The Gift You Can’t Miss: A Theological Review of ‘The Gift Most People Miss’

[00:00:06] [SPEAKER SPEAKER_00]:
Amen.
[00:00:06] Let's all pray.
[00:00:07] Jesus, you are the light of the world.
[00:00:10] In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
[00:00:16] In Him was light, and the light was the life of men.
[00:00:19] Jesus, You are the source of all life.
[00:00:23] You are the Creator.
[00:00:25] God, we are so thankful that You have made us in Your image.
[00:00:28] Jesus, what You have accomplished for us.
[00:00:31] We remember over 2,000 years ago, here we are today singing songs about what happened in that little cave, in that barn.
[00:00:40] where you were laid in a manger.
[00:00:42] Jesus, help us to never lose just the mystery and the magnificence of Christmas, Lord.
[00:00:50] We are so thankful for our lives.
[00:00:53] We're thankful to be here at church today with our family, our church family, Lord, and we just pray that you would bless us now as we look at your word
[00:01:02] In Luke chapter 2, God, we pray that you would speak to us through it.
[00:01:05] We're so thankful that we can read it and it has authority.
[00:01:09] It speaks to what we're going through today.
[00:01:11] It still has relevance.
[00:01:13] So, Lord, we're asking through the power of your Holy Spirit that you would speak to each and every one of us.
[00:01:17] Bless us, we ask, as we look at your word now.
[00:01:19] In Jesus' name we pray.
[00:01:21] Amen.
[00:01:22] Amen.
[00:01:22] You can have a seat.
[00:01:23] Hello to all of you.
[00:01:25] Welcome to our campuses, Harvest Orange County, Harvest Riverside, Harvest on the Island of Maui.
[00:01:31] Good to be with you all.
[00:01:32] Hey, it is officially Christmas.
[00:01:35] Merry Christmas.
[00:01:37] Thank you very much.
[00:01:38] How many of you still have some shopping to do?
[00:01:41] You still got some shopping to do?
[00:01:43] Okay, only a couple.
[00:01:44] That's pretty good.
[00:01:45] How many of you are done?
[00:01:47] Okay, that's great.
[00:01:48] Still, there's like 40% of you not raising your hand.
[00:01:51] I guess you guys don't participate in polls.
[00:01:53] Actually kind of makes sense.
[00:01:56] Hey, also, I actually want to let you know, all of our campuses, if you do need to do some shopping, go check out our little bookstore.
[00:02:03] There's some great stuff in there, some fun gifts that you can go and pick up.
[00:02:06] Bibles, books, book covers, novelty items, all kinds of stuff over there.
[00:02:11] Go check it out.
[00:02:12] All of our campuses, it's open today.
[00:02:13] And so you can get some of your Christmas shopping there, done there, maybe all of it, if you've got a couple of things.
[00:02:20] But hey, Christmas Eve is coming up.
[00:02:23] It is just a few days away, and I want to let you know for Harvest Orange County and Harvest Riverside, we have four services you can choose from, 2, 4, 6, and 8 p.m.
[00:02:33] So choose which one you are going to, choose wisely, and bring a friend with you.
[00:02:38] Bring somebody with you.
[00:02:40] Christmas Eve is one of those services that people will come to
[00:02:44] Even though they don't really go to church, this is your opportunity.
[00:02:48] So bring that neighbor, bring that relative, that friend, that person from work, that guy from the gym, whatever it might be, that cute girl that you've been wanting to ask out.
[00:02:56] Bring her to church, man.
[00:02:57] What a great way to get to know somebody.
[00:03:00] So bring them to church, and we'll see you there.
[00:03:02] For Maui, we have two services available for you guys.
[00:03:05] On Maui, we have 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., and so we're excited for that.
[00:03:09] It's going to be a blast.
[00:03:10] It's going to be so fun.
[00:03:11] There's going to be
[00:03:12] There's going to be the candle lighting service.
[00:03:15] It's going to be, yeah, it'll be great.
[00:03:17] So join us for that.
[00:03:18] Join us for that.
[00:03:19] Well, let's open up in our Bibles to Luke chapter two.
[00:03:22] Luke chapter two.
[00:03:24] I heard the story about
[00:03:27] An American violinist named Joshua Bell.
[00:03:30] Has anybody here ever heard of Josh Bell?
[00:03:32] Okay, some of you.
[00:03:33] Not very many.
[00:03:34] Not very many classical musician enthusiasts in the crowd today.
[00:03:38] But he is classically trained and people are willing to pay a lot of money to go and see this guy.
[00:03:43] He is amazing.
[00:03:44] He's considered one of the greatest.
[00:03:46] A few years ago he played at the Boston Symphony Hall for 2,600 people where the cheapest ticket was $100 and going all the way up to $1,000 and maybe even more.
[00:03:56] He's played at Carnegie Hall.
[00:03:59] He's played at the, he's played at, I need to look at my notes, Royal Albert Hall.
[00:04:06] He's played at the Sydney Opera House.
[00:04:08] And he's played for presidents.
[00:04:10] He's played for celebrities.
[00:04:11] He's played for kings.
[00:04:12] He is considered to be one of the greatest classically trained violinists in the world today.
[00:04:19] Well, after he played his concert in Boston where people paid all this money to see him and he's getting rave reviews from everybody, he decided he was going to go perform a little experiment.
[00:04:29] He put on some normal clothes, probably looked a bit like me, honestly,
[00:04:32] and he walked into the subway system in Boston.
[00:04:35] He came down there with his $3.5 million Stradivarius violin made in the 1700s and he began to play.
