Father, sometimes your word is very, very puzzling and hard to understand and not what we were expecting.
And Lord, today that's one of those times.
And so we ask that your Holy Spirit would illuminate our hearts and minds so that we might understand your word
and that it would give us great comfort in your great offer of grace to know that Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us every day of our lives.
And until we see you face to face and enter the new heaven and the new earth for all eternity.
So Father, bring your word home to us.
And we ask this in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.
Please be seated.
Amen.
It says the solemn setting of the timepiece.
So it's a Christmas sermon.
Let's consider doom, judgment, and hell.
Now, you might be wondering that you might say this is the weirdest Christmas sermon that I have ever heard.
Even the fact that we are going to consider doom, judgment, and hell.
You go, I thought this was a Christmas sermon.
Well, here's what happened.
So we have a church plant, Messiah West slash Messiah Kanata.
And so the pastor there, who's an associate of this church, he and I are talking about, like, what should we preach for Christmas?
You know, we'll have 18th, 24th, and 25th will be our Christmas services.
They won't have a service on the 24th.
We do.
And so we're talking about what to preach on.
And he's just starting out in ministry.
I've been doing this, you know, since, you know, since, you know, Moses was a little baby.
And so we're just talking about it.
And then he said, you know, well, let's, you know, let's, why don't we do this?
Like, there's this very ancient Bible reading pattern that goes way back.
It's over 1,600 years old.
And according to this very ancient Bible reading pattern, on Christmas, you would read, the gospel text would be John, John 1.
And the non-gospel text would be from Hebrews chapter 1.
And why don't we do, like, one of each of that?
And then we're talking about what to do.
And then they said, you know what, why, you know, the other big Christmas text is in Matthew.
But rather than preaching on Matthew, why don't we preach, you know, Matthew quotes Isaiah 7.
So why don't we read the Isaiah 7 text?
And I say, sure, let's do that.
And so that's what we're doing.
But here, lo and behold, two things happen.
The first thing that happens is, and this, by the way, is what happens to me all the time when I preach from the Old Testament.
I look at it for the first time and I think to myself, what on earth am I going to say about this weird text?
The second thing, actually, there were three things that happened.
The second thing that happened is, and this happens to many people when they look at Isaiah 7 for the first time.
For Christians who know that he gets quoted in Matthew, they go, how on earth does this text connect?
Like, why did Matthew think this was a, like, what's going on here?
And then the third thing that happened to me is that I'm getting to read into it.
I realize that it's a text that talks about human doom and God's judgment.
But it does it in the context of a profound offer of grace.
So, let's look.
If you have your Bibles, the text will be up on the screen.
But if it's always better to have your own Bibles, you can look around and see if I've missed the context.
Just one other note, just checking for some of you.
Don't watch the soccer game pretending to look at your Bible on your phone or your iPad.
That's sort of not, like, if you want to do that, you can go out there and just watch the soccer game and, you know.
In fact, actually, it's going to be important to be hypocritical to do it, which is sort of connected to the text.
Anyway, Isaiah 7.
I have the wrong book open.
Here we go.
Isaiah 7.
So, here's how it goes.
Isaiah 7, verse 10 to 17.
Just one thing to know.
This book was written somewhere between, like, the 740-ish B.C. to 800 and, you know, 810 or 90 or something like that B.C.,
which is a long time ago, and people might wonder how on earth you could ever think you could get anything worthwhile from something which was written that long ago.
But it actually has a very profound psychological insight, and a very, very profound psychological insight, even though it was written so long ago,
which, of course, I would expect because I think it's not only something that was written so long ago, but it's also God's Word.
So, that's an old text, and here's how it goes.
Verse 10, Isaiah 7, verse 10.
Again, the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ask a sign of the Lord your God.
Let it be deep as Sheol, sort of like that's another word for hell, or high as heaven.
Now, just sort of pause there for a second.
Like, who are these people and what's going on?
Like, why does it say again?
So, okay.
So, basically, Ahaz is the king of Judah.
And, like, right now when we think of Israel, there's just the one nation of Israel, and it's called Israel.
But back in those days, the Jewish nation got divided into two separate countries with two different kings.
