WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.120 When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and took Mary home 00:00:06.120 --> 00:00:11.439 as his wife. But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son, 00:00:12.439 --> 00:00:20.539 and he gave him the name Jesus. So, we're going to think together about the two fathers 00:00:20.539 --> 00:00:30.199 of Jesus that we find in this text. Angels feature heavily, of course, in the Christmas story. We 00:00:30.199 --> 00:00:38.140 commonly think of the angel Gabriel coming to bring a message to Mary, or the angels in the 00:00:38.140 --> 00:00:46.960 great choir in heaven singing joyfully to the shepherds. But here we have another appearing as 00:00:46.960 --> 00:00:55.020 the angel comes to Joseph. And in this message, we hear that he brings valuable things for us, 00:00:55.500 --> 00:01:04.540 revealing truths about the identity and the work of Jesus. Matthew is wanting to show us that Jesus 00:01:04.540 --> 00:01:13.379 is utterly unique. He is more than a wise man. He's more than a good man. He is none other than the God 00:01:13.379 --> 00:01:20.399 man. So, already, Bob was sharing with us last Sunday evening that in the family tree of the 00:01:20.399 --> 00:01:26.759 first 17 verses, we are introduced to Jesus, son of Abraham. He is the source of God's blessing 00:01:26.759 --> 00:01:35.319 to all peoples. He is the son of David, the eternal and righteous king, and he is the one who will rescue 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:44.979 from exile to restore a people back to God. And now, in the message of the angel, we discover that Jesus is 00:01:44.979 --> 00:01:56.539 God. And we discover that Jesus is human, and we learn that Jesus is God with us. Today, we're going to hear 00:01:56.540 --> 00:02:09.140 so much good news in this reality of the two fathers of Jesus, that he is truly God and truly human. So, 00:02:09.200 --> 00:02:18.620 let's think first that Jesus is God. Look with me at verse 18, where we discover that before Mary and 00:02:18.620 --> 00:02:25.480 Joseph came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. And then in verse 20, 00:02:25.479 --> 00:02:35.359 the angel announces to Joseph that what is conceived in Mary is from the Holy Spirit. So, Matthew records, 00:02:35.839 --> 00:02:44.919 the angel announces the supernatural conception of Jesus, that the human life growing inside of Mary is 00:02:44.919 --> 00:02:54.699 from the heavenly Father, that God himself is the real Father of Jesus. As we confessed, 00:02:54.699 --> 00:03:03.299 our faith as we shared the apostles' creed. We declared that Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit. 00:03:04.799 --> 00:03:16.219 The Holy Spirit who is present at creation, pictured hovering over the world, bringing life. The Holy Spirit 00:03:16.219 --> 00:03:24.039 who works in power at new creation, so that we are born again by the Holy Spirit. And now, 00:03:24.039 --> 00:03:33.359 the Holy Spirit is born again by the Holy Spirit, powerfully working in the supernatural conception and the birth of Jesus. 00:03:34.639 --> 00:03:47.259 Jesus is God. Verse 23 records a section from that prophecy in Isaiah 7, that promise that God would deliver, 00:03:47.419 --> 00:03:53.759 that God would save, that God would be with his people. The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, 00:03:53.759 --> 00:04:01.500 and they will call him Emmanuel. The people knew that prophecy, but they never would have expected it to come true, 00:04:01.840 --> 00:04:09.879 literally. You know, you imagine, they would imagine God with us, like God was with us when he sent us Moses, 00:04:09.879 --> 00:04:19.639 or God was with us when he sent us David, a king or a leader to deliver us. But Matthew reveals that in Jesus, 00:04:19.639 --> 00:04:31.420 this prophecy is indeed fulfilled literally. The Savior that we follow is