[00:04:44] He played pieces from Bach, he played pieces from Schubert, Massenet, some of the greatest, some of the most difficult to play and he played them excellently and perfectly.
[00:04:55] And as he played, thousands of people passed by him.
[00:04:59] But you know how many people stopped and actually did anything besides just walk right by him?
[00:05:03] Only 27 took time to stop and listen to him.
[00:05:06] There he is playing.
[00:05:08] Thousands of people passed right by him because, well, they're probably like you and me.
[00:05:12] They're not big fans of classical music.
[00:05:14] But if we knew, if the people knew what was happening right in front of them, they for sure would have taken the time to stop and listen to this master play this instrument.
[00:05:25] Many people had places to go.
[00:05:27] They had things to do.
[00:05:28] And this premier musician playing his multi-million dollar instrument was not what they were looking for.
[00:05:34] He was not what they were looking for.
[00:05:36] They were thinking about their appointments.
[00:05:38] They were thinking about getting home from work.
[00:05:40] They were thinking about getting to their doctor's appointment or having to get to home and start making dinner.
[00:05:46] They were thinking about other things.
[00:05:48] They were thinking about themselves.
[00:05:50] They were not tuned to hear what was happening right in front of them.
[00:05:55] And it's possible for us to miss some of the greatest things in life because we too are not tuned to look for them.
[00:06:02] We're not thinking about it.
[00:06:04] We're not paying attention.
[00:06:05] We're focused on what's going on in our own lives this Christmas season.
[00:06:09] What are you tuned to?
[00:06:11] What are you thinking about?
[00:06:12] What are you looking for?
[00:06:14] Is it getting that thing for Christmas that you were really hoping for?
[00:06:18] Oh, I'm really hoping that I'll finally get, you know, that new PlayStation.
[00:06:23] I'm really hoping that I'm finally going to get that new electric bike I've been asking my parents for forever.
[00:06:28] You know, I'm really hoping that I'm going to get whatever, whatever it might be.
[00:06:32] Are you tuned to that?
[00:06:34] Is it the thrill of just ripping packages open on Christmas morning and just the thrill of having 500 boxes?
[00:06:41] Your, you know, living room ends up looking like the garbage dump by the end of it, right?
[00:06:46] Wrapping paper and cardboard boxes and ribbons just piled on top of each other until you finally reach the point of overstimulation.
[00:06:53] Like, okay, I've opened up too much.
[00:06:55] I'm just overstimulated.
[00:06:57] is that a couple of Christmases, actually this happens almost every time now, but my son Christopher will open up gifts and he gets to a point where he actually doesn't wanna open stuff up anymore.
[00:07:08] And this started happening, but he still likes it.
[00:07:11] If there's a really big box, he'll just go climb inside the box and like start playing pretend in the box when he was a little kid.
[00:07:17] He turned it into a fort.
[00:07:19] He turned it into a military base, whether it was a paper towel box or a refrigerator box or some large package, he would immediately commandeer it, cut holes into it and turn it into a chair or a playroom and just hanging out, you know, hang out inside of that thing.
[00:07:32] That became his favorite present.
[00:07:33] So I don't know if that's ever happened to you.
[00:07:36] Like you get your kids all this stuff, then they gravitate towards like playing with the ribbon and you're like, oh great, I only spent like $500 on all these gifts for you and that's what you're excited about?
[00:07:44] Thanks a lot.
[00:07:45] But I think it's actually good.
[00:07:46] They're using their imagination, right?
[00:07:48] Is that what you're looking for?
[00:07:50] Listen, this Christmas, if you were looking for fulfillment in the commercialism, listen, I've got news for you.
[00:07:56] It is going to be let down this Christmas season.
[00:07:59] If you're looking for gifts, if you're looking for things, if you're looking to experiences that are going to make you happy and let this Christmas be the best thing ever, if you're looking for happiness and hot cocoa and Christmas decorations, it's going to let you down.
[00:08:13] If you're looking forward to the greatest family gathering that you could possibly have.
[00:08:17] Oh, everything is going to go so great.
[00:08:19] I've really got news for you.
[00:08:19] That is going to let you down.
[00:08:23] What is your heart tuned to?
[00:08:26] What are you looking for this Christmas season?
[00:08:29] Well, like those people in the subway,
[00:08:31] People 2,000 years ago really were not all that different.
[00:08:35] They weren't in tune with what was happening right in front of them.
[00:08:39] Listen, when we are out of tune with God, we can be so dull, we can be so distracted, we miss the most important things in life even when they are right in front of us.
[00:08:49] Like those Bostonians walking past that premier musician playing a multi-million dollar instrument, the first Christmas came and went with hardly any people even knowing what just happened.
[00:09:02] Because God, when He finally decided to step into human history, He didn't arrive in a spectacle.
[00:09:11] He didn't get delivered.
[00:09:14] In the birthing room, in a palace in Jerusalem or in Egypt or in Rome.
[00:09:21] He didn't arrive with fanfare or champagne or crowns.
[00:09:24] He arrived humbly.
[00:09:25] He arrived in darkness of night.
[00:09:27] He arrived inconveniently to an incredibly poor couple named Joseph and Mary.
[00:09:34] Ever since, it's been known, though, as the single most important moment in all of human history.
[00:09:39] The birth of Jesus Christ is the single most important moment in human history because we actually divide time by it.
[00:09:46] Did you know that?
[00:09:47] You've got BC, which is before Christ, and AD, which is Anno Domini.
[00:09:52] You know what that means?
[00:09:53] In the year of our Lord.
[00:09:55] It actually means Anno, year, Domini, dominion, the year of dominion.
