WEBVTT 00:00:00.560 --> 00:00:05.280 Good evening and welcome to our online Christmas Eve service. 00:00:05.400 --> 00:00:09.179 It's so great to have you with us. We're thrilled that you've joined us this evening. 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:13.380 If you're new to Watermark or joining us for the first time, my name is Kevin. 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:18.679 And on behalf of all the staff and the leaders here, welcome. It's wonderful to have you with us. 00:00:18.740 --> 00:00:22.559 And of course to the Watermark family, a warm welcome to you. Merry Christmas. 00:00:22.820 --> 00:00:25.440 And we're so glad that you're with us as well. 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:31.420 So, when we think of Christmas, I wonder what imagery comes to your mind. 00:00:31.900 --> 00:00:35.299 You may think of the big dazzling lights in our city. 00:00:35.539 --> 00:00:41.160 The massive Christmas trees with the thousands of lights and baubles that are in the shopping centers. 00:00:41.400 --> 00:00:46.240 Or maybe some of the streets lights and the decorations in Li Tung Avenue and Wan Chai. 00:00:46.620 --> 00:00:51.219 Maybe the harbor lights across from TST looking over onto the island. 00:00:51.219 --> 00:01:03.259 Maybe when you think of Christmas, for you what sticks out is a family meal, lots of food, warm music playing in the background, dazzling presents and Christmas trees. 00:01:03.799 --> 00:01:08.060 Or maybe if you're more traditional, you might think of a traditional nativity scene. 00:01:08.700 --> 00:01:15.159 See, the shepherds with their sheep, the angels in their halos, and the wise men with their three gifts. 00:01:15.239 --> 00:01:19.099 And of course, Joseph and Mary with their newborn baby. 00:01:19.099 --> 00:01:23.399 No doubt many of us are familiar with the Christmas story. 00:01:23.659 --> 00:01:25.719 We've watched the pageants. 00:01:25.859 --> 00:01:27.479 We've had the decorations. 00:01:27.719 --> 00:01:28.699 We've sung the songs. 00:01:29.060 --> 00:01:34.419 We've listened to stacks and stacks of Christian messages and sermons over Christmas time. 00:01:34.899 --> 00:01:36.819 But what does it all mean? 00:01:37.539 --> 00:01:38.939 What's the point of Christmas? 00:01:39.840 --> 00:01:48.479 How does the birth of Jesus 2,000 years ago affect and impact our lives today in 21st century Hong Kong? 00:01:49.099 --> 00:01:56.099 Well, this evening we're going to zoom out and look at the Christmas story from a whole Bible perspective. 00:01:56.359 --> 00:01:59.939 And I want us to think about three things as we think of the Christmas story. 00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:07.780 We're going to think about the search of Christmas, the messiness of Christmas, and the promise of Christmas. 00:02:08.299 --> 00:02:11.560 The search, the messiness, and the promise. 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:13.019 So let's dive in. 00:02:13.400 --> 00:02:14.780 The search of Christmas. 00:02:14.780 --> 00:02:19.780 Recently, I was reading the Christmas story once again in the Gospels. 00:02:19.860 --> 00:02:26.159 And one of the things that stood out to me is how many characters there are that are all searching for Jesus. 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:29.259 The wise men come from the east. 00:02:29.379 --> 00:02:31.560 They see the constellation of stars. 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:35.159 And they perceive that the divines are sending them a message. 00:02:35.520 --> 00:02:37.120 That a newborn king has been born. 00:02:37.120 --> 00:02:39.620 And so they make their way towards Jerusalem. 00:02:39.879 --> 00:02:40.560 And they say this, 00:02:40.680 --> 00:02:44.460 We have come to find him who has been born the king of the Jews. 00:02:44.900 --> 00:02:47.640 For we have seen his star when it arose in the east. 00:02:47.819 --> 00:02:50.219 And we have come to look for him. 00:02:50.980 --> 00:02:55.840 And of course, Herod, when he hears this message, he sends the wise men to Bethlehem. 00:02:56.140 --> 00:02:57.020 And he says this, 00:02:57.080 --> 00:02:59.939 Go and search diligently for the child. 00:03:00.020 --> 00:03:04.500 And when you have found him, bring word to me that I too may come and worship him. 00:03:04.500 --> 00:03:07.159 Of course, Herod doesn't really want to worship Jesus. 00:03:07.719 --> 00:03:10.740 He is threatened by the idea that there's another king in town. 00:03:10.840 --> 00:03:12.479 And he wants Jesus to be killed. 