with the fall as people turned against God.
So our relationships with God, with each other, and with the world broke.
But the promise was that God would put it right again, and that's what we're looking at this morning,
how that gift becomes a reality through Jesus Christ.
So let's pray, and then we will look at God's Word.
Father, you are the giver of great gifts.
You have given us physical life, health and strength to be here today, friends and family.
And we need the gift of your Holy Spirit.
We need your power to be at work in our lives.
And so we pray that as we read your Word, stories, ideas that may be familiar,
would penetrate past our minds and our heads, deep into our hearts,
affecting us and changing us,
and causing us to see the wonder of Jesus
and the gift that he has come to bring.
So we ask for your help.
In Jesus' name we pray.
Amen.
Well, I hope you've all been getting some cards in the post or delivered from friends.
We've been getting some cards.
And here's what one card says.
On the front there was the big words,
Peace.
And inside, Have a Happy Christmas.
Close the card.
Turn on the news.
And we have a very different picture.
The mindless murder of eight children in Australia.
A mudslide in Indonesia that's covered a whole village.
The attack on a school in Pakistan,
which left 140 dead.
And the sad news of two homeless people
being pulled out of the River Lee at the beginning of the week.
It's not very peaceful,
and it doesn't sound very happy.
Here's what another card said.
May each wish you make,
now Christmas is here,
come true to make this an especially good year.
What do you wish for?
Well, I wish for a better world.
I wish where bad things don't happen,
that it really would be peaceful and happy.
But no matter how much I wish,
I can't fix the sadness and the brokenness.
Here's what another card said.
On the inside it simply said,
Jesus,
thanks be to God for this indescribable gift.
It's telling us,
or it's pointing us,
that what we all wish for,
all that we want,
is made possible through the person of Jesus Christ.
Jesus was the God-man come to earth,
born to reverse this disordered world,
and redeem broken lives.
That's the message.
And we're going to see how that is true this morning.
First,
Jesus is revealed.
600 years,
quite a long time,
600 years before Jesus was born,
his birth was announced through the prophet Isaiah.
You can read it on the screen.
Therefore,
the Lord himself will give you a sign.
This was the announcement.
And here's the sign that you know he's coming.
A virgin will be with child,
and will give birth to a son,
and will call him Emmanuel.
Did it come true?
Well,
in Matthew's Gospel,
600 years later,
we read all about a young woman
by the name of Mary,
who was pregnant,
even though she was a virgin.
And this is what it says in Matthew.
All of this,
this birth,
took place to fulfil what the Lord had said
through the prophet,
the prophet Isaiah.
The virgin will be with child,
and will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Emmanuel,
which means God with us.
It's extraordinary.
It is a miracle.
This child announced,
all those hundreds of years ago,
born into this world,
God,
the man,
coming to earth.
But Isaiah just doesn't want to tell us
about the birth of Jesus.
Isaiah actually goes on to tell us
what this child will do,
or rather,
what it will be like
when this child arrives,
when he comes.
Have a look in your Bibles
at Isaiah chapter 9.
The reading we just had.
Isaiah chapter 9.
And to really understand chapter 9,
we have to finish off
the end of chapter 8.
So let's read the last verse
of chapter 8,
verse 22.
It's telling us something.
Then they will look towards the earth,
and see only distress,
and darkness,
and fearful gloom,
and they will be thrust
into utter darkness.
This is talking about
what life will be like
for God's people
because they had ignored God,
they had rebelled against God,
they had gone against Him,
and this was a sign
of God's judgment
because of their rebellion.
There would be distress,
there would be darkness,
and fearful gloom.
In fact, that verse
is a great summary, isn't it,
of what the world is like today.
Because of our ongoing sin,
because of our refusal
to listen to God,
because we've pushed Him out
of our lives,
we live with distress,
we live in darkness,
and people face fearful gloom.
It pictures a world of chaos
and disorder.
But God promises
to change and transform
all of that.
So let's read into
chapter 9, verse 1.
Look at the contrast.
Nevertheless,
there will be
no more gloom
for those who
were in distress.
In the past,
He humbled the land
of Zebulun
and the land of Nephtali,
that's the region
around Galilee.
But in the future,
He will honour
the Galilee of the Gentiles
by the way of the sea
along the Jordan.
So God is promising
that He's going to reverse
and redeem and change it all.
Verse 2.
The people
who are walking
in darkness
have seen
a great light
on those living
in the land
of the shadow
of death.
A light
has dawned.
Now this is not
about the invention
of the lightbulb
so that we can all
see at night.
