1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:05,440 I probably don't need to prove to everyone here that Christmas 2 00:00:05,720 --> 00:00:10,880 is a very busy time for many of us planning services like this. 3 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:12,600 We've got to fit in this bit of information, that bit of 4 00:00:12,600 --> 00:00:15,400 information. There's a lot going on, and 5 00:00:15,400 --> 00:00:17,280 that's across our culture in many ways. 6 00:00:17,600 --> 00:00:20,040 In this country, there are houses to decorate. 7 00:00:20,040 --> 00:00:22,800 I don't know if anyone else had arguments this week while 8 00:00:22,800 --> 00:00:25,800 putting up their Christmas tree. It was a beautiful moment in our 9 00:00:25,800 --> 00:00:30,920 households. I was right, but there's houses 10 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:32,360 to decorate. That's a big job. 11 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:34,960 There are presents to buy and worry about. 12 00:00:34,960 --> 00:00:38,520 There are people to see, whether family or friends or work 13 00:00:38,520 --> 00:00:40,640 colleagues, some of whom we are really looking forward to 14 00:00:40,640 --> 00:00:43,360 seeing, some of whom it is difficult to see. 15 00:00:43,480 --> 00:00:45,480 There is food to prepare. There are so many things to 16 00:00:45,480 --> 00:00:47,240 think about. And then if you're a follower of 17 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:51,920 Jesus, churches like Ave. add more on your shoulders by having 18 00:00:51,920 --> 00:00:54,480 this like Carol services and ways that we need you to serve 19 00:00:54,480 --> 00:00:57,600 to make those happen and Flyers to deliver and friends and 20 00:00:57,600 --> 00:01:01,520 family to invite to them. And in the midst of it all, it 21 00:01:01,520 --> 00:01:04,840 can be a real struggle to remember what the Christmas 22 00:01:04,840 --> 00:01:08,240 season's meant to be about for us. 23 00:01:09,360 --> 00:01:13,320 So at the end of a very full and first half hour or so, I want us 24 00:01:13,320 --> 00:01:19,560 to press pause for a moment to stop and to take a breath and to 25 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:23,480 slow down as we walk through this bit of the Bible, John 26 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:30,120 chapter 1, and consider the good news of the incarnation and the 27 00:01:30,120 --> 00:01:31,840 incarnation. That is for a fancy sounding 28 00:01:31,840 --> 00:01:35,360 word Christians have used for centuries to describe what John 29 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:41,240 chapter 1 is describing for us. The moment in history when the 30 00:01:41,240 --> 00:01:48,080 eternal Son of God was sent into our world to become the Jesus of 31 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:51,000 history. The moment when the Son of God 32 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:57,240 came and made his home among us so that we, if we trust in Him, 33 00:01:57,560 --> 00:02:02,640 can make our home with him. The incarnation. 34 00:02:02,640 --> 00:02:04,560 It's hard to sum up better than the way John does. 35 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:08,800 In verse 14. The Word became flesh and made 36 00:02:08,800 --> 00:02:12,120 his dwelling among us the incarnation. 37 00:02:12,120 --> 00:02:16,440 CS Lewis called it the grand miracle that makes all the other 38 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:19,720 miracles possible. Because God has entered into our 39 00:02:19,720 --> 00:02:22,480 world. He has drawn near to us the the 40 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:26,080 good news of Christmas, that name given to Jesus by the Angel 41 00:02:26,080 --> 00:02:29,440 in Matthew chapter 1. And they will call him Emmanuel, 42 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:36,480 which means God with us. So just for the next few 43 00:02:36,480 --> 00:02:39,760 minutes, I want us to think, why is this truth of the incarnation 44 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:43,960 worth celebrating? Why is it worth singing about, 45 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:46,360 as we're going to be doing in the coming weeks? 46 00:02:46,360 --> 00:02:49,840 Why is it worth proclaiming to the people around us, as we're 47 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:53,040 going to be doing in the coming weeks? 