The northern one, and throughout this, it's going to be called either Ephraim or Israel.
And the southern one is called Judah, after the main tribe that stayed with King David's line of sons.
So, Ahaz is the king.
And what's going on here is actually a perennial issue, and it's just as prevalent as an issue today.
I was reading a news report a little while ago that Poland has been arming itself, has been on a major arms race,
because they don't trust the Americans in the European Union to protect them.
If Russia was to continue to expand or there were some other types of problems.
They don't trust Germany.
They don't trust the EU.
And learning from Ukraine, where the Ukrainians have sort of had to deal with this themselves,
they've been arming themselves to the teeth.
So, there's something like, and you know about all the saber rattling that's going around,
about Chinese expansion and Taiwan.
And so, this is just like reading, watching BBC World News, reading The Economist,
like just following the world.
It's as old as history.
And what's happened is there's this very, very mighty empire called the Assyrian Empire.
And they've been quiet for about three decades.
But they've gotten restless.
They've been dealing with some internal things.
They've gotten dealt with.
They've gotten restless.
They want to expand their empire.
And they're looking down to this region where there's a whole lot of small nations.
And what's happened is they've decided they're going to invade.
The Assyrians are going to evade.
They're starting to move down.
And so, the small nations do what small nations do compared to a mighty empire.
A couple of them get together and say,
maybe if we form an alliance, if we all work together,
there'll be enough of us so we can resist the Assyrian army.
And scholars differ whether there's two or four nations in it.
We know there's two.
But basically, that northern kingdom, which is called Israel now, back then,
and not Judah, which is under David,
and this other group, a nation that we would now call Syria,
and potentially two other nations.
Scholars disagree whether Edom and Philistia were also involved in it.
But they decide they're going to create an alliance to resist the Assyrian empire.
And they want Judah to join them.
And Ahaz is having cold feet about wanting to join them.
And so, these nations decide they're going to do,
well, they're going to do what happens all the time in the world.
In fact, wasn't there just an attempt to have a coup in Germany?
So, what they decide to do is they're going to send some troops,
and I guess some special forces types down there.
They're going to kill Ahaz, put their puppet in place,
and that puppet will now rule that country,
and they will now, depending on how you count,
three or five nations will all work together to resist the Assyrians.
So, Assyria, so Ahaz is the king,
and he knows that there's this pressure that's been going on.
And when it says, again, that was because just before this,
Isaiah has confronted him about this whole situation
and calling him that he needs to trust God's promises,
the Lord's promises, that he would protect the Davidic line,
he would protect his people,
and that Ahaz has to trust in the Lord,
that that's the primary way.
It doesn't mean that you don't bring in water.
It doesn't mean you don't arm your troops.
But beyond all of those things,
the fundamental thing is that he needs to trust the Lord.
That's what's just gone on.
And so, he's speaking to him again.
That's why, look at verse 10 again.
Again, the Lord spoke to Ahaz.
So, he spoke to him earlier.
That's verses 1 to 9.
You can go read that later if you want.
And Ahaz, he says to Ahaz,
listen, you need a sign to show
that God is actually going to do what he's promised,
that he'll protect you, the nation,
that there will be victory,
that you will not succumb to Assyria
and be conquered by it.
And so, verse 11,
ask a sign of the Lord,
your God.
Let it be as deep as hell
or as high as heaven.
And what we see here that's going on
is very, very, very significant.
You see, and this is what,
if you just, if you were to read the whole book,
and then if you were to read 2 Kings,
and you look around,
and you read very, very carefully,
what you discover is that Ahaz
has already made up his mind about what to do.
Between the first nine verses and this,
the first account and this one,
he's already made his mind up.
And what he's done is he's taken money,
he's emptied the treasury,
he's taken many of the most precious items
of the temple,
and he's given them to the king of Assyria.
He's already become a vassal
of the Assyrian empire,
and he's paid off the Assyrians
to invade Israel and Syria
and the other countries and kill them.
He's already done that.
Now, he's hidden it from the people,
but he's already done that.
That's what he's done.
