Jesus Is The Gift Of God To You
1. Jesus Saves You From Your Sin (Matthew 1:18-21)
2. Jesus Fills You With The Holy Spirit (Mark 1:6-8)
3. Jesus Rules Over You Forever (Luke 1:30-33)
4. Jesus Provides Your Access To God (John 1:12-14)
2021 Christmas Service Message: Jesus Is The Gift Of God To You
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Well, as we enter into this time in the scriptures this morning for our Christmas service, I've titled the Message Jesus is the gift of God to you as we come upon this day where we remember and celebrate the birth of Jesus, I want to encourage you to be thinking about the idea.
The concept of a gift and understanding that this is an incredible gift that God has given to us. We of course have that infamous verse. John 316.
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, and we in a few days will be, perhaps exchanging gifts or giving gifts, or receiving gifts, that there is that gift giving that is tide to this.
Celebration of Christmas that we encounter in our families and our communities and the world around us.
And as we do, I would encourage you to let it be a reminder to you.
Let it call your mind to this gift that God has given because of his great love.
It says he gave his only begotten son, Jesus Christ is the gift of God because.
He loves us because he wants to have fellowship with us and desires to see good performed and accomplished in our lives.
He gave his only begotten son.
And so as we think about presence, let's think about this one that the father has given to us.
I don't know what kind of presence you like to receive, but it's probably changed over the years.
You know, before perhaps you would open up and there was the gift from Aunt Sally and it was a new pair of socks and it was not that exciting.
But as you get older, you know sometimes just getting a new pair of socks might be just the thing that brings a great smile to your face because, well, things have changed and you've changed over the years and what you prioritize, you know has changed and so sometimes gifts are just things for fun things that you would never buy for yourself.
Things that you would never.
You know, do on your own, but sometimes some of the most amazing gifts are the things that you need right in that moment.
And how sometimes that that can be such an incredible gift to give to someone.
And as we consider Jesus as the gift, of course there's great fun pleasure joy that we can consider in that gift, but then also, we recognize it's not just a fun gift, you know.
I was thinking about.
I almost brought it in.
This morning
My wife awhile back got me.
She was at Costco and she saw this deal Star Wars drones that was really cheap and I've flown him in here.
When nobody else.
Is here and I was really tempted to do that?
This wanted to kind of show it off a little bit, but I figured your hair would be in danger and so I didn't want to do that.
I could just picture the.
The headlines, yeah.
But I don't need a drone, right?
That is just purely for fun, just for enjoyment, just to have a good time, right?
The Lord Jesus has a gift to us has those elements has those components that that it is for our pleasure, for our good and for our joy, not just for now, but for all eternity.
But also we need to remember and reflect on the reality that Jesus is the gift that we need the most.
Above everything else more than anything else, we need this gift that God has given to us, and so we want to take some time to consider this.
Gift and understand kind of look at the gift from all sides and and and get some perspectives and and reminders about what this gift is and what it means for us.
And so here in Matthew chapter one we're going to get point number one this morning.
Here is the the first aspect for us to consider about this gift, and that is that Jesus saves you.
From your sin, Jesus saves you from your sin.
Looking at verse well.
Well, let's just read verse 18 through 21. Again, it says now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows.
After his mother, Mary, was betrothed to Joseph before.
They came together.
She was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly.
But while he thought about these things, behold, an Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take to you, marry your wife.
For that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
And she will bring forth the son, and you shall call his name Jesus.
For he will save his people from their sins.
Here in Matthew chapter one we have the record of this announcement that is made to Joseph.
Now we'll see in a little bit, Luke Chapter 2 an announcement that's made to Mary, but here we get this unique announcement that is given to Joe.
Stuff and Joseph finds himself in a bit of a dilemma.
He is betroths to be married for them in their culture.
The trouble was something that was as serious as marriage.
It was just not completed.
The the marriage ceremony had not taken place yet, and so that's the only difference.
In many ways, between a betrothal and a marriage it was it was a very serious thing.
It was they were more than engaged, they were betrothed, they were bound together.
And so while this is their status, their condition.
He finds out he discovers Mary.
Is found to be pregnant.
She's found with child.
And Joseph, it says he is a just man.
He didn't want to harm her by publicly humiliating her, but he was prepared to end the relationship because.
Well, he knew he wasn't the father and so if she was pregnant then she had to have cheated on him.
