WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:05.480 Father, you know how sometimes we're very afraid of questions. 00:00:06.259 --> 00:00:08.880 Sometimes we're very afraid of our own questions. 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:17.080 You know, Father, that some of us are afraid to let people around us know that we follow Jesus. 00:00:18.120 --> 00:00:23.839 Father, you know that some of us have problems with addictions or with bills 00:00:23.839 --> 00:00:27.500 or just things in our life that make us very, very fearful. 00:00:28.500 --> 00:00:33.560 Father, you know that some of us are just fearful about the way society is. 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:37.659 And Father, we give you thanks and praise that you know our fears. 00:00:38.500 --> 00:00:43.299 And we ask that you would gently but deeply pour out your Holy Spirit upon us 00:00:43.299 --> 00:00:48.719 so that your word, Father, might enter deep into us, 00:00:49.299 --> 00:00:55.159 that we might be free and courageous as your word enters into us 00:00:55.159 --> 00:00:58.919 and we might live not only in this city but to the ends of the earth, 00:00:59.139 --> 00:01:02.279 free and full of courage to bring you glory. 00:01:02.879 --> 00:01:06.420 And this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen. 00:01:06.959 --> 00:01:07.819 Please be seated. 00:01:07.819 --> 00:01:17.199 Some of you have been to my house over the years and for 14 and a half years 00:01:17.199 --> 00:01:21.459 we've had a little, a tiny little white dog named Pixie, 00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:23.459 only weighed about three and a half pounds. 00:01:23.719 --> 00:01:27.399 We have two other dogs that are far bigger but we have this little dog, Pixie, 00:01:27.500 --> 00:01:30.159 that we've had for 14 and a half years. 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:35.500 He's been part of our family and on Friday night he died. 00:01:35.879 --> 00:01:36.920 She died, I should say. 00:01:37.159 --> 00:01:39.620 Her name was Pixie and she died and it was very sad. 00:01:40.420 --> 00:01:44.579 She has been sick for a couple of months and we could see her fading 00:01:44.579 --> 00:01:49.159 and she'd probably become blind and probably become deaf and wasn't eating 00:01:49.159 --> 00:01:52.759 but it's still very sad when she dies, when she died. 00:01:53.759 --> 00:01:58.879 And yesterday my daughter Emma dug a hole in the backyard and we buried her. 00:01:58.879 --> 00:02:01.939 And last night I had a dream. 00:02:02.839 --> 00:02:07.539 And in my dream, and I wasn't always the biggest Pixie fan, by the way, 00:02:09.019 --> 00:02:12.519 but in the dream, I had a dream about Pixie last night. 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:16.240 And in the dream it was like Pixie on steroids. 00:02:17.139 --> 00:02:21.419 She wasn't three and a half pounds, she was at least 10 pounds or maybe even 11. 00:02:22.039 --> 00:02:28.379 So quite big for Pixie and quite muscular and frisky and I had a dream about her. 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:30.419 And that's all very, ah. 00:02:31.079 --> 00:02:32.519 But what on earth does that mean? 00:02:33.560 --> 00:02:34.620 I mean, what does it mean? 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:36.699 So I had a dream about Pixie. 00:02:37.599 --> 00:02:42.659 You know, if you think about it, on one hand, if we were to go to a party 00:02:42.659 --> 00:02:46.960 and start telling people about our dreams and maybe what they mean and all of that type of stuff, 00:02:47.519 --> 00:02:48.919 you know, our neighbors would actually think, 00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:52.419 wow, you know, you Christians aren't quite as anal as I thought. 00:02:52.419 --> 00:02:55.759 Like, you know, you have cool dreams and stuff and you talk about them. 00:02:56.159 --> 00:02:59.739 On the other hand, like what's going on with this in the story? 00:03:00.579 --> 00:03:05.919 Like if one of you was engaged to be married to somebody, 00:03:06.219 --> 00:03:08.500 like I would, you know, you're engaged to be married to a woman, 00:03:08.579 --> 00:03:10.339 you're a guy and you're engaged to be married to a woman, 00:03:10.539 --> 00:03:12.039 and she's pregnant. 00:03:12.739 --> 00:03:14.779 She gets pregnant after you're engaged, 00:03:14.780 --> 00:03:17.439 and you know that the baby's not yours. 00:03:20.140 --> 00:03:22.740 I mean, you probably wouldn't go ahead and marry her. 00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:30.360 And if you told your buddies that you'd had a dream the night before 00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:34.219 and because of the dream you were going to marry the woman, 00:03:34.979 --> 00:03:36.780 they'd go, oh, come on, dude, bro. 00:03:37.479 --> 00:03:38.800 Like, it's just a dream. 00:03:39.680 --> 00:03:41.800 Like, the dream just means you like her. 00:03:41.800 --> 00:03:45.240 It doesn't mean, it means you still have some feelings for her. 00:03:45.240 --> 00:03:46.260 It doesn't mean you marry her. 00:03:46.400 --> 00:03:50.360 I mean, she's pregnant with another guy's baby, 00:03:50.700 --> 00:03:52.860 and she did that when she was engaged to you. 00:03:52.920 --> 00:03:53.939 How on earth could you go ahead? 00:03:54.260 --> 00:03:56.060 Like, the dream just doesn't cut it. 00:03:57.920 --> 00:04:00.800 I mean, and the other thing about this story which we just read, 00:04:00.880 --> 00:04:02.640 which is also very odd if you think about it, 00:04:02.700 --> 00:04:04.720 like, what's going on with Joseph? 00:04:04.960 --> 00:04:06.540 Like, I don't know. 00:04:06.740 --> 00:04:09.480 Like, he never had a dream before in his life, 00:04:09.479 --> 00:04:11.939 and this was a complete surprise, so he went ahead and did it. 00:04:12.619 --> 00:04:16.759 Like, did he move every time he had a dream that told him to move? 00:04:16.839 --> 00:04:22.120 Like, did he name every one of his kids, you know, like, after a dream? 00:04:22.240 --> 00:04:23.480 Like, what's going on with Joseph? 00:04:23.599 --> 00:04:26.159 Like, why on earth would he take a particular dream 00:04:26.159 --> 00:04:28.599 and think that that means he has to do something like, 00:04:29.139 --> 00:04:31.480 go against his own inclinations 00:04:31.480 --> 00:04:34.800 and the inclinations of all of his friends and all of his family 00:04:34.800 --> 00:04:37.000 and probably all of the village? 00:04:37.480 --> 00:04:39.540 And like, why on earth, out of all the dreams, 00:04:39.639 --> 00:04:42.900 would this particular dream be any type of significance for him? 00:04:43.639 --> 00:04:46.160 Like, you know, apart from the fact 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:48.520 that there's sentimental attachments to this story, 00:04:48.620 --> 00:04:51.439 it's like it's really odd and weird if you think about it. 00:04:52.100 --> 00:04:53.220 So we're going to look at it. 00:04:53.600 --> 00:04:56.319 Like, what was it that in this dream 00:04:56.319 --> 00:05:00.680 that would have changed Joseph's complete and utter life? 00:05:00.680 --> 00:05:02.860 So let's look. 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:06.379 If you have your Bibles, it's Matthew 1, verse 18. 00:05:07.079 --> 00:05:10.120 If you don't have your Bibles, there's at least one Bible there. 00:05:10.139 --> 00:05:10.980 We can get more as well. 00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:12.300 If you'd like, you can just get up and get it. 00:05:12.420 --> 00:05:15.160 And if you have a phone with data and you're on YouVersion, 00:05:15.220 --> 00:05:18.079 you go to events, the notes and all are there as well 00:05:18.079 --> 00:05:19.960 if you want to follow along. 00:05:20.899 --> 00:05:21.920 But here's how it goes. 00:05:21.920 --> 00:05:22.600 Just look. 00:05:22.780 --> 00:05:26.040 Like, is there some hint or clue within the biblical narrative 00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:30.360 as to why on earth Joseph did something which, 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:33.540 if we're frank, like if it was your brother, 00:05:33.819 --> 00:05:36.879 if it was your best friend, if it was your son, 00:05:37.120 --> 00:05:39.960 and he came and told you that it was because of a dream 00:05:39.960 --> 00:05:41.580 that he was going to go ahead and marry the girl, 00:05:42.320 --> 00:05:45.820 like, you'd give him a hard time, right? 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:49.520 So is there some hint in the biblical text about this 00:05:49.520 --> 00:05:51.780 that helps us try to understand what's going on 00:05:51.780 --> 00:05:53.060 so it's not just weird? 00:05:53.460 --> 00:05:54.740 And so here's how it goes. 00:05:56.040 --> 00:05:57.439 Matthew 1.18. 00:05:58.740 --> 00:06:02.220 Now, the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. 