48 00:02:53,640 --> 00:02:58,800 The word became flesh. Why is that good news? 49 00:03:00,760 --> 00:03:03,960 I think the first miracle at the heart of the Christmas story is 50 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:08,280 this, that the Son of God chose to become one of us. 51 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:14,280 At the heart of the Christmas story is a choice made by the 52 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:18,640 Son of God to enter our world and become one of us all in 53 00:03:18,640 --> 00:03:22,920 order to rescue us from sin and death and reconcile us to the 54 00:03:22,920 --> 00:03:25,880 God who made us and the God who loves us. 55 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:29,040 And when you when you listen again to John chapter 1, we've 56 00:03:29,040 --> 00:03:31,880 had it read in two sections. When you look at how the writer 57 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:33,880 of John's Gospel, one of the one of the apostles, Jesus 58 00:03:33,880 --> 00:03:37,560 disciples, a man called John, he's grappling with the truth of 59 00:03:37,560 --> 00:03:40,000 what he's trying to describe to us. 60 00:03:40,880 --> 00:03:44,560 And it's at the very limits of what human language can 61 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:47,360 communicate. So John introduces us in verse 62 00:03:47,360 --> 00:03:52,880 one to someone called the Word. In the beginning was the word 63 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:56,520 and and at first glance the word could refer to any number of 64 00:03:56,520 --> 00:03:58,680 things. The word could be a creative 65 00:03:58,680 --> 00:04:04,280 power or a concept or an idea. The Greek logos was it was a 66 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:06,640 commonly used word by philosophers at the time. 67 00:04:07,840 --> 00:04:09,920 But then just a few lines later, John is clear with us. 68 00:04:09,920 --> 00:04:15,360 The word is a he. The word is a person. 69 00:04:16,399 --> 00:04:20,560 He tells us the word was with God and the Word was God. 70 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,680 He was with God in the beginning. 71 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,320 And notice how John is treading carefully here. 72 00:04:28,880 --> 00:04:30,800 John the Apostle, he was a Jewish believer. 73 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:33,640 He trusted the Jewish scriptures, what we call the Old 74 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:35,560 Testament. And the Old Testament is clear. 75 00:04:35,640 --> 00:04:40,080 There is only one God here. O Israel, the Lord, your God. 76 00:04:40,080 --> 00:04:43,400 The Lord is 1 God, says Deuteronomy. 77 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:46,760 And the nations around ancient Israel, well, they believed 78 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,800 there were lots of different gods, Gods linked to particular 79 00:04:49,800 --> 00:04:52,320 parts of creation. So the gods of the sea or the 80 00:04:52,320 --> 00:04:55,800 land or the mountains, gods who would fight each other, who was 81 00:04:55,800 --> 00:04:58,400 her similar power to each other, gods who were basically just 82 00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:00,520 bigger versions of us. It was basically like a soap 83 00:05:00,520 --> 00:05:02,120 opera. If you look at some of the Greek 84 00:05:02,120 --> 00:05:03,840 myths. People sleeping with each other, 85 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:06,600 murdering each other. That's who the gods were. 86 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:08,520 And the nations around ancient Israel. 87 00:05:09,720 --> 00:05:11,880 And it's against that background that the opening words of 88 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:14,280 Genesis, the beginning of the Old Testament is so radical. 89 00:05:14,280 --> 00:05:18,600 Genesis one verse one in the beginning, gods created the 90 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:22,960 heavens and the earth. One God, one creator, 1 Lord. 91 00:05:22,960 --> 00:05:24,840 There weren't lots of gods fighting each other. 92 00:05:25,000 --> 00:05:29,840 There was one God and he alone created all things. 93 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:36,640 And yet John chapter 1 here we learn that alongside the one 94 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:40,640 true God, the moment of creation was this person called the Word. 95 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:45,920 The Word was with God. John says in fact he was God. 96 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:49,440 He was literally begotten from the Father. 