00:03:13.120 --> 00:03:16.039 But still, this idea of go and search diligently for him. 00:03:16.680 --> 00:03:20.199 And then, of course, the angels deliver this message to the shepherds. 00:03:20.319 --> 00:03:23.539 And upon hearing this news of this new king being born, 00:03:23.960 --> 00:03:24.900 They say to one another, 00:03:25.039 --> 00:03:27.319 Come, let's go to Bethlehem. 00:03:27.379 --> 00:03:31.199 Let's search for this child and see this thing that has happened. 00:03:31.199 --> 00:03:36.299 Everyone seems to be looking for this birth of this baby, Jesus. 00:03:37.539 --> 00:03:41.060 One of the most marvelous and wonderful things about the Christmas story is 00:03:41.060 --> 00:03:44.060 the fact that the eternal king of the universe, 00:03:44.539 --> 00:03:48.019 the one by whom all things were made and brought into existence, 00:03:48.599 --> 00:03:49.899 came to dwell amongst us. 00:03:49.959 --> 00:03:54.019 And yet, he did so not by being born into a palace with royalty 00:03:54.019 --> 00:03:56.719 or even being born in Jerusalem near the temple, 00:03:56.719 --> 00:03:59.759 but was born in the back borders of Bethlehem, 00:03:59.859 --> 00:04:01.560 born in a stable, 00:04:02.259 --> 00:04:04.060 laid to rest in a manger. 00:04:04.879 --> 00:04:08.060 And yet, the obscurity of Jesus' birth, 00:04:08.180 --> 00:04:11.460 being born in Bethlehem and laid to rest in a manger, 00:04:12.340 --> 00:04:16.120 meant that those who wanted to find him needed to seek him out, 00:04:16.639 --> 00:04:18.060 needed to search for him. 00:04:18.399 --> 00:04:20.899 No one stumbled upon Jesus by accident. 00:04:20.899 --> 00:04:25.879 It was the deliberate seeking of Jesus that led those first worshippers to find him. 00:04:26.720 --> 00:04:30.200 When we read the Bible, 00:04:31.160 --> 00:04:33.400 one of the things the scriptures tell us is that, in fact, 00:04:33.880 --> 00:04:36.940 the whole point of the Christmas story 00:04:36.940 --> 00:04:40.420 is all about searching and seeking. 00:04:41.020 --> 00:04:43.500 But it's not about the kind of searching or seeking 00:04:43.500 --> 00:04:46.340 that we may think about at first appearances. 00:04:46.780 --> 00:04:50.200 At first glance, you may think that one of the points that the Bible is making 00:04:50.200 --> 00:04:53.300 is that it's only those who seek diligently 00:04:53.300 --> 00:04:55.440 for God ultimately find him. 00:04:55.439 --> 00:04:57.959 But that's actually not the point of the Bible at all. 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:01.339 The main point of the Bible is that the point of Christmas 00:05:01.339 --> 00:05:04.180 is that God has come to seek for us. 00:05:04.579 --> 00:05:07.060 In every instance, God is the one who takes the initiative. 00:05:07.579 --> 00:05:10.660 It's God who sends his angels to go and tell the shepherds 00:05:10.660 --> 00:05:12.180 about this newborn king, 00:05:12.300 --> 00:05:14.480 and they go and respond to God's message. 00:05:14.839 --> 00:05:18.199 It's God who takes the initiative to speak to the wise men, 00:05:18.279 --> 00:05:21.159 to send the sign that will lead them to Jerusalem 00:05:21.160 --> 00:05:22.360 and then Tibetan. 00:05:22.360 --> 00:05:26.040 The entire Christmas narrative is about God's initiative 00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:28.500 to seek out those who are lost, 00:05:28.740 --> 00:05:30.160 those who need him. 00:05:32.080 --> 00:05:37.300 Many years later, when Jesus is growing and has embarked on his ministry, 00:05:37.460 --> 00:05:41.800 he's at one stage walking the dusty roads into the ancient city of Jericho. 00:05:41.800 --> 00:05:45.740 And he's walking along, he's clamored by people all around him, 00:05:46.020 --> 00:05:47.199 vying for his attention. 00:05:47.900 --> 00:05:51.639 And there's a man in the crowd, a short man, called Zacchaeus. 00:05:52.319 --> 00:05:57.259 Zacchaeus is a tax collector, which means he is of a moral, dubious nature. 00:05:57.759 --> 00:06:01.580 He's also a social outcast because he's aligned himself with the Romans. 00:06:01.579 --> 00:06:06.240 And the text tells us that Zacchaeus is seeking to see Jesus, 00:06:06.459 --> 00:06:07.979 but he can't see him. 00:06:08.979 --> 00:06:12.839 And so he makes a plan, and Jesus is surrounded by all these people around him. 00:06:12.899 --> 00:06:14.879 But Jesus finds Zacchaeus. 00:06:15.659 --> 00:06:16.899 Jesus seeks him out. 00:06:17.599 --> 00:06:19.620 And so over and above the heads of the crowds, 00:06:19.819 --> 00:06:22.000 Jesus says, Zacchaeus, Zacchaeus, 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:24.939 I want to come and have a meal in your house today. 