Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:05 Good morning, church. Good morning. Good morning. Are you nice and warm? Don't lie. You can't lie. <laugh>, yeah, we had a a really good pre-launch last week and just thank you for, you know, for those who prayed for us, who turned up, who encouraged us, uh, it means so much to us. We're stepping out here in faith and, uh, to have the team and then thank you Pastor Mark and the team just for really setting us up to win. We wanna see the kingdom of God, don't we advance across the Southwest? And, uh, we're the first plant church. Yeah, first plant church, first of many. And, um, I believe many more are coming. They're in the making. They're coming. And there's people maybe sating this room today and you'd never have, you know, even thought that it'd be possible that maybe somebody like you is that a phone, da da da <laugh> Santa, um, would be, you know, would be called to plant a church.
Speaker 1 00:01:06 Maybe you are. So, uh, yeah, we had a great, we had a great time and uh, we were Carol singing yesterday in Newton Abbott, Newton ab. Um, we had a really great time joining in with the Plymouth Life Group, so well done. And, um, I managed to bribe some of my children to come along, one of my children to come along and sing. And I said, count your blessings that I'm not dressing you up like a sheep or a wise man or something like that. How many b remember the days when, yeah. So I grew up in Oxford and we would go to the John Radcliffe Hospital every single year and being a pk, a pastor's kid, we had to turn up boots blacked in little sheep outfits wise men and Mary, and I was always the sheep. I was never Mary. My eldest sister, Sarah was Mary as always, and I was some sheep tagging along with my brothers. So, um, yeah, it was, it's all good fun. Okay, so we're gonna read, do you wanna turn with me to Luke chapter two this morning? I'm gonna read quite a, a long passage because I want us to really just be inspired this morning by the story. It's more than just a Christmas story. This is life changing. This is the greatest event that has ever happened on the face of the earth.
Speaker 1 00:02:24 There is another event to come, and that is the Gloria second come of the Messiah. Jesus. We dunno when that's gonna happen. The Father does. We don't. But this, what we're about to read now is the greatest event that has ever happened. So turn to Luke chapter two, the birth of Jesus. So it said, in those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. This was the first census that took place while Cirius was governor of Syria. And everyone went to their own town to register. So Joseph went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea to Bethlehem, the town of David, because he belonged to the house in line of David. He went there to register with Mary. He was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child while they were there.
Speaker 1 00:03:23 The time came for the baby to be born, the time, the appointed time that God had for the baby to be born. And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger because there was no guest room available for them. And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks. At night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them and the glory of the Lord shun around them and they were terrified. But the angels said to them, do not be afraid. I bring you good news. Everyone say good news that will cause great joy for all the people today in the town of David, a savior has been born to you. He is the messiah, the Lord. And this will be a sign to you. You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.
Speaker 1 00:04:21 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel praising God, saying, glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth, peace to those on whom his favor rests. While the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherd said to one another, let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about. So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph and the baby who was lying in the manger when they had seen him. Wow. They spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child. And all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told on the eighth day when it was time to circumcise the child.
Speaker 1 00:05:28 He was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he was conceived. Jesus, the name above all names. What a, an incredible account that we've just read this morning and um, you know, all the way through the Old Testament. I wanna take us back just a little bit this morning cause I wanna inspire us. Just got a few points I wanna bring, but you know, all the way through the Old Testament. Thanks Caroline. Let's give Caroline a round of applause. Thank you for doing that. We have some wonderful musicians, don't we, at Rediscover Church, some really truly excellent musicians. So thank you for serving. And um, so all the way through the odd testament, it is clear that God wants to dwell with his people. It's so evident, so evident that God wants to come and dwell with people like you and like me.
Speaker 1 00:06:24 You can't get away from that fact. You go through and study right from Genesis going straight through to the gospel narrative that Jesus, so God wants to come and be with us. Let's look at some examples in Genesis right at the start, you see Adam and Eve and this wonderful relationship that Adam and Heve Eve have with God. And it says that God, they could hear God walking in the cool of the day. Can you imagine having that close relationship with God that you can hear his footsteps, you hear him in the cool of the day. But we know that sin came and wrecked that relationship between God and man. But you know, Anna say to us this morning that God wasn't there the moment that sin came. God wasn't there thinking, scratching his head, thinking, oh my goodness, what on earth am I going to do now?
