It's just a great story
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 22nd December 2022
Passage: John 1:1-14
00:00:00 --> 00:00:04 Evening everyone, my name's Steve, I'm the city pastor here if I've not met you before.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:10 I'm going to pray and then we're going to launch in to the next part of our Christmas story.
00:00:11 --> 00:00:19 Gracious God, we thank you for your word as we have just been reminded as we celebrate Christmas of you coming into our world.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:26 I pray that you'd come now by your spirit into our hearts so that we would understand with clarity,
00:00:26 --> 00:00:32 build us up in hope, but also bring clarity to who you are, the world in which we live,
00:00:33 --> 00:00:35 and what you've done to come and save it.
00:00:35 --> 00:00:37 And we pray for your glory. Amen.
00:00:38 --> 00:00:48 1961, a long time ago, the Russian Yuri Gagarin was the first person into space.
00:00:49 --> 00:00:55 Nikita Khrushchev was the premier of Russia at the time.
00:00:55 --> 00:01:04 And Khrushchev said that when Gagarin went into space, he discovered that God was not there.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:11 You know, like he toured the world real quick, had a look out the window, couldn't see God,
00:01:11 --> 00:01:14 and so came to the conclusion that therefore God does not exist.
00:01:14 --> 00:01:27 In response to that comment by Khrushchev at the time, the Oxford professor C.S. Lewis wrote an article called The Seeing Eye.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:35 Lewis writes in that article that if there is a God who creates us,
00:01:35 --> 00:01:57 God would not relate to human beings or to his creation in the way that a person on the first floor of an apartment block
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 relates to the person on the second floor of an apartment block.
00:02:00 --> 00:02:05 Both are the same beings, they're just at a different level.
00:02:07 --> 00:02:14 Lewis wrote in this article that God would relate to humanity as the creator,
00:02:16 --> 00:02:23 and we the creatures, he would relate to humanity the way that Shakespeare relates to Hamlet.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:32 Shakespeare is the creator of Hamlet and the world that Hamlet exists in.
00:02:33 --> 00:02:38 Hamlet would have no way of knowing Shakespeare existed,
00:02:39 --> 00:02:41 no way of knowing his creator,
00:02:43 --> 00:02:48 unless Shakespeare chose to reveal himself to Hamlet.
00:02:48 --> 00:02:58 And to do that, Shakespeare would need to write himself into Hamlet, the play.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:06 Lewis's point in the article is that the only way we can know God
00:03:06 --> 00:03:12 is if God himself writes himself into his creation,
00:03:14 --> 00:03:16 into the story of history,
00:03:16 --> 00:03:21 so that the other characters within the story of history
00:03:21 --> 00:03:24 would know their creator.
00:03:26 --> 00:03:27 Now the claim of Christmas,
00:03:28 --> 00:03:30 the claim of Christianity,
00:03:30 --> 00:03:33 is that that is exactly what God has done.
00:03:35 --> 00:03:36 God did not just write
00:03:36 --> 00:03:39 about himself,
00:03:39 --> 00:03:46 but that he wrote himself into the drama of history.
00:03:48 --> 00:03:48 And so,
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 is that just too unbelievable?
00:03:53 --> 00:03:55 Is it just too unbelievable?
00:03:56 --> 00:03:58 That's the question I've been looking at in the last few weeks.
00:04:00 --> 00:04:02 And as we've looked at the believability of Christmas,
00:04:02 --> 00:04:07 James has suggested that the story of Christmas
00:04:07 --> 00:04:11 isn't just a good story in our minds,
00:04:11 --> 00:04:15 something that brings us a sense of joy at Christmas time,
00:04:15 --> 00:04:16 once a year,
00:04:17 --> 00:04:19 but it's in fact a true story.
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 It's a historical story.
00:04:24 --> 00:04:28 He's looked at the evidence for Jesus being a real person in history,
00:04:28 --> 00:04:33 the evidence that the New Testament accounts of his life
00:04:33 --> 00:04:35 are not made up.
00:04:38 --> 00:04:42 And that the miracles that are described in the New Testament
00:04:42 --> 00:04:47 haven't yet been disproven by science.
00:04:49 --> 00:04:52 Which leaves us with the,
00:04:53 --> 00:04:55 so what question at the end of it all?
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 What does this all mean for us?
00:04:57 --> 00:05:00 And the main point that I want to make tonight
00:05:00 --> 00:05:04 is that if it's not true,
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 if Christianity and Christmas is not true,
00:05:09 --> 00:05:11 you don't just lose the wonder of Christmas.
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 You don't just gut Christmas of all its meaning,
00:05:16 --> 00:05:18 but in actual fact,
00:05:18 --> 00:05:19 you lose everything.
00:05:20 --> 00:05:21 Not just Christmas,
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 you lose everything.
00:05:27 --> 00:05:28 We lose life.
00:05:29 --> 00:05:30 We lose meaning.
00:05:31 --> 00:05:32 We lose good and evil.
00:05:34 --> 00:05:36 We lose you and me.
00:05:38 --> 00:05:40 So, three points if you've got the St. Paul's app.
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 No news story, good news story, and which story?
00:05:44 --> 00:05:46 So, no news story.
00:05:46 --> 00:05:49 In his global bestseller,
00:05:50 --> 00:05:53 Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind,
00:05:53 --> 00:05:58 Israeli historian Yuval Noah Harari
00:05:58 --> 00:06:02 tells the story of humanity from the beginning.
00:06:03 --> 00:06:07 Harari rejects the claims of Christianity himself personally,
00:06:07 --> 00:06:15 but what he does do is he recognises the significant influence of Christianity
00:06:15 --> 00:06:17 on the history of humanity.
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 And he actually argues in his book
00:06:21 --> 00:06:24 that our deepest moral beliefs,
00:06:24 --> 00:06:28 our sense of good and evil that we have,
00:06:28 --> 00:06:33 are not in actual fact self-evident truths,
00:06:34 --> 00:06:38 which are things that our culture argues today.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:38 Racism.
