The Christmas Narrative | Elder Ang Peng Hoe

You're listening to a message to go from acts church. We hope this message

will light up your tea. I'm going to be teaching from Luke chapter two.

We're going to be reading a big bunch of verses, but of course

most of it you are very, very familiar with. But it's good.

It's good to go back from time to time, and sometimes we only do

it once a year, where we read the early chapters of the Gospels,

which talks about Jesus is coming. I think only Matthew and Mark. No,

sorry, Matthew and Luke have got the account quite clearly. Mark starts

straight into Jesus ministry is an all action gospel. The Book of John brings

you all the way back to Genesis. It's a little bit different. So

Matthew and Luke is the one that has the NATIVT account. Okay, so

let's let's let's look at the Christmas narrative Luke chapter two. I'm going to

read verses one to seven first, and then I will share a little bit

and we will continue after them reading from the NLT. Okay, the NLT

and science I look back the notes. Actually shared this message at the orang

Asli Church in Bahasa. I don't even know how it did it, but

must be some sort of annoying thing. Let's read this, Okay. The

Birth of Jesus says at that time the Roman Emperor Augustus decreed that the census

should be taken throughout the Roman Empire. This was the first census taken when

Quirinius was governor of Syria. All returned to their own ancestral towns to register

for this census, and because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he

had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David's ancient home. He traveled there

from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to

whom he was engaged, who was now expecting a child, And while they

were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave

birth to her first born son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth

and laid him in a manger because there was no lodging available for them.

Okay, I know I'm not reading from chapter one. Reading from chapter two,

chapter one, you'll be getting a lot of it. Maybe tomorrow,

maybe maybe, I'm not sure what's going to be shared by the speakers.

But now Mary is with child already we read, so let's let's let's go

back through some historical background. Okay, let's understand a bit the times in

which this was actually written, because during that time there was a Roman emperor.

It says there Augustus, and what did he do. He decreated a

census. For those of y'all who don't know what census is. In Basa,

it's called bungee. You know what census is. The younger one might

not know what census is. Basically is the government's way of doing a survey

and getting information about its people. That's the easiest way I can think of.

You, we don't. We used to do it physically, you know.

They used to come to the house and deliver a thick form that we

have to fill up physically. I think now it's online, really, but

I can't remember the last time I did the census. It's been a while.

Because all our our local our statistics are according someone told me actually that

from the Statistics Department of the country. I think all our statistics are at

least ten years old. That means we don't really keep it updated. That's

that's why I understand maybe more than that, but who knows. Okay,

anyway, Augusta's decreated census should be taken throughout the entire nation. So everyone

had to return to their ancestral home to register themselves in these census. Okay,

that was just how it happened back then. And so since Joseph was

descended from King David, if you actually study the genealogy, you would see,

actually both Joseph and Mary's lineage actually goes back with the same point to

a certain It's quite amazing, actually, but I'm not going to teach on

genealogy today, not your fall asleep. But if you ever have the chance,

study the genealogy is actually really really fascinating. Okay. Anyway, so

Joseph descended from King David, so he had to make the journey all the

way back to Bethlehem. And then at that point, okay, Mary was

with Joseph, and she was in an advance stage of her pregnancy, and

technically she's ready to deliver anytime soon. Okay. So the question is this,

have you ever wondered why Jesus arrived at a particular time? Ever?

Ask yourself this question, why? Why? Back then? Why two thousand

years ago, back then, what's so significant about it? I mean,

if you think about it, the world could have had him much earlier,

right, I mean, we could we could make do with Jesus a lot

earlier than at that time, because even before that time, before Jesus came,

the war was in sort of like a lot of a mess rety.

But yet it was at that time that divine timing. And when we think

about it in science, when we study a little bit more deeper into it

and try to make sense of things, it seems like when Jesus came into

the world, it was God's timing. It was also the world's timing.

