00:00:00 --> 00:00:07 Sometimes good news can feel a bit like indifferent news or maybe irrelevant news.
00:00:07 --> 00:00:14 So when that friend of yours comes to you to let you know the good news that they have won the lottery,
00:00:15 --> 00:00:19 there's a part of you, the good part, that says, I'm really happy for you, and you mean it genuinely.
00:00:19 --> 00:00:25 But there's the more honest part of you that sits there and says, well, that's good news for you, but that's irrelevant for me.
00:00:26 --> 00:00:28 You know, it's external news, maybe.
00:00:28 --> 00:00:32 Good news would be, hey, you've won the lottery and you're going to give me half.
00:00:32 --> 00:00:36 Or good news would be, you've won the lottery and I have as well.
00:00:36 --> 00:00:38 You know, it was a syndicate ticket or something like that.
00:00:39 --> 00:00:45 Good news can sometimes feel like irrelevant news if it feels like news that has nothing to do with you.
00:00:46 --> 00:00:54 Doesn't matter how good it is, if it doesn't connect to you, it falls into that category of kind of irrelevant, kind of unimportant,
00:00:54 --> 00:00:57 and you kind of feel a bit ambivalent towards the whole thing.
00:00:58 --> 00:01:04 Now, is it possible that that's where Christmas sits for some of us?
00:01:05 --> 00:01:08 Now, you've been through plenty of Christmases.
00:01:08 --> 00:01:09 We pull them out every year.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:10 It happens.
00:01:10 --> 00:01:11 It's unavoidable.
00:01:12 --> 00:01:13 There's bits of it that you know are good.
00:01:14 --> 00:01:17 You know, there's family time, which might be good or bad.
00:01:17 --> 00:01:18 There's overeating.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:19 There's all the fantastic things.
00:01:19 --> 00:01:23 Even the Christian part of Christmas, it's a good story.
00:01:23 --> 00:01:26 I mean, we've been doing dramas about this year after year.
00:01:26 --> 00:01:27 We never get tired of it.
00:01:27 --> 00:01:28 We wheel it out.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:32 We invent extra animals to be part of the nativity because it is such a good story.
00:01:32 --> 00:01:37 It's good, but it kind of feels like this separate story.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:45 It kind of feels like it's a story over there, maybe a story for the world, but it's not a story for me.
00:01:45 --> 00:01:49 It's not good news for me specifically or personally.
00:01:50 --> 00:01:51 I mean, this story has everything.
00:01:52 --> 00:01:53 It's got scandal pregnancy.
00:01:54 --> 00:01:55 It's got refugees.
00:01:56 --> 00:01:57 It's got angel messengers.
00:01:58 --> 00:01:59 It's got a virgin birth.
00:01:59 --> 00:02:03 It's even got attempted genocide in there when Herod tries to kill all the babies.
00:02:03 --> 00:02:11 But for such a great story, it still feels like kind of someone else's news.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:13 It feels like a story.
00:02:15 --> 00:02:19 It doesn't feel like something that makes a difference to me.
00:02:19 --> 00:02:30 Even the miracle of Christmas, that God became human, feels like it's a story.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:38 But we need to ask the question as we come to Christmas, as we hear a story that we've heard a thousand times,
00:02:38 --> 00:02:40 as we sing carols that we've sung over and over,
00:02:41 --> 00:02:46 as we remind ourselves of this incredible narrative of these incredible miracles,
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 we need to ask the question, why Christmas?
00:02:51 --> 00:02:52 Why did God do this?
00:02:53 --> 00:02:58 Because then we're maybe just a small chance of recognizing that this is not irrelevant for anyone.
00:02:58 --> 00:03:01 This is not indifferent for anyone.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:06 As Steve has already encouraged us, you can't respond to the Christmas story with apathy or disinterest.
00:03:06 --> 00:03:12 It's either the best news in the world or the scariest, most condemning thing that's going to make you respond in anger.
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 We need to ask the question, why?
00:03:15 --> 00:03:23 Why would an infinite God, who is all-powerful, who existed before the creation of the world,
00:03:23 --> 00:03:29 who has no beginning and no end, who created everything that we see, feel, hear, taste, touch,
00:03:29 --> 00:03:35 why would that God choose to become a baby?
00:03:38 --> 00:03:39 For a good story?
00:03:39 --> 00:03:47 The answer that Hebrews 2 is for you.
