Transcription downloaded from https://sermons.meetfaith.org/sermons/39949/jesus-the-hope-of-glory/. Disclaimer: this is an automatically generated machine transcription - there may be small errors or mistranscriptions. Please refer to the original audio if you are in any doubt. [0:00] Well, good morning again. If you have your Bibles, let's turn to Philippians chapter 2. That's where we're going to be in the rest of the four weeks together. [0:13] And so what I want us to do is we're going to be camping out over the next four weeks in Philippians 2, but I want us to think about the incarnation of Jesus Christ. [0:25] I know that's a big, big word, and as we're going to be looking at is the mystery of the incarnation. As a matter of fact, I looked it up in Webster's Dictionary, and Webster's, one of the definitions of incarnation is the union of divinity with humanity in Jesus Christ. [0:50] And as a matter of fact, that's a very good definition. As we talk about incarnation, Jesus, who is God, took upon himself the form of human flesh, and was both God and man, both fully God and fully man. [1:07] Now, we know that Christmas, for many, is a very confusing time. To many, it really just doesn't make sense. We see the poverty and humility of the baby in a manger, in a dirty stable, and yet we surround ourselves with wealth and the indulgence of gift-giving. [1:32] And we read about a star in Bethlehem, but yet we look around, there are twinkling lights all around us. Also, we read about the obscure, dirty manger where the baby was born. [1:51] But yet, when we think about Christmas, we think about a warm, cozy room and fireplace with family and a huge dinner. [2:03] And we think about that. We read about shepherds, and all around us we see salesmen, and we see commercials. We also read about angels. [2:16] And then we talk about reindeer, especially one with a big red nose. And so as we think about the mystery of Christmas and how there's some kind of disconnect that we see between what Christmas really is, what the birth of Christ really means to humanity, and what we see around the holidays. [2:39] And I'm not trying to be cliche about saying, you know what, we need to keep Christ in Christmas, because we all know that. We all know that that's what it's really about. But even for us in the church, sometimes when we focus around the story of Christmas, we tend to miss the whole point. [2:59] You know, we read about, we think about shepherds, we think about angels, we think about Mary, we think about Joseph and the wise men. And we focus on this Christmas story, but we often have the possibility of missing the entire point of Christmas. [3:21] And so there's a question that we need to ask, and it is this, that the mystery of Christmas is not found primarily in the circumstances of the birth. [3:36] It's all part of the story. But that's not the point of the story. We find that the mystery of Christmas is found in the identity of the baby in the manger. [3:50] That's the whole point of Christmas. And that ought to be the focus of this time. Yes, wise men were part of it. Yes, Mary was important because she is the one whom God chose to be the earthly mother of Jesus. [4:05] The star is important. It led the wise men. But as we stop and think about it, the important, the mammoth point of Christmas is the identity of Jesus Christ. [4:21] It's the mystery that God could become flesh. The mystery that God could become a human being. And that God could become a screaming, crying, diaper-soiling little baby who needed to be held, who needed to be burped, and lied around making unusual noises nobody could understand. [4:47] And he was dependent upon his creation to take care of him until he was old enough and grew up the same way every other human being would grow up. [4:58] That's what really we are talking about. So we need to ask the question. Everyone that is faced with the reality of this time of year really needs to ask the question, Who is Jesus? [5:18] And that's what we're going to be looking at over the next four weeks as we prepare to get ready for Christmas. Who is this baby in the manger? [5:29] It's a huge question on a number of levels. It's a huge question, first of all, because it's an historic question. [5:40] As we think about who Jesus is, early in church history, there were many who were at odds on who Jesus was. [5:53] People were debating the identity of Jesus ever since Jesus was born, down through the ages, 2nd century, 3rd century, and thereafter. [6:05] We have Apollos, Athanasius, we have Arius. Some were saying he was all God. Some were saying he was all man. Some were saying he was fully God, fully man. Some were saying he was part God, part man. [6:16] And all of this identity issues around who is Jesus. We look at the great divide that is the essential divide between Judaism and Christianity. [6:31] What is the divide over? Who's Jesus? Is he the Messiah? Or was he just a prophet? Or was he just a good man and a good teacher? [6:41] We even get beyond that, and we think