1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:04,840 Our culture loves origin stories. 2 00:00:05,760 --> 00:00:08,720 There's something about knowing where someone comes from that 3 00:00:08,920 --> 00:00:12,000 fascinates us. As we learn more about them, we 4 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:15,520 can appreciate them more fully in the background of their 5 00:00:15,520 --> 00:00:19,400 story. There are at least 2 main types 6 00:00:19,720 --> 00:00:24,560 of origin stories. The 1st is the rags to riches 7 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:27,840 story. This is when a nobody becomes a 8 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:31,240 somebody. People with obscure backgrounds 9 00:00:31,240 --> 00:00:35,920 and little influence become leaders and world changers. 10 00:00:36,520 --> 00:00:40,760 These could be superheroes like Captain America or Spider Man, 11 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:44,800 or maybe fairy tales like Cinderella and Aladdin. 12 00:00:46,040 --> 00:00:49,920 In real life, we might think of wealthy people like Warren 13 00:00:49,920 --> 00:00:54,080 Buffett and Andrew Carnegie, or maybe influential people like 14 00:00:54,080 --> 00:00:56,080 Abraham Lincoln or even Genghis Khan. 15 00:00:56,840 --> 00:01:02,080 The second type of origin story is significantly less common and 16 00:01:02,080 --> 00:01:06,760 perhaps less often told. This is the riches to rags 17 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:10,320 story. This is when a rich person loses 18 00:01:10,320 --> 00:01:15,400 everything they have, either willingly or unwillingly giving 19 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:19,520 it up for the kids in the room. Humpty Dumpty is a classic 20 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,960 example of unwilling loss. There he sits comfortably on his 21 00:01:22,960 --> 00:01:24,680 wall. Bam, great fall. 22 00:01:24,840 --> 00:01:29,360 Lots of rags. And because I'm a pastor here at 23 00:01:29,360 --> 00:01:31,280 UCC, I have to mention Lord of the Rings at least once in a 24 00:01:31,280 --> 00:01:32,880 calendar year. It's my last chance. 25 00:01:32,960 --> 00:01:36,040 So another good example is Frodo Baggins. 26 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:40,000 He's living in the Shire with privilege and wealth, and he 27 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:43,480 leaves it to go on an excruciating journey for the 28 00:01:43,480 --> 00:01:48,640 good of Middle Earth. In real life, we see this in 29 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:52,080 stories of soldiers who enlist to leave the comfort of their 30 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:56,720 home to defend it from evil. We see it in women like Saint 31 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:01,320 Clair of Assisi, who was born as a noble yet gave up her wealth 32 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:04,760 and social status in order to serve the lowly. 33 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:09,919 One reason that we love origin stories is the vision that they 34 00:02:09,919 --> 00:02:13,280 cast. If Peter Parker could turn into 35 00:02:13,280 --> 00:02:16,480 a world saving hero known as Spider Man, then maybe I could 36 00:02:16,480 --> 00:02:21,040 do something big too. If Richard Winters could 37 00:02:21,040 --> 00:02:25,200 volunteer as an average soldier in World War 2 and save the 38 00:02:25,200 --> 00:02:29,880 lives of so many through his sacrifice, then maybe I could 39 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:32,840 find it in myself to do something noble as well. 40 00:02:33,600 --> 00:02:36,960 These stories give us hope for our potential. 41 00:02:37,600 --> 00:02:39,960 They give us examples to look up to. 42 00:02:41,280 --> 00:02:46,720 Christmas is an origin story, and it begins before the angels, 43 00:02:47,000 --> 00:02:50,040 the shepherds, the town of Bethlehem, or even the prophets. 44 00:02:50,560 --> 00:02:54,080 The beginning is where our text places us today. 45 00:02:55,120 --> 00:02:59,240 The scope of the Christmas story situates our hero in the most 46 00:02:59,240 --> 00:03:03,240 splendid riches beyond what we could possibly imagine. 