00:06:03.080 --> 00:06:07.080 When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, 00:06:07.400 --> 00:06:09.480 and some of you, if you're a guest here 00:06:09.480 --> 00:06:11.800 and you have never come to a Christmas service before, 00:06:12.400 --> 00:06:15.620 in the ancient world, there were sort of two very formal events. 00:06:15.740 --> 00:06:19.100 It's not like today, where basically the big thing 00:06:19.100 --> 00:06:19.820 is just the wedding. 00:06:20.340 --> 00:06:24.800 In Jesus' time, there was like a very formal ceremony 00:06:24.800 --> 00:06:26.560 that made you engaged. 00:06:27.439 --> 00:06:30.199 And it was so formal that if you broke the engagement, 00:06:30.360 --> 00:06:32.180 you'd actually have to have a divorce procedure. 00:06:32.900 --> 00:06:36.620 And it was so formal that if your fiancé died 00:06:36.620 --> 00:06:40.100 after this ceremony, you'd actually be considered 00:06:40.100 --> 00:06:41.460 a widow or a widower, 00:06:41.459 --> 00:06:44.099 even though you hadn't actually been married. 00:06:44.099 --> 00:06:47.919 So Mary and Joseph had the first solemn event, 00:06:47.919 --> 00:06:51.599 but the second solemn event where they actually live together, 00:06:51.739 --> 00:06:53.620 have sexual relations with each other, 00:06:54.439 --> 00:06:57.339 where they're, you know, in a sense, in our sense, fully married, 00:06:57.479 --> 00:06:58.740 that hasn't happened yet. 00:06:58.879 --> 00:06:59.079 Okay? 00:06:59.079 --> 00:07:00.240 So that's just a bit of background. 00:07:00.379 --> 00:07:01.019 So we'll say it again. 00:07:01.599 --> 00:07:03.800 When his mother Mary, in verse 18 still, 00:07:03.859 --> 00:07:05.379 had been betrothed to Joseph, 00:07:06.180 --> 00:07:07.579 before they came together, 00:07:08.300 --> 00:07:11.519 she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 00:07:11.800 --> 00:07:13.659 And just pause there again for a second. 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:15.939 There isn't, if you're wondering, 00:07:16.060 --> 00:07:19.139 there's no ancient category of people claiming 00:07:19.139 --> 00:07:20.819 to have children from the Holy Spirit. 00:07:22.919 --> 00:07:25.120 Basically, it's a summary of what, 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:27.699 Matthew just giving a very short summary 00:07:27.699 --> 00:07:29.480 of what Mary told him. 00:07:30.220 --> 00:07:31.959 You can hear more about that if you read Luke. 00:07:32.920 --> 00:07:34.439 But Mary has obviously, 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:36.220 she's probably about four months pregnant, 00:07:36.379 --> 00:07:37.399 so she's starting to show. 00:07:38.340 --> 00:07:41.000 And it can't be kept secret. 00:07:41.240 --> 00:07:42.540 And she's come back to the village. 00:07:42.720 --> 00:07:44.579 And she goes and she has what must have been 00:07:44.579 --> 00:07:47.420 the world's most awkward meeting imaginable, 00:07:47.939 --> 00:07:50.959 where she tells Joseph that she's four months pregnant, 00:07:50.959 --> 00:07:52.340 or five months or whatever, 00:07:52.480 --> 00:07:53.680 she's four or five months pregnant, 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:56.259 and that she'd never slept with another man, 00:07:56.980 --> 00:07:59.220 and that in fact God had come to her 00:07:59.220 --> 00:08:01.819 and asked her permission for him 00:08:01.819 --> 00:08:03.819 to do a miracle of creation in her womb, 00:08:04.379 --> 00:08:11.439 and in our language to put a fetus in her womb. 00:08:13.519 --> 00:08:16.560 And that would have been a very, very awkward conversation. 00:08:19.240 --> 00:08:21.939 And Matthew just very touches by saying 00:08:21.939 --> 00:08:23.519 a child from the Holy Spirit. 00:08:23.639 --> 00:08:25.100 And then we see in verse 19, 00:08:25.899 --> 00:08:28.279 and her husband Joseph being a just man, 00:08:28.680 --> 00:08:30.899 that means he was fair, he was just. 00:08:32.440 --> 00:08:33.980 Everything that we take with this idea 00:08:33.980 --> 00:08:35.360 of being a just person, 00:08:35.740 --> 00:08:38.379 that also would include for us a sense of compassion. 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:40.440 That's how Joseph's described. 00:08:40.659 --> 00:08:42.340 And unwilling to put her to shame, 00:08:42.940 --> 00:08:44.559 resolved to divorce her quietly. 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:46.620 Now just sort of pause here for a second. 00:08:46.700 --> 00:08:48.399 This is one of the things which is really important 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:51.079 for us to remember is just because Joseph 00:08:51.079 --> 00:08:53.240 didn't have BuzzFeed in Instagram 00:08:53.240 --> 00:08:54.600 doesn't mean he's stupid. 00:08:56.879 --> 00:08:58.079 In fact, you could even say that 00:08:58.079 --> 00:08:59.799 if you use too much Instagram in BuzzFeed, 00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:00.579 it makes you stupid. 00:09:01.720 --> 00:09:03.039 So he might have been smarter. 00:09:03.679 --> 00:09:06.419 But just because he didn't use flush toilets 00:09:06.419 --> 00:09:07.419 doesn't mean he's stupid. 00:09:07.980 --> 00:09:09.740 Those are just technological things. 00:09:09.860 --> 00:09:11.059 It doesn't mean they, you know, 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:12.399 it's very, very interesting. 00:09:12.480 --> 00:09:14.220 If you go and try to read old books, 00:09:14.299 --> 00:09:15.860 like if you go try to read Augustine 00:09:15.860 --> 00:09:17.039 or older writing, 00:09:17.460 --> 00:09:18.840 it's hard for us to read it. 00:09:18.919 --> 00:09:21.259 And part of the reason it's hard for us to read it 00:09:21.259 --> 00:09:22.580 is that they're so logical. 00:09:23.800 --> 00:09:25.639 And they think so deeply upon 00:09:25.639 --> 00:09:27.600 slight nuances in words. 00:09:27.860 --> 00:09:29.180 And we don't realize it, 00:09:29.220 --> 00:09:30.879 but in fact, we've lost something 00:09:30.879 --> 00:09:32.360 that they were very smart. 00:09:32.800 --> 00:09:34.539 And he knew how babies came about. 00:09:35.500 --> 00:09:37.560 And basically he didn't buy it. 00:09:38.419 --> 00:09:39.060 Yeah, right. 00:09:40.420 --> 00:09:42.019 God came to you. 00:09:42.019 --> 00:09:44.379 We're here in Nowheresville. 00:09:45.419 --> 00:09:46.559 And you're nobody. 00:09:47.679 --> 00:09:49.299 Your parents are nobodies. 00:09:49.559 --> 00:09:51.079 Your grandparents are nobodies. 00:09:51.659 --> 00:09:52.439 You're a nobody. 00:09:52.799 --> 00:09:53.600 I'm a nobody. 00:09:53.860 --> 00:09:55.079 We're in Nowheresville. 00:09:55.679 --> 00:09:58.360 And God came and spoke to you 00:09:58.360 --> 00:10:00.019 and said he was going to make 00:10:00.019 --> 00:10:01.460 an act of creation in your womb 00:10:01.460 --> 00:10:02.759 to make you pregnant. 00:10:03.799 --> 00:10:06.600 And Joseph didn't believe it for a second 00:10:06.600 --> 00:10:07.860 because he's not a dumb guy. 00:10:08.840 --> 00:10:10.059 But he's a just guy. 00:10:10.059 --> 00:10:11.439 I don't know what he was thinking. 00:10:11.559 --> 00:10:13.159 And it doesn't tell you whether he ranted 00:10:13.159 --> 00:10:15.139 and all that type of stuff privately 00:10:15.139 --> 00:10:16.479 or how depressed he was. 00:10:17.759 --> 00:10:19.119 Maybe he wanted to, I don't know, 00:10:19.379 --> 00:10:20.639 whatever he wanted to hurt her. 00:10:20.719 --> 00:10:21.819 But he comes to his senses 00:10:21.819 --> 00:10:23.519 because fundamentally he's a just guy 00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:25.099 and he decides I'm going to divorce her. 00:10:25.599 --> 00:10:26.699 That's the right thing to do. 00:10:26.759 --> 00:10:27.739 But I'm going to do it quietly 00:10:27.739 --> 00:10:30.699 and to try to minimize her embarrassment and shame. 00:10:31.859 --> 00:10:32.659 And then verse 20. 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:35.359 But as he considered these things, 00:10:35.479 --> 00:10:38.039 behold, an angel of the Lord 00:10:38.039 --> 00:10:39.519 appeared to him in a dream saying, 00:10:39.519 --> 00:10:41.220 Joseph, son of David. 00:10:41.460 --> 00:10:42.439 So this is with the angel. 00:10:42.539 --> 00:10:43.720 This is Matthew's, 00:10:44.299 --> 00:10:45.460 Joseph's summary 00:10:45.460 --> 00:10:48.079 that Matthew would have learned much later. 00:10:48.919 --> 00:10:50.179 Joseph, son of David, 00:10:50.720 --> 00:10:53.379 do not fear to take Mary as your wife 00:10:53.379 --> 00:10:56.480 for that which is conceived in her 00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:58.340 is from the Holy Spirit. 00:10:58.539 --> 00:10:59.600 She will bear a son 00:10:59.600 --> 00:11:01.819 and you shall call his name Jesus 00:11:01.819 --> 00:11:05.199 for he will save his people 00:11:05.199 --> 00:11:06.539 from their sins. 00:11:06.539 --> 00:11:08.559 Now, 00:11:09.039 --> 00:11:13.599 look again here how it says, 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:14.899 look at verse 20 again, 00:11:15.059 --> 00:11:15.819 an angel of the Lord 00:11:15.819 --> 00:11:17.480 appeared to him in a dream saying, 00:11:18.539 --> 00:11:19.000 now it's, 00:11:19.099 --> 00:11:20.159 you can sort of see it in English. 