Now,
what you think,
when you realize this,
one of the things then you're going to see
right off the bat,
this is a,
when you understand this,
this, what you have here
is a profound act of grace by God.
A profound act of grace.
Ahaz is given an opportunity to repent
and to trust in the Lord.
He's very unworthy.
In fact,
if you were an Israelite back then
and you understood that he's,
in fact,
sold the most precious items
from your worship and your temple,
and emptied your treasury,
like you would be furious at him.
But God offers him
a chance to repent.
He offers him grace.
And he says,
you can pick a sign
to show
that not only am I offering you
a chance to come under,
back under the Lord,
but I'm offering a chance
to show you
that the Lord will,
in fact,
keep his promise to you
to protect you.
And you can ask any sign you want.
It can be as deep as hell.
It can be as high as heaven.
How does Ahaz respond?
Well, look at verse 12.
It tells us how he responds.
And see,
when you understand this,
you understand,
well, here,
listen to it.
But Ahaz said,
verse 12,
I will not ask
and I will not put the Lord
to the test.
Ah, he's so pious.
He is such a godly man.
But he's not.
His answer isn't pious.
You know,
it's like back in the day,
I don't think they do it anymore.
You know,
when a U.S. president
got in trouble,
what would you see
the next Sunday?
You'd see the biggest,
fattest,
blackest Bible
they could find
in his hand
as he's walking into church.
And that's what Ahaz is doing.
Yes, I'm very pious.
Of course,
it's wrong
to put the Lord to the test.
No,
that's not what's going on, Ahaz.
You're refusing grace.
You're refusing
the opportunity
to repent.
And you do not want,
you do not want it
come to light
that the Lord
is going to deliver you
and you just gave away
all the money.
How will that look
for Ahaz?
Because for Ahaz,
what's most important
is Ahaz.
that's what's most important.
And that's going to just
knock the legs underneath.
You see,
the Bible has nothing
to do with your daily life.
None of us
or none of the world
ever does anything
to do remotely with that.
We're never concerned
with appearances
and our own importance
and position.
You know,
so I like to say
in this church,
one of the problems
people have
when they read the Bible
is they expect
something like
a Hallmark movie
and they get
human reality
in all its mess.
And it catches us
by surprise.
So,
how does the Lord
respond
to Ahaz's
hypocrisy
and his refusal
to accept grace?
His refusal
to accept
the opportunity
to repent?
Well,
that's what is happening
in the next verses.
Verses 13
through 16
in particular.
We see how the Lord
responds.
And here's how
the Lord responds.
Look at verse 13.
And he said,
here then,
O house of David.
And when Isaiah speaks,
it's God speaking.
And he said,
here then,
O house of David.
Because Ahaz
isn't just
Ahaz.
He is,
in a sense,
the current
representative
of the house
of David,
which the Jewish
people have been
hoping
that it is
through that house
that the Messiah
will come.
it's through that
house,
that line,
that the Messiah
will come.
And so,
the Lord speaks
to Ahaz
because there's
something more
important than
you
here,
Ahaz.
O house of David,
is it too little
for you
to weary men
that you weary
my God also?
So God calls him
on this hypocrisy.
This isn't godliness,
Ahaz.
This is just
your attempt
to try to
weary me,
wear me down.
And frankly,
which is going to
happen when people
hear what you've done,
you're just wearying
people as well.
Your hypocrisy
accomplishes nothing.
Your superficial,
surface religion
and piety
accomplishes
absolutely nothing
other than
to weary people
and to weary
people of the
true and living
God.
Now,
for us,
when we catch
people in hypocrisy
of such a major
thing,
we write them
off.
We cancel
them.
We ghost
them.
Is that what
God does?
Well,
let's look what
he says next.
Verse 14.
Therefore,
the Lord himself
will still give
you a sign.
What's the sign?
And for those of you
who are Christians
and you're familiar
with the Bible story,
here's the sign.
Behold,
the virgin shall
conceive and bear
a son and shall
call his name
Emmanuel.
Right?
You see,
this sign is
originally given
to a hypocrite
who's rejected
grace.
Rejected the sign,
rejected the
opportunity to
repent and
God says,
I'm going to
give you a sign
anyway.
