Now and Not Yet!

Sermon Summary:

This message invites us into the profound tension of living in God’s kingdom that is both ‘now’ and ‘not yet.’ Drawing from Matthew 4, we discover that Jesus inaugurated His kingdom not through military might or political power, but through teaching, preaching, and healing in the darkest corners of Israel. The significance is staggering: the King of kings chose to establish His reign in Galilee, a land of darkness where Jews and Gentiles mixed, where faithful Jews wouldn’t even want to travel. Yet this is precisely where the light dawned most brilliantly. We’re challenged to reconsider what kingdom power truly looks like—it’s not found in the halls of political influence or earthly victory, but in transformed lives, compassionate service, and faithful witness. The Christmas story isn’t just about a baby in Bethlehem; it’s about a Savior King who began a revolution that continues through His disciples today. We live in this beautiful tension where we see glimpses of God’s power—occasional healings, remarkable transformations, moments of divine intervention—yet we still await the fullness of His kingdom when every tear will be wiped away and all truly will be well.

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Sermon Points:

Key Takeaways:

• The Christmas story must be understood within the context of the “big story” spanning from Genesis to Revelation
• Jesus’ ministry took place amid complex political, spiritual, religious, and cultural dynamics
• The kingdom of heaven operates differently than earthly kingdoms—not through military might or political power, but through teaching, preaching, healing, and discipleship
• Jesus chose to establish His kingdom in Galilee, considered a place of darkness, demonstrating that light is most powerful where darkness is greatest
• The kingdom of heaven has an “inaugurated eschatology”—it is both “now” (already present) and “not yet” (awaiting complete fulfillment)
• Jesus gave glimpses of kingdom power through selective healings and miracles, pointing to the day when all will be made well
• The kingdom grows through disciples of Jesus living out and sharing the gospel message
• Christians must resist being enamored with political or earthly power, understanding that kingdom power operates differently
• While circumstances in our world suggest all is not well, theologically God’s plan is in place and His kingdom will be fully established at Christ’s return

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Scripture References:

• Matthew 4:12-25 (primary focus, especially verses 17 and 23)
• Matthew 1:20-21
• Genesis 3 (prophecy of the seed of the woman)
• Isaiah 7 and related prophecies about light coming to darkness

Stories:

• The political intrigue surrounding Jesus’ birth, including Caesar Augustus’s decree and King Herod’s attempt to kill the baby Jesus
• The flight of Mary, Joseph, and Jesus to Egypt to escape Herod’s massacre
• John the Baptist’s imprisonment and death by Herod Antipas over his condemnation of Herod’s marriage to his brother’s wife
• Michael Lindsay’s observation about evangelical Christians being too easily enamored with political power in Washington D.C.
• The story of Hamadou, the chief’s son in West Africa whom Cindy took to the hospital for kidney stones in 2006, who later became chief of his village and a follower of Jesus
• The recent tragedies mentioned: the Hanukkah celebration attack at Bondi Beach, the murder-suicide involving Rob Reiner’s family members, and the Birmingham news anchor’s death

Sermon Transcript:

And everyone said Amen. Aren’t you glad you came to church today? Right. Well, thank you so much. Worship ministry. Well, we are bringing 2025 to a conclusion. It has been a monumental year for us. You may remember we launched this year with the, flourishing weekend launch, and we had, around 700 adults here on that Friday evening in January.

And those of you that were here that night had no idea what you were even coming to. It was all a step in faith. And it’s where we heard from Kate Long and Scott Hare, and we launched our flourishing journey. So our theme this year has been flourishing together, rooted in Christ. And then as our, time has unfolded together and we’ve learned more about flourishing, and we’ve now participated in this global flourishing study, the flourishing and church piece of it that Harvard and Baylor researchers are leading in. 1287 of you adults took the flourishing survey, and we are still unpacking what we’ve learned from it. As I shared with you a couple of weeks ago, we’ve got a 78 page summary. It’s actually just been revised and updated by our Harvard team, and we’re meeting with them in January again to look at the results and learn more about what you have said to us about how you’re experiencing your relationship with Jesus.

