New Beginnings

So I've labored over this message. You'll be able to tell it's a little bit of a longer one, but I'll try to get us through it because the team's gonna come back and lead us in just a beautiful song that I think is very tied to what the Lord wants to say. This morning I labored over this message and didn't really know the banner over it. He just kind of brought me to the scripture and gave me the takeaways. It's kind of how he has me speaking right now.

I just. Today I'll give you five takeaways. But I wasn't sure, like, the central theme. So I really, like was asking the Lord, and he made it clear. He said, I want you to speak on New Beginnings.

Probably two hours later, I got a text from Hakel, and she said, the Lord gave me a word for you this morning. Here it is. And at the top it said new Beginnings. And it was a word for me specifically, but it was also a confirmation. I know he wants to speak to us this morning.

Maybe you're visiting today. We're so glad you're here. Maybe you've been here a long time and you're just faithful to these gatherings. And we're so glad you're here. Maybe you've been away for a while and you came reluctantly this morning.

I'm so glad you're here because he wants to speak to us and I know he wants me to grab hold of what I'm sharing with you for my own life. And he made it very clear through Hakel and just your honoring of me this morning. Thank you so much. In just a moment, we're going to look in Matthew 1, because it is our Christmas awakens. So we're going to look at a Christmas passage.

But before we do, we're going to look at the second part of Matthew 1, starting with verse 18. But before that, I just want to say a couple of things foundationally. Whew. My heart is pounding. Worship was amazing.

Thank you, guys. It's kind of a weird statement. Worship was amazing, but I think that's what God's saying. I think he really liked it. May we never say we didn't prefer a certain worship set.

It's not about us, but if it was about us, it was really good. But it is about him, and it was still really good. Christmas is rightly celebrated, actually the greatest celebration of any other focus on New beginnings. Christmas is about New Beginnings because by the time we get to Matthew 1, the first chapter of the New Testament, Heaven has been seemingly silent for centuries. Heaven has been silent since the prophet Malachi.

And Matthew 1 begins with genealogies. And if I would read those to you, we'd probably have a couple people slip into their morning nap. That still happens sometimes when I speak. Let me give a disclaimer. If you happen to take your nap during my message, don't come up to me afterwards and apologize for your nap, because maybe I didn't notice and then I get depressed, so don't do that.

And that's true. I've had people do that. But if I read the genealogies, for sure, you would probably fall asleep, because it's really just a list of names. But it's profound that it's there. It gives us 14 generations, starting from the inception of the people of Israel, starting with Abraham and going to David.

14 generations. Then 14 more generations between David and the Babylonian exile. That's when the nation of Israel had wandered and they were taken into exile as a judgment for their choices. And then 14 more generations from the exile to the birth of Jesus. So 42 generations are listed.

It's a list of names, but it signifies something very significant. And this is important as it relates to new beginnings. Because at this point in the redemptive story, Heaven has reached an impasse. This is important for us to understand. We read through the Old Testament and we see that there's been a weaving, a pattern, even a roller coaster, if you will.

They were given the law. Moses was given the law on the tablets, the stone tablets on Mount Sinai, to show the people how to live. It was a gift from heaven. But when Moses is descending from the mountain, he hears the sound of what isn't worship of Yahweh God, but it's dancing to a God they made because they got tired of waiting for the one they couldn't see. And in his anger, Moses broke the tablets.

The law had to be given again. But really, as a symbol of what we do, we break the law of God over and over. And that was the history of humanity. But not only had their hope in keeping the law been broken like we do when we try to do the will of God in our own strength. This is the narrative of God's story as we arrive into Matthew 1.

The prophets sent by God were despised. They were rejected. Some of them were even killed at the hands of the very people that they came to deliver the message to. So the people of God had broken the law. They had disobeyed the prophets.

And by the time we get to Matthew 1, the heaven's at an impasse. Heaven has been silent. Yet heaven's desire is for the true character of God to fully break through the frailty of humanity. Why? In order to deliver the love message that existed before time began.

So here's where we are. In Matthew 1, there's a breaking in of the Word of God. John 1:1 says, in the beginning was the Word, capital W, Jesus. And the Word was with God. And the Word was God, the pre incarnate.

That's Jesus before he became on earth. Before the full pre incarnate Word of God was existent in Jesus. It already was existent in Jesus. All right, let me start that statement over. Janet, don't judge me.

You would have never got tongue tied like that. The full pre incarnate Word of God was existent in Jesus before he was ever made flesh. That's what John 1:1 tells us. But it had not yet made its way into the earth in the way that we celebrate Christmas morning. So after 42 generations of yearning for the breakthrough of the character of God, no matter how much humanity had tried to follow God, there seemed to be something in their hearts prone to.

