00:00:00 --> 00:00:00 Good morning, everyone.
00:00:01 --> 00:00:04 My name's Steve from the ministry team here at St. Paul's.
00:00:04 --> 00:00:09 And I just want to add my welcome to Christmas here on this Christmas Day 2013.
00:00:10 --> 00:00:11 Who's excited?
00:00:17 --> 00:00:18 Maybe you were unprepared.
00:00:18 --> 00:00:19 Who's excited?
00:00:21 --> 00:00:25 Who's got presents that they were really hoping for today?
00:00:26 --> 00:00:28 There's not a lot of hands going up.
00:00:28 --> 00:00:33 Okay, so who got ties and socks and one of those dodgy sweaters and stuff like that?
00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 Any few of those floating around as well?
00:00:35 --> 00:00:36 No, not really?
00:00:36 --> 00:00:37 Who hasn't even opened a present yet?
00:00:38 --> 00:00:39 Oh, wow, there's a few of them.
00:00:39 --> 00:00:44 So you're pretty much happy for this to be a really short service, as Chris said.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:48 Okay, well, I'm unfortunately going to go on a little bit longer.
00:00:50 --> 00:00:54 Who would love to celebrate Christmas every day?
00:00:54 --> 00:00:59 As kids, I see.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:00 A few kids' hands up.
00:01:00 --> 00:01:02 I mean, seriously, anyone here really want to celebrate?
00:01:02 --> 00:01:04 Who's glad it comes once a year?
00:01:07 --> 00:01:10 There's a whole lot of people just unsure about even...
00:01:10 --> 00:01:12 Am I even in the right building?
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 I was on my way to someone's lunch.
00:01:16 --> 00:01:21 For me, I'm pretty glad it comes once a year.
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 And it's not just because I've got to do this sort of thing on a Christmas day.
00:01:24 --> 00:01:26 It's a delight to be able to do this.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:30 But, you know, after three services and less than five hours sleep,
00:01:30 --> 00:01:31 you kind of get a little bit weary.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 Kids waking you up all excited first thing in the morning.
00:01:36 --> 00:01:36 Merry Christmas!
00:01:36 --> 00:01:38 And it's like, oh, really?
00:01:39 --> 00:01:40 It's that hour?
00:01:42 --> 00:01:44 Presents aren't even under the...
00:01:44 --> 00:01:44 Go back to bed.
00:01:45 --> 00:01:46 You know, it's tomorrow.
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 Celebrating Christmas every day would be hard work.
00:01:52 --> 00:01:58 And yet Andy Park, he's an electrician who lives in England, does just that.
00:01:58 --> 00:02:00 His other name is Mr. Christmas.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:06 He claims to have celebrated Christmas every day since July 1993.
00:02:07 --> 00:02:13 That's, you know, 20 years of celebrating Christmas every day.
00:02:14 --> 00:02:19 In 2001, it was estimated that since he started celebrating every day,
00:02:19 --> 00:02:22 he had gotten through 30 artificial Christmas trees,
00:02:23 --> 00:02:24 10 kilometers of tinsel,
00:02:24 --> 00:02:30 and 10 balloons at an estimated cost of 100 pounds.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:34 That's commitment.
00:02:35 --> 00:02:42 Each day, he claims that he eats a turkey sandwich and mince pies for breakfast.
00:02:42 --> 00:02:48 He then goes off to work until he returns home for lunch to eat a full roast turkey dinner
00:02:48 --> 00:02:56 before watching a recording of the Queen's speech with a glass of sherry in his hand.
00:02:56 --> 00:03:00 In an interview which was published in 2006,
00:03:00 --> 00:03:05 Mr. Park was quoted as saying that in the previous 13 years,
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 he had consumed 4 turkeys,
00:03:09 --> 00:03:12 87 mince pies,
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 1 liters of gravy,
00:03:16 --> 00:03:20 26 roast potatoes,
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 30 stuffing balls,
00:03:25 --> 00:03:31 219, give or take a little here or there,
00:03:31 --> 00:03:32 of peas,
00:03:33 --> 00:03:36 4 bottles of champagne,
00:03:36 --> 00:03:39 4 bottles of sherry,
00:03:39 --> 00:03:42 and 5 bottles of wine.