00:03:50 --> 00:03:54 Not for generally people, for you.
00:03:55 --> 00:04:02 The whole Christmas story, the miracle of God becoming a baby, becoming flesh, is for you.
00:04:02 --> 00:04:08 I just want to focus on one verse from that Hebrews 2 passage that was read out, verse 17.
00:04:08 --> 00:04:10 And I'll get Laura to throw it on the screen again.
00:04:11 --> 00:04:15 For this reason, this is the explanation, this is the answer.
00:04:15 --> 00:04:21 For this reason, he had to be made like them, fully human in every way,
00:04:22 --> 00:04:27 in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God,
00:04:27 --> 00:04:31 and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.
00:04:32 --> 00:04:34 The context of Christmas helps us answer this question.
00:04:35 --> 00:04:41 The context for Christmas, the context for Jesus, the context for God becoming flesh,
00:04:41 --> 00:04:45 is separation, is gap, is distance.
00:04:45 --> 00:04:51 The reality of God and creation is that from the beginning, it's been a progressive separation
00:04:51 --> 00:04:55 and not an accidental and intentional, willful rejection of God.
00:04:55 --> 00:05:03 So those that were created have consciously and actively and increasingly made the decision
00:05:03 --> 00:05:08 to reject God, to ignore him, to pretend like he doesn't matter.
00:05:08 --> 00:05:12 That's the context of the world into which the baby Jesus is born.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 But it's not just a world context, it's a you context.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:20 So as you come to Christmas this year, and as you come to Christmas every year,
00:05:20 --> 00:05:24 you've got to come understanding that the context into which you hear this message
00:05:24 --> 00:05:31 that God became a human is a context of you in separation from God,
00:05:32 --> 00:05:34 of you distanced from God.
00:05:34 --> 00:05:40 You cut off from God, cut off from his goodness, cut off from his grace, cut off from his love.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:43 God is holy and powerful, you are not.
00:05:43 --> 00:05:46 God is pure and just and good, you are not.
00:05:46 --> 00:05:51 There is a gap, a chasm that cannot be crossed.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:53 That's the context for Christmas.
00:05:54 --> 00:05:58 A God who is good, a God whose blessing and love is desirable,
00:06:00 --> 00:06:07 and then you, who doesn't deserve it, who can't attain it, who can't get it,
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 no matter how much you want it.
00:06:09 --> 00:06:16 The context for Christmas is gap, is distance, is separation.
00:06:17 --> 00:06:22 And into that gap, God expresses his heart.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:29 God expresses his desire to have relationship with people like you and me who do not deserve it.
00:06:29 --> 00:06:36 Christmas is God saying, I love you in spite of the fact that you don't deserve it.
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 In spite of the fact that the gap is your fault.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:43 You're the one who distanced yourself from God.
00:06:44 --> 00:06:45 You're the one who rejected him.
00:06:46 --> 00:06:51 But Christmas in that manger is God saying, I love you enough to cross that divide.
00:06:51 --> 00:06:57 And he crosses it by sending Jesus to connect us to him.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:02 To be a merciful and faithful high priest.
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 Now I want to stop on that word for a sec,
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 because priest is a word that might have some baggage in it for us.
00:07:08 --> 00:07:11 When we think priest, I don't know what your picture is.
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 It might involve fancy outfits.
00:07:14 --> 00:07:18 It might involve some sort of primitive tribal thing
00:07:18 --> 00:07:25 where the priest is somehow elevated and removed from the riffraff like the rest of us.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:30 We have this potentially distorted idea of what a priest does and how a priest functions.
00:07:31 --> 00:07:36 But really, what a priest is, is a mediator, a go-between.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:42 A priest's job is to bring two parties that are separated by something together.
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 That's how a priest functions.
00:07:45 --> 00:07:50 Priests identify with both parties so that the two parties can come together.
00:07:50 --> 00:07:52 That's all a priest is.
00:07:52 --> 00:07:54 We don't need to worry about any of the other things.
00:07:54 --> 00:07:57 And so here in this verse, Jesus is human.
00:07:59 --> 00:08:00 He's like us.
00:08:00 --> 00:08:06 In order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:13 So he's the one that steps into the gap and takes a pure, holy, majestic, powerful, just, pure God
00:08:13 --> 00:08:24 and can connect him to an impure, powerless, disobedient, sinful person like me and like you.
00:08:25 --> 00:08:28 See, priests identify with those they represent.
