1 00:00:00,150 --> 00:00:05,640 Secularism has tried to take Jesus out of Christmas. 2 00:00:05,790 --> 00:00:09,210 You know, like the Senegalese, oh, we want the commercial stuff. 3 00:00:09,240 --> 00:00:10,560 Cause you know, people make money. 4 00:00:10,590 --> 00:00:13,560 Oh, we want the gift giving and the decorations and the fun, 5 00:00:13,830 --> 00:00:15,270 but we don't want no Jesus. 6 00:00:15,630 --> 00:00:20,160 Well, the problem is, is secularism is the idea that you can take all the 7 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:22,410 good stuff that came from something. 8 00:00:23,669 --> 00:00:27,419 And then like religion, in this particular place, or faith, divorced 9 00:00:27,419 --> 00:00:35,310 them or separate them and then maintain the wonder of the good stuff. 10 00:00:42,975 --> 00:00:46,965 Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to the Salty Pastor Podcast, a podcast 11 00:00:46,965 --> 00:00:50,894 dedicated to helping you find the greater strength within yourself. 12 00:00:51,075 --> 00:00:55,365 When you discover who you are, it's your discovery, your epiphany, 13 00:00:55,365 --> 00:00:58,724 your journey that you must go through, but you can't do it alone. 14 00:00:59,055 --> 00:01:00,525 We can only discover who we truly are. 15 00:01:01,320 --> 00:01:05,129 When we meet Jesus, this is the purpose of the Salty Pastor, 16 00:01:05,129 --> 00:01:10,050 a podcast designed to help you discover who you truly are in Jesus. 17 00:01:10,410 --> 00:01:13,620 And we are here to help you discover what God's doing in you along the way. 18 00:01:13,860 --> 00:01:14,610 My name is Jesse Maher. 19 00:01:14,610 --> 00:01:18,339 I'll be your host and let's welcome the Salty Pastor himself, Dr. 20 00:01:18,339 --> 00:01:18,850 Douglas 21 00:01:18,850 --> 00:01:19,140 Peake. 22 00:01:19,360 --> 00:01:22,179 Well, welcome everybody to the podcast today. 23 00:01:22,210 --> 00:01:24,460 And it's a very exciting time of the year. 24 00:01:24,460 --> 00:01:26,619 It's one of my favorite times of the year. 25 00:01:26,619 --> 00:01:32,289 I love December, because of everything that it's about family and friends, 26 00:01:32,289 --> 00:01:35,555 and most importantly, what our Lord and savior Christ did, coming into 27 00:01:35,555 --> 00:01:37,805 this world in order to save us. 28 00:01:37,805 --> 00:01:40,625 And our goal here at the Salty Pastor, to help you know him better 29 00:01:40,955 --> 00:01:44,915 to know what you believe about him, why you believe it, because I 30 00:01:44,915 --> 00:01:46,475 really agree with your statement. 31 00:01:46,475 --> 00:01:49,295 And that is, is that we cannot find strength. 32 00:01:49,295 --> 00:01:51,095 We cannot find our courage. 33 00:01:51,125 --> 00:01:55,835 We cannot find meaning we cannot find peace, all the 34 00:01:55,835 --> 00:01:57,755 things that our soul longs for. 35 00:01:58,500 --> 00:02:02,370 Cannot be found until we meet Jesus. 36 00:02:02,490 --> 00:02:04,050 So I'm pretty excited about that. 37 00:02:04,050 --> 00:02:06,600 And I'm pretty excited about this time of the year when we 38 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:08,100 get to talk about Jesus a whole 39 00:02:08,100 --> 00:02:08,430 lot. 40 00:02:09,270 --> 00:02:12,810 Well, I know our new series is titled Jesus Is Christmas. 41 00:02:13,050 --> 00:02:16,680 Um, which is great because I mean, I think Christmas is. 42 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,490 One of the most widely celebrated holidays in the world. 43 00:02:20,700 --> 00:02:25,200 People who don't believe in, in God loves the Christmas spirit, but it's 44 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:27,420 kind of been like you surfed, right? 45 00:02:27,420 --> 00:02:30,660 Like Christmas doesn't have anything to do with Jesus for a lot of people. 46 00:02:30,660 --> 00:02:35,910 It's just this holiday that has a lot of toy buying involved in scratch 47 00:02:36,630 --> 00:02:38,310 this year supply chain issues. 48 00:02:39,500 --> 00:02:47,835 So, um, it is, uh, celebrated all across the globe. 49 00:02:48,165 --> 00:02:52,215 And in, in one case what's really interesting is Senegal, 50 00:02:52,215 --> 00:02:53,505 which is a Muslim country. 51 00:02:53,894 --> 00:02:55,484 They can't get enough for Christmas. 52 00:02:56,174 --> 00:02:59,085 They love celebrating, uh, Christmas. 53 00:02:59,085 --> 00:03:01,334 Now they want to keep it secular and commercial. 54 00:03:02,055 --> 00:03:05,265 But, uh, it's really kind of interesting in that regard. 55 00:03:05,265 --> 00:03:10,095 So yes, it's very true about people love Christmas. 56 00:03:10,155 --> 00:03:15,585 And I think the thing about the thing we need to talk about more than anything 57 00:03:15,585 --> 00:03:22,185 else about the Christmas spirit is to show how Jesus is the source of everything 58 00:03:22,185 --> 00:03:24,285 that people love about Christmas. 59 00:03:24,675 --> 00:03:29,144 So if you take away Jesus, everything you love about the holiday is gone. 60 00:03:29,925 --> 00:03:34,365 And in fact, the holiday itself would cease to exist. 61 00:03:34,605 --> 00:03:39,885 So even though the Senegalese, I believe I pronounced that properly. 62 00:03:40,095 --> 00:03:43,275 The Senegalese is a Muslim country that wants to celebrate Christmas 63 00:03:43,275 --> 00:03:44,895 and make it secular and commercial. 64 00:03:45,285 --> 00:03:50,325 In the end, if you take away Christ, there will be no Christmas. 65 00:03:50,325 --> 00:03:53,415 And so I think that's really important to understand is that 66 00:03:53,415 --> 00:03:55,275 you cannot separate the two. 67 00:03:55,845 --> 00:04:00,615 Absolutely our society, I think not just the Senegalese, but you know, society as 68 00:04:00,615 --> 00:04:02,235 a whole Western civilization 69 00:04:02,325 --> 00:04:04,965 really taken the Christmas holiday for granted. 70 00:04:04,965 --> 00:04:08,805 I mean, it's, it's taken all the feel-good things, food decorations, 71 00:04:08,835 --> 00:04:14,935 the music, being generous, and it's kind of separated them from their 72 00:04:15,275 --> 00:04:16,290 origination, right. 73 00:04:16,420 --> 00:04:17,760 Like where they came from. 74 00:04:17,760 --> 00:04:19,470 We can't forget that we do all this stuff. 75 00:04:19,500 --> 00:04:23,370 Like, um, you know, we have so many traditions and things and all this 76 00:04:23,370 --> 00:04:26,280 stuff, that's all wrapped up in Christmas, but a lot of people don't 77 00:04:26,280 --> 00:04:28,590 even know why we do most of them. 78 00:04:28,590 --> 00:04:28,860 Right. 