She had to have gone outside of their relationship and and so he was prepared to he was deciding to put her away secretly.
He didn't want.
To hurt her and do something public and.
And make it harder for her.
But at the same time he wasn't able to enter into that marriage in the same way that he once was in that position.
And so so he's wrestling with these things.
And while he's wrestling with these things, the Lord sends an Angel to deliver this message.
And the Lord tells him, don't be afraid to take with you.
Marry your wife.
She didn't cheat on you.
She wasn't with some other guy.
What has happened to her has been a miraculous work of the Holy Spirit.
She has conceived.
And it's going to give birth.
To a son.
And you shall call his name Jesus.
Joseph, don't worry, this is a miraculous work of God.
This is the father doing an incredible work providing an incredible gift through Mary to the world.
The gift of a son.
It's going to be.
Be not an ordinary son, not a sudden from 2 humans getting together and producing a son, but this is going to be the son of God.
And so you shall call his name Jesus.
The Angel tells him that it's OK.
He can go ahead with this marriage.
The Angel tells him what to name this boy that he should continue on in the marriage and then be involved in the the boys life and.
As a father, kind of a stepfather to the boy, he should provide to him the name Jesus.
The name Jesus means God is salvation.
And so the Angel tells him, you shall name him Jesus, because.
He will save his people from their sins.
Name him.
God is salvation because he will save his people from their sins.
The name Jesus is packed with meaning in that way in the fact that that Jesus is the salvation that we, the truth, and the life, but also that he is God is salvation, right?
He is the God who is salvation.
He is the true and living God, having come in the flesh.
He is God who became men.
To all humanity.
To save his people from their sins.
Now the Jewish people in their day of course, expected a savior they were looking for the Messiah they were looking for this occasion to take place, but they had.
Incorrect assumptions about what that would look like.
They had certain ideas in their mind about what a savior meant, and for them at this particular time.
A strong idea of the day was that a savior would mean that they would be saved from the rulership of Rome.
The Roman Empire had been established.
Rome ruled over the region, ruled over the world, but including the the region of Israel.
And so people throughout Jesus Ministry you'll see as you read through the Gospels, are constantly looking for this kind of role from Jesus.
As he proclaims to be the Messiah, as people expect that he is the Messiah, they're looking for a political deliver or a military deliver.
They're looking for a savior in this kind of realm, and Jesus is the savior, but not from Rome.
He's not the savior from politics or from you, know military forces that that is not the role that he came to fill at this time.
Now there is a future coming of Jesus that will address those things and fulfill all of those scriptures that led people to have this perspective at the time of Christ.
Those things will come, though they will take place.
We'll see that again as we continue on this morning a little bit more.
But it's important to stop and reflect that we can have in our minds and have ideas that are not really valid in regards to the kind of salvation that we're thinking is being provided to us by the Lord.
We need to think about the fact that Jesus saves us from.
Our sin.
So many times we think about the gospel.
We think about the gift of God and and we can think about it in.
Connection to our immediate needs or desires or wants our immediate problems or difficulties or conflicts.
The conditions of the world around us, and it would be very easy for us to have a perspective.
Like the Jewish people in that day where we're looking for a savior to make our lives more comfortable to change our nation to perhaps, you know, take us back to our Christian roots as a nation or to to do other other kinds of work like that.
We're looking for a savior to get us out of debt.
We're looking for a savior to, you know.
Whatever we might be bound up in and tide up in.
And there is a.
A work that God can do in.
All of those arenas.
But as we consider the gift of God.
As we consider that God loved us so much that he gave his only begotten son, we, we need to recognize first and foremost that Jesus came to save us in regards to our greatest need.
His primary focus is not that we have fun drones to fly around and put smiles on our face.
That's that's not the primary focus.
The primary focus is the socks that we need desperately right?
That's maybe two.
What's the word?
I'm looking for two.
Triffle trait.
Do you know when it's going against religious things?
Oh man, I'm totally spacing.
I'm sorry I've had a really rough morning.
I don't mean to compare Jesus to socks, I apologize.
Our greatest need is salvation. From our sin, and I like how it says that there in verse 21 he will save his people from their sins.
Jesus will save his people and and that's an important thing to note.
Jesus will save Jesus people, and so we must consider MI Jesus people right?
Am I?
Am I one of those people of Jesus?
Am I a believer in Jesus and and those who believe in Jesus are saved from there?
That there is a sinful nature that I have.