97 00:05:49,440 --> 00:05:52,680 Verse 14, or as the end of he puts it, the one and only Son 98 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:56,120 who came from the Father. John saying something amazing 99 00:05:56,120 --> 00:06:01,440 here, that the one God of the Old Testament has a son, and 100 00:06:01,440 --> 00:06:04,760 that son's not a separate God. That son is God. 101 00:06:04,760 --> 00:06:06,240 He was with God in the beginning. 102 00:06:06,240 --> 00:06:07,880 Through him all things were made. 103 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:10,240 Without Him nothing was made that has been made. 104 00:06:10,240 --> 00:06:13,800 In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 105 00:06:15,840 --> 00:06:19,600 See, John is sketching out for us here what would later come to 106 00:06:19,600 --> 00:06:23,360 be known as the doctrine of the Trinity, that the God of the 107 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:27,000 Bible, the God who created each and every one of us, is 1 God in 108 00:06:27,000 --> 00:06:30,400 three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 109 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:34,840 The God Christians believe in is a loving community, a God who is 110 00:06:35,040 --> 00:06:38,320 love, a God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. 111 00:06:38,320 --> 00:06:41,480 And what's all that got to do with the good news of Christmas? 112 00:06:43,320 --> 00:06:47,200 Well, at the heart of the true story of Christmas is a free 113 00:06:47,200 --> 00:06:51,720 choice made by the eternal Son of God, in full agreement with 114 00:06:51,720 --> 00:06:57,320 God the Father and God the Holy Spirit to enter our world to 115 00:06:57,320 --> 00:07:01,320 rescue us. The Eternal Son of God looked on 116 00:07:01,320 --> 00:07:07,080 our world, He saw us in our need, and He chose to come near, 117 00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:12,320 to become flesh, to become one of us, in order to save us. 118 00:07:15,360 --> 00:07:20,400 And that is the heart of Christmas, a choice made by the 119 00:07:20,400 --> 00:07:24,040 Son of God in full agreement with the Father and the Spirit. 120 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:27,680 Here's another bit of the New Testament puts it Philippians 121 00:07:28,160 --> 00:07:30,320 chapter 2. Christ Jesus being in very 122 00:07:30,320 --> 00:07:33,840 nature God, did not consider a quality with God something to be 123 00:07:33,840 --> 00:07:37,160 used to his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing 124 00:07:37,680 --> 00:07:42,200 by taking the very nature of a servant being made in human 125 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:46,000 likeness. I will need to get this about 126 00:07:46,000 --> 00:07:50,520 the Christmas story. Jesus didn't have to enter our 127 00:07:50,520 --> 00:07:54,520 world at all. He didn't have to become one of 128 00:07:54,520 --> 00:07:57,320 us. But out of his great love for 129 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:02,760 sinful, fallen humanity, God was determined to save a people for 130 00:08:02,760 --> 00:08:06,080 himself and the Word. The eternal Son of God entered 131 00:08:06,080 --> 00:08:09,640 our world to do just that. He saw us in our need, and he 132 00:08:09,640 --> 00:08:18,880 stood low to become one of us. The staggering truth at 133 00:08:18,880 --> 00:08:21,960 Christmas is this free choice the sun made. 134 00:08:22,480 --> 00:08:25,520 Instead of walking away or abandoning us or remaining at a 135 00:08:25,520 --> 00:08:30,720 safe distance from us, he chose to come near and make his 136 00:08:30,720 --> 00:08:34,720 dwelling with us, ultimately to go to that bare tree, the cross, 137 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:39,200 in order to save us. The Son of God chose to become 138 00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:42,960 one of us. That's the miracle of the 139 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:47,920 Incarnation and a precious truth linked to that miracle. 