God. Is God come to be with us. 00:04:31.420 --> 00:04:39.560 So, when we read Matthew's very brief summary of the birth of Jesus, verse 25, 00:04:41.220 --> 00:04:50.860 she gave birth to a son. What we're thinking about there is the birth and the babyhood of the Son of God, 00:04:50.860 --> 00:04:55.740 the one who holds the one who holds the one who holds the one who holds the one who holds the universe in place, 00:04:55.740 --> 00:04:59.480 being held in the arms of his mother Mary. 00:05:01.120 --> 00:05:05.420 J.I. Packer, a theologian, writing on this says, 00:05:05.560 --> 00:05:15.520 the babyhood of the Son of God was a reality. Nothing in fiction is so fantastic 00:05:15.519 --> 00:05:20.359 as is the truth of the incarnation. What's he saying there? He's saying, 00:05:20.779 --> 00:05:27.099 you couldn't make this up. And that's important because Matthew definitely didn't make this up. 00:05:28.279 --> 00:05:35.699 I wonder today if we struggle with the idea of the virgin birth. Does it seem too fantastic 00:05:35.699 --> 00:05:41.799 to be true? Now, here's a few thoughts. First of all, think about who writes this gospel, 00:05:41.800 --> 00:05:49.000 Matthew. Think about how Matthew was raised, raised as a Jew, never to make an image of God. 00:05:50.259 --> 00:05:58.300 God is holy. God is far above us. He is not to be represented in any physical form. But here is 00:05:58.300 --> 00:06:05.580 Matthew. He's been an eyewitness to the life and the death and the resurrection of Jesus. And he will 00:06:05.579 --> 00:06:16.959 say from the beginning quite categorically, this one is God. The tiny baby in the manger is the eternal 00:06:16.959 --> 00:06:27.719 Son of God, is the agent of creation, is the agent of salvation. Think about the virgin birth from the 00:06:27.720 --> 00:06:38.260 perspective of God. We worship a God who can speak the universe into existence, who can bring everything 00:06:38.260 --> 00:06:45.460 out of nothing. All the mighty miracles we read about in the Old Testament and indeed in the New 00:06:45.460 --> 00:06:56.960 Testament done by our God, if he can do that, of course he can cause Mary to conceive by the power of 00:06:56.959 --> 00:07:05.319 the Holy Spirit. And think about the virgin birth from all that is revealed about Jesus. We struggle 00:07:05.319 --> 00:07:13.740 with his beginnings. Think about his life, the evidence of his power. Here is one who has power 00:07:13.740 --> 00:07:21.240 to heal. He has power over nature. He has power over demons. He has power over death. Think about his 00:07:21.240 --> 00:07:28.120 claims of authority. All those I am statements when he happily testifies of himself that he is God. 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:32.019 He will declare himself to be Lord of the Sabbath. He will say, 00:07:32.379 --> 00:07:36.019 your sins are forgiven. And everybody knows only God forgives sins. 00:07:37.780 --> 00:07:45.560 Think about the evidence for his resurrection. When you put it all together, who else could he be 00:07:45.560 --> 00:07:55.600 but God in the flesh? We struggle with the idea of the virgin birth. We have so many reasons 00:07:55.600 --> 00:08:07.360 to consider it seriously. And for us to recognize how important it is that Jesus is God. Here's just a 00:08:07.360 --> 00:08:16.960 couple of reasons. One, it means God wants to be known. It means that God can be known. Think about it. 00:08:16.960 --> 00:08:26.120 We don't need to speculate and wonder, what is God like? Because in Jesus we have revelation. 