So it’s been a monumental year for us. We’ll continue our flourishing journey together in 2026, where we will gather around what it means to flourish together, being transformed on the Jesus way. But before we get to that, let’s finish 2025, don’t y’all think before we get to 2026? So our theme for advent this year is The King. And on Thursday we as Christians will join hands with all kinds of folks and our families and friends, and we’ll celebrate Christmas together.

But those of us who are followers of Jesus in particular, we actually know what the Christmas story is all about. We know the big story, and that’s really what we’ve been focused on here on Sunday mornings during this advent season, is putting the Christmas story in the context of the big story, and I want to continue to do that today.

You remember that we’ve used the word King as an acronym for this season. I begin on December 7th with the message entitled Born the King Near a Prince. Last Sunday we talked about the identity gift that Jesus has given to us. Today we’re going to discuss this topic of the now and the not yet, and then we’ll bring the year to a conclusion next Sunday with a message entitled Go now.

So with that said, I want to invite you to look at this page in your Bibles. Is the is Matthew. Matthew’s gospel has been our guide all year long. And if you have a copy of the new Testament with you, or if you have your phone or whatever, I want you to look with me at the fourth page of Matthew.

I’ve entitled the message today, now and not yet. This is a very significant page in the Gospel of Matthew. Over a year’s worth of ministry is covered in just a few verses, and Matthew sets the stage for the pivotal second year of the ministry of Jesus. We believe there were three years of Jesus’s ministry. Some scholars refer to that first year as the year of obscurity.

We don’t know a whole lot about that first year. John’s gospel gives us the most information about it. Actually, we have a little bit of information about it, in the Synoptics, Matthew, Mark and Luke. But if you’ll look at Matthew four, Matthew three records the baptism of Jesus. This is the launching of the ministry of Jesus, where he’s anointed by the Spirit of God.

And then Matthew chapter four, he tells us at the beginning of Matthew four, Jesus goes into the wilderness. He’s led into the wilderness. A lot of imagery there for the Jews for to for him to be tempted by the devil. And the first 11 verses cover the temptation of Jesus. Then you come to verse 12, and an entire year now has passed.

So a year of ministry takes place between verse 11 and verse 12 of Matthew four. Are y’all with me? We don’t know a whole lot about it, okay? But we do get this note in verse 12 when Jesus heard John had been put in prison kind of interesting way. The Matthew words that being put in prison is actually one word in Greek it means to be handed over.

It’s the very same word that will be used later in Matthew’s Gospel to refer to Jesus being handed over to the authorities for his trial and ultimate crucifixion. And then we have the introduction of the ministry of Jesus in Galilee. And now we’re going to have this year of popularity, if you will, where the ministry of Jesus is going to spread all over Galilee.

And we have a word about that starting in verse 12, Matthew gives us a summary word in verse 17 and tells us, here’s what Jesus taught. Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. Then in verse 18, Matthew tells us, Jesus started gathering officially followers, disciples. Now we believe Jesus had already known these men for about a year or so.

And. But the time has come now for them to actually follow him fully into this journey of discipleship, into these next couple of years of ministry. And then we come to verse 23, where Matthew offers a summary of what’s going to happen during the second year of the ministry of Jesus. And that will be our text this morning.

So let’s look at Matthew four, verse 23. You know, it’s our custom at our church to stand in the honor of the Lord Jesus when we read the gospel. So let me ask you to stand if you’re able, and then hear these words from Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases. Those suffering severe pain. The demon possessed, those having seizures and the paralyzed, and he healed them. Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed him. Thank you. You may be seated. So what I want to do this morning is continue to put the story of Christmas into its proper context, which we refer to as the big story.