47 00:03:03,960 --> 00:03:08,360 Once that becomes clear, the depth of his sacrifice and the 48 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:13,400 riches he brings for his own can be that much more beautiful to 49 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:17,000 us. This story goes beyond the hero 50 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:23,240 himself to the lives he saved. Christmas is the story of riches 51 00:03:23,240 --> 00:03:27,920 to rags for one, so that there might be rags to riches for 52 00:03:27,920 --> 00:03:32,480 many, riches to rags for one, and rags to riches for many. 53 00:03:32,480 --> 00:03:36,160 First, the riches to rags. If you'd like to follow along, 54 00:03:36,160 --> 00:03:40,120 we are continuing in John's Gospel chapter one verse. 55 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:44,440 One in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 56 00:03:45,080 --> 00:03:48,400 and the Word was God. Well, let's talk about the Word. 57 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:49,880 What is it? What does this mean? 58 00:03:50,520 --> 00:03:53,720 Rather than just looking to Greek thought from the time of 59 00:03:53,720 --> 00:03:57,160 this writing in John's time, we can also better under this, 60 00:03:57,160 --> 00:04:01,400 better understand this term by looking to the Jewish context of 61 00:04:01,400 --> 00:04:04,600 its use in the Bible's use of it up until this point. 62 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:08,720 The Old Testament in several places speaks of the Word of God 63 00:04:08,840 --> 00:04:13,200 as a way in which He creates. The way in which He creates. 64 00:04:13,640 --> 00:04:18,120 For example, Psalm 33 By the word of the Lord the heavens 65 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:22,920 were made, and by the breath of his mouth all their host. 66 00:04:23,720 --> 00:04:28,520 We later see this paired with the Word of Wisdom as a creating 67 00:04:28,520 --> 00:04:34,040 person in Proverbs chapter 8. When He established the heavens, 68 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:36,880 I was there. When He drew a circle on the 69 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:40,320 face of the deep, When He made firm the skies above, when he 70 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:43,520 established the fountains of the deep, when He assigned to the 71 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:47,160 sea its limits so that the waters might not transgress his 72 00:04:47,160 --> 00:04:52,040 command, when He marked out the foundations of the earth, then I 73 00:04:52,040 --> 00:04:56,480 was beside him like a master Workman, and I was daily his 74 00:04:56,480 --> 00:05:00,680 delight, rejoicing before him, always rejoicing in his 75 00:05:00,680 --> 00:05:04,960 inhabited world, and delighting in the children of man. 76 00:05:05,320 --> 00:05:11,320 It was the Word, God's wisdom spoken and embodied through whom 77 00:05:11,640 --> 00:05:14,240 and by whom the world was created. 78 00:05:14,240 --> 00:05:16,240 But what about the New Testament? 79 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:20,920 The Christ is specifically referred to as the Word 4 times 80 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:24,120 here in John chapter one in the first verse we've just read, 81 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:29,400 later on in verse 14, then in John's first letter, and then 82 00:05:29,400 --> 00:05:33,480 again in Revelation chapter 19 at Jesus return. 83 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:38,240 So both the Old Testament and the New make this connection 84 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:41,760 between the Word and God's creative power, and then between 85 00:05:41,760 --> 00:05:45,320 the Word and a person. And if we're going to sound a 86 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:47,360 little more philosophical, what is a word? 87 00:05:47,360 --> 00:05:52,400 More broadly, it expresses and reflects the inner life of a 88 00:05:52,400 --> 00:05:55,560 person, revealing it to someone else. 89 00:05:56,360 --> 00:05:58,440 And this is exactly what Jesus does. 90 00:05:58,880 --> 00:06:03,000 He is the very expression and reflection of the mind of God, 91 00:06:03,000 --> 00:06:07,880 revealing Him to us, as Jesus says in John 14. 92 00:06:08,040 --> 00:06:11,560 Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. 93 00:06:12,240 --> 00:06:15,800 But was Jesus just a reflection of God? 94 00:06:15,800 --> 00:06:20,040 No, from eternity, in the very beginning the Word existed. 95 00:06:20,600 --> 00:06:25,720 He was with God, and He was God. Jesus the Word is not just the 96 00:06:25,720 --> 00:06:31,000 Son expressing and revealing God the Father, but He is God 97 00:06:31,040 --> 00:06:35,560 Himself, God the Son. Back to our passage, verse 2. 