Shining the light on Christmas
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 12th December 2021
Passage: Matthew 1:1-17
00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 I'm getting applause for reading it.
00:00:03 --> 00:00:05 Surely you get an applause for preaching it as well at the end.
00:00:05 --> 00:00:09 So at the end, maybe.
00:00:09 --> 00:00:10 We'll see.
00:00:11 --> 00:00:16 Let me just start by kicking off that I'm just so grateful
00:00:16 --> 00:00:20 for all of those who contributed to decking the halls here at St Paul's.
00:00:21 --> 00:00:25 It looks fantastic, the building, to walk in here
00:00:25 --> 00:00:28 and to lift the spirits after a difficult year,
00:00:28 --> 00:00:29 but also to walk around.
00:00:29 --> 00:00:33 I'm particularly grateful because I live here,
00:00:33 --> 00:00:37 and so I get to see all this stuff lit up each night.
00:00:38 --> 00:00:40 So if you want to come up and really enjoy it,
00:00:40 --> 00:00:42 just wander around the place at nighttime.
00:00:42 --> 00:00:44 It just really lifts the spirits.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:47 So well done to everyone who's contributed to that
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 and to the working bee as well.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:54 It is a time of celebration.
00:00:55 --> 00:00:57 I think the lights and everything sort of puts that into it.
00:00:57 --> 00:01:02 And so I want to dive into, I think, the most exciting of Christmas texts,
00:01:02 --> 00:01:05 and that's what you have in front of us in the genealogy
00:01:05 --> 00:01:07 at the beginning of Matthew's Gospel.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:09 So if you'd like to get your Bibles open to Matthew chapter 1,
00:01:10 --> 00:01:11 and we're going to dive into this.
00:01:11 --> 00:01:14 There are three things that I want to see this morning
00:01:14 --> 00:01:16 from this list of names.
00:01:16 --> 00:01:19 And this is on your St. Paul's app.
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 If you've got the St. Paul's app for a bit of an outline,
00:01:22 --> 00:01:22 we'll take some notes.
00:01:22 --> 00:01:27 Number one, Christmas is good news, not good advice.
00:01:27 --> 00:01:33 Secondly, Christmas turns our values upside down in this world.
00:01:33 --> 00:01:36 And thirdly, Christmas is the promise of ultimate rest.
00:01:36 --> 00:01:41 And so really, the title for today's talk is
00:01:41 --> 00:01:44 Shining Light on Christmas Rest.
00:01:44 --> 00:01:46 Shining Light on Christmas Rest.
00:01:46 --> 00:01:48 So firstly, Christmas is good news, not good advice.
00:01:49 --> 00:01:51 Now, what we notice at the beginning of Matthew 1
00:01:51 --> 00:01:55 is that it doesn't begin with once upon a time.
00:01:56 --> 00:01:58 You see, that's how fairy tales,
00:01:58 --> 00:02:02 that's how legends, myths all begin, once upon a time.
00:02:02 --> 00:02:05 Once upon a time sends the signal
00:02:05 --> 00:02:08 that what we are currently engaging with
00:02:08 --> 00:02:10 probably didn't happen.
00:02:12 --> 00:02:14 Matthew begins very simply,
00:02:15 --> 00:02:19 this is the genealogy of Jesus the Messiah,
00:02:19 --> 00:02:22 the son of David, the son of Abraham.
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 So what Matthew does right at the very beginning
00:02:25 --> 00:02:29 of his Gospels, he grounds who Jesus is
00:02:29 --> 00:02:33 and what he does in history,
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 in extensive history.
00:02:37 --> 00:02:39 Jesus is not a metaphor, he is real.
00:02:40 --> 00:02:41 The biblical accounts of Christmas
00:02:41 --> 00:02:46 are what actually happened in history.
00:02:46 --> 00:02:49 The birth of the son of God into the world
00:02:49 --> 00:02:52 is a gospel, it's a good news,
00:02:52 --> 00:02:56 it's an announcement for all of the world.
00:02:56 --> 00:03:01 The birth accounts of Jesus are not telling us
00:03:01 --> 00:03:03 what we should do,
00:03:04 --> 00:03:08 but what God has done in history for us.
00:03:09 --> 00:03:11 Jesus is the Messiah, the son of Abraham.
00:03:11 --> 00:03:13 You see, central to Abraham,
00:03:13 --> 00:03:16 God made a promise to Abraham
00:03:16 --> 00:03:19 that all the people of the world
00:03:19 --> 00:03:23 would be blessed through him.
00:03:23 --> 00:03:25 through a descendant of Abraham,
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 God would reverse the devastating impact
00:03:29 --> 00:03:31 of sin and rejection of God
00:03:31 --> 00:03:34 for all time and eternity for all people.
00:03:36 --> 00:03:38 And Matthew declares that in Jesus,
00:03:39 --> 00:03:41 this time has come.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:47 He's also declared here to be the son of David.
00:03:47 --> 00:03:50 God promised, extended that promise to Abraham
00:03:50 --> 00:03:53 and said to David in 2 Samuel 7,
00:03:54 --> 00:03:55 that one of your descendants, David,
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 will sit on my throne
00:03:57 --> 00:04:02 and rule all the universe forever.
00:04:04 --> 00:04:05 And so what we have here
00:04:05 --> 00:04:07 is these threads through the Old Testament
00:04:07 --> 00:04:11 connecting promise to the covenant promise of David
00:04:11 --> 00:04:13 right through until we see here,
00:04:13 --> 00:04:14 this is it.
00:04:14 --> 00:04:16 The moment has arrived.
00:04:16 --> 00:04:19 After 400 years of not hearing
00:04:19 --> 00:04:21 a sound of revelation from God,
00:04:22 --> 00:04:25 Jesus bursts on the scene and God speaks.
00:04:26 --> 00:04:27 The time has come.
00:04:27 --> 00:04:29 The silence is over.
00:04:33 --> 00:04:34 That's what makes this good news.
00:04:36 --> 00:04:37 Jesus is the Messiah.
00:04:37 --> 00:04:39 Jesus is the fulfillment
00:04:39 --> 00:04:43 of God's thousands and thousands of years
00:04:43 --> 00:04:45 of plan of salvation.
00:04:46 --> 00:04:47 And the heart of the Christian gospel
00:04:47 --> 00:04:50 is that you do not save yourself.
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 God came to save us in the person of Jesus
00:04:55 --> 00:04:57 on that very first Christmas night.
00:04:59 --> 00:05:01 You see, Christmas tells us
00:05:01 --> 00:05:04 that Christianity is unique.
00:05:04 --> 00:05:07 All other religions and philosophies of life
00:05:07 --> 00:05:09 give advice.
00:05:10 --> 00:05:12 The founder of the great religions
00:05:12 --> 00:05:14 come along and say something like,
00:05:15 --> 00:05:17 do this, do that.
00:05:17 --> 00:05:18 I'm here to show you the way
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 to spiritual reality,
00:05:20 --> 00:05:20 to enlightenment,
00:05:21 --> 00:05:22 to salvation.
00:05:22 --> 00:05:24 Do all these things
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 and you will follow the path to salvation.
00:05:28 --> 00:05:29 That's advice.
00:05:29 --> 00:05:32 And some of the advice is quite useful.
00:05:34 --> 00:05:36 Christianity is not primarily
00:05:36 --> 00:05:38 about self-improvement.
00:05:40 --> 00:05:42 We begin with Jesus
00:05:42 --> 00:05:46 not by adopting an ethic,
00:05:47 --> 00:05:49 not by turning over a new leaf,
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 not even by joining a community.
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 We begin by believing the report
00:05:55 --> 00:05:58 about what God has done in history
00:05:58 --> 00:06:02 in the person of his son Jesus.
00:06:04 --> 00:06:07 Did God really become a human being?
00:06:07 --> 00:06:11 Did Jesus really live and suffer and die
00:06:11 --> 00:06:14 as a sacrifice for all of humanity?
00:06:14 --> 00:06:19 Did he really rise triumphantly from death
00:06:19 --> 00:06:21 to live forever and rule forever?
00:06:23 --> 00:06:25 You see, Christmas shows us
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 that Christianity is not good advice.
00:06:28 --> 00:06:29 It's good news.
00:06:30 --> 00:06:31 It's a pronouncement.
00:06:31 --> 00:06:31 It's a proclamation.
00:06:34 --> 00:06:36 Secondly, we see here
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 that Christmas turns all of our values upside down.
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 We live in an individualistic culture
00:06:42 --> 00:06:43 where we commend ourselves
00:06:43 --> 00:06:45 through performance
00:06:45 --> 00:06:47 and through accomplishments.
