Presenting Jesus R1303

Coming number one, born in Bethlehem. Coming number two, in the clouds. Coming number three is what we know as the second coming because that's the second time that Jesus will come to this earth. And the Bible tells us that in Revelation chapter 19 and verse 11, where Jesus will come, heaven will open and release the Son of Man and he will come riding on a white horse accompanied by you and me, the armies of heaven riding on white horses and according to the prophets, he's going to land on the Mount of Olives and the mountain will be split in two and rivers of living water will flow out of him.

Half will go to the eastern sea and half to the western sea and the Dead Sea will come alive again. And Jesus will march down the Mount of Olives and he will go through the Golden Gate and he will re-establish his kingdom right there, the temple of the living God because he is the temple and establish the headquarters of heaven permanently and forever because he will never again leave this earth. We all can use some encouragement and we'll find it together today in the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton.

Join us. Today we'll be headed to the book of Luke in our Bible study. But as we go there, I want you to know that we're here for you. We'd love to take a call, maybe a prayer request, share some resources with you online.

You can connect online keyboard to keyboard at theencouragingword.org. That's theencouragingword.org or on the phone at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673. I encourage you to jot it down, store it in your cell. We'd love to speak with you anytime, day or night.

That's 866-899-9673. And now a fresh message from Dr. Don Wilton called, Presenting Jesus, here on The Encouraging Word. The Encouraging Word. You're going to need to open your Bibles to the book of Luke and chapter 2. I have got the most wonderful passage, the most wonderful story about this baby Jesus. I love what I'm about to read to you.

It's just incredible. I'm about to share with you a few thoughts about when Mary and Joseph took the baby, the child Jesus. We know that he was probably about 10 days or somewhere around there, was probably his age. So I want you to just imagine this little baby boy.

We know that because of the rituals that were going on that we'll read about and the circumstances. So this is an incredible story. Jesus was born and we all know so much about the shepherds and the wise men and the manger and how can we ever say enough about the Lord Jesus when he was born.

Just a beautiful picture. This sweet little Jesus boy and something happened here. And these parents took baby Jesus, their little son who is God's son, and they took him to church.

Now isn't that a novel idea? They took him to church. They took him to the temple.

The parents did. And when they went to the temple, they ran headlong into the pastor. His name was Simeon. So we'll just call him Pastor Simeon right now.

But he was. He was the priest. He was the pastor of the temple right there where they went. And it's an amazing story because something unfolds about baby Jesus.

Now here's the bottom line where we're going. I think what happens here, amongst many other things, is that God allows us to see everything about him through the eyes of a child. Now I love that. And I want to show you a picture here of Simeon holding the baby Jesus. You and I have seen this picture many, many times. And I want you to look with me in the Bible to Luke chapter 2. So open your Bibles to Luke chapter 2 and kind of take a quick look at that picture up there. It's an amazing picture. It's just an amazing picture. Here's this pastor, this man, Simeon, whose sole desire in life was that he would get an opportunity to look upon the face of life, to look on the face of salvation. And it happened. And I've often asked myself the question, why all of this?

Why this? Why did we need to know about this? Let me, if I may, let me just read this account to you. And I'm going to begin maybe at verse 21 of Luke chapter 2.

You might like to follow along. And at the end of eight days when Jesus was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. When the time came for their purification, according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord as it is written in the law of the Lord. Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord.

A pair of turtle doves and two young pigeons. Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. And he came in the spirit into the temple and when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he took Jesus up in his arms. And he blessed God. And he said, Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all people.

A light for the revelation for the Gentiles and for the glory of your people, Israel. And his father and mother marveled at what was said about him. And Simeon blessed them. And he said to Mary, his mother, behold, this child is appointed for the fallen rising of many in Israel and for a sign that is opposed.

And a sword will pierce through your own soul also so that the thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin.

And then as a widow until she was 84 years of age, she did not part from the temple. Worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day and coming up at that very hour, she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Israel, of Jerusalem. And when they had performed everything according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom. And the favor of God was upon him.