00:06:38 --> 00:06:41 Well, it's just self-evidently true that racism is bad.
00:06:42 --> 00:06:43 What he argues, Harari argues,
00:06:43 --> 00:06:45 is not actually self-evident truth at all.
00:06:46 --> 00:06:49 They are, in fact, biblical beliefs.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:51 This is how he puts it.
00:06:51 --> 00:06:53 The idea of equality, for instance,
00:06:53 --> 00:06:55 as one self-evident truth,
00:06:55 --> 00:07:00 is inextricably intertwined with the idea of creation.
00:07:01 --> 00:07:06 If you do not believe in the Christian myths about God,
00:07:06 --> 00:07:08 creation and souls,
00:07:09 --> 00:07:13 what does it mean that all people are equal?
00:07:16 --> 00:07:18 Most people in our society
00:07:18 --> 00:07:22 have a sense that human rights are good,
00:07:23 --> 00:07:25 that racism is wrong,
00:07:26 --> 00:07:29 that women and men are equal,
00:07:29 --> 00:07:31 that murder is evil,
00:07:31 --> 00:07:34 and that rich should not oppress the poor.
00:07:35 --> 00:07:40 General acceptance of those things being right or wrong.
00:07:41 --> 00:07:42 But why?
00:07:43 --> 00:07:46 You see, if there is no God,
00:07:46 --> 00:07:48 if God does not exist,
00:07:48 --> 00:07:50 as Khrushchev says,
00:07:51 --> 00:07:51 or said,
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 then these things are not moral facts.
00:07:57 --> 00:07:59 They are, in fact, opinions,
00:08:00 --> 00:08:01 and only opinions.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:05 British historian Tom Holland makes a similar point.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:07 He stopped himself,
00:08:07 --> 00:08:09 stopped believing in God as a child,
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 but after years of historical research,
00:08:13 --> 00:08:16 he found himself being drawn back to Jesus.
00:08:18 --> 00:08:20 This was mainly because
00:08:20 --> 00:08:23 he found that many of the values
00:08:23 --> 00:08:25 that he held dear to him
00:08:25 --> 00:08:27 and that were dear to society
00:08:27 --> 00:08:31 were intimately connected to Jesus
00:08:31 --> 00:08:32 and the Christian faith.
00:08:32 --> 00:08:37 human equality and rights,
00:08:37 --> 00:08:38 equality of men and women,
00:08:39 --> 00:08:39 love for foreigners,
00:08:40 --> 00:08:41 care for the poor,
00:08:41 --> 00:08:42 vulnerable and the marginalized
00:08:42 --> 00:08:47 are specifically Christian beliefs.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:51 Now, history shows us
00:08:51 --> 00:08:55 that it was only as the Christian faith spread
00:08:55 --> 00:08:56 in the first century
00:08:56 --> 00:08:59 into the Roman Empire and beyond
00:08:59 --> 00:09:01 that these beliefs
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 became generally accepted.
00:09:06 --> 00:09:09 The ancient world prior to Christianity,
00:09:10 --> 00:09:11 prior to Jesus,
00:09:11 --> 00:09:14 laughed at the concept of equality of people,
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 laughed at the concept of good and evil,
00:09:18 --> 00:09:20 of the necessity to care for the poor
00:09:20 --> 00:09:21 and the marginalized.
00:09:21 --> 00:09:26 The temptation of our society nowadays
00:09:26 --> 00:09:30 is to assume that you can keep those values,
00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 but you can get rid of the God
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 that lies behind those values.
00:09:36 --> 00:09:38 And Harari makes the significant point
00:09:38 --> 00:09:40 of what happens when you do.
00:09:41 --> 00:09:42 As far as we can tell
00:09:42 --> 00:09:45 from a purely scientific viewpoint,
00:09:46 --> 00:09:50 human life has absolutely no meaning.
00:09:51 --> 00:09:52 No meaning.
00:09:55 --> 00:09:56 Humans are the outcome
00:09:56 --> 00:09:59 of blind evolutionary processes
00:09:59 --> 00:10:03 that operate without goal or purpose.
00:10:03 --> 00:10:05 Our actions are not part
00:10:05 --> 00:10:07 of some divine cosmic plan,
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 hence any meaning
00:10:09 --> 00:10:11 that people ascribe to their lives
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 is just a delusion.
00:10:15 --> 00:10:16 Now, he's saying that
00:10:16 --> 00:10:17 on the assumption
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 that if you take God out of the picture,
00:10:19 --> 00:10:21 that philosophically
00:10:21 --> 00:10:23 is all that you're left with.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:25 And this is a non-Christian saying this.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:29 Now, I acknowledge
00:10:29 --> 00:10:32 that there are obviously people in our world
00:10:32 --> 00:10:33 who think their life
00:10:33 --> 00:10:34 has no meaning at all.
00:10:34 --> 00:10:36 I suspect, though,
00:10:36 --> 00:10:37 deep down,
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 none of us really want
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 what Harari writes there
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 to be right.
00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 None of us really wants
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 that to be right and true.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:49 If there is no God,
00:10:49 --> 00:10:50 then we are left
00:10:50 --> 00:10:51 with the reality
00:10:51 --> 00:10:52 that we live,
00:10:53 --> 00:10:54 we die,
00:10:54 --> 00:10:55 we decay,
00:10:55 --> 00:10:57 and that is it.
00:10:57 --> 00:10:58 That is,
00:10:58 --> 00:10:59 it's not just a bad news story,
00:11:00 --> 00:11:01 it's a no news story.
00:11:02 --> 00:11:04 There's nothing to be declared there.
00:11:06 --> 00:11:07 But Christianity
00:11:07 --> 00:11:09 and Christmas
00:11:09 --> 00:11:10 is the alternative.
00:11:11 --> 00:11:13 It's the alternative story.
00:11:13 --> 00:11:15 So let's look at the good news story.
00:11:17 --> 00:11:18 It is, in fact,
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 Christmas is a good news story.