00:08:28 --> 00:08:34 And this priest, Jesus, identifies with the Father who sends him.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:40 He comes as the one who can offer mercy.
00:08:40 --> 00:08:46 And to do that, to be someone who can offer mercy, he has to be the one who's been wronged.
00:08:47 --> 00:08:48 He has to be God.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:50 God's the one who's been wronged.
00:08:50 --> 00:08:51 God's the one who's been ignored.
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 God's the one who's been rejected.
00:08:53 --> 00:08:58 And so for a priest to be able to offer mercy, he has to be the one who's been wronged.
00:08:58 --> 00:09:05 So if I was to punch Nick in the face right now and Steve said, you're forgiven, that's very nice.
00:09:06 --> 00:09:08 But Steve's not actually in the position to offer mercy.
00:09:10 --> 00:09:14 The one who's been injured, attacked, wronged is the only one who can offer mercy.
00:09:15 --> 00:09:19 The issue in our separation between us and God is that we have rejected God.
00:09:19 --> 00:09:21 And so only God can offer mercy.
00:09:21 --> 00:09:25 This has been the problem with most problem priests throughout human history.
00:09:26 --> 00:09:29 Is they can represent us because they're like us.
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 But they can't stand in the position of God and offer mercy.
00:09:33 --> 00:09:34 Because they're not God.
00:09:34 --> 00:09:36 They haven't been wronged.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:39 They can't adequately represent him.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:45 And even if they were to say that they could, how would you have confidence that their words of forgiveness,
00:09:46 --> 00:09:49 their communication that you had been given mercy was legitimate?
00:09:49 --> 00:09:55 How would you have any confidence based on the words of somebody just like you,
00:09:56 --> 00:09:57 imperfect,
00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 to then go and face up to a perfect God?
00:10:04 --> 00:10:08 Jesus had to be God to be able to be the priest that could offer mercy.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:11 And mercy was what was required because the gap issue
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 was a judgment issue.
00:10:14 --> 00:10:19 The context of Christmas is a judgment context.
00:10:20 --> 00:10:24 The reason Jesus had to be not only a priest who was merciful and faithful,
00:10:24 --> 00:10:28 but also the one that would make atonement for sins or make payment for sins,
00:10:28 --> 00:10:30 is because sin is the problem.
00:10:32 --> 00:10:34 Sin is the thing that had to be dealt with.
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 Sin is the reason there's a gap.
00:10:36 --> 00:10:42 Now, when we think about sin, we might instantly think about the obvious sins.
00:10:42 --> 00:10:48 We go straight away to drugs and sex and power and all those sorts of things.
00:10:48 --> 00:10:56 But really, what the Bible says sin is, in Romans 1, is a failure to glorify God.
00:10:57 --> 00:10:59 It's a failure to love him the way he deserves.
00:10:59 --> 00:11:03 It's a failure to recognize that he is God, we are not.
00:11:03 --> 00:11:05 A failure to recognize that he is creator.
00:11:05 --> 00:11:08 He has the right to be in charge, to be in control.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:14 A failure to give him the authority and honor that he deserves.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:20 And in its place, to give ourselves authority that is not ours.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:27 The result of rejecting one in authority is judgment.
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 That's what happens.
00:11:31 --> 00:11:34 If you ignore the police out of some weird warped sense of entitlement
00:11:34 --> 00:11:36 that somehow you should be in charge and they should not,
00:11:37 --> 00:11:40 the result will be judgment, will be consequence.
00:11:40 --> 00:11:43 When you reject one in rightful authority, the result is judgment.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:50 And the judgment that we experience for our rejection of God is distance.
00:11:52 --> 00:11:55 It's the inability to even come to him anymore.
00:11:57 --> 00:12:02 Which is why there are things wrong with our world.
00:12:04 --> 00:12:07 This week, as you no doubt read the papers,
00:12:08 --> 00:12:12 as we see people being murdered just for living in a city that some other people want,
00:12:14 --> 00:12:17 the reason for that kind of suffering and injustice
00:12:17 --> 00:12:22 is because we have rejected the one who is rightfully in authority.
00:12:22 --> 00:12:26 And the judgment we've received is he said,
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 okay, see how you go.
00:12:28 --> 00:12:30 See what happens when you're in charge.
00:12:34 --> 00:12:37 And even as we begin to realize that it's not working,
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 things should be different,
00:12:41 --> 00:12:44 the gap continues to be a gap that we cannot cross ourselves.