Technically, it was everyone's timing, and it was chosen carefully and specifically for

such a time as dead. And let's let's look at it. Let's look

at the world when Jesus came. At that time, when Jesus arrived,

politically things were very much settled, actually, because it was a period when

the whole world was technically not at war. It was a time of peace.

And that's why there's this Latin phrase pacts romana, which actually just means

Roman peace. The Roman Empire was so strong back then that they were able

actually to govern and to manage most of theirs ja Jahanna, Sali, their

territories still in Malay, most of their territories so well. And because of

that there was peace. So the world was at peace and there was this

freedom of movement actually afforded throughout all the Roman provinces. And wherever there is

peace is also because there are laws in place that maintains that peace. So

another phrase that you were here quite often about when you read times of those

era, is another word called lax romana, which just means Roman laws.

And if you study Roman laws, they were comprehensive laws, actually a lot

of laws in place, and this probably has been admitted as one of the

best judicial systems back in those days, and even until today a lot of

references are made towards it. So it was a peaceful time when Jesus came.

Secondly, the world back then started to become much smaller, socially smaller.

And we see all of us understand that today because today sometimes we really

experience the smallness of this world because of the Internet, because of the social

media that has come in. No longer do we need to travel hours to

see someone we can actually see someone in a blink of an eye, so

we understand what it is like, especially today. But imagine back when Jesus

was born, the entire Roman Empire was already actually connected to a very elaborate

road system, and this road system facilitated transportation throughout the empire. So,

like I said, the Roman Empire is strong. Wherever they honkerd they built

roads to their territories. And all these roads were there to transport I don't

know, resources or plunder resources. For whatever reasons, it was there and

it caused the entire empire to be accessible. And of course these roads,

this connectivity was built to also make sure that the military can be sent quickly.

They can send defenses very quickly. But with all this hardware that went

with it, it also brought in commerce. Commerce. It also brought in

culture and eventually brought in many Christian missionaries. So again imagine with me,

and to make matters even better, back then, there was a common language

that was spoken in most of the Roman Empire. And it's not I don't

think it was Latin, which we all know is quite a complicated language.

It was actually a form of Greek. They call it a bit of a

passa malam kind of Greek, a common language that they used to speak,

that all common people spoke. And so you see, if you all speak

the same language, things become smaller. And so if you are a missionary,

you technically don't need to go and learn another English language just to go

and reach out to someone, since everyone spoke the same language. And then

if you want to add to that, at the time when Jesus was born,

the entire Old Testament was already translated into Greek by seventy scholars who actually

came together at that time. And because of that we have what's called the

Septa Jin, which was basically the Old Testament translated to the language that the

entire world could understand. Imagine with me. But at the same time,

the world was also very poor. There was a great depression that took place.

There were very few rich people and many poor people. In fact,

there were probably more slaves than any other people in the world at that time.

And that's the reality of it, And no wonder Jesus used so many

examples about the rich and the poor divide in his teachings, but that was

the reality of the world back then. The reality is the gospel spread so

rapidly amongst the poor, and the early church was built up by slaves.

Think about it. Think about it. Today we still see churches, and

I stand you to testify that I still see churches that are burgeoning and growing.

They mainly come from the developing nations, not the developed nations. That's

the reality of it as well. And it was the same back then.

The world was also morally very sick at that time. There was so much

corruption, so much self centeredness, so many vices. I mean, if

you read or you watch any documentary or movies that leads you back to Roman

times, and you know, those guys are not they ain't no scenes.

You know, any kind of Roman shows that you watch, the things that

they did all a bit questionable, and you realize how depraved society was.

