WEBVTT 00:00:00.780 --> 00:00:05.280 We're going to read from Luke chapter 2, verses 1 to 14. 00:00:05.480 --> 00:00:10.500 So we read this passage last week as well, but we focused on a different section, 00:00:10.500 --> 00:00:16.719 and tonight we'll focus on the very end of the section where the angels sing what's typically called the Gloria. 00:00:19.059 --> 00:00:20.260 This is the Word of God. 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:24.800 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:29.260 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria, 00:00:29.260 --> 00:00:32.420 and all went to be registered, each to his own town. 00:00:32.800 --> 00:00:38.100 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, 00:00:38.240 --> 00:00:42.300 which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 00:00:42.520 --> 00:00:46.000 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 00:00:46.620 --> 00:00:49.100 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth, 00:00:49.799 --> 00:00:54.640 and she gave birth to her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling cloths, 00:00:54.980 --> 00:00:58.120 and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 00:00:58.119 --> 00:01:01.759 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, 00:01:02.579 --> 00:01:04.299 keeping watch over their flocks by night. 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:08.219 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:11.019 and they were filled with great fear. 00:01:11.659 --> 00:01:12.719 And the angel said to them, 00:01:12.719 --> 00:01:15.840 Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy, 00:01:16.359 --> 00:01:17.700 that will be for all the people. 00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:23.739 For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 00:01:24.319 --> 00:01:25.859 And this will be a sign for you. 00:01:25.939 --> 00:01:29.900 You will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths, and lying in a manger. 00:01:29.900 --> 00:01:35.180 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, 00:01:35.359 --> 00:01:38.760 praising God and saying, Glory to God in the highest, 00:01:39.160 --> 00:01:44.280 and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased. 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:46.620 This is God's holy word. 00:01:46.620 --> 00:01:55.600 I was traveling to church this evening, and the radio was on, 00:01:55.840 --> 00:01:59.920 and Alison reminded me of how it was on the old days 00:01:59.920 --> 00:02:08.240 when the number one single was revealed on Christmas Day, 00:02:08.460 --> 00:02:10.900 Christmas Day Top of the Pops. 00:02:10.900 --> 00:02:15.580 I don't think any of that happens any longer, 00:02:15.900 --> 00:02:20.420 but often the musical number one, 00:02:20.540 --> 00:02:24.379 the musical offering at this time of year would be Christmas themed. 00:02:25.659 --> 00:02:27.200 Do they know it's Christmas? 00:02:27.719 --> 00:02:28.819 Last Christmas. 00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:30.640 Lonely this Christmas. 00:02:31.420 --> 00:02:32.480 Mistletoe and wine. 00:02:33.219 --> 00:02:35.680 To name but a few, and you'll be glad to know 00:02:35.680 --> 00:02:40.340 I'm not going to embark on a rendition of any of these items. 00:02:40.900 --> 00:02:45.039 Instead, what I want to do is for us to look together 00:02:45.039 --> 00:02:48.120 at a very different Christmas song. 00:02:48.760 --> 00:02:52.700 Indeed, the first ever song released, if I can put it that way, 00:02:52.900 --> 00:02:56.180 and sung on that first ever Christmas Day. 00:02:56.879 --> 00:03:02.420 And we find it here in Luke's Gospel, chapter 2 and verse 14. 00:03:02.939 --> 00:03:06.680 A song sung, perhaps even shouted or chanted, 00:03:06.680 --> 00:03:10.580 by a multitude of the heavenly host. 00:03:10.900 --> 00:03:13.480 Glory to God in the highest, 00:03:13.780 --> 00:03:18.280 and on earth peace among those with whom He is well pleased. 00:03:19.580 --> 00:03:24.300 The song of this text is often better known simply as the Gloria, 00:03:24.759 --> 00:03:27.980 Gloria in excelsis, in excelsis Deo, 00:03:28.540 --> 00:03:30.379 glory to God in the highest. 00:03:31.099 --> 00:03:33.700 In some churches, it is sung every Sunday. 00:03:33.699 --> 00:03:36.299 And over the years, great musicians, 00:03:36.780 --> 00:03:39.439 Bach, Handel, Mozart, Vivaldi, 00:03:39.899 --> 00:03:45.619 have written arias and oratorios based on this particular text. 00:03:46.339 --> 00:03:52.239 And it's a text that announces the great turning point in human history. 00:03:52.759 --> 00:03:57.199 God Himself, the Creator, breaking into our world 00:03:57.199 --> 00:04:00.500 and taking to Himself our flesh and blood. 00:04:00.500 --> 00:04:08.180 According to the Bible, here is the great eternal plan and purpose of God coming together. 00:04:08.680 --> 00:04:12.919 Here is the fulfillment of God's ancient promises to His people, 00:04:13.240 --> 00:04:19.579 focused on a little baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger. 00:04:19.579 --> 00:04:24.699 No wonder a multitude of the heavenly host, 00:04:24.979 --> 00:04:27.180 literally a great army of heaven, 00:04:27.759 --> 00:04:30.740 burst into this song of praise. 00:04:30.859 --> 00:04:34.139 It's hardly, I suppose, a silent night. 00:04:34.539 --> 00:04:39.680 They cry out, they declare glory to God in the highest. 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:44.740 Their desire that all of creation should rise up 00:04:44.740 --> 00:04:48.279 and praise this wonderful God. 00:04:48.279 --> 00:04:52.439 And their song essentially is a kind of commentary 00:04:52.439 --> 00:04:59.099 on what God is doing in sending His only begotten Son into the world. 00:04:59.739 --> 00:05:04.379 A song of praise to God about the Lord Jesus Christ 00:05:04.379 --> 00:05:08.459 and about the significance of His coming. 00:05:09.439 --> 00:05:12.779 And it's a song that I want to suggest to you tonight. 00:05:12.779 --> 00:05:17.399 It sounds out three distinctive notes about God 00:05:17.399 --> 00:05:21.599 and about what the birth of this child will mean. 00:05:22.659 --> 00:05:27.779 And the first note that I want you to see with me is this. 00:05:28.179 --> 00:05:31.199 The first note is a note of divine glory. 00:05:31.939 --> 00:05:35.679 Glory to God in the highest. 00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:45.240 The coming of Jesus is first and foremost designed to reveal and to bring glory to God. 00:05:45.620 --> 00:05:50.340 According to the Bible, this is what God Himself, in a sense, is all about. 00:05:50.759 --> 00:05:54.000 He is a God jealous for His own glory. 00:05:54.000 --> 00:05:58.379 After each musical composition, 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:04.899 Johann Sebastian Bach would write that great Reformation slogan, SDG, 00:06:05.180 --> 00:06:06.899 Soli Deo Gloria. 00:06:07.759 --> 00:06:09.399 To God alone be the glory. 00:06:10.360 --> 00:06:12.920 And what Bach understood, perhaps better than most, 00:06:13.300 --> 00:06:16.800 was that this is the great mission statement of heaven. 00:06:16.800 --> 00:06:23.120 This is what God has written over the universe and over the world that He has created. 00:06:23.520 --> 00:06:24.920 Soli Deo Gloria. 00:06:25.780 --> 00:06:29.560 Here is God's great overarching purpose in all that He does. 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:36.819 I recently bought a copy of Herman Bavinck's book on Christian doctrine, 00:06:37.259 --> 00:06:40.600 entitled The Wonderful Works of God. 00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:45.420 It's beautifully rich, devotional, systematic theology. 