00:06:25.740 --> 00:06:27.939 Jesus is demonstrating what his whole life is about. 00:06:27.939 --> 00:06:33.439 But he's seeking out the misfits, the lost, the broken, the excluded. 00:06:34.199 --> 00:06:36.959 And so Jesus goes to Zacchaeus' house, and he has a meal with him. 00:06:37.060 --> 00:06:40.439 And at the end of the meal, it appears that Zacchaeus is still not so sure, 00:06:40.720 --> 00:06:43.019 why would Jesus want to come to my house? 00:06:43.079 --> 00:06:44.939 Why would Jesus want to be with me? 00:06:45.860 --> 00:06:47.740 And Jesus turns to Zacchaeus and says, 00:06:47.819 --> 00:06:51.879 Zacchaeus, this is the very reason why I've come. 00:06:52.540 --> 00:06:56.659 I've come to seek out, to save those that are lost. 00:06:56.660 --> 00:07:03.000 At Christmas time, we often hear the story of the wise men that traveled thousands of kilometers 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:07.160 across hills and plains and deserts to come and find Jesus, 00:07:07.320 --> 00:07:11.480 and the journey of the shepherds to go to Bethlehem and to find him. 00:07:12.280 --> 00:07:15.500 And the wise men traveled to bring their gifts and their treasures, 00:07:16.180 --> 00:07:21.300 but often we miss that the point of Christmas episode is actually the story of God seeking us. 00:07:21.300 --> 00:07:26.300 Jesus didn't travel across thousands of miles of fields and plains and deserts. 00:07:27.100 --> 00:07:30.379 Jesus left the throne room of heaven, the glory of heaven. 00:07:30.960 --> 00:07:33.300 Jesus left the intimacy of the Trinity. 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:40.759 Jesus laid aside his majesty and his glory in order to take on the nature of servanthood and humanity, 00:07:40.900 --> 00:07:44.319 in order to seek out people like you and I. 00:07:44.319 --> 00:07:51.040 Friends, I'm not sure about you, but I don't know where I would be in my life if it wasn't for Jesus seeking me out. 00:07:51.480 --> 00:07:56.000 I shudder to think what kind of man I'd be, what kind of father and what kind of husband I'd be 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:59.779 if it weren't for the miracle of Christ transforming grace in my life. 00:08:00.339 --> 00:08:04.459 I was just thinking earlier this week of all the episodes and the times in my life 00:08:04.459 --> 00:08:09.239 where God has changed me as I've reflected on the gospel and as Christ has moved towards me 00:08:09.239 --> 00:08:12.039 and his miraculous grace towards me. 00:08:12.279 --> 00:08:16.939 I'm frightened to think what kind of person I'd be if Christ had not sought me out. 00:08:17.560 --> 00:08:22.319 I'm a Christian today not because I reached out to Jesus, but because he reached out to me. 00:08:22.579 --> 00:08:24.240 And this is the story of Christmas. 00:08:24.719 --> 00:08:28.240 That each in our own way, each of us have our Zacchaeus story. 00:08:28.240 --> 00:08:34.799 Sin has rendered us not only social outcasts, but cut off from relationship from the God who loves us 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:37.100 and who made us to experience his grace. 00:08:37.860 --> 00:08:41.120 And yet the good news of Christmas is that God hasn't left us. 00:08:41.879 --> 00:08:45.200 Jesus came to seek us out and to find us. 00:08:45.879 --> 00:08:50.440 There's an incredible verse in the book of 2 Samuel in the Old Testament, chapter 14. 00:08:51.080 --> 00:08:54.299 And in this verse, a lady says this, 00:08:54.299 --> 00:09:14.620 Friends, God devises ways. 00:09:14.620 --> 00:09:15.939 He orchestrates plans. 00:09:16.240 --> 00:09:21.139 He sent his son to come and seek and save people like you and I. 00:09:21.819 --> 00:09:22.939 The search of Christmas. 00:09:22.940 --> 00:09:26.180 Secondly, the messiness of Christmas. 00:09:27.420 --> 00:09:31.720 When we read the accounts of the Christmas story in the Gospels, 00:09:32.240 --> 00:09:37.000 we read of the surprise and the shock that Mary experienced 00:09:37.000 --> 00:09:39.040 when this angel comes to her and says, 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:40.940 Mary, you are with child. 00:09:41.120 --> 00:09:44.320 The Messiah is going to be born from your womb. 00:09:44.920 --> 00:09:47.160 And remember Mary's infamous word. 00:09:47.260 --> 00:09:48.640 She says, how can this be? 00:09:48.760 --> 00:09:49.860 For I am a virgin. 00:09:49.860 --> 00:09:54.500 For Mary and Joseph, who were engaged to be married, 00:09:55.019 --> 00:09:59.460 the news of Mary's pregnancy was obviously an inconvenience. 