Celebrate the Light

Lance Sparks
Transcript
Come to this earth to save us from our sin. You are so good, Lord, to provide for us new life in Jesus Christ, our Lord. You are just so good, Lord, when we are so bad. We thank you for that, Lord, and we ask that today we would be able to celebrate that goodness because of how it is that you bestow that goodness upon us while we are yet sinners, that we might experience the love of Jesus Christ, our Lord. We pray in your name, amen. This morning I want to celebrate the light with you as you understand this portion of the promise and prophecy of the coming Messiah, and as you talk to your children this evening or talk among yourselves as husband and wife, how you as a family can learn to celebrate the light of the world.
The Bible tells us that in John chapter 1 that the light came to the world, that light is the Word, that light is Jesus Christ, our Lord. And that light would shine in a world of darkness, and it would show the way to salvation. And so in order for us to truly celebrate that light, I want to use the word celebrate and use the first letter of each, first letter of that word, or those letters in that word, excuse me, nine of them, and give you what it means to celebrate the light of the world so that you as a family can understand what this celebration is all about.
A lot of people talk about Jesus at Christmas, a lot of people talk about the baby born at Christmas, a lot of people go to Christmas services, but most people don't know what it means to celebrate the light of the world. We want to teach you how to do that this morning so you can spend time with your children using this season to celebrate that light. So quickly the season passes, so quickly we forget the things that we have learned, and so it's imperative that we understand the Bible and what it means for us as Christians so we can truly celebrate that light throughout the entire year.
So if we're going to celebrate the light, what must happen first? First we must consider, consider His mystery.
Consider His mystery. What I want to do is I want to take different ones of the Christmas story and explain to you how they celebrated that light. And Zacharias was the one man among them all, but the one most of all who had to consider the mystery. Now all of the characters in the New Testament celebrated the light when it came to understanding the saving grace of our Lord. But when we think about the Christmas story and think about how it is Zacharias would celebrate the light, think about what this man said over in Luke chapter 1 verse number 78 and 79.
He said this, because the tender mercy of our God with which the sunrise from on high will visit us, to shine upon those who sit in darkness in the shadow of death to guide our feet into the way of peace. Zacharias, that priest, a man we studied in great length when we went through Luke chapter 1, remember him? He was the guy at first who did not believe when the angel came to him about the fact that his wife Elizabeth would bear a child, and that child would become the forerunner to the Messiah.
And Zacharias, when he's able to speak finally after nine months of pregnancy and the boy is finally born, he speaks and gives us his song in Zacharias chapter, I mean Luke chapter 1 verses I think it is 67 down to the end.
That's all about the great praise of this man who actually would have to consider the entire mystery of this light that would come. Now think about it. When you talk about the light, you've got to go all the way back to Genesis chapter 1. And remember that the first thing created was light, because the creation story tells us about the character of God.
And we know that God is love, 1 John tells us that. We know that God is life, 1 John tells us that. But we also know that God is light, 1 John also tells us that. But God is light. So he creates light first, because he wants us to understand the pureness, the holiness, the clearness of his character.
And then in Numbers chapter 24 is that great prophecy. Numbers 24, verse number 17, I see him, but not now.
I behold him, but not near. A star shall come forth from Jacob, and a scepter shall rise from Israel. Every Jew knows that that prophecy is the prophecy of the coming Messiah. There's going to come a ruler from Jacob. He's going to be characterized as a star. Over in Psalm 104, it says this about God himself. Psalm 104, verse number 1, bless the Lord, O my soul, O Lord my God, thou art very great, thou art clothed with splendor and majesty, covering thyself with light as with a cloak. You see, God covers himself with light, because he truly is light.
And that light would dawn in an age of tremendous darkness, so people could see the way to life. And that life would come through the light that would shine. And so when you come to Isaiah chapter 9, you have these words in verse number 2, the people who walk in darkness will see a great light. Those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them. Isaiah chapter 60, verse number 1, arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For darkness, for behold, darkness will cover the earth, and deep darkness the peoples.
But the Lord will rise upon you, and his glory will appear upon you, and nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising. Listen, the Jews understood that the coming of the Messiah would dawn a new age, the age of complete light. And that's why they understood the Messiah to come and bring light on their world of darkness. And so when Zacharias would go through his prophecy in Luke chapter 1, he would talk about the sun rising upon our lives. Why? How would he know that?
