The scripture reading is from Revelations chapter 21 and 22.
Starting in chapter 21 verse 1 we read,
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.
And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
Behold, the dwelling place of God is with men.
He will dwell with them, and they will be his people.
And God himself will be with them as their God.
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more.
Neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore.
For the former things have passed away.
And he who was seated on the throne said,
Behold, I am making all things new.
Then in chapter 22 verse 1 we read,
Then the angels showed me the river of the water of life,
bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb,
through the middle of the street of the city.
Also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit,
yielding its fruit each month.
The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
No longer will there be anything accursed,
but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it,
and his servants will worship him.
They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads,
and night will be no more.
They will need no light of lamp or sun,
for the Lord God will be their light,
and they will reign forever and ever.
And he said to me,
These words are trustworthy and true.
And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets,
has sent his angel to show his servants
what must soon take place.
And behold, I am coming soon.
This is the word of God.
Great. Thank you, Angeline.
Well, once again, good morning.
It's so great to be with you,
and to celebrate Christmas together this morning.
And especially welcome if it's your first time with us.
If you're visiting us maybe from afar,
or your first time in Watermark,
a warm welcome to you.
And a doubly special warm welcome to the children.
It was so great having you singing up there.
Thank you for singing.
Children, that was really wonderful,
and we're so glad that you're with us this morning.
Now, for those that are maybe joining us for the first time,
for the month of December,
we as a church have been looking at these Christmas carols
that we sing every year,
and we hear playing of the speakers in the shopping centers,
and on the streets.
And we've been looking at these carols that we're so familiar with,
but often we don't think a lot about.
And we've been looking at the words to these carols,
and the scriptures that have informed them and shaped them.
And so a few weeks ago, we looked at,
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,
this amazing song that speaks about the brokenness of our world,
the problem of sin,
and the longing for all human hearts,
for healing, for redemption, for a Savior.
I love the words, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,
and ransom captive Israel.
Well, not just Israel, all of us.
Dispel the shadows of the night,
and turn our darkness into light.
Describes, I think, the longing of every human heart, right?
And we spoke about,
Hark, the herald angels sing.
This announcement of good news, of great joy.
We spoke about,
O Come, O Come, let us adore Him.
The call of men and women throughout the ages to make Christmas about Jesus,
to fall on our knees,
to join the wise men, the magi, and the shepherds,
and to worship and adore Christ the King.
And today, as our final Sunday of Advent,
and our final Sunday of 2022,
we're going to be looking at one more carol,
this very famous carol, Joy to the World.
It's such a wonderfully joyful song.
It captures, in many ways, the spirit of Christmas,
the joy, and the hope, and the celebration.
Do any children know how the song goes?
Joy to the world, the Lord is come.
Yes, the case here is blocking her ears.
That's what happens when I try and sing.
Joy to the world, the Savior reigns.
Let men their songs employ.
And then you get this refrain,
Let heaven and nature sing.
Or repeat the sounding joy.
Repeat the sounding joy.
Such a song of celebration,
and joy,
and thanksgiving.
And yet, once again,
similar to our hymn last week,
sometimes, if we're honest,
Christmas doesn't always feel that joyful,
that celebratory.
Oscar referenced it earlier.
For some of us, Christmas is a difficult time.
Remembering a loved one that has passed,
maybe far away from family.
Sometimes, if we're honest,
all the joy and the celebration of Christmas
can feel like a little bit of Christian hyperbole,
a little bit of over-promise and under-deliver.
We talk about,
the Savior's come.
Joy to the world.
But does Jesus' life and death and resurrection,
does it really deliver on all the promises,
especially the promises of the angels?
Good news of great joy for all people.
Sometimes it can feel like,
hey, maybe for everybody else,
but except me.
You know, every year we light the candles, right?
We light the candle of peace.
Jesus has come to bring peace.
And you think, peace?
Where is peace in our world?
You've got one nation declaring war on another nation.
You've got one tribe fighting against another tribe.
Governments fighting against their people.
Or even on a really micro level,
within families,
sometimes our world seems starved of peace.
Where is the peace that Christ promised?
Or we light the candle of joy.
And we think, joy?
Many of us live with this dark cloud of joylessness
that permeates our lives.
Where is the joy that Jesus was supposed to bring?
Or we light the candle of hope.
And yet every year,
December quickly rolls into January.
January.
And we face another year of,
maybe, hardship, difficulty, turmoil.