00:11:20 --> 00:11:21 We just read out,
00:11:21 --> 00:11:22 Nick just read for us
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 a portion
00:11:23 --> 00:11:24 from the beginning
00:11:24 --> 00:11:25 of John's Gospel
00:11:25 --> 00:11:25 in the New Testament.
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28 John begins
00:11:28 --> 00:11:30 not with the birth of Jesus,
00:11:32 --> 00:11:33 but he begins
00:11:33 --> 00:11:33 with the birth
00:11:33 --> 00:11:35 of the universe.
00:11:37 --> 00:11:39 He mentions a key figure
00:11:39 --> 00:11:41 who he calls
00:11:41 --> 00:11:42 the Word.
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45 I'll read the first five verses
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 again for us.
00:11:46 --> 00:11:47 In the beginning,
00:11:48 --> 00:11:48 that's the beginning
00:11:48 --> 00:11:49 of the universe,
00:11:49 --> 00:11:49 in the beginning
00:11:49 --> 00:11:51 was the Word
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 and the Word
00:11:53 --> 00:11:54 was with God
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 and the Word
00:11:55 --> 00:11:56 was God.
00:11:57 --> 00:11:58 He was with God
00:11:58 --> 00:11:58 in the beginning.
00:11:59 --> 00:12:00 Through him
00:12:00 --> 00:12:01 all things were made,
00:12:01 --> 00:12:02 without him
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 nothing was made
00:12:03 --> 00:12:04 that has been made.
00:12:04 --> 00:12:05 In him
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 was life
00:12:06 --> 00:12:07 and that life
00:12:07 --> 00:12:08 was the light
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 of all mankind.
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 The light
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 shines
00:12:13 --> 00:12:13 in the darkness
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 and the darkness
00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 has not overcome it.
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 Now,
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 as John
00:12:19 --> 00:12:20 unfolds,
00:12:20 --> 00:12:20 the Gospel of John
00:12:20 --> 00:12:21 unfolds,
00:12:21 --> 00:12:22 we discover
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 that the key figure
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 known as the Word
00:12:24 --> 00:12:25 is, in fact,
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 Jesus Christ.
00:12:28 --> 00:12:29 The Bible
00:12:29 --> 00:12:29 teaches
00:12:29 --> 00:12:30 that the creator
00:12:30 --> 00:12:31 God,
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32 the one who made
00:12:32 --> 00:12:33 all things,
00:12:33 --> 00:12:35 is three persons.
00:12:35 --> 00:12:35 God,
00:12:35 --> 00:12:35 the Father,
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 God,
00:12:36 --> 00:12:36 the Son,
00:12:36 --> 00:12:36 and God,
00:12:36 --> 00:12:37 the Holy Spirit,
00:12:37 --> 00:12:39 who have always
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40 existed
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 in perfect unity
00:12:41 --> 00:12:42 and love
00:12:42 --> 00:12:43 together.
00:12:45 --> 00:12:46 And the very
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 first Christmas
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 marks the moment
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 in history
00:12:50 --> 00:12:52 when God,
00:12:52 --> 00:12:53 the Son,
00:12:53 --> 00:12:54 the Word,
00:12:54 --> 00:12:55 the creator
00:12:55 --> 00:12:56 of all things,
00:12:56 --> 00:12:58 writes himself
00:12:58 --> 00:12:58 into
00:12:58 --> 00:13:00 his story.
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04 He became
00:13:04 --> 00:13:05 a human being
00:13:05 --> 00:13:07 with a specific
00:13:07 --> 00:13:08 purpose.
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 John tells
00:13:11 --> 00:13:11 the story
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 of our lives
00:13:12 --> 00:13:13 being part
00:13:13 --> 00:13:14 of a God
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 and his loving
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 cosmic plan.
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 Let me pick it up
00:13:18 --> 00:13:19 in verse 9
00:13:19 --> 00:13:19 of John
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 chapter 1.
00:13:21 --> 00:13:22 The true light
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 that gives light
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 to everyone
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25 was coming
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 into the world.
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 He was in the world
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 and though the world
00:13:28 --> 00:13:30 was made through him,
00:13:30 --> 00:13:31 the world
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 did not recognize him.
00:13:32 --> 00:13:34 He came to that
00:13:34 --> 00:13:35 which is his own,
00:13:36 --> 00:13:36 but his own
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 did not receive him.
00:13:39 --> 00:13:39 Yet
00:13:39 --> 00:13:41 to all
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42 who did receive him,
00:13:43 --> 00:13:44 to those
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 who believe
00:13:45 --> 00:13:46 in his name,
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 he gave the right
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 to become
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 children of God.
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 Children born
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 not of natural descent
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 nor of human decision
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 or of a husband's will,
00:13:56 --> 00:13:56 but born
00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 of God.
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 the word
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 became flesh
00:14:00 --> 00:14:02 and made his dwelling
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 amongst us.
00:14:04 --> 00:14:04 We have seen
00:14:04 --> 00:14:05 his glory,
00:14:06 --> 00:14:06 the glory
00:14:06 --> 00:14:07 of the one
00:14:07 --> 00:14:09 and only son
00:14:09 --> 00:14:09 who came
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10 from the father
00:14:10 --> 00:14:11 full
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 of grace
00:14:12 --> 00:14:14 and truth.
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 And from
00:14:16 --> 00:14:16 a little bit
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 further down
00:14:17 --> 00:14:18 we read
00:14:18 --> 00:14:19 in John's gospel
00:14:19 --> 00:14:20 that the grace
00:14:20 --> 00:14:21 and truth
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 came
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 from Jesus
00:14:23 --> 00:14:24 Christ.
00:14:24 --> 00:14:24 Christ.
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26 So what
00:14:26 --> 00:14:26 that text
00:14:26 --> 00:14:27 is saying
00:14:27 --> 00:14:30 is that
00:14:30 --> 00:14:31 Jesus
00:14:31 --> 00:14:32 is the
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 author
00:14:33 --> 00:14:34 of the story
00:14:34 --> 00:14:36 and
00:14:36 --> 00:14:36 its
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 lead
00:14:37 --> 00:14:37 character.