00:08:26.120 --> 00:08:39.039 We see God in the face of his son Jesus. In the maze of religion and spirituality where people are 00:08:39.039 --> 00:08:47.519 longing for something greater and are looking for God, we can see from the Bible that we have found the 00:08:47.519 --> 00:08:55.299 center. We have found the goal. We don't need to go around in circles searching for some great 00:08:55.299 --> 00:09:05.099 experience or some higher truth. We find all that we need, Jesus. God wants to be known, has made himself 00:09:05.099 --> 00:09:17.299 known in his son. Jesus is God. That means God has given the world hope. We know from the Bible that God 00:09:17.299 --> 00:09:25.259 is holy. And we know from our own conscience and our own experience that we are sinful, that we 00:09:25.259 --> 00:09:34.000 break God's law. And that God is holy means he must deal with sin, he must deal with wickedness, he must be just. 00:09:35.759 --> 00:09:42.819 And so we find ourselves by nature separated from God and doomed to eternal punishment. 00:09:44.179 --> 00:09:50.840 But we know from the story of Jesus that God comes in humility. 00:09:50.840 --> 00:10:00.840 That the Son of God enters into this world that he has made and he comes in weakness and he comes as the servant 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:10.280 king and he comes to die on the cross in order, verse 21, to save his people from their sins. 00:10:11.700 --> 00:10:19.180 There's the hope that in the coming of Jesus, God has come that he might draw us home. 00:10:19.179 --> 00:10:27.459 That Jesus takes the curse. The curse because of sin, it falls on him so that we can know God's blessing. 00:10:28.459 --> 00:10:34.699 Jesus knew on the cross separation from his Father so that we could be drawn near, so that we could have 00:10:34.699 --> 00:10:44.419 heaven as our home for all eternity. The Son of God came down to raise us up, to take us home. 00:10:44.419 --> 00:10:52.679 There is good news and the truth that Jesus is God. That God is his Father. 00:10:53.639 --> 00:11:05.559 But secondly, we discover here that Jesus is man. Now this visit from the angel here reveals that Jesus' birth 00:11:05.559 --> 00:11:11.719 is totally unique. Now if you know your Old Testament, you will know that there were different occasions 00:11:11.720 --> 00:11:23.300 when God sent angels to announce births of children. But never like this. Never the declaration 00:11:23.300 --> 00:11:31.420 that in the birth of this child, the invisible God would become visible. This is something unique. 00:11:31.419 --> 00:11:42.500 This is a remarkable act of God's condescension of stooping down to our level as we discover the eternal Son of God 00:11:42.500 --> 00:11:53.439 will be adopted by a carpenter from Nazareth named Joseph. Think with me about what this all meant 00:11:53.440 --> 00:12:03.440 for Joseph. We go back to verses 18 and 19. His first instinct is that this is a disaster. 00:12:05.440 --> 00:12:12.280 His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, 00:12:12.920 --> 00:12:18.340 she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. His fiancée is pregnant, 00:12:18.340 --> 00:12:25.139 and he's not the father. Because Joseph, her husband, was faithful to the law, 00:12:25.860 --> 00:12:30.580 and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace. He had in mind to divorce her quietly. 00:12:31.620 --> 00:12:38.379 Now remember, this is a very religious society. The penalty for adultery would be dead. 00:12:40.280 --> 00:12:47.000 And notice Joseph's reaction. So he wants to show compassion. We see care for Mary. 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:55.539 But recognize that he is not ready to live with the shame. He is not ready and willing at this stage 00:12:55.539 --> 00:13:05.279 to raise another man's child. But then comes the dream. The angel appeared. Joseph, son of David, 00:13:05.799 --> 00:13:15.220 do not be afraid. He had real fear, didn't he? Do not be afraid. Mary is not guilty of adultery. 00:13:15.220 --> 00:13:18.920 This is a miraculous act of God. 00:13:22.360 --> 00:13:29.080 She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 00:13:31.320 --> 00:13:36.240 Now, the name Jesus, I guess, for us is really unusual in our culture and society. We don't 00:13:36.240 --> 00:13:44.220 probably ever come across any Jesuses. But in a Jewish context, there was lots of Joshua's, 00:13:44.580 --> 00:13:52.299 Jesuses, and it was a name that spoke promise to them. Jesus means, you know, God saves, God who saves. 