00:11:20.319 --> 00:11:20.939 It's more obvious 00:11:20.939 --> 00:11:21.899 in the original language. 00:11:21.899 --> 00:11:23.480 But if you could put the first point up, 00:11:23.519 --> 00:11:24.500 that would be very helpful. 00:11:25.179 --> 00:11:26.199 Here's the point. 00:11:26.480 --> 00:11:28.779 Joseph did not dream about an angel. 00:11:29.919 --> 00:11:31.279 The angel of the Lord 00:11:31.279 --> 00:11:33.919 took over Joseph's dream 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:35.740 and spoke to him by name. 00:11:36.919 --> 00:11:39.899 Joseph did not dream about an angel. 00:11:40.899 --> 00:11:42.019 The angel of the Lord 00:11:42.019 --> 00:11:44.120 took over Joseph's dream 00:11:44.120 --> 00:11:45.639 and spoke to him by name. 00:11:46.319 --> 00:11:48.019 In the original language, 00:11:48.139 --> 00:11:49.759 all of the language is passive. 00:11:50.579 --> 00:11:51.799 It's not about Joseph 00:11:51.799 --> 00:11:52.899 waking up the next day 00:11:52.899 --> 00:11:53.379 and saying, 00:11:53.759 --> 00:11:54.639 I had a dream 00:11:54.639 --> 00:11:55.519 and in my dream, 00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:56.459 I saw an angel 00:11:56.459 --> 00:11:57.779 and in my dream, 00:11:57.980 --> 00:11:59.819 I heard an angel say this. 00:11:59.820 --> 00:12:02.920 Everything that mentions Joseph 00:12:02.920 --> 00:12:05.820 is in the divine passive sense, 00:12:06.860 --> 00:12:08.280 which is a tense 00:12:08.280 --> 00:12:09.900 in the original language, 00:12:10.060 --> 00:12:10.900 that something or another, 00:12:11.100 --> 00:12:11.500 Joseph, 00:12:11.720 --> 00:12:13.060 rather than being the dream 00:12:13.060 --> 00:12:15.000 coming from Joseph's mind 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:16.640 or his unconscious 00:12:16.640 --> 00:12:17.740 or his subconscious 00:12:17.740 --> 00:12:19.200 and emerging out of it, 00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:19.879 all of a sudden, 00:12:19.980 --> 00:12:21.180 he becomes passive. 00:12:22.420 --> 00:12:24.720 And the active person 00:12:24.720 --> 00:12:25.520 in the dream 00:12:25.520 --> 00:12:26.600 is the angel of the Lord. 00:12:26.600 --> 00:12:27.899 The implication is 00:12:27.899 --> 00:12:30.279 that Joseph isn't dreaming 00:12:30.279 --> 00:12:30.960 of an angel. 00:12:31.120 --> 00:12:33.080 The angel takes over 00:12:33.080 --> 00:12:34.200 Joseph's dream. 00:12:35.720 --> 00:12:37.040 Now, it doesn't describe 00:12:37.040 --> 00:12:38.700 psychologically what that's like, 00:12:38.740 --> 00:12:39.759 but it would be a little bit like 00:12:39.759 --> 00:12:40.879 if you watch certain types 00:12:40.879 --> 00:12:41.379 of movies, 00:12:41.420 --> 00:12:43.180 of which I am prone to watch, 00:12:43.220 --> 00:12:44.120 I must confess, 00:12:44.500 --> 00:12:45.720 where there's a terrorist 00:12:45.720 --> 00:12:48.600 or some evil criminal mastermind 00:12:48.600 --> 00:12:50.120 who happens to have 00:12:50.120 --> 00:12:52.480 an unbelievable computer hacker 00:12:52.480 --> 00:12:53.600 who can effortlessly 00:12:54.180 --> 00:12:55.379 take over systems 00:12:55.379 --> 00:12:57.679 or it's an alien invasion. 00:12:58.299 --> 00:12:58.500 And, you know, 00:12:58.539 --> 00:12:59.860 you've seen those types of movies 00:12:59.860 --> 00:13:00.559 that all of a sudden, 00:13:00.620 --> 00:13:00.879 I don't know, 00:13:00.919 --> 00:13:01.799 they're watching the NFL 00:13:01.799 --> 00:13:03.259 or they're watching The Crown 00:13:03.259 --> 00:13:03.899 on Netflix 00:13:03.899 --> 00:13:05.100 or something like that. 00:13:05.539 --> 00:13:05.679 You know, 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:07.799 maybe your wife's upstairs 00:13:07.799 --> 00:13:08.639 watching The Crown 00:13:08.639 --> 00:13:09.600 on Netflix, 00:13:09.720 --> 00:13:10.259 you're downstairs 00:13:10.259 --> 00:13:11.980 watching the NFL 00:13:11.980 --> 00:13:13.360 and all of a sudden 00:13:13.360 --> 00:13:14.580 you see some crazed 00:13:14.580 --> 00:13:16.960 Russian megalomaniac 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:18.220 giving you some message 00:13:18.220 --> 00:13:19.320 about how he's going 00:13:19.320 --> 00:13:20.620 to destroy the society. 00:13:21.039 --> 00:13:21.799 And you see that 00:13:21.799 --> 00:13:22.500 in the NFL game 00:13:22.500 --> 00:13:23.340 and your wife upstairs 00:13:23.340 --> 00:13:24.080 watching The Crown 00:13:24.080 --> 00:13:24.539 on Netflix, 00:13:24.539 --> 00:13:25.599 she sees it as well 00:13:25.599 --> 00:13:26.199 and then you kind of 00:13:26.199 --> 00:13:26.939 change the channel 00:13:26.939 --> 00:13:27.919 and every channel you go to, 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:28.740 just like in the movies, 00:13:29.199 --> 00:13:29.860 all of a sudden 00:13:29.860 --> 00:13:30.980 every single channel 00:13:30.980 --> 00:13:31.980 it's the same guy. 00:13:32.299 --> 00:13:32.779 And then you go 00:13:32.779 --> 00:13:33.819 to turn the TV off 00:13:33.819 --> 00:13:35.360 and you can't turn the TV off, 00:13:35.639 --> 00:13:36.620 it's the same guy. 00:13:36.860 --> 00:13:38.699 And this megalomaniac terrorist 00:13:38.699 --> 00:13:39.740 has taken control 00:13:39.740 --> 00:13:40.579 of your television 00:13:40.579 --> 00:13:41.719 and every single 00:13:41.719 --> 00:13:42.759 television channels 00:13:42.759 --> 00:13:44.860 and even the internet feeds 00:13:44.860 --> 00:13:46.659 that give you news flick 00:13:46.659 --> 00:13:47.259 and you know, 00:13:47.639 --> 00:13:48.319 and in the movies 00:13:48.319 --> 00:13:48.679 they go, 00:13:48.839 --> 00:13:50.199 it's on every channel. 00:13:51.079 --> 00:13:51.919 And then you all 00:13:51.919 --> 00:13:52.639 look panicked. 00:13:52.639 --> 00:13:53.439 And of course, 00:13:53.500 --> 00:13:54.019 there's some, 00:13:54.100 --> 00:13:54.299 you know, 00:13:54.419 --> 00:13:55.279 former loser, 00:13:55.779 --> 00:13:56.819 drug addict, 00:13:57.000 --> 00:13:58.199 alcoholic with his 00:13:58.199 --> 00:13:59.580 nerdy buddy 00:13:59.580 --> 00:14:00.360 who'll save the movie 00:14:00.360 --> 00:14:00.960 at the end of the day. 00:14:01.080 --> 00:14:02.139 But that's the movie. 00:14:02.399 --> 00:14:03.439 Here's the real thing. 00:14:04.000 --> 00:14:05.259 But the implication is, 00:14:05.319 --> 00:14:05.419 right, 00:14:05.460 --> 00:14:07.879 if you saw that TV, 00:14:08.039 --> 00:14:09.240 you'd know that somebody 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:10.080 had taken over 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:10.759 the television 00:14:10.759 --> 00:14:11.620 and taken over 00:14:11.620 --> 00:14:12.779 all of the feeds. 00:14:13.679 --> 00:14:14.699 Impossible in real life, 00:14:14.779 --> 00:14:15.059 by the way, 00:14:15.100 --> 00:14:16.080 but that's a separate thing. 00:14:16.480 --> 00:14:17.059 In this thing, 00:14:17.159 --> 00:14:17.939 the language is 00:14:17.939 --> 00:14:18.659 that the angel 00:14:18.659 --> 00:14:20.379 takes over Joseph's dream 00:14:20.379 --> 00:14:22.580 and while it doesn't tell you 00:14:22.580 --> 00:14:23.939 all the psychological 00:14:23.939 --> 00:14:24.980 things about it, 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:25.159 I mean, 00:14:25.220 --> 00:14:26.159 I'm sure he had all these 00:14:26.159 --> 00:14:27.419 conversations with Mary 00:14:27.419 --> 00:14:28.539 and his buddies about it, 00:14:28.600 --> 00:14:29.740 the scriptures are very, 00:14:29.740 --> 00:14:31.620 very sparse. 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:32.939 But the angel 00:14:32.939 --> 00:14:34.059 takes over the dream. 00:14:35.879 --> 00:14:36.740 And Joseph, 00:14:37.039 --> 00:14:37.840 who's probably had 00:14:37.840 --> 00:14:38.120 many, 00:14:38.159 --> 00:14:38.299 many, 00:14:38.379 --> 00:14:39.100 many dreams, 00:14:39.759 --> 00:14:40.100 hundreds, 00:14:40.340 --> 00:14:41.139 thousands of dreams, 00:14:41.240 --> 00:14:41.919 this is not like 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:42.679 any other dream, 00:14:43.580 --> 00:14:44.559 all of a sudden 00:14:44.559 --> 00:14:45.440 he's passive. 00:14:46.019 --> 00:14:46.500 The angel 00:14:46.500 --> 00:14:47.159 has taken over 00:14:47.159 --> 00:14:47.620 the dream 00:14:47.620 --> 00:14:49.539 and Joseph 00:14:49.539 --> 00:14:50.240 knows it. 00:14:50.379 --> 00:14:54.279 Why would Matthew 00:14:54.279 --> 00:14:54.939 believe this, 00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:55.340 do you think? 00:14:55.360 --> 00:14:56.019 And why should you 00:14:56.019 --> 00:14:56.539 and I maybe 00:14:56.539 --> 00:14:57.299 believe this? 00:14:59.240 --> 00:14:59.740 You know, 00:14:59.980 --> 00:15:00.580 here's the thing 00:15:00.580 --> 00:15:01.320 about Matthew. 