This is a promise
of someone,
of something
much greater.
A light
will come.
A light that's going
to dispel
the darkness
from our lives
and deliver us
from distress.
And the reason
for this dramatic
change and transformation,
we'll look down
at verse 6.
For to us
a child is born.
To us
people like you
and me
a son
is given.
The promised child
is going to be
the one
who will bring
deliverance
to the darkness
and distress.
Is it true?
Well,
look at Matthew
chapter 4.
Go to Matthew's
Gospel.
We're going to
stay in Matthew
for the duration
of our time.
Matthew chapter 4
and verse 12.
So the beginning
of Matthew
has announced
the birth of Jesus.
Jesus has arrived
and Matthew
chapter 4
begins into
the start
of Jesus'
ministry.
And look
what Jesus
says.
Chapter 4
verse 12.
When Jesus
heard that John
had been put
in prison,
Jesus returned
to Galilee.
Leaving Nazareth,
he went and lived
in Capernaum,
which was by the lake
in the area
of where?
Zebulun
and Naphtali.
Ring any bells?
To fulfil
what was said
through the prophet
Isaiah.
Land of Zebulun
and land of Naphtali,
the way to the sea
along the Jordan,
Galilee of the Gentiles,
the people
living in darkness
have seen
a great light.
On those living
in the land
of the shadow
of death,
a light
has dawned.
are we making
the connections?
Have the lights
gone on
in our own minds?
Jesus is saying,
I am the one
that Isaiah
spoke about.
I am the one
that everybody
has been waiting
for.
It's taken
600 years,
but now I'm here.
I've arrived.
I am the light.
It's me.
I've come to dispel
the darkness
from your lives.
I am the one
who's come
to deliver you
from distress.
We might
summarise
Jesus' ministry
like this.
Number two,
Jesus has come
to reverse
our disordered
world.
Denzel Washington,
a film star
if you don't know
who he is,
stars in a film
called Déjà Vu.
The film opens
with a terrible scene.
There's been a terrorist
attack in the US.
There's chaos
and carnage
everywhere.
Hundreds of people
have been killed.
And Doug Carlin,
played by Washington,
arrives on the scene.
And with the help
of his fellow teammates,
they've been working
on a special project
and he enters
into what's called
a time window,
which basically
sends him back
in time.
The aim,
they don't know
if it's going to work,
but the aim
is to undo
what has happened.
To reverse
the terrorist attack.
Now,
what captures
the imagination
for people
watching it is,
we all want
to do that.
We all want
to be able
to go back
in time.
We would all
love to be able
to change
what's happened.
As we rehearse
the events
of our lives,
we want to go back
and undo
the past.
We want to reverse
the circumstances
of our lives
and wish
I hadn't done that
or hadn't said that
or wish things
were different
and wish that
it wasn't like this.
We want to undo
so that things
are better.
that's why
Jesus came.
He came to
undo
the effects
of sin.
He burst
into real time.
He came to
reverse the disorder
and the brokenness
of our lives.
Is it true?
Well,
let's see
how he does that.
Look at Matthew's
Gospel,
chapter 8.
We're going to look
at two chapters
here, Matthew
chapter 8 and 9,
which really
immerse us
into the ministry
and the life
of Jesus
as he began
to walk
and experience
life on this
earth.
Matthew chapter 8
shows us
what this
Jesus came
to do.
Three things.
We're going to read
through this real quickly,
so follow along
with me.
First,
he delivers
from distress.
Verse 1,
when Jesus
came down
the mountainside,
large crowds
followed him,
a man with
leprosy
came and
knelt before him
and said,
Lord,
if you're willing,
you can make me
clean.
Now,
the equivalent
today,
in terms of
medical
or social
effects,
might be
Ebola.
There was no
cure for
leprosy.
There was no
means of
treatment for it.
If you had it,
well,
you died.
You were
untouchable.
You were
shut out
of your
community.
You were
left alone
to die
by yourself.
Verse 3,
but Jesus
reached out
his hand
and he
touched
the man.
I am
willing,
he said,
be clean.
And immediately
he was
cured
of his
leprosy.
This man
was not
just cured
physically,
he was
now accepted
socially.
A life
changed.
Verse 5,
Jesus
entered
Capernaum.
A centurion
came to
him asking
for help.
Lord,
he said,
my servant
lies at
home paralyzed
and in
terrible
suffering.
Jesus
said to
him,
I will
go and
heal him.
Again,
here we
have an
irreversible
situation.