To wander. Can anyone relate? So after 42 generations of groaning, of longing, Christ was born. Heaven came to earth. So Christmas is about new beginnings.

And when we arrive at an impasse in our own lives, and I'm telling you the Lord wants to speak to hearts this morning, when we arrive at the end of ourselves, it's the perfect place for a new beginning. In Yeshua, who we sang about this morning, let me declare what you already know, but let us consider it together. The Lord has come. Let earth receive her king. Let every heart, every heart prepare his room.

Matthew 1. We're going to look at verses 18 through 25, and then I'm going to give you five takeaways as we consider new beginnings. And I feel his presence in such a sweet way. Let him in. Let him in.

He's knocking. Starting with verse 18, this is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about. His mother Mary, was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace. He had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from The Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet. The Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son and he gave him the name Jesus. Verses 19 and 20. I'm going to read again because it's going to bring us into our first takeaway. Because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law and yet did not want to expose Mary to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. Joseph was a noble man, and he had noble intentions.

But after he had considered what I just read to you, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and brought him in a different direction. Takeaway number one. Nobility does not necessarily equal the will of God. As we step into whatever new beginning, which is the nature of God, it's the nature of Christmas, it's the nature of our salvation. It's the nature of this manger, the new beginning.

We need to first lay hold of this reality that nobility does not necessarily equal the will of God. Proverbs 16:9 says, the heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps. So the propensity of our hearts is to plan our way, and if we have been transformed enough to the ways that we plan, can even be noble. I can't imagine what Joseph was processing. I mean, they're in anticipation, the betrothal period, they're engaged, but it was a more serious legal thing than in our culture.

All they're doing in this period is dreaming and planning for their future, talking about their future children. And then Mary's pregnant. She's not just pregnant, she's pregnant by God. That had to be tough for Joseph to wrap his mind around. It had to be tough for him to wrap his faith around, even though he knew it had been prophesied that the Messiah would come from a virgin.

But I doubt he ever considered that that's what would happen in his life. And we know this because he started to make a plan as a result, his own plan. And it was a noble plan. I mean, he wanted to be faithful to the law. So he knew, I'm going to have to divorce her.

But he also didn't want to bring her to public Disgrace. So he was calculating his plans based on that which would be noble. And God intervened and spoke to him in a dream. Why? Because God had a different plan.

And I'm here to announce to you this morning, as I announce a new beginning at this Christmas season, there's a path before each person that seems right, according to Proverbs 14:12. But when we follow what seems right to us, it ends in death. So for a new beginning, we cannot operate in what seems right. I spoke a couple Wednesday nights ago about, speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. And we had this cross out.

People placed pieces of paper of what they need to hear God on, not based on what we want to be comforted in. Like, Lord, what's going to come of this? And if it's not this answer, don't tell me. No, we understand. We want to hear what God says.

And even though Eli the priest was evil, he was. He wasn't evil. He was a godly man. But he was. He was passive and he was compromising.

He even he knew to say to Samuel, whatever word the Lord gave you for me, give it to me. Because he knows what he's talking about. And that has to be our posture. You want a new beginning? We can't operate in what seems right.

We need the voice of God. We cannot trust our hearts, even with the most noble of intentions. We need God's wisdom. In Acts 15, there's a letter that has been written by the Jerusalem Council, by the leadership, the elders in Jerusalem. And it's written to Gentile Christians in Antioch and Syria.

And Cilicia, I think, is how. Cilicia. Janet can tell me later. Janet knows everything.

It's the truth. And she has corrected my pronunciations before. In kindness. In kindness. And it means a lot to me.

Silisha, I said it. Cilicia. Is that right? Tell me later. Okay, it's fine.

Full. Man, you're amazing. So this letter is going from the Jerusalem elders to the Gentile Christians. And there's a verse within that letter that I have heard misquoted. Maybe not misquoted, but misapplied.

I'll say it that way. And misinterpreted. It simply says if it seems good to you. No, I'm sorry. Verse 28 of Acts 15.

This is the 28th verse of the letter there in Acts 15. 15. It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements. And then it goes into a few requirements, like abstaining from food sacrificed to idols. Abstaining from sexual immorality.

They're saying it seemed good with the Holy Spirit, and to us to only bring these few instructions. Well, I've heard this verse misapplied, where people just say, you know what? If it seems good to you and the Holy Spirit, go for it. And in actuality, that's not what's being said. The implication of the misinterpretation is if it seems good to you and the Holy Spirit doesn't stop, you move forward.