00:13:53.039 --> 00:13:57.799 And when a child was given that name, it was given with that hope and expectation. 00:13:57.799 --> 00:14:07.859 God is our deliverer. But there was no Jesus ever like this Jesus. He truly is God. He truly is the 00:14:07.859 --> 00:14:16.419 one who saves. He is the alone hope for God's people. And he discovers this, Joseph discovers this, 00:14:16.939 --> 00:14:24.219 in his dream. So then he has a decision to make, doesn't he? Plan A, divorce her quietly. 00:14:24.220 --> 00:14:30.639 Okay. And now he hears the dream. What's he going to do? Verse 24, when Joseph woke up, 00:14:31.320 --> 00:14:37.860 he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife. He is a righteous 00:14:37.860 --> 00:14:47.440 man. He's a man of faith. He obeys. He takes Mary home. Now he's ready to bear the shame, 00:14:47.440 --> 00:14:56.200 to experience the whispering campaign. And notice at the end of verse 25, when he gave him the name 00:14:56.200 --> 00:15:05.560 Jesus. This is really significant. This is a seal of Joseph adopting Jesus into his family. And notice 00:15:05.559 --> 00:15:17.599 how the angel speaks of Joseph, Joseph, son of David. So now here we find Jesus adopted into the royal line. 00:15:20.819 --> 00:15:22.679 And Joseph gets joy. 00:15:25.219 --> 00:15:33.199 Joseph gets joy. This carpenter, as he looks after Jesus in his infancy, in his early years, 00:15:33.200 --> 00:15:42.000 he will, in the fullness of time, make furniture with his maker and Messiah. Imagine that privilege. 00:15:42.940 --> 00:15:50.420 He is called to care for the Christ child in his weakness and vulnerability. 00:15:51.940 --> 00:15:57.660 This message meant a lot for Joseph. But think about what it means for Jesus. 00:15:57.659 --> 00:16:11.379 It means that our God is uniquely wonderful. There is no other faith that has a God who knows the human 00:16:11.379 --> 00:16:22.079 condition by personal experience. No other religion has a God who rescues us from the human condition 00:16:22.080 --> 00:16:33.060 by becoming fully human themselves. This is utterly unique. Jesus fully God, fully man. 00:16:33.720 --> 00:16:39.280 Dorothy Sayers, novelist and essayist, captured it well when she wrote this. 00:16:39.940 --> 00:16:47.500 He himself has gone through the whole of human experience. From the trivial irritations of family life 00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:55.620 and the cramping restrictions of hard work and lack of money to the worst horrors of pain and humiliation, 00:16:56.419 --> 00:17:05.140 defeat, despair, and death. He was born in poverty and suffered infinite pain, all for us, 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:13.720 and thought it well worthwhile. Consider the reality that Jesus is man. 00:17:13.720 --> 00:17:23.059 Recognize that in his coming in weakness, Jesus bore suffering and shame to save us. 00:17:24.759 --> 00:17:32.900 Jesus, to read his life, we know that he was spoken against by many people, rejected by most of the 00:17:32.900 --> 00:17:42.660 people in his day as a fraud, as a blasphemer, abandoned by his friends at his moment of greatest need, 00:17:42.660 --> 00:17:50.400 faced injustice in mock trials, ultimately tortured and killed on a Roman cross. 00:17:52.500 --> 00:17:59.019 And yet Jesus did it and did it gladly. He did it for the joy set before him. 00:18:00.160 --> 00:18:04.540 The joy of being faithful to his Father, completing the Father's plan of salvation. 00:18:05.279 --> 00:18:11.460 The joy of knowing he would purchase a people for himself through his blood shed on the cross. 00:18:11.460 --> 00:18:18.640 The joy of knowing he would welcome his people home to an eternal feast. 