There's a sinful nature that you have that requires us.
It puts us in a state where we must be delivered.
Where we cannot deliver ourselves or save ourselves.
We're in a desperate situation and we need a savior.
And so Jesus came to do that.
He is the gift of God to bring salvation from our sin.
Listen, if I were to sit.
Down with you today.
And share with you.
All of the sin in my mind and heart today.
Just this morning you would get up and walk out of here and you would never come back.
We're sinful.
And we need a savior for our sin.
We all fall short.
Of the glory of God.
Pastor David Guzik says Jesus meets us in our sin, but his purpose is to save us from our sins.
He saves us first from the penalty of sin, then from the power of sin, and then finally from the presence of sin.
And these three aspects of sin are good to reflect on and consider.
First and foremost, the penalty of sin that is, having sinned.
Having fallen short, I deserve judgment from God.
There there is the wages of sin, which is death.
But Jesus saves me from that penalty, even though I deserve it, even though I've earned it, even though that is what is right.
Jesus has saved me from the penalty of sin.
And as we believe in Jesus and walk with Jesus, there is a.
Process that he walks us through called sanctification.
Where he works on delivering us from the power of sin, that is as we grow in our relationship with him.
As we draw nearer to him and become more like him.
There areas of sin that have bound us for years that begin to be released and delivered there.
There's a work that he does in our hearts to make us more like him and and the power of sin is broken in our lives as we walk with him.
And as we draw near to him.
And so he saves us from the penalty.
He saves us from.
The power and then finally and this.
Is what we look forward to.
In eternity he saves us from the presence of sin.
Right now, there's still that sinful nature.
There's still that constant, continual battle.
But we can rejoice in the gift of God, which is Jesus who saves us from our sin in looking forward to in the future.
As we stand before him.
We will be.
In a condition without the struggle without the battle without the need.
To continually confess and repent because we have blown it once again.
The presence of sin will be removed completely as we enter into eternity.
With the Lord.
And so this is the first aspect that we need to consider about the gift of God.
Jesus saves you from your sin.
From the penalty from the power from the presence lots that we could say there, but we need to continue to think about some different aspects of this gift, and so would you turn with me, please to the Gospel of Mark.
It's the next book over here in the New Testament.
Mark chapter one.
And perhaps you've already guessed, yes, we are going to look at.
Each gospel.
And consider four different sides to this gift that has been given to us in Jesus Christ here at Mark chapter one, we're going to look at verses 6 through 8. Here's point. #2, Jesus fills you with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus fills you with the Holy Spirit.
Not only does he save you from your sin, which is what you and I desperately need.
But more than that.
He gives us drones to fly around.
He fills you with the Holy Spirit.
Some good things that are not just fun but also necessary for us as we'll consider.
But let's look at John.
I'm sorry, Mark chapter one verses 6 through 8.
It says now John was clothed with camel hair and with a leather belt around his waist and he ate locusts and wild honey.
And he preached, saying there comes one after me, who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.
I indeed baptize you with water, but key will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
Here we get a glimpse at John the Baptist.
In Matthew we saw the announcement of the coming of Jesus by an Angel.
Here we see the announcement of the coming of Jesus by a strange guy in the wilderness, John the Baptist, who was the forerunner of the Lord who had a prophetic ministry to bring forth.
The preparation.
For the Messiah to come on the scene for Jesus to come, and to bring forth that message to the world.
And so here is John. He had an interesting style. He was clothed with camel's hair with a leather belt. And in this he was much like the prophet Elijah that we've been reading about back in First Kings and 2nd Kings weave.
Spending some time considering the ministries of Elijah and Elisha, and here you have a similar parallel just as there was Elijah who came first, and then Elisha and they had a little bit different ministries, a little bit different styles.
Here you have John the Baptist and Jesus and John the Baptist.
Much like Elijah was a harsh man.
He lived out in the wilderness.
He ate a.
Very basic diet of locusts and wild honey clothed with camel's hair. Leather belt around his waist, but he proclaimed.
That the Kingdom of God was at hand, and he called the people to repentance.
Now he's called John the Baptist, because one of the primary aspects of his ministry was baptizing people for the repentance of sins.
In fact, if you'll back up a couple verses, verse 4 here of Mark chapter one says John came baptizing in the wilderness.
And preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.
And so this sin issue that we were talking about end .1. Now John is addressing it and he's saying here's what you need to do about this sin issue. You need to repent.