00:06:45.420 --> 00:06:48.259 The first sentence of the book is, 00:06:49.000 --> 00:06:53.140 God and God alone is man's highest good. 00:06:54.259 --> 00:06:58.780 And the concluding sentence of the book is a quote from the Apostle Paul. 00:07:00.160 --> 00:07:04.259 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things. 00:07:04.860 --> 00:07:08.120 To Him be the glory forever. Amen. 00:07:09.500 --> 00:07:12.960 Bavinck's literary envelope follows Calvin 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:17.939 in underscoring the aim and goal of all Christian theology 00:07:17.939 --> 00:07:20.339 as being the glory of God. 00:07:20.939 --> 00:07:23.899 Glory to God in the highest. 00:07:24.979 --> 00:07:30.319 Therefore, the first note of the Gloria is about God, not about us. 00:07:30.740 --> 00:07:33.979 The angels do not begin with our felt needs, 00:07:34.099 --> 00:07:35.699 our psychological wounds, 00:07:35.959 --> 00:07:37.519 our existential loneliness. 00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:40.699 They begin with the glory of God. 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:43.139 And that is always the biblical order. 00:07:44.299 --> 00:07:47.560 Man's chief end is to glorify God. 00:07:48.000 --> 00:07:50.180 And only then, in the light of that glory, 00:07:50.439 --> 00:07:52.079 to enjoy Him forever. 00:07:52.079 --> 00:07:57.300 It seems to me that much modern theology and indeed preaching 00:07:57.300 --> 00:07:59.519 has kind of reversed this order. 00:08:00.139 --> 00:08:03.279 Begins with humanity and its problems. 00:08:03.939 --> 00:08:05.539 And then, you know, if there's time, 00:08:05.659 --> 00:08:09.579 we might squeeze in a word or a thought about God. 00:08:11.060 --> 00:08:13.060 But the angels of heaven know better. 00:08:14.060 --> 00:08:17.579 They know that the highest thing that can be said on earth 00:08:17.579 --> 00:08:20.740 is something about the God of highest heaven. 00:08:21.919 --> 00:08:24.620 This God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 00:08:25.719 --> 00:08:27.839 The Father eternally loving the Son, 00:08:28.120 --> 00:08:30.079 pouring out the Spirit upon Him. 00:08:30.759 --> 00:08:34.399 God of eternal glory, giving out love and light. 00:08:34.860 --> 00:08:36.379 And that's why in the Bible, 00:08:36.559 --> 00:08:39.819 so often God's glory is likened to light 00:08:39.819 --> 00:08:42.159 shining and radiating out. 00:08:42.159 --> 00:08:44.279 And we see it here in this text, 00:08:44.559 --> 00:08:47.120 in this passage in Luke chapter 2. 00:08:48.240 --> 00:08:49.580 The shepherds out in the field, 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:52.000 keeping watch over their flock by night. 00:08:52.180 --> 00:08:54.259 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, 00:08:54.520 --> 00:08:58.200 and the glory of the Lord shone around them. 00:08:59.620 --> 00:09:03.120 We have that in the Old Testament in Isaiah 60. 00:09:04.259 --> 00:09:07.180 Arise, shine, for your light has come, 00:09:07.340 --> 00:09:10.600 and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:13.700 Behold, darkness shall cover the earth, 00:09:13.940 --> 00:09:15.320 thick darkness the peoples, 00:09:15.320 --> 00:09:18.080 but the Lord will arise upon you, 00:09:18.480 --> 00:09:21.800 and His glory will be seen upon you. 00:09:21.879 --> 00:09:24.040 And the nations shall come to your light 00:09:24.040 --> 00:09:27.280 as kings to the brightness of your rising. 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:32.240 And if we turn to the very final book of the Bible, 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:35.179 Revelation, Revelation 21. 00:09:35.179 --> 00:09:38.679 I saw no temple in the city, 00:09:38.939 --> 00:09:43.059 for its temple is the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb, 00:09:43.259 --> 00:09:48.159 and the city has no need of sun or moon to shine upon it, 00:09:48.459 --> 00:09:52.339 for the glory of God gives it light. 00:09:52.340 --> 00:09:54.879 And its lamp is the Lamb. 00:09:56.080 --> 00:09:58.139 By its light will the nations walk. 00:09:58.639 --> 00:10:01.759 The kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. 00:10:02.420 --> 00:10:04.280 The gates will never shut by day, 00:10:04.500 --> 00:10:08.000 and there will be no night there. 00:10:08.000 --> 00:10:14.460 His glory is the shining forth of all that God is. 00:10:15.460 --> 00:10:17.000 The effulgence of His holiness, 00:10:17.159 --> 00:10:18.759 the radiance of His majesty, 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:23.059 the splendor of His perfections being made public. 00:10:23.059 --> 00:10:26.919 And here the angels announce 00:10:26.919 --> 00:10:29.399 that the glory has now, 00:10:29.599 --> 00:10:31.739 in the birth of this child, 00:10:32.139 --> 00:10:35.919 broken out in a new and quite astonishing way. 00:10:36.299 --> 00:10:38.619 The Word has become flesh. 00:10:38.899 --> 00:10:41.939 The eternal Son has taken our nature. 00:10:43.379 --> 00:10:45.759 And so, at the birth of Jesus Christ, 00:10:45.919 --> 00:10:49.459 we have this outshining radiance of God's glory. 00:10:49.460 --> 00:10:53.580 Here is a God eternally full of light and love, 00:10:53.920 --> 00:10:56.900 and whose glory is spilling out into the world 00:10:56.900 --> 00:11:00.300 in the person of His eternally beloved Son. 00:11:03.280 --> 00:11:06.400 In the Old Testament, that word for glory 00:11:06.400 --> 00:11:09.840 comes from a Hebrew word suggesting weight 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:11.740 and substance and importance. 00:11:12.240 --> 00:11:15.259 The very antithesis of something light 00:11:15.259 --> 00:11:18.019 and inconsequential. 00:11:18.019 --> 00:11:21.939 When the Bible speaks of the glory of God, 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:24.039 it speaks of His infinite worth, 00:11:24.120 --> 00:11:26.000 His radiant honor, 00:11:26.159 --> 00:11:27.960 His eternal greatness. 00:11:29.059 --> 00:11:31.379 And indeed, that's why sometimes in the Bible, 00:11:31.679 --> 00:11:34.759 in Scripture, God is referred to simply as the glory. 00:11:36.659 --> 00:11:39.179 And God's great goal or aim in all things 00:11:39.179 --> 00:11:41.100 is to display His glory. 00:11:41.500 --> 00:11:43.019 He is God in the highest. 00:11:44.100 --> 00:11:46.500 There is none above Him or beyond Him. 00:11:46.500 --> 00:11:49.279 He glories in His own name. 00:11:49.379 --> 00:11:50.840 He delights in Himself. 00:11:52.340 --> 00:11:56.139 He stands supreme at the center of His own affections, 00:11:56.240 --> 00:12:00.139 a self-sufficient, inexhaustible fountain of grace. 00:12:00.840 --> 00:12:04.700 He delights in His own glory as Father, Son, and Spirit, 00:12:04.700 --> 00:12:08.740 and He opposes everything that would seek to belittle 00:12:08.740 --> 00:12:10.720 or diminish that glory. 00:12:10.720 --> 00:12:15.639 Indeed, the very essence of human sin 00:12:15.639 --> 00:12:22.360 is in robbing Him of the glory that is rightfully His. 00:12:23.019 --> 00:12:27.720 Instead of Him occupying the central place in our lives 00:12:27.720 --> 00:12:30.220 and in our thinking and in our worship, 00:12:31.220 --> 00:12:35.240 He has since the fall been relegated, 00:12:35.860 --> 00:12:37.720 dethroned, marginalized. 00:12:37.720 --> 00:12:40.960 And so, as human beings, 00:12:41.060 --> 00:12:43.759 we no longer bask in the light of God's glory. 00:12:43.899 --> 00:12:46.800 We much prefer to hide away in the darkness. 00:12:47.180 --> 00:12:49.560 We put other people, we put ourselves, 00:12:49.680 --> 00:12:51.960 other things at the center of our lives. 00:12:52.500 --> 00:12:55.240 Everything and anything but our Creator. 00:12:57.240 --> 00:13:00.440 Paul writes of this in Romans chapter 1 00:13:00.440 --> 00:13:01.700 when he says, 00:13:02.700 --> 00:13:18.260 He goes on, 00:13:18.259 --> 00:13:37.919 So when the Christmas angels sing, 00:13:38.539 --> 00:13:42.860 they sing first and foremost about God's glory. 