As you and I celebrate Christmas, we actually are also celebrating the ensuing ministry of Jesus, and Matthew four helps inform us a little bit about that ministry of Jesus. Now, here’s what I would say at Christmas of course we do celebrate the miracle. What is the miracle? For God so loved that he gave his one and only son.

You heard David and Laurie today share that testimony. We’ve lit the candle of love, and the miracle is the incarnation. That’s the miracle, obviously, of Christmas. It’s unprecedented in history and in the ancient world. Completely unthought of that. God would actually become flesh. But remember, the prophecy that was given to and instructions given to Joseph in a dream from the angel of the Lord back in Matthew one reminds you in Matthew one verse 20 says this, but after he Joseph had considered this, he was talking.

He was thinking about putting Mary away privately. 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. So God assured Joseph that this particular story was a part of the prophecy that was shared by Isaiah some 700 years before Christ.

And so we’re reminded at this miracle that the miracle of Christmas is actually a part of the big story. It doesn’t really begin in Bethlehem. It begins in the heart of God. It’s manifested on earth in the Garden of Eden, where after Adam and Eve are tempted in Genesis three, you know they fail, they fall. They choose to answer the temptation of the serpent, Satan through the serpent, by responding positively to what he shared with them.

And consequently God brought judgment upon this world. But one of the things that we find in Genesis three is the very first prophecy of the Bible, and that is where God tells the serpent, the seed of the woman will crush your head. You will. Bruises heal, but the seed of the woman will crush your head. Now everybody knew in the ancient world the seed did not belong to the woman.

So that little phrase, the seed of the woman, was a puzzling phrase for the interpreters of the Scripture for centuries, unsure of what it meant. Until we come to the miracle of the incarnation. And Mary now has received this gift, this child from the Holy Spirit and Joseph is trying to make sense of it, and God lets him know this is a part of the big story.

This birth of this baby will be the fulfillment of the ancient prophet’s words in Isaiah chapter seven. So Christmas is about fulfillment, but it’s about expectation. Now, just to remind you of what was happening in the world when Jesus was born and when he lived, to try to connect you to what’s happening in our world, where you and I are now living, let’s consider the milieu of that era, the context that was surrounding the birth and the life and the ministry of Jesus was characterized by what I would call spiritual, religious, political and cultural dynamics.

There’s a lot happening when we read the story of the gospel. Think about it. Why did Joseph and Mary leave Nazareth and go to Bethlehem so that Mary would have her child in Bethlehem? Did they just have a conversation one morning? And Mary said to Joseph, you know, I’ve been thinking about this. I don’t want my baby to be born in Nazareth.

I want to go. I’ve heard there’s a really good hospital in Bethlehem. That’s where I want to go and have this baby. Is that what I have? No. Why did Joseph and Mary have to go to Bethlehem at this crucial point in her pregnancy? Do you remember there was a political decision that was made in Rome by a political leader known as Caesar Augustus?

And I love whenever we go to Rome, we go to the top of Palatine Hill, and we stand there at Caesar’s Palace. Now, some of y’all have been to Caesar’s Palace, but I don’t I’ve not been I’ve, I’ve not actually been to that one, but I’ve been to the real one, which is in Rome. And Caesar thought he was on center stage, and he issued a decree that all the people in his kingdom be counted.

Remember, what he didn’t realize was that center stage was actually in the backwater area known as Judea, in a little town of Nazareth. Because once that decree was sent out, this political decision was made. Mary and Joseph now have to leave Nazareth and travel to Bethlehem. But there’s continued political intrigue in the story. After Jesus is born in Jerusalem, the Magi come sometime later and they ask the question of King Herod, where is he who has been born King of the Jews?

And if you remember, Herod asked those magis. We talked about this a couple weeks ago to go and find him and let him know where he is. And of course, Herod then, because he’s paranoid about anybody else claiming the right to be the king of the Jews, he issued the the decree that all the children born in Bethlehem over the last couple of years, the male children be put to death.

