WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.960 We're going to read scripture together now, the passage that David's going to speak to us from. 00:00:03.960 --> 00:00:10.080 Mary's going to come up and read for us from Luke chapter 2 verses 1 to 14. 00:00:10.580 --> 00:00:14.980 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 00:00:15.539 --> 00:00:20.480 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria, and all went to be registered, 00:00:20.800 --> 00:00:26.460 each to his own town. And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth to Judea, 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:31.600 to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:36.260 to be registered with Mary, his patrolled, who was with child. And while they were there, 00:00:36.439 --> 00:00:40.640 the time came for her to give birth, and she gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him in 00:00:40.640 --> 00:00:45.859 swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. And in the 00:00:45.859 --> 00:00:50.520 same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an 00:00:50.520 --> 00:00:54.400 angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled 00:00:54.400 --> 00:01:00.840 with fear. And the angel said to them, Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:06.620 will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is 00:01:06.620 --> 00:01:11.700 Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you, you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths, 00:01:11.700 --> 00:01:16.840 and lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, 00:01:17.040 --> 00:01:22.439 praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom 00:01:22.439 --> 00:01:32.480 he is pleased. Well, we are continuing this morning our series on Jesus, the wonderful counsellor. We've 00:01:32.480 --> 00:01:39.859 been examining a number of different negative feelings and emotions that as human beings we 00:01:39.859 --> 00:01:46.640 all have to grapple with. These various emotions are not, of course, to be viewed as being entirely 00:01:46.640 --> 00:01:52.239 separate from each other. They're in fact all connected and interlinked in different ways. 00:01:53.000 --> 00:01:58.159 But we've been thinking about the way in which Jesus, the wonderful counsellor, is able to meet 00:01:58.159 --> 00:02:04.939 us in our need and bring real transformation and change. And over the past couple of weeks, 00:02:05.700 --> 00:02:12.439 Corey has looked at shame and disappointment, how Jesus is able to minister to our hearts 00:02:12.439 --> 00:02:21.359 when we feel crushed and broken by our experience of life. And this morning we're turning to consider, 00:02:21.599 --> 00:02:30.659 I suppose, yet another negative and often destructive emotion, that of fear. Now, in the season of Advent, 00:02:30.900 --> 00:02:38.960 it's common enough to associate the coming of Christmas with hope and with joy and with peace and with love, 00:02:38.960 --> 00:02:48.460 but probably not fear. And yet in the gospel accounts of Jesus' birth, fear is mentioned certainly on more 00:02:48.460 --> 00:02:55.719 than one occasion. When Mary, for example, is confronted by the angel Gabriel in Luke chapter 1 00:02:55.719 --> 00:02:57.700 and verse 30, we read, 00:02:57.700 --> 00:02:59.580 And the angel said to her, 00:03:00.100 --> 00:03:04.819 Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. 00:03:04.819 --> 00:03:12.500 And in a similar fashion, when Joseph in Matthew chapter 1 is wrestling with what he should do on 00:03:12.500 --> 00:03:17.019 learning of Mary's pregnancy, we read there in verse 21, 00:03:17.019 --> 00:03:18.979 As he considered these things, 00:03:19.620 --> 00:03:23.620 Behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 00:03:23.799 --> 00:03:29.979 Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, 00:03:30.299 --> 00:03:33.740 for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 00:03:34.819 --> 00:03:41.919 And this morning, I want us to turn to look at fear through the lens of yet another famous passage 00:03:41.919 --> 00:03:49.759 in the Christmas story. Because in Luke chapter 2, we once again read about fear. This time, 00:03:49.840 --> 00:03:59.000 it's shepherds out keeping watch over their flock by night. And so, in Luke 2 and verse 9 and following, 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:00.240 we read this, 00:04:00.240 --> 00:04:05.879 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, the glory of the Lord shone around them, 00:04:06.280 --> 00:04:09.800 and they were filled with great fear. 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:12.360 And the angel said to them, 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:18.540 Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy that will be for all the people. 00:04:19.319 --> 00:04:24.480 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. 00:04:24.480 --> 00:04:31.319 And what I want to do for a moment or two this morning is to look at fear not so much 00:04:31.319 --> 00:04:39.060 psychologically as theologically. And I want us to consider the problem of fear, 00:04:39.600 --> 00:04:44.939 or the root of fear, and then the answer to fear, because that is what I think 00:04:44.939 --> 00:04:54.959 that we see in our text this morning. So, that's Luke chapter 2, verses 9 through 11. We're going 00:04:54.959 --> 00:05:03.939 to look at fear through the lens of this particular text. And so, the first thing I want you to notice 00:05:03.939 --> 00:05:10.300 is the root of fear. And we have that in chapter 2, verse 9. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, 00:05:10.300 --> 00:05:16.360 the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 00:05:17.520 --> 00:05:24.759 So, at the heart of this passage in Luke chapter 2 are some terrified people. Shepherds, I think the 00:05:24.759 --> 00:05:33.540 authorized version has the lovely description, it says that they were sore afraid. They were quietly 00:05:33.540 --> 00:05:39.620 minding their own business. They were keeping watch over their flock on the hillside at night, 00:05:39.620 --> 00:05:46.560 and they were doing all right, until suddenly someone switched the lights on, and we're told that the 00:05:46.560 --> 00:05:54.579 glory of the Lord shone around them. That word for glory here, one used extensively, for example, 00:05:54.660 --> 00:06:02.199 in the Greek Old Testament, to convey something of the manifest, visible presence of God. God's glory, 00:06:02.199 --> 00:06:12.319 luminous and overpowering. Sometimes in their experiences in life that can bring us to an end 00:06:12.319 --> 00:06:19.579 of ourselves, an accident maybe that shakes us, or the loss of someone close to us, maybe the results of 00:06:19.579 --> 00:06:27.219 a biopsy, a medical examination that kind of changes things for us. We're suddenly, we're dramatically 00:06:27.220 --> 00:06:34.260 reminded really of the transience of this world. Things that formerly seemed so important to us 00:06:34.260 --> 00:06:43.000 become utterly inconsequential. Our whole perspective is altered, and there's something of that here in the 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:52.220 experience of the shepherds. The light of God's glory appears. The shepherds are terrified. They're scared 00:06:52.220 --> 00:07:01.520 because of the presence of God's glory. Now, in a way, that may appear strange to us. After all, usually, 00:07:02.120 --> 00:07:07.740 we're more likely to be scared in the dark. That's when the lights come on that we're relieved and our 00:07:07.740 --> 00:07:15.720 fears depart. But that is not true in a spiritual sense. Theologically, as human beings, we are happy 00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:24.220 in the dark and scared to death in the light. John, in his gospel says this, this is the judgment. 00:07:25.260 --> 00:07:33.380 The light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their deeds 00:07:33.380 --> 00:07:41.720 were evil. Spiritually, as men and women, we love the darkness because we can hide away there. 00:07:41.720 --> 00:07:52.180 But when God comes near with the light of his glory, we, like these shepherds, can often be terrified 00:07:52.180 --> 00:08:00.120 and traumatized. Because according to the Bible, that is the essence of the human condition. We are, 00:08:00.420 --> 00:08:08.280 as human beings, in bondage to fear. All of our lives, we're fearful of the light, what it reveals about 00:08:08.279 --> 00:08:15.039 God and what it reveals about ourselves. And I think to understand what is happening here, 00:08:15.779 --> 00:08:21.279 we need to think a little bit about another biblical event. I think the one that contains some 00:08:21.279 --> 00:08:28.359 striking similarities. Back in the Old Testament, in the first book of the Old Testament, in the book 00:08:28.359 --> 00:08:37.199 of Genesis, in Genesis chapter 3, and at verse 8, the experience of Adam and Eve is recounted 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:44.960 with these words, they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. 00:08:45.540 --> 00:08:55.160 And the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord among the trees of the garden. 00:08:56.200 --> 00:09:03.460 Of course, the language of Genesis 3 there is anthropomorphic, but that kind of language is used 00:09:03.460 --> 00:09:12.620 for a reason, is designed to communicate something of God's tangible presence, the profound reality of it. 00:09:13.620 --> 00:09:20.820 But of course, on that occasion, everything was different. Something drastic had happened to Adam 00:09:20.820 --> 00:09:27.360 and Eve. Something had changed. They had decided to be their own masters, that they would live for 00:09:27.360 --> 00:09:33.440 themselves. They would decide for themselves what was right and wrong. And so, when the Lord God came to 00:09:33.440 --> 00:09:39.480 Adam and Eve, and if I can put it this way, the glory of the Lord shone around them, they were so 00:09:39.480 --> 00:09:48.360 afraid. They jumped into the bushes, and they hid themselves. The Lord God called to the man and said 00:09:48.360 --> 00:09:57.400 to him, where are you? And he said, I heard the sound of you in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was 00:09:57.399 --> 00:10:07.980 naked, and I hid myself. Adam says, I was afraid, I was naked, and I hid. Sin brings fear, because human 00:10:07.980 --> 00:10:17.399 beings are now living lives in which we desire to be our own masters. When God's glory, truth, and light 00:10:17.399 --> 00:10:28.319 come, our instinct is to hide. Fear is hiding. And we think of perhaps when children have done something 00:10:28.319 --> 00:10:36.879 wrong that they know to be wrong in the house, what do they do? They hide. And that's what we do. We hide 00:10:36.879 --> 00:10:45.059 from God. When God's presence comes near, it brings fear. Fear of being discovered, of being undone, 00:10:45.059 --> 00:10:54.559 of being exposed for who and what we are. Adam hides. He withdraws, because that's what sin does to us. 00:10:54.679 --> 00:11:02.539 It wraps us up in fear. We try hard to insulate ourselves from the truth, but that truth is always 00:11:02.539 --> 