This morning we are reading from Matthew chapter 11, verses 20 through to the end of the chapter.
So 11 verse 20.
Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent.
Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida!
For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon,
they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you.
And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven?
You will be brought down to Hades, for if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom,
it would have remained until this day.
But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.
At that time, Jesus declared,
I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wires and understanding
and revealed them to the little children.
Yes, Father, for such was your gracious will.
All things have been handed over to me by my Father.
And no one knows the Son except the Father.
And no one knows the Father except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.
Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart,
and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is life.
Well, let's pray first before we start.
Almighty God, we are so thankful that we can have this opportunity to come together,
to listen to your word, to worship you,
to spend time with one another.
We thank you for such a privilege,
and so thank you for even greater things that is to happen
as we await the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ
and the coming of the new city.
Thank you, Lord.
We ask that you may help us today in worshipping you in spirit and in truth.
We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Okay, so because it's Christmas,
that's why I chose this title,
A Present with No Wrap.
Have you ever received a present which was not wrapped up in some way?
I've always think that it's a waste of time
and material to wrap presents up
because we are going to throw those papers away.
Scientists estimates that every year during this time of the year,
in the United States alone,
there's five million tons of waste
because of gift wraps and packaging.
It's quite a lot of waste that the world is producing.
But then I think about it.
I sense that we do feel embarrassed to receive a present
that is not wrapped up in some way.
So what is the function of the gift wrap?
Why do we have this wrap?
So I can think of two things.
I mean, it could be more than that.
First of all, you can reveal the intention of the giver.
So the way that the gift is wrapped up,
you know whether the gift is given to you with delight
or whether it was an obligation.
It depends on how it is packaged up.
On the other hand,
the gift wrap can also conceal the embarrassment of the giver.
That is, in particular in Chinese culture,
we give anbaos as presents.
So anbaos are just small red brackets.
It's red paper envelopes with money inside.
When I was young,
I looked forward to Chinese New Year
because I never had any money from my parents during the year.
So there's only time of the year
that I would receive money that would belong to myself.
So people who were a generation older than I was
would give me anbaos.
I remember that some of our relatives were quite poor,
so they couldn't afford to give much.
They could give the smallest note,
this $1 a note.
And it is quite embarrassing
if I open the anbaos.
Sure, I suppose it's quite embarrassing for them.
But because we are not supposed to open the anbaos
until the New Year period is over,
so it saves them in that embarrassment.
And so, yeah,
the gift wrap can, first of all,
reveal the intention of the giver.
Also, it can conceal the embarrassment of the giver.
During my younger time,
the anbaos were just plain red envelopes.
But now they become so commercialized
that these envelopes come in elaborate designs and qualities.
So sometimes the envelopes they sell
could be more expensive than the money that it contains.
And so that's how the packaging has been changing.
So the elaborate wrapping of a present
has gradually replaced the value of the present.
So instead of showing how much the givers value the recipients,
the attractive wrappings of anbaos envelopes
are now telling how the recipients value the givers.
So with the advancement of technologies,
we have learned more and more new ways
to show others how valuable we are.
We live in a generation that sees and treasures
mostly what is on the surface.
So from makeups to cosmetic surgery,
fashions to sports,
from titles to positions,
they are all for keeping up with appearance.
So there are just recent articles there.
The package has become the message.
So it's just talking about how the world has changed.
So now if you buy an iPhone or any phone,
the package itself is very important.
And then you look at YouTube,
there are people who say unboxing the thing.
So the box itself has become very important.
Or in the supermarket,
if you look at all the products,
just like cleaning,
toilet cleaning products they sell,
if you don't know which one to buy,
you're more likely to buy one that is most attractive.
It doesn't matter what the content is.
And so that is how the world has become.
So when I'm in Malaysia,
the fact that I am a doctor,
I have a title,
that makes it easier for me to preach in churches
because it's easier for the church leaders
to invite someone who has a title to be a guest speaker.
