Pastor Brian and Jacque Lother
Brian: What a great truth, God is with us.
Jacque: He sings that for us every Sunday after Christmas, because it's just the most beautiful time to proclaim it.
Brian: And I never get tired of it.
Jacque: I don't either. It's just so beautiful. We need to hear that every morning, every morning. God is with you all day, all day, every day.
Brian: All day, all day. Yes, all day. Wasn't there a sucker or something called an all-day or something like that? It should have been called God.
Jacque: Yeah, all day. He is with us all day.
Brian: Kind of feast on him all day.
Jacque: Only he is good for us.
Brian: Yes. Yes. Most of us remember a guy by the name of Paul Harvey, don't we? Paul Harvey had a special segment at times in his broadcast that he would call…
Jacque: The rest of the story.
Brian: That's right, the rest of the story. This morning, I want to give you kind of the rest of the story. Oftentimes, the Christmas story kind of in a lot of our minds, ends with the birth and the manger and the wise man. That's kind of the combination of our celebration of Christmas, but there is actually another part of the story that I think is equally valid and important. It's a little bit more neglected, but we find a good portion of this still in Luke chapter 2, but beginning in verse 22 through verse 32, we see these words written. Jacque, why don't you to read that for us.
Jacque: This is from the message. Then when the days stipulated by Moses for purification were complete, they took him up to Jerusalem to offer him to God as commanded in God's law. Every male who opens the womb shall be a holy offering to God, and also to sacrifice the, of doves or two young pigeons prescribed in God's law.
Brian: Here is the Mosaic law that when a male was born, the parents needed to present him in the temple, and offer in a sense, two doves or two young pigeons. This basically was kind of in a sense, an exchange because God was saying the firstborn male belongs to him, and it was the first fruits. It was like God's way of saying, but I'll lend them to you for life for two doves or two pigeons. The concept was to impress upon the parents that this child didn't belong to them. It belonged to God. Mary and Joseph were under this responsibility, this Mosaic Law to do this. This is what was happening here. After the days of Mary's purification, they went to the temple and presented Jesus to the Lord. We kind of do the same thing when we dedicate our babies, when we dedicate children. We present them to the Lord and we are publicly making a statement that this child actually belongs to God, but we have been given the earthly custodial ship of nurturing them and taking care of them and protecting him and providing for him. We do it as unto the Lord because this child actually doesn't belong to us. It belongs to God. Let's go on now.
Jacque: In Jerusalem, at the time, there was a man, Simeon by name, a good man, a man who lived in prayerful expectancy of help for Israel
Brian: This word help, we are going to look at this in another translation in a moment, but this word help actually means consolation or to console. When you think of consoling somebody… we will look at that in a moment. Simeon wasn't like one of the high priest. He wasn't a one of the... but he was a good man. He was a man that prayed regularly. He was a man that had a relationship with God. God had showed him in one of his prayer times... Don't you believe that God speaks to us when we are in prayer? Especially when our prayer is more of a meditation in God's presence, rather than just giving him our Christmas wish list. Simeon was in prayer one day and God spoke to him and this is what God said- you are not going to die until you see with your own eyes, the Messiah. Wow, boy, there is a promise to hang on to, especially if were living in Israel back then. Let's go on.
Jacque: And the Holy Spirit was on him. The Holy Spirit had shown him that he would see the Messiah of God before he died. Led by the Spirit, he entered the temple. As the parents of the child, Jesus brought him in to carry out the rituals of the law, Simeon took him into his arms and blessed God.
Brian: Now let's set the stage again. There is nowhere in scripture that the Bible says that Mary and Joseph knew Simeon, that they were aware of who he was. They didn't live in Jerusalem. Simeon lived in Jerusalem. They didn't live in that vicinity. Basically, Simeon, I believe, was a stranger to Mary and Joseph. Here comes this stranger and says, 'let me have your child.' How many of you would let that happen? Simeon takes Jesus in his arms and he blessed God, and then he said this.
