Our Father God, we thank you so much for your many gifts to us.
We thank you, Father, for the gift of people.
And not least, we do thank you, Father, for our mothers,
for those who have cared for us over many years,
who provide for us, who sacrifice their lives, giving their time and energies.
Father, we thank you so much, and we pray that for every mother here today,
that they would know your help and your grace
to be instruments of your love and your kindness
to their children and to their families.
Father, encourage them greatly.
And Father, would you please encourage us all this morning
that by your Holy Spirit's power,
you would open up our minds to have the capacity to understand your word.
But we also want to experience it and feel it in our hearts.
We want to meet God today.
So Father, help us.
We pray this in Jesus' name.
Amen.
Well, when I was a single guy, many moons ago,
in college, one of my housemates came back
very, very excited.
Johnny, he says, I found the right woman for you.
She's tall.
She's got brown eyes.
She's sporty.
Don't know what happened there.
She wants to serve God.
But after a week of doing absolutely nothing,
he arranged for Kirsty to meet me.
You see, the best way to get to know someone
is to be introduced to them in person.
That's the only way we will fully and completely know who they are.
Well, in a sense, that's what God has been doing for us.
Throughout the story, God has been gradually revealing and introducing
who he is and what he is like.
In fact, God has been promising all the way along
that one day he will come in person into the world.
One of those promises is found in Isaiah chapter 7 and verse 14.
Here's the promise.
Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign.
What is the sign that God's coming?
Here it is.
The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son
and will be called Emmanuel.
Emmanuel.
The promise continues.
Chapter 9, verse 6.
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders
and he will be called Wonderful Counselor,
Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
And so with great expectation,
the people, as they heard the promises,
looked forward to the coming of God.
And as we turn the pages of the story,
we are brought to a nervous teenager,
a young, unknown girl called Mary.
And in Matthew's Gospel,
God promises that she will have a child.
Look at Matthew chapter 1, verse 21.
Matthew chapter 1, verse 21.
God has come to Mary by the angel.
And we read in verse 21,
She, that's Mary, will give birth to a son
and you are to give him the name Jesus.
Jesus means the Lord or God saves
because he will save his people from their sins.
This great saving God that we've seen
throughout the story
who intervenes time and time again
in the lives of so many people
and throughout history
is going to come in person
to save us,
to save the nations.
Verse 22.
All this took place to fulfill
what the Lord had said through the prophet,
the prophet Isaiah that we've just read of.
The virgin will be with child
and will give birth to a son
and they will call him Emmanuel,
which means God with us.
It's what theologians have come to call
the incarnation.
Jesus, the God-man.
Not 50% God and 50% man.
No, Jesus is fully 100% God
and 100% man.
Listen to how the New Testament writers
have understood it.
Who, speaking of Jesus,
being in very nature God,
but being made in human likeness
and being.
He, that's Jesus,
is the image
of the invisible God.
For in Christ,
all the fullness of the deity
lives in bodily form.
The Son, Jesus,
is the radiance of God's glory
and the exact representation
of his being.
Jesus is fully God
and fully man.
One writer put it like this.
Jesus is one person
in two natures,
God and man.
The two natures
are united in Jesus
without mixture,
confusion,
separation,
or division.
And each nature
retains its own attributes.
All that is in us
and all that is in God
is and always will be
truly and indistinguishably
present in the one Christ.
That's why we need to pray
to ask God
to help us comprehend.
So why did Jesus,
the God-man,
come to us?
Well, first,
Jesus comes
to reveal God
to us.
Have a look at John's Gospel.
John chapter 1.
John chapter 1,
verse 1.
Throughout the story
and in the past,
God's introduction to us
has been partial
and incomplete.
But now God has fully
and completely introduced us
to himself in Jesus.
Verse 1.
In the beginning
was the Word
and the Word
was with God
and the Word
was God.
Now, do you remember
how the story
of the Bible starts?
It's very similar,
isn't it?
The very first sentence,
the very first verse
in the Bible
is this.
