Voice of the Nazarene 12-17-23

I'm coming to you from North Central Ohio, we share with you the voice of the Nazarene. A WEEK BY WEEK venture into the Word of God sponsored by the Bucyrus, Ohio Church of the Nazarene. We joined Tim Throckmorton of the Nazarene.

I don't know how many of you remember years ago, what was the focus in my life, from about August, maybe September, on until Christmas. It was called a catalog. Anybody remember a catalog. They came from Sears.

They came from Spiegel, they came from Montgomery Ward. And they invaded our home, they found a place on the coffee table, and we would look through them. And we would dream and think about what we wanted. I'm talking about children, they would find the toys and the sporting goods and I had a strategy that I felt was pretty genuine and, and hopeful I, I would earmark pages in the book.

And I would just leave the book laying open in certain places around the house with a with a with something laying on it by the item that I had my eye on and I was looking forward to Christmas. And I had something in mind I had a focus. I remember one particular year I had my eye on a fire truck. And no I wasn't in my teens, it was a fire truck. You actually put a hose in it a water hose in it and water came out. And so Christmas morning, I got a fire truck. So we took all the boxes, built a miniature city and set the thing on fire. So I could put it out not in the house. But we we put it out and and it was interesting for months I thought about this thing I planned. I strategize and it came and arrived. And lo and behold, less than an hour probably. That was fun. And all that planning and all that hoping just wasn't exactly what I thought it would be. When it came. Sometimes that's like life. As we look forward to this season. I know you have had such a time of celebration. When your pastor reached out to me to come I was reminded of your performance that was going to be taking place and I watched I watched it it was marvelous. I was in Connecticut. I didn't watch it that day. But I was in Connecticut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire this week speaking. And but while I was there, I watched that wonderful performance. So hats off to you and my appreciation for your good work. But we're looking forward Christmas does that it excites us. As it points towards something. God is always pointing us towards something.

He's got something in mind for us. I would invite you to take your Bibles and turn to Luke's Gospel. It's a familiar passage chapter this season of year. But I want to go to a different place. We're not going to look at the birth of Jesus. But I want us to skip down to verse 21. And while you're finding your place there, I want to go back. And I know all of you are excited. You know when you read through First and Second Chronicles. I know how exciting it is. And there's so much Christmas in there. I want to go there for a minute and that's a joke. There's there is but First and Second Chronicles aren't really the place that brings the most excitement to the study life sometimes of a believer.

There are passages that bring our bell, spiritually speaking, Second Chronicles 7:14 where the Lord says to Solomon, If my people who are called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways didn't will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. We know that verse. But there are other things contained in First and Second Chronicles that perhaps aren't as exciting like the genealogies in fact, chapters one through nine of First Chronicles all about genealogy. So and so we got so and so we got so and so not really a lot of dialed in focus on Abraham or Moses, which the Jews focus on a lot. But on all the people and the God of Israel, remember, isn't just the God of Israel. He's the God of everyone. He's the only God there is. Amen. The Jews, the Gentiles, the human race, and he wants to be close to us. He wants to be near to us. That's his desire and the genealogies, chapters one through nine begin at Adam, go to David, then when chapter 10, we meet Saul, and the first king of Israel, and then we meet David. And we go through his reign. And then we meet Solomon. As we end chapter 29 of First Chronicles, Second Chronicles we meet Solomon again and he's building the temple, the temple is built, which leads us to the verse that I just read to you in Second Chronicles 7:14. And then after Solomon, all the kings, and then Ezra, Nehemiah, now the highlight and focus of Chronicles, points us and focuses on David's reign, and Solomon's reign, and the temple. And there's a reason for that. The temple was where God met man, face to face, where God and man were near together, the one place on Earth, where God could be close to man. I've been to Israel many times, and there are sacred places throughout that land. I love Galilee where Jesus spent most of his ministry, 80% of his ministry was in the Galilee region. I love the sights of Jericho, and Bethel. And I love to see all that God is doing now that what he did then and where he did it, Shiloh, and on and on Jerusalem.