00:13:42.860 --> 00:13:44.919 Jesus has come. 00:13:44.919 --> 00:13:47.100 He's a man on a mission 00:13:47.100 --> 00:13:50.659 to reveal the glory of God, 00:13:50.879 --> 00:13:54.940 to restore God's glory in our lives. 00:13:55.659 --> 00:13:57.820 He has come to put right 00:13:57.820 --> 00:14:00.560 what has gone horribly wrong. 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:06.399 He has come to prepare honor and glory for Himself 00:14:06.399 --> 00:14:07.800 through His people. 00:14:09.279 --> 00:14:12.639 God is glorified in becoming one of us. 00:14:12.860 --> 00:14:15.399 And in going to the cross 00:14:15.399 --> 00:14:17.820 to bear the curse 00:14:17.820 --> 00:14:21.139 and in being raised up to newness of life, 00:14:22.300 --> 00:14:24.519 Jesus Christ has come to usher in 00:14:24.519 --> 00:14:27.039 a glorious new creation. 00:14:28.480 --> 00:14:31.860 No wonder this great multitude 00:14:31.860 --> 00:14:35.779 of the heavenly host break into song. 00:14:35.779 --> 00:14:39.939 And that's the first note of the Gloria. 00:14:40.579 --> 00:14:41.439 God's glory. 00:14:42.120 --> 00:14:43.699 A note of divine glory. 00:14:45.379 --> 00:14:47.360 And that brings us to the second note. 00:14:48.159 --> 00:14:50.559 Because if God is going to restore His glory, 00:14:50.659 --> 00:14:52.980 how will He accomplish this? 00:14:54.319 --> 00:14:55.659 Well, He will do so 00:14:55.659 --> 00:14:57.939 by bringing peace. 00:14:57.940 --> 00:15:01.360 That's the second note in the Gloria. 00:15:01.360 --> 00:15:03.120 A note of divine glory. 00:15:03.120 --> 00:15:05.700 And then a note of divine peace. 00:15:05.900 --> 00:15:09.520 And on earth, peace. 00:15:11.280 --> 00:15:13.140 Peace on the earth, 00:15:13.220 --> 00:15:15.360 not peace from the earth. 00:15:15.980 --> 00:15:18.520 Here is the peace that only God Himself 00:15:18.520 --> 00:15:20.240 can bring to us. 00:15:20.240 --> 00:15:23.080 And the peace that's spoken of here 00:15:23.080 --> 00:15:23.899 is not, I think, 00:15:24.220 --> 00:15:26.220 some kind of vague, 00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:29.519 wistful, sentimental kind of thing 00:15:29.519 --> 00:15:30.879 that people often mention 00:15:30.879 --> 00:15:31.960 at this time of year. 00:15:32.820 --> 00:15:35.340 The angels here are speaking about shalom. 00:15:36.340 --> 00:15:37.560 That Old Testament word 00:15:37.560 --> 00:15:39.820 that conveys wholeness 00:15:39.820 --> 00:15:41.539 and harmony and salvation 00:15:41.539 --> 00:15:43.379 and everything put right. 00:15:43.379 --> 00:15:46.740 And this peace is proclaimed 00:15:46.740 --> 00:15:48.299 on earth. 00:15:49.980 --> 00:15:52.779 This place of thorns and thistles, 00:15:53.200 --> 00:15:54.779 of sweat and blood, 00:15:54.899 --> 00:15:56.679 of idolatry and immorality, 00:15:57.500 --> 00:15:59.820 of enmity and strife 00:15:59.820 --> 00:16:01.439 and of war and conflict. 00:16:01.600 --> 00:16:03.659 It is on this earth 00:16:03.659 --> 00:16:05.259 that peace is pronounced 00:16:05.259 --> 00:16:06.860 and announced. 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:09.480 And so the angels are speaking 00:16:09.480 --> 00:16:12.679 theologically about peace with God. 00:16:13.379 --> 00:16:15.899 For this restless, broken world 00:16:15.899 --> 00:16:17.820 is at war with God. 00:16:18.740 --> 00:16:19.799 As human beings, 00:16:19.899 --> 00:16:21.379 we have robbed Him of His glory 00:16:21.379 --> 00:16:23.159 and we're not going to give Him 00:16:23.159 --> 00:16:24.939 His rightful place in our lives. 00:16:25.059 --> 00:16:26.559 We're going to do our own thing. 00:16:26.639 --> 00:16:28.559 We're going to follow our own path. 00:16:28.740 --> 00:16:30.039 We're going to live life 00:16:30.039 --> 00:16:31.080 by our own rules. 00:16:31.200 --> 00:16:33.080 I mean, who does He think He is? 00:16:34.539 --> 00:16:35.860 And so there's conflict. 00:16:37.440 --> 00:16:41.480 Enmity between human beings and God. 00:16:41.480 --> 00:16:44.840 But it's a conflict 00:16:44.840 --> 00:16:46.940 that will not last forever. 00:16:48.500 --> 00:16:51.279 For God has promised one day 00:16:51.279 --> 00:16:53.060 to restore His glory 00:16:53.060 --> 00:16:56.320 and to banish and exclude 00:16:56.320 --> 00:16:58.779 all that is wrong and evil 00:16:58.779 --> 00:16:59.940 from His universe. 00:17:01.779 --> 00:17:03.620 And sometimes that's referred to 00:17:03.620 --> 00:17:05.680 in the Bible as the great day 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:06.400 of the Lord, 00:17:06.860 --> 00:17:08.400 sometimes the last day. 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:13.519 Think of Isaiah chapter 2 00:17:13.519 --> 00:17:14.400 where He proclaims, 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:18.060 He shall judge between the nations, 00:17:18.380 --> 00:17:21.160 shall decide disputes for many peoples, 00:17:21.820 --> 00:17:23.320 and they shall beat their swords 00:17:23.320 --> 00:17:24.400 into plowshares 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:27.900 and their spears into pruning hooks. 00:17:28.259 --> 00:17:30.140 Nations shall not lift up sword 00:17:30.140 --> 00:17:31.000 against nation, 00:17:31.420 --> 00:17:34.259 neither shall they learn war anymore. 00:17:34.259 --> 00:17:37.119 Isaiah envisages a kind of 00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:39.059 reordering of the world, 00:17:39.700 --> 00:17:42.619 one not based on partisan loyalties 00:17:42.619 --> 00:17:44.039 and nationality, 00:17:44.140 --> 00:17:46.900 but upon the worship of the one true God. 00:17:47.460 --> 00:17:52.019 A world of shalom and harmony and peace. 00:17:52.980 --> 00:17:54.279 Conflicts resolved, 00:17:54.599 --> 00:17:55.819 wrongs righted, 00:17:56.140 --> 00:17:59.420 tears wiped from every eye. 00:17:59.420 --> 00:18:02.019 Fallible human judgment 00:18:02.019 --> 00:18:05.320 replaced with the perfection 00:18:05.320 --> 00:18:06.800 of divine judgment. 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:09.460 The symbolism there is 00:18:09.460 --> 00:18:10.740 of a return to Eden. 00:18:11.820 --> 00:18:12.900 The curse removed, 00:18:13.080 --> 00:18:14.940 men and women at peace with God 00:18:14.940 --> 00:18:16.200 and with one another. 00:18:18.100 --> 00:18:20.320 There can be no ultimate peace 00:18:20.320 --> 00:18:21.300 and prosperity 00:18:21.300 --> 00:18:23.600 until men and women are brought 00:18:23.600 --> 00:18:25.700 under the rule of God. 00:18:26.460 --> 00:18:28.200 Only in submission to Christ 00:18:28.200 --> 00:18:28.940 is there peace. 00:18:29.160 --> 00:18:29.940 Calvin writes, 00:18:30.299 --> 00:18:31.400 Oh, that we might live 00:18:31.400 --> 00:18:33.620 under Christ's perfect rule, 00:18:33.860 --> 00:18:35.360 that we might enjoy 00:18:35.360 --> 00:18:37.519 Christ's perfect peace. 00:18:39.299 --> 00:18:40.880 One day God's peace 00:18:40.880 --> 00:18:42.559 will reign on the earth. 00:18:42.840 --> 00:18:44.160 The curse of the fall 00:18:44.160 --> 00:18:45.920 will be lifted forever. 00:18:46.860 --> 00:18:48.000 And we need to be ready 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:48.960 for that day. 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:50.100 How do we do that? 00:18:50.160 --> 00:18:51.819 We need to be reconciled 00:18:51.819 --> 00:18:53.259 to God now. 00:18:55.259 --> 00:18:57.299 The angels remind us here 00:18:57.299 --> 00:18:58.599 that Jesus' coming 00:18:58.599 --> 00:18:59.599 is all about bringing 00:18:59.599 --> 00:19:00.940 that reconciliation 00:19:00.940 --> 00:19:02.599 and peace with God 00:19:02.599 --> 00:19:04.460 that we so desperately need 00:19:04.460 --> 00:19:06.220 in this broken, 00:19:06.819 --> 00:19:07.539 decaying, 00:19:07.599 --> 00:19:08.799 and dying world. 00:19:12.039 --> 00:19:13.759 He brings peace 00:19:13.759 --> 00:19:14.919 on the earth. 