Part III—The moral reversals her Son will bring

1. Isa. 53:3 describes the birth of Jesus as a “root out of a dry ground”.
2. Jesus born during a dark period in history.
3. 49 out of the last 50 Roman Emperors died by assassination and the perverse lives of the Emperors is well documented
4. When Mary gave birth to Jesus, Herod the Great rules over Palestine. This evil, paranoid tyrant:

• Charged three of his sons with treason and had them executed
• Had 10 wives but killed his favorite wife
• He had his popular brother-in-law, the High Priest, drowned by “accident”
• He had several of his uncles and cousins killed
• He ordered the deaths of all children under 2 years of age in an attempt to kill baby Jesus thus fulfilling Jer. 31:15 “Thus saith the LORD; A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, and bitter weeping; Rahel weeping for her children refused to be comforted for her children, because they were not.”
• He gave orders that upon his death he wanted 3,000 Jews killed. This was not carried out

1. His son, Herod Agrippa continued in the same way. He had John the Baptist beheaded at the whim of a woman
2. Proud, evil, and arrogant men had always been-- Men like Belshazzar. 
3. If the historians Xenophon and Herodotus are to be believed, Belshazzar died in the very hall where he blasphemed God
4. Adolph Hitler posted these words on the door at Auschwitz, “I freed Germany from the stupid and degrading fallacies of conscience and morality.”
5. Evil men like V.I. Lenin, Joseph Stalin, Mao Zadong have killed millions to enforce the philosophy of socialism
6. Winston Churchill said the following: “Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery.”
7. But in Luke 1:52 Mary states, “He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.”
8. Mary speaks prophetically as if it has already been done. The New Testament calls it “the restitution of all things.” Acts 3:21
9. Evil men come and go but the teachings of Jesus lives on. Oh, how much good has come from his teachings! For example:

• God is love and is not vengeful
• The lifting up of women in society
• The spread of the gospel 
• The care of children so much so that the 20th Century is called “The Century of the Child”
• The ending of the slave trade by William Wilberforce and John Newton [the author of the song “Amazing Grace” was once the captain of a slave ship]p
• The benefits derived from the teachings of Christ are just too numerous to cover

1. The author of the poem One Solitary Life described his selah moment:

“ He was born in an obscure village
   He worked in a carpenter shop until he was thirty
   He then became an itinerant preacher
   He never held office
   He never had a family or owned a house
   He didn’t go to college
   He had no credentials but himself
   He was only thirty when the public turned against him
   Nineteen centuries have come and gone, and today
   He is the central figure of the human race
   All the armies that ever marched, all the navies that ever sailed,
   All the parliaments that ever sat, and all the Kings that ever reigned
   Have not affected the life of man on this earth as much as that One Solitary Life.”

​Closing

A. Truly spiritual minded Christians has their “Selah Moments”
B. A.W.Tozer was a great Christian writer of previous generation
​C. He began his ministry in a small church in Nutter Fort, W.V.
D. Zech. 4:10 teaches us not to “despise not the day of small things”
E. Tozer went on to be a spiritual giant
F. Tozer said, “You can be straight as a gun barrel theologically, and just as empty as one spiritually.”
G. As we approach the celebration of the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, may the Lord who is gracious give you wisdom and understanding and guide you all into the truth of His HOLY WORD!
H. SELAH!

Dr. Mike Richardson

 Part I—The Elevation of her soul

1. In Luke 1:46 she states that her soul magnified the Lord. How is this done?

• When we meditate of the greatness of God
• The more we meditate on God the greater he becomes I Tim. 3:16 “And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory”
• In Luke 1:47 Mary says, “And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour”
• Think how she marveled when she realized that the baby, she held was not only her savior but also the divine logos—the divine creator!

