back to index2018-12-23 The Incarnation of Christ
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Alright, if you can turn your Bibles with me to Hebrews chapter 2, 14 to 18. 00:00:20.520 |
Reading out of the NASB, "Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, and 00:00:24.320 |
he himself likewise also partook of the same, it might free those who through fear of death 00:00:31.420 |
For surely he does not give help to angels, but to give help to the descendants of Abraham. 00:00:36.880 |
Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in all things, so that he might become a merciful 00:00:41.180 |
and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins 00:00:47.160 |
For since he himself was tempted in that which he has suffered, he is able to come to the 00:00:53.720 |
Gracious and merciful Father, we thank you so much for not only today, but this whole 00:01:06.320 |
season Lord God, that we take time off to remember, to spend time with family. 00:01:12.480 |
But above all Lord, help us to understand the significance of what this day represents. 00:01:17.400 |
I pray that you would renew our mind, renew our appreciation for what it is that we have. 00:01:22.920 |
Knowing Father God that the throne of grace has been opened to us, that we may enter with 00:01:26.480 |
confidence, so that what we know and what we hear, Father God, would cause us a longing 00:01:37.800 |
We pray, Father, that your word would go forth and would not return until it has accomplished 00:01:47.800 |
You know, a couple of weeks ago I got together with my old college roommates. 00:01:52.480 |
And even though I was roommates with them for about four or five years, majority of 00:01:55.800 |
them, of the five, three or four of them, are more than 10 years older than me. 00:02:01.380 |
And so they're right now, they're spread all over the world. 00:02:03.440 |
I have a missionary friend who's in Kenya, another one goes back and forth to China, 00:02:09.080 |
And I remember when we were back in college, we would have dinner together and they would 00:02:13.400 |
always talk about their aging parents, because they were older than I was. 00:02:17.440 |
And so I would just sit there and listen, because obviously I wasn't at that stage yet. 00:02:20.440 |
But now when we get together, they're always talking about retirement, you know, because 00:02:24.200 |
they're a little bit more closer to retirement. 00:02:26.000 |
And so, you know, the conversations they have, and I usually sit there and just listen. 00:02:30.240 |
And last time we met, they talked about preventing Alzheimer's and how if you eat curry, that 00:02:36.840 |
And I said, okay, I'll take a note and I'll remember that for the future. 00:02:40.660 |
This time we got together and they're kind of talking about, you know, the steps that 00:02:44.360 |
they're taking for retirement, because they're 60, 61. 00:02:47.540 |
And so the Indonesian friend is coming back in about a year. 00:02:51.240 |
And then he's not retiring, but he's retiring from mission field in Indonesia, and then 00:02:56.360 |
And same thing with my friend in Kenya, he's kind of taking steps as he gets closer to 00:03:03.640 |
But you know, every time we gather together, you know, I've had many friends in the past, 00:03:07.840 |
but those roommates that I had, you know, every time, whether we meet once a year or 00:03:12.280 |
every couple of years, when they come back in furlough, you know, it's like old times, 00:03:16.640 |
you know, back when we lived together, we spent about three to four, maybe five years 00:03:23.000 |
So we have obviously very specific memories that we have, praying together, witnessing 00:03:30.920 |
So again, even though they're significantly older than I am, they're good friends that 00:03:35.280 |
we're probably going to keep in touch for the rest of our lives. 00:03:39.460 |
And again, it's special because they were roommates at one point in my life, even though 00:03:42.760 |
it was a short period, it's been many years ago. 00:03:45.720 |
Christmas that we celebrate is a day that we celebrate the God of the universe made 00:03:51.640 |
In John chapter 114, it says, "The Word became flesh and dwelt among us." 00:03:56.560 |
The word dwelt literally means to pitch a tent. 00:04:00.660 |
To pitch a tent at that time is not talking about how they took some time off and went 00:04:04.320 |
camping, kind of like the way we would look at tent. 00:04:07.040 |
A tent basically means a dwelling, a place, a home. 00:04:11.160 |
So when it says that Christ came and made a home among us, He didn't just come and visit 00:04:18.880 |
He became roommates, intimate roommates with mankind. 00:04:25.480 |
That's the day that we celebrate in Christmas. 00:04:28.360 |
But the natural question that we should be asking, because the world is most likely asking 00:04:38.920 |