In the beginning,
God
created the heavens
and the earth.
How did God
create?
By His Word.
God spoke His words
into the vast emptiness
and He spoke the universe
into existence.
There was nothing
and He spoke
and it came to be.
By His Word
He formed the planet
and He began
to fill each space.
He filled the universe
with the sun
and the moon
and the stars
and the planets.
He filled this earth
with the mountains
and the rivers.
He filled the seas
with fish.
He filled the skies
with the birds
and He filled the earth
with people
because God's Word
is living.
It is powerful.
It is active.
But more than this,
the Word
is a person.
Read again verse 1.
In the beginning
was the Word
and the Word
was with God
and the Word
was God.
He, this person
was with God
in the beginning.
This Word
is a person
but is also
identified as God.
You see,
Jesus didn't suddenly exist
as He was born
from Mary.
Jesus has existed
from before time began.
So just as God
existed from eternity past,
the Word existed
from eternity past.
Just as God
created the world,
the Word
created the world.
Look at verse 3.
through Him,
through the Word,
through the person
of Jesus,
all things were made.
Without Him
nothing was made
that has been made.
Everything that God is,
the Word is.
And look what happens
to this Word.
Verse 14.
The Word
became flesh
and made His dwelling
among us.
The Word
that created
the universe
takes on Himself
flesh and bone,
joint and sinew.
God takes on
human form.
He clothes Himself
in humanity
and He has given
the name
Jesus.
I love the way
the author,
Philip Yancey,
puts it.
Unimaginably,
the maker
of all things
shrank down
and down
so small
as to become
an ovum,
a single fertilized
egg,
barely visible
to the naked eye,
an egg
that would divide
and re-divide
until a fetus
took shape,
enlarging cell
by cell
inside
a nervous
teenager.
All of God
in His vastness
and greatness
is squeezed
down
into the person
of Jesus.
The all-powerful,
almighty God
cries
and needs
His nappy
changed.
The all-knowing,
all-sustaining,
all-providing
God
needs fed
and cradled
to sleep.
Why
would God
do that?
Well,
first,
so that we
could know
God.
Look at
verse 18.
No one,
throughout the
whole story
that we've
been looking at,
no one
has ever
seen
God.
But God,
the one
and only,
the Son
who is at
the Father's
side,
has made
Him known.
That's the
primary reason
Jesus came,
so that we
can know
God
intimately
and personally.
In Jesus,
the invisible
God is made
visible.
So,
in Jesus,
we see
all of
God's
greatness
and His
power
and His
beauty
and His
authority
is all
on display.
As Jesus
goes about
His life
and His
ministry,
God is
tangibly
present.
Well,
you say,
that's great.
That was
great
for the
people
then.
What about
now?
How do
I get
to see
Jesus?
how can
I see
God
myself?
Well,
keep your
finger in
John chapter
one and
go to
the very
end of
the book
because
he tells
us
how we
can
know
God
and
see
God.
Throughout
John's
gospel,
Jesus has
been
performing
all his
signs,
his
wonders.
And this
is after
his
resurrection,
after his
death,
and Thomas
verse 28
said to
him,
when he
sees the
risen
Jesus,
he says,
my
Lord
and my
God.
Then
Jesus
told him,
because you
have seen
me,
you have
believed.
Blessed
are those
who have
not seen
me
and yet
have
believed.
And
Jesus
did
many
other
miraculous
signs
in the
presence
of his
disciples,
which are
not
recorded
in this
book,
but these
are written
that you,
people like
us,
may believe
that Jesus
is the
Christ,
the Son
of God,
and that by
believing you
may have
life in
his name.
You see,
the disciples
were the
first eyewitnesses
of Jesus.
They heard
him,
they saw
him,
they touched
him,
they ate
with him.
And all
that they
saw and
heard,
they wrote
down so
that we
too can
know God.
You see,
everything that
God has to
say about
himself has
been revealed
in the
person of
Jesus.