The optimism of Christmas
dissipates about as quickly
as the wrapping paper
on the gifts that we receive, right?
For those of you that are children,
or youth,
or yet,
university,
Christmas,
joy,
celebration.
I hope you were really spoiled today.
I hope your parents
spoiled you rotten.
But let's be honest,
school is coming again.
January is coming again.
Classes are coming again.
Exams are coming again.
And so sometimes Christmas
can feel big on sentimentality,
but a little short on concrete hope.
In other words,
how is Christmas
with fluffy lambs
and fairy lights
and soft swaying music,
and how is that going to help us
as we go into 2023
and face another year
of challenges
and turmoil
and difficulty?
Friends,
for some people,
maybe if we're honest,
the Christmas shopping
and the decorations
and the food
is a nice escape
from the realities of life.
But when Christmas is over,
life still happens, right?
Well, today,
I want us to think about Christmas
and to take a step back.
And today,
I want us to see
that Christmas
is actually not just
a historical event
that happened 2,000 years ago.
the Christmas story
is actually still being written.
And the final chapters
in the story of Christmas
have not yet been fully told yet.
They're still coming.
We're still in the midst
of the story,
and the story of good news
of great joy
is still being written
and untold
before our eyes.
Today,
I want us to see
that Christmas,
that Christ coming 2,000 years ago,
His life,
His death,
His resurrection,
was the beginning
of good news,
of great joy,
but it's not all that there is.
And there's more
to the story
and the announcement
that the angels
proclaimed on that day.
In other words,
today,
I want us to see
that Christmas calls us
to a living faith
and a living hope
in the midst
of a broken
and a difficult
and a tumultuous world
because the Christmas story
has not yet finished
being written.
Okay?
Christmas calls us
to a living hope
and a living faith
in the midst
of a broken
and difficult world
because the story
of Christmas
has not yet finished
being written.
The reason is this.
At Christmas,
we celebrate
Christ's first coming,
His advent.
But Christmas
also anticipates
and promises
Christ's second coming.
Look at the final verse
that Angie read to us today
in Revelation 22.
Children,
I think you've got
in your packs
something to write.
Look at how this,
you need to tell me,
how does this verse end?
Jesus says this,
Behold,
I am,
what does it say?
Coming soon.
Do you know
in the final chapter,
Jesus says that three times?
Verse 7,
Behold,
I'm coming soon.
Verse 12,
Behold,
I'm coming soon.
And the second last verse
of the entire Bible,
chapter 22,
verse 20,
Jesus says,
Surely,
I am coming soon.
Christmas doesn't only
celebrate Christ's first coming,
it anticipates
and looks forward
to the day
when Christ will come again.
Friends,
the story of Christmas
is really the story
of how Jesus entered
into our broken world,
our painful world,
to rescue and heal
and redeem humanity,
but to bring us
to a world
of wonder and grace.
And the brokenness
and the pain
and the tears
of our world
have an expiry date
on them.
But there is a world
coming
that Jesus is coming
to initiate
or inaugurate
or bring about
a world in which
truth and joy
and peace
and the things
we celebrate
have no expiry date.
How many of us
have had Christmas parties
in the last month,
right?
How many of us
are tired
of Christmas parties?
Okay?
We've all had
office parties
and CG parties
and neighborhood parties
and many Christmas parties.
And what do we all play
at Christmas parties?
Secret Santa.
Okay?
And so everyone's
got to buy a gift
and you've got to
either put it in the middle
or maybe at your office
you take someone's name
out of the hat
and you've got to
buy a gift for somebody.
Okay?
And so what do we do?
We all go online
and we order something
and then invariably
the post is full
and it's slow
and your gift
doesn't come
in time
for the Christmas party.
And so what do you do?
You print a picture
of your gift,
right?
And you give it
here's your coffee mug
it's on the way,
right?
Or here's your book
it's coming.
Friends,
every element
of our Christmas celebration
is like giving somebody
a printed picture
of the internet
promising the real deal
that's still to come.
The very best elements
of Christmas
are like a picture
that's been printed
anticipating the reality
that is still to come.
And so this is what
this Christmas carol
points us to.
It calls us to a living faith
in a broken world
because the final chapters
of Christmas
have not yet been written.
And so let's look
at this passage
that Angie read to us
this morning
and let's see how
the Christmas story
wraps up.
Revelation 21 and 22
describes the final chapters
of the Christmas story.