Another political decision and so what happens then to Mary and Joseph with their small child? They are forced to leave Israel and flee to where Egypt once again connecting to this powerful story throughout the history of Israel. And then eventually, once Herod dies, they then will be given the message by an angel to make their way back into Israel.

However, Joseph knew that Herod’s son, who was now ruling in Jerusalem, he was just as wicked as his father, and so ended up making his way all the way back to Nazareth, out of the line of fire, if you will. So there’s all this political intrigue taking place in the milieu surrounding the birth and the life of Jesus.

But then there’s also a spiritual dynamic. Look here, Matthew four verse one. Look at what the text says. We still have your Bibles open. Jesus was led by the spirit in the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. So the Spirit of God is at work in this story, and now there’s going to be a huge spiritual battle.

It’s already been in place. I mean, what prompted Herod to try to kill all the babies in Bethlehem? We would we would say that that was a satanic move, if you will. And so Satan’s already at work trying to thwart this whole thing, but Jesus is rescued, and now Jesus goes out to the wilderness to just face the devil face to face.

And he is then tempted by the devil. And he doesn’t completely destroy the devil in the wilderness, but he defeats him. So the devil leaves the presence of Jesus. He’s going to reappear, y’all, in the book of revelation, and he will be destroyed. He’s still stalking today, though he’s still conniving today. But there were still other political and cultural dynamics at place in the ministry of Jesus.

In fact, look at look at verse 12 of Matthew four when Jesus heard John, that’s John the Baptist had been put in prison. He withdrew to Galilee. So Jesus leaves Judea in the south and goes to the north. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali, to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah.

Now there’s prophetic fulfillment in the life of Jesus at work. There’s still political intrigue, because what happened to John the Baptist? Well, one of Herod’s other sons, Herod Antipas, had put John the Baptist in prison and, he was frustrated with John the Baptist popularity. The Bible tells us that Herod Antipas, he’s one of Herod’s sons. He thought that John the Baptist had been resurrected from the dead.

And so then he was. It was a lot of superstition around John the Baptist. And if y’all remember what happened to Herod Antipas, he married a lady that his father arranged a marriage for him. Actually, Caesar Augustus arranged a marriage for him. And, Tiberius rather. And he married the daughter of another political leader. However, his half brother lived in Rome, and he paid a visit to Rome to visit his half brother.

And while he was there he fell in love with his brother’s wife, who was also his niece. These people are from Alabama, y’all. These are this, this. Okay, where we come from, this happens. But this is very unusual in the Roman context. But he falls in love with his wife, his brother’s wife, and he decides to take her as his wife.

She wanted him back. Then he didn’t have to divorce. Your. Otherwise you could just marry another one. Particularly if you were ruler. But his. But his, The lady fell in love with her. Wrote she refused to marry him till he divorced his first wife. So he divorces his first wife. Makes one of the rulers mad because he’s embarrassed.

His daughter takes, his brother. Philip’s wife brings her back. And now he’s in power. And John the Baptist says, you have violated the law of the Jews, and now you’re trying to rule over us. Made him angry. And y’all know eventually he will be there to make sure that John the Baptist dies. This same Herod will actually attend the trial of Jesus.

So there’s still there’s political intrigue, but there’s not just the politics of it all, not just the spiritual battle. There’s a religious and cultural milieu as well. If you look back again at verses 12 through 14, Jesus goes to live in Capernaum, and he’s living in a part of Israel, in the northern part of Israel that was given to Zebulun and Naphtali.

Originally, when the Jews, when the Jews made their way in the Promised Land, the Jews in Jesus day refused viewed that area of Israel as a land of darkness. The reason is there were so many Gentiles who lived in that part of Israel in what was called the Decapolis, and there was so much uncleanness in that part of Israel.

Many Jews avoided it. It had been a place where God had judged Israel in the past, where the Assyrians had taken over. And so that part of Israel was known as a place of darkness. Isn’t it interesting that the prophet Isaiah said, that is exactly where the light is going to come one day into the place of darkness.