00:11:11.679 trying to break through. We push it away, but it comes back. The Bible says that our fundamental fear 00:11:11.679 --> 00:11:21.359 fear as human beings is actually a terror of God and His truth. This taproot of fear manifests itself 00:11:21.359 --> 00:11:31.339 in a whole host of different ways. The symptoms emerge in all sorts of other fears. So, for some people, 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:41.059 it's the fear of rejection in personal relationships. They will never open up. Their fears make them 00:11:41.059 --> 00:11:52.659 either cold and unemotional or shy and retiring. Still others deal with those fears by being extrovert 00:11:52.659 --> 00:12:00.079 and gregarious. But often it's all a mask. A mask worn to gain acceptance with others, to fit in, 00:12:00.079 --> 00:12:07.819 to be liked. But all the time they are hiding themselves away. And there's a fear of failure. 00:12:07.820 --> 00:12:20.280 Those of you who are perfectionists or workaholics, driven. And that drivenness is fear. It's fear that 00:12:20.280 --> 00:12:28.020 drives you. Those inner voices that say that you've got to do better, that you can't fall short of your 00:12:28.020 --> 00:12:36.200 standards. That fear of looking bad in the eyes of other people. And the fear of guilt, 00:12:36.200 --> 00:12:43.320 a bad conscience, a bad conscience, a bad conscience, you have to prove your goodness, your moral rectitude 00:12:43.320 --> 00:12:51.100 to others and even to yourself. Anything to hide away from any sense of shame and guilt. 00:12:53.160 --> 00:13:01.840 Fear of the future. Some who are always worrying, always full of anxiety. Worry about everything. Worry about 00:13:01.840 --> 00:13:10.700 worrying. Children, spouse, money, job, tomorrow. Always worrying, distracted, anxious, difficult to 00:13:10.700 --> 00:13:22.259 concentrate. And the fear of death. Fears dog our lives lying behind them all. It's that great fear of death. 00:13:22.259 --> 00:13:32.059 Our own mortality. Because the reality of death makes us all realize that we are not captains of our own destiny 00:13:32.059 --> 00:13:45.539 after all. Long, long ago, when I was a teenager at school, our English teacher introduced us to a whole range of 00:13:45.539 --> 00:13:52.839 different types of poetry. And one poem that made a deep impression on me, which I've never forgotten, 00:13:53.339 --> 00:14:01.559 was from the pen of the Scottish poet William Dunbar. Written, this is not a recent piece of poetry, 00:14:01.679 --> 00:14:12.899 written in 1505. It comprises 24 stanzas. And it's entitled, Lament for the Mackers. A macker is an old 00:14:12.899 --> 00:14:20.000 Scots word for a poet. And one of the distinguishing features of the poem, as though that it's written 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:31.379 in Middle Scots, is that the last line of every stanza is in Latin. Let me read not 24 stanzas, just to... 00:14:33.139 --> 00:14:36.299 This is Middle Scots, so bear with me. 00:14:36.299 --> 00:14:48.399 Timur Mortis, conturbate me. 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:49.399 Timur Mortis, conturbate me. 00:14:49.399 --> 00:14:54.059 Sin he is all my brother tain. He will not let me live a lane. 00:14:54.059 --> 00:15:01.000 And forc' I man his next prey be. Timur Mortis, conturbate me. 00:15:01.000 --> 00:15:05.519 The fear of death troubles me. 00:15:07.220 --> 00:15:10.179 Human beings, we're a race of fearful people. 00:15:11.419 --> 00:15:15.460 Afraid of all sorts of things, not just spiders and creepy crawlies. 00:15:16.659 --> 00:15:20.179 And underneath all those fears, the fear of death. 00:15:20.320 --> 00:15:22.600 Timur Mortis, conturbate me. 00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:34.860 And it's that fear that so often people seek to be distracted from in our contemporary culture of entertainment and celebrity. 00:15:36.120 --> 00:15:42.720 We're constantly trying to take our minds off the big questions of life. 00:15:43.279 --> 00:15:46.200 The unavoidable reality of death and judgment. 00:15:46.200 --> 00:15:51.200 Some years ago, there was a... 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:53.920 When the new show, it was called The Grand Tour. 00:15:54.280 --> 00:15:56.440 It was launched on Amazon Prime. 00:15:56.700 --> 00:16:00.280 It was a kind of post-BBC Top Gear. 00:16:00.800 --> 00:16:04.500 With Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond. 00:16:05.520 --> 00:16:10.620 And the Times journalist, Hugo Rifkin, wrote a review of the first episode. 00:16:11.340 --> 00:16:12.400 This is what he said. 00:16:12.399 --> 00:16:17.139 The presenters of The Grand Tour are not normal. 00:16:18.360 --> 00:16:22.240 They are three florid multimillionaires in wallpaper shirts. 00:16:22.620 --> 00:16:24.980 Who only leave the Cotswolds for work. 00:16:25.439 --> 00:16:29.879 And who wouldn't recognize a flat-roofed pub if they woke up drunk on top of it. 00:16:30.939 --> 00:16:38.399 And yes, they're anti-PC, instinctively sexist, and inclined to laugh at people for things like being French. 00:16:38.939 --> 00:16:41.000 But none of that is ever the point. 00:16:41.000 --> 00:16:44.919 They don't talk like this because they mean it. 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:52.220 They talk like this because life and existence is a gaping void of nothingness. 00:16:52.620 --> 00:16:56.360 And we're all cold and lonely and going to die. 00:16:57.240 --> 00:16:58.960 All male conversation. 00:17:00.220 --> 00:17:06.660 Cars, football, politics, woodwork, the merits of the M6 toll, 00:17:06.660 --> 00:17:10.960 How you work a tank is basically the same conversation. 