Mighty God | Ps. Nate Capshaw

Welcome to the Celebration Church Orlando podcast.

Thank you so much for listening today.

We hope it encourages you and inspires you.

Here's today's message.

Thank you.

Amen.

You guys can be seated.

Thank you so much, Pastor Keith.

Hey, uh, I feel led to uh this isn't part of our normally scheduled program, but I feel led to pray for some people in here and don't worry, I'm not gonna read your mail or anything, but um if you're tired or if there you just got so much going on in your life and things seem a bit frazzled, would you just slip up a hand right now?

There's no judgment in here, obviously, there's a lot going on.

I just want to pray for all of us, my hands up as well.

God, you see every hand, Lord, and um you know all of our stories, God, you knew it before the foundation of the earth was laid.

Uh, and God, we trust you in everything.

And so uh we just um take a moment to quiet ourselves, to quiet our minds and our hearts, and uh, whatever the burdens are that are weighing on us, God, we know you took them, and so we give them to you.

We resurrender in Jesus' name, amen.

Amen.

End scene.

Welcome! So glad that you are here this morning.

Thank you so much for being here, especially uh if this is your first time.

Uh Merry Christmas.

Are we allowed to say that?

Is it too early to say that?

No, Merry Christmas, yeah.

Let's go.

No Scrooges in here.

Um uh like Pastor Key said, my name's Nate, and uh I just have uh I just love serving on staff at this church uh as one of the pastors here.

This is this is my home.

Uh I'm so thankful for this body.

If it is your first time here and I I haven't had the chance to meet you, I'd love to do so after the service today.

I'd love to shake your hand out in the courtyard.

Or uh if you're with us online, uh uh maybe you are somewhere else in the country or in another uh place and time, uh be sure to come in and uh spend some time with us.

If you're in the Orlando area, we'd love to hang out with you here at the Museum of Art at either our 9 or 10 30 a.m.

service.

For those of you that call celebration home like I do, welcome home.

Uh good to see uh your faces as well.

Uh I before we move on, I kind of want to echo what Pastor Keith and Pastor Megan were talking about earlier with our Christmas services uh next Sunday.

We believe, uh, yes, that they're gonna be fun and festive, and we have a lot of great things planned, but we also believe that it's gonna be a powerful time.

It's gonna be an incredible encounter uh with the living God.

So we want to make sure that uh as good Christians, we obviously prioritize church on Sundays, right?

But let's put a little bit of extra emphasis on uh next week.

Uh and uh along with that, uh I would ask you to be prayerful and think about who in your life needs to hear some good news.

Who in your life, whether it be a friend, a family member, a coworker, uh maybe a partner at the gym, uh whoever it may be, needs to hear the good news about Jesus and invite them next Sunday to either 9 or 10:30 a.m.

Sound good?

Awesome.

Uh we are, like I said, in this uh series called Good News, where we are looking at the gospel.

And we hear that term often uh in settings like this, but what does the gospel actually mean?

What does it mean by good news?

And uh we know that the gospel is a person, the good news is the person of Jesus, and so we're kind of looking at the different characteristics of who that is.

We also know that because we have the good news, Pastor Keith introduced to us last year that because we have the good news of Jesus Christ, no matter what happens, no matter what comes our way, no matter what is going on in the world, we can always respond in faith as opposed to reacting in fear.

We can always respond in faith as opposed to reacting in fear.

And last week, Pastor Keith introduced the first characteristic of our Savior, which was he is a wonderful counselor.

A wonderful counselor.

He's a great listener, he is an encourager, and he's also a challenger.

If you missed it, I would encourage you to go back to the podcast and have a listen, or perhaps watch on our YouTube channel so that uh you can kind of get caught up to speed uh on what's going on here.

Um our theme scripture for this series is found in Isaiah 9.6, and it's probably familiar to a lot of you if you've been around church, and if you haven't, that's totally okay.

You're in the right place.

And uh if you don't have a Bible at home where you can't read Isaiah 9.6, we have one for you.

And so you can grab one on the Connect 10 on your way out.

We'd love to gift that to you.

Uh, we are also uh endorsers of uh the Bible app, a great resource for us to engage the word of God anytime, anywhere.

But I n Isaiah uh 9.6 says, For a child is born to us, a son given to us.