1. Meditation on the life, death, and atonement of Jesus Christ will increase your theological knowledge
2. We need to follow her example. Charles Hadden Spurgeon said, “I like, sometimes,  to leave off praying and singing and to sit still, and just gaze upward till my inmost soul has seen my Lord, then I say, “He is inexpressively lovely; yea, he is altogether lovely.”
3. I feel sorry for those who absent themselves from congregational worship. Meditation does happen in church worship. Martin Luther said, “At home in my own house there is no warmth or vigor in me, but in the church when the multitude is gathered together, a fire is kindled in my heart and it breaks its way through.”

​Part II—Her personal reasons

1. Mary’s song mirrors that of Hannah in the Old Testament
2. In Luke 1:48 Mary remarks how the Lord took regard for her in her low estate
3. Mary is humble. We need to understand that the Lord resisted the proud
4. Mary means that neither she nor her people can deliver their souls
5. Jesus comes to those who know that they cannot save themselves
6. I like the way Dr. R. Kent Hughes puts it: Jesus did not come to the Department stores, the mechanical Christmas windows, T.V. Christmas specials, the stretch limousines, or the 1st float in the Rose Bowl Parade
7. Aurelius Augustinus or St. Augustine say, “For those who would learn God’s ways, humility is the first thing, humility is the 2nd thing and humility is the 3rd thing.”
8. Mary states in Luke 1:48 that generations would call her blessed:

• Blessed in the original means happy, counted fortunate
• In the Jewish culture every young girl longed to be the mother of the Messiah
• Today, people indeed highly esteem Mary. Today, Mary is the most popular name for a girl

Dr. Mike Richardson

Introduction:

1. Luke 2:19 “But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart.”
2. I find it interesting that Luke 2:19 is the only place in all of the Bible that the word pondered is use.
3. The word pondered has the following definition: “To think about something carefully especially before making a decision or reaching a conclusion”
4. There is a small word in the Old Testament that means pretty much the same thing.
5. This little word is found 71 times in the book that was the hymnal of Old Testament
6. These divinely inspired songs play on the keyboard of the human soul
7. That book is the Book of Psalms. These psalms were set to music
8. This small word we will be discussing also appears 3 times in the Book of Habakkuk
9. This little word that is so often passed over in a very interesting word
10. In fact, there is much conjecture about the word, Selah.  Theologians offer diverging opinions about it:

• Some say that its point of origin cannot be determined
• Some say that its meaning cannot be determined
• Others say that it is a musical note where one pauses and thinks about what they just said
• Others say it is an Aramaic worship word meaning to “lift up”

1. Selah comes from the Hebrew root word “Calah”

• It mean “To Hang”, “To Measure”, “To determine the value of something”
• For example, a diplomat must weigh his words carefully
• The word selah is man’s weak attempt to comprehend the exceeding riches of His grace Eph. 2:7 “That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus”

1. So, the idea of the musical pause to mediate on what has just be said is very similar
2. So then, selah is a signature exhortation from God for our reflection and weighing of what we just read.
3. The word “Amen” has a similar idea to that of selah. Amen has the meaning “so be it” and is also a reflection of confidence.
4. This reflection and weighing of God’s words and our own words comes best from the gleaning and comparison of scripture with scripture.
5. This is in line with the words of Isaiah in 28:10 “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:
6. I do not like telling you this, but there are many televangelists who do not weigh their words carefully comparing scripture with scripture. Their words are weighed in the balances and “found wanting.”
7. With this idea of “hanging of God’s word and measuring its eternal value, and with this time of the year, allow me to discuss the preeminent example found in the book of Luke
8. It is the first song of the Incarnation of our Savior. It was sung by his mother, Mary
9. Anna and Simeon also had their “Selah Moments”
10. As you know, there are always critics. Critics argue that Mary could not have written this song. They argue that:

• Mary is too young to have written it
• They argue that it her song is too packed with Old Testament references
• They argue that the song is too carefully structured, too poetic, too polished, and too subtill to be written by a young country girl
• They argue that it is too theological for such a young girl to have sung
• They contend that Luke “borrowed” from the Maccabees or the Qumran Jews
• Here the critics fail to comprehend the power of the Holy Spirit and her culture