00:15:01.960 --> 00:15:02.539 Those of you 00:15:02.539 --> 00:15:03.659 who are long-term 00:15:03.659 --> 00:15:04.059 Christians 00:15:04.059 --> 00:15:04.480 might know 00:15:04.480 --> 00:15:04.840 a little bit 00:15:04.840 --> 00:15:05.179 about it, 00:15:05.240 --> 00:15:05.840 but Matthew, 00:15:06.419 --> 00:15:08.340 he was a hard-headed 00:15:08.340 --> 00:15:09.080 businessman. 00:15:09.679 --> 00:15:11.320 He was a tax collector 00:15:11.320 --> 00:15:12.860 and in those days 00:15:12.860 --> 00:15:13.299 that meant 00:15:13.299 --> 00:15:15.100 he would have 00:15:15.100 --> 00:15:15.899 had staff, 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:16.240 he would have 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:16.799 had to work, 00:15:16.940 --> 00:15:17.279 he would have 00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:17.960 been literate 00:15:17.960 --> 00:15:19.180 because he'd 00:15:19.180 --> 00:15:19.900 have to read 00:15:19.900 --> 00:15:21.259 financial documents 00:15:21.259 --> 00:15:22.860 and he was 00:15:22.860 --> 00:15:23.820 one who would 00:15:23.820 --> 00:15:24.460 have gone around 00:15:24.460 --> 00:15:25.019 to the different 00:15:25.019 --> 00:15:25.840 people in the region 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:26.820 to collect the taxes 00:15:26.820 --> 00:15:27.220 from them. 00:15:27.280 --> 00:15:27.879 It means he would 00:15:27.879 --> 00:15:28.379 have been very, 00:15:28.500 --> 00:15:29.320 very shrewd 00:15:29.320 --> 00:15:30.420 in telling when 00:15:30.420 --> 00:15:31.180 a person's giving 00:15:31.180 --> 00:15:31.840 him a whole pile 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:32.100 of, 00:15:32.100 --> 00:15:32.379 you know, 00:15:32.440 --> 00:15:32.740 bull 00:15:32.740 --> 00:15:34.420 and he would 00:15:34.420 --> 00:15:34.879 be very, 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:35.580 very shrewd 00:15:35.580 --> 00:15:36.300 at trying to look 00:15:36.300 --> 00:15:37.100 at and figure out 00:15:37.100 --> 00:15:37.720 just from the way 00:15:37.720 --> 00:15:38.220 you were living 00:15:38.220 --> 00:15:38.800 in your house 00:15:38.800 --> 00:15:39.440 how much money 00:15:39.440 --> 00:15:39.840 you had 00:15:39.840 --> 00:15:40.180 and how many 00:15:40.180 --> 00:15:41.080 crops you had 00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:41.780 and be able 00:15:41.780 --> 00:15:42.280 to get the right 00:15:42.280 --> 00:15:42.800 taxes 00:15:42.799 --> 00:15:43.620 and he would 00:15:43.620 --> 00:15:43.979 have been able 00:15:43.979 --> 00:15:44.719 to understand 00:15:44.719 --> 00:15:45.079 that he had 00:15:45.079 --> 00:15:45.379 to get a, 00:15:45.539 --> 00:15:45.759 you know, 00:15:45.779 --> 00:15:46.419 the more he could 00:15:46.419 --> 00:15:46.699 get, 00:15:46.859 --> 00:15:47.740 the more he would 00:15:47.740 --> 00:15:48.379 pocket because he 00:15:48.379 --> 00:15:49.259 just gives a lump 00:15:49.259 --> 00:15:50.099 sum to the Romans 00:15:50.099 --> 00:15:51.719 and that's Matthew 00:15:51.719 --> 00:15:53.659 and in the Gospels 00:15:53.659 --> 00:15:54.519 it never goes into 00:15:54.519 --> 00:15:55.359 too much about 00:15:55.359 --> 00:15:56.000 how it is 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:56.620 that Jesus, 00:15:56.779 --> 00:15:57.159 there was just 00:15:57.159 --> 00:15:58.059 something remarkable 00:15:58.059 --> 00:15:58.779 about Jesus 00:15:58.779 --> 00:15:59.959 that was so remarkable 00:15:59.959 --> 00:16:01.259 that Matthew 00:16:01.259 --> 00:16:02.519 was willing to 00:16:02.519 --> 00:16:03.539 leave his tax 00:16:03.539 --> 00:16:04.500 collector stuff 00:16:04.500 --> 00:16:06.240 to follow Jesus 00:16:06.240 --> 00:16:07.519 but then, 00:16:07.839 --> 00:16:07.979 you know, 00:16:08.019 --> 00:16:08.779 when it came time 00:16:08.779 --> 00:16:09.339 at the end 00:16:09.339 --> 00:16:10.319 when Jesus dies 00:16:10.319 --> 00:16:11.099 upon the cross, 00:16:11.259 --> 00:16:11.579 Matthew, 00:16:11.779 --> 00:16:12.479 who's a shrewd 00:16:12.480 --> 00:16:12.700 guy, 00:16:12.779 --> 00:16:13.200 he knows how 00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:14.080 the world works, 00:16:14.139 --> 00:16:14.539 he knows how 00:16:14.539 --> 00:16:15.220 money works, 00:16:15.300 --> 00:16:15.680 he knows how 00:16:15.680 --> 00:16:16.399 people work, 00:16:16.840 --> 00:16:17.759 he's literate 00:16:17.759 --> 00:16:18.740 but he doesn't 00:16:18.740 --> 00:16:19.340 believe that Jesus 00:16:19.340 --> 00:16:20.259 rose from the dead 00:16:20.259 --> 00:16:21.080 and so Matthew 00:16:21.080 --> 00:16:21.759 just like all 00:16:21.759 --> 00:16:22.159 of the other 00:16:22.159 --> 00:16:22.600 apostles, 00:16:23.100 --> 00:16:24.320 he leaves Jesus, 00:16:24.460 --> 00:16:25.080 it's the complete 00:16:25.080 --> 00:16:25.720 end of all 00:16:25.720 --> 00:16:26.379 of his dreams. 00:16:27.019 --> 00:16:27.759 Matthew has taken 00:16:27.759 --> 00:16:28.740 a sabbatical 00:16:28.740 --> 00:16:29.860 from making his money, 00:16:29.960 --> 00:16:30.720 he's probably thinking 00:16:30.720 --> 00:16:31.080 I'm just going to 00:16:31.080 --> 00:16:31.820 go back to making 00:16:31.820 --> 00:16:32.519 money because I 00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:33.060 thought Jesus 00:16:33.060 --> 00:16:33.560 was special, 00:16:33.620 --> 00:16:34.320 he was special, 00:16:34.720 --> 00:16:35.320 there was something 00:16:35.320 --> 00:16:36.519 real about him, 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:37.279 something that was 00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:38.159 sane about him, 00:16:38.259 --> 00:16:38.740 something that was 00:16:38.740 --> 00:16:39.860 compassionate about him 00:16:39.860 --> 00:16:41.340 and now he's dead 00:16:41.340 --> 00:16:42.740 and what changed 00:16:42.740 --> 00:16:43.620 Matthew is the 00:16:43.620 --> 00:16:44.160 resurrection. 00:16:45.680 --> 00:16:46.879 It changed Matthew 00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:48.259 so much that the 00:16:48.259 --> 00:16:49.040 records are that 00:16:49.040 --> 00:16:50.220 Matthew never went 00:16:50.220 --> 00:16:51.019 back to making 00:16:51.019 --> 00:16:51.860 lots of money 00:16:51.860 --> 00:16:52.920 and rather than 00:16:52.920 --> 00:16:53.860 making lots of money 00:16:53.860 --> 00:16:54.780 he spent the rest 00:16:54.780 --> 00:16:55.500 of his life 00:16:55.500 --> 00:16:57.019 telling people 00:16:57.019 --> 00:16:58.200 that Jesus 00:16:58.200 --> 00:16:59.759 came from God 00:16:59.759 --> 00:17:00.980 and that Jesus 00:17:00.980 --> 00:17:02.180 had died upon the 00:17:02.180 --> 00:17:03.660 cross and he rose 00:17:03.660 --> 00:17:04.539 and he defeated 00:17:04.539 --> 00:17:06.400 death and not only 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:07.759 does Matthew do 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:08.560 this in Jerusalem 00:17:08.560 --> 00:17:09.600 but he eventually 00:17:09.600 --> 00:17:10.360 does it in what 00:17:10.360 --> 00:17:11.540 we now call Iran 00:17:11.540 --> 00:17:12.420 and he does it 00:17:12.420 --> 00:17:12.900 in what we now 00:17:12.900 --> 00:17:13.780 call Ethiopia 00:17:13.780 --> 00:17:15.320 and it's in Ethiopia 00:17:15.320 --> 00:17:16.600 that because of his 00:17:16.600 --> 00:17:17.940 proclamation he's 00:17:17.940 --> 00:17:19.740 murdered as a direct 00:17:19.740 --> 00:17:21.019 order from the king 00:17:21.019 --> 00:17:22.340 who didn't want him 00:17:22.340 --> 00:17:23.800 disturbing their 00:17:23.800 --> 00:17:25.019 pagan society. 00:17:27.360 --> 00:17:28.820 What changes it for 00:17:28.820 --> 00:17:29.600 Matthew is the 00:17:29.600 --> 00:17:30.060 resurrection. 