about other religions and other sects. We think about Islam. We think about Jehovah's Witnesses. We think about the cults. [6:53] What's the big deal? The big deal is, who's Jesus? And it depends on who you believe Jesus is. That will determine whether or not you're following the right person or know who he is. [7:06] So it's a historic question. But it's also a very important question. And I would dare say this. That it's the most important question that affects mankind that has ever been asked. [7:19] Think about it. What other question in the entire history of humanity that makes this much difference? None. [7:32] None. Who's president? Hello? Hello? America is only 200 some odd years old. And there's nothing in prophecy that says America will be here when Jesus returns. [7:44] And so the reality is, in the grand scheme of human history, it's not an important question. It's important for us today. But it's really the only important question that we need to ask. [7:59] And who did Jesus claim to be? Jesus claimed to be God. Now, if Jesus were God. Now, I was thinking about that this week. [8:11] If Jesus was God, it makes the entire New Testament make sense. Because if Jesus was God, it's no big deal that he walked on water. [8:24] He created the water. If Jesus is God, it's no big deal that he took five loaves, two fishes, and fed 5,000 people. He made the fish. He even made the stomachs that ate the fish. [8:40] About his death and resurrection. If Jesus is God, if Jesus is God, now, people really get hung up on the resurrection. You know what? [8:51] If Jesus is God, so what that he rose from the dead? He's God! He can do anything he wants to do. For me, the real biggie is that he died. [9:03] Think about it. How can God die? You know, that's the big miracle. That Jesus, who is God, took upon himself human flesh. And how could Jesus, who's fully God, die as a man? [9:17] It blows my mind. But he had to in order to take care of our sin. He also had to be fully God in order to take care of our sin. So, it's an important question. [9:30] Who is Jesus? Because Jesus claimed to be God. It's very, very important. As a matter of fact, I have a quote from C.S. Lewis. And this is what the author, C.S. Lewis, said. [9:44] He says, The doctrine of Christ's divinity seems to me not something stuck on which you can unstick. Meaning, the divinity of Jesus is not a concept that's stuck onto the Word of God. [10:00] He says, But something that peeks out at every point, so that you would have to unravel the whole web to get rid of it. All the way from Genesis to the Revelation. [10:11] Jesus' divinity is wound up in it. It is at every juncture. The divinity of Jesus is crucial. [10:25] And as C.S. Lewis puts it, Everywhere you look, it peeks out. He said you have to unravel the whole thing in order to get rid of it. So, it's foundational. It's historic. [10:37] It's important. But it's also, I would like us to see, That it's an awesome question. Yes, it's historic. [10:49] Yes, it's important. But it's an awesome question that I believe far too often we take for granted the fact That the God of the universe became a man. [11:02] We forget about that. Or we don't think about the awesome importance of that God, Because he wanted a relationship with us, Abased himself, And Jesus Christ came to our level To make a way to reconcile us back with God the Father. [11:27] That is so awesome. And we should never let it become commonplace And allow it to get drowned out And all the tinsel and the commercialism That's going to surround us Over the next four weeks As we prepare for Christmas. [11:44] Awesome to think about. It's historic. It's important. It's awesome. But also, It is a very personal question. I want us to hear today. [11:56] Now, I think most of us here this morning, I think, Know Jesus Christ as their Savior. But as we rub shoulders with people Over the next four weeks, There are some who are going to be talking about Santa Claus. [12:12] It's one of the Christmas icons that our culture talks about. But we need to remind people, You know, What's important about Christmas is, Who was born? [12:28] Who do we celebrate? It's Jesus. And who is Jesus? Jesus is the God of the universe Who became man and died on the cross in our place. [12:41] So, if you've got your Bibles opened up, Just look to Philippians chapter number 2. And I want to go ahead and let you know, Like I said, This is where we're going to be camped Over the next four weeks in Philippians 2. [12:55] Philippians 2, Starting with verse number 5, We're going to be looking at Chapter 2, Verses 5 through 11. An incredible, Incredible passage of Scripture. And I think this is probably The greatest picture Of the Christmas story in all of Scripture. [13:13] You know, We think, You know, The shepherds and Mary, And I think the greatest picture Of the Christmas story Is found here in Philippians chapter 2, Verses 5 through 11. [13:25] Now, You're not going to see shepherds. You're not going to see a star. You're not going to see Mary. You're