WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:21.179 Do you be seated and again let me give you a really warm welcome. If you're a visitor we're really glad you're with us. Welcome everyone online. If you're here in the building do stay around afterwards we'd love to greet you and give you mulled wine and mince pies and we're going to stay in here there's a bit better ventilation if you can. 00:00:21.179 --> 00:00:36.679 I want to speak to you from the reading Matthew chapter 1 verses 18 to 25. It's just on the page opposite of the carol we've just sung so you can follow along. I wonder whether you noticed how carefully it was told. 00:00:36.679 --> 00:00:52.780 It's told the birth of Jesus with such delicacy and reserve. As you read it you feel like if you blink you might miss the creator and the king of heaven and earth becoming a human being. 00:00:52.780 --> 00:01:07.780 And Matthew as he writes this is completely aware that we've got no measuring stick for this. We've got no way to fit what he's describing into a neat category. We can't escape it. 00:01:07.780 --> 00:01:17.359 And so what Matthew does in this passage which is a masterpiece of writing. He does two things. First of all he tells you the story from Joseph's point of view. 00:01:18.359 --> 00:01:30.260 Because the coming of Jesus, the virgin conception of Jesus was not just irritating and inconvenient for Joseph. It was completely invasive for him. 00:01:30.260 --> 00:01:38.840 And his fears and his pain take up more space than actually the birth of Jesus does. 00:01:40.219 --> 00:01:46.100 And he shows us firstly how God draws Joseph to be able to cope with this news. 00:01:47.219 --> 00:01:51.260 And then the second thing if you look at just verse 22, when I say verses they're just a little number. 00:01:51.260 --> 00:01:58.939 Verse 22, Matthew kind of breaks into the story and he tells us that you and I are going to have to cope with this as well. 00:02:00.260 --> 00:02:05.840 So I've got two points tonight. My first point is this, how does Joseph cope with the birth of Jesus? 00:02:06.980 --> 00:02:11.219 That's number one. And then number two, how do we cope with the birth of Jesus? 00:02:12.900 --> 00:02:16.120 Number one, how does Joseph cope with the reality of this baby? 00:02:16.120 --> 00:02:20.120 Look at verse 18. Matthew tells us that Mary and Joseph are betrothed. 00:02:20.980 --> 00:02:25.700 We don't have this today. It's more than being engaged. It's a marriage state. 00:02:25.699 --> 00:02:27.939 But it's not yet been consummated. 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:30.919 So verse 18 says, can you see it? 00:02:31.239 --> 00:02:37.799 This is how the birth of Jesus, the genesis of Jesus, came about. 00:02:39.679 --> 00:02:42.359 His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph. 00:02:42.699 --> 00:02:46.859 But before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. 00:02:48.019 --> 00:02:53.739 And with that little phrase, we are thrown into the depths of Joseph's pain. 00:02:53.740 --> 00:02:57.120 There's been no sexual contact between them. 00:02:57.460 --> 00:03:05.219 But suddenly he discovers that the woman he loves, the woman that he's intending to marry and spend the rest of his life with, is pregnant. 00:03:06.780 --> 00:03:09.760 And you don't need to have a good imagination to think of his pain. 00:03:09.759 --> 00:03:14.179 I mean, she's obviously not the person that I thought she was. 00:03:15.719 --> 00:03:18.139 She's been with another man and she said nothing. 00:03:19.379 --> 00:03:21.179 I'm going to be publicly humiliated. 00:03:22.500 --> 00:03:25.079 I don't understand how she could possibly do this. 00:03:26.799 --> 00:03:30.919 And so verse 19, because Joseph, her husband, was a righteous man, 00:03:30.919 --> 00:03:38.000 and did not want to expose Mary publicly to disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. 