00:03:42 --> 00:03:47 He's on the record as recently as Christmas Day last year,
00:03:47 --> 00:03:51 saying that he still celebrates Christmas every day.
00:03:53 --> 00:03:58 And so I'm working on the assumption that he's a few mince pies short of a Christmas lunch.
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 Mind you, there is a possible other explanation.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:10 There have been suggestions in the media that much of the information that he has shared is in fact false.
00:04:11 --> 00:04:14 It's a publicity stunt to gain some sort of fame,
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 which he's been obviously working on for 20 years.
00:04:18 --> 00:04:20 Especially, they reckon, it's a publicity stunt
00:04:20 --> 00:04:27 because in 2005, he released a Christmas single entitled,
00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 It's Christmas Every Day.
00:04:29 --> 00:04:36 Reviewers said it was as bad as one of those really bad Christmas sweaters.
00:04:37 --> 00:04:44 Local media have in fact given up sending photographers around his house day by day,
00:04:44 --> 00:04:48 unannounced, hoping to catch him in the middle of his celebration.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:50 He won't even let them in the door.
00:04:51 --> 00:04:53 So maybe it is all a hoax.
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 Now, although celebrating Christmas every day,
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 with turkeys and mince pies and tinsels and queen speeches and sherry,
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 and strikes me as slightly odd,
00:05:03 --> 00:05:05 or probably even a bit more than slightly odd,
00:05:07 --> 00:05:08 he actually has got a point,
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 although I think he's missed the point entirely.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 Christmas is worth celebrating daily,
00:05:14 --> 00:05:16 and I don't mean all the trappings of Christmas,
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 I don't mean all the tinsels and the presents and all that sort of stuff.
00:05:18 --> 00:05:23 I mean the meaning of Christmas is something that ought to be celebrated every day.
00:05:23 --> 00:05:27 The impact of Christmas, as we have even sung about this morning,
00:05:27 --> 00:05:32 is something that is more than just a once a year event to get excited about.
00:05:32 --> 00:05:37 I say that because of verse 15 of that Bible passage that Wendy read out to us,
00:05:37 --> 00:05:40 and hopefully we'll get it up on the screen real soon.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:41 It says this,
00:05:41 --> 00:05:43 Here is a trustworthy saying,
00:05:43 --> 00:05:45 and worthy of full acceptance,
00:05:46 --> 00:05:48 Christ Jesus came into the world.
00:05:48 --> 00:05:51 That's the Christmas event there.
00:05:51 --> 00:05:53 Christ Jesus came into the world,
00:05:54 --> 00:05:57 and the coming of the eternal Son into the world,
00:05:58 --> 00:05:59 Jesus Christ, is a fact of history.
00:06:01 --> 00:06:03 And that's what we're here to gather to remember today.
00:06:04 --> 00:06:05 It's a fact of history.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:06 Jesus came into the world.
00:06:06 --> 00:06:07 We're celebrating it now.
00:06:07 --> 00:06:08 We're remembering it.
00:06:08 --> 00:06:13 But the coming of the Son of God into the world is so much more than a fact of history,
00:06:13 --> 00:06:18 which is why it should not just be sort of pushed to one side and pulled out once a year.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:22 The historical event we're remembering is a message of hope.
00:06:22 --> 00:06:25 And when you keep reading the rest of verse 15, you see it.
00:06:25 --> 00:06:30 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:38 The message of Christmas for you from Jesus Christ this Christmas is hope.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:48 It's a message that says that whatever is failed, undesirable, wrong, sinful in your life can be changed.
00:06:49 --> 00:06:53 And what is precious, most precious, doesn't ever need to be lost.