00:19:15.779 --> 00:19:16.539 The Old Testament, 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:16.960 of course, 00:19:17.019 --> 00:19:18.419 Jesus has given that title 00:19:18.419 --> 00:19:19.500 in Isaiah 9, 00:19:19.579 --> 00:19:19.839 isn't he? 00:19:19.940 --> 00:19:21.500 The Prince of Peace. 00:19:21.500 --> 00:19:24.180 Paul writing to the Christians 00:19:24.180 --> 00:19:24.819 in Ephesus 00:19:24.819 --> 00:19:25.960 says that 00:19:25.960 --> 00:19:27.859 Jesus himself 00:19:27.859 --> 00:19:29.220 is our peace. 00:19:30.059 --> 00:19:30.960 We sometimes 00:19:30.960 --> 00:19:34.000 sing the Christmas carol 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:34.920 at this time of year, 00:19:34.980 --> 00:19:35.779 that famous carol 00:19:35.779 --> 00:19:37.019 of Charles Wesley's, 00:19:37.420 --> 00:19:38.700 Peace on earth 00:19:38.700 --> 00:19:40.559 and mercy mild, 00:19:41.240 --> 00:19:42.799 God and sinners 00:19:42.799 --> 00:19:43.500 reconciled. 00:19:43.500 --> 00:19:44.259 reconciled. 00:19:45.200 --> 00:19:46.799 So how does Jesus 00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:47.900 bring us 00:19:47.900 --> 00:19:49.220 peace with God? 00:19:50.579 --> 00:19:51.160 What does this 00:19:51.160 --> 00:19:53.539 little baby boy 00:19:53.539 --> 00:19:55.559 wrapped in swaddling cloths 00:19:55.559 --> 00:19:56.700 lying in a manger 00:19:56.700 --> 00:19:57.759 got to do 00:19:57.759 --> 00:19:58.960 with bringing 00:19:58.960 --> 00:20:00.339 peace on the earth? 00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:03.180 Some years ago now, 00:20:03.420 --> 00:20:04.619 I came across 00:20:04.619 --> 00:20:06.400 a newspaper article. 00:20:06.799 --> 00:20:07.259 It was about 00:20:07.259 --> 00:20:09.160 retail sales 00:20:09.160 --> 00:20:10.700 at Christmas time. 00:20:10.740 --> 00:20:11.200 And the heading 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:11.759 was this, 00:20:12.460 --> 00:20:13.640 we won't know 00:20:13.640 --> 00:20:14.240 the results 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:14.880 of Christmas 00:20:14.880 --> 00:20:16.279 until Easter. 00:20:17.539 --> 00:20:18.819 I remember thinking 00:20:18.819 --> 00:20:20.000 how true 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:20.779 that is, 00:20:21.799 --> 00:20:22.480 at least from 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:23.220 a Christian point 00:20:23.220 --> 00:20:23.600 of view. 00:20:24.980 --> 00:20:25.759 Jesus lived 00:20:25.759 --> 00:20:26.500 a life 00:20:26.500 --> 00:20:27.539 of glory 00:20:27.539 --> 00:20:28.279 to God. 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:30.000 And at the end 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:30.740 of that life, 00:20:30.819 --> 00:20:32.059 he tasted death 00:20:32.059 --> 00:20:33.299 and judgment 00:20:33.299 --> 00:20:34.380 on a cross. 00:20:35.120 --> 00:20:36.259 Despite living 00:20:36.259 --> 00:20:36.799 a life 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:38.440 of loving 00:20:38.440 --> 00:20:39.259 perfection, 00:20:39.720 --> 00:20:40.500 he was 00:20:40.500 --> 00:20:41.160 rejected 00:20:41.160 --> 00:20:42.619 and despised 00:20:42.619 --> 00:20:43.799 and crucified 00:20:43.799 --> 00:20:45.259 like a common 00:20:45.259 --> 00:20:45.720 criminal. 00:20:48.200 --> 00:20:48.539 And yet, 00:20:48.579 --> 00:20:49.140 his death 00:20:49.140 --> 00:20:50.140 was not just 00:20:50.140 --> 00:20:52.339 some cruel 00:20:52.339 --> 00:20:53.119 injustice. 00:20:54.339 --> 00:20:55.480 According to 00:20:55.480 --> 00:20:55.940 Scripture, 00:20:56.259 --> 00:20:56.759 it was 00:20:56.759 --> 00:20:58.359 accomplishing 00:20:58.359 --> 00:20:59.160 something 00:20:59.160 --> 00:21:00.339 remarkable 00:21:00.339 --> 00:21:01.279 for us. 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:03.660 For at 00:21:03.660 --> 00:21:05.059 Calvary's cross, 00:21:05.559 --> 00:21:06.299 he bore 00:21:06.299 --> 00:21:06.259 ! 00:21:06.259 --> 00:21:06.299 He bore 00:21:06.299 --> 00:21:08.200 God's wrath 00:21:08.200 --> 00:21:08.799 and judgment. 00:21:09.799 --> 00:21:10.819 He stood 00:21:10.819 --> 00:21:11.319 in our 00:21:11.319 --> 00:21:12.000 place. 00:21:13.299 --> 00:21:13.680 He took 00:21:13.680 --> 00:21:14.460 our punishment 00:21:14.460 --> 00:21:15.120 and our 00:21:15.120 --> 00:21:15.819 death. 00:21:16.819 --> 00:21:17.759 It is at 00:21:17.759 --> 00:21:18.539 the cross 00:21:18.539 --> 00:21:19.200 and through 00:21:19.200 --> 00:21:20.120 Jesus' 00:21:20.460 --> 00:21:21.500 violent death 00:21:21.500 --> 00:21:21.860 and the 00:21:21.860 --> 00:21:22.200 shedding 00:21:22.200 --> 00:21:22.720 of his 00:21:22.720 --> 00:21:23.220 blood 00:21:23.220 --> 00:21:23.980 that he 00:21:23.980 --> 00:21:24.860 brings us 00:21:24.860 --> 00:21:25.680 peace with 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:26.200 God. 00:21:27.480 --> 00:21:28.120 We, 00:21:28.360 --> 00:21:28.680 as human 00:21:28.680 --> 00:21:29.000 beings, 00:21:29.100 --> 00:21:29.319 we've 00:21:29.319 --> 00:21:30.200 exchanged 00:21:30.200 --> 00:21:30.799 God's 00:21:30.799 --> 00:21:31.120 glory 00:21:31.120 --> 00:21:31.840 for 00:21:31.840 --> 00:21:33.420 idolatry 00:21:33.420 --> 00:21:34.019 and sin. 00:21:35.019 --> 00:21:35.640 But Jesus 00:21:35.640 --> 00:21:36.400 has come 00:21:36.400 --> 00:21:37.480 to exchange 00:21:37.480 --> 00:21:38.740 his glory 00:21:38.740 --> 00:21:40.000 for our 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:40.480 punishment 00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:41.980 and to 00:21:41.980 --> 00:21:42.420 bring us 00:21:42.420 --> 00:21:42.800 what we 00:21:42.800 --> 00:21:43.640 need most, 00:21:43.800 --> 00:21:44.039 and that 00:21:44.039 --> 00:21:44.779 is peace 00:21:44.779 --> 00:21:45.560 with God. 00:21:46.900 --> 00:21:47.660 John Stott, 00:21:47.759 --> 00:21:49.140 in his book, 00:21:49.200 --> 00:21:49.539 The Cross 00:21:49.539 --> 00:21:50.100 of Christ, 00:21:50.200 --> 00:21:50.840 writes this, 00:21:50.839 --> 00:21:52.339 The essence 00:21:52.339 --> 00:21:52.980 of sin 00:21:52.980 --> 00:21:53.779 is in man 00:21:53.779 --> 00:21:54.579 substituting 00:21:54.579 --> 00:21:55.220 himself for 00:21:55.220 --> 00:21:55.659 God. 00:21:56.240 --> 00:21:56.779 The essence 00:21:56.779 --> 00:21:57.579 of salvation 00:21:57.579 --> 00:21:59.019 is in God 00:21:59.019 --> 00:21:59.839 substituting 00:21:59.839 --> 00:22:00.779 himself for 00:22:00.779 --> 00:22:01.220 man. 00:22:01.939 --> 00:22:02.839 Sin involves 00:22:02.839 --> 00:22:03.619 man rising 00:22:03.619 --> 00:22:04.240 up against 00:22:04.240 --> 00:22:04.720 God, 00:22:05.099 --> 00:22:05.919 placing himself 00:22:05.919 --> 00:22:06.399 where only 00:22:06.399 --> 00:22:06.959 God should 00:22:06.959 --> 00:22:07.240 be. 00:22:08.559 --> 00:22:08.980 Salvation 00:22:08.980 --> 00:22:09.939 involves God 00:22:09.939 --> 00:22:11.000 sacrificing 00:22:11.000 --> 00:22:11.720 himself 00:22:11.720 --> 00:22:13.299 where only 00:22:13.299 --> 00:22:14.039 man 00:22:14.039 --> 00:22:14.659 deserve 00:22:14.659 --> 00:22:15.220 to be. 00:22:16.579 --> 00:22:17.339 Sin entails 00:22:17.339 --> 00:22:18.139 man claiming 00:22:18.139 --> 00:22:18.879 an authority 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:20.080 which belongs 00:22:20.080 --> 00:22:20.520 to God 00:22:20.520 --> 00:22:21.000 alone. 00:22:22.360 --> 00:22:22.840 Salvation 00:22:22.840 --> 00:22:23.720 entails God 00:22:23.720 --> 00:22:24.260 accepting 00:22:24.260 --> 00:22:24.960 the judgment 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:26.800 which belongs 00:22:26.800 --> 00:22:27.880 to man 00:22:27.880 --> 00:22:28.620 alone. 