00:06:47 --> 00:06:54 I had this awkward interaction
00:06:54 --> 00:06:55 with someone recently,
00:06:56 --> 00:06:57 a gentleman recently
00:06:57 --> 00:07:00 who has done fairly well in life,
00:07:01 --> 00:07:02 but I never asked him
00:07:02 --> 00:07:04 what he's done in life.
00:07:05 --> 00:07:07 And he was so self-absorbed,
00:07:07 --> 00:07:08 he didn't know what to ask me
00:07:08 --> 00:07:09 what I did in life.
00:07:09 --> 00:07:11 And so all we had
00:07:11 --> 00:07:13 was this surface conversation
00:07:13 --> 00:07:15 because I refused to jump into the conversation
00:07:15 --> 00:07:17 about what do you do?
00:07:18 --> 00:07:19 Who are you?
00:07:21 --> 00:07:23 And so the conversation went nowhere.
00:07:24 --> 00:07:25 Absolutely nowhere.
00:07:27 --> 00:07:29 If I'd opened the door,
00:07:30 --> 00:07:31 I knew him well enough
00:07:31 --> 00:07:32 to know we could spend an hour
00:07:32 --> 00:07:33 just talking about him
00:07:33 --> 00:07:35 and what he's accomplished in life.
00:07:35 --> 00:07:38 That's what we do
00:07:38 --> 00:07:39 in individualistic culture.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:41 That's not how it worked
00:07:41 --> 00:07:43 in the first century in the Middle East
00:07:43 --> 00:07:45 where these events were taking place.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:47 A family tree
00:07:47 --> 00:07:50 operated like a resume
00:07:50 --> 00:07:51 in the first century.
00:07:52 --> 00:07:52 That is,
00:07:53 --> 00:07:53 your heritage,
00:07:54 --> 00:07:55 your clan,
00:07:55 --> 00:07:56 your family,
00:07:56 --> 00:07:57 your pedigree
00:07:57 --> 00:08:00 constituted your resume.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:04 And as they do now,
00:08:04 --> 00:08:06 as we do now,
00:08:06 --> 00:08:08 people adjust their resume
00:08:08 --> 00:08:09 to leave out
00:08:09 --> 00:08:11 the parts
00:08:11 --> 00:08:12 that might be
00:08:12 --> 00:08:13 embarrassing
00:08:13 --> 00:08:16 or a little less impressive.
00:08:20 --> 00:08:21 Most of us
00:08:21 --> 00:08:22 in our 40s or 50s
00:08:22 --> 00:08:23 do not put
00:08:23 --> 00:08:24 our first job
00:08:24 --> 00:08:25 on our resume.
00:08:27 --> 00:08:28 Turning burgers
00:08:28 --> 00:08:28 at Maccas,
00:08:29 --> 00:08:30 cutting weeds
00:08:30 --> 00:08:31 in a cotton field.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:35 And what we know
00:08:35 --> 00:08:36 is in the first century,
00:08:36 --> 00:08:37 Herod the Great
00:08:37 --> 00:08:38 eliminated
00:08:38 --> 00:08:39 many names
00:08:39 --> 00:08:41 from his public genealogy
00:08:41 --> 00:08:43 because he did not want
00:08:43 --> 00:08:44 anyone to know
00:08:44 --> 00:08:46 that those embarrassing people
00:08:46 --> 00:08:47 were associated with him.
00:08:51 --> 00:08:52 It's like the story
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 I heard
00:08:53 --> 00:08:54 once upon a time
00:08:54 --> 00:08:57 where the children
00:08:57 --> 00:08:58 of a prominent family
00:08:58 --> 00:09:00 were assembling
00:09:00 --> 00:09:00 a book
00:09:00 --> 00:09:02 of the family's history
00:09:02 --> 00:09:05 as a birthday present
00:09:05 --> 00:09:06 for the family patriarch.
00:09:07 --> 00:09:08 They commissioned
00:09:08 --> 00:09:09 a professional biographer
00:09:09 --> 00:09:10 and were careful
00:09:10 --> 00:09:11 to warn
00:09:11 --> 00:09:12 this professional biographer
00:09:12 --> 00:09:13 of the black sheep
00:09:13 --> 00:09:14 of the family
00:09:14 --> 00:09:15 and they needed to do
00:09:15 --> 00:09:16 something about
00:09:16 --> 00:09:16 the black sheep.
00:09:16 --> 00:09:17 Black sheep problem
00:09:17 --> 00:09:19 was a guy named
00:09:19 --> 00:09:19 Uncle George.
00:09:20 --> 00:09:21 Uncle George
00:09:21 --> 00:09:22 was a convicted criminal.
00:09:22 --> 00:09:23 He'd been executed
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 in the electric chair
00:09:25 --> 00:09:26 for murder.
00:09:27 --> 00:09:28 And the biographer
00:09:28 --> 00:09:28 assured
00:09:28 --> 00:09:30 the children
00:09:30 --> 00:09:31 of the family
00:09:31 --> 00:09:31 that he could
00:09:31 --> 00:09:33 handle the situation
00:09:33 --> 00:09:34 so that there would be
00:09:34 --> 00:09:35 no embarrassment
00:09:35 --> 00:09:36 brought to the family.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 And so this is what he wrote
00:09:38 --> 00:09:39 about Uncle George.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:40 Uncle George
00:09:40 --> 00:09:41 occupied a chair
00:09:41 --> 00:09:42 of applied electronics
00:09:42 --> 00:09:44 at an important
00:09:44 --> 00:09:45 government institution.
00:09:46 --> 00:09:47 He was attached
00:09:47 --> 00:09:47 to his position
00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 by the strongest of ties
00:09:49 --> 00:09:50 and his death
00:09:50 --> 00:09:51 came as a real shock
00:09:51 --> 00:09:51 to everyone.
00:09:54 --> 00:09:55 We tend to do that
00:09:55 --> 00:09:56 in our lives,
00:09:56 --> 00:09:56 don't we?
00:09:56 --> 00:09:57 We cover over
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 the skeletons
00:10:00 --> 00:10:01 in our closet
00:10:01 --> 00:10:02 if you like.
00:10:03 --> 00:10:04 We do it because
00:10:04 --> 00:10:05 we suspect
00:10:05 --> 00:10:06 that people
00:10:06 --> 00:10:07 will value us
00:10:07 --> 00:10:08 less
00:10:08 --> 00:10:09 if they knew
00:10:09 --> 00:10:10 the true us.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:12 Warts and all
00:10:12 --> 00:10:14 as we say.
00:10:16 --> 00:10:17 And so it's quite surprising
00:10:17 --> 00:10:19 that in a culture
00:10:19 --> 00:10:20 where you just
00:10:20 --> 00:10:22 did not do this,
00:10:22 --> 00:10:23 Matthew
00:10:23 --> 00:10:26 does the exact
00:10:26 --> 00:10:27 opposite with Jesus.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:29 Doesn't cover over
00:10:29 --> 00:10:29 the skeletons
00:10:29 --> 00:10:30 in the closet
00:10:30 --> 00:10:30 at all.
00:10:31 --> 00:10:32 And it helps us
00:10:32 --> 00:10:33 to see that
00:10:33 --> 00:10:34 God's value system
00:10:34 --> 00:10:35 is radically
00:10:35 --> 00:10:36 different than ours.
00:10:38 --> 00:10:39 First of all,
00:10:39 --> 00:10:40 I want you to notice
00:10:40 --> 00:10:41 that there are
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 five women
00:10:42 --> 00:10:43 listed in this
00:10:43 --> 00:10:44 list of this
00:10:44 --> 00:10:45 genealogy.
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 In ancient
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 patriarchal societies,
00:10:48 --> 00:10:49 a woman
00:10:49 --> 00:10:50 was virtually
00:10:50 --> 00:10:52 never named
00:10:52 --> 00:10:53 in a list
00:10:53 --> 00:10:53 like this
00:10:53 --> 00:10:54 unless
00:10:54 --> 00:10:55 they were
00:10:55 --> 00:10:56 quite literally
00:10:56 --> 00:10:56 a queen.
00:10:58 --> 00:10:59 Let alone
00:10:59 --> 00:11:00 to have
00:11:00 --> 00:11:00 five of them.
00:11:03 --> 00:11:03 Women
00:11:03 --> 00:11:05 were gender
00:11:05 --> 00:11:05 outsiders
00:11:05 --> 00:11:06 in those cultures.
00:11:07 --> 00:11:08 They had no
00:11:08 --> 00:11:08 legal rights.
00:11:09 --> 00:11:09 They couldn't
00:11:09 --> 00:11:10 inherit property.
00:11:10 --> 00:11:10 They couldn't
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 give testimony
00:11:11 --> 00:11:11 in court.
00:11:11 --> 00:11:13 And yet
00:11:13 --> 00:11:13 they are here
00:11:13 --> 00:11:14 named in
00:11:14 --> 00:11:14 Jesus'
00:11:14 --> 00:11:15 genealogy.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:16 And what's
00:11:16 --> 00:11:17 more,
00:11:17 --> 00:11:18 three of
00:11:18 --> 00:11:19 the five
00:11:19 --> 00:11:21 are Gentiles.
00:11:21 --> 00:11:21 Tamar,
00:11:22 --> 00:11:22 Rahab,
00:11:22 --> 00:11:23 and Ruth.
00:11:24 --> 00:11:25 To the
00:11:25 --> 00:11:26 ancient Jew,
00:11:27 --> 00:11:28 these women
00:11:28 --> 00:11:29 are regarded
00:11:29 --> 00:11:30 as unclean
00:11:30 --> 00:11:31 Gentiles.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:33 They were
00:11:33 --> 00:11:34 not just
00:11:34 --> 00:11:35 gender
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 outsiders,
00:11:36 --> 00:11:36 but these
00:11:36 --> 00:11:37 are racial
00:11:37 --> 00:11:38 and religious
00:11:38 --> 00:11:39 outsiders.
00:11:40 --> 00:11:40 And yet
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 Matthew
00:11:41 --> 00:11:42 deliberately
00:11:42 --> 00:11:43 includes
00:11:43 --> 00:11:43 them
00:11:43 --> 00:11:44 in the
00:11:44 --> 00:11:44 family
00:11:44 --> 00:11:45 tree
00:11:45 --> 00:11:45 of the
00:11:45 --> 00:11:46 long
00:11:46 --> 00:11:46 awaited
00:11:46 --> 00:11:47 Messiah
00:11:47 --> 00:11:47 of the
00:11:47 --> 00:11:48 world,
00:11:48 --> 00:11:49 the Jewish
00:11:49 --> 00:11:50 Messiah.
00:11:54 --> 00:11:55 And by
00:11:55 --> 00:11:56 including
00:11:56 --> 00:11:56 them,
00:11:57 --> 00:11:57 Matthew
00:11:57 --> 00:11:58 recalls
00:11:58 --> 00:11:58 some of
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 the most
00:11:59 --> 00:12:00 sordid,
00:12:01 --> 00:12:01 nasty,
00:12:02 --> 00:12:03 immoral
00:12:03 --> 00:12:04 occasions
00:12:04 --> 00:12:04 in the
00:12:04 --> 00:12:04 Bible.
00:12:05 --> 00:12:06 It says
00:12:06 --> 00:12:07 in verse
00:12:07 --> 00:12:07 three that
00:12:07 --> 00:12:08 Judah was
00:12:08 --> 00:12:08 the father
00:12:08 --> 00:12:08 of Perez
00:12:08 --> 00:12:09 and Zerah
00:12:09 --> 00:12:10 and the
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 mother was
00:12:11 --> 00:12:12 Tamar.
00:12:13 --> 00:12:14 Tamar
00:12:14 --> 00:12:15 was
00:12:15 --> 00:12:16 Judah's
00:12:16 --> 00:12:17 daughter-in-law
00:12:17 --> 00:12:18 and she
00:12:18 --> 00:12:19 tricked him
00:12:19 --> 00:12:19 into sleeping
00:12:19 --> 00:12:20 with her.
00:12:21 --> 00:12:22 It was an
00:12:22 --> 00:12:22 act that was
00:12:22 --> 00:12:23 against the
00:12:23 --> 00:12:24 law of God.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:25 And even
00:12:25 --> 00:12:26 though Jesus
00:12:26 --> 00:12:26 was a
00:12:26 --> 00:12:27 descendant of
00:12:27 --> 00:12:28 Perez and
00:12:28 --> 00:12:28 not Zerah,
00:12:30 --> 00:12:30 Matthew
00:12:30 --> 00:12:31 includes them
00:12:31 --> 00:12:31 both.
00:12:31 --> 00:12:35 and both
00:12:35 --> 00:12:36 Judah and
00:12:36 --> 00:12:36 Tamar
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 so that
00:12:38 --> 00:12:39 we remember
00:12:39 --> 00:12:40 that whole
00:12:40 --> 00:12:41 sordid
00:12:41 --> 00:12:42 story.
00:12:43 --> 00:12:43 The
00:12:43 --> 00:12:44 saviour of
00:12:44 --> 00:12:44 the world
00:12:44 --> 00:12:46 came into
00:12:46 --> 00:12:47 the world
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 into a
00:12:49 --> 00:12:49 dysfunctional
00:12:49 --> 00:12:50 family
00:12:50 --> 00:12:52 just like
00:12:52 --> 00:12:53 yours
00:12:53 --> 00:12:55 and mine.
00:12:57 --> 00:12:59 And remember
00:12:59 --> 00:12:59 Rahab?
00:12:59 --> 00:12:59 Rahab?
00:12:59 --> 00:13:03 Mentioned
00:13:03 --> 00:13:03 in verse
00:13:03 --> 00:13:04 five,
00:13:04 --> 00:13:05 just a
00:13:05 --> 00:13:05 Gentile,
00:13:05 --> 00:13:06 she was
00:13:06 --> 00:13:06 a prostitute.
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 But the
00:13:10 --> 00:13:10 most
00:13:10 --> 00:13:10 interesting
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 story is
00:13:11 --> 00:13:11 in verse
00:13:11 --> 00:13:12 six,
00:13:12 --> 00:13:12 it mentions
00:13:12 --> 00:13:13 King
00:13:13 --> 00:13:13 David,
00:13:14 --> 00:13:15 royalty in
00:13:15 --> 00:13:15 the family
00:13:15 --> 00:13:16 tree and
00:13:16 --> 00:13:16 you go,
00:13:16 --> 00:13:16 woo,
00:13:16 --> 00:13:17 that's
00:13:17 --> 00:13:17 fine,
00:13:17 --> 00:13:17 good
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 stuff.
00:13:19 --> 00:13:20 Except
00:13:20 --> 00:13:22 in one
00:13:22 --> 00:13:22 of the
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 most,
00:13:23 --> 00:13:24 I think
00:13:24 --> 00:13:24 one of
00:13:24 --> 00:13:25 the great
00:13:25 --> 00:13:26 and ironic
00:13:26 --> 00:13:27 understatements
00:13:27 --> 00:13:28 of the
00:13:28 --> 00:13:28 Bible,
00:13:29 --> 00:13:29 Matthew
00:13:29 --> 00:13:30 adds
00:13:30 --> 00:13:30 here,
00:13:30 --> 00:13:31 it was
00:13:31 --> 00:13:32 the father
00:13:32 --> 00:13:32 of
00:13:32 --> 00:13:33 Solomon
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 and
00:13:35 --> 00:13:36 whose
00:13:36 --> 00:13:36 mother
00:13:36 --> 00:13:37 had been
00:13:37 --> 00:13:38 Uriah's
00:13:38 --> 00:13:39 wife.
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 Her name
00:13:41 --> 00:13:41 was
00:13:41 --> 00:13:43 Bathsheba.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 And by
00:13:45 --> 00:13:46 not naming
00:13:46 --> 00:13:47 her and
00:13:47 --> 00:13:47 mentioning
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 instead her
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 first husband
00:13:49 --> 00:13:50 Uriah,
00:13:50 --> 00:13:51 Matthew is
00:13:51 --> 00:13:52 again calling
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 us to
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 recall a
00:13:55 --> 00:13:56 terrible and
00:13:56 --> 00:13:57 a tragic
00:13:57 --> 00:13:58 and assorted
00:13:58 --> 00:13:59 chapter in
00:13:59 --> 00:14:00 Israel's
00:14:00 --> 00:14:00 history.
00:14:01 --> 00:14:02 King,
00:14:02 --> 00:14:03 the greatest
00:14:03 --> 00:14:04 blot on
00:14:04 --> 00:14:05 great King
00:14:05 --> 00:14:06 David's
00:14:06 --> 00:14:06 name.
00:14:08 --> 00:14:09 Before he
00:14:09 --> 00:14:10 was king,
00:14:11 --> 00:14:12 David was a
00:14:12 --> 00:14:12 fugitive running
00:14:12 --> 00:14:13 for his life
00:14:13 --> 00:14:14 from King
00:14:14 --> 00:14:15 Saul.
00:14:15 --> 00:14:16 And a
00:14:16 --> 00:14:17 group of
00:14:17 --> 00:14:18 37,
00:14:18 --> 00:14:19 just 37
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 loyal men
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 went on
00:14:22 --> 00:14:22 the run
00:14:22 --> 00:14:22 with King
00:14:22 --> 00:14:23 David
00:14:23 --> 00:14:24 against
00:14:24 --> 00:14:25 Saul and
00:14:25 --> 00:14:25 all the
00:14:25 --> 00:14:26 might of
00:14:26 --> 00:14:26 the kingdom.
00:14:27 --> 00:14:27 And they
00:14:27 --> 00:14:28 put their
00:14:28 --> 00:14:29 lives on
00:14:29 --> 00:14:29 the line
00:14:29 --> 00:14:30 to protect
00:14:30 --> 00:14:30 David.
00:14:31 --> 00:14:32 They would
00:14:32 --> 00:14:33 do anything
00:14:33 --> 00:14:33 for David.
00:14:36 --> 00:14:36 And
00:14:36 --> 00:14:37 Uriah was
00:14:37 --> 00:14:37 one of
00:14:37 --> 00:14:37 them,
00:14:38 --> 00:14:38 2 Samuel
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 23.
00:14:41 --> 00:14:42 And when
00:14:42 --> 00:14:42 David was
00:14:42 --> 00:14:43 finally made
00:14:43 --> 00:14:45 king from
00:14:45 --> 00:14:45 his palace
00:14:45 --> 00:14:46 roof, he
00:14:46 --> 00:14:47 saw Uriah's
00:14:47 --> 00:14:47 wife and he
00:14:47 --> 00:14:48 wanted her and
00:14:48 --> 00:14:48 he took her.
00:14:48 --> 00:14:51 she got
00:14:51 --> 00:14:52 pregnant and
00:14:52 --> 00:14:52 then he
00:14:52 --> 00:14:53 arranged to
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 have Uriah
00:14:54 --> 00:14:57 killed so
00:14:57 --> 00:14:57 that he could
00:14:57 --> 00:14:58 marry her and
00:14:58 --> 00:14:59 cover up the
00:14:59 --> 00:15:00 whole sordid
00:15:00 --> 00:15:00 thing.
00:15:02 --> 00:15:03 And it was
00:15:03 --> 00:15:04 out of this
00:15:04 --> 00:15:04 dysfunctional
00:15:04 --> 00:15:06 family and
00:15:06 --> 00:15:07 this deeply
00:15:07 --> 00:15:08 flawed man
00:15:08 --> 00:15:09 that the
00:15:09 --> 00:15:10 saviour of
00:15:10 --> 00:15:10 the world
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 came.
00:15:12 --> 00:15:12 So this
00:15:12 --> 00:15:13 list of
00:15:13 --> 00:15:14 names here
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 includes moral
00:15:15 --> 00:15:16 outsiders and
00:15:16 --> 00:15:17 cultural outsiders
00:15:17 --> 00:15:17 and racial
00:15:17 --> 00:15:18 outsiders and
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 gender outsiders
00:15:19 --> 00:15:20 rather than
00:15:20 --> 00:15:21 being excluded
00:15:21 --> 00:15:22 or covered
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 up or
00:15:23 --> 00:15:23 covered over.
00:15:24 --> 00:15:24 They are
00:15:24 --> 00:15:24 publicly
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 acknowledged as
00:15:26 --> 00:15:28 ancestors of
00:15:28 --> 00:15:29 the perfect
00:15:29 --> 00:15:30 Jesus Christ.
00:15:32 --> 00:15:33 It's such an
00:15:33 --> 00:15:33 unusual
00:15:33 --> 00:15:34 genealogy.
00:15:35 --> 00:15:35 Why did
00:15:35 --> 00:15:36 Matthew
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 include it?
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 He didn't
00:15:38 --> 00:15:38 have to
00:15:38 --> 00:15:39 include all
00:15:39 --> 00:15:39 these details,
00:15:39 --> 00:15:40 so why did
00:15:40 --> 00:15:41 he deliberately
00:15:41 --> 00:15:42 include it?
00:15:44 --> 00:15:45 There's a
00:15:45 --> 00:15:46 verse in the
00:15:46 --> 00:15:46 Bible that
00:15:46 --> 00:15:47 gives us a
00:15:47 --> 00:15:47 clue.
00:15:47 --> 00:15:49 It's 2
00:15:49 --> 00:15:50 Corinthians 5
00:15:50 --> 00:15:51 verse 21.
00:15:52 --> 00:15:53 God made
00:15:53 --> 00:15:55 him who
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 had no
00:15:56 --> 00:15:57 sin to
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 be sin
00:15:58 --> 00:15:58 for us
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 so that
00:16:00 --> 00:16:00 in him,
00:16:00 --> 00:16:01 talking about
00:16:01 --> 00:16:01 Jesus,
00:16:02 --> 00:16:03 we might
00:16:03 --> 00:16:03 become the
00:16:03 --> 00:16:04 righteousness
00:16:04 --> 00:16:04 of God.
00:16:05 --> 00:16:06 The saviour
00:16:06 --> 00:16:07 of the world
00:16:07 --> 00:16:08 jumped right
00:16:08 --> 00:16:09 into the
00:16:09 --> 00:16:09 middle of
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 evil,
00:16:12 --> 00:16:12 unjust
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 affairs of
00:16:13 --> 00:16:14 human existence
00:16:14 --> 00:16:15 sin.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:16 He
00:16:16 --> 00:16:21 jumps into
00:16:21 --> 00:16:21 the quick
00:16:21 --> 00:16:23 sand in
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 order to
00:16:24 --> 00:16:24 pull us
00:16:24 --> 00:16:24 from it.
00:16:26 --> 00:16:26 He
00:16:26 --> 00:16:27 identifies with
00:16:27 --> 00:16:27 our weakness
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 and our
00:16:28 --> 00:16:28 brokenness
00:16:28 --> 00:16:30 to rescue
00:16:30 --> 00:16:30 us out of
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 it.
00:16:31 --> 00:16:31 The Christian
00:16:31 --> 00:16:33 message is
00:16:33 --> 00:16:33 that if you
00:16:33 --> 00:16:34 repent and
00:16:34 --> 00:16:35 you believe
00:16:35 --> 00:16:36 in Jesus
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 Christ,
00:16:37 --> 00:16:37 he
00:16:37 --> 00:16:40 unites you
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 with him
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 and all
00:16:42 --> 00:16:42 of his
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 saving work
00:16:43 --> 00:16:44 and all
00:16:44 --> 00:16:44 of its
00:16:44 --> 00:16:44 benefits
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45 for
00:16:45 --> 00:16:46 eternity.
00:16:46 --> 00:16:47 There is
00:16:47 --> 00:16:48 not a
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 single
00:16:49 --> 00:16:50 great
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 individual
00:16:51 --> 00:16:52 who
00:16:52 --> 00:16:52 doesn't
00:16:52 --> 00:16:52 need
00:16:52 --> 00:16:53 his
00:16:53 --> 00:16:53 grace
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 and
00:16:54 --> 00:16:54 there
00:16:54 --> 00:16:54 is
00:16:54 --> 00:16:54 not a
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 single
00:16:55 --> 00:16:56 rotten
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 individual
00:16:57 --> 00:16:57 who
00:16:57 --> 00:16:58 can
00:16:58 --> 00:16:58 fail
00:16:58 --> 00:16:58 to
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 receive
00:16:59 --> 00:16:59 his
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 grace.
00:17:04 --> 00:17:05 Every
00:17:05 --> 00:17:06 gift that
00:17:06 --> 00:17:06 we give
00:17:06 --> 00:17:07 and we
00:17:07 --> 00:17:07 receive
00:17:07 --> 00:17:08 at Christmas
00:17:08 --> 00:17:09 are symbol
00:17:09 --> 00:17:10 of the
00:17:10 --> 00:17:10 greatest
00:17:10 --> 00:17:11 gift of
00:17:11 --> 00:17:11 all,
00:17:12 --> 00:17:12 God's
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 grace to
00:17:13 --> 00:17:13 us in
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 Jesus
00:17:14 --> 00:17:14 Christ.
00:17:16 --> 00:17:17 Now as
00:17:17 --> 00:17:18 James
00:17:18 --> 00:17:18 mentioned
00:17:18 --> 00:17:19 last week
00:17:19 --> 00:17:21 and you've
00:17:21 --> 00:17:22 got to
00:17:22 --> 00:17:22 repeat it
00:17:22 --> 00:17:22 because it's
00:17:22 --> 00:17:23 just so
00:17:23 --> 00:17:23 good.
00:17:24 --> 00:17:24 Some
00:17:24 --> 00:17:25 gifts by
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 their very
00:17:26 --> 00:17:26 nature
00:17:26 --> 00:17:29 just cause
00:17:29 --> 00:17:29 you to
00:17:29 --> 00:17:30 swallow
00:17:30 --> 00:17:31 your pride
00:17:31 --> 00:17:33 and hopefully
00:17:33 --> 00:17:33 you won't
00:17:33 --> 00:17:34 necessarily
00:17:34 --> 00:17:35 receive one
00:17:35 --> 00:17:35 of these
00:17:35 --> 00:17:36 this Christmas
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 but you
00:17:37 --> 00:17:37 know a
00:17:37 --> 00:17:37 book titled
00:17:37 --> 00:17:38 Ten Easy
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 Steps to
00:17:39 --> 00:17:39 Lose
00:17:39 --> 00:17:39 Weight for
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 instance or
00:17:40 --> 00:17:42 another book
00:17:42 --> 00:17:43 titled Overcoming
00:17:43 --> 00:17:43 Selfishness
00:17:43 --> 00:17:44 you receive those
00:17:44 --> 00:17:45 kind of things
00:17:45 --> 00:17:46 that just
00:17:46 --> 00:17:46 can't help
00:17:46 --> 00:17:47 but you
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 know highlight
00:17:49 --> 00:17:50 your flaws
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 or cause
00:17:51 --> 00:17:52 you to admit
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 your weaknesses
00:17:53 --> 00:17:53 or that you
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 need help in
00:17:54 --> 00:17:55 some kind
00:17:55 --> 00:17:55 of way
00:17:55 --> 00:17:56 and the
00:17:56 --> 00:17:56 message of
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 Christmas is
00:17:57 --> 00:17:57 such a
00:17:57 --> 00:17:57 gift.
00:17:58 --> 00:17:59 The message
00:17:59 --> 00:17:59 of Christianity
00:17:59 --> 00:18:00 is that there
00:18:00 --> 00:18:01 has never been
00:18:01 --> 00:18:02 a gift offered
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 that makes
00:18:03 --> 00:18:04 you swallow
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 your pride
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 to the
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 depths
00:18:07 --> 00:18:09 of the
00:18:09 --> 00:18:09 gift
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11 of Jesus
00:18:11 --> 00:18:11 Christ
00:18:11 --> 00:18:12 requires us
00:18:12 --> 00:18:12 to.
00:18:12 --> 00:18:14 Christmas
00:18:14 --> 00:18:15 means that
00:18:15 --> 00:18:16 we are
00:18:16 --> 00:18:17 so lost
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 we are
00:18:18 --> 00:18:20 so unable
00:18:20 --> 00:18:21 to save
00:18:21 --> 00:18:22 ourselves
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 that nothing
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 less than
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 the death
00:18:25 --> 00:18:25 of the
00:18:25 --> 00:18:25 Son of
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 God
00:18:26 --> 00:18:26 himself
00:18:26 --> 00:18:26 could not
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 save us.
00:18:31 --> 00:18:32 To accept
00:18:32 --> 00:18:33 the Christmas
00:18:33 --> 00:18:33 gift
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 we must
00:18:34 --> 00:18:35 admit that
00:18:35 --> 00:18:35 we are
00:18:35 --> 00:18:35 sinners
00:18:35 --> 00:18:37 we are
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 unworthy
00:18:38 --> 00:18:38 of the
00:18:38 --> 00:18:38 gift
00:18:38 --> 00:18:39 and in
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 need of
00:18:40 --> 00:18:40 saving
00:18:40 --> 00:18:40 by his
00:18:40 --> 00:18:41 grace
00:18:41 --> 00:18:43 and that
00:18:43 --> 00:18:43 is a
00:18:43 --> 00:18:43 descent
00:18:43 --> 00:18:45 too
00:18:45 --> 00:18:46 low
00:18:46 --> 00:18:47 for many
00:18:47 --> 00:18:47 of us
00:18:47 --> 00:18:48 to want
00:18:48 --> 00:18:48 to actually
00:18:48 --> 00:18:49 go into.
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 You see
00:18:52 --> 00:18:52 Christmas
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 totally
00:18:53 --> 00:18:53 humbles
00:18:53 --> 00:18:54 us
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 because it
00:18:55 --> 00:18:56 proclaims
00:18:56 --> 00:18:56 that nothing
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 less than
00:18:57 --> 00:18:58 the death
00:18:58 --> 00:18:58 of the
00:18:58 --> 00:18:59 Son of
00:18:59 --> 00:18:59 God
00:18:59 --> 00:19:00 can rescue
00:19:00 --> 00:19:00 us.
00:19:01 --> 00:19:01 It also
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 affirms
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 us
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 because he
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 was actually
00:19:05 --> 00:19:05 willing to
00:19:05 --> 00:19:06 do that
00:19:06 --> 00:19:07 for us.
00:19:07 --> 00:19:10 the greatness
00:19:10 --> 00:19:10 of Jesus
00:19:10 --> 00:19:12 is seen
00:19:12 --> 00:19:12 in how
00:19:12 --> 00:19:13 far down
00:19:13 --> 00:19:14 he came
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 to love
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 us and
00:19:16 --> 00:19:16 to lift
00:19:16 --> 00:19:17 us up
00:19:17 --> 00:19:18 as we
00:19:18 --> 00:19:19 have already
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 said in
00:19:20 --> 00:19:21 our service
00:19:21 --> 00:19:21 this morning
00:19:21 --> 00:19:22 in chapter
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 two.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 Christmas
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 turns all
00:19:25 --> 00:19:25 of our
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 values on
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 their head.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:28 God
00:19:28 --> 00:19:28 isn't
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 attracted
00:19:29 --> 00:19:29 to us
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 by impressive
00:19:30 --> 00:19:31 resumes
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 and performances
00:19:32 --> 00:19:33 even religious
00:19:33 --> 00:19:34 performance.
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 the only
00:19:35 --> 00:19:36 way to
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 get God's
00:19:37 --> 00:19:37 approval
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 is by
00:19:38 --> 00:19:39 acknowledging
00:19:39 --> 00:19:39 our
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 brokenness
00:19:40 --> 00:19:40 our
00:19:40 --> 00:19:41 sinfulness
00:19:41 --> 00:19:41 our
00:19:41 --> 00:19:42 frailty
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 our
00:19:43 --> 00:19:43 flaws
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 our
00:19:44 --> 00:19:44 failures
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 and our
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 desperate
00:19:46 --> 00:19:46 desperate
00:19:46 --> 00:19:47 need for
00:19:47 --> 00:19:47 his
00:19:47 --> 00:19:47 mercy.
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 So
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 thirdly
00:19:52 --> 00:19:54 if we
00:19:54 --> 00:19:55 accept it
00:19:55 --> 00:19:57 God's
00:19:57 --> 00:19:57 grace
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 gives us
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 an ultimate
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 rest
00:20:00 --> 00:20:00 that we
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 experience
00:20:01 --> 00:20:02 even now
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 at Christmas
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 time.
00:20:04 --> 00:20:07 at the
00:20:07 --> 00:20:07 end of
00:20:07 --> 00:20:08 this list
00:20:08 --> 00:20:08 of names
00:20:08 --> 00:20:09 there's
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 an obscure
00:20:10 --> 00:20:10 verse
00:20:10 --> 00:20:12 in verse
00:20:12 --> 00:20:12 17.
00:20:14 --> 00:20:14 It says
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 there were
00:20:15 --> 00:20:15 14
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 generations
00:20:16 --> 00:20:16 in all
00:20:16 --> 00:20:17 from
00:20:17 --> 00:20:17 Abraham
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 to
00:20:18 --> 00:20:18 David
00:20:18 --> 00:20:19 14
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 from
00:20:20 --> 00:20:20 David
00:20:20 --> 00:20:20 to
00:20:20 --> 00:20:20 the
00:20:20 --> 00:20:21 exile
00:20:21 --> 00:20:21 in
00:20:21 --> 00:20:21 Babylon
00:20:21 --> 00:20:22 and
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 14
00:20:23 --> 00:20:24 from
00:20:24 --> 00:20:24 the
00:20:24 --> 00:20:25 exile
00:20:25 --> 00:20:25 to
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 the
00:20:26 --> 00:20:26 Messiah.
00:20:29 --> 00:20:29 For
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 many
00:20:30 --> 00:20:30 years
00:20:30 --> 00:20:31 I just
00:20:31 --> 00:20:31 skipped
00:20:31 --> 00:20:31 across
00:20:31 --> 00:20:32 that
00:20:32 --> 00:20:32 verse
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 and went
00:20:33 --> 00:20:34 technical
00:20:34 --> 00:20:35 detail.
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 And yet
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 nothing's
00:20:38 --> 00:20:38 ever lost
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 in the
00:20:39 --> 00:20:39 scriptures.