1. The critics are right about one thing. It is sublime
2. As we consider Mary’s  “Selah Moments”, there are 3 areas I wish to discuss:

• The elevation of her soul
• Her personal reasons for her song
• The moral reversals that her son will bring​

Part III—The 3rd Interruption

1. The interruption was a request from Phillip. It is found in John 14:8 “Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us.”                         
2. Phillip was the quietest of the Apostles
3. In the New Testament we are always finding him bringing someone to Jesus
4. When a quiet man has something to say it is worth our time to take note of his statement
5. So many people today think what is great is being rich and famous. The greatest thing in the world today is bringing someone to Jesus!
6. Phillip forgot himself and spoke up. I am thankful for Phillip
7. Jesus was not side-tracked by Phillip’s statement. Instead, it brought about one of the strongest statements in the New Testament concerning the deity of Christ in John 14:9 “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”
8. Jesus is not 99.40 deity. He was fully God and fully man
9. A lady once asked me if I thought there were “greys” in the Bible. I said , “No”
10. There is no middle ground concerning Jesus. You are either for him or you are against him. Matt. 12:30

​Part IV—The 4th Interruption

1. This 4th interruption is found in Jn. 14:22
2. This is the Apostle Judas [not Iscariot]
3. His concern is how Jesus will manifest himself to his followers and not the world
4. Jesus is very concerned about the world. In fact, he died for them on Calvary
5. Jesus is very concerned about the world, but how much are we really?
6. The Gospel of Christ is not to be kept secret. We are His witnesses Act 1:8
7. We sing the old hymn in church, “Lord Send Me”, but in practice we want it to be “Lord, Send Him” 

Part II—The 2nd Interruption

1. This second interruption comes from the Apostle Thomas in John 14:5
2. Thomas is what we call today a “skeptic”
3. He is famous for being the magnificent “doubter”
4. He had a question mark for a brain
5. He had many doubts
6. But I am thankful for the Apostle Thomas
7. Thomas shows that it is “normal” for us to doubt. 
8. Show me one time in the New Testament where Jesus said of the Apostles “Oh, ye of magnificent and powerful faith.” No, he always said, “Oh, ye of little faith”
9. Thomas’ doubt led to the great truth found in John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”      
10. If you have doubts take them privately to Jesus in prayer
11. The world doubts the truth of John 14:6. They say it is too “dogmatic”
12. That is the thing about truth-it is dogmatic
13. I find the IRS dogmatic about me paying taxes
14. I find the bank dogmatic that $2.00 + $2.00=$4.00
15. I once was on a backroad. I asked a man if the road I was on would take me to Rosedale
16. This man dogmatically stated that the road would not take me to Rosedale but then he grinned and said, “But your car will!”

Part 1 - The First Interruption
​Dr. Michael Richardson

​Today, let's look at how Jesus answered 4 interruptions and the wonderful lesson and followed each one.

Introduction
​Dr. Michael Richardson

   A. John 8:2 “And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.”   
   B. I once had a college professor who said, “The Master teacher does not need a textbook.”
   C.  I questioned that statement at first. However, after being mesmerized by him for 3 hours each week for 18 weeks I came to believe his statement.

The Comfort We Have in Jesus
Dr. Michael Richardson

The Jewish Galilean Wedding Custom
Dr. Michael Richardson

The Doctrine of Imminency
​Dr. Michael Richardson

​Part I—The Doctrine of Imminency
   A. Why this sermon and why now?

• Because the world is on the brink of total collapse
• Because of the swiftness of the occurrences we see happening. It is at breakneck speed. Luke 21:28 “And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.”—key word begin
• To confirm and establish your confidence in the Biblical teaching of our soon homecoming
• Because if Christians are unsettled about this sound doctrine, Satan will fill our minds with doubt, and we will cease to look for that “Blessed Hope”.
• Because prophecy has a shelf life.  There comes a day when it is fulfilled