79 00:04:28,860 --> 00:04:32,955 They're like, they're, there are surface level interaction. 80 00:04:32,985 --> 00:04:33,165 Yeah. 81 00:04:33,175 --> 00:04:34,545 Why do you put lights on your house? 82 00:04:34,545 --> 00:04:35,625 Why do you get Christmas trees? 83 00:04:35,625 --> 00:04:36,735 Why do we give gifts? 84 00:04:36,765 --> 00:04:36,975 Right? 85 00:04:37,005 --> 00:04:38,595 Do we celebrate Saint Nicholas? 86 00:04:38,595 --> 00:04:40,395 Why do we, uh, eat? 87 00:04:40,425 --> 00:04:45,045 Why do we, uh, take the time to get our family together? 88 00:04:45,045 --> 00:04:49,935 Why, what was all this music originate from and why it is it always talk 89 00:04:49,935 --> 00:04:51,555 about all of these feel good things. 90 00:04:51,555 --> 00:04:53,175 And I mean, all their traditions. 91 00:04:53,690 --> 00:04:58,250 All of the ceremonies, all of the decorations, all of the habits 92 00:04:58,250 --> 00:05:00,890 and traditions that we have, where do all these things come from? 93 00:05:01,280 --> 00:05:02,750 That's the question we need to answer. 94 00:05:02,990 --> 00:05:06,440 Absolutely, having an idea of what it all means and everything 95 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:08,690 that we enjoy has an origin. 96 00:05:08,960 --> 00:05:12,710 So let's take some time and talk about we're here for. 97 00:05:12,860 --> 00:05:16,130 Well, we're going to begin our series by going to the announcements 98 00:05:16,130 --> 00:05:17,450 about the birth of Jesus. 99 00:05:17,450 --> 00:05:21,220 And I think in the announcements themselves before Jesus was even born. 100 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:25,020 Uh, we need to understand a few things that the Bible teach 101 00:05:25,050 --> 00:05:27,510 because the season is Jesus. 102 00:05:27,510 --> 00:05:28,620 It's about him. 103 00:05:28,950 --> 00:05:36,240 It's about who he is, why he came, and what he accomplished when he did come. 104 00:05:36,360 --> 00:05:41,670 So let's talk about how his birth actually came about how he entered into this world. 105 00:05:41,670 --> 00:05:45,360 So I'll read from Luke chapter one, beginning with verse 26, 106 00:05:45,360 --> 00:05:49,560 and it says in the six month of Elisabeth's pregnancy now, Elizabeth. 107 00:05:50,385 --> 00:05:52,635 Was Mary's older cousin. 108 00:05:52,635 --> 00:05:56,085 So she using probably your mid thirties at this time. 109 00:05:56,114 --> 00:06:01,575 People believe Mary was maybe 15, 16 years of age, you know, maybe 17, 110 00:06:01,575 --> 00:06:04,005 but more likely about 16 years old. 111 00:06:04,155 --> 00:06:05,655 So she wasn't very old. 112 00:06:06,015 --> 00:06:10,484 And she had an older cousin named Elizabeth. 113 00:06:10,484 --> 00:06:11,745 Who'd been married for quite some time. 114 00:06:12,164 --> 00:06:14,075 And Elizabeth became pregnant. 115 00:06:14,455 --> 00:06:14,685 Okay. 116 00:06:14,815 --> 00:06:17,850 And she became pregnant with John the Baptist. 117 00:06:18,420 --> 00:06:24,570 So there is a relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist. 118 00:06:24,900 --> 00:06:28,230 And John the Baptist was about six, seven months older than Jesus. 119 00:06:28,230 --> 00:06:32,310 And so Jesus then, uh, or John, the Baptist then grows up in 120 00:06:32,310 --> 00:06:36,060 the wilderness then comes and announces the coming Messiah. 121 00:06:36,120 --> 00:06:39,330 And he practiced what was known as the baptism of repentance. 122 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,150 And so he asked the Jews to return back to God. 123 00:06:42,690 --> 00:06:42,900 So. 124 00:06:44,070 --> 00:06:49,469 What happened is in the sixth month of Elizabeth's pregnancy. 125 00:06:49,500 --> 00:06:52,260 John sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth. 126 00:06:52,290 --> 00:06:57,630 So God sent the angel to a town in Galilee to a Virgin pledged to 127 00:06:57,630 --> 00:06:59,830 be married to a man named Joseph. 128 00:07:00,405 --> 00:07:02,415 He was a descendant of David. 129 00:07:02,415 --> 00:07:06,705 So he is of the seed of David, which is really important for all you Old 130 00:07:06,705 --> 00:07:11,625 Testament, covenant buffs, because there's a prophecy in the Old Testament that the 131 00:07:11,625 --> 00:07:14,475 Messiah would come from David's seed. 132 00:07:15,135 --> 00:07:20,775 So the Virgin's name was Mary and the angel went to her and said, 133 00:07:20,775 --> 00:07:23,565 greetings you who are highly favored. 134 00:07:23,565 --> 00:07:24,525 The Lord is with you. 135 00:07:24,525 --> 00:07:26,985 And Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wonder what 136 00:07:26,985 --> 00:07:28,095 kind of greeting this might be. 137 00:07:28,950 --> 00:07:31,440 But the angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary. 138 00:07:31,440 --> 00:07:35,309 You have found favor with God, you will conceive and give birth to a 139 00:07:35,309 --> 00:07:37,590 son and you were to call him Jesus. 140 00:07:37,830 --> 00:07:40,650 He will be great and will be called the son of the most high. 141 00:07:40,919 --> 00:07:44,549 So the Lord, God will give him the throne of his father, David. 142 00:07:44,549 --> 00:07:46,979 And he will reign over Jacob's descendants forever. 143 00:07:46,979 --> 00:07:49,099 His kingdom will never end. 144 00:07:49,099 --> 00:07:50,955 And how can this be? 145 00:07:50,955 --> 00:07:53,984 Mary asked the angel since I am a Virgin. 146 00:07:54,375 --> 00:07:56,864 And the Angel answered the Holy Spirit will come upon you. 147 00:07:56,864 --> 00:07:59,414 And the power of the most high will overshadow you. 148 00:07:59,685 --> 00:08:03,315 So the holy one to be born will be called the son of God. 149 00:08:03,734 --> 00:08:07,664 Even Elizabeth, your relative is going to have a child in her old age. 150 00:08:07,664 --> 00:08:11,565 And she, who was said to be unable to conceive is under six months. 151 00:08:11,924 --> 00:08:15,164 For no word from God will ever fail. 152 00:08:15,525 --> 00:08:17,715 So here's really interesting is the Angel says. 153 00:08:17,715 --> 00:08:19,125 She says I'm a Virgin. 154 00:08:19,935 --> 00:08:24,255 And so in her worldview of where she's at. 155 00:08:24,765 --> 00:08:28,844 Being pregnant outside of wedlock is not an option. 156 00:08:29,235 --> 00:08:31,245 There's zero social network. 157 00:08:31,395 --> 00:08:33,255 There's zero family support. 158 00:08:33,495 --> 00:08:34,304 There's zero. 159 00:08:34,335 --> 00:08:35,465 There's zero anything. 