00:17:30.300 --> 00:17:30.800 That's what should 00:17:30.800 --> 00:17:31.600 change it for you 00:17:31.600 --> 00:17:32.040 and me. 00:17:33.560 --> 00:17:34.440 The resurrection 00:17:34.440 --> 00:17:36.480 changes everything 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:40.080 and it's not just 00:17:40.080 --> 00:17:40.620 that there's this 00:17:40.620 --> 00:17:41.880 odd conjuring trick 00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:42.880 with bones that's 00:17:42.880 --> 00:17:43.580 done to the body 00:17:43.580 --> 00:17:44.480 of Jesus but 00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:45.559 the resurrection 00:17:45.559 --> 00:17:46.840 Jesus tells us 00:17:46.840 --> 00:17:47.740 that in his 00:17:47.740 --> 00:17:48.720 all of the historical 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:49.700 documents record 00:17:49.700 --> 00:17:51.100 how Jesus tells 00:17:51.100 --> 00:17:52.220 people that he's 00:17:52.220 --> 00:17:53.799 coming he's come 00:17:53.799 --> 00:17:55.220 to earth to die 00:17:55.220 --> 00:17:56.240 upon the cross 00:17:56.240 --> 00:17:57.640 and after he dies 00:17:57.640 --> 00:17:58.420 on the third day 00:17:58.420 --> 00:17:59.160 he will rise from 00:17:59.160 --> 00:17:59.980 that he tells his 00:17:59.980 --> 00:18:01.120 disciples that he 00:18:01.120 --> 00:18:02.080 tells people that 00:18:02.080 --> 00:18:03.059 and it's not just 00:18:03.059 --> 00:18:03.500 that there's this 00:18:03.500 --> 00:18:04.279 odd conjuring 00:18:04.279 --> 00:18:05.160 trick with bones 00:18:05.160 --> 00:18:06.200 but it all takes 00:18:06.200 --> 00:18:07.299 place Jesus said 00:18:07.299 --> 00:18:07.859 he's fulfilling 00:18:07.859 --> 00:18:08.639 what we call the 00:18:08.639 --> 00:18:09.779 Old Testament and 00:18:09.779 --> 00:18:10.480 Jewish people call 00:18:10.480 --> 00:18:11.960 the Tanakh that it 00:18:11.960 --> 00:18:13.399 fulfills the Tanakh 00:18:13.399 --> 00:18:14.039 in other words that 00:18:14.039 --> 00:18:14.879 it's not just some 00:18:14.879 --> 00:18:16.460 idle prophecy that 00:18:16.460 --> 00:18:17.220 just may it's not 00:18:17.220 --> 00:18:18.019 like Jesus is some 00:18:18.019 --> 00:18:19.180 type of David Blaine 00:18:19.180 --> 00:18:20.220 but that there's 00:18:20.220 --> 00:18:22.339 this there's thousands 00:18:22.339 --> 00:18:23.500 hundreds centuries 00:18:23.500 --> 00:18:24.460 and centuries of 00:18:24.460 --> 00:18:25.700 stories and of 00:18:25.700 --> 00:18:27.220 narrative and of 00:18:27.220 --> 00:18:28.639 philosophy and of 00:18:28.639 --> 00:18:29.680 theology and of 00:18:29.680 --> 00:18:30.539 wisdom and of 00:18:30.539 --> 00:18:31.920 insight and it's in 00:18:31.920 --> 00:18:33.039 all of this context 00:18:33.039 --> 00:18:34.019 that Jesus says he 00:18:34.019 --> 00:18:34.960 comes to fulfill it 00:18:34.960 --> 00:18:35.720 I'm going to die 00:18:35.720 --> 00:18:36.700 on the cross I'm 00:18:36.700 --> 00:18:37.440 going to rise from 00:18:37.440 --> 00:18:38.180 the dead even though 00:18:38.180 --> 00:18:39.279 the cross is a sign 00:18:39.279 --> 00:18:40.720 of shame I'm going 00:18:40.720 --> 00:18:41.539 to rise from the 00:18:41.539 --> 00:18:42.759 dead and it vindicates 00:18:42.759 --> 00:18:43.899 Jesus it vindicates 00:18:43.899 --> 00:18:45.039 its message and it 00:18:45.039 --> 00:18:46.099 means that Matthew is 00:18:46.099 --> 00:18:47.039 willing to completely 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:48.139 and utterly turn his 00:18:48.139 --> 00:18:48.839 life around because 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:49.619 he's an actual 00:18:49.619 --> 00:18:51.039 witness on many 00:18:51.039 --> 00:18:52.039 occasions of the 00:18:52.039 --> 00:18:53.019 resurrected Jesus 00:18:53.019 --> 00:18:55.940 and so these stories 00:18:55.940 --> 00:18:56.420 that he would have 00:18:56.420 --> 00:18:57.220 heard from his early 00:18:57.220 --> 00:18:58.000 days of following 00:18:58.000 --> 00:19:00.879 Jesus that Mary never 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:02.120 knew a man that God 00:19:02.120 --> 00:19:02.960 did a work of a 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:04.060 miracle in Mary's 00:19:04.060 --> 00:19:05.500 womb and now these 00:19:05.500 --> 00:19:07.000 stories of Joseph of 00:19:07.000 --> 00:19:08.460 how he was because 00:19:08.460 --> 00:19:09.000 you know Matthew 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:09.560 would have said come 00:19:09.560 --> 00:19:10.800 on dude why on earth 00:19:10.800 --> 00:19:11.680 did you marry her when 00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:12.660 she was pregnant and 00:19:12.660 --> 00:19:13.240 Matthew would have 00:19:13.240 --> 00:19:14.280 said I mean Joseph 00:19:14.280 --> 00:19:15.300 would have said or 00:19:15.300 --> 00:19:16.680 told people you know 00:19:16.680 --> 00:19:17.560 and Matthew would have 00:19:17.560 --> 00:19:18.300 heard eventually that 00:19:18.300 --> 00:19:19.520 it was all you know 00:19:19.520 --> 00:19:20.720 that the angel took 00:19:20.720 --> 00:19:22.280 over my dream and he 00:19:22.280 --> 00:19:23.620 spoke to me by name 00:19:23.620 --> 00:19:26.060 and he told me what's 00:19:26.060 --> 00:19:26.860 gone on 00:19:26.859 --> 00:19:30.500 angel took over my 00:19:30.500 --> 00:19:33.459 dream and Matthew 00:19:33.459 --> 00:19:33.879 then would have 00:19:33.879 --> 00:19:34.519 believed it 00:19:34.519 --> 00:19:37.139 Matthew would have 00:19:37.139 --> 00:19:37.779 believed it that's 00:19:37.779 --> 00:19:38.639 that's in a sense why 00:19:38.639 --> 00:19:40.399 why we can believe it 00:19:40.399 --> 00:19:42.099 as well 00:19:42.099 --> 00:19:46.319 now just one other 00:19:46.319 --> 00:19:47.240 little thing here this 00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:48.299 is really more of a 00:19:48.299 --> 00:19:49.339 bit of a timeout I 00:19:49.339 --> 00:19:49.839 just want to share 00:19:49.839 --> 00:19:50.559 something with you 00:19:50.559 --> 00:19:52.259 you know I one of the 00:19:52.259 --> 00:19:52.879 things which is so 00:19:52.879 --> 00:19:53.599 wonderful for this 00:19:53.599 --> 00:19:54.359 story if you're a 00:19:54.359 --> 00:19:54.719 Christian 00:19:54.720 --> 00:19:59.160 when I get asked to 00:19:59.160 --> 00:20:00.140 pray for somebody who 00:20:00.140 --> 00:20:01.980 has dementia when I 00:20:01.980 --> 00:20:03.039 get asked to pray for 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:03.960 somebody who's in a 00:20:03.960 --> 00:20:06.059 coma and they're 00:20:06.059 --> 00:20:08.500 unresponsive stories 00:20:08.500 --> 00:20:09.640 like this give me so 00:20:09.640 --> 00:20:12.860 much hope I can have 00:20:12.860 --> 00:20:13.720 the people I can have 00:20:13.720 --> 00:20:14.460 the family members and 00:20:14.460 --> 00:20:14.960 I can say you know 00:20:14.960 --> 00:20:16.980 what we cannot reach 00:20:16.980 --> 00:20:19.620 this person but Jesus 00:20:19.620 --> 00:20:23.000 can reach them wherever 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:25.000 wherever they are lost 00:20:25.559 --> 00:20:27.000 in dementia lost in the 00:20:27.000 --> 00:20:30.119 coma Jesus can speak to 00:20:30.119 --> 00:20:34.319 them in their dreams so 00:20:34.319 --> 00:20:36.240 why don't we pray we'll 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:37.319 pray for healing of the 00:20:37.319 --> 00:20:38.380 body we'll pray for 00:20:38.380 --> 00:20:40.259 healing of the mind we'll 00:20:40.259 --> 00:20:42.619 pray for healing but let's 00:20:42.619 --> 00:20:44.779 also pray that Jesus will 00:20:44.779 --> 00:20:47.039 meet them where they are he 00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:50.480 can do what we can't and I 00:20:50.480 --> 00:20:51.819 find that a profound comfort 00:20:51.819 --> 00:20:52.899 when I have to pray for 00:20:52.899 --> 00:20:56.539 somebody who's lost in 00:20:56.539 --> 00:20:58.960 Alzheimer's or lost in a 00:20:58.960 --> 00:21:02.519 coma that Jesus could speak 00:21:02.519 --> 00:21:04.319 to Joseph the angel in a 00:21:04.319 --> 00:21:05.839 sense could take over the 00:21:05.839 --> 00:21:08.159 dream and speak let's pray 00:21:08.159 --> 00:21:10.099 that God will do this for a 00:21:10.099 --> 00:21:14.059 loved one but back to this 00:21:14.059 --> 00:21:23.240 one of the problems that 00:21:23.240 --> 00:21:24.219 many of us have with what 00:21:24.219 --> 00:21:26.819 the angel said is that the 00:21:26.819 --> 00:21:33.319 word saved is corny like you 00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:35.139 don't think it's corny go to 00:21:35.139 --> 00:21:36.500 an office party this week and 00:21:36.500 --> 00:21:39.119 say hi I'm George I'm saved 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:43.059 the whole room would probably 00:21:43.059 --> 00:21:45.700 stop talking everybody's 00:21:45.700 --> 00:21:47.559 eyeballs would hit the top of 00:21:47.559 --> 00:21:49.259 their right through the eyes 00:21:49.259 --> 00:21:51.500 heads would all shake 00:21:51.500 --> 00:21:53.000 chiropractors would have to 00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:54.460 be visited within the next few 00:21:54.460 --> 00:21:55.740 days because people would go 00:21:55.740 --> 00:21:59.180 oh you're saved and if you 00:21:59.180 --> 00:22:00.140 wanted to make sure that you 00:22:00.140 --> 00:22:01.299 went to a party and nobody 00:22:01.299 --> 00:22:02.440 talked to you for the rest of 00:22:02.440 --> 00:22:04.019 the night just begin by 00:22:04.019 --> 00:22:05.860 saying hi I'm George or 00:22:05.860 --> 00:22:07.080 whatever your name is I'm 00:22:07.080 --> 00:22:08.860 saved and you can have a 00:22:08.860 --> 00:22:09.960 nice quiet party for the 00:22:09.960 --> 00:22:11.059 rest of the evening because 00:22:11.059 --> 00:22:12.420 nobody will talk to you 00:22:12.420 --> 00:22:16.600 because it's corny it's the 00:22:16.600 --> 00:22:18.120 sort of thing that if a comic 00:22:18.120 --> 00:22:19.559 wants to get a laugh he can 00:22:19.559 --> 00:22:20.519 talk about yeah I met this 00:22:20.519 --> 00:22:21.380 guy at a party said he was 00:22:21.380 --> 00:22:23.440 saved oh the whole room 00:22:23.440 --> 00:22:26.059 laughs so it's corny so it's a 00:22:26.059 --> 00:22:28.019 bit of a problem for us 00:22:28.019 --> 00:22:31.120 Canadians if we're honest about 00:22:31.119 --> 00:22:34.079 this language let's but you 00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:38.859 know let's look look again at 00:22:38.859 --> 00:22:40.599 this at the text and we'll see 00:22:40.599 --> 00:22:42.159 what we can do with it look 00:22:42.159 --> 00:22:45.179 again at verse 20 but as he 00:22:45.179 --> 00:22:46.539 that's Joseph considered these 00:22:46.539 --> 00:22:47.919 things behold an angel of the 00:22:47.919 --> 00:22:49.119 Lord appeared to him in a dream 00:22:49.119 --> 00:22:52.579 saying Joseph son of David do 00:22:52.579 --> 00:22:54.079 not fear to take Mary as your 00:22:54.079 --> 00:22:56.739 wife for that which is conceived 00:22:56.739 --> 00:22:58.859 in her is from the Holy Spirit 00:22:58.859 --> 00:23:02.740 she will bear a son and you 00:23:02.740 --> 00:23:05.199 shall call his name Jesus and 00:23:05.199 --> 00:23:07.339 Jesus by the way means God 00:23:07.339 --> 00:23:11.000 saves for he will save his 00:23:11.000 --> 00:23:14.339 people from their sins all this 00:23:14.339 --> 00:23:16.859 took place to fulfill what the 00:23:16.859 --> 00:23:18.859 Lord had spoken by the prophet in 00:23:19.779 --> 00:23:21.319 the prophets Isaiah it's about 00:23:21.319 --> 00:23:24.059 700 years earlier behold the 00:23:24.059 --> 00:23:25.979 virgin shall conceive and bear a 00:23:25.980 --> 00:23:28.740 son and they shall call his name 00:23:28.740 --> 00:23:32.120 Emmanuel which means God with us 00:23:32.120 --> 00:23:34.019 so part of that's what the angel 00:23:34.019 --> 00:23:35.039 said and part of that's what 00:23:35.039 --> 00:23:37.400 Matthew said right but here's the 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:38.799 first thing if you could put it up 00:23:38.799 --> 00:23:42.099 Jesus alone I'm going to make it 00:23:42.099 --> 00:23:44.460 worse for you okay I'm going to 00:23:44.460 --> 00:23:47.839 make it weirder for you because the 00:23:47.839 --> 00:23:49.480 Bible here doesn't actually leave us 00:23:49.480 --> 00:23:52.799 any option Jesus alone saves me from 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:56.700 my sins and he alone saves you from 00:23:56.700 --> 00:24:00.339 your sins Jesus alone saves me from 00:24:00.339 --> 00:24:03.559 my sins and he alone saves you from 00:24:03.559 --> 00:24:05.079 your sins he doesn't come along and 00:24:05.079 --> 00:24:06.639 say I'm going to work with you as you 00:24:06.639 --> 00:24:09.099 get saved from your sins he doesn't 00:24:09.099 --> 00:24:10.599 say I'm going to help you get 00:24:10.919 --> 00:24:12.659 saved from your sins he doesn't say 00:24:12.659 --> 00:24:15.079 I'm going to inspire you to get saved 00:24:15.079 --> 00:24:17.339 from your sins and he's not saying 00:24:17.339 --> 00:24:18.799 I'm just going to help you get saved 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:25.200 from sin in general, as if somehow or another you're some noble soul trapped amongst a whole 00:24:25.200 --> 00:24:31.079 group of idiots in the world, although you might feel like that day after day. He's not saying, 00:24:31.419 --> 00:24:36.079 you're a noble soul trapped in a world filled with idiots, and I'm going to save you from it. 00:24:36.460 --> 00:24:41.799 No, the message is very, very clear, very, very simple, very, very pointed, very, very angular, 00:24:41.799 --> 00:24:48.859 and for us Canadians, very, very uncomfortable. But if it actually is God saying it, 00:24:49.819 --> 00:24:53.259 and you see, that's the implication here. It's not just that there's some interesting spiritual 00:24:53.259 --> 00:24:59.059 being called an angel. It's the angel of the Lord. The implication is that all the angel is 00:24:59.059 --> 00:25:08.019 is God's mouthpiece to say what God wants to say to Joseph. And then Matthew makes it clear by saying 00:25:08.019 --> 00:25:12.759 that God actually does the same thing through the prophet Isaiah and says something very, 00:25:12.879 --> 00:25:18.940 very similar, that it's one God who speaks, that this is God. And the significance of it is that 00:25:18.940 --> 00:25:28.019 it's God interpreting the meaning of the action that he has done. So the text is saying that God 00:25:28.019 --> 00:25:34.119 is the one who does a miracle, a miracle of creation in the womb of Mary, so that Mary, 00:25:34.119 --> 00:25:39.000 who has never known a man sexually, now she becomes pregnant. It's a miracle of creation 00:25:39.000 --> 00:25:45.559 within the womb of Mary, that God does this. He does it completely. And then he gives the 00:25:45.559 --> 00:25:49.899 interpretation, the meaning, the significance, what was going on in his mind, what was going on in his 00:25:49.899 --> 00:25:57.559 heart, what is his understanding of why he did what he did. And he said, I'm doing this so that you, 00:25:57.759 --> 00:26:01.719 George, will be saved not from sin in general, but from your sins. 00:26:01.720 --> 00:26:10.700 Now, when I share about Jesus with people, I don't usually use the language of save from their sins, 00:26:10.700 --> 00:26:17.400 because for many people, that's a bridge too far. It's too hard for them to understand. 00:26:17.600 --> 00:26:23.380 But it, and when I became a Christian, when I was in grade 12 and I became a Christian, 00:26:23.539 --> 00:26:30.200 what led me to becoming a Christian wasn't the sense of my sin, but it was a sense of, 00:26:30.200 --> 00:26:39.900 in my case, it was a sense of profound emptiness and probably a large dose of despair. 00:26:41.180 --> 00:26:46.819 And a sense that as I came to know some Christians, and as I came to understand more about Jesus, 00:26:46.980 --> 00:26:51.200 that there was a type of fullness and wholeness that I needed, 00:26:51.200 --> 00:26:58.180 that I could only get from Jesus. And that's what led me to go to give my faith to Jesus. 00:26:58.340 --> 00:27:02.660 And so often when I talk to people, but here's why the language is so important for us. 00:27:03.480 --> 00:27:07.920 You see, eventually we need to be gripped with this language, even though it's something that 00:27:07.920 --> 00:27:15.080 would cause people to mock us. The thing about sin, which is significant, is it specifically entails God. 00:27:15.079 --> 00:27:21.559 You see, I might be very conscious of the different ways that I've wronged my wife, 00:27:21.699 --> 00:27:26.899 or the different ways that I've wronged my children. And I might think that I've done something wrong. 00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:31.339 I might say that I've done something bad, and I might feel guilty about it, but it's very easy for me 00:27:31.339 --> 00:27:37.460 to go through life feeling bad about things that I've done, but God is still completely and utterly absent. 00:27:37.460 --> 00:27:43.940 It's entirely a universe of me thinking I've done things wrong, or me thinking I've done things right, 00:27:44.000 --> 00:27:47.440 but it's an universe where there is no God, or if there is a God, he's very distant, 00:27:47.759 --> 00:27:53.299 he has no particular views on anything. But the language of sin specifically entails God. 00:27:54.660 --> 00:28:02.059 It's the language of saying that there are things that I do that either cause me to turn my back on God, 00:28:02.059 --> 00:28:09.859 or ignore God, or push God away, or resent God, or just continually live my life as if God does not exist. 00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:16.139 And the language of sin encompasses that, and that's why it's so important for us to keep it, 00:28:16.179 --> 00:28:21.779 even if it becomes something that it's hard for us to share with another person trying to become a Christian, 00:28:21.899 --> 00:28:24.799 but it's important for us to always keep that before ourselves, 00:28:25.240 --> 00:28:28.859 that we don't live in a universe where God doesn't exist. 00:28:28.859 --> 00:28:34.459 We don't live in a universe where God is off on a vacation, and everything is running on its own. 00:28:34.759 --> 00:28:41.000 We live in a universe where God created all things, and where God sustains every single atom, 00:28:41.299 --> 00:28:48.240 every single molecule, every single planet. God sustains everything in existence. 00:28:48.500 --> 00:28:52.379 He keeps it going. It's ordered, and it's not closed to him. 00:28:52.639 --> 00:28:56.899 And that's why he can speak through angels, and that's why he can speak through his word, 00:28:56.900 --> 00:29:02.560 and that's why in this universe that he keeps ordered, he can do acts of creation within it. 00:29:02.759 --> 00:29:06.480 It's how he has to come to do something to save us. 00:29:06.580 --> 00:29:08.160 Why do I have to be saved? 00:29:08.400 --> 00:29:11.900 I'm not just being saved because I live in a world filled with idiots. 