WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.400 Please be seated and I wonder if you could just turn back with me to the reading we had so well read for us on page 7. 00:00:07.900 --> 00:00:14.359 So Luke chapter 2, one of the biographies of Jesus written by a doctor, Dr. Luke. 00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:20.879 And actually on Hope Explored, that's the passage, that's the book of the Bible we look at. 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:25.420 So have a look at it now. We'd love you to look at it again in January if we come back. 00:00:26.100 --> 00:00:27.980 But let me pray as we begin. 00:00:27.980 --> 00:00:34.340 Heavenly Father, as you send the angels to explain Christmas to the shepherds on that hillside, 00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:40.780 we pray now you'd send your Holy Spirit just in these few moments to help us unwrap Christmas together. 00:00:41.640 --> 00:00:42.240 Amen. 00:00:44.740 --> 00:00:52.700 It's a dreadful feeling, isn't it, going into an exam or a presentation when you know you just haven't made time to properly prepare. 00:00:52.700 --> 00:00:57.460 And so the butterflies mount as the moment of humiliation draws near. 00:00:58.080 --> 00:01:01.020 And then those terrible words from my school and university days. 00:01:01.080 --> 00:01:02.520 Do you remember those words in the summer term? 00:01:03.000 --> 00:01:04.680 Please turn over your papers. 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:08.560 Those exam words in the whole sort of forum. 00:01:08.640 --> 00:01:13.180 And actually at that moment I often found myself recalling the examinee's verse. 00:01:13.300 --> 00:01:14.400 Do you know the examinee's verse? 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:16.480 Jeremiah 33 verse 3. 00:01:16.859 --> 00:01:21.880 The Lord says, call on me and I will answer you and tell you great and hidden things you do not know. 00:01:22.800 --> 00:01:26.640 Now of course you may not be able to relate to that because you're a sad and boring swat at school. 00:01:26.860 --> 00:01:29.580 But having got a third at university, I certainly can. 00:01:29.880 --> 00:01:34.000 In fact, when I got my third, I remember saying to my tutor, was I close to a 2-2? 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:36.019 He said, no, it's a very solid third. 00:01:36.140 --> 00:01:40.239 So I knew then the ordination to the Church of England was the only queer option available. 00:01:40.439 --> 00:01:42.239 So I got ordained and became a vicar. 00:01:42.319 --> 00:01:43.159 And I thought, well, it's fine. 00:01:43.180 --> 00:01:44.359 I'm just going to work one day a week. 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:45.500 It's going to be fine. 00:01:45.719 --> 00:01:49.540 And then suddenly in the first month that I got into this new church, 00:01:49.540 --> 00:01:53.400 I got that awful feeling of butterflies and not being prepared again. 00:01:53.740 --> 00:01:56.980 Because I was asked to help a couple get ready for marriage. 00:01:57.079 --> 00:01:58.039 Everyone was on holiday. 00:01:58.680 --> 00:02:00.079 This couple had met. 00:02:00.500 --> 00:02:01.560 And I just got it through. 00:02:01.659 --> 00:02:03.060 They said, someone's got to do marriage prep. 00:02:03.060 --> 00:02:05.400 And I didn't know anything about marriage. 00:02:05.540 --> 00:02:07.060 I mean, literally, there was nothing I knew about it. 00:02:07.100 --> 00:02:11.520 I could relate to that 7-year-old who said, in marriage, a man and a woman live together forever. 00:02:11.860 --> 00:02:13.140 And that's known as monotony. 00:02:13.300 --> 00:02:17.180 And I just didn't know what to say. 00:02:17.180 --> 00:02:20.240 So with the butterflies mounting, I walked up to the bell. 00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:21.300 I'll always remember the flat. 