God, sometimes, yet specific. Let's talk about it on this edition of Key Light. Hello, this is Mike Killer. Key Light, getting you home with freedom, joy, and faithfulness to Christ. Our Bible teacher, Steve Brown, and here's Steve with a teaching for today. Thanks, Mike. Hope you had a great weekend. Your pastor's probably as tired as mine. But he still is some kind of preacher. And I hope the sermon you heard was as good as the sermon that I heard. We're going to take a break today and tomorrow and the next day for some Christmas themes. A break from our Old Testament survey on Thursday the day after Christmas. Assuming that you can still get out of bed when you are going to go back to the Old Testament survey. But today and tomorrow and Christmas day, going to talk about some Christmas themes. Before we turn to those, let's pray. Father, we stop for a moment during a very busy time. We think about your graciousness and your kindness that you would enter time and space because you loved us that much. Father, you don't mind the parties and you don't mind the family and the big meals and the Christmas tree. But during that time, remind us that you're present. That you love us. That you'll never be angry because you've come. And remind us that the baby at Christmas didn't stay that way. The baby grew up and walked our dirty roads and hung on our cross in our place that we might live forever. And Father, as we look at these Christmas themes and then later back to the Old Testament survey, forgive the one who teaches his sins for they are many. We would see Jesus and Him only and we pray in Jesus' name. I'm in. I'm going to read from some of the Christmas story, the second chapter of the Gospel according to Luke. I'm going to start at the first verse where Luke writes as follows in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration when Chyrenius was governor of Syria. And all went to be registered each to his own town and Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth to Judea to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem. He was of the house and the lineage of David. And he went to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth and she gave birth to her firstborn son. Wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no place for them in the end. And in the same region there were shepherds out on the field keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shone around them. And they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, fear not. For behold I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all people. For under you was born this day in the city of David, a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. You will find the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. During the long track of faith, the 18th century founder of Methodism, John Wesley, asked his counselor, Count Zendor, for a lot of questions. One time Zendor asked Wesley a question, Mr. Wesley, do you believe that Christ died for your sins? And Wesley said, I believe that Christ died for the sins of the world. But Mr. Wesley Zendor said, I didn't ask you that, did Christ die for your sins? That's a good question. Matthew 16, you'll remember Jesus went to his disciples and said, what do people say about me? Is the 13th verse, who do people say the son of man is? Well, the disciples answered, some say you're this and some say you're something else. After they told him what others had said, Jesus said, but what about you, who do you say that I am? That's a good question, too. At Christmas, God doesn't allow us to be general about who he is or what he's done for us. He gets specific, and that's what Christmas is all about. When the God of the universe, the God no one knew for sure loved and cared for us, so much that he entered time and space in his son. The angel said, don't be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you. He is Christ the Lord. I have a friend who's a pastor. Tell me one time. He looked out over the congregation. I get to feeling sometimes as they sit there in their pews like bumps on a log staring up at me. Somebody's going to stand up and make a motion. I move. We receive the information and be dismissed. One of the dangers of being a Christian especially for a long time. If you've been a Christian since you were a small child, one of the dangers of that is that we simply receive the information and were dismissed. This will be assigned to you. I move we receive the information and be dismissed. The word became flesh. I move we receive the information and be dismissed. The baby in a manger, born to die on a cross for his people. I move we receive the information and be dismissed. God is specific with his people at Christmas. That should change our life. For example, a Christmas God got specific about his love. Parisian painter in 1875 named Marcel de la Clure wrote a love letter to his girlfriend. Now that doesn't seem so strange. I mean a lot of people write love letters but in this love letter he repeated three words. I love you 1,800,000 times. I don't know how she responded but I have a guess. Well what would you do differently if you knew that God loved you? Most of us think