160 00:08:35,855 --> 00:08:41,760 So, if you were born, uh, if you were found to be pregnant outside of wedlock, 161 00:08:41,789 --> 00:08:43,620 and then you're displaced, right. 162 00:08:43,679 --> 00:08:47,040 And no one will marry you and you can't go to your father's house, 163 00:08:47,219 --> 00:08:50,339 and there's no reference to her father's house as a possibility. 164 00:08:50,699 --> 00:08:56,339 Then you basically are condemned to a life of extreme poverty begging in 165 00:08:56,339 --> 00:09:00,120 the streets that your life expectancy is cut in half and so forth. 166 00:09:00,449 --> 00:09:04,099 So it's really interesting because she says, how can this. 167 00:09:04,635 --> 00:09:06,105 I am a Virgin. 168 00:09:06,525 --> 00:09:09,735 And so there's a lot of implications to this question. 169 00:09:09,765 --> 00:09:15,525 Is she asking whether or not a , it's going to happen through 170 00:09:15,525 --> 00:09:17,535 Joseph after she gets married. 171 00:09:18,105 --> 00:09:19,215 Is that what she's asking? 172 00:09:19,215 --> 00:09:19,785 She doesn't know. 173 00:09:20,025 --> 00:09:26,835 And so the answer, and this is why verse 35, um, is so important because 174 00:09:26,835 --> 00:09:29,895 the angel basically says, well, as a Virgin, you're going to get pregnant. 175 00:09:30,194 --> 00:09:33,855 And in her mind, it's like, okay, this is going to completely displace me. 176 00:09:34,335 --> 00:09:36,375 I mean, who's going to believe that, right? 177 00:09:36,444 --> 00:09:40,425 Nobody's going to believe that it had never happened ever. 178 00:09:41,565 --> 00:09:44,055 And it hasn't happened since. 179 00:09:44,325 --> 00:09:46,095 So who's going to believe that. 180 00:09:46,515 --> 00:09:54,345 And so she sees immediately the implications, I think, and her response 181 00:09:54,345 --> 00:09:57,945 in verse 38 is I am the Lord's servant. 182 00:09:58,035 --> 00:10:02,475 My Mary answered may your word to me be fulfilled. 183 00:10:02,715 --> 00:10:05,325 And then the angel left her. 184 00:10:06,225 --> 00:10:09,945 So I find this really interesting because you've, you've kind of laid out. 185 00:10:10,980 --> 00:10:14,100 She's kind of in a dire circumstances, she chooses to 186 00:10:14,100 --> 00:10:15,600 believe that this is going to happen. 187 00:10:15,689 --> 00:10:15,990 Correct. 188 00:10:16,050 --> 00:10:21,360 Um, in her culture, she's basically like, well, if this happens and I am 189 00:10:21,360 --> 00:10:23,339 to become pregnant, then I'm done. 190 00:10:23,400 --> 00:10:23,760 I'm done. 191 00:10:24,510 --> 00:10:29,460 But she takes kind of a view that I think most people would really struggle 192 00:10:29,490 --> 00:10:31,680 with, which is I am your servant. 193 00:10:31,710 --> 00:10:32,070 Right? 194 00:10:32,130 --> 00:10:35,970 Like that's an attitude we don't, I mean, I don't even know that I would have. 195 00:10:36,130 --> 00:10:38,370 Do with me as you will. 196 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:38,770 Yeah. 197 00:10:38,980 --> 00:10:41,820 And so talk to me, talk to me about that attitude. 198 00:10:41,820 --> 00:10:50,130 Do we, does she, is she known to be like a very, I guess like, Does she 199 00:10:50,130 --> 00:10:51,449 just have an internal peace about it? 200 00:10:51,449 --> 00:10:53,230 What are, where are we thinking she is at? 201 00:10:53,230 --> 00:10:55,510 Where she just trusts this fact? 202 00:10:55,510 --> 00:10:58,469 Obviously it would have been overwhelmingly obvious to her 203 00:10:58,469 --> 00:11:00,959 that this is going to place her in a very vulnerable position. 204 00:11:00,959 --> 00:11:03,329 It's going to, it could, you know, it will ruin her life. 205 00:11:03,360 --> 00:11:06,480 And yet her there's no question about that. 206 00:11:06,900 --> 00:11:09,990 And, uh, she'd be humiliated. 207 00:11:10,170 --> 00:11:15,390 She would be, uh, You know, excised or, you know, ex-communicated from her 208 00:11:15,390 --> 00:11:19,440 community and your family and she's in she's betrothed to be married, which 209 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:21,330 basically means she she's married. 210 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:22,020 Right. 211 00:11:22,500 --> 00:11:26,130 Uh, so she's ready to, she's been given away and the dowery has been 212 00:11:26,130 --> 00:11:28,590 paid and all of this kind of stuff. 213 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:33,120 And yet, uh, she simply said, I am the Lord's servant. 214 00:11:33,570 --> 00:11:35,730 And this is what I think makes her so special. 215 00:11:35,730 --> 00:11:39,750 Is that, uh, not that she was so young and not that she was a female. 216 00:11:40,545 --> 00:11:42,135 But that she had an attitude 217 00:11:42,135 --> 00:11:43,814 very few people have. 218 00:11:44,145 --> 00:11:46,994 Even people who believe strongly in Jesus. 219 00:11:47,385 --> 00:11:52,094 Uh, she actually possessed the attitude of complete submission to the will of God. 220 00:11:52,890 --> 00:11:57,719 Uh, it kinda, it kind of reminds me of, uh, father Damien. 221 00:11:57,719 --> 00:11:58,800 He was a Catholic priest. 222 00:11:58,800 --> 00:12:05,430 He was a Belgian priest and he went, he felt called and there was a 223 00:12:05,459 --> 00:12:09,089 government forced, a colony of lepers. 224 00:12:09,089 --> 00:12:10,300 They were quarantined. 225 00:12:10,650 --> 00:12:13,349 Call on the island of Molokai in Hawaii. 226 00:12:13,349 --> 00:12:16,530 And this is when it was the kingdom of Hawaii. 227 00:12:16,530 --> 00:12:18,810 It wasn't quite a, it wasn't a state yet. 228 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:19,290 Okay. 229 00:12:19,579 --> 00:12:26,145 And so, he went there to minister, to the people of Molokai this colony. 230 00:12:26,625 --> 00:12:32,415 And so he went there and he built hospitals and roads and houses, you 231 00:12:32,415 --> 00:12:35,355 know, they were living in squalor and they'd given up on life and he 232 00:12:35,355 --> 00:12:37,605 shows up and he starts educating them. 233 00:12:38,415 --> 00:12:39,074 And so forth. 234 00:12:39,074 --> 00:12:43,724 And what's really interesting is that leprosy is a bacterial infection 235 00:12:43,905 --> 00:12:45,495 that just gets inside of you. 236 00:12:45,495 --> 00:12:47,415 And it just stays for a very, very long time. 237 00:12:47,415 --> 00:12:48,405 And it's incurable. 238 00:12:48,704 --> 00:12:49,694 It is technology. 239 00:12:49,694 --> 00:12:49,995 Yeah. 240 00:12:50,055 --> 00:12:50,265 Yeah. 241 00:12:50,265 --> 00:12:53,505 They have a, it's a cocktail of antibiotics that they give you. 242 00:12:53,505 --> 00:12:57,464 You have to be on them for awhile, but they can cure it in a sense now. 243 00:12:57,464 --> 00:13:01,635 But what it does is it attacks the, you know, this, uh, bacteria attacks, 244 00:13:01,635 --> 00:13:03,074 your nerve endings and so forth. 