That the God of the universe took on human flesh and He dwelt here for a period before 00:04:49.240 |
If you have even a little bit of doubt of that, you're not alone. 00:04:53.960 |
Because according to scripture, even Jesus' closest companions had a problem. 00:05:02.420 |
We see that even His brother, in John 7, 3-5, when Jesus' ministry just started to take 00:05:12.960 |
His brother comes to Him, brothers come to Him and says, "Leave here and go into Judea 00:05:16.840 |
so that your disciples also may see your works which you are doing. 00:05:20.440 |
For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. 00:05:24.200 |
If you do these things, show yourself to the world. 00:05:26.240 |
For not even his brothers were believing in him." 00:05:31.820 |
As Jesus' popularity was growing, started doubting, "How can you? 00:05:37.080 |
How can you all of a sudden show up and say you're that Messiah?" 00:05:45.000 |
People are speaking well of Him and wondering at the gracious words which were falling from 00:05:48.700 |
His lips and they were saying, "Is this not Joseph's son? 00:05:54.220 |
They knew His humanity, but how can this man that we knew, we know His father, we know 00:05:58.640 |
His mother, how can He be any different than us?" 00:06:02.580 |
So Jesus' closest companions were the first ones who doubted Him. 00:06:07.880 |
Mark chapter 3, 21 to 22, He says, "When His own people heard this, they went out to take 00:06:13.840 |
So some of your translation says His own family members. 00:06:17.240 |
It basically means somebody who was very close to Him, whether it's family members or His 00:06:23.520 |
When they began to hear and see what He was doing, again, they were the first ones who 00:06:31.200 |
The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, 'He is possessed by Beelzebul and 00:06:35.240 |
casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.'" 00:06:38.960 |
So generally across the board, when we look at the gospels superficially, we think like 00:06:44.920 |
everybody was running to Him, believing Him and wanted to make Him king. 00:06:48.320 |
But when you take a closer look at the gospels, it is the historical record of a systematic 00:06:53.280 |
rejection of Christ all the way up to the cross. 00:06:59.920 |
It says, "He was in the world and the world was made through Him and the world did not 00:07:05.200 |
He came to His own and those who are His own did not receive Him." 00:07:10.200 |
So if you have any doubts, if you've ever questioned the story of Christmas, that is 00:07:20.600 |
Because even Jesus' close companion, even the ones who knew Him the best, in the beginning 00:07:26.680 |
But if you look at the gospel account, you'll see that that trend changes radically after 00:07:34.320 |
So clearly, after the resurrection, you see tens of thousands of people coming to Christ 00:07:38.520 |
because there's hundreds of eyewitnesses who saw the resurrection and Thomas being the 00:07:43.240 |
first one saying, "My Lord, my God," and began to worship Jesus and that began to spread. 00:07:48.720 |
Everywhere they went, Apostle Paul went, there were already Christians there beginning to 00:07:56.560 |
And as His deity was confirmed through His resurrection, the second stage of problems 00:08:02.500 |
that they had was, clearly He must be God, but how can He be man? 00:08:09.260 |
So they began to come up with this theory that maybe He only came in the form of man, 00:08:16.520 |
Maybe there was an illusion of a man, but He wasn't really man. 00:08:22.940 |
So the epistle of 1 John and 2 John, those two letters are written to deal with that 00:08:29.760 |
That if you reject the humanity of Christ, that He came in the flesh, that you will reject 00:08:36.320 |
And then again, tens and a decade and a couple centuries go by, and then the resurrection 00:08:42.120 |
of Christ and His miracles just become stories. 00:08:46.540 |
And so the next stage of church history, they go back to the beginning, and it's clearly 00:08:50.920 |
Jesus, the historical figure, we know Him because there's evidence of Him. 00:08:58.840 |
So for a long stretch in church history, they began to debate again, was He really God? 00:09:08.200 |
Maybe He was kind of like God, but maybe He isn't God. 00:09:10.720 |
And so this went back and forth all throughout church history. 00:09:18.680 |
Understandably, we can understand why they ask this question. 00:09:24.240 |
They ask this question because the paradox that we find in Christ. 00:09:35.640 |
Isn't that what we mean when we say, "Oh, He's only human," right? 00:09:39.780 |
Or you make a mistake and somebody accuses you of something, you say, "Well, I'm only 00:09:47.480 |
You couldn't have possibly expected perfection from me or from you because we're only human. 00:09:52.640 |