00:06:53 --> 00:07:02 It's a message of hope sent by the God of this universe to confuse children into cynical teenagers,
00:07:03 --> 00:07:09 into single parents, into cranky husbands, and tired mums, and weird neighbours,
00:07:10 --> 00:07:18 and aged, and the lonely, and preachers, and lovers, and haters, and you, and me, and all of Chatswood, and the world.
00:07:18 --> 00:07:25 Since the Son of God lived and died and rose and reigns and is coming again,
00:07:25 --> 00:07:31 God's message through him is more than just mere historical fact.
00:07:32 --> 00:07:34 It is day by day impact.
00:07:34 --> 00:07:41 It's about lives and destinies being changed by a historical event that happened 2 years ago.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:47 And so what we are talking about here today is so much more than remembering history
00:07:47 --> 00:07:53 and a retelling of cute stories about babies and mangers.
00:07:55 --> 00:08:02 Now while there might be some question over the authenticity of Andy Park's daily celebration of Christmas,
00:08:03 --> 00:08:10 there is no mistake about the impact of Jesus coming into the world in the life of the Apostle Paul.
00:08:11 --> 00:08:14 Paul was one of the leaders of the Christian church in the first century,
00:08:14 --> 00:08:20 and his testimony of what Jesus did in his life is what was just read out to us.
00:08:20 --> 00:08:21 And it's up there on the screen.
00:08:21 --> 00:08:23 I'm going to kick us off in verse 12.
00:08:23 --> 00:08:23 It says,
00:08:23 --> 00:08:28 I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has given me strength that he considered me faithful,
00:08:29 --> 00:08:30 appointing me to his service.
00:08:31 --> 00:08:35 Even though I was once a blasphemer and persecutor and a violent man,
00:08:35 --> 00:08:39 I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief.
00:08:39 --> 00:08:43 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly,
00:08:43 --> 00:08:46 along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.
00:08:47 --> 00:08:55 And so Paul describes himself here as a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man before he met Jesus.
00:08:56 --> 00:09:02 This guy used to go around and hunt down Christians in an attempt to devastate the church.
00:09:02 --> 00:09:12 His biographer, a guy named Luke, described him as a religious predator who breathed out murderous threats against Christians.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:13 He was callous.
00:09:13 --> 00:09:14 He was pious.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:16 He was self-righteous.
00:09:16 --> 00:09:17 He was bigoted.
00:09:17 --> 00:09:18 He was a murderer.
00:09:18 --> 00:09:23 And he was hell-bent on full-scale extermination of the Christian church.
00:09:23 --> 00:09:30 He was one of the main enemies of Jesus and the early church in the first century.
00:09:31 --> 00:09:35 He lived day by day with God to his back.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:40 And yet that, in fact, was a surprise to him.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:44 He says he acted in ignorance and unbelief.
00:09:44 --> 00:09:52 He was totally oblivious to that fact that God was to his back in his day-by-day existence.
00:09:53 --> 00:09:58 The weird thing is that he was actually under the assumption that he and God were okay.
00:10:01 --> 00:10:07 He had a religious pedigree and a piety that set him apart from most people.
00:10:09 --> 00:10:12 He was zealous to do what was right and to obey God's law.
00:10:12 --> 00:10:19 When he persecuted Jesus and the people who followed Jesus, he thought he was actually doing God a favor.
00:10:21 --> 00:10:28 He was ignorant of the fact that when he stood opposed to Jesus, he stood opposed to the God of the universe.
00:10:29 --> 00:10:35 And all his religious zeal actually made him an enemy of God.
00:10:36 --> 00:10:38 And then something happened.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:41 Halfway down there through verse 15, it says,
00:10:41 --> 00:10:43 I was shown mercy.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 And then in verse 14, it says,
00:10:45 --> 00:10:48 The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:51 Another part of the New Testament talks about it.
00:10:52 --> 00:10:54 Paul was on his way to Damascus.
00:10:55 --> 00:10:57 He got some orders from the hierarchy to say,
00:10:57 --> 00:11:00 Go down to Damascus and devastate the church down there.
00:11:00 --> 00:11:05 So he's got his cronies with him heading on down to Damascus.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 And God met him on the way.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:14 God met him in his sinful, miserable, self-righteous ignorance.
