Matthew 2:19–20
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Well, church, it's going to be hard for many of you to envision and understand this, but not that long ago, I was very young. That's not quite the reaction I was hoping for. And in that time of being very young, I was also very dumb. Now, really, I expected gasp and clutching of pearls and maybe even some falling over in that statement.
But at that time, 18 years of age, I had a car accident and broke my femur. I was in the hospital for a very long time, and there at the hospital, they laid my leg in traction and put screws and a rod in there. And then right after the surgery, not long after, the therapist came in and said, we're going to get you up and you're going to walk. And we're going to have to teach you how to walk again.
And I couldn't hardly even lay without pain. I thought, there's no way I can do this. She got me up in a chair, which even hurt worse. And she was doing her job and doing a good job of it and really pushing me to get up and go and hounding and hounding and hounding. And I told her, I said, ma'am, I'm going to do this. I'm going to get up and walk across this room. But when I get to you, I'm going to put my hands on your neck, and then I'm never going to do it again. And of course, I got across the room, and she took one step back, and I couldn't get to her.
But she was doing her job, and doing a good job, even though it hurt so much. As I came to the passage that we'll look at tonight, I thought about God's kind providence. And really it is, whether you're in the most glorious mountaintop days of your life, or if you're in the deepest valleys of your life, God's providence is kind.
Our verse is Matthew, our verse is chapter 2, verses 19 and 20. That's on the front of your bulletin or page 808. And you know the story that leads up to our verses, the story of our Savior's birth in Bethlehem. And the wise men come to King Herod, and they're looking for what they call the King of the Jews. Herod, of course, being king at that time, was filled with rage.
But in his slickness and his evil, cunning way, he said, go and find this child. Secretly, he wanted to kill him. Not unlike many kings, leaders, and even American politicians trying to take out their competition. So as the wise men leave, they're hip to his game. They recognize what he's trying to do finally, and they don't tell him, and he gets furious. And he said, I'll just kill every two-year-old child and below in Bethlehem.
And from church history, that wasn't uncommon. It wasn't even probably the worst thing that he did in his reign. A horrible, terrible king. Read church history even on his death. Horrendous death. Well deserved in his sin and hatred towards God and his people. That brings us to this passage. Verses 19 and 20. It says, mother and go to the land of Israel for those who sought the child's life are dead so this passage this is this passage is why many of you disdain when you see a Christmas nativity with wise men at it oh how unbiblical and we don't we take them away we can't have that because at two years old
and younger who knows the time frame of how this happened but this passage as joseph left and went to egypt with his family and as he came back two things should quickly come to our mind of course the hosea prophecy passage that speaks back to god leading his people out of egypt delivering them from the hand of bondage that they were in you should absolutely think of that when you see this passage. And then also, you should think of yourself, and you should think of me, and you should think of every Christian that there has ever been and ever will be who has been delivered from their bondage of sin by the person and work of Jesus Christ, the great Redeemer. The line of redemptive history runs like a rocket straight through these verses. As God is bringing his son to fulfill his purpose of savior of the world. His plan is orchestrated and fulfilled.
As I read over these and studied over these verses, the thought that came to my mind was, I want us to see God's kind hand of providence as he speaks to us, as he provides for us, and we should in turn abide in him. God's kind hand of providence, he speaks to us, provides for us, and we should abide in him.
It's a privilege to stand in front of a church where you know that the primary way that God speaks to his people is through his word. The prayer tonight for those who get in this pulpit, it's a privilege to know that they're going to come and bring God's word. And to be counted among them men for myself is something that is humbling beyond degree. Life and ministry are difficult. You know that. I know that.
And actually, humanly, life and ministry are impossible. We can tend to move through life in somewhat of a cruise control. It's a wonderful feature for a vehicle. But for the Christian that's going through life on cruise control, we're not paying attention to the things around us as attentively as we should. danger that comes upon the road of our life we can't react as quickly as we should as if we had only our one foot on the pedal and if you drive with two feet that's a whole nother sermon and a whole nother conversation we need to have christian you have the most powerful force in the universe in god's word And I say that, and you know that, and as we say that, sometimes it's so easy to forget.
I love my wife with all of my heart, but it's hard for her to think of how much I love her if I'm being a jerk, if I'm being nasty or rude or harsh or short. And for us, when times come that aren't promoting and we're not seeing God's kind hand, it's so easy to forget how powerful his word is and that he speaks to us so clearly.
His word is life-giving. It rebukes and corrects us. It changes the soul through the spirit that tells us about Jesus Christ in the gospel comes through the word and changes eternal destinations of those who put their faith in Jesus. That's what you have sitting on your mantle. That's what you get up and read in the morning. That's what we should spend our life striving towards is God and his word. We have an access to immeasurable grace and immeasurable means of God's grace. For the student this evening that's taking tests or coming upon their summer classes or preparing for the fall semester soon.