00:03:39.659 --> 00:03:41.959 You can sense the struggle in that verse. 00:03:43.239 --> 00:03:44.779 This is beyond him morally. 00:03:46.519 --> 00:03:51.639 But to say that he is a just man means that he's a law abider. 00:03:51.639 --> 00:03:58.819 And that would mean, in this context, to divorce Mary and expose her to public shame. 00:04:00.199 --> 00:04:01.759 But we're told a second thing about him, aren't we? 00:04:01.879 --> 00:04:05.779 That it's not only that he is righteous, but that he's kind. 00:04:07.519 --> 00:04:08.919 He still loves Mary. 00:04:11.560 --> 00:04:13.659 Despite what he sees as a clear betrayal. 00:04:15.199 --> 00:04:18.199 And he decides, I don't want to hurt her, and I don't want to wound her. 00:04:18.199 --> 00:04:20.319 And then God steps in, in verse 20. 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:23.099 But after he considered this, 00:04:24.240 --> 00:04:26.219 an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 00:04:26.279 --> 00:04:29.019 Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home with your wife, 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:32.139 because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 00:04:34.199 --> 00:04:37.860 Now our dreams, my dreams, mostly have to do with my anxieties, 00:04:38.079 --> 00:04:41.539 or with whatever I've eaten before I've gone to bed the night before. 00:04:41.680 --> 00:04:43.099 But this is not an ordinary dream. 00:04:43.100 --> 00:04:50.300 It's an Old Testament way of God revealing to his people what he means and what he's doing. 00:04:51.620 --> 00:04:53.960 And now it's the angel of the Lord who gets straight to it. 00:04:54.040 --> 00:04:54.960 And notice the order. 00:04:55.260 --> 00:04:56.160 Look at verse 20. 00:04:56.920 --> 00:04:59.200 The angel of the Lord says, first of all, just see with me. 00:04:59.660 --> 00:05:00.620 Don't be afraid to marry her. 00:05:01.760 --> 00:05:05.240 And then second, the child is God in skin. 00:05:05.240 --> 00:05:10.519 It's almost as if the most astonishing fact in all of history, 00:05:10.960 --> 00:05:14.180 that the creator and the king of the universe, becoming a human being, 00:05:14.340 --> 00:05:18.180 that's the solution for one man's terribly troubling question. 00:05:19.920 --> 00:05:21.340 In just a couple of words, 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:26.100 God opens the deepest and the most unfathomable mystery to Joseph. 00:05:27.100 --> 00:05:28.920 And he says, that's the resolution to your problem. 00:05:30.460 --> 00:05:33.340 Enabling him to deal with the reality of the birth of Jesus. 00:05:33.339 --> 00:05:36.079 He has to make the child his own. 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:38.019 Now why? 00:05:39.719 --> 00:05:43.939 Why does Matthew tell us the story this way from Joseph's point of view? 00:05:45.299 --> 00:05:49.379 And I think it's to show you and I that the essence of Christianity 00:05:49.379 --> 00:05:52.139 is that it's about salvation. 00:05:53.379 --> 00:05:57.159 And it's to show us the powerlessness of human morality. 00:05:59.259 --> 00:06:03.099 Because Christianity is a religion where God saves us. 00:06:03.339 --> 00:06:04.699 We don't save ourselves. 00:06:05.779 --> 00:06:09.000 And there's nothing in Christianity that makes sense apart from that. 00:06:10.299 --> 00:06:11.699 And Matthew makes that point in two ways. 00:06:11.959 --> 00:06:13.879 First of all, he highlights, doesn't he, in verse 19, 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:15.579 he says, Joseph is a great guy. 00:06:15.699 --> 00:06:16.819 He's got great moral qualities. 00:06:18.179 --> 00:06:19.000 He's just. 00:06:19.279 --> 00:06:20.000 He's devout. 00:06:20.679 --> 00:06:21.359 He's kind. 