So people are being invited to listen to me
because I have a title.
You might think that the Asians were shallow
in the assessment of a person trusting just in the titles.
That's my titles can be my covering.
They don't know about my heart.
Okay.
So that is in Asia.
But in Australia,
so even though we do not care so much about titles,
but we adore,
we care more about even more superficial things.
You can notice that on the television,
who gets interviewed,
who gets the talk to influence the society
is people who are very good in sports
or people who are very good in singing or acting.
They become the opinion leaders.
They become the one who is in the community.
And that is all still occurring,
external things that we are looking at.
So we have learned to wrap ourselves up
with our achievements or appearance.
We also learned to wrap ourselves up
and expand our behaviors with signs.
So when you see that there's an unusual crime committed,
the news station would invite some experts
to explain why such an event happened.
So a professor so-and-so would explain
to relate the criminal's childhood experience,
past traumatic exposures,
and present circumstances,
to explain why they act like that.
there are no more bad people.
Everyone is a victim of something
that causes them to do something against the law.
It is true that we can all be victims at times,
but we have to remember that Jesus was the ultimate victim,
and we can see how he lived.
He did not make use of his victimhood
to cover himself up.
He remained righteous and kind.
So just a brief introduction.
Just to say that we have learned to cover ourselves up
with different gift wraps,
either our achievements,
appearance,
or victimhood.
Why do I choose victimhood as one of them
and there are more of them?
Because I just see so many patients
who are in a state of just dysfunctioning,
and their excuses are usually the victimhood.
Yes, no doubt.
There are lots of victims.
A lot of people are abused as they were young
or even as old.
But then if they keep living under the victimhood,
their life will always be miserable.
It's hard to help them.
And that is so common.
That's why I mentioned that.
It's one of the coverings that we use.
So we'll go to Matthew 11.
We'll start to 20 to 24 first.
So we're talking about Jesus
who was walking in Palestine
among the Israelites.
The generation of people there
have become quite sophisticated.
They are more learned,
or at least they have the Pharisees
and people who are learned
and can explain things better
by the time Jesus came.
So Jesus said,
if the miracles that he performed
had been done in Tyre,
Sidon,
and Sodom,
the people of these cities
would have repented
of their sinful ways.
So Tyre and Sidon
were Gentile cities
that coexisted with Israel
for many years.
Sodom
was a city
that was long gone.
It was a thousand years ago
when it was destroyed by God
because it's been a sinful city.
So these cities
were pagan cities,
or Gentile cities.
They did not know God.
But Jesus said
they would have repented
if Jesus had performed
miracles among them.
The people of
Chorazin,
Bethsaida,
and Kaplanon
saw the miracles,
but they did not repent.
Jesus warned
that they would
suffer a harsher judgment
than the people of Tyre,
Sidon,
and Sodom.
Why would the people
of Israel,
the Israelite cities,
suffer a more serious judgment
than the former cities?
I think you can think of
at least two reasons.
One,
because they have been given
the law and the prophets.
They were told to expect
the coming of the Messiah,
and they were told
what the Messiah would do.
And number two,
because the coming
of the kingdom of God
had been proclaimed to them
there and then
by John the Baptist,
by Jesus himself,
by Jesus' disciples.
So they were
given the information,
and they were given
the warning,
they were given
the invitation,
and they ignored Jesus.
Why did they
ignore Jesus?
Why did they
distrust Jesus
despite the mighty
words done by him?
I think one of the
things is that
because they had religion,
unlike other cities,
the pagan cities
didn't have organized religion,
but they have
organized religion.
Religion became
their identity.
Their leaders
wrap themselves up
with religion.
So their speeches,
their prayers,
their conduct,
they all portray
what was
respectable
in the community.
Jesus and
John the Baptist
did not behave
as their leaders did.
And so
Jesus and
John the Baptist
did not fit
into their
mold,
their idea
of what God
is like.