This man
is paralyzed.
We don't
know,
did he
have an
accident?
But he
can't
move,
he can't
do
anything,
and nobody
can save
him.
Verse 13,
then,
Jesus
said to
then
centurion,
go,
it will
be done
just as
you believed
it would,
and his
servant
was healed
at that
very
hour.
A man's
life
completely
transformed,
he can
now walk
and work.
Verse 14,
when Jesus
came into
Peter's
house,
he saw
Peter's
mother-in-law
lying in
bed with
a fever.
He
touched
her hand
and the
fever left
her,
and she
got up
and began
to wait
on him.
And when
evening
came,
many who
were demon
possessed
were brought
to him,
and he
drove out
the spirits
with a
word and
healed all
the sick.
What an
incredible
scene we
have here.
No
tablets,
no surgery,
no doctors,
everyone healed
by just a
touch or a
spoken word.
Why did
all of these
things happen?
Look at
verse 17,
this was
to fulfil
what was
spoken through
the prophet
Isaiah.
He,
Jesus,
took up
our
infirmities
and carried
our
diseases.
Jesus was
the one
Isaiah had
spoken about,
the one who
would come
to reverse
the effects
of this
sin-cursed,
broken
world.
He came
to undo
it all.
Second,
he came
to dispel
the darkness.
Look at
verse 23,
Jesus got
into the
boat and
his disciples
followed him.
Without
warning,
a furious
storm came
up on the
lake so
that the
waves swept
over the
boat.
But Jesus
was sleeping.
The disciples
went and
woke him
saying,
Lord,
save us,
we're going
to drown.
Do you
remember what
we said
about the
sea the
other week
when we
were looking
in Revelation
21?
The sea
represented
the forces
of chaos
and disorder.
Back then
you didn't
have jet
skis and
power boats
to mess
about in.
People
didn't go
to sunbathe
and treat
it like a
pleasure place.
The sea
or the
lake
was dangerous.
It was a
place of
fear and
darkness.
You lost
your life
out there.
verse 26
Jesus
replied,
you of
little
faith,
why are
you so
afraid?
Then he
got up
and he
rebuked
the winds
and the
waves and
it was
completely
calm.
Jesus
has come,
you see,
to end
the fearful
gloom.
He has
come to
dispel
the chaos
of darkness.
Or verse
28,
look at this
scene here.
when he
arrived at
the other
side of
the region
of the
Garadines,
two demon
possessed
men came
coming from
the tombs
and they
met him.
They were
so violent
that no
one could
pass that
way.
They
literally
are the
living dead.
Their
home is
the local
graveyard
in the
tombs.
These are
the kind
of characters
that if you
met them
today would
be locked
away in
an isolation
cell.
Medicine
can't help
them.
Psychologists
have given
up.
They're a
lost cause.
And nobody
dared go
near them
because they
are quite
literally
demonic.
The forces
of darkness
have ruined
their lives.
Verse 29,
what do you
want with us,
son of God?
they shouted.
Have you
come here to
torture us
before the
appointed time?
You see,
they knew
that their
end would be
worse than
their present
existence.
Utter
darkness
awaited
them.
Judgment
would only
destroy
them.
But Jesus
came to
dispel the
darkness from
people's
lives.
Verse 30,
some distance
from them a
large herd of
pigs was
feeding.
The demons
begged Jesus,
if you drive
us out,
send us into
the herd of
pigs.
He said
to them,
go.
So they
came out
and they
went into
the pigs
and the
whole herd
rushed
down the
steep
bank
into
the
lake
and
died
in
the
water.
Now don't
be worried
about the
little pigs
with their
lice little
pink curly
tails.
It's not
about the
pigs.
People
are far
greater value
than animals.
Jesus has
come to
deal with
people.
He's come
to rescue
people.
He's come
to deal
with the
darkness
to set
them
free.
But he
also comes
to deal
with
death.
Look at
chapter 9
verse 18.
While he
was saying
this,
a ruler
came and
knelt
before Jesus
and said,
my daughter
has just
died.
Come,
put your
hand on
her and
she will
live.
And Jesus
got up and
went with
him and so
did his
disciples.
The greatest
tragedy that
you or I
can face
in this
world is
death.
It's what
happens to
every single
one of us
and we
cannot escape
it.
It robs
us of
our loved
ones.
It steals
away our
joy and
our happiness.
Verse 20.
Just then a
woman who
had been
subject to
bleeding for
12 years
came up
behind him
and touched
the edge
of his
cloak.