Because it describes
the world
that Christ has prepared
for us.
And one of the things
we see,
we should have it
on the screen,
one of the things
we find,
the world to come,
the world that Christ
is going to bring about
is not a world
of clouds
and angels
playing harps
on the clouds.
It's described
as a city.
A city.
And that means
it's a real physical world
with real physical bodies
for those that are redeemed.
It's a world
in which there's life
and activity
and productivity
and real relationships.
It's going to be
a real physical world
that we get to enjoy
and celebrate.
It's a world
in which,
as our song said,
the Savior reigns
with Christ the King.
And He reigns
in truth
and grace.
And that's
an amazing thing.
Picture a world,
imagine living
in a city
in which
every relationship,
every conversation,
every aspect
of the world
is baptized
or flooded
with truthfulness
and gracefulness.
Where every conversation
you have,
you never have to
second guess,
never have to doubt,
never have to wonder
what somebody's real motives are,
real intentions
behind their words.
A world permeated
by truthfulness,
a world permeated
by gracefulness
and kindness.
Jesus is bringing
a real physical world
in which the Savior reigns
but He reigns
in truth and grace.
A world in which
He not only reigns
righteously
but the effects
of His reign
are felt throughout
every corner of the world
where every aspect
is put right
according to the way
that God originally
designed it.
Here is going to be
a world
in which God
and humanity
are so combined,
are so united
that they're described
like a marriage,
the two becoming one.
Where we see God
face to face,
we're no longer distant,
there's no barrier
between us.
I didn't actually
think about it earlier
but in Angie's reading
as she read it,
I thought about it
in chapter 22,
it says,
we will see His face.
We will see His face.
I don't know
if you've ever been
on a work trip
or you've been away
and separated
from your family,
your loved ones,
maybe your wife,
your kids,
or your parents
and so you long for Him.
You want to be
with your family.
Maybe you had to go
on a work trip
and you're away
for your child's birthday
and you just think,
oh, I wish I could
be with them today
and there's that longing
or maybe you live
in Hong Kong
and your family
lives somewhere else
and you wish
at a time like Christmas
you could be
with your family.
There's a day coming
when that separation,
that feeling
of homesickness
will be utterly gone
because we'll be truly
at home,
face to face with God.
I don't know
if you've ever
been on a way
on holiday
and you try
and phone your family.
These days
we FaceTime
or you WhatsApp call
or you Zoom call
and it's nice
but it's not quite the same.
But sometimes
you have those times
when the connection
is really bad
and there's long silences
and then you both
try and speak
and you speak
over each other
and the conversation
is just a nightmare.
Do you know
what I'm talking about?
I hate those calls.
My family lives
in Africa
and the signal
is not always very good
and the electricity
is always off
and the power is down
and we have those calls
and it's more frustrating
than rewarding.
And so sometimes
can I confess
sometimes I just take the phone
and I just kill it.
I just can't handle it.
I'm so frustrated
by this call.
It's such hard work.
If we're honest
sometimes
even our relationship
with God
can be a bit like that.
It feels like
the connection is bad
and there's long silences
and then it feels like
you don't know
what he's saying
and he certainly
doesn't sound like
he's hearing
what you're saying
and it feels like
the connection is bad.
Friends,
there's coming a day
Jesus says
in the new world
we will see him
face to face.
We will be with God
and he will be with us
in the same room.
No more lost connection.
No more brokenness.
We will be with him.
Look at what else it says.
It says in verse 4
it says
he will wipe away
every tear from our eyes.
Death will be no more.
There will be no more mourning.
No more crying.
No more pain anymore
for the former things
have passed away.
Friends,
when Christ comes again
and brings about
the world
that is to be forever
heaven is going to be
a place
where there will be
no more sadness,
no more despair,
no more agony,
no more anxiety
inducing thoughts,
no more panic attacks,
no more brokenness
where all of those things
are going to dissipate
and become
non-existent entirely.
I don't know if you've ever
woken up in the middle
of the night
from a bad nightmare
and you sit upright in bed
and your heart is beating
and suddenly you realize
it was just a dream
and it kind of,
your heart calms down,
you realize it's not true.
There is coming a world
that Jesus is going to
come back and bring
and everything that is sad
and everything that is broken
and everything that causes
despair and hardship
and panic attacks
is going to become untrue.
It's going to be like
a distant memory
from a distant world.
Christmas promises
that Christ is coming again
and all those things
will be put away.