And that's not at all what the passage is saying. It's saying you find out what the Holy Spirit wants. If you agree with that, that's secondary. It's in the peripheral view. That's because I got insecure about periphery, but it's in the periphery.

But. So when we're saying the Holy Spirit wants this, but we want you to know we did too, it wasn't in our heart to burden you, but we waited first to see what the Holy Spirit wanted. Joseph had a plan that was noble, but it was not God's will. God came to Joseph in a dream, gave him instructions, and then said, about Mary, what's been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. In other words, he said, what's in her is from me.

Again, I can't imagine everything Joseph was processing, but I have no doubt there was disappointment. He had his own plan, his own ideas, and then he had his own plan for dealing with the interruption and the unexpected. And his life and future were taking a much different direction than he had dreamed about. Is there anyone in the room in that state? I can relate to that?

I'm not putting myself in the consecrated category of Mary and Joseph, but I know what it's like to think your life is going a certain direction and it takes a different one. And there is disappointment. But for us to step into the new beginning, take away number two. Sometimes what hits our hearts is disappointment proves to be the destiny and will of God.

That's on the screen, right? You guys are good. I didn't even give them notes. They just knew what I was gonna say. That's amazing.

Sometimes what hits our hearts is disappointment proves to be the destiny and will of God. Sometimes the pain of circumstances. I'm telling you, the Lord wants you guys to get this. He wants me to get this. The pain tied to other people, the disappointments we have to process, even if we were the cause of them, can sometimes prove to be the will of God.

Or at the very least, the redemptive plan of God. Meaning he makes beauty out of ashes. In just a few moments, the team is going to sing a song, Wouldn't It Be like youe? It's a song that Brian and Katie Torwald wrote. But I want to read the verse and the chorus to you.

Verse 1. Thought I had figured you out so sure I knew exactly how you'd move Thought my Savior was coming With a sword in his hand to my surprise he came as a child Then the chorus says, and wouldn't it be like you to be different than we thought? Different than we want, but better. The oppressed children of Israel, the religious leaders of Jesus Day, envisioned a Messiah who would bring political power and overthrow the Roman rule that had been oppressing them. They were creating in their minds what the Messiah that they were longing for should behave like.

They didn't envision a humble figure focused on spiritual teachings and sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins. But he was the humble king and it was different than they thought. And they were disappointed. Sometimes what hits our hearts as disappointment proves to be the destiny and will of God. We're part of a paradoxical kingdom.

It's an upside down kingdom. It's a receive by giving kind of kingdom. It's the first shall be last kind of kingdom. Our weakness is our strength kind of kingdom. I don't like that.

Not in living it out. But I love this kingdom. It's the humble inherit the earth kind of kingdom. Which brings me to takeaway number three. His way is better.

Let that breathe in your heart. His way is better. Verse 22 of Matthew 1. The first part says, all this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet. The virgin will conceive and give birth to His Son.

And they will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us. This is going to be a little bit longer of a gathering because it's our Christmas gathering. If you leave, the Lord will comfort me. But please try to stay. Try to stay.

The team has this great song at the end. I'll go between. I'll crawl up and suck my thumb in the manger and then go to the foot of the cross.

So the phrase I want to point out in his way is better is all this took place to fulfill the prophecy. Paul got in on this idea later in Romans 8:28. And we know that all things work together for the good of those of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. All this took place. All things worked together.

Hear me this morning. It's the parts you like and it's the parts you don't. It's the parts you understand and it's the parts that keep you awake at night. It's the parts that feel good and the parts that leave you or that leave tears on your pillow. Jesus had a purpose on earth.

He was bringing new beginnings. And he couldn't operate in the system that had been known before because the system before did not break into human frailty like Jesus becoming did. He was bringing new beginnings. And he was the new beginning. And Jesus lived it out as a part of the paradoxical upside down kingdom.

And we're called to carry out the paradoxical upside down kingdom. We tend to embrace the beauty of this kingdom. We embrace the beauty of this kingdom as beneficiaries. Aren't you thankful that he came as the humble king? Because his very breath could destroy any one of us at any moment.

But he came as the humble king. And we like the part of being the beneficiaries of that kind of kingdom. But we often resist it as this kingdom's ambassadors. That's profound. The Lord said that, but he gave it to me.

We love the idea of the restraint of God represented in the manger. Philippians 2, 6, 7 says who being in the very nature of God this is speaking of Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human likeness. Let's don't miss this here. In this Christmas season, the all powerful God, as I said earlier, the one that could destroy us with his very breath, reduced himself to a man and not just a man.