Speaker 1 00:07:18 How am I going to fix this issue with sin? This great divide that has now happened between God and people. He wasn't thinking, I just, I need to come up with a plan. How many of us this morning know that Jesus Christ is not plan B, he's not an afterthought. Jesus Christ is the plan and the will of the Father on the earth. And the wonderful thing is church, that he is here with us by His spirit. So we have that in Genesis and then we come to Abraham, father Abraham and the promise that was given, I was gonna come on a song then, but no, I'm not <laugh>, do you? Okay. And Abraham, and he was promised that through Abraham and his seed, which is Christ, that Abraham would father the nations, that kings would come from Abraham. Are you getting the picture? Church, this is not a plan B, this is God's perfect will and his plan.
Speaker 1 00:08:25 And if you look in Matthew, I haven't got time to do it. One of the Newton Abbott team said, go on, just read through the whole genealogy. Go on, bore them <laugh>. I said, it's not boring, but we haven't got time this morning. But if you go through the whole genealogy in Matthews gospel, it starts at Abraham going through Isaac and Jacob and Boaz and David and all of that, and Jehoshaphat. And he goes right by through to then Joseph from the line of David and Mary who gives birth to, to Jesus. And then we've got Moses, we're moving on through the Old Testament because it's fulfilling. It's, it's pointing to Jesus the Messiah coming. And you have Moses. And God says to Moses, I want you to build a tabernacle. And this tabernacle was a portable sanctuary to house the arc. And the arc was the presence of God.
Speaker 1 00:09:21 Again, God telling us that he wants to dwell with us, to dwell with his people. It's not plan B. God wants to be where we are. He longs to be where we are. And then we have Isaiah, then we love Isaiah the prophet, hundreds of years before Jesus comes, Isaiah Prophesize that the Messiah will come. He prophesize the name of the Messiah and he prophesize how the Messiah will come. Let's just read from Isaiah, um, I think it's seven 14. It says, therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Emmanuel. Come on church. This was 700 years before the coming of the Messiah. And then Isaiah, he also goes on, and this is for another day, but Isaiah 53, where Isaiah prophesize about how Jesus will die, how he will take the punishment upon himself, the punishment that brings us peace upon himself.
Speaker 1 00:10:31 And then we have Micah, a minor prophet, and this is incredible. Again, couple of hundred years, seven or 800 years before the Messiah comes. Micah five says this, Micah five, two. But outta you Bethlehem Erea, though you are small among the clans of Judah, outta you will come for me. One who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times. This is talking again about the coming of the Messiah. Can we have one of those in Newton Abbott? Is that okay? Pastor Mark? I love that. I don't have to. Yeah, we <laugh> coming on the earth. And so we've had centuries that's pointed the way to the Messiah. Come in centuries of prophets, prophets sign centuries of leaders and kings, the Pharaohs, the Nepi, Cannes, the Herods, the Ahab's, all putting them foot themselves on thrones, all exalting themselves to highest places.
Speaker 1 00:11:42 We've had thousands of years of the early fathers seen from afar the Promised Messiah come in. How many of them in their day would've loved to have been where we are today to be the other side of the cross in the fulfillment years? But they saw it from afar. And then in a small little town, there's 400 years between the old and New Testament. Jesus arrives on the scene, the promised Messiah arrives on the scene. God came down in flesh to dwell amongst us. Let's never get almost complacent about the fact that God came down to dwell in us. And we are living in the days where God is now dwelling by his spirit in our hearts and in our lives. So the time came for the baby to be born.
Speaker 1 00:12:45 You know, as a mother, I have birthed three children there. I think they're out in youth this morning. Okay, three children. Can I just have a round of applause please? <laugh>. Ooh, <laugh>. Oh, it was easy. It was nothing. <laugh>. And I have birthed three children and um, you know, as a mom who's birthed three children, you know, when the time comes for the baby to be born, nod with me, mothers, you know, when the time comes for the baby to be born. And I remember one evening which said we had some friends around and um, I remember we didn't know Ruben was going to be my first born, was gonna be a son, but I just had that feeling that he was gonna be a boy. And uh, if he was going to be a boy, he was going to be called Ruben. Phil didn't have a choice in this.
Speaker 1 00:13:34 It was going to be Ruben. And, um, and so I remember one night I was talking, I was sorry, we said goodbye to some friends and um, I said to Phil, I said, Phil, I'm just gonna stay up tonight. I said, I just don't feel like going to sleep. Um, and Phil says, okay, I I'm gonna go to bed. So Phil went to bed and um, I sat down, it was about 11 o'clock at night and I just sat there and suddenly these birth pains started coming and I'm getting a bit uncomfortable. I'm getting a bit sweaty. And, um, as a woman, I'm gonna educate you guys a little bit, all right? Because you haven't been through this and you never will. Um, <laugh> you kind of, it's like this massive tummy ache that comes over you. And so this tummy ache comes and I'm like, I'm okay with this.