00:18:19.240 --> 00:18:21.779 Jesus bore suffering and shame to save us. 00:18:22.779 --> 00:18:31.019 In light of that, am I willing, are you willing, to bear shame and disgrace for him? 00:18:31.019 --> 00:18:37.700 In the first place, to be humble enough to say, I am a sinner. 00:18:40.900 --> 00:18:43.079 Set against God's holy standards. 00:18:43.879 --> 00:18:48.119 To acknowledge that we don't love God with all our heart and soul and mind and strength. 00:18:48.980 --> 00:18:52.240 To acknowledge that we don't love our neighbor as ourself. 00:18:52.240 --> 00:18:56.559 To acknowledge that we need God's mercy. 00:18:56.660 --> 00:18:58.980 We need God's rescue. 00:19:00.980 --> 00:19:05.380 Are you ready to confess that you need Jesus to forgive you and to save you? 00:19:05.380 --> 00:19:17.380 And are we ready, if we are Christians, to live for him in the face of opposition and exclusion? 00:19:17.900 --> 00:19:22.600 To serve him, even if it brings that kind of suffering. 00:19:22.599 --> 00:19:30.859 This week, I was listening to Spotify and an ad came up from Open Doors. 00:19:31.359 --> 00:19:36.699 That ministry that looks to support and encourage persecuted Christians. 00:19:36.699 --> 00:19:43.759 And it was a reminder, a stark reminder, that for many of our brothers and sisters around the world, 00:19:43.859 --> 00:19:49.039 when they go to their Christmas services, yes, they will go with joy. 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:51.599 But they will also go with real fear. 00:19:52.819 --> 00:19:58.879 There are always more attacks on Christian churches by extremists at Christmas time. 00:20:00.639 --> 00:20:02.819 For us, we don't know that. 00:20:03.440 --> 00:20:10.039 But are we willing to bear shame for the sake of following Jesus, our Savior? 00:20:11.759 --> 00:20:12.920 Jesus is God. 00:20:13.619 --> 00:20:14.579 Jesus is man. 00:20:14.579 --> 00:20:21.619 And Jesus is Emmanuel, which means God with us. 00:20:22.159 --> 00:20:26.639 We hear that title, don't we, in our Christmas carols and hymns, 00:20:26.699 --> 00:20:30.740 O come, O come, Emmanuel and ransom captive Israel. 00:20:30.740 --> 00:20:32.740 We'll sing that this evening. 00:20:33.679 --> 00:20:34.559 What are we singing? 00:20:35.419 --> 00:20:42.599 We're singing that He is fully God, fully human, and He has come to be with us. 00:20:44.579 --> 00:20:47.759 Sometimes, you know, when we're singing, it's there and then it's gone. 00:20:48.059 --> 00:20:53.879 But it's worth slowing down to think about the reality of Jesus, our Emmanuel, 00:20:54.559 --> 00:21:01.339 and to understand that in His coming, it changes everything. 00:21:02.339 --> 00:21:04.899 Three words that can help us. 00:21:04.900 --> 00:21:12.240 Jesus, our Emmanuel, is our representative. 00:21:14.120 --> 00:21:22.320 So, as we said, the problem that we all face is the problem of our sin and its consequences. 00:21:23.019 --> 00:21:27.000 Our moral guilt before God that we can never by ourselves repay. 00:21:27.000 --> 00:21:34.160 Then we understand that the good news of the gospel, that Jesus, the Son of God, God with us, 00:21:34.220 --> 00:21:37.640 comes as God's solution to that problem. 00:21:38.920 --> 00:21:44.680 And we need Jesus to be both fully God and fully man. 00:21:44.680 --> 00:21:53.640 We need Him to live a perfect life on our behalf, to satisfy the demands of God's law, 00:21:54.440 --> 00:21:58.220 a law that we break, a perfect life we can never live. 00:21:59.400 --> 00:22:01.840 We need Him to be fully God and fully man, 00:22:02.279 --> 00:22:07.480 because in that condition, He is the only one who is worthy to pay the penalty for our sins. 00:22:07.480 --> 00:22:12.200 His suffering has infinite value. 