Even back then. The world was also intellectually very sad. There were lots

of philosophies that were going around at that time, and people were mentally quite

tired. Also because people were seeking, People were looking for answers whenever times

are trying and their troubles around you, people want to know more, constantly

looking for something new, constantly seeking for some sort of intellectual and religious satisfaction

in their lives. But somehow none of the philosophies had the answer that could

satisfy them, none of it. And so the question on life and existence

and purpose basically continued on with no set factory answer. And so if you

look at it the world back then, and then you ask the question why

did Jesus come at that time, then you realize in the fullness of time,

and when the fullness of time has come, God sent forth his son

born of a woman. And if you think about it, that could not

have been a better time for Jesus to come into the world. Actually,

to take it a step further, the first coming and the second coming will

not be too different. All the signs are pretty similar. And the second

coming of Jesus is dependent on two things. Okay, I thought about revelations

last week. Second Coming, there's some similarities. And so the second coming

of Jesus is dependent on two things. For the Church to enter into every

part of the world, and that every part of the world may get into

the Church. The Gospel must be preached to all the nations. Then the

end shall come. That was what I highlighted last week. Second thing is

this Jesus will come back the second time when we have done what he has

told us to do, go into all the world, preach the gospel to

every person. Then the end will come. And so preaching is so important.

Sharing the gospel is so important. Let's come back, Let's come back

to this beautiful first coming, because this is what we're asking right, the

timing, the timing, and so what strikes me most about the nativity,

this nativity in the relative. Okay, basically the birth of Jesus is how

simple it is. It's a simple story. You know, some days we

have exaggerated the whole event to sell more items during Christmas sales. But if

we take a step back and we read the scriptures slowly, we will notice

that doctor Luke, who wrote this account, just told the simple bear truth,

like how a good doctor would have sort of described it. He was

a very meticulous person and he described it quite simply as well. And so

let's look at it. Let's look at it. Firstly, we start off

with an arrangement. Okay, the entire arrangement of Jesus' birth is so detailed,

and he involved different parties, and just from the first seven verses,

that we just read just now, we already can see the involvement of a

few characters. The first one, of course, is Augustus. He was

an emperor. He was the one that decreated the census must be taken throughout

the Roman Empire. The second person we see is Quirinius. He was a

governor who decided that in the census they must obtain the names of everybody,

their property, their occupation, their relatives. And you know, Jesus's name

was probably recorded for the first time in those documents. The third person is

a carpenter and his name was Joseph, who decided to bring his pregnant wife

through a journey back to his ancestral hometown to participate in the census. And

then the fourth person you see an innkeeper who allowed the couple to launch in

the courtyard as there was no available rooms in the inn that night. The

fifth character a mother named Mary, who was ready to deliver her baby and

care and nurse him immediately because there was no one else who could help her.

But if you think about it, how this entire arrangement has been taking

place behind these five people was God. It had to be God, because

it was God that made the arrangements, and it was God that made the

decisions. And this is not an accident, and neither is it a coincidence.

But God is managing the affairs of people and working out his purpose to

his perfect will. That is my understanding. And when we read scripture,

we see this happening because all this did not just take place suddenly. Remember

I mentioned the scriptures were actually being translated. The Old Testament was being translated.

Whatever that you read here happening was actually described in detail in the Old

Testament. How Jesus would come. I believe the main account of the birth

is in Isaiah, and all this I believe took place to fulfill God's promise

of the coming Jesus into the world. It's amazing. It cannot be chance.

It cannot be coincidence, because if you read it again, the scriptures

are not written one of it was written in the span of fifteen hundred years.

And for you to actually see things coming to pass as scriptures are being

written out and being prophesied, it's amazing, right, it's amazing. Let's

read on verses eight to fifteen. That night there were shepherds staying in the

fields nearby guarding their flocks of sheep, and suddenly an angel of the Lord

appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord's glory surrounded them. They

were terrified, but the angel reassured them, don't be afraid. He said,

I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.