Jacque: God, you can now release your servant; released me in peace as you promised. With my own eyes, I've seen your salvation. It's now out in the open for everyone to see a God revealing light to the non-Jewish nations and of glory for your people, Israel.
Brian: How different was that perspective about who Simeon believed the Messiah was going to be from how Israel felt the Messiah was going to be? That was quite different, isn't it? Simeon's view of the Messiah... and this was of course, given to him by Holy Spirit, which was even before the Day of Pentecost. The Holy Spirit was still active, just not on the same level as he was after the Day of Pentecost, but he wasn't absent prior to the Day of Pentecost. Holy Spirit comes to Simeon and he says, "Messiah, you are going to see Messiah and this Messiah is going to be a God revealing light to non-Jewish people around the world, as well as a glory for the people of Israel. He understood the Messiah was not to become a political conqueror for Israel to conquer all their enemies. He wasn't going to be that. He was going to be something entirely different. Simeon was one of a handful of people that actually understood that. Let's look real quickly at Luke 2 verse 25, and we'll read it in the NIV.
Jacque: Now there was a manager, some called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel and the Holy Spirit was on him.
Brian: Simeon is now waiting for the consolation of Israel, the help for Israel. The word console means to simply to bring comfort, doesn't it? It means to bring comfort. I asked myself the question, when does somebody need comfort? When does somebody need comfort? I think this year more than maybe any other year before our whole world has needed comfort. Wouldn't you agree that America has needed comfort? We need comfort when we experienced loss. There has been a lot of loss this year. There has been loss of jobs. There has been loss of family and friends. There has been loss of coworkers. There have been losses in so many different levels and the world needs consolation. They need comfort from this loss.
The world needs comfort when you are sick. When I'm sick, I don't want people demanding, all sorts of things from me. I want them to comfort me. I want them to come alongside of me and not tell me all the things I have to do. I want them to come alongside of me and say, everything is going to be okay. This is not the end. We need that, don't we, when we are sick. How about when we've experienced rejection, when you experienced rejection in your life, or when you experienced rejection on the job site or whatever, maybe you are a salesman and you've had 99 nos in your presentation. I don't know if that ever happens to you, Brad. Probably not; you are a much better salesman than I would be.
We need comfort. We need consolation when we get rejected. What about when we've failed? Our failures, whether they are our personal failures or the failures of others, every single one of us has had failures in our lives. Some of them great failures and we need people that will come alongside of us after we have failed miserably. Maybe we've sinned. Maybe it has been public. Maybe it has been private, but we've sinned, we failed, and we need people that will come alongside of us, put their arms around us and say, 'listen, this is going to be okay. God has a way for you here.'
Jacque: Consolation brings hope.
Brian: Consolation brings hope, absolutely. What about disappointments? Have you had any disappointments this year? I certainly have. Unmet expectations, we have expectations we think, and then they are not met and we are sad. We are down in the mouth. Almost a sense of oppression comes over us. When we experienced these disappointments, we need consolation. When we have setbacks, we've waited so long for something, and then we have another setback and another disappointment and another delay, we need consolation. Especially when we are guilty of doing something wrong, we don't need to be judged. We need consolation. We need comfort. Simeon makes this incredible statement. He says... Let's read it again, Jacque, Luke 2:25.
Jacque: Now there was a manager, some called Simeon who was righteous and devout, and he was waiting for the consolation of Israel.
Brian: He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, the comfort of Israel, the help of Israel. Israel was under oppression. Israel was in sin. Israel was in economic problems. The people were oppressed, and they needed what?
Jacque: Consolation.
Brian: Consolation, they needed comfort. There is another great verse in the Old Testament; it says, "Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people. Your King will come to bring comfort”, not dominion over you. This last one, when we are guilty of wrongdoing… It's so easy when someone is guilty of something wrong, it's so easy for us to land on 'they need to be punished’. It's so easy to land there- they need to be punished and judged, rather than bring comfort and consolation. The fact of the matter is all of us are guilty before God, aren't we? All of us have sinned and fallen short of God's glory. What has he offered us because of our sin? Comfort, consolation, forgiveness.