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 It's like
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 Shakespeare
00:14:40 --> 00:14:40 has written
00:14:40 --> 00:14:41 himself
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 into Hamlet
00:14:42 --> 00:14:43 and has
00:14:43 --> 00:14:43 become
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 the lead
00:14:44 --> 00:14:44 character
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 of the
00:14:46 --> 00:14:46 story
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 of Hamlet.
00:14:48 --> 00:14:49 The God
00:14:49 --> 00:14:50 who made
00:14:50 --> 00:14:52 the universe
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 enters
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 into it
00:14:54 --> 00:14:55 in order
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 to rescue
00:14:56 --> 00:14:57 it.
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 Instead of
00:14:59 --> 00:14:59 celebrated
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 we are told
00:15:00 --> 00:15:00 there
00:15:00 --> 00:15:01 he is
00:15:01 --> 00:15:01 rejected.
00:15:02 --> 00:15:02 Instead of
00:15:02 --> 00:15:02 honoured
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 he is
00:15:03 --> 00:15:03 killed.
00:15:04 --> 00:15:04 But his
00:15:04 --> 00:15:05 death
00:15:05 --> 00:15:05 was written
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 into the
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 script.
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 It was
00:15:09 --> 00:15:09 written
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 into the
00:15:10 --> 00:15:10 script
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 as the
00:15:11 --> 00:15:11 central
00:15:11 --> 00:15:12 part of
00:15:12 --> 00:15:12 the
00:15:12 --> 00:15:13 script.
00:15:13 --> 00:15:13 That is
00:15:13 --> 00:15:14 his death
00:15:14 --> 00:15:14 was not
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 an accident.
00:15:19 --> 00:15:19 If it
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 is true
00:15:20 --> 00:15:20 that there
00:15:20 --> 00:15:20 is a
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 God
00:15:21 --> 00:15:21 who made
00:15:21 --> 00:15:21 us
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 and loves
00:15:22 --> 00:15:22 us
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 then that
00:15:23 --> 00:15:24 is fantastic
00:15:24 --> 00:15:25 news.
00:15:26 --> 00:15:27 It means
00:15:27 --> 00:15:27 that Christmas
00:15:27 --> 00:15:30 is fantastic
00:15:30 --> 00:15:30 news.
00:15:31 --> 00:15:32 It means
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 that because
00:15:33 --> 00:15:33 of Christmas
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 our lives
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 have meaning.
00:15:35 --> 00:15:35 There is
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 such a thing
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 as good
00:15:37 --> 00:15:37 and evil.
00:15:37 --> 00:15:37 It means
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 that justice
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 and love
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 and all
00:15:40 --> 00:15:40 of God's
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 purposes
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42 will end
00:15:42 --> 00:15:43 up winning
00:15:43 --> 00:15:45 in the
00:15:45 --> 00:15:45 end.
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 But Christmas
00:15:49 --> 00:15:49 is also
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 terrible news.
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 It's
00:15:52 --> 00:15:52 also
00:15:52 --> 00:15:52 humbling
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 news
00:15:53 --> 00:15:54 because it
00:15:54 --> 00:15:55 means that
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 we actually
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 need saving.
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 Humanity
00:15:58 --> 00:15:59 needs saving
00:15:59 --> 00:15:59 from the
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 judgment we
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 rightly deserve
00:16:01 --> 00:16:02 for rejecting
00:16:02 --> 00:16:04 God, for
00:16:04 --> 00:16:04 living as if
00:16:04 --> 00:16:05 this God
00:16:05 --> 00:16:05 does not
00:16:05 --> 00:16:07 exist, for
00:16:07 --> 00:16:07 trying to
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 find meaning
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 and satisfaction
00:16:09 --> 00:16:10 outside of
00:16:10 --> 00:16:10 him.
00:16:13 --> 00:16:13 Now some
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 of us are
00:16:14 --> 00:16:15 deeply aware
00:16:15 --> 00:16:15 of sin
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 even if
00:16:17 --> 00:16:17 we don't
00:16:17 --> 00:16:18 use that
00:16:18 --> 00:16:18 word.
00:16:20 --> 00:16:21 If there
00:16:21 --> 00:16:21 is a
00:16:21 --> 00:16:22 God who
00:16:22 --> 00:16:22 sees
00:16:22 --> 00:16:23 everything,
00:16:23 --> 00:16:23 knows
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 everything,
00:16:25 --> 00:16:25 then we
00:16:25 --> 00:16:26 ultimately
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 deep down
00:16:27 --> 00:16:27 know that
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 that's not
00:16:28 --> 00:16:28 good.
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 On one
00:16:31 --> 00:16:31 level,
00:16:33 --> 00:16:33 that is
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 good and
00:16:34 --> 00:16:34 healthy.
00:16:36 --> 00:16:36 The Christmas
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 story, the
00:16:37 --> 00:16:37 message of
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38 Christianity,
00:16:38 --> 00:16:40 in the end,
00:16:40 --> 00:16:42 is not a
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 self-help
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 message
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 where you
00:16:46 --> 00:16:46 are told
00:16:46 --> 00:16:46 that you
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 are mostly
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 good enough
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 but the
00:16:49 --> 00:16:49 baby in the
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 manger will
00:16:50 --> 00:16:50 just give
00:16:50 --> 00:16:50 you that
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 little extra
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 prob that
00:16:52 --> 00:16:52 you need
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 to get
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 over the
00:16:54 --> 00:16:54 hurdles in
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 the end.
00:16:57 --> 00:16:58 Every time
00:16:58 --> 00:16:58 we see
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 Jesus helping
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 someone in
00:17:00 --> 00:17:00 the gospel,
00:17:02 --> 00:17:03 it's those
00:17:03 --> 00:17:03 who knew
00:17:03 --> 00:17:04 they weren't
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 enough.
00:17:07 --> 00:17:07 They are
00:17:07 --> 00:17:08 the ones
00:17:08 --> 00:17:08 that Jesus
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 welcomes.