And it's this
sign that
Matthew,
700 years
later,
will say is
fulfilled in
the birth of
Jesus,
the virgin
birth of
Jesus.
And,
well,
we're going to
talk again.
And some of
you guys say,
whoa,
okay,
George,
what's,
uh,
ba,
virgin birth.
I mean,
that's how,
like,
George,
just to even
talk about a
virgin birth
just shows
that you're
ignorant,
you don't
know science,
you can't
think.
And God
with us,
I thought God
was everywhere.
Like,
George,
none of this
makes sense.
So,
by the way,
I'm not going
to talk about
that right now.
I'll just
sort of put a
little sticky
note with it.
If you want to
hear me talk
about it,
come on
Christmas Eve
or Christmas
morning or
both,
because I'm
going to
talk about
one on
Christmas Eve
and one on
Christmas
morning.
How can
God be
present if he's
everywhere,
and how can
there be a
virgin birth?
And you
don't have
to kiss
your brains
goodbye to
believe it.
It's not a
matter that
they were
all gullible
that they
believed this
sign.
But the
other thing
you might
ask is,
George,
it seems
a little
bit unfair
to Ahaz
to say
that I'm
going to
give you
a sign,
and by
the way,
you're
going to
have to
wait 700
years to
see it.
That seems
not quite
gracious of
God.
Well,
let's look
at the rest
of what is
said.
Verse 14,
we'll read
verse 14
again,
therefore the
Lord himself
will give
you a sign,
behold,
the virgin
shall conceive
and bear a
son,
and shall
call his
name Emmanuel.
Verse 15,
he shall eat
curds and
honey when
he knows how
to refuse the
evil and
choose the
good.
For before
the boy knows
how to
refuse the
evil and
choose the
good,
the land
whose two
kings you
dread will
be deserted.
Now,
just sort of
pause there.
It depends a
little bit on
the context,
but in one
of the context,
the language
of curds
and honey
is a
reference,
and that's
the reference
here,
is a reference
to devastation.
It's a reference
to the fact
that what you
really need,
you just have
one little,
you have a
couple of
goats,
and you need
to just be,
all you can
do is just
basically eat
found stuff.
You have your
goats that you
keep alive,
because goats
can survive,
they're very
hardy,
and you're just
surviving on
their milk and
the honey that
you can find.
It's an image
in this
particular case
of great
hardship.
And what he's
saying is that
there's a boy
who's going to
be born,
and before the
boy, in a sense,
reaches the age
of being able
to make moral
decisions that
are binding,
which let's say
would be around
12,
before this
happens,
the nations
that you fear,
they will no
longer be a
worry.
Now,
so,
what,
so,
so here's
the issue.
I could go all
grammar nerd on
you at this
point in time,
but it's a sermon,
not a grammar nerd
lecture,
but basically what
happens is if you
look at the text
very,
very carefully,
what's happening
here is that
there's a,
there's a bit of
room in the
word virgin,
and there's a
subtle shift in
the language,
and when you
combine that with
the context,
what you see
is that God
promises a
sign for his
time right then,
for Ahaz,
but at the same
time that he
promises a sign
that,
that can be
understood for
right,
right then,
he also,
it also would be
obvious to
everybody that
that couldn't be
all of the
sign,
because the
sign,
that sign
isn't as
deep as
hell and
as high
as heaven,
that there's,
like that
language and
the other
language that
goes on implies
that there has
to be a
later fulfillment
that is
greater,
and it comes
with this
subtle shift
of boy,
so here's the
thing,
the fundamental
meaning of
virgin is
virgin,
but it also
has,
in a sense,
a secondary
meaning,
that it could
just mean a
woman,
a young woman
who's a
virgin right
now,
but isn't a
virgin when she
has a boy,
it goes from
child to
boy,
and what
he's saying
is that
right now,
within 12
years,
within the
time that a
boy,
even in the
midst of
devastation,
is old
enough that
he can be
held responsible
for his
moral decisions,
Syria and
the northern
kingdom of
Israel will
not be a
concern,
and that
prophecy came
true.
within two
years,
Syria was
destroyed,
and in
less than a
dozen years,
not only was
the northern
kingdom
destroyed,
it was
destroyed,
destroyed.