2 Chronicles 7:14 2 Chronicles 7:14

But there's one place that is, is is incredibly sacred, not just to those who visit but to the Jewish people. And it's the Western Wall, where they go, there's a section for the women, there's a section for the men, and you go there and you pray, and they are drawn to that, that place. And as you look around the city of David, and you look around the walls that are there, you see, what's there today is not reflective of what was there then because that's where the temple was, that's on the other side of that wall. In fact, on the other side of that wall, was the backside of the temple, where the Holy of Holies was where God dwells. And it's the closest that they can get to where he, where he was. You see, God wants to be close to us. And there's this built in mechanism in a human that seeks creators seeks something beyond themselves. And so Chronicles is about the building of the temple where God can be close to them.

The tabernacle was a precursor, where God met man in the wilderness. Now the writer is directing us to David's ascension to the throne, which had to be Jesus was to come through David's lineage, no focus on Goliath, really, in all of this, or to David's heart, or even Solomon's wisdom. The focus is directed to the building of the temple. It's where God can be close. It's where God can be near. Isaiah 7:14. Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sigh mula virgins shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Well, John Wesley said it this way veiled in flesh, the Godhead See, Haile incarnate deity, pleased this man, with men to dwell, Jesus are Emmanuel, God with us. So now, hundreds of years later, in Jerusalem, in Luke chapter two and verse 21. And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named to the angel before he was conceived in the womb.

Isaiah 7:14

And when the days of purification, according to the law of Moses were accomplished, they brought him to Jerusalem.

to present him to the Lord as it is written into law, the Lord, every male that opened up the womb shall be called holy to the Lord, and to offer a sacrifice, according to that which was said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons, and behold, there was a man in Jerusalem. His name was Simeon, and the same man was just a devout. Was just a devout waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Ghost was upon him. And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost that he should not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ, and he came by the Spirit, into the temple, and when the parents brought the child Jesus to do for him after the customer the law, then took him up in his arms and bless God and said, Lord, now let us thy servant.

Now, let us thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word.

For my eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all the people, a light to lighten the Gentiles in the glory of thy people Israel. Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him and Simeon blessed them, and said to marry his mother, Behold, this child is set for the fall, and rising again, many in Israel, for a sign which will be spoken again a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also, that the thoughts of many may be revealed. Father, thank You for these moments, Crown them with your presence, for Your glory.

Amen.

In that very spot on Mount Moriah, where Jerusalem sits today, hundreds of years after the Chronicles were written and God's focuses on this place where God can be close to man.

Simeon is there and the baby is brought, the child is brought. And it's a moment where you, look and you see all of God's design come together. Now Simeon is interesting, he's not always a feature part of a Christmas play or our Christmas focus. But you identify people, by what makes them different often. Somebody's tall. Somebody wears a red vest in a striped tie. Somebody's hair is blonde or red or they don't have hair, whatever. You identify people by what makes them different. And Simeon, look at Simeon for a minute with me.

Because this is what identified Simeon the Spirit of God rested on him. This is a Christmas message. Because in this moment when the Christ child comes to that place we see this man, Simeon, a man filled with the Holy Ghost, the holy ghost here in the King James, the Holy Ghost was upon him. And I think we can notice a few things about someone, a person who was filled with the Spirit. First, a person who is filled with the Spirit is where they should be at the right time. They're where they should be at the right time. As Keith alluded, I work for the Family Research Council in Washington, DC. And when I began working for them, I left the pastor I pastored for 22 years here in Ohio. I'm an ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene. And when I left to go work for FRC and travel weekly, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association called me and they said, We want to pray for your schedule. We want to pray for everywhere you're going to be.

And so every week wherever I go, this week up in New England, every meeting that was on my schedule, they had prayed for me or they were praying for me right then. And it's an amazing journey. And they asked what what do you want us to pray for you specifically? And I gave that some consideration and some thought and I listed a few things. Pray for courage, pray for wisdom, pray for purity. But one of the things that I really, I really desired. And I do desire everywhere I go. Is that meetings and that conversations and that interactions with people where God leads me would be God moments. Moments that last moments that have an impact moments where conversations are seasoned with, I want to be like Simeon, I want to be where God wants me to be at just the right time. And a person who is led by the Spirit is where God wants them to be at just the right time. Have you had any of those moments where you were just there, and you weren't planning to be there, but God lined it up for you he teed it up for you.

