The Great Rescue - The Unlikely People, Part 1

When you think of a special ops team on a critical rescue mission.

What kind of personnel do you think right highly trained intelligent, strong endurance you're thinking of seal team six the best of the best they can do the impossible epos for second working a look at God's special ops team that he sent to rescue the will and I just want to prepare you what you will hear absolutely stay with welcome to this Edition of Living on the Edge good with children Living on the Edges of international discipleship ministry helping Christians live like Christians. This program should continue this series, the great rescue in the first message he laid out every rest start in this one gives us a look at the team before we get started. Maybe take a second download chips message as outlined in the helping follow along as he introduces each member apples there stop filling notes otherwise jump online to LivingontheEdge.org click the broadcasts tab and you'll find them there. Okay, let's join Chapelle for his message.

The unlikely people like you to mentally get in gear with me and there is a plane traveling from New York City to Paris and want to mentally think of someone who's very close to you that's on this claim can be your boyfriend or girlfriend can be your husband, your wife you wanted your kids can be your mom can be your dad to be your best friend because when you get the news on this you will be deeply engaged somewhere between New York and Paris terrorist on that plane took over the plane.

They have now redirected that plane and that plane has landed Terrace now have 161 hostages, of which your mom your dad your wife your husband or one of your kids. Is there the US military has a special ops team immediately working in the area deciding what they're going to do knowing that with the demands and the beheadings that have occurred that they will do a special operation. Now here's my question. What kind of a group do you want to help rescue one of these hostages that you love very deeply what kind of qualifications do they need to have what you want to know about a special operations whether it's Greenbrier Delta force of the seals or the Army Rangers. What would they need to have to be successful in this one little research and listen to this is from our federal government arm services.

Those who make up the US special forces are a special breed of warrior is their job to push beyond limits that are mentally tougher physically stronger and 100% committed to serving our country and protecting its freedoms. It's a job for the best of the best this elite team of heroes goes where others won't because they aren't trained and they cannot do what others do. It goes on to say the requirements to make it into the special operations are some of the most demanding in the military calls for training that is physically and mentally harder and more strenuous than any other in any career to make you have to have the will, the strength and the endurance in the special one 730 days of training every recruit thinks that there up for the challenge. Very few are most of them fail and then there's a criteria you need to be between 20 and 30 years old. You need to be a citizen, you need a level of education on one course you have to have 110 score on your arm services, operational course hundred score security clearance airborne training physical fitness in 2020 vision you know anything about any special operations.

They are the elite of the elite of the elite and out about you, but if I have my wife, my daughter, my son, my best friend.

That's the kind of people I want. Don't you to do this, rescue operation now of rescue is what it's to say someone from a dangerous or distressing situation to keep them from being lost or abandoned or to retrieve them, we want to retrieve these hostages alive. It's what I can tell you is this group, they can come up with a plan. The right people were to send in the you have innovative methods are going to look at the situation, what they need to do and it might be different from anything they've ever done their Tiny can have to be not impeccable but perfect and I can have to execute flawlessly.

Now I want you to think of an all-knowing, all-powerful, all wise God created all that there is and is not there's a few people there's a whole planet full of humanity that is held hostage hostage by evil hostage by sin hostage by death hostage by an evil imposter and God is going to rescue them. So he has a special ops team but alive.

Studying this special ops team. It's really different than ours.

We want the best of the best, most highly trained the most intelligent, the strongest and so what I want to do with you is I want to take you on a little journey and I want to walk you from chronologically, the first dimension we get of God's rescue operation right up to the birth of Jesus, which is the birth of the launching of his rescue operation and let's look at what I like to call the unlikely people. I want you to be thinking about how wonderful I could qualify what is it about these people that I have in common with them.

Why would God choose them.

How does God really work because it's quite a bit different than us so chronologically.

If you go through Scripture what you find is the first people that you would discover would be. There is a group called magi and these magi were not just astrologers the way we think that they were very influential group of wise men of the referred to in Daniel to be referred to in Jeremiah 39. These were the counselors to kings. These were people that were involved in what what's going to happen in the future and they started watching the stars in this phenomena at least two years before the birth they probably made at least a 300 mile trek again asked myself now this is a special operation of God's holy people, the Jews in the first people who recognize that the King of the Jews is going to be born, the Savior of the world is a group of Gentile people staring at the stars that had hundreds of years of history of giving counsel to kings and who referred to as magicians and sometimes even sorcerers.

Is this really the group you want to start this plan with. I mean really doesn't seem a little unlikely. These pagan Gentile stargazers are going to be the ones who are the first dimension chronologically of this great rescue plan will remove from the magi to Zachariah Matthew chapter 1. Zachariah is a priest.

We know he is not yet 50, because you have to automatically retire at 50 from the priesthood twice a year. He would go and serve in the temple they would cast lots.