00:22:31.160 --> 00:22:32.240 The early 00:22:32.240 --> 00:22:33.300 settlers 00:22:33.300 --> 00:22:35.040 in North 00:22:35.040 --> 00:22:35.520 America 00:22:35.520 --> 00:22:36.160 often had 00:22:36.160 --> 00:22:36.640 to cope 00:22:36.640 --> 00:22:37.300 with great 00:22:37.300 --> 00:22:38.280 prairie fires 00:22:38.280 --> 00:22:38.960 that travelled 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:40.060 often so 00:22:40.060 --> 00:22:40.560 quickly, 00:22:40.740 --> 00:22:41.560 so speedily 00:22:41.560 --> 00:22:42.220 across the 00:22:42.220 --> 00:22:42.740 land that 00:22:42.740 --> 00:22:43.880 they consumed 00:22:43.880 --> 00:22:44.960 everything that 00:22:44.960 --> 00:22:45.440 was before 00:22:45.440 --> 00:22:45.800 them. 00:22:47.160 --> 00:22:48.140 But to 00:22:48.140 --> 00:22:48.920 keep themselves 00:22:48.920 --> 00:22:49.500 safe, 00:22:50.540 --> 00:22:51.100 often the 00:22:51.100 --> 00:22:51.480 settlers 00:22:51.480 --> 00:22:52.240 would start 00:22:52.240 --> 00:22:52.680 their own 00:22:52.680 --> 00:22:54.300 fires and 00:22:54.300 --> 00:22:55.080 stand in an 00:22:55.080 --> 00:22:55.940 area that 00:22:55.940 --> 00:22:56.620 had already 00:22:56.620 --> 00:22:57.259 been burned 00:22:57.259 --> 00:22:57.740 out. 00:22:58.520 --> 00:22:59.259 They were 00:22:59.259 --> 00:23:00.200 safe there 00:23:00.200 --> 00:23:01.700 because where 00:23:01.700 --> 00:23:02.320 the fire 00:23:02.320 --> 00:23:03.040 had already 00:23:03.040 --> 00:23:03.580 burned, 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:04.900 it would 00:23:04.900 --> 00:23:05.500 not burn 00:23:05.500 --> 00:23:06.000 again. 00:23:07.280 --> 00:23:08.040 And the 00:23:08.040 --> 00:23:08.680 Bible says 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:09.200 that the 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:10.340 fire of 00:23:10.340 --> 00:23:10.740 God's 00:23:10.740 --> 00:23:11.180 judgment 00:23:11.180 --> 00:23:12.580 is coming 00:23:12.580 --> 00:23:13.660 upon all 00:23:13.660 --> 00:23:15.860 and none 00:23:15.860 --> 00:23:16.300 of us can 00:23:16.300 --> 00:23:16.940 outrun it. 00:23:16.940 --> 00:23:18.039 it's 00:23:18.039 --> 00:23:18.799 unavoidable, 00:23:18.900 --> 00:23:19.440 we cannot 00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:19.980 save 00:23:19.980 --> 00:23:20.500 ourselves. 00:23:21.620 --> 00:23:22.420 But there's 00:23:22.420 --> 00:23:23.420 one place 00:23:23.420 --> 00:23:24.920 where the 00:23:24.920 --> 00:23:25.940 fire has 00:23:25.940 --> 00:23:26.320 already 00:23:26.320 --> 00:23:26.799 burned. 00:23:27.519 --> 00:23:28.120 There's 00:23:28.120 --> 00:23:28.860 one place 00:23:28.860 --> 00:23:29.680 where God's 00:23:29.680 --> 00:23:30.220 fierce 00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:31.059 judgment 00:23:31.059 --> 00:23:32.000 on sin 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:33.000 has already 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:34.480 exhausted 00:23:34.480 --> 00:23:35.080 itself. 00:23:36.220 --> 00:23:36.900 And that 00:23:36.900 --> 00:23:37.299 is on the 00:23:37.299 --> 00:23:38.160 cross of 00:23:38.160 --> 00:23:38.640 Christ. 00:23:39.100 --> 00:23:39.759 That is 00:23:39.759 --> 00:23:40.480 on Jesus, 00:23:41.640 --> 00:23:42.759 the Prince 00:23:42.759 --> 00:23:43.360 of Peace. 00:23:43.359 --> 00:23:44.899 because at 00:23:44.899 --> 00:23:45.500 the cross 00:23:45.500 --> 00:23:46.559 Jesus takes 00:23:46.559 --> 00:23:47.699 our punishment 00:23:47.699 --> 00:23:48.399 and our 00:23:48.399 --> 00:23:48.939 place. 00:23:49.339 --> 00:23:49.919 He becomes 00:23:49.919 --> 00:23:50.799 our shelter 00:23:50.799 --> 00:23:51.799 and our 00:23:51.799 --> 00:23:52.459 salvation 00:23:52.459 --> 00:23:53.479 and our 00:23:53.479 --> 00:23:54.000 peace. 00:23:54.819 --> 00:23:55.219 Remember the 00:23:55.219 --> 00:23:56.319 angel says 00:23:56.319 --> 00:23:57.000 to Joseph, 00:23:57.559 --> 00:23:57.839 you will 00:23:57.839 --> 00:23:58.399 give him 00:23:58.399 --> 00:23:59.039 the name 00:23:59.039 --> 00:23:59.740 Jesus, 00:24:00.500 --> 00:24:01.079 for he 00:24:01.079 --> 00:24:02.219 will save 00:24:02.219 --> 00:24:03.159 his people 00:24:03.159 --> 00:24:04.099 from their 00:24:04.099 --> 00:24:04.759 sins. 00:24:05.419 --> 00:24:06.219 There's 00:24:06.219 --> 00:24:07.159 only one 00:24:07.159 --> 00:24:08.319 way to 00:24:08.319 --> 00:24:09.779 evade and 00:24:09.779 --> 00:24:10.679 avoid the 00:24:10.679 --> 00:24:11.279 wrath and 00:24:11.279 --> 00:24:11.859 judgment of 00:24:11.859 --> 00:24:12.240 God. 00:24:13.319 --> 00:24:13.779 And that 00:24:13.779 --> 00:24:14.339 is through 00:24:14.339 --> 00:24:15.240 faith in 00:24:15.240 --> 00:24:15.799 the one 00:24:15.799 --> 00:24:17.979 who upon 00:24:17.979 --> 00:24:18.839 the cross 00:24:18.839 --> 00:24:20.159 did not 00:24:20.159 --> 00:24:20.819 escape it. 00:24:21.500 --> 00:24:22.219 It's by 00:24:22.219 --> 00:24:22.719 putting our 00:24:22.719 --> 00:24:23.279 faith in 00:24:23.279 --> 00:24:23.639 Jesus, 00:24:24.079 --> 00:24:24.599 the great 00:24:24.599 --> 00:24:25.179 peacemaker. 00:24:26.199 --> 00:24:26.559 And this 00:24:26.559 --> 00:24:26.959 is the 00:24:26.959 --> 00:24:27.579 peace of 00:24:27.579 --> 00:24:28.299 which the 00:24:28.299 --> 00:24:29.240 angels are 00:24:29.240 --> 00:24:30.619 speaking and 00:24:30.619 --> 00:24:31.619 singing on 00:24:31.619 --> 00:24:32.479 that Bethlehem 00:24:32.479 --> 00:24:33.159 hillside. 00:24:34.119 --> 00:24:35.279 A costly 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:35.879 peace. 00:24:37.159 --> 00:24:37.699 A peace 00:24:37.699 --> 00:24:38.479 wrought in 00:24:38.479 --> 00:24:39.259 nails and 00:24:39.259 --> 00:24:40.399 sweat and 00:24:40.399 --> 00:24:41.839 blood upon 00:24:41.839 --> 00:24:42.480 a rough 00:24:42.480 --> 00:24:42.799 wooden 00:24:42.799 --> 00:24:43.480 cross. 00:24:44.679 --> 00:24:45.720 Because that 00:24:45.720 --> 00:24:46.059 is what 00:24:46.059 --> 00:24:46.799 Jesus came 00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:47.299 to do. 00:24:48.419 --> 00:24:49.099 He came 00:24:49.099 --> 00:24:49.740 to bring 00:24:49.740 --> 00:24:51.039 peace on 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:51.519 earth. 00:24:52.639 --> 00:24:53.659 Peace to 00:24:53.659 --> 00:24:54.859 sinners and 00:24:54.859 --> 00:24:55.899 rebels like 00:24:55.899 --> 00:24:56.359 us. 00:24:56.899 --> 00:24:58.119 He came to 00:24:58.119 --> 00:24:58.559 bring us 00:24:58.559 --> 00:24:59.679 peace with 00:24:59.679 --> 00:25:01.419 God that 00:25:01.419 --> 00:25:01.919 we might 00:25:01.919 --> 00:25:02.799 enjoy as 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:03.359 Corey was 00:25:03.359 --> 00:25:04.339 telling us 00:25:04.339 --> 00:25:04.879 this morning 00:25:04.879 --> 00:25:05.519 the peace 00:25:05.519 --> 00:25:06.779 of God. 00:25:06.779 --> 00:25:06.819 God. 00:25:08.420 --> 00:25:08.960 And the 00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:09.599 big question 00:25:09.599 --> 00:25:10.259 I suppose 00:25:10.259 --> 00:25:10.740 for us 00:25:10.740 --> 00:25:11.160 all is 00:25:11.160 --> 00:25:11.420 this. 00:25:11.539 --> 00:25:11.819 Do we 00:25:11.819 --> 00:25:12.700 have this 00:25:12.700 --> 00:25:13.279 peace with 00:25:13.279 --> 00:25:13.680 God? 00:25:15.160 --> 00:25:15.779 And if 00:25:15.779 --> 00:25:17.299 not, how 00:25:17.299 --> 00:25:17.720 can we 00:25:17.720 --> 00:25:18.339 receive it? 00:25:19.039 --> 00:25:19.720 What does 00:25:19.720 --> 00:25:20.259 it involve? 00:25:22.339 --> 00:25:23.099 Well, if our 00:25:23.099 --> 00:25:23.839 first two notes 00:25:23.839 --> 00:25:24.339 are about 00:25:24.339 --> 00:25:25.220 God's glory 00:25:25.220 --> 00:25:26.619 and God's 00:25:26.619 --> 00:25:27.220 peace, 00:25:27.859 --> 00:25:28.599 then our 00:25:28.599 --> 00:25:29.099 third and 00:25:29.099 --> 00:25:30.000 quickly, 00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:30.559 briefly, 00:25:30.899 --> 00:25:31.799 final note, 00:25:32.000 --> 00:25:32.539 third note, 00:25:32.539 --> 00:25:34.200 is, I 00:25:34.200 --> 00:25:34.599 think, a 00:25:34.599 --> 00:25:35.039 note of 00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:36.799 divine grace 00:25:36.799 --> 00:25:39.079 among those 00:25:39.079 --> 00:25:40.460 with whom 00:25:40.460 --> 00:25:41.420 he is 00:25:41.420 --> 00:25:42.819 well pleased. 