WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.660 Oh, good morning, everyone, and Merry Christmas. 00:00:03.980 --> 00:00:04.780 My name's Steve. 00:00:04.940 --> 00:00:09.740 I'm the senior pastor here, so let me add my welcome to the one that you've already 00:00:09.740 --> 00:00:10.080 received. 00:00:10.140 --> 00:00:14.919 It's great to be in church with you this morning on this Christmas day, a day of anticipation, 00:00:15.660 --> 00:00:19.160 of excitement, of joy, and injury. 00:00:20.240 --> 00:00:26.920 Apparently about 80,000 people a year need some form of hospital treatment on Christmas 00:00:26.920 --> 00:00:35.340 day, mostly due to Christmas accidents of falls, cuts, burns, all throughout these festive 00:00:35.340 --> 00:00:35.700 periods. 00:00:35.760 --> 00:00:41.240 Here's a few information for you that you might find helpful and things to avoid this year. 00:00:42.260 --> 00:00:48.780 Apparently, hospitals report on average four broken arms per year because of cracker pulling 00:00:48.780 --> 00:00:49.420 incidences. 00:00:49.420 --> 00:00:57.780 Three people die on average per year testing nine-volt batteries on their tongues. 00:01:00.219 --> 00:01:01.900 I mean, who does that? 00:01:01.980 --> 00:01:02.560 Yes, exactly. 00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:05.920 Those people don't anymore. 00:01:07.420 --> 00:01:14.180 Around eight people per year crack their skulls while falling asleep as they're throwing up 00:01:14.180 --> 00:01:15.460 in the toilet at the same time. 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:23.960 Eighteen people receive serious burns each year on average, trying on a brand new sweater, 00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:27.340 jumper, while they have a lit cigarette in their mouth. 00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:31.240 Obviously, cheap material. 00:01:31.800 --> 00:01:34.320 The thing just flames up in no time at all. 00:01:34.319 --> 00:01:47.039 More than 30 people have died since 1996, watering their plastic Christmas tree with the fairy lights still 00:01:47.039 --> 00:01:47.299 on. 00:01:48.599 --> 00:01:51.359 There's a whole heap of problems there with that one. 00:01:52.319 --> 00:02:01.759 Sorry, 58 people are injured each year by using a sharp knife rather than going to the shed 00:02:01.759 --> 00:02:02.539 and getting a screwdriver. 00:02:02.540 --> 00:02:13.620 Approximately 10 people a year have to have surgically removed broken parts of plastic toys removed 00:02:13.620 --> 00:02:14.800 from the soles of their feet. 00:02:17.640 --> 00:02:20.159 This one, I just can't work. 00:02:21.240 --> 00:02:31.840 142 people in one year, in one year, one Christmas day alone, were injured because they tried on the 00:02:31.840 --> 00:02:34.900 new shirts without taking the pins out of them first. 00:02:36.719 --> 00:02:37.840 I mean, it just... 00:02:38.599 --> 00:02:39.680 Anyway, have a safe Christmas. 00:02:41.599 --> 00:02:48.699 You know, it's a day of joy and celebration and yet it ends up in emergency for so many people. 00:02:48.920 --> 00:02:51.520 But it's not just physical injury. 00:02:52.300 --> 00:02:54.599 There is also a whole heap of relational injury. 00:02:54.599 --> 00:03:00.120 Do you know that one third of Australian families will almost come to blows by the end of the day? 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:04.180 One third of Australian families. 00:03:06.579 --> 00:03:09.680 It's a day where there's a veneer of perfection. 00:03:11.039 --> 00:03:17.180 A veneer of joy and happiness where you've got to get the food right, the presents right, and everything else right. 00:03:17.180 --> 00:03:23.620 And yet what underlies that is a deep hardship in so many ways. 00:03:26.620 --> 00:03:27.719 Christmas is hard. 00:03:29.060 --> 00:03:33.099 It's a time of joy, but it's also mixed with a day of sadness and hardship. 00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:34.719 And even the message of Christmas. 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:47.699 See, what we don't often see in the Christmas narratives as they come out is the fact that it's surrounded by hardship of difficulty. 