Malachi 4, verse number 2, talks about the son of righteousness, not the S-O-N, but the S-U-N, the son of righteousness. We know that Psalm 84, 11 says that the Lord is a son, S-U-N, and a shield. We know Jeremiah 23, 5 and 6 says that the branch that comes forth from the root of Jesse, that branch is called the Lord of Righteousness. So what does Zacharias do? He considers the whole mystery of the light and says that this sunrise will dawn a new day. My son, John, is going to pave the way for this star to shine in a world of darkness.
Peter would pick up on that. In 1 Peter, he would talk about the fact that when the Lord shines upon you, He is the day star that shines in your life, that causes you to see the light of life. In Revelation 22, 16, what does Jesus say? He says, I am that bright and morning star. And in Revelation chapter 2, verse number 28, to the church of Thyatira, the promise is given to the overcomer that he will receive the morning star. And so Christ comes in John 8 and says, hey, I am the light of the world.
To celebrate the light, you have to consider the mystery. Let me tell you something. Israel knew about the light. They knew about the star. If you go to Capernaum today, there's a second century synagogue in the ruins that are all around, built on the first century synagogue.
And among the rubble they have found amongst the archeological digs, a star, the Star of David, knowing that those second century Christians understood the Messiah to be a star.
If you go to the tomb of King David today on Mount Zion, they have done some archeological digging there as well, and they've recovered eight pieces of pottery, and on their pottery they have seen three symbols all connected, on top a menorah, in the middle the Star of David, on the bottom the fish sign or the Ichthus sign, all symbolic of the menorah, Judaism, the Ichthus sign, Christianity, and in the middle the Star of David, the Messiah who brings Judaism and Christianity together, because it's the Messiah.
Salvation is of the Jews, and the Messiah was the one who was the Savior of all men. And that's a first century discovery.
So you see, Israel knows about the star. That's why there is a star on the map of Israel, the Star of David. It's in commemoration of the coming Messiah, who is, in their mind, a star. And that's why there was a star that would lead the Magi to Bethlehem, in that house in Bethlehem, when that child was older, to be able to fall down and worship Him. That's why the glory of the Lord would shine all around the shepherds there. Why? Because God is characterized by light, by brightness, all throughout the Old Testament, all throughout the New Testament, the bright, shining light of the Messiah.
And so, if you're going to celebrate the light, number one, you've got to consider the mystery, the whole mystery surrounding the coming light, and how it all comes together in Zacharias' prophecy in Luke chapter 1, where he says that that sunrise will shine down on our darkness, and we will walk in peace.
Number two, consider the mystery. And the second is to make sure you embrace His deity. Embrace His deity. You are embracing the fact that the star is the Messiah, that the Messiah is God in the flesh. And that's what happened in Luke chapter 2 with the shepherds, when the glory of the Lord shone all around them. And there was great fear that came upon those shepherds. And what did the angels say? Don't be afraid. Why? Because we bring you good tidings of great joy. We bring you the good news, the good news that brings joy to your heart.
For you today, in the city of David, there has been born a Savior who is Christ the Lord. These shepherds embraced His deity, the child's deity. The child is God. Why? Because when the angels came, they said, today there's been born for you in the city of David, Bethlehem, all prophecy, there's been born for you a Savior. Now, the shepherds were Jewish, and Jewish shepherds, like Jewish rabbis, like Jewish priests, like the Sadducees, the Pharisees knew very clearly throughout the Old Testament that there's only one Savior, and that's God.
Only one. They know the verses. In Isaiah chapter 44, I'm sorry, 43, verse number 11, I, even I am the Lord, and there is no Savior besides me. They know that. They know there's only one Savior. And so, when Joseph understood that Emmanuel, God with us, you're going to name this boy Jesus, Jehovah is salvation, for He will save His people from their sins. When the angels came to the shepherds and said, there has been born for you in the city of David a Savior. Well, there's only one Savior. That's God.