She said
to herself,
if only I
can touch
his cloak,
I will
be healed.
A terrible
condition this
woman has
and there's
only one
end to it.
It's going
to end
in death.
She knows
the seriousness
of her
situation.
Verse 22.
Jesus turned
and saw her.
Take heart,
daughter,
he said.
Your faith
has healed
you.
And the
woman was
healed from
that moment.
With amazing
power,
Jesus prevents
certain
death.
But more
than that,
he deals
with death
itself.
Verse 23.
When Jesus
entered the
ruler's house
and saw the
flute players
and the
noisy crowd,
he said,
go away,
the girl's
not dead,
but asleep.
But they
laughed at
him.
After the
crowd had
been put
outside,
he went
in and
he took
the girl
by her
hand and
she got
up.
Raised
to life.
Why does
Jesus do
all of these
things?
Well,
two big
reasons.
The first
reason he
does all
of these
amazing
things is
to reveal
who he
is.
To show
people to
the world,
to show
people like
you and
me,
that I
am,
says Jesus,
the God
man with
absolute
power and
supreme
authority.
I am
God
Emmanuel,
God with
us,
the one who
rules this
world,
the one who
controls all
of life.
I am in
charge.
And
second,
it tells
us what
he has
come to
do.
That
Jesus
entered
into the
darkness
and distress
of this
world to
reverse the
disordered
world.
He came
to undo
the effects
of the
sin and
curse.
So when
Jesus heals
sickness,
when Jesus
calmed the
storm,
when Jesus
raised the
dead,
when Jesus
interacted with
these people
and transformed
their lives,
he was giving
people and
giving us a
glimpse and
a picture of
what he is
going to bring
about finally
and fully when
he comes again.
For all who
have faith in
him,
this is the
kingdom.
I rescue
you from a
kingdom of
darkness and
bring you into
a kingdom of
light.
And when
Jesus entered
into the
world,
the process,
began,
the reversing
and the
undoing
has started.
And one
day,
it will
all be
completed
and will
be fully
realized by
all who
trust in
him when
he comes
again.
The big
question for
us is how
do we
enter into
this experience?
how can
people like
you and
me be
sure that
this gift
is for
us and
what Jesus
did then
is going
to be
ours?
Well,
third,
Jesus has
come to
redeem
our broken
lives.
You see,
Jesus lived
on this
earth for
just a few
years.
things.
And just
for a
little
while,
he began
to give
us a
glimpse and
a picture
of what
he would
do.
And what
he did,
as we
read in
chapters 8
and 9,
he has
secured
for us
for an
eternity
when he
went to
the cross.
What he
did for
those few
people then,
he has
secured
for us
for an
eternity
when he
went to
the cross.
Let's go
to Matthew
chapter 27
verse 45.
Matthew 27
verse 45.
And as we
read down
through a few
verses here,
I want us
to look
out for
three
extraordinary
events that
happen and
take place.
Verse 45.
From the
sixth hour,
that's
twelve
midday,
until the
ninth hour,
that's
three in
the afternoon,
darkness
came over
all the
land.
About the
ninth hour,
Jesus cried
out in a
loud voice,
Eloi,
lama sabachthani,
which means,
my God,
why have
you forsaken
me?
When some
of those
standing there
heard this,
they said,
he's calling
Elijah.
Immediately,
one of them
ran and
got a sponge,
he filled
it with
wine vinegar,
put it on
a stick,
and he
offered it
up to
Jesus to
drink.
The rest
said,
now leave
him alone,
let's see
if Elijah
comes to
save him.
And when
Jesus had
cried out
again in a
loud voice,
he gave up
his spirit.
at that
moment,
the curtain
of the
temple was
torn in
two from
top to
bottom,
the earth
shook,
the rocks
split,
the tombs
broke open,
and the
bodies of
many holy
people who
had died
were raised
to life.
They came
out of the
tombs,
and after
Jesus'
resurrection,
they went
into the
holy city
and appeared
to many
people.
Did you
pick up
on those
three
extraordinary
events as
Jesus died?
Something
cosmic
happened
when Jesus
died.
First,
there was
the darkness.
Look at
verse 45.
From the
sixth hour
till the
ninth hour,
darkness,
darkness
over the
whole land.
from twelve
noon to
three in
the afternoon
when the
sun is at
its highest
and at
its brightest,
it went
completely
dark.
Why?
Well,
look what
Jesus says
as he dies
at the end
of verse 46.
My God,
my God,
why have
you forsaken
me?