He came as a baby so that he could be with us. And in so doing he became like us. That's the restraint of God. We also love the idea of the mercy of God depicted on the cross. Reading further in Philippians 2, verse 8, being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.

It's a beautiful. It is the gospel. It's central to the gospel. But we can't miss the other part that's central to the gospel. As Pastor Steph was saying in the beginning, Philippians 2 also tells us, in your relationship with one another have this same mindset, the paradoxical upside down kingdom.

His way is better. I want to show you this painting. It's from a German artist, Beate Heinen. I did say it right. It's called the Manger and the Cross.

So it was painted. There was a German woman who was training to be a nun. She was studying to become a nun. I don't know how you trained to become a nun, but she was studying to become a nun. But then she gave that up because she felt called to bring a visual expression to things in the word of God.

And it's a depiction of Jesus purpose on earth. As we were singing earlier Emmanuel, you can see in the bottom left corner the manger when God came to earth. And then in the background you see Golgotha. It's a profound picture of Jesus purpose. And there's.

There are so many parallels between the manger and the cross. I'm going to share just a few because I find them fascinating. And then we're going to zero in on just one parallel. When the Christ child was born at Christmas, the wise men asked, where is the one who had been born King of the Jews? And then his royal title of King of the Jews was affixed to the cross for all to see.

After his birth, Jesus was laid in a stone cold trough. After his crucifixion, Jesus was laid on a stone cold tomb. At his birth, Mary wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger. And after his death, Joseph, a different Joseph, wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a tomb. But the most beautiful parallel is the humility of this king.

Jesus entered the world in humility, which is depicted from this manger that was a feeding trough in a stable. There was no room even at the inn for him. And then he was crucified in the most in a display of public humiliation. The ultimate symbol of humility. He had to enter earth in humility and he had to leave earth.

I understand he resurrected later, but he left his breath as a man on the cross in humility. Why? You know the answer. It's found in Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount. Because the humble inherit the earth.

He came in humility so he could inherit us. We are his inheritance and he is our inheritance. Takeaway number four. The inheritance is beautiful. You want to consider new beginnings, you have to consider that the inheritance is beautiful.

I'm going to read Ephesians 1:18. Thank you for sticking with me. I'm moving as fast as I can because takeaway number four is probably the longest one. All right. The inheritance is beautiful.

Ephesians 1:18. A familiar passage of scripture. It's a scripture I love, but I'm going to read it in the amplified version. So let me read this over you, and I pray that the eyes of your heart, the very center and core of your being, may Be enlightened, flooded with light by the Holy Spirit, so that you will know and cherish the hope, the divine guarantee, the confident expectation to which he has called you the riches of his glorious inheritance. In the saints, God's people, may the eyes of our hearts be flooded by the light of the Holy Spirit that we may know and cherish the hope of the calling, the hope of the new beginning.

Our inheritance includes the ability for his light to shine in the deepest, darkest recesses of our hearts. Why? So our hearts can say, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Ladies, this is your inheritance. Our inheritance is throw us in the fire.

God's able to deliver us, but even if he doesn't, we will not bow our knee to you, O King Nebuchadnezzar. Why? Because you are not our inheritance. You don't hold our inheritance. He is our inheritance.

And he is beautiful. I said at the last awakened gathering that I feared the Lord showed me. I feared the test more than I feared the Lord. I feared the fire. But he's looking for people who long for the fire.

Fire. For testing fire of revival, we need the fire of God. A few Wednesday nights ago, Pastor Stephen brought an incredible message. At the end, she had Damien and Nikita kind of lead us through a prayer time. And Damien talked about his cry for revival, specifically for the fire of God.

And the Lord said, I can't send it yet. And Damien said, why, Lord? He said, because. Because there's no sacrifice on the altar. He answers with fire when there's sacrifice on the altar.

And we tend to hold on to that which needs to be laid on the altar because we don't understand the beauty of the inheritance. And to lay hold of the new beginning, we have to lay hold of this beauty. And he wants to give it to you. He doesn't want a bunch of people that are just willing themselves to be good girls, good Christians, good at this. Because we're afraid of hell.

Listen, if that's what gets us started, great. I don't want hell. But more than I don't want hell, I want eternity with him and the inheritance that he has offered. And that's why when we place our sacrifice on the altar, he sends the fire because he understands that we're going after the inheritance with him, even while we're still on Earth.

According to Hebrews 11, the greatest revival ever recorded, that hall of faith, the greatest miracles in our history as a nation of Christians is faith. I was so blessed earlier in the first song that we were singing. It said, we hear worship, but he hears faith.