00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:01.700 But it was far more than an inconvenience. 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:05.240 In many ways, it was a complete disaster. 00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:10.220 Because in the Middle East culture, both ancient and modern, 00:10:10.779 --> 00:10:16.240 for an unmarried girl to announce to anybody that she was pregnant 00:10:16.240 --> 00:10:20.440 was the ultimate act of bringing shame and dishonor, 00:10:20.480 --> 00:10:23.700 not only on you, but on your family and on your people. 00:10:25.259 --> 00:10:27.980 Imagine Mary trying to explain to her parents, 00:10:27.980 --> 00:10:29.519 Mom and Dad, I've got news. 00:10:29.740 --> 00:10:30.419 I'm pregnant. 00:10:30.419 --> 00:10:31.899 But it's not what you think. 00:10:32.199 --> 00:10:33.240 It's the Holy Spirit. 00:10:33.399 --> 00:10:34.179 I promise you. 00:10:35.139 --> 00:10:38.559 I wonder how well they believed her when she shared that story. 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:42.240 Scholars tell us that the ancient city of Nazareth, 00:10:42.339 --> 00:10:43.279 at the time of Jesus, 00:10:43.559 --> 00:10:46.099 the population was only about 450 people. 00:10:46.259 --> 00:10:47.479 Not a very big town at all. 00:10:47.839 --> 00:10:49.379 In a small village like this, 00:10:49.779 --> 00:10:52.279 everybody raises each other's children. 00:10:52.579 --> 00:10:54.659 Everybody knows everybody else. 00:10:55.039 --> 00:10:57.419 Everybody knows your business. 00:10:57.419 --> 00:11:00.779 Mary and Joseph are engaged to be married. 00:11:00.779 --> 00:11:03.139 Not so much because they've fallen madly in love 00:11:03.139 --> 00:11:05.879 and just couldn't think of life apart from each other, 00:11:06.019 --> 00:11:07.519 but because of the arrangement, 00:11:07.679 --> 00:11:10.159 the negotiation of the families that have come together. 00:11:10.360 --> 00:11:11.259 In ancient times, 00:11:11.599 --> 00:11:13.579 marriage wasn't just two individuals coming together. 00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:14.779 It was two families. 00:11:16.319 --> 00:11:18.659 And yet, Mary is pregnant. 00:11:19.599 --> 00:11:21.679 As we said, this is not just an inconvenience. 00:11:22.159 --> 00:11:24.659 This is about the most shameful and scandalous thing 00:11:24.659 --> 00:11:27.199 that could have happened to that small town. 00:11:27.419 --> 00:11:28.059 That village. 00:11:28.879 --> 00:11:32.120 In other towns, such a girl probably would have been stoned to death. 00:11:33.459 --> 00:11:36.219 And then, of course, think about the mess of the birth. 00:11:36.860 --> 00:11:38.139 In a stable. 00:11:38.860 --> 00:11:40.519 Remember the Christmas carol, 00:11:40.659 --> 00:11:43.779 Silent night, silent night, holy night. 00:11:44.299 --> 00:11:46.339 All is calm, all is bright. 00:11:46.939 --> 00:11:49.379 Round yon virgin, mother and child. 00:11:50.019 --> 00:11:53.079 Holy infant, so tender and mild. 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:55.159 Sleep in heavenly peace. 00:11:55.159 --> 00:12:01.159 Friends, the reality is that that night was probably anything but calm and mild, 00:12:01.339 --> 00:12:02.259 calm and bright. 00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:06.899 We tend to think of the Christmas evening as this balmy, perfect summer evening. 00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:09.439 The sky, the weather perfect. 00:12:09.980 --> 00:12:12.980 Mary just gently rocking her baby. 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:15.439 The animals gently cooing around. 00:12:15.440 --> 00:12:22.080 And we tend to think that Jesus just somehow popped out without any pain, without any noise. 00:12:22.540 --> 00:12:25.380 And was immediately sleeping peacefully in his mother's arms. 00:12:25.580 --> 00:12:29.400 Jesus probably came out of Mary's womb, wrapped in swaddling cloths already. 00:12:29.840 --> 00:12:34.520 And we've got this idea of the perfect, peaceful, still perfect evening. 00:12:34.519 --> 00:12:39.360 But for anyone that's had children, you know that that's not really how it works, right? 00:12:40.279 --> 00:12:45.639 These days we are so aware of hygiene, of washing our hands, of sanitized environments. 00:12:46.199 --> 00:12:52.860 Can you imagine giving birth without medication, without doctors and midwives assisting you, 00:12:53.220 --> 00:12:55.519 without any of the hygiene, without sterilization? 00:12:55.519 --> 00:13:01.899 There is Mary giving birth on the floor of an animal stable. 