Speaker 1 00:14:27 Everything's fine. That's fine. And at this point I can hear Phil sweetly sleeping upstairs at this point. And so yeah. And so, um, but over a period of like an hour, these birth pains started increasing. And by this time I'm getting up from the sofa and I am just slowly pacing up and down my lounge. And bear in mind, all this time, phy is sweetly sleeping upstairs in the upper room and an hour later, two hours later, the pain is coming on fast and furious. And by this time I'm pacing it, I'm pacing it. Um, and by 2:00 AM I'm now on all fours, banging the floor, banging the sofa, Phil's still sweetly sleeping upstairs. And then at 3:00 AM <laugh> when I could cope no more, I shouted Phil at the top of my lungs, Phil comes downstairs and he asks the question that no man should ever ask a woman who is one heavily pregnant and two in labor. Are you okay <laugh>?
Speaker 1 00:15:39 And we just looked at each other and he says, you need to go to hospital, don't you? And I said, yeah, we need to go. And anyway, a couple of hours later, Ruben, I was holding Ruben, my born son. It's a miracle, isn't it? An absolute miracle and a joy. But Mary, her time had come. Do you know men? I won't, I won't do any more details. Did you like that? I stopped. I stopped. That's it. Okay. We just went from being in labor to holding a baby for the time I'd come from Mary to give birth to Jesus. That's the human side of it, isn't it? With Mary, we forget sometimes the human side of it.
Speaker 1 00:16:20 And God took on flesh at that point in time. Can I just remind us this morning of this great doctrine and truth, the Jesus was not created. Jesus did not come into existence when Mary gave birth to him. And it's so important, isn't it, that we remember that truth in a world that is so confused in a world that doesn't know what to believe, it's important that the church knows what she believes and what is the truth? You know, Jesus was begotten, not created and begotten is this kind of old fashioned word, if you like. And it simply means that, that Jesus and the Father had a special relationship, that Jesus was one of a kind. And it means there will never ever be anyone like Jesus ever again. He is one of a kind, his glorious church. And he took, and God took on flesh that night fully God, fully man. In fact, John's gospel puts it like this. John chapter one, it says, there we go. In the beginning was the word and the word was with God. And the word was God. He was with God in the beginning. My favorite Carol
Speaker 1 00:17:57 Hark, the Herald Angels sing. I love it. I think every year are we singing it On Friday
Speaker 1 00:18:04 I will turn up, then I will turn up and we're all gonna turn up. It's gonna be a great time. But Hark the Herald Angels Sing and Hark the Herald Angels Sa uh, sing was written by Charles Wesley by Hands Future heard of Charles Wesley, the great hymn writer. And so he originally wrote Hark the Herald as a poem, and it's been adapted over the years. But in seven, in 1739, he wrote Hark The Herald. And the reason behind writing Hark the Herald was because he was desperate for the people of his time who were uneducated, illiterate people, poor people. He was desperate for them to grab hold of the truth of who Jesus Christ really is. God in flesh. And this is what he pinned down, veiled in flesh, the Godhead Sea. We think of Jesus, the Godhead, sea hail the incarnate de pleased as man with man to dwell Jesus, our Emmanuel. And 300 years later, millions of people all over the world are singing this wonderful doctrine about how God came down in flesh. Love it, love it. The time came the perfect plan and Will of God at an appointed time. Okay? Do you know what I find quite amusing really in all of this?
Speaker 1 00:19:39 You know, God, he is, he's so perfect. You know, he's, he's the perfect planner. He's the perfect director of everything. Perfect. Creator has everything to perfect perfection. His timing on everything throughout the years. That's why we can trust him. He's totally perfect. But then we have, when we look at who Jesus, who God uses in this narrative, he uses Mary and Joseph who are completely unprepared. There has been no planning involved. They're traveling a hard road down to Bethlehem. There's no pre-booking a hotel room, no pre-booking a hospital suite. We're not told of any midwives on the scene. There is very little preparation. And this morning what I, as I was looking at this, I just feel to bring to people this morning in this room that you are finding yourselves in a season where you simply don't have a plan. Your plans have maybe gone out the window, they've been derailed in life. Maybe you've entered into retirement and you, you're saying to the Lord, Lord, what's the plan for my life next? Maybe you've started a business venture and it's completely derailed.