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:24.000 Flat 11, number 12, South Wimpole Street. 00:02:24.360 --> 00:02:25.379 I pressed on the bell. 00:02:25.640 --> 00:02:28.020 Through the intercom, the guy right at the top said, hello. 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:30.199 I said, hello, it's the Reverend Rico Tice. 00:02:30.520 --> 00:02:31.780 Come to do marriage preparation. 00:02:31.780 --> 00:02:34.780 And he said, actually, we're having a bit of a problem here. 00:02:35.120 --> 00:02:36.099 I said, what is it? 00:02:36.140 --> 00:02:39.580 He said, my fiance's just gone into labor. 00:02:40.460 --> 00:02:41.120 I said, what? 00:02:41.199 --> 00:02:41.879 Do you mean she's pregnant? 00:02:41.960 --> 00:02:43.020 He said, she's not just pregnant. 00:02:43.139 --> 00:02:44.240 She's having the baby now. 00:02:44.520 --> 00:02:45.180 Get a taxi. 00:02:45.719 --> 00:02:46.699 I hailed a taxi. 00:02:46.840 --> 00:02:47.699 We got in the taxi. 00:02:48.240 --> 00:02:49.300 Went to St. Mary's Hospital. 00:02:49.580 --> 00:02:51.199 She had the baby three hours later. 00:02:51.439 --> 00:02:53.300 That was my first marriage prep. 00:02:53.560 --> 00:02:54.860 The girl had a baby. 00:02:55.060 --> 00:02:56.000 I mean, can you believe it? 00:02:56.000 --> 00:02:57.699 It was not an uneventful birth. 00:02:57.860 --> 00:02:59.120 It's one I'll never forget. 00:02:59.539 --> 00:03:02.000 And I'd just like to remind you now of another eventful birth. 00:03:02.080 --> 00:03:04.099 Can we look at it together in the reading we have? 00:03:04.360 --> 00:03:07.219 Can we look down just that bottom paragraph on page seven? 00:03:07.759 --> 00:03:09.099 Here's the eventful birth. 00:03:09.099 --> 00:03:14.039 While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born. 00:03:14.759 --> 00:03:16.859 And she gave birth to her firstborn son. 00:03:17.639 --> 00:03:22.879 She wrapped him in clothes and placed him in a manger because there was no room for them at the inn. 00:03:23.699 --> 00:03:30.439 Now, if you draw to mind any of the sort of religious Christmas cards you get this year, 00:03:30.680 --> 00:03:34.599 they'll basically focus on the content of those couple of verses. 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:38.799 So there'll be the stable all sort of dressed up and antiseptic. 00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:42.799 There'll be Mary who looks as though she's just been shopping at Laura, actually. 00:03:43.159 --> 00:03:46.120 The baby always looks as though he's like a young Winston Churchill. 00:03:46.199 --> 00:03:47.419 He's got such chubby cheeks. 00:03:48.039 --> 00:03:49.240 But here is the issue. 00:03:49.639 --> 00:03:54.459 Ladies and gentlemen, these two verses are not the focus of Luke. 00:03:55.699 --> 00:04:00.319 Luke is not so much concerned with the content, but with the meaning of Christmas. 00:04:01.120 --> 00:04:02.579 So that's the great question. 00:04:02.580 --> 00:04:06.080 When it comes to Christmas, do you get the meaning? 00:04:06.340 --> 00:04:09.620 Well, I didn't know if you knew you were in for an exam tonight, but you are. 00:04:09.920 --> 00:04:11.520 Can you please turn over your pages? 00:04:11.660 --> 00:04:13.960 Just turn over a page to page nine. 00:04:14.460 --> 00:04:17.920 And here's the exam on whether you've understood Christmas. 00:04:18.120 --> 00:04:18.860 Page nine, everyone. 00:04:18.960 --> 00:04:21.960 If we can just see as we look down, second paragraph. 00:04:22.819 --> 00:04:24.240 There it is, page nine. 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:29.199 But the angel said to them, do not be afraid. 00:04:29.740 --> 00:04:32.900 I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 00:04:33.600 --> 00:04:34.879 So this is supernatural. 