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 Those who
00:17:11 --> 00:17:11 were considered
00:17:11 --> 00:17:12 too bad
00:17:12 --> 00:17:12 or too
00:17:12 --> 00:17:14 broken were
00:17:14 --> 00:17:14 in fact the
00:17:14 --> 00:17:15 preferred company
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 of Jesus
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 in his
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 story.
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 If you're
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 unsure of
00:17:23 --> 00:17:23 yourself,
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 let me ask
00:17:25 --> 00:17:25 you,
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 how would
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 you feel
00:17:28 --> 00:17:29 right now
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 if we
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 projected
00:17:31 --> 00:17:32 onto these
00:17:32 --> 00:17:33 screens
00:17:33 --> 00:17:35 every thought
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 that you've
00:17:36 --> 00:17:36 ever had,
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 every action
00:17:39 --> 00:17:39 done in
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 secret,
00:17:40 --> 00:17:40 if it
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 was projected
00:17:41 --> 00:17:42 onto these
00:17:42 --> 00:17:42 screens and
00:17:42 --> 00:17:42 played,
00:17:43 --> 00:17:43 replayed,
00:17:45 --> 00:17:45 would you
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 be able to
00:17:46 --> 00:17:46 hold your
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 head up
00:17:47 --> 00:17:47 high right
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 now?
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 To be
00:17:52 --> 00:17:52 frank with
00:17:52 --> 00:17:52 you,
00:17:53 --> 00:17:53 I'd be
00:17:53 --> 00:17:53 crushed if
00:17:53 --> 00:17:53 it was
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 just today's
00:17:54 --> 00:17:54 tally.
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 Just today's
00:17:56 --> 00:17:56 tally.
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 God sees
00:17:59 --> 00:17:59 it all.
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 He sees
00:18:01 --> 00:18:01 it all and
00:18:01 --> 00:18:03 that is,
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 in the end,
00:18:05 --> 00:18:05 terrible,
00:18:06 --> 00:18:06 terrible news
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 for us.
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 Christmas.
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 But it's
00:18:09 --> 00:18:09 not the
00:18:09 --> 00:18:10 end of the
00:18:10 --> 00:18:10 story.
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 In the
00:18:12 --> 00:18:13 Christmas story,
00:18:14 --> 00:18:14 we are told
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 Jesus is
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 presented with
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 three gifts
00:18:17 --> 00:18:17 by the
00:18:17 --> 00:18:19 astrologists who
00:18:19 --> 00:18:19 come from
00:18:19 --> 00:18:20 the east.
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 And one of
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 those gifts
00:18:23 --> 00:18:23 would have
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 totally thrown
00:18:24 --> 00:18:24 Mary,
00:18:26 --> 00:18:26 myrrh.
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 It was
00:18:28 --> 00:18:28 used to
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 embalm the
00:18:29 --> 00:18:29 dead.
00:18:30 --> 00:18:30 Who gives
00:18:30 --> 00:18:31 baby toy
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 coffins to
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 kids at
00:18:33 --> 00:18:33 Christmas time?
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 Under the
00:18:34 --> 00:18:34 Christmas tree,
00:18:35 --> 00:18:36 there's a toy
00:18:36 --> 00:18:36 coffin.
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 Weird,
00:18:38 --> 00:18:38 weird thing.
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 It was a
00:18:41 --> 00:18:41 symbol of
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 death.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 Jesus came
00:18:44 --> 00:18:44 into this
00:18:44 --> 00:18:46 world to
00:18:46 --> 00:18:46 die.
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 That was
00:18:47 --> 00:18:47 his purpose,
00:18:48 --> 00:18:48 to die.
00:18:50 --> 00:18:50 That's what
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 he needed to
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 do in order
00:18:52 --> 00:18:52 to bring
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 about
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 reconciliation
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 between God
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 and humanity.
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 Jesus would
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 die for the
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 sins of
00:18:59 --> 00:18:59 humanity.
00:19:00 --> 00:19:00 And about
00:19:00 --> 00:19:01 33 years
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 after his
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 birth,
00:19:03 --> 00:19:03 he was
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 crucified just
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 outside of
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 Jerusalem.
00:19:06 --> 00:19:06 But his
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 death was
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 not the
00:19:08 --> 00:19:08 end of
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 the story
00:19:09 --> 00:19:10 because three
00:19:10 --> 00:19:10 days later
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 the tomb
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 was empty
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 and Jesus
00:19:13 --> 00:19:13 appeared to
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 his followers
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 alive.
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 He faced
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 death.
00:19:20 --> 00:19:20 He defeated
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 death.
00:19:22 --> 00:19:22 He paid
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 for our
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 sin so
00:19:24 --> 00:19:24 that we
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 don't have
00:19:25 --> 00:19:25 to pay
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 for it.
00:19:27 --> 00:19:28 He knows
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 every single
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 one of our
00:19:30 --> 00:19:30 secret thoughts,
00:19:31 --> 00:19:31 our deepest
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 failures and
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 our deepest
00:19:33 --> 00:19:33 shame,
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 love.
00:19:34 --> 00:19:34 But he
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 loves us
00:19:35 --> 00:19:35 all the
00:19:35 --> 00:19:35 way to
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 death and
00:19:36 --> 00:19:36 back again.
00:19:38 --> 00:19:38 And all
00:19:38 --> 00:19:38 you have
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 to do
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 is trust
00:19:40 --> 00:19:40 him.
00:19:44 --> 00:19:44 The
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 Christmas
00:19:45 --> 00:19:45 story
00:19:45 --> 00:19:48 is part
00:19:48 --> 00:19:50 of God's
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 story of
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 time and
00:19:52 --> 00:19:52 eternity.
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 So I want
00:19:56 --> 00:19:56 to ask you
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 which story
00:19:57 --> 00:19:57 are you
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 jumping in
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 onto at
00:19:59 --> 00:19:59 the moment?