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 Judgment is the distance.
00:12:47 --> 00:12:47 Christmas.
00:12:49 --> 00:12:51 And so Christmas is Jesus coming
00:12:51 --> 00:12:53 to be our substitute,
00:12:54 --> 00:12:57 to make the payment that needs to be made for our sin,
00:12:58 --> 00:13:01 to close the gap between us and God.
00:13:01 --> 00:13:02 Christmas
00:13:02 --> 00:13:05 is God taking a step towards you,
00:13:05 --> 00:13:08 even as you've been backpedaling through your life.
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 Christmas
00:13:10 --> 00:13:12 is God saying,
00:13:12 --> 00:13:13 I love you,
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 while we're still saying,
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 stay away.
00:13:16 --> 00:13:20 Christmas
00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 is you in your most disobedient moment,
00:13:24 --> 00:13:27 receiving affection
00:13:27 --> 00:13:29 from a loving Heavenly Father.
00:13:31 --> 00:13:33 Christmas is God's first move
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 in bringing wayward children back to himself.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:38 The baby in the manger is God's step,
00:13:38 --> 00:13:40 not just towards the world,
00:13:41 --> 00:13:41 towards you.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 You've got to catch this.
00:13:46 --> 00:13:48 If Christmas has just become that thing
00:13:48 --> 00:13:50 that we celebrate every year,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 you've got to listen again.
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 The why of Christmas,
00:13:53 --> 00:13:54 the why of every miracle
00:13:54 --> 00:13:55 that we will celebrate
00:13:55 --> 00:13:56 in the next week and a bit,
00:13:57 --> 00:13:58 is you.
00:14:00 --> 00:14:01 Is God saying,
00:14:02 --> 00:14:02 I love you,
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 even though you don't deserve it.
00:14:04 --> 00:14:05 Jesus is the priest
00:14:05 --> 00:14:08 who can give us access to God
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 because he comes from God,
00:14:09 --> 00:14:11 he speaks on God's behalf,
00:14:11 --> 00:14:14 he's God's chosen representative and priest.
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 He's the one who can offer mercy.
00:14:16 --> 00:14:18 But there's two halves to it.
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 He can represent God,
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 but more than that,
00:14:23 --> 00:14:25 because he becomes a baby,
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 because he becomes a human,
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 he can represent us too.
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 If he was just from God,
00:14:33 --> 00:14:34 that would be fantastic.
00:14:34 --> 00:14:35 It would be amazing
00:14:35 --> 00:14:36 that God would choose
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 to express his love like that.
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 But a priest needs to be able
00:14:39 --> 00:14:41 to represent both parties.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 Needs to be able
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 to draw them together.
00:14:45 --> 00:14:48 That's why he had to be made like us
00:14:48 --> 00:14:49 in every way.
00:14:50 --> 00:14:51 Not human-like,
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 not human-ish.
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 Human.
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 Helpless.
00:14:58 --> 00:14:58 Hungry.
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 Tired.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:01 Tempted.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:04 As God's representative,
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 he takes the first step towards us,
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 towards bringing us back
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 into a relationship with God.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:13 And as a human representative,
00:15:13 --> 00:15:15 as your representative,
00:15:16 --> 00:15:19 he brings you the rest of the way.
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 He represents you in his life,
00:15:25 --> 00:15:27 perfectly obedient to his heavenly father,
00:15:28 --> 00:15:30 and he represents you in his death.
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 Where he makes payment for your sin,
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 for my sin.
00:15:37 --> 00:15:37 Christmas,
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 God becoming a human,
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 is why Easter works.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:47 The payment required for human sin
00:15:47 --> 00:15:48 is human death.
00:15:49 --> 00:15:51 The substitute necessary
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 is like for like.
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 You on the chopping block,
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 him on the chopping block.
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59 For Easter to be hopeful,
00:15:59 --> 00:16:01 you need Jesus to come as a human
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 in the manger
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05 on that very first Christmas night.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:08 Only one who is like us
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 could represent us.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:11 Only one who is like us
00:16:11 --> 00:16:12 can take our place
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 and pay the price
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 for sin and death.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 It is true that hope
00:16:16 --> 00:16:18 is born at Christmas.
00:16:19 --> 00:16:21 Hope for more than your existence
00:16:21 --> 00:16:21 right now.
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 Hope for a world
00:16:23 --> 00:16:25 where there is no more Aleppo.