140 00:08:49,120 --> 00:08:50,920 It's amazing. The Son of God knows what it 141 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:57,000 feels like to be human. In verse 14 again, the words 142 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:02,280 became flesh. Now for many Jewish and Muslim 143 00:09:02,280 --> 00:09:05,680 believers, this is the Christian message at its most offensive, 144 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:11,160 that we believe that the eternal holy perfect God became flesh, 145 00:09:11,200 --> 00:09:13,880 became a human being just like you and me. 146 00:09:14,080 --> 00:09:16,680 It sounds impossible, it sounds irreverent, it sounds even 147 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:19,080 blasphemous. But John couldn't be any 148 00:09:19,080 --> 00:09:21,480 clearer. The words he's told us this is 149 00:09:21,480 --> 00:09:24,880 the eternal pre existent creator of all things, the Son of God 150 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:31,880 begotten by the Father, became flesh, took on a body, flesh and 151 00:09:31,880 --> 00:09:38,040 skin and bones and became fully human while remaining fully God. 152 00:09:40,400 --> 00:09:43,400 The word in the Greek that John uses here translated flesh is is 153 00:09:43,400 --> 00:09:46,760 sarks. And John could have said, well, 154 00:09:46,760 --> 00:09:49,120 the word just became a human being and we would kind of 155 00:09:49,120 --> 00:09:51,320 understand that. But by using the word flesh, 156 00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:56,520 he's emphasizing the physical nature of Jesus body flesh 157 00:09:56,520 --> 00:09:59,720 brings with the idea it's physical, it's it's weak, it's 158 00:09:59,720 --> 00:10:06,720 vulnerable, it's limited. Flesh gets tired, flesh can get 159 00:10:06,720 --> 00:10:13,160 bruised, flesh can bleed. The Word flesh tells us the Son 160 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,880 of God humbled himself completely, entered into our 161 00:10:16,880 --> 00:10:19,400 experience. He identified with us totally in 162 00:10:19,400 --> 00:10:24,160 our weakness and frailty and vulnerability, in our bruises, 163 00:10:25,520 --> 00:10:29,400 in our wounds. And I see, never more so than on 164 00:10:29,400 --> 00:10:31,800 that first Christmas when he entered the world as a baby, 165 00:10:32,480 --> 00:10:37,320 completely dependent on his mother, like to sleep in a 166 00:10:37,320 --> 00:10:43,120 Manger in Bethlehem. The eternal Son of God became 167 00:10:43,120 --> 00:10:49,000 the Jesus of history, Jesus of Nazareth, the Gospels called 168 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:50,880 him. He's got a hometown, He's got a 169 00:10:50,880 --> 00:10:55,200 haircut, he's got a job, He's got friends and family. 170 00:10:55,320 --> 00:10:59,840 He became flesh Jesus. He experienced hunger and 171 00:10:59,840 --> 00:11:04,240 tiredness, sorrow and joy, friendship and betrayal. 172 00:11:05,080 --> 00:11:09,320 He exchanged the perfection of heaven for the darkness of this 173 00:11:09,480 --> 00:11:13,000 world. And that makes all the 174 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:16,960 difference in the way we relate to God through him. 175 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:22,600 Because the Word became flesh, Jesus can show compassion to us 176 00:11:23,080 --> 00:11:29,920 in our weakness and our frailty. Jesus can draw near to us and 177 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:31,800 help us when we are feeling weak. 178 00:11:32,720 --> 00:11:35,000 The book of Hebrews in the New Testament is really strong on 179 00:11:35,000 --> 00:11:37,640 this. Just a few passages from that. 180 00:11:37,640 --> 00:11:40,200 Hebrews 4 verse 15. We do not have a high priest, 181 00:11:40,200 --> 00:11:43,560 Jesus, who's unable to feel sympathy for our weaknesses, but 182 00:11:43,560 --> 00:11:47,120 we have one who's been tempted in every way, just as we are. 183 00:11:47,440 --> 00:11:51,760 Yet He did not sin. And Hebrews 2, Because He 184 00:11:51,760 --> 00:11:55,920 himself suffered when He was tempted, He's able to help those 185 00:11:55,920 --> 00:12:02,960 who are being tempted. What have you ever felt alone in 186 00:12:02,960 --> 00:12:04,920 your suffering, in your struggles? 187 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:08,640 It's a common experience, actually goes no one else really 188 00:12:08,640 --> 00:12:10,920 understands you maybe even tell some people, but they don't 189 00:12:10,920 --> 00:12:14,280 respond well or they seem to forget the next time you see 190 00:12:14,280 --> 00:12:17,800 them. One of the worst things about 191 00:12:17,800 --> 00:12:20,200 suffering, whether physical, emotional, spiritual, is that 192 00:12:20,200 --> 00:12:23,680 the isolation. The writer of Hebrews says, 193 00:12:23,680 --> 00:12:28,040 actually we have a high priest who can sympathize, who does 194 00:12:28,120 --> 00:12:30,560 sympathize, who has been there ahead of us. 195 00:12:30,680 --> 00:12:36,640 We have Emmanuel, God with us. And even more than that, we 196 00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:39,520 have, we have the word became flesh so that we can know what 197 00:12:39,520 --> 00:12:42,640 God is like. The message of Christmas is the 198 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:46,160 living God has gone to infinite lengths to make himself known to 199 00:12:46,160 --> 00:12:48,640 us and so that we can know him personally. 