00:03:48.819 --> 00:03:52.319 We often are faced with a sanitized version of Christmas. 00:03:53.120 --> 00:04:03.500 I've heard, for instance, nowadays people are getting their narrative scenes and sprinkling them with cinnamon and nutmeg and things to make them smell nice. 00:04:03.500 --> 00:04:13.060 I think I said a couple of weeks ago, if you want to go for authenticity, it's animal refuse that should be sprinkled in your nativity scene. 00:04:14.680 --> 00:04:22.740 Now over the Christmas season here at St. Paul's, over the last number of weeks, we've been asking the question, is Christmas believable, unbelievable? 00:04:22.740 --> 00:04:34.160 We've seen over the last number of weeks that the story of Christmas isn't just a great story, a great myth that you kind of cling to at the end of a hard year. 00:04:34.400 --> 00:04:38.060 It's in fact a true story that's historically reliable. 00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:46.800 We've seen the evidence for Jesus being a real person, that the New Testament accounts of his life weren't made up, they're historically accurate, 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:56.060 and that the miracles that are described in not just Christmas, but in Easter and the gospel stories have not yet been disproved by science. 00:04:57.079 --> 00:05:04.780 That is, the conclusion is it's reasonable to believe in the Christmas narrative as they are portrayed in the gospels. 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:13.699 But still, so many, and even this morning, looking on articles in newspapers, so many people say it's just a great thing to hang on to. 00:05:13.699 --> 00:05:16.599 That's all it is. It's just a story. 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:21.439 Don't need to have your life shaped by it in any way whatsoever. 00:05:23.159 --> 00:05:25.159 Christmas is hard to swallow. 00:05:26.819 --> 00:05:28.420 It's really hard to swallow. 00:05:29.180 --> 00:05:32.319 But it was on the very first Christmas as well. 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:35.959 We see it in Luke chapter 2. 00:05:37.039 --> 00:05:39.259 Let's get a glimpse here of what's happening. 00:05:39.259 --> 00:05:51.259 When Jesus' parents brought the eight-day-old Jesus to the temple, which was Jewish custom, there was an old man there. 00:05:51.339 --> 00:05:52.379 My name is Simeon. 00:05:53.300 --> 00:05:59.099 Simeon had been waiting for the long-promised Jewish Messiah and the Jewish ruler. 00:05:59.100 --> 00:06:08.879 And when he saw Jesus, he took him in his arms and he spoke what are now famous words. 00:06:09.400 --> 00:06:12.540 The noctimitus is what they've become known as. 00:06:13.439 --> 00:06:21.400 These words are being used in Christian church services to dismiss the saints for centuries. 00:06:21.399 --> 00:06:23.919 It goes something like this. 00:06:23.919 --> 00:06:31.759 Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation. 00:06:33.560 --> 00:06:36.399 But that's not all that Simeon said. 00:06:38.019 --> 00:06:41.699 He also went on from that to say something quite troubling. 00:06:41.699 --> 00:06:55.860 This child is destined to cause the falling and the rising of many in Israel and to be a sign that will be spoken against so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. 00:06:57.240 --> 00:07:01.279 And he says to Mary, and a sword will pierce your own soul too. 00:07:03.620 --> 00:07:06.199 Now, those words are relatively unknown. 00:07:07.339 --> 00:07:08.899 They've not been put to music. 00:07:08.899 --> 00:07:12.699 They're not read out in Christmas services around the world. 00:07:14.359 --> 00:07:16.919 And it's probably because they're hard words. 00:07:17.000 --> 00:07:19.819 They're rather depressing words, even disturbing words. 00:07:20.959 --> 00:07:26.959 And yet, they get to the very heart of the meaning of Christmas. 00:07:28.339 --> 00:07:34.279 The Christmas story and the words of Simeon tell us that Jesus Christ, 00:07:35.939 --> 00:07:37.759 the long-awaited one, 00:07:38.899 --> 00:07:40.879 came into this world to be rejected. 