Good morning everyone and Merry Christmas! It is such a great day to get together and worship the Lord together as a spiritual family. I am so grateful for everyone here that attends faithfully and serves sacrificially. As a matter of fact, on Wednesday the worship team was up here talking and practicing and just focused on worshiping the Lord together so that they can be prepared to worship the Lord with us this morning. We truly are blessed to have a group of people that truly desire to simply serve the Lord in this way. Of course normally we have our kids joining with their teachers right now, unfortunately are Childrens Church teachers are sick this morning, so your kiddos can hang out with you this morning. We do have some activity packets that our volunteers are going to bring around to your kids right now as a way to help them for these next few minutes while we look at some Scripture together. We also have those working in the back focused on making all of the technological things happen for us as a church. We have people working slides, people running sound and of course for those of you joining us online, we have people that are running that system so that you can join us as part of our extended spiritual family. Hey, listen, if you are here this morning and would be interested in joining one of these teams that are doing amazing things around LRBC, then reach out to us at the office, fill out a connect card, talk to me after church and let’s get you connected into one of these teams so that you can be a part of blessing others as well.

You know talking about being a blessing we are in the middle of this amazing series that is all about the blessing of Christmas. Last week we started our series called Rediscover Christmas and our goal, our focus is to learn how to remove ourselves from the busyness of Christmas and rediscover what Christmas is truly about. remember we are looking at what Christmas is and a little about what Christmas isn’t. For instance there are myths that people believe about Christmas and there are some things that people claim about Christmas as a way to attempt to discredit the reality of Christmas. So, this morning, I want to debunk a little something. You see, there is a song called, “We three Kings”. You know, “we three kings of orient are....bearing gifts we travel so far” Ok, there is a reason I don’t lead our music here and I think we can all be grateful that other people have that giftedness and we can allow people to serve in the way that they are gifted, Amen… Ok, so anyway, back to this song about three kings. You know we pick up so much of our theology from music and many times we don’t even realize it. We hear a song and its beautiful and it sounds ok from the surface, but it will begin to teach us something that is not actually true. So then when you have a conversation with someone who is not a Christian and they tell you that there were no kings, you can immediately get defensive, but but but. So, I would rather us just know what is true. There were not three kings, there were three gifts that were given and each of these gifts actually had some prophetic meaning to them. We will talk about that later, but you can keep that in the back of your head. Anyway, these three gifts were brought by what is called Magi. Magi are not magicians, even though that is where we get our English word magic from. No, Magi were smart and learned men. They were the advisors and the ones that were studying scrolls and looking at stars, and paying attention to things. Now, the question is, “why would these men from the east care about the king of the Jews?” Well, the answer is pretty cool…You see, if you trace these men and the Magi back they will intersect with a guy named Daniel from the Old Testament. You remember, Daniel and the lions den, that nice little kids story. Well, Daniel was a real guy and he taught those around him. Apparently some of his teaching stuck with those he taught and centuries later there were faithful people who came to acknowledge the King of the Jews, centuries later there were people who came to bring gifts to the Messiah…All of that because Daniel prophesied about the Messiah and he likely had some prophecies that did not make it into our Scriptures, but people in that time were hanging on to them. When they saw them come true…they ran to check it out. So, these are Magi, not kings. There are three gifts, not thee people. We know of at least three people based on various historical records, however, they more than likely had more people in their entourage as they came searching…why else would Herod care about three random people from the east. So, that is a little myth busted for you this morning as we rediscover what Christmas really was and what really happened on that day over 2000 years ago.

Last week as we rediscovered Christmas we saw that Jesus came to give us joy. Specifically we saw that Jesus came to take away our fear and replace our fear with his joy. We saw that not only our fears can be taken away, but that we can have courage to face whatever we are going through, and then more specifically we saw that, Joy is available to me!

Now, thats actually pretty huge, and I want you to really read those words and make them real for your life. You see, you can believe joy is available, but its a whole other thing to believe that joy is available to you…and that is what Jesus brought for you on Christmas…his joy. That’s not all though, you see, Jesus made joy available to you, but I would also like to point us to the reality that through Jesus’ birth, death, and resurrection you and I can...