200 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:52,800 And it's so hard to grasp the immensity of what Jesus has done 201 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:56,280 for us in revealing the glory of God to us. 202 00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:59,760 A really imperfect illustration I was thinking of this week. 203 00:12:59,760 --> 00:13:04,000 I used to own 2 goldfish. They were called Les and Kevin. 204 00:13:04,560 --> 00:13:07,120 They when I married Lily they were from a previous 205 00:13:07,120 --> 00:13:09,960 relationship of mine but she took them in as the her step 206 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:14,080 goldfish and and Les and Kevin were with us for a few years. 207 00:13:14,440 --> 00:13:16,800 The fishbowl we had was bigger than the one pictured. 208 00:13:16,800 --> 00:13:20,800 Because this is cruel. But imagine that I had Les and 209 00:13:20,800 --> 00:13:24,080 Kevin, and I hear that every fish in the world is in danger 210 00:13:24,080 --> 00:13:27,760 from a terrible disease. I want to warn them from it, but 211 00:13:27,760 --> 00:13:31,200 of course I can shout as much as I can from outside the fishbowl. 212 00:13:31,200 --> 00:13:33,760 They will not understand me. They will not hear me. 213 00:13:34,320 --> 00:13:37,440 Aquarium owners tell me that's very dangerous and stressful for 214 00:13:37,440 --> 00:13:40,720 fish. But I imagine I am able to 215 00:13:40,720 --> 00:13:44,640 shrink down and become a fish and enter the fishbowl. 216 00:13:46,040 --> 00:13:48,200 Then I could speak to the language they would understand 217 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:50,920 and I could tell them here is this terrible disease and here 218 00:13:50,920 --> 00:13:55,600 is how to avoid it. Now there will be a cost to me 219 00:13:56,040 --> 00:13:57,760 in doing that. I would leave behind my loved 220 00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:02,160 ones, my home, my comfort. But if I did it, I'm sure I 221 00:14:02,160 --> 00:14:05,920 really love my fish, and it was also pretty special. 222 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:13,200 The heart of Christmas is God himself shrank down and became 223 00:14:13,200 --> 00:14:17,840 one of us. And in so doing, God gives 224 00:14:17,840 --> 00:14:22,800 humanity an astonishing dignity. The incarnation shows that human 225 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:26,040 beings, ordinary men, women and children like us, matter 226 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:29,680 enormously to God. Jesus gives huge dignity to our 227 00:14:29,680 --> 00:14:34,080 species by becoming one of us. He affirmed the value of human 228 00:14:34,280 --> 00:14:36,800 life. The Word became flesh and made 229 00:14:36,800 --> 00:14:39,640 his dwelling among us so we could know just how loved we are 230 00:14:39,640 --> 00:14:43,040 by God, So we could we could learn how we can be healed from 231 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:45,640 that terrible disease of sin and selfishness. 232 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:51,200 So we can know who God is and what he is really like, and that 233 00:14:51,200 --> 00:14:53,120 is the transforming power of the incarnation. 234 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:58,160 Jesus shows us the living God is good and loving and can be 235 00:14:58,160 --> 00:15:00,360 trusted. Verse 14 John writes. 236 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:04,000 We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son 237 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,240 who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. 238 00:15:08,040 --> 00:15:11,920 We've seen his glory, says John. Now once it's that's John 239 00:15:11,920 --> 00:15:14,600 speaking as an eyewitness. He was one of Jesus closest 240 00:15:14,600 --> 00:15:16,880 friends. He spent three years with Jesus. 241 00:15:16,880 --> 00:15:19,280 He saw Jesus crucified. He saw Jesus risen from the 242 00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:21,480 dead. But another level, every single 243 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:24,320 follower of Jesus in this room can echo that statement. 