[00:09:59] You remember what the prophet Isaiah said?
[00:10:00] He said, of his dominion, there will be no end.
[00:10:04] The dominion of Jesus Christ continues to this very day.
[00:10:07] Though he does not walk on the earth physically, he will return, but his dominion will never end.
[00:10:15] Anno Domini, we divide time by it.
[00:10:17] And why is this event in human history so important that Jesus came and he's a wonderful teacher, you know, wonderful communicator.
[00:10:26] He demonstrated amazing principles of God, true love, right?
[00:10:29] That's great.
[00:10:31] It's because Jesus was born for a specific purpose.
[00:10:34] God became a man not to entertain us or impress us or decorate our homes.
[00:10:40] Jesus came to redeem us and those we love most from sin and from death.
[00:10:46] That is why Jesus came over 2,000 years ago.
[00:10:50] And so together, let's look at Luke chapter 2, starting in verse 21.
[00:10:54] And I've titled this message, The Gift That Most People Miss.
[00:10:59] The Gift That Most People Miss.
[00:11:04] And when eight days were completed for the circumcision of the child, this is Jesus they're speaking of, his name was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.
[00:11:14] Now, when the days of her purification, Mary's, according to the law of Moses were completed, they brought him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord.
[00:11:23] As it is written in the law of the Lord, every male who opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.
[00:11:29] and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord, a pair of turtle doves or two young pigeons.
[00:11:38] Point number one, for those of you taking notes, the purpose of Christmas.
[00:11:42] The purpose of Christmas.
[00:11:45] So we see Mary and Joseph coming to Jerusalem, and they're actually doing what they are commanded to in Leviticus 12.
[00:11:51] God commanded in Leviticus 12 every Hebrew family, every Israelite family, to dedicate their firstborn to God by giving an offering, to dedicate them to the Lord.
[00:12:01] This is because during the
[00:12:02] If you remember, during the Exodus of the Israelites out of Egypt, God spared the lives of the firstborn son when they killed a lamb and put its blood on the doorposts over their home and the angel of death would pass over, hence the name Passover, and spare the firstborn sons.
[00:12:20] And so that's great.
[00:12:21] Mary and Joseph are being obedient to the Lord.
[00:12:23] They're honoring Him with their firstborn.
[00:12:26] And really we see this principle throughout Scripture.
[00:12:29] The first fruits would be offered to the Lord.
[00:12:31] We see that throughout Scripture, that they are commanded to really give their first fruits.
[00:12:36] And those first fruits would be offered to the Lord because it was a recognition, it was a declaration that these blessings exist because of God.
[00:12:45] And it was also a way of exercising an even deeper faith and dependence on the Lord.
[00:12:51] Think about it for a moment.
[00:12:52] The first fruits.
[00:12:53] That means that if you were a farmer or you raised livestock, when the
[00:12:59] When the harvest finally happened and you're able to harvest some of the goodness, the produce of your harvest, and you're able to get all of those things, you would take those things and the very first of them, you would give it to the Lord.
[00:13:13] Now that doesn't mean they waited until the entire harvest came in.
[00:13:17] The first fruits meant when they got them, they took them and dedicated it to the Lord before the rest of the harvest came in, before the rest of the livestock were born that season.
[00:13:29] They gave before there was certainty.
[00:13:32] Isn't that interesting?
[00:13:34] They didn't wait until they had everything.
[00:13:36] Oh, now that we know that we are at, you know, a good capacity and it's safe for us to give to the Lord, it's convenient for us to give it to the Lord.
[00:13:45] No, they gave before certainty.
[00:13:47] They gave before convenience.
[00:13:49] And what it did
[00:13:50] It taught them further dependence on God.
[00:13:53] They gave before certainty, whether it was grain or produce or an animal, it would be brought to the temple and given as a sacrifice to God.
[00:14:02] And this act of sacrifice really demonstrated this truth.
[00:14:07] God comes first even before I know how things are going to turn out.
[00:14:12] God comes first even before I know how things are going to turn out.
[00:14:16] I want you to think about this.
[00:14:17] How could this
[00:14:18] Mentality of obedience to God transform your life.
[00:14:22] How could it transform your life?
[00:14:24] My dad has said, if God calls you to it,
[00:14:27] He will bring you through it.
[00:14:29] God has called all of us to live lives of sacrifice, of obedience, of generosity, of service.
[00:14:35] And I think a lot of us look at those commands and think, well, they're just not convenient right now.
[00:14:42] It's not convenient for me to give.
[00:14:44] It's not convenient for me to serve.
[00:14:46] It's not convenient for me to forgive that person.
[00:14:49] Even though God commands me to, it's just not convenient as though this were some kind of excuse.
[00:14:54] Imagine, oh, you know, it's just not convenient for me to run my business with integrity and with honesty.
[00:15:01] I've got to pad those numbers to a place that honestly I'm ripping this person off, my customer off, but you know what?
[00:15:07] I've got to do it or else I won't be able to survive.
[00:15:09] It's just not convenient for me to do things honestly.
[00:15:12] How's that sound?
[00:15:13] Does that sound good?
[00:15:14] No, of course not.
[00:15:15] It's just not convenient for me to go and witness to my neighbors right now.
[00:15:19] Because you know what?
[00:15:20] I know that neighbor's a needy person.
[00:15:22] And as soon as I go over and I open that conversation, they're going to be asking me to do all kinds of stuff for them.
[00:15:27] And you know what?
[00:15:28] I like my time.
[00:15:30] I like being comfortable.
[00:15:31] It's just not convenient for me.