Because once a year. Someone was going to burn incense in the holy place and incense were a picture of prayers going up to heaven. We know that Zachariah is married to Elizabeth, who is barren and in that day to be barren is to be assumed to be curse of God. They been begging God begging God, praying for a son.

But you know the biological window is closed, she can't have kids now, and he's chosen by lot happenstance and you can only do this once in your lifetime.

If you chosen so Zachariah goes into the holy place, he burns incense and was there an angel appears well and is his angel appears, he begins to tell Zachariah that you can have a son is going to prepare the way for the Savior of the world begins to lay out all these things in this manner, studying the Bible.

His whole life.

This man is praying to God to give me a son, an angel comes and lets him know this is what's happening and what's his response unbelief because of his unbelief. The Lord causes them to be done. He can't speak. So he comes out what happened what happened.

You know he's just freaked out so he can't speak and we find that he can't say a word until the baby is born and you know they been waiting all their life. It's a miracle everyone's just freaked out that Elizabeth is having a baby. First of all, and then really naming Zachariah because I'm in your family line and that's a mean, that's really important stuff and it was this is no things can be John and taken to the father and said wait a second. You don't buy that and you he writes his name is John in the moment. He says that he can speak and you can read it and he prophesies and begins to talk old testament passage after passage reaching out of Isaiah and there's a forerunner who's going to prepare the way for the Savior of the world and God is going to push down the proud and exalt the humble and is going to make away because he cares for everyone kind of unlikely accursed couple can have kids and a priest. The doesn't have much faith. The next person in the story chronologically is married she's a peasant teenage girl, probably 15 to 17 years old.

She's devout. She really knows God unusual for a woman she's had some theological training because when we hear her pray later. She'll quote parts of at least seven or eight Old Testament passages, but this is a girl we know she's a peasant or she's really poor because when she goes to the temple and dedicates Jesus there's two offerings and there's an offering for its normal and there's an offering for really poor people and she and Joseph have to give the offering that really poor people. So here's the special ops team. This is rescue all humanity. So we start with want to stargazers. Then we moved to an unbelieving priest with a barren wife who everyone think is cursed by God.

And I would go to teenage girl unlikely and the angel says to her over favored one of the Lord will mean can you imagine being 15, €16 girl, an angel shows up in your bedroom, your favorite of God, you can have a baby there's a problem here never been with a guy all know know the Holy Spirit will come upon you and this humble peasant girl says, be it unto me according to your word. Can you imagine being 15 1617 years old and and telling your closest friends. Angel came to my paper sure got to marry right in God, since here's a sign you know you your cousin Elizabeth. The barren one. She's six months pregnant and in the Texas she hurried off into the villages and the moment she walks in the door when we know the baby lease within Elizabeth, whom she's filled with the Holy Spirit and she begins éclair. This is the mother of our Lord and she begins quote Old Testament passages about the Messiah and back Elizabeth in her prayer says Blessed are you who believe what the Lord has said about you. The next person is Joseph.

He's a young devout man. He's a blue-collar worker but not a lot of education. He's a righteous man because when he hears that Mary was pregnant.

He decides to divorce her quietly and in the Jewish betrothal.

You you would be betrothed and you'd be committed and you want married, but the only way to get out of the patrol of the wood you had have a divorce and so he was going to put her away quietly because he was a righteous man and before he can do that he gets the angel in the dream and in his dream. This angel reassures him Joseph I just punch you know this 15 to 7-year-old teenager that you're going to marry who is pregnant has never been with a man, you believe me right and so II want you to go ahead and marry her.

But I want you to abstain from any sexual relationships with her because what I want you to know is that God is visiting the planet coming okay. We had a peasant girl blue-collar worker poor young man and then says a census is going to be taken if there had been one in ages so sovereignly out of the blue hernia says from Syria. Let's have a census and he says all the inhabitants of the world. No exceptions.

And then next is the town where it all happens. Bethlehem, it's a no name little pinky town 7 miles outside of Jerusalem.

About the only claim to fame is that you know that was where David was brought up in their go back to Bethlehem and as they go there.

What we learn is there is no room so God uses a Roman governor who decides to have a census and he so start to see this unlikely arrangement. This is like a special ops of the most holy, the greatest the smartest the best the elite followers of God.

This is like a collage of unlikely people and so they go to Bethlehem and when they go to Bethlehem you know the story. Then there's the manger. Luke chapter 2 the King of the universe is good to be born in a manger and I'm not. I just I almost hate to say this because I hate to mess up your stories. The thing about three wise men number one, there were necessarily three and they were necessarily wise men. Sorry act in one Texas as and all of Jerusalem probably had quite the caravan that came in.

These are these are uppity guys. Okay.