The Savior, Yes, the Messiah, the Lord, has been born today

in Bethlehem, the city of David, and you will recognize him by this

sign. You will find a baby rapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying

in a manger. Suddenly, the Angel was joined by a vast host of

others, the armies of heaven, praising God and saying glory to God in

the highest Heaven, and peace on earth, and those with whom God is

pleased. When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each

other, let's go to Bethlehem. Let's see this thing that has happened,

which the Lord has told us about. And so we move on from looking

at how it was all arranged in God's perfect timing, in his order.

From an arrangement, we now move on to the announcement. It's quite I

don't know, as I'm preparing this. As I'm reading through this, it

really captivates my heart how things are actually flowing. And I'm just reading scripture.

I'm not gonna go anywhere else. I'm just gonna read scripture by scripture,

especially chapter two today. So now we see the announcement, because after

God had arranged this miraculous birth, came the time to actually announce the birth

of this miracle child. And every proud father we want to announce the arrival

of his children, right, Who wouldn't so imagine our heavenly father so proud

of his son for willing to be born. Because always remember this, Jesus

is and will always be the only person who chose to be born. None

of us can do that. None of us can choose to be born.

We were just conceived, right. But Jesus was there right from the very

beginning scripture. She tells us that he has no time, but he yet

he chose to be born. Literally uh. And when God chose to announce

the birth of his son, he chose to bring the announcement from the highest

heaven to the lowest earth. And I say this because God chose to announce

the birth of Jesus to the shepherds first, and you think about it,

the shepherds were they were like the bottom rung of society or the basically like

almost like the pariahs, really like the lowess of the law. And what

I see here is this the announcement breached the highest to the lowest, highest

heaven to lowest earth. And is this not the symbol that Jesus came to

fulfill, to leave people from the ground into the glory of heaven. You

know, when I read these scriptures, and then when I read say Philippines,

chapter two, why she says it, Jesus emptied himself of his divinity

so that he can come to our level in order that we will be raised

up to where we should be in him. That is the kind of humility

that Jesus actually showed us right from the very start in his nativity, in

narrative, in his own birth. And you know, I will always use

this illustration of how we imagine what first times, I try to imagine what

Jesus did for us, you know, coming to our level. And someone

once told me, you know, maybe maybe maybe you imagine yourself becoming a

worm human being becoming a worm. Uh, And that's what Jesus actually did

know he became a worm. But you know when I when I think about

it further, I'm a creature. The worm is a creature. We are

both creatures. Jesus coming to a level is totally different. We are creatures,

created beings, but he is Creator. It's completely different. I don't

think we can ever make that comparison of Creator becoming a creature. None of

us will be able to fully understand. But that is the magnitude of his

love for his people when he took the form of a human baby. Think

about it. Think about it, Creator taking the form of creation, and

this tells me of his great humility, and he also tells me that he

looks highly to his own creation. Sometimes we feel like I'm useless, I'm

just a creature, I'm full of sin. No, you're all created in

God's image. You're all every one of us here have has got a worth

and a value in which God actually purpose. He puts purpose. He puts

an amazing value into our lives. And that's why he can actually take that

same form as us. It's amazing. Think about it. Think about it.

Okay, I'm gonna move on Verses sixteen to twenty. So from arrangement

announcement, let's move on. They hurried to the village and found Mary and

Joseph, and there was the baby lying in the manger. After seeing him,

the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the Angel had said to

them about this child. All who heard the shepherd's story were astonished. But

Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The

shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had

heard and seen. It was just as the Angel had told them. And

so after the announcement, we look at how Jesus was acknowledged. We look

at the acknowledgment, and the first group of people who acknowledged Jesus were those

who talk a passing interest in him. People were astonished, people were filled

with wonder. But the reality is we are usually filled with temporary wonder,

and that is the truth. It's like it's like feeling here simply just means

feel once and then no longer feel that kind of a feeling, you know.