245 00:13:03,295 --> 00:13:06,045 And what happens is you stop, it can create skin lesion. 246 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,350 But it also kills the nerves and so endings. 247 00:13:10,350 --> 00:13:15,450 And so the biggest problem in leprosy is if you get cut, you know, on your 248 00:13:15,450 --> 00:13:17,550 extremity and you don't know it. 249 00:13:17,850 --> 00:13:18,330 Okay. 250 00:13:18,390 --> 00:13:24,510 And so you can get infected and you think prior to modern medicine, which is only 251 00:13:24,510 --> 00:13:26,180 been around for about a hundred years. 252 00:13:26,569 --> 00:13:32,819 And so, antibiotics before that, you know, if you get infected or you get sepsis or 253 00:13:32,819 --> 00:13:34,829 gangrene, you get all this kind of stuff. 254 00:13:34,829 --> 00:13:36,510 It's not a good thing. 255 00:13:36,599 --> 00:13:36,900 Right. 256 00:13:36,930 --> 00:13:41,040 But he went and what he did is his father, Damon went to this, he felt called, he 257 00:13:41,040 --> 00:13:43,709 went there, he built an entire community. 258 00:13:43,709 --> 00:13:49,500 And what's interesting about, uh, the bacteria and bacterial infection, 259 00:13:49,709 --> 00:13:54,270 is that it's not passed through sexual contact and it's not passed 260 00:13:54,270 --> 00:13:56,400 onto the children through birth. 261 00:13:57,255 --> 00:13:57,855 Okay. 262 00:13:57,975 --> 00:14:01,515 It's usually passed on by being directly exposed to the mucus 263 00:14:01,515 --> 00:14:03,075 of somebody who's infected. 264 00:14:03,075 --> 00:14:07,755 So if they sneeze on you or their snot or whatever, their mucus from their 265 00:14:07,755 --> 00:14:09,675 sinuses is generally how you get it. 266 00:14:09,855 --> 00:14:11,505 So he was there for a very, very long time. 267 00:14:11,505 --> 00:14:15,855 He lived among them for probably, I don't know, seven, eight years, nine years. 268 00:14:15,855 --> 00:14:19,335 And then he got it and then eventually it killed him, you know? 269 00:14:19,635 --> 00:14:20,055 And so. 270 00:14:20,880 --> 00:14:23,490 It's really interesting because here's a guy who just said, Hey, I'm going 271 00:14:23,490 --> 00:14:26,730 to go and I'm going to minister these people and you know, um, I'm going 272 00:14:26,730 --> 00:14:29,400 to die from it and I'm going anyway. 273 00:14:29,760 --> 00:14:32,520 And I think what's really interesting is that we don't see this level of 274 00:14:32,520 --> 00:14:37,340 conviction about anything in our world today, anymore, you know? 275 00:14:37,560 --> 00:14:40,829 Um, and so, that shocks people. 276 00:14:40,829 --> 00:14:44,819 And I think that this is, this is something that's so inspiring about Mary. 277 00:14:44,819 --> 00:14:51,089 Is that here's a young lady who's showing me that I can rise to the occasion. 278 00:14:51,089 --> 00:14:55,589 I can step up and do things that I never imagined that I would be able to do. 279 00:14:55,620 --> 00:15:00,329 You know, sometimes things are put in our path and we get news it's really bad. 280 00:15:00,329 --> 00:15:01,199 Or there's things that. 281 00:15:01,980 --> 00:15:03,630 Our minds run forward. 282 00:15:03,630 --> 00:15:07,230 It's like, you know, well, if the Lord's prompting me to do this and I 283 00:15:07,230 --> 00:15:12,000 do this, the ramifications of it could just be wow, really detrimental to me. 284 00:15:12,630 --> 00:15:16,320 And so we try to talk our way out of it, you know, whatever it might be. 285 00:15:16,320 --> 00:15:21,000 And so not Mary, she just said, you know, do unto me for, I am your servant. 286 00:15:21,360 --> 00:15:23,640 And so I think that is really. 287 00:15:24,155 --> 00:15:28,205 You know, Mary is so inspirational because she gets this news and 288 00:15:28,205 --> 00:15:29,615 she doesn't even question it. 289 00:15:29,915 --> 00:15:31,985 And then she just says, let it happen. 290 00:15:32,714 --> 00:15:34,635 You know, she has no idea. 291 00:15:34,665 --> 00:15:36,344 This what's really interesting about the text. 292 00:15:36,344 --> 00:15:40,905 She has no idea what her parents are going to say, or, and most 293 00:15:40,905 --> 00:15:44,655 importantly, she has no idea what's going on in Joseph's life at all. 294 00:15:44,865 --> 00:15:49,425 Well, let's talk about Joseph, cause again, like she's made peace with this, 295 00:15:49,425 --> 00:15:52,724 but it's like trying to explain that to your husband and be that it's like, 296 00:15:53,055 --> 00:15:55,094 well, I didn't really know really. 297 00:15:55,094 --> 00:15:58,485 It was an angel who told me this was going to happen and I'm really a Virgin. 298 00:15:58,485 --> 00:16:01,724 I promise in that point in time, obviously there's a lot of. 299 00:16:02,790 --> 00:16:07,089 I mean, he, I mean, there's, there's a lot probably going through his head. 300 00:16:07,089 --> 00:16:08,790 There is a lot probably going through his head. 301 00:16:08,790 --> 00:16:10,209 What does the text tell us about Joseph? 302 00:16:10,230 --> 00:16:11,400 Matthew chapter one. 303 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:11,610 Yeah. 304 00:16:11,610 --> 00:16:12,420 Matthew chapter one. 305 00:16:12,420 --> 00:16:14,430 It talks about what happened to Joseph. 306 00:16:14,459 --> 00:16:18,300 And what's really interesting is in Matthew's account and in Luke's 307 00:16:18,300 --> 00:16:22,560 account, it doesn't say in Luke's account when he talks about. 308 00:16:23,430 --> 00:16:27,630 That Joseph had any idea what the angel had told Mary. 309 00:16:27,870 --> 00:16:28,230 Right. 310 00:16:28,230 --> 00:16:30,240 So Luke doesn't make any reference to that at all. 311 00:16:30,450 --> 00:16:37,500 Then we jump over to Matthew in Matthew doesn't have any accounting of Joseph's 312 00:16:37,500 --> 00:16:39,420 knowledge of what the angel told Mary. 313 00:16:40,230 --> 00:16:42,090 So it's interesting. 314 00:16:42,090 --> 00:16:43,320 It doesn't talk about that. 315 00:16:43,380 --> 00:16:47,220 So the angels came separately to each one of them. 316 00:16:47,220 --> 00:16:50,910 And then in what it says in Matthew chapter one, verse 18, it says, 317 00:16:50,910 --> 00:16:52,200 this is how the birth of Jesus. 318 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:53,880 The Messiah came about. 