00:16:25 --> 00:16:28 No more war.
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 No more suffering.
00:16:29 --> 00:16:30 No more injustice.
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 Hope is born on that night
00:16:31 --> 00:16:33 because finally the means
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 of fixing those things
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 can be brought near
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 through Jesus.
00:16:37 --> 00:16:39 Hope for your own life
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 where there is not
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 suffering,
00:16:42 --> 00:16:42 where there is not
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 discontent,
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 where there is not depression,
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45 where there is not loneliness,
00:16:45 --> 00:16:47 where there is not unemployment.
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 That is only possible
00:16:49 --> 00:16:51 in the power of a God
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 who can deal with all the things
00:16:53 --> 00:16:55 that cause that in our life.
00:16:55 --> 00:16:57 With a God who can give us
00:16:57 --> 00:16:57 the certainty
00:16:57 --> 00:16:59 of his unconditional love,
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 his goodness
00:17:00 --> 00:17:01 and his provision.
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 Hope for you
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 is born at Christmas.
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 Hope for the world
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 is born at Christmas.
00:17:11 --> 00:17:14 If Christmas is indifferent news,
00:17:15 --> 00:17:18 you haven't understood it.
00:17:18 --> 00:17:22 I remember,
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 I've shared with those of you
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 who have been around here
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 a few times
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 that I'm on a journey
00:17:26 --> 00:17:28 from Grinch
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 to Christmas enthusiast.
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 And some parts of Christmas,
00:17:32 --> 00:17:32 not all parts of Christmas,
00:17:33 --> 00:17:33 some parts are still
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 a little bit annoying to me,
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 but one of the things
00:17:36 --> 00:17:38 that used to really anger me
00:17:38 --> 00:17:38 at Christmas
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 was walking through the shops
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 and when I say Christmas,
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 I mean like late July
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 when they start playing
00:17:43 --> 00:17:43 Christmas carols.
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 And I'd be wandering
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 through the shops
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 and I'd hear a song
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50 like the one we just sung,
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 O Holy Night.
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 And there was a part of me
00:17:53 --> 00:17:53 that went,
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 oh man,
00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 what an incredible truth
00:17:56 --> 00:17:59 that Christ is born,
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 that heaven is offered,
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 that forgiveness is available,
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 that God shows mercy
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 to people like us.
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 And then I'd look at
00:18:06 --> 00:18:08 all these people around me,
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 either oblivious
00:18:10 --> 00:18:11 to the fact the song's playing
00:18:11 --> 00:18:14 or tapping their feet
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 or humming along,
00:18:15 --> 00:18:17 oblivious to what the song
00:18:17 --> 00:18:17 is saying,
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 completely indifferent
00:18:20 --> 00:18:22 to the reality
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 that is being proclaimed.
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 See, Christmas is hopeful
00:18:25 --> 00:18:28 and or offensive.
00:18:30 --> 00:18:32 See, the necessary context
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 for us to understand Christmas
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 is the offensive message
00:18:34 --> 00:18:37 that you are cut off from God.
00:18:37 --> 00:18:39 That's what we celebrate,
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 that there is grace
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 and hope in Jesus
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 because we know
00:18:42 --> 00:18:44 we need grace and hope
00:18:44 --> 00:18:47 because we know
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 we don't deserve it.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 And so,
00:18:52 --> 00:18:54 I used to get agitated
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 because I would look
00:18:55 --> 00:18:55 at these people
00:18:55 --> 00:18:57 who are oblivious
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 to the fact
00:18:58 --> 00:19:00 that they are
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 right now
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 sitting under
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 the judgment of God,
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 right now deserving
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 of the judgment of God,
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 just like I am.
00:19:08 --> 00:19:11 But they are oblivious
00:19:11 --> 00:19:11 to that fact.
00:19:13 --> 00:19:13 And so,
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 the message
00:19:14 --> 00:19:14 that the God
00:19:14 --> 00:19:16 who has rightful authority
00:19:16 --> 00:19:16 over them,
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 rightful punishment
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 for them,
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 the message
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 that that God
00:19:22 --> 00:19:22 has chosen
00:19:22 --> 00:19:24 to love them anyway
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 means nothing
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 to them.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 And it used to make me
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 so angry
00:19:29 --> 00:19:31 that you watch
00:19:31 --> 00:19:33 carols in the domain
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 and people
00:19:34 --> 00:19:34 who,
00:19:35 --> 00:19:35 you know,
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 have no idea
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 who Jesus is
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 or what he does
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 just,
00:19:39 --> 00:19:39 you know,
00:19:39 --> 00:19:41 smile and happily
00:19:41 --> 00:19:41 sing along
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 about the saviour
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 of the world.