Actually, many people acknowledge the birth of Jesus, but only for a

moment. Only during Christmas. We recognize Jesus, we acknowledge him, and

then come the new year, life goes on. My life is happening,

and Jesus. Jesus will take a back seat until next Christmas. And that

is our human behavior. And so I want to urge us to not do

that. Don't forget Jesus by the new year. That's why Christmas it's not

just something we celebrate once a year. We celebrate Jesus. If we celebrate

Jesus, we celebrate him throughout every day of the year. Amen, we

should learn how to acknowledge Jesus. Like how married it look at what married

did? She kept all things in her heart and she pondered or she thought

about it often, that's what the scripture tells us. No, she thought

about it. And really a lot of us have lost this art of meditating

ready, meditating on the Lord day and night. You know, when we

talk about meditation nowadays, it's about emptying a mind. That's how meditation is

actually run. Don't think of anything empty or mind. But that is not

the meditating that scripture tells us. The meditation that scripture tells us is feel

your thoughts with all things God. That's what Mary was doing. She was

constantly thinking about her child, not just her child, her Lord. It's

amazing, it's amazing, and that's something that's an art that we need to

bring back because anyone who goes on thinking about Jesus, I believe you were

bad fruit in your life. That is my you know, I really believe

in that. And this is this is why we spend time with the Lord

daily. You know, the the word quiet time in Basa is actually at

the door quiet time. I know it doesn't translate as it is no,

but the door just means like moments of shelter, or times in which we

are under shelter, or moments where we are in the shade. Uh.

You know, I believe when we continue to acknowledge the Lord Jesus in our

lives, he will always be that covering over us, providing protection, providing

shelter, providing a shade over our lives. And that is why we need

to see what is it that married it? And she meditated on him day

and night, and there were also those. Let's look at how the shepherds

acknowledged Jesus. They reacted by praising and glows, glorifying God. They just

happily went back to their task of taking care of the frog, but with

the heart of worship, constantly praising him. And we worship God because he

is wonderful and because he is marvelous, not because the situation around us is

wonderfully marvelous. We worship God for who he is, not for what we

are going through, because if we do that, we become circumstantial worshippers,

which is very, very dangerous. Doesn't matter what we are going through.

We worship the King of kings and the Lord of lords. That's what the

shepherds they are mean. I don't think their lives wouldn't be any easier after

the coming of Jesus. They still had to labor, they still had to

work hard, but they went back about doing what they did with a heart

that praised Him and glorified Him all the way. Amen. A man never

ceased being in all of him, because that is our very purpose, to

glorify God all that we do. Amen. Let's go on. Let's go

on again. I'm just I told you, I'm going to go through the

narrative in Luke chapter two, verses twenty one to twenty four. This is

when he says Jesus is presented in the temple. Eight days later, when

the baby was circumcised, he was named Jesus, the name given him by

the Angel even before he was conceived. Then it was time for their purification

offering, as required by the law of Moses after the birth of a child,

so his parents took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.

The law of the Lord says if a woman's first child is a boy,

he must be dedicated to the Lord. So they offered the sacrifice required in

the law of the Lord, either a pair of turtle dierves or two young

pigeons. So Jesus, like any other Jewish baby boy Jewish boy, had

to be circumcised, following the laws of Moses. Okay, I think it's

the eighth day that they had to go through the circumcision, and so the

responsibility was placed on Jesus to keep all the laws of Moses. But in

fact we now know that Jesus's circumcision is the beginning of all of us being

set free. You think about it, and when you study the scriptures,

you actually see that because instead of the law of Moses being our standard today

is the cross that has become the standard of every believer's life. No longer

are we bound by the Old Testament laws. Essentially, Jesus has broken all

the chains of those laws that bound mankind, not just the Jewish people.

And that's why all the laws that bine us, all the laws that people

have been trying so hard to keep, and that's what it's all about.

Science. We think Christianity is about keeping up with the laws we need to

keep edit, but then we realize that we are actually set free to love

Christ and to love one another. That is the basis of our Christian faith.