Only one. So, how could a Savior be born? Well, they knew Isaiah 9, verse number 6, that a child would be born, and a son would be given, and that son would be called Wonderful, Counselor, El Gabor, Mighty God. See, the Jews knew that. The shepherds understood that. Why do you think they went in haste to Bethlehem? They didn't just go see a baby. It wasn't an ordinary baby that was born. I mean, you don't rush off to the hospital to see any baby born, right, unless it's your own grandson or granddaughter, right?
But if it's God in the flesh, you can't wait to get there. They left in haste. Who took care of the sheep? Sheep don't run very fast. They don't move really quick. But the shepherds would go in haste to Bethlehem because they understood. They embraced His deity. They themselves, as Zacharias, would consider His mystery and then embrace Him as God, embrace His deity. That's why throughout the New Testament, Christ is called a Savior. Titus 1, Titus 2, Titus 3, God is our Savior. And Jesus was that one given who was a Savior.
1 John 4 says, the Father sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. And so these Jews understood, these shepherds who were Jews understood that this one who was born was a Savior. And the Savior that was born was Christ, the Messiah. And this Messiah was the Lord. See, the shepherds understood that. They had seen the light. Because they had seen the light, they could celebrate the light because they embraced the Child as the Messiah. They embraced the Child as the Savior. They embraced the Child as the Lord.
They embraced the Child as deity. They embraced Him as God. And if we're going to celebrate the light, we've got to consider His mystery. Number two, embrace His deity.
And number three, long for His mercy. Long for His mercy. Zacharias, he considered the mystery. The shepherds, they embraced His deity. And Anna in Luke 2, longed for His mercy. Listen to this story, Luke chapter 2. These are all stories we have covered in great detail since our study of the book of Luke. It says, verse 36, and there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of 84.
Now, the Greek text can be read either way. Either she was 84 or she was 104. You say, 104? How do you figure that? Well, if she was married, like every Jewish girl was married, somewhere around the age of 13 or 14, all right, and she was with her husband for seven years, that made her somewhere around 20 or 21, right, when he died. And she was a widow for 84 years, or she lived to be a widow for 84 years. You can take it either way. So she's at least 84, at the most 104. However you cut it, she's up in years, right?
All right? She's a lot older than I am at 50. Well, 49. I'm almost 50, but three months, what difference does it make, right? So she's almost way, way, way out there. Now, listen to this. It says this, and she never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. And at the very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God and continued to speak of Him to all those who are looking and longing for the redemption of Jerusalem. Now, see, she saw the baby that Simeon was holding in his arms.
She was in the temple on that day. Why was she there? Because she was always there. Why was she always there? Because she was longing for His mercy. She longed for the mercy of God to shine upon her. See, she knows that in her situation, her miserable condition, that there's only one who could bestow mercy upon Him. It's the God of mercy. Mary would talk about the tender mercies of God in her great Magnificat there in Luke chapter 1. Zacharias did the same thing. He talked about the tender mercies of God.
Why? Because when God came, it was merciful kindness. Titus 3, 5 says that we're saved not by our works, but according to His mercy He saves us. It's all about the mercy. And Anna, she was a prophetess, and she would speak to people who longed and looked for the coming, the redemption of Jerusalem, that somehow the Savior would come and bestow His mercy upon His people and save them from their sin. Now listen, for 84 years, she never left the temple. Serving God day and night with fasting and prayer.
That's somebody who longed to see the face of God. That's somebody who had such a deep longing in her heart that she couldn't wait to see that redemption come to fruition in her life. And so she was there day and night serving in the temple. Listen, we can't even get people to come to church 84 days a year. Let alone to be in the temple every day for 84 years. Think about it. If you came to church 84 times in 2008, that means you'd come every Sunday 52 times and 30 sometimes, 32 times on Wednesdays.
Right? We can't get people to do that. But Anna, she did. She lived in the temple because she couldn't wait to see the face. She longed for His mercy. She longed to see His face. She would speak to people about the coming redemption of Jerusalem and to all those who were looking for Him. Listen, very few people were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. It had been 400 silent years, 400 years since an angel of the Lord spoke until Zacharias one day in the temple saw this angel come and speak to him.
They had long forgot about the coming of Messiah. For some, it was a figment of their imagination. For some, it would never come true. But for Anna, this widow, she lived seeking and longing for her God. Think about that. Think about that in your life. If you're going to celebrate the light, you can't celebrate that light unless you consider His mystery and consider all the intricate details of how God in His perfect plan brought everything together from Genesis to Revelation. In Genesis 1, the very first thing He created was light.