So the very nature of saying that somebody is a human being, he's imperfect. 00:09:57.320 |
Now on the other spectrum, we could say, "You think you're God? 00:10:11.240 |
And so you have these two spectrums, just even in our average use of our language, to 00:10:22.080 |
So how can someone who is perfect take on an imperfect form? 00:10:30.800 |
That this God who is perfect took on human form and He walked among us. 00:10:38.280 |
I want to look at a passage together with you in Hebrews chapter 2, 14 to 18, to dive 00:10:42.640 |
into the significance of this paradox and how it explains to us why this was necessary 00:10:51.880 |
So Hebrews chapter 2, 14 to 18, I read this already so I'm not going to read it, but there's 00:10:55.920 |
three observations that I want to emphasize with you this morning about this paradox of 00:11:03.840 |
First of all, it says that Jesus took on human form in order to sympathize with our weakness. 00:11:13.400 |
Hebrews chapter 4, 15 says, "In every way He became like us, except," what? 00:11:22.880 |
So where that paradox that I just explained to you falls apart is, when we mean I'm only 00:11:29.360 |
human, we're referring to the fallen nature of man. 00:11:32.880 |
The Bible describes Jesus Christ coming as the second Adam before the fall. 00:11:43.040 |
And He says He came in this way in order for Him to sympathize with our weakness. 00:11:50.360 |
In every way Christ experienced what you and I experience without sinning. 00:11:56.400 |
We know that He went hungry, the Bible describes that. 00:12:02.960 |
Fatigued to the point where there was a storm and His disciples thought that they were going 00:12:06.040 |
to die and Jesus was so tired He couldn't even get up. 00:12:11.600 |
I don't think He was sleeping with one eye open saying, "I'm going to teach these guys 00:12:20.200 |
He actually was marveled when He encountered certain people's faith. 00:12:27.000 |
My God of the universe who's omnipotent, why should He marvel? 00:12:31.740 |
But Jesus in His humanity at times He marveled at people's faith. 00:12:36.340 |
We saw Him in anguish before He went to the cross. 00:12:39.860 |
In His humanity, even though it was ordained, even though He volunteered, He lays His own 00:12:47.720 |
Before He goes to the cross we see Christ agonizing over the pain and the separation 00:12:59.200 |
We see Him before the tomb of Lazarus after His death, Him weeping in sorrow. 00:13:07.200 |
He's headed down to Jerusalem and He sees all of the city and He knows the judgment 00:13:11.920 |
that's coming upon them because of their rejection and He is weeping over the city. 00:13:19.280 |
He has experienced physical and emotional isolation and loneliness and everything that 00:13:24.680 |
you and I experience in this fallen world, Jesus took on human form that He may be a 00:13:36.600 |
There's a reason why when Jesus speaks parables, He would teach a lesson about the kingdom 00:13:41.480 |
and then He would teach a parable and typically the parables centered around what? 00:13:47.760 |
I mean I don't know how many of you were raised in a farm but the majority of us probably 00:13:53.040 |
So we kind of have to imagine what it was like on the farm but at that time in order 00:13:56.460 |
to relate what He was saying about the kingdom to them, He would use the illustration of 00:14:00.960 |
the farm, whether it's raising sheep or trees or whatever it may be and He talks a 00:14:05.960 |
lot about different seasons because that's where the farmers were used to. 00:14:11.720 |
And so He went out of His way to be able to relate to them as they can relate to Him. 00:14:18.120 |
So every Sunday when I give a message, you know I have to do the same thing. 00:14:21.760 |
So I have this truth that I've been studying and so after I study, so people usually ask 00:14:28.080 |
Sermon, anybody who's ever given sermon on a regular basis, you know sermon is never 00:14:33.480 |
And the reason why is because you can take the truth but then taking the truth and applying 00:14:39.640 |
it to the congregation, there is no science behind that, it's more art. 00:14:44.520 |
Like how do I get this so that our congregation can understand this? 00:14:48.280 |
The easy part is to know the truth but how do you get this truth to you? 00:14:51.800 |
So I have to think what are things that I can relate to that could help you to understand? 00:14:57.000 |
So sometimes I'll think about like movie illustrations, which I think are current, 00:15:04.840 |
And I make sure that I use language that I think people can relate to. 00:15:08.840 |
There are certain things that I know that it's easy for me to make connection because 00:15:18.160 |
Those of you guys who aren't PKs, don't even know what a PK is. 00:15:22.320 |
Pastor's kit, basically that's, if you're a PK, you grew up in a PK home and all the 00:15:26.480 |