00:19:59 --> 00:20:02 God's
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 story has
00:20:03 --> 00:20:05 three main
00:20:05 --> 00:20:05 parts to
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 it.
00:20:06 --> 00:20:06 Sorry,
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 four main
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 parts to
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 it.
00:20:08 --> 00:20:08 In chapter
00:20:08 --> 00:20:08 one,
00:20:09 --> 00:20:09 the God
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 who stands
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 outside of
00:20:11 --> 00:20:11 creation
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 always existed,
00:20:13 --> 00:20:13 the one who
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 created all
00:20:14 --> 00:20:14 things by
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 speaking to
00:20:15 --> 00:20:15 existence.
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 It's the
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 only storyline
00:20:18 --> 00:20:20 in the
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 history of
00:20:21 --> 00:20:21 the world
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 through every
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 great religion
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 and philosophical
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 system.
00:20:25 --> 00:20:25 It's the
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 only storyline
00:20:26 --> 00:20:28 that has a
00:20:28 --> 00:20:29 divine being
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 that creates
00:20:30 --> 00:20:32 all things
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 out of
00:20:33 --> 00:20:33 love.
00:20:34 --> 00:20:34 The only
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 one.
00:20:37 --> 00:20:37 In
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 chapter two
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 of the
00:20:39 --> 00:20:39 biblical
00:20:39 --> 00:20:40 storyline,
00:20:40 --> 00:20:40 the Christmas
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 storyline,
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 people reject
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 the love
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 of God.
00:20:45 --> 00:20:45 All people
00:20:45 --> 00:20:46 live life
00:20:46 --> 00:20:46 with no
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 consideration
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 for God
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 at all.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:49 Relationship
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 with God
00:20:50 --> 00:20:50 and each
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 other is
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51 deeply
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 fractured.
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 All
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 brokenness
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 and evil
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 in the
00:20:56 --> 00:20:56 world
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 is
00:20:57 --> 00:20:57 connected
00:20:57 --> 00:20:57 to
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 chapter
00:20:58 --> 00:20:58 two.
00:21:00 --> 00:21:00 Chapter
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 three
00:21:01 --> 00:21:01 is
00:21:01 --> 00:21:01 God's
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 plan
00:21:02 --> 00:21:02 to
00:21:02 --> 00:21:02 reverse
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 all
00:21:03 --> 00:21:03 the
00:21:03 --> 00:21:03 wrong
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 that
00:21:04 --> 00:21:04 we
00:21:04 --> 00:21:04 have
00:21:04 --> 00:21:04 created
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 for
00:21:05 --> 00:21:05 ourselves.
00:21:06 --> 00:21:06 And
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 this
00:21:07 --> 00:21:07 plan
00:21:07 --> 00:21:07 is
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 worked
00:21:08 --> 00:21:08 out
00:21:08 --> 00:21:08 through
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 history
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 and
00:21:10 --> 00:21:10 finds
00:21:10 --> 00:21:10 its
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 culmination
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 in
00:21:12 --> 00:21:12 the
00:21:12 --> 00:21:12 life
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 and
00:21:13 --> 00:21:13 the
00:21:13 --> 00:21:13 death
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 and
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 the
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 resurrection
00:21:14 --> 00:21:14 of
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 Jesus
00:21:15 --> 00:21:15 Christ.
00:21:16 --> 00:21:16 That
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 is
00:21:17 --> 00:21:17 in
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 the
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 miracle
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 of the
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 Christmas
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 story
00:21:21 --> 00:21:21 and the
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 miracle
00:21:22 --> 00:21:22 of the
00:21:22 --> 00:21:22 Easter
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 story.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:26 Jesus
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26 takes
00:21:26 --> 00:21:26 the
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 judgment
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 of
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 God
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 for
00:21:28 --> 00:21:28 our
00:21:28 --> 00:21:28 rebellion
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 against
00:21:29 --> 00:21:29 God
00:21:29 --> 00:21:29 upon
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 himself.
00:21:31 --> 00:21:31 He
00:21:31 --> 00:21:31 dies
00:21:31 --> 00:21:31 the
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 death
00:21:32 --> 00:21:32 that
00:21:32 --> 00:21:32 we
00:21:32 --> 00:21:32 should
00:21:32 --> 00:21:32 have
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 died
00:21:33 --> 00:21:33 and
00:21:33 --> 00:21:33 he
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 rose
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 victorious
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35 over
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 sin
00:21:36 --> 00:21:36 and
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 death.
00:21:38 --> 00:21:38 And
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 everyone
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 as we
00:21:40 --> 00:21:40 read in
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 John
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 chapter
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 one
00:21:42 --> 00:21:42 everyone
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 who puts
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 their
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 trust
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 in
00:21:45 --> 00:21:45 Jesus
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 is
00:21:46 --> 00:21:46 gathered
00:21:46 --> 00:21:46 back
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 into
00:21:47 --> 00:21:47 relationship
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 with
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 God
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 and to
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 each
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 other.
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 chapter
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 four
00:21:51 --> 00:21:51 of
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 God's
00:21:52 --> 00:21:52 story
00:21:52 --> 00:21:52 is
00:21:52 --> 00:21:52 not
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 the
00:21:53 --> 00:21:53 end
00:21:53 --> 00:21:53 of
00:21:53 --> 00:21:53 the
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 story
00:21:54 --> 00:21:54 it's
00:21:54 --> 00:21:54 the
00:21:54 --> 00:21:55 beginning
00:21:55 --> 00:21:55 of
00:21:55 --> 00:21:55 the
00:21:55 --> 00:21:56 chapter
00:21:56 --> 00:21:56 that
00:21:56 --> 00:21:56 has
00:21:56 --> 00:21:56 no
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 end.
00:21:59 --> 00:21:59 It's
00:21:59 --> 00:21:59 a
00:21:59 --> 00:21:59 chapter
00:21:59 --> 00:21:59 where
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 God
00:22:00 --> 00:22:00 reigns
00:22:00 --> 00:22:00 forever
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 with
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 his
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 people
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 in
00:22:01 --> 00:22:01 the
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 world
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 recreated
00:22:03 --> 00:22:03 in
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 perfect
00:22:04 --> 00:22:04 peace
00:22:04 --> 00:22:06 and
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 harmony.