Our Christian faith is not about how many laws you kept and how much

you obeyed God. Basically is you are now free to love God and you

are now free to love one another. Are you making that choice to love

God and love one another in that freedom? And we were actually told that

his name is Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sin.

Can you see that connection? Isn't it interesting that the name of the Lord

Jesus was first mentioned by a human being when he was circumcised, because that's

what they have to do. And then Jesus's circumcision was the beginning of setting

people free from the law It's powerful, a responsibility only Jesus could undertake because

he was the only person who have and will ever be able to fulfill every

single law. Jesus did fulfill every single law. He kept the law because

he was the perfect son of God. God the Father chose the perfect name

for Jesus, the name that fitted everything he would do. Remember this,

Jesus did not come primarily to save us from loneliness. He didn't come to

save us from frustration, boredom, discomfort, fears, ignorances, anxieties,

whatever we can think of. Every one of these things is a byproduct.

He came to save us from our sins. That's what he came to do,

to save us from our sins. He was under the law to set

people free. Only he ever fulfilled every single law that was set, and

therefore only he could save us all from not being able to fulfill every law.

And that's what we are. We will never be able to fulfill those

laws. We will always fall shot, and that's why we will always have

to look to our savior because his name is Jesus. Another name for Jesus

is actually God Saved. It's actually taken from the Hebrew name Joshua, which

means God saves. So this is his name, and to all of us,

it tells us that we are no longer under the law of Moses.

No longer are we there trying so hard to fulfill every single law that is,

but we are now under Jesus and under his and being in his service,

in perfect freedom. Freedom now again to be able to choose to do

what is right. That is how powerful the name of Jesus is. That

is why Jesus was the perfect sacrifice. He was the perfect nothing. Nothing

can be said about the virgin birth, no matter how you look at it.

It's nothing short of a miracle. The virgin birth was a miracle you

think about it. No, there was not an ounce of sin in Jesus

because he was conceived true something divine, not true human conception. Do you

know someone once told me I was reading somewhere that says that it's actually possible,

that possible. I don't know how much truth it is for a woman

to sort of conceive a child with doubt intercourse. Apparently it's scientifically possible that

something happens that in the body that causes the egg to separate and be fertilized.

Apparently you can read it in some of the medical journals. But when

it ever happens, it's always a baby girl that is conceived, because again,

there was no introduction of the male chromosome. So however you look at

it, however you look at it. The way Jesus was conceived, there

was nothing in his lineage and genealogy that could have brought sin into his life.

He was the perfectly conceived from the Holy Spirit. Amen. Think about

it, and because of that, only he could be the one that fulfill

If not, we think about it, why can it be me being on

the cross? Why can it be any other hero two thousand years ago?

But it's not just any random person. It was divinely arranged and true that

arrangement, announcement was made, and true the announcement. Now we are acknowledging

that this is the King of kings and the Lord of all and that is

something that we need to always remember. A few other things for us to

take notice here about little Jesus is this because the first child that Mary Ball

was a boy, it was the custom and practice that the child belongs to

God. We do that today as well. It's baby dedication, right,

and so Mary and Joseph had taken Jesus to Jerusalem presented him to the Lord,

and this was technically Jesus' baby dedication, that was what was happening.

And when dedicating your first born male child, what the parents are essentially saying

is, Lord, this is your boy. This is your child. And

that's why at the age of twelve, the boy will completely belong to the

Lord. Basically, at the age of twelve, they are then to bring

the boy to the temple and to leave him there to be at the Lord's

service completely. That is how the Jewish custom is. And of course we

read or no and look to that. At the age of twelve, Joseph

and Mary somehow forgotten about this concept and they thought they lost him, only

to find him where he actually is supposed to belong, in the synagogue,

learning and teaching. It's amazing science when we think and when we read the

scriptures. So don't forget some all these things, no, whatever that has

been offered up to the Lord, because sometimes we offer our children up at

baby the education, but then we forget at twelve, oh yeah, he

belongs to the Lord. But we were like, no, it's supposed to

be an engineer, not belongs to the Lord, or was supposed to be

a doctor or something. Just something for us to bear in mind. Okay,

I'm going to read on twenty five to forty and this is long,

but I'm coming to the end. Okay, I'm coming to that. And

again, I just want to finish all these scriptures here the Prophecy of Simeon.

