WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.360 Good evening, everyone. 00:00:02.419 --> 00:00:07.320 Did the last spoken words in that video come as a surprise to you? 00:00:07.360 --> 00:00:10.099 I must admit they did to me when I first heard them. 00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:14.720 They said, listen, and you'll hear glory. 00:00:15.679 --> 00:00:18.859 Is glory something we think we hear? 00:00:19.800 --> 00:00:20.719 Probably not. 00:00:21.379 --> 00:00:26.460 But when you think about it, we can experience God's glory with all our senses, 00:00:26.460 --> 00:00:30.960 and certainly we can with our ears, with our hearing. 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:34.799 Maybe at Christmas we're more aware of that than any other time of year. 00:00:35.380 --> 00:00:39.760 So many of the Christmas carols we sing talk about glory. 00:00:39.880 --> 00:00:40.740 Just a few examples. 00:00:40.740 --> 00:00:43.560 Glory stream from heaven afar. 00:00:44.400 --> 00:00:47.540 His power and glory evermore proclaim. 00:00:47.659 --> 00:00:51.579 The glories of his righteousness and wonders of his love. 00:00:52.179 --> 00:00:53.900 Glory to the newborn king. 00:00:54.679 --> 00:00:56.560 Angels from the realms of glory. 00:00:57.439 --> 00:00:58.399 Glory to God. 00:00:58.979 --> 00:00:59.799 Glory in the highest. 00:00:59.839 --> 00:01:00.560 I could go on. 00:01:00.979 --> 00:01:04.560 There are lots and lots of Christmas carols as we hear them sang, 00:01:04.679 --> 00:01:06.060 or perhaps as we sing them as well. 00:01:06.319 --> 00:01:08.799 We hear of God's glory. 00:01:09.640 --> 00:01:12.359 And of course, the very first Christmas carol, 00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:15.680 the carol that the angels sang to the shepherds, 00:01:16.180 --> 00:01:19.280 its focus was the glory of God. 00:01:19.420 --> 00:01:21.840 Glory to God in the highest. 00:01:21.840 --> 00:01:26.760 And what an experience of God's glory these sephards saw and heard 00:01:26.760 --> 00:01:30.280 as they were out on the hills in Bethlehem. 00:01:31.460 --> 00:01:33.500 But then we maybe need to ask the question, 00:01:33.840 --> 00:01:35.240 what is glory? 00:01:35.859 --> 00:01:39.580 What does the Bible mean when it talks about God's glory? 00:01:39.579 --> 00:01:43.000 You may feel you have a good idea of that. 00:01:43.239 --> 00:01:43.900 You may not. 00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:49.259 But I think we all find it quite difficult to express exactly what it means. 00:01:50.079 --> 00:01:52.679 If you look at Bible word books and commentaries, 00:01:52.780 --> 00:01:56.879 they all have a slightly different view of exactly what God's glory is. 00:01:56.920 --> 00:01:58.840 Because in the Bible, in the scriptures, 00:01:59.459 --> 00:02:02.120 it can appear to have lots of different meanings. 00:02:02.239 --> 00:02:05.640 Let me give you my suggestion of what God's glory is. 00:02:05.640 --> 00:02:08.039 If you want to discuss it later, that's fine. 00:02:08.759 --> 00:02:14.879 So I think God's glory can be defined as the totality of all the features of God 00:02:14.879 --> 00:02:19.240 that makes him so, so much greater than we are. 00:02:19.900 --> 00:02:24.319 So there's the fact that God has always existed and always will exist. 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:29.840 There's the power that brought the universe into being and sustains it. 00:02:29.840 --> 00:02:33.580 There's the infinite wisdom and knowledge of God. 00:02:33.640 --> 00:02:34.979 The fact that he's everywhere. 00:02:35.819 --> 00:02:36.480 His holiness. 00:02:37.300 --> 00:02:38.000 His love. 00:02:38.800 --> 00:02:41.140 All of these things which are so much greater 00:02:41.140 --> 00:02:46.199 than anything that any of us have or experience in our daily lives. 00:02:46.819 --> 00:02:48.680 That is what God's glory is. 00:02:48.780 --> 00:02:52.800 It is the totality of everything that is God-like, 00:02:52.920 --> 00:02:56.180 that is divine in his nature. 