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 This
00:22:11 --> 00:22:11 is the
00:22:11 --> 00:22:11 good news
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 of the
00:22:12 --> 00:22:12 Christmas
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 story
00:22:13 --> 00:22:13 written
00:22:13 --> 00:22:13 of
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 God
00:22:14 --> 00:22:14 writing
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 himself
00:22:15 --> 00:22:15 into
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 history.
00:22:17 --> 00:22:17 You
00:22:17 --> 00:22:17 see the
00:22:17 --> 00:22:17 Christmas
00:22:17 --> 00:22:18 story has
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 got to
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 be
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 connected
00:22:18 --> 00:22:18 with
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 the
00:22:19 --> 00:22:19 whole
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 story.
00:22:21 --> 00:22:21 It's
00:22:21 --> 00:22:21 just
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 one
00:22:22 --> 00:22:22 part
00:22:22 --> 00:22:22 of
00:22:22 --> 00:22:22 the
00:22:22 --> 00:22:22 chapters.
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 But
00:22:26 --> 00:22:26 we
00:22:26 --> 00:22:26 exist
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 in
00:22:27 --> 00:22:27 our
00:22:27 --> 00:22:27 culture
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 at
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 the
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 moment
00:22:28 --> 00:22:30 dominated
00:22:30 --> 00:22:30 by
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 many
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 stories
00:22:31 --> 00:22:33 but
00:22:33 --> 00:22:33 there
00:22:33 --> 00:22:33 is
00:22:33 --> 00:22:33 one
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 particular
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 story
00:22:35 --> 00:22:35 which
00:22:35 --> 00:22:35 stands
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 out
00:22:36 --> 00:22:36 and
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 it's
00:22:37 --> 00:22:37 permeating
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 culture
00:22:38 --> 00:22:38 in
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 every
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 kind
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 of
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 way.
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 It's
00:22:41 --> 00:22:41 the
00:22:41 --> 00:22:41 one
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 that
00:22:42 --> 00:22:42 was
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 raised
00:22:43 --> 00:22:43 by
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 Nikita
00:22:44 --> 00:22:44 Khrushchev.
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 It
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 was
00:22:46 --> 00:22:46 highlighted
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 there,
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 Harari
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 highlights
00:22:49 --> 00:22:49 it
00:22:49 --> 00:22:49 himself.
00:22:51 --> 00:22:51 It's
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 a story
00:22:52 --> 00:22:52 that's
00:22:52 --> 00:22:52 taken up
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 residence
00:22:53 --> 00:22:53 in the
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 soul
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 of
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 Western
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 society
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 for the
00:22:56 --> 00:22:56 past
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 60
00:22:57 --> 00:22:57 years
00:22:57 --> 00:22:57 in
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 particular.
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 The
00:22:59 --> 00:22:59 technical
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 term
00:23:00 --> 00:23:00 for this
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 story
00:23:01 --> 00:23:01 is
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 philosophical
00:23:02 --> 00:23:02 naturalism.
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 It's
00:23:04 --> 00:23:04 a fancy
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 name for
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 materialism,
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 secular
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 materialism.
00:23:08 --> 00:23:08 person.
00:23:09 --> 00:23:09 It's
00:23:09 --> 00:23:09 a three
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 chapter
00:23:10 --> 00:23:10 story
00:23:10 --> 00:23:12 and it's
00:23:12 --> 00:23:12 a story,
00:23:12 --> 00:23:12 it's a
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 three
00:23:13 --> 00:23:13 chapter
00:23:13 --> 00:23:13 story
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 that
00:23:14 --> 00:23:14 most
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 people
00:23:15 --> 00:23:15 in
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 our
00:23:16 --> 00:23:16 world
00:23:16 --> 00:23:16 are
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 living
00:23:17 --> 00:23:17 to
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 day
00:23:18 --> 00:23:18 by
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 day.
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 The
00:23:21 --> 00:23:21 first
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 chapter
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 of that
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 story
00:23:24 --> 00:23:26 says that
00:23:26 --> 00:23:26 there is
00:23:26 --> 00:23:26 no
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 supernatural
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 or spiritual
00:23:28 --> 00:23:28 power that
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 rules the
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 physical
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 universe.
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 Everything
00:23:32 --> 00:23:32 that can
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 be seen
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 and measured
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 is a
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 result
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 of an
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 explosion
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 that appeared
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 out of
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 nothing
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 billions
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 of years
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 ago.
00:23:42 --> 00:23:42 Scientifically
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 unproven.
00:23:45 --> 00:23:45 Can't
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 prove it
00:23:46 --> 00:23:48 scientifically.
00:23:49 --> 00:23:49 Chapter
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 two of
00:23:50 --> 00:23:50 this story
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 is that
00:23:51 --> 00:23:51 against
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 all odds
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 humanity
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 evolved
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 from
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 prehistoric
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 soup
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 to be
00:23:58 --> 00:23:58 the dominant
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 species
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 of the
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 earth
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 right now.
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 Despite
00:24:02 --> 00:24:02 what people
00:24:02 --> 00:24:05 might feel
00:24:05 --> 00:24:09 there is
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 no absolute
00:24:10 --> 00:24:10 right or
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 wrong.
00:24:12 --> 00:24:12 If you
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 feel that
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 something is
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 right or
00:24:15 --> 00:24:15 wrong
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 then that's
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 due to a
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 chemical reaction
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 in your
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 brain that
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 is again
00:24:21 --> 00:24:21 not
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 scientifically
00:24:22 --> 00:24:22 proven.
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 Everything
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 is an
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 accident
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 and so
00:24:27 --> 00:24:27 therefore
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 life has
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 absolutely
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 no meaning
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 or purpose
00:24:30 --> 00:24:30 at all.