not going to see Joseph. That's not what we're going to focus on. Because remember, The mystery of Christmas Is not in what surrounded the birth. [13:42] The big focal point of Christmas is Who was the baby in the manger? Who is Jesus? So I want us to read this passage And as we begin to unpack it, We start with verse 5. [13:53] And Paul talks about this attitude, This mind of Christ being in us. Some have called this a Christ hymn. This section of Scripture. [14:03] Him that exalts Christ, Excuse me, For who He is. Verse 5, Excuse me, Verse 5 of Philippians chapter 2, Let this mind be in you, Which was also in Christ Jesus, Who, being in the form of God, Did not consider it robbery To be equal with God, But made Himself of no reputation, Taking the form of a bondservant, And coming in the likeness of men, And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself, And became obedient to the point of death, Even the death of the cross. [14:43] Therefore God also has highly exalted Him, And given Him the name, Which is above every name, That at the name of Jesus, Every knee should bow, Of those in heaven, And of those on earth, And of those under the earth, And that every tongue should confess, That Jesus Christ is Lord, To the glory of God the Father. [15:05] So as we see this portion of Scripture, All that, Excuse me, All of this, Is talking about this baby, That was born in a stable, And I want us to see four truths, About Jesus Christ, Four truths, About the picture of who Christ is, Today, We're going to be looking at Jesus, As God, Jesus the hope of glory. [15:36] The very start of this passage, We're going to see how this unfolds, In just a second, Look at verse number six, It said, Let this mind be in you, Which was also in Christ Jesus, What does it say next? [15:52] Who, Being in the form of God. Now this obviously sets Jesus apart, From everyone else, In history. [16:02] This is someone who was, Excuse me, In the very nature of God. The word form, In verse number six, Is the Greek word, Morphe. [16:13] And that word is, Literally, The exact representation of. It doesn't mean he's similar to God, It doesn't mean that Jesus is like God, But it means that Jesus is God. [16:29] Jesus shares the exact same form as God. So Jesus is God. It means in essence, He exists as God. [16:43] He did not consider robbery to be equal with God, And he came in the form of a bondservant, But Jesus is God. We see where it talks about being a servant, In the nature of Jesus. [16:59] It's a similar word, But not the same word there. He is God. And what the text is saying, Is very clearly saying, That Jesus is God. [17:12] Now what does that mean? What does it mean for Jesus to be God, In the flesh? I want us to see that this sets the stage, For the focal point of the reality, Of what we're going to see. [17:26] And I'd like for us to look, First of all, If we're going to unpack this, At the Gospel of John. So let's turn to the Gospel of John, Chapter number one. [17:37] John, John 1, We're going to look up to about the middle, Of this passage. I love, I love John 1, I remember when I was in Bible college, In Greek, This was the first portion of Scripture, That our professor had us, Just simply take the Greek text, And translate the Greek text into English. [18:06] And so I translated, Or it was a period over a weekend, The assignment was to take John 1, 1 through 18, And translate it from the Greek. [18:17] And it was amazing, What this opened up, And to realize who Jesus is. These verses right here, Literally unpack, What Philippians chapter 2, Verse 6, Has just told us. [18:33] Let's look at verse 1, In the beginning was the Word, And the Word was with God, And the Word was God, He was in the beginning with God. [18:44] All things were made through Him, And without Him, Nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, And the life was the light of men. [18:57] And the light shines in the darkness, The darkness did not comprehend it, Did not understand it. There was a man sent from God, Whose name was John. This man came for a witness, To bear witness of the light, That all through him might believe. [19:15] He was not that light, But was sent to bear witness of that light. That was the true light, Which brings light to every man, Coming into the world. [19:25] We're going to talk about, Jesus being with God. Jesus being God. We're going to talk about Jesus this morning, Being the light of the world. It says, He was in the world, And the world was made through Him, And the world did not know Him. [19:43] That's where we're going to wind down this morning, And talk about the two important questions, That we have to deal with. The two things that we must decide. [19:55] He was in the world, The world was made through Him, The world did not know Him. He came to His own, And His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, To them gave He the right, To become the children of God, To those who believe in His name, Who were born, Not of blood, Nor of the will of man, But of God. [20:25] So