There are,
in fact,
every Jewish
person you
meet is
descended from
either the
tribe of
Levi,
Benjamin,
or Judah,
because all
of the other
tribes were
lost,
in 722
when Assyria
crushed the
northern kingdom
and carried
the Jewish
people away
to vanish
into history.
You see,
if you think
about it for
a second,
you know,
just because
they didn't
have TikTok
and flush
toilets didn't
mean people
back then
were dumb.
In fact,
there's an
argument that
would be
made that
TikTok is
making you
dumber than
they were.
Bit of an
aside point,
TikTok
doesn't
raise your
IQ.
Probably
lowers it,
as with
most social
media.
And if
Isaiah just
made prophecies
and all of
them were for
700 years in
the future,
or 2,700
years in the
future,
or 3,000
years in the
future,
who on earth
would have
believed him
or kept
his book?
He had to
be having
prophecies
fulfilled that
were fulfilled
right then,
and that's
what happened
in his life.
Like,
this profound
thing,
the Syrian
threat that
he so
dreaded was
completely
removed,
and the
threat from
Israel was
completely
removed.
But at
the same
time,
when people
saw that,
they said,
okay,
well,
that's like,
whoa,
like,
who would
have seen
that coming?
But at
the same
time,
they go,
yeah,
you know,
but that's
not a
sign that's
as deep
as hell
and as
high as
heaven.
they were
already
familiar with
people as
a people that
God made
promises that
would be
fulfilled right
in the here
and now,
but also
pointed down
history.
And so it
was that
Matthew makes
his profound
announcement,
and I'm sorry,
but it's not
going to be up
on the screen
because I
forgot to
send the
text to
the tech
people to
put it on
screen,
but listen
to how
Matthew chapter
one goes
like this,
verse 18
to 25,
now the
birth of
Jesus Christ
took place
in this way
when his
mother Mary
had been
betrothed
to Joseph
before they
came together,
in other words,
before they
came together
sexually,
she was
found to
be with
child from
the Holy
Spirit.
She had
a virgin
birth.
She wasn't
a virgin
who married
and then
had sexual
knowledge
and then
gave birth.
She never
had sexual
knowledge
and she
became
pregnant.
Before they
came to
be together,
she was
found to
be with
child from
the Holy
Spirit and
her husband
Joseph,
being a
just man
and unwilling
to put
her to
shame,
resolved to
divorce her
quietly.
But as he
considered those
things,
behold,
an angel of
the Lord
appeared to
him in a
dream,
saying,
Joseph,
son of
David.
Notice
that?
House of
David.
Ahaz's
actions,
as we're
going to see
in a moment,
began the
process that
ended the
house of
David,
apparently,
from being
able to
rule.
Joseph,
son of
David,
do not
fear to
take Mary
as your
wife,
for that
which is
conceived
in her
is from
the Holy
Spirit.
She will
bear a
son,
and you
shall call
his name
Jesus,
which means
God saves,
for he
will save
his people
from their
sins.
God
saves.
And then
Matthew
says,
all this
took place
to fulfill
what the
Lord had
spoken by
the prophet.
What had
he spoken?
Behold,
the virgin
shall conceive
and bear
a son,
and they
shall call
his name
Emmanuel,
which means
God with
us.
When
Joseph woke
from sleep,
he did as
the angel
of the
Lord commanded
him.
He took
his wife,
but knew
her not
until she
had given
birth to
a son,
and he
called
the son's
name
Jesus.
God
saves.
Now,
some of
you are
saying,
George,
you said
you were
going to
talk about
doom and
judgment.
I haven't
heard,
I don't
know why
on earth
you said
that.
Is that
just one
of those
cheap
things you
did at
the beginning
as a
teaser to
get our
attention?
No,
look at
verse 17.
Go back
to Isaiah
chapter 7
and look
at verse 17.
And this
is a very
profound
insight
about the
human
condition.
So,
it hasn't
been revealed
that Assyria,
that Ahaz
has already
paid off
Assyria,
that he's
already made
himself a
vassal
to Assyria.