00:22:14.319 --> 00:22:21.360 To understand that in Jesus, God Himself takes the debt of sin, 00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:27.420 absorbs it into Himself, pays it in full, and thus is able to forgive us. 00:22:28.940 --> 00:22:34.299 When Emmanuel is your representative and my representative, 00:22:34.299 --> 00:22:40.940 His perfect record of righteousness is credited to your account. 00:22:41.839 --> 00:22:45.399 His resurrection life belongs to you. 00:22:45.659 --> 00:22:50.480 He has redeemed you from the curse and has given you God's blessing. 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:56.659 God with us stood for us. 00:22:57.940 --> 00:22:59.259 Have we experienced? 00:22:59.259 --> 00:23:04.640 Are we living the joy of that wonderful exchange, 00:23:05.200 --> 00:23:08.119 knowing Emmanuel is our representative? 00:23:12.319 --> 00:23:19.319 Secondly, Jesus is God with us means He has come to bring us into relationship with God. 00:23:20.619 --> 00:23:23.660 You think about the birth stories of Jesus, 00:23:23.819 --> 00:23:26.000 and we understand from the beginning, 00:23:26.000 --> 00:23:29.039 God has come to be with His people. 00:23:29.119 --> 00:23:30.619 Of course, there's Mary and Joseph. 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:33.359 There's Joseph's extended family, 00:23:33.799 --> 00:23:36.980 who would also be there gathered for the census, 00:23:37.180 --> 00:23:38.720 but there's also the shepherds. 00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:40.980 There's also the wise men. 00:23:43.279 --> 00:23:45.819 God with His people. 00:23:45.819 --> 00:23:50.779 And remember, Matthew's never going to make this up. 00:23:52.059 --> 00:23:55.419 As a Jew, of course, he knows God is personal, 00:23:56.220 --> 00:24:00.279 but he also knows God is infinite and transcendent and far above us. 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:05.000 But he can write because of what he has seen and lived with, 00:24:05.039 --> 00:24:06.960 that He is also God with us, 00:24:07.039 --> 00:24:08.859 God in a manger. 00:24:08.859 --> 00:24:16.339 Matthew knew by experience that Jesus was God with him. 00:24:17.359 --> 00:24:18.819 He was one of the disciples. 00:24:20.379 --> 00:24:24.159 Jesus was with him, walking with him, talking with him, teaching him, 00:24:24.659 --> 00:24:28.339 serving him, loving him, dying for him. 00:24:28.339 --> 00:24:33.179 In other words, when Matthew talks about God with us, 00:24:33.339 --> 00:24:36.259 he is talking about being invited into, 00:24:36.480 --> 00:24:42.220 introduced into a personal, loving relationship with God. 00:24:43.559 --> 00:24:48.659 And that's what Emmanuel still means for you and I today. 00:24:50.139 --> 00:24:53.419 Emmanuel means that Jesus, God with us, 00:24:53.439 --> 00:24:56.859 has come into the mess and the brokenness of our world 00:24:56.859 --> 00:24:59.619 and of our lives in order to fix and to restore. 00:25:00.259 --> 00:25:04.179 He has come to restore the relationship between God and man. 00:25:04.639 --> 00:25:08.679 And God has come near to bring us near, 00:25:09.879 --> 00:25:14.719 to bring us into that loving, personal relationship with God 00:25:14.719 --> 00:25:17.159 that you and I were made for. 00:25:18.599 --> 00:25:23.559 So that He would talk with us as we hear God's Word, 00:25:23.659 --> 00:25:24.519 as we read it. 00:25:24.519 --> 00:25:29.500 That we would talk with Him as we enjoy our prayer life. 00:25:30.200 --> 00:25:32.299 That we would know His presence. 00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:34.879 His presence as we worship. 00:25:35.720 --> 00:25:37.240 His presence through His people. 00:25:38.200 --> 00:25:39.500 God has come near 00:25:39.500 --> 00:25:42.819 so that we might draw near to our God. 00:25:45.039 --> 00:25:47.379 And so with the coming of Emmanuel 00:25:47.379 --> 00:25:51.599 comes a whole new reality. 00:25:51.599 --> 00:25:57.339 I get to teach the ETS access course with Bob 00:25:57.339 --> 00:25:58.919 and it's been exam time recently. 