So,
if
Jesus had
performed
these miracles
in the barbaric
cities of Tyre,
Sidon,
and Sodom,
these people
would fear him
and listen to him.
But in the
civilized city
of
Tauracin,
Bethsaida,
Cabernet,
people there
had already
formed their
idea about
what God
would look like.
They had
created God
in their own
image.
Jesus'
miracle
might be
useful to
them,
but Jesus'
words were
a threat
to their
religious
wrapping.
They did
not want
Jesus to
remove
their
wrapping
and reveal
what was
inside
their
hearts.
Our
wrappings
are very
fragile.
We try
our best
to protect
this
wrapping
because
we think
our
identities
are dependent
on them.
I'll just
give you an
example of
what's
happening
just recently
just at
the moment.
In recent
months,
Netflix
started a
dating show
called
Sexy Beast.
I'm not
sure anybody
watch it?
No?
Sorry.
I have not
watched it
either.
I don't
even have
Netflix.
I got
my information
from an
article in
the
Atlantic
Magazine
dated
29th
October.
It was
written by
Megan
Garber.
She wrote
about how
reality TV
has become
absurd to
the extreme.
This show
claims that
when it comes
to dating,
we all go
for looks
first.
In this
show,
everyone looks
as weird as
possible.
So the
role of the
makeup or
camouflage is
to stop
participants from
choosing a
partner based
on his or
her look.
the show's
premise is
correct in
recognizing that
we are more
than our
looks.
If you decide
on a spouse
just based on
looks, we
will be in
for a big
shock after
we get
married.
But the
show's
solution is
both dishonest
and wrong.
Dishonest
because all
the participants
would review
their looks
at the end.
So would
they choose
someone who
is not
attractive to
take part in
the show?
I doubt it.
Wrong because
regardless of
what wrapping
you use to
cover up a
person, he
or she is
not going to
reveal their
hearts in a
show like
this.
So Megan
Garber concludes,
Sexy beast
confuses
spectacle for
interestingness.
Its ultimate
feeling though is
that it confuses
appearance with
identity.
I was
surprised by
Megan Garber's
insight into
the problem
we are facing.
The problem
of identity
in the
eye generation
about dignity
in a digital
space and
about the
meaning of
our existence.
She said
sexy beast
confuses the
external wrapping
with the
present or
the person
inside.
Putting another
layer of gift
wrap on the
present does
not usually
help revealing
the identity
of the
present.
person.
We cannot
know a
person by
his or
her external
appearance.
We cannot
even know
ourselves by
our external
appearance or
achievements.
So during
the time of
Jesus,
Nicodemus
visited him
at night.
Being a well-known
and respected
religious leader,
Nicodemus did
not want to
be seen with
Jesus publicly.
Privately,
Nicodemus sensed
that his
religious training
and achievement
did not give
him peace
in his heart.
His religious
wrapping
gained him
respect but
did not give
him rest.
In fact,
he became more
restless and
uncertain about
himself.
So he was
hoping Jesus
could help
him.
Andre
Agassi,
the eighth-time
Grand Slam
winner,
wrote in his
autobiography,
the name of
the book is
called Open,
Now that I
have won a
Slam,
I know
something that
very few
people on
earth are
permitted to
know.
A win does
not feel as
good as
loss feels
bad,
and the
good feeling
doesn't last
as long as
the bad
not even
close.
vast majority
of tennis
players would
never win
any title,
but even
for those
few who
managed to
win all
the titles,
they would
find that
their achievements
were not
enough to
define them,
to give
them a
satisfying
identity.
Throughout
history,
people have
been struggling
to be happy,
and suspect
that most
of the
participants
in Sassy
Beast were
not there
to seek
their identity,
they were
there to
have fun.
However,
our concern
of fun
points to
the emptiness
and restness
of our
hearts.
Our
man-mixed
world
has invented
many ways
to help
cover up
the
pregnancy
inside our
hearts.