319 00:16:54,150 --> 00:16:57,540 His mother, Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before 320 00:16:57,540 --> 00:17:00,520 they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy 321 00:17:00,745 --> 00:17:01,165 Spirit. 322 00:17:01,525 --> 00:17:05,665 Because Joseph, her husband was faithful to the law and yet he did not want to 323 00:17:05,665 --> 00:17:10,304 expose her to the public disgrace he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 324 00:17:10,825 --> 00:17:11,595 So he doesn't have it. 325 00:17:11,625 --> 00:17:14,444 He's going to divorce her, but he's going to do it in a nice way. 326 00:17:14,475 --> 00:17:14,805 Right. 327 00:17:14,835 --> 00:17:15,735 Going it's like, yeah. 328 00:17:15,735 --> 00:17:16,065 Okay. 329 00:17:16,605 --> 00:17:21,675 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream 330 00:17:21,735 --> 00:17:26,805 and said, Joseph son of David do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, 331 00:17:27,194 --> 00:17:32,505 because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit, she will give birth to 332 00:17:32,505 --> 00:17:37,755 a son, and you were to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people 333 00:17:38,534 --> 00:17:39,885 from their sins. 334 00:17:40,335 --> 00:17:43,965 And this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said to the prophet. 335 00:17:44,955 --> 00:17:49,425 The Virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and they will call him 336 00:17:49,575 --> 00:17:52,575 Emmanuel, which means God with us. 337 00:17:52,875 --> 00:17:57,435 So when Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded 338 00:17:57,435 --> 00:18:00,165 him and took Mary home as his wife. 339 00:18:00,615 --> 00:18:04,545 But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to 340 00:18:04,545 --> 00:18:07,935 a son and he gave him the name. 341 00:18:08,175 --> 00:18:09,045 Jesus. 342 00:18:10,305 --> 00:18:12,455 So we. 343 00:18:13,335 --> 00:18:19,995 We see this weird kind of terminology that Matthew uses any, any says the 344 00:18:19,995 --> 00:18:22,784 angel, he took it as a command, right? 345 00:18:22,784 --> 00:18:24,524 Like what angel said to him. 346 00:18:24,585 --> 00:18:25,514 Don't be afraid. 347 00:18:26,910 --> 00:18:28,620 But he took it as a command. 348 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:28,980 Right. 349 00:18:29,430 --> 00:18:32,280 You know, which is really interesting because I think there's 350 00:18:32,280 --> 00:18:33,750 some basic applications to that. 351 00:18:33,750 --> 00:18:37,890 You know, first and foremost, what it tells us about Joseph is that his faith 352 00:18:37,890 --> 00:18:40,200 and his belief was extremely strong. 353 00:18:40,230 --> 00:18:40,470 Right. 354 00:18:40,470 --> 00:18:42,060 It's very powerful. 355 00:18:42,360 --> 00:18:47,670 Um, I remember a debate between a really respected theologian and an 356 00:18:47,670 --> 00:18:53,850 atheist, who wasn't prepared, for the debate, um, which most atheists don't. 357 00:18:54,435 --> 00:18:59,835 Uh, because they are just so smart that they do, they think they're super smart. 358 00:18:59,865 --> 00:19:05,175 Uh, they have a false hood of, uh, intelligence, and then what they do is 359 00:19:05,175 --> 00:19:07,935 they talk in an echo chamber, right. 360 00:19:07,935 --> 00:19:11,715 They talk about the only two people who agree with them and, and, uh, 361 00:19:11,775 --> 00:19:13,065 and they talk to sick offense. 362 00:19:13,095 --> 00:19:16,275 People who just think anything they say is good, no matter what. 363 00:19:17,790 --> 00:19:20,010 So the arguments get really, really lame. 364 00:19:20,010 --> 00:19:23,970 So I remember a debate between a respected theologian and an unprepared 365 00:19:24,000 --> 00:19:28,140 atheist, and the atheist was trying to argue that signs, wonders, 366 00:19:28,170 --> 00:19:30,800 all of these things, are simply natural occurring phenomenon 367 00:19:30,800 --> 00:19:32,010 that people misinterpret. 368 00:19:32,250 --> 00:19:35,910 So the theologian asked him, okay, what signs or phenomena would have to 369 00:19:35,910 --> 00:19:40,140 occur in order for you to believe, or to be convinced that there was a God. 370 00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:43,860 And so the atheist not thinking about the implications of what he was about 371 00:19:43,860 --> 00:19:47,760 to say, I said, well, if there was, you know, lightening in the sky and 372 00:19:47,760 --> 00:19:52,860 I had visions, uh, things I'd never see before then I would believe. 373 00:19:52,860 --> 00:19:56,699 And so then the theologian responded well, based on your own criteria, you 374 00:19:56,699 --> 00:20:00,480 would just excuse those as natural phenomenon that are being misinterpreted. 375 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:07,540 See in, in the, the, the atheist obviously lost that, uh, debate in, 376 00:20:07,570 --> 00:20:15,735 in an incredible way, because the theologian pointed out an extremely clear 377 00:20:15,765 --> 00:20:20,835 way that it's your choice of belief. 378 00:20:20,865 --> 00:20:26,565 Your frame of reference IE: or faith, is what determines how 379 00:20:26,565 --> 00:20:28,005 you interpret those events. 380 00:20:28,005 --> 00:20:31,035 There's no abstract scientific way. 381 00:20:32,324 --> 00:20:39,014 It causes you to interpret these events as purely meaningless natural 382 00:20:39,135 --> 00:20:41,564 phenomena that people misinterpret. 383 00:20:41,985 --> 00:20:47,084 And so he's saying what you're doing is you're is exactly what you're accusing 384 00:20:47,115 --> 00:20:50,324 other people doing is as a falsehood. 385 00:20:50,685 --> 00:20:54,044 So the theologian points this out. 386 00:20:54,495 --> 00:20:55,004 And so. 387 00:20:56,145 --> 00:21:01,514 Uh, it was his way of saying that scientists are actually participating 388 00:21:01,514 --> 00:21:06,165 in a faith based system of inquiry. 389 00:21:06,375 --> 00:21:07,245 You really are. 390 00:21:07,245 --> 00:21:11,084 And this is what is so pernicious in the world today. 391 00:21:11,084 --> 00:21:13,125 And this is why I did the series on faith and science. 392 00:21:13,485 --> 00:21:17,115 Is that without faith, there was no would be no science. 393 00:21:17,354 --> 00:21:19,875 You see, and science in and of itself. 394 00:21:20,625 --> 00:21:25,485 Is a personification of a faith based inquiry, right? 395 00:21:25,485 --> 00:21:29,745 You start with a hypothesis and to come up with a hypothesis, requires 396 00:21:29,745 --> 00:21:31,605 creativity, challenging the things. 397 00:21:31,605 --> 00:21:33,705 And that requires faith, right? 