98 00:06:36,840 --> 00:06:39,400 He was in the beginning with God. 99 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:43,440 All things were made through Him, and without Him was not 100 00:06:43,440 --> 00:06:48,560 anything made that was made. In Him was life, and the life 101 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:51,640 was the light of men. The light shines in the 102 00:06:51,640 --> 00:06:55,080 darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 103 00:06:55,080 --> 00:06:59,000 So this isn't just physical life, though that is certainly 104 00:06:59,000 --> 00:07:02,240 true. If life here is connected with 105 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:06,400 the lights of men, then we have to see this as even more than 106 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:09,240 just our physical lives here on earth. 107 00:07:10,080 --> 00:07:12,840 Darkness is the sin of this world. 108 00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:19,040 By contrast, the light must be salvation, eternal life with 109 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:25,280 God, free from sin and darkness again in him was life. 110 00:07:26,240 --> 00:07:28,720 The Word of God is eternal life itself. 111 00:07:29,400 --> 00:07:33,520 He is light and salvation from our sin and darkness. 112 00:07:34,320 --> 00:07:38,520 Later in John's Gospel, Jesus tells us very clearly, I am the 113 00:07:38,520 --> 00:07:43,000 way, the truth and the life. He doesn't point to life. 114 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:47,160 He doesn't give us advice just on how to live a better life. 115 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:51,240 He is the life and the light of salvation. 116 00:07:51,240 --> 00:07:55,520 So why does this matter? We have to see Jesus for who he 117 00:07:55,520 --> 00:07:59,880 is, for all of the riches in light of his eternal existence. 118 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,880 And if we recognize that, and at the same time we look at the 119 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:08,920 rags of the dying, rotting world around us, we begin to see its 120 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:13,000 contrast with the light and life of Jesus from eternity. 121 00:08:13,880 --> 00:08:19,080 We begin to see how much scarier and darker our world is without 122 00:08:19,080 --> 00:08:22,920 Him and we begin to appreciate the light and life of eternity 123 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:26,480 that He promises if we will receive Him. 124 00:08:27,800 --> 00:08:30,600 When I was a kid we had a basement. 125 00:08:31,480 --> 00:08:34,880 It was our craft room and I was down there a lot because I loved 126 00:08:34,960 --> 00:08:38,280 crafts and cross stitch sewing and it was a great place to be. 127 00:08:39,120 --> 00:08:42,640 But the basement itself was a very scary place. 128 00:08:42,640 --> 00:08:45,840 The house was built in 1842. The walls were crumbly. 129 00:08:45,880 --> 00:08:48,840 They had names carved into them and dates from those names from 130 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:50,840 hundreds of years before. There were cobwebs in the 131 00:08:50,840 --> 00:08:54,520 corners, very dark and damp. We even had a dehumidifier 132 00:08:54,520 --> 00:08:58,280 running 24/7 with a hose that went right to a drain constantly 133 00:08:58,280 --> 00:09:01,320 full. Well, I took for granted that as 134 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:04,320 I entered the basement that I could turn the light on at the 135 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:08,480 top of the stairs and go down to do my crafting and you know I 136 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:12,680 would be pretty innocently working down there and some 137 00:09:12,680 --> 00:09:14,920 member of my family thought it would be funny to shut the light 138 00:09:14,920 --> 00:09:18,240 off and close the door. This happened over and over. 139 00:09:18,760 --> 00:09:21,560 Why was this funny? Because in my terror they knew 140 00:09:21,560 --> 00:09:24,960 that I would let out a high pitched girlish scream. 141 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:30,040 Oh, what fun for them. Now, I might not have screamed 142 00:09:30,040 --> 00:09:33,200 with such terror if we had a different kind of basement, 143 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:37,040 maybe a finished basement, maybe 1, built a few years ago with a 144 00:09:37,040 --> 00:09:40,040 little carpet, a closed ceiling, big egress windows to let in a 145 00:09:40,040 --> 00:09:42,880 little bit of lights. It'd be a different context, but 146 00:09:42,880 --> 00:09:48,680 the context of that scary darkness meant the light was 147 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:55,000 that much more precious to me. The contrast was that much 148 00:09:55,000 --> 00:09:57,440 greater. I needed that light to save me 149 00:09:57,440 --> 00:10:00,240 from the horrors of that dark place. 