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:29.020 But all the justice and all the kindness of the world cannot prepare him for the coming of God in the flesh. 00:06:30.080 --> 00:06:35.319 The creator of the universe entering into the womb of the Virgin Mary. 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:38.759 In the form of a vulnerable, dependent child. 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:47.300 And so tonight, we need to recognize that all our morality cannot reach God. 00:06:47.300 --> 00:06:53.300 You just can't comprehend something so remarkable and so unique. 00:06:53.400 --> 00:06:56.600 It requires God to step in and speak. 00:06:58.360 --> 00:07:02.199 And the second way Matthew makes this point is that the angel tells Mary that the baby, 00:07:02.319 --> 00:07:05.100 when the baby comes, give him this name. 00:07:05.139 --> 00:07:06.040 He's got a name already. 00:07:06.780 --> 00:07:08.860 And the name, verse 21, can you just look there with me? 00:07:08.860 --> 00:07:11.840 You ought to give him the name Jesus. 00:07:13.520 --> 00:07:15.080 And his name is all about salvation. 00:07:15.220 --> 00:07:15.980 It's all about rescue. 00:07:17.699 --> 00:07:18.780 You shall bear a son. 00:07:19.800 --> 00:07:21.879 You don't need to go to the ultrasound to find that out. 00:07:22.879 --> 00:07:24.379 You shall give him the name Jesus. 00:07:25.300 --> 00:07:26.920 For he will save his people from their sins. 00:07:28.040 --> 00:07:31.080 The child in the womb that comes from the Holy Spirit is a boy. 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:32.360 And the boy's name is Jesus. 00:07:33.900 --> 00:07:35.360 And you will call him that, God says. 00:07:35.379 --> 00:07:35.920 He's emphatic. 00:07:37.060 --> 00:07:38.400 He and no one else. 00:07:39.680 --> 00:07:40.780 Can you see at the end of verse 21? 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:42.120 We'll save his people from their sins. 00:07:44.520 --> 00:07:46.980 So for all our moral goodness, and there's a lot of it around, 00:07:48.460 --> 00:07:51.439 our situation is so dire that you and I need saving. 00:07:52.199 --> 00:07:53.000 We need rescuing. 00:07:54.139 --> 00:07:58.340 And we need rescuing so much that God has to enter into human experience. 00:07:59.660 --> 00:08:04.020 And the evil that he has come to rescue us from is the evil within us. 00:08:05.520 --> 00:08:07.540 But the saving that Jesus has come to do, 00:08:07.540 --> 00:08:09.000 can you just look at verse 21 again? 00:08:09.080 --> 00:08:09.980 It's not for everyone. 00:08:10.080 --> 00:08:11.180 He's come to save his people. 00:08:13.879 --> 00:08:16.520 Only those who will recognize their lostness, 00:08:16.620 --> 00:08:19.860 only those who will come to him and receive him as their God, 00:08:19.939 --> 00:08:24.540 only those who've come to him for saving can say that they are his people. 00:08:24.540 --> 00:08:28.439 And it's at this point that you might be thinking, 00:08:28.520 --> 00:08:29.660 and people often say to me, 00:08:29.960 --> 00:08:32.879 that makes Christianity so narrow and so exclusive. 00:08:34.139 --> 00:08:37.080 I mean, you are saying that if this is God in the flesh, 00:08:37.240 --> 00:08:39.080 then it demands that we worship Jesus. 00:08:39.080 --> 00:08:42.980 We see him as the only way to God. 00:08:43.139 --> 00:08:46.060 And we bow to him and we serve him as our God. 00:08:47.600 --> 00:08:50.620 And I want to say to you tonight that it's not narrow and exclusive. 00:08:50.980 --> 00:08:52.759 It's just a different diagnosis. 00:08:52.759 --> 00:09:00.080 Every other great world religion says that what's really important, 00:09:00.519 --> 00:09:02.799 according to our teachers, is that you follow our teachings. 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:08.000 That you live a life that's morally and ethically excellent, 00:09:08.059 --> 00:09:08.819 according to our teachers. 