I remember some of Amelia's questions. I've been thinking about some of her questions as a little girl about God. They started very young. They were very philosophical, and I didn't do a great job answering them. But one of my earliest ones, I remember she just asked me once, where did God come from?

Who made him? And I gave her what I thought was a great answer. I said, he's always been there. She said, mom, that doesn't help me understand. But I had to realize in that moment that my daughter was experiencing the first gift of mystery that heaven was giving her.

Richard Rohr defines faith as patience with mystery. Mystery is a gift. I'm going to talk about that as we enter takeaway number five. It's time to enter the mystery. You want a new beginning?

We have to enter the mystery. We can't be tied to what seems right or everything being explained to us, or God answering our prayers in the way that we think would define him as good, but understanding his way is better.

I love to garden now. I mean, in all truth. Pastor Steph used to plant things in my yard. And she would tell Amelia when she was a toddler, make sure your mom waters that.

But I've kind of got. It's true. She knew the name of weeds. I'm like, this is weird that you know all this. And now I'm obsessed with it.

And I'm obsessed with the perennials that I do whatever, care, but when they come back, I'm always shocked after the winter, and it's like, wow. Like, only you, God, I don't understand. I mean, someone can try to explain to me the science, but only he understands that seed going in the ground and dying so that it can produce more fruit. Like, only God understands that. And there's an aspect of the mystery that if I had to understand every nuance of why flowers came back and what things look like.

And I'm not saying we should be totally random. I've planted a bunch of stuff next to each other. You're not supposed to plant next to each other and learn the hard way. I'm not talking about being random, but I'm talking about entering the mystery, saying, I'm planting the seed, even going to water the seed. Maybe another will come and water it.

But it's God who makes it grow. And we'll never enter into that beautiful display of new beginnings without entering the mystery. The angel visited Mary. Now I'm going to switch over to Luke 1. Although I'm not going to read it for the sake of time.

But the angel visited Mary and greeted her. As the angel was entering her bedroom, the angel said, greetings, you who are highly favored. The Lord is with you. Then Scripture goes on to say, Mary was troubled at these words and wondered what this greeting might be. Why?

I mean, all the angel said was, hello, God likes you, right? And her first response was fear and. And really maybe an inability to receive what God was saying. So in entering the mystery, it's time we push past our fear so that we can find the love of God. Trust me, I'm preaching to myself this morning so we can find the love of God on the other side.

The angel said, do not be afraid, Mary. You have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever.

His kingdom will never come to an end. I love Mary's response because it makes me feel better than me. It makes me feel better about me. Her response is, how? How?

I'm a virgin. This is often our response when God knocks. How? How can I really be forgiven by someone who died on a cross before I was ever born? How.

How can you really use me with my limitations and my shortcomings and my wanderings and my failures? How can I move after everything I've been through or after everything I've done? But for the new beginning, we have to enter the mystery. The angel answered, the Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the Holy One to be born will be called the Son of God.

Even Elizabeth, your relative, is going to have a child in her old age. And she who was said to be unable to conceive is in the sixth month. For no word from God will ever, ever fail. I wonder if Mary's like, oh, got it. It's all clear now.

The Holy Spirit's going to overshadow me. My very old cousin is pregnant. Cool. Got it. But then she said, I'm the Lord's servant.

This is how we enter the mystery, ladies. I'm the Lord's servant. May your word to me be fulfilled. Then the angel left her. And so Mary entered the mystery.

The promise is wrapped in mystery for a reason, ladies. Because if he gave us proof, we wouldn't need faith. Faith is not only the currency of heaven, but it is the currency of our inheritance and the only things that matter. He hides his promise in the darkness and he does it to protect us. In most cases, to protect us from ourselves.

I'm going to give an imagery of the dark room, like with photography. I know in an Instagram generation that doesn't make sense to probably many of you, but I'm going to use it nonetheless. Just go with it. Sometimes God needs to work on the big picture of your life in the dark room to let it develop, let patience have its perfect work in you, that you may be perfectly complete, lacking nothing. It's in the dark room.

The words of Isaiah 9 that were quoted to Joseph are nevertheless I love that word. There will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. Receive this ladies. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun in the land of Naphtali. But in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations by way of the sea beyond the nation.

The people walking in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of deep darkness. A light has dawned. Nevertheless is a beautiful word. It means it was looking one way, but it's really another. Give it time.

Worship team can come. Let it unfold. God is up to something.

The Verdict Behold the manger. Behold the cross. Behold the stone rolled away from the tomb. The verdict is already submitted. Just give it time.

No matter what you see right now a new beginning has come.