Jesus was born as the Word of God...

...and the Prophets had foretold. Joseph and Mary take Jesus to the temple to present Him to the Lord...Simeon recognizes him as the Messiah and blesses Him. Anna is there also.

Luke 2:36‑38 (NIV) “There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty‑four. She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.” Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.”  Fasting is probably one of the more difficult things we American Christians are asked to do especially after the abundant food we have during Thanksgiving and during all the Christmas season.  Let’s see what we can learn from Anna in regard to Christ coming.

1. To be ready for Jesus to come Anna had a dedication to God’s House...She never left the temple. 

Church was not optional for her because she had a passion for God’s house. Hebrews 10:24-25 (NKJV) “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.” Anna was expecting the Messiah to be revealed and she knew the temple would be the greatest place for having an encounter with Him. The same is true for us. My house…God says…not your house!

2. To be ready for Jesus to come Anna made a choice to worship God night and day. Don’t miss it...Anna saw Jesus because she was a worshiper. Worshipers encounter God because when you seek Him with all your heart…you find Him!

3. To be ready for Jesus to come we must be willing to fast and pray. Anna loved God’s house, she worshiped night and day, and she fasted and prayed. Your pastor and church leadership are admonishing you to join with us in fasting and praying beginning January 1.We are asking you to do a true biblical fast...fast food...you can fast TV, FB, watching sports, or other stuff but fast food in some way. It helps understand what it means to crucify our flesh. Matthew 5:6 (NKJV) “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.” We believe that as we are unified in this fasting and praying that God will reveal Jesus to us in a greater way. 

Matthew 1:20-23 (NKJV) “But while he thought about these things...

... behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins." So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." The angel of the Lord gave Joseph a very important message and I want you to hear the same message.

1. Do not be afraid! Joseph’s world seemed to be shaken…His girlfriend is pregnant and he is not the daddy. How hurtful…how embarrassing…how shameful. His whole world is upside down. Maybe your world has been shaken by marriage problems, kid problems, health problems, finance problems, employment problems, or whatever…the message is the same. Do not be afraid. What Joseph did not know…really could not know before this time…had no conception of what God was up to. God was just getting ready to say the King is here. What seems to be bad news to you may just be God wanting to announce…The King is here. The King of kings and the Lord of Lords is on the way. Do not be afraid. 

2. Jesus will save us from our sins! We all come today to hear a Christmas program with good singing and good entertainment. Maybe you came for a different reason. Jesus will save us from our sins. Maybe no one knows the loneliness and pain in your heart, they don’t know your sin or your addiction, they don’t know the darkness in your heart…the sin. Jesus will save us from our sins. Oh, Pastor, you don’t know the depth of my sin. You’re right, I don’t know but Jesus knows and He still loves you! The King is here. He is here to save you and to set you free!

3. Immanuel – God with us! The King is here! Matthew 1:23 (NKJV) "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us." Listen to His Name. Immanuel – God with us! The King is here! So why did He come? He came for you and He came for me! The King is here to save you from your sins! He did this for Zacchaeus: Luke 19:9-10 (NKJV) “And Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." The King is here! Immanuel! He is here for you!

In Isaiah 9:6‑7 (NKJV) it says ...

“For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” As we draw close to the time we celebrate the birth of Christ I want to make sure that we are worshiping Him. As I attempt to magnify Christ today I want to take these words from Isaiah and share what an incredibly awesome God we serve.  Please celebrate and worship Him with me.

1. Jesus is to be called Wonderful! How many of you with a shout will say that you believe Jesus is wonderful? The main reason I believe that Jesus is wonderful is this: Psalm 40:1‑3 (NKJV) “I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps. He has put a new song in my mouth.”

He is wonderful because He listened to my cry. He is wonderful because He brought me out of a horrible pit! 

2. Jesus is to be called Counselor! Isaiah 41:28 (NKJV) “For I looked, and there was no man; I looked among them, but there was no counselor, Who, when I asked of them, could answer a word.”  John 15:26 (NIV) "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.” When you have problems...before you run to everyone else...run to Jesus...run to Holy Spirit...Run to your divine Counselor...He is the Spirit of Truth!

3. Jesus is to be called Mighty God!

–Unto us a child is born...unto us a Son is born...and the government shall be upon His shoulder. Who else can handle the govt. being on His shoulder other than the mighty God...Jesus Christ! Jeremiah 32:18 (NKJV) “You show lovingkindness to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them‑‑the Great, the Mighty God, whose name is the LORD of hosts.” 

4. Jesus is to be called Eternal Father! “Maybe some of you did not have a good example of a father or maybe you did not have a father at all. This God child has been born so that gap in your life can be filled.

Psalm 68:5 (NIV) “A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling.” 

5. Jesus is to be called Prince of Peace! Pastor Rick, I have anything but peace today. Run to the Prince of Peace! Psalm 29:10‑11 (NKJV) “The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood, And the LORD sits as King forever. 

The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.” Worship Him!

Today as we continue talking about boundaries...

... we will look at something that has affected or will affect all of us…the passing of a loved one or our own passing. God has set boundaries with death and with eternity and it is my intention to bring comfort as we face this issue of death. Hebrews 9:27-28 (NKJV) “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.” I don’t want to shake anyone up today but all of us are going to die if we leave long enough. We may go in the rapture but otherwise, we will die. Wow, Pastor Rick, what great news. 