As we come to the end of this advent season, let's remember that there is a judgment side to God, but God judges us by loving us. By his love to us, we end up judging ourselves, is really what ends up happening. If I embrace his love, then I will be saved, and if I embrace his love, then I will be comforted. If I refuse his love, then I condemn myself by that refusal, not by him, but my own self. I condemn myself because God never condemns. He only saves. I want to read a couple more verses. One is found in the same chapter, Luke chapter 3, verses 33 to 35. Let's read that.
Jacque: From the Message.
Brian: Yeah.
Jacque: Jesus' father and mother were speechless with surprise at these words. Simeon went on to bless them and said to Mary, his mother, this child marks both the failure and the recovery of many in Israel, a figure, misunderstood and contradicted, the pain of a sword thrust through you, but the rejection will force honesty as God reveals who they really are.
Brian: This is a really, really actually a deep verse here, or three verses. First of all, we kind of have the idea that Mary and Joseph really had a clear understanding of what and who Jesus was going to be, and how all things were going to turn out, but that is just actually not true. They came into, shall we say a revelation or an understanding of who Jesus was and what his life was meant to be and what his ultimate goal and end was going to be over time. At this point in time, basically, all they knew is that this was a special child. He was a gift from God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit. He was given the name, Emmanuel God with us. This child was God. I'm not sure they understood even near the theological implications that you and I understand 2000 years later.
There were some things that were taking them by surprise. One of them was this statement that Simeon had made, that this God revealing light to non-Jewish nations. That was brand new for Mary and Joseph. They said they were speechless and they were surprised at these words. And then of course, Simeon went on to bless Mary and Joseph. He blessed them, and then he said these incredible words. He said this child marks both the failure and the recovery of many in Israel. What he was really saying is that Jesus came to expose the failures of mankind, but there is recovery in this child. Like you said, hope; there is always hope. Consolation brings...
Jacque: Hope.
Brian: Hope, consolation brings hope. This child marks both the failure and the recovery of many in Israel. He will also be a person or figure, misunderstood and contradicted. In other words, people are not going to necessarily listen to him. They are going to do their own thing. That's why the Psalm was even says, "All we like sheep have gone astray." All of us have turned to our own way. We haven’t wanted to do it God's way, because God's way is not always easy. It's not always easy. But when we do it our own way, he is still there for consolation. He will be misunderstood and contradicted. And then to Mary and Joseph, he said that Jesus was going to be basically the pain of a sword thrust through you. Not that he was going to cause that to them by bad behavior, but that how his life was going to end was going to be painful. Can you imagine as a mother, seeing your son actually tortured and killed in that way?
Jacque: I saw the most beautiful picture yesterday of Mary holding Jesus as a baby and caressing him and kissing him, and then right next to it was Mary holding Jesus as he came down from the cross, kissing him and caressing him.
Brian: What a great image for us to remember, the humanity of Mary and the pain that she had to suffer with the loss of Christ at the crucifixion.
Jacque: When she said to the angel, "be it unto me as God wants", she didn't know what she was saying.
Brian: I don't think she had a clue. We've all said that; God send me anywhere. Use me however you want. And then he puts us in a place we don't want, and now all of a sudden we are bellyaching about it.
Jacque: What are you doing, God?
Brian: Like what are you doing to me? Why are you doing this to me?
Jacque: She was tremendous.
Brian: Yeah. He goes on to say that the rejection of Jesus will actually force honesty. Haven't we all had to be honest with ourselves at a point in time? I love Bill's testimony and you will probably need to share it again sometime for our live stream community, Bill. I'm paraphrasing a little bit, but you basically said you were living for things that had no value and you were living for yourself.
Jacque: Excuse me. They can find that on the archives on Sunday night. People can watch it.