In Revelation 22, the last chapter, what did Jesus say? On the bright morning star. It's all about the light of the world. The whole thing is about the redemption of God's people. And then you must understand that this star is the Messiah, is God. You must embrace His deity. You must long for His mercy. You must bow to His authority. Consider His mystery. Embrace His deity. Long for His mercy. Oh, yeah. I forgot the E. Oh, sorry. Exalt His majesty. Then bow to His authority. You guys are on one ahead of you.
Exalt His majesty. That's Mary. Listen to what she says in Luke chapter 1. What does she say? My soul exalts the Lord. And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior. For He has regard for the humble state of His bondslave. For behold, from this time on all generations will count me blessed. For the Mighty One has done great things for me. And holy is His name. And His mercy is upon generation after generation toward those who fear Him. He has done mighty deeds with His arm. He has scattered those who were proud in their thoughts or in the of their heart.
He has brought down rulers from their thrones and has exalted those who are humble. He has filled the hungry with good things and sent away the rich empty-handed. He has given help to Israel, His servant, in remembrance of His mercy. As He spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and his offspring forever. Here was Mary who learned to exalt His majesty. The angel came. Angel Gabriel came and said, Mary listen, you're going to be a child. She said, well how can that be? I'm a virgin. I've known no man. How can that be?
And the angel explained to her the power of Almighty God and how it would overshadow her. And she would bear the Son of God. And what welled up inside of her was inexplicable. I can't imagine what it must have been like to be Mary. What it must have been like to have the angel come and explain to you what was going to happen. And then for nine months carry the Son of God in your womb. And then to be able to pour forth in praise to God from the depths of your soul to exalt His majesty. And say, you are the King.
You are the Mighty One. You are the Holy One. You are the Merciful One. And you have come and shown your mighty arm to me and to generations before me. And you've shown your mercy to Abraham and to his children and his children's children. And now you've shown it upon me. She goes, oh all generations, they're going to count me blessed because of what God has done. Listen, if you're truly going to celebrate, celebrate the light, you're going to have to learn to exalt His majesty. Lift Him up on high.
Lift up Christ Jesus Himself because He truly is the One that needs to be exalted. Christmas is not about you. It's not. It's not about me. It's not about anyone other than the Lord. That's all. And once you begin to exalt yourself and think about you, you won't exalt the majesty of the King. You won't lift Him up on high. And then you'll cease to be able to celebrate the light and its true significance in your life. Next, God was authority. That was Joseph. Think about Joseph. Think about what happened in his life.
He had to hear from Mary that an angel came to her and said that she would give birth to the Son of God. How is Mary going to convince Joseph that she did not have an affair? How is Mary going to convince Joseph that she truly is pure and righteous in the sight of God? How is she going to go to him and explain to him what has happened? How is Joseph going to explain it to his parents? How is Joseph going to explain it to his friends? How is he going to do all this? And there's very little in the story about Joseph, but once you begin to study the man, you see a man who bows to the authority of God without question.
And if you want to celebrate the light, that's the way you got to be. You got to bow to the authority of God. Listen to this. Matthew chapter 1 verse 19, And Joseph, her husband, being a righteous man, and not wanting to disgrace her, desired to put her away secretly. Joseph was a righteous man. He loved the Lord God. Righteousness had been bestowed upon him by God himself. Mary was a righteous woman. They loved the Lord God. And yet Joseph, for all practical purposes, had to be confused. Come on, an angel came to you and said you're going to be a child.
The Holy Spirit's going to overshadow you. Mary, I'm a righteous man. I believe in the Lord God of the universe. But how is that going to happen? I don't get it. I'm going to have to put you away secretly. I'm going to have to divorce you because I can't live with the scandal. So, verse 20, When he considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for that which has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
And she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for it is he who will save his people from their sins. Now all this took place that was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which translated means God with us. And Joseph arose from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took her as his wife, and kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a son.
And he called his name Jesus. He bowed to the authority of God. And then over in chapter 2, verse number 13, or verse 12, And having been warned by God in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their own country by another way, that's the Magi. Verse 13, Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise and take the child and his mother and flee to Egypt and remain there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to destroy him.