Speaker 1 00:21:06 Maybe this morning you are in a relationship or you've been in a relationship and it hasn't ended the way you wanted it to. It hasn't gone to plan. And I want us this morning as a church to take encouragement from this story this morning that even though Mary and Joseph, they found themselves without a plan, in fact, if you think about this story, they should have been having a wonderful celebration of getting married. You know, and if you, if you look at getting married, um, in those days it would've been a week long ceremony. It'd been beautiful, extravagant. The whole town would've come out to celebrate. And they were on the way, on the plan of their lives as a young couple to get married. And suddenly that plan has been pulled away from them. And they are without a plan. Anybody felt like that You suddenly find yourself without a plan or encourages this morning that although they were without a plan, because they had committed themselves and humbly come. Remember Mary says, I am the, I am the Lord servant be to me as you said it would be because they had committed their way to the Lord be even when they were without a plan, they rested in the fact that they were in the great plans of God. We are in the great plans of God this morning.
Speaker 1 00:22:35 We are in the great plans of God this morning. Honor say that if that's you this morning, it's in this exact moment. The God wants to father you, allow God to father you because he's good at it. Some of you without a plan, you feel vulnerable. You feel weak about your future. You haven't got tomorrow's answers. But God has, he has you in the palm of his hand today. He's good at fathering you. There is this lovely, um, passage in scripture. One of my favorite, actually it's a bit gory. Jesus has lived on the earth for 30 years. He's on the cross flesh. You imagine as a mother seeing your son, there's flesh coming out of his sides, his
Speaker 2 00:23:34 Skull,
Speaker 1 00:23:37 There's blood
Speaker 1 00:23:40 Coming down, this is your son. And even on the cross, Jesus is looking at his mother and he wants to take care of her. And he, he, he tells one of the other disciples, John, he says, look after my mother, take my mother. And this disciple takes Mary into his home and looks after her for the rest of her days. God wants to father us if we are on this difficult road, cuz sometimes at Christmas with all the lights and everyone's got a happy face on the reality can be sometimes far away from that for our lives. Allow God to father you this Christmas time. He took on flesh for the very reason of intimacy with us because he wanted to dwell with us. Psalm 149 says, this wonderful promise for the Lord takes delight in his people. I don't care what you've done this week.
Speaker 1 00:24:47 The truth is he takes delight in you. He delights in you cuz he created you. For the Lord takes delight in his people. He crowns the humble with victory. What a promise this morning, if you are without a plan, maybe things have gone wrong, there's victory. He crowns the humble with victory. Let his faithful people rejoice in this honor and sing for joy on their beds. It's hard to sing for joy on your bed when you're in a a dark season. <laugh>, you know, the night times are often the hardest, aren't they right? I don't like winter. I find it very dark. I can't wait till east is on its way and it's bright and it's light and it's wonderful. All right. I, I find it hard, especially the Devin roads. No one prepared us for the Devin roads. Can I say, coming up from Manchester where everything's lit up, everything, you come to Devin and it's like, I cannot see anything. <laugh> and Phil at seven o'clock at night, he's saying, are you okay? Like, are you, you're not stuck down some farmer's field. I'm no, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm getting there. Um, <laugh> but the nighttime can often be the real darkest seasons because it's just before you need to get up for the next day. And if you haven't got the answers for the next day, you know that day's coming quickly upon you. You know, in 2019 I didn't sleep for the whole year.
Speaker 1 00:26:20 It was, it was one of the worst and probably best years of my life and I won't go into it, but I just didn't sleep. I had chronic insomnia. Right After three months, you kind of, alright, I'm a bit tired now, you know, I've birthed three children. Um, and you, you are used to the, the kind of sleepless nights. But by month three I was like, okay, I'm tired. By month six, I was exhausted. By month nine I thought I was gonna die because between the hours of 1:00 AM and 6:00 AM I would be up ding. And I found myself getting out of bed, going downstairs and just frustratingly in tears worshiping my way through the early hours of each night and morning. But it was a wonderful season really because in those times of worship, on the nighttime hours, in the nighttime hours, God did some amazing heart surgery in my life. Some much needed stuff. And some of you here this morning, you're in that night season and I pray my prayer for you today is that like Mary, you will go, okay, this is the hard road that I'm on, but my soul will rejoice in the Lord and my spirit
Speaker 1 00:27:50 Will rejoice in God my savior. Amen. Amen. Amen. And finally this morning, finally this morning, I wanna mention the wonderful shepherds, the wonderful shepherds. You know, let me just ask this question. And the question is this, as we finish, what will and what does the visitation of a king and his kingdom mean to us personally as individuals, as a church, as our communities, as our families in our homes? What is this visitation going to mean to us personally? You know, when God came in flesh, he announced the birth of Jesus to a bunch of shepherds. He announced it to them in a field of all places, not a glorious tabernacle temple. He announced it in a field to some shepherds. And this is what happened. It said God sent an angel to tell them that they would, they would find a baby in a manger. And then God sent some more angels. Wouldn't you just love that God sent more angels and they started singing glory to God in the highest glory to God in the highest. And the shepherds that day witnessed what many of us I guess would love to see and hear in our own lifetimes. You know, I don't think we talk about the supernatural enough in the body of Christ
Speaker 1 00:29:27 And the shepherds they heard and they saw these angels singing, you know, all around the world. Uh, and and especially in times of revival and awakening across the earth, there's been times and accounts where people have got together a bit like we did with prepare Him room. They would get together and they would simply exalt the name of Jesus together. And then people would say, you know, I can hear, I can hear something, I can hear as if choirs of angels are joining us in worshiping Jesus. And that excites me when I hear stories like that from the hees, from the asuza awakening. Lord, will you do it again? Will your presence on the earth be so tangible in your church? Awaken us Lord that angels can't help. Choirs of angels can't help but join the church as she gathers because we are so lifting up the name of Jesus.
