Christmas is Joy

0:00 · Speaker 1 Our reading today is from the book of Ruth, chapter 4, if you'd like to turn to it. Meanwhile, Boaz went up to the town gate and sat down there, just as the guardian redeemer had mentioned came along. Boaz said, come over here, my friend, and sit down. And he went over and sat down. This might be better with the glasses on. That's better. Verse 2. Boaz took 10 of the elders of the town and said, sit here.

0:43 · Speaker 1 And they did so. Then he said to the guardian redeemer, Naomi, who has come back from Moab, is selling the piece of land that belonged to our relative, Elimelech. I thought I should bring the matter to your attention and suggest that you buy it. in the presence of these seated here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, do so. But if you will not, tell me, so I will know. For no one has the right to do it except you, and I am next in line. I will redeem it, he said.

1:18 · Speaker 1 Then Boaz said, on the day you buy the land from Naomi, you will also acquire Ruth, the Moabite, the dead man's widow in order to maintain the name of the dead with his property. At this, the guardian redeemer said, then I cannot redeem it because I might endanger my own estate. You redeem it yourself. I cannot do it. Now in earlier times in Israel for the redemption and transfer of property to become final, one party took off his sandal and gave it to the other. This was the method of legalizing transactions in Israel. So the guardian redeemer said to Boaz, buy it yourself, and he removed his sandal. Then Boaz announced to the elders and all the people, today you are witnesses that I have bought from Naomi all the property of Elimelech, Kilian, and Malon.

2:12 · Speaker 1 I have also acquired Ruth the Moabite, Malon's widow, as my wife, in order to maintain the name from the dead with his property so that his name will not disappear from among his family or from his hometown. Today you are witnesses. Then the elders and all the people at the gate said, we are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the family of Israel. May you have standing in Apathra and be famous in Bethlehem. Through the offspring the Lord gives you by this woman, may your family be like that of Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah. So Boaz took Ruth and she became his wife. When he made love to her, the Lord enabled her to conceive and she gave birth to a son.

3:06 · Speaker 1 The woman said to Naomi, praise be to the Lord who this day has not left you without a guardian redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel. He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age. For your daughter-in-law who loves you and who is better to you than seven sons has given him birth. Then Naomi took the child in her arms and cared for him. The women living there said, Naomi has a son. And they named him Obed. He was the father of Jesse, the father of David.

3:43 · Speaker 1 You'll forgive me here. This is, then, the family line of Perez. Perez was the father of Hezron. Hezron, the father of Ram. Ram, the father of Amenadab. Amenadab, the father of Nashon. Nashon, the father of Samon. Samon, the father of Boaz.

4:03 · Speaker 1 Boaz, the father of Obed. Obed, the father of Jesse. And Jesse, the father of David.

4:23 · Speaker 2 morning everyone good to see you if you have a bible please stay in uh ruse chapter four that's where we're going to be this morning huge thanks to jill it's always really encouraging when somebody agrees to do the reading before they realize there's a load of complicated names that they have to pronounce in front of hundreds of people to yell Merry Christmas. You did really well. I'm not even going to mention that last name part. I'm only joking. I am going to mention it, so there's purpose in you reading it. It's really good to see you. We are continuing a short series over the Christmas season entitled Christmas Is, where we're looking at the most significant aspects of the Christmas story. And in case you haven't picked up on the giant white letters that we've put, I know wives like to make things obvious at this time of year.

5:15 · Speaker 2 We are looking at joy this morning. So we got some giant white letters just to make that clear. Definitely didn't buy them on Taimou, clearly, because they're massive. And it's not the band prompting you to look a bit more cheerful as you sing. We're actually thinking about what joy has to do with Christmas, why joy is so associated with Christmas, and why Christmas, the true story of Christmas, is the ultimate basis for joy in our lives. And to help us do that, I want to look at Ruth chapter 4. Now, those of you who've been around church for a while will know that Ruth chapter 4 is not in the normal canon of Bible passages that is chosen for Christmas talks, but it is most definitely a Christmas passage. Maybe it's a little bit like Die Hard.