Brian: Oh, good. That would be great. Thank you for that, Jacque. Recognizing our rejection of Christ forces us to have to be honest, doesn't it, as God reveals to us who we really are. When that happens, there is a wonderful comfort that comes from an encounter Jesus now had some 30 plus years later with a religious leader. We know his name to be Nicodemus. We find this encounter with Nicodemus in John chapter 3, verses 16 through 18, about this whole aspect of what God brings to, shall we say the sin table. Read that for us.
Jacque: In the Message Bible. This is how much God loved the world. He gave his son, his one and only son, and this is why- so that no one need be destroyed. By believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.
Brian: Just stop right there for a second. Are you an anyone? Are you an anyone? Are you an anyone? The answer to that is yes. We are all anyones. We are all anyone. So you can go up to someone later today say hi, anyone. When they say, why are you calling me that? Well, that's what Jesus said to Nicodemus. Anyone, anyone who believes in him can have a whole and lasting life. Anyone can have this.
Jacque: God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his son merely to point and accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again. Anyone who trusts in him is acquitted. Anyone who refuses to trust him has long since been under the death sentence without knowing it and why, because of that, person's failure to believe in the one of a kind son of God when introduced to him.
Brian: If the world, if all the people in the world would simply open up their hearts to Jesus, they would receive the comfort that Simeon was talking about that day to Mary. This is available to the whole world, this consolation, this comfort. Even though I don't like living in a pandemic, I don't like the restrictions that are placed on us, I don't like trying to go to a restaurant and finding it closed, I don't like businesses that are shutting down. I don't like what this thing has done to our economy, whether we agree or not with our political leaders, the fact of the matter is we need comfort. We need comfort. If we would open up our hearts to Jesus, he will bring comfort in this dark hour. Mary and Joseph presented Jesus in the temple that day; Simeon spoke those wonderful words. If we open up our hearts, we too can receive the comfort from our Lord.
I want to jump forward now from the manger, almost 33 years forward. Jesus has cleared out the temple. We know the story where he turned over the tables of the money changers. Most of the religious leaders either left because of fear, or they just in disgust, left that day, where Jesus was. The only people who were left were the sick, the weak, the poor, and the downtrodden. He said these incredible words on the last day of the feast that he was there to celebrate. We see this in John chapter 7, verse 37.
Jacque: From the Message Bible- on the final and climactic day of the feast. Jesus took his stand. He cried out if thirsts...
Brian: There is that person again.
Jacque: Anyone.
Brian: If anyone.
Jacque: Everyone.
Brian: If anyone thirsts... If anyone thirsts...
Jacque: Whoever thirst, anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the scripture says. He said this in regard to the spirit whom those who believed in him were about to receive. The spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
Brian: This is what Bill was talking about before he sang today; the Spirit, Holy spirit, which was going to be poured out after Jesus was glorified. He cried out at this moment in the temple, outer courts of the temple. I asked myself again, this question- who was there to hear Jesus' words? Who was there? I'll tell you who was there, the broken and the weary. Anybody tired today? Is anybody just sick and tired of how things are, weary? Those who are weighted down by life, it seems as though nothing works. Every decision you make seems to end up in failure. You don't know where to turn. Sometimes there may be some people who are watching who are guilty with regret. Your family has broken. The dreams that you had when you first got married had been shattered a long time ago. Maybe your kids are not living how you would like them to live. There is a lifetime of regret. There is remorse filling your heart. These are the people who were left in the temple that day, that Jesus said these wonderful words. If anyone thirsts, let him come after me. If anyone thirsts, let him ask of me, and I will give him rivers of living water, rivers.
Jacque: It will brim, come to the very top and then spill out the depths of anyone who believes in me.
Brian: Yes, of anyone, anyone. All can come and be quenched. Sometimes it's really easy to think, or it seems as though God does not react to evil. Sometimes it can feel that way, doesn't it? All this evil is murder and abuse; we don't need to go onto a list. We are aware of it. We ask ourselves, why doesn't God do something? Of course, what we are really saying is, why doesn't God kill that person that does that? Why doesn't God somehow punish or judge her, stop it from happening?