Speaker 1 00:30:32 We are so exalt in His name. And you know, it doesn't just need to happen in corporate gatherings like this. It can happen in our home. Happen in our home. And you know, that day the the angels of the band, you want to come up Thank you band. And you know that day the angels, sorry, the shepherds when they heard the angels glorifying God, right? I believe they had two options. And this is what I wanna really kind of point out this morning. They had two options. Option one, the shepherds could have just stayed in that field and been so amazed and wowed at the angels or go to Bethlehem and see for themselves as a church, are we gonna see for ourselves? Cuz I think for so long the church, we are amazed at maybe what we do and when the church does some great stuff. I'm not crying that the church do some great stuff, but we can be amazed at what goes on. But how many of us know that amazement soon wears off? And I think sometimes people come into the church and they're amazed by the welcome, they're amazed by different things. But you see, amazement is a feeling that comes and it goes. Amazement is the signpost that takes us deeper and greater to the reality of Christ. It's what it does.
Speaker 1 00:32:03 When Jesus is on the earth and he ministered, you can read the gospel accounts, get into the gospel accounts, they're incredible. Just keep reading them. It says crowds were amazed at Jesus's teaching his authority. The miracles, the wonders. And of course we are <laugh>. Of course we are. But you know, on the day of Pentecost before the Holy Spirit came, there was just 120 people in the upper room, 120 believers that gathered. It tells me that the crowd were amazed for that moment, but forgot to treasure and ponder the living one. What will the visitation of a king and his kingdom do in our lives? None of us know. None of us know how much time we have to live on the face of the earth. You know, every time I meet with the Lord, I am always amazed that he would wanna meet with me. I'm amazed I can't get over it. The God would wanna come and tabernacle with me. Let's not rob ourselves of being with him where he is. When prepare him. Room went on. I spent the first hour just in absolute tears sobbing, saying, oh Lord, I haven't felt this intimacy for a long time. <laugh>
Speaker 1 00:33:53 And God powerfully and so graciously met with me when I was just at the back there with snot and tears and everything else. And he's so graciously met with me because distractions come, don't they? And we get so caught up in our own little business, praying this coming Christmas and going into 2023 as a church that we would so get hold of what God is doing, that we would go and meet him. We would do what it takes.
Speaker 1 00:34:31 We would get if, if we need to get up, get up. If we need to get up, I have to get up. But Phil goes, he laughs at me about getting up early. But you know, can I be really honest? If I don't get up early to seek the Lord, it will never happen that day. I have to because it won't happen. And when I don't, it doesn't happen. Surprise, surprise. That's just for me. I'm not saying what you need to do, but I have to. And am I tired? Yeah, <laugh>. But I come out of it just enjoying such intimacy that God would want a tabernacle with me. And that's the truth. Yeah. Holy Spirit, will you come upon us as a church? Yeah. Fill us with amazement and wonder. But Lord, we wanna go beyond just a temporary fix. We wanna be people who stay in your presence, who walk in your presence, who are aware of your presence. We want intimacy with you. The great story. But I'll just finish up here with a great story about the shepherds. You know, if they hadn't have pursued Jesus and seeing him face to face, remember it was a choice.
Speaker 1 00:36:00 They would've robbed themselves of becoming what I believe is true worship in spirit and in truth. Because they met the Savior they'd have robbed themselves. Not only robbed themselves, but they would've robbed that town of hearing the good news. That was great joy for all people. See, they became witnesses. See intimacy, yes, it's for us, but it's also for the world that God so loved. There's a world that needs to know good news. That is great joy for all people. May God bless his word to our hearts. Lord, move in power. Bring us ever closer to you in these days. What days we are living, in what days we are living in. Amen. Thanks man.