00:07:43.799 --> 00:07:48.739 Even in the really familiar part of the Christmas story at the beginning of Luke chapter 2, 00:07:49.459 --> 00:07:52.819 the bit where it says she wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger 00:07:52.819 --> 00:07:56.039 because there was no guest room available for them. 00:07:56.799 --> 00:07:59.099 What we are meant to read there 00:07:59.099 --> 00:08:03.079 is not that Bethlehem was busy. 00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:08.659 What we're meant to read there is right before he is born, 00:08:09.620 --> 00:08:11.019 he is facing rejection. 00:08:12.439 --> 00:08:14.680 Jesus is cast out. 00:08:15.240 --> 00:08:17.939 We have no room for him. 00:08:19.379 --> 00:08:20.819 He's being shut out. 00:08:20.819 --> 00:08:29.459 And we see that as he grows and matures that Jesus came to get people mad. 00:08:30.279 --> 00:08:35.460 He came to reveal hearts and have them speak against him. 00:08:36.740 --> 00:08:37.299 Why? 00:08:37.299 --> 00:08:41.579 Well, it wasn't because he loved rejection. 00:08:41.759 --> 00:08:46.139 There are people like that in this world who just love a great fight and love to be rejected. 00:08:46.620 --> 00:08:47.279 They just love it. 00:08:48.979 --> 00:08:51.559 It makes them feel important in some sort of way. 00:08:52.479 --> 00:08:54.359 But Jesus came not seeking rejection, 00:08:54.519 --> 00:08:56.459 but knowing that he in fact would face it. 00:08:56.819 --> 00:09:02.639 He embraced the rejection because it's at the very center of the reason that he came. 00:09:02.639 --> 00:09:07.679 And if we don't understand the rejection that he faced, 00:09:08.439 --> 00:09:10.620 why he faced it, 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:13.080 and the implications for us, 00:09:14.019 --> 00:09:18.519 then we can never actually understand Christmas. 00:09:20.539 --> 00:09:25.439 That is, Christmas can never, ever be good news for us. 00:09:27.080 --> 00:09:29.480 There are three main reasons Jesus faced rejection, 00:09:29.639 --> 00:09:32.319 and I want to go through this this morning real quickly. 00:09:32.639 --> 00:09:34.220 For being too ordinary, 00:09:34.840 --> 00:09:36.679 for exposing human hearts, 00:09:37.480 --> 00:09:39.139 and for our acceptance. 00:09:40.600 --> 00:09:42.059 So first of all, he was rejected 00:09:42.059 --> 00:09:44.100 because he didn't meet 00:09:44.100 --> 00:09:48.960 humanity's expectations of a savior and a ruler. 00:09:49.720 --> 00:09:52.759 That is, Jesus was not the right kind of person. 00:09:53.600 --> 00:09:57.120 He didn't look or act like a savior or a ruler. 00:09:57.559 --> 00:09:59.279 He was just too ordinary. 00:09:59.939 --> 00:10:01.819 When Jesus presented the temple, 00:10:01.820 --> 00:10:04.440 we are told in verse 24, 00:10:05.220 --> 00:10:10.820 that Mary and Joseph brought along a couple of doves and a pigeon for the sacrifice. 00:10:11.480 --> 00:10:12.440 In other words, 00:10:12.500 --> 00:10:15.020 if you go way back hundreds of years, 00:10:15.180 --> 00:10:16.260 back into the Old Testament, 00:10:16.379 --> 00:10:24.180 you'll discover that that was specifically the sacrifice that was used if you were extremely poor. 00:10:24.179 --> 00:10:27.579 That's Mary and Joseph. 00:10:29.579 --> 00:10:32.559 That is, Jesus was born into poverty. 00:10:33.319 --> 00:10:37.019 He came from the wrong side of town. 00:10:37.019 --> 00:10:40.419 He didn't have the credentials for leadership. 00:10:40.419 --> 00:10:42.120 In Mark chapter 6, 00:10:42.220 --> 00:10:44.059 we are told that his own hometown, 00:10:44.419 --> 00:10:46.919 his closest circle of friends, 00:10:47.299 --> 00:10:47.980 reject him. 00:10:48.819 --> 00:10:50.259 They were offended by him. 00:10:50.319 --> 00:10:51.639 And the word there in Mark 6 is, 00:10:51.860 --> 00:10:53.699 they were scandalized by him. 00:10:53.700 --> 00:10:55.060 Why? 00:10:56.780 --> 00:11:00.300 One biblical scholar in his commentary on Mark 6, 00:11:00.540 --> 00:11:01.840 I think states it really well. 00:11:01.960 --> 00:11:03.000 He writes this, 00:11:03.759 --> 00:11:10.759 their discernment could not penetrate the veil of ordinariness that surrounded him. 00:11:10.759 --> 00:11:17.159 What were the words in Mark 6 of his townsfolk? 