00:09:09.059 --> 00:09:11.700 And if you do that, if you live your life well enough, 00:09:11.939 --> 00:09:13.299 you will reach enlightenment. 00:09:13.539 --> 00:09:15.080 You will reach God. 00:09:15.299 --> 00:09:16.379 You will reach Nirvana. 00:09:18.120 --> 00:09:21.139 But Christianity comes along with a completely different diagnosis. 00:09:21.139 --> 00:09:24.860 It's a different verdict on what is wrong. 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:28.139 Christianity says to you and I, 00:09:28.279 --> 00:09:31.019 your situation is so dire that you need rescuing. 00:09:32.519 --> 00:09:36.639 And that all my morality and all my goodness cannot get me to God. 00:09:38.319 --> 00:09:42.279 And that the Son of God had to leave heaven to become one of us 00:09:42.279 --> 00:09:45.299 and live for us and die for us to save us from our sin. 00:09:46.980 --> 00:09:50.639 And fellowship and friendship with God comes only as we put our faith 00:09:50.639 --> 00:09:53.179 in him and not in our own goodness. 00:09:54.759 --> 00:09:56.720 And that's not narrow and exclusive. 00:09:56.960 --> 00:09:58.360 It's just a different diagnosis. 00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:02.740 I've got a friend in America who had a daughter, 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:06.519 and the daughter had suffered for years with a recurring sickness. 00:10:07.740 --> 00:10:10.699 She'd gone to a list of doctors at enormous cost, 00:10:11.080 --> 00:10:13.000 and the doctors had treated her for asthma. 00:10:13.899 --> 00:10:15.019 Asthma-like symptoms. 00:10:15.019 --> 00:10:15.860 Asthma-like symptoms. 00:10:15.860 --> 00:10:16.759 But it was an asthma. 00:10:18.699 --> 00:10:19.740 And during, and this time, 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:21.360 they were having some work done on their house, 00:10:21.980 --> 00:10:22.939 on their drain pipes. 00:10:24.039 --> 00:10:26.500 And the contractor came to them and said, 00:10:27.379 --> 00:10:28.340 I've got some bad news. 00:10:28.439 --> 00:10:31.699 There is black mold in the bedroom wall of your daughter. 00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:39.759 Okay, so when the contractor comes and gives his verdict to my friends, 00:10:40.820 --> 00:10:41.560 do they say to him, 00:10:41.720 --> 00:10:44.640 that is terribly narrow and exclusive? 00:10:45.040 --> 00:10:45.740 No, they don't, do they? 00:10:46.860 --> 00:10:47.980 It's a different diagnosis. 00:10:49.720 --> 00:10:51.580 It's a really inconvenient diagnosis. 00:10:52.620 --> 00:10:54.040 They'd move out of the house for a year. 00:10:54.780 --> 00:10:56.200 They had a very expensive renovation, 00:10:56.420 --> 00:10:58.280 and their daughter recovered very quickly. 00:10:58.279 --> 00:11:03.100 Finally, the angel's words to Joseph tell us 00:11:03.100 --> 00:11:06.500 that all our justice and all our goodness are not enough. 00:11:07.959 --> 00:11:09.339 We need a radical solution. 00:11:10.899 --> 00:11:13.000 You don't need more rules and practices. 00:11:14.539 --> 00:11:15.860 You don't need to be told, 00:11:16.480 --> 00:11:17.500 be kind, be better. 00:11:18.740 --> 00:11:20.480 You need the Son of God to come for you, 00:11:21.379 --> 00:11:22.379 and to die for you, 00:11:23.659 --> 00:11:25.019 and to give him your allegiance, 00:11:26.339 --> 00:11:27.319 and worship. 00:11:27.320 --> 00:11:29.020 And so we read in verse 24, 00:11:29.760 --> 00:11:31.280 when Joseph woke up, 00:11:32.440 --> 00:11:34.180 he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him, 00:11:34.220 --> 00:11:35.379 and he took Mary home as his wife. 00:11:39.040 --> 00:11:43.160 That is how he comes to terms with the reality of who Jesus is. 00:11:44.160 --> 00:11:45.120 He hears God's word, 00:11:46.040 --> 00:11:47.000 and he obeys. 