Second, it says when there's no room in the in, but the word for in is actually the guest room of the house and that day there were hotels, so you would go to your relatives so they went to the relatives and the way the houses were as it was upstairs guest room. There's a family room here, there was an open area where they would cook and then right inside there would be a manger, because to protect your animal, and so really, there wasn't room in the guest house and so this baby is born in a manger with animals. Think of how unlikely the king of the universe coming and being born in a manger will then the next group that we find is that shepherds Luke chapter 2 verse eight. You need understand shepherds are like the lowest on the socioeconomic scale of the day. In fact, it's not just the lowest class of people, but if you get the night shift you the lowest class of illicit right. So God chooses the lowest class people, and of the lowest class people.

Those who get the night shift and angels fill the sky and they go and they worship Jesus and they become the first evangelist.

If you read the text carefully. They went and shared one about the Angels had said the listing department just message the unlikely people series the great rescue in this little three-part series reveals that God's great rescue mission utilized an incredible plan and relied on a very unlikely team and yet is exactly what people desperate for rescue can rely on.

With absolute certainty. If you'd like to hear this message again the chipping remap is perfect for free access.

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333-6003 before I come back and share some final thoughts to today's message.

I like to read a letter that I got that really made a difference in my life. It's something that we value here Living on the Edge dear Chip, I want to thank you for your coffee break of July 2020.

It was on time and very insightful, especially in view of the climate in our country. I appreciate the fact that you have reached out to deal with the racial divide in our country in a godly way. I appreciate the fact that this is not a popular subject because it makes people uncomfortable. I am an African-American, but I'm also a Christian and not in that order.

Therefore, I appreciate men like you who are at least willing to listen to our point of view, your July teaching demonstrated your willingness not to wholeheartedly agree.

But to listen and for that I'm grateful. While I am deeply grateful for the letter from James and want you to know we are Living on the Edge want to teach the full scripture and at times it's popular at times it's not.

But when you pray for and when you support Living on the Edge, you can be a part of what God says about racism what God says about what's true and what's right and how we treat one another and it's a complex issue and there's a lot of different opinions but if we stick to the Scriptures and if we love one another.

We can make a difference. My request is this we you help us be that voice in 2021. December is a critical month for Living on the Edge where every gift that's given is doubled and becomes a major part of our funding not only for the end of this year, but for next year. Thank you for your support and please pray, ask God what he would have you do this December. Thanks for sharing that ship well it isn't always easy, but standing on the word of God is a commitment will never waver on that's important to you and you like to help us continue to provide solid biblical teaching. Now's a great time to join the team.

With over a million listeners each week and a footprint on every continent. Your gifts have significant impact during the month of December. Whatever we receive is doubled, thanks to a small group of ministry partners to send a gift and partner with us. Just go to LivingontheEdge.org tap donate on the app or give us a call at triple late. 333-6003 that's AAA 333-6003. Thanks for doing whatever the Lord leads you to do will now here's Chip with his application as we wrap up today's program. I hope you caught just how much I love the Christmas story and all the people in it and every time I spend time reading it. Thinking about it, studying it, I get so encourage because these aren't superstars their regular ordinary people like you and me. In fact, candidly they're not even ordinary people there. The lowliest there the marginalized there that often the misfits and I are about you and I'm sure because you you know hear me on a podcast or radio that you don't think I actually think this way but I didn't grow up in the church and I know I am ordinary and I I am absolutely amazed and what gives me hope around Christmas is that God doesn't need superstars. He needs ordinary available people. I do believe that he does extraordinary things through us regular ordinary people having a teenage girl brings the Savior into the world.

The lowly shepherds are the first evangelist that the story goes on and on. So this Christmas can I encourage you your precious and your valuable but you're also a messenger there's people that will be family and I know it's hard to be people that have needs and I know you've already given hi just want to encourage you to say, old Lord this Christmas would you use an unlikely person like me. And so when he prompts you to to give a gift to help a homeless person to say a word of affirmation to forgive an ex-mate to to do something that seems crazy but it's loving and it's kind or maybe you're asked to step up and and share your faith, or do something that you think that's not for me that's for someone stronger, better, more intelligent, on and on and on.

Chi encourage you this Christmas be one of the unlikely people that God uses to rescue others, for God's glory and for your good. Just before we close owner thank those of you who financially support the ministry of Living on the Edge. Amazing things are happening in your part of that.

If you want to get in on what the Lord is doing through Living on the Edge. There's never been a better time between now and December 31. Every gift you send will be matched because a small group of ministry partners has committed to double everything we receive or send a gift. Just go to LivingontheEdge.org tap donate on the app or give us a call at triple late. 333-6003 that's AAA 333-6003. We'd love to have you with us will be with us again next time. Until then, this is really saying thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge