The Fathers of Jesus
Series: THROUGH THEIR EYES
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 23rd December 2018
00:00:00 --> 00:00:04 Good evening, everyone. It's great to be in church with you tonight. If I've never met
00:00:04 --> 00:00:09 you before, my name is Stephen, senior pastor here at St. Paul's. And it is always great
00:00:09 --> 00:00:15 to be at church with you, but particularly on, I think, Christmas time. I just love Christmas
00:00:15 --> 00:00:19 time. I've got three young girls at home right now. They've gone to bed. Hopefully they're
00:00:19 --> 00:00:27 asleep. And just excited. The reindeer food's been put out, attracting the possums and everything
00:00:27 --> 00:00:33 else. But they'll think it's the reindeers in the morning. Just an exciting time of year.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:42 And with three young girls, I noticed the youngest is seven at the moment. But when they're sort
00:00:42 --> 00:00:49 of around four or five, the height of ambition for them at this time of year, because they're
00:00:49 --> 00:00:56 girls and because they're too old to play Jesus in the nativity, the best thing is to be merry.
00:00:56 --> 00:00:59 They all kind of line up. They want to be merry. If they're going to have any sort of nativity
00:00:59 --> 00:01:08 play, every five-year-old girl wants to play merry. And each year, unfortunately, only one
00:01:08 --> 00:01:13 girl is ever picked. As it turns out, mine never been picked. I don't know how that worked
00:01:13 --> 00:01:22 out with the senior pastor thing. Because we don't play favourites around here. Each year,
00:01:22 --> 00:01:28 only one girl is ever picked. And they've reached the theatrical dizzying heights of being merry.
00:01:30 --> 00:01:36 And from these two central roles, if you're not Jesus, you're not merry in the nativity
00:01:36 --> 00:01:41 play. It's descending order of importance from that moment on. There's the Magi, which is
00:01:41 --> 00:01:46 fantastic. There's always a bunch of angels. They don't have to say too much. There's the
00:01:46 --> 00:01:53 shepherds. There's the King Herod. He's the boo-his guy. There's the sheep, the donkeys.
00:01:54 --> 00:01:59 Ironically, there was actually no donkeys actually in Bethlehem at the time. But for some reason,
00:01:59 --> 00:02:05 we've always got donkeys in the nativity scene. There's cows. And somewhere, there's some poor
00:02:05 --> 00:02:11 lad who gets the gig of Joseph. Doesn't say anything. Like most husbands at the birthday,
00:02:11 --> 00:02:22 their children. Just there. Because we're meant to be. And so some poor lad's got Joseph,
00:02:22 --> 00:02:31 and he really doesn't want to really say anything at all. And the scripts often forget that in actual
00:02:31 --> 00:02:39 fact, as we've just read, an angel also came to Joseph. He has a fairly key role in this whole
00:02:39 --> 00:02:48 nativity scene. In fact, there's at least one thing that the angel said to Joseph that he didn't
00:02:48 --> 00:02:55 tell anyone else. He didn't tell Mary, didn't tell the shepherds, said it just to Joseph. Angel
00:02:55 --> 00:03:06 tells Joseph in a dream that the baby that is to be born to his fiancee, Mary, is a fulfillment of a
00:03:06 --> 00:03:14 prophecy from hundreds of years earlier. And it's a prophecy that God would come and dwell amongst
00:03:14 --> 00:03:25 his people. And so in this interaction between Joseph and the angel, we have a very, very invaluable
00:03:25 --> 00:03:32 treasure. And so tonight, I just want to look at that passage from Matthew 1 really quick.
00:03:32 --> 00:03:41 Three main things to learn from the name Emmanuel. Only Joseph was told Emmanuel is his name.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:52 Three main things. Number one, Jesus is God. Number two, that he is human. And three, that he is with us.
00:03:52 --> 00:03:59 So I know it's a bit after 11, but three simple things to remember. Number one, Jesus is God.
00:03:59 --> 00:04:07 There are several ways that Matthew drives home the core Christmas message that Jesus is not simply
00:04:07 --> 00:04:16 a great religious leader. He's not just simply a great teacher or even some angelic being, but in fact,
00:04:16 --> 00:04:24 the divine God himself. In verse 20 of what Nick just read out to us, the angel tells Joseph that the human
00:04:24 --> 00:04:34 life that is growing inside Mary has come not from any human being, but from his heavenly father,
00:04:34 --> 00:04:43 from God himself. And so Jesus, if you like, has two fathers and Joseph will be Jesus' father only in a
00:04:43 --> 00:04:52 secondary sense. Mary is told in the text, is pregnant by the Holy Spirit. God is the real father.
00:04:52 --> 00:05:02 However, the most direct statement of Jesus' identity comes in verse 23. Matthew quotes from Isaiah chapter 7,
00:05:02 --> 00:05:04 several hundred years before, and he says,
00:05:04 --> 00:05:15 the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son and will call him Emmanuel, which means God with us.
00:05:15 --> 00:05:25 Now, for centuries, Jewish religious leaders and scholars had known about that prophecy,
00:05:26 --> 00:05:35 but they had not thought that it should be taken quite literally. Matthew is saying that this promise
00:05:35 --> 00:05:45 is greater than even all the scholars imagined. Jesus Christ is God with us because the human
00:05:45 --> 00:05:54 life growing in the womb of Mary was a miracle performed by God himself. This child, as we have just sung,
00:05:54 --> 00:06:04 is literally God. Now, Matthew was a Jew, which makes this statement really startling for him.
00:06:05 --> 00:06:14 You see, the Jewish had a distinctive view of God, which made them, the people on earth,
00:06:15 --> 00:06:24 at that time, least open to the idea that a human being could be God. At that time,
00:06:24 --> 00:06:32 Eastern religions believed God was an impersonal force permeating all things. And so it wasn't unusual
00:06:32 --> 00:06:40 for them to say that some human beings were, if you like, particularly great manifestations of the
00:06:40 --> 00:06:50 divine. Western religions at the time believed that gods would disguise themselves as human beings for their own purposes.
00:06:50 --> 00:06:57 So you see this in Greek and Roman mythology and in their concept of deity.
00:06:58 --> 00:07:04 Jews, however, believed in a God who was both personal and infinite.
00:07:04 --> 00:07:17 God was not a being within the universe, but was instead the ground of its existence and infinitely
00:07:17 --> 00:07:28 transcendent above the universe. So everything in a Jewish worldview was against the idea that a human
00:07:28 --> 00:07:34 being could be God. Jews would not even pronounce the name of their God, Yahweh.
00:07:35 --> 00:07:37 They wouldn't even spell it.
00:07:38 --> 00:07:40 And yet Jesus Christ,
00:07:42 --> 00:07:43 a Jew,
00:07:45 --> 00:07:48 by his life, by his claims and by his resurrection,
00:07:48 --> 00:07:52 convinced his closest Jewish followers
00:07:52 --> 00:07:59 that he was not just a prophet telling them how to find God,
00:07:59 --> 00:08:01 but that he was God himself
00:08:01 --> 00:08:04 coming to humanity.
00:08:06 --> 00:08:09 Now, Matthew is not the only biblical author to teach this.
00:08:09 --> 00:08:09 John,
00:08:10 --> 00:08:10 the apostle,
00:08:11 --> 00:08:11 Paul,
00:08:11 --> 00:08:12 another Jew,
00:08:13 --> 00:08:13 a Pharisee,
00:08:14 --> 00:08:15 the apostle Peter,
00:08:15 --> 00:08:16 another Jewish man,
00:08:16 --> 00:08:17 they all declared it.
00:08:17 --> 00:08:18 Now, of course,
00:08:18 --> 00:08:28 the opinions of these authors would not mean much if Jesus himself hadn't clearly declared his divine identity.
00:08:29 --> 00:08:31 All through the Gospels,
00:08:31 --> 00:08:32 every book,
00:08:32 --> 00:08:33 history book about Jesus,
00:08:34 --> 00:08:37 you see Jesus constantly forgiving sin,
00:08:37 --> 00:08:39 which only God can do.
00:08:40 --> 00:08:41 He also claims,
00:08:41 --> 00:08:46 I'm going to come back and I'm going to judge all of humanity across every culture and generation
00:08:46 --> 00:08:48 and only God can do that.
00:08:49 --> 00:08:50 And at many times,
00:08:50 --> 00:08:51 in many ways,
00:08:51 --> 00:08:52 Jesus Christ,
00:08:52 --> 00:08:53 a Jewish man says,
00:08:53 --> 00:08:54 I am God.
00:08:55 --> 00:09:01 And thousands and thousands of people came to believe him and worship him.
00:09:05 --> 00:09:07 It's a claim that we've just sung.
00:09:10 --> 00:09:13 Many in this world know the claim
00:09:13 --> 00:09:16 and give it lip service at Christmas
00:09:16 --> 00:09:23 without thinking about the implications of that claim
00:09:23 --> 00:09:25 and what we have just sung.
00:09:26 --> 00:09:29 If Jesus really is God,
00:09:29 --> 00:09:32 what does it mean for us practically?
00:09:33 --> 00:09:34 Well, firstly,
00:09:35 --> 00:09:37 it's a intellectual watershed.
00:09:37 --> 00:09:38 It's a turning point for us.
00:09:39 --> 00:09:43 Some have argued that the supreme miracle of Christianity
00:09:43 --> 00:09:47 is not the resurrection of Christ from the dead,
00:09:47 --> 00:09:50 but the coming of God into the world as a human being.
00:09:51 --> 00:09:57 Of all the things that Christianity proclaims,
00:09:57 --> 00:10:00 this one is the most staggering.
00:10:02 --> 00:10:04 A Canadian theologian, James Packer,
00:10:04 --> 00:10:05 puts it bluntly.
00:10:06 --> 00:10:06 He says,
00:10:06 --> 00:10:08 God became man.
00:10:08 --> 00:10:10 The divine son became a Jew.
00:10:11 --> 00:10:14 The almighty appeared on earth as a helpless human baby,
00:10:14 --> 00:10:17 unable to do more than lie,
00:10:19 --> 00:10:19 stare,
00:10:21 --> 00:10:21 wriggle,
00:10:22 --> 00:10:23 make noises,
00:10:24 --> 00:10:26 needing to be fed and changed
00:10:26 --> 00:10:27 and talked to
00:10:27 --> 00:10:30 like any other child.
00:10:30 --> 00:10:34 The more you think about it,
00:10:35 --> 00:10:39 the more staggering it gets.
00:10:40 --> 00:10:44 Nothing in fiction is as fantastic as this.
00:10:46 --> 00:10:48 The claim that Jesus is God
00:10:48 --> 00:10:50 is an intellectual turning point,
00:10:50 --> 00:10:54 but it also causes a personal crisis.
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 A crisis is a fork in the road.
00:10:58 --> 00:11:00 And the assertion that Jesus Christ is God
00:11:00 --> 00:11:01 is exactly that.
00:11:02 --> 00:11:06 Whenever you see Jesus acting in the Gospels,
00:11:07 --> 00:11:10 you see him putting people in motion
00:11:10 --> 00:11:11 wherever he goes.
00:11:12 --> 00:11:14 He's like this giant bowling ball.
00:11:15 --> 00:11:16 Wherever he goes,
00:11:16 --> 00:11:17 he breaks up old patterns
00:11:17 --> 00:11:20 and he sends people off into different directions.
00:11:20 --> 00:11:25 Jesus evokes extreme reactions from everyone.
00:11:27 --> 00:11:29 Some are so furious with him
00:11:29 --> 00:11:32 that they try to run him off a cliff and kill him.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:35 Others are so terrified by him
00:11:35 --> 00:11:36 that they say,
00:11:36 --> 00:11:38 just depart from me, Jesus.
00:11:39 --> 00:11:40 Get away from me.
00:11:41 --> 00:11:44 And others fall down before him
00:11:44 --> 00:11:46 and worship him.
00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 Why the extreme reactions?
00:11:51 --> 00:11:53 It's because of who he claims to be.
00:11:55 --> 00:11:58 If he is who he is,
00:11:58 --> 00:11:59 who he says he is,
00:12:00 --> 00:12:02 then you have no alternative
00:12:02 --> 00:12:04 but to center your life around him
00:12:04 --> 00:12:06 as we have just sung.
00:12:07 --> 00:12:08 He claims to be the God
00:12:08 --> 00:12:10 who created all things,
00:12:10 --> 00:12:11 the source of all life,
00:12:11 --> 00:12:14 the one who defines all reality.
00:12:14 --> 00:12:17 And so if he is not who he says he is,
00:12:17 --> 00:12:20 then he is someone to hate,
00:12:20 --> 00:12:22 he is someone to run away from
00:12:22 --> 00:12:24 because he would have to be
00:12:24 --> 00:12:27 the greatest fraud in history.
00:12:30 --> 00:12:34 No other response makes sense.
00:12:36 --> 00:12:38 Either he is God or he isn't
00:12:38 --> 00:12:41 and so he's absolutely mad
00:12:41 --> 00:12:47 or he's infinitely wonderful.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:50 He's one or the other.
00:12:52 --> 00:12:54 He's not just someone in the middle
00:12:54 --> 00:12:55 that you can just admire.
00:12:55 --> 00:13:02 So thirdly, the claim that Jesus is God
00:13:02 --> 00:13:04 also gives us the greatest possible hope.
00:13:05 --> 00:13:08 You see, the one who defines all things,
00:13:09 --> 00:13:10 creates all things,
00:13:11 --> 00:13:13 determines, defines all reality,
00:13:13 --> 00:13:17 says that our world is not all that there is
00:13:17 --> 00:13:18 and there is life
00:13:18 --> 00:13:20 and there is love after death
00:13:20 --> 00:13:23 and that evil and suffering will one day end.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:26 But this is not just hope for the world
00:13:26 --> 00:13:30 despite all its unending problems,
00:13:30 --> 00:13:33 but hope for you and me
00:13:33 --> 00:13:36 despite all of our unending failings.
00:13:36 --> 00:13:41 A God who was only holy
00:13:41 --> 00:13:46 would never have come down to us in Jesus Christ.
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 He would have simply just said,
00:13:49 --> 00:13:53 you lot, pull yourselves together.
00:13:53 --> 00:13:55 Pull your socks up.
00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 Live a little bit more morally.
00:13:59 --> 00:14:01 Make yourself holy enough
00:14:01 --> 00:14:03 to merit a relationship with me.
00:14:03 --> 00:14:08 A deity, on the other hand,
00:14:08 --> 00:14:12 that was an all-accepting God of love
00:14:12 --> 00:14:15 would never have needed to come to earth either.
00:14:15 --> 00:14:19 This God of the modern imagination
00:14:19 --> 00:14:21 would have just overlooked sin and evil
00:14:21 --> 00:14:22 and just embraced us all
00:14:22 --> 00:14:26 like a big jelly baby.
00:14:31 --> 00:14:33 And neither of these gods
00:14:33 --> 00:14:34 would have bothered with Christmas.
00:14:35 --> 00:14:37 The biblical God, however,
00:14:37 --> 00:14:39 is infinitely holy.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 So our sin cannot just be
00:14:42 --> 00:14:44 shrugged off and ignored.
00:14:44 --> 00:14:46 It has to be dealt with.
00:14:47 --> 00:14:50 But he is also infinitely loving.
00:14:50 --> 00:14:53 And he knows that we could never,
00:14:53 --> 00:14:55 ever climb up to him.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:57 And so he had to come to us.
00:14:57 --> 00:15:01 God had to come himself
00:15:01 --> 00:15:04 and do what we could not do.
00:15:05 --> 00:15:06 Christmas means then
00:15:06 --> 00:15:10 that there is all the hope in this world,
00:15:10 --> 00:15:11 in him.
00:15:12 --> 00:15:12 That's the first thing.
00:15:13 --> 00:15:14 Jesus is God.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:16 Secondly, Jesus is human.
00:15:17 --> 00:15:20 This interaction between Joseph and the angel
00:15:20 --> 00:15:22 reveals that he's God,
00:15:22 --> 00:15:23 but also that he's human,
00:15:23 --> 00:15:25 that he is God with us.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:29 Christmas tells us that Jesus was truly
00:15:29 --> 00:15:31 and fully God
00:15:31 --> 00:15:33 and truly and fully human.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 But what,
00:15:36 --> 00:15:37 I mean, who gives a rip?
00:15:37 --> 00:15:38 What difference does that make?
00:15:39 --> 00:15:42 That he is actually God
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 who's become fully human.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:48 It means a life
00:15:48 --> 00:15:50 of sacrificial service,
00:15:50 --> 00:15:52 as Jake just read out to us
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 from Philippians chapter 2.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:57 That passage teaches us
00:15:57 --> 00:15:59 that when the Son of God became human,
00:16:00 --> 00:16:03 he did not lay aside his deity.
00:16:04 --> 00:16:06 He was still God,
00:16:07 --> 00:16:10 but he emptied himself of his glory.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:12 It's said there that it was something
00:16:12 --> 00:16:13 that he did not grasp,
00:16:13 --> 00:16:15 something he did not use
00:16:15 --> 00:16:17 for his own purposes,
00:16:17 --> 00:16:18 his own gain.
00:16:18 --> 00:16:20 He laid aside his divine rights.
00:16:20 --> 00:16:23 He became vulnerable and ordinary
00:16:23 --> 00:16:24 in order to save us.
00:16:24 --> 00:16:26 I'll quote Packer again.
00:16:26 --> 00:16:28 He puts it like this,
00:16:28 --> 00:16:30 for the Son of God
00:16:30 --> 00:16:31 to empty himself
00:16:31 --> 00:16:32 and become poor
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 meant a laying aside of glory,
00:16:36 --> 00:16:39 a voluntary restraint of power,
00:16:39 --> 00:16:41 an acceptance of hardship,
00:16:41 --> 00:16:42 of isolation,
00:16:42 --> 00:16:43 of ill treatment,
00:16:43 --> 00:16:45 of malice and misunderstanding,
00:16:45 --> 00:16:47 and finally a death
00:16:47 --> 00:16:49 that involved such agony,
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 spiritual even more than physical,
00:16:52 --> 00:16:54 that his mind nearly broke
00:16:54 --> 00:16:55 under the prospect of it.
00:16:55 --> 00:16:58 It meant love to the utmost
00:16:58 --> 00:17:01 for unloving humanity.
00:17:02 --> 00:17:05 And I love how Packer,
00:17:06 --> 00:17:08 what he does with that
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10 and what it means for us practically.
00:17:11 --> 00:17:11 He says,
00:17:11 --> 00:17:13 the Christmas spirit
00:17:13 --> 00:17:15 does not shine out
00:17:15 --> 00:17:17 in the Christian snob.
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 For the Christmas spirit
00:17:20 --> 00:17:21 is the spirit of those
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 who, like their master,
00:17:23 --> 00:17:25 live their whole lives
00:17:25 --> 00:17:26 on the principle
00:17:26 --> 00:17:29 of making themselves poor,
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 spending and being spent
00:17:31 --> 00:17:34 to enrich their fellow humanity,
00:17:34 --> 00:17:36 giving time,
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 trouble, care and concern,
00:17:37 --> 00:17:39 to do good to others
00:17:39 --> 00:17:41 and not just their own friends
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 in whatever way
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 there seems need.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:49 It's a life of service.
00:17:49 --> 00:17:52 The fact that God became human
00:17:52 --> 00:17:53 and entered himself
00:17:53 --> 00:17:54 of his glory
00:17:54 --> 00:17:56 means that you should not want
00:17:56 --> 00:17:57 to hang out with the people
00:17:57 --> 00:18:00 just with power and glitz
00:18:00 --> 00:18:02 who are well networked
00:18:02 --> 00:18:04 who can open doors for you.
00:18:04 --> 00:18:05 You need to be willing
00:18:05 --> 00:18:06 to go to the people
00:18:06 --> 00:18:07 without power,
00:18:07 --> 00:18:08 without beauty,
00:18:08 --> 00:18:09 without the money.
00:18:09 --> 00:18:11 That is the Christmas spirit.
00:18:11 --> 00:18:15 It is so ironic
00:18:15 --> 00:18:17 that we spend billions on it
00:18:17 --> 00:18:19 at Christmas time
00:18:19 --> 00:18:24 and more often than not,
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 not for the needy
00:18:26 --> 00:18:27 and for the poor.
00:18:31 --> 00:18:34 God becoming one of us
00:18:34 --> 00:18:37 also means infinite comfort
00:18:37 --> 00:18:38 for the suffering.
00:18:39 --> 00:18:40 A little bit later
00:18:40 --> 00:18:40 in the New Testament
00:18:40 --> 00:18:42 in Hebrews 2, verse 17.
00:18:43 --> 00:18:44 It says that Jesus
00:18:44 --> 00:18:46 was made just like us,
00:18:46 --> 00:18:48 fully human in every way.
00:18:49 --> 00:18:50 And the very next verse
00:18:50 --> 00:18:51 tells us what this means
00:18:51 --> 00:18:52 for us practically.
00:18:53 --> 00:18:53 It says,
00:18:54 --> 00:18:55 because he himself suffered
00:18:55 --> 00:18:57 when he was tried and tested,
00:18:57 --> 00:18:59 he is able to help those
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01 who are being tried and tested.
00:19:02 --> 00:19:03 You see,
00:19:03 --> 00:19:05 when something bad happens to us
00:19:05 --> 00:19:08 and real suffering comes to us,
00:19:08 --> 00:19:11 the overwhelming feeling
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 we have is loneliness.
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 People around us,
00:19:15 --> 00:19:17 they express sympathy,
00:19:18 --> 00:19:18 but, you know,
00:19:19 --> 00:19:20 you know,
00:19:20 --> 00:19:20 in the midst of them
00:19:20 --> 00:19:22 expressing their sympathy,
00:19:22 --> 00:19:23 you know,
00:19:23 --> 00:19:24 there's something about it
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 that doesn't help.
00:19:28 --> 00:19:30 Then you meet someone
00:19:30 --> 00:19:30 who knows,
00:19:31 --> 00:19:32 who's been through
00:19:32 --> 00:19:35 exactly what you've been through,
00:19:35 --> 00:19:37 or virtually exactly
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 what you've been through.
00:19:39 --> 00:19:41 They know what it's like.
00:19:42 --> 00:19:43 And you pour your heart
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 out to that person.
00:19:45 --> 00:19:47 They've got empathy for you.
00:19:48 --> 00:19:49 You listen to them
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 and their opinions
00:19:50 --> 00:19:52 because they've been through
00:19:52 --> 00:19:52 the same thing.
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 And when they comfort you,
00:19:54 --> 00:19:56 you feel comforted by them.
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 The coming of God
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 into this world
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 on the first Christmas
00:20:00 --> 00:20:02 ultimately means
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 that God suffered
00:20:03 --> 00:20:06 and that Jesus triumphed
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 through suffering.
00:20:08 --> 00:20:10 And Jesus now
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 has infinite power
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 to comfort.
00:20:15 --> 00:20:17 Christmas shows you
00:20:17 --> 00:20:17 a God
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 unlike the God
00:20:18 --> 00:20:20 of any other faith.
00:20:22 --> 00:20:23 Have you been betrayed?
00:20:24 --> 00:20:26 Have you been lonely?
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 Have you been destitute?
00:20:27 --> 00:20:32 Have you had relationships fracture?
00:20:34 --> 00:20:36 Have you felt abandoned?
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 Have you faced death?
00:20:41 --> 00:20:42 So has he.
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 And he's triumphed through it.
00:20:47 --> 00:20:48 Christianity says
00:20:48 --> 00:20:50 God has been all the places
00:20:50 --> 00:20:51 that you have been
00:20:51 --> 00:20:54 and are potentially in right now.
00:20:55 --> 00:20:57 He has been in the darkness
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 that you are in now
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 and even more.
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 You can trust him.
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 You can rely on him.
00:21:04 --> 00:21:05 He knows suffering.
00:21:05 --> 00:21:06 He has the power
00:21:06 --> 00:21:07 to comfort,
00:21:07 --> 00:21:08 strengthen
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 and bring you through it
00:21:09 --> 00:21:11 because point number three,
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 Jesus is with us.
00:21:15 --> 00:21:15 You see,
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 it would have been
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 astonishing enough
00:21:17 --> 00:21:19 if the Son of God
00:21:19 --> 00:21:20 had become human
00:21:20 --> 00:21:21 and simply lived
00:21:21 --> 00:21:22 temporarily amongst us
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 and left us
00:21:23 --> 00:21:24 some really good teaching stuff
00:21:24 --> 00:21:24 to follow.
00:21:25 --> 00:21:25 Do this
00:21:25 --> 00:21:27 and life will go well
00:21:27 --> 00:21:27 for you.
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 His plans
00:21:29 --> 00:21:31 were just so
00:21:31 --> 00:21:32 infinitely greater
00:21:32 --> 00:21:32 than that.
00:21:33 --> 00:21:33 His plan
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 was always
00:21:34 --> 00:21:36 to be with us.
00:21:37 --> 00:21:37 He,
00:21:37 --> 00:21:38 one of the first things
00:21:38 --> 00:21:39 he did
00:21:39 --> 00:21:41 when he went public
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 with his ministries,
00:21:42 --> 00:21:44 chose 12 dudes
00:21:44 --> 00:21:44 and,
00:21:44 --> 00:21:45 to follow him
00:21:45 --> 00:21:46 and appointed them
00:21:46 --> 00:21:47 as his early apostles.
00:21:49 --> 00:21:50 And he says,
00:21:50 --> 00:21:50 I want,
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 you're going to be
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 with me.
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 What does it mean
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 that they are
00:21:54 --> 00:21:54 with him?
00:21:56 --> 00:21:57 It means being
00:21:57 --> 00:21:58 in his presence,
00:21:58 --> 00:21:59 conversing with him,
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 learning from him,
00:22:00 --> 00:22:01 having his comfort
00:22:01 --> 00:22:02 moment by moment
00:22:02 --> 00:22:04 in their day-by-day life.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:05 You see,
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 the purpose of God
00:22:06 --> 00:22:07 coming into this world
00:22:07 --> 00:22:09 is that we would
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 actually have
00:22:10 --> 00:22:11 a relationship
00:22:11 --> 00:22:11 with him,
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 that we not just
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 know information
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 about him
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 but have a relationship
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 with him.
00:22:17 --> 00:22:17 In Jesus,
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 the unapproachable God
00:22:19 --> 00:22:21 becomes a human being
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 who can be known
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 and loved.
00:22:25 --> 00:22:27 And through faith,
00:22:27 --> 00:22:28 we can know
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 this love.
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 And frankly,
00:22:32 --> 00:22:34 it doesn't stun us
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 as much as it should.
00:22:37 --> 00:22:37 See,
00:22:37 --> 00:22:38 in the Old Testament,
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 anytime anyone
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 drew near to God,
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 it was terrifying.
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 Totally terrifying.
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 God appears to Abraham
00:22:47 --> 00:22:49 as a smoking furnace,
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 to Israel
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 as a pillar of fire,
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 to Job
00:22:53 --> 00:22:54 as a hurricane
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 and a tornado.
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 When Moses
00:22:57 --> 00:22:58 asked to see God
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 face to face,
00:23:00 --> 00:23:00 he was told,
00:23:01 --> 00:23:01 yeah,
00:23:01 --> 00:23:02 but it'll kill you.
00:23:03 --> 00:23:05 So great
00:23:05 --> 00:23:06 and so high
00:23:06 --> 00:23:08 and so unapproachable
00:23:08 --> 00:23:09 is this God.
00:23:10 --> 00:23:10 And the message
00:23:10 --> 00:23:11 of Christmas
00:23:11 --> 00:23:13 means that through Jesus,
00:23:13 --> 00:23:15 you can meet this God
00:23:15 --> 00:23:16 and he won't kill you.
00:23:18 --> 00:23:19 You can know
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 the unapproachable
00:23:20 --> 00:23:21 personally
00:23:21 --> 00:23:22 and without terror.
00:23:23 --> 00:23:23 And when God
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 showed up in Jesus,
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 he was not a pillar
00:23:26 --> 00:23:26 of fire,
00:23:26 --> 00:23:28 he was not a tornado,
00:23:28 --> 00:23:30 he was a baby.
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 Why would God
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 come to,
00:23:33 --> 00:23:34 this time,
00:23:34 --> 00:23:35 why would he come
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 as a baby
00:23:35 --> 00:23:37 rather than a firestorm
00:23:37 --> 00:23:39 or a whirlwind?
00:23:41 --> 00:23:42 Because this time
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 he came not to bring judgment
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 but to bear it.
00:23:44 --> 00:23:47 to pay the penalty
00:23:47 --> 00:23:48 for our sin,
00:23:49 --> 00:23:50 to take away
00:23:50 --> 00:23:50 the barrier
00:23:50 --> 00:23:51 that existed,
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 the wall of hostility
00:23:53 --> 00:23:54 between humanity
00:23:54 --> 00:23:55 and God
00:23:55 --> 00:23:56 so that we can
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 be together.
00:23:59 --> 00:24:00 Jesus is God
00:24:00 --> 00:24:01 with us.
00:24:03 --> 00:24:05 Every Christmas,
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 tonight,
00:24:07 --> 00:24:09 millions of people
00:24:09 --> 00:24:10 around this world
00:24:10 --> 00:24:12 will join with us
00:24:12 --> 00:24:12 and sing
00:24:12 --> 00:24:14 Jesus,
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 our Emmanuel.
00:24:18 --> 00:24:20 But are you
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 really with him?
00:24:23 --> 00:24:26 Do you know him
00:24:26 --> 00:24:28 or do you
00:24:28 --> 00:24:29 just know about him?
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 Jesus literally
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 moved heaven and earth
00:24:33 --> 00:24:34 to get near us.
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 What should we
00:24:36 --> 00:24:38 be doing now
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 to truly be with him?
00:24:41 --> 00:24:41 Well,
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 there's one
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 crucial trait,
00:24:44 --> 00:24:45 one crucial step
00:24:45 --> 00:24:46 that's necessary
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 for having
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 a personal relationship
00:24:48 --> 00:24:49 with Jesus
00:24:49 --> 00:24:50 and it's one
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 that Christians,
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 especially in
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 Western society,
00:24:54 --> 00:24:57 we often
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 overlook it.
00:25:00 --> 00:25:01 An intimate
00:25:01 --> 00:25:01 relationship
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 with Jesus
00:25:02 --> 00:25:04 always requires
00:25:04 --> 00:25:05 courage.
00:25:06 --> 00:25:06 I mean,
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 it's often
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 overlooked
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 Joseph
00:25:08 --> 00:25:09 in this whole
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 story,
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 how much courage
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 he must have had
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 to wake up
00:25:12 --> 00:25:13 from a dream
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 with an angel
00:25:14 --> 00:25:16 and in his
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 society
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 to be
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 shamed,
00:25:20 --> 00:25:21 to be,
00:25:22 --> 00:25:23 for his
00:25:23 --> 00:25:23 fiancee
00:25:23 --> 00:25:24 to be pregnant
00:25:24 --> 00:25:26 was an act
00:25:26 --> 00:25:27 of shame
00:25:27 --> 00:25:27 for him
00:25:27 --> 00:25:28 or for her
00:25:28 --> 00:25:29 or for both
00:25:29 --> 00:25:29 of them
00:25:29 --> 00:25:31 and then to go
00:25:31 --> 00:25:31 home and tell
00:25:31 --> 00:25:32 his mates,
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 well,
00:25:32 --> 00:25:32 actually,
00:25:32 --> 00:25:33 I'm not the
00:25:33 --> 00:25:33 father,
00:25:33 --> 00:25:34 God is.
00:25:37 --> 00:25:37 That's plausible.
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 It required
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 an immense
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 amount of
00:25:43 --> 00:25:43 courage
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 for him
00:25:44 --> 00:25:44 to take
00:25:44 --> 00:25:44 Mary
00:25:44 --> 00:25:47 and for him
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 to adopt
00:25:48 --> 00:25:48 Jesus
00:25:48 --> 00:25:53 and it
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53 requires
00:25:53 --> 00:25:53 courage
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 of us.
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 We cannot
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 know Jesus
00:25:56 --> 00:25:57 personally
00:25:57 --> 00:25:58 unless we
00:25:58 --> 00:25:59 have the
00:25:59 --> 00:25:59 courage
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 to admit
00:26:00 --> 00:26:00 that we
00:26:00 --> 00:26:01 are sinners.
00:26:03 --> 00:26:04 Jesus'
00:26:04 --> 00:26:04 entire
00:26:04 --> 00:26:05 mission
00:26:05 --> 00:26:05 is summed
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 up in
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 verse 21
00:26:07 --> 00:26:07 of the
00:26:07 --> 00:26:07 text that
00:26:07 --> 00:26:08 was read
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 out to us
00:26:09 --> 00:26:09 from Matthew
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 chapter 1.
00:26:10 --> 00:26:11 He will
00:26:11 --> 00:26:12 save
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 his people
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 from their
00:26:14 --> 00:26:14 sins.
00:26:16 --> 00:26:17 First
00:26:17 --> 00:26:17 and foremost,
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 Jesus came
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 to forgive
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 us.
00:26:21 --> 00:26:21 Every other
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 blessing that
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 we have,
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 the comfort,
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 the hope,
00:26:24 --> 00:26:24 every other
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 blessing flows
00:26:25 --> 00:26:26 from that.
00:26:28 --> 00:26:28 Are you
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 willing to
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 say,
00:26:30 --> 00:26:30 I'm a moral
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 failure?
00:26:32 --> 00:26:33 I don't love
00:26:33 --> 00:26:33 God with all
00:26:33 --> 00:26:34 of my heart,
00:26:34 --> 00:26:34 my soul,
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 my strength,
00:26:35 --> 00:26:36 and my mind.
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 I don't love
00:26:37 --> 00:26:37 my neighbour
00:26:37 --> 00:26:39 as myself.
00:26:42 --> 00:26:42 And therefore,
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 I am guilty
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 and I need
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 forgiveness
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 and pardon
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 before I need
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 anything else.
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 That takes
00:26:49 --> 00:26:51 enormous courage
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 to admit
00:26:51 --> 00:26:53 because it
00:26:53 --> 00:26:53 means that
00:26:53 --> 00:26:54 you throw
00:26:54 --> 00:26:54 your old
00:26:54 --> 00:26:55 self-image
00:26:55 --> 00:26:56 that you've
00:26:56 --> 00:26:56 spent your
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 lifetime
00:26:57 --> 00:26:57 building
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 out,
00:26:59 --> 00:26:59 you throw
00:26:59 --> 00:27:00 it out
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 and you get
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 a new one
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 through Jesus.
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 And yet,
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 this is the
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 foundation
00:27:05 --> 00:27:06 of every
00:27:06 --> 00:27:06 other
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 blessing
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 that Jesus
00:27:08 --> 00:27:08 wants to
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 bring into
00:27:09 --> 00:27:09 your life.
00:27:10 --> 00:27:11 All the
00:27:11 --> 00:27:11 comfort,
00:27:11 --> 00:27:11 all the
00:27:11 --> 00:27:12 hope,
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 all the
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 joyful
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 humility
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 and everything
00:27:15 --> 00:27:15 else.
00:27:17 --> 00:27:17 So how
00:27:17 --> 00:27:17 do we
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 get the
00:27:18 --> 00:27:19 strength
00:27:19 --> 00:27:19 to be
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 courageous
00:27:20 --> 00:27:21 like that,
00:27:21 --> 00:27:21 to admit
00:27:21 --> 00:27:22 that we
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 are moral
00:27:23 --> 00:27:23 failures
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 and we
00:27:24 --> 00:27:24 need him?
00:27:26 --> 00:27:26 By
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 looking at
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 him.
00:27:28 --> 00:27:29 That's
00:27:29 --> 00:27:29 how we
00:27:29 --> 00:27:29 do it.
00:27:30 --> 00:27:31 Because if
00:27:31 --> 00:27:31 you think
00:27:31 --> 00:27:32 it takes
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 courage to
00:27:32 --> 00:27:33 be with
00:27:33 --> 00:27:33 him,
00:27:33 --> 00:27:34 consider
00:27:34 --> 00:27:35 that it
00:27:35 --> 00:27:35 took
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 infinitely
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 more
00:27:37 --> 00:27:37 courage
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 for
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 him
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 to
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 be
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 with
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 us.
00:27:41 --> 00:27:41 Only
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 Christianity
00:27:42 --> 00:27:43 of every
00:27:43 --> 00:27:44 world religion
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 and
00:27:45 --> 00:27:46 philosophies,
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 only Christianity
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 says that
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 one of the
00:27:49 --> 00:27:49 attributes of
00:27:49 --> 00:27:50 the divine
00:27:50 --> 00:27:51 God is
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 courage.
00:27:53 --> 00:27:53 No other
00:27:53 --> 00:27:54 religion has
00:27:54 --> 00:27:55 a God who
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 needed courage.
00:27:56 --> 00:27:58 God is
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 to
00:27:59 --> 00:27:59 God is
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 to
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 save us
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 only by
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 facing an
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 agonizing
00:28:04 --> 00:28:06 death that
00:28:06 --> 00:28:06 had him
00:28:06 --> 00:28:07 wrestling in
00:28:07 --> 00:28:08 sweat
00:28:08 --> 00:28:10 in a
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 garden
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 just before
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 he was
00:28:13 --> 00:28:13 arrested.
00:28:14 --> 00:28:14 He became
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 mortal and
00:28:15 --> 00:28:17 vulnerable so
00:28:17 --> 00:28:17 that he could
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 suffer and be
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 betrayed and
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 killed.
00:28:20 --> 00:28:20 He faced
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 all these
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 things
00:28:22 --> 00:28:24 for you
00:28:24 --> 00:28:25 and for
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 me and
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 he thought
00:28:27 --> 00:28:27 it was
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 worth it.
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 Look at
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 him.
00:28:32 --> 00:28:32 Face
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 the
00:28:33 --> 00:28:33 darkness
00:28:33 --> 00:28:35 for you.
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 Look at
00:28:37 --> 00:28:37 him doing
00:28:37 --> 00:28:39 that and
00:28:39 --> 00:28:40 that will
00:28:40 --> 00:28:40 enable you
00:28:40 --> 00:28:41 to face
00:28:41 --> 00:28:42 any darkness
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 yourself.
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 You've
00:28:44 --> 00:28:44 heard the
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 phrase,
00:28:45 --> 00:28:46 hark the
00:28:46 --> 00:28:46 herald angels
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 sing,
00:28:48 --> 00:28:49 mild he
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 lays his
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 glory by.
00:28:52 --> 00:28:52 What does
00:28:52 --> 00:28:53 it mean
00:28:53 --> 00:28:53 mild he
00:28:53 --> 00:28:54 lays his
00:28:54 --> 00:28:54 glory by?
00:28:55 --> 00:28:55 He did
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 it voluntarily,
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 he did
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 it willingly
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 and he
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 did it
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 lovingly.
00:29:00 --> 00:29:01 No one
00:29:01 --> 00:29:01 forced him,
00:29:02 --> 00:29:02 it wasn't
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 his duty,
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 he faced
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 unimaginable
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 pain and
00:29:06 --> 00:29:06 death out
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 of love
00:29:07 --> 00:29:07 for you.
00:29:08 --> 00:29:08 Why did
00:29:08 --> 00:29:09 Jesus have
00:29:09 --> 00:29:09 the courage
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 to do
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 what he
00:29:11 --> 00:29:11 did for
00:29:11 --> 00:29:11 us?
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 Love.
00:29:14 --> 00:29:14 No other
00:29:14 --> 00:29:15 explanation
00:29:15 --> 00:29:15 for it.
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 And how
00:29:18 --> 00:29:18 do we get
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 the courage
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 to admit
00:29:19 --> 00:29:19 that we're
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 sinners and
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 need his
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 forgiveness
00:29:21 --> 00:29:21 and a
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 relationship
00:29:22 --> 00:29:22 with him
00:29:22 --> 00:29:24 exact same
00:29:24 --> 00:29:25 way?
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 See him
00:29:27 --> 00:29:27 doing all
00:29:27 --> 00:29:28 that he
00:29:28 --> 00:29:28 did for
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 us.
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 That will
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 draw out
00:29:31 --> 00:29:31 of us
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 love for
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 him.
00:29:35 --> 00:29:35 And then
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 we will
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 have the
00:29:36 --> 00:29:37 courage to
00:29:37 --> 00:29:38 put him
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 where he
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 belongs as
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 the God
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 of the
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 universe
00:29:40 --> 00:29:41 in the
00:29:41 --> 00:29:42 center of
00:29:42 --> 00:29:42 our lives.
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 And then
00:29:45 --> 00:29:45 he will be
00:29:45 --> 00:29:46 with us
00:29:46 --> 00:29:48 and you'll
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 be with
00:29:48 --> 00:29:48 him.
00:29:48 --> 00:29:50 Emmanuel.
00:29:52 --> 00:29:52 Jesus
00:29:52 --> 00:29:53 is God.
00:29:53 --> 00:29:54 Jesus is
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 human.
00:29:55 --> 00:29:56 And Jesus
00:29:56 --> 00:29:56 is with
00:29:56 --> 00:29:57 us.
00:29:57 --> 00:29:57 Merry
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 Christmas.