And as a sign as an evidence of your repentance, come and be baptized, be immersed in the water to demonstrate to picture this idea of the old sinful practices being left for dead, and then you come up to live a new life with.
Those things being.
Said, and now you're going to live.
For the righteous purposes of God and not continuing on in your sinful behavior.
And so the people around Israel were coming to John.
They were confessing their sins.
They were repenting and being baptized.
It was a great work.
It was a great revival.
There was a lot of commotion going on as a result of this Ministry of John the Baptist.
But here is there's this crowd around.
He makes an announcement.
I'm not the one that you're actually looking for.
I'm not the one I'm not seeking to draw everybody to myself.
No in reality.
I'm here to point you to the one who will.
Come after me.
And he is mightier than I.
In other passages, as you read about the Ministry of John the Baptist, you can see that he declares that Jesus existed before him.
He hints at the deity of Jesus because.
From Earth's perspective, John the Baptist was older than Jesus. He was his older cousin by a few months.
But now John the Baptist says Jesus was before me.
He's greater than me, he's mightier than I, so much so I'm not even worthy too.
Loose his sandal to take off his sandals.
He's so far superior to me.
It would not even.
Be right for me to take off his shoes.
And he goes on to say in verse eight, I indeed baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, as John compares himself to Jesus and illustrates that Jesus is so far superior to him.
He goes on to say the ministry that I perform the baptism, and it's a great work.
I mean, people whose lives are being changed through the Ministry of John the Baptist.
And there was revival happening as people were repenting and and coming out and and there was radical things happening.
And yet John says as good as all those things were.
In comparison to the one who's coming after me, well, there's really no comparison.
I'm not worthy to untie his sandals, and when I baptize you with water that doesn't even compare to what he will do, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit, no again.
What kind of gifts do you like to receive the things you need, or things that are just for fun?
And then consider what kind of gift is the Holy Spirit.
In some circles, perhaps the idea is that the Holy Spirit is just for fun.
It's just for a good time just for a good emotional experience.
But the reality is, the Holy Spirit is.
Something we need.
It's not just a you know, it's kind of a nice addition to salvation.
It's not just that the Holy Spirit is just like a little piece of something.
The good that God wants to do in us.
But the Holy Spirit is necessary for us.
You could think of many different aspects of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives, but it begins with conversion that Jesus will say later on in John chapter three, you must be born again.
We call this regeneration.
It's a work of the Holy Spirit where previously our spirit is dead.
We have no spiritual life, but as we are born again as we believe in Jesus, the Holy Spirit regenerates us.
And just as Jesus was raised from the dead, you and I, spiritually speaking.
Are given new.
Life by the Holy Spirit as believers in Jesus.
And there is a spiritual life in us that was not there previously.
Once I was dead.
But he has made alive Ephesians Chapter 2 talks about that in a lot of detail.
The Holy Spirit is a necessary component for us.
An incredible aspect to the gift that God has given to us. Commentator FB Meyer says the greatness of the Baptists revealed itself in his humility.
He saw what we must see.
That a negative religion symbolized by water is not enough.
We need to be set on fire.
Religion is not enough.
A list of do's and don'ts. A formal you know, formal procedures and policies, and I'm forgetting all of my words today, but religious practices and and those things that we might try to do that so many try to do for salvation and and for right relationship with God they they just fall short.
What we need is not just.
Water baptism, I mean, we need that baptism we need what it?
Symbolizes we need the repentance from sins.
We we need all of that.
But that's just a piece of it.
We also need to be set on fire to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire as John is recorded saying in other passages we need to be baptized not just with water but with.
The Holy Spirit
It is an important aspect of the gift that God has given to us.
Jesus puts it this way to his disciples in John Chapter 14 and this passage.
He's preparing his disciples as he's about to be crucified and be absent from them.
In that way, he's preparing them for this.
In a few chapters ahead of time in John Chapter 14, verse 16, he says I will pray the father and he will give you another helper.
That he may abide with you forever.
The spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.
But you know him, for he dwells with you and will be.
In you.
Jesus is explaining to his disciples.
It's an advantage to you if I go away.
It's a benefit to you if I go away now that's a tough one for us to wrestle with, because could you imagine how great it would be if you could just have Jesus with you all the time?
If he was just like right there in the car seat next to you or or right there, you know in the office next to you or right there in the living room with you.