00:11:18.220 --> 00:11:19.639 Isn't this guy a carpenter? 00:11:24.439 --> 00:11:28.620 Isn't this the guy whose dad died young and raised by a single mum? 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:32.559 This guy's got no connections. 00:11:34.639 --> 00:11:36.639 He's on the margins of society. 00:11:36.799 --> 00:11:38.139 He's not leadership material. 00:11:38.139 --> 00:11:41.919 He wasn't the captain of the Nazareth, you know, soccer team. 00:11:42.960 --> 00:11:44.059 He got no connections. 00:11:46.179 --> 00:11:52.419 We're even told in Isaiah 53 that he wasn't good looking. 00:11:52.580 --> 00:11:56.340 So let's just picture, you know, the traditional baby Jesus. 00:11:58.080 --> 00:12:00.120 As I read Isaiah 53, 00:12:01.139 --> 00:12:04.480 he had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him. 00:12:04.480 --> 00:12:09.899 Nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 00:12:10.820 --> 00:12:13.480 He was despised and rejected by mankind, 00:12:13.860 --> 00:12:16.019 a man of suffering and familiar with pain, 00:12:16.800 --> 00:12:19.580 like one from whom people hide their faces. 00:12:20.279 --> 00:12:21.680 He was despised, 00:12:22.180 --> 00:12:24.519 and we held him in low esteem. 00:12:25.019 --> 00:12:26.740 No blue eyes, no blonde hair, 00:12:27.200 --> 00:12:28.420 no lovely curly locks. 00:12:28.419 --> 00:12:34.159 Jesus was not a celebrity. 00:12:36.699 --> 00:12:39.039 A celebrity has always been, 00:12:39.279 --> 00:12:41.139 throughout the history of celebrity culture, 00:12:41.299 --> 00:12:43.179 celebrity has always been someone 00:12:43.179 --> 00:12:45.839 who has it together on the outside, 00:12:46.199 --> 00:12:49.319 even if they are a wreck on the inside. 00:12:50.319 --> 00:12:52.000 On the outside, they're beautiful, 00:12:52.139 --> 00:12:53.179 and if they're not beautiful, 00:12:53.299 --> 00:12:54.599 then they're extremely talented. 00:12:54.600 --> 00:12:59.639 It matters not if their relationships are a wreck 00:12:59.639 --> 00:13:02.180 and they struggle with addictions. 00:13:02.860 --> 00:13:06.840 In a celebrity culture like we are existing in right now, 00:13:07.519 --> 00:13:12.540 it's the externals that are validated. 00:13:13.480 --> 00:13:16.519 It's the superficial that we regard. 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:20.960 It's the outside, the appearance that matters. 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:24.399 And Jesus comes along and destroys all of that. 00:13:24.600 --> 00:13:28.000 He says your status, 00:13:28.580 --> 00:13:29.860 your look, 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:31.180 your beauty, 00:13:32.019 --> 00:13:32.860 your achievements, 00:13:33.440 --> 00:13:34.399 your position, 00:13:35.340 --> 00:13:36.060 your connections, 00:13:37.040 --> 00:13:37.740 your degrees, 00:13:38.440 --> 00:13:39.860 it's nothing. 00:13:41.920 --> 00:13:43.440 He doesn't measure any of it. 00:13:43.460 --> 00:13:44.920 He's not impressed by any of it. 00:13:46.980 --> 00:13:49.200 What matters is your heart and your soul. 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:53.620 And so if you're a Christian sitting in this building 00:13:53.620 --> 00:13:55.879 or connecting on stream right now, 00:13:56.360 --> 00:13:59.900 what Christmas means for you at the very least 00:13:59.900 --> 00:14:03.740 is that you reject all forms of snobbery. 00:14:05.180 --> 00:14:07.860 You're not impressed by what people are impressed with 00:14:07.860 --> 00:14:08.620 on the outside, 00:14:08.980 --> 00:14:11.800 and you're not repelled by what people are repelled by 00:14:11.800 --> 00:14:13.020 on the outside. 00:14:13.019 --> 00:14:18.179 What you care about is character, 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:19.480 humility, 00:14:19.779 --> 00:14:20.360 compassion, 00:14:21.079 --> 00:14:21.379 wisdom, 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:22.120 and integrity. 00:14:22.120 --> 00:14:26.539 Jesus is rejected 00:14:26.539 --> 00:14:29.299 because he is too ordinary 00:14:29.299 --> 00:14:30.340 to be the saviour 00:14:30.340 --> 00:14:31.440 and the ruler of the world. 