00:20:40 --> 00:20:40 There's
00:20:40 --> 00:20:40 something
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 very
00:20:41 --> 00:20:41 profound
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 even
00:20:42 --> 00:20:43 though
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43 that
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43 does
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43 not
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 mean
00:20:44 --> 00:20:44 a lot
00:20:44 --> 00:20:44 for
00:20:44 --> 00:20:44 us
00:20:44 --> 00:20:44 right
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 here
00:20:45 --> 00:20:45 right
00:20:45 --> 00:20:45 now
00:20:45 --> 00:20:47 in
00:20:47 --> 00:20:47 terms
00:20:47 --> 00:20:47 of
00:20:47 --> 00:20:47 reading
00:20:47 --> 00:20:47 it
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 but
00:20:48 --> 00:20:49 that
00:20:49 --> 00:20:49 was
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 massive
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 news
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51 what
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51 was
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 just
00:20:52 --> 00:20:52 written
00:20:52 --> 00:20:52 there
00:20:52 --> 00:20:52 is
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 news
00:20:53 --> 00:20:53 for
00:20:53 --> 00:20:53 the
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 first
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 recipients
00:20:54 --> 00:20:55 of
00:20:55 --> 00:20:55 Matthew's
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 gospel.
00:20:56 --> 00:20:58 Let
00:20:58 --> 00:20:58 me
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 explain
00:20:59 --> 00:20:59 it
00:20:59 --> 00:20:59 to
00:20:59 --> 00:21:00 you.
00:21:00 --> 00:21:01 In
00:21:01 --> 00:21:01 the
00:21:01 --> 00:21:01 Bible
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 the
00:21:02 --> 00:21:02 number
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 seven
00:21:03 --> 00:21:03 is
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 very
00:21:04 --> 00:21:04 significant.
00:21:05 --> 00:21:05 Right
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 at the
00:21:06 --> 00:21:06 beginning
00:21:06 --> 00:21:06 of the
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 Bible
00:21:07 --> 00:21:07 it's
00:21:07 --> 00:21:07 the
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 number
00:21:08 --> 00:21:08 for
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 completeness
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 it's
00:21:10 --> 00:21:10 the
00:21:10 --> 00:21:10 number
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 for
00:21:11 --> 00:21:11 the
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 goal
00:21:12 --> 00:21:12 of
00:21:12 --> 00:21:12 all
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 things.
00:21:15 --> 00:21:15 Right
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 at the
00:21:16 --> 00:21:16 beginning
00:21:16 --> 00:21:16 of the
00:21:16 --> 00:21:16 Bible
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 God
00:21:17 --> 00:21:17 did
00:21:17 --> 00:21:17 the
00:21:17 --> 00:21:17 work
00:21:17 --> 00:21:17 of
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 creating
00:21:18 --> 00:21:18 the
00:21:18 --> 00:21:18 world
00:21:18 --> 00:21:18 in
00:21:18 --> 00:21:19 six
00:21:19 --> 00:21:19 days
00:21:19 --> 00:21:19 and
00:21:19 --> 00:21:19 it
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 says
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 on
00:21:21 --> 00:21:21 the
00:21:21 --> 00:21:21 seventh
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 day
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 he
00:21:23 --> 00:21:23 rested.
00:21:23 --> 00:21:28 God
00:21:28 --> 00:21:28 wasn't
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 tired
00:21:29 --> 00:21:32 rest
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 means
00:21:33 --> 00:21:33 the
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 enjoyment
00:21:34 --> 00:21:35 of
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35 the
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35 created
00:21:35 --> 00:21:36 order
00:21:36 --> 00:21:36 in
00:21:36 --> 00:21:36 fact
00:21:36 --> 00:21:37 rest
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 was
00:21:38 --> 00:21:38 the
00:21:38 --> 00:21:38 goal
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 of
00:21:39 --> 00:21:39 creation
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 that's
00:21:40 --> 00:21:41 why
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 you
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 don't
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 have
00:21:41 --> 00:21:41 in
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 the
00:21:42 --> 00:21:42 Bible
00:21:42 --> 00:21:42 and
00:21:42 --> 00:21:42 then
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 it
00:21:43 --> 00:21:43 was
00:21:43 --> 00:21:43 Monday
00:21:43 --> 00:21:43 morning
00:21:43 --> 00:21:43 and
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 God
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 went
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 back
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 to
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 work
00:21:44 --> 00:21:46 it
00:21:46 --> 00:21:46 was
00:21:46 --> 00:21:46 the
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 seventh
00:21:47 --> 00:21:47 day
00:21:47 --> 00:21:47 that's
00:21:47 --> 00:21:48 the
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 goal
00:21:48 --> 00:21:48 the
00:21:48 --> 00:21:49 enjoyment
00:21:49 --> 00:21:49 of
00:21:49 --> 00:21:49 all
00:21:49 --> 00:21:49 of
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 creation
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 everything
00:21:51 --> 00:21:51 at
00:21:51 --> 00:21:51 peace
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 and
00:21:52 --> 00:21:52 harmony
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 everything
00:21:53 --> 00:21:53 was
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 perfect
00:21:54 --> 00:21:57 until
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 sin
00:21:58 --> 00:21:58 entered
00:21:58 --> 00:21:58 the
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 picture
00:21:59 --> 00:22:02 the
00:22:02 --> 00:22:02 first
00:22:02 --> 00:22:02 people
00:22:02 --> 00:22:03 decided
00:22:03 --> 00:22:03 to
00:22:03 --> 00:22:03 reject
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 God's
00:22:04 --> 00:22:04 loving
00:22:04 --> 00:22:04 rule
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 over
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 their
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 life
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 and
00:22:06 --> 00:22:06 they
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 chose
00:22:07 --> 00:22:07 for
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 themselves
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 how
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 they
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10 think
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 life
00:22:11 --> 00:22:11 should
00:22:11 --> 00:22:11 work
00:22:11 --> 00:22:13 and
00:22:13 --> 00:22:13 that
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 state
00:22:14 --> 00:22:14 of
00:22:14 --> 00:22:14 perfection
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 and
00:22:15 --> 00:22:15 harmony
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 that
00:22:16 --> 00:22:16 state
00:22:16 --> 00:22:16 of
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 rest
00:22:17 --> 00:22:19 was
00:22:19 --> 00:22:19 fractured
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 destroyed
00:22:20 --> 00:22:23 there
00:22:23 --> 00:22:23 wasn't
00:22:23 --> 00:22:23 any
00:22:23 --> 00:22:24 harmony
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 or
00:22:24 --> 00:22:24 peace
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 anymore
00:22:25 --> 00:22:25 life
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 was
00:22:26 --> 00:22:26 now
00:22:26 --> 00:22:27 characterized
00:22:27 --> 00:22:27 by
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 hardships
00:22:28 --> 00:22:28 and
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 pandemics
00:22:29 --> 00:22:29 and
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 lockdowns
00:22:30 --> 00:22:30 and
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 work
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 was
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 going
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 to
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 be
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 done
00:22:31 --> 00:22:31 at
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 the
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 sweat
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 of
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 your
00:22:32 --> 00:22:32 brow
00:22:32 --> 00:22:33 raising
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 children
00:22:34 --> 00:22:34 was
00:22:34 --> 00:22:34 going
00:22:34 --> 00:22:34 to
00:22:34 --> 00:22:34 be
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 painful
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 weeds
00:22:36 --> 00:22:36 and
00:22:36 --> 00:22:37 pests
00:22:37 --> 00:22:37 you'll
00:22:37 --> 00:22:37 never
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 ever
00:22:38 --> 00:22:38 conquer
00:22:38 --> 00:22:39 those
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 things
00:22:39 --> 00:22:39 for goodness
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 sake
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 never
00:22:41 --> 00:22:41 conquer
00:22:41 --> 00:22:42 them
00:22:42 --> 00:22:42 always
00:22:42 --> 00:22:43 growing
00:22:43 --> 00:22:43 in
00:22:43 --> 00:22:43 your
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 lawn
00:22:44 --> 00:22:47 but
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 God
00:22:48 --> 00:22:48 still
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 graciously
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 provided
00:22:50 --> 00:22:50 for
00:22:50 --> 00:22:50 his
00:22:50 --> 00:22:50 people
00:22:50 --> 00:22:52 he
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 instituted
00:22:53 --> 00:22:53 a
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 seventh
00:22:54 --> 00:22:54 day
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 of
00:22:55 --> 00:22:55 rest
00:22:55 --> 00:22:56 as
00:22:56 --> 00:22:56 part
00:22:56 --> 00:22:56 of
00:22:56 --> 00:22:56 their
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 normal
00:22:57 --> 00:22:57 cycle
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 in
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 the
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 week
00:22:58 --> 00:23:00 but
00:23:00 --> 00:23:00 he
00:23:00 --> 00:23:00 also
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 instituted
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 an
00:23:02 --> 00:23:03 ultimate
00:23:03 --> 00:23:03 day
00:23:03 --> 00:23:03 of
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 rest
00:23:04 --> 00:23:05 an
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 ultimate
00:23:06 --> 00:23:06 year
00:23:06 --> 00:23:06 of
00:23:06 --> 00:23:06 rest
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 in
00:23:07 --> 00:23:07 fact
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 it
00:23:08 --> 00:23:08 was
00:23:08 --> 00:23:08 called
00:23:08 --> 00:23:08 the
00:23:08 --> 00:23:08 year
00:23:08 --> 00:23:08 of
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 jubilee
00:23:09 --> 00:23:10 and
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 at
00:23:11 --> 00:23:11 the
00:23:11 --> 00:23:11 end
00:23:11 --> 00:23:12 of
00:23:12 --> 00:23:12 the
00:23:12 --> 00:23:12 last
00:23:12 --> 00:23:13 year
00:23:13 --> 00:23:14 of
00:23:14 --> 00:23:14 the
00:23:14 --> 00:23:14 seventh
00:23:14 --> 00:23:15 period
00:23:15 --> 00:23:15 of
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 seven
00:23:16 --> 00:23:16 years
00:23:16 --> 00:23:17 that
00:23:17 --> 00:23:17 is
00:23:17 --> 00:23:17 the
00:23:17 --> 00:23:18 49th
00:23:18 --> 00:23:18 year
00:23:18 --> 00:23:20 that
00:23:20 --> 00:23:20 was
00:23:20 --> 00:23:20 the
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 year
00:23:21 --> 00:23:21 of
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 jubilee
00:23:22 --> 00:23:23 it
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 was
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 the
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 year