And everything
that we need
to know about
Jesus has
been recorded
for us in
scripture.
In other
words,
there's nothing
more to know
about God
than what we
see in
Jesus.
And there
is nothing
more that
we can
ever know
about Jesus
than what
we read
in the
Bible.
So it's
as we
engage with
God's
word,
as we
read it,
the Holy
Spirit of
God takes
that word
and he
gives us
that experience
of God
himself in
Christ.
If you
want to
know God,
if you
want to
see him
and understand
him,
it's as
we read
his word
that we
encounter
the living
God,
the Lord
Jesus
Christ.
So Jesus
came so
that we
might know
him for
ourselves.
But he
came second
so that we
can experience
God's love
and grace.
Go back
to the
beginning of
John's
Gospel,
chapter 1
and verse
14.
the word
Jesus
became
flesh
and made
his dwelling
among us.
It's like
God has
come and
he's moved
into our
neighbourhood.
God is
not far
and distant
and removed
and uncaring
and uninvolved.
God loves
us so
much that
he came
to live
among people
like you
and me.
he moves
into the
mess of
our world
and into
the brokenness
of our
lives.
He's not
immune from
the sufferings
and the
struggles
that each
one of
us face.
And because
God took
on flesh,
he understands
us.
He identifies
with us.
And as we
follow the
story of
Jesus,
we see
that he
experienced
the same
kind of
things that
we experience
in life.
He felt
the frustrations
and the
limitations
of a
human being.
Jesus
got tired
and he
needed
sleep.
He was
hungry
and he
was thirsty.
He felt
alone and he
was isolated,
homeless and
ignored.
He was
misunderstood
by people,
abandoned by
his friends,
considered mad
by his
family.
body.
He
wept at
the grave
of his
friends and
he grieved
over those
who rejected
God his
father.
He faced
opposition and
persecution.
He suffered
physically and
mentally and
emotionally.
He faced
physical suffering
to a degree
we will never
have to and
he experienced
the pain of
death itself.
God is
not distant
and unremoved
from your
life and
what you go
through yourself
right now.
And because
he is God,
he understands
us better than
we understand
or know
ourselves.
He loves
us so much
that he
enters into
our sin
cursed
world to
walk with
us so that
we can
experience his
grace in
our lives.
Look at
verse 16,
it's just a
snippet but
it tells us
something of
him from
the fullness
of his
grace.
We have
all received
one blessing
after another.
The grace
of God
ministers
to us as
he identifies
with us in
our life.
And Hebrews
tells us that
we can now
go through
Jesus to
the Father
and receive
the grace
and mercy
that we
need in
our time
of help.
And God
himself,
because he
knows what
we need,
will pour
out his
grace into
your life
and into
my life.
So,
Jesus reveals
God to
us.
Second,
Jesus came
to represent
us before
God.
In the
beginning,
when God
created the
world,
the pinnacle
of his
creation was
to create
mankind.
And the
first man
that God
created
was Adam.
And from
Adam comes
the whole
human race.
if we
go back
far enough
in our
own
family
history
and follow
the line,
we discover,
well,
we're actually
all related
to Adam.
Whoever we
are, no
matter the
colour of
our skin,
our nationality,
we go back
to Adam.
He is the
father of
the nations.
But there's
a huge
problem with
that.
There's a
huge problem
being related
to Adam.
Have a
look at
Romans
chapter 5
verse 12.
Romans
chapter 5
verse 12.
We trace
our line
back far
enough,
we come
to Adam.
We're
related to
him.
But there's
a problem
verse 12.
Therefore,
just as
sin entered
the world
through one
man,
Adam,
and death
through sin.
And in
this way,
death came
to all
people,
because all
sinned.
You remember
how the story
started at the
beginning?
The beautiful
garden,
Adam living
in relationship
with God,
and then Adam
rebelled
against God.
Adam wanted
to get rid
of God
and say,
I want
to be like
him.
I want
to be the
one who
has authority.