00:11:47.960 --> 00:11:48.820 And just in case we thought, 00:11:48.900 --> 00:11:50.340 well, this is more about Joseph than about us, 00:11:50.520 --> 00:11:51.180 here's my second point. 00:11:51.220 --> 00:11:52.720 How do we cope with the birth of Jesus? 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:56.660 Before he even finishes the Joseph story, 00:11:56.759 --> 00:11:57.220 verse 22, 00:11:57.360 --> 00:11:58.480 Matthew interrupts, doesn't he, 00:11:58.620 --> 00:11:59.379 his own narrative, 00:11:59.879 --> 00:12:01.899 because he wants you and I to see 00:12:01.899 --> 00:12:04.019 that this has got a universal significance. 00:12:05.060 --> 00:12:05.860 Look at verse 22. 00:12:05.860 --> 00:12:11.080 All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet. 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:14.060 The virgin will be with child, 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:15.200 and will give birth to a son, 00:12:15.279 --> 00:12:16.820 and they will call him Emmanuel, 00:12:17.680 --> 00:12:19.240 which means God with us. 00:12:19.240 --> 00:12:22.580 All of this took place, 00:12:22.659 --> 00:12:25.480 this vast and astonishing miracle. 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:28.120 The angel of the Lord's coming, 00:12:28.279 --> 00:12:30.919 the entry of the Son of God into humanity. 00:12:32.379 --> 00:12:35.779 This is the actual presence of God with us. 00:12:35.820 --> 00:12:36.960 That's what Emmanuel means. 00:12:38.659 --> 00:12:41.139 It's in contrast to all the signs and the symbols 00:12:41.139 --> 00:12:43.139 and the shadows of his presence in the Old Testament. 00:12:44.659 --> 00:12:45.840 And how glad we are, 00:12:45.879 --> 00:12:47.100 because in the Old Testament, 00:12:47.240 --> 00:12:48.180 when God appeared, 00:12:48.179 --> 00:12:50.099 his appearance was terrifying. 00:12:51.819 --> 00:12:53.419 So there was a consuming fire, 00:12:53.539 --> 00:12:54.399 there was a pillar of smoke, 00:12:54.559 --> 00:12:56.559 but God here takes all his majesty, 00:12:56.779 --> 00:12:57.519 and all his glory, 00:12:57.579 --> 00:12:58.259 and all his power, 00:12:58.539 --> 00:12:59.839 and he places it 00:12:59.839 --> 00:13:02.500 in human form in a little baby. 00:13:04.139 --> 00:13:06.359 So that he might be God with us. 00:13:07.859 --> 00:13:11.199 To enter into a personal and loving intimacy with us. 00:13:11.299 --> 00:13:14.419 He enters our flesh to become flesh of our flesh. 00:13:16.959 --> 00:13:17.779 And so some people I know, 00:13:17.779 --> 00:13:19.259 they mock Christianity. 00:13:20.220 --> 00:13:21.419 And they mock Christians 00:13:21.419 --> 00:13:24.439 who talk about having a personal relationship with Jesus. 00:13:26.039 --> 00:13:28.939 We've got a personal relationship with Jesus as Lord and Savior. 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:32.759 Sometimes Christians do speak of that experience 00:13:32.759 --> 00:13:35.620 as if it's the one thing that marks them out for everyone else, 00:13:35.839 --> 00:13:36.839 puts them above other people. 00:13:36.840 --> 00:13:39.820 But it is true, isn't it, 00:13:39.820 --> 00:13:42.220 that you can experience God 00:13:42.220 --> 00:13:45.240 and not really know him personally. 00:13:46.940 --> 00:13:50.060 It's possible to have a general sense of God 00:13:50.060 --> 00:13:52.300 in the mountains, 00:13:52.420 --> 00:13:52.980 or a sunset, 00:13:53.300 --> 00:13:53.800 or the ocean, 00:13:53.799 --> 00:13:54.719 but it's a different thing 00:13:54.719 --> 00:13:55.679 to meet him personally, 00:13:55.779 --> 00:13:56.359 to know him. 00:13:58.319 --> 00:13:59.279 And Emmanuel means 00:13:59.279 --> 00:14:00.459 that through this one, 00:14:00.579 --> 00:14:00.859 Jesus, 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:02.259 you can meet God 00:14:02.259 --> 00:14:03.299 and know him personally. 