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 of
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 rest
00:23:26 --> 00:23:27 no
00:23:27 --> 00:23:27 work
00:23:27 --> 00:23:28 was
00:23:28 --> 00:23:28 to
00:23:28 --> 00:23:28 be
00:23:28 --> 00:23:28 done
00:23:28 --> 00:23:29 imagine
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 that
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 a year
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 of rest
00:23:30 --> 00:23:30 no
00:23:30 --> 00:23:30 work
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 at
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 all
00:23:31 --> 00:23:31 no
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 plough
00:23:32 --> 00:23:32 no
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 fields
00:23:33 --> 00:23:33 were
00:23:33 --> 00:23:33 ploughed
00:23:33 --> 00:23:35 it
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 was
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 a
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 year
00:23:35 --> 00:23:36 that
00:23:36 --> 00:23:36 began
00:23:36 --> 00:23:37 on
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 the
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 day
00:23:37 --> 00:23:37 of
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 fresh
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 beginnings
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 when
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 the
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 whole
00:23:39 --> 00:23:39 nation
00:23:39 --> 00:23:40 just
00:23:40 --> 00:23:40 received
00:23:40 --> 00:23:41 forgiveness
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 for
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 their
00:23:41 --> 00:23:41 sin
00:23:41 --> 00:23:43 the
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 jubilee
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 year
00:23:44 --> 00:23:44 was
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 characterized
00:23:45 --> 00:23:45 by
00:23:45 --> 00:23:45 freedom
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 and
00:23:46 --> 00:23:46 return
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 freedom
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 from
00:23:48 --> 00:23:48 burdens
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 labor
00:23:49 --> 00:23:49 and
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 debt
00:23:50 --> 00:23:50 were to
00:23:50 --> 00:23:50 go
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 hand
00:23:51 --> 00:23:51 in
00:23:51 --> 00:23:51 hand
00:23:51 --> 00:23:51 with
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 restoring
00:23:52 --> 00:23:52 of
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 broken
00:23:53 --> 00:23:53 family
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 ties
00:23:54 --> 00:23:54 and
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 repossession
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 of
00:23:55 --> 00:23:55 lost
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 property
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 all
00:23:57 --> 00:23:57 debts
00:23:57 --> 00:23:57 were
00:23:57 --> 00:23:58 canceled
00:23:58 --> 00:23:58 on
00:23:58 --> 00:23:58 the
00:23:58 --> 00:23:59 year
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 of
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 jubilee
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 everything
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 restart
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 after
00:24:02 --> 00:24:02 49
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 years
00:24:03 --> 00:24:03 a
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 year
00:24:04 --> 00:24:04 of
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 rest
00:24:05 --> 00:24:05 and
00:24:05 --> 00:24:05 celebration
00:24:05 --> 00:24:09 the
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 year
00:24:09 --> 00:24:09 of
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 jubilee
00:24:10 --> 00:24:11 the
00:24:11 --> 00:24:12 year
00:24:12 --> 00:24:12 that
00:24:12 --> 00:24:13 the
00:24:13 --> 00:24:13 nation
00:24:13 --> 00:24:14 of
00:24:14 --> 00:24:14 Israel
00:24:14 --> 00:24:14 looked
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 forward
00:24:15 --> 00:24:15 to
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 year
00:24:16 --> 00:24:16 after
00:24:16 --> 00:24:16 year
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 after
00:24:17 --> 00:24:17 year
00:24:17 --> 00:24:17 just
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 waiting
00:24:18 --> 00:24:18 for
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 jubilee
00:24:19 --> 00:24:19 to
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 come
00:24:20 --> 00:24:25 verse
00:24:25 --> 00:24:26 17
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 in
00:24:27 --> 00:24:27 Matthew
00:24:27 --> 00:24:28 1
00:24:28 --> 00:24:28 tells
00:24:28 --> 00:24:28 us
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 that
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 there
00:24:29 --> 00:24:29 were
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 three
00:24:30 --> 00:24:30 lots
00:24:30 --> 00:24:30 of
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 14
00:24:31 --> 00:24:31 generations
00:24:31 --> 00:24:33 or
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 there
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 were
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 six
00:24:34 --> 00:24:34 lots
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 of
00:24:35 --> 00:24:35 seven
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 generations
00:24:36 --> 00:24:36 with
00:24:36 --> 00:24:36 Jesus
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 beginning
00:24:37 --> 00:24:37 the
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 seventh
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 seven
00:24:38 --> 00:24:40 verse
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 17
00:24:41 --> 00:24:41 is
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 saying
00:24:42 --> 00:24:42 that
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 what
00:24:43 --> 00:24:43 the
00:24:43 --> 00:24:43 hope
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 of
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 the
00:24:44 --> 00:24:44 jubilee
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 year
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 foreshadowed
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 the
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 reestablishment
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 of
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 ultimate
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 rest
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 comes
00:24:51 --> 00:24:51 right
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 now
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 in
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 the
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 person
00:24:53 --> 00:24:53 of
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 Jesus
00:24:54 --> 00:24:54 Christ
00:24:54 --> 00:24:57 no
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 more
00:24:57 --> 00:24:57 counting
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 of
00:24:58 --> 00:24:58 generations
00:24:58 --> 00:24:59 actually
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 continued
00:25:00 --> 00:25:00 after
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 Jesus
00:25:01 --> 00:25:04 in
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 him
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 is
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 where
00:25:05 --> 00:25:05 rest
00:25:05 --> 00:25:07 harmony
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 peace
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 hope
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 security
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 can be
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 found
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 if you
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 grasp
00:25:11 --> 00:25:11 that
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 Christmas
00:25:12 --> 00:25:12 is not
00:25:12 --> 00:25:14 upon a
00:25:14 --> 00:25:14 time
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 story
00:25:15 --> 00:25:15 but that
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 Jesus
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 really
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 actually
00:25:18 --> 00:25:18 broke
00:25:18 --> 00:25:18 God
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 himself
00:25:19 --> 00:25:19 broke
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 into
00:25:20 --> 00:25:20 time
00:25:20 --> 00:25:20 and
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 space
00:25:21 --> 00:25:22 and
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 that
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 he
00:25:22 --> 00:25:22 has
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 accomplished
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 our
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 salvation
00:25:25 --> 00:25:25 so that
00:25:25 --> 00:25:26 the
00:25:26 --> 00:25:26 prostitute
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 and the
00:25:27 --> 00:25:27 king
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 are equaling
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 him
00:25:29 --> 00:25:30 it's
00:25:30 --> 00:25:30 possible
00:25:30 --> 00:25:30 for you
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 to have
00:25:31 --> 00:25:31 rest
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 right now
00:25:32 --> 00:25:34 rest
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 from all
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 your
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 striving
00:25:36 --> 00:25:38 all
00:25:38 --> 00:25:38 of your
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 attempt
00:25:39 --> 00:25:39 to build
00:25:39 --> 00:25:40 your
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 identity
00:25:40 --> 00:25:44 total
00:25:44 --> 00:25:45 enduring
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 final
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 rest
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 is what
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 every
00:25:49 --> 00:25:50 single
00:25:50 --> 00:25:50 human
00:25:50 --> 00:25:51 being
00:25:51 --> 00:25:52 needs
00:25:52 --> 00:25:54 the
00:25:54 --> 00:25:54 rest
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 that
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 Jesus
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 secures
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 for us
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 is a
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 rest
00:25:57 --> 00:25:57 that we
00:25:57 --> 00:25:57 get to
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 get
00:25:58 --> 00:25:58 both
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 now
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 and
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 forever
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 with
00:26:01 --> 00:26:01 him
00:26:01 --> 00:26:05 Jesus
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 gives us
00:26:06 --> 00:26:06 rest
00:26:06 --> 00:26:06 for our
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 souls
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 right
00:26:08 --> 00:26:08 now
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 the
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 inner
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 core
00:26:10 --> 00:26:10 of our
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 being
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 that's
00:26:12 --> 00:26:12 always
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 unrestless
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 always
00:26:14 --> 00:26:14 restless
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 always
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 pursuing
00:26:16 --> 00:26:16 the
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 latest
00:26:17 --> 00:26:17 acquisition
00:26:17 --> 00:26:19 the
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 latest
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 affirmation
00:26:20 --> 00:26:22 and
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 Jesus
