Christmas Eve, 2020

UNTOLD STORIES OF CHRISTMAS

THE GIFT OF STORY

IMAGINE HOW BORING LIFE WOULD BE IF WE DID NOT HAVE ANY STORIES TO TELL EACH OTHER?

DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE AUTHOR OR AUTHORS? WHY DO YOU LIKE TO READ THEIR BOOKS?

I GO MAKE A NICE CUP OF TEA AND THEN CURL UP WITH A GOOD BOOK. THAT IS THE WAY THAT I UNWIND.

NOW PASTOR KALEB ON THE OTHER HAND I BET THAT TURNS ON A MOVIE. HOW DO I KNOW THIS, BECAUSE HE TOLD US ONE SUNDAY IN HIS SERMON OF NEHEMIAH THAT HE IS NOT A READER, HE PREFERS TO WATCH THE MOVIE. BUT EVEN THEN MOVIES TELL STORIES.

NOW WE ARE VERY FORTUNATE THAT WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO ACCESS SO MUCH INFORMATION.

I DONT EVEN HAVE TO LEAVE MY HOUSE TO HAVE A NEW BOOK TO READ, THERE ARE NUMEROUS OPTIONS, I CAN DOWNLOAD IT FROM THE LIBRARY OR PURCHASE ONE ONLINE AND DOWNLOAD IT TO A READING APP LIKE KOBO OR KINDLE ETC

WHY I AM I TELLING YOU THIS? WELL I GUESS BECAUSE I WANT TO TELL YOU SOME OF THE GREATEST STORIES EVER TOLD CAN BE FOUND IN A BOOK THAT MOST PEOPLE HAVE ON THIER BOOK SHELF AND DONT EVER CRACK IT OPEN.

THE BIBLE.

WELL YOU MAY SAY THAT THE BIBLE IS NOT A BOOK THAT INTERESTS YOU, BESIDES IT IS A LITTLE BORING AND CONFUSING.

NOW LET ME TELL YOU THAT THIS BOOK IS AND CONTINUES TO BE THE INSPIRATION AND HELP THAT EVERYONE CAN AND DOES BENEFIT FROM.

THIS IS A BOOK THAT SPEAKS TO EVERY PROBLEM KNOWN TO MAN.

IT IS A BOOK ABOUT REAL PEOPLE WITH REAL PROBLEMS, NO DIFFERENT TO YOU AND ME.

THIS BOOK IS IN ACTUAL FACT A COLLECTION OF SMALLER BOOKS HAS 66 DIFFERENT BOOKS IN IT AND 40 DIFFERENT AUTHORS. THERE IS HISTORY, POETRY, LAW SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE.

IT TELLS ABOUT GOD’S PLAN FROM CREATION TO REVELATION

FROM THE BEGINING TO THE END.

ONE OF THE GREATEST STORIES EVER TOLD IS FOUND IN THIS BOOK - THAT IS THE LOVE OF GOD FOR MANKIND, HE LOVED US SO MUCH THAT BECAUSE WE CHOSE TO DISOBEY HIM THERFORE CAUSING US TO BE SEPERATED FROM GOD. HE HAD A PLAN TO BRING US BACK TO RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM. THAT PLAN STARTS WITH THE STORY THAT WE HEAR EACH CHRISTMAS ABOUT THE BIRTH OF JESUS.

TONIGHT I WANT TO JUST TELL YOU THE STORY OF CHRISTMAS THAT WE DO NOT TYPICALLY HEAR AT THIS TIME OF THE YEAR.

SO SIT BACK AND RELAX AND LET ME TAKE YOU ON A JOURNEY - THIS JOURNEY BEGINS IN JERUSALEM.

PERHAPS WE COULD TITLE THIS THE FOREWORD PART OF THE BOOK.

Luke 1:1–10 NLT

1 Many people have set out to write accounts about the events that have been fulfilled among us. 2 They used the eyewitness reports circulating among us from the early disciples. 3 Having carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I also have decided to write an accurate account for you, most honorable Theophilus, 4 so you can be certain of the truth of everything you were taught. 5 When Herod was king of Judea, there was a Jewish priest named Zechariah. He was a member of the priestly order of Abijah, and his wife, Elizabeth, was also from the priestly line of Aaron. 6 Zechariah and Elizabeth were righteous in God’s eyes, careful to obey all of the Lord’s commandments and regulations. 7 They had no children because Elizabeth was unable to conceive, and they were both very old. 8 One day Zechariah was serving God in the Temple, for his order was on duty that week. 9 As was the custom of the priests, he was chosen by lot to enter the sanctuary of the Lord and burn incense. 10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying.