398 00:21:33,795 --> 00:21:34,635 Faith on what? 399 00:21:34,905 --> 00:21:40,185 Before has been established, faith that it could logically be rationalized, 400 00:21:40,215 --> 00:21:41,985 or reasoned out to this conclusion. 401 00:21:41,985 --> 00:21:45,285 So let's try that and see what happens. 402 00:21:45,505 --> 00:21:50,145 So, uh, Joseph's faith was super strong. 403 00:21:50,355 --> 00:21:52,635 His frame of reference was clear. 404 00:21:52,875 --> 00:21:57,525 Therefore, when the angel said, don't be afraid to take Mary as your 405 00:21:57,525 --> 00:21:58,875 wife, he just took it as a command. 406 00:21:59,565 --> 00:22:02,835 So what that tells me is that his faith was really, really strong. 407 00:22:02,865 --> 00:22:03,945 I mean, there's no question is mine. 408 00:22:03,975 --> 00:22:06,045 Uh, this is an angel telling me this. 409 00:22:06,045 --> 00:22:06,405 Okay. 410 00:22:06,405 --> 00:22:07,065 It's command. 411 00:22:07,425 --> 00:22:08,025 No worries. 412 00:22:08,385 --> 00:22:09,225 I'm going to do on it. 413 00:22:09,405 --> 00:22:09,975 I'm on it. 414 00:22:10,455 --> 00:22:14,295 The second thing it did is it speaks to the strength of his will. 415 00:22:14,805 --> 00:22:17,550 He not only knew what he was going to do, but he went out, 416 00:22:17,550 --> 00:22:19,350 followed through and did it. 417 00:22:19,860 --> 00:22:24,000 Even though the point, uh, even to the point where he didn't consummate his 418 00:22:24,000 --> 00:22:26,760 marriage until after Jesus was born. 419 00:22:27,179 --> 00:22:29,070 So he goes, he marries her. 420 00:22:29,880 --> 00:22:33,390 And he can't even, he can't, he doesn't even consummate the marriage right. 421 00:22:33,540 --> 00:22:37,110 Until after Jesus was born. 422 00:22:37,170 --> 00:22:41,220 To me, that just really speaks of a strength of will, that he had. 423 00:22:41,640 --> 00:22:44,970 Um, I see Joseph because of this as a very strong man. 424 00:22:45,750 --> 00:22:49,950 You know, and I think early on, this was probably very indelible upon Jesus. 425 00:22:50,130 --> 00:22:51,810 Because you look at Jesus and you look at his life. 426 00:22:51,840 --> 00:22:54,270 He was a very strong person. 427 00:22:54,380 --> 00:22:55,110 Right, right. 428 00:22:55,350 --> 00:22:59,610 He's super strong, super courageous, super focused. 429 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:05,070 And so I think, uh, you know, early on this strength of will, the strength 430 00:23:05,070 --> 00:23:09,030 of character was something that Joseph was able to model for him. 431 00:23:09,030 --> 00:23:09,390 Third. 432 00:23:09,390 --> 00:23:14,760 I think that, uh, Matthew doesn't say anything about, the angel 433 00:23:14,760 --> 00:23:17,690 giving him the details of the plan. 434 00:23:18,150 --> 00:23:18,440 Right. 435 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:20,625 All he says is don't be afraid to marry her. 436 00:23:21,165 --> 00:23:25,035 He doesn't even say, the angel doesn't say, wait until she gives 437 00:23:25,035 --> 00:23:26,475 birth to consummate the marriage. 438 00:23:26,835 --> 00:23:28,815 He comes up with that on his own. 439 00:23:29,115 --> 00:23:32,955 Well, I don't know about you, but when God tells me to do something particularly 440 00:23:32,955 --> 00:23:34,965 something that's like way out of the norm. 441 00:23:35,025 --> 00:23:35,895 I want all the details. 442 00:23:36,415 --> 00:23:36,715 Right. 443 00:23:37,525 --> 00:23:38,545 What is the plan here? 444 00:23:38,755 --> 00:23:39,745 What's the plan? 445 00:23:39,745 --> 00:23:40,495 Where does this end? 446 00:23:40,575 --> 00:23:42,415 Uh, how does it work out? 447 00:23:42,655 --> 00:23:46,165 Uh, God, how are you going to deal with this implication and five years from now? 448 00:23:46,165 --> 00:23:47,005 Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 449 00:23:47,035 --> 00:23:48,265 How am I going to deal with that? 450 00:23:48,265 --> 00:23:49,285 How am I going to do with that? 451 00:23:49,555 --> 00:23:50,245 Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. 452 00:23:50,365 --> 00:23:54,335 I went to all the details, but Joseph didn't ask didn't 453 00:23:54,335 --> 00:23:56,295 get any and he did it anyway. 454 00:23:56,745 --> 00:24:00,284 And so I think that that's what we're under the powerful things 455 00:24:00,284 --> 00:24:06,284 that so inspirational about Joseph is that he heard this, he 456 00:24:06,284 --> 00:24:11,025 took it as a command and then he followed through, without question. 457 00:24:11,135 --> 00:24:12,335 Not even knowing. 458 00:24:12,755 --> 00:24:16,680 And as we know from the New Testament is that he and Mary went 459 00:24:16,680 --> 00:24:19,410 on to have a number of other sons. 460 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:21,480 And what's really fascinating. 461 00:24:21,480 --> 00:24:26,160 And I, I wish it wasn't this way, but I know why it's this way is I wish they 462 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:28,560 would have talked about Joseph more. 463 00:24:28,905 --> 00:24:30,555 It's like, well, what happened to Joseph? 464 00:24:30,585 --> 00:24:35,355 Why, why is it why isn't Joseph around when Jesus was doing his ministry? 465 00:24:35,355 --> 00:24:37,125 You know, he was, he had passed away. 466 00:24:37,305 --> 00:24:41,115 We don't know how, we don't know when, we don't know what for. 467 00:24:41,355 --> 00:24:47,025 All we really know is this, is that he took Jesus to Egypt 468 00:24:47,715 --> 00:24:53,655 to flee the Herodians massacre and then he comes back to Nazareth. 469 00:24:53,655 --> 00:24:54,044 Right. 470 00:24:54,284 --> 00:24:59,625 And then the last thing we hear about Joseph is when Jesus is 12 years old 471 00:24:59,625 --> 00:25:01,125 and they go to Jerusalem to the temple. 472 00:25:01,125 --> 00:25:01,425 Right. 473 00:25:01,485 --> 00:25:03,885 And then they leave and they can't find him. 474 00:25:03,885 --> 00:25:05,165 And he's like, well, where are you? 475 00:25:05,205 --> 00:25:06,254 I'm in my father's house. 476 00:25:06,495 --> 00:25:10,845 So, um, that's really the last time we ever see or hear any reference 477 00:25:10,845 --> 00:25:12,524 to Joseph, we just don't know. 478 00:25:12,885 --> 00:25:14,715 And I wish, I wish there was more in it. 479 00:25:14,715 --> 00:25:18,580 Cause I'm, you know, Um, I'm annoyingly curious about those things. 480 00:25:19,000 --> 00:25:22,930 But I think what's so interesting about Joseph though is just this 481 00:25:22,930 --> 00:25:26,020 little interaction with Gabriel tells us so much about him. 482 00:25:26,020 --> 00:25:31,570 His, his frame of reference, you know, was not, uh, was not one that 483 00:25:31,570 --> 00:25:36,220 was confused or lost or wishy-washy he knew exactly what he believed. 