00:02:56.180 --> 00:02:59.520 The word that's used in the Old Testament for God's glory, 00:02:59.900 --> 00:03:03.400 the root meaning is something that's weighty or that has real stature. 00:03:03.900 --> 00:03:08.180 It is a reminder of how much greater God is than we are. 00:03:08.840 --> 00:03:12.640 And again, at Christmas, maybe we should particularly be awed by that, 00:03:12.900 --> 00:03:19.040 by the greatness of our God and the greatness of what he did that first Christmas. 00:03:19.039 --> 00:03:23.179 In the reading that we have from Luke's Gospel, 00:03:23.759 --> 00:03:25.939 the word glory is mentioned twice. 00:03:26.039 --> 00:03:28.359 It was more than twice in Psalm 96. 00:03:28.560 --> 00:03:29.399 We'll come back to that. 00:03:29.639 --> 00:03:33.519 But twice in Luke's Gospel, the glory of God is mentioned. 00:03:34.459 --> 00:03:38.099 The first, that the glory of the Lord shone round about the shepherds. 00:03:38.500 --> 00:03:42.620 And the second, that they said glory to God in the highest. 00:03:42.620 --> 00:03:48.539 And I think that brings before us the two principal things that the Bible refers to 00:03:48.539 --> 00:03:52.280 generally when it talks about the glory of God. 00:03:52.819 --> 00:03:56.420 It is that the glory of God is something that can be seen 00:03:56.420 --> 00:03:59.960 and was seen at various times in history. 00:04:00.460 --> 00:04:03.319 And it's also something that we give to God. 00:04:03.420 --> 00:04:07.500 We see God's glory and we give glory to God. 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:12.979 Let me just briefly talk about these two and we'll relate them to the Christmas story as well. 00:04:14.500 --> 00:04:15.860 The psalmist says, 00:04:16.339 --> 00:04:20.300 The heavens declare the glory of God. 00:04:20.980 --> 00:04:23.160 In other words, any day we want to, 00:04:23.660 --> 00:04:25.240 if we look round about us, 00:04:25.740 --> 00:04:28.220 particularly if we look upwards into the heavens, 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:29.720 into the night sky perhaps, 00:04:30.220 --> 00:04:33.399 we can see the wonder of God's creation. 00:04:33.399 --> 00:04:38.839 This universe that is so vast for all intents and purposes for us is infinite, 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:41.139 it is not, but it is so vast. 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:43.060 And God made that. 00:04:43.719 --> 00:04:44.839 And it is majestic. 00:04:45.379 --> 00:04:46.479 It is wonderful. 00:04:47.120 --> 00:04:52.419 And just seeing God's creation should make us bow in awe and worship him 00:04:52.419 --> 00:04:57.120 and recognize just how much greater he is than us. 00:04:57.120 --> 00:05:00.959 But as I said, at various times in history, 00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:06.519 God has appeared in a special way and people have seen his glory. 00:05:07.319 --> 00:05:11.459 So when the Israelites were traveling through the desert under Moses, 00:05:11.579 --> 00:05:15.019 and Moses went up to receive the commandments from the Lord, 00:05:15.300 --> 00:05:19.600 and he came down and the Lord came among his people. 00:05:19.720 --> 00:05:21.879 It says the cloud covered the tent of meeting 00:05:21.879 --> 00:05:26.399 and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle, 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:28.939 the tent of meeting that he had set up for. 00:05:29.000 --> 00:05:31.319 And the glory of the Lord filled it. 00:05:31.600 --> 00:05:34.259 And Moses' face, having been in the presence of God, 00:05:34.620 --> 00:05:38.040 it shone so much that Aaron and the other Israelites 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:42.379 needed him to put a veil on it before they could even approach him. 00:05:43.560 --> 00:05:46.000 And then we have in this passage in Luke that we read 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:48.699 the appearance to the shepherds. 