And conversely,
Jesus tells us
that the very best things
in life,
the most heart-wrenching stories
of compassion and kindness
and justice and mercy
are a small glimpse,
like an internet picture
of the world that is to come.
Look what else he says here.
He says,
Behold, I am making
all things new.
I'm making all things new.
I don't know if you've ever
seen the movie Toy Story.
Anyone like the movie
Toy Story?
Children, do you like Toy Story?
No, you don't like Toy Story.
Okay.
I know why you don't like it
and I'm the same.
I liked Toy Story
up until the part
where you meet the kid next door.
Do you remember
do you remember Sid?
The neighbor to Andy
and Woody
and Buzz Lightyear.
Right.
What does Sid do?
He takes toys
and he pulls them apart
and he destroys them
and then he puts them
back together again
but they're a mixed match
of toys.
Right.
And they're kind of
this broken thing.
They kind of work
but they don't really work.
Okay.
This is Sid's toys.
Sometimes life
in this broken world
can feel a bit like that.
It can feel like
life is broken
and someone's trying
to put it together again
but it doesn't quite work.
Sometimes relationships
can feel like that.
Right.
They kind of work
but they don't really work
like they're meant to work.
Friends,
soon,
very soon,
Jesus is coming again
and Jesus says,
I'm going to make
all things new.
He's not going to just
kind of put us back together
and sort of fix us
and duct tape us together.
I had a friend once
who said,
if something's broken,
duct tape it
and if that doesn't work,
you haven't put
enough duct tape on it.
Okay.
So if you've got
a broken boat,
just duct tape it together
and keep on going.
Sometimes life can feel
a bit like that,
like it's been duct taped
together.
Jesus is coming
to make all things new.
To put away the brokenness
and the duct tape
of our lives.
Jesus is coming
not just to kind of fix us
and sort of put us together.
He's come to make
all things new.
And what does that mean?
Well, look at what
our song said.
At the end of the
Christmas story,
it says,
there will be a place
where there's no more sin
or sorrow to be found.
Sin and sorrow
are the two twin evils
of our world.
Two sources of pain
because of our sinful hearts
and the brokenness
of the world
in which we live.
No more sin
or sorrow will be found,
nor thorns infest
the ground.
Genesis 3 talks about
one of the consequences
of sin coming
to the world.
There's this multitude
of sorrows.
It's like the soil
of our lives
are infested
by thorns
and thistles.
And so our relationships
and our work
and even our hobbies
and our families,
it feels like
even amongst
the best things in life,
thorns seem to somehow
grow in the midst of it.
And yet,
even back then
in Genesis 3,
God promised
that there would be
one,
a man who would come,
born of a woman,
who would take upon
himself the thorns
and the brokenness
of our world,
who in a very literal sense
would wear a crown
of thorns,
one who would
take upon himself
the thorns
and the curse
of the world
so that those
who trust in him,
those who receive him
as their king,
would receive favor
rather than affliction
and grace and kindness
rather than turmoil.
Friends,
this is what Christmas
is about.
Jesus,
the Redeemer,
has come
to take upon himself
the curse
and the brokenness
and the thorns
of our world
to come and bring us
and deliver us
from as far as
curse is found,
he will bring his blessings.
And that's an amazing line.
It says,
Revelation,
Angie Redditor,
says,
no longer will anything
be accursed.
Well,
in the words of our songs,
he will make his blessings
flow far as the curse
is found.
Think about that.
As far as the curse
is found.
You know what that means?
It means in every sphere
of life,
in the farthest corners
of our world,
where brokenness
and pain exist,
in that day,
Jesus will bring healing
and redemption
and resolution.
Friends,
in our lives,
where our identity
feels broken
and our self-worth
feels broken,
where we feel shame,
where we feel guilt,
we are relationship
with ourself
and our relationships
with others,
our relationship
with God,
even our relationship
with creation,
even the environment
itself,
are all tainted
and affected
by the curse.
And every aspect,
every sphere
of life,
where brokenness
has entered in,
Christ is going to bring
his healing,
redeeming grace.
He will bring
his blessings
far as the curse
is found.
There is not a square
inch of the entire
cosmos that has been
affected by sin,
that Christ won't bring
his healing and redeeming
grace.
Even creation itself,
the trees and the mountains,
the forests and the environment
will experience
and prove his redeeming grace.