484 00:25:36,220 --> 00:25:38,680 He knew why he believed it and he was faithful to it. 485 00:25:39,190 --> 00:25:44,139 Well, I think we see so much of that in, like you said, this modeling 486 00:25:44,139 --> 00:25:47,260 of like, I don't ask questions. 487 00:25:47,260 --> 00:25:49,000 I just do what God tells me to do. 488 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:54,070 We see so much of that from his parents that in Mary and Joseph, that it's no 489 00:25:54,070 --> 00:25:58,180 wonder that Jesus and I mean, obviously he's part got too, so it's like, 490 00:25:58,180 --> 00:26:03,880 there's a mixture of nature, nurture, literal Godly nature, versus nurture of 491 00:26:04,790 --> 00:26:05,140 parents. 492 00:26:05,320 --> 00:26:06,080 Mary and Joseph. 493 00:26:06,080 --> 00:26:07,804 Right, and he probably picked the correct parents, right? 494 00:26:07,804 --> 00:26:07,988 And he 495 00:26:07,988 --> 00:26:08,447 did it for a reason. 496 00:26:08,447 --> 00:26:12,340 He selected the correct parents. 497 00:26:12,570 --> 00:26:17,264 So, yeah, and I think that what all this tells us is that from the very beginning, 498 00:26:17,264 --> 00:26:20,115 this is what Christmas was all about. 499 00:26:20,115 --> 00:26:24,675 And if before Jesus was even born, God selected Mary and Joseph 500 00:26:24,675 --> 00:26:31,575 and Mary, uh, a woman of great faith and great, uh, obedience. 501 00:26:31,814 --> 00:26:35,415 And obedience, not from the standpoint of, well, I'm just going to do 502 00:26:35,415 --> 00:26:37,294 whatever I'm told, just from a sense of 503 00:26:38,010 --> 00:26:46,770 such peace and such a devotion that there wasn't any question. 504 00:26:46,770 --> 00:26:50,760 I mean, she just walked in the fullness of being God's servant, you 505 00:26:50,760 --> 00:26:53,610 know, she, I just want to be God's servant, you know, I just want that. 506 00:26:53,610 --> 00:26:55,890 And so, and then you have Joseph, right? 507 00:26:55,890 --> 00:26:59,280 A man of character, a man of strength, a man of conviction. 508 00:26:59,670 --> 00:27:00,840 And even though he didn't have 509 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:02,570 all the details. 510 00:27:02,910 --> 00:27:07,270 He takes what the Lord said to him through the angel is a command and 511 00:27:07,270 --> 00:27:08,590 then he just goes out and does it. 512 00:27:09,010 --> 00:27:09,250 Well. 513 00:27:09,250 --> 00:27:13,510 And they, they fight with that initial fear, both of them obviously, but then 514 00:27:13,510 --> 00:27:15,700 they come to accept it and find joy in it. 515 00:27:15,730 --> 00:27:16,060 Right? 516 00:27:16,090 --> 00:27:16,420 Yeah. 517 00:27:16,450 --> 00:27:17,470 Absolute joy. 518 00:27:17,500 --> 00:27:21,730 And I, and I think that's what the, you know, the, this is just the prelude 519 00:27:21,730 --> 00:27:24,340 to what, why Jesus is Christmas. 520 00:27:24,640 --> 00:27:30,070 And what I mean by that is you take every feeling, every emotion, every experience. 521 00:27:30,840 --> 00:27:33,930 Regardless of whether a person believes in God or not. 522 00:27:34,800 --> 00:27:39,870 About the season of Christmas, and then realize that all of that 523 00:27:39,870 --> 00:27:46,050 happens, all of that occurs because something happened 2000 years ago. 524 00:27:46,290 --> 00:27:50,490 And that's something is that God emptied himself and took 525 00:27:50,490 --> 00:27:51,750 the form of a bond servant. 526 00:27:52,020 --> 00:27:59,295 He was, he humbled himself, by being born as a vulnerable baby to 527 00:27:59,355 --> 00:28:01,754 a young girl by the name of Mary. 528 00:28:02,264 --> 00:28:05,504 To a stepfather by the name of Joseph. 529 00:28:05,595 --> 00:28:08,175 And that's where Christmas begins. 530 00:28:08,275 --> 00:28:11,340 Without Jesus without this, there is no Christmas. 531 00:28:11,340 --> 00:28:15,930 And I think that's really important because secularism has tried 532 00:28:15,930 --> 00:28:19,140 to take Jesus out of Christmas. 533 00:28:19,290 --> 00:28:22,710 You know, like the Senegalese, oh, we want the commercial stuff 534 00:28:22,740 --> 00:28:24,060 because you know, people make money. 535 00:28:24,090 --> 00:28:27,060 Oh, we want the gift giving and the decorations and the fun, 536 00:28:27,330 --> 00:28:28,770 but we don't want no Jesus. 537 00:28:29,130 --> 00:28:33,660 Well, the problem is, is secularism is the idea that you can take all the 538 00:28:33,660 --> 00:28:35,910 good stuff that came from something. 539 00:28:37,169 --> 00:28:41,820 And then like religion in this particular place or faith, divorced them or separate 540 00:28:41,820 --> 00:28:46,830 them, and then maintain the wonder of 541 00:28:47,940 --> 00:28:49,330 the good stuff, right? 542 00:28:49,650 --> 00:28:50,670 So they make this judgment. 543 00:28:50,670 --> 00:28:52,080 Well, we don't want the Jesus. 544 00:28:52,080 --> 00:28:56,490 We don't want the religion or the faith, but we want all of the celebration. 545 00:28:56,490 --> 00:29:00,030 We want all of the money and the consumerism, we went, all of the lights. 546 00:29:00,030 --> 00:29:01,290 We want all of that kind of stuff. 547 00:29:01,500 --> 00:29:06,900 And what people don't realize, is that this is an absolute, complete failure. 548 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:09,790 Because I know p, I know lots of people, 549 00:29:10,710 --> 00:29:14,370 and that is, is, uh, myself included in that is that my father 550 00:29:14,370 --> 00:29:19,679 died on Christmas day in 1987 is when he died of a heart attack. 551 00:29:20,070 --> 00:29:24,179 So I know a lot of people who've lost people on Christmas day. 552 00:29:24,450 --> 00:29:24,840 Right. 553 00:29:25,139 --> 00:29:27,840 And so what do you think the lights mean to them? 554 00:29:27,840 --> 00:29:28,590 What do you think? 555 00:29:28,590 --> 00:29:32,610 The food and the traditions and all of those things mean to them? 556 00:29:32,790 --> 00:29:34,710 Well, if there's no Jesus, right. 557 00:29:35,284 --> 00:29:36,365 There's no healing. 558 00:29:36,395 --> 00:29:37,385 There's no wholeness. 559 00:29:37,415 --> 00:29:38,585 There's no redemption. 560 00:29:38,615 --> 00:29:40,024 There's no generosity. 561 00:29:40,325 --> 00:29:42,725 It's just empty symbols that mean nothing. 562 00:29:42,845 --> 00:29:43,175 Right. 