

us

and

he

wants

a

relationship

with

us

but

here's

the

truth

about

the

gift

it

must

be

received

it

must

be

accepted

revelations

3

20

it

says

behold

I

stand

at