And he arose and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt and was there until the death of Herod, that which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled out of Egypt, did I call my son. So here was Joseph, who again in a dream, the angel appears to him and says, You got to go to Egypt. Why? Well, you got to go to Egypt because Herod wants to kill the son, but you got to fulfill prophecy too. And the prophecy is that the son will come out of Egypt, so you got to go to Egypt.
So what does he do? He obeys. How do you put your wife on the backside of a donkey and carry a toddler 200 miles? It's not an easy task, is it? I mean, we can't even put our toddlers in a car and travel 200 miles without a DVD playing. Think about it. What did Jesus do without watching Nemo? How did he make it without being bored for 200 miles, being held by his mother or father? And Joseph could have said, I'm not doing that. Are you kidding me? I don't have stereo in my camel. I don't have a DVD on my camel.
Lord, you want me to carry my kid 200 miles? You got to be kidding me. Come on, you can protect us. You're the God of the universe. Protect your own son. Joseph obeyed because he bowed to the authority of Almighty God without question, without question, and thus fulfilling the prophecy about the son being called out of Egypt. And then it says this, verse 19, but when Herod was dead, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt saying, arise and take the child and his mother and go into the land of Israel for those who thought the child's life were dead.
And he arose and took the child and his mother and came to the land of Israel. So now he's going back another 200 miles again. He arises and does exactly what God's word says. How many of us do that? We question God. I'm not doing that, Lord. I know what you are, but I'm not doing that. Folks, you can't celebrate the light unless you bow to his authority. He's the Lord of the God of the universe. He's the king. He's the ruler of the world. He got to do what he says. And Joseph did. He bowed to the authority of God Almighty.
Then it says in verse 21, he arose and took the child and his mother and came to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Achilles was reigning over Judea in the place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he departed for the regions of Galilee and came and resided in a city called Nazareth, that what was spoken to the prophets might be fulfilled. He shall be called a Nazarene. You see, in his obedience to God, he was fulfilling the prophecy of God and all of it was coming to fruition in his own life because God was going to bless this man because of his obedience.
He bowed to the authority of God. You want to celebrate the light? Consider his mystery. Embrace his deity. Long for his mercy. Exalt his majesty. Bow to his authority. Next, you need to radiate his glory. That's what the angels did. So we've got Zacharias. We've got the shepherds. We've got Mary. We've got Joseph. We've got Anna. And now we have the angels who would radiate his glory. Remember, the glory of God is the presence of God revealed in light. And that's what would take place there in the fields of Bethlehem when the glory of the Lord would shine all around and the angels would proclaim the truth of God.
See, angels always radiate the person and character of God because they always do what God says. And therefore, they are able to shine forth the glory of God. Myriad of angels, thousands of them in the sky speaking forth the truth of God that for you this day in the city of David has been born a Savior who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you. I'm going to give you a sign, let you know exactly what this child's going to be doing. So when you get to Bethlehem, you'll know which child is which because he probably wasn't the only child born in Bethlehem on that day.
And so sure enough, the angels would radiate the glory of God. And that's what it means to celebrate the light. And then you have the Magi, and they would adore his identity. Matthew chapter 2. They would adore his identity. They would go to this house in Bethlehem. They would bow before him. He was older in age now.
That's why Herod would kill all the babies two years and younger because he would try to reason in his mind how long it was since the Magi had seen the star, and the star had brought them to Jerusalem. And that star would take them to where the baby was going to be, and he would seek to kill all the children two years and under. This child was somewhere between the ages of one and two years of age. And they would go, and they would bow down before this child, the Bible says in Matthew 2, and they would give him three gifts, gold, frankincense, and myrrh, because they saw him as king.
That's the gold. They saw him as God. That's the frankincense. They saw him as man. That's the myrrh. They adored his royalty. They adored his deity, and they adored his humanity. They knew his identity. They knew his identity. And therefore, the gifts they gave were significant because they were centered on the identity of the child. They adored him, and they brought him gifts. You can't adore Christ unless you bow before him and give him the best that you have. If you come to give God second best, you don't know who he is.