00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 And God mercied him.
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 Paul calls the great power that brought change in his life,
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 The mercy and the grace of our Lord.
00:11:25 --> 00:11:26 Undeserved favor.
00:11:26 --> 00:11:30 God did not give Paul what he deserved or what was coming to him.
00:11:31 --> 00:11:33 He was shown mercy instead.
00:11:35 --> 00:11:43 That is Paul's first-hand account of the message of Christmas and the impact of Christmas,
00:11:44 --> 00:11:47 of Jesus coming into this world to save sinners.
00:11:47 --> 00:11:57 And so why does he tell us his first-hand account of the radical change that Jesus brought in his life?
00:11:58 --> 00:12:02 The answer to that question is given clearly to us in verse 16,
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 which says,
00:12:03 --> 00:12:05 For that very reason I was shown mercy,
00:12:05 --> 00:12:10 so that in me the worst of sinners Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience
00:12:10 --> 00:12:16 as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 What Paul's saying there is,
00:12:19 --> 00:12:23 Jesus changed me, the chief of sinners,
00:12:23 --> 00:12:26 and I'm telling you about it,
00:12:27 --> 00:12:30 so that today, this Christmas day,
00:12:30 --> 00:12:32 in Chatswood 2013,
00:12:33 --> 00:12:36 that you and I would be able to grasp the significance of Christmas.
00:12:36 --> 00:12:43 Jesus Christ picked the chief of sinners to demonstrate to us today,
00:12:44 --> 00:12:45 sitting in this building,
00:12:45 --> 00:12:48 what his mercy and power can do in your life.
00:12:50 --> 00:12:57 There is no sinner that the grace of God in Christ cannot overflow to and deal with.
00:12:58 --> 00:13:01 And so we ought not belittle the mercy of God just by saying,
00:13:02 --> 00:13:03 Well, I just can't change.
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04 This is just the way I am.
00:13:06 --> 00:13:10 What happened to Paul can happen to anyone.
00:13:11 --> 00:13:13 Notice it there in verse 15 again.
00:13:13 --> 00:13:16 Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance.
00:13:16 --> 00:13:20 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.
00:13:21 --> 00:13:26 Paul's personal reason to give thanks to God
00:13:26 --> 00:13:31 is now widened to praise for the universal significance of Christmas.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:37 Jesus came into the world for the world.
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 For everyone.
00:13:41 --> 00:13:44 The purpose of Jesus coming into this world to save sinners
00:13:44 --> 00:13:49 has been welcomed by 2 years of human beings
00:13:49 --> 00:13:53 who, conscious of their guilt before God,
00:13:53 --> 00:13:58 have gratefully accepted what the saving death of the Lord Jesus accomplished for them
00:13:58 --> 00:14:02 in bringing them back to their creator God.
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 The message in these verses for us now
00:14:06 --> 00:14:09 is that if God can show mercy,
00:14:09 --> 00:14:12 who in his ignorance put Christians to prison
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 and cast his vote against them so they'd be put to death,
00:14:15 --> 00:14:18 a master of religious thuggery,
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 he can forgive anyone.
00:14:20 --> 00:14:25 And so Paul calls to us across the centuries
00:14:25 --> 00:14:29 as we celebrate Christmas in 2013
00:14:29 --> 00:14:30 and he says,
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 don't despair you people sitting here at St. Paul's Jatswood.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 He saved me, the worst of sinners,
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 and he can save you.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 There is hope in Jesus.
00:14:42 --> 00:14:47 Did you notice how massive this hope is?
00:14:49 --> 00:14:51 The hope of Christmas is that
00:14:51 --> 00:14:53 because Jesus came into the world to save sinners,
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 what is most precious
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 doesn't ever have to be lost.
00:14:57 --> 00:14:59 Do you see there in verse 16 right at the end?