00:17:11.920 --> 00:17:13.500 It's white noise. 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:17.220 It blots out the fear. 00:17:18.660 --> 00:17:21.279 I found that a very perceptive piece of writing. 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:26.619 If only we can turn the volume up high enough. 00:17:27.059 --> 00:17:30.779 We can drown out all those feelings of fear. 00:17:32.779 --> 00:17:35.539 And yet all of those fears are symptoms. 00:17:36.619 --> 00:17:37.740 Bad as they are. 00:17:38.399 --> 00:17:41.119 The root problem underneath them all. 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:44.359 Is our fear and terror of God. 00:17:45.500 --> 00:17:50.799 You know, Adam was not the only person in the Bible to be afraid when he met with God. 00:17:50.959 --> 00:17:54.319 We can think of Isaiah or Job or Peter. 00:17:54.879 --> 00:17:57.919 When they encountered God, they too were afraid. 00:17:58.399 --> 00:18:00.659 Not in the sense that they thought they were going to be, 00:18:00.660 --> 00:18:06.660 You know, have their eyeballs seared with the brightness of his glory and be burnt to a crisp. 00:18:07.100 --> 00:18:09.120 But, you know, Isaiah, woe is me. 00:18:09.200 --> 00:18:10.240 I am undone. 00:18:10.560 --> 00:18:11.779 A man of unclean lips. 00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:14.600 Job, I see you now and I despise myself. 00:18:14.860 --> 00:18:17.259 Peter saying to Jesus, depart from me, Lord. 00:18:17.360 --> 00:18:18.759 I'm a sinful man. 00:18:18.759 --> 00:18:23.519 What happened to these men was that when they encountered the living God, 00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:26.440 their whole self-image was destroyed. 00:18:26.440 --> 00:18:33.580 It collapsed like a house of cards before the glorious presence of the Lord God. 00:18:34.100 --> 00:18:39.680 All that was false, all that was a pretense, was simply stripped away. 00:18:41.180 --> 00:18:47.420 For friends, as long as you want to be your own, in charge of your own life, your own master, 00:18:47.620 --> 00:18:51.799 you have to build an image that is nothing but a house of cards. 00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:58.059 In order to like yourself and hide your faults, you have to build something that's a lie. 00:18:58.700 --> 00:18:59.819 And we all do this. 00:19:00.539 --> 00:19:04.299 We devise a way of liking ourselves by hiding ourselves. 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:08.220 Often by projecting a kind of distorted image. 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:14.259 We're trying to hide the truth from ourselves and from others. 00:19:14.259 --> 00:19:21.619 Sometimes you come across those fascinating polls and questionnaires. 00:19:22.420 --> 00:19:26.279 And people are asked to evaluate, you know, their own skills and abilities. 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:28.359 And, you know, leadership skills. 00:19:28.500 --> 00:19:31.220 Do you rate yourself above or below average and all that stuff? 00:19:32.019 --> 00:19:38.960 There was one some years ago in which only 2% rated themselves below our average. 00:19:38.960 --> 00:19:45.779 When asked about how they related to others, 0% rated themselves below average. 00:19:47.140 --> 00:19:48.519 We just can't believe it. 00:19:49.640 --> 00:19:52.620 We cannot accept that we might be below average. 00:19:52.720 --> 00:19:56.400 At least not in areas where it's important for us to excel. 00:19:58.059 --> 00:20:00.200 But you see, when you get near the truth of God, 00:20:00.980 --> 00:20:04.680 all that self-delusion just evaporates. 00:20:04.680 --> 00:20:10.700 Because in the presence of God, no one has ever felt above average. 00:20:12.100 --> 00:20:16.380 In the presence, His presence, we see ourselves as we really are. 00:20:17.000 --> 00:20:20.519 Our sin, our weakness, our shame. 00:20:21.120 --> 00:20:23.180 It's not a pretty sight. 00:20:23.820 --> 00:20:28.200 Because God's presence shatters any self-image 00:20:28.200 --> 00:20:32.259 that is not rooted in the Christian gospel. 00:20:32.259 --> 00:20:36.319 It's when we come into His presence 00:20:36.319 --> 00:20:42.700 that we come to see what previously had been hidden from us. 00:20:43.759 --> 00:20:46.319 The root of fear. 00:20:47.400 --> 00:20:51.539 And then secondly here, what I've called the end of fear. 00:20:51.960 --> 00:20:53.160 In verses 10 and 11. 00:20:53.160 --> 00:20:55.620 The angel said to them, 00:20:56.400 --> 00:20:57.779 Fear not. 00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:01.000 Behold, I bring you good news of a great joy 00:21:01.000 --> 00:21:02.519 that will be for all the people. 00:21:03.040 --> 00:21:05.700 To you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, 00:21:06.019 --> 00:21:07.400 Christ the Lord. 00:21:08.680 --> 00:21:11.660 And so the message you see of the angel to the shepherds is, 00:21:12.360 --> 00:21:13.340 Do not be afraid. 00:21:14.320 --> 00:21:16.240 Because God has sent a solution 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:18.400 to this problem of fear. 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:22.840 And that solution is the one who is born. 00:21:23.360 --> 00:21:26.440 In the city of David, a Savior, Christ the Lord. 00:21:27.940 --> 00:21:29.960 Here is a message about the end of fear. 00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:33.700 Here is good news for a world often wrapped up in fear. 00:21:34.540 --> 00:21:38.040 Here is a gospel that can set us free from fear. 00:21:39.500 --> 00:21:43.019 And the good news centers on the birth of a child. 