Matthew tells us that Jesus chose this place out of all of Israel, out of the reach of Jerusalem and Judea, a place where Gentiles lived. There was the cultural mix, the religious mix between Gentiles and Jews. It was associated with darkness, so much so that even the town of Nazareth itself was judged by the people of Israel, because they used to say, can anything good come out of Nazareth?

It’s in that land of darkness. So in that part of Israel, that’s where Jesus chooses to live. Herod Antipas has his capital eight miles away, in Tiberias, away from Capernaum. And so here is Jesus in this particular time and this particular place. And here’s what he’s going to do in the northern part of Israel and a place of darkness.

He’s going to establish a new kingdom. That’s what he does, a new kingdom on earth. Well, what’s the message of that kingdom? Well, the message of Christmas and Christianity is this it’s good news that the Messiah, the Savior, the King has been born. You see, the message of Christianity is not a philosophical argument. The message of Christmas is news.

The angel appeared to the shepherds and said, behold, I’m giving you good news. It will be great joy for all the people. Well, what’s the good news? Well, you find that the good news back in Matthew one, verse 21, she Mary, will give birth to a son. So what the angel told Joseph, you gave him the name Jesus Yeshua.

In Hebrew we use the Greek name Jesus. What does Yeshua mean? God saves. He will save his people from their sins. So what kind of king are we about to learn? And what kind of kingdom is he going to establish? Well, he is going to be a savior. King that’s kind of king is. No one knew about that kind of king in the ancient world.

No one had ever heard of that kind of king. But Jesus has a message in this kingdom, and here’s what he says in Matthew four verse 17, Jesus preached this repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near. Now, y’all, let’s climb back in time. If we can. Some 2000 years and we’re living in that part of the world, and Jesus says, I have a new kingdom, and you’re living in northern Israel and you know about kingdom.

We live in northern Israel because you know the story of Assyria. So you know about the kingdom of Assyria. If you’re a Jew, you know about the kingdom of Babylon, you know about the kingdom of Persia, you know about the kingdom of the Greeks, and you know about the kingdom of the Romans. And now all of a sudden, you have this message that a new king has been born.

And Jesus says, this kingdom is now here. And so the question will be, where, what? Where is the kingdom? Where is the capital? Where is your army? Where is your currency? Well, what kind of money are we going to have in this kingdom? I see every time somebody takes over, we get new money. We get we get a new emperor on the face of our coins.

Something tells us it’s new every time. Rome, when conquer someone, they would send the message. Not only is the kingdom this big, now, it’s this big. So we understand all that. And now here’s Jesus. He’s just walking around. He has no army and he doesn’t seem to have a capital. And yet he says this is the New Kingdom.

Well, what kind of kingdom is it and how is it going to grow? How do we join it? What do we need to do to be a part of it? Well, those are all great questions, and here’s what I would tell you. Those people had a lot to learn, because the method of this kingdom was very different than the methods of the kingdoms of this world. You see, the method of the expansion of God’s kingdom on earth is not dependent on military or political expressions of power.

That’s a lesson we still need to learn. We still struggle with it. Because you see, as Christians, we particularly American Christians, we want to win. And we have an idea what that means. We know what victory looks like, and so often it’s tied to an earthly perspective, just like it was in the days of Israel when Jesus says, here’s the new Kingdom where?

Well, how strong is it? How big is it? Can we see an expression of it? Well, Christians, you and I, even today, we got to be careful. You know, years ago here at our church, we had Michael Lindsay come in and spend a few days with our staff. He wrote a book called Faith in the Halls of Power and, where he interviewed evangelical Christians who were working in the Academy and in the arts and in the business world, in government, while he was interviewing some Christians who are working in the government in Washington, DC.

Here’s what one of those Christians told him. He said, one of the saddest things that we see here in Washington, DC is when we bring fellow evangelical Christians to Washington, DC, because they’re so easily enamored with political power.