00:25:59.199 --> 00:26:03.399 And he set a wonderful question for the students. 00:26:04.159 --> 00:26:05.039 Here was the question. 00:26:05.159 --> 00:26:08.059 Jesus Christ changed the course of human history. 00:26:08.919 --> 00:26:09.399 Discuss. 00:26:10.099 --> 00:26:12.319 A great thing to discuss. 00:26:12.539 --> 00:26:15.279 It was a great lunchtime, dinner table topic. 00:26:15.419 --> 00:26:17.599 Jesus Christ changed the course of human history. 00:26:17.599 --> 00:26:21.319 But isn't that what we discover in these verses? 00:26:21.480 --> 00:26:24.339 That because Jesus has come as God with us, 00:26:24.659 --> 00:26:27.079 truly nothing can ever be the same. 00:26:28.779 --> 00:26:32.079 To really hear the reality of what's going on here 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:34.939 calls for a response of faith. 00:26:35.939 --> 00:26:37.659 Like the response of Joseph. 00:26:37.660 --> 00:26:42.140 Now he will gladly bear shame 00:26:42.140 --> 00:26:44.980 for the greater honor 00:26:44.980 --> 00:26:47.340 of knowing Jesus. 00:26:48.800 --> 00:26:51.380 That Jesus who will forgive his sins, 00:26:51.740 --> 00:26:54.300 who would bring him into personal relationship with God. 00:26:55.480 --> 00:26:58.640 Will we follow in Joseph's footsteps? 00:26:59.460 --> 00:27:01.700 Will we turn from sin and trust in Him? 00:27:01.700 --> 00:27:06.279 And walk by faith in this Jesus. 00:27:07.080 --> 00:27:10.200 And it calls us also, as Christians, 00:27:10.759 --> 00:27:14.140 for a life of faith on a mission. 00:27:15.140 --> 00:27:17.180 So Matthew, early on in his gospel, 00:27:17.340 --> 00:27:20.100 talks about Jesus who is God with us. 00:27:20.880 --> 00:27:24.180 And that's how he chooses to end his gospel also. 00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:26.640 At the end of Matthew's gospel, 00:27:26.759 --> 00:27:27.880 there's the Great Commission. 00:27:28.319 --> 00:27:30.220 Jesus is about to return to heaven. 00:27:30.220 --> 00:27:33.660 And Jesus sends his disciples 00:27:33.660 --> 00:27:36.759 to go and make disciples of all nations. 00:27:37.660 --> 00:27:40.420 And Jesus knows that this will not always be easy. 00:27:40.839 --> 00:27:43.880 Jesus knows that this will involve suffering for them. 00:27:44.640 --> 00:27:46.360 He knows it won't be easy for us either. 00:27:47.339 --> 00:27:48.400 It can be really difficult. 00:27:48.880 --> 00:27:52.500 But he sends them and he gives to us a promise. 00:27:53.819 --> 00:27:55.339 Emmanuel gives a promise. 00:27:55.799 --> 00:27:58.940 I am with you always. 00:27:58.940 --> 00:27:59.240 Always. 00:27:59.740 --> 00:28:01.539 To the very end of the age. 00:28:02.240 --> 00:28:03.960 And it's in that power, 00:28:04.080 --> 00:28:05.559 and it's knowing his presence, 00:28:05.700 --> 00:28:07.259 and it's receiving his grace. 00:28:08.559 --> 00:28:11.480 It's then that we're invited to go. 00:28:12.279 --> 00:28:14.640 And to go and bear witness to the good news 00:28:14.640 --> 00:28:17.360 that we have in Jesus. 00:28:17.359 --> 00:28:22.799 So Christmas speaks hope for the world. 00:28:24.500 --> 00:28:27.139 Into the suffering and the sadness and the loneliness 00:28:27.139 --> 00:28:29.740 and the fear that seems to be all around us. 00:28:31.199 --> 00:28:33.839 Perhaps as we live with our own guilt or despair, 00:28:34.159 --> 00:28:35.819 or even as we're facing up to death, 00:28:36.639 --> 00:28:38.740 the angel announces good news 00:28:38.740 --> 00:28:40.179 because in Jesus' birth, 00:28:40.819 --> 00:28:42.719 we have God with us. 00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:46.039 The Son of God has come to forgive sin, 00:28:46.640 --> 00:28:48.140 to end separation, 00:28:48.140 --> 00:28:51.559 so that we can know personally the God of love. 00:28:51.559 --> 00:28:57.200 And as we find ourselves in this Advent season, 00:28:58.240 --> 00:29:00.899 both waiting to celebrate together 00:29:00.899 --> 00:29:02.919 the first coming of Jesus, 00:29:03.159 --> 00:29:06.980 but also looking forward to his return, 00:29:08.240 --> 00:29:11.500 let me close with these wonderful words 00:29:11.500 --> 00:29:14.440 from Revelation 21 verse 3. 