563 00:29:43,205 --> 00:29:44,585 When you take Jesus away from it. 564 00:29:44,645 --> 00:29:48,815 See, so Christmas has maintained for me one of the most joyous 565 00:29:48,815 --> 00:29:50,254 times and I've grown up. 566 00:29:50,555 --> 00:29:53,855 Uh, one of the greatest, uh, disappointments is that 567 00:29:53,855 --> 00:29:58,205 my children never met their biological grandfather on my side. 568 00:29:58,205 --> 00:30:01,085 They know their grandfather on the other side has done a great job with them, 569 00:30:01,085 --> 00:30:04,345 but I, uh, they never met my dad, right? 570 00:30:05,135 --> 00:30:07,410 And part of that is, is that maybe they would understand why 571 00:30:07,410 --> 00:30:09,690 their dad is so weird, you know. 572 00:30:09,900 --> 00:30:11,700 As my mom says, I get it honestly. 573 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:16,560 Um, but, uh, but really the essence is, is that you cannot, 574 00:30:16,800 --> 00:30:19,650 secularism is a failed idea. 575 00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:23,580 It's absolutely devoid of any rationality. 576 00:30:23,910 --> 00:30:29,310 Uh, you can't divorce the core principles or, uh, the upstream event. 577 00:30:29,835 --> 00:30:33,495 And then divorce it from the downstream effects. 578 00:30:33,795 --> 00:30:35,025 You know, it's really interesting. 579 00:30:35,025 --> 00:30:40,065 There's an atheist out there pendula of the magical duo, a Penn and Teller, 580 00:30:40,455 --> 00:30:45,075 and he was written a number of books, three or four books about atheism. 581 00:30:45,075 --> 00:30:46,875 He's really vocal about it so forth. 582 00:30:46,875 --> 00:30:50,805 And he likes to make the argument that since he is a moral atheists, 583 00:30:51,195 --> 00:30:53,595 all atheist can be, moral. 584 00:30:53,745 --> 00:30:56,505 But this is completely and utterly false. 585 00:30:56,745 --> 00:31:02,265 If there is no God, then there are no objective morals or duties. 586 00:31:02,295 --> 00:31:06,255 And it's a perfect example of someone who appears intelligent, 587 00:31:06,525 --> 00:31:09,255 who makes irrational arguments. 588 00:31:09,645 --> 00:31:13,035 Eh, that's a nice way of saying it's like someone who claims to be 589 00:31:13,035 --> 00:31:14,775 wise, but they're really stupid. 590 00:31:15,105 --> 00:31:20,205 Because they argue in circles and they invalidate their own, argument. 591 00:31:20,205 --> 00:31:25,665 Because the, you know, the way you defeat his argument is saying is that will, on 592 00:31:25,665 --> 00:31:29,775 what basis do you build your morality? 593 00:31:29,895 --> 00:31:30,945 Why build it on myself? 594 00:31:30,945 --> 00:31:35,415 So then the atheist next to you builds his own morality and his own morality says, 595 00:31:35,415 --> 00:31:37,695 I want to kill you and take your stuff. 596 00:31:37,875 --> 00:31:39,765 And it's perfectly fine. 597 00:31:40,665 --> 00:31:44,445 Just because you have that morality as an atheist doesn't mean anybody 598 00:31:44,445 --> 00:31:46,785 else moralities in- validated. 599 00:31:46,785 --> 00:31:50,055 So no matter what, it's just a failed system. 600 00:31:50,235 --> 00:31:54,525 So secularism at its core is a failed ideology. 601 00:31:54,525 --> 00:31:58,215 And we see that we'll talk more about it on Thursday is we're 602 00:31:58,215 --> 00:32:01,935 seeing the applications of it across the board in American today. 603 00:32:02,055 --> 00:32:07,070 You see, because you can't divorce Jesus from Christmas. 604 00:32:07,460 --> 00:32:11,690 And maintain all of the good stuff that Christmas does. 605 00:32:11,690 --> 00:32:13,159 You can't do that. 606 00:32:13,190 --> 00:32:15,720 There's just, no way. 607 00:32:15,840 --> 00:32:16,650 Absolutely. 608 00:32:16,669 --> 00:32:20,030 Well, um, as we wrap up today, I do want to encourage you guys. 609 00:32:20,030 --> 00:32:23,939 If you are wanting to spend this Christmas season focused on Jesus 610 00:32:23,939 --> 00:32:26,790 and why, chris, Jesus Is Christmas. 611 00:32:26,820 --> 00:32:31,470 Um, our Foothill staff has created a really cool advent devotional 612 00:32:31,470 --> 00:32:34,950 series for you, where you're leading reading one chapter of Luke day. 613 00:32:35,250 --> 00:32:39,480 And then you get a video sent to your phone with a two-minute devotional 614 00:32:39,480 --> 00:32:41,070 from one of our staff each day. 615 00:32:41,370 --> 00:32:44,520 Um, you don't have to give your email address. 616 00:32:44,520 --> 00:32:46,080 You don't have to have logins, nothing like that. 617 00:32:46,080 --> 00:32:48,330 It just gets sent to your phone and you get to just spend some time 618 00:32:48,330 --> 00:32:49,919 really focusing on the life of Jesus. 619 00:32:49,919 --> 00:32:53,730 Growing closer to him as we get closer to the celebration of his birth. 620 00:32:53,730 --> 00:32:57,840 So if you're interested in that, we really encourage you to, um, join 621 00:32:57,840 --> 00:33:00,240 in on that, um, advent devotional. 622 00:33:00,240 --> 00:33:03,629 And you can do that by texting FH Advent. 623 00:33:03,750 --> 00:33:08,550 So FH space, advent to 72,000, and you'll get signed up. 624 00:33:08,580 --> 00:33:09,629 They'll send you a little text message. 625 00:33:09,629 --> 00:33:11,970 You just click on the link and you get signed up and it's going to be 626 00:33:11,970 --> 00:33:14,100 really great and it's going to be super fun and it will be great for 627 00:33:14,460 --> 00:33:17,399 our audiences on the salty pastor and the community at Foothills. 628 00:33:17,935 --> 00:33:21,955 Be bonding together over the life of Jesus as we get closer to Christmas. 629 00:33:21,955 --> 00:33:25,345 So we thank you guys so much for joining us today. 630 00:33:25,345 --> 00:33:29,514 I encourage you guys to be doing some sort of advent study, because 631 00:33:29,514 --> 00:33:32,365 I think it's really important for you to stay focused on Jesus. 632 00:33:32,365 --> 00:33:36,535 When the world's trying to tell you that, um, your favorite thing is 633 00:33:36,535 --> 00:33:40,495 not going to be available and all they want to focus on is the gifts. 634 00:33:40,495 --> 00:33:42,925 And we're focused on the thing that actually matters. 635 00:33:42,925 --> 00:33:45,785 So we encourage you guys to do some sort of advent study, whether 636 00:33:45,810 --> 00:33:47,070 it's ours or somebody else's. 637 00:33:47,430 --> 00:33:49,920 And enjoy the season for what it really is. 638 00:33:49,920 --> 00:33:51,000 Thank you so much for joining us. 639 00:33:51,000 --> 00:33:53,790 And we'll see you on Thursday here on the Salty Pastor Podcast. 640 00:33:53,910 --> 00:33:55,110 Goodbye and blessings.