as we're looking at John here, Jeremy, you may need to get up, We stop communicating. So as we're seeing here, Jesus is God in the flesh. [20:40] As we think about, John chapter 1, In the beginning was the Word, And the Word was with God, And the Word was God. There are many who misunderstand What is going on here, And realize, Or do not realize, That Jesus was God. [21:04] And one of the things That really unpacked it for me, As I was translating These verses, Was, In the beginning was the Word, And the Word was with God. [21:19] This is extremely, extremely interesting, Because of the fact that, What we see here, What the Greek says, Is, Not only, When we think of English, We think of being near someone. [21:37] We think of being in the vicinity, Of someone. Someone. But, What, The Greek is saying, What the language, That the New Testament was written in, Is saying, Is, That, Jesus, Was not only, In the general vicinity, Of God, But, It's saying, That, Jesus, Was, Face, To face, With God. [22:06] Vis-a-vis, Eye, To eye, Meaning, He was not, Below God, He was not just near God, He was there, On the same level as God, And it says, And the Word, Was, God. [22:24] Now what does it mean, For Jesus to be the Word? What does it mean, And why in the world, Would John call, Jesus, The Word? Now for some, It might seem like, It's some contemporary, Hip way, Of talking about Jesus. [22:39] You know, Calling Jesus, Word. That's not what he's saying, Because as we look at God's Word, All throughout Scripture, How does God express himself? [22:50] Through Word. In Genesis chapter 1, Or in Genesis, How does God, Bring everything into existence? He spoke, Everything into existence. [23:04] So it was through the, Word of God, That creation, Came about. Excuse me. In the beginning, God said, Let there be light. And there was light. [23:15] Over and over, Throughout the Old Testament. Talking about God, His self-expression. So as we begin to think, About the identity, Of Christ, What we're seeing, From the beginning, Of the Gospel of John, Is, We're seeing unfold, The expression of God. [23:33] Jesus, Is the way God, Expressed himself, To mankind. He, God, In the form of Jesus, Became, Human flesh. [23:45] The Word was, With God. So obviously, Jesus had a relationship, With God. And the Word, Was God. Jesus was God. So Jesus, Had a relationship, With him. [23:57] Now, This whole mystery of, How can Jesus, Be fully God, Fully man? And where does the Holy Spirit, Fit in? Well that's the mystery, Of the Trinity. If you figure it out, Let me know. [24:09] But the reality, The important thing is, The Bible teaches, That God exists, In three persons, Who share the same essence. But as we look, At the New Testament, One thing that's very important, That we need to see is, Jesus claimed, To be God. [24:29] I spent time with, I think it was a couple of, Job's witnesses one time, And this whole point, Of where, Where I took them, Where they wanted to take me, Somewhere else, Where I took them was, Who's Jesus? [24:41] Well he was, And they went through their story, Of who Jesus is, You know, Prophet, Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, I said, Well you know what, If he was just a prophet, Then, I'll let them, Build him up. [24:52] They said, You know, Jesus is a, You know, But they knew they were talking, To a Christian. So they, You know, Jesus was a good prophet, Was a good man, He was a great prophet, And yes, We, You know, We revere Jesus. [25:07] I said, You do. Okay, Then, There are some questions, That we have, About Jesus. The baby that we need to see, And questions that we need to ask is, The first one, Is he, If Jesus really claimed to be God? [25:25] Or, As we think about who Jesus is, There's really four, Things, That Jesus might be. The first thing, Is Jesus a legend? [25:36] Is Jesus a legend? There might be some who say, Well, Yeah, Jesus claimed to be God, But that's just a story. You know, There might have been a guy named Jesus, That lived around that, But you know, He didn't really claim to be God, And, And, You know, The stories about him, Are kind of, Pulled out of proportion. [25:54] So really, He's just, A legend. But if we stop, And really, Look at it, God's word, The Bible, Is, There's no ancient document, Anywhere, That has the historical reliability, And, The accuracy, That the word of God does. [26:15] Jesus, Really, Existed. There's more, Written in history, Not just the Bible, But there's more, Historians, That wrote about Jesus, Than any, Other pharaoh, Or any other emperor, Put together. [26:33] So, Jesus, Existed. He was not just, A legend. The second question, That people must ask, About who Jesus is, Well, If he's not a legend, Then is he a liar? [26:49] It's an important point, That we have to think about. And that's where I took these guys, Who were claiming, That he was a great prophet. Because, If Jesus claimed, To be a great prophet, And he was a great, Human teacher, Who had, Powerful things to say, But he wasn't God, If he was a great teacher, And a great