244 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:27,560 We have seen his glory. Why? 245 00:15:28,840 --> 00:15:32,880 Because we see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. 246 00:15:34,080 --> 00:15:37,640 If we want to know what God is like, we look at the face of 247 00:15:37,840 --> 00:15:41,000 Jesus. And then we learned that God is 248 00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:44,960 good and God is loving and God can be trusted. 249 00:15:46,240 --> 00:15:49,920 When we look at Jesus walking around ancient Israel 2000 years 250 00:15:49,920 --> 00:15:53,480 ago, relating to people, speaking, doing amazing things, 251 00:15:53,480 --> 00:15:57,000 we are looking at God in action. And we see a God who is 252 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:01,880 compassionate, is gentle with the weak and the struggling, who 253 00:16:01,880 --> 00:16:04,840 raises up the humble. He treats the weak with dignity. 254 00:16:05,800 --> 00:16:07,800 We see a God who's powerful enough to save us. 255 00:16:07,800 --> 00:16:11,560 He can calm storms, walk on water, drive out demons, raise 256 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:14,440 the dead. We see a God who hates pride and 257 00:16:14,440 --> 00:16:16,680 hypocrisy. He is full of grace and truth, 258 00:16:16,840 --> 00:16:19,400 says John here. And we see that throughout his 259 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:24,240 life the truth matters to Jesus. Grace matters to Jesus. 260 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:28,480 We see a God who gets his hands dirty saving sinners like us. 261 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:33,600 The night before the cross he he Stoops down and just washes the 262 00:16:33,600 --> 00:16:38,360 mud off his disciples feet, ours, before he goes to a cross 263 00:16:38,360 --> 00:16:44,840 to wash them clean. The word became flesh so we 264 00:16:44,840 --> 00:16:48,400 could bleed and die to win our forgiveness. 265 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:55,360 He entered our world to live the life we couldn't live and die 266 00:16:55,360 --> 00:16:59,480 the death we deserve to die again. 267 00:16:59,480 --> 00:17:03,320 As amazing as the incarnation is, Jesus becoming one of us 268 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:05,960 doesn't in and of itself save us. 269 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:09,440 No, Jesus came to live the life we couldn't live. 270 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:12,760 Jesus was perfectly obedient to his Father. 271 00:17:12,760 --> 00:17:15,880 Jesus was free from sin. He was everything that we should 272 00:17:15,880 --> 00:17:20,680 be but aren't. And then He came to die the 273 00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:25,960 death we deserved to die, so we can share that perfect 274 00:17:25,960 --> 00:17:29,040 obedience, that perfect relationship with God, with 275 00:17:29,080 --> 00:17:34,880 everyone who calls Jesus Lord. Look at verse 12 again of John 276 00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:37,360 1. To all who receive him, to those 277 00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:40,960 who believed in His name, He gave the right to become 278 00:17:40,960 --> 00:17:45,520 children of God. The Word became flesh so we 279 00:17:45,520 --> 00:17:50,360 could swap places with us so He could take our punishment, so we 280 00:17:50,360 --> 00:17:54,880 would be free from that, so He could live that perfect life of 281 00:17:54,880 --> 00:18:00,360 love and justice so that we can share in that perfection of love 282 00:18:00,360 --> 00:18:06,040 and justice when God looks at us in Jesus, the Word became flesh. 283 00:18:06,040 --> 00:18:11,800 We could swap places with us on the cross, and that all starts 284 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:15,720 with the incarnation. Here's how the English pastor 285 00:18:15,720 --> 00:18:19,880 John Stott puts it. He says the essence of sin is 286 00:18:19,880 --> 00:18:23,680 man substituting himself for God, while the essence of 287 00:18:23,680 --> 00:18:27,520 salvation is God substituting himself for man. 288 00:18:28,480 --> 00:18:30,720 Man puts himself where only God deserves to be. 289 00:18:30,720 --> 00:18:32,560 When we reject God, we think, I don't need God. 290 00:18:34,600 --> 00:18:37,240 But God responds by putting himself where only man deserves 291 00:18:37,240 --> 00:18:40,160 to be. Man claims prerogatives that 292 00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:44,600 