Just let me say to you, and I'm going to get to this point. All of this, this picture of the child Jesus, this wonderful presentation culminates with a most remarkable statement, the favor of God. That word there literally means that God's grace was manifest through him. Something very unique happened through this child, Jesus.

Something happened here. There are parents listening to me today. There are grandparents listening. We are a family church. One of the things that I love so much about First Baptist Church Spartanburg, we're such a family church. And we comprise of people from every walk of life, from single adults to senior adults, to people in every perspective of life you can imagine.

We are a family together. And it's a beautiful thing. God is saying something here in this presentation of the Lord Jesus. And I want to just share a few of these thoughts with you.

It's massive. When I began to ask the Lord, what was it about this incredible presentation of the Lord Jesus Christ? What would the Lord saying to me and I culminated with that statement and the grace of God was manifested through Jesus Christ. That word there literally means that God's grace passed through Jesus to these parents. The blessings of God passed through Jesus in the context of the church.

You're going to discover here that there are so many of the issues that are brought to bear here that are becoming less and less popular, even in our own world today. The church, the role of the church, the role of the pastor. How many people today are saying we don't need the church? We don't need the pastor anymore. We don't need to bring our children to church. We don't need to dedicate our children to the Lord. We don't need to prioritize anymore.

All of these things are becoming less and less prevalent in the communities and in the society in which we live. This brings me back. This helps me to see the things that are important at Christmas time through the eyes, through what took place right there in the church with this pastor and with these parents. But through the eyes of Jesus, upon whom the favor of God rests, the angels warned Simeon about this when the announcement was made. The announcement was made accompanied by that most incredible statement upon whose favor God will rest.

God's grace is going to permeate through him as the Son of God, and it is through this baby Jesus that the very grace of God will be dispensed. Please forgive the interruption. Dr. Wilton insists we take a moment just to remind you this is not just a presentation.

It can be a conversation. If you'll reach out to us, we would love to pray with you and for you anytime day or night on this phone number, 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673.

Anytime you call day or night, you'll reach one of us. Happy to pray with you, to listen, and to connect you with powerful resources, resources like this new one, When a Nation Forgets God, a powerful resource that calls us to prayer in a remarkable way. You can look at it on our website right now at www.tewonline.org.

Here are the details on how you can get your copy. We are not in a good place in America. What would God say to us today? Without God, we can do nothing to stand strong in a country turning away from the path God has laid out for us. As our nation endures tragedy after tragedy, it is so important that we follow the second greatest commandment and love our neighbors unconditionally. With your gift of support to the encouraging Word this month, you will receive Dr. Wilton's powerful sermon, God's Message to America, along with the bonus book, When a Nation Forgets God, by his longtime friend Erwin Lutzer.

These resources will engage, enlighten, and encourage you in your walk with Christ. Now back to today's great teaching on Presenting Jesus with Dr. Don Wilton. So when Jesus was presented, number one, he was the focus of dedication to God. All eyes were on Jesus. I've often said to myself, Why Jesus? So I'm going to ask you and me today as we celebrate Christmas, is there anyone here who for one minute thinks that Jesus needed to be dedicated to God in the church?

I want you to just think about this. So why did he do it? It's like his baptism. You know, when Jesus began his earthly ministry, he went to John and he said, Baptize me. Is there anyone here who would like to suggest that Jesus needed to be baptized? We could go right throughout from his birth to his death.

We could ask a lot of questions about Jesus. Everything Jesus did from the time he was born had us in mind in light of the favor of God. This is how God works through Jesus to us. And anything less finds you and me on the outskirts, we find ourselves on the perimeter of the favor of God. People all the time, all across the world are saying, I just want to be blessed of God. I'm showing you some of the things that God tells us. We're living in a world today where we are far more intent on teaching our children that everything other than doing what God wants us to do is more important.

Doesn't matter what it is. And we're living in a very competitive world. We are competing and we shouldn't be.