00:21:43.019 --> 00:21:46.319 What's so special about him? 00:21:47.059 --> 00:21:50.500 Well, the angel ascribes three titles to this child, 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:52.879 proclaims three things about him. 00:21:53.400 --> 00:21:54.819 He's the anointed one. 00:21:55.519 --> 00:21:58.559 The greatly anticipated Messiah, Christ. 00:21:59.220 --> 00:22:02.160 The one promised from of old by the prophets. 00:22:02.900 --> 00:22:05.779 A descendant of David who's come to rule and reign. 00:22:06.059 --> 00:22:07.740 His kingdom shall have no end. 00:22:08.319 --> 00:22:10.500 The kingdoms of men will rise and fall. 00:22:10.500 --> 00:22:13.839 But this king's kingdom will be an everlasting one. 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:16.339 He's the anointed one. 00:22:16.420 --> 00:22:17.420 He's the powerful one. 00:22:18.180 --> 00:22:18.920 He is Lord. 00:22:19.279 --> 00:22:22.420 Luke has already used that term some 20 times 00:22:22.420 --> 00:22:23.960 to refer to the God of Israel. 00:22:24.160 --> 00:22:25.960 Now he uses it of Jesus. 00:22:26.940 --> 00:22:29.240 This child is no less than deity. 00:22:30.059 --> 00:22:33.660 An explicit claim that the baby born in Bethlehem 00:22:33.660 --> 00:22:35.259 is none other than God himself. 00:22:36.059 --> 00:22:38.500 Jesus is fully and completely God. 00:22:38.500 --> 00:22:40.400 Fully human and fully divine. 00:22:40.500 --> 00:22:43.519 The life of God that resided in Jesus 00:22:43.519 --> 00:22:45.140 was not something temporary. 00:22:45.660 --> 00:22:46.960 It wasn't something partial. 00:22:47.380 --> 00:22:49.440 It was something permanent and complete. 00:22:50.259 --> 00:22:52.259 Jesus is not just part of God. 00:22:52.460 --> 00:22:54.079 He is fully God. 00:22:54.259 --> 00:22:55.000 All of God. 00:22:55.220 --> 00:22:58.180 The fullness of God dwells in Jesus Christ. 00:22:58.279 --> 00:23:01.079 And that's not a kind of abstract, 00:23:01.279 --> 00:23:03.119 obtuse theological point. 00:23:03.200 --> 00:23:05.640 It's utterly central and fundamental 00:23:05.640 --> 00:23:08.480 to the Christian faith and the Christian gospel. 00:23:08.480 --> 00:23:13.079 There is no gospel to proclaim or to believe without it. 00:23:14.000 --> 00:23:15.980 Tom Torrance writes, 00:23:16.099 --> 00:23:18.519 the main burden of the New Testament witness 00:23:18.519 --> 00:23:23.240 is that Jesus is the Lord, the Christ sent of God. 00:23:23.240 --> 00:23:26.759 It's the unanimous claim of the New Testament. 00:23:26.759 --> 00:23:31.519 That the very form, image, and glory of God belong to Jesus 00:23:31.519 --> 00:23:34.960 in exactly the same degree as they do to God the Father. 00:23:37.380 --> 00:23:41.740 In Jesus, the living God has made his dwelling amongst us. 00:23:41.940 --> 00:23:44.480 His presence has come to be with us. 00:23:45.120 --> 00:23:46.799 That's the mystery of the incarnation. 00:23:46.799 --> 00:23:49.700 What C.S. Lewis called the grand miracle. 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:52.079 John, in his gospel, 00:23:52.819 --> 00:23:54.279 the Word became flesh 00:23:54.279 --> 00:23:57.099 and made his dwelling among us. 00:23:57.299 --> 00:23:58.859 He is the powerful one. 00:23:59.039 --> 00:23:59.859 He is God. 00:24:00.019 --> 00:24:01.200 Later in this gospel, 00:24:01.839 --> 00:24:05.720 Jesus will reveal that power 00:24:05.720 --> 00:24:07.460 in many different ways. 00:24:08.059 --> 00:24:09.919 Think of the fearful disciples 00:24:09.919 --> 00:24:11.899 in the storm-tossed boat. 00:24:13.619 --> 00:24:15.319 Jesus rises and says, 00:24:15.319 --> 00:24:16.659 Peace, be still. 00:24:17.799 --> 00:24:19.799 And the waters and the waves 00:24:19.799 --> 00:24:21.619 and the winds 00:24:21.619 --> 00:24:26.200 become calm. 00:24:27.779 --> 00:24:29.039 The anointed one, 00:24:29.139 --> 00:24:30.179 the powerful one, 00:24:31.119 --> 00:24:32.819 the one in whom we encounter 00:24:32.819 --> 00:24:35.240 the very presence of God 00:24:35.240 --> 00:24:37.879 and the needed one 00:24:37.879 --> 00:24:40.299 because he is Savior. 00:24:41.700 --> 00:24:44.119 And that's a title that presupposes 00:24:44.119 --> 00:24:45.179 there's something that we need 00:24:45.179 --> 00:24:46.159 to be rescued from, 00:24:46.239 --> 00:24:46.619 doesn't it? 00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:49.299 It's a kind of an offensive title 00:24:49.299 --> 00:24:50.099 in that regard 00:24:50.099 --> 00:24:53.019 because it proclaims a need 00:24:53.019 --> 00:24:55.799 as well as offering a solution. 00:24:56.839 --> 00:24:58.319 You'll never find God 00:24:58.319 --> 00:25:01.179 without a sense of your need. 00:25:02.279 --> 00:25:03.679 And we need to be saved. 00:25:03.799 --> 00:25:04.719 We need to be rescued. 00:25:06.139 --> 00:25:07.500 You shall give him the name Jesus 00:25:07.500 --> 00:25:10.339 because he will save his people 00:25:10.339 --> 00:25:11.139 from their sins. 00:25:11.140 --> 00:25:14.080 This child has come to deal 00:25:14.080 --> 00:25:15.480 with the deep stain 00:25:15.480 --> 00:25:16.580 of our sin and guilt. 00:25:17.580 --> 00:25:18.540 He is the one 00:25:18.540 --> 00:25:20.000 through his death on the cross 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:22.980 provides a powerful detergent. 