At that time there was a man in Jerusalem named Simeon. He was

righteous and devout and was eagerly waiting for the Messiah to come and rescue Israel.

The Holy Spirit was upon him and had revealed to him that he would

not die until he had seen the Lord's Messiah. That day, the Spirit

led him to the temple. So when Mary and Joseph came to the to

present the baby Jesus to the Lord, as the law required, Simeon was

there. He took the child in his arms and praise God, saying,

Sovereign Lord, now let your servant die in peace as you have promised.

I've seen your salvation which you have prepared for all people. He is a

light to reveal God to the nations, and he is the glory of your

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

Then Simeon blessed them, and he said to marry 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 the sword will pierce your very soul deep. There's a deep prophecy,

and then he goes on verse thirty six. Anna, a prophet,

was also there in the temple. She was the daughter of Aanuel, from

the tribe of Essure, and she was very old. Her husband died when

they had been married only seven years. Then she lived as a widow to

the age of eighty four. She never left the temple, but stayed there

day and night, worshiping God with fasting and prayer. She had come along

just as Simeon was talking with Mary and Joseph, and she began praising God.

She talked about the child to everyone who had been waiting expectantly for God

to rescue Jerusalem. When Jesus's parents had fulfilled all the requirements, of the

law of the Lord. They returned home to Nazareth in Galilee. There the

child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God's

favor was on him. Amen, this is an amazing story. Don't have

this mindset of Jesus being the baby in the manger and then he's helpless and

no, there is a flow to it. There is a flow to it.

And here we actually see how the Holy Spirit guided two older individuals to

Jesus. And it's I think it's such a brilliant picture because this is how

all of us received confirmation in our hearts that Jesus is indeed of this world.

Because that baby, that boy, that man, that crucified body,

the reason. Lord, he is the savior of the world, regardless of

how we look at it. Just as the Holy Spirit guided Simeon and guided

Anna to Jesus, it is the Holy Spirit that guides each and every one

of us to Jesus today. It is I mean, you think about it,

and so whenever I think about the reason for the season, Jesus being

the reason for the season, I always go back to my own story.

How how did that even happen? How did it all start. You see,

Jesus is the reason for the season, and it all starts to make

sense now when we read John one fourteen, because it says the word became

human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and

faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the father's one

and only son. That's what it means. No, the word that actually

uses Jesus tabernackled among us. Jesus made his home amongst us, And at

that first Christmas, the people present actually saw Jesus with their eyes. He

came, he lived amongst them. He didn't come like a human being.

He became a human being. He was born, or he didn't just appeared

and Jesus started walking the earth. No, he became a human being.

He had a body like theirs, like any one of us. He knew

what it was to be hungry. He knew what it was to be thirsty.

He knew what it was to be tired. He knew what it was

to be angry. He knew what it was to be surprised. He knew

what it was to be said. He was just like you and me,

but yet not like me and you. At the same time, because when

we look at Jesus's life, we see a shining glory in it that we

have never seen in anyone else's life. That is the reality of it,

because grace and truth came together through Jesus Christ. Always remember this. No,

the Law of Moses before came with demands. It demanded this, It

demanded that you have to fulfill this. You have to fulfill that, you

have to carry this out. You have to carry that out. But Jesus

came with an offer in grace, and what he is offering us is grace.

In grace, he is offering to help us to live us. We

do not need to try to be patient. Jesus says, let my patience

live in you. Don't try to be pure. Let my purity feel you.