belong to God alone. God accepts penalties that 293 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:50,360 belong to man alone. This is the solid ground on 294 00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:56,040 which Christians can stand that Jesus has lived the life we 295 00:18:56,040 --> 00:18:59,880 couldn't live, died the death we deserve to die, and He shares 296 00:18:59,880 --> 00:19:05,760 his victory with us. He entered our world, He shared 297 00:19:05,760 --> 00:19:10,880 our nature, He took our place, He bore our sin, He received our 298 00:19:10,880 --> 00:19:15,640 judgement so we can be forgiven and accepted and washed clean 299 00:19:15,680 --> 00:19:21,040 and welcomed home. Is that great exchange, the Word 300 00:19:21,040 --> 00:19:25,240 becoming flesh that begins in the Incarnation and culminates 301 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:32,720 on the cross of Calvary? It's all linked Christmas. 302 00:19:32,720 --> 00:19:35,280 That the story of Christmas feels like, well, that's a nicer 303 00:19:35,520 --> 00:19:39,520 end of the gospel. That's babies and stars and nice 304 00:19:39,520 --> 00:19:42,160 songs and Easter. That's the gruesome bit that 305 00:19:42,160 --> 00:19:46,400 people get turned off by. But it's all part of the same 306 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:51,960 story. The Word became flesh so we 307 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:57,960 could give that flesh for us. So the beginning of the 308 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:01,440 Christmas season, what difference does the incarnation 309 00:20:01,440 --> 00:20:03,040 make? What difference does the Word 310 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:07,640 become flesh make to us? If you're a follower of Jesus 311 00:20:07,640 --> 00:20:09,760 here this morning, I can think of a few things that we're going 312 00:20:09,760 --> 00:20:15,000 to finish on the 1st is this. You are loved by God. 313 00:20:15,640 --> 00:20:17,480 That's not just wishful thinking. 314 00:20:17,680 --> 00:20:20,040 That's not Wouldn't it be nice if the God of the universe loved 315 00:20:20,040 --> 00:20:20,360 me? No. 316 00:20:20,360 --> 00:20:23,520 You look at the incarnation and you see the eternal Son of God 317 00:20:23,520 --> 00:20:25,760 loves you so much He came looking for you. 318 00:20:26,720 --> 00:20:29,000 Your life is not an accident or a mistake. 319 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:33,360 You're loved by God so much the Word became flesh and made His 320 00:20:33,360 --> 00:20:38,440 dwelling with us. And again, if you put your trust 321 00:20:38,440 --> 00:20:42,840 in Him, you are accepted by God. That is the key to our 322 00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:46,160 salvation, to our assurance, to our hope at Christmas time. 323 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:49,200 It's not how well you're doing at the moment, it's not how 324 00:20:49,200 --> 00:20:53,320 obedient you're doing, how spiritual you feel, how good you 325 00:20:53,320 --> 00:20:55,520 are. It is US resting in all that 326 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:59,360 Jesus has done for us, His obedience and His atoning death 327 00:20:59,360 --> 00:21:02,320 for us. The Word became flesh and He 328 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:06,400 took our place so we can be washed clean. 329 00:21:07,800 --> 00:21:10,960 Amazingly, actually, you're, you're now free from slavery to 330 00:21:10,960 --> 00:21:14,400 sin. If you trust in Jesus, if you 331 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:19,840 trust in Jesus, you can change those those things you struggle 332 00:21:19,840 --> 00:21:21,240 with. Well, Jesus obedience becomes 333 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:23,560 our obedience. God the Holy Spirit comes to 334 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:25,680 live in US. You can fight the good fight. 335 00:21:25,840 --> 00:21:29,360 You will not win every battle. There'll be times when you will, 336 00:21:29,400 --> 00:21:31,280 you will lose it. You will lose your temper. 337 00:21:31,280 --> 00:21:33,840 You will give in to cowardice. You will do so many different 338 00:21:33,840 --> 00:21:37,240 things, you will win every battle, but the war has been won 339 00:21:37,240 --> 00:21:40,360 for you by Jesus, so you can keep fighting. 340 00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:43,880 And that again is the message of the incarnation. 