00:25:23.400 --> 00:25:24.080 There is nothing 00:25:24.080 --> 00:25:25.820 he cannot clean up 00:25:25.820 --> 00:25:27.160 or wipe away. 00:25:28.480 --> 00:25:30.140 And he has come to deal 00:25:30.140 --> 00:25:31.380 with our deepest 00:25:31.380 --> 00:25:32.980 and most profound fear. 00:25:34.120 --> 00:25:35.420 The fear that lies 00:25:35.420 --> 00:25:36.740 at the root of everything else. 00:25:36.740 --> 00:25:40.079 We know that we don't even 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:42.160 measure up to our own standards, 00:25:42.279 --> 00:25:43.259 let alone God's. 00:25:44.059 --> 00:25:44.940 We all at times 00:25:44.940 --> 00:25:46.620 feel and sense 00:25:46.620 --> 00:25:47.740 anxiety 00:25:47.740 --> 00:25:49.460 and unworthiness. 00:25:50.420 --> 00:25:51.480 And we might put our, 00:25:51.960 --> 00:25:53.299 put the blame on our parents 00:25:53.299 --> 00:25:54.140 or our teachers 00:25:54.140 --> 00:25:55.220 or on society 00:25:55.220 --> 00:25:56.140 or on the government. 00:25:57.180 --> 00:25:58.819 None of that explains anything. 00:26:00.500 --> 00:26:01.299 Some people 00:26:01.299 --> 00:26:02.220 don't even, 00:26:02.220 --> 00:26:03.519 don't believe in sin, 00:26:04.079 --> 00:26:05.980 but they still feel like sinners. 00:26:07.299 --> 00:26:07.859 We, 00:26:07.940 --> 00:26:09.819 we feel like we don't measure up. 00:26:11.599 --> 00:26:13.319 We don't like ourselves 00:26:13.319 --> 00:26:14.000 deep down 00:26:14.000 --> 00:26:14.660 and we perceive 00:26:14.660 --> 00:26:15.660 that others don't either. 00:26:16.440 --> 00:26:18.120 We're uncomfortable creatures. 00:26:19.620 --> 00:26:20.660 You ever notice 00:26:20.660 --> 00:26:21.680 how people can tell you 00:26:21.680 --> 00:26:22.579 something positive 00:26:22.579 --> 00:26:24.460 and good about yourself 00:26:24.460 --> 00:26:25.420 a hundred times 00:26:25.420 --> 00:26:27.559 and you never believe them? 00:26:28.519 --> 00:26:30.019 They can say one thing, 00:26:30.660 --> 00:26:32.240 one thing that's negative, 00:26:32.839 --> 00:26:33.700 that's disparaging. 00:26:34.680 --> 00:26:35.120 Oh yes, 00:26:35.680 --> 00:26:37.000 and you believe it immediately. 00:26:38.180 --> 00:26:39.600 We're fragile creatures. 00:26:41.519 --> 00:26:43.000 I think as we get older, 00:26:43.160 --> 00:26:44.480 we sense that fragility 00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:45.140 more acutely. 00:26:46.259 --> 00:26:47.440 We know there's something 00:26:47.440 --> 00:26:48.279 wrong with us. 00:26:49.940 --> 00:26:51.539 And the Bible tells us 00:26:51.539 --> 00:26:53.500 we are guilty sinners 00:26:53.500 --> 00:26:55.259 before a holy 00:26:55.259 --> 00:26:56.279 and righteous God 00:26:56.279 --> 00:26:58.700 and we need rescued. 00:26:58.700 --> 00:27:00.819 we need forgiveness. 00:27:01.480 --> 00:27:03.420 We need to be cleansed. 00:27:03.420 --> 00:27:04.900 We need to be brought 00:27:04.900 --> 00:27:06.420 into a right relationship 00:27:07.080 --> 00:27:08.480 with our Creator. 00:27:09.799 --> 00:27:11.460 And this is why Jesus has come. 00:27:12.420 --> 00:27:14.259 Into the darkness of this world, 00:27:14.380 --> 00:27:15.440 God sent His Son 00:27:15.440 --> 00:27:17.240 to pursue us, 00:27:17.660 --> 00:27:18.799 to seek us, 00:27:19.080 --> 00:27:20.600 to find us. 00:27:21.640 --> 00:27:23.580 We who are so frequently 00:27:23.580 --> 00:27:25.340 hiding ourselves away. 00:27:25.339 --> 00:27:27.379 into the darkness, 00:27:27.599 --> 00:27:28.779 Jesus comes as the light 00:27:28.779 --> 00:27:29.359 of the world 00:27:29.359 --> 00:27:32.339 to bring glory to God 00:27:32.339 --> 00:27:34.599 and peace to human beings, 00:27:34.939 --> 00:27:36.879 to seek and to save 00:27:36.879 --> 00:27:38.059 the lost and the hiding. 00:27:39.980 --> 00:27:41.639 He's come to rescue 00:27:41.639 --> 00:27:43.099 men and women 00:27:43.099 --> 00:27:45.119 from sin and fear 00:27:45.119 --> 00:27:47.379 and from where that sin 00:27:47.379 --> 00:27:49.939 inevitably and inexorably 00:27:49.939 --> 00:27:51.019 leads us. 00:27:51.500 --> 00:27:52.799 And that is to judgment. 00:27:52.799 --> 00:27:52.980 judgment. 00:27:55.139 --> 00:27:56.859 Here in the events 00:27:56.859 --> 00:27:57.879 of that first Christmas, 00:27:58.680 --> 00:28:00.779 God is punching His way 00:28:00.779 --> 00:28:01.879 into our world 00:28:01.879 --> 00:28:03.359 to do for us 00:28:03.359 --> 00:28:04.279 what we could never do 00:28:04.279 --> 00:28:04.980 for ourselves. 00:28:06.319 --> 00:28:07.759 Here is God coming near, 00:28:08.059 --> 00:28:08.619 Emmanuel, 00:28:09.059 --> 00:28:10.899 God with us. 00:28:12.960 --> 00:28:14.440 The gospel is a message 00:28:14.440 --> 00:28:15.399 of God's love. 00:28:16.299 --> 00:28:17.759 The apostle John tells us 00:28:17.759 --> 00:28:19.740 that His perfect love 00:28:19.740 --> 00:28:22.359 casts out fear. 00:28:22.799 --> 00:28:27.599 He comes to bring us 00:28:27.599 --> 00:28:29.919 rest from our fears. 00:28:30.700 --> 00:28:32.619 He comes to display 00:28:32.619 --> 00:28:34.399 His love and mercy 00:28:34.399 --> 00:28:36.819 and compassion to us. 00:28:38.139 --> 00:28:39.740 He comes to bring us 00:28:39.740 --> 00:28:41.200 God's acceptance 00:28:41.200 --> 00:28:43.000 and welcome 00:28:43.000 --> 00:28:44.379 into His family. 00:28:45.059 --> 00:28:46.819 We deserve none of it. 00:28:47.960 --> 00:28:48.899 And yet He comes 00:28:48.899 --> 00:28:50.639 in His mercy and grace 00:28:50.640 --> 00:28:52.020 and offers it to us 00:28:52.020 --> 00:28:53.600 as a free gift 00:28:53.600 --> 00:28:54.780 to be received 00:28:54.780 --> 00:28:55.900 by faith. 