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:05.319 It's about as messy as it can get. 00:13:06.360 --> 00:13:12.939 I think maybe a modern day equivalent would be a teenage girl about to give birth, 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:18.879 going to labor, being turned away by person after person, institution after institution. 00:13:18.879 --> 00:13:25.299 And so eventually finding a dark alley in between a row of shop houses, 00:13:26.220 --> 00:13:30.840 giving birth there in the dark, next to the trash cans, 00:13:31.559 --> 00:13:36.439 not with cows and donkeys and sheep, but maybe with rats and mice running around. 00:13:37.559 --> 00:13:43.500 A modern day equivalent of the horror and the mess and the shame of this birth. 00:13:43.500 --> 00:13:51.539 And then of course there's Herod, the psychotic ruler who issues this order to have all male children 00:13:51.539 --> 00:13:57.460 under the year of two killed, murdered, just in an effort to try and get rid of Jesus. 00:13:58.639 --> 00:14:02.340 When we think of Christmas, we tend to think of it with warm, glowing sentiment. 00:14:02.580 --> 00:14:04.399 We have silent night playing in the background. 00:14:04.659 --> 00:14:07.100 We have a glass of milled wine in our hands. 00:14:07.179 --> 00:14:09.279 We're opening beautifully wrapped presents. 00:14:09.860 --> 00:14:13.179 And as we take another spoonful of Christmas pudding, 00:14:13.500 --> 00:14:16.460 But the original Christmas story is nothing like that. 00:14:17.120 --> 00:14:19.659 It's messy. It's not sanitized at all. 00:14:19.720 --> 00:14:22.559 It's filled with prejudice and shame and jealousy. 00:14:22.740 --> 00:14:25.059 It's filled with murder and anger. 00:14:25.240 --> 00:14:29.080 It's filled with disorder and pain and mess and even blood. 00:14:30.779 --> 00:14:32.159 Friends, do you know what this means? 00:14:33.200 --> 00:14:42.080 It means that Jesus is not ashamed of the mess and the shame and the disorder and the brokenness of our lives. 00:14:42.080 --> 00:14:49.200 If we're really honest, every one of us have areas of our lives that we either tend to hide or tend not to think about. 00:14:49.420 --> 00:14:50.980 We tend to cover over. 00:14:51.480 --> 00:14:55.500 And it's exactly in that place that Jesus wants to come in. 00:14:56.780 --> 00:15:05.379 Friends, what about those of us who have got broken relationships with family or feel hurt by those around us? 00:15:05.379 --> 00:15:12.519 Friends, some of you grapple with the everyday experience of anxiety, depression. 00:15:13.299 --> 00:15:18.039 And we walk around our city with a smiling face or we try and cover it with our best foot forward. 00:15:18.139 --> 00:15:22.000 But under the surface, the anxiety, the depression is always there. 00:15:23.220 --> 00:15:25.740 Friends, for some of you, you carry shame. 00:15:26.600 --> 00:15:27.679 Past decisions. 00:15:28.620 --> 00:15:29.740 Past choices you've made. 00:15:29.740 --> 00:15:31.940 Mistakes in our lifetime. 00:15:33.159 --> 00:15:38.820 Friends, for some of us, it's a sense of failure that we carry in our lives. 00:15:41.560 --> 00:15:44.320 Dane Ortlund says it like this. 00:15:46.000 --> 00:15:54.139 God's forgiving, redeeming, restoring touch reaches down into the darkest crevices of our souls. 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:58.000 Those places where we are most ashamed, most defeated. 00:15:58.000 --> 00:16:05.539 More than this, those crevices of sin are themselves the places where Christ loves us the most. 00:16:05.960 --> 00:16:07.700 His heart willingly goes there. 00:16:08.039 --> 00:16:10.480 His heart is most strongly drawn there. 00:16:10.820 --> 00:16:12.480 He knows us to the uttermost. 00:16:12.779 --> 00:16:14.419 He saves us to the uttermost. 00:16:14.580 --> 00:16:18.340 Because His heart is drawn to us to the uttermost. 00:16:19.980 --> 00:16:23.779 Friends, do you sometimes think that there are parts of your life that are too disordered? 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:25.279 Too messy? 00:16:25.500 --> 00:16:26.460 Too complicated? 00:16:26.460 --> 00:16:31.879 For either God or God's people to accept you or to love you the way that you are? 00:16:33.019 --> 00:16:34.620 Dane Ortlund goes on and he says, 00:16:34.800 --> 00:16:36.000 You don't need to be unburdened. 00:16:36.620 --> 00:16:40.100 You don't need to collect or clean yourself up in order to come to Jesus. 00:16:40.460 --> 00:16:46.400 In fact, the mess of our lives is the very thing that qualifies us to come to Jesus. 