00:04:35.480 --> 00:04:38.199 You can't be Christian and not believe in the supernatural. 00:04:38.740 --> 00:04:44.660 God has intervened in his world, and he has sent an angel to explain to the shepherds what happens. 00:04:44.660 --> 00:04:49.540 And with that explanation, he says, verse 10, don't be afraid. 00:04:49.660 --> 00:04:52.560 I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 00:04:53.220 --> 00:04:54.200 And here's the issue. 00:04:55.520 --> 00:04:57.580 You understand Christmas. 00:04:58.560 --> 00:05:00.500 Actually, you understand Christianity. 00:05:00.920 --> 00:05:06.220 Ladies and gentlemen, if and only if it's the best news you've ever heard in your life. 00:05:06.220 --> 00:05:13.140 So if Christ's coming at Christmas is not the best news you've ever heard in your life, 00:05:13.480 --> 00:05:18.440 you can be sure, you can be certain you've misunderstood it. 00:05:20.160 --> 00:05:23.960 One of my favorite places in London is the ice cream bar at Harrods, 00:05:24.320 --> 00:05:26.220 which explains why I'm such a fat old boy. 00:05:26.320 --> 00:05:30.540 Anyway, I was there recently, and actually, it was a pastoral visit. 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:34.820 I was there with Paul Levy to discuss Welsh rugby, but it was a pastoral visit. 00:05:34.819 --> 00:05:39.040 And there we were, and I picked up this brochure. 00:05:39.599 --> 00:05:42.259 And here's the brochure, and I don't know if you can relate to it, 00:05:42.439 --> 00:05:46.040 but this is what it says about Christmas at Harrods. 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:52.060 Rejoice! Christmas is coming to Harrods, joyful and triumphant in a blaze of celestial splendour. 00:05:52.379 --> 00:05:56.800 This year, Harrods is brimming full of comfort and joy, overflowing with grandeur and gifts. 00:05:57.319 --> 00:05:59.159 Let the glory of Christmas ring out. 00:05:59.600 --> 00:06:02.079 So here's the question, ladies and gentlemen, as we come this evening. 00:06:02.920 --> 00:06:04.680 Is Christ coming at Christmas? 00:06:05.399 --> 00:06:07.899 The best news you've ever heard in your life. 00:06:08.040 --> 00:06:08.740 Are you with Luke? 00:06:10.120 --> 00:06:11.300 Or are you with Harrods? 00:06:11.920 --> 00:06:16.420 Well, it's just really a mixture of turkey tradition, trees and tinsel. 00:06:17.319 --> 00:06:18.120 Which one is it? 00:06:19.040 --> 00:06:22.319 If it's not the best news you've ever heard, you've not understood. 00:06:23.319 --> 00:06:25.379 So the next question, of course, is why? 00:06:26.159 --> 00:06:28.920 Why is it such great news to be Christian at Christmas? 00:06:29.039 --> 00:06:29.800 What's the reason? 00:06:30.480 --> 00:06:31.459 Can we see as we look down? 00:06:31.519 --> 00:06:32.480 Let's have a look at the next verse. 00:06:32.480 --> 00:06:35.060 Here's why it's such great news to be Christian at Christmas. 00:06:35.400 --> 00:06:36.300 Do we see verse 11? 00:06:37.980 --> 00:06:42.140 Today, in the town of David, a Saviour has been born to you. 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:43.939 He is Christ the Lord. 00:06:44.700 --> 00:06:45.700 Why the joy? 00:06:45.699 --> 00:06:53.620 Well, ladies and gentlemen, as you see the trees and the tinsel, as you think of the turkey, as you think of Christmas, here's my question. 00:06:53.959 --> 00:06:58.240 Do you primarily think, ah, it's all about being rescued? 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:05.660 If you don't see that Christmas is the start of the launch of a great rescue operation, you've not understood it. 00:07:06.480 --> 00:07:07.280 It's an amazing thing. 00:07:07.819 --> 00:07:08.600 It's a rescue. 00:07:09.019 --> 00:07:11.019 And the joy comes because there's rescue. 