00:29:14.440 --> 00:29:20.000 Here is the future for the people of God. 00:29:20.920 --> 00:29:24.360 I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 00:29:24.640 --> 00:29:29.320 Look, God's dwelling place is now among the people, 00:29:30.080 --> 00:29:32.440 and he will dwell with them. 00:29:33.180 --> 00:29:34.799 They will be his people, 00:29:35.320 --> 00:29:39.180 and God himself will be with them 00:29:39.180 --> 00:29:42.299 and be their God. 00:29:42.299 --> 00:29:45.419 Perfect life forever. 00:29:46.139 --> 00:29:47.980 Resurrected physical bodies, 00:29:48.339 --> 00:29:51.579 a renewed and perfected physical world, 00:29:51.940 --> 00:29:54.279 a feast of joy and love, 00:29:54.519 --> 00:29:57.500 and there at the center is Jesus, 00:29:58.379 --> 00:30:00.399 God with us, 00:30:00.720 --> 00:30:04.879 and us with him for all eternity. 00:30:06.399 --> 00:30:08.399 Let's pray and give thanks. 00:30:08.400 --> 00:30:11.160 Father God, 00:30:11.640 --> 00:30:17.180 we thank you for this priceless gift 00:30:17.180 --> 00:30:20.480 of Jesus our Emmanuel. 00:30:22.040 --> 00:30:23.100 We thank you 00:30:23.100 --> 00:30:26.280 for your being willing 00:30:26.280 --> 00:30:27.840 to come, 00:30:28.860 --> 00:30:30.100 to live among us, 00:30:30.480 --> 00:30:31.700 to live for us, 00:30:32.000 --> 00:30:33.740 to suffer and die for us, 00:30:35.060 --> 00:30:36.700 rising again for us. 00:30:36.700 --> 00:30:38.660 We thank you for Jesus, 00:30:38.860 --> 00:30:40.400 our perfect representative. 00:30:40.920 --> 00:30:44.460 May we place our trust in him alone. 00:30:46.160 --> 00:30:49.799 We thank you for Jesus through whom 00:30:49.799 --> 00:30:53.400 we're called into fellowship with you, 00:30:53.620 --> 00:30:54.200 our God. 00:30:54.200 --> 00:30:55.000 Lord, 00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:57.080 thank you that we get to pray 00:30:57.080 --> 00:30:58.720 in Jesus' name 00:30:58.720 --> 00:30:59.519 and know 00:30:59.519 --> 00:31:01.519 that we can boldly 00:31:01.519 --> 00:31:03.380 enter your presence, 00:31:03.539 --> 00:31:06.259 that we're accepted and loved 00:31:06.259 --> 00:31:08.180 because you love and accept Jesus, 00:31:08.319 --> 00:31:09.140 and we are in him. 00:31:11.180 --> 00:31:11.559 Lord, 00:31:11.580 --> 00:31:12.759 we thank you for this 00:31:12.759 --> 00:31:15.700 new reality that we live in. 00:31:15.759 --> 00:31:17.819 Help us to live with faith, 00:31:17.900 --> 00:31:19.460 to live on a mission, 00:31:19.740 --> 00:31:21.200 and to live with hope. 00:31:21.200 --> 00:31:25.000 that one day 00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:28.299 we will both be with Jesus 00:31:28.299 --> 00:31:30.420 and we will see him face to face, 00:31:30.720 --> 00:31:32.299 and we will have a joy 00:31:32.299 --> 00:31:33.220 that will last 00:31:33.220 --> 00:31:35.140 forever and ever. 00:31:36.460 --> 00:31:37.360 Give us strength, 00:31:38.019 --> 00:31:38.620 give us hope, 00:31:38.700 --> 00:31:39.080 we pray, 00:31:39.500 --> 00:31:40.519 in Jesus' name. 00:31:40.900 --> 00:31:41.160 Amen. 00:31:41.160 --> 00:31:41.259 Amen. 00:31:41.259 --> 00:31:49.160 Now let's close 00:31:49.160 --> 00:31:51.660 singing another Christmas hymn, 00:31:51.700 --> 00:31:54.440 O Little Town of Bethlehem, 00:31:54.460 --> 00:31:55.440 and we can stand 00:31:55.440 --> 00:31:57.279 as we sing this one together. 00:31:57.279 --> 00:31:57.400 Amen. 00:31:57.400 --> 00:32:16.360 O Little Town of Bethlehem, 00:32:16.359 --> 00:32:21.459 How still we see thee lie. 00:32:21.459 --> 00:32:27.779 Above the deep and dreamless sleep, 00:32:27.939 --> 00:32:30.599 the silent star