1. Our death or the death of a loved one is an appointment with God. Hebrews 9:27 (NKJV) “And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.” Many times we consider, what seems to be the unexpected death of a loved one, or the result of a major “oops” of nature, or that simply, God has not been paying attention. None of this is true. Barnes Notes – Death, it is, in all cases, the result of intelligent appointment, and for an adequate cause. Hear your pastor…An Omni-Present God (A God Who is everywhere), an Omniscient God (A God Who knows everything), and an Omnipotent God (A God Who is all powerful) made the appointment. Trust Him! Why do we have to die? Biblically it is because of sin. Romans 6:23 (NKJV) “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

2. Our death or the death of a loved one only happens once. It amazes me after having done somewhere in the neighborhood of 340 funerals and memorials in the last 29 years how people are so surprised by it. Good news! It is inevitable but it only happens once. In our humanity and because of our deep love for someone, we think that God should make an exception for that person we have prayed for earnestly to be healed. God lives within His own boundaries. Not ours.

3. To those who eagerly wait for Him. So what are we missing? We are missing the fact that our loved ones are completely healed, we are missing the beauty of heaven, and we are missing the fact that God set up this appointment. He loves them. Psalm 116:15 (NKJV)  “Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His saints.” I love that Paul was from the South. Romans 8:18 (KJV) “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” Nothing we go through here will compare with the glory we will experience with God for eternity. No more tears, death, sorrow, crying, and no more pain. Just being with Jesus will make heaven incredible! Praise God!

As we continue discussing boundaries...

... and as we focus more on our own out of control behavior, we must do an honest evaluation of where we are. 1 Thessalonians 2:10-12 (NKJV) “You are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved ourselves among you who believe; as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father does his own children, that you would walk worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory. So, Pastor Rick, how can we walk worthy or to set limits on our out of control behavior? 

1. Identify the symptoms of your out of control behavior. You will need to take an honest look at the fruit you may be exhibiting by not being able to say no to yourself. You may be experiencing depression, anxiety, panic, phobias, rage, isolations, etc.

2. Identify the roots of your out of control behavior. This is key: Identifying the causes of your self-boundary problems will assist you in understanding your own contribution to your problem. It will also help you identify your developmental injuries (how others have sinned against you).  

3. Identify the boundary conflict. This is where we have to be totally honest with ourselves about our particular self-boundary problems and identify what ours is.

4. Take responsibility and take ownership for the out of control behavior. 1 John 1:9 (NKJV) “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 

5. Identify what you need. It is pretty much useless to try to deal with your boundary issues with yourself until you’re actively developing safe, trusting, grace-and-truth relationships with others especially in the context of church. You need a deep relationship with the Lord and people who will keep you accountable. 

6. Now I begin. Once you have identified your self-boundary problem and owned it, you now can do something about it. So how do we begin to set boundaries on ourselves? Address your real need. Allow yourself to fail. Listen to emphatic feedback from others. Surround yourself with people who are loving and supportive. John 8:32 (NKJV) “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."

As you are in service today recognizing our wonderful veterans..

... I am with Tricia, Stephanie, and my daughter-in-law Sommer spending a family weekend with my son Joshua. Joshua joined the Army a couple of months ago and we could not be more proud of him. As a surprise, our other son Jeremy flew from Arizona to also be with Joshua to be an encouragement to him. He is a Marine. Yes, he is out of the military right now but once a Marine, always a Marine. Veteran’s Day is very special to us because of our sons but also for all the wonderful veterans we have at Life Church. I am convinced that one of the reasons Life Church is such a great church is because of all these veterans. We honor you today. 

One of my heroes President Ronald Reagan said, “Freedom is a fragile thing and is never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation, for it only comes once to a people. Those who have known freedom, and then lost it, have never known it again.” As Christians we understand that freedom is not free. Jesus purchasing our freedom cost Him His life...He was willing to lay His life down for us. 

John 10:18 (NKJV) "No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father." Like our veterans...we must be willing to lay our lives down so that we can take them up again. Matt 16:24‑25 (NKJV) “Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. "For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”  We have to stand and fight to keep our freedom here in the United States and we have to stand and fight for our liberty in Christ. Gal 5:1 (NKJV) “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.” Thank you, Jesus, for laying down your life and thank you, Veterans, for your willingness to fight for all of us! God bless you today!

Last week we talked about three laws of boundaries...

... and today we will look at three more:

1. The Law of Envy - James 4:1 (NLT2) “What is causing the quarrels and fights among you? Don’t they come from the evil desires at war within you?” If we are focusing on what others have or have accomplished, we are neglecting our own responsibilities and will eventually have an empty heart. Galatians 6:4-5 (NIV)
“Each one should test his own actions. Then he can take pride in himself, without comparing himself to somebody else, for each one should carry his own load.” Cloud and Townsend – Envy defines “good” as “what I do not possess,” and hates the good it has. How many times have you heard someone subtly put down the accomplishments of others, somehow robbing them of the goodness they had attained? We all have envious parts to our personalities. But what is so destructive about this particular sin is that it guarantees that we will not get what we want and keeps us perpetually insatiable and dissatisfied. 

2. The Law of Activity - Cloud and Townsend – “Human beings are responders and initiators. Many times we have boundary problems because we lack initiative---the God given ability to propel ourselves into life. We respond to invitations and push ourselves into life.” Being passive and lazy never pays off…God will match our effort but He will not do our work for us. He would be crossing boundaries to do this. He wants us to be active asking, seeking, and knocking. Trying, failing, and trying again is called learning. Failing to try never produces anything good. Proverbs 19:15 (NCV) “Lazy people sleep a lot, and idle people will go hungry.” 

3. The Law of Exposure - A boundary is a property line. It defines where you begin and end. We have been trying to communicate why we need such a line in our lives. Probably the most important reason that we need boundaries is because we do not live in a vacuum. You live in relation to God and to people. Your boundaries define you in relationship to others. The law of exposure tells us that our boundaries must be out in the open for everyone to see, we must value relationships enough to be honest, and we must operate in love. Don’t be surprised when people break the rules when they do not know what they are.