The government will rest on his shoulders, and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of peace.

This hope-filled message comes at a difficult time in Israel's history.

What Isaiah is uh tasked with, the prophet here, is God has given him an assignment to let his people know that they're about to be sent off into exile.

Babylon is about to take them captive.

So Isaiah has a tough task here of letting them know that.

But coupled with that news of judgment is also good news.

It's a hope-filled message that not only will God eventually redeem, restore, and free them from Babylon, but ultimately he's going to send their king in the future.

And that king, we obviously know, is Jesus.

But he will be the king who redeems all of us.

Tough, tough message of when we reject God, there are consequences for that rejection.

When we decide to do things on our own terms, to turn away from him and to uh worship something else other than him, there are consequences for that.

However, the good news is the hope is that Jesus came to set that right.

Can I get a good amen?

This morning we're reading a familiar narrative again.

If you uh have been a part of the Christmas season in a church, we're gonna be looking at Matthew chapter two.

Matthew chapter two.

And typically around this time of year, Matthew chapter two, Luke chapter two are the the uh the narratives that we will engage, but this morning, Matthew chapter two in the first twelve verses.

Beginning in verse number one of Matthew two, it says, Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea during the reign of King Herod.

About that time, some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem asking, Where is the newborn king of the Jews?

We saw his star as it rose, and we've come to worship him.

King Herod was deeply disturbed when he heard this, as was everyone in Jerusalem.

He called a meeting of the leading priests and teachers of religious law and asked, Where is the Messiah supposed to be born?

In Bethlehem in Judea, they said, For this is what the prophet wrote.

And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not least among the ruling cities of Judah, for a ruler will come from you, who will be the shepherd for my people, Israel.

Then Herod called for a private meeting with the wise men, and he learned from them the time when the star first appeared.

Then he told them, Go to Bethlehem and search carefully for the child, and when you find him, come back and tell me, so that I can go in, air quotes, worship him too.

After this interview, the wise men went their way, and the star they had seen in the east guided them to Bethlehem.

It went ahead of them and stopped over the place where the child was.

When they saw the star, they were filled with joy.

They entered the house and saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed and worshipped him.

Then they opened their treasure chest and gave him the gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

When it was time to leave, they returned to their own country by another route.

For God had warned them in a dream not to return to Herod.

Today we'll be looking at our second characteristic of our Savior, and that is He is a mighty God.

A mighty God.

Would you bow your heads in prayer with me?

Heavenly Father, thank you for just the moments that we share, God.

We thank you for this house, the ability to come in week in and week out, and to lift up your name and worship as a body of believers, to hear your word being preached, to serve you, Lord.

God, we thank you for your word.

We thank you that you've kept it and preserved it, and we can still glean from it today and learn uh and be revealed of who you are, Lord.

God, I ask that uh you would be with us, that you would give us the grace that we need, Lord, that you would give me the grace that we need.

May we hear what it is you have to say.

It's in Jesus' name, and everybody said.

Amen.

Herod the Great began his rule in Judea in 37 BC.

He did an excellent job placating Rome while simultaneously building up his own little kingdom.

Herod was known for constructing mighty fortresses and great infrastructure.

He also did a great job at helping the Jewish people construct the temple in Jerusalem.

So, by all intents and purposes, Herod is a good ruler.

He's building up the kingdom.

However, Herod has a little bit of a character flaw.

Herod was filled with paranoia.

The reason for some of these mighty fortresses is because Herod is always concerned with the threat of surrounding nations to come in and infiltrate and take over his rule.

However, that paranoia is not just because of the threat of other kingdoms.

Something else keeps Herod up at night, and it is the threat of conspiracy from the inside.

He's always concerned with somebody possibly stabbing him in the back and taking over his throne.

Always keeping his head on a swivel, as it were.

The paranoia impacted Herod so much that he is known for having several people close to him, air quotes again, killed by accident.

The other characters in our reading this morning are a little bit more mysterious.

Not much is known about the Magi that we read of in Matthew chapter 2.

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

Someone suggests that they are in fact kings from other nations, but we're not 100% sure.

What can be inferred is that they were most likely people of great status.

I mean, after all, they did get an audience with the king.