And we have to teach them that this is fleeting power. What a judgment on us so enamored with political power, y’all. Let’s be careful, because the power of the kingdom of God, it’s not political. Our military here. Here’s how it looks, is found in verse 23. We just read it. If you still have your Bibles open. Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness among the people.

That’s the kingdom of God teaching, preaching, healing, teaching authoritatively, preaching and proclaiming the good news of the gospel and expressions of compassion and love. And where does it take place? In the land of darkness, in fact, look at look at the prophecy. Look back at verse 15 of Matthew, for the land of Zebulun, the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea beyond the Jordan, the Galilee of the Gentiles, the people living in darkness have seen a great light on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned.

In other words, the prophecy was in the darkest place of Israel is where the light is going to come, because light is so powerful when there’s so much darkness present, the land of the Jews and the Gentiles. You know, today is the winter solstice. This is the shortest day of the year. There will be more darkness in the Northern hemisphere today than any other day of the year.

They’re like in Fairbanks, Alaska. They’re going to get less than four hours of light today. There are a couple of places in Russia and Alaska today they will see no light. This this is the darkest day there is. Isn’t it interesting that it occurs right in the middle of advent where we’re celebrating the light is dawn. Well, this light penetrates and dispels darkness.

There’s so much contrast between light and darkness. So how is this kingdom going to grow? Are y’all share with me how is the kingdom going to go? Well, it’s not going to grow by military might. That’s not how it works. It’s not going to grow by political power. That’s not the kind of kingdom this is. The message of the kingdom of heaven is to be lived out through and shared by disciples of Jesus.

It grows to us back in verse 18 to Matthew four. What does Jesus do? He calls these two sets of brothers, Peter and Andrew, James and John. He will call others. And Jesus changes the method of discipleship in the ancient world. Because, you see, there was a certain pattern in the world of how you called and led disciples as a rabbi.

You would they would come to you. They would ask, would they be a part of your team? If you will travel with you, learn from you, then their goal was to go and start their own school, be their own rabbi and have their own disciples. Jesus said, that’s not how this one’s going to work. I will call you, and when I call you, you will always be disciples of me, not of yourself.

And that’s how it’s going to work from now on. We’re still doing it today. We’re still engaged in discipleship today because that’s how the kingdom of God grows. Let me read you this quote from Michael Williams, this commentary on Matthew after he read Matthew four studied it. Here’s his summary of Matthew four. He says the power and authority Jesus displayed was neither militaristic nor political, but his authority and power were staggering.

Nonetheless, Jesus was powerful enough to conquer the devilish ruler of this world. That’s a temptation universal enough to include both Jews and Gentiles in his messianic gospel. That’s the message in northern Israel, authoritative enough to transform simple men into leaders of a movement that has changed the course of history. There’s a disciples an effective enough to attend to the basic needs of the people, body, soul, and spirit.

This is the kind of messianic deliverer that advances the Kingdom of God. That’s how we celebrate at Christmas. That’s our king. Unlike any other king who’s ever lived. So after I’ve said all that, here’s the sermon. For today, here’s the meaning. The kingdom of heaven has this dual dynamic that creates a real tension that’s existed since its inception.

There’s a now and a not yet dynamic at work. Theologians refer to it as inaugurated eschatology because here’s what happened in the ministry in the Life of Jesus. And here’s what took place at Christmas. Jesus instituted the kingdom of heaven on this earth. And it’s powerful, but its power is very different than the power of any other kingdom.

And yet we have glimpses of it. We talked about this Wednesday night. Jesus will show us glimpses. He doesn’t give it all to us yet because the time has not yet come yet come. There’s still not yet, but we still see it on occasion, don’t we? Jesus didn’t cure or heal every blind person while he was on this earth, but occasionally he would meet one and he would just say, not this one, not now.

He didn’t cause every deaf person to hear, but every once in a while he would stop and say, not this one, not now. He didn’t make every lame person walk, but occasionally he would single one out and say, not this one, not now. Get up and walk. He didn’t raise everybody from the dead, but every once in a while he’d interrupt a funeral and say, not this one, not now.