00:29:13.980 --> 00:29:15.380 I mean, you're saying that about me, right? 00:29:15.380 --> 00:29:17.080 I mean, you know, just, you know. 00:29:19.520 --> 00:29:27.900 It's that I live my life in such a way that my posture towards God 00:29:27.900 --> 00:29:32.420 means that I am in the greatest possible danger, 00:29:32.420 --> 00:29:39.260 and I cannot do anything to deliver myself from that greatest possible danger, 00:29:39.259 --> 00:29:44.519 and that God needs to do everything that's required to be done 00:29:44.519 --> 00:29:50.319 for me to be delivered from the grave danger that I personally am in. 00:29:51.259 --> 00:29:52.960 And that's what the angel says. 00:29:54.680 --> 00:29:58.000 That's why Jesus is coming into this world 00:29:58.000 --> 00:30:03.559 to do what only God can do, 00:30:03.559 --> 00:30:06.039 because Jesus is also God. 00:30:07.179 --> 00:30:08.659 See, that's why some of you say, 00:30:08.980 --> 00:30:10.559 I've heard people say to me, you know, 00:30:10.579 --> 00:30:13.079 when I talk to people in coffee shops and stuff like that, 00:30:13.119 --> 00:30:15.159 you know, the Bible is so full of contradictions, George. 00:30:15.559 --> 00:30:18.319 Like, you know, I was in church, like, last Christmas, 00:30:18.319 --> 00:30:20.720 and they say, yeah, and you shall call his name Emmanuel, 00:30:20.839 --> 00:30:22.220 and then he named him Jesus. 00:30:23.720 --> 00:30:26.079 Like, is there some way in Greek or something 00:30:26.079 --> 00:30:29.059 that Jesus and Emmanuel are the same thing? 00:30:30.019 --> 00:30:31.480 Like, and then they'll say, you know, 00:30:31.720 --> 00:30:35.899 gosh, you religious people and spiritual people can be so annoying. 00:30:36.000 --> 00:30:39.619 You don't even notice contradictions, you know? 00:30:40.339 --> 00:30:41.759 But just look at it again. 00:30:41.960 --> 00:30:42.740 Look at it again. 00:30:42.779 --> 00:30:43.299 What does it say? 00:30:44.200 --> 00:30:44.839 Verse 21, 00:30:44.980 --> 00:30:47.079 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, 00:30:47.879 --> 00:30:50.200 for he will save his people from their sins. 00:30:50.720 --> 00:30:52.000 That's the end of the angels thing. 00:30:52.059 --> 00:30:53.339 And then Matthew starts speaking. 00:30:53.440 --> 00:30:56.460 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet. 00:30:56.460 --> 00:30:59.600 Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, 00:30:59.680 --> 00:31:01.539 and they shall call his name Emmanuel. 00:31:02.500 --> 00:31:07.400 It actually says not that Joseph's going to call him Emmanuel. 00:31:08.559 --> 00:31:09.279 Notice that? 00:31:10.640 --> 00:31:11.980 It's what people will say. 00:31:13.700 --> 00:31:15.039 And what does Emmanuel mean? 00:31:15.259 --> 00:31:16.720 It means God with us. 00:31:18.420 --> 00:31:21.120 I mean, that's going to be what leads Matthew 00:31:21.119 --> 00:31:24.699 to leave making piles of money. 00:31:26.399 --> 00:31:27.639 And he would have had to not only, 00:31:27.799 --> 00:31:28.500 if he didn't already know, 00:31:28.519 --> 00:31:30.339 he probably would have already known Greek and probably Latin, 00:31:30.519 --> 00:31:32.099 but he would have gone to Persia, 00:31:32.219 --> 00:31:32.919 and he would have been, 00:31:33.079 --> 00:31:34.599 probably like good missionaries today, 00:31:35.119 --> 00:31:37.500 he would have learned what Persians speak 00:31:37.500 --> 00:31:38.959 so he could speak their heart language. 00:31:38.959 --> 00:31:40.159 And then he would have been felt, 00:31:40.279 --> 00:31:41.719 led by God to leave there 00:31:41.719 --> 00:31:44.000 and go to what we now know of as Ethiopia 00:31:44.000 --> 00:31:45.459 and to not only speak Greek, 00:31:45.559 --> 00:31:46.839 but to learn their heart language, 00:31:46.839 --> 00:31:50.379 to tell people that the one God 00:31:50.379 --> 00:31:51.980 who created all things, 00:31:52.319 --> 00:31:54.259 that God in the person of his Son 00:31:54.259 --> 00:31:56.539 came and walked with us, 00:31:57.240 --> 00:31:59.679 that he's with us, 00:32:00.359 --> 00:32:03.619 that he is not against us, 00:32:04.179 --> 00:32:05.980 that he doesn't hate us, 00:32:06.439 --> 00:32:08.779 that he hasn't abandoned us, 00:32:09.019 --> 00:32:11.419 but that he's with us, 00:32:12.059 --> 00:32:14.379 and he came to be with us, 00:32:14.380 --> 00:32:17.620 and because he's with us for us, 00:32:17.740 --> 00:32:19.460 he died for us. 00:32:20.360 --> 00:32:22.440 He died for you in Ethiopia. 00:32:22.800 --> 00:32:25.240 He died for you in Persia. 00:32:28.200 --> 00:32:30.200 Can you put up the next thing? 00:32:31.380 --> 00:32:33.140 Jesus is God with us 00:32:33.140 --> 00:32:36.580 to justify, sanctify, and glorify. 00:32:37.540 --> 00:32:39.720 Jesus is God with us 00:32:39.720 --> 00:32:41.160 to justify, 00:32:41.300 --> 00:32:43.500 that sort of theological language for me, 00:32:43.500 --> 00:32:46.319 make you and me right with God, 00:32:46.400 --> 00:32:47.759 to give us new life, 00:32:48.400 --> 00:32:50.119 to be spiritually reborn, 00:32:50.660 --> 00:32:52.299 so that we're now God's child. 00:32:52.500 --> 00:32:54.940 Sanctify means that he's with us 00:32:54.940 --> 00:32:56.299 as we do our day, 00:32:56.720 --> 00:32:58.400 to become more holy, 00:32:58.900 --> 00:33:00.859 to start to live a life 00:33:00.859 --> 00:33:02.240 that's more pleasing to him, 00:33:02.299 --> 00:33:03.759 where we don't keep him at a distance, 00:33:03.819 --> 00:33:05.400 but we recognize that Jesus 00:33:05.400 --> 00:33:07.220 redeems us, 00:33:07.279 --> 00:33:08.960 and then we live our lives, 00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:10.660 our 24-7 lives with him. 00:33:10.660 --> 00:33:12.480 And glorify means 00:33:12.480 --> 00:33:13.440 that Jesus, 00:33:13.700 --> 00:33:14.960 who comes into our life 00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:16.420 to be the Savior, 00:33:16.620 --> 00:33:17.640 to reconcile us to God, 00:33:17.680 --> 00:33:18.759 and then he walks with us 00:33:18.759 --> 00:33:19.420 throughout the life, 00:33:19.640 --> 00:33:21.160 and then when we come to the valley 00:33:21.160 --> 00:33:22.200 of the shadow of death, 00:33:22.220 --> 00:33:23.300 and we enter into death, 00:33:23.340 --> 00:33:25.100 that he's the one who glorifies us, 00:33:25.320 --> 00:33:26.400 that it's all Jesus. 00:33:26.840 --> 00:33:28.000 It's all grace. 00:33:28.320 --> 00:33:30.120 It's all something that he does. 00:33:30.119 --> 00:33:35.179 And so there's no contradiction here. 00:33:35.579 --> 00:33:37.079 There's this just wonderful, 00:33:39.199 --> 00:33:42.000 God comes among us 00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:43.839 to save us. 00:33:44.479 --> 00:33:46.079 He's with us. 00:33:47.339 --> 00:33:49.099 He doesn't despise us. 00:33:49.979 --> 00:33:51.500 He doesn't hope we fail. 00:33:52.459 --> 00:33:54.879 He knows us because he's with us, 00:33:54.959 --> 00:33:56.239 and he's with us. 00:33:56.240 --> 00:34:00.240 Just one thing now 00:34:00.240 --> 00:34:00.680 in closing, 00:34:00.759 --> 00:34:01.839 a question to you and me. 00:34:02.000 --> 00:34:02.819 Are you brave enough 00:34:02.819 --> 00:34:03.579 to be a Christian? 00:34:04.859 --> 00:34:05.980 Am I brave enough 00:34:05.980 --> 00:34:06.720 to be a Christian? 00:34:10.480 --> 00:34:11.000 You know, 00:34:11.099 --> 00:34:12.300 the reason many people 00:34:12.300 --> 00:34:13.139 don't give their lives 00:34:13.139 --> 00:34:13.679 to Jesus, 00:34:14.019 --> 00:34:14.760 and if you're here 00:34:14.760 --> 00:34:15.659 and you're not a follower of Jesus, 00:34:15.800 --> 00:34:16.320 I really don't, 00:34:16.420 --> 00:34:16.579 I mean, 00:34:16.719 --> 00:34:18.019 you might have lots 00:34:18.019 --> 00:34:19.500 of very, very good objections 00:34:19.500 --> 00:34:20.199 and questions 00:34:20.199 --> 00:34:21.599 and stuff that you need 00:34:21.599 --> 00:34:22.179 to be answered, 00:34:22.280 --> 00:34:23.480 and hopefully there's Christians 00:34:23.480 --> 00:34:24.079 in your life 00:34:24.079 --> 00:34:24.980 who are never afraid 00:34:24.980 --> 00:34:25.559 of questions 00:34:25.559 --> 00:34:26.340 and will answer them 00:34:26.340 --> 00:34:27.000 and will love you, 00:34:27.219 --> 00:34:28.420 but you know what? 00:34:28.440 --> 00:34:29.659 It's very countercultural 00:34:29.659 --> 00:34:31.099 to say that you're going 00:34:31.099 --> 00:34:31.639 to give your life 00:34:31.639 --> 00:34:32.299 to Jesus, 00:34:32.840 --> 00:34:35.340 and a lot of people, 00:34:35.440 --> 00:34:36.139 the problem they have 00:34:36.139 --> 00:34:37.019 in becoming Christians 00:34:37.019 --> 00:34:38.440 is they lack the courage 00:34:38.440 --> 00:34:40.119 because they're afraid 00:34:40.119 --> 00:34:41.019 of being mocked. 00:34:41.079 --> 00:34:41.659 Is that you? 00:34:43.279 --> 00:34:44.179 Look what happens 00:34:44.179 --> 00:34:45.400 to Joseph in the dream. 