They were obviously somehow well versed in astrology as identifying the star, and they knew the prophetic writings about the Messiah to come.

So, needless to say, they were well educated.

Our reading in Matthew 2 tells us that the Magi meet with Herod, let them know they've seen the star, they put two and two together, and it signifies the arrival of the king of the Jews.

And they've come to worship him.

And Herod's reaction follows suit with his character, doesn't it?

He feels threatened by this alleged arrival.

So he concocts a strategy in order to locate the threat.

Luke chapter 2 sheds a little bit more light on this contrast.

Luke 2 · chapter mention

You see, what was custom for the Jewish law is that a son who was born eight days later would be circumcised and then taken to the temple to be dedicated to the Lord as the firstborn son.

So Mary, Joseph, take their son Jesus to the temple to be dedicated.

But while they're there, they encounter a man named Simeon.

The scriptures tell us that Simeon is a righteous man.

He's devout unto the Lord, and the Holy Spirit is upon him.

So as soon as they walk in to the place where Simeon is, immediately he recognizes the child as the Messiah.

He takes baby Jesus into his arms and immediately begins to praise God.

The scriptures tell us that he was eagerly awaiting the Messiah to come.

We read this in Luke chapter 2, verse 33.

Luke 2:33

Jesus' parents were amazed at what was being said about him.

Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to Mary, the baby's mother, This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall and many others to rise.

He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him.

As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed, and a sword will pierce your very soul.

On the one hand, we have Herod deeply disturbed, his fears becoming a reality.

Someone has come to take his throne.

On the other hand, the Magi, filled with excitement, traveling great distances, bringing expensive gifts, and seeking to worship the newborn king.

What in the world could cause such a polarity of responses?

The only force in the world that could cause this dichotomy is power.

Power is the only thing that can make Herod stumble in fear and the Magi bow in reverence.

Power is the only thing that makes Herod paranoid and the Magi praise.

Power is the only thing that has Herod worried about survival and the Magi exhibit surrender.

Power of a mighty God.

The power you see on display in this world is a farce.

The world's power is synthetic, it's artificial.

Darkness is an illusion.

The only reason that the enemy has to taunt and scare and intimidate is because the darkness realizes it has absolutely no chance against the light.

Oftentimes we draw the conclusion that the afflictions and trials of this world means that God is no longer moving.

Psalm 73 says, My health may fail, my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart.

He is mine forever.

The degradation of your mortal body, the decline of your mind, the weakening of your spirit are not indicators of the absence of God.

Last week, Pastor Keith reminded us that we will face trials in this life.

We will face hardships in this life.

But the good news is, our wonderful counselor, our mighty God, has overcome the world.

Nate, I don't see the spectacular displays of God like we read about in the Old Testament.

I don't see the marvelous miracles that we read about in the New Testament.

I see death, disease, destruction, division.

I just don't see the power of God you're speaking about.

Church, I would suggest to you that the spectacles and the displays of God's power we read about in the Bible have come to fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Now, does that mean that God can't perform miracles today?

Absolutely not.

That's not what I'm saying.

As a matter of fact, I have many friends who have given testimony of incredible supernatural works that they've seen God do.

And this is Celebration Church, and we believe in the power of God.

However, what I am saying is that supernatural displays of power do not always correlate to the works of God.

When Moses performed miraculous signs before the Pharaoh, the Bible tells us that the magicians of that day were able to replicate what Moses was doing.

Jesus himself even says, just because you're performing miracles, miracles in my name, nonetheless, doesn't mean that you are even with me.

My friends, if I never see a blind eye opened, if I never witness someone who is deaf gain hearing, if I never see a person walk on water, I will still forever bow before the mighty God in worship, because the greatest miracle ever performed by our mighty God is the fact that I am his child.

The greatest display of power is that I was once dead in my sin, and now I am alive in Christ.

I was once blind and now I see.

And now there is no power in heaven above earth or below the earth that can ever separate me from the love of God.

That, my friends, is true power.

That is the mighty God you serve.

The one who is able to rule the nations without lifting a finger.

Like the cloud by day and fire by night, the that led the people of Israel to their promised land, the star leads the magi to the promised Messiah.

However, the promised one, the great king, the mighty God, was not found in a palace surrounded by royalty.

He was found in a barn surrounded by animals.