6:07 · Speaker 2 You know, on the surface, it doesn't look Christmassy to the uninitiated, but if you know, you know. Hopefully, we'll all know that Ruth 4 is a Christmas passage because we're going to Bethlehem this morning. It's not the old little town of Bethlehem of wise men and King Herod and away in a manger. This is Bethlehem a thousand years before those events. And yet what we see happening is a perfect snapshot of what actually happens in Bethlehem as Jesus is born. Ruth chapter 4 is a Christmas story before the Christmas story. It's a trailer setting up for the upcoming release of the greatest story ever told. So I wonder, could we pray?

6:57 · Speaker 2 And then we'll get to work on it. Father, we're grateful for the opportunity to open your word this morning. It's no accident that we're here. Lord, our prayer is simple. You understand where we are this morning. You understand what our needs are. We pray simply that you would open our eyes to see you as you truly are. That by your spirit, you would enable us to see you and encounter you in Jesus.

7:25 · Speaker 2 And that you would give us courage to respond to whatever it is you're saying to us. Speak to us as we open your word in Jesus' name. Amen. Christmas, most of us are brought up to believe, is all about joy. Those are the opening lines of an article from the Guardian newspaper by the Australian writer Paul Daly. I think most of us can relate. There is an expectation of joy at Christmas that is simply not there at any other time in the year. It's a time for parties and celebrations.

8:03 · Speaker 2 The joy of spending extended time with family. The joy of perhaps seeing our kids at school nativities. the joy of the excitement on Christmas Eve, the joy of seeing their joy as they open presents on Christmas morning. One of my greatest joys last year was to see my son sporting his new Ulster rugby top that his auntie bought him and just believing that the Lord was going to raise up Johnny Saxon 2.0. That project has begun. The joy of time off work, the joy of quality streets and schlur before 10 o'clock in the morning without shame. Don't look at me like you don't know what I'm talking about. Pajama days in front of the TV.

8:53 · Speaker 2 The joy of a massive Christmas dinner on Christmas Day. The joy of almost the exact same massive Christmas dinner, but this time with a twist of between two rounds of bread on Boxing Day and the next day a Chinese. From the trivial to the relational to the meaningful, the traditions of Christmas that we share are a real source of joy. But at the same time, sometimes what makes Christmas so difficult is that that expectation that it's the most wonderful time of the year, that it's a time where everyone's telling you to be of good cheer, sometimes does not resonate with our experience. Because sometimes behind the sentiments of the season is darkness and difficulty. Maybe the grief of a first Christmas without someone we love and need. Maybe the specter of concerns about your health or other people's health. The waiting test results that will come after Christmas or a financial position.

10:04 · Speaker 2 Maybe loneliness at a time when the nuclear family and relationships are so elevated and prioritized. Maybe struggles with mental health or the drip feed of exposure to other people's perfectly curated lives via social media that breeds comparison and steals joy. Maybe questions about faith or disappointment with God. You don't need to be Ebenezer Scrooge to find the Christmas season at times undesirable. In fact, in the same article that I mentioned a moment ago, Paul Daly goes on to say that joy feels more elusive than ever at Christmastime. He says, I know I'm not alone when I say that, that this year joy feels almost impossible. as December 25th nears, it's hard to know where to find beauty or meaning, let alone joy. And if Christmas is truly about joy, and that joy means letting your heart be light or believing that from now on your troubles are out of sight, then a lot of us can feel thoroughly disqualified for Christmas because our heart might feel anything but light this morning.