But look
at verse 17.
Okay,
because the
land's going
to be
deserted
and there's
this image
of the
devastation.
There's still
going to be
devastation
that Israel
has to
face.
Verse 17,
the Lord
will bring
upon you
and upon
your people
and upon
your father's
house.
Notice that?
Upon you,
upon your
house,
and upon
your people.
Such days
as have
not come
since the
day that
Ephraim,
that's another
name for
Israel,
departed from
Judah.
What's this
terrible doom?
The king
of Assyria.
Now,
what's
happening here?
His hope
and confidence
is his
doom.
His hope
and confidence
is his
doom.
If there
was a
point,
it would
be this.
Apart
from God's
grace in
Christ,
your hope
is in
fact your
doom.
See,
one of the
things that
people have
about the
doctrine of
judgment in
Christianity
and about
hell is that
we often say,
yeah, yeah, yeah,
I mean, this is
just completely
and utterly
fair.
Here I am
wanting to
live a
completely
and utterly
fine and
normal life
and God
grabs me
by the
hair and
drags me
off to
this place
and inflicts
all of
these
tortures
upon me
and this
is a
completely
abhorrent
image.
No, no,
no, no,
no.
What if
happens
in judgment
is that
God says
your will
be done.
All your
life you've
wanted to
serve money,
you will
spend eternity
serving money.
All your
life you
were concerned
about maintaining
your appearance,
all you'll
do is
try to
manage your
appearance
for all
eternity.
all your
life you've
just wanted
power,
well that's
just what
you're going
to have,
it's going
to consume
you,
it's going
to eat
you up,
it's going
to spit
you out,
you can't
live in
a universe,
you can't
live in
eternity
with a
billion people
who all
want to be
the center
of the
universe,
that means
you're just
going to be
locked up
by yourself
and your
desire to
have that
which you
can't
possibly
ever have
because that's
just not
reality,
that will
eat you
up.
Your
hope
apart from
Christ
is your
doom.
We already
see it on
this side
of life,
don't we?
We see
marriages
messed up
because people
have wanted
to serve
their sexual
appetites,
to serve
money,
to serve
career,
to serve
all sorts
of foolish
things,
to maybe
serve a
political
party or a
business that
just chews you
up and spits
you out,
and we see
it already
even on this
side of the
grave,
and that's
this profound
thing.
But some
of you might
say,
George,
are you
saying that
Christians are
better?
Are you
saying that
that's not
your case?
Are you
saying,
George,
that you
and other
Christians like
you,
that you
somehow or
another aren't
like this,
that you just
have the right
types of
desires,
and you're
able to
repent?
No,
no,
that's not
what this
text is
all about.
The text is
that I
desperately need
this good news
from God,
a good news
that will go
down to the
depths of
hell and
the heights
of heaven.
I need one
who can both
deal with the
depths of
hell and the
heights of
heaven,
but will be
with me
and with
you.
That's what
I need.
That's what
I need.
You see,
the fact of
the matter
is,
is what,
remember how
the text
all began?
The Lord
offers grace
to the
unworthy
Ahaz.
And the
fact of
the matter
is,
is that
the Lord
does not
need my
worthiness,
I need
his grace.
You,
the Lord
does not
need your
worthiness,
you need
his grace.
And the
good news
of the
gospel
isn't,
well,
read this
text and
go ahead
and do it.
No,
no,
no.
You see,
what happens
is,
you know,
I've never
swam,
been caught
up in a
riptide,
I've heard
about them,
and I,
you know,
I know there's
places on the
Ottawa River
you're not
supposed to
swim because
there's these
deadly currents,
and I know
that very
strong swimmers
can go there
and they can
capture it
by currents
and they can
be dragged
down and
they can
go to their
doom even
though they're
very,
very strong
swimmers,
and the
message of
the gospel
is not
that when
I am
caught in
the riptide
and the
currents
of my
desires
that will
be my
doom,
that God
calls down
from heaven
and says,
swim like
this.
Well,
that's useless
advice.
I will
still be
consumed by
the riptide,
the currents
of my
desires
apart from
Christ?