00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:51.279 Friends, you see that Christmas is all about Jesus Christ. 00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:52.579 The God of the universe. 00:16:52.699 --> 00:16:55.279 The one who knits you together in your mother's womb. 00:16:55.559 --> 00:16:58.199 The God who knows you better than you know yourself. 00:16:58.559 --> 00:16:59.720 And He's moving towards you. 00:16:59.779 --> 00:17:01.879 Not just into our neighborhood in general. 00:17:02.259 --> 00:17:04.400 But into the messiest parts of our lives. 00:17:04.619 --> 00:17:05.799 And He's not ashamed of it. 00:17:06.039 --> 00:17:07.139 He's not embarrassed by it. 00:17:07.359 --> 00:17:08.500 He's not put off by it. 00:17:08.500 --> 00:17:11.240 He's not looking for a sanitized version of our lives. 00:17:11.759 --> 00:17:15.019 Jesus is peeling back the very messiest part of our lives. 00:17:15.079 --> 00:17:15.539 And He's saying, 00:17:15.980 --> 00:17:17.059 I want to know you there. 00:17:17.519 --> 00:17:19.460 I want to come there. 00:17:21.059 --> 00:17:22.420 Friends, I don't know you. 00:17:22.500 --> 00:17:24.079 And I don't know what you've done in your life. 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:26.059 But Jesus does. 00:17:27.179 --> 00:17:28.599 And He's not put off by it. 00:17:29.539 --> 00:17:30.960 He's not embarrassed by it. 00:17:31.980 --> 00:17:34.960 Jesus wants to move into those areas of our lives. 00:17:35.039 --> 00:17:38.720 And to bring His healing light into the very darkest areas of our hearts. 00:17:39.720 --> 00:17:41.179 Your anguish is His home. 00:17:41.980 --> 00:17:42.559 Come to Him. 00:17:44.579 --> 00:17:45.699 The mess of Christmas. 00:17:46.859 --> 00:17:50.579 Now, most Christmas narratives end somewhere around there. 00:17:50.579 --> 00:17:54.619 With Joseph and Mary cuddling their baby Jesus. 00:17:55.240 --> 00:17:56.699 The animals cooing in the background. 00:17:56.939 --> 00:17:58.740 The three wise men with their gifts. 00:17:58.939 --> 00:18:00.599 And the shepherds with their sheep. 00:18:01.139 --> 00:18:03.159 That's where most Christmas narratives end. 00:18:03.740 --> 00:18:04.419 Some people say, 00:18:04.500 --> 00:18:06.879 No, the Christmas story really ends on the cross. 00:18:07.460 --> 00:18:11.019 Only of Jesus can it be said that He was born in order to die. 00:18:11.220 --> 00:18:15.799 And Christ's death and resurrection really is the culmination of the Christmas story. 00:18:15.899 --> 00:18:18.179 And that is true in many ways. 00:18:18.180 --> 00:18:21.940 But that's still not where the Christmas story ultimately ends. 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:26.120 Because the promise of Christmas is that Christ is coming again. 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:27.539 And that leads us to our third point. 00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:29.140 The promise of Christmas. 00:18:29.840 --> 00:18:34.759 In Revelation chapter 19, we see that Jesus is coming again. 00:18:35.380 --> 00:18:39.140 But this time He's going to come not so much as a baby born in a manger. 00:18:39.620 --> 00:18:42.200 But as a victorious conquering King. 00:18:42.600 --> 00:18:46.120 Jesus is going to come again and He's going to crush His enemy. 00:18:46.119 --> 00:18:54.000 He's going to dismantle all that is broken and disordered and messy and evil and wrong with our world. 00:18:54.579 --> 00:18:58.799 And after Revelation 19, in chapter 21, the Apostle John, who's writing this, 00:18:59.199 --> 00:19:03.339 describes what eternity is going to be like for those that have encountered God. 00:19:03.919 --> 00:19:06.439 And as he's describing this, he hears this voice. 00:19:06.599 --> 00:19:07.719 And look at what he says. 00:19:07.779 --> 00:19:08.139 He says, 00:19:08.140 --> 00:19:36.360 And then John hears these incredible words. 00:19:36.359 --> 00:19:40.539 And behold, I am making all things new. 00:19:41.359 --> 00:19:44.359 Jesus promises that He's coming again. 00:19:47.059 --> 00:19:54.099 Two years ago, there was a story that captured the headlines of the world and captured all our attentions. 00:19:54.500 --> 00:19:58.099 It was the story of that soccer team in Thailand. 00:19:58.099 --> 00:20:07.480 Those teenage boys that, after practice, rode to the caves in Chiang Rai and decided to go for a bit of a stroll through the caves. 00:20:07.559 --> 00:20:08.919 They left their bicycles outside. 00:20:09.599 --> 00:20:12.679 By evening time that night, they had not returned. 00:20:12.819 --> 00:20:13.839 Their parents were worried. 