I want
to be the
one who
has the
rules.
And they
get rid
of God
by saying
no to
God.
But the
problem was,
as we have
seen,
as we've
gone through
the story,
it didn't
stop with
Adam.
His children
followed suit.
They said
no to
God.
And what
has happened
is Adam
has produced
a family
of rebels.
The whole
human race
over the
history and
the course
of time
has rejected
God.
Adam's
first sin
in the
garden
was like
the first
rumble
in the
deep
that causes
a tsunami.
And throughout
history and
with every
new generation,
this tsunami
has gained
momentum,
bringing with
it devastation
and destruction
as people
live sinful
lives,
ruining this
world and
ruining their
lives and
ruining everything
that God
has given
to them.
And this
wave of
human rebellion,
it seems,
is just
unstoppable.
You see,
we are all
just like
Adam because,
look at
verse 12,
the very end,
because we
have all
sinned.
And so
Adam was
removed from
the garden,
separated from
the very
presence of
God.
And likewise,
we too have
been separated
from God.
Like Adam,
we live now
in a sin-cursed
world.
And now we
face the
judgment of
God.
And left to
ourselves,
we can do
nothing about
it.
Throughout the
course of
history and
over the
time,
people have
tried to
make lives
better.
They've
tried to
make the
world a
better place,
but still
it continues
in its
mess.
But that's
why Jesus
came, to
stop the
tsunami of
sin and
its destruction.
Jesus came
into the
world as
the new
Adam, the
perfect Adam,
the perfect
man who
comes to
represent us
before God.
let's see
how he
does this.
First, Jesus
dies our
death for
us.
Look at
verse 18.
Consequently,
just as the
result of
one trespass
was condemnation
for all
men.
You see,
like Adam,
we're all
under God's
just and
fair
judgment.
We've all
added to
the mess
and the
brokenness
of this
world.
Our
destiny,
God tells
us,
is hell.
But God
has intervened
into our
lives through
Jesus.
Let's read
verse 18.
Consequently,
just as the
result of
one trespass
was condemnation
for all,
so also the
result of
one act of
righteousness
was justification
that brings
life for
all men.
That one
act of
righteousness,
that one
great act,
that one
great event
was the
death of
Jesus Christ
on the cross
for our
sins.
Jesus
comes into
the world
as the
second Adam.
He comes
in to
represent us.
He comes
in and he
takes the
place of
Adam's
children,
people like
you and
me,
and he
takes on
himself the
judgment that
we deserve
so that we
might receive
life.
Jesus,
who is
perfect and
without sin,
becomes sin
for us.
And on the
cross as we
picture Jesus
with his arms
open wide,
he absorbs
the punishment
that you
and I
deserve.
it's as if
the tsunami
of judgment
crashes in
upon Jesus
at that
moment in
time.
And he
bears it
all for
you and
for me.
Every
rebellious
thought and
word and
action has
all been
taken on
by Jesus.
He dies
our death
for us so
that we
might receive,
as it says
in verse
18,
justification,
that declaration
from God
to say,
you are
now right
before God.
And you
can enter
into his
presence
without fear.
No one
in all of
history could
do that.
God had
sent many
people,
people like
Moses,
people like
David,
people like
Joshua,
all these
great people
all along,
but they
could never
deal with
it.
Only Jesus,
the God
man,
can represent
us before
God and
deal with
all our
sin.
So he
dies our
death,
but he
comes to
live the
perfect life
for us.
Look at
verse 19.
for just
as through
the disobedience
of the
one man,
the many
were made
sinners.
You see
again,
our likeness,
just like
Adam,
disobedient.
We don't
live as God
intends.
We don't
do what he
wants.
But Jesus
comes as the
perfect Adam
for us.
Look at the
rest of
verse 19.
for just
as through
the disobedience
of the
one man,
the many
were made
sinners,
so also
through the
obedience
of the
one man.
That's
Jesus.
The many
will be
made
righteous.