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 And so
00:24:32 --> 00:24:32 therefore
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 if that's
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 the case
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 make the
00:24:35 --> 00:24:35 most of
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 life right
00:24:36 --> 00:24:36 now.
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 Make it
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 as happy
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 as you
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 possibly
00:24:39 --> 00:24:39 can.
00:24:40 --> 00:24:40 Buy
00:24:40 --> 00:24:40 everything
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 you
00:24:41 --> 00:24:41 possibly
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 can.
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 Consume
00:24:43 --> 00:24:43 every
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 experience
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 you
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 possibly
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 can
00:24:45 --> 00:24:45 because
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 chapter
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 three
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 is
00:24:47 --> 00:24:47 coming.
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 And
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 chapter
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 three
00:24:49 --> 00:24:49 is just
00:24:49 --> 00:24:49 simply
00:24:49 --> 00:24:49 the
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 end.
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 The
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 sun
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 will
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 burn
00:24:53 --> 00:24:53 up.
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 Humanity
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 will
00:24:55 --> 00:24:55 become
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 extinct
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 and there
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 is no
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 form of
00:24:58 --> 00:24:58 afterlife
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 or survival
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 of the
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 conscience.
00:25:00 --> 00:25:02 the
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 story
00:25:03 --> 00:25:03 of
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 materialism
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 is
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 that
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 only
00:25:05 --> 00:25:06 what
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 you
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 can
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 see,
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 taste,
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 touch,
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 feel
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 has any
00:25:10 --> 00:25:12 is the
00:25:12 --> 00:25:12 purpose
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 of life.
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 That's
00:25:14 --> 00:25:14 it.
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 The
00:25:17 --> 00:25:17 Christmas
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 story says
00:25:18 --> 00:25:18 that we
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 have a
00:25:19 --> 00:25:19 loving
00:25:19 --> 00:25:19 creator
00:25:19 --> 00:25:21 who
00:25:21 --> 00:25:21 has
00:25:21 --> 00:25:21 triumphed
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 over
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 evil
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 at
00:25:23 --> 00:25:23 great
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 cost
00:25:24 --> 00:25:24 to
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 himself
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 to
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 love
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 you
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 dearly.
00:25:27 --> 00:25:30 and we
00:25:30 --> 00:25:30 look
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 forward
00:25:31 --> 00:25:31 to a
00:25:31 --> 00:25:31 day
00:25:31 --> 00:25:33 when
00:25:33 --> 00:25:33 everything
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 wrong
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 will be
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 made
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 right
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 and we
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 will
00:25:37 --> 00:25:37 live
00:25:37 --> 00:25:37 with
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 him
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 in
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 joy,
00:25:41 --> 00:25:41 blissful
00:25:41 --> 00:25:41 joy
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 for all
00:25:42 --> 00:25:42 of
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 eternity.
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 Historically
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 plausible,
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 philosophically
00:25:49 --> 00:25:51 satisfying.
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 Science
00:25:54 --> 00:25:54 can't
00:25:54 --> 00:25:54 disprove
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 it.
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 this
00:25:58 --> 00:25:58 Christmas
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 story
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 is
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 unbelievably
00:26:01 --> 00:26:02 good
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 news.
00:26:04 --> 00:26:04 So
00:26:04 --> 00:26:04 which
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 story
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 is your
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 story?
00:26:07 --> 00:26:07 Which
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 story
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 drives
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 you
00:26:09 --> 00:26:09 day
00:26:09 --> 00:26:09 by
00:26:09 --> 00:26:09 day?
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 Joining
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 Jesus
00:26:13 --> 00:26:13 story
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 is the
00:26:14 --> 00:26:14 most
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 real
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 and
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 wonderful
00:26:16 --> 00:26:16 thing
00:26:16 --> 00:26:16 that can
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 happen
00:26:17 --> 00:26:17 to you
00:26:17 --> 00:26:17 in your
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 life.
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 But
00:26:20 --> 00:26:20 to get
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 to that
00:26:21 --> 00:26:21 point,
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 we have
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 to start
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 with seeing
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 what
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 humanity
00:26:27 --> 00:26:27 is,
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 who we
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 are,
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 we have
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 to come
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 to the
00:26:32 --> 00:26:34 awful,
00:26:34 --> 00:26:34 awful
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 realisation
00:26:35 --> 00:26:38 that in
00:26:38 --> 00:26:38 God's
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 story,
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 we're the
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 villains.
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 love,
00:26:42 --> 00:26:42 we have
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 to come
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 to the
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 world.
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 And
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 Jesus is
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 the hero.
00:26:48 --> 00:26:48 He's the
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 hero.
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 He's the
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 main character
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 in the
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 story.
00:26:54 --> 00:26:54 And so
00:26:54 --> 00:26:54 this
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 Christmas,
00:26:56 --> 00:26:58 the biggest
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 thing you can
00:26:59 --> 00:26:59 do with your
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 life is to
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 get written
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 into Jesus'
00:27:02 --> 00:27:03 story by
00:27:03 --> 00:27:03 in fact
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 giving your
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 life to
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 him.
00:27:04 --> 00:27:07 make your
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 story a
00:27:08 --> 00:27:08 good one,
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 one that
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 will go on
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 living as
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 Jesus himself
00:27:13 --> 00:27:15 lives and
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 reigns right
00:27:16 --> 00:27:16 now.
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 Up on the
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 screen, if
00:27:18 --> 00:27:18 you're not
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 sure where
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 you sit with
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 the Christian
00:27:20 --> 00:27:20 faith, on
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 the screen
00:27:21 --> 00:27:21 is a QR
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 code.
00:27:22 --> 00:27:22 And I
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 would encourage
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 you just
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 to take that
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 extra step
00:27:26 --> 00:27:26 this Christmas
00:27:26 --> 00:27:28 to get into
00:27:28 --> 00:27:28 Jesus'
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 story with
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 your life.
00:27:30 --> 00:27:32 to
00:27:32 --> 00:27:35 his
00:27:37 --> 00:27:39 child
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 that
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 'll
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 ...