Jacque: Or make him not do it.
Brian: Yeah, make him not do it. Our question, basically, is... The underpinning of that question is basically this, that we believe God is silent. We believe God has not spoken. We believe that he is just too quiet in this hour of need, yet God has spoken. God has spoken very clearly. He has responded. He has responded, and he has responded and replied to the evil in the world. His answer was the incarnation of Jesus. His answer was the cross of Christ. That was his answer, because the incarnation and the cross are the only things that can transform a human heart. It's the only thing that can transform a human heart. When we believe and receive or receive and believe, when we do that, our hearts are transformed and the world becomes a better place to live. That's why the message of Jesus is so critical in this dark hour.
A new law being passed by our state legislature or our federal government is not going to change the hearts of men. Evil comes out of the heart and Jesus has come to change the hearts of men to bring a light to the darkness in us, to do what happened to Scrooge. He became a different person, didn't it? That was the transformation that God is wanting in us by looking at the incarnation and the cross, and we can have our hearts changed. God's response to evil was, and is Jesus who is love and mercy.
Jacque: I think of that line we sang today, "His is a kingdom that conquers through love."
Brian: Yes. One of the great things about our Lord is that... I don't know if you've ever asked yourself the question, why did Jesus need to be baptized? He didn't need to be baptized because of the condition of himself. He was baptized by John the Baptist, not because he was in need of repentance, not because he was in need of being converted. He did so to simply be among the people he loved, to identify with the people who needed forgiveness. That's why the scripture says he dwelt among us. He became us to be among the sinners and to take upon himself the burden of our sins. It's in this way that he has chosen to comfort us. It's in this way that he has chosen to save us and to free us from our misery, and truly he really is the consolation of not only Israel, but the United States.
He is the consolation of Canada. He is the consolation of Norway. He is a consolation of Denmark, Germany, China and Russia, and every nation on the face of the earth. He is the consolation of them. The question, of course, I'm sure that Simeon asked himself as he was getting older and older and older, I'm sure he asked himself, did I really hear you right, God? Did I really hear you correctly? Was it just my imagination? Because he waited and he waited and he waited many years to see and experience what God had promised. This is why the apostle Paul says, do not be weary in your waiting and your well-doing; for in due season, we shall reap if we faint not.
I'm going to finish with a portion of scripture found in the book of Psalms. We have to remember that the Psalms are written by human beings who cry out of the depths of their heart. What they say is not necessarily always true about God. It's true that they are saying this about God. It's true that this is how they are feeling about God. This is one of those Psalms that just gushes out of, in a sense, frustration. Read this, baby.
Jacque: Psalm 41-3 in the Message Bible- I waited and waited and waited for God.
Brian: Wow. Anybody relate to that? Anybody relate to it? Read it again.
Jacque: I waited and waited and waited.
Brian: I waited and waited and waited and waited for God.
Jacque: And waited for God. At last, he looked. Finally, he listened.
Brian: Now, listen, he is always been looking and he is always listening, but when he doesn't answer in your time and my time, it feels as though he is not looking. It feels as though he is not listening, doesn't it feel that way? But he is always listening and he is always there. He is always looking. Let's go on.
Jacque: He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from the deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn't slip. He taught me how to sing the latest God's song, a praise song to our God. More and more people are seeing this. They enter the mystery, abandoning themselves to God.
Brian: I love this third verse here where he says, he taught me how to sing the latest, best God song. He taught me how to sing this great God song.
Jacque: A new song.
Brian: A new song, a praise song to her God,
Jacque: A song I had never sung before.