Not in a nation that calls upon the God of our fathers, the God of the Lord Jesus Christ. In today's world, in the church, what we're doing today, all of us is we are trying to say, what is it that you would have us to do? But whatever it is we do, we must not interfere with what we are doing. So everything that gets scheduled, we've got to ask ourselves questions. Well, don't have it then because there's Friday Night Football. But don't have it then because there's practice.

Don't have it then because there's spring break. No, no, you can't do this now because it's going to affect these parents who have got this function going on. And everything about God and his house and the word and the grace of God is now being scheduled, not according to what God tells us to do, but according to the accommodation of what we want to do. And then we will accommodate God.

God spoke to me about this. When Jesus was presented, he was the focus of dedication to God. He has Jesus in complete, utter and willing obedience to the Father, laid aside his divine right as God, took upon himself the sin of the world, was born as a baby.

In full and complete obedience to this God who loves us so much that he would give his only son, that whoever would believe in him would not die, but would have eternal life. And Jesus said yes. And everything from that point was in complete, humble obedience. And that focus of dedication was by his parents. His parents were enacted in this. That's why you and I as parents, when God gives us little ones, as believers, it carries with it a very profound, deep, prioritized spiritual responsibility. Christian parents have a spiritual responsibility concerning their children right up front.

It was carried out. He was the focus of dedication to God in the temple, in the church. So grateful that we can gather like this. Perhaps this coming season, there are many who need to re-evaluate your commitment to the house of God, your priority of worshiping the Lord, of bringing your children, getting them engaged. There is no other name on earth or in heaven whereby you and I might be forgiven, whereby we might be saved, whereby we might have the peace of God that passes all understanding other than through this Jesus, this baby boy, this sweet little Jesus boy. No wonder Simeon said, I'm ready to go. Take me home now.

I've seen everything that I ever want to see. He was the focus of blessings on his parents. That's what verse 33 says, Simeon, turn and bless the parents.

I thought this was about Jesus. If I could today with the hundreds upon hundreds who worship with us, I'd ask you if you're a parent. If you're a parent today, do you want God to bless you?

Well, of course you and I do. We need God's blessings. It's jolly hard to be a parent. It's a battlefield out there.

It's filled with disappointment and challenges. I want God's blessings. This is what Jesus did. And incidentally, his parents initiated it. Jesus was incapable of walking himself to church. There's not a one of your babies that can get up this morning and say, you know, I think I'll go to church. Well, Dad, if all you're interested in is going to the lake and playing golf and getting out there with people and having no interest in the house of God or worshiping, you know what? If it's okay with you, Mom and Dad, I'll just call down Main Street and go on my own.

They're not going to come if you don't bring them. There's something going on here, folks. This is a powerful word at Christmas. He was the focus of our ultimate hope in verse 38. That statement there that came out of the heart of Anna, this incredible lady. It's amazing how many incredibly deep spiritual things happen through the heart of spiritual women in the Bible.

Anna is just another one in a long line. And she speaks here about the fact that that this Jesus would become the redemption of Jerusalem. Well, you've got to go back and you've got to discover what that means because when it gets to the end of the age, the Bible talks about the peace of Jerusalem. The Bible talks about the wholeness of the greatest conflict in the world. The Bible talks about the heavenly Jerusalem coming down to this earth.

The Bible talks about Jesus setting up his kingly reign and his headquarters in Jerusalem. This is the consummation of the very power and the victory of Almighty God. He was the focus of our ultimate hope, but he was also the focus of all wisdom and grace. Verse 40 to me is perhaps the most significant for me.

And the child grew, became strong. This Jesus, filled with wisdom, grace of God was on him. The favor of God rested on him. You may say, what are you praying for as we move into the next year? Could we at the very least ask God's favor to be upon us? Could we pray for families?

Could we pray for our nation? And pray for our mothers and our fathers, our institutions that God's grace would come in. Because when God's grace comes down, the wisdom of God is invoked.

Everything else begins to make sense in the light of the salvation that has come through Jesus Christ. And so I'm asking you today, when Jesus was presented in the temple, what's he presenting you with? What's God saying to you?

Reorder your priorities. I'm asking you to come. I'm inviting you in the name of Jesus and I'm praying that the grace of God would rest upon you and upon me. He is our hope, light to all the world and the consummating crowning glory of the forever Jerusalem.