150 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:07,120 Jesus isn't just a convenient light that's nice to have, He is 151 00:10:07,120 --> 00:10:13,360 the light we need to be able to see, to be able to function, to 152 00:10:13,360 --> 00:10:16,160 rescue us from the horrors of the darkness. 153 00:10:17,360 --> 00:10:20,440 His richness of light in contrast with the rags of our 154 00:10:20,440 --> 00:10:24,760 darkness, reveals how much he gave up to be born as a human 155 00:10:25,000 --> 00:10:28,480 here on earth. The light shines in the 156 00:10:28,480 --> 00:10:32,840 darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 157 00:10:34,240 --> 00:10:39,160 Continuing in our passage, verse 6, there was a man sent from God 158 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:42,200 whose name was John. This is John the Baptist, 159 00:10:42,200 --> 00:10:44,560 different from the apostle John who wrote this gospel. 160 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:48,160 Here John the Baptist's ministry is affirmed. 161 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:52,720 He was sent from God. He was sent in the line of the 162 00:10:52,720 --> 00:10:56,880 prophets of the Old Testament to prepare the way for Jesus. 163 00:10:57,760 --> 00:11:01,560 John the Baptist told people to repent and to prepare themselves 164 00:11:01,760 --> 00:11:05,560 to receive their Savior the Messiah, and that message of 165 00:11:05,560 --> 00:11:09,000 repentance and salvation was from God. 166 00:11:09,640 --> 00:11:12,640 Verse 7. He, John the Baptist, came as a 167 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:17,480 witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe 168 00:11:17,600 --> 00:11:21,160 through him. He was not the light, but came 169 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:25,120 to bear witness about the light. We see another contrast, no 170 00:11:25,120 --> 00:11:29,800 longer the Word who was God, but a man sent from God. 171 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:33,520 The term came can also be translated as made. 172 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,240 It's the same Greek term that's used earlier in verse 3 where it 173 00:11:37,240 --> 00:11:39,800 says all things were made through the word. 174 00:11:40,400 --> 00:11:43,520 Again, a sharp contrast. The word was eternal. 175 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:47,320 John the Baptist, though an important witness, was only a 176 00:11:47,320 --> 00:11:49,000 created man. What was his job? 177 00:11:49,160 --> 00:11:54,360 To bear witness about the light, to testify to the light in 178 00:11:54,360 --> 00:11:59,360 John's own words in chapter 3, he must increase, but I must 179 00:11:59,640 --> 00:12:03,800 decrease. We can get pretty obsessed with 180 00:12:03,800 --> 00:12:06,920 our own stories. It's not that our stories don't 181 00:12:06,920 --> 00:12:08,960 matter. It is really important to 182 00:12:08,960 --> 00:12:11,920 reflect on your life and to promote deeper self 183 00:12:11,920 --> 00:12:15,880 understanding. But when our stories focus 184 00:12:15,880 --> 00:12:19,880 primarily on ourselves, and we don't use them to point to the 185 00:12:19,880 --> 00:12:24,400 greater story of God's redeeming love, then we miss it. 186 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:29,600 While we definitely bear witness about the light and point others 187 00:12:29,600 --> 00:12:33,920 to it, we are not necessarily the light itself. 188 00:12:34,440 --> 00:12:37,720 We bear the light, we spread the light, but we are not the 189 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:41,720 Messiah. He must increase, but I must 190 00:12:42,000 --> 00:12:44,800 decrease. When I first began leading 191 00:12:44,800 --> 00:12:48,200 worship, I started to feel a lot of pressure to get everything 192 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:51,440 right all the time. Musicians, artists in general, 193 00:12:51,840 --> 00:12:53,960 are notorious for being perfectionists. 194 00:12:53,960 --> 00:12:58,880 Can I get an Amen? It's easy to feel the weight of 195 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:03,760 the gospel on our shoulders, as if one wrong note might destroy 196 00:13:03,960 --> 00:13:08,360 our witness to the world. But Pastor Dan gave me this book 197 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:11,960 by Zach Hicks called, fittingly enough, the Worship Pastor. 