Luke 1:10–20 NLT

10 While the incense was being burned, a great crowd stood outside, praying. 11 While Zechariah was in the sanctuary, an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the incense altar. 12 Zechariah was shaken and overwhelmed with fear when he saw him. 13 But the angel said, “Don’t be afraid, Zechariah! God has heard your prayer. Your wife, Elizabeth, will give you a son, and you are to name him John. 14 You will have great joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the eyes of the Lord. He must never touch wine or other alcoholic drinks. He will be filled with the Holy Spirit, even before his birth. 16 And he will turn many Israelites to the Lord their God. 17 He will be a man with the spirit and power of Elijah. He will prepare the people for the coming of the Lord. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and he will cause those who are rebellious to accept the wisdom of the godly.” 18 Zechariah said to the angel, “How can I be sure this will happen? I’m an old man now, and my wife is also well along in years.” 19 Then the angel said, “I am Gabriel! I stand in the very presence of God. It was he who sent me to bring you this good news! 20 But now, since you didn’t believe what I said, you will be silent and unable to speak until the child is born. For my words will certainly be fulfilled at the proper time.”

EVERY STORY HAS A BEGINING A MIDDLE AND AN END. THE BEGINING IS VERY IMORTANT, IT SETS THE TONE OF THE STORY.

THE BEGININNG OF THIS STORY IS VERY IMPORTANT.

THIS STORY TELLS US ABOUT THE 400 YEARS OF SILENCE FOR THE JEWS NOT HEARING FROM GOD, BEING BROKEN - ZECHARIAH HAS A VISION WHILE HE IS IN THE TABERNACLE BURNING THE INCENSE. GABRIEL SENT DIRECTLY FROM GOD BRINGS THIS GOOD NEWS.

GOD HAS HEARD HIS PRAYER

HE WILL GET THAT SON

HIS WIFE WILL CONCEIVE

THERE ARE SO MANY DETAILS IN THIS ACCOUNT THAT WILL CARRY INTO THE REST OF THE STORY.

V10 A GREAT CROWD STOOD OUTSIDE PRAYING WHILE HE WAS IN THE INNER SANCTUARY

THIS SAME GREAT CROWD SAW ZECHARIAH COME OUT AND NOT BE ABLE TO SPEAK

ZECHARIAH STAYED TOO LONG IN THE SANCTUARY AND THE PEOPLE WERE WONDERING WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM.

THERE IS A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY THAT GOES WITH THAT

WHEN THE PRIESTS WENT INTO THE HOLY PLACES OF THE TEMPLE THEY HAD TO CHECK THEIR OWN LIVES FIRST AND THEN COME TO THE ALTAR WITH PRAYERS OF THE PEOPLE.

AND THERE WERE TIMES WHEN PRIESTS DID THIS THEY DIED BECAUSE OF THEIR OWN UNCONFESSED SIN.

THIS STORY IN FACT TAKES THIS WEIRD TURN, THE SILENCE IS BROKEN WITH SILENCE.

ZECHARIAHS RESPONSE WAS UNBELIEF AND HE SAYS HOW CAN I BE SURE THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN.

GABRIEL REMINDS HIM THAT HE CAME FROM THE VERY PRESENCE OF GOD TO BRING HIM THIS MESSAGE AND HIS SIGN WILL BE, SILENCE, UNTIL HIS WORDS HAVE COME TO PASS.

NOW WE HAVE THIS GREAT CROWD OF WITNESSES THAT SEE ZECHARIAH COME OUT OF THE TEMPLE STRUCK DUMB BECAUSE OF A VISION.

THEN THE IMPOSSIBLE HAPPENS - ELIZABETH IS PREGNANT AND SHE GOES INTO HIDING FOR 5 MONTHS

Luke 1:21–25 NLT

Meanwhile, the people were waiting for Zechariah to come out of the sanctuary, wondering why he was taking so long. When he finally did come out, he couldn’t speak to them. Then they realized from his gestures and his silence that he must have seen a vision in the sanctuary. When Zechariah’s week of service in the Temple was over, he returned home. Soon afterward his wife, Elizabeth, became pregnant and went into seclusion for five months. “How kind the Lord is!” she exclaimed. “He has taken away my disgrace of having no children.”

WHY WOULD ELIZABETH GO INTO SECLUSION?

YOU SEE Barrenness was a triple tragedy for a Jewish woman. It shriveled the hopes of her husband for posterity,

sparked taunts from other women when she appeared at the village well,

and signified her sin.

V6 SAYS THEY WERE RIGHTEOUS IN GODS EYES.

ACCORDING TO MAN To be barren was to be out of favor with God

To be pregnant was to be blessed....

I think of Elizabeth as a very real person within this story, and I think about her as taking on very human characteristics: wondering what others will think about her if she doesn’t come to full term; feeling bad that she would doubt God in the first place;

wondering if what she experienced was real or not

AND JUST LIKE ANY GOOD STORY ANOTHER LAYER IS ADDED AND THE SITUATION IS EVEN MORE COMPLEX.

ENTER MARY:

Luke 1:26–38 NLT

In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee, to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David. Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean. “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!” Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.” The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God. What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month. For the word of God will never fail.” Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.

DO YOU SEE THE DIFFERENCE IN HER RESPONSE TO ZECHARIAH?