You can't give God second best. You can't give God leftovers. I pray you don't give God leftovers this Christmas season. You don't give your children leftovers, do you? Why don't you give God your leftovers? These magi gave God the best because they knew who he was. They adored his identity. And two more. If you want to celebrate the light, you got to trust the sovereignty. Who's that? That's Simeon. Trust his sovereignty. Simeon, remember, was given the promise. He was given the promise that he would not die until he saw the Lord's Christ, until he saw the Messiah.
So here was Simeon learning to trust the sovereign plan of God in his life, knowing that each and every day could be the day he saw the Lord's Christ. And all of a sudden, one day he decides to go to the temple, and he is going to come face to face with Joseph and Mary. How did he know that Joseph and Mary were the mothers of the baby Jesus? How did he know that? Was there a glow over his head? No, there was no glow over the head of baby Jesus. Was there a finger pointing out of the sky saying, that's Mary, that's Joseph, and that's baby Jesus?
No. How did he know the sovereign plan of God would lead him to Mary and Joseph? Mary and Joseph had no idea who Simeon was. Had no idea. They're going to do what Jews do. They're going to fulfill the law of God. They're obeying to the commandment of God. They're going to the temple for purification. They're going to the temple for dedication. They're doing what God said to do. They're just obeying God. And Simeon walks right up to them, and he prophesies about the light of life. "'Now, Lord, thou dost let thy bondservant depart in peace according to thy word.
For my eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared to the presence of all peoples. A light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.'" You see, he knew the Old Testament. He knew the Messiah was the light. In order for him to celebrate the light, he had to trust in the sovereignty of Almighty God to bring about his providential plan in his life at the right time. He was going to live until he saw the Lord's Christ. And on this day in the temple, he would hold that baby in his arms.
He would praise Almighty God because the light of revelation to the Gentiles had come, and he witnessed it just like God said. And for us to celebrate the light of life, we must learn to trust in the sovereign plan of Almighty God. And I know there are some people at this time of the year have a hard time accepting and trusting in God's sovereignty when their world is in shambles. But you know what? God is in complete control of your life. And while you might not see it today, trust me. Trust the Scriptures.
Don't trust me. Trust the Scriptures. Trust the message. Our Lord is in the heavens. He does whatever he pleases. He's in charge. Simeon understood that. All the characters began to realize that as the plan of God began to unfold in their lifetime. Can you imagine being Anna or Simeon or Joseph or Mary or the shepherds or an angel or Zacharias or Elizabeth? All of them, all of them fulfilled the last one as well. If you want to celebrate the light, you have to explain His story. You have to explain His story.
The shepherds, they went in haste to Bethlehem, and they explained to Mary and Joseph the statement which was spoken to them about the child. That's what the text says. What was the statement? It was a singular statement about the child. The child was the Messiah. The child was the Savior. The child was the Lord. The simplicity of the statement. They explained the story to Mary and Joseph. Mary and Joseph knew the story, but with the angels coming and speaking to the shepherds, and the shepherds now coming to Bethlehem, the story takes on an incredible new meaning.
And they begin, as Mary says, to ponder all these things, to treasure all these things in her heart because she was seen, she was overwhelmed by the ministry of God to her and to her husband Joseph. But they explained the story. Anna did. All those looking for the coming and the Redeemer of Jerusalem. Simeon did. Zacharias did in his prophecy. Elizabeth. They all explained the story. And if we're going to celebrate the light, we too must explain the story. Why? Because there are people still in darkness, and they've got to see the light, and the only way they're going to see the light is if we share that light.
And that's the light of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord, who takes men steeped in sin and darkness, and because of His mercy and His grace, He saves them. I wonder if this Christmas season you'll celebrate the light. You'll consider His mystery. You will embrace His deity. You'll long for His mercy. You'll exalt His majesty. You'll bow to His authority, radiate His glory, adore His identity. You in your own person will trust His sovereignty. Thus, explain the story. Let's pray. Father, we thank You for this great day, a day that we gather together to celebrate You.
I pray, Lord, for all who are here today, that, Lord, they would accept the truth of Your Word and believe in Jesus Christ our Lord. Thank You for this season. Thank You for the opportunity You've given to us over the last few weeks to focus in on our God. And I pray, Lord, for each family, for each person, each individual, that, Lord, this season would be the greatest ever. Why? Simply because they've learned to celebrate the light. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.