[00:15:34] It's just not convenient for me to go and reconcile with my family members and forgive that person.
[00:15:38] Man, you know, do you know what they did to me?
[00:15:41] It's just not convenient.
[00:15:42] I don't want to do that.
[00:15:43] Are we just not a bunch of whiny toddlers, right?
[00:15:46] I don't want to.
[00:15:47] That's mine.
[00:15:48] That's mine.
[00:15:49] It's mine.
[00:15:50] You know, I don't want to share.
[00:15:51] I don't want to have to do something I'm not comfortable with.
[00:15:53] Really, do we have to?
[00:15:54] And you drag your feet.
[00:15:56] Are we not just a bunch of little kids?
[00:15:59] No, we all love the words of Jesus when he said in Matthew 11, 28, come to me all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
[00:16:08] Don't we love that?
[00:16:09] The idea that we can take our burdens and give them to Jesus and he is going to give us rest.
[00:16:15] I love that too.
[00:16:16] But it's also important that we take note that Jesus continued on there.
[00:16:20] He continued on, it doesn't stop.
[00:16:21] He said in verse 29, take my yoke upon you.
[00:16:25] Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
[00:16:34] What does Jesus say?
[00:16:35] Take my yoke upon you and you will find rest for your souls.
[00:16:40] When we serve ourselves and we take our own yokes upon ourselves, we become burdened with things we were never designed to carry.
[00:16:50] We burden ourselves with things we were never designed to carry.
[00:16:53] Things like pride, things like lust, things like addiction, things like having to keep up our image.
[00:16:59] Oh, we're so self-aware.
[00:17:00] We have to make sure everybody likes us and our social media presentation has to be perfect.
[00:17:04] And I have to do the Facetune app on everything that I do.
[00:17:07] And like, that's a burden.
[00:17:09] That's a burden.
[00:17:10] Why are you carrying that around with you?
[00:17:12] Listen, when you serve yourself, you become burdened with things you were never designed to carry.
[00:17:19] Serving yourself creates a heavy burden.
[00:17:21] It's a lot to carry around.
[00:17:23] It's a lot to carry around with you day in and day out.
[00:17:26] And what happens is you get yourself tangled up in snares because of this self-centered philosophy that the world has taught all of us, right, to serve ourselves numero uno.
[00:17:36] And what happens is we become miserable and we become trapped.
[00:17:40] And so what do we do?
[00:17:41] We call out to Jesus, Jesus, help us.
[00:17:43] And he says, oh, come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden.
[00:17:46] Oh, that sounds so great.
[00:17:48] I've been carrying around this burden of guilt and shame and remorse.
[00:17:52] and fear for the things that I've done and fear for my future.
[00:17:55] And Jesus says, lay them down at my feet.
[00:17:57] And so we do.
[00:17:58] But he doesn't do that just so we can go and repeat the whole process again.
[00:18:04] He doesn't do that just so he would say to us, hey, do better next time.
[00:18:09] Maybe don't take on so much of your own issues and so much of what you want.
[00:18:13] Maybe like space it out a little bit more.
[00:18:15] and all things moderation, right?
[00:18:17] So maybe like get it under control next time.
[00:18:20] Don't drink so much.
[00:18:21] Don't do so much drugs.
[00:18:22] Don't have so much sex outside of marriage.
[00:18:24] Don't do all of these things.
[00:18:26] Don't try and get so much money and pursue your own interests so much.
[00:18:30] No, he says, take my yoke upon you.
[00:18:34] He says, take my yoke upon you.
[00:18:36] He says, you will find the rest you long for by taking my yoke upon you.
[00:18:41] Not that he will make serving yourself easier and guilt free,
[00:18:45] But that by the surrendering of your yoke of self-centeredness and self-worship, and this is ultimately the disobedience to the first commandment of having no other gods before God, which I think we all break when we serve ourselves, and it's the biggest one we probably struggle with worshiping, which is ourselves, have no other gods before me.
[00:19:02] We are God.
[00:19:03] We make ourselves God.
[00:19:04] We put ourselves first.
[00:19:07] By laying our heavy yokes down, we pick up the yoke of Christ, the cause of Christ, and we submit to the Lordship of Jesus and we realize the Christian life with its obediences and with its persecution and with its difficulties and inconveniences is actually the most liberating and peaceful way to live.
[00:19:34] The principle that God was teaching to His children through this sacrificing of the firstfruits was this, God comes first even before I know how this turns out.
[00:19:45] God comes first even before I know how things turns out.
[00:19:49] And also, God comes first even before me.
[00:19:53] God comes first even before me, especially before me, actually.
[00:19:59] Putting yourself first will always let you down, but putting God first never will.
[00:20:05] And that is why Luke highlights in verse 24 what kind of sacrifice Mary and Joseph brought.
[00:20:10] Luke tells us that they didn't bring a lamb, which was the custom to bring a lamb, but they actually brought the concession.
[00:20:17] There was a concession for people that were so poor, who could not afford a lamb,
[00:20:22] that they could offer two pigeons or two turtle doves instead.
[00:20:26] Mary and Joseph, they were so poor, they couldn't afford a lamb.
[00:20:30] Now today, a lamb is like $100.
[00:20:33] A live lamb is like $100, right?
[00:20:36] So for Mary and Joseph in their day, where they're surrounded by sheep, they could have gotten a lamb if they had a little money.
[00:20:42] I mean, back then, $100, what?
[00:20:44] I mean, maybe a lamb would have cost, if it was around the same thing, the exchange rate, I'm not sure what that would have looked like 2000 years ago, but it would have been cheap.