HE ASKED FOR A SIGN AND MARY ASKED FOR CLARIFICATION.

ZECHARIAH SAYS HOW CAN I BE SURE

MARY SAYS - I DONT UNDERSTAND?

BUT THE RESPONSE IS THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL OVERSHADOW YOU AND THAT WAY YOU WILL CONCEIVE.

ENOUGH SAID SHE IS SATISFIED WITH THE ANSWER .

NOW LET ME TELL YOU THAT FOR MARY THIS WAS NO EASY FEAT EITHER. ACCORDING TO THE TRADITION SHE WAS BETROTHED TO BE MARRIED BUT HAD NOT BEEN WITH HER HUSBAND. THE TRADITION CONSIDERED THEM MARRIED BUT NOT CONSUMMATED UNTIL SHE WENT TO THE GROOMS HOUSE. SO MARY HAD TO TELL JOSEPH SHE WAS WITH CHILD.

ITS NOT THAT MARY WOULD HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED PREGNANT AND UNMARRIED BECAUSE SHE WAS AS GOOD AS MARRIED - BECAUSE SHE WAS BETROTHED, SHE WOULD BE CONSIDERED AN ADULTRESS JOSEPH COULD HAVE HAD HER STONED TO DEATH.

WHY IS THIS NARRITIVE SO IMPORTANT?

BECAUSE IT SETS THE STAGE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY.

WE MAY NOT HEAR FROM OR ABOUT JOHN THE BAPTIST UNTIL JESUS IS SETTING OUT TO DO HIS MINISTRY BUT GOD IS IN THE DETAILS AND HE IS PREPARING A WAY - WHEN WE DONT SEE IT.

THAT IS THE SAME WITH OUR CIRCUMSTANCES - GOD IS ALWAYS WORKING TO ANSWER OUR PRAYERS AND PREPARE THE WAY FOR US TO BE BLESSED.

LETS JUST TAKE A LOOK AT ONE MORE PART

Luke 1:39–45 ESV

39 In those days Mary arose and went with haste into the hill country, to a town in Judah, 40 and she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit, 42 and she exclaimed with a loud cry, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 And why is this granted to me that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 For behold, when the sound of your greeting came to my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy. 45 And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her from the Lord.”

IN ONE OF MY DEVOTIONS JUST THIS PAST WEEK I COULD NOT BELEIVE THAT JD WALT HAD WRITTEN SOMETHING ABOUT THE VERY VERSES I WAS LOOKING AT AND SO I WILL SHARE HIS THOUGHTS WITH YOU AS I BELEIVE THEY WERE HEAVEN SENT

JD WALT WRITES:

Look what happened in this story. Mary shows up carrying Jesus in her womb. The child in Elizabeth’s womb leaps for joy at the awareness of the prenatal presence of Jesus, and Elizabeth is filled with the Holy Spirit! This is a profound awakening story.

What if it could be like that for us? We, like pregnant Mary, carry Jesus. (Really, it’s more like Jesus carries us.) As we move about in the open and joyful air of the holiday season, instead of lamenting that Christmas is everywhere and Jesus is nowhere, what if we focused on the fact that we carry Jesus? And what if we carried the faith—that as we carry Jesus—something deep in others leaps for joy at the awareness of his presence?

WHEN JOHN THE BAPTIST WAS BORN AND ZECHARIAH ACKNOWLEDGED THAT HIS NAME WILL BE JOHN - THE SILENCE WAS BROKEN.

AS THE STORY UNFOLDS WE SEE THAT HE IS THE ONE WHO WILL PREPARE THE NATION FOR THE RECEIVING OF THE VERY SON OF GOD.

YOU SEE JOHN PLAYS A VERY IMPORTANT PART WHICH IS YEARS IN THE MAKING PLAYING OUT EXACTLY AS GOD WANTED IT.

THE SILENCE OF GOD IS NO MORE - JESUS STEPPED DOWN INTO DARKNESS AND BECAME THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD - HE IS GOD WITH US - OUR EMMANUEL

HOLLYWOODS STORY WOULD HAVE JESUS BORN IN A CASTLE TO ROYALTY WITH LOTS OF GLITZ AND GLAMOUR.

BUT HE BROKE THE SILENCE BY ENTERING INTO THE WORLD THROUGH VERY ORDINARY PEOPLE BUT IN AN EXTRODINARY WAY.

SO I WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT YOUR VERY ORDINARY LIFE IS MADE EXTRODINARY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST.

NOTHING IS TOO DIFFICULT FOR HIM. - ITS NEVER TO LATE FOR YOUR PRAYER TO BE ANSWERED.

GODS WORD WILL NEVER FAIL

LIKE MARY YOU TOO CAN BELEIVE THAT GOD WILL DO WHAT HE SAID.

AND NOW THAT YOU KNOW THIS PART OF THE STORY - DUST OFF YOU BIBLE AND CURL UP ON THE COUCH AND TURN TO LUKE CHAPTER 2 AND YOU CAN READ THE REST OF THE STORY....