God is someone to be feared. There's some good in that. God is big and he's scary but what would you do if you knew he really, really loved you? No reservations, no ifs, ands or buts. Secondly in the incarnation God got specific about his choice. Now don't send letters. I'm not getting into the election thing without understanding that the flip side of that is the freedom and the responsibility that God gives us. And so I'm not going to get into the ends and outs of the doctrine of election but if you're a believer the doctrine of God's choice teaches that from the foundation of the earth God knew your name. How would you act if you knew that before you were ever born? He planned everything you're going to go through right now. Would it give you a sense of comfort or relief? How would you act if you knew that before he hung the stars before he hollowed out the valleys and created the mountains? That he called you to himself, knew your name, planned your life, fixed it so that you would know him. I don't know about you, it makes a big difference to me. He came for us. He entered time and space and if you were the only person on the face of the earth, believer, he would have come just for you. Thirdly, Christmas, God got specific about His promise. Cipri and who was the bishop of the church of Carthage in the third century, one time wrote a letter to his young friend, Donatus. And let me quote from some of that letter. It's a great letter. He says it is a cheerful world as I see it from my garden under the shadows of my dines. But if I were to ascend some high mountain and look out over the wide lands, you know very well what I should see. Briggins on highway, pirates on the sea, armies fighting, cities burning, and the amphitheaters, men murdered to please applauding crowds. Selfishness and cruelty and misery and despair under all roofs, it's a bad world, Donatus. It's an incredibly bad world. It really is, isn't it? Do you live scared when you read the headlines, you look at the stock market, you look at the prospect of war? Christmas is a time of promise. It's hard to have faith in this kind of world, it's hard, but he's come and he's promised. If you know, if you knew that all of this was going to turn out okay every bit of it, if you knew you were going to get home safely before the dark, if you knew that nothing would happen to you this year that hasn't first passed through a nailed scarred hand, let me ask you something, how would you act? Fourthly, God was also specific about our response. Clovis Chapel tells the story about one of the shepherds who heard the proclamation of the angels about the birth of Jesus but didn't go to Bethlehem to see for himself. A decade later, as he held his grandson on his knee, he told the child the stirring story about the angels and what they said, and his grandson said, Grandpa is that all? What did you do when you heard the good news? Was it true? What's the Christ child really, really born? Old man replied, with some sadness I never knew, son. Some say it was true, some say it was only a dream. I didn't go and see. Christmas didn't just happen two thousand years ago, you know? Happens right now and us, if we've seen him and we have believed, have you? If not, let me tell you something, don't wait any longer, go and see. See him for yourself, don't pass up the opportunity anymore. One of the reasons I have difficulty with Christmas is because it is a time when people, unbelievers get so close and they miss it. And in my mind's eye I can see a lady putting the Christmas decoration back in the box. Puzzle look on her face and she's saying, you know, there was something there. I felt it for a minute. Oh man, I got a fixed dinner and she goes and fixed dinner. The man who says, you know, when we were sitting around and talking about memories and Aunt Haddie read the Christmas story, I thought, you know, there's something there. There's something there that I need for my life, but I got to get to work. That scares me to death. Christmas is probably the time when most people get really close to Jesus and some walk away and some run to Him. If you're one of the ones who have been walking away in the past, why don't you, why don't you just, why don't you just run to Him? If you're run to Him, you'll run to you with His mercy and His forgiveness. You say, I do that. Just bow your head and say, I want Christmas in my heart. I'm not a good person and I've messed this thing up. And Jesus, you died on a cross for me and I want to accept that. And it can change your life. If on the other hand you've seen Jesus and believed that Christmas be celebrated through you, not just one time a year, but all year long, every year. It's not just about a baby, you know. It's about Christ, the living Lord, living God, coming to see you and me and to die for us on a cross. That ought to make all the difference in the world. You think about that? I'm in. Well, we'll talk a little bit more about Christmas tomorrow as we continue these three days of Christmas meditation. Hey, listen, if you ever write a call key life, would you give us the call letters of this great station and OES? Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.