00:20:14.419 --> 00:20:15.519 A search party formed. 00:20:15.599 --> 00:20:17.859 And they found these bicycles at the mouth of the cave. 00:20:18.039 --> 00:20:20.159 And suddenly everyone realized what had happened. 00:20:20.799 --> 00:20:21.980 The boys were inside. 00:20:22.459 --> 00:20:23.740 Monsoon rains had come. 00:20:23.939 --> 00:20:25.959 And they were unable to get out. 00:20:25.960 --> 00:20:34.660 And the story of the boys captured in this cave, stuck in this cave, captured the world's attention. 00:20:35.779 --> 00:20:41.240 And so the Thai army rallies together and puts a plan in place to try and find them. 00:20:41.620 --> 00:20:47.299 And pretty soon they realized that they alone are not going to have enough resources, people resources to do it. 00:20:47.299 --> 00:20:48.639 And so they put the call up. 00:20:48.879 --> 00:20:57.779 The world gathers experts of flown in from around the world to come and search for these boys in this labyrinth of the Thai caves in Chiang Rai. 00:20:58.740 --> 00:21:00.019 And so days go by. 00:21:00.139 --> 00:21:05.819 And eventually, after about a week, two British divers are swimming through the caves. 00:21:05.940 --> 00:21:07.379 They come up at an air pocket. 00:21:08.119 --> 00:21:12.759 And their headlights shine on these 13 faces. 00:21:12.879 --> 00:21:15.039 These 12 boys and their coach. 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:20.420 And what the world has been looking for, for a couple of days, these divers have found them. 00:21:20.940 --> 00:21:26.480 And their hearts must just rejoice as they see that all 13 boys are alive and well and healthy. 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:28.279 And so they climb out of the water. 00:21:28.539 --> 00:21:29.539 They interact with them. 00:21:29.619 --> 00:21:30.480 They talk with them. 00:21:31.059 --> 00:21:37.379 And they spend half an hour, an hour with the boys, reassuring them, lifting them roles, encouraging them, 00:21:37.539 --> 00:21:40.839 and bringing them good news that their rescue is on the way. 00:21:40.839 --> 00:21:45.179 But then they do something remarkable. 00:21:45.859 --> 00:21:47.519 They leave the boys there. 00:21:48.339 --> 00:21:49.459 They leave. 00:21:49.980 --> 00:21:55.899 After coming to rescue them and searching for them, they haven't found them, they leave. 00:21:56.720 --> 00:21:59.480 But as they leave, they make a promise. 00:22:00.159 --> 00:22:02.519 They say, we're going to come back and get you. 00:22:03.220 --> 00:22:04.500 We're not abandoning you. 00:22:05.019 --> 00:22:07.199 We're coming back to rescue you. 00:22:07.200 --> 00:22:10.220 We're coming back to bring you home. 00:22:11.160 --> 00:22:13.620 And in the meantime, we're going to send a medic who's going to come. 00:22:13.779 --> 00:22:16.000 And so a medic comes and he brings supplies. 00:22:16.160 --> 00:22:17.100 He brings some blankets. 00:22:17.480 --> 00:22:18.519 He brings some fresh water. 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:20.340 He sits with them for a while. 00:22:20.799 --> 00:22:23.779 But the divers go back and they formulate this plan. 00:22:23.880 --> 00:22:29.420 And they formulate this plan to come and rescue the boys and bring them home. 00:22:29.420 --> 00:22:40.100 And while the boys are there, even having experienced the divers, they probably had no idea of the complexity of the operation. 00:22:40.360 --> 00:22:42.660 Just what is going on outside the cave. 00:22:42.700 --> 00:22:48.980 As these thousands of people are hatching this incredible plan to go in and bring these boys home. 00:22:50.100 --> 00:22:52.660 I wonder how those boys felt when the divers left. 00:22:52.660 --> 00:22:54.320 Anxious, sure. 00:22:55.200 --> 00:22:56.480 Worried, maybe a little. 00:22:57.340 --> 00:22:59.640 But oh, so full of hope and expectation. 00:23:00.279 --> 00:23:05.920 If they'd wondered before whether anyone had remembered them or knew about them, they could be absolutely certain now. 00:23:06.320 --> 00:23:08.720 The divers, they leave, but they leave with instructions. 00:23:08.920 --> 00:23:09.720 Wait where you are. 00:23:09.779 --> 00:23:11.600 We are coming to bring you home. 00:23:11.960 --> 00:23:13.779 And the following day, the divers return. 00:23:13.860 --> 00:23:14.880 Not just with supplies. 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:16.320 Not just with waters and blankets. 00:23:16.840 --> 00:23:17.680 But with a plan. 00:23:18.480 --> 00:23:20.240 They bring those boys home. 00:23:20.920 --> 00:23:21.860 They rescue them. 00:23:22.719 --> 00:23:26.500 Friends, Christmas is not just about Jesus coming with a message. 