Religion
is one
of them,
occupations,
what we
do to
occupy our
time,
drugs and
alcohol,
gambling,
games,
phonography,
sports,
and all
sorts of
therapies.
We think
that we
are wise
and full
of knowledge.
We think
we know
how to
deal with
our sense
of loss
and
meaninglessness.
To the
wise and
learned,
the message
of the
cross belongs
to the
fools.
Only fools
who believe
that there
is such a
thing as
sin,
and that
the creator
God will
need to
send his
son to
die on
the cross
for the
redemption
of our
sins.
In
Matthew
11,
25-26,
we are
told what
Jesus'
identity
is.
In
verse 25,
Jesus
declared,
I thank
you,
Father,
Lord of
heaven and
earth,
that you
have
hidden
these
things from
the wise
and the
understanding
and revealed
them to
little
children.
God
is
sovereign.
Why did
Jesus
thank God
for hiding
the truth
from the
wise and
the learned
or the
understanding?
Because
God was
affirming
Jesus'
sovereignty.
Jesus is
equal to
God.
He said,
no one
knows the
son except
the father,
and no one
knows the
father except
the son.
It is only
when Jesus
is sovereign
that we
can worship
him and
put our
trust in
him.
It is
only when
Jesus is
sovereign that
he can offer
us life and
he can call
us to
him.
The wise
and the
learned cannot
in any
way frustrate
the will
of Jesus.
Jesus is
the Lord
of Lords
and the
King of
Kings.
Jesus does
not use
worldly
qualifications
or attractive
external
appearance to
define himself,
nor does
he make
use of
his victim
hope to
defend
himself.
For those
who have
ears to
hear,
the identity
of Jesus
is planned
it is
only when
we see
who Jesus
is,
we could
come before
him with
humility.
And if
we do not
come before
Jesus in
humility,
we are not
coming to
him at
all.
He is
not there
to beg
people to
believe him.
He is
there to
decide who
will believe
him.
He calls
those whom
he has
chosen.
How does
Jesus call
those who
have chosen?
then we
come to
Matthew 11
28-30.
In
verse 28,
Jesus said,
come to
me,
all who
labor and
are heavy
laden,
and I
will give
you rest.
So when
does Jesus
do this?
When does
Jesus call
us?
I think
when these
two things
happen,
one,
when he
reveals the
ugliness of
our hearts,
two,
when he
reveals his
own beauty
to us.
Jesus knows
that our
hearts are
restless.
He wants
us to
find rest
for our
hearts.
From birth
to death,
we labor
for one
thing or
another.
Our
hearts are
usually full
of burdens.
What are
some of the
burdens that
we carry
every day?
we can
mention any
number of
burdens.
I'll mention
five.
One is
about
livelihood,
so we
worry about
having enough
money to
live, to
pay our
bills, to
pay for
children's
education,
and so
on.
Two is
about our
health,
sickness and
death.
we worry
about those.
Three is
about
disappointments.
We
struggle with
that.
Things that
we expect
to happen
doesn't
take place,
or people
that we
expect to
behave in
one way
and not.
And so
we have
disappointments
every day.
Four,
relationship
problem.
that's
very common
relationship.
The closer
we are to
someone,
the easier
we get
hurt.
And day
to day,
we struggle
with that.
Five is
religion itself.
And that is,
I suppose,
the main thing
among the
Jews,
Israelites at
that time.
To them,
the law
is a heavy
burden.
They can't
fulfill it.
They know
they have
to.
So those
who think
that they
have,
like the
Pharisees,
they become
proud.
Those who
think that
they couldn't
do it,
they become
despair.
there.
So it
is difficult
to live
in this
world so
much.
Burden,
so much
restlessness
in our
heart.
But what
I have just
mentioned are
only the
outer
wrappings of
a deeper
problem in
our hearts.
We usually
try to
resolve the
outer
wrappings,
blaming others
for our
circumstances,
for our
struggles.
We cannot
see beyond
these wrappings
to realize
that there is
a deeper
problem.