[00:20:52] Right?
[00:20:53] Joseph probably would have made more than $100 a day, hopefully, maybe not, but they couldn't afford it.
[00:20:59] Whatever the amount was, maybe a day's labor for Joseph, they couldn't afford it.
[00:21:04] But they still chose to be obedient.
[00:21:07] They still chose to be obedient to God.
[00:21:09] They didn't say, oh, this is an inconvenience for us and God understands, He knows my heart.
[00:21:14] No, they were obedient to God.
[00:21:16] Even in their poverty, through their inconvenience, they put God first.
[00:21:22] This is called worship, people.
[00:21:24] This is what worship is.
[00:21:26] This verse right here also is kind of a proof text against the false prosperity doctrine and the claim that if you have enough faith, God's going to make you rich, He's going to make you healthy, He's going to make you influential, He's going to do all of these things if you just have enough faith.
[00:21:40] And if you aren't rich and you're poor, and if you aren't beautiful or you aren't healthy, then actually it's a lack of faith.
[00:21:47] That's what this doctrine teaches.
[00:21:48] That is false.
[00:21:50] That is not true.
[00:21:51] Because here we see Mary and Joseph, the very parents of Jesus Christ, living in abject poverty.
[00:21:59] But here's what makes this moment astonishing.
[00:22:02] While Mary and Joseph are faithfully dedicating their firstborn son Jesus to the Lord,
[00:22:07] and offering a sacrifice to him as they're commanded in scripture, God was doing something far greater.
[00:22:14] God was doing something far greater.
[00:22:15] You see at Christmas, God didn't ask humanity for our first fruits, God gave his.
[00:22:23] That is what Christmas is.
[00:22:25] It's the inverse of it.
[00:22:27] Throughout the Old Testament and into the New Testament, we see that people were called to give a sacrifice for their sins.
[00:22:35] They were called to give the first fruits of their produce and of their livestock.
[00:22:39] Well here, we see God doing the opposite.
[00:22:42] We see God giving His.
[00:22:44] His firstborn Son, His only Son.
[00:22:47] What is John 3.16?
[00:22:49] For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.
[00:23:00] God gave His first.
[00:23:02] God gave His best.
[00:23:04] God gave His only.
[00:23:07] And so a question for all of us today, how are we going to give the least when God gives the most?
[00:23:13] How are we going to give the least when God gives the most?
[00:23:15] It's just not convenient, God.
[00:23:16] It's just not a good time for me.
[00:23:19] You know, I'll do that when I'm older in life.
[00:23:21] Listen, you are being disobedient and you're making it about yourself.
[00:23:26] Is inconvenience really an excuse?
[00:23:28] It wasn't for Joseph and Mary.
[00:23:30] It wasn't for the Israelites.
[00:23:31] It wasn't for the disciples.
[00:23:33] And it wasn't for God and it shouldn't be for us.
[00:23:37] Let's continue reading in verse 35.
[00:23:38] Excuse me, verse 25.
[00:23:45] and behold there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon and this man was just and devout waiting for the consolation of Israel that's a messianic title and the Holy Spirit was upon him and it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ so he came by the Spirit into the temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus
[00:24:12] to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took Jesus up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word.
[00:24:23] For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel.
[00:24:35] And Joseph and his mother marveled at those things which were spoken of him.
[00:24:40] And then Simeon blessed them.
[00:24:41] and said to Mary his mother, behold, this child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel and for a sign which will be spoken against.
[00:24:51] Yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.
[00:25:00] And that brings us point number two, the gift that didn't miss.
[00:25:04] The gift that didn't miss.
[00:25:06] Have you ever had a gift on Christmas morning that just absolutely missed the mark, right?
[00:25:11] You open it up and you're like, oh, what's it gonna be?
[00:25:13] You're excited, you're at your grandparents' house or with your in-laws or something.
[00:25:16] You open it up and it's like a six pair of socks.
[00:25:19] Great, thank you.
[00:25:20] Or it's like, hey, a two pack of deodorant.
[00:25:23] We're trying to give you a hint, right?
[00:25:27] Honestly, I'm kind of stoked when I get a pair of socks now or like some new underwear.
[00:25:30] I'm like, oh great, finally, I was waiting for reinforcements, right?
[00:25:33] I'm still going off of the ones from last year.
[00:25:38] I still remember when I was a kid, like eight or nine years old, coming down Christmas morning and getting presents.
[00:25:44] I don't remember what I got, but I remember one gift in particular.
[00:25:47] My brother Christopher had got me a Star Wars Lego set that was super cool, and he wrapped the whole thing in $1 bills, like spaced out $1 bills with scotch tape around it.
[00:25:56] I think it was like $20 worth of $1 bills, but I was so stoked.
[00:25:59] And it was a memory that I still have.
[00:26:02] I was so stoked on that one.
[00:26:03] But sometimes we just get gifts that are great, and sometimes we get gifts that are not so great.
[00:26:08] Two Christmases ago, my wife gave me the subtle hint that she wanted a treadmill for Christmas, right?
[00:26:14] No, there was no subtle hint.
[00:26:15] She told me, I want a treadmill for Christmas.
[00:26:18] And so I started researching online and okay, I found a decent model.
[00:26:22] It wasn't cheap.
[00:26:23] And so I went into the process of purchasing this thing and I thought, you know what, before I go and buy this thing, why don't I just look and see what's out there on Craigslist, right?
[00:26:33] Sometimes you can find some ripping deals on Craigslist.
[00:26:37] So you're all laughing because you've been there.