00:34:46.079 --> 00:34:47.019 Verse 22, 00:34:48.019 --> 00:34:49.219 and all this took place 00:34:49.219 --> 00:34:50.079 to fulfill what the Lord 00:34:50.079 --> 00:34:51.219 had spoken by the prophet. 00:34:51.400 --> 00:34:51.679 Behold, 00:34:51.779 --> 00:34:52.880 the virgin shall conceive 00:34:52.880 --> 00:34:53.619 and bear a son, 00:34:53.659 --> 00:34:54.259 and they shall call 00:34:54.259 --> 00:34:55.139 his name Emmanuel, 00:34:55.139 --> 00:34:56.440 which means God with us. 00:34:56.819 --> 00:34:58.199 When Joseph woke from sleep, 00:34:58.259 --> 00:34:59.119 he did as the angel 00:34:59.119 --> 00:35:00.199 of the Lord commanded him. 00:35:00.279 --> 00:35:01.079 He took his wife, 00:35:01.579 --> 00:35:02.539 but knew her not 00:35:02.539 --> 00:35:03.539 until she had given birth 00:35:03.539 --> 00:35:04.119 to a son, 00:35:04.159 --> 00:35:05.239 and he called his name Jesus. 00:35:05.579 --> 00:35:06.379 The very way 00:35:06.379 --> 00:35:08.279 that the angel opens 00:35:08.279 --> 00:35:09.420 is in verse 21. 00:35:09.579 --> 00:35:10.539 Joseph, son of David, 00:35:10.659 --> 00:35:11.500 do not fear 00:35:11.500 --> 00:35:14.420 to take Mary as your wife. 00:35:18.000 --> 00:35:19.719 But often what keeps us 00:35:19.719 --> 00:35:20.879 from giving our lives 00:35:20.880 --> 00:35:22.500 to Jesus is we're afraid. 00:35:23.860 --> 00:35:24.780 We're afraid 00:35:24.780 --> 00:35:26.500 of looking 00:35:26.500 --> 00:35:28.619 like we're stupid, 00:35:28.980 --> 00:35:30.460 like we're corny. 00:35:32.180 --> 00:35:32.960 We're afraid 00:35:32.960 --> 00:35:34.140 that if we say to somebody, 00:35:34.320 --> 00:35:35.519 I've become a Christian, 00:35:35.619 --> 00:35:35.960 they're going to say, 00:35:36.019 --> 00:35:36.840 oh, are you saved? 00:35:36.840 --> 00:35:41.000 And you're worried 00:35:41.000 --> 00:35:42.000 about how red 00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:42.480 you'd get 00:35:42.480 --> 00:35:44.579 and how embarrassed 00:35:44.579 --> 00:35:45.059 you'd be. 00:35:47.680 --> 00:35:48.960 Jesus died for you. 00:35:50.400 --> 00:35:52.640 He will be with you. 00:35:54.519 --> 00:35:56.140 And he will be with you 00:35:56.140 --> 00:35:57.480 to walk towards your fear. 00:35:59.240 --> 00:36:00.840 And just as Joseph found, 00:36:00.960 --> 00:36:01.900 even though it didn't necessarily 00:36:01.900 --> 00:36:02.660 make him richer 00:36:02.660 --> 00:36:03.140 or happier, 00:36:03.280 --> 00:36:04.380 definitely didn't make Matthew 00:36:04.380 --> 00:36:05.079 richer or happier, 00:36:05.079 --> 00:36:05.920 but it was worth it. 00:36:05.960 --> 00:36:06.759 It was worth it. 00:36:08.380 --> 00:36:10.059 Because Jesus is real. 00:36:10.360 --> 00:36:11.360 He really did die. 00:36:11.519 --> 00:36:12.380 He really did rise 00:36:12.380 --> 00:36:12.960 from the dead. 00:36:13.079 --> 00:36:14.380 He really can be the one 00:36:14.380 --> 00:36:15.400 to reconcile you to God 00:36:15.400 --> 00:36:16.440 and he really will 00:36:16.440 --> 00:36:17.579 do your day with you. 00:36:18.400 --> 00:36:19.420 And for those of us 00:36:19.420 --> 00:36:21.019 who are seekers, 00:36:22.799 --> 00:36:24.019 there's nothing you've done 00:36:24.019 --> 00:36:24.759 in your life 00:36:24.759 --> 00:36:25.940 that will make Jesus 00:36:25.940 --> 00:36:26.619 want to turn 00:36:26.619 --> 00:36:28.059 his face away from you 00:36:28.059 --> 00:36:29.900 because he is with you. 00:36:30.099 --> 00:36:30.940 He loves you. 00:36:32.079 --> 00:36:33.279 Give your life to Jesus. 00:36:33.480 --> 00:36:34.239 Don't be afraid. 00:36:35.079 --> 00:36:37.380 And for Christians 00:36:37.380 --> 00:36:38.119 who are here, 00:36:39.019 --> 00:36:40.279 for many of us Christians, 00:36:40.440 --> 00:36:41.219 we live in fear. 00:36:41.340 --> 00:36:42.099 We live in fear 00:36:42.099 --> 00:36:43.340 that people will find out 00:36:43.340 --> 00:36:44.159 that we give our lives 00:36:44.159 --> 00:36:44.699 to Jesus. 00:36:45.259 --> 00:36:46.199 We live in fear 00:36:46.199 --> 00:36:47.340 of other types of things 00:36:47.340 --> 00:36:48.179 that we have to face 00:36:48.179 --> 00:36:49.000 with economics 00:36:49.000 --> 00:36:51.019 or maybe things within us. 00:36:51.139 --> 00:36:52.460 We're very, very fragile 00:36:52.460 --> 00:36:53.819 and we get hurt 00:36:53.819 --> 00:36:54.880 very, very easily. 00:36:55.219 --> 00:36:56.299 And this is the profound 00:36:56.299 --> 00:36:57.319 message of the gospel. 00:36:57.460 --> 00:36:58.420 You don't have to do 00:36:58.420 --> 00:37:00.000 your life on your own strength. 00:37:00.380 --> 00:37:01.420 The weight of the world 00:37:01.420 --> 00:37:02.259 is not resting 00:37:02.259 --> 00:37:03.139 on your shoulders. 00:37:03.139 --> 00:37:04.699 Jesus is with you. 00:37:05.500 --> 00:37:06.859 He wants to make you 00:37:06.859 --> 00:37:08.159 courageous and brave 00:37:08.159 --> 00:37:08.879 and free 00:37:08.879 --> 00:37:10.079 to walk towards 00:37:10.079 --> 00:37:10.679 those things 00:37:10.679 --> 00:37:11.900 that you need to deal with 00:37:11.900 --> 00:37:14.039 because he is Emmanuel. 00:37:14.359 --> 00:37:15.519 He is with you. 00:37:16.859 --> 00:37:17.639 Can you put up 00:37:17.639 --> 00:37:18.759 the final slide, please? 00:37:18.839 --> 00:37:19.299 And could you all 00:37:19.299 --> 00:37:20.079 stand, please? 00:37:20.839 --> 00:37:21.679 This is a form 00:37:21.679 --> 00:37:22.279 of a prayer. 00:37:22.280 --> 00:37:25.940 Lord, please make me 00:37:25.940 --> 00:37:27.080 brave and courageous. 00:37:27.800 --> 00:37:29.140 The text is asking us 00:37:29.140 --> 00:37:30.000 to pray this. 00:37:30.720 --> 00:37:31.900 God wants you to pray 00:37:31.900 --> 00:37:33.360 to be brave and courageous. 00:37:34.300 --> 00:37:35.640 If you have not given 00:37:35.640 --> 00:37:36.519 your life to Jesus, 00:37:36.640 --> 00:37:37.980 this is a great prayer 00:37:37.980 --> 00:37:39.740 to give your life to Jesus. 00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:41.100 To begin by saying, 00:37:41.180 --> 00:37:42.200 Lord, please make me 00:37:42.200 --> 00:37:43.060 brave and courageous. 00:37:43.240 --> 00:37:44.780 Make me a disciple of Jesus, 00:37:45.360 --> 00:37:46.600 gripped by the gospel, 00:37:47.220 --> 00:37:48.540 growing in freedom 00:37:48.540 --> 00:37:49.340 and courage 00:37:49.340 --> 00:37:50.720 as I live for your glory. 00:37:50.719 --> 00:37:53.439 as the gospel grips us, 00:37:54.159 --> 00:37:54.899 as we're aware 00:37:54.899 --> 00:37:56.000 of what Jesus did 00:37:56.000 --> 00:37:56.959 to save us, 00:37:57.539 --> 00:37:59.059 it grows freedom in us. 00:37:59.679 --> 00:38:00.519 As we're gripped 00:38:00.519 --> 00:38:01.500 by what Jesus did 00:38:01.500 --> 00:38:02.339 for us on the cross, 00:38:02.699 --> 00:38:03.199 it will grow, 00:38:03.319 --> 00:38:04.059 it should grow, 00:38:04.139 --> 00:38:05.399 it will grow courage 00:38:05.399 --> 00:38:05.899 in you 00:38:05.899 --> 00:38:07.819 and a desire 00:38:07.819 --> 00:38:09.099 like Matthew 00:38:09.099 --> 00:38:10.279 to no longer live 00:38:10.279 --> 00:38:11.339 for his own enrichment 00:38:11.339 --> 00:38:12.459 but to be willing 00:38:12.459 --> 00:38:13.379 to go to the ends 00:38:13.379 --> 00:38:13.839 of the earth 00:38:13.839 --> 00:38:14.879 for the glory of God. 00:38:16.639 --> 00:38:17.699 I invite you to pray 00:38:17.699 --> 00:38:18.639 it with me in closing. 00:38:18.639 --> 00:38:20.259 Lord, 00:38:20.639 --> 00:38:21.839 please make me 00:38:21.839 --> 00:38:23.179 brave and courageous. 00:38:23.920 --> 00:38:24.980 Make me a disciple 00:38:24.980 --> 00:38:25.759 of Jesus, 00:38:26.079 --> 00:38:27.259 gripped by the gospel, 00:38:27.659 --> 00:38:28.659 growing in freedom 00:38:28.659 --> 00:38:29.480 and courage 00:38:29.480 --> 00:38:31.179 as I live for your glory. 00:38:31.920 --> 00:38:32.839 In Jesus' name, amen. 00:38:33.000 --> 00:38:33.699 Father, pour out 00:38:33.699 --> 00:38:35.059 your Holy Spirit upon us. 00:38:35.259 --> 00:38:36.299 In Jesus' name we pray, 00:38:36.519 --> 00:38:36.799 amen. 00:38:36.799 --> 00:38:36.900 Amen. 00:38:36.900 --> 00:38:36.960 Amen. 00:38:36.960 --> 00:38:37.019 Amen. 00:38:37.019 --> 00:38:37.079 Amen. 00:38:37.079 --> 00:38:37.099 Amen. 00:38:37.099 --> 00:38:37.119 Amen. 00:38:37.119 --> 00:38:37.139 Amen. 00:38:37.139 --> 00:38:37.179 Amen. 00:38:37.179 --> 00:38:37.199 Amen. 00:38:37.199 --> 00:38:37.219 Amen. 00:38:37.219 --> 00:38:37.239 Amen. 00:38:37.239 --> 00:38:37.259 Amen. 00:38:37.259 --> 00:38:37.699 Amen. 00:38:37.699 --> 00:38:37.759 Amen. 00:38:37.759 --> 00:38:37.779 Amen. 00:38:37.779 --> 00:38:38.920 Amen. 00:38:38.920 --> 00:38:39.019 Amen. 00:38:39.019 --> 00:38:39.099 Amen. 00:38:39.099 --> 00:38:39.699 Amen. 00:38:39.699 --> 00:38:39.859 Amen. 00:38:39.859 --> 00:38:40.900 Amen. 00:38:40.900 --> 00:38:40.920 Amen. 00:38:40.920 --> 00:38:41.019 Amen. 00:38:41.019 --> 00:38:41.059 Amen. 00:38:41.059 --> 00:38:41.079 Amen. 00:38:41.079 --> 00:38:41.099 Amen.