The deeper
problem is
that I'm
a rebel
against God
and I'm
living under
God's
judgment.
If you
remember
Genesis
chapter 3
when God
put the
curse or
the judgment
on Adam
and Eve,
so both
Adam and
Eve would
go through
hard times
in some
way.
The woman
would labor
for childbirth,
men would
labor,
to produce
a living.
That is
a very
basic
problem
that we
are facing
that needs
first to
be resolved.
In God's
mercy,
He uncovers
those or
remove those
outer
wrappings and
let us see
what is
inside our
hearts.
When God
does that,
we will see
the wickedness
and foolishness
in our
hearts.
We will
realize that
we are the
main cause
of the
breakdowns of
relationships.
of our
disappointments,
our lack
of faith,
our desire
to validate
ourselves.
We can
think of
many,
many things.
Why?
It's not
other people
or circumstances
so much.
It's more
our own
desire and
expectation
and our
selfish,
self-centeredness.
It's causing
a lot of
the struggles
that we're
facing.
we thank
God that
He does
not leave
us without
our way
out.
At the
same time,
we are
convicted
of our
own
wickedness
and
foolishness.
God also
opened our
eyes to
see Jesus.
And we
see a
person who
is pure
and gentle,
a person
who is
loving and
just,
a person
who is
humble
and
unyielding,
a person
who has
a purpose
and a
hope,
a person
who has
no deceit
and is
full of
grace and
truth.
A person
who came
to the
world
without
any
wrapping
of
physical
attraction,
position,
or
qualifications,
a person
who gave
up the
last bit
of his
own
identity
and
dignity
to die
on the
cross.
Do you
know that?
To die
on the
cross
is more
than pain.
It's
shame.
He died
naked
publicly.
So he
became
a
non-entity
basically.
He's
not a
person
on the
cross.
But he
gives that
up too
so that
we might
find
identity
and
dignity
in him.
When we
first see
Jesus,
he might
become
offensive
to us.
I hope
that he
does
in some
way.
So
reflecting
on why
he
believes
in
Jesus,
the
poet
W.H.
Orden
wrote,
I
believe
because
he
fulfills
none
of my
dreams.
I
believe
because
he
fulfills
none
of my
dreams.
Because
he
is in
every
respect
the
opposite
of what
he
would
be
if I
could
have
made
him
in my
own
image.
Why
Jesus
and not
Socrates
or Buddha
or Confucius
or Muhammad?
none
of the
others
arose
all
sides
of my
being
to cry
crucify
him.
I
hope
that
when we
see the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
he's
offensive
to us
in some
way.
But
when he
does
that
to me
I
will
need
to
choose
either
to
crucify
him
or
to
crucify
me.
There's
no
two
ways.
You
can't
be
one
or
the
other
you
have
to
choose.
Jesus'
invitation
is
given
to
those
who
know
nothing
good
dwells
in
them.
To
those
who
have
seen
what
is
good
in
Jesus
and
know
they
can
never
be
like
him.
Paul
in
Romans
7
18
and
19
said
For
I
have
decided
to
do
what
is
right
but
not
the
ability
to
carry
out.
For
I
do
not
do
the
good
I
want
but
the
evil
I
do
not
want
is
what
I
keep
on
doing.
Jesus'
invitation
is like
a
present
with
no
wrap.
There's
no
wrap.
There's
no
name
on
the
wrap.
There's
no
name.
How
do
you
know
that
it's
for
you?
You
know
the
present
is
for
you
when
your
eyes
open
to
see
the
weakness
in
your
heart
and
when
you
can
see
that
your
one
that
you
but
it
is
because
of
your
pride,
your
foolishness
or
your
covetousness.
Jesus'
invitation
to
present
with
wrap,
you
can
see
what
he
is
offering.
He
wants
you
to
follow
him
and
not
your
own
ways.
He
wants
you
to
seek
first
his
kingdom
and
his
righteousness
and
not
your
own.