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 says
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 in
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 Matthew
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 11
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 verse
00:26:24 --> 00:26:24 28
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 come
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 to me
00:26:26 --> 00:26:26 all
00:26:26 --> 00:26:26 who
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 are
00:26:27 --> 00:26:27 weary
00:26:27 --> 00:26:27 and
00:26:27 --> 00:26:29 burdened
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 and
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 I
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 I
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 will
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 give
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 you
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 rest
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 take
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 my
00:26:34 --> 00:26:34 yoke
00:26:34 --> 00:26:34 upon
00:26:34 --> 00:26:34 you
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 and
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 learn
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 from
00:26:35 --> 00:26:35 me
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 for
00:26:36 --> 00:26:36 I
00:26:36 --> 00:26:36 am
00:26:36 --> 00:26:36 gentle
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 and
00:26:37 --> 00:26:37 humble
00:26:37 --> 00:26:37 in
00:26:37 --> 00:26:37 heart
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 and
00:26:38 --> 00:26:38 you
00:26:38 --> 00:26:38 will
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 find
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 rest
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 for
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 your
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 souls
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 many
00:26:41 --> 00:26:42 many
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 philosophers
00:26:43 --> 00:26:43 today
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 speak
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 about
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 the
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 deep
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 hunger
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 that is
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 in the
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 human
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 heart
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 constantly
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 restless
00:26:49 --> 00:26:49 people
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 are hungry
00:26:50 --> 00:26:50 for love
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 they are
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 hungry
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 for security
00:26:52 --> 00:26:52 they're
00:26:52 --> 00:26:52 hungry
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 for significance
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 and meaning
00:26:54 --> 00:26:54 and Jesus
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 says
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 I
00:26:56 --> 00:26:56 am the
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 bread of
00:26:57 --> 00:26:57 life
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 feed on
00:26:58 --> 00:26:58 me
00:26:58 --> 00:26:58 and you
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 will never
00:26:59 --> 00:26:59 hunger
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 again
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 many
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 today
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 are walking
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 in darkness
00:27:02 --> 00:27:04 and disillusionment
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 and despair
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 and Jesus
00:27:05 --> 00:27:05 says
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 I
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 am the
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 light
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 of the
00:27:07 --> 00:27:07 world
00:27:07 --> 00:27:10 if you
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 follow me
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 you will
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 never walk
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 in darkness
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 instead
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 you will
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 have the
00:27:15 --> 00:27:15 light
00:27:15 --> 00:27:16 of life
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 others
00:27:17 --> 00:27:19 in the
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 last couple
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 of years
00:27:20 --> 00:27:20 especially
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 are just
00:27:21 --> 00:27:21 fearful
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 of death
00:27:22 --> 00:27:24 fearful
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 of death
00:27:25 --> 00:27:25 and Jesus
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 says
00:27:26 --> 00:27:26 I
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 am the
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 resurrection
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 the life
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 he who
00:27:29 --> 00:27:30 believes in
00:27:30 --> 00:27:30 me will
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 live
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 even though
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 he dies
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 and whoever
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 lives and
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 believes in
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 me
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 will never
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 die
00:27:35 --> 00:27:39 you see
00:27:39 --> 00:27:39 Christmas
00:27:39 --> 00:27:40 declares
00:27:40 --> 00:27:40 that you can
00:27:40 --> 00:27:41 have rest
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 right now
00:27:42 --> 00:27:44 rest in
00:27:44 --> 00:27:44 our souls
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 right now
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 if we
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 come to
00:27:46 --> 00:27:46 Jesus
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 the rest
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 of an
00:27:48 --> 00:27:48 unspilled
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 love
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49 between
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49 you
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 and your
00:27:50 --> 00:27:50 created
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 God
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 what a
00:27:52 --> 00:27:53 gift
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 what a
00:27:54 --> 00:27:54 gift
00:27:54 --> 00:27:57 Christmas
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 is not
00:27:58 --> 00:27:58 a once
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 upon a
00:27:59 --> 00:27:59 time
00:27:59 --> 00:27:59 story
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 that
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 shows us
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 how we
00:28:02 --> 00:28:02 should
00:28:02 --> 00:28:02 live
00:28:02 --> 00:28:02 better
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 lives
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 and be
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 generous
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 to people
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 and give
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 them
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 gifts
00:28:05 --> 00:28:05 and
00:28:05 --> 00:28:08 Christmas
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 is news
00:28:08 --> 00:28:10 it's
00:28:10 --> 00:28:10 news
00:28:10 --> 00:28:12 and I
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 love it
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 you walk
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 down into
00:28:14 --> 00:28:14 Westfield
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 or Chatswood
00:28:15 --> 00:28:15 Chase
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 and it's
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 being blasted
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 through the
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 speakers
00:28:18 --> 00:28:20 news
00:28:20 --> 00:28:23 as people
00:28:23 --> 00:28:24 fill their
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 lives with
00:28:24 --> 00:28:24 everything
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 else
00:28:25 --> 00:28:29 news
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 calls us
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 to acknowledge
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 it
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 something
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 has already
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 happened
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 and we
00:28:34 --> 00:28:34 need to
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 respond
00:28:35 --> 00:28:35 to it
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 the
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 world
00:28:37 --> 00:28:37 has
00:28:37 --> 00:28:38 broken
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 into
00:28:38 --> 00:28:38 time
00:28:38 --> 00:28:39 and space
00:28:39 --> 00:28:39 to save
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 us
00:28:40 --> 00:28:42 this
00:28:42 --> 00:28:42 event
00:28:42 --> 00:28:42 is not
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 so much
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 a birth
00:28:44 --> 00:28:46 as it
00:28:46 --> 00:28:46 is a
00:28:46 --> 00:28:46 coming
00:28:46 --> 00:28:48 the
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 coming
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 of God
00:28:49 --> 00:28:49 into the
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 world
00:28:50 --> 00:28:52 and so
00:28:52 --> 00:28:52 Christmas
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 is good
00:28:53 --> 00:28:53 news
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 not good
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 advice
00:28:54 --> 00:28:56 it turns
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 all of our
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 values on
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 its head
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 and it's
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 the promise
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 of ultimate
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 rest
00:29:01 --> 00:29:03 he calls
00:29:03 --> 00:29:03 us to
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 look to
00:29:04 --> 00:29:04 him
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 to come
00:29:05 --> 00:29:05 to him
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 to trust
00:29:06 --> 00:29:06 him
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 to believe
00:29:07 --> 00:29:07 him
00:29:07 --> 00:29:07 to follow
00:29:07 --> 00:29:07 him
00:29:07 --> 00:29:08 and to
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 find
00:29:09 --> 00:29:09 rest
00:29:09 --> 00:29:11 the rest
00:29:11 --> 00:29:11 that we
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 so desperately
00:29:12 --> 00:29:12 long for
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 even now
00:29:13 --> 00:29:14 this Christmas
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 in him
00:29:15 --> 00:29:17 amen
00:29:17 --> 00:29:23 what
00:29:23 --> 00:29:25 to be
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 to
00:29:26 --> 00:29:28 is
00:29:28 --> 00:29:30 to
00:29:30 --> 00:29:30 save