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 He's saving us
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 from judgment.
00:19:47 --> 00:19:47 I feel like I want
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 to write a carol
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 about judgment
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 so that people
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 can catch it
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 just for a second.
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 If Christmas
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 is indifferent
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 to you,
00:19:59 --> 00:19:59 if it's just
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 another thing
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 that comes around
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 annually in the year,
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 I don't think
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 you've got it.
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 You know the story,
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 you know the details,
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 but I don't think
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 you get the why.
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 I don't think
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 you understand
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 the heart of God
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 on display.
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 Christmas is God
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 bridging a gap
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 that you made.
00:20:22 --> 00:20:22 Christmas is God
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 stepping towards you
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 even though
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 you don't deserve it.
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 The real miracle
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 of Christmas
00:20:27 --> 00:20:27 is not so much
00:20:27 --> 00:20:28 what happened,
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 it's a miracle,
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 but the real miracle
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32 is why it happened.
00:20:35 --> 00:20:36 The miracle
00:20:36 --> 00:20:36 of Christmas
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 is that God
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 is making a way
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 for you to be
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 friends with him.
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 God choosing
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 to show mercy
00:20:44 --> 00:20:46 to a world
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 that's rejected him.
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 In the manger
00:20:51 --> 00:20:54 is an invitation
00:20:54 --> 00:20:56 for anyone
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 who will respond
00:20:57 --> 00:20:59 to find mercy,
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 forgiveness,
00:21:03 --> 00:21:03 hope,
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 and peace
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07 in a relationship
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 with the God
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 who rules all things.
00:21:11 --> 00:21:13 Christmas is truly
00:21:13 --> 00:21:15 the day that hope
00:21:15 --> 00:21:17 is
00:21:17 --> 00:21:19 and can be
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 born for you.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 If you're
00:21:24 --> 00:21:25 somebody
00:21:25 --> 00:21:25 who's been
00:21:25 --> 00:21:26 following Jesus
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26 for a while,
00:21:28 --> 00:21:28 I want to
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 encourage you
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 this Christmas
00:21:30 --> 00:21:31 to focus
00:21:31 --> 00:21:31 on the why.
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 Focus on
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 what Christmas
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35 tells you
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 about how God
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 feels towards you.
00:21:40 --> 00:21:40 Enjoy the
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 nativity,
00:21:42 --> 00:21:44 celebrate the
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 miracle of
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 the virgin birth,
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 the star in the sky,
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 the wise men.
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 It is all
00:21:49 --> 00:21:49 miraculous,
00:21:51 --> 00:21:51 but focus
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 on the miracle
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 that God
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 shows you
00:21:54 --> 00:21:54 mercy
00:21:54 --> 00:21:56 when you don't
00:21:56 --> 00:21:56 deserve it.
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 That God
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 pays his cost
00:21:59 --> 00:22:01 so that you
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 might know
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 what it is
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 to be loved.
00:22:04 --> 00:22:04 And if you're
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 not a Christian,
00:22:07 --> 00:22:07 maybe you're
00:22:07 --> 00:22:09 a guest here
00:22:09 --> 00:22:09 today because
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 it's Christmas
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 and church
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 seems like
00:22:12 --> 00:22:12 the right place
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 to go at Christmas,
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 I want to
00:22:15 --> 00:22:15 encourage you
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 to look at
00:22:16 --> 00:22:16 the story
00:22:16 --> 00:22:18 again and
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 understand that
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 it's more
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 than a story.
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 It's God
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 speaking to
00:22:23 --> 00:22:23 you.
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 It's God
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 doing something
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 for you.
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 It's
00:22:30 --> 00:22:30 ultimately
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 God's
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 invitation
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 to you.
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 In Jesus
00:22:36 --> 00:22:38 is the
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 offer of
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 mercy,
00:22:40 --> 00:22:40 forgiveness,
00:22:41 --> 00:22:41 hope,
00:22:42 --> 00:22:42 and peace
00:22:42 --> 00:22:45 to anyone
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 who would
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 respond.
00:22:47 --> 00:22:47 Thank you.
00:22:47 --> 00:22:47 Thank you.