00:07:11.480 --> 00:07:13.420 There's a deliverer who's Christ the Lord. 00:07:13.420 --> 00:07:25.939 Now, at this point, I should say, I guess there are a number of people here who'd say, look, Rico, do you know, with all modesty, I have to tell you, Rico, I don't really need rescuing. 00:07:26.480 --> 00:07:34.600 In fact, if you come to my family or my office, I spend most of my time, in all humility, rescuing other people. 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:37.260 I'm actually the glue person. 00:07:37.420 --> 00:07:38.379 I'm the cornerstone. 00:07:39.500 --> 00:07:42.820 But, ladies and gentlemen, it is easy to be deceived. 00:07:43.320 --> 00:07:49.260 When I got my third at university, I spent most of my time in rugby circles, mucking around and doing things like this. 00:07:53.160 --> 00:07:54.860 Actually, that slightly concussed me there. 00:07:55.240 --> 00:07:56.220 Have you come across these? 00:07:56.420 --> 00:07:57.780 These are crushable cans. 00:07:58.180 --> 00:08:00.439 So, I've got the most beaten up car in central London. 00:08:00.540 --> 00:08:02.060 It's a Ford Fiesta 1.1. 00:08:02.379 --> 00:08:03.760 And I drive through the middle of London. 00:08:03.759 --> 00:08:04.680 I stop at the lights. 00:08:04.980 --> 00:08:08.379 Someone comes up alongside in a Porsche with someone very glamorous next to them. 00:08:08.719 --> 00:08:11.560 They look across at me, looking disparaging at my car. 00:08:12.019 --> 00:08:14.219 I look back at them, crush this on my head. 00:08:14.439 --> 00:08:16.099 And as we drive off, I've won. 00:08:16.399 --> 00:08:19.259 So, this saves me about 200,000 quid, this does. 00:08:19.620 --> 00:08:21.939 Can I tell you, it's easy to be deceived. 00:08:22.279 --> 00:08:31.199 And, ladies and gentlemen, as we think about being rescued at Christmas, we can be deceived and not understand the great lie. 00:08:31.199 --> 00:08:32.460 This is the great lie. 00:08:32.460 --> 00:08:33.960 This is the great lie that we've got all over the culture. 00:08:34.879 --> 00:08:40.220 That I can live well and push God to the fringe of my life. 00:08:40.899 --> 00:08:42.120 And take his gifts. 00:08:42.519 --> 00:08:43.519 And we love his gifts. 00:08:43.899 --> 00:08:47.159 Fun, family, friends, falling in love, food, fitness. 00:08:47.379 --> 00:08:49.980 We love the gifts, but we ignore the giver. 00:08:49.980 --> 00:09:00.779 Now, often, I don't know where you are on this, but it starts with going, do you know, when I look at my own life, there's a gap. 00:09:01.759 --> 00:09:05.300 And you never really become a Christian unless you see the gap. 00:09:05.980 --> 00:09:08.279 There's a gap between the real and the ideal. 00:09:09.420 --> 00:09:10.779 I'm not what I should be. 00:09:11.360 --> 00:09:16.000 No one becomes a Christian unless they start going, do you know, it's not what it should be. 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:18.940 I mean, this occurred to me, first of all, when I was 16. 00:09:19.419 --> 00:09:20.340 And I kept this book. 00:09:20.399 --> 00:09:21.440 Here's a diary I kept. 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:22.440 I wonder if you can see it there. 00:09:22.899 --> 00:09:25.860 And I kept this book because I thought I was such a great bloke. 00:09:26.279 --> 00:09:27.799 I owed it to the world to record my life. 00:09:28.340 --> 00:09:30.460 So, night after night, I kept this diary. 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:33.179 And really, it was for future generations. 00:09:33.299 --> 00:09:34.220 I did it for all of you. 00:09:34.740 --> 00:09:37.919 And it was an amazing experience because I found out I was a total burke. 00:09:38.220 --> 00:09:39.360 It's incredible doing it. 00:09:39.620 --> 00:09:43.659 So, I'd write in my diary, wouldn't it be wonderful if there was world peace? 