Bethlehem Candle
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What is faith?
What is faith?
Faith according to Hebrews 11 is:
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.
2 For by it the people of old received their commendation.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
I like one definition I read of faith
Faith is an active trust in God, a belief in what He says is true that results in action.
Have you ever doubted? Have you ever been afraid? Have you ever worried?
This may seem to be a minor example, but I had a small trial this week. About two weeks ago I had a dentist appointment to fix a couple teeth. The one was giving me pain when I would bite down on something hard. Well when the day came for my appointment, I started to get a cold so I canceled and they couldn’t get me in until this past Thursday. Then last Monday I was eating lunch and a piece broke off of my tooth and it became really sensitive. And of course Wednesday rolled around and I started getting a little congested and I started to worry because I didn’t want to wait two more weeks to get it fixed. I was praying for direction because I didn’t want to wait to the last minute to cancel but I really wanted my tooth fixed. I didn’t know what to do. Well as I was praying through the situation. I remember I have a device to flush my sinuses so I decided to flush my sinuses right before I left for my appointment and I was hoping that my sinuses would stay clear through out my appointment and they did. God answered our prayers and I was able to get through it and get my tooth fixed. One cool part was as I sat in the waiting room some fear started to creep in. And then I remembered the prayers that where prayed for me Wednesday night and it reminded me that I was not in control and the dentist wasn’t in control. Who was in control? God was and is and always will be. Just as we will see in our text this morning, so turn with me to our passage this morning in Luke chapter 1. As you turn there, you might think my example this morning is silly compared to what Joseph and Mary went through and you might be hesitant to bring such small matters to God but God does care about such small events in our lives. A tooth problem seems so trivial when brothers and sisters are being persecuted and there is a war in Ukraine and people are battling cancer. But God cares about all areas of our lives because the truth is He used the trial of my tooth to increase my faith. Remember God is in sovereign control and cares about all details of our lives. The verse that came to mind is Matthew 10 follow along on the screen as I read
25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.
26 “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known.
27 What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father.
30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.
31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.
32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,
33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
How awesome is that! Nothing happens to a sparrow which two are sold for a penny outside of the will of God and Jesus said how much more valuable are you than a sparrow?
So we will need to keep that in mind as we examine our text this morning, how God is sovereignly in control and how we can trust Him.
As we prepare for the second coming of Christ, why It is good to look back and remember the first coming. Why do we celebrate Christmas? We have to be careful here, because in our culture Christmas has become very commercialized and the focus has left the real reason. What do we celebrate?
The reason we take four weeks and study advent is to remind ourselves why we celebrate Christmas. So why do we? What does Christmas mean to us as believers?
Let’s look our text and discuss our answer deeper? I think if we aren’t careful we will rush past the faith of Mary and Joseph.
26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,
27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. And the virgin’s name was Mary.
28 And he came to her and said, “Greetings, O favored one, the Lord is with you!”
29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and tried to discern what sort of greeting this might be.
30 And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,
33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.”
34 And Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?”
35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.
36 And behold, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.
37 For nothing will be impossible with God.”
Let us not miss how much faith it would have taken for Marry and Joseph to obey God. I think I always assume that they saw the angel so it would have been easy. But i still think it would have taken a lot of faith to live out the calling that God put on their lives. As I prepared I had a thought. While they saw an angel and heard the message through them, what do we have? It we believe and call on the name of Jesus to be saved what do we have? Listen to Ephesians 1.
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.