00:05:48.699 --> 00:05:54.180 And the glory of God shines round about them. 00:05:54.819 --> 00:05:57.420 And they are astonished, they are amazed, 00:05:57.539 --> 00:06:00.139 and they are terrified by it. 00:06:00.839 --> 00:06:04.079 It wasn't just a big light in the sky that the night turned to day. 00:06:04.180 --> 00:06:07.120 It says all around them they saw the splendor, 00:06:07.680 --> 00:06:09.620 the glory of God. 00:06:10.639 --> 00:06:12.300 I don't know if it's picked up in Psalm 96, 00:06:12.379 --> 00:06:13.579 as Ruth was reading, it says, 00:06:13.579 --> 00:06:17.279 splendor and majesty are before him. 00:06:17.800 --> 00:06:21.599 Strength and glory are in his sanctuary. 00:06:22.419 --> 00:06:24.319 While no one can see God, 00:06:25.000 --> 00:06:28.079 while we can't in that sense see his attributes, 00:06:28.959 --> 00:06:31.039 yet we can see his glory in creation. 00:06:31.180 --> 00:06:34.879 At times he has revealed that glory in a special way to people. 00:06:35.560 --> 00:06:37.199 And what is the response to it? 00:06:37.199 --> 00:06:42.620 The response of people is to be overwhelmed by God's glory. 00:06:43.659 --> 00:06:46.699 Be overwhelmed by the sense that someone is there 00:06:46.699 --> 00:06:48.779 who is so much greater than, 00:06:48.939 --> 00:06:52.079 so much wonderful than any of us. 00:06:52.120 --> 00:06:54.459 When Isaiah saw God's glory in the temple, 00:06:54.899 --> 00:06:56.000 his response was, 00:06:56.360 --> 00:06:57.339 woe is me. 00:06:58.240 --> 00:07:00.919 I'm not worthy to be here. 00:07:00.920 --> 00:07:03.259 And as I said, 00:07:03.480 --> 00:07:06.360 the shepherds were terrified when they saw God's glory, 00:07:06.460 --> 00:07:08.000 although really encouraged later on, 00:07:08.240 --> 00:07:10.600 as they saw the glory in the angels singing 00:07:10.600 --> 00:07:14.900 and in being able to see the baby Jesus. 00:07:16.160 --> 00:07:18.879 God's glory is something that should awe us 00:07:18.879 --> 00:07:22.139 and in a good sense perhaps should terrify us. 00:07:22.200 --> 00:07:26.580 We should have a real fear of God in our hearts. 00:07:26.579 --> 00:07:28.599 And yet, 00:07:29.339 --> 00:07:30.419 in the Bible, 00:07:31.139 --> 00:07:34.560 the most clear appearance of God's glory 00:07:34.560 --> 00:07:36.979 is not in the appearance to the shepherd, 00:07:37.219 --> 00:07:39.360 it's not in the tabernacle in the Old Testament, 00:07:40.180 --> 00:07:43.819 it's in that baby that was born in Bethlehem. 00:07:45.339 --> 00:07:46.000 Paul says, 00:07:46.139 --> 00:07:46.959 the God who said, 00:07:47.339 --> 00:07:49.259 let light shine out of darkness, 00:07:49.899 --> 00:07:51.639 has shone in our hearts 00:07:51.639 --> 00:07:55.879 to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God 00:07:55.879 --> 00:08:00.120 in the face of Jesus Christ. 00:08:00.980 --> 00:08:03.500 And these shepherds who came to witness 00:08:03.500 --> 00:08:06.500 soon after the birth of the Lord Jesus 00:08:06.500 --> 00:08:08.779 found him lying in a manger. 00:08:09.500 --> 00:08:12.800 They saw there the glory of God revealed. 00:08:12.860 --> 00:08:14.480 As the wise men came later 00:08:14.480 --> 00:08:16.639 and as they brought their gifts 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:19.879 and as they saw the Son of God lying there, 00:08:20.480 --> 00:08:22.680 they worshipped him. 00:08:23.839 --> 00:08:24.500 John says, 00:08:24.500 --> 00:08:26.740 we have seen his glory as the glory of Jesus, 00:08:27.660 --> 00:08:29.639 the glory of the one and only Son 00:08:29.639 --> 00:08:31.500 who came from the Father, 00:08:32.019 --> 00:08:34.879 full of grace and truth. 