The darkness
of judgment
was falling
on Jesus
so that
you and
I might
experience
the light
of life.
Because
God's
response to
this
disordered
world,
his response
to our
sinful lives
is to
judge and
he is right
to do so.
We've
messed it up.
We've
broken his
good gifts
that he's
given to
us.
But in
his redeeming
love,
Jesus,
the God
man,
comes to
earth
and says
I will
take the
darkness
upon me.
I will
take the
judgment
of God
for you
and for
me.
And so
he comes
to forgive
all of
our sins
from the
past to
the present
and into
the future.
he takes
the darkness
so that
we don't
have to
face it.
Second,
there's
the curtain.
Verse 51,
at that
moment the
curtain of
the temple
was torn
in two
from top
to bottom.
Just as
the darkness
fell on
the land,
this is a
supernatural
act.
This isn't
a human
doing
something.
This is
God
intervening
into this
world.
The curtain
in the
temple
acted like
this huge
barrier
between
God
and
people.
It was
this big
statement
to say
keep out,
stay away,
no entry,
you're not
allowed in
here.
Sinful,
broken,
messed up
people
can't be
with God.
But by
the redeeming
death of
Jesus,
the way
is opened,
that curtain
ripped from
top to
bottom,
a sign
of God's
action,
tears it
apart,
and he
says,
come in,
you're
welcome,
you're
accepted,
I have
come to
bridge the
gap.
The work
of Jesus
on the
cross
bridges
brokenness
between
man and
God,
and it
spans the
chasm
between
heaven
and earth.
And then
there was
the graves
that opened.
Verse 52,
what an
extraordinary
scene.
As Jesus
died,
the moment
he died,
verse 52,
the tombs
broke open
and the
bodies of
many holy
people who
had died
were raised
to life.
What a
spectacular
sight.
Could you
imagine?
he'd be
frightened.
People
walking
out of
their
tombs.
Jesus'
own death
is there
to tell
us that
his death
is the
means to
defeat
all death.
Jesus
is showing
us what
he will
do for
us when
we die.
When I
die,
the grave
is not
the end.
It is
simply a
doorway into
his good
and perfect
and eternal
kingdom.
Just like
the little
girl that
we read
about in
Matthew 9.
It's like
we just
fall asleep
and just
wake up
as you do
in the
morning,
in the
presence of
God,
in the
kingdom of
light,
to be with
him forever
and for
forever.
You see,
the cross
is the
focus.
The cross
is the
means to
reverse
the
disorder
world
that we
live in.
It's the
means to
undo
the
brokenness
that we
see all
around us.
Jesus.
It's
begun.
It's
started when
Jesus died.
No, it's
not yet
complete.
That's why
you and I
still experience
suffering and
struggles each
and every
day.
But we
have Jesus
who entered
into our
world,
Emmanuel,
God with
us,
who doesn't
abandon us
in our
struggles,
who doesn't
leave us
in our
suffering,
but the
one who
said,
I will be
with you,
the one who
said,
I will walk
with you
through this
life,
and I
will make
sure that
you will be
with me
in my
kingdom.
He forgives
our past.
He fills
us with the
power of his
Holy Spirit,
so that we
can begin
to live
changed and
transformed
lives.
He gives
us the
sure and
certain hope
of life
with him.
Jesus has
come,
and Jesus
has come to
restore and
to redeem
and to put
things right.
And as we
look at the
cross,
that's where
it starts.
do not
take your
eyes off
Christ.
Focus
there,
and know
the life
that he has
come to
bring.
Let's pray
together.
Amen.
Lord Jesus,
we are
truly amazed
at what
you have
done
and what
you have
promised
you will
do
and what
you are
doing
in our
lives
today.
We thank
you that
you have
come to
restore
and renew,
to dispel
the darkness,
to deal
with the
distress,
to bring
forgiveness,
to bring
peace,
to bring
change and
transformation.
Lord,
we thank
you so
much for
Jesus,
and we
pray that
we will
keep our
eyes fixed
on him,
and that
where we
need your
help,
you would
enter into
our suffering
and into
our struggles.
Enable
us and
equip us.
Provide
for us,
we pray.
we ask
this in
Jesus'
name.
Amen.
We're
going to
sing together
a great
carol,
a great
hymn.
Hark the
herald angels
sing,
glory to
the new
born
King,
peace on
earth,
and mercy
mild God
and sinners
reconciles.
Jesus has
come,
and Jesus
has come
to renew
and restore,
so let's
praise him
and give
him thanks.
Amen.
Thank you.