You see,
Jesus comes
as that
great
representative
for us,
the one
who obeys
God
perfectly
for us.
Where Adam's
children have
failed and
fallen throughout
history,
Jesus has
followed
obediently.
Where Adam
failed in
the garden
to obey
God as he
should,
Jesus in
the garden
of Gethsemane
obeyed God
and he says,
not my
will,
but your
will be
done.
Here is
the perfect
Adam,
the perfect
man,
who did
everything
right.
And Jesus
now takes
his perfect
obedience.
And just
as he was
clothed in
humanity,
so he
clothes us
with his
perfect
obedience,
he wraps
us in
his
obedience,
so that
we might
be accepted
and welcomed
and treasured
by God,
that we
might become
his children,
brothers and
sisters with
the Lord
Jesus Christ.
How on
earth is
that possible?
How could
God do
such a thing?
Well, you see,
just as we are
related to Adam
because of
our sin,
we can now
be related
to Jesus,
the perfect
Adam,
through our
faith.
In Jesus
is our
hope,
simply by
trusting him.
You see,
through Jesus
the curse
is broken
and the
blessings
continue
to flow.
Look at
verse 21,
so that
just as
sin reigned
in death,
so also
grace
might reign
through
righteousness
to bring
eternal
life
through
Jesus
Christ
our
Lord.
Through
the whole
story,
it's just
been this
endless
cycle
of failure
and disappointment
and things
going wrong
and God
coming to
save and
it going
round and
then Jesus
comes
because who
him the
curse is
broken
and the
blessings
now begin
to flow.
Just as
that single
act of
Adam caused
death and
destruction,
so the
single act
of Jesus
brings life
and transformation.
No one in
the history
of the world
could do
that.
Only Jesus,
the God
man,
can represent
us before
God and
live the
perfect life
for us.
Jesus reveals
God to
us so
that we
can know
him intimately
and personally.
Jesus
comes and
he represents
us before
God so
we can
get to
know him.
And where
does that
leave us?
Well,
we know
God through
him.
But there
is a world
out there
that does
not know
God.
And in
a sense,
we are to
go,
and to
live
incarnational
lives in
the world.
So where
you go
tomorrow,
if you
are with
your children
tomorrow,
if you
are in
college
tomorrow
with your
fellow
students,
where you
are at
work
tomorrow,
we are
to live
incarnational
lives.
That is,
just as
Christ
crossed
over all
those
barriers
and entered
into our
suffering and
frustrations
and difficulties,
so we
identify with
the world
and the
people around
us,
we get
close to
them,
so that we
can bring
the hope
of Christ,
so that
people can
get to know
this God,
man,
Jesus Christ,
and see their
lives changed
and transformed
as we bring
the hope
of God
with us.
Emmanuel,
God with
us.
May God
give us
the grace
that we
might bring
God
to those
who need
to know
him.
Let's pray.
our Father
God,
we are
struggling at
times to
find words
and pictures
to see
and describe
all that
has taken
place and
all that
you have
done.
And so
we pray,
Father,
that by
your Spirit
you would
breathe life
into it
and open
up our
minds to
grasp and
to know
and to see
you.
we pray
and ask
that as
we read
your word
and as
we listen
to it
that we
would come
and experience
the living
God,
that we
would experience
Jesus,
the God
man who
has come
to give
life.
And we
ask,
Father,
that you
would help
us as we
go into
the world,
that you
would help
us to
cross over
those barriers,
to enter
into people's
frustration
and suffering,
to show
them a
God who
cares and
a God
who loves,
a God
who wants
to know
them and
for them
to know
God,
to show
them that
their wildest
dreams are
met fully
and completely
in Jesus,
the one
who deals
with the
brokenness
and the
sin and
the heartache,
the one
who comes
to give
life to
all who
will trust
him.
Father,
help us,
go with us
by the
power of
your spirit,
we pray.
Amen.
We're
going to
sing
a song
that reminds
us that
in Christ
is our
only hope.
If you
look at
the second
verse
of