In your interactions in your daily life, I remember a number of years ago, we were collecting items for the care packages. And I don't know if you still call them that here in the Church of the Nazarene but it's crisis kits, you know, that we'd send out. And I remember, we had a lot of four things left when it was over. Everybody brought things we put them all together, and we had these boxes, we were had a box of soap, a box of toothpaste and toothbrushes and socks. And I thought, man, we I don't want this to sit here around Christmas time. I want to give it away to whoever needs it, whoever can use it. And so I called a friend in ministry that he does a lot of work in the community and other communities.

And I said, Hey, do you need anything for baskets or gifts?

And he said, no but I know a guy that's working on that. His name is John Foster. He's colonel and he's whe orking with veterans and call him here's his number.

And he thought I can't make this up. I called him up. And I said, John, I'm Tim Throckmorton. I've got some items I want to give you. And he said, What do you have? And I named them off and he shouted, now can you shout here? You can shout here. He shouted. He just said praise the Lord. I hurt cars and people but he was in a crowd in a parking lot. And he shouted, praise the Lord. I said, what's so exciting about toothpaste and toothbrushes and socks and soap, and he said, I just got to Walmart to buy toothpaste, toothbrushes, socks and soap.

You can believe that or not, but that just happened. It happened just that way. My point is God knows exactly what's needed at exactly the right time in exactly the right place. And you know where Simeon was because he was led by the Spirit. He was right there. And that's where God wants us to be to be led by Him. It's just a peasant boy in his parents coming into the temple. But that's not who it was. You may think you may think you're somewhat insignificant in who you are, where you came from. Listen, I came. I grew up in McDermott, Ohio. You ever heard of that? It is a just a bump on the road. We got I think we got to stop sign that's about it. It's a little old town in Southern Ohio. There are a lot of little towns. I mean, I travel a lot. There's I've been in 27 states this year. And you find these towns there's a town called Dimebox, Texas did you know that? Dimebox. There's a there's a place called Scratchankle, Alabama. Nawbone, Indiana. Nameless, Tennessee, Mudlick, Kentucky I've been there. There's a place called Why in Arizona, there's a place called Why not over in Mississippi. There's a place called Oh No in California.

That's fitting. Anyway. There's a place called Knockemstiff down south of Chillicothe. Really, I'm not making it up. Now, the reason I'm camping on this, it's not about the place. It's about the timing. And you and I are in Bucyrus Ohio right now. And I want right now to be where God wants me to be. For you and I and all of us for the church.

God's timing for us is so very important because God is up to something big. What do you suppose God can do with a man or a woman or a teenager or or whoever? A church as they were led by His Spirit. So Simeon was led by the Spirit. He's in the right place at the right time.

But secondly, don't miss this about Simeon. Because when a person's led by the Spirit of God, God helps us see things others can't see. Again, here's two peasants walking in with a baby. It's what everybody else saw. But not Simeon. Simeon said, that's him. There he is.

I've been looking for him. I've been waiting for him and he cries out with joy and excitement. And he's blessed Lord, now let us thy servant depart in peace according to thy word for my eyes have seen thy salvation. He's here Emmanuel.

Well, he's with us. And he's right here. closeness to God explodes your horizons. It opens your eyes not to the things that you don't need to dial in on, but the things you really need to see. Now, what Simeon says next is really exhilarating, if you think about it, because what he says to us is that he has a light to lighten the Gentiles.

The Gentiles in Simeons day, in that temple, there were 16 Do not enter signs in that second temple, they were everywhere.

They were all around, delineating the areas of the 37 acre complex, where certain people were not allowed. You know who they were Gentiles. You can't come in, Greek, in bold letters in Greek. These are what the sign said. No foreigner may enter within the balustrade around the sanctuary, and the enclosure, whoever is caught on himself shall be put blame for the death that will ensue. Now Simeon knows the signs are there. And when he when he sees the Christ child, isn't it an interesting that some of his first words talk about this child being alight to who? The Gentiles, the ones that weren't even allowed in there. He's thinking about them, which reminds you and I that God's looking past a lot of signs that men put up. And rules that men make and say, Look, I came to seek and to save the lost.