man, And, We established the fact, That, And what we did, Was we went back to, The New Testament, Where Jesus was talking to, The Pharisees, The Sadducees, And the religious leaders, At different points in time, And the reality is, Jesus, Claimed, To, Be, God, Showed them the scripture, Had them read it, And I said, What is Jesus claiming? [27:39] They had no way, To crawfish out of it, They said, Well, It sounds like, He's claiming to be God, Okay, Well, Let's go on your assumption, That it sounds like, He's claiming to be God, How did the Jews, How did the Jewish leaders, Take what he said? [28:04] They sought to kill him, Because, He claimed, To be God, I said, So now, The Bible says, Those that he spoke to, Understood, That he claimed, To be God, I said, Okay, So if this great teacher of yours, Claims to be God, And you say he's not, Then, You're revering a liar, Well, They didn't, I mean, They kind of backpedal, Well, No, We're not saying he's a liar, Well, You have to say he's a liar, If you say, He said this, But he's not God, So really, He can't be, A great teacher, If he claims to be God, And if you say, He's not God, Obviously, He wouldn't be a great man, So that's one option, Is he a legend, Or is he a liar? [28:55] The next thing, The next obvious choice is, Is he a lunatic? Now, Think about that, Maybe he thought he was God, And claimed to be God, Maybe he just lost it, He wasn't a liar, Because are you really lying, If you believe what you're saying? [29:19] Okay, And you know, We meet a lot of people, At least I have, And I'm sure Rick has, And anyone in law enforcement, Or anyone, Maybe in mental health, You know, I've met a lot of people, Who claimed to be God, I mean, I've met people, Who claimed to be the devil too, But you know what we normally do with them? [29:41] We bring them to the hospital, To the emergency room, For a psychiatric evaluation, Why? Because, You know, They've lost it, You know, If they claim to be God, If I claim to be God one day, You know what, Just take me out of leadership, Because I don't belong here, Because Jesus claimed to be God, If he just, If he believed it, And he's not God, Then he was a lunatic, But that leaves us with only one option, If Jesus walked in the water, If he fed the 5,000, And he rose again, He died and rose again the third day, Like all the witnesses say he did, Then it leaves us with only one option, He is Lord, He is Lord, I refer again to C.S. Lewis, Let's go to our quote, C.S. Lewis says this, About Jesus, You can shut him up for a fool, You can spit on him, And kill him as a demon, Or you can fall on his feet, And call him Lord and God, [30:42] But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense, About his being a great human teacher, He has not left that open to us, And he did not intend to, If you read the New Testament, Jesus did not just say, He was a great teacher, He didn't claim to be a world leader, He didn't even claim to be a religious leader, He claimed to be God, So don't patronize him, And say, Oh, You're a great teacher, Jesus, You're a good man, Jesus, That's patronizing, Because he's God, And so, As we talk, And as we deal with people, You know, Over these next four weeks, As we get closer to the day that we celebrate the birth of Jesus, You know, We need to let people know, Jesus claimed to be God, And there's really only one option to believe, That he is Lord, And he is God, That's really the only thing, That makes sense, [31:43] All of us must come down, And say that Jesus is, One of these things, I wish I had time to dive into, Hebrews 1, 3, It talks about Jesus, As being the radiance, Of God's glory, Verse 8, Calls Jesus, The son, God, And it's incredible, It's incredible, All throughout the book of Hebrews, Especially those first few chapters, That deal with Jesus as God, Colossians 2, 9, Says, That he is the fullness of God, Over and over again, At the beginning of the book of the Revelation, God says, I am the Alpha, And the Omega, The beginning and the end, At the end of the Revelation, Jesus says, Sounds strikingly familiar, Jesus says, I am the Alpha, And the Omega, The beginning and the end, Well wait a minute, God said it, God said that, At the beginning, Jesus says the exact same thing, At the end, So what does that mean? [32:41] Jesus is God, They are one, And the same, In the sharing, The very same essence, The very same nature, Very quickly, I want us to see, Three other things, About who Jesus is, We saw, First of all, That Jesus is, The word of God, John said, He's the word of God, He is the self expression, Of God, And he, He is God, How does God, Present himself to us? [33:14] Through Jesus, That's how, How God expressed, Himself, Secondly, We see, That Jesus, Is the author, Of, Life, Jesus, Is the author, Of, Life, Turn right past, Philippians, And, Let's go to, Colossians, Together, Colossians chapter 1, And, Verse number 15, And, John 1 said, In him was life, And, He was also, This life was the light, Of men, All life, Summed up, In Jesus, Colossians 1, Takes that