stuff that you saw growing up, I immediately, I know where you come from because that's 00:15:36.600 |
If you're a PK and middle children, I get you, okay? 00:15:41.320 |
I asked this in the first service and if you ask how many firstborn children, the arms 00:15:54.560 |
But if you say any middle children, any stubborn people in this room that have a hard time 00:16:01.920 |
That's usually what they hear when they say, "Oh, he's a middle child," right? 00:16:04.480 |
If you're a middle child and you're a PK, I get you, right? 00:16:09.640 |
There's a lot of things that I have an easier time relating with you because of your experience 00:16:19.560 |
The suffering that we've been through, right? 00:16:23.960 |
We're not there yet, but we're getting there, right? 00:16:27.680 |
I stayed home with Jeremy, my firstborn son, for about a year and a half because, you know, 00:16:33.000 |
Esther had to work and we had to make a living, and that was the only income that we had. 00:16:37.840 |
And again, one and a half years doesn't make me an expert in that, but I experienced just 00:16:46.880 |
Yeah, I would have ruined my kids if I kept this up. 00:16:49.840 |
I mean, other than feeding him and changing him, I did absolutely nothing. 00:16:56.840 |
Like that was my goal every single day, you know? 00:16:59.940 |
And then Esther came home and she delivered him every single day. 00:17:04.940 |
Even on the surface, it looks like, "Oh, they're just feeding the kids and they go to sleep 00:17:16.980 |
You know, I've worked, I've had jobs before where if you're tired, you're just not a good 00:17:26.840 |
There's a ways to adjust how, you know, when you're tired. 00:17:29.760 |
But when you're at home with your kids and your kids are sick, there is no break. 00:17:35.900 |
Even though it's been, it was only for a year and a half, right? 00:17:38.900 |
I taught ESL in school for about a year and a half. 00:17:42.680 |
No, not a year and a half, five years, sorry. 00:17:48.680 |
I never drank coffee until I started teaching. 00:17:54.960 |
I didn't have a taste for it until I started teaching. 00:17:58.080 |
And I realized like when you teach, you know, a lot of people say, "Well, when you teach, 00:18:02.240 |
you're only there for like five hours and you get three-month break." 00:18:05.180 |
But when you teach, you know what it felt like? 00:18:07.600 |
It felt like preaching a five-hour sermon every single day. 00:18:14.480 |
You have to, your mind has to be alert the whole time you're up there. 00:18:19.260 |
And again, just like watching kids, you can't just take a 30-minute break. 00:18:23.160 |
You know, when you're teaching, you have to be alert or you're going to lose the class 00:18:26.840 |
and you're not going to be able to teach well. 00:18:28.000 |
So that's when I started checking coffee because I had to be alert. 00:18:32.960 |
So there's certain things that I've experienced that helps me to understand where you're coming. 00:18:36.560 |
I've had small businesses, you know, and the frustration that comes with that. 00:18:42.160 |
Any minimum wage jobs, you know, that paid really bad and had to work hard, I have a 00:18:51.880 |
So every week when I'm preparing a sermon, I'm kind of thinking through these things 00:18:58.400 |
So Jesus himself, you could tell even the way he teaches, he's always trying to relate 00:19:06.240 |
He didn't just think through his personal experiences and I'm going to teach you about 00:19:11.840 |
He according to scripture, came off of his throne. 00:19:16.400 |
The highest being took on the lowest form and he actually made a dwelling amongst us. 00:19:21.640 |
We pitched a tent that he may be able to relate and sympathize with us. 00:19:27.680 |
It says in verse 17, "Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in all things." 00:19:34.800 |
Sometimes because we imagine Jesus to be more God than man that we think like I can't relate 00:19:46.600 |
See, sometimes we think that we kind of cross this God and man back and forth and when we 00:19:54.440 |
have a hard time, it's like Jesus can't possibly relate with me. 00:19:57.720 |
Well, the Bible says that he was man in every way without the sin. 00:20:07.480 |
Those of you who have sibling problems, Jesus knows. 00:20:15.120 |
Brother or sister that aggravates you or says the wrong things and always taking your stuff. 00:20:20.120 |
Whatever situation you may be in, maybe even as an adult. 00:20:23.840 |
I already told you that Jesus, his brothers were the first ones who rejected him. 00:20:30.400 |
Can you imagine the frustration and loneliness possibly that he felt that he came in knowing 00:20:36.680 |
what he came to do and his own brothers stood and says, "Why don't you go do it over there?" 00:20:43.120 |