Chronicles reminds us he's not just the God of the Jewish people. Oh, he is and never forget it.

But he's the God who created everyone who loves everyone who reaches toward everyone and cares about everyone. How many in temple that day, we're thinking about the Gentiles? I would imagine nobody, unless they were looking down at somebody they thought might be one. And by the way, just a side note here and in Acts 21, if you remember, that's what got Paul arrested. Because when Paul came back to Jerusalem, and they saw Him in the temple, if you'll remember they saw this man Trophimus in a vision and they thought he was a Gentile, they thought Paul brought him in. And that's what they accused him of.

Fact that was the charge that got him arrested there and falsely accused put him on the pathway to Rome where he was eventually executed. They took this seriously but let me tell you what God takes seriously, is for our eyes not just to see what we think we need to see but what he wants us to see what's important to him. Your Simeon, recognizing what this child means to the Gentiles who were basically without hope. Aren't you glad that God cares about those who are without hope?

Aren't you glad God looks beyond the limits that we may have on to what he what he sees and who he loves and and I think about the Jewish people in this moment. I just have this mind where I think simians probably thinking the light to the Gentiles, and to the Jewish people. And all this thing and thinking, I'd like to just watch how this sorts out. You know, I'm here. I saw what I can die now. But I just like to stick around and see this is going to get really interesting. And it does if you read the book of Acts. But my question is, what do you see? Or maybe the question only What are you looking at? Funny thing every week. Siri, or somebody? Right there it is. 35 minutes ago.

This phone just told me how much time I looked at it this week.

Screen time tells me exactly how many hours I looked at this thing tells me when it compared to last week, how many hours I looked at it. My wife doesn't even do that. This phone cares enough to tell me how much I'm looking at. God knows what we look at. God knows what we focus on. When you're led by the Spirit, you see things that others don't see. You notice that person who's a cashier at Kroger's wiping the tears and you circle back to ask them, Hey, can I pray for you? You notice that person sitting in the airport that just looks like they've lost their last friend and they have and God called them to your attention. You noticed things that that if you're not careful, you'll be so busy. That you miss what God wants you to see. A person led by the Spirit. There's someone who is in the right place at the right time there. They're seeing things that the world doesn't see. By the way, when you see things that God wants you to see it gives you quite a peace. I work in Washington, chuckle it's funny, I work in Washington. I work with legislators on Capitol Hill, I work in legislative with legislators in different states.

I was with three different committees in New Hampshire this week talking about education, and I'm around this all the time. And, and I hear things all the time. And I see things I see discord and all this stuff. But you know, I sleep really good at night. And I don't worry about that stuff. I don't follow the news. Like you may think I follow the news. I just follow certain news, but I don't you get what my point is, you can get so destroyed by the things that are just going on around you that you miss the peace of God, you miss God's direction you miss what God has for you, and you miss seeing what God wants you to see. Because of the perspective God gives gives you peace helps you navigate life keeps you steady and faithful, and allows God to use your life because that's the last thing I want to quickly mention. When a person is led by the Spirit of God like Simeon, you experienced God's design for your life.

Ronald Reagan, in the opening pages of his autobiography and American Life wrote, I was raised to believe that God had a plan for everyone. And that seemingly random twists of fate are all part of his plan. My mother told me that everything in life happened for a purpose.

After I lost my first job, I left home to search for work, although I didn't know it, then I was beginning a journey that would take me a long way from Dixon, Illinois and fulfill my dreams and then some. My mother was as usual, right. Most of you know that after being elected President of the United States in 1980. In the spring of 1981, John Hinckley Jr. shot President Reagan, as he was leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel, the bullet landed, just inches from his heart, almost taking his life that day. Two weeks later, he returned to the White House and he wrote in his diary, whatever happens now, I owe my life to God and will try to serve Him in every way. Peggy Grandi is a friend she went to Pepperdine University. She graduated and went right to work in the Office of the then retired or former President Ronald Reagan in California, when he set up an office in Los Angeles. She quickly rose in her role and served for the last 10 years of his time in that office as his personal assistant, and gatekeeper. And she spent a lot of time watching people come in and out of his office. And one particular story she tells is about a little lady from Romania. And I mentioned the story because of the profound effect that even he couldn't have imagined. She comes in, she's just a little, very simply dressed, sweet lady. She walks in as she's introduced to the former president. And Peggy said she did something no one else has ever done in her experience.