00:14:05.099 --> 00:14:06.859 That he can come into your life 00:14:06.859 --> 00:14:08.120 in all his glory. 00:14:08.120 --> 00:14:10.799 And he's coming to this world 00:14:10.799 --> 00:14:11.740 not in such a way 00:14:11.740 --> 00:14:12.480 to crush you 00:14:12.480 --> 00:14:13.860 or destroy you, 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:14.940 but to give you life 00:14:14.940 --> 00:14:16.080 and salvation. 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:18.940 And there's nothing in Christianity 00:14:18.940 --> 00:14:20.139 that makes sense apart from this. 00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:22.659 It's only this 00:14:22.659 --> 00:14:23.539 that makes sense 00:14:23.539 --> 00:14:24.360 of Jesus' claim 00:14:24.360 --> 00:14:25.139 when he claims 00:14:25.139 --> 00:14:28.000 to know all that God knows 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:30.460 and to do all that God does 00:14:30.460 --> 00:14:32.259 and to reveal the Father perfectly. 00:14:32.259 --> 00:14:35.720 because all the fullness of God 00:14:35.720 --> 00:14:37.279 dwelt in him bodily. 00:14:39.220 --> 00:14:41.120 It explains why Jesus 00:14:41.120 --> 00:14:42.759 unerringly welcomes 00:14:42.759 --> 00:14:44.539 and receives people 00:14:44.539 --> 00:14:45.720 when they come to worship him. 00:14:47.419 --> 00:14:48.159 Do you know in the Bible 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:49.179 when angels turn up, 00:14:49.559 --> 00:14:50.879 humans often bow down 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:51.580 and worship them. 00:14:52.159 --> 00:14:52.960 And the angels say, 00:14:53.220 --> 00:14:53.559 get up, 00:14:53.939 --> 00:14:54.799 don't worship me. 00:14:55.059 --> 00:14:56.559 I'm a created being. 00:14:56.779 --> 00:14:57.659 Worship God alone. 00:14:58.100 --> 00:14:59.120 But when Thomas 00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:00.700 gets on his hands and knees 00:15:00.700 --> 00:15:01.799 and says to Jesus, 00:15:01.799 --> 00:15:03.479 my Lord and my God, 00:15:04.159 --> 00:15:05.059 Jesus receives it. 00:15:06.559 --> 00:15:07.659 And the first people 00:15:07.659 --> 00:15:09.000 who believed in Jesus 00:15:09.000 --> 00:15:10.339 and followed Jesus 00:15:10.339 --> 00:15:12.719 are the last people 00:15:12.719 --> 00:15:13.939 in this world you would expect. 00:15:15.459 --> 00:15:17.139 They were first century Jews. 00:15:18.059 --> 00:15:19.019 In the Greek world, 00:15:19.120 --> 00:15:19.740 sometimes Greeks 00:15:19.740 --> 00:15:21.479 dressed up in human form, 00:15:22.079 --> 00:15:23.439 normally with some kind of motive. 00:15:24.819 --> 00:15:25.759 But those who read 00:15:25.759 --> 00:15:27.099 and believed the Old Testament, 00:15:27.259 --> 00:15:28.379 they believed that God 00:15:28.379 --> 00:15:29.459 was the creator, 00:15:29.919 --> 00:15:31.159 that he was infinitely greater, 00:15:31.159 --> 00:15:32.379 that he was transcendent 00:15:32.379 --> 00:15:33.079 above creation. 00:15:34.419 --> 00:15:35.399 To even imagine 00:15:35.399 --> 00:15:36.699 that a human could be 00:15:36.699 --> 00:15:38.719 God in the flesh 00:15:38.719 --> 00:15:39.719 was blasphemous. 00:15:40.219 --> 00:15:40.699 Nonsense. 00:15:41.480 --> 00:15:42.199 It was a contradiction. 00:15:43.579 --> 00:15:44.719 But it was fundamental 00:15:44.719 --> 00:15:45.699 to the faith 00:15:45.699 --> 00:15:46.519 of the early Christians 00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:47.279 and their worship. 00:15:47.379 --> 00:15:48.319 They worshipped Jesus 00:15:48.319 --> 00:15:49.919 as Lord and God. 00:15:51.199 --> 00:15:52.139 Only in him. 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:53.299 Because he alone 00:15:53.299 --> 00:15:54.299 gives forgiveness 00:15:54.299 --> 00:15:55.000 and repentance. 