The one who will live and reign forever and forever and forever. God has spoken to you, hasn't he? And you ready to give your heart to Jesus?

I'd love to help you right now. Would you pray this prayer with me and accept Jesus into your heart and life? Dear God, I know that I'm a sinner.

I know that Jesus loves me and died for me on the cross. Right now, I repent of my sin and I confess my sin to the Lord Jesus Christ. Come into my heart and save me today and forgive me for my sin. In Jesus' name I pray.

Amen. If you've prayed that prayer, we'd love to get alongside of you and celebrate with you and send you some literature and help you as you begin to grow. And I want you to know that I love you very, very much. And by the way, don't leave.

Don't go away, whatever you do, because I'll be right back. If you're ready to give your heart to Jesus, we would love to walk beside you and know that you're not alone in this decision. Our phone number is 866-899-WORD.

That's 866-899-9673. And not just now during the broadcast, but it'll connect you with one of us 24 hours a day, ready to pray, ready to connect you with some resources that'll help you grow in your faith. Just know we are here for you. I just want to say thank you to so many of you who have joined alongside us to be part of the Encourager team. Are you wondering what it means to be an Encourager?

Here's Dr. Don with the details. Hello, my friends. I want to speak to you personally today from my heart to yours. I don't think there is ever a better or more important time for us to respond to our world by standing up for righteousness. Now, with this in mind, I would like to invite you to become an Encourager ministry partner. You see, together we can impact lives both now and for all time and all eternity. The Encouraging Word is a viewer and listener-supported ministry. And to know that you are standing with me financially enables me to move forward with confidence to do the work God has called me to do. So please call the number on your screen and just simply say, I want to become an Encourager.

Thank you so much for helping me. That number again is 866-899-WORD, 866-899-9673. Or discover more online at TheEncouragingWord.org. That's TheEncouragingWord.org. You can hear today's message again or share it with a friend, link it across. Perhaps watch some of the video versions of Dr. Wilton's messages as well.

All of those resources, written, electronic, digital, and more, are right there at TheEncouragingWord.org. Before we get away, closing thoughts from our pastor and chief encourager, Dr. Don Wilton. You know, these are such special times together. I'm so grateful, my friends, that we can worship together like this through the Encouraging Word broadcast ministry. And you're such a vital part of all that God's doing.

And I just love you, and I want you to know that. You know, this ministry goes on 24 hours round the clock all the time. We want to be involved in your life, and we want to continue to pray for you.

You can call us at any time. You can partner with us all the time through prayer and through your giving. We know that you are 100% engaged as we are in sharing God's truth with our searching world.

That's what this is all about. We need Jesus, don't we? And God is doing a great work, and I love you today. Thank God for you.

Pray for you. God bless you. After The Encouraging Word broadcast is over, there's still a wonderful place to connect 24 hours a day. It's TheEncouragingWord.org. You can visit our message archives, download Dr. Wilton's sermons, or sign up for our weekly podcast. A favorite button on our website is the prayer request button where you can share a prayer request or personal need. Maybe you have a praise report or a testimony.

Let us know so we can rejoice with you as well. You can also sign up for our daily Bible guide and have devotion sent to your email every single day. Now, if you have a question about your salvation, perhaps questions about how to share your faith with a friend, let us walk you through the steps to a personal relationship with Jesus and the ability to share that with others.

If you're looking for a book from Dr. Wilton or maybe a CD or DVD, we have resources ready to send to you at the click of a button. No matter what the reason, we hope you'll connect with us today online at TheEncouragingWord.org. You guys have been a great inspiration to me, and I just wanted to call and say that you guys have lifted my hearts every time I listen to you, Dr. Wilton. You brought me out of so many times when I felt that down, and I just want to thank you so much. I'll be listening again. Thank you. Preacher Wilton, I just wanted you to know how my family life has changed. I gave my heart to God listening to you on the radio. Now my wife has a new husband and my kids have a new dad, and I thank God for your ministry.