11:21 · Speaker 2 And the question is, is there any place for people with those kinds of experiences in the Christmas story? Is there any basis for joy if those kinds of experiences are where we find ourselves this Christmas? Well, the book of Ruth is going to tell us absolutely yes, because that's where Ruth and Naomi find themselves at the beginning of this remarkable story. I encourage you to read the whole thing when you have time, maybe over the holidays. This is a story about a personal journey and the personal experiences of a few individuals in a relatively insignificant town of Bethlehem. And yet, Matthew chapter 1 tells us at the beginning of his gospel that the choices these individuals make, even at their localized individual level, prove in the purposes of God to be part of what makes the Bethlehem story in the beginning of the Gospels possible. Their choices make Jesus's coming into the world possible. Now the book is named after Ruth, but essentially it is the real story of Naomi.

12:36 · Speaker 2 That's where the focus is. You may have noticed that at the end of Jill's reading, the focus was on Naomi. It's there at the start. And the reason why Ruth and Boaz are so significant is because of the crucial role that they play in the personal journey that Naomi goes on. From a woman who is consumed with emptiness, who's lost all joy, who's convinced that God is against her. By the end of the book, becoming a woman who is completely restored, whose joy is secure and whose hope is steadfast. Naomi had a husband called Elimelech. They had two sons.

13:18 · Speaker 2 They're from Bethlehem, but there was a famine in Bethlehem, the book of Ruth tells us. And Elimelech decides to take the family to the nearby country of Moab. And they settle there and the boys marry. And Malone, Naomi's son, marries a girl called Ruth, but tragedy strikes. Limelech dies, and then both the boys die as well. And these three women are left in Moab completely devastated, bereft of all of the hopes and dreams and expectations and joys that they had for their life. And Naomi makes a decision to go home to Bethlehem, back to her own people.

14:02 · Speaker 2 But she's not going back in any kind of triumphal return. She's going back broken. She's essentially going back to die. And when she arrives in Bethlehem, she meets some of the women who remember her, and she says to them this, do not call me Naomi, which means pleasant. Call me Mara, which means bitter. Now that's a loss of joy, if ever there was one. And the reason why she says is because God has dealt really bitterly with me. I went away full, but the Lord has brought me back empty.

14:40 · Speaker 2 Why call me Naomi when the Lord has testified against me and the Almighty has brought tragedy upon me? This is a woman who has experienced levels of tragedy that many of us cannot imagine. And those of you who've maybe experienced tragedy this year will know that it is difficult emotionally to come back into a community where you've had some of your greatest highs. And everybody knows it's difficult to walk back into a community. Even though people might care for you, there's still that sense of shame that you're coming back a little less, maybe a lot less more than they used to know you. But at the same time, that's Naomi's story, but at the same time, what's clear from what she said is that her suffering has begun to shape her whole identity. She's not just a woman who's lost her family. She's a woman who's lost her sense of self.

15:40 · Speaker 2 And her sense of brokenness, of victimhood, of abandonment by God has completely consumed her to the point where she is seeking to change her name. She's seeking to change her identity on the basis of her dysphoria. And she's asking for societal affirmation for that interpretation. But the reason why this is so serious is because in doing so, Naomi's not just making a statement about herself. She's making a statement about God. She says, the Lord has brought me back empty. It's the Lord who's taken my joy. it's the Lord who's spoken and testified against me.

16:23 · Speaker 2 Have they? Is that true? Certainly how she sees it, but is it true? Because how we navigate suffering will not just say things about ourselves. It's gonna say things to our society about who and what God is. Not gonna say anything more about that, but there's a bigger problem for Naomi. One of the major reasons why Naomi is so convinced that God has abandoned her is not simply because of this relational loss of her husband and sons. That would have been so difficult.

16:59 · Speaker 2 But it's also because their deaths meant that the land that God had given to them as a family, their inheritance was going to be lost. And their name that is on that inheritance was going to be wiped out from the history and the future of Israel. Let me explain it just a little bit this way. Whenever the tribes went into the promised land, they had to carve up where each of the tribes, there were seven and a half that went in, they had to decide where they were going to live and settle. And so surveyors were sent out to carve up the land. And when the land was carved up, it was determined what regions would go to what tribe and then what plots and areas would go to the individual families within the area assigned for that tribe. And whatever you got, that was your inheritance. Whatever plot of land you were given, that was seen as the inheritance that God had given you to make a go of.