00:09:43.659 --> 00:09:47.819 But I'd never lay aside the weapons of malice and sarcasm in my own self-defense. 00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:52.059 I'd write in my diary, wouldn't it be great if the starving were fed? 00:09:52.399 --> 00:09:54.779 But I would ask my parents for a larger allowance. 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:56.179 And as you can see, I would eat it. 00:09:56.740 --> 00:09:58.259 There's a gap, ladies and gentlemen. 00:09:59.139 --> 00:10:01.740 This first struck me, actually, with this book. 00:10:01.819 --> 00:10:04.679 Do you know, this is my favorite autobiography. 00:10:04.819 --> 00:10:05.439 Do you know this book? 00:10:05.839 --> 00:10:07.419 Lance Armstrong, the cyclist. 00:10:07.600 --> 00:10:08.720 It's not about the bike. 00:10:09.519 --> 00:10:12.159 And we now know, well, that was true, wasn't it, Lance? 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:13.419 It wasn't about the bike, was it? 00:10:14.319 --> 00:10:16.699 After the drug scandal broke, I mean, it was mayhem. 00:10:17.100 --> 00:10:23.959 I loved most the Australian lending library that moved this book after the scandal from biography to fiction. 00:10:25.039 --> 00:10:25.919 There's a gap. 00:10:26.740 --> 00:10:33.059 And, you know, years later, I read in the Bible, the Apostle Paul, he writes about his own life when he writes to the Romans. 00:10:33.199 --> 00:10:35.639 He says, I don't do the good I want to do. 00:10:36.339 --> 00:10:38.759 The evil I don't want to do, this I keep on doing. 00:10:38.759 --> 00:10:46.860 And the issue with this gap is that it doesn't just, and over Christmas, by the way, if we're not aware of it, it makes us difficult to live with. 00:10:47.319 --> 00:10:50.559 But the issue is not just that actually it's how we've lived. 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:52.959 It's how we've treated God. 00:10:52.960 --> 00:11:02.280 And there'll come a day when God will say, as he looks at my life, he says, Rico, did you know me? 00:11:02.279 --> 00:11:05.899 And what about all the wrongdoing here? 00:11:06.939 --> 00:11:08.139 Did you get forgiven? 00:11:09.299 --> 00:11:18.659 And unashamedly, ladies and gentlemen, I want to say that you'll never understand Christmas unless you understand, categorically, that there is a judgment day. 00:11:18.659 --> 00:11:23.879 Oh, do you know, Paul will say this, Reuben will echo it, and Andrew. 00:11:24.360 --> 00:11:27.719 Do you know, the worst thing in pastoral ministry is when people lie to you. 00:11:28.419 --> 00:11:31.679 So they tell you a story, and they leave something out. 00:11:32.039 --> 00:11:34.679 And then you talk to the other person, and they say, what about that? 00:11:34.719 --> 00:11:38.740 And it's something, brutally, you go back to them, and they say, yeah, sorry, I missed that out. 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:40.659 You say, well, it matters. 00:11:41.659 --> 00:11:43.819 And do you know what happens in churches all over this country? 00:11:44.100 --> 00:11:45.879 They miss out judgment at Christmas. 00:11:45.879 --> 00:11:53.240 But categorically, can I say, we don't get Christmas unless we understand that there'll be a day when God will say, look, I made you. 00:11:53.559 --> 00:11:54.659 I gave you all those gifts. 00:11:54.740 --> 00:11:55.539 Did you know me? 00:11:55.820 --> 00:11:57.939 And also, did you get forgiven? 00:11:59.059 --> 00:12:06.059 And the Bible says, everything will be uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of whom to whom we must give an account. 00:12:06.620 --> 00:12:07.059 Everything. 00:12:07.919 --> 00:12:09.200 It's a brutal thing. 00:12:10.320 --> 00:12:14.460 And furthermore, the Bible says, oh, do you know, our hearts break as we say this. 00:12:14.460 --> 00:12:21.639 The Bible says, ladies and gentlemen, and again, you don't understand the rescue at Christmas unless I say this, so we're just trying to be honest. 