Rediscover Hope

Yeah…there actually is hope that we can point to. There is a story I want to point us to this morning. It’s a story we have all probably heard before, although its a story that I don’t think is thought about all that often. It’s one of these stories in the Bible that is true, and real, but maybe doesn’t get the fame that it deserves. Go ahead and turn over to Luke chapter 1. I am going to kind of paint a bit of a picture for us from this chapter and I hope you will be able to see what God is doing in the midst of the uncertainties of your life. In order to do that though, the first thing we need to do is realize that

Life is full of Uncertainty

It’s true, and if you are being honest with yourself, you will acknowledge that your life is completely full of uncertainty. For instance, you have no idea what I am about to say or do…Of course that is the small uncertainty isn’t it. I mean, knowing what I am about to say isn’t a big deal. Now, uncertainty about your job…about your family…about your future. These types of things are significantly more important aren’t they. Well there was this group of people called the Israelites way back in like 5 BC. This group of people had been looking at prophecies and God had been working in their lives for the last 400 or so years, but there were no more prophecies that they could look too in order to know when the Messiah was going to come. There was alot of uncertainty about exactly what was going to happen, and when it was going to happen. Im sure there were many theories and beliefs about when the Messiah was going to come, but there was just so much unknown about the process and timing about what was going to come…Much like we experience today to be honest. I was reading this week about people that are claiming that it is a fact that we are entering into the 7 year tribulation and people better watch out and get right before they experience horrible things. Now…maybe, but we don’t actually know that, do we? No, there is much uncertainty about what is going to happen when Jesus returns and when it is going to happen and how it is going to happen and all types of questions like that. That is why my typical response is, I don’t know when the train is leaving, but I know I have my ticket”.

So what do we do when there is uncertainty like that? How do we respond as beleivers, and how can we have hope in the midst of that uncertainty. Well, I want to introduce you to a man named Zachariah. Zachariah was a priest and he was married to a woman named Elizabeth. Now, both Zachariah and Elizabeth were seen as righteous people who had been walking with the Lord and keeping the commandments of the Lord. Well as part of his position as Priest it was his turn to enter the Temple of the Lord and burn incense. This was part of the worship practice of the Jewish nation. Well, while he is doing this, take a look at what happens. Turn over to

Luke 1:11–23 (ESV)

And there appeared to him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense. And Zechariah was troubled when he saw him, and fear fell upon him. But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord. And he must not drink wine or strong drink, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother’s womb. And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.” And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.” And the people were waiting for Zechariah, and they were wondering at his delay in the temple. And when he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they realized that he had seen a vision in the temple. And he kept making signs to them and remained mute. And when his time of service was ended, he went to his home.

Now, I love the beginning of this becuase its the same thing that happened to the shepherds last week, remember. “Do not be afraid”, “you will have joy and gladness”. I mean that is such a cool thing to hear from an angel I think. However, even in seeing an angel, Zachariah is uncertain about what will happen and how it will happen.

Listen, I talk to alot of people through the week and I happen to know that there are quite a few people sitting in this room right now, and joining us online that are in the same boat. What I mean by that is you know the truth of the Lord. You believe the truth of Scripture, but there is still some uncertainty about how and when things are going to happen, right? That uncertainty begins to lead to a bit of doubt…doesn’t it…Ive seen it…our uncertainty leads to doubt. I love the angels response to this though…He’s like, “listen dude, I am Gabriel the angel that stands with the Lord, if I tell you something its, from God”. Of course thats not the exact words Gabriel used, but it does feel a little like the tone that Gabriel used with Zachariah, doesn’t it.

So this just goes to show us that we can all struggle with uncertainty, right? Now, unfortunately there was a penalty to Zachariah for not believing the angel of the Lord. Zachariah was left mute…unable to talk, all he can do is sign, or draw in the dirt in order to communicate with those around him. This is becuase he allowed his uncertainty to lead to doubt and then he acted on that doubt. He questioned the angel of the Lord. Of course this is the same thing that Abraham has done in the past, and maybe that’s why he had a penalty for his lack of faith. Zachariah is a priest, he knows about Abraham and Sarah, yet he still did not believe when an angel of the Lord stood in front of him telling him what was about to happen.

Well fast forward from here though becuase we want to see how to get to hope from uncertainty…I mean, how do we move from doubt to faith? How do we move from unsure to sure…That is the question that I frankly I get asked at least weekly…There is really only one answer to that. Let’s see if we can learn from Zachariah how to find

Hope in Uncertainty

This seems like it should be a bit of a no brainer for a Christian, right? I mean, where is our hope…Our hope is in the Lord. But…what does that mean? Thats where it starts to get a little harder doesn’t it? Well, Im going to fast forward a little bit for us, and I will fill in a couple of things. Elizabeth becomes pregnant, just like Gabriel said she would. Then we read about how the same angel, Gabriel went over to a young lady named Mary and her fiance named Joseph and told them both about the birth of Jesus. Gabriel tells both Mary and Joseph that this is a special baby and that the Holy Spirit is how Mary will become pregnant. Soon after that Mary meets Elizabeth and the baby John inside Elizabeth gets excited…remember the angel said the baby would be filled with the spirit in the womb…so, he recognized Jesus.