You're going to have tough times ahead. Maybe you're still in elementary school or middle school. And life is going to throw at you things that are going to tip your world upside down. God gave you his word not to win arguments or put people in their place but to know him and worship him to be close to him all the days of your life. These aren't things that we say when things are going well only but things that we live each and every day by that we believe it and live it. God's grace is sufficient for you. Trust in him and in his word through tears, through sleepless nights. I can imagine Joseph had many sleepless nights. He had just traveled and brought his family there. Now he
travels and leaves them back, going into an unknown place, going to Egypt, the place that the Jewish people knew of a place of bondage and slavery. But in God's kind hand, that's where he protected and grew Israel that's where he protected and grew the true Israel his firstborn his son Jesus Christ young parents and grandparents and and those among us that have a little bit of age on us what seemed to be obstacles in your life seems to be developing and becoming unsurmountable things and and events is just god expressing his kindness and his love to you and how strong he really is he wants you not to just know him as his beautiful as your beautiful savior but as your creator and sustainer of every day the kind hand of his providence
wants to reveal great power in your everyday life. Each and every aspect of those things that seem insurmountable in your life, there's hundreds of strands at work that God is doing and God is moving. We read that somewhat in our new song, Christ Our Wisdom. When you hide your ways from us, you have purposes unnumbered. This week we sat at the funeral of a dear brother of this church, Wayne Bachman.
And his family had no idea what was all going on at that time. But even there as the gospel was proclaimed and his life was honored and God was glorified, Christ lifted up among a couple of our elders and also his family members. They had no idea what all would come from that. Thursday morning I was able to sit at breakfast and remind a brother how Christians grieve with hope. And how beautiful of a funeral service that I was able just to go to because of faith in Jesus Christ.
Because of a faithful family that proclaimed the love of their dear loved one, his love for Jesus. When we came to Third Avenue about three years ago, I had been an associate pastor for 11 years, a lay elder before that for a couple years, and our whole lives were essentially at one church. We loved and do love those people. And even though we wouldn't have said it, we slowly begin to maybe have less confidence in God and his word And sometimes we turn a little pragmatic in our parenting, in church life, and in ministries.
Well, I think this will work. And we lose a little bit of confidence in God's word, step by step, little by little. When God brought us here, we didn't know what to expect. But instantly, there was a renewed vigor for the confidence in God's proclaimed word. We take for granted as a church how blessed we are to trust that God's word is going to be evident in our music, in our praying, in the reading of the scripture.
and when someone stands up here and preaches. Praise God for that. And for our family, we could not have asked God. If he had said, what do you want in a church, we wouldn't even have known what to exactly ask. And he provided that and so much more. God speaks to his people through his word. He's provided his son through his word. He has given us all things that pertain to life. and godliness in his word but you know that and i know that and i can't just say read god's word good night i love you just a few things from from for you and for i as we leave tonight after we have communion to think about as you're praying and clearing your heart and mind. Make sure that you set a time and
place each and every day to be in God's Word. Not just I'll get to it when I get to it, but so intentional to be in the scriptures, have your Bible setting out the night before, ready to go. And I prefer the paperback Bible instead of an electronic Bible. To think that I can hand this Bible as notes written all over it one day to my kids or grandkids gives me quite a blessing as I've taken those from my grandfather and my father-in-law and seen their notes and what God was doing in their life.
But time and place, if you don't have a time and place, it's so easy to let it slip by. This week at the funeral, it was said that Wayne and his wife had read through the Bible aloud together 14 times. I was so challenged by that. I want to beat him. And he would want me to because he would know what a blessing that would be for my wife and I and for our family. Read the Bible aloud.
You want to hear God's audible voice? Read the Bible out loud. He speaks to us through his word. He provides exactly what we need when we need it. That same passage that you read a hundred times, if you need it that day, God will use it to speak to you and to your heart. Read both through the Bible every year, trying to read as much as you can, but also slow down. And take in and look for Jesus in each and every passage.
Read it out loud. Change modes on how you do it. But be so faithful in that. Read Christian books and devotionals and biographies. Listen to audio books. Listen to the Bible read out loud. Those are things individually. Gather with other people. Read books about ministry and life with other Christians.
Challenge those that are on the fence of Christianity. Like we hear each and every Sunday night to read through one of our what is the gospel books. Or to read the scriptures with you. God's word will be what changes them. You never can. I never can. But God will and does and loves to and rejoices in us when we do that. Church, God loves you.
And in your hard times and in your great times, his kind hand, kind, loving hand, providentially guides to you as he speaks to you through his word and he guides you. And I chose the word abide with him because it just says so much more. Commune with him. Stay with him. And as we do that tonight during our communion, our Lord's Supper, beg God to let you do it more.
And he will meet you where you're at because he loves to be close to his children. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we are so thankful for your word. We're thankful that you speak to us still today. God, we didn't deserve it. And in all the different ways you could have chosen to relate and to reveal yourself to your people, you chose to give us your holy word, the scriptures.
God, we're thankful for that this evening. We pray that we would not take that for granted. But to be in it, to be about it, and as it was said of Charles Spurgeon, let it be said of us, when we get cut, we bleed Bible. Because we love you, Jesus, and we want to be close to you. And it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.