[00:26:40] So I go on Craigslist and I search, you know, up treadmills, and sure enough, I find one.
[00:26:46] But this model that this person was selling, first of all, it was up in Beverly Hills, and it was a $7,000 treadmill.
[00:26:54] This is the treadmill that does the 45-degree incline, the decline.
[00:26:59] It can go faster than most treadmills.
[00:27:01] It's an industrial level, so you can run so much on it, which we've ran so much on this treadmill, not...
[00:27:09] It has a screen, it has a built-in fan, like it has all the stuff, all the bells and whistles, like the nicest treadmill.
[00:27:15] And he was selling it for $800.
[00:27:18] That was cheaper than what I was gonna go and buy a new treadmill for at the base level.
[00:27:22] So I'm like, okay, what do I need to do this?
[00:27:24] And so I realized, okay, I don't have a vehicle large enough.
[00:27:27] I got a sprinter van.
[00:27:28] I rented a sprinter van.
[00:27:29] I got my drill charged up.
[00:27:32] I woke up early that morning, got the cash out of the bank, you know, tucked in my 1911 just in case.
[00:27:38] And I called the guy and I said, okay, hey, I'm up on my way.
[00:27:41] And so I made my way up there and sure enough, it was legit.
[00:27:45] He was up on like, the only problem was he was on the third story of an apartment complex.
[00:27:49] And now if you've ever had to pick up a treadmill, they're extremely heavy, extremely heavy.
[00:27:55] and I brought a hand truck with me so I could get it all on there.
[00:27:58] But you know what?
[00:27:59] I took the thing apart.
[00:28:00] I, you know, got the thing disassembled, put it on the hand truck, got it loaded up in the van, drove home, put it together in the garage and it was there Christmas morning and my wife was so stoked.
[00:28:09] So it all worked out.
[00:28:10] It was great.
[00:28:11] It was great.
[00:28:14] I may have dinged a couple walls on his house getting the thing out, but hey, it's okay.
[00:28:21] And so Christmas morning came and
[00:28:24] I got Brittany the treadmill.
[00:28:25] She was so stoked.
[00:28:26] I didn't ask Brittany for anything for Christmas for me.
[00:28:29] I didn't know what to ask for.
[00:28:31] So she got me an ice cream maker.
[00:28:33] And so I was like, what are we doing here?
[00:28:35] I got you a treadmill.
[00:28:36] You're getting me an ice cream maker.
[00:28:37] Honestly, top 10 Christmas gifts I've ever received.
[00:28:42] I think I tried 14 different types of ice cream between that and New Year's.
[00:28:47] And she knew what she was getting herself in for, right?
[00:28:50] Making all these types of ice cream.
[00:28:52] Get mad at anybody else but herself, who could she blame?
[00:28:55] And that treadmill today is a great clothes hanger, I tell you what.
[00:28:59] It just stores all our stuff so well.
[00:29:05] But sometimes for Christmas, we don't ask for something, and then when we get something, we're kind of upset, like, oh, I didn't want that.
[00:29:12] Well, you didn't give any hints, right?
[00:29:15] You didn't say what you actually wanted.
[00:29:18] Sometimes the gift misses because the person didn't know what you wanted.
[00:29:21] That's why I love lists, right?
[00:29:24] They can ask you 10 times what you wanted, and if you never answer them, can you really be mad when you get that 12 pack of socks, right?
[00:29:33] Tim Keller said,
[00:29:35] God always gives us what we would have asked for if we knew everything He knows.
[00:29:43] God always gives us what we would have asked for if we knew everything He knows.
[00:29:50] Sometimes the gift misses because you didn't really know what you needed.
[00:29:56] Luke tells us that Simeon had been asking God for the same thing his entire life.
[00:30:02] I want to see the Messiah before I die.
[00:30:04] I want to see the Messiah before I die.
[00:30:06] There was no ambiguity here on what he wanted.
[00:30:11] It says in verse 25, And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon.
[00:30:16] And this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.
[00:30:22] Now Simeon, he wasn't asking for comfort.
[00:30:25] He wasn't asking to be liberated from the Romans.
[00:30:29] He wasn't asking for financial prosperity.
[00:30:32] He was waiting for the consolation of Israel.
[00:30:35] Again, a messianic title.
[00:30:36] He was waiting for Jesus.
[00:30:38] And he said in verse 29, My eyes have seen your salvation.
[00:30:43] Christmas only disappoints when we ask for the wrong gift.
[00:30:47] It only disappoints when we ask for the wrong gift and we're looking for the wrong things.
[00:30:51] Simeon didn't miss Christmas because he was asking for stuff.
[00:30:55] He was asking for salvation.
[00:30:57] He was looking for the Lord.
[00:30:59] Again, God always gives us what we would have asked for if we knew everything He knows.
[00:31:04] God gave Simeon the gift that could not miss.
[00:31:08] He got to see what he always wanted to see, to see the Messiah before he died.
[00:31:14] And this Christmas, what are you looking for?
[00:31:17] What are you putting your hope in?
[00:31:19] Is it gifts?
[00:31:20] Is it experiences?
[00:31:21] Is it treats?
[00:31:23] Is it memories?
[00:31:24] Hey, there's nothing wrong with those things, but keep them in their rightful place.
[00:31:28] Christmas is not about Christmas presents under a tree.
[00:31:32] It's about His Christmas presents in our lives.
[00:31:37] That's what Christmas is about.
[00:31:38] And if you're looking for anything else other than that, you will be disappointed.
[00:31:45] If you're looking for anything else other than being thankful for the Messiah, which came 2,000 years ago.