198 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:15,880 And in each chapter it walks through metaphors for the roles 199 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:18,160 a worship pastor takes on in their job. 200 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:23,240 The worship pastor as disciple maker, the worship pastor as war 201 00:13:23,240 --> 00:13:25,960 general, as curator, tour guide and more. 202 00:13:26,240 --> 00:13:30,400 But the best chapter and the best metaphor was the conclusion 203 00:13:30,400 --> 00:13:35,360 which I did not expect. The worship pastor as failure. 204 00:13:36,640 --> 00:13:39,640 The author goes on to confess that the person described in 205 00:13:39,640 --> 00:13:44,040 this book does not exist. It's a standard and a calling we 206 00:13:44,040 --> 00:13:48,560 could never live up to. And yet he also reminds us that 207 00:13:48,560 --> 00:13:53,160 the person described exists in Jesus Christ himself. 208 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:57,600 All of our success is in him and through him. 209 00:13:58,360 --> 00:14:01,800 He is the worship pastor we all long for so that I don't have to 210 00:14:01,800 --> 00:14:04,240 be perfect. And the author goes on and 211 00:14:04,240 --> 00:14:06,560 everywhere he talks about a worship pastor in this quote, I 212 00:14:06,560 --> 00:14:08,960 want you to fill in the blank for yourself. 213 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:14,320 He says we are qualified, worthy, and able because Jesus 214 00:14:14,680 --> 00:14:19,640 is qualified, worthy, and able. This is a freeing, inspiring, 215 00:14:19,640 --> 00:14:23,440 faith producing worship and gendering word to every failed 216 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:27,520 fill in the blank. It means we're free to take a 217 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:31,880 stab at this thing called fill in the blank, even in the deep 218 00:14:31,880 --> 00:14:34,920 awareness that we are not adequate to the task. 219 00:14:35,240 --> 00:14:38,640 We're free to soar. We're free to crash and burn. 220 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:42,320 We're free to strive. We're free to rest. 221 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:45,920 The burden is lifted and the pressure's off. 222 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:50,320 Zach Hicks is not advocating for laziness or for indifference. 223 00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:55,960 He's arguing against the weight of perfection or feeling like 224 00:14:55,960 --> 00:14:59,480 you have to be the light itself instead of pointing to the light 225 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:01,880 and bearing the light that comes from outside of you. 226 00:15:02,440 --> 00:15:06,640 When we fail all too often, that is an opportunity to point 227 00:15:06,640 --> 00:15:10,120 others to Jesus because they can see that much more plainly that 228 00:15:10,120 --> 00:15:14,320 you are not the Messiah. For my work calling, it's being 229 00:15:14,320 --> 00:15:18,080 a worship pastor. What could you put in the blank? 230 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:23,040 Is it your job or could it maybe be a role you play in your 231 00:15:23,040 --> 00:15:28,000 family, whether a grandparents, a child, a sibling, a parent? 232 00:15:29,440 --> 00:15:32,720 John's testimony is that even the greatness of his ministry 233 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:36,760 paled in comparison to the perfection of Christ. 234 00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:40,240 John was a mortal man. Jesus is the eternal word of God 235 00:15:40,440 --> 00:15:43,240 from eternity. We are meant to point beyond 236 00:15:43,240 --> 00:15:47,960 ourselves to Him, and that is tremendously freeing. 237 00:15:49,320 --> 00:15:51,520 We can trust Him to be the true light. 238 00:15:52,480 --> 00:15:54,720 Even the best of our rags fall short. 