Sarcastically, "Why don't you go and do this with your disciples?" 00:20:48.640 |
So do you think that Jesus didn't experience aggravation and frustration, maybe even anger? 00:20:55.120 |
Now you have to understand, anger in and of itself is not described as sin. 00:21:02.300 |
In Ephesians 4.26 it says, "Be angry and yet do not sin." 00:21:12.500 |
So do you think that there are many times when Jesus was dealing with his brothers, 00:21:20.920 |
Jesus was constantly surrounded by sinners who were being selfish. 00:21:25.760 |
And do you think that didn't bother him at times, was aggravating? 00:21:29.500 |
The temptation to want to quit and maybe pack up his bag and leave earlier? 00:21:40.480 |
If you're a student, it's like, "I can't possibly understand as a student, like all the finals 00:21:51.240 |
I mean, the scripture says that he became an infant and he was at the temple and he 00:22:01.480 |
Now, if you really think about the context of that. 00:22:06.020 |
The same people that he submitted himself to, to learn, to ask questions. 00:22:14.440 |
These were the same people, later on, was going to reject him and crucify him. 00:22:21.520 |
Jesus was infinitely more wiser than these people. 00:22:26.040 |
Jesus was infinitely more knowledgeable than these people. 00:22:30.480 |
And yet he humbled himself and he sat there asking questions as a young man. 00:22:35.640 |
And he began to grow in wisdom, just like any other human being. 00:22:39.880 |
So you think that he doesn't understand the frustration of being a student? 00:22:53.680 |
It doesn't take long for work to become work. 00:23:02.680 |
You start in as a freshman, everything is fantastic, you know, and you're enjoying your 00:23:07.340 |
By the time you get to junior year, you start to see the students who are disciplined versus 00:23:11.160 |
the non-students who are disciplined start to break away. 00:23:13.600 |
And then all of a sudden you're taking 25 units to graduate, you know, because you got 00:23:17.180 |
to make it and you graduate and then you're praying for jobs. 00:23:19.860 |
So there's a bunch of you guys sitting in here about to graduate, praying, praying, 00:23:29.320 |
Sometimes it lasts maybe four months, five months. 00:23:35.760 |
But after that period is out, even if it's your dream job, it eventually becomes labor, 00:23:42.640 |
And then you start to wrestle with this thought of like, "Is this it? 00:23:47.900 |
This is what I'm going to do the rest of my life?" 00:23:54.000 |
I mean, they're living our fantasy, average male fantasies to become an athlete. 00:24:00.240 |
He makes millions of dollars playing the sport that we play. 00:24:05.360 |
And then when they retire, they ask them, "So why did you retire? 00:24:10.640 |
And you often hear the question, "I just didn't have the love anymore." 00:24:21.480 |
Every city you go, they treat you like a rock star and you said, "You just lost the love." 00:24:34.520 |
So obviously, anything that you and I are involved in eventually becomes labor. 00:24:40.800 |
The frustration that also comes along with that. 00:24:46.040 |
And that's why people go through midlife crisis because they get to a certain point in life. 00:24:49.360 |
And because they've been asking this question for so long, and now all of a sudden, it seems 00:24:57.680 |
You've been living all the way up to that point that's like, "At some point, I'm going 00:25:01.240 |
At some point, I'm going to do something different." 00:25:02.520 |
But you get to a certain stage in life, and at that point, you're like, you're going to 00:25:13.160 |
When we think about Jesus, He came as a carpenter. 00:25:28.200 |
You know, oftentimes I hear people talking about how Jesus, because He was perfect, every 00:25:39.840 |
He just boom, boom, boom, boom, and all of a sudden, He put it together, and it was perfect. 00:25:42.720 |
I hear people saying that because Jesus was God. 00:25:48.680 |
And then imagine Mary saying, "Why can't you be like your older brother? 00:25:55.080 |
Jesus was man just like us, and it's not sin to make bad furniture. 00:26:06.760 |
He worked with His hands, and my guess was at times, He probably got tired. 00:26:11.280 |
And I, again, you know, I had a business for a period just to make ends meet, and I was 00:26:16.200 |
doing car detailing, just manual labor, you know? 00:26:20.560 |
And I remember this one particular time when it was probably about 100 degrees outside, 00:26:29.360 |
And eventually I realized the math didn't add up. 00:26:31.920 |
You know, I could work my tail off, and I would only make maybe a couple thousand a 00:26:37.520 |
But I remember this one particular lady asked me to come and wash her car, and I was charging 00:26:41.480 |
me about $60, and it took me about four hours to detail this car. 00:26:46.440 |