00:08:35.419 --> 00:08:37.379 And if we really want to see God's glory, 00:08:37.879 --> 00:08:41.139 if we really want to see what God is like, 00:08:41.700 --> 00:08:43.460 then we have to look at that baby 00:08:43.460 --> 00:08:44.840 who was born in Bethlehem 00:08:44.840 --> 00:08:46.559 as he grew up to be a man, 00:08:46.980 --> 00:08:48.840 as he lived a perfect life, 00:08:48.840 --> 00:08:51.280 as he showed God to us, 00:08:51.980 --> 00:08:55.920 and then as he died on the cross at Calvary. 00:08:56.300 --> 00:08:59.139 And the glory of God is seen at its fullest 00:08:59.139 --> 00:09:02.879 in that most unexpected of places. 00:09:03.720 --> 00:09:05.780 As Jesus is crucified, 00:09:06.560 --> 00:09:08.899 as his appearance is so marred, 00:09:09.160 --> 00:09:11.440 yet we see the glory of God there 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:14.780 because the essence of God is shown at Calvary 00:09:14.780 --> 00:09:16.220 in the death of the Lord Jesus, 00:09:16.220 --> 00:09:19.899 probably more than anywhere else in the Bible. 00:09:20.560 --> 00:09:21.940 God's justice, 00:09:22.639 --> 00:09:23.420 his mercy, 00:09:23.560 --> 00:09:24.279 his love, 00:09:24.700 --> 00:09:27.800 his victory over the forces of evil. 00:09:28.500 --> 00:09:29.740 All of these are seen 00:09:29.740 --> 00:09:32.920 as Jesus dies for our sins 00:09:32.920 --> 00:09:35.940 and then rises again. 00:09:35.940 --> 00:09:38.800 And that journey to the cross 00:09:38.800 --> 00:09:41.180 begins in Bethlehem's manger. 00:09:42.020 --> 00:09:43.200 And the baby born there, 00:09:43.320 --> 00:09:44.960 apparently so helpless, 00:09:45.820 --> 00:09:47.100 yet he would grow up 00:09:47.100 --> 00:09:51.040 and would be the saviour of the world. 00:09:51.680 --> 00:09:53.760 Yes, the shepherds saw the glory of God 00:09:53.760 --> 00:09:54.920 in the fields 00:09:54.920 --> 00:09:57.140 in an amazing, wonderful way 00:09:57.140 --> 00:09:58.300 that terrified them. 00:09:58.920 --> 00:10:01.040 But they also saw the glory of God 00:10:01.040 --> 00:10:02.760 in the baby in the manger. 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:04.879 God incarnate, 00:10:04.980 --> 00:10:06.139 come into our world, 00:10:06.500 --> 00:10:07.980 living our life here, 00:10:08.480 --> 00:10:11.879 ultimately dying our death for us. 00:10:12.460 --> 00:10:14.259 We see glory 00:10:14.259 --> 00:10:17.539 and we see it especially in Jesus. 00:10:18.740 --> 00:10:21.899 But we also give God glory. 00:10:22.919 --> 00:10:24.740 And that is the second meaning 00:10:24.740 --> 00:10:26.519 of the hundreds of references 00:10:26.519 --> 00:10:27.580 to glory in scripture. 00:10:27.980 --> 00:10:29.840 That is the second key thing 00:10:29.840 --> 00:10:30.879 that comes out. 00:10:30.879 --> 00:10:33.360 The angels sing glory to God 00:10:33.360 --> 00:10:34.279 in the highest. 00:10:34.340 --> 00:10:34.799 In other words, 00:10:35.120 --> 00:10:36.480 give glory to God. 00:10:37.419 --> 00:10:39.159 And when we give glory to God, 00:10:39.320 --> 00:10:41.860 that is when we recognise who he is 00:10:41.860 --> 00:10:44.639 and we worship him for it. 00:10:45.799 --> 00:10:47.100 Going back to Psalm 96, 00:10:47.200 --> 00:10:47.820 it's Ruth read. 00:10:48.360 --> 00:10:48.939 It said, 00:10:49.259 --> 00:10:52.179 declare his glory among the nations. 00:10:53.059 --> 00:10:56.440 Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength. 00:10:56.440 --> 00:11:01.240 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due to his name. 00:11:02.780 --> 00:11:04.640 And we give glory to God 00:11:04.640 --> 00:11:09.680 as we recognise that he is so supreme above us. 00:11:10.460 --> 00:11:12.420 That we cannot fully understand him, 00:11:12.480 --> 00:11:13.880 but what we do understand 00:11:13.880 --> 00:11:16.900 is so amazing and so wonderful. 00:11:17.720 --> 00:11:20.160 And the fact that he sent his son 00:11:20.160 --> 00:11:23.440 into the world to live a life of poverty among us, 00:11:23.440 --> 00:11:26.380 to die in the most excruciating way, 00:11:26.420 --> 00:11:27.160 but more than that, 00:11:27.200 --> 00:11:29.520 to take our sins on himself. 