00:14:32.580 --> 00:14:34.399 The second reason he's rejected 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:36.320 is because he reveals the ordinariness 00:14:36.320 --> 00:14:38.480 of our inner lives. 00:14:38.860 --> 00:14:41.740 We think he's externally ordinary. 00:14:41.740 --> 00:14:45.899 He thinks we're internally ordinary. 00:14:48.299 --> 00:14:49.740 Have a look there at verse 35. 00:14:50.419 --> 00:14:51.340 This is what Simeon says, 00:14:51.460 --> 00:14:56.220 the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. 00:14:58.659 --> 00:15:01.539 Jesus Christ showed people who they really were 00:15:01.539 --> 00:15:03.039 and they didn't like it. 00:15:03.680 --> 00:15:05.580 The book of Romans in the New Testament 00:15:05.580 --> 00:15:06.919 tells us that deep down, 00:15:07.539 --> 00:15:09.519 every single human being, 00:15:09.879 --> 00:15:11.200 every single human heart 00:15:11.200 --> 00:15:13.160 is in need for God 00:15:13.160 --> 00:15:14.540 and for a saviour. 00:15:15.280 --> 00:15:17.120 We all know we are sinners, 00:15:17.220 --> 00:15:19.259 even if we don't use that terminology, 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:20.440 and therefore, 00:15:20.900 --> 00:15:22.560 we need a saviour. 00:15:23.420 --> 00:15:25.780 But the way that we have dealt with that 00:15:25.780 --> 00:15:26.640 as people 00:15:26.640 --> 00:15:30.060 is that we all have this engine 00:15:30.060 --> 00:15:33.020 that's revving very high, 00:15:33.520 --> 00:15:35.580 deep down inside of our souls, 00:15:35.720 --> 00:15:37.160 deep down inside of our hearts. 00:15:37.420 --> 00:15:39.900 It's in overdrive all the time, 00:15:39.899 --> 00:15:41.860 and it's the engine of self-justification. 00:15:43.679 --> 00:15:46.100 And that engine desperately, 00:15:46.439 --> 00:15:49.860 desperately wants to think that we are okay. 00:15:51.299 --> 00:15:56.240 And so we consistently suppress the truth about God. 00:15:56.240 --> 00:16:01.759 It does not want to know about God or what he requires. 00:16:02.759 --> 00:16:04.759 It doesn't want to know that we need a God 00:16:04.759 --> 00:16:08.580 or that there is anything wrong with any of us. 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:13.600 And anything that makes us hard to suppress that truth, 00:16:15.200 --> 00:16:18.600 anything that wants to tamper with that engine 00:16:18.600 --> 00:16:20.779 that's deep inside of our hearts, 00:16:20.779 --> 00:16:23.459 gets us mad. 00:16:25.039 --> 00:16:25.379 You know, 00:16:25.439 --> 00:16:27.779 same as when someone points out a flaw in you, 00:16:27.899 --> 00:16:29.819 your instinct is defensiveness. 00:16:30.839 --> 00:16:33.139 That's the engine working in overdrive. 00:16:35.399 --> 00:16:37.259 And along comes Jesus Christ, 00:16:37.339 --> 00:16:38.559 living a perfect life. 00:16:38.559 --> 00:16:42.179 And he gets us mad. 00:16:42.919 --> 00:16:44.239 If you read through the Gospels, 00:16:44.339 --> 00:16:47.859 you will find that he both mesmerizes and alienates. 00:16:48.699 --> 00:16:52.199 He attracts and he infuriates. 00:16:52.979 --> 00:16:57.059 He evokes rejection and hostility wherever he goes. 00:16:58.519 --> 00:17:00.079 In the Christmas narrative, 00:17:00.299 --> 00:17:03.500 King Herod hears that Jesus is born the king, 00:17:04.259 --> 00:17:05.700 and he is threatened. 00:17:06.139 --> 00:17:07.819 He's a representation of our hearts. 00:17:07.819 --> 00:17:08.559 He is threatened, 00:17:08.779 --> 00:17:11.779 and he wants to even have the baby Jesus killed. 00:17:13.679 --> 00:17:16.119 When Jesus Christ comes to anybody 00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:20.460 and reveals himself as the true ruler of our lives, 00:17:20.839 --> 00:17:23.139 that gets us mad. 00:17:25.720 --> 00:17:29.539 Much easier to have a Jesus constrained 00:17:29.539 --> 00:17:32.439 to a sanitized narrative 00:17:32.439 --> 00:17:36.299 who just loves everyone. 00:17:37.819 --> 00:17:43.099 And people get upset in the end 00:17:43.099 --> 00:17:46.039 at any Christian who lives and loves like Jesus 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:48.099 because it reminds them of their own hearts 00:17:48.099 --> 00:17:50.500 and their priorities and their actions. 