Brian: That's right. More and more people are seeing this, are doing this. I invite you, if you haven't been singing a God song in your darkness, in your misery, in your waiting to begin to sing, to begin to sing. It may be a faint song in the very depths of your heart, but the more you sing it, the more it will begin to erupt, because you know what? We are filled with the spirit. We are filled with the spirit. That's a promise from God to the weary and the broken and the downtrodden and those who are frustrated, and those who are waiting. We have been given a promise to be filled, that he will fill us with his spirit. You are filled with the spirit. You know what we need that to do? Bubble out of us. One of the ways that it begins to bubble out of us is we begin to sing a praise song.
More and more people are seeing this and they enter this mystery. What a mystery, isn't it? What is a mystery? Sometimes it's something you just don't understand. You can't wrap your mind around it. You just can't. It doesn't make sense in our way of thinking. This is a mystery. But if we will praise him in the darkness, if we will praise him in the difficult times, if we will lift up our voice and sing honorable songs to our savior, who has been there looking and watching and waiting for us... We get impatient in our waiting for God. How long has God waited for us? As we sing this song to God, and as we abandoned... I love that word abandoned. As we abandoned ourselves to God, with wanton abandon, I like to trust him with wanton abandon, we will find ourselves strengthened. We will find ourselves overflowing in the spirit. We will find ourselves being comforted and consoled.
Jacque: I think there is somebody out there saying, well, how am I filled with the spirit? How do I abandon myself to God?
Brian: Wow, that's a deep one.
Jacque: It's just opening up.
Brian: That's right.
Jacque: Telling him that that's what you want to do. I want you. I want your spirit living in me, and opening up our hearts to him, our minds.
Brian: That's right. It is one of the simplest, not easy, but simplest acts of faith. It's just to say to God, I need you. I need you. Fill me. Fill me with your love. Bring me your comfort, and let your heart be opened. Let your heart be opened to this wonderful, wonderful savior. I waited and waited and waited, and he heard my cry and he lifted me out of my depression. He lifted me out of my anxiety. He lifted me out of my darkness. He pulled me from the deep mud and he stood me up on a solid rock. That's our promise today. That's the rest of the story. That's the consolation that Simeon spoke about to Mary and Joseph about who Jesus really was. It's one thing to say he will save his people from their sins and that's a wonderful, wonderful gift, but when we personalize it to a place of being comforted and consoled in the most difficult and trying times of your life, whether those difficulties were self-inflicted or whether those difficulties happened because of somebody else unjustly treating you, there is consolation and comfort to be had in the person of Jesus. Let me pray for all of us today that we received this.
Father in heaven, we thank you for the gift of Jesus. We thank you for the wonderful gift of Jesus. On the night like no other, he came into the world. From the very beginning, those who had eyes to see and ears to hear, knew what he came for; a light to the Gentiles and a glory to the nation of Israel, and one who would bring comfort and help and consolation to the broken into the weary and the downtrodden, to the up and outers, to the down and outers and to everybody in between.
I prayed today in the name of Jesus, that your comfort, your consolation, your help would come to everybody watching this live stream and everybody here. I pray that anybody who views this program at some time in the future, you will bring your comfort through Holy Spirit. You will bring your peace and your joy, your help. That is why you came. You did not come to tell the world how bad it was. You came to make the world right, and you make it right when we receive you and your spirit comes and fills our hearts. So I pray again today, fill me again today, Jesus. Fill me with your spirit to overflow. May your love be shed abroad in my heart so that I can love others as well. This we pray in the matchless name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Let's raise our hands together and receive a blessing from the Lord. Now, may the Lord bless you, and may the Lord keep you. May the Lord make his face to shine upon you. May the Lord turned his face towards you and give you his peace, and may you sense more dearly than ever before the consolation, the comfort and the help of our wonderful savior Jesus Christ. This, we pray, in the name of the father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen. God bless you. Have a wonderful day today. See you next year, hopefully, hopefully. Be safe this week, and go talk to a bunch of anyone’s and tell them what's in store for them today. God bless you. Have a great day. Bye-bye.
Transcript taken from the Sunday morning service 12-27-20. If you would like to watch the full service, click one of the links below.