239 00:15:55,000 --> 00:15:58,400 And so they point to the riches of Christ, and not only the 240 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:01,920 riches He came from, but we also point to the riches that He 241 00:16:01,920 --> 00:16:06,360 promises that are yet to come. Yes, Christ left the wealth of 242 00:16:06,360 --> 00:16:10,680 eternity to enter into our poverty of darkness, but the 243 00:16:10,680 --> 00:16:15,120 riches to rags story for Him is what promises A rags to riches 244 00:16:15,120 --> 00:16:17,520 story for us. And this brings us to our next 245 00:16:17,520 --> 00:16:21,400 point, the rags to riches for many. 246 00:16:22,400 --> 00:16:25,960 Let's keep reading. In verse 9, the true light, 247 00:16:26,080 --> 00:16:30,960 which gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 248 00:16:30,960 --> 00:16:34,120 Here's the theme of light again tied in with the origin story of 249 00:16:34,120 --> 00:16:36,320 the word. We also see a connection with 250 00:16:36,320 --> 00:16:39,880 the origin story of the earth, the creation narrative. 251 00:16:40,600 --> 00:16:43,280 The theme of light coming into the world is for more than just 252 00:16:43,280 --> 00:16:45,560 Christmas time, though that's when we certainly highlight it. 253 00:16:46,080 --> 00:16:50,240 We can remember Genesis chapter 1 when God says let there be 254 00:16:50,240 --> 00:16:54,240 light and there was light. That was the created light. 255 00:16:54,840 --> 00:17:01,080 What we have here is Jesus, the light of salvation, the light of 256 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:06,319 eternity, which was not created. This is eternal uncreated light 257 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:09,599 that is now coming into a created world. 258 00:17:10,160 --> 00:17:12,400 It was not made. This light already existed. 259 00:17:12,599 --> 00:17:15,680 The change is simply one of location. 260 00:17:16,160 --> 00:17:19,599 It is now coming into this world, this realm from the 261 00:17:19,599 --> 00:17:22,119 heavenly realms, where it has always been the true light, 262 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:26,480 which gives light to everyone. And the term could also be 263 00:17:26,480 --> 00:17:30,440 translated as illumines or enlightens everyone. 264 00:17:30,840 --> 00:17:33,080 It's more than just a shining external light. 265 00:17:33,360 --> 00:17:37,560 This is an inner light. The light of salvation was 266 00:17:37,560 --> 00:17:43,320 coming into the world, not just a small corner, but the whole 267 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:46,720 world. So the offer is for everyone. 268 00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:51,680 The light is given freely for all, but not all will receive 269 00:17:52,120 --> 00:17:53,800 this gift. The verse 10. 270 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:58,520 He was in the world and the world was made through him, yet 271 00:17:58,520 --> 00:18:03,240 the world did not know him. He came to His own, and his own 272 00:18:03,240 --> 00:18:08,240 people did not receive Him. And we can let that sit in, sink 273 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:14,400 in for a moment. The world that was made through 274 00:18:14,400 --> 00:18:20,640 Jesus did not know him. The people that God made from an 275 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:25,560 out for outpouring of love and overflowing abundance of love. 276 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:29,240 The people God made not because he needed us, but because he 277 00:18:29,240 --> 00:18:32,400 loved us and He desired that we should exist. 278 00:18:32,520 --> 00:18:36,120 He came to us and we said no thanks. 279 00:18:37,440 --> 00:18:40,680 We did not know Him, We did not receive Him. 280 00:18:41,600 --> 00:18:44,120 His own would rather stay in their rags and receive His 281 00:18:44,120 --> 00:18:48,280 riches in glory. But for those who will make room 282 00:18:48,280 --> 00:18:51,640 in their hearts for Jesus, look at what He promises. 283 00:18:52,320 --> 00:18:57,200 But to all who did receive him, who believed in His name, He 284 00:18:57,200 --> 00:19:01,120 gave the right to become children of God, who were born 285 00:19:01,120 --> 00:19:04,240 not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of 286 00:19:04,240 --> 00:19:09,880 man, but of God. Our rags without Jesus are worse 287 00:19:10,120 --> 00:19:13,640 than being orphans without him. We belong to the Prince of this 288 00:19:13,640 --> 00:19:15,680 world, the evil one. That's who we're born of. 289 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:20,520 We have the worst parent imaginable, but if we believe in 290 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:26,040 the name of Jesus, we have the right to become children of the 291 00:19:26,040 --> 00:19:30,480 best Father, the heavenly Father, the one true God. 292 00:19:31,320 --> 00:19:34,200 We're not just welcomed in kind of lukewarm, like he kind of 293 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:36,280 lets us sit there as long as we're nice and we behave. 