00:17:51.059 --> 00:17:54.079 You don't actually have to be perfect to be rejected. 00:17:54.079 --> 00:17:59.819 You just don't have to have the same value of those in society around you. 00:17:59.819 --> 00:18:07.039 Living a life like Jesus exposes corruption and immorality 00:18:07.039 --> 00:18:11.779 and gossip and greed in every culture 00:18:11.779 --> 00:18:17.460 because no one likes the depths of the immoral heart being revealed, 00:18:17.960 --> 00:18:19.759 nor those who reveal it. 00:18:19.759 --> 00:18:29.160 Christmas means there is often not room in the end for those who follow Jesus. 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:32.160 But lastly, 00:18:33.320 --> 00:18:35.240 he's rejected for our acceptance. 00:18:36.860 --> 00:18:37.120 You see, 00:18:37.240 --> 00:18:38.700 Jesus Christ came into this world 00:18:38.700 --> 00:18:42.580 knowing that he would violate the world's standards and its priorities. 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:43.980 He would turn them all on their head 00:18:43.980 --> 00:18:48.160 and that he would intimidate people with his life and his message, 00:18:48.160 --> 00:18:53.560 but he came because of his substitutionary nature of his work. 00:18:54.720 --> 00:18:57.080 And he is rejected for that very work. 00:18:57.340 --> 00:18:59.740 Let's go back to Isaiah 53 that was read out to us. 00:19:00.100 --> 00:19:01.400 Right after it says, 00:19:01.820 --> 00:19:03.880 like one with whom people hide their faces 00:19:03.880 --> 00:19:05.820 and he was despised and he held him in low esteem, 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:06.860 we read this. 00:19:06.859 --> 00:19:11.519 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering 00:19:11.519 --> 00:19:15.259 and yet we considered him punished by God, 00:19:15.599 --> 00:19:17.119 stricken by him and afflicted. 00:19:17.719 --> 00:19:20.139 But he was pierced for our transgressions. 00:19:20.639 --> 00:19:22.859 He was crushed for our iniquities. 00:19:23.559 --> 00:19:26.199 The punishment that brought us peace was on him 00:19:26.199 --> 00:19:29.139 and by his wounds we are healed. 00:19:29.859 --> 00:19:30.939 We are like sheep, 00:19:31.619 --> 00:19:32.659 have gone astray, 00:19:33.339 --> 00:19:36.039 each of us to turn to our own way 00:19:36.039 --> 00:19:40.240 and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 00:19:41.559 --> 00:19:44.059 What that's basically saying in a nutshell 00:19:44.059 --> 00:19:47.319 is that Jesus' rejection 00:19:47.319 --> 00:19:51.279 was ultimately for our acceptance. 00:19:52.980 --> 00:19:55.980 That is, he didn't get rejected 00:19:55.980 --> 00:19:59.480 as an example for us on how to be rejected 00:19:59.480 --> 00:20:01.639 and how to deal with rejection. 00:20:02.659 --> 00:20:04.980 He came to be rejected 00:20:04.980 --> 00:20:07.519 specifically as our saviour. 00:20:08.120 --> 00:20:10.180 He was rejected for our transgressions, 00:20:10.259 --> 00:20:10.880 for our sin, 00:20:10.960 --> 00:20:12.180 for our rejection of God. 00:20:12.539 --> 00:20:15.799 Simeon says in verse 34 00:20:15.799 --> 00:20:19.200 that Jesus is to be a sign 00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:22.539 that will be spoken against. 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:27.319 And because Jesus was spoken against, 00:20:28.380 --> 00:20:30.180 we can be spoken for. 00:20:30.180 --> 00:20:35.640 Because there's no room for him in the inn, 00:20:36.460 --> 00:20:41.080 we get to have a place with God forever with him. 00:20:43.940 --> 00:20:46.100 Jesus knew that his acceptance 00:20:46.100 --> 00:20:51.039 would be our rejection by God. 00:20:51.700 --> 00:20:55.180 But his rejection would be for our acceptance 00:20:55.180 --> 00:20:59.860 and he chose rejection for us. 00:21:02.820 --> 00:21:04.560 Now Christmas is dangerous 00:21:04.560 --> 00:21:07.519 and Christmas is hard news. 00:21:09.400 --> 00:21:11.620 But Christmas is the greatest news 00:21:11.620 --> 00:21:13.600 and the greatest gift. 00:21:13.599 --> 00:21:17.939 But by their very nature, 00:21:18.459 --> 00:21:21.659 some gifts are very hard to accept. 