So those of you who don't know about detailing, you say, "Why would it take four hours?" 00:26:52.200 |
You have to hand wax it, and inside you have to make sure all the grease in the engine 00:26:55.800 |
is out, and then you take like a fine-toothed brush, and you have to brush between every 00:27:02.960 |
And so when you're detailing, you're literally detailing, which is torture for me because 00:27:10.200 |
But I had to learn to be detailed because of that. 00:27:12.760 |
So it took me four hours, almost 100-degree weather, and then after it was done, I went 00:27:20.740 |
She comes down, and then she sees a tiny little sap sitting on the hood. 00:27:28.520 |
And that whole time I was thinking, you know, during the time that I finished, I went up 00:27:32.120 |
to get and bring her down, something fell from the tree, and it was just an easy wipe. 00:27:36.480 |
All I had to do was wipe it off, but she was making a stink. 00:27:43.120 |
And I was going back and forth with her, and eventually she felt bad, and she gave me the 00:27:46.280 |
money, but I remember coming away from that and saying, "Wow." 00:27:49.240 |
You know, even if she tipped me, this is not worth it. 00:27:53.240 |
Do you think that Christ as a carpenter maybe ran into some people who thought that the 00:28:01.360 |
You know, because He's living among sinful people. 00:28:08.680 |
He was tempted in every way, in every way, without sinning, without crossing the line. 00:28:16.560 |
So oftentimes we think of Christ that He can't possibly relate with us because He did everything 00:28:21.680 |
Everywhere He went, everybody danced and sang and appreciated Him. 00:28:34.400 |
He understood me right up until about 33, and then we get married, and He doesn't understand 00:28:40.840 |
The whole illustration in the book of Ephesians about marriage ultimately is to tell us about 00:28:51.600 |
So the church was made holy, white, because of His sacrifice. 00:29:02.000 |
Sometimes the greatest joy comes from marriage, and sometimes the greatest aggravation also 00:29:08.080 |
You know, men have a tendency to be insensitive. 00:29:10.520 |
I know some of you guys don't fall under that category, right? 00:29:15.700 |
And if you are thinking that right now, you're probably the biggest problem. 00:29:23.360 |
Typically, most men think we pay the bills, right? 00:29:27.600 |
We wash the car, we lift heavy things, and then if a bad guy comes into the house, it's 00:29:36.240 |
And then ladies typically are kind of looking at the small things, right? 00:29:40.320 |
You didn't call me, you went, and you didn't text me, or whatever it might be. 00:29:45.640 |
And so the common complaint from the wives to the husbands is, "You don't care. 00:30:01.200 |
I've had enough marriage counseling that I know that this is kind of a universal issue, 00:30:07.280 |
But typically, wives have a right to say that because we're not perfect, and we do make 00:30:14.360 |
And the husbands, sometimes we get frustrated, but our frustration is not warranted because, 00:30:27.960 |
And yet, the church is constantly asking, "Where are you? 00:30:37.200 |
Do you think Christ understands that frustration? 00:30:45.240 |
He's never had children, so he couldn't possibly know. 00:30:59.760 |
You think God understands what it's like to raise sinful children? 00:31:08.000 |
I mean, you know what it feels like, you know? 00:31:12.120 |
Having children, the greatest joys that you've ever experienced in life is because of your 00:31:18.920 |
And the most angry I've ever been in my life was also because of the same kids. 00:31:30.960 |
And I know some of you have experienced that. 00:31:37.520 |
That frustration of, like, at your wit's end, you don't know what to do, and yet you love 00:31:48.840 |
You think God doesn't understand your frustration? 00:31:52.320 |
He says He experienced everything that you and I experience in this fallen world without 00:31:58.800 |
He did all of this to draw near to us so that every emotion, every problem, every situation 00:32:07.240 |
that you are in, we can look up to Him and say, "He knows." 00:32:12.560 |
He didn't just throw out a net and say, "Hey, everybody come." 00:32:18.400 |
See, He came in order for Him to be a sympathetic high priest. 00:32:24.120 |
But the second thing that this says is Jesus' primary reason why He came, why He came to 00:32:28.640 |
be a sympathetic high priest, was to deliver us from the fear of death and all those who 00:32:35.560 |
are subject to slavery because of this death. 00:32:38.320 |
Now, let's take a step back and ask this question. 00:32:41.080 |
How many people do you know who are living day to day enslaved because they're afraid 00:32:50.560 |
Unless, unless you know exactly when you're going to die, I don't know that many people 00:32:55.240 |
who are every day living enslaved because they're afraid that if they don't do this 00:33:06.400 |