00:25:43.379 --> 00:25:43.960 What does 00:25:43.960 --> 00:25:44.379 this mean? 00:25:45.500 --> 00:25:45.920 Are the 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:46.460 angels 00:25:46.460 --> 00:25:49.019 proclaiming 00:25:49.019 --> 00:25:49.859 a kind of 00:25:49.859 --> 00:25:50.720 doctrine of 00:25:50.720 --> 00:25:51.099 works 00:25:51.099 --> 00:25:51.740 righteousness? 00:25:52.519 --> 00:25:52.879 Does it 00:25:52.879 --> 00:25:53.319 mean that 00:25:53.319 --> 00:25:53.899 only those 00:25:53.899 --> 00:25:54.559 who really 00:25:54.559 --> 00:25:55.000 try and 00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:55.759 please God 00:25:55.759 --> 00:25:56.200 can be 00:25:56.200 --> 00:25:56.680 saved? 00:25:57.220 --> 00:25:57.519 No, I 00:25:57.519 --> 00:25:58.119 don't think 00:25:58.119 --> 00:25:58.440 so. 00:25:59.359 --> 00:25:59.899 Some older 00:25:59.899 --> 00:26:00.500 translations, 00:26:00.680 --> 00:26:01.019 the authorized 00:26:01.019 --> 00:26:01.579 version, 00:26:01.579 --> 00:26:03.419 has good 00:26:03.419 --> 00:26:04.259 will toward 00:26:04.259 --> 00:26:04.720 men. 00:26:05.039 --> 00:26:05.639 Most modern 00:26:05.639 --> 00:26:06.339 translators 00:26:06.339 --> 00:26:06.980 have some 00:26:06.980 --> 00:26:08.179 variation of 00:26:08.179 --> 00:26:09.179 people he 00:26:09.179 --> 00:26:09.659 favors. 00:26:11.379 --> 00:26:12.059 And I 00:26:12.059 --> 00:26:12.339 think what 00:26:12.339 --> 00:26:13.019 the text is 00:26:13.019 --> 00:26:13.819 driving at 00:26:13.819 --> 00:26:14.419 is this, 00:26:15.339 --> 00:26:15.740 is that 00:26:15.740 --> 00:26:16.259 those who 00:26:16.259 --> 00:26:16.939 find this 00:26:16.939 --> 00:26:17.599 peace with 00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:19.079 God only 00:26:19.079 --> 00:26:19.819 find it 00:26:19.819 --> 00:26:20.419 as a 00:26:20.419 --> 00:26:20.740 gift. 00:26:22.139 --> 00:26:22.960 This peace 00:26:22.960 --> 00:26:23.399 is to be 00:26:23.399 --> 00:26:24.119 enjoyed by 00:26:24.119 --> 00:26:24.720 those in 00:26:24.720 --> 00:26:25.199 whom God 00:26:25.199 --> 00:26:25.799 delights, 00:26:26.639 --> 00:26:26.960 literally 00:26:26.960 --> 00:26:27.480 those of 00:26:27.480 --> 00:26:27.799 his good 00:26:27.799 --> 00:26:28.240 pleasure, 00:26:28.740 --> 00:26:29.199 those with 00:26:29.199 --> 00:26:29.500 whom he 00:26:29.500 --> 00:26:29.899 is well 00:26:29.899 --> 00:26:30.359 pleased, 00:26:30.480 --> 00:26:30.659 this 00:26:30.660 --> 00:26:32.000 idea, 00:26:32.360 --> 00:26:32.880 concept, 00:26:33.000 --> 00:26:33.440 found in 00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:33.720 a number 00:26:33.720 --> 00:26:34.200 of places 00:26:34.200 --> 00:26:34.540 in the 00:26:34.540 --> 00:26:34.680 New 00:26:34.680 --> 00:26:35.100 Testament. 00:26:35.660 --> 00:26:35.960 It's 00:26:35.960 --> 00:26:37.480 connected 00:26:37.480 --> 00:26:38.600 strongly with 00:26:38.600 --> 00:26:39.259 the idea 00:26:39.259 --> 00:26:40.019 of God's 00:26:40.019 --> 00:26:40.480 grace. 00:26:40.860 --> 00:26:41.519 The NIV, 00:26:41.700 --> 00:26:41.900 I think, 00:26:42.200 --> 00:26:43.040 translates it, 00:26:43.440 --> 00:26:44.259 those upon 00:26:44.259 --> 00:26:45.259 whom his 00:26:45.259 --> 00:26:46.940 favor rests. 00:26:48.400 --> 00:26:49.580 This peace 00:26:49.580 --> 00:26:50.120 is not 00:26:50.120 --> 00:26:51.100 something we 00:26:51.100 --> 00:26:51.800 can earn 00:26:51.800 --> 00:26:52.320 or do 00:26:52.320 --> 00:26:52.980 ourselves. 00:26:54.220 --> 00:26:54.720 Grace 00:26:54.720 --> 00:26:55.620 means a 00:26:55.620 --> 00:26:55.980 gift. 00:26:56.840 --> 00:26:57.240 Receiving 00:26:57.240 --> 00:26:58.540 something that 00:26:58.540 --> 00:26:58.960 is free, 00:26:59.080 --> 00:26:59.800 undeserved, 00:26:59.799 --> 00:26:59.879 gift. 00:27:00.419 --> 00:27:00.799 We don't 00:27:00.799 --> 00:27:01.180 pay for 00:27:01.180 --> 00:27:01.740 gifts. 00:27:02.200 --> 00:27:02.500 Someone 00:27:02.500 --> 00:27:03.039 else pays 00:27:03.039 --> 00:27:03.500 for gifts, 00:27:03.539 --> 00:27:04.119 we receive 00:27:04.119 --> 00:27:04.379 them. 00:27:05.159 --> 00:27:05.399 The whole 00:27:05.399 --> 00:27:05.919 point of a 00:27:05.919 --> 00:27:06.480 gift is you 00:27:06.480 --> 00:27:06.919 don't pay 00:27:06.919 --> 00:27:07.419 for it. 00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:08.659 It costs 00:27:08.659 --> 00:27:09.159 the giver 00:27:09.159 --> 00:27:09.680 everything, 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:10.460 the recipient 00:27:10.460 --> 00:27:10.919 nothing. 00:27:12.159 --> 00:27:12.819 That gets, 00:27:13.079 --> 00:27:13.519 I think, 00:27:13.599 --> 00:27:14.200 to the heart 00:27:14.200 --> 00:27:14.879 of what we're 00:27:14.879 --> 00:27:15.740 speaking about 00:27:15.740 --> 00:27:15.940 here. 00:27:16.220 --> 00:27:16.619 Grace 00:27:16.619 --> 00:27:17.579 means receiving 00:27:17.579 --> 00:27:18.680 a gift I 00:27:18.680 --> 00:27:19.099 could in 00:27:19.099 --> 00:27:19.599 no way 00:27:19.599 --> 00:27:20.700 contribute to 00:27:20.700 --> 00:27:21.519 or qualify 00:27:21.519 --> 00:27:22.059 for. 00:27:23.779 --> 00:27:24.599 And perhaps 00:27:24.599 --> 00:27:25.099 that sounds 00:27:25.099 --> 00:27:25.599 great. 00:27:26.180 --> 00:27:27.019 Free gifts. 00:27:27.859 --> 00:27:28.339 Someone else 00:27:28.339 --> 00:27:28.839 picking up 00:27:28.839 --> 00:27:29.419 the tab. 00:27:30.579 --> 00:27:30.939 And yet 00:27:30.939 --> 00:27:31.319 as human 00:27:31.319 --> 00:27:31.759 beings, 00:27:31.939 --> 00:27:33.220 we often 00:27:33.220 --> 00:27:34.199 don't like 00:27:34.199 --> 00:27:34.799 this talk 00:27:34.799 --> 00:27:35.500 of grace 00:27:35.500 --> 00:27:36.079 and free 00:27:36.079 --> 00:27:36.759 gifts. 00:27:39.159 --> 00:27:39.679 Why? 00:27:39.839 --> 00:27:40.240 Because 00:27:40.240 --> 00:27:41.799 often we 00:27:41.799 --> 00:27:42.199 don't like 00:27:42.199 --> 00:27:42.699 charity. 00:27:43.559 --> 00:27:44.059 We're 00:27:44.059 --> 00:27:44.779 cynical and 00:27:44.779 --> 00:27:45.500 suspicious of 00:27:45.500 --> 00:27:45.740 it. 00:27:46.839 --> 00:27:47.480 There's no 00:27:47.480 --> 00:27:47.959 such thing 00:27:47.959 --> 00:27:48.379 as a free 00:27:48.379 --> 00:27:48.759 lunch, 00:27:48.839 --> 00:27:49.339 is what we 00:27:49.339 --> 00:27:49.639 say. 00:27:50.139 --> 00:27:50.859 We don't 00:27:50.859 --> 00:27:51.579 trust getting 00:27:51.579 --> 00:27:52.319 something for 00:27:52.319 --> 00:27:52.740 nothing. 00:27:53.059 --> 00:27:53.619 It seems 00:27:53.619 --> 00:27:54.439 a bit off 00:27:54.439 --> 00:27:55.139 to us. 00:27:55.140 --> 00:27:58.000 I think 00:27:58.000 --> 00:27:58.500 the story, 00:27:58.640 --> 00:27:58.900 I'm trying 00:27:58.900 --> 00:27:59.200 to remember 00:27:59.200 --> 00:27:59.660 who told 00:27:59.660 --> 00:27:59.880 it, 00:28:00.860 --> 00:28:01.300 maybe in 00:28:01.300 --> 00:28:01.820 the Christianity 00:28:01.820 --> 00:28:02.580 Explored 00:28:02.580 --> 00:28:03.120 materials, 00:28:03.380 --> 00:28:03.759 they told 00:28:03.759 --> 00:28:04.140 the story 00:28:04.140 --> 00:28:04.660 of a man 00:28:04.660 --> 00:28:05.600 who stood 00:28:05.600 --> 00:28:05.920 at a 00:28:05.920 --> 00:28:06.640 tube station 00:28:06.640 --> 00:28:07.240 somewhere in 00:28:07.240 --> 00:28:08.000 central London, 00:28:09.080 --> 00:28:09.660 tried to 00:28:09.660 --> 00:28:10.440 sell golden 00:28:10.440 --> 00:28:11.420 sovereigns at 00:28:11.420 --> 00:28:11.840 a penny 00:28:11.840 --> 00:28:12.300 each. 00:28:13.340 --> 00:28:13.700 By the 00:28:13.700 --> 00:28:14.020 end of 00:28:14.020 --> 00:28:14.480 the day, 00:28:15.300 --> 00:28:15.600 he'd 00:28:15.600 --> 00:28:16.440 hardly sold 00:28:16.440 --> 00:28:17.020 any. 00:28:17.520 --> 00:28:17.820 Why? 00:28:18.440 --> 00:28:18.860 No one 00:28:18.860 --> 00:28:19.280 believed 00:28:19.280 --> 00:28:19.500 them. 00:28:20.560 --> 00:28:20.980 We're 00:28:20.980 --> 00:28:21.400 suspicious 00:28:21.400 --> 00:28:22.120 of charity. 