[00:31:54] He was born of a virgin.
[00:31:55] He lived the perfect life.
[00:31:57] He died in your place and He rose again from the dead.
[00:32:00] And Jesus, He is the first fruits of the second type of man, meaning we are going to follow in Jesus' example.
[00:32:08] If the Lord should tarry and the rapture does not happen and we die,
[00:32:12] We will go into the ground, but we will come out of the ground a whole different type of person.
[00:32:18] We're going to be like Jesus.
[00:32:19] We're going to have new bodies.
[00:32:21] That is the hope.
[00:32:22] That is the greatest gift of Christmas.
[00:32:25] That is the greatest gift of Christmas.
[00:32:28] And so that brings us to point number three, waiting with wounds.
[00:32:32] We're going to look at Anna now in verse 36.
[00:32:36] Now there is one Anna.
[00:32:38] A prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher.
[00:32:43] She was of a great age and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity.
[00:32:48] And this woman was a widow of about 84 years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
[00:32:58] And coming in that instant, she gave thanks to the Lord and spoke of Him to all who looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
[00:33:05] So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth.
[00:33:17] And the child grew up and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.
[00:33:24] Beautiful.
[00:33:25] Beautiful.
[00:33:26] We see this woman going through so much.
[00:33:29] A difficult time.
[00:33:30] Her entire life was difficult.
[00:33:32] But she was so thankful when she got to see the Lord.
[00:33:35] She was faithful.
[00:33:37] But for many, Christmas is a really difficult time.
[00:33:40] Christmas is a really difficult time.
[00:33:42] It brings up memories of fractured Christmas mornings for some when you were a child.
[00:33:46] For others, you're reminded that you have a broken family, you're divorced, and the kids have to spend Christmas this year with your ex-spouse, right?
[00:33:56] And it's just hard.
[00:33:58] And maybe you're like Anna this Christmas and you're a widow or a widower, and you can't help but just think about all the Christmases you had together with your husband, with your wife.
[00:34:09] Not only are you lonely,
[00:34:11] But you're also, for those that maybe have been divorced, your family is fractured and you've been uninvited to some of those Christmas traditions and it's just hard.
[00:34:20] Maybe you're single and you've never been married, right?
[00:34:24] No children, no husband, no wife, quiet morning, and 364 days a year, it's not so bad.
[00:34:30] But Christmas, that's a hard one, right?
[00:34:34] You're reminded of what you don't have.
[00:34:36] Maybe you've lost a child.
[00:34:38] or someone you deeply loved.
[00:34:39] And Christmas just hurts.
[00:34:42] I've been there.
[00:34:43] I've been there.
[00:34:44] I know what that's like.
[00:34:46] Whatever you're facing this Christmas season, even if it is a
[00:34:50] Life filled with happy and explosive and hallmark moments.
[00:34:53] Listen, I want you to look at Anna.
[00:34:55] I want you to look at her.
[00:34:56] She got it right.
[00:34:58] She understood what Christmas was all about.
[00:35:01] Her husband died after seven years of marriage from her virginity.
[00:35:05] So that would probably mean, what, 13 years old, 14 years old?
[00:35:08] I seriously doubt when she was a young girl thinking of her husband that she was betrothed to that he was going to die at such a young age.
[00:35:35] But it didn't turn her away from God.
[00:35:38] Her life didn't turn out the way she planned, but it didn't turn her away from God.
[00:35:42] Anna's suffering didn't make her bitter, it made her faithful.
[00:35:46] It helped her remember the most important things.
[00:35:48] Grief and suffering really has a catalyst effect on the believer.
[00:35:52] It has a catalyst effect.
[00:35:54] It reveals what you're truly made of.
[00:35:56] Many will walk away from the faith when something happens, when an inconvenience happens, when a death happens.
[00:36:02] Oh God, how could you do this to me?
[00:36:04] They become cynical and they become angry.
[00:36:07] But Anna?
[00:36:08] She prayed.
[00:36:09] She worshiped.
[00:36:10] She fasted.
[00:36:11] She served and stayed close to God.
[00:36:14] Pain didn't drive Anna away from God.
[00:36:16] It actually drove her closer.
[00:36:19] C.S.
[00:36:20] Lewis, in his book, The Problem of Pain, said, We can ignore even pleasure, but pain insists upon being attended to.
[00:36:28] God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts to us in our pains.
[00:36:33] It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.
[00:36:37] Anna proves that suffering doesn't have to make you cynical.
[00:36:40] It can actually make you holy.
[00:36:43] It can actually make you holy.
[00:36:46] Look at verse 37.
[00:36:48] And this woman was a widow of about 84 years who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
[00:36:58] She did not depart from the temple, and she served God night and day with prayers and fasting.
[00:37:05] Listen, for people that are hurting,
[00:37:07] This Christmas season, I want to tell you, there is no better place than the church to be a part of.
[00:37:13] But not just attending, but serving.
[00:37:15] Serving others, ministering to others.
[00:37:18] I have found that the times that you feel the lowest, the emptiest, the saddest, the best thing you can do is actually completely contrary to human wisdom, and it is going and doing something for somebody else.
[00:37:31] Going and ministering to somebody that is hurting like yourself, maybe worse than yourself.
[00:37:39] That those times that you're hurting, it's the best time to serve.
[00:37:41] It's the best time to say, thank you, God, for the blessings in my life.
[00:37:45] It's the best time to say, thank you for your love for me, because it reminds us that God is taking care of the most important thing.
[00:37:53] and the Bible does tell us in Psalm 34, the Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
[00:38:00] He is there for us in a special way in this difficult Christmas season.