Anyway, eventually it comes time for John to be born and there is alot of conversation about what the baby’s name will be. Everyone expects the baby to be named after a family member. However, they want to name the baby John. They did that becuase that is what the angel told them to do. The friends and family tried to talk to Zachariah and tried to get him to stop Elizabeth from making a mistake, and then look at what happens next.

Luke 1:63–66 (ESV)

And he asked for a writing tablet and wrote, “His name is John.” And they all wondered. And immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, blessing God. And fear came on all their neighbors. And all these things were talked about through all the hill country of Judea, and all who heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, “What then will this child be?” For the hand of the Lord was with him.

OK, imagine this…You are one of the family or friends and poor old Zachariah has been mute for around 9 months now and suddenly there is a noise coming from Zachariah. That would be huge. It’s huge becuase they know he is mute due to meeting an angel, and so now they are seeing that this angel must be connected to this baby that is being born. This baby that is meant for a purpose…They even acknowledged that the hand of the Lord was on this baby. They don’t even know what is about to happen all around them…they have no clue the reality of what they are living through at that moment. You see, previously the angel had said that this baby would go forward in the spirit and power of Elijah…Why is that important? That’s important because Elijah was a prophet in the Old Testament and he was swept away in a chariot of fire and wind. It has been prophesied through the Old Testament that Elijah will return to prepare the way of the Lord and bring about repentance and reconciliation. This baby John is going to become John the Baptist and will prepare the way of the Lord by leading people to repentance of their sins allowing them to experience reconciliation with the Lord. That is amazing…That is hope giving…but how did Zachariah get there? How did he make it to be able to see all of that? He was faithful. You see, faithfulness leads to hope...

Did you notice Zachariah’s focus. We don’t read about how he shut down and gave up do we…No, Zachariah continued to serve others and continued to faithfully fulfill his duties as priest. Then when the time came for Zachariah to tell others about this hope that he had…he started speaking getting the attention of everyone, and telling them who John is and what John will be accomplishing through a prophetic poem that you can read starting in vs 67.

So what does all of this mean to me? Well, it means that having some uncertainty is not entirely abnormal. It also means that having a little doubt is potentially expected. More than that though, it means that when we know what Scripture is telling us to do, then it is through our faithfulness that God shows us his hope. So if you are here or joining us online this morning and you would ask, Pastor Billy, how can I have hope in the midst of this uncertainty that I am experiencing? My response is, are you faithful to the Lord? That is the first step right there. Are you faithfully focused on the Lord and not yourself? Are you faithfully reading Scriptures to know who God is better, or are you focused on Facebook, Twitter or Snapchat? I can’t grasp onto hope in Christ if I am clinging onto my own uncertainty. When I am faithfully living with the Lord as my Lord, then I am not focused on anything else then I can truly begin to understand the hope of the Lord.

Listen, I know Im making it sound a bit easy at the moment, and its kind of hard in your situation. You are dealing with the struggles of your health that is declining and your family that is struggling along with the uncertainties of financial inflation and what that means for your finances at home. So, if you are here, or joining us online and you would like to reach out and connect about how to best deal with various situations please feel free to reach out. If you’re here fill out a comment card and if you are online send me a message. Listen, here is the deal…when we focus on our uncertainty we will react in sinful doubt, but when we focus on God’s faithfulness and our response to that, we will have more hope that we can possibly imagine! Of course, that hope assumes that you have come to a place in your life where you have made that commitment to the Lord...That you have acknowledged your great sinfulness and the death you deserve as a penalty for your sin…That you have received the gift of forgiveness and grace that is only available becuase Jesus Christ came down, lived a sinless life and died a sinners death coming back 3 days later…just like he said he was going to do. If you have not done that, then let me tell you, the only hope that is available to you is a hope that will fail, unless you make that decision to follow Jesus and accept his free gift of hope…If that’s you, please reach out and talk to me so that I know how to best pray for you and how to best serve you. If you’re here or joining us online and you would like to get together and talk about what a commitment to Jesus looks like, reach out and I will meet you anywhere, anytime.

For now…Let’s pray