00:28:58.259 --> 00:28:59.960 And so when Jesus Christ 00:28:59.960 --> 00:29:01.660 comes into someone's life, 00:29:02.540 --> 00:29:03.759 He can 00:29:03.759 --> 00:29:07.180 take away that fear 00:29:07.180 --> 00:29:08.280 of death, 00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:09.220 judgment, 00:29:10.160 --> 00:29:10.520 shame, 00:29:10.720 --> 00:29:11.380 exposure, 00:29:12.380 --> 00:29:13.700 of what others say 00:29:13.700 --> 00:29:14.700 or others think. 00:29:14.700 --> 00:29:17.840 because of course 00:29:17.840 --> 00:29:19.100 this child would travel 00:29:19.100 --> 00:29:20.620 from Bethlehem's manger 00:29:20.620 --> 00:29:22.440 to Calvary's cross. 00:29:23.519 --> 00:29:24.500 And there He would 00:29:24.500 --> 00:29:25.340 take our judgment 00:29:25.340 --> 00:29:26.620 and die our death 00:29:26.620 --> 00:29:28.080 and bear our guilt 00:29:28.080 --> 00:29:28.660 and shame. 00:29:29.940 --> 00:29:31.279 He's come that we 00:29:31.279 --> 00:29:33.160 might no longer 00:29:33.160 --> 00:29:34.000 be afraid. 00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:36.120 He'd come to be 00:29:36.120 --> 00:29:37.700 our hiding place. 00:29:37.700 --> 00:29:42.740 Back in 1965, 00:29:44.180 --> 00:29:45.340 a TV special 00:29:45.340 --> 00:29:47.039 premiered 00:29:47.039 --> 00:29:48.900 based on the 00:29:48.900 --> 00:29:50.380 Peanuts comic strip 00:29:50.380 --> 00:29:52.840 by Charles M. Schultz. 00:29:53.180 --> 00:29:54.240 It was entitled 00:29:54.240 --> 00:29:56.220 A Charlie Brown's 00:29:56.220 --> 00:29:56.880 Christmas. 00:29:58.360 --> 00:29:59.279 And in the cartoons, 00:29:59.759 --> 00:30:00.259 some of you 00:30:00.259 --> 00:30:01.440 of a certain vintage 00:30:01.440 --> 00:30:02.340 will remember them, 00:30:02.980 --> 00:30:04.000 Charlie Brown 00:30:04.000 --> 00:30:04.920 is best known 00:30:04.920 --> 00:30:06.059 for his uniquely 00:30:06.059 --> 00:30:07.319 striped shirt, 00:30:07.319 --> 00:30:09.039 Linus 00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:11.399 is most associated 00:30:11.399 --> 00:30:12.159 with his 00:30:12.159 --> 00:30:13.200 ever-present 00:30:13.200 --> 00:30:14.279 security blanket. 00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:15.500 And throughout 00:30:15.500 --> 00:30:16.200 the stories, 00:30:16.439 --> 00:30:17.259 the various characters, 00:30:17.439 --> 00:30:17.759 Lucy, 00:30:18.119 --> 00:30:18.500 Snoopy, 00:30:18.720 --> 00:30:18.980 Sally, 00:30:18.980 --> 00:30:19.379 others, 00:30:20.419 --> 00:30:21.460 all try without 00:30:21.460 --> 00:30:22.419 success to 00:30:22.419 --> 00:30:24.319 separate Linus 00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:25.599 from his 00:30:25.599 --> 00:30:26.539 little blanket. 00:30:28.019 --> 00:30:28.740 And even though 00:30:28.740 --> 00:30:30.240 this security blanket 00:30:30.240 --> 00:30:31.659 remains a major 00:30:31.659 --> 00:30:32.399 source of 00:30:32.399 --> 00:30:33.359 ridicule, 00:30:34.339 --> 00:30:34.799 Linus 00:30:34.799 --> 00:30:35.879 simply 00:30:35.879 --> 00:30:36.839 refuses 00:30:36.839 --> 00:30:38.059 to give it up. 00:30:38.439 --> 00:30:39.179 He holds 00:30:39.179 --> 00:30:39.759 on to it 00:30:39.759 --> 00:30:40.759 all the way 00:30:40.759 --> 00:30:41.059 through. 00:30:42.720 --> 00:30:43.519 But in the 00:30:43.519 --> 00:30:44.419 Christmas special, 00:30:45.139 --> 00:30:46.179 Charlie Brown 00:30:46.179 --> 00:30:47.599 bemoans the fact 00:30:47.599 --> 00:30:48.259 that he doesn't 00:30:48.259 --> 00:30:49.659 understand Christmas. 00:30:50.059 --> 00:30:50.839 And he asks 00:30:50.839 --> 00:30:51.579 if anyone 00:30:51.579 --> 00:30:52.399 knows what 00:30:52.399 --> 00:30:53.099 it's all about. 00:30:54.879 --> 00:30:56.019 And Linus 00:30:56.019 --> 00:30:56.919 takes to the 00:30:56.919 --> 00:30:57.459 stage, 00:30:58.459 --> 00:30:59.319 asks for the 00:30:59.319 --> 00:30:59.859 spotlight, 00:31:00.519 --> 00:31:01.899 and then 00:31:01.899 --> 00:31:02.939 proceeds to read 00:31:02.939 --> 00:31:04.079 from Luke 00:31:04.079 --> 00:31:04.939 chapter 2, 00:31:04.940 --> 00:31:06.059 verses 8 00:31:06.059 --> 00:31:06.779 through 14. 00:31:07.860 --> 00:31:08.460 And he just 00:31:08.460 --> 00:31:08.960 reads it. 00:31:09.860 --> 00:31:10.500 And as he 00:31:10.500 --> 00:31:10.880 finishes, 00:31:11.680 --> 00:31:12.660 he turns to 00:31:12.660 --> 00:31:13.259 Charlie Brown 00:31:13.259 --> 00:31:13.900 and says, 00:31:14.279 --> 00:31:16.100 that is what 00:31:16.100 --> 00:31:17.200 Christmas is 00:31:17.200 --> 00:31:17.700 all about. 00:31:17.700 --> 00:31:20.539 one of the 00:31:20.539 --> 00:31:21.019 interesting 00:31:21.019 --> 00:31:21.700 details 00:31:21.700 --> 00:31:23.519 is that as 00:31:23.519 --> 00:31:24.000 Linus 00:31:24.000 --> 00:31:24.779 reads that 00:31:24.779 --> 00:31:25.400 passage 00:31:25.400 --> 00:31:26.580 in Luke, 00:31:27.380 --> 00:31:27.880 and as he 00:31:27.880 --> 00:31:28.580 comes to the 00:31:28.580 --> 00:31:29.220 words of the 00:31:29.220 --> 00:31:29.700 angels 00:31:29.700 --> 00:31:30.880 saying, 00:31:31.580 --> 00:31:32.299 fear not, 00:31:33.039 --> 00:31:34.080 he lets 00:31:34.080 --> 00:31:35.100 go of his 00:31:35.100 --> 00:31:36.000 security blanket 00:31:36.000 --> 00:31:37.960 and it falls 00:31:37.960 --> 00:31:38.779 to the ground. 00:31:40.059 --> 00:31:41.299 And it's as if 00:31:41.299 --> 00:31:42.220 Charles Schultz, 00:31:42.279 --> 00:31:42.720 the writer, 00:31:42.840 --> 00:31:43.519 wants us to 00:31:43.519 --> 00:31:44.279 understand 00:31:44.279 --> 00:31:45.879 that the 00:31:45.879 --> 00:31:47.299 gospel message 00:31:47.299 --> 00:31:49.500 enables us 00:31:49.500 --> 00:31:50.339 to drop 00:31:50.339 --> 00:31:51.500 and cast 00:31:51.500 --> 00:31:52.180 away the 00:31:52.180 --> 00:31:52.660 false 00:31:52.660 --> 00:31:53.799 security 00:31:53.799 --> 00:31:55.399 that we 00:31:55.399 --> 00:31:55.940 have been 00:31:55.940 --> 00:31:57.139 holding on 00:31:57.139 --> 00:31:58.299 to so 00:31:58.299 --> 00:31:58.759 tightly 00:31:58.759 --> 00:32:00.779 and to 00:32:00.779 --> 00:32:01.920 trust and 00:32:01.920 --> 00:32:03.160 cling to 00:32:03.160 --> 00:32:03.599 Jesus 00:32:03.599 --> 00:32:04.539 instead. 00:32:06.539 --> 00:32:07.859 What scares 00:32:07.859 --> 00:32:08.160 you? 00:32:09.279 --> 00:32:10.019 Death, 00:32:11.019 --> 00:32:11.440 God, 00:32:12.160 --> 00:32:12.759 his truth, 00:32:13.000 --> 00:32:13.599 his judgment, 00:32:13.599 --> 00:32:14.779 they should. 00:32:15.939 --> 00:32:16.819 What is your 00:32:16.819 --> 00:32:17.939 security blanket? 00:32:18.839 --> 00:32:19.579 What are you 00:32:19.579 --> 00:32:20.399 holding on to 00:32:20.399 --> 00:32:20.740 that you 00:32:20.740 --> 00:32:21.599 can't let 00:32:21.599 --> 00:32:22.359 go of? 00:32:23.219 --> 00:32:23.879 If you 00:32:23.879 --> 00:32:24.419 really want 00:32:24.419 --> 00:32:24.959 to know 00:32:24.959 --> 00:32:26.219 peace with 00:32:26.219 --> 00:32:26.619 God, 00:32:27.240 --> 00:32:27.819 if you 00:32:27.819 --> 00:32:28.279 really want 00:32:28.279 --> 00:32:28.879 your fears 00:32:28.879 --> 00:32:29.519 to be dealt 00:32:29.519 --> 00:32:29.859 with, 00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:30.599 there is only 00:32:30.599 --> 00:32:31.219 one answer. 00:32:31.319 --> 00:32:31.619 You must 00:32:31.619 --> 00:32:32.480 come and 00:32:32.480 --> 00:32:33.179 trust this 00:32:33.179 --> 00:32:33.459 man, 00:32:33.579 --> 00:32:33.859 Jesus, 00:32:34.559 --> 00:32:35.179 a Savior 00:32:35.179 --> 00:32:35.879 and Lord. 00:32:37.980 --> 00:32:38.539 Because 00:32:38.539 --> 00:32:39.199 for those 00:32:39.199 --> 00:32:39.899 fears and 00:32:39.899 --> 00:32:40.659 insecurities 00:32:40.659 --> 00:32:41.240 that so 00:32:41.240 --> 00:32:41.919 often drive 00:32:41.919 --> 00:32:42.679 our lives, 00:32:42.680 --> 00:32:43.759 there is 00:32:43.759 --> 00:32:44.320 an answer. 00:32:45.400 --> 00:32:46.080 And the 00:32:46.080 --> 00:32:46.560 answer is 00:32:46.560 --> 00:32:47.039 the opposite 00:32:47.039 --> 00:32:47.620 of fear. 00:32:48.440 --> 00:32:48.799 It's 00:32:48.799 --> 00:32:49.560 faith in 00:32:49.560 --> 00:32:49.880 the Lord 00:32:49.880 --> 00:32:50.160 Jesus 00:32:50.160 --> 00:32:50.700 Christ. 00:32:51.960 --> 00:32:52.519 And that's 00:32:52.519 --> 00:32:52.799 what the 00:32:52.799 --> 00:32:53.240 angel of 00:32:53.240 --> 00:32:53.580 the Lord 00:32:53.580 --> 00:32:54.200 is saying 00:32:54.200 --> 00:32:55.500 to these 00:32:55.500 --> 00:32:56.560 shepherds. 00:32:57.460 --> 00:32:58.320 Fear not. 00:32:59.200 --> 00:33:00.340 Here is 00:33:00.340 --> 00:33:01.299 the gospel. 00:33:02.299 --> 00:33:03.080 Here is 00:33:03.080 --> 00:33:03.539 the good 00:33:03.539 --> 00:33:03.880 news. 00:33:04.240 --> 00:33:05.019 Here is 00:33:05.019 --> 00:33:05.799 Jesus, 00:33:06.560 --> 00:33:07.380 the Savior. 00:33:07.380 --> 00:33:09.580 because 00:33:09.580 --> 00:33:10.020 rightly 00:33:10.020 --> 00:33:10.700 understood, 00:33:12.140 --> 00:33:12.460 Christmas 00:33:12.460 --> 00:33:13.140 spells the 00:33:13.140 --> 00:33:13.540 end of 00:33:13.540 --> 00:33:15.140 fear and 00:33:15.140 --> 00:33:15.540 the beginning 00:33:15.540 --> 00:33:16.300 of faith. 00:33:17.260 --> 00:33:18.200 Because in 00:33:18.200 --> 00:33:19.040 Jesus Christ, 00:33:19.380 --> 00:33:20.720 we do not 00:33:20.720 --> 00:33:22.100 need to be 00:33:22.100 --> 00:33:22.600 afraid 00:33:22.600 --> 00:33:23.700 anymore. 00:33:24.840 --> 00:33:25.460 Let's 00:33:25.460 --> 00:33:25.700 pray. 00:33:25.700 --> 00:33:30.940 Almighty God, 00:33:31.000 --> 00:33:31.400 we thank 00:33:31.400 --> 00:33:32.880 you for 00:33:32.880 --> 00:33:33.900 the good 00:33:33.900 --> 00:33:34.460 news of 00:33:34.460 --> 00:33:35.279 Jesus Christ. 00:33:36.400 --> 00:33:37.360 We thank 00:33:37.360 --> 00:33:38.080 you that it 00:33:38.080 --> 00:33:39.259 is news 00:33:39.259 --> 00:33:40.059 that brings 00:33:40.059 --> 00:33:41.340 transformation 00:33:41.340 --> 00:33:42.759 and change 00:33:42.759 --> 00:33:44.340 as we rest 00:33:44.340 --> 00:33:45.000 our faith 00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:46.059 and confidence 00:33:46.059 --> 00:33:47.259 in Jesus. 00:33:48.220 --> 00:33:48.779 Lord, you 00:33:48.779 --> 00:33:49.180 know us, 00:33:49.240 --> 00:33:49.600 you know our 00:33:49.600 --> 00:33:50.400 circumstances, 00:33:51.180 --> 00:33:51.840 you know our 00:33:51.840 --> 00:33:53.039 hearts this 00:33:53.039 --> 00:33:53.420 morning. 00:33:53.420 --> 00:33:55.820 Lord, by 00:33:55.820 --> 00:33:56.240 your Holy 00:33:56.240 --> 00:33:56.720 Spirit, 00:33:57.640 --> 00:33:58.240 open our 00:33:58.240 --> 00:33:59.519 hearts that 00:33:59.519 --> 00:33:59.920 we might 00:33:59.920 --> 00:34:00.660 receive the 00:34:00.660 --> 00:34:01.160 message of 00:34:01.160 --> 00:34:01.660 the gospel, 00:34:02.019 --> 00:34:02.680 that we 00:34:02.680 --> 00:34:03.360 might believe 00:34:03.360 --> 00:34:04.920 it, that 00:34:04.920 --> 00:34:05.400 we might 00:34:05.400 --> 00:34:06.420 trust in 00:34:06.420 --> 00:34:08.280 Jesus, and 00:34:08.280 --> 00:34:08.720 that we 00:34:08.720 --> 00:34:11.579 might not 00:34:11.579 --> 00:34:12.500 be afraid 00:34:12.500 --> 00:34:13.880 anymore. 00:34:14.960 --> 00:34:15.800 In Jesus' 00:34:15.960 --> 00:34:16.240 name we 00:34:16.240 --> 00:34:16.519 pray. 00:34:17.079 --> 00:34:17.500 Amen.