00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:57.399 And the fact 00:15:57.399 --> 00:15:58.399 that Jesus 00:15:58.399 --> 00:15:59.539 is called Emmanuel 00:15:59.539 --> 00:16:00.720 means that he didn't leave 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:01.980 his Godness in heaven, 00:16:02.460 --> 00:16:04.679 but he willingly accepts 00:16:04.679 --> 00:16:05.519 all the poverty 00:16:05.519 --> 00:16:06.259 of human spirit. 00:16:08.220 --> 00:16:09.019 He's vulnerable 00:16:09.019 --> 00:16:09.639 to suffering, 00:16:09.940 --> 00:16:10.779 to hunger, 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:11.360 to weakness, 00:16:11.559 --> 00:16:12.139 to death. 00:16:13.500 --> 00:16:14.559 It's not that God 00:16:14.559 --> 00:16:15.960 somehow becomes a human 00:16:15.960 --> 00:16:17.659 and is not affected by it. 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:19.419 It's not that he 00:16:19.419 --> 00:16:20.259 clothes himself 00:16:20.259 --> 00:16:21.240 for a little time 00:16:21.240 --> 00:16:21.980 with a human body. 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:22.960 No, he enters fully 00:16:22.960 --> 00:16:23.720 into human life. 00:16:23.720 --> 00:16:25.860 He takes a human body 00:16:25.860 --> 00:16:26.620 and a human soul 00:16:26.620 --> 00:16:28.060 and he enters completely 00:16:28.060 --> 00:16:29.060 to the physical 00:16:29.060 --> 00:16:30.200 and emotional life. 00:16:31.360 --> 00:16:32.600 His manhood is complete 00:16:32.600 --> 00:16:33.279 and his manhood 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:33.779 is permanent. 00:16:35.779 --> 00:16:36.800 So when he lived, 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:37.960 he lived as God a man. 00:16:38.940 --> 00:16:39.860 And when he died, 00:16:39.940 --> 00:16:40.960 he died as God a man. 00:16:41.779 --> 00:16:42.700 And when he rose, 00:16:42.800 --> 00:16:43.840 he rose as God a man. 00:16:45.100 --> 00:16:45.779 And now tonight, 00:16:45.879 --> 00:16:47.139 he rules as God a man. 00:16:48.740 --> 00:16:49.779 And this he did 00:16:49.779 --> 00:16:51.899 so that he could be with us. 00:16:51.899 --> 00:16:54.480 And we could be with him. 00:16:56.620 --> 00:16:58.199 Because that is what salvation means. 00:16:58.319 --> 00:16:59.039 That is the miracle 00:16:59.039 --> 00:16:59.720 we sing about. 00:17:01.039 --> 00:17:01.939 That is why Matthew 00:17:01.939 --> 00:17:02.799 tells us his name 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:03.240 is Emmanuel 00:17:03.240 --> 00:17:03.919 right in the middle 00:17:03.919 --> 00:17:04.740 of this Joseph story. 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:07.839 It's really not about being good 00:17:07.839 --> 00:17:08.960 and it's not about being bad. 00:17:10.559 --> 00:17:12.180 It's about whether you and I 00:17:12.180 --> 00:17:14.819 are with Christ 00:17:14.819 --> 00:17:16.980 or he with us. 00:17:16.980 --> 00:17:19.339 we come to him 00:17:19.339 --> 00:17:19.759 and we say, 00:17:20.039 --> 00:17:20.720 thank you, Lord. 00:17:20.779 --> 00:17:21.599 I want to be with you 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:22.680 and I want you to be with me. 00:17:24.059 --> 00:17:25.500 And we receive it 00:17:25.500 --> 00:17:26.779 with open arms. 00:17:26.900 --> 00:17:28.039 That is the fundamental 00:17:28.039 --> 00:17:29.000 posture. 00:17:31.099 --> 00:17:32.279 And I think if this is true, 00:17:32.380 --> 00:17:34.299 we can't be apathetic about it. 00:17:36.339 --> 00:17:37.400 You can't put Jesus 00:17:37.400 --> 00:17:38.559 on your list of favorites 00:17:38.559 --> 00:17:40.259 or bookmark him 00:17:40.259 --> 00:17:40.779 for later. 00:17:40.779 --> 00:17:43.559 You can't be impartial 00:17:43.559 --> 00:17:44.099 or neutral. 