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:24.920 The Bible says, ladies and gentlemen, there is a place called hell. 00:12:24.919 --> 00:12:32.659 It says there's a place where actually God will punish those who have so offended him. 00:12:33.279 --> 00:12:36.179 But actually, judgment's a really good thing. 00:12:36.299 --> 00:12:43.559 Do you know, I got the times today just to read out one or two of the headlines and just to say to you, isn't it great there's a judgment in God's world? 00:12:43.860 --> 00:12:47.740 Do you know, the headlines are so bad, I'm not going to read them out. 00:12:47.740 --> 00:12:52.740 Now, it's so bad, I thought, I'm not actually going to say this in a church service. 00:12:53.399 --> 00:13:02.980 But what I want to say, and this is what's really good about judgment, is how you treat me and how I treat you and how God treats his world matters to God. 00:13:03.620 --> 00:13:10.200 I was preaching in Waterloo, by Waterloo station this morning, and there was a woman from Ukraine who did the prayers. 00:13:10.200 --> 00:13:14.400 And she was really weeping during the prayers as she did the church prayers. 00:13:14.860 --> 00:13:17.220 And she said, Lord God, we pray for justice. 00:13:19.980 --> 00:13:23.320 And it's a great thing there is justice, isn't it, with what's going on. 00:13:24.620 --> 00:13:27.300 I won't read the headline out of terms of what's been happening. 00:13:28.440 --> 00:13:30.440 But justice is great. 00:13:31.600 --> 00:13:36.400 But the question is, as we come to Christmas, who's going to pay for what I've done wrong? 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:37.840 So it's all in here. 00:13:38.259 --> 00:13:40.379 And the question is, who will pay? 00:13:41.319 --> 00:13:42.639 And then Lefty's reading. 00:13:42.980 --> 00:13:48.399 He said in the reading, the angel comes to Joseph and says, she'll give birth to a son. 00:13:49.439 --> 00:13:50.919 You're to give him the name Jesus. 00:13:51.860 --> 00:13:54.639 Because he will save his people from their sins. 00:13:55.819 --> 00:13:58.579 So here is all the stuff I've done wrong. 00:13:59.579 --> 00:14:03.279 And the Lord Jesus, as he's born, is called Jesus. 00:14:03.279 --> 00:14:05.939 Because the name means rescuer. 00:14:06.419 --> 00:14:11.759 So the moment he's born, he says, Rico, I'm going to go to the cross one day. 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:16.100 And I'm going to die on the cross so that you can be forgiven. 00:14:17.199 --> 00:14:21.620 So you can either pay for this yourself or you can allow me to pay. 00:14:21.740 --> 00:14:27.600 And as Jesus goes up to the cross and he cries out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:31.620 From the moment he was born, he was going to head to that rescue. 00:14:31.940 --> 00:14:34.860 And he's going to say, actually, there's only one way to hell. 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:39.560 The only way you can get to hell is to trample over the cross of Jesus. 00:14:40.100 --> 00:14:42.340 Jesus says, I'm blocking the way to hell. 00:14:42.659 --> 00:14:46.139 I'm paying in death and blood so that you can be rescued. 00:14:46.500 --> 00:14:48.100 And that's the gift of Christmas. 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:50.800 It's a staggering thing. 00:14:51.779 --> 00:14:54.459 It's as though, here I am and here's my wrongdoing. 00:14:55.120 --> 00:14:57.339 And all the times I've slapped God in the face. 00:14:58.859 --> 00:14:59.919 Here's the catalogue. 00:15:00.079 --> 00:15:00.979 Everything will be uncovered. 00:15:01.459 --> 00:15:03.139 And here is Jesus dying on the cross. 