concept, Even further, Because we look at, Colossians 1, 15, Amazing verses, I want you to look at, To think about, All of the universe, All that exists, All that ever exists, Colossians 1, 15 says, Excuse me, [34:15] He, Is the image, Of the invisible God, Has anybody seen God? No, Do you want to see God? [34:25] Jesus said what? Look at me, You want to see God? Look at me, And you have seen him, The firstborn over all creation, For by him, All things were created, That are in heaven, And on earth, Visible and invisible, Whether thrown, Or dominions, Or principalities, Or powers, All things were created, Through him, And for him, And he is before all things, And in him, All things consist, Do you realize, This gigantic truth, That we have just read, That all the universe, And the gazillions, And gazillions of, Planets, Stars, Stars, And the sun, And the moon, And all the planets, That have their own moons, That the identity, Of this baby, Remember the question, Who is Jesus? [35:25] Jesus is the author, Of life, The author of life, Is this baby, In a manger, Now dependent, Upon his own creation, To take care of him, And to feed him, Excuse me, And to clothe him, This baby, Is the author, Of all life, He holds all things together, Did Jesus stop, Holding all things together, The day he was born, Nope, Because he's God, Now he abased himself, The bible says, He lowered himself, Even a little lower, Than the angels, Excuse me, The bible says, That he, Was willing, To let go, Of some of his glory, But in Jesus, The bible says, All things, Consist, He's the author of life, Thirdly, He is the light, Of the world, [36:26] He is the light, Of the world, If you go back to, John chapter 1, Verses 8 and 9, The bible, John says, That he himself, Was not that light, But, Was sent to bear witness, Of that light, Which is Jesus, In verse 9, That was the true light, Jesus was the true light, Which gives light, To every man, Coming into, The world, What does light do? [36:56] Light dispels darkness, Even a candle, You know, We've had candlelight services, Here before, You have a completely dark room, One candle, You can pretty well see, Everyone, In this entire, Large room, And as more candles, Are lit, You can see, Each one better, So light, Dispels darkness, That is what God did, As he expressed himself, In the person, Of Jesus Christ, Jesus came into a dark world, That knew not God, And Jesus, Shined the light, Of the word, His truth, And so all mankind, Could know, That God loves them, And wants to have, A relationship with him, So he, Is the author of life, He is the light, Of the world, And then fourthly, He is the hope, Of glory, He is the hope, Of glory, John 1 14, Says, And the word became flesh, And dwelt among us, And we beheld, His glory, [37:58] He is the hope, Of glory, In other portions of scripture, It refers to him, In that manner, And it says, And we beheld his glory, The glory, As of the only begotten, Of the father, Full of grace, And truth, This unique, For God so loved the world, That he gave his, Unique son, Only begotten, None before him, None after him, None like him, He is unique, Because he is God, And so as we see, He is the hope, Of glory, The Bible says, The word became flesh, In verse 14 of John 1, And he dwelt among us, That's the word tabernacled, In the Greek, So what it means, When the Old Testament, Same correlation, Of the Hebrew word, In the Old Testament, For tabernacle, When the Jews, Wanted to see God, Where did they go? [38:59] They went to the tabernacle, Early New Testament, While the temple, Was still there, Where did people go, To see God? To the tabernacle, What does the Bible say? [39:12] That, Jesus, Became man, And he tabernacled, Among us, So you wanted to see God? Go to the stable, And look into the face, Of this little baby, And you were with God, Isn't that an awesome concept, That we, We can sometimes, Lose sight of, During this Christmas time, That there, In the manger, Was God, Was God, Dwelt among us, Tabernacled, Among us, He, Was God, The glory, Refers, Refers to him, As the unique, Son, Of God, Jesus, Revealed, The glory, Of God, So as we wind it down, The decision, That we need to make, The decision, That we need to make, Now with, With that truth, With that as a picture, Everyone has a decision to make, [40:15] Now it told us from the beginning, That it has ramifications for all of us, This is an important question, Who Jesus is, You see there are only two options, We see these two options, Spelled out in John 1, The first option is, We can reject him, That's the first option, When we share the gospel with someone, One option they have, Is to reject him, Look at John 1 10, John 1 10 says, He, Jesus, Was in the world, And the world was made through him, And the world did not what? [40:51] Did not know him, And so, What they did was, They didn't know him, Verse 11 says, He came to his own, And his own, Did not even receive him, So, The first option, That people have is, They can reject him, And in so doing, What they literally say, Is, I do not recognize