294 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:39,640 You know, once we believe in Jesus as our Lord and Savior, 295 00:19:40,280 --> 00:19:42,880 being a child of God is our right. 296 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:45,520 He belongs to us. He is ours. 297 00:19:47,200 --> 00:19:50,960 And this new birth as a child of God, as a Jesus follower, can't 298 00:19:50,960 --> 00:19:54,280 happen in our own strength. It's not through the will of the 299 00:19:54,280 --> 00:19:57,360 flesh or the will of man, but of God. 300 00:19:58,040 --> 00:20:00,760 It doesn't happen by our own striving and good works. 301 00:20:01,280 --> 00:20:04,720 It happens through God's will, and that is a will that will 302 00:20:04,720 --> 00:20:07,840 never be thwarted. If it is God's will that we are 303 00:20:07,840 --> 00:20:11,000 born again in Him, then nothing can undo that. 304 00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:15,200 Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. 305 00:20:15,760 --> 00:20:20,120 Not death, life, angels, rulers, things happening right now, or 306 00:20:20,120 --> 00:20:23,440 things that are yet to happen. No powers, not a single thing 307 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:27,720 and all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ 308 00:20:27,720 --> 00:20:30,520 Jesus. If we are born of God, we belong 309 00:20:30,600 --> 00:20:34,280 to Him. That is glorious wealth and the 310 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:38,040 extraordinary riches we receive are because of the rags Christ 311 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:43,480 took on verse 14. And the Word became flesh and 312 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:48,440 dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only 313 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:52,200 Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 314 00:20:52,440 --> 00:20:56,200 The Word became flesh, the expression and reflection of the 315 00:20:56,200 --> 00:21:00,480 mind and wisdom of God, the one who existed with Him for 316 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,480 eternity. God Himself, the uncreated One 317 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:05,520 through whom all things were created. 318 00:21:05,680 --> 00:21:10,920 He took on a human body. And this is a full grace. 319 00:21:10,920 --> 00:21:13,800 It's not just a baked potato with a little bit of salt and a 320 00:21:13,800 --> 00:21:15,920 little bit of water. It's a full grace. 321 00:21:15,920 --> 00:21:19,200 It's loaded baked potato from the Barking Cow and Gaston, 322 00:21:19,400 --> 00:21:24,480 overflowing with cheese and sour cream and green onions and all 323 00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:26,240 the stuff that you're not supposed to eat. 324 00:21:26,560 --> 00:21:30,520 It's magnificent. Jesus is full of grace and 325 00:21:30,520 --> 00:21:33,240 truth. And then we have a repetition of 326 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:37,600 Jesus being greater than John. John bore witness about him and 327 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:41,960 cried out, This was he of whom I said, he who comes after me, 328 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:45,040 ranks before me, because he was before me. 329 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:47,600 And then we get back to the grace, verse 16. 330 00:21:48,880 --> 00:21:54,800 For from his fullness we have all received grace upon grace. 331 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:57,520 For the law was given through Moses. 332 00:21:57,920 --> 00:22:01,400 Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 333 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:05,360 This is a familiar verse for us, grace upon grace. 334 00:22:05,360 --> 00:22:08,960 We use it a lot, but let's go just a little bit deeper with 335 00:22:08,960 --> 00:22:11,240 it. The verse in context here is 336 00:22:11,240 --> 00:22:15,680 connected closely with the Mosaic law being the first grace 337 00:22:16,280 --> 00:22:20,440 and then the grace and truth of Jesus being a pawn or on top of 338 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:24,840 this grace already given. More concretely, God was so 339 00:22:24,840 --> 00:22:28,400 generous and good to guide us with the law of Moses and the 10 340 00:22:28,400 --> 00:22:31,880 commandments. Beyond that was good, but on top 341 00:22:31,880 --> 00:22:36,080 of all of that, even better than that, God fulfills that law with 342 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:40,840 the grace and truth of Jesus. He gives the first grace of 343 00:22:40,840 --> 00:22:43,320 telling us the way to live in righteousness. 