Because the word for life in the New Testament isn't living forever, bios. 00:33:15.040 |
So every time the scripture talks about how Jesus came to give life, it's talking about 00:33:23.720 |
So zoe basically means to be united with the author of life where the living water is constantly 00:33:31.280 |
In season and out of season, there's food coming in to revive you, renew you. 00:33:35.920 |
The Bible says that because of our sins, we've been separated from God and so we no longer 00:33:47.080 |
So the Bible when it talks about life is talking about zoe, not bios. 00:33:50.160 |
So when He says death, it's the opposite of zoe. 00:33:55.760 |
Let me give you the Bible dictionary definition of this word death, thanatos. 00:34:02.520 |
In the New Testament, this sense is applied with more definitiveness to the gospel plan 00:34:09.500 |
And as zoe is used to denote the bliss and glory of the kingdom of God, including the 00:34:13.520 |
idea of joyful resurrection, so thanatos is used for the opposite. 00:34:19.080 |
Exclusion from the bliss and glory of the kingdom of God, exclusion from zoe. 00:34:23.940 |
Now let me cross this bridge and try to relate to where you are. 00:34:38.040 |
You have to hang around with the right people if you want to know what this is. 00:34:48.200 |
So if you don't have social media, this is why you need to get social media. 00:34:55.280 |
So I'm going to keep using it until you know what it is. 00:34:59.080 |
Because it's related to the incarnation of Christ. 00:35:03.560 |
So thanatos is an exclusion from the bliss and glory life of Christ. 00:35:11.760 |
So thanatos is the fear of missing out, of zoe. 00:35:22.800 |
Man's rebellion is seeking to find life outside of Christ. 00:35:30.480 |
And he desired, God created us to want to live. 00:35:33.960 |
From the moment that we are born, we're sucking, we want to eat something, we want to breathe. 00:35:41.680 |
God has innately put in us a desire, an instinct to live. 00:35:46.400 |
But man's rebellion is seeking that outside of God. 00:35:52.000 |
And this fear of missing out, of life, is what causes us to seek the world. 00:36:19.480 |
We eat, we travel, we desire different experiences to what? 00:36:28.080 |
And this fear, fear of missing out, has enslaved people all their lives to chase after things 00:36:44.840 |
And so Christ came to deliver us from that fear. 00:36:49.560 |
He says in John 10.10, "I came that they may have life and that have it abundantly." 00:36:55.000 |
Again in John 14.6, "I am the way and the truth and the life. 00:37:04.440 |
Third and finally, Jesus came to deliver us ultimately from our sins. 00:37:09.960 |
The reason why we were excluded from this life was because of our own sins. 00:37:14.280 |
In verse 17, "Therefore he had to be made like his brethren in all things so that he 00:37:18.800 |
might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God." 00:37:23.280 |
To make propitiation for the sins of the people. 00:37:27.460 |
The word propitiation, I don't know about you, but first time I heard the word propitiation 00:37:33.760 |
And I remember they were saying, "Oh, propitiation, propitiation." 00:37:36.160 |
I remember thinking like, "Man, I should have studied in high school." 00:37:40.720 |
Because it's one of those SAT words, it's a theological word, basically means to have 00:37:49.640 |
Meaning that Christ took on our sins that you and I deserve to be punished for, and 00:37:58.560 |
as a result, we were freed from the penalty of sin. 00:38:06.000 |
Now the reason why Christ came, that is he lived a sinless life in order that he could 00:38:11.040 |
take our place and absorb our sin to himself to give us new life. 00:38:17.000 |
The common experience of all mankind who's ever been born in this world, if you're sinned 00:38:36.880 |
That's where we want to try to present ourselves. 00:38:40.080 |
If somebody slanders you, what's your natural response? 00:38:55.160 |
So if they hit you on one cheek, your natural response is not to turn the other cheek, but 00:39:05.040 |
The Bible says, "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." 00:39:11.780 |
Every one of us has sinned against somebody else, and every one of us has been sinned 00:39:17.160 |
And so we're living in a world filled with people who have sinned and have been sinned 00:39:23.480 |
So our natural response is to cheat and to slander and to covet, because that's what 00:39:33.760 |
And every human being that comes into this perpetuate this further. 00:39:38.240 |
So you know, talk about, you know, get a bunch of sinful people into a room and we're going 00:39:44.560 |
A bunch of sinful people in the room sin against each other even more, because that's what 00:39:58.080 |
Christ experienced everything that you and I experienced, yet did not sin. 00:40:05.560 |