him, And I do not receive him, That's what John says, Happened when Jesus came to the earth, His own received him not, They didn't know who he was, And they rejected him, When he said, Who he was, We don't want you Jesus, So that's one choice, That people have today, So that's a choice, That if they choose, Will send them, To an eternal, Damnation, In the lake of fire, We can reject him, And say, Jesus, I don't recognize you, [41:51] As God, And I do not, Receive, You, Terrible option, But many, Since Jesus was born, Or began his ministry, To today, Make, That very choice, The second, The second, Option, That we have is, We can, Revere, Him, We can revere him, Look at John 1, 12, But as many, As received him, See not everyone, Rejected Jesus, Not everyone, Will reject Jesus, Today, But John says, But as many, As received him, To them, Gave he the right, The privilege, To become, Children of God, The son, The daughter of God, To those, Who believe, In his name, What's the qualification? [42:47] Believe, Trust, That Jesus is, Who he says he was, And he did, What he did, For us, To pay, Our payment, Children born, Not of natural descent, He says, Were born, Verse 13, Not of blood, Nor of the will of the flesh, We cannot say one day, I'm a child of God, And because we said so, That we make it so, He says, Not out of the will of the flesh, Nor of the will of man, But it's God who makes the transaction, It's God who takes care of it, So the second option, The only two options, We can either reject him, Second option is, We revere him, And literally, What we are saying is, I believe in him, And I belong to him, I believe in him, And I belong to him, Now here's why this truth is so important, Because if Jesus wasn't fully God, [43:49] Think about this for a moment, And if anyone questions you about this, This is very important, If Jesus were not fully God, How could a simple man, Die in our place, And pay an eternal debt, To the God of the universe, If he himself was not eternally God, Not possible, Because he would have had to die, For his own sins, Just like any of us today, So Jesus being fully God, Was able to be the payment, For our sin debt, So when we realize this, We believe that Jesus, Elsewhere he says in the New Testament, Believe that Jesus is God, Believe that he is who he said he was, And believe that when he died on the cross, [44:50] He paid our sin debt, When he rose again from the dead, It proved that God was satisfied, With the payment, I see Lord Jesus, That you are the word of God, You are the light of the world, You are the author of life, You are the hope of all glory, And I embrace you, I am yours, I trust you Jesus, And thank you, For allowing me, To belong to you, And so therefore, As we worship Christ, We worship God, Because he is God, Two options, Jesus, Is the word of God, Jesus is the author of all life, And all that ever has been, Jesus is the light of the world, He is the answer, To the world, Like we talked about last week, It's, It's him, He knew the problem, Problem was sin, He took care of our sin problem, [45:52] Now we can belong to him, He is the hope of glory, So the decision that people have, As we share with them, Talk with them about the hope, That's within us, They literally only have two choices, And people say, Well, I'm not choosing to reject him, Wait a minute, Where did you study logic? [46:16] Because if you decide, Not to make a choice, You've just made a choice, You cannot escape that logic, So you cannot defer, Because when you defer, You've chosen, Not to make that choice, So you've chosen to reject him, Until you decided to receive him, So people have the two choices, Either reject him, Or receive him, Either say, Jesus, I don't believe you are, Who you say you are, Or if you are, Who you say you are, I won't receive you, Or revere him, And saying, Lord Jesus, I believe in you, And I belong to you, So Jesus, Is the hope, Of glory, It's important, That Jesus was virgin born, He had to have a human mother, In order for him to become, A human being, Mary was important, The angels were important, They declared that, The shepherds were important, They made it known, The star was important, It led, The shepherds, It, [47:18] All important, But let's not, Get lost in the story, Lest we, Miss out on, The most important thing is, Who's Jesus, Who's the baby, He's Jesus, When you looked upon the face of Jesus, And like the song, Mary did you know says, You looked, Upon the face of God, Let's pray, Our heavenly father, We thank you, For being who you are, We thank you, Lord God, For being the author of life, Because, Were it not for you, We would not exist, We would not have an opportunity, To spend eternity with you, So father, We thank you, Help us, To be able to share, This great news, As we go about, This holiday season, As we remember, And as we celebrate, The birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Father, We thank you, We praise you, [48:18] For it's in Jesus name, We pray, Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.