341 00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:50,320 The Word became flesh so that He could give us His righteousness, 342 00:21:50,960 --> 00:21:55,360 His obedience. And the Word became flesh means 343 00:21:55,360 --> 00:22:00,600 you are never alone. They will call him Emmanuel, 344 00:22:00,600 --> 00:22:05,280 which means God with us. Jesus hasn't left you alone to 345 00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:07,520 live for him. He now lives in you again, 346 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:10,240 amazing New Testament language. Every believer in Jesus can say 347 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:13,040 Christ lives in me and I live in him. 348 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:15,360 We are. I'm as close as it's possible to 349 00:22:15,360 --> 00:22:19,880 be to Jesus until that day when I get even closer, when Jesus 350 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:23,960 returns and brings a new creation about at the end of 351 00:22:23,960 --> 00:22:26,120 human history. And Jesus therefore, is always 352 00:22:26,120 --> 00:22:28,440 with us. The end of Matthew's Gospel. 353 00:22:28,440 --> 00:22:32,440 Behold, I am with you always to the very end of the age. 354 00:22:32,720 --> 00:22:35,240 He became one of us at Christmas, and He's one of us 355 00:22:35,240 --> 00:22:37,520 still. There is a human being sitting 356 00:22:37,520 --> 00:22:42,520 at the right hand of the Father, praying for us, listening to us, 357 00:22:42,520 --> 00:22:46,560 helping us. And He is near to us by His 358 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:55,160 Spirit in us as we are in Him. The Word became flesh and made 359 00:22:55,160 --> 00:23:00,000 His dwelling among us. Christmas is busy. 360 00:23:01,400 --> 00:23:05,000 There's loads going on, loads of sheets to sign up to. 361 00:23:07,800 --> 00:23:13,000 But let's remember at the middle of all this busyness that we're 362 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:16,120 not alone, that Jesus has come near. 363 00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:20,320 Jesus has even become one of us. He didn't have to. 364 00:23:20,840 --> 00:23:26,200 He chose to out of His love for us and out of His love for us. 365 00:23:26,200 --> 00:23:29,880 He then invites us to live with Him and follow Him in this world 366 00:23:29,880 --> 00:23:35,280 and live as His witnesses in this world which is dark and 367 00:23:35,280 --> 00:23:39,800 needs His light. Let's receive the light that 368 00:23:39,800 --> 00:23:42,480 only Jesus can give to us this Christmas and let's share it 369 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:47,160 with the people around us. Let me pray for us. 370 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:57,760 Let me pray. Father God, we thank you that 371 00:23:57,760 --> 00:24:04,560 you're so determined to save a people for yourself, that you 372 00:24:04,560 --> 00:24:08,720 sent your Son into this world, the eternal Son of God, to 373 00:24:08,720 --> 00:24:13,280 become the Jesus of history and to live the life we could not 374 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:19,200 live, die the death we deserve, to die and rise again to share 375 00:24:19,360 --> 00:24:23,680 his victory with us. Father, thank you that you and I 376 00:24:23,680 --> 00:24:27,320 are Father every bit as much as you were Jesus. 377 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:30,720 Father, in all eternity, thank you. 378 00:24:30,720 --> 00:24:32,600 Father, we do not live in this world alone. 379 00:24:32,600 --> 00:24:37,720 You are near to us by your Spirit, sent after the death and 380 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:43,680 resurrection of your Son. Father God, this Christmas, help 381 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:48,120 us just to hear more of what you have done for us and strengthen 382 00:24:48,120 --> 00:24:53,600 our love for you, our trust in you, and give us them the 383 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:56,360 courage and the love to live as your witnesses in this world. 384 00:24:58,000 --> 00:25:01,200 Thank you for not abandoning us. Lord, thank you for drawing 385 00:25:01,200 --> 00:25:05,280 near. Lord Jesus, thank you for living 386 00:25:05,280 --> 00:25:09,000 and dying and rising again. So this Christmas we can 387 00:25:09,000 --> 00:25:13,440 rejoice, we can adore the God of all grace. 388 00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:19,920 He's welcomed us home. And we pray this in the name of 389 00:25:20,480 --> 00:25:24,160 the Word, become flesh. Jesus, Amen.