00:21:22.579 --> 00:21:23.740 So imagine this morning, 00:21:24.719 --> 00:21:26.079 a family gathering 00:21:26.079 --> 00:21:28.039 and you unwrap, 00:21:28.119 --> 00:21:29.819 someone hands you a present, 00:21:29.939 --> 00:21:31.000 you unwrap the present 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:32.859 and it's a book titled 00:21:32.859 --> 00:21:34.699 How Not to Be an Arrogant So-and-So. 00:21:35.899 --> 00:21:37.439 Pick specifically for you. 00:21:37.440 --> 00:21:42.299 It's very passive aggressive. 00:21:42.940 --> 00:21:44.140 I wouldn't recommend it. 00:21:45.360 --> 00:21:47.440 But it's going to hurt your sensibilities. 00:21:48.740 --> 00:21:50.460 You unwrap a present like that, 00:21:50.620 --> 00:21:50.920 you know, 00:21:50.980 --> 00:21:52.279 or a year gym's membership 00:21:52.279 --> 00:21:52.860 or a, 00:21:53.259 --> 00:21:53.500 you know, 00:21:53.539 --> 00:21:54.080 how to, 00:21:54.080 --> 00:21:54.880 you know, 00:21:54.940 --> 00:21:56.080 lose weight in 10 days 00:21:56.080 --> 00:21:56.380 or something, 00:21:56.519 --> 00:21:56.700 you know, 00:21:56.880 --> 00:21:59.539 it's going to hit your sensibilities 00:21:59.539 --> 00:22:00.660 in some kind of way. 00:22:02.380 --> 00:22:04.080 And yet it's most likely needed. 00:22:04.079 --> 00:22:07.480 The message of Christmas 00:22:07.480 --> 00:22:09.079 is so hard to swallow 00:22:09.079 --> 00:22:11.599 because it says something 00:22:11.599 --> 00:22:13.279 not just about Jesus 00:22:13.279 --> 00:22:14.000 but says something 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:15.879 very significant about us. 00:22:18.720 --> 00:22:20.799 And yet it's a message 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:23.159 that if you embrace it, 00:22:23.220 --> 00:22:24.460 it ultimately leads 00:22:24.460 --> 00:22:25.659 to healing and soothing. 00:22:28.559 --> 00:22:28.839 You know, 00:22:28.879 --> 00:22:29.439 in the same way 00:22:29.439 --> 00:22:30.279 that a surgeon 00:22:30.279 --> 00:22:33.460 brings healing to your body, 00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:36.419 you can't do that 00:22:36.419 --> 00:22:37.839 without first 00:22:37.839 --> 00:22:38.939 spilling your blood 00:22:38.939 --> 00:22:39.799 and cutting you open. 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:43.519 Or a psychologist 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:45.240 to bring healing 00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:46.319 to your future 00:22:46.319 --> 00:22:47.039 and your present 00:22:47.039 --> 00:22:48.659 often has to deal up 00:22:48.659 --> 00:22:49.139 some really, 00:22:49.339 --> 00:22:50.899 dig up some really bad stuff 00:22:50.899 --> 00:22:51.619 from the past 00:22:51.619 --> 00:22:52.480 and deal with that. 00:22:54.579 --> 00:22:55.960 They're both wounds 00:22:55.960 --> 00:22:57.220 that lead to healing 00:22:57.220 --> 00:22:59.220 and to health. 00:23:00.359 --> 00:23:01.439 The reason Jesus 00:23:01.439 --> 00:23:02.919 makes us so uncomfortable 00:23:02.920 --> 00:23:04.720 is because he challenges 00:23:04.720 --> 00:23:05.580 our worldview. 00:23:05.920 --> 00:23:06.600 He challenges 00:23:06.600 --> 00:23:07.259 our perceptions 00:23:07.259 --> 00:23:08.140 of ourself. 00:23:09.360 --> 00:23:10.360 He forces us 00:23:10.360 --> 00:23:11.360 to expand 00:23:11.360 --> 00:23:13.320 our theory of life 00:23:13.320 --> 00:23:14.660 and its purpose 00:23:14.660 --> 00:23:15.340 and its goal. 00:23:16.440 --> 00:23:17.279 The magnificent, 00:23:17.920 --> 00:23:18.420 perfect, 00:23:18.920 --> 00:23:20.100 flawless God 00:23:20.100 --> 00:23:21.200 comes down 00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:22.720 into our 00:23:22.720 --> 00:23:24.080 ordinariness. 