In the song,
Joy to the World,
that we're going to sing
in a few minutes,
it says,
fields and floods,
rocks,
hills and plains
will repeat
the sounding joy.
And Angie,
you read about it
in Revelation 22,
it describes the trees
and the rivers
and their leaves
and the healings
that they bring.
and describes
a place how
12 months of the year
the trees produce fruit.
I don't think
that's literal.
I think what it means
is heaven's going
to be a place
where there's no winter,
no barrenness,
no death,
no frost,
never winter,
summer all the time around.
It describes a place
where there's never night,
there's never any shadow
of darkness
in that place
because light
will permeate
every aspect
of creation.
Scotty Smith
says this,
the valley
of the shadow
of death
will soon become
the playground
of eternal life
and joy.
And so friends,
Christmas tells us
that Jesus came
born as a baby
in a manger,
but that manger
was dismantled
and converted
into a cross
upon which he would
die and hang
for the sins
of the world.
But even that cross
is not the end
of the story
because that cross
is one day
going to become
a throne
from which the Savior
will rule and reign
in truth and grace
over all of the new world.
Friends,
Christmas calls us
to live with living faith
and living hope
even in the midst
of a broken
and fractured world
because the Christmas story
is not yet finished
being written.
Jesus came
but he's coming again
and he's going to make
all things new
and he's going to put right
all that is wrong
with the world.
Jesus is coming again
and so joy to the world,
the Lord has come
but oh boy,
he's coming again.
He's coming again.
Now,
what does that mean?
How should we respond?
Well,
let me give us two things
very quickly.
Firstly,
our song that we're going
to sing,
Joy to the World,
tells us.
It says,
Let every heart
prepare him room.
Let earth receive her king.
I don't know if any of you
have been receiving guests
this Christmas.
Maybe you've had family
coming from afar
and so what do you do?
You prepare their room,
right?
You make the bed,
you write a little card
on the bed,
you put chocolates
on the bed
and you clear out the junk
out of the cupboards
and you make their room ready
and prepare them room
for your guests to come,
right?
Friends,
what does it look like
for us to prepare him room
in our hearts,
to clear out the junk
and to welcome
heaven and earth's true king?
What does it look like
to fall on our knees
and say,
Christ,
come and have your way
in my life?
Friends,
this Christmas,
Christ is coming.
Let every heart
prepare him room.
Let every heart
receive heaven and earth's
true king.
But here's the second thing.
At the end of Revelation 22
it says this,
the spirit and the bride
say,
come
and let the one
who hears come.
Let the one
who is thirsty come.
Let he who desires
take of the water
of life without price.
Jesus issues us
an invitation.
He says,
I am coming
but why don't you
come first?
Come and receive
the gift of life
that I give.
At the end of
Matthew chapter 2
you know the story
of the wise men?
There's an amazing line
where it says,
and they went home
a different way.
Remember they went
and they found Jesus
and they anticipated
going back to Jerusalem
and telling Herod
about the newborn king
but they were told
in a dream
that Herod was a charlatan
and so they went home
a different way.
Friends,
maybe you came to church
with one attitude today.
Maybe Jesus wants you
to go home
a different way.
To go home
a different person.
To go home
with new hope,
with new joy
in your heart
because you've received
heaven and earth
true king.
Friends,
Christ has come
and He's coming again.
Let's open our hearts
and receive Him.
Let's come and drink
of His grace.
Let's come and worship
Him together.
Friends,
Christmas calls us
to a living faith
in the midst of a broken
and fractured world
because Christmas
hasn't yet finished
being written.
It anticipates
Christ coming again.
So let's open up
our lives
and open up our hearts
and receive Him.
Let's live with hope
and faith this year.
Joy and love
knowing that Christ
has come
and He's coming again soon.
Let's pray together.
Father God,
thank you for
every one of us
here today.
For the children,
for the elderly,
for those that are
just beginning their lives
and those that are
in the second half
of their lives.
For those that are seekers
and those that are worshippers.
God,
for those that have come
from afar
and those that call
Hong Kong home.
God,
we thank you
for every gift
of grace this morning.
Lord,
we thank you for Christmas
and I pray that
as we make our way
into 2023,
God,
we will live with
living faith
and living hope
because you,
Christ,
on the throne,
you rule and you reign
and you come again
to make all things new.
Jesus,
thank you
for the promise
of Christmas,
the hope,
the joy,
the celebration
of Christmas.
We praise you
and we love you.
Amen.