00:14:59 --> 00:14:59 I will show mercy
00:14:59 --> 00:15:01 so that in me, the worst of sinners,
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 Christ Jesus might display
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 his unlimited patience
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 as an example for those
00:15:06 --> 00:15:08 who would believe on him
00:15:08 --> 00:15:11 and receive eternal life.
00:15:11 --> 00:15:14 That is the hope of Christmas
00:15:14 --> 00:15:17 because life is good.
00:15:18 --> 00:15:20 Life is good and it is precious
00:15:20 --> 00:15:23 and you don't want to ever lose it.
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 We can talk all we like
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 about the good things in life,
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 but if you don't have life,
00:15:27 --> 00:15:28 you don't have the good things.
00:15:28 --> 00:15:33 How precious is our life
00:15:33 --> 00:15:35 and if you don't feel it right now,
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 wait till you are really sick.
00:15:39 --> 00:15:41 There are today those who,
00:15:41 --> 00:15:44 because of age or because of sickness,
00:15:44 --> 00:15:46 will inevitably be thinking
00:15:46 --> 00:15:48 or asking themselves the question,
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 is this my last Christmas?
00:15:50 --> 00:15:55 And the message of Christmas to you
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57 from verse 16
00:15:57 --> 00:16:00 is that you don't ever have to lose your life.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 It is good to live.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 Your life is precious
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 and Jesus came to save it.
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 Jesus came into this world
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 to save us
00:16:12 --> 00:16:15 and to change us forever.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:20 The hope of Christmas
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 is that Jesus came into this world
00:16:21 --> 00:16:24 to change our eternal status
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 and so that's one of the biggest motives
00:16:27 --> 00:16:29 to allow him to change us right now.
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 And that is why I think Christmas
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 should be celebrated every day.
00:16:33 --> 00:16:35 Not with the turkeys and mince pies,
00:16:36 --> 00:16:38 but truly celebrated each day
00:16:38 --> 00:16:41 as we look in gratitude to Jesus.
00:16:41 --> 00:16:46 What God did on the first Christmas
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 and what he did in forgiving
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 and changing Paul's life
00:16:48 --> 00:16:50 and what he does in forgiving
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 and changing people today
00:16:51 --> 00:16:54 is utterly free mercy.
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 It is a gift from God
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 that impacts everything in your life.
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 And so it's not surprising
00:17:03 --> 00:17:06 that at this point in the text,
00:17:07 --> 00:17:08 in recalling God's mercy
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10 and his grace to him,
00:17:10 --> 00:17:12 that Paul just breaks out
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 in thanksgiving and worship
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 in verse 17.
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 When he considers
00:17:16 --> 00:17:18 what God has done for him
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 in saving him through Jesus
00:17:20 --> 00:17:22 and giving him an eternal life,
00:17:22 --> 00:17:24 he can only speak of God
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 in the most stupendous of terms.
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 He could find no other words
00:17:28 --> 00:17:30 to express his thanksgiving to God
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 and his gratitude
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 except to say,
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 now to the King Eternal,
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 immortal, invisible,
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 the only God,
00:17:38 --> 00:17:40 be honour and glory
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 for ever and ever.
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 Amen.
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 Jesus Christ
00:17:44 --> 00:17:46 came into the world
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 to save sinners.
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50 That is God's gift to the world.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:53 It is his gift to you
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 this morning,
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 this Christmas,
00:17:55 --> 00:17:58 and it is worthy
00:17:58 --> 00:18:00 of full acceptance.
00:18:00 --> 00:18:00 acceptance.
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 Accept it
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 as we sang earlier
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 and live
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 forevermore
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 because of Christmas Day.
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 Fall on your knees
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 and worship
00:18:13 --> 00:18:15 the King Eternal,
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 immortal, invisible,
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 the only God
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 to whom be honour
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 and glory
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 for ever and ever.
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 Amen.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23 Amen.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23 Amen.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23 Amen.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23 Amen.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23 Amen.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23 Amen.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23 Amen.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23 Amen.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23 Amen.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23 Amen.
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 Amen.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:24 Amen.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:24 Amen.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:24 Amen.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:24 Amen.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 Amen.