00:23:27.319 --> 00:23:34.719 Jesus didn't just come to help us improve our lives or to give us a painkiller to deal with some of the messiness and the disorder in our lives. 00:23:35.179 --> 00:23:38.839 Jesus didn't just come to help us get through this lifetime. 00:23:39.399 --> 00:23:43.939 Friends, the story of Jesus is Jesus comes with a declaration, a promise. 00:23:44.059 --> 00:23:47.059 He says, I've come once, but I'm coming again. 00:23:47.339 --> 00:23:48.279 I haven't left you. 00:23:48.339 --> 00:23:49.319 I haven't abandoned you. 00:23:49.319 --> 00:23:52.839 In his first coming, Jesus comes and he announces his kingdom. 00:23:53.179 --> 00:23:54.200 He dies on the cross. 00:23:54.519 --> 00:23:58.240 He pays the ransom price to bring his people out of death and slavery. 00:23:58.759 --> 00:24:03.179 But at his second coming, he's coming to bring his people to the eternal dwelling. 00:24:03.700 --> 00:24:07.799 Jesus says that when he comes again, the heavens and the earth will be made new. 00:24:08.139 --> 00:24:09.359 They'll be joined together. 00:24:09.359 --> 00:24:12.139 And the dwelling place of man will be with God. 00:24:12.219 --> 00:24:14.439 And the dwelling place of God will be with man. 00:24:15.179 --> 00:24:17.759 And there, there'll be no more separation. 00:24:17.939 --> 00:24:18.979 There'll be no more waiting. 00:24:19.139 --> 00:24:20.179 No more agony. 00:24:20.779 --> 00:24:28.359 John tells us that no more will we experience the pain and the brokenness and the heartache and the tears of this world. 00:24:28.359 --> 00:24:31.639 In that place, he will wipe away every tear. 00:24:33.159 --> 00:24:34.500 Pain will be no more. 00:24:35.899 --> 00:24:37.359 Suffering will be no more. 00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:40.039 Crying will be no more. 00:24:40.039 --> 00:24:45.200 And the former things of this world will pass away. 00:24:46.119 --> 00:24:47.779 Behold, he's making all things new. 00:24:48.899 --> 00:24:56.559 Friends, every year we put up Christmas trees and we light candles and we turn on the lights and we give presents and we eat wonderful food. 00:24:57.079 --> 00:24:58.220 We sing the carols. 00:24:58.980 --> 00:24:59.700 What's it all for? 00:25:00.700 --> 00:25:01.960 What's the point of Christmas? 00:25:02.779 --> 00:25:09.240 What does Jesus' birth 2,000 years ago have to do with our lives in Hong Kong 21st century today? 00:25:10.860 --> 00:25:12.180 Friends, Jesus has come. 00:25:13.220 --> 00:25:16.160 Christmas tells us that Jesus came to search for you and I. 00:25:16.240 --> 00:25:21.380 When we were lost in our sin, when we were cut off from God, Jesus came to find us. 00:25:22.279 --> 00:25:24.680 Jesus has come into the messiness of our lives. 00:25:24.680 --> 00:25:26.980 He hasn't come looking for a sanitized version of us. 00:25:27.039 --> 00:25:29.579 He hasn't come looking for a neatly packaged version. 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:34.039 Jesus has come into the very darkest, messiest parts of our lives. 00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:35.839 And he says, I want to be known there. 00:25:35.859 --> 00:25:36.720 I want to know you there. 00:25:38.099 --> 00:25:39.500 Jesus comes with a promise. 00:25:40.359 --> 00:25:41.720 A promise that he's coming again. 00:25:42.319 --> 00:25:43.740 He's coming to make all things new. 00:25:44.500 --> 00:25:46.119 This is the hope of Christmas. 00:25:46.799 --> 00:25:47.439 Let's pray. 00:25:48.859 --> 00:25:51.359 Lord Jesus Christ, thank you so much for Christmas. 00:25:51.659 --> 00:25:53.480 Thank you that you came all those years ago. 00:25:54.179 --> 00:25:56.220 Thank you, God, that you didn't just send us a book. 00:25:56.759 --> 00:25:58.480 You didn't just send us advice. 00:25:58.480 --> 00:26:01.099 You sent us yourself. 00:26:01.299 --> 00:26:02.880 You sent us Jesus, your son. 00:26:03.900 --> 00:26:09.579 You sent us the message of good news that by simply coming to you, we can experience new life. 00:26:10.259 --> 00:26:12.640 God, I pray for every one of us watching this this evening. 00:26:12.759 --> 00:26:19.759 I pray for our Christmas day tomorrow and this week that we will not just eat food and sing carols and open presents. 00:26:19.759 --> 00:26:23.200 God, I pray the wonder and the beauty of Jesus will be real to our hearts. 00:26:24.059 --> 00:26:26.920 We pray this in your wonderful and your glorious name. 00:26:27.660 --> 00:26:27.940 Amen. 00:26:28.480 --> 00:26:29.099 Amen. 00:26:29.099 --> 00:26:29.140 Amen.