00:15:03.839 --> 00:15:06.439 And the Bible says, all we like sheep have gone astray. 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:07.639 Each has gone his own way. 00:15:08.079 --> 00:15:10.659 And the Lord has laid on him the wrongdoing of us all. 00:15:11.139 --> 00:15:12.899 It's all on Christ. 00:15:13.939 --> 00:15:18.639 When I went into central London today, I went close to St. Paul's Cathedral. 00:15:19.519 --> 00:15:22.600 And there, you know St. Paul's Cathedral and the old Bailey. 00:15:22.799 --> 00:15:23.279 They're there. 00:15:23.759 --> 00:15:25.960 And there are two statues on top. 00:15:26.419 --> 00:15:31.439 First of all, there is Pomeroy's statue, Justice Year, on the old Bailey, the home of British justice. 00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:32.939 And she's blindfold. 00:15:33.460 --> 00:15:34.980 And there's a sword in one hand. 00:15:35.100 --> 00:15:36.480 And there are scales in the other. 00:15:36.699 --> 00:15:37.819 And the message is clear. 00:15:37.819 --> 00:15:42.279 If you're found guilty, then the sword of justice must fall. 00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:47.340 But just across the skyline is the golden cross of St. Paul's Cathedral. 00:15:47.340 --> 00:15:48.820 And the message is this. 00:15:49.460 --> 00:15:51.259 The sword of God's justice did fall. 00:15:52.000 --> 00:15:56.060 It fell into Jesus who says, Rico, don't pay for this yourself. 00:15:56.840 --> 00:15:58.320 I'm going to die at Christmas. 00:15:58.759 --> 00:16:02.940 I'm going to die at Easter and be born at Christmas to rescue you from this. 00:16:03.240 --> 00:16:13.340 Now, can I say in terms of great joy, if you can see your wrongdoing and you understand how much he loves you, it's just overwhelming. 00:16:13.500 --> 00:16:14.519 It is great joy. 00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:20.259 Years ago on my day off, I was at home at my parents' house. 00:16:20.360 --> 00:16:23.220 And I was teaching my nephews to scrummage to play rugby. 00:16:23.519 --> 00:16:25.179 They're little, but you've got to start them young. 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:29.019 So I was with the four-year-old on the carpet teaching him to scrummage. 00:16:29.399 --> 00:16:33.120 And as I was doing that, the two-year-old picked up a large plant pot. 00:16:33.179 --> 00:16:37.360 And he got so excited, he started to empty it all over the floor to make a pitch. 00:16:38.019 --> 00:16:41.419 And when I next looked up, I'm not kidding, he had trashed the floor. 00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:42.879 There was mud everywhere. 00:16:43.479 --> 00:16:46.279 And at that moment, my mother, his grandmother, walked in the room. 00:16:46.759 --> 00:16:50.479 And honestly, her lounge was just covered in dirt. 00:16:50.480 --> 00:16:53.860 And she walked over to her little two-year-old grandson. 00:16:54.460 --> 00:16:56.120 And she picked up the plant pot. 00:16:56.440 --> 00:16:58.000 And she put it on one side. 00:16:58.460 --> 00:17:00.440 And she picked him up and she kissed him. 00:17:00.759 --> 00:17:02.220 And she said, let's go and have lunch. 00:17:02.460 --> 00:17:05.079 And as she carried him out of the room, over the mud, 00:17:05.319 --> 00:17:09.740 he looked over her shoulder at his older brother and I on the ground, scrummaging. 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:11.620 And he went like that. 00:17:11.619 --> 00:17:16.119 You see, his grandmother knows what he's done. 00:17:17.239 --> 00:17:18.759 She's going to clear up the mess. 00:17:19.599 --> 00:17:21.000 And she loves him anyway. 00:17:22.619 --> 00:17:23.959 And that's Christmas. 00:17:25.099 --> 00:17:26.399 God knows what we've done. 00:17:27.239 --> 00:17:29.899 And he sends his son to clear up the mess. 00:17:30.639 --> 00:17:32.779 Because he loves you so much. 00:17:33.539 --> 00:17:35.519 He says, yeah, it's going to be uncovered. 