00:23:25.360 --> 00:23:26.700 He immerses himself 00:23:26.700 --> 00:23:27.539 into the pain 00:23:27.539 --> 00:23:28.220 and the vulnerability 00:23:28.220 --> 00:23:30.000 and the suffering 00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:31.620 of the ordinary human life. 00:23:31.619 --> 00:23:33.959 it took God 00:23:33.959 --> 00:23:35.479 to take such 00:23:35.479 --> 00:23:37.199 drastic steps 00:23:37.199 --> 00:23:38.619 to save us 00:23:38.619 --> 00:23:40.579 and that 00:23:40.579 --> 00:23:42.059 is offensive 00:23:42.059 --> 00:23:43.439 to our sensibilities 00:23:43.439 --> 00:23:45.500 to think that we are 00:23:45.500 --> 00:23:46.279 that helpless 00:23:46.279 --> 00:23:47.279 in our sin 00:23:47.279 --> 00:23:48.619 that he has to go 00:23:48.619 --> 00:23:50.239 to that kind of lengths 00:23:50.239 --> 00:23:50.899 for us 00:23:50.899 --> 00:23:52.799 and yet 00:23:52.799 --> 00:23:55.179 we cannot know 00:23:55.179 --> 00:23:55.759 the blessing 00:23:55.759 --> 00:23:56.699 of forgiveness, 00:23:57.339 --> 00:23:58.419 of life, 00:23:58.859 --> 00:23:59.779 life forever 00:23:59.779 --> 00:24:01.460 if we have never 00:24:01.460 --> 00:24:03.200 felt the offence 00:24:03.200 --> 00:24:04.019 first. 00:24:05.559 --> 00:24:06.779 We should feel 00:24:06.779 --> 00:24:07.319 the offence 00:24:07.319 --> 00:24:07.839 of Christmas 00:24:07.839 --> 00:24:09.759 but we must not 00:24:09.759 --> 00:24:10.460 take offence 00:24:10.460 --> 00:24:10.819 at it. 00:24:11.899 --> 00:24:13.319 It is for our joy 00:24:13.319 --> 00:24:14.299 and for our acceptance. 00:24:14.299 --> 00:24:17.319 It is hard 00:24:17.319 --> 00:24:17.680 to believe 00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:18.319 in Christmas 00:24:18.319 --> 00:24:21.119 because to experience 00:24:21.119 --> 00:24:22.039 the joy 00:24:22.039 --> 00:24:23.259 and the contentment 00:24:23.259 --> 00:24:23.919 and the meaning 00:24:23.919 --> 00:24:24.779 and the satisfaction 00:24:24.779 --> 00:24:25.379 of Christmas 00:24:25.379 --> 00:24:26.279 and the hope 00:24:26.279 --> 00:24:26.759 of Christmas 00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:28.720 we must take 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:29.279 the sword 00:24:29.279 --> 00:24:29.960 to the soul. 00:24:31.379 --> 00:24:32.500 We must take 00:24:32.500 --> 00:24:32.879 the sword 00:24:32.879 --> 00:24:33.339 to the soul 00:24:33.339 --> 00:24:33.819 first 00:24:33.819 --> 00:24:37.879 but when we do 00:24:37.879 --> 00:24:38.559 there is healing 00:24:38.559 --> 00:24:39.220 and there is hope 00:24:39.220 --> 00:24:39.940 and there is joy. 00:24:41.940 --> 00:24:42.559 Make room 00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:43.139 in your heart 00:24:43.139 --> 00:24:43.940 for the saviour. 00:24:45.879 --> 00:24:46.159 Now 00:24:46.159 --> 00:24:47.319 if you are someone 00:24:47.319 --> 00:24:48.240 who is not sure 00:24:48.240 --> 00:24:49.240 about how that 00:24:49.240 --> 00:24:49.819 all connects 00:24:49.819 --> 00:24:50.940 with the Christian faith 00:24:50.940 --> 00:24:52.339 I would encourage you 00:24:52.339 --> 00:24:52.859 and invite you 00:24:52.859 --> 00:24:53.679 this Christmas season 00:24:53.679 --> 00:24:55.879 New Year's resolutions 00:24:55.879 --> 00:24:56.879 are just around the corner 00:24:56.879 --> 00:24:57.460 so here is maybe 00:24:57.460 --> 00:24:57.879 an opportunity 00:24:57.879 --> 00:24:58.960 to do that right now. 00:24:59.559 --> 00:25:00.579 There is a QR code 00:25:00.579 --> 00:25:01.720 there to log in 00:25:01.720 --> 00:25:03.579 and to explore 00:25:03.579 --> 00:25:04.940 take the next step 00:25:04.940 --> 00:25:05.759 of exploring 00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:07.379 what is the Christian faith 00:25:07.379 --> 00:25:07.879 all about 00:25:07.879 --> 00:25:08.659 or come back 00:25:08.659 --> 00:25:09.339 in February 00:25:09.339 --> 00:25:10.419 because we do 00:25:10.419 --> 00:25:11.299 a whole series 00:25:11.299 --> 00:25:12.859 of the Christian faith 00:25:12.859 --> 00:25:14.059 and how it is good 00:25:14.059 --> 00:25:15.440 how it is plausible 00:25:15.440 --> 00:25:16.879 and how it is 00:25:16.879 --> 00:25:17.240 deeply 00:25:17.240 --> 00:25:18.440 deeply satisfying. 00:25:20.619 --> 00:25:21.639 This Christmas 00:25:21.639 --> 00:25:23.180 make room 00:25:23.180 --> 00:25:24.059 in your heart 00:25:24.059 --> 00:25:25.259 for the saviour 00:25:25.259 --> 00:25:26.059 Jesus Christ. 00:25:26.859 --> 00:25:27.419 Merry Christmas. 00:25:27.419 --> 00:25:27.480 Merry Christmas.