00:28:22.119 --> 00:28:24.819 And 00:28:24.819 --> 00:28:25.219 secondly, 00:28:25.379 --> 00:28:25.799 we don't 00:28:25.799 --> 00:28:26.399 like grace 00:28:26.399 --> 00:28:27.039 because it 00:28:27.039 --> 00:28:28.000 offends us, 00:28:28.139 --> 00:28:28.619 offends our 00:28:28.619 --> 00:28:28.959 pride. 00:28:30.919 --> 00:28:31.459 We don't 00:28:31.459 --> 00:28:32.059 want charity 00:28:32.059 --> 00:28:32.739 because we 00:28:32.739 --> 00:28:33.459 want to be 00:28:33.459 --> 00:28:34.039 independent. 00:28:34.219 --> 00:28:34.699 We want to 00:28:34.699 --> 00:28:35.179 stand on 00:28:35.179 --> 00:28:35.559 our own 00:28:35.559 --> 00:28:36.219 two feet. 00:28:36.319 --> 00:28:36.639 We want 00:28:36.639 --> 00:28:37.519 to pay 00:28:37.519 --> 00:28:37.879 our own 00:28:37.879 --> 00:28:38.319 way, 00:28:38.539 --> 00:28:38.859 want to 00:28:38.859 --> 00:28:39.119 do our 00:28:39.119 --> 00:28:39.259 own 00:28:39.259 --> 00:28:39.699 thing. 00:28:40.259 --> 00:28:40.679 We don't 00:28:40.679 --> 00:28:41.279 like being 00:28:41.279 --> 00:28:41.639 in this 00:28:41.639 --> 00:28:42.399 position of 00:28:42.399 --> 00:28:44.079 being beholding 00:28:44.079 --> 00:28:44.579 to anyone 00:28:44.579 --> 00:28:44.919 else. 00:28:44.979 --> 00:28:45.259 We don't 00:28:45.259 --> 00:28:45.679 like this 00:28:45.679 --> 00:28:46.439 feeling of 00:28:46.439 --> 00:28:47.479 indebtedness. 00:28:49.659 --> 00:28:50.139 Christmas 00:28:50.139 --> 00:28:50.739 people say, 00:28:50.899 --> 00:28:51.419 you know, 00:28:51.500 --> 00:28:52.099 I buy a 00:28:52.099 --> 00:28:52.679 few extra 00:28:52.679 --> 00:28:53.799 cards in 00:28:53.799 --> 00:28:54.240 case someone 00:28:54.240 --> 00:28:55.099 sends me 00:28:55.099 --> 00:28:55.559 one and I 00:28:55.559 --> 00:28:56.019 haven't sent 00:28:56.019 --> 00:28:56.399 one to 00:28:56.399 --> 00:28:56.719 them. 00:28:57.419 --> 00:28:57.759 We don't 00:28:57.759 --> 00:28:58.159 like to be 00:28:58.159 --> 00:28:58.740 one down, 00:28:59.459 --> 00:28:59.839 like to 00:28:59.839 --> 00:29:00.099 keep the 00:29:00.099 --> 00:29:00.659 score even, 00:29:01.379 --> 00:29:01.740 like to 00:29:01.740 --> 00:29:02.039 pay our 00:29:02.039 --> 00:29:02.480 own way, 00:29:02.679 --> 00:29:02.959 like to 00:29:02.959 --> 00:29:03.259 be in 00:29:03.259 --> 00:29:03.799 control. 00:29:05.759 --> 00:29:06.119 And yet, 00:29:06.179 --> 00:29:06.419 if we 00:29:06.419 --> 00:29:07.039 think like 00:29:07.039 --> 00:29:07.419 that, 00:29:08.219 --> 00:29:09.219 we will 00:29:09.219 --> 00:29:09.939 never find 00:29:09.939 --> 00:29:11.779 ourselves as 00:29:11.779 --> 00:29:12.359 those upon 00:29:12.359 --> 00:29:12.819 whom the 00:29:12.819 --> 00:29:13.299 favor of 00:29:13.299 --> 00:29:14.199 God rests, 00:29:14.279 --> 00:29:14.619 and we'll 00:29:14.619 --> 00:29:15.259 never find 00:29:15.259 --> 00:29:15.879 peace with 00:29:15.879 --> 00:29:16.279 God. 00:29:17.879 --> 00:29:18.399 None of 00:29:18.399 --> 00:29:18.819 us can 00:29:18.819 --> 00:29:19.779 buy or 00:29:19.779 --> 00:29:20.579 earn our 00:29:20.579 --> 00:29:21.899 way into 00:29:21.900 --> 00:29:22.580 God's 00:29:22.580 --> 00:29:22.920 favor. 00:29:23.580 --> 00:29:24.519 There is 00:29:24.519 --> 00:29:26.220 nothing we 00:29:26.220 --> 00:29:26.820 can give. 00:29:27.600 --> 00:29:28.280 We have 00:29:28.280 --> 00:29:30.320 no leverage. 00:29:30.900 --> 00:29:31.800 We cannot 00:29:31.800 --> 00:29:33.480 manipulate God 00:29:33.480 --> 00:29:34.400 to do our 00:29:34.400 --> 00:29:34.720 bidding. 00:29:35.259 --> 00:29:36.080 God's favor 00:29:36.080 --> 00:29:37.259 cannot be 00:29:37.259 --> 00:29:37.720 bought. 00:29:39.300 --> 00:29:40.280 As human 00:29:40.280 --> 00:29:40.920 beings, we 00:29:40.920 --> 00:29:41.700 are completely 00:29:41.700 --> 00:29:42.660 and utterly 00:29:42.660 --> 00:29:44.740 dependent on 00:29:44.740 --> 00:29:45.840 his gift of 00:29:45.840 --> 00:29:46.460 grace that 00:29:46.460 --> 00:29:47.100 comes to us 00:29:47.100 --> 00:29:48.019 only through 00:29:48.019 --> 00:29:48.879 Jesus Christ. 00:29:51.059 --> 00:29:51.579 Charles 00:29:51.579 --> 00:29:52.000 Spurgeon 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:53.400 once told 00:29:53.400 --> 00:29:53.859 the story 00:29:53.859 --> 00:29:55.079 of a 00:29:55.079 --> 00:29:55.420 minister, 00:29:56.460 --> 00:29:57.000 went to 00:29:57.000 --> 00:29:57.619 the house 00:29:57.619 --> 00:29:58.059 of an 00:29:58.059 --> 00:29:58.779 elderly woman. 00:29:59.379 --> 00:29:59.740 He had a 00:29:59.740 --> 00:30:00.460 gift from 00:30:00.460 --> 00:30:01.700 the church's 00:30:01.700 --> 00:30:02.579 poor relief 00:30:02.579 --> 00:30:03.859 fund, and 00:30:03.859 --> 00:30:04.319 he went to 00:30:04.319 --> 00:30:04.799 the door, 00:30:04.940 --> 00:30:05.200 and he 00:30:05.200 --> 00:30:05.779 knocked on 00:30:05.779 --> 00:30:06.220 the door, 00:30:06.339 --> 00:30:06.559 and he 00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:07.359 knocked on 00:30:07.359 --> 00:30:07.879 the door, 00:30:08.019 --> 00:30:08.740 and he 00:30:08.740 --> 00:30:09.279 knocked on 00:30:09.279 --> 00:30:09.599 the door, 00:30:09.660 --> 00:30:10.119 but to no 00:30:10.119 --> 00:30:10.359 avail. 00:30:10.440 --> 00:30:10.680 There was 00:30:10.680 --> 00:30:11.180 no answer. 00:30:13.079 --> 00:30:13.639 Later on, 00:30:13.660 --> 00:30:14.180 he discovered 00:30:14.180 --> 00:30:14.779 that the lady 00:30:14.779 --> 00:30:15.399 in question 00:30:15.399 --> 00:30:15.859 had been 00:30:15.859 --> 00:30:16.379 inside. 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:17.279 She'd been 00:30:17.279 --> 00:30:17.680 at home 00:30:17.680 --> 00:30:18.019 all the 00:30:18.019 --> 00:30:19.920 time, and 00:30:19.920 --> 00:30:20.500 she explained 00:30:20.500 --> 00:30:20.920 to him, 00:30:21.859 --> 00:30:22.299 I heard the 00:30:22.299 --> 00:30:24.139 knocking, but 00:30:24.139 --> 00:30:24.660 I thought it 00:30:24.660 --> 00:30:25.200 was the rent 00:30:25.200 --> 00:30:26.660 man come to 00:30:26.660 --> 00:30:27.720 ask me for 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:28.099 what I 00:30:28.099 --> 00:30:28.440 owed. 00:30:30.500 --> 00:30:31.019 That kind of 00:30:31.019 --> 00:30:31.619 parable of 00:30:31.619 --> 00:30:32.180 misunderstanding. 00:30:33.539 --> 00:30:34.259 We know 00:30:34.259 --> 00:30:34.759 that we are 00:30:34.759 --> 00:30:37.220 accountable, so 00:30:37.220 --> 00:30:37.740 when God 00:30:37.740 --> 00:30:38.960 draws near and 00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:39.799 speaks and 00:30:39.799 --> 00:30:40.700 knocks on the 00:30:40.700 --> 00:30:41.139 door of our 00:30:41.139 --> 00:30:41.559 heart, if I 00:30:41.559 --> 00:30:41.899 could put it 00:30:41.899 --> 00:30:43.180 that way, we 00:30:43.180 --> 00:30:43.940 often conclude 00:30:43.940 --> 00:30:44.359 that he's 00:30:44.359 --> 00:30:44.799 come like 00:30:44.799 --> 00:30:45.500 the rent 00:30:45.500 --> 00:30:45.979 man to 00:30:45.979 --> 00:30:46.799 claim that 00:30:46.799 --> 00:30:47.319 debt of 00:30:47.319 --> 00:30:48.539 moral obligation 00:30:48.539 --> 00:30:49.099 we owe. 00:30:50.039 --> 00:30:50.719 Instead of 00:30:50.719 --> 00:30:51.199 opening up 00:30:51.199 --> 00:30:51.799 our lives 00:30:51.799 --> 00:30:52.659 to him, we 00:30:52.659 --> 00:30:53.799 feign deafness, 00:30:53.899 --> 00:30:54.479 we close our 00:30:54.479 --> 00:30:55.019 ears. 00:30:56.500 --> 00:30:57.019 But friends, 00:30:57.139 --> 00:30:57.639 Christmas is 00:30:57.639 --> 00:30:58.839 all about God 00:30:58.839 --> 00:30:59.559 coming near, 00:30:59.599 --> 00:31:00.419 not to take, 00:31:00.539 --> 00:31:01.459 but to give. 00:31:02.939 --> 00:31:03.599 The triune 00:31:03.599 --> 00:31:04.199 God of the 00:31:04.199 --> 00:31:04.879 Bible is not 00:31:04.879 --> 00:31:06.019 some needy 00:31:06.019 --> 00:31:07.039 deity desperate 00:31:07.039 --> 00:31:07.459 for our 00:31:07.459 --> 00:31:07.939 attention. 