00:17:35.519 --> 00:17:38.619 But I've sent Jesus to rescue you. 00:17:39.180 --> 00:17:41.079 And that's the great joy. 00:17:42.879 --> 00:17:44.980 Now, again, we'd love to talk more of that now. 00:17:45.039 --> 00:17:45.460 We can't. 00:17:45.519 --> 00:17:46.180 I'm finishing. 00:17:46.779 --> 00:17:48.599 But there are three applications of this. 00:17:48.819 --> 00:17:50.759 The first one, ladies and gentlemen, is this. 00:17:51.099 --> 00:17:53.359 Is this is very serious. 00:17:54.240 --> 00:17:55.259 What we've done wrong. 00:17:55.639 --> 00:18:01.079 We wouldn't be doing all this if there wasn't a certainty of the judgment to come. 00:18:01.480 --> 00:18:02.619 It is serious. 00:18:03.119 --> 00:18:04.639 There is a place called hell. 00:18:04.640 --> 00:18:06.340 Please be warned. 00:18:06.620 --> 00:18:07.120 Please. 00:18:08.140 --> 00:18:09.320 So that's serious. 00:18:09.540 --> 00:18:12.160 But secondly, you must be loved. 00:18:13.200 --> 00:18:14.420 I've got two sons. 00:18:14.660 --> 00:18:15.900 I wouldn't let them die for anyone. 00:18:16.020 --> 00:18:16.920 I love them so much. 00:18:17.560 --> 00:18:20.180 But God says, Rico, I love you so much. 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:22.380 I'll send my son to die for you. 00:18:22.860 --> 00:18:24.160 It's quite overwhelming. 00:18:25.140 --> 00:18:26.980 So it's serious, our sin. 00:18:27.700 --> 00:18:28.700 You must be loved. 00:18:28.980 --> 00:18:32.400 But lastly, ladies and gentlemen, it's a gift. 00:18:33.060 --> 00:18:33.960 It's a gift. 00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:35.480 I can't pay for it. 00:18:36.200 --> 00:18:40.420 God sends his son Jesus to die to pay for our wrongdoing. 00:18:40.940 --> 00:18:43.380 But Paul and Reuben, Andrew will echo this. 00:18:43.860 --> 00:18:45.559 Do you know where the agony of Christmas is? 00:18:46.279 --> 00:18:47.680 People don't unwrap the gift. 00:18:47.680 --> 00:18:53.060 Imagine being given a gift at Christmas and it's under the tree and you just leave it there. 00:18:53.140 --> 00:18:57.200 26th, 27th, 3rd of January, 12th of April, July. 00:18:57.539 --> 00:18:58.080 Just leave it. 00:18:59.360 --> 00:19:01.240 And we're saying, please don't do that. 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:05.080 Be like hundreds of thousands in this country at the moment. 00:19:05.079 --> 00:19:09.779 I mean, it's staggering to see who are saying, do you know, I've got to unwrap the gift. 00:19:11.039 --> 00:19:13.319 And to do that, obviously, please come back here. 00:19:13.419 --> 00:19:14.259 Come back next week. 00:19:14.259 --> 00:19:21.799 But actually, the time to unwrap it and really, you know, really just ask any question you like. 00:19:22.119 --> 00:19:23.339 Here's the Hope Explored course. 00:19:23.440 --> 00:19:24.440 We're putting it on for you. 00:19:24.759 --> 00:19:26.019 We'd love you to come along. 00:19:26.400 --> 00:19:29.160 But don't put this away with the decorations for the year. 00:19:29.720 --> 00:19:31.819 Don't just say, right, it's in the box for the decorations. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:35.299 Say, do you know, I'm going to unwrap it this year. 00:19:35.579 --> 00:19:36.400 New Year's resolution. 00:19:36.400 --> 00:19:39.180 I'm really going to look into this. 00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:46.200 And again, can I say, that's the job you've got to do if this isn't the best news you've heard in your life. 00:19:46.360 --> 00:19:47.680 That's the diagnostic tool. 00:19:48.160 --> 00:19:52.920 If it's not the best news you've ever heard, you need to come back and unwrap it. 00:19:53.820 --> 00:19:54.640 Let's pray together. 00:19:54.720 --> 00:19:55.100 Let's pray.