She fell to her knees and she bent down and begin to kiss his shoes, kiss his feet. Her tears were flowing. And he reached down and helped her up and look lovingly at her. And she said You saved my country. You saved my future. You saved my life, and the life of my family.

Through tears, she spoke those words. Well, they hugged and that was the end of the meeting after they spent some time together. God use this man to save her life. She believed. And I believe he was used by God to save a lot of lives. I don't know what God's plan for you is, but he does. And the key is that we're led by the Spirit of God.

And we were led by the Spirit of God we see the things that God has for us to see. And when we see the things that God has for us to see, then we can be used in the way he has designed us to be used. And there is under Heaven, no greater place to be.

No more fulfilling place. No more satisfying place. When we know we're where God wants us to be. I guess maybe the question today as we lean into Christmas week is are we ready for that?

Are we are we led by the Spirit?

Bill Glass, a former football player who became an evangelist talked about when he was a young player, he had a coach, that when the coach needed a player in he looked down the bench and he would only put the player in that already had his helmet on.

He said, I always had my helmet on. You got your helmet on? Are you ready for God to use you spiritually in your heart and mind? Are you prepared for that?

Keep your helmet on, you and I were made for moments like this.

And it's the season where God came where we want to be where he wants us to be seeing what He wants us to see, experiencing all he has for us, that we can honor Him and live in a way that is pleasing to the King of kings and the Lord of lords. His desire is to be nearer to you and me. To experience that we need to be led by His Spirit close to him. Keith will know the name Tim Stearman, Pastor at Denver first church, He's no friend had an uncle named Sammy, who was enlisted in World War Two. His other uncles were in World War Two as well. They were stationed all over the world.

And this is Christmas time back in the 40s. And Sammy was the only one that wasn't stationed out of country. He was in country. In fact, it was in Kansas, and he was close enough home at Christmas time. They let all the soldiers go home for a little leave, if they're within 150 miles of the base, and he lived 140 some miles from the base. And so he wanted to go home. And in that day, there were no ubers or taxis. You just got out with your rucksack and you begin to thumb, Sammy begin to thumb and he got all the way home. That evening he left he got all the way home by thumbing a ride and the story is, is really quaint. But he gets all the way home, it's three or four o'clock in the morning. And it's a little house down a lane. And he's crunching through the snow in the dark, headed for the house where he grew up and he looks and he sees a little light, little cellophane two watt light in a wreath hanging in a window of his house. And he thought that's odd because you don't waste any electricity and you don't waste anything. And so it's dark in the country and nobody needs a light on. But he walks up, stomps the snow off his feet knocks on the door, and it's not long before the lights come on, and the coffee's brewing and they're glad to see Sammy come home for Christmas.

And he asked his dad, he said, Dad, Why do you have a light on?

Nobody's coming? You know where my brothers are? Is nobody's coming home?

He said, Well, Sammy, I guess I just left it on in case just in case. Just in case 2000 years ago, God hung a star over Bethlehem to point us to the greatest gift we could ever know, the greatest joy we could ever experience in the greatest life we could ever live. And if we draw near to this Christ child in the manger, who is God with us, God with us, he wants to be close to us. If we will come to him. Well, if we will draw nice to him, he'll draw nice to us. And today, if you've got a need before Christmas, Christmas week, you got a lot of things on your mind. Probably a lot of things since I started talking to you, I gotta do this.

I gotta do that. I gotta go here. I gotta listen for a moment. Just Just pause. And is there anything that you need because that's why he came for you. Thanks for being a part of the voice of the Nazarene. Visit us every Sunday at 9am with BNC's Pastor Ray LaSalle. For more information regarding BNC visit Bucyrus nazarene.org.