Mensa Otabil - A Place of Safety

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I hope you had a good Christmas celebration yesterday with your friends and loved ones. I hope that the joy of Christ will be with you for the rest of your life, throughout this year, and into the coming year. So, we conclude our Christmas story with Matthew chapter 2, verse 13.

Now when they had departed, behold an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, «Arise, take the young child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.»

After the joy of Christmas, of meeting Jesus Christ, of receiving the gifts from the wise men, danger looms. Life takes a different turn, and so a new message comes to Joseph. The prophets had indicated that Christ would be born in Bethlehem of Judea; they had also indicated that Christ would be from Nazareth. By this time, Jesus is still in Bethlehem; he has been born two years later, and his parents are still there. They probably have no intention of leaving Bethlehem and going back to Nazareth, where they had come from. The news comes that Herod wants to destroy the baby, and God wants Joseph to take the baby from Bethlehem and clearly directs that the baby should be sent to Egypt.

This is a very significant development because it parallels many things. It parallels Moses, who also had to deliver Israel from Egypt. And now Christ has to go to Egypt and come out of Egypt. That’s an important parallel, but it also shows the role of Africa in the plan of God for bringing the Messiah to the world and keeping the Messiah safe. Isn’t it amazing that Africa, which is now considered a very unstable and unsafe place, was the safest place for God to take His son? Out of Africa, the Son of God came.

All right, so three things I want you to think about. First is that God warns His children of danger ahead. When there is danger, God alerts us. For Joseph, it was an angel’s visitation; an angel spoke to him. For us, it may not be an angel, but as you pray, you may sense something in your heart, or you may have a dream or a vision, or you may just hear something that warns you of impending danger. God still speaks to His children, and when there is danger ahead, He will alert you. Be mindful of God’s warnings so you don’t overlook His prompting when danger is coming. God warns His children of danger ahead, and may He always prompt you when something is about to happen that you need to avoid.

The second thing is that God has a safe place for His children, a place of safety. He says there is danger here, but there is safety in another place, and that place was in Egypt, where this family could go and find safety. Herod could not reach them because he couldn’t go to Egypt to get them due to various political limitations of the Roman government.

So Egypt was a safe place; Africa was a safe place. There is always a place of safety that God has for you. God doesn’t always stop people’s plans against us, but He points us to the way out so that the plans of the people do not affect us. There is a place of safety for you, and especially in the coming year, may the Lord keep you in His place of safety and may He protect you throughout the coming year.

The third thing is that God has a time of restoration for His children. The angel of the Lord said to Joseph that there will come a time when he will receive another word to return because those who seek the child’s life are dead. Very similar to Moses, and God will bring him back to Nazareth, where his life will truly begin. There is always a time when God restores to you what has been taken away from you. May you receive full restoration from the Lord in the name of Jesus Christ.

Let us pray. Say with me: Heavenly Father, You are my protector. Keep me safe from every plan and attack of the evil one. In Jesus' name, Amen and Amen.

Well, we’ll catch you again next week as we start preparing for the new year. From tomorrow, I’m Pastor Mensa Otabil. Shalom, peace, and life to you.