18:02 · Speaker 2 Now, they didn't all get the same kind of land. They didn't all get the same size of land. Some people got better land. Some people got more land. But whatever way it was determined, the reason why they distributed it and assigned it by casting lots was to trust the providence of God in whatever portion of an inheritance these people got. Whatever you got, it was to be understood that it was the Lord who had given it to you. And that's what gave it its value and that's what gave it its significance. Whatever you got was your responsibility to make a go of under God and develop and then eventually pass down to your generations, the generations that come after you.

18:53 · Speaker 2 But what do you do if, like Naomi, God allows your husband and sons to die and there are no grandchildren? In that case, there's no one to pass the inheritance on to. And if Naomi dies, not only is their land going to be lost, but also the family name on that land is going to be wiped out because there's nobody to carry it on. And they use the words of Deuteronomy, the family name was going to be blotted out from the history and the future of Israel as if they had never existed. And the only hope to rescue this problem was to find a redeemer. Somebody who could buy back the land and take over the legal rights of the inheritance in a way that would enable Naomi's family eventually to hold on to their inheritance and maintain their name upon it. Because names matter to God. God was not trivial about people's existence and people's names just being wiped out of existence.

20:05 · Speaker 2 He was invested in them coming into existence in the first place. And going out of existence was a serious matter. And so God was so committed to maintaining people's name on their inheritance that he made a provision. Where if you were in real financial difficulties, you could sell your land to a near relative. What was known as a guardian or a kinsman redeemer. A near relative who would buy your land. And you could then maybe live off the cash. And maybe eventually you could get to the point where you could buy it back.

20:40 · Speaker 2 And you had the right to do that. Or at the year of Jubilee it would go back to you anyway. So you would maintain your inheritance that the Lord had given you. But Naomi's problem is more complicated. Because even if she does use the money to make a goal. And even if she is able to buy the land back. or even at the year of Jubilee, if the land comes back to her anyway. When she dies, there's nobody to pass it on to.

21:09 · Speaker 2 And the problem still remains, which is why God made another provision for this kind in Israel. God's serious about this stuff. He made a provision that said this. It's a thing called leverate marriage. You know, it's Christmas time, and we're not into technical civic laws and customs of the Old Testament. But it will make what we're looking at this morning make sense if we understand it. Where a married man died without having any children, God had instituted that a brother or a close relative could marry his widowed wife. And if in that marriage they were then blessed to have children, the firstborn son, even though he wasn't biologically related to the deceased man.

22:06 · Speaker 2 He would bear the deceased man's name and he would be legally recognized as the son of the deceased man, in which case the inheritance would go to him. And that is exactly what's going on in Ruth chapter 4. When Ruth made the decision to return with Naomi to Bethlehem in chapter 1, None of them had any idea about this stuff. Ruth had come to love her mother-in-law. She was a Moabite. She didn't grow up in church. And yet despite her upbringing and the cultural influences of Moab, she, in being connected with this family, she had personally come to believe that Naomi's God was a God who was true and under whose wings she could take shelter. It was a God who her life and her future could be trusted to.

23:01 · Speaker 2 Ruth would have had hopes and dreams about being a wife and a mother. Of course she would. And yet in coming back to Bethlehem with the broken Naomi, what she reveals is that she understands that life is ultimately not all about those things. It's not about just the fulfillment of our desires, however deep. Her life, her significance was going to be much more than just meeting the cultural standard of womanhood that was laid down for her. Or even meeting her own desires. She was prepared to trust God with what she had and with what she didn't have. And that freed her to devote herself to her mother-in-law.

23:49 · Speaker 2 She's an unbelievable woman. and God honored her for that because as she fulfills her commitment to Naomi as difficult and unglamorous as that is going out to work every day she meets a man called Boaz in the providence of God and as their relationship develops it becomes clear that Boaz is qualified to be this redeemer But the issue is not just whether he's qualified. The issue is whether he's willing. Because this redemption, as chapter four makes clear, is not simply about Boaz buying the land. Part of the condition of that seal is that Boaz would also take Ruth to be his wife. And the hope was that they would have a son and that that son would be legally recognized as the son of Ruth's first husband, Naomi's grandchild. There's a lot of romance between Ruth and Boaz, but there's also a real functional element to their marriage. Because they understood their marriage just wasn't about the goosebumps of romance.

25:10 · Speaker 2 It had a higher purpose. It wasn't less than romance, but it was far more. There were purposes of God that were to be fulfilled in them getting together. What a perspective on their marriage. And at the end of chapter three, they discover that Boaz is willing and qualified to be this redeemer. And it looks like they're gonna have the perfect ever after, but then there's just one issue. There is a closer relative to Naomi than Boaz. And that closer relative has a greater claim to the redemption.

25:50 · Speaker 2 And the end of chapter three leaves us on this cliff edge. What is going to happen? And then in chapter four, Boaz starts off by going to the gate, which is where the local government and the civic affairs were conducted. And in front of the elders and this redeemer, he says in verse three, Naomi has come back from Moab. She's selling the parcel of land that belonged to Elimelech. I thought I would tell you and say, buy it in the presence of those sitting here and in the presence of the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it. But if you will not, tell me that I may know for there is no one besides you to redeem it and I come after you.

26:29 · Speaker 2 And the redeemer says, okay, I'll redeem it. And we go, no, because we're rooting for Boaz. We don't know who this ringer is, but he's willing to do it. And of course, of course he would. It's a no-brainer because it makes total sense because he knows Naomi is getting on and she's likely unable to buy it back. He also knows that she's probably past the point of having children at this, which means there's going to be no other inheritor to take the land back off him. So he's going to add to his inheritance if these are the terms.

27:10 · Speaker 2 The only thing is Boaz hasn't shown him the small print. And then he does, because in verse five, he says, the day you buy the field, you also acquire Ruth the Moabite, the widow of the dead. Here's why. In order to, my version says, perpetuate the name of the dead on his inheritance. That's the purpose. That's what needs to happen as part of this redemption. But on realizing those terms, The other redeemer says, no thanks, I'm out. And like the dragons, he puts down his pen.

27:53 · Speaker 2 And that's it. The moment he realizes the full responsibilities of this redemption, he forfeits his right to redeem. Why? Because redeeming is too costly. He's no longer willing to redeem or to play his part in saving this name from being blotted out from existence because doing so is inconvenient and costly. He doesn't think Naomi and Ruth are worth it. What a scumbag. He realizes that if he buys the land from Naomi and he marries Ruth as part of that, he won't only have to provide for Ruth and potentially any children.

28:43 · Speaker 2 But if they have a son, then what he's bought and all that he's invested in keeping Ruth and keeping that son is going to go from him eventually. Because the son's going to take the inheritance. Because the son's going to be recognized as Ruth's first husband's child. He's a redeemer who's qualified, but not willing. and yet in doing so he forfeits his opportunity to play his part in the line of David and the coming of Messiah in the world. He's not in Matthew chapter 1 for precisely this reason. He didn't think they were worth it. And in a book where names are so crucial the author of Ruth plays him the ultimate insult for this kind of attitude by refusing to name him.

29:40 · Speaker 2 And he walks away from the city gate out into obscurity. But Boaz is a redeemer who's prepared to pay the full cost. And in verse 9 and 10, he says, in front of all the officials and witnesses, he says, you are witnesses. Let there be no doubt. Let this be legally binding that I have bought from the hand of Naomi all that belong to Elimelech and Malon and Killian and also Ruth the Moabite, the widow of Malon. I've redeemed her to be my wife in order, not because he doesn't love her, of course he does, but here's one of the big purposes. In order to perpetuate the name of the dead and his inheritance, that the name of the dead may not be cut off from his brothers and from the gate of his native place. Boaz is a redeemer who sees Ruth's value and who is completely committed to rescuing the name and the inheritance, even though there's only cost and no massive benefit to him.