The mighty God who was there from the beginning.

The mighty God who created man and woman became a man through a woman.

The mighty God who wrote the law grew up submitting himself to the law's teachings.

The mighty God who walked on water, knelt down, and with that same water washed his disciples' feet.

The mighty God who designed the circulatory system was whipped and beaten bloody.

The mighty God who spoke trees and mountains into existence was hung on a cross and buried in a borrowed tomb on the side of a hill.

But the mighty God who breathed breath into Adam's lungs breathed again on the third day as the risen king.

What powerful ruler or politician today would ever have the audacity to do such a thing as be found in the environments that Jesus was found in and be lowered in the level of humility Jesus was lowered?

I can't name one.

And yet our Lord says, Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.

And I don't know about you, but inheriting the earth sounds like true power to me.

So what's our response?

Philippians 2, verse number 5, I think, gives us our response.

You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

Though he was God, he did not Think of equality with God as something to cling to.

Instead, he gave up his divine privileges.

He took the humble position of a slave and was born a human being.

When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross.

Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.

All of us have our little pockets of influence, don't we?

Whatever we are as a parent, an older sibling, perhaps a manager, an executive, a coach, a team leader, we all have at least a minuscule amount of authority in our lives.

The challenge that the Apostle Paul proposes in Philippians 2 is instead of using that authority and promoting ourselves, we should humble ourselves like Christ so that we may build others up.

What are the positions you find yourself in now?

What are the positions you find yourself in now that if stewarded properly would have the ability to uplift and impact other people?

Are they dark places that need light?

Are they cursed places that need blessing?

Are they dead places that need life?

Are there environments that you can take God in because you are his child and because his Holy Spirit resides within you?

Or have you dubbed them hopeless?

Have you looked at them as a hopeless case?

I'm just gonna do what I need to do.

I'm gonna get mine, I'm gonna focus on what I got, put my head down, do my thing, and move on.

Church, I'll be the first to admit I am so guilty of that on many occasions.

But could we all take a play out of Jesus' playbook?

The omnipotent, holy creator of the world could have looked down on this wretched planet and said, it's hopeless.

These people are beyond saving, and with a breath, it's over.

But praise God he didn't.

You see, true power is having all the power in the world and not wielding that power so to bring us to dust, but to raise us to life.

Praise God, he humbled himself and used his power to defeat sin and overcome death.

Praise God.

Because of him, I can experience life and life to the full.

I once was lost and now I'm found.

I once was blind and now I see.

I once was deaf and now I hear.

And now I can have the same attitude as Christ, right?

I can humble myself and serve.

I can put others' needs ahead of my own.

And when I do that, he gets the glory, he gets the honor and the praise.

Matthew chapter 2 challenges me in a profound way.

Matthew 2 · chapter mention

Who am I in this narrative?

Herod or the Magi?

And I hope some of you are saying, well, you don't look like the Herod mass murderer type, but I appreciate that.

But am I threatened by God?

Am I worried that he'll be the center of attention instead of me?

Are my plans of growing my own little kingdom interrupted by his arrival?

Am I consumed with self-preservation?

Or would I go extreme lengths to worship my king?

Would I lay down my precious treasures?

Would I risk it all to be with him?

My prayer for us this morning is that we would be a people, we would be a church that would humble ourselves, take on the role of a servant, and be obedient to our mighty God.

For unto us a child is born, a son is given, the government will be on his shoulders, and he will be called wonderful counselor, mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

God, you're so good to us, Lord.

And the reason that we're even here today to worship you on this Sunday is because you decided to come to earth to save us.

And Lord, we honor you and we praise you, and God, we ask for your forgiveness for the unwarranted stress and anxieties that we've somehow put on ourselves, Lord, and we turn and we worship and we look at you.

You just say, you know, I need to lay some things down.

I need to be able to have the spirit to go to whatever length it is to worship God.

Would you just lift up a hand and I just want to pray for you?

God, you see all the hands, you know all the situations, you know what needs to be done in the hearts of these men and women.

God, I pray that you would bless them.

I pray that you would keep them, Lord, in Jesus' name.

Hey guys, we're gonna stand and sing and worship our King together.

Would you just take a moment to worship God here in this moment before we leave?

Thanks again for listening.

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