No.
I have
one who
is both
very humble
but very,
very strong,
who jumps
into the
riptide of
my
currents
and is
right in
in my
mess
and I
cannot
fight
the power
of the
currents
of my
desires
that are
my
doom
but I
have a
strong and
certain hope
and his
name is
Jesus
and he
is God
with us
and he
jumps
into the
currents
of my
desire
that will
doom me
and he
rescues
me.
That is
my hope
in life
and death.
I have
no other.
I cannot
swim.
I need
one who
can.
And
Jesus
comes
amongst
us
in human
history.
He is
not a
deistic
or amorphous
God.
God
who is
everywhere
is another
way of
saying that
he is
nowhere.
Little
pointer.
You say
God is
everywhere,
you have
just said
he is
nowhere.
He is
not
distant.
He
comes
with us
and he
lived
amongst
us.
And
because
of who
he is,
because
he is
God
with us,
he can
transcend
time and
history and
he can
be with
you and
with me.
The death
he dies,
he dies
with me.
He dies
in a
sense
for the
currents
in my
life that
I cannot
fix.
And he
dies on
the cross
for me and
he understands
those currents.
He bears
them and
he rises
from the
dead having
defeated
them.
And he
is with
me and
it's now
his
righteousness
that
closes
me,
clothes
me and
it's
his
taking
my
place
that
pardons
me.
And he
is with
me now.
You know,
there's
wonderful
words from
that great
old hymn,
Great is
Thy
Faithfulness.
Pardon
from sin
and a
peace
that
endureth
your own
dear
presence
to cheer
and to
guide.
That is
Emmanuel.
That is
God with
us.
your own
dear
presence
to cheer
and to
guide.
I want
to close
by saying
the words
of a
Christmas
carol.
it's the
last verse
of a
little
town
of
Bethlehem.
Listen
to how
profound
it is.
I'm not
going to
attempt
to sing
it.
O
holy
child
of
Bethlehem,
right,
Emmanuel,
descend
to us
we pray.
Cast
out our
sin
and enter
in.
Be
born
in us
today.
We
hear the
Christmas
angels
the great
glad
tidings
tell.
O
come to
us,
abide
with
us,
our
Lord
Emmanuel.
That
is
the
gospel.
That
is the
good
news.
For
those
of us
who
believe
and trust
in
Emmanuel
today
is an
opportunity
to say
Lord
Jesus
thank you
so much
that you
did not
come for
the
worthy
but for
the
unworthy.
I
am
unworthy
and I
am
yours.
Be
Emmanuel
with me
every
day.
Every
day
until I
see you
face to
face.
And if
you are
here and
you have
not
known
him
then
just
look up
those
last
words
of a
little
town
of
Bethlehem
and
make it
your
conversion
prayer.
Let's
stand.
I'm
going to
say it
again.
For
some of
you it
can be
an act
of just
remembrance
of Christ
and a
recommitment
to Christ
and for
some it
can be
an
entering
into
Christ
or
having
him
enter
into
you.
O
holy
child of
Bethlehem
descend
to us
we pray
cast out
our sin
and enter
in be
born in
us today.
We hear
the Christmas
angels
the great
glad tidings
tell
O come
to us
abide
with us
my
Lord
our
Lord
Emmanuel.
Father we
ask that
your Holy
Spirit
would grip
us with
this
profound
gospel
message
and help
us to
live
every day
knowing
that our
sins
have been
pardoned
that we
can then
confess our
new and
daily sins
to you
knowing
that they
have
already
been
pardoned
by
Emmanuel
who
lived
with
us
and
entered
into
our
life
and
died
for us
and help
us
Father to
live each
day not
on our
own and
not in
our own
power
but that
we would
walk with
Emmanuel
that he
would be
God
with us
that he
would
heal
our
desires
that he
would
tame
our
desires
that he
would
inflame
godly
desires
that he
would make
us more
human
as we
follow him
and prepare
to see you
face to
face
and enter
into the
new heaven
and the
new earth
for all
eternity
and we
ask this
in the name
of Jesus
your son
and our
savior
and all
God's
people said
amen
You