00:11:30.300 --> 00:11:32.380 That is when we see the glory of God. 00:11:32.800 --> 00:11:35.760 And that's when we worship him. 00:11:36.700 --> 00:11:39.520 There's maybe no time more than Christmas 00:11:39.520 --> 00:11:42.860 that we should recognise God's glory 00:11:42.860 --> 00:11:46.620 as God steps into human history, 00:11:47.120 --> 00:11:50.300 as his son becomes a baby 00:11:50.299 --> 00:11:52.639 and lives among us. 00:11:53.679 --> 00:11:55.059 And we give glory to God 00:11:55.059 --> 00:11:58.219 when we recognise our inadequacy before him, 00:11:58.659 --> 00:12:00.139 recognise our sinfulness, 00:12:00.620 --> 00:12:01.479 our failure, 00:12:01.639 --> 00:12:04.159 what a contrast that is to him. 00:12:04.919 --> 00:12:06.939 And then we see his glory in Jesus 00:12:06.939 --> 00:12:09.899 and trust in his death on the cross 00:12:09.899 --> 00:12:12.159 for our forgiveness. 00:12:12.159 --> 00:12:16.039 Let me finish with words from Martin Luther King, 00:12:16.459 --> 00:12:18.259 probably the best known words 00:12:18.259 --> 00:12:20.860 that Martin Luther King ever uttered. 00:12:21.459 --> 00:12:21.860 He said, 00:12:21.939 --> 00:12:23.039 I have a dream today. 00:12:23.959 --> 00:12:25.419 I have a dream that one day 00:12:25.419 --> 00:12:27.299 every valley shall be engulfed, 00:12:27.779 --> 00:12:29.319 every hill shall be exalted 00:12:29.319 --> 00:12:31.199 and every mountain shall be made low. 00:12:31.959 --> 00:12:34.139 The rough places will be made plains 00:12:34.139 --> 00:12:36.980 and the crooked places will be made straight. 00:12:37.860 --> 00:12:40.720 And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. 00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:45.700 And all flesh shall see it together. 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:48.519 Well, that day hasn't come yet. 00:12:48.899 --> 00:12:49.800 It will come. 00:12:50.639 --> 00:12:51.440 By this Christmas, 00:12:51.620 --> 00:12:53.440 let it come in our hearts. 00:12:54.040 --> 00:12:55.779 Let the glory of God, 00:12:55.879 --> 00:12:57.300 the glory of the Lord Jesus, 00:12:58.060 --> 00:13:00.600 fill our hearts and our thoughts. 00:13:01.720 --> 00:13:04.360 Let's see the glory of the Son of God 00:13:04.360 --> 00:13:06.019 born in Bethlehem 00:13:06.019 --> 00:13:08.299 and give glory to God 00:13:08.299 --> 00:13:11.399 as we trust and worship him. 00:13:11.919 --> 00:13:14.179 Let me pray and then we'll sing our final carol. 00:13:16.019 --> 00:13:18.259 Our Father, we thank you for your Son, 00:13:18.340 --> 00:13:18.939 the Lord Jesus. 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:20.439 We thank you that in him 00:13:20.439 --> 00:13:23.740 we see the glory of the invisible God. 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:25.220 Though we cannot see God, 00:13:25.699 --> 00:13:27.960 though we have not physically seen the Lord Jesus, 00:13:28.840 --> 00:13:30.299 yet as we look on him, 00:13:30.299 --> 00:13:32.199 as we recall his birth, 00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:33.319 his life, 00:13:33.740 --> 00:13:34.439 his death, 00:13:34.740 --> 00:13:35.839 and his resurrection, 00:13:36.279 --> 00:13:37.759 we see in him 00:13:37.759 --> 00:13:40.279 the glory of God revealed. 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:41.859 Help us today, 00:13:42.319 --> 00:13:43.399 this Christmas, 00:13:44.000 --> 00:13:46.779 as we remember the birth of Jesus 00:13:46.779 --> 00:13:49.879 to be filled with awe and wonder 00:13:49.879 --> 00:13:51.519 at what you have done, 00:13:52.059 --> 00:13:54.519 at the glory that is yours 00:13:54.519 --> 00:13:55.879 and that is his. 00:13:56.659 --> 00:13:59.279 And that we too may give you, 00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:00.980 may give the Lord Jesus 00:14:00.980 --> 00:14:03.919 the glory that you deserve. 00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:06.199 We give you our thanks in Jesus' name. 00:14:06.779 --> 00:14:07.100 Amen.