00:31:08.219 --> 00:31:08.639 He is the 00:31:08.639 --> 00:31:09.579 eternal God 00:31:09.579 --> 00:31:10.359 of radiant 00:31:10.359 --> 00:31:11.179 glory who 00:31:11.179 --> 00:31:12.059 delights to 00:31:12.059 --> 00:31:12.699 pour out 00:31:12.699 --> 00:31:13.539 his love 00:31:13.539 --> 00:31:14.480 and light. 00:31:15.599 --> 00:31:16.579 In Jesus, 00:31:16.859 --> 00:31:17.099 in the 00:31:17.099 --> 00:31:17.700 sending of 00:31:17.700 --> 00:31:18.720 the eternally 00:31:18.720 --> 00:31:19.339 begotten 00:31:19.339 --> 00:31:20.680 Son, he 00:31:20.680 --> 00:31:21.399 has come to 00:31:21.399 --> 00:31:22.799 reveal his 00:31:22.799 --> 00:31:23.839 glory to us. 00:31:23.980 --> 00:31:24.559 He has come 00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:25.299 to bring us 00:31:25.299 --> 00:31:25.899 peace with 00:31:25.899 --> 00:31:26.240 God. 00:31:26.420 --> 00:31:27.039 He has come 00:31:27.039 --> 00:31:28.319 to bestow it 00:31:28.319 --> 00:31:29.019 upon all who 00:31:29.019 --> 00:31:29.759 will receive 00:31:29.759 --> 00:31:31.139 his gift of 00:31:31.139 --> 00:31:31.619 grace. 00:31:33.279 --> 00:31:34.720 He wants to 00:31:34.720 --> 00:31:35.319 give you of 00:31:35.319 --> 00:31:35.879 himself. 00:31:36.639 --> 00:31:37.420 He wants his 00:31:37.420 --> 00:31:38.379 favor to rest 00:31:38.379 --> 00:31:39.039 upon you. 00:31:39.619 --> 00:31:40.279 We sang those 00:31:40.279 --> 00:31:40.839 words, didn't we? 00:31:40.839 --> 00:31:41.679 Your grace 00:31:41.679 --> 00:31:42.379 that reaches 00:31:42.379 --> 00:31:43.259 far and 00:31:43.259 --> 00:31:44.359 wide to 00:31:44.359 --> 00:31:45.159 every tribe 00:31:45.159 --> 00:31:45.819 and nation 00:31:45.819 --> 00:31:47.199 has called 00:31:47.199 --> 00:31:48.079 my heart to 00:31:48.079 --> 00:31:48.720 enter in 00:31:48.720 --> 00:31:50.019 the joy of 00:31:50.019 --> 00:31:50.879 your salvation. 00:31:53.899 --> 00:31:54.659 Well, the 00:31:54.659 --> 00:31:56.939 angels have 00:31:56.939 --> 00:31:57.579 gone back to 00:31:57.579 --> 00:31:57.839 heaven. 00:31:59.159 --> 00:32:00.259 The sky is 00:32:00.259 --> 00:32:00.919 dark again. 00:32:02.339 --> 00:32:03.119 The shepherds 00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:04.519 return to 00:32:04.519 --> 00:32:05.220 their flocks. 00:32:06.539 --> 00:32:07.480 But the song 00:32:07.480 --> 00:32:07.939 remains. 00:32:07.940 --> 00:32:10.160 And if you 00:32:10.160 --> 00:32:11.039 listen carefully, 00:32:11.900 --> 00:32:13.240 you can still 00:32:13.240 --> 00:32:13.740 hear its 00:32:13.740 --> 00:32:14.200 distinctive 00:32:14.200 --> 00:32:16.460 notes of 00:32:16.460 --> 00:32:18.220 glory, of 00:32:18.220 --> 00:32:19.940 peace, and 00:32:19.940 --> 00:32:20.580 of grace. 00:32:21.860 --> 00:32:23.620 It's still a 00:32:23.620 --> 00:32:24.380 song worth 00:32:24.380 --> 00:32:25.779 listening to 00:32:25.779 --> 00:32:27.880 and singing. 00:32:29.039 --> 00:32:30.240 For the song 00:32:30.240 --> 00:32:31.120 of the angels 00:32:31.120 --> 00:32:32.860 flows from 00:32:32.860 --> 00:32:33.580 heaven itself. 00:32:34.320 --> 00:32:35.100 It's not a 00:32:35.100 --> 00:32:35.940 song of human 00:32:35.940 --> 00:32:36.740 progress. 00:32:36.740 --> 00:32:37.859 It's not a 00:32:37.859 --> 00:32:38.519 song of 00:32:38.519 --> 00:32:39.339 psychological 00:32:39.339 --> 00:32:40.319 wholeness. 00:32:41.359 --> 00:32:41.839 It's not a 00:32:41.839 --> 00:32:42.680 song of some 00:32:42.680 --> 00:32:43.200 political 00:32:43.200 --> 00:32:44.240 utopia. 00:32:45.680 --> 00:32:46.400 But a 00:32:46.400 --> 00:32:46.859 song that 00:32:46.859 --> 00:32:47.720 begins with 00:32:47.720 --> 00:32:48.200 the glory 00:32:48.200 --> 00:32:49.180 of God. 00:32:50.039 --> 00:32:50.980 A song that 00:32:50.980 --> 00:32:51.599 declares 00:32:51.599 --> 00:32:52.559 peace on 00:32:52.559 --> 00:32:53.120 earth. 00:32:54.120 --> 00:32:55.620 All because 00:32:55.620 --> 00:32:56.599 of the 00:32:56.599 --> 00:32:57.099 grace of 00:32:57.099 --> 00:32:58.579 God that 00:32:58.579 --> 00:32:59.120 is in 00:32:59.120 --> 00:33:00.099 Jesus 00:33:00.099 --> 00:33:00.700 Christ. 00:33:02.700 --> 00:33:03.700 Will you 00:33:03.700 --> 00:33:04.220 join with 00:33:04.220 --> 00:33:04.960 the angels 00:33:04.960 --> 00:33:05.779 this evening? 00:33:06.740 --> 00:33:07.480 Will you 00:33:07.480 --> 00:33:08.079 give glory 00:33:08.079 --> 00:33:08.700 to God? 00:33:09.700 --> 00:33:10.339 Will you 00:33:10.339 --> 00:33:11.359 enjoy peace 00:33:11.359 --> 00:33:12.180 with God 00:33:12.180 --> 00:33:14.059 and the 00:33:14.059 --> 00:33:14.559 peace of 00:33:14.559 --> 00:33:14.980 God? 00:33:16.339 --> 00:33:17.160 Will you 00:33:17.160 --> 00:33:18.700 rejoice in 00:33:18.700 --> 00:33:19.480 receiving the 00:33:19.480 --> 00:33:20.019 grace of 00:33:20.019 --> 00:33:22.319 God as 00:33:22.319 --> 00:33:22.620 it is 00:33:22.620 --> 00:33:23.279 offered to 00:33:23.279 --> 00:33:23.799 you in the 00:33:23.799 --> 00:33:24.099 Savior, 00:33:25.660 --> 00:33:26.160 Christ 00:33:26.160 --> 00:33:27.779 the Lord? 00:33:27.779 --> 00:33:39.180 Lord, we 00:33:39.180 --> 00:33:39.660 thank you 00:33:39.660 --> 00:33:40.879 for the 00:33:40.879 --> 00:33:41.539 song of 00:33:41.539 --> 00:33:42.119 the angels 00:33:42.119 --> 00:33:44.160 and for 00:33:44.160 --> 00:33:45.019 those notes 00:33:45.019 --> 00:33:46.859 of glory 00:33:46.859 --> 00:33:48.119 and peace 00:33:48.119 --> 00:33:49.039 and grace. 00:33:50.359 --> 00:33:51.240 Lord, may 00:33:51.240 --> 00:33:53.359 those notes 00:33:53.359 --> 00:33:55.359 resonate in 00:33:55.359 --> 00:33:55.980 our own 00:33:55.980 --> 00:33:56.480 hearts 00:33:56.480 --> 00:33:58.519 tonight as 00:33:58.519 --> 00:33:59.440 we receive 00:33:59.440 --> 00:34:00.559 and trust 00:34:00.559 --> 00:34:01.319 in Jesus 00:34:01.319 --> 00:34:03.420 Christ, our 00:34:03.420 --> 00:34:04.299 great Savior 00:34:04.299 --> 00:34:04.940 and King. 00:34:06.120 --> 00:34:07.740 Lord, bless 00:34:07.740 --> 00:34:08.940 us with 00:34:08.940 --> 00:34:09.740 your peace, 00:34:10.880 --> 00:34:11.400 indeed a 00:34:11.400 --> 00:34:11.820 peace that 00:34:11.820 --> 00:34:12.159 passes 00:34:12.159 --> 00:34:12.900 understanding. 00:34:14.199 --> 00:34:15.099 May your 00:34:15.099 --> 00:34:16.079 peace reign 00:34:16.079 --> 00:34:16.920 and rule in 00:34:16.920 --> 00:34:17.599 our hearts. 00:34:18.480 --> 00:34:19.320 May we know 00:34:19.320 --> 00:34:20.519 what it is to 00:34:20.519 --> 00:34:21.179 be at peace 00:34:21.179 --> 00:34:21.840 with you, 00:34:22.539 --> 00:34:23.559 and may we 00:34:23.559 --> 00:34:24.300 know your 00:34:24.300 --> 00:34:25.539 peace reigning 00:34:25.539 --> 00:34:26.219 in our 00:34:26.219 --> 00:34:26.719 lives. 00:34:27.340 --> 00:34:27.719 May we 00:34:27.719 --> 00:34:28.239 live to 00:34:28.239 --> 00:34:28.659 give you 00:34:28.659 --> 00:34:29.059 glory, 00:34:30.059 --> 00:34:30.519 and may 00:34:30.519 --> 00:34:31.239 we rejoice 00:34:31.239 --> 00:34:33.000 always in 00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:33.960 your astounding 00:34:33.960 --> 00:34:35.300 and amazing 00:34:35.300 --> 00:34:35.840 grace. 00:34:36.440 --> 00:34:37.199 We pray this 00:34:37.199 --> 00:34:37.739 in Jesus' 00:34:37.940 --> 00:34:38.139 name. 00:34:38.579 --> 00:34:38.980 Amen. 00:34:38.980 --> 00:34:39.159 Amen.