30:45 · Speaker 2 And it's not very hard to make the connection between Boaz, the Redeemer of Ruth and Naomi, and Jesus, our Redeemer. The book of Ruth is such a beautiful book because it helps us to understand that at that much higher level, what is going on when the New Testament speaks about Jesus as our Redeemer? Because it shows us, it's a book that shows us that God is a God who cares about our name and our inheritance. You have a name. You have an identity. You're here in existence. which is completely improbable if all there is behind this universe is physics and chemistry and the laws of biology.

31:39 · Speaker 2 But you're here, not by accident, but because God wanted you to be. You have a name, you have an identity. The question is, does it matter? Or is it just a cosmic accident? What is it that makes your name matter? Is it how other people see you? Is it the job or the influence that you have according to the values of our culture? Is it how many people follow you on TikTok or Instagram?

32:09 · Speaker 2 There is such a pressure in our society to have a name that matters. I remember reading an interview that Madonna did with Vogue. And if there's anybody who has one of the most prominent influential names in the last 50 years, it's her. And yet she talks about her whole desire has always been to conquer this horrible feeling of inadequacy. She says, I am so worried that I'm mediocre and uninteresting. My drive in life is from this horrible fear of being nothing. And it's always pushing me because even though I've become somebody, I still have to know that I'm going to be somebody. My struggle has never ended and it probably never will.

32:59 · Speaker 2 The desire to have a name that matters, it's inherent to all of us. And have you ever thought about the security of your name? Because there's gonna come a day where all of us are gonna cease to exist and they're gonna put us in the ground and they're gonna say nice things about us. but eventually over enough time, no one's really going to remember us. And does that mean that as alive and kicking and maybe influential as you are today, that eventually your name will just be blotted out and will fade and evaporate from the significance of human existence like the morning dew? Is that it? That everything you achieve, that everything you've done, that all that you've been part of, you have an inheritance.

34:00 · Speaker 2 Mine is six foot four. Yours is different to mine. We have an inheritance of genetics. Yours is different to mine. It may mean different things for you than it does for me. You have an inheritance of a history, a story. You have an inheritance of abilities, physically, intellectually. and God has given you that and he wants you to make a go of it but is our death

34:32 · Speaker 2 just going to render that utterly absurd and meaningless? That's the question that brought Tolstoy to the point of suicide when he was 50 years old. He couldn't get this question out of his head. Will, what will come, he says, from what I do and from what I will do tomorrow? What will come from my whole life? What will it matter 200 years from now? Is there any meaning in my life that won't be destroyed by the death that inevitably awaits me? Is there anything that can maintain my name, maintain my significance, maintain my inheritance?

35:13 · Speaker 2 You see, Naomi's problem is all her problem. Her story is all our stories. And given the vulnerability of the circumstances of life, given the inevitability of death, is there any provision that God has made to maintain our name and our inheritance and our eternal joy? And the Bible's answer is yes, because there is a redeemer. God has not abandoned us to the nihilism. that we might fear. Death does not win because like Naomi, God has provided us with the Redeemer that Revelation 3 says that if we sell out to the Redeemer, Jesus Christ, our name will never be blotted out of the book of life. God has given us a Redeemer, not just qualified, but willing to pay the price and the price was his own life.

36:17 · Speaker 2 Because God thought you were worth it. Knowing you inside out. Knowing me inside out. He thought we were worth it. So let me just begin to wrap this up. Boaz redeems and marries Ruth. And verse 13 says that their marriage produced a son. But now the focus returns to Naomi.

36:45 · Speaker 2 And the women appear again. because Naomi declared to them in chapter one how God had abandoned her and taken away all her joy and hope. But now the women declare to Naomi the exact opposite. They say, blessed be the Lord who has not left you this day without a redeemer. May his name be renowned in Israel. He shall be to you a restorer of life, a nourisher of your old age. For your daughter-in-law who loves you, who's more to you than seven sons, has given birth to him. Please notice that the redeemer these women talk about, the redeemer they identify as Naomi's redeemer, is not Boaz.

37:32 · Speaker 2 The redeemer who's restored Naomi's life. The redeemer who's secured her joy. The redeemer who's rescued her inheritance and secured her name forever. is the baby, Obed. Because in verse 17, they say, a child has been born to Naomi, not Ruth. A baby boy born in Bethlehem to redeem. it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

38:16 · Speaker 2 Naomi took the child and laid him on her lap and became his nurse. And what evidence, what tangible reminder that baby must have been every day to her, that God was faithful, that her hope and her joy was secure. What a source of joy the baby must have been. A child born to the hopeless and the broken, to a woman who couldn't have children because she was too old. A child born to be her redeemer. To maintain and guarantee the significance of her name a million years from now. And a thousand years later, in Bethlehem again, another woman who shouldn't have been able to have children because she was a virgin, gave birth to a son.

39:07 · Speaker 2 And that son was a redeemer who would be destined for the rising and the falling of many names in Israel. A child who would be a redeemer, who would value us enough to pay the price of our redemption with his blood and redeem people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. That's a basis for joy that you cannot get elsewhere. and the final thing that the book of Ruth does and with this we'll finish the book of Ruth finishes with a genealogy list of names but not just any list of names the list of names that lead to a kingdom and a man sitting on the throne of God on the earth ruling and orchestrating God's government on this planet Ruth and Boaz had no idea at their localized level that the choices and the faithfulness and the everyday obedience in the same direction, as localized and unglamorous as it seemed at the time, was going to write them into a much bigger story, that they were going to play a part in God's king sitting on the throne of the earth. And amidst all the uncertainty and the godliness around them, they chose to fulfill their responsibilities under God. And it wrote their significance into history for millennia to come.

40:51 · Speaker 2 Do you think it's possible that you, me, whatever our lot, whatever our inheritance, going about faithfully and consistently our responsibilities could one day be revealed to have played a part in God's King sitting on the throne and reigning on the earth. What a source of joy that would be, that me doing my job, that me raising my kids, that me loving other people this Christmas could play a part in Jesus sitting on the throne and hearing him say, well done, good and faithful servant. You've been faithful over a few things. I'll make you responsible over many things. Enter into the joy of your master. In the uncertainties and the fragilities of life, we're going to need something more secure to find our joy in than the sentiments of what our culture has done with Christmas. When we look at the last few years, when we look at the shifts in global politics, public health, the economy, the uncertainties and circumstances of life.

42:05 · Speaker 2 We're going to need something that those circumstances can't blot out our significance and our meaning. Is there anything that can do it? The real story of Christmas is yes. Good tidings of great joy because born this day in the city of David is a savior, a redeemer, Christ the Lord. And the only way to ensure my inheritance in my name is to sell out completely to him. That no matter what Christmas or any other day brings, my joy, my eternal joy, my hope, my significance is secure. And so I can live with joy unspeakable, filled with glory.

42:55 · Speaker 2 I can take the advice of the prophet Daniel that he was given, and he knew a thing or two about the uncertainty of geopolitics. If this is true and I've sold out to my Redeemer, I can know that whatever comes, I can go my way and know that at the end of days, I will stand with my name and my significance in the inheritance that he has for me. I know of no greater source of joy and security than that. Let's pray. Father, thanks for an opportunity just to consider your word. Thank you for all that you've said and done. thank you that there is a redeemer and I pray Lord that this Christmas that we would find our joy in the redeemer baby that you have given to us or help us just afresh amidst all the other places where our culture calls us to seek significance to secure a name to be meaningful Lord, help us to know that it is only in You that who we are and what we are and why we matter is ultimately secure.

44:19 · Speaker 2 Thank You for securing our eternal joy in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.