He
wants
you
to
accept
the
burden
of
the
cross.
He
wants
you
to
have
rest.
you
to
come
to
him
because
he
is
useful
or
pitiful.
Jesus
wants
you
to
come
to
him
because
he
is
beautiful.
He
wants
to
give
you
his
beauty.
He
wants
to
give
you
rest.
When
we
see
that
there
is
nothing
good
in
us
and
see
that
all
that
is
good
is
in
Jesus,
Jesus
is
then
inviting
us
to
follow
him.
In
Jesus
Christ
we
will
receive
grace
upon
grace.
The
first
grace
helps
us
to
follow
Jesus
to
the
cross
nailing
our
own
weakness
to
the
cross.
The
second
grace
is
being
given
the
beauty
of
Jesus
Christ.
God
can
look
at
us
and
see
a
beauty
that
is
not
our
own.
We
can
come
before
God
and
relate
to
him
as
our
father.
The
third
grace
is
being
given
the
Holy
Spirit
to
live
out
the
beauty
of
Jesus.
Yes,
there
will
still
be
struggles
when
we
follow
Jesus,
a
different
kind
of
struggle.
In
the
past,
we
struggled
restlessly
because
we
did
not
have
a
hope,
we
did
not
have
any
vision.
Now
we
struggle
restfully.
We
will
struggle
with
our
old
sinful
nature,
but
we
know
that
Jesus
has
overcome.
We
can
face
accusation
from
the
devil
that
we
are
still
bad
inside
our
heart.
We
can
answer
such
accusation
by
saying,
I
know
I
am
worse
than
you
think,
but
it
is
no
longer
I
live.
It
is
Christ
who
lives
in
me.
We
still
may
struggle
with
broken
relationship,
but
the
struggle
is
not
to
vindicate
ourselves,
the
struggle
is
to
love
others
like
Jesus
did
to
us.
When
I
prepared
for
this
sermon,
I
have
some
difficulty
deciding
whether
the
title
of this
sermon,
a
gift
with
no
wrap
or
a
present
with
no
wrap.
Gift
sounds
better,
but
I
choose
present
because
the
offer
is
the
presence
of
a
person,
the
God
man,
Jesus
Christ.
It
may
sound
kinder
if I
tell you
that it
is
okay
if
you
decline
his
offer,
if
you
decline
his
imitation,
but
it's
not
really
kind
for
me
to
say
so
for
two
reasons.
One,
this
is
the
Do you
want
real
happiness?
You
may
labour
or
you
like
to
get
it.
You
can
never
find
it
unless
you
first
follow
Jesus
and
take
his
yoke
upon
you.
Come
to
Jesus.
He
is
gentle
and
lowly.
He
does
not
laugh
at
our
foolishness,
nor
does
he
belittle
our
attempt
to
be
good.
In
Jesus
you
will
find
rest
for
your
souls.
The
second
reason
is
that
the
consequence
of
disregarding
Jesus
would
be
judgment
for
our
wickedness.
The
true
beauty
will
ultimately
overthrow
all the
ugliness,
either by
turning the
ugly into
beauty
or by
destroying
the
ugly.
May God
have mercy
on us
and help
us to
see beyond
whatever
is on
the
surface.
All
superficial
attractions,
positions,
and
explanations
do not
last
long.
Only
what is
deep
inside
will
remain
forever.
We
cannot
change
what is
inside
us,
but
Jesus
can.
Let's
pray.
Father
God,
thank
you for
knowing
our
own
weakness,
our
own
foolishness,
our
own
rebellion.
and
thank you
for
also
knowing
the
longings
of our
heart,
our
longing
to be
pure,
our
longing
to be
accepted,
our
longing
to have
a purpose
in life.
Thank you
also for
the invitation
to life.
May
help us
to do
so to
see the
Lord Jesus
Christ
today.
Thank you,
Lord.
We pray in
Jesus' name.
Amen.