[00:38:05] God often reveals himself in a special way to those who are wounded, doesn't he?
[00:38:09] We see it throughout scripture.
[00:38:11] People who have endured great suffering, God was there for them in a special way.
[00:38:15] Job, Ruth, David, Mary, Anna.
[00:38:20] God often reveals the greatest blessings to those who have endured
[00:38:24] The deepest wounds.
[00:38:26] Anna's redemption, it wasn't a resurrected husband.
[00:38:29] That's not what she was hoping for.
[00:38:31] It wasn't a new husband or skincare under a tree or a mommy makeover, right?
[00:38:36] Anna's greatest joy in life was being able to behold Emmanuel, God with us, the Messiah who came to redeem what life had broken, to bear our grief, to carry our sorrows, and to save us from sin and death.
[00:38:51] And when we step back, we realize that Luke has actually shown us three very different people, but one unified truth.
[00:38:58] Many missed the gift that God sent that Christmas season.
[00:39:02] A few did not.
[00:39:04] Christmas does not disappoint when your greatest need is met.
[00:39:08] It does not disappoint when your greatest need is met.
[00:39:12] If your heart is tuned to redemption.
[00:39:15] If your heart is tuned to forgiveness, to peace with God, to hope that outlasts lost this Christmas, it will not disappoint.
[00:39:23] And Christmas will never disappoint if your heart is tuned to the right thing.
[00:39:27] The miracle of Christmas is not presents under a tree, it's His Christmas presents.
[00:39:31] Emmanuel, God with us.
[00:39:33] Again, God gave us His first fruits, His best, His only, His Son for us.
[00:39:43] And so this Christmas, don't miss what matters most.
[00:39:47] If you're tired of empty gifts and heavy burdens, Jesus invites you to come to Him.
[00:39:53] And so I want to extend an invitation to you right here, right now.
[00:39:57] If you don't have the greatest Christmas present of all, and that is a relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, the forgiveness of your sins,
[00:40:08] I want to extend that invitation to you.
[00:40:10] I want to extend that invitation to you.
[00:40:12] That's a Christmas gift that's been under the tree ever since you were a child, but maybe you've neglected to open it.
[00:40:18] But in fact, it's the greatest gift of all because this is what Christmas is all about.
[00:40:24] Father, we thank you for sending your son, Jesus, 2,000 years ago.
[00:40:30] It divides history.
[00:40:32] It divides time, A.D. and B.C.
[00:40:36] Lord, we're so thankful
[00:40:38] for the gifts that we have because of him.
[00:40:40] The forgiveness of our sins, the hope of eternal life, the hope of a renewed body without sickness, without disease, without death, the hope of being reunited with loved ones who have gone before us.
[00:40:53] But most of all, Lord, we're gonna get to see you face to face.
[00:40:57] We're going to get to see you, Jesus.
[00:40:59] We're going to get to fall down at your feet and worship you.
[00:41:01] We're going to get to see you and see those wounds in your hand and in your side.
[00:41:06] And we're going to recognize that it was us that did those things to you.
[00:41:09] It's because of our sin that you bear those marks.
[00:41:12] Lord, we come to you today and we ask that you would help us to not forget and to not neglect what this Christmas is all about, that we would worship you.
[00:41:24] Wise men still seek him.
[00:41:26] Lord, we need to seek you this Christmas season.
[00:41:28] Help us to lead our families and ourselves, Lord, into deeper love for you and appreciation for what you have done.
[00:41:36] And while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we're praying, I know there may be some who have not yet put their faith in Christ, who have not yet been forgiven of their sins, who do not yet have that hope of heaven.
[00:41:46] And you wonder why Christmas lets you down?
[00:41:50] I'll tell you why.
[00:41:51] It's because you haven't taken advantage of the most important thing.
[00:41:55] It's a relationship with Christ.
[00:41:58] So while we're here today at all of our campuses and our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we're praying, if that's you and you want to put your faith in Jesus and you want to have that hope and you want to receive this great gift that was given to us over 2,000 years ago, wherever you are, I want you to raise your hand up and I want to lead you in a prayer.
[00:42:18] That's right, raise your hand up and I want to lead you in a prayer.
[00:42:21] Whether you're here at Harvest Riverside in the sanctuary or down at Harvest Orange County
[00:42:25] or on the island of Maui.
[00:42:27] Raise your hand up and I'm gonna lead you in that prayer.
[00:42:29] Raise it up high where I can see it.
[00:42:32] God bless you.
[00:42:33] Here in the front, God bless you.
[00:42:34] Anybody else?
[00:42:35] Raise your hand.
[00:42:36] God bless you.
[00:42:38] God bless you.
[00:42:39] Awesome.
[00:42:42] Now for those that raised their hands, I'm just gonna ask that you would pray this prayer.
[00:42:45] You would mean it in your heart.
[00:42:48] This is you talking to God.
[00:42:50] Pray this.
[00:42:50] Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner.
[00:42:55] But I know that Jesus is the Savior who was born to a virgin, lived a perfect life, and died on the cross for my sin.
[00:43:08] And He rose again from the dead.
[00:43:11] I put my faith in Him today.
[00:43:15] I make Him the Lord of my life from this moment forward.
[00:43:20] Lord, would you help me to walk with you?
[00:43:24] and to know your voice.
[00:43:27] Fill me with your Holy Spirit.
[00:43:29] In Jesus' name I pray.
[00:43:32] Amen.
[00:43:32] Amen.
[00:43:33] God bless you that prayed that prayer just now.
[00:43:35] Congratulations.