Get up. So he didn’t necessarily do it all, but he did enough to show us that one day there’s going to be a brand new day coming, when he will come in glory and he’ll fix it all. So Wednesday night we gathered in this room and we had this musical presented beautifully bath by the TMS choir all as well.

And I shared with you all who were here that night. That statement might have to have a question mark, but all is well. Michael W Smith wrote that famous song 1989 Michael W Smith. He has 14 gold albums, five platinum albums, three Grammys and 45 Dove Awards, 36 number one hits. He sold 15 million albums. He’s done well.

He was interviewed a few years ago and asked, what’s your favorite song you’ve ever written? And he said, all is well. Some of you are familiar with that Christmas song. Darkness fell into the dawn of love’s light. Let there be peace on earth. Born as Emmanuel and the repetitive refrain is all as well, all as well, all as well.

But I ask the question Wednesday night. I’ll ask it this morning. Is it is it really? You know, in, July, Cindy and I were at Bondi Beach in Australia. We spent a day there relaxing. A week or so ago. It was turned to a to a place of tragedy where these Jews were all murdered celebrating Hanukkah. Stephen and Beverly, we were there.

You remember? We saw Rob Reiner and his wife murdered at home by their son, presumably, at least allegedly. We had a little couple in Birmingham, Alabama. We had a news anchor, very famous young lady, news anchor in Birmingham last week. Evidently, according to what we’ve learned, her husband killed her and then killed himself. The father in law noticed they weren’t at their church event they were supposed to be.

And he went to the house that night, let himself in and found their two year old toddler. And he said, where’s your mom and dad? He took him to his mom and dad.

All as well. War, violence. Here’s what I would say. Theologically, all is well. God’s at work. His plan is in place, his kingdom has been established, and one day his kingdom is going to be fully established. Not yet, but the day is coming. I’ll tell you this. And what we’ve done. Years ago we started working in West Africa.

Cindy was there after we had had one trip there. And the place, this particular place where we were working, we no longer have missionaries there because of all the terrorist activity, but we had missionaries there for a while, as from our church. But we were there in that little village, and Cindy was there for the very first time.

And the chief’s son was a really sick young guy. Name is Hamadou syndicalism Hamadou GQ because he’s so handsome.

Well, Hamadou was really sick in a lot of pain. And Cindy talked to the chief about it. She talked to the missionary who lived there and she said, I think I’m going to take him about 6.5 hours to the capital city. So I think I’ll take him to the hospital. He’s going to the hospital. The missionary said, Cindy, you can’t save every African.

Cindy said, I’m gonna save this one. So she took him to a hospital and, had a terrible bout with kidney stones and a lot of other things, and they were able to take care of him at the hospital and brought him back home. First time I went to that village, his daddy had those X-rays in his little hut, and he brought them out to show him to me.

And what he said to me was, your wife healed my son. He said, you can have any hut in this village if you want it. Cheers. Well, what we didn’t know was that boy did live well today, many years later. That was 2006. So this is what, 2025? All these years later, the father has died. And guess what?

That little boy. Now, how does the chief in his village and he’s a follower of Jesus. So we say that one. But that message from that missionary, you can’t save every African. You know what? That’s true right now. But you know what? One day y’all. Every African, every Asian, every American, guess what? We can all be saved.

Because when Jesus comes next time, he’s not going to come as a little baby born in Bethlehem. We’re just a little bit of glory. Come on, y’all, he’s going to return as the King of Kings and the Lord of the Lord. But all glory. Hallelujah! Right and amen. Let’s pray together.

Father, we thank you so much for the story of Christmas. And we thank you, Lord, that it’s set in the context of the big story that’s actually your story. And I pray that we’ll be faithful to live it, share it, proclaim it as we live into this Christmas season. May that be so. In Jesus name, Amen.