He's the only one who's been sinned against who absorbed our sin upon himself. 00:40:15.000 |
He was the only one who would have been justified. 00:40:18.120 |
He would have been the only one to take out vengeance, because he never sinned against 00:40:24.560 |
He would have been the only one who could have smashed us and stood before the Father 00:40:31.820 |
But the only person who was justified to take vengeance came, the Scripture says, that he 00:40:41.980 |
Not only does he absorb our sins, he dies and he resurrects and he gives us new life. 00:40:50.380 |
So that those who believe, those who have been forgiven, can no longer say, "I sinned 00:40:56.700 |
They say, "No, we love because he first loved us." 00:41:08.700 |
And only Christ and his death and resurrection has the power to do that. 00:41:13.460 |
In 1 Peter 2.24, "He himself bore our sins and in his body on the cross so that we might 00:41:26.420 |
So Christmas is about him delivering us from this bondage of sin. 00:41:34.960 |
He's the only one who lived a perfect life, who was without defect, who is capable and 00:41:42.040 |
who is willing to absorb our sins and to give us new life. 00:41:48.500 |
Isaiah 53.46, "Surely our griefs he himself bore and our sorrows he carried, yet we ourselves 00:41:54.140 |
esteemed him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted, but he was pierced through for 00:42:01.860 |
The chastening for our well-being fell upon him. 00:42:11.020 |
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him." 00:42:14.860 |
I want to conclude with application for two different applications. 00:42:20.020 |
For those of you who are here and you have never tasted the goodness of God, you've never 00:42:29.680 |
He said if you confess your sins, he is faithful and just to forgive you of all your unrighteousness. 00:42:35.540 |
He's willing to bear your sins, the punishment that you and I deserve upon himself and to 00:42:44.040 |
If you've never come to the Lord and done that, I want to encourage you this morning. 00:42:50.940 |
You only need one mediator, Christ, who understands us perfectly, understands God perfectly, and 00:42:58.900 |
If you would just come and confess, "Lord, I've been living a life rebelling against 00:43:09.460 |
I want to encourage you to take time in the time of prayer. 00:43:15.780 |
It doesn't have to be religious and fancy words. 00:43:26.760 |
I remember the day that when I asked the Lord to come into my life, it changed everything. 00:43:31.900 |
Everything, every bitterness, every hatred I had in my heart, just overnight it just 00:43:36.940 |
made sense that the God of the universe is real and that he cares for me. 00:43:42.260 |
So I pray that this morning, that if you're here not knowing the Lord, that you would 00:43:46.460 |
open your heart and ask the Lord to forgive you of your sins. 00:43:51.340 |
If you have any questions, our welcome team will be available for you. 00:43:55.100 |
So if you want to come and just ask questions, we'll be here for you. 00:43:58.700 |
Secondly, I want to talk to the brothers and sisters who are in this room. 00:44:04.660 |
You know, every year we talk about the incarnation of Christ and such an encouragement and comfort 00:44:14.380 |
But I want to challenge you this morning to move beyond yourself. 00:44:23.140 |
Don't stop in your relationship with God saying, "God is great because he understands me," 00:44:42.940 |
His children who confess him once a week go back and read the rest of the week like he 00:44:52.660 |
We celebrate him coming to us all for the purpose to bring us to him, and yet we stop 00:45:06.460 |
As we celebrate his incarnation, him drawing near to us to draw near to him. 00:45:17.300 |
Think about how broken our God must have been that he would send his only begotten son and 00:45:23.580 |
torture him that way that we may be adopted as children. 00:45:29.660 |
So I pray that this Christmas season that we will go beyond just he loves me to I love 00:45:37.820 |
Let's take some time as our worship team comes up. 00:45:40.140 |
Again, I want to encourage you to take this time, not just this morning, but this whole 00:45:44.460 |
Christmas season to reflect upon the verses that we covered this morning and to really 00:45:51.100 |
redeem Christmas, not just for us, but for the world. 00:45:56.260 |
You know, more and more, you know, this is a Judeo-Christian country, at least in history, 00:46:00.540 |
but more and more we're becoming more and more like China where we have the form of 00:46:07.820 |
So as Christians, let's redeem this, that we don't just get caught up like the rest 00:46:11.900 |
of the world, just giving gifts and then forgetting about what it is, but as a church, as a community, 00:46:18.820 |
So let's take some time to pray as our worship team leads us.