Jesus is saying, let me give you blessing upon blessing, grace upon

grace. It is his grace that enables us to do what his father demands

of us. We can't do anything by ourselves, and that's the reality of

it. That's why Jesus is really the reason for the season. That's why

whatever happened on the Cross is not just him bearing our sins, but it's

also His righteousness put on to us. The impartation of the righteousness is so

important and we need to receive that. You know this Christmas is my sincere

prayer and hope that the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ will feel your heart,

will feel your mind, will feel your soul, will feel your spirit.

I remember my own story back in nineteen ninety six. It was Christmas

Day in nineteen ninety six when I first encountered Jesus in a personal manner where

I said, Lord, I know you've got to be real because of all

the different things that has been happening in my life. I remember sitting down

in my room on my sad study table as a sixteen year old. If

I'm not mistaken at the time, and I suddenly I just understood grace.

For that moment, I understood what was being offered to me. I understood

that I couldn't do anything by myself. Yet you have done it for me.

And you are saying that is it? Are you really saying That's all

I need to do is just put my faith and my hope in you.

And he says, yes, my child, that's how it starts. And

when you put your faith and your hope in me. I will arrange things

accordingly thereafter. And that was my journey after reading, after being in fellowship

with different Christians, not knowing much, but just understanding that there are some

things that I can't do by myself. Yet here is a God who says

that I don't come to demand more things from you. I come with an

offer, and this offer you still need to do something, and that something

is to receive the offer. You know, a lot of times you always

say, God, nothing we can do to deserve your grace. It is

true, there's nothing you can do to deserve God's grace, but you still

need to receive his graves. Lifting up your hands to receive grace is not

work in that sense. Yeah, it's really just a response, and it's

the right response towards God. I want to encourage us today. I pray

that the Holy Spirit is leading us, and I know that even at all,

for you who have forgotten the day in which you really knew the Lord

personally, think about it. Bring yourself back to that day. The band

can come up. Because our salvation and every single salvation is nothing short of

a miracle. That is the first miracle in life while we were doing and

DestinE for death. We will say, how will we say that's the miracle?

You think about it, Think about your journey, how it all begin.

Because for me, from then on, I've been on this journey of

arranging my life to ensure them I'm always aligned to His purpose, to his

will. For me, it's so important once we know, once we understand,

once we know who Jesus is and we know that He's coming was no

fluke, was no chance. It was true divine arrangement. Then I realized

that I too need to arrange my life to make sure that it's aligned to

God's will and God's purpose. And I know that everything I am and everything

I do is so that I will always be able to announce his goodness,

just like his goodness was announced back then that many years a. People were

proud. His parents were proud of him. They didn't they didn't hide him,

they didn't feel the need to make sure that his coming was completely unknown,

and they didn't try to be secretive about it. They announced it.

And I realized that I need to also announce God's goodness in our lives so

that many more people will be able to acknowledge, just as those back then

Mary's and the shepherds who acknowledged that Jesus is Lord, and he is the

reason why we celebrate Christmas. That's how I look at it. That's how

I look at the whole Nativity narrative. It's not something that we come to

every year and and we watched the kids perform carrying little baby Jesus in the

manger with all the animals, et cetera. Is more than that. It's

more than then. And that's why Christmas always means so much to me,

because it reminds me of my own birth, the second chance in which I

was afforded, and the second chance which I pray that we will continue to

seize and not forget what God has done, because it's been a journey.

I can tell you this from nineteen ninety six all the way to where I

am today, and it will it will continue to be a journey because God

is not done with ursia. As long as we have breath in our bodies,

this journey continues. And so never never ever forget that first day in

which you took that step of faith to believe in God. Because like I

said, things happen through divine arrangements, and remember to all always announce God's

goodness in your life so that more will acknowledge Him as our Lord and as

our King. We hope you've been blessed by this message. For more information

on our church, please visit as church org. We are also active on

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week, a hit for you. God bless