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:46.960 You can give yourself 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:48.420 to him without reserve 00:17:48.420 --> 00:17:49.639 or you can run away 00:17:49.639 --> 00:17:52.000 and kill him for blasphemy 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:52.539 as happened. 00:17:54.539 --> 00:17:55.519 And that is where the carols 00:17:55.519 --> 00:17:56.619 that you've sung tonight 00:17:56.619 --> 00:17:58.299 are so very, very helpful. 00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:00.839 Oh come, 00:18:02.279 --> 00:18:03.680 let us adore him. 00:18:05.299 --> 00:18:06.819 That's the authentic response 00:18:06.819 --> 00:18:07.559 to Christmas. 00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:11.259 to pray to him tonight 00:18:11.259 --> 00:18:13.519 that he might be 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:14.359 Emmanuel to you. 00:18:15.599 --> 00:18:16.659 I'd love you to do that. 00:18:18.079 --> 00:18:18.799 It may be that tonight 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:19.240 you think, 00:18:19.579 --> 00:18:22.259 this is from another world. 00:18:23.799 --> 00:18:24.799 This is new. 00:18:25.799 --> 00:18:26.359 I've not heard anything 00:18:26.359 --> 00:18:27.259 like this before. 00:18:28.639 --> 00:18:29.460 And you want to know more. 00:18:29.859 --> 00:18:30.919 We would love 00:18:30.919 --> 00:18:31.799 to invite you. 00:18:31.960 --> 00:18:33.259 We're going to do a course 00:18:33.259 --> 00:18:34.220 on Zoom. 00:18:34.279 --> 00:18:34.599 We're going to do 00:18:34.599 --> 00:18:35.579 three nights on Zoom. 00:18:35.639 --> 00:18:36.059 We're going to look at 00:18:36.059 --> 00:18:38.000 the life and the death 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:39.220 and the resurrection 00:18:39.220 --> 00:18:40.339 of the Lord Jesus. 00:18:41.359 --> 00:18:42.059 Each session will be 00:18:42.059 --> 00:18:42.899 about an hour and quarter. 00:18:43.859 --> 00:18:44.659 It'll be on Zoom. 00:18:45.460 --> 00:18:46.359 You can put a fake name 00:18:46.359 --> 00:18:47.299 into the account 00:18:47.299 --> 00:18:47.700 if you want. 00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:48.819 Somebody asked me 00:18:48.819 --> 00:18:49.179 this morning 00:18:49.179 --> 00:18:49.740 whether you can 00:18:49.740 --> 00:18:51.179 turn off your camera. 00:18:51.299 --> 00:18:52.099 You can turn off your camera. 00:18:52.220 --> 00:18:53.059 You can do that. 00:18:54.259 --> 00:18:54.779 But surely, 00:18:55.099 --> 00:18:56.940 if what I've said tonight 00:18:56.940 --> 00:18:59.440 is true, 00:18:59.759 --> 00:19:02.000 or even possibly true, 00:19:02.039 --> 00:19:02.960 it's certainly worth 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:03.899 looking into, isn't it? 00:19:03.900 --> 00:19:05.540 We would love you 00:19:05.540 --> 00:19:06.700 to join us. 00:19:06.820 --> 00:19:07.680 It'll be three evenings. 00:19:08.060 --> 00:19:08.500 You don't need 00:19:08.500 --> 00:19:09.060 to make a commitment. 00:19:09.280 --> 00:19:10.120 Just talk to the person 00:19:10.120 --> 00:19:11.040 who invited you to come 00:19:11.040 --> 00:19:11.759 tonight. 00:19:12.320 --> 00:19:13.100 Bring them along. 00:19:13.780 --> 00:19:14.940 It'll be three Tuesday evenings 00:19:14.940 --> 00:19:15.440 in January 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:16.360 for an hour and a quarter. 00:19:17.500 --> 00:19:19.960 But if Jesus really is 00:19:19.960 --> 00:19:22.640 the Son of God, 00:19:23.380 --> 00:19:23.900 Emmanuel, 00:19:25.060 --> 00:19:26.080 God with us, 00:19:27.060 --> 00:19:28.019 don't let another 00:19:28.019 --> 00:19:28.960 Christmas pass 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:30.940 without thinking on it, 00:19:31.740 --> 00:19:32.400 praying about it. 00:19:33.900 --> 00:19:34.460 reading about it. 00:19:35.720 --> 00:19:36.420 We're going to sing.