344 00:22:43,560 --> 00:22:47,480 And then he also provides the means, the ability of the way to 345 00:22:47,480 --> 00:22:51,720 fulfill the requirements of the law through the grace of Jesus. 346 00:22:51,720 --> 00:22:55,320 And this doesn't happen through getting the behavior right and 347 00:22:55,320 --> 00:22:57,800 our own lives. It happens through the perfect 348 00:22:58,040 --> 00:23:03,040 life and obedience and death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 349 00:23:04,800 --> 00:23:10,040 To close out our passage, verse 18, no one has ever seen God, 350 00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:12,720 the only God who is at the Father's side. 351 00:23:13,080 --> 00:23:18,440 He has made Him known. Let's put it another way to 352 00:23:18,440 --> 00:23:21,760 rephrase the verse. God is eternal and dwells in 353 00:23:21,760 --> 00:23:24,880 approachable light. His glory is so bright that we 354 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:31,520 could never look directly at it. Jesus Christ is God Himself who 355 00:23:31,520 --> 00:23:35,000 dwells in perfect unity with the Father and the Holy Spirit 356 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:38,520 sitting at His right hand. One God forever blessed. 357 00:23:39,560 --> 00:23:45,240 This very same God that is too glorious to be seen has now been 358 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:49,240 made known to poor rag clothed sinners like us. 359 00:23:49,960 --> 00:23:53,360 He left the perfection of Paradise in heaven, not only to 360 00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:58,760 show us the Father, but to make us know Him deeply, intimately, 361 00:23:58,960 --> 00:24:03,800 closely know Him. He left his palace and slept in 362 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:06,640 a feeding through in order to make him known. 363 00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:13,040 Second Corinthians chapter 8 For you know the grace of our Lord 364 00:24:13,280 --> 00:24:18,280 Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he 365 00:24:18,280 --> 00:24:24,360 became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 366 00:24:24,360 --> 00:24:29,360 The story is riches to rags for him, so that it might be rags to 367 00:24:29,360 --> 00:24:35,600 riches for us to know the Father, to be known by him, to 368 00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:39,240 dwell in an intimate relationship with the one true 369 00:24:39,320 --> 00:24:43,360 God. This is wealth and riches beyond 370 00:24:43,360 --> 00:24:46,880 all measure. 1 Christian put it this way. 371 00:24:47,600 --> 00:24:52,360 Here in his wonder of wonders, he came below to raise me above. 372 00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:56,360 He was born like me, that I might become like Him. 373 00:24:57,560 --> 00:25:01,680 Herein is love. When I cannot rise to Him, He 374 00:25:01,680 --> 00:25:05,800 draws near on wings of grace to raise me to Himself. 375 00:25:07,200 --> 00:25:11,160 Herein is power. When Deity and humanity were 376 00:25:11,160 --> 00:25:16,680 infinitely apart, He united them in indissoluble unity, the 377 00:25:16,680 --> 00:25:23,240 uncreated and the created. Herein is wisdom when I was 378 00:25:23,240 --> 00:25:28,120 undone with no will to return to Him, It's no intellect to devise 379 00:25:28,120 --> 00:25:31,760 recovery. He came, God Incarnate, to save 380 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:37,280 me to the uttermost as man, to die my death, to shed satisfying 381 00:25:37,280 --> 00:25:42,120 blood on my behalf, to work out a perfect righteousness for me. 382 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:46,960 All glory be to Christ our King. Let us pray together. 383 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:54,040 Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of Jesus, and 384 00:25:54,040 --> 00:25:57,560 we thank you for the reminder that all things pale in 385 00:25:57,560 --> 00:26:02,080 comparison to Him. We thank you for his humility 386 00:26:02,680 --> 00:26:07,320 and we pray that you would show us how we may walk in His way, 387 00:26:07,840 --> 00:26:11,920 how we may rest in His salvation, that our strivings 388 00:26:11,920 --> 00:26:16,160 may cease, that we may point others to the true light that 389 00:26:16,160 --> 00:26:19,680 was coming into the world. We pray this in Jesus name and 390 00:26:19,680 --> 00:26:21,360 by the Spirit, Amen.