In anytime there's a decision to be made like, well, what do you think, Jesus?
What do you want to do?
What's the right thing here?
What's your wisdom?
What's your council?
What, what do you say about this?
What's the truth in this situation?
Like to be able to have that kind of communication in Council.
We could.
We could think having Jesus next to me would be the the the ultimate ideal and the.
The best advantage we could have.
But Jesus tells his disciples it's to your advantage.
I go away because then.
I will send the Holy Spirit to you.
Now it would be great if Jesus was next to me, but the problem for you then, is that, well, he'd be next to me and not next to you.
Jesus says, look, I'm sending to the father and I'm sending.
To all of you the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus became man, he was.
In one place at a time, right?
He was sometimes with all 12 disciples.
Sometimes he was just with the three disciples in that physical form.
But he says look, it's your advantage.
I'm going away and the the same kind of work.
That you could have with Jesus sitting right next to you.
Can carry on to all of us.
As he pours out and fills us with.
His Holy Spirit
Man, there's a lot that we could consider in this, but.
It's important to understand the Holy Spirit.
Is an essential role in our transformation.
To become more and more like Christ.
That sanctification that I was talking about the saving from the presence or the power of sin.
That that's a work of the Holy Spirit in our lives as we walk with the Lord that he is transforming us and again setting us free from those things that bind us.
And those sins that ensnare us.
The Holy Spirit is an essential part of our new birth.
He is the one who gives us that new life.
That new spiritual life as we believe in Jesus, he is an essential part of our communion with the father in our prayer life.
He is an essential part of our service unto the Lord, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit theirs.
Many, many components.
That we could consider in thinking about.
The Holy Spirit
Is God's gift to you.
Who saves you from sin?
And who fills you with the Holy Spirit?
Well, let's move forward now to Luke chapter one.
And consider another announcement.
Of Jesus this time to Mary.
The mother of Jesus Luke chapter one. We're going to look at verses 30 through 33.
Here's point, #3 Jesus rules over you forever.
Another gift of God.
To you.
Something really important for us to consider. Luke chapter one verses 30 through 33, it says. Then the Angel said to her, do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And, behold, you will conceive in your womb, and bring forth a son, and shall call his name Jesus.
He will be great.
And will be called the son of the highest and the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.
And he will reign over the House of Jacob Forever and of his Kingdom.
There will be no end.
Here the Angel Gabriel appears to Mary.
And we're just looking at a portion of their interaction, but here the Angel says to her, don't be afraid.
I'm not showing up to take you out.
You have found favor with God.
God looks at you.
He's pleased with you.
He looks at you favorably.
And behold,
You will conceive in your womb and bring.
Forth the sun.
So this appearance that Mary experiences happened before Joseph had his appearance, right?
This announcement comes before she has conceived.
Joseph gets his after she has conceived.
She gets events notice.
There's going to be this miraculous work that takes place and you are going to bring forth a son and you shall call his name Jesus.
And so both Mary and Joseph are.
Instructed to name him Jesus.
Because he will save his people from their sins.
But verse 32 and 33.
Or where I want.
To focus for this point and consider with you.
The Angel tells her.
That Jesus will be great.
He will be called the son of the highest or the son of God.
And the Lord God will give him the throne of his father David.
And he will reign over the House of Jacob Forever and of his Kingdom.
There will be no end.
Again, the Angel tells Mary this is not going to be an ordinary boy with an ordinary life that you're going to give birth to.
He will be great.
There's going to be something incredible about this.
He will be the son of God.
Again, not the normal type of son or child that we're used to the product of a man and a woman coming together.
But no, this is going to be a miraculous work.
The son of God will be born.
And he will have a particular role.
The announcement to Joseph and Matthew Chapter one focused on really the first coming right that salvation issue.
The issue of sin that was taken care of when Jesus died upon the cross for us.
But here the Angel Gabriel points her to the next coming of Jesus, the second coming of Jesus, the return of Jesus.
As he will be established on the throne forever and ever.
In verse 33 he will reign over the House of Jacob Forever and of his Kingdom. There will be no end here. This announcement gives this connection to David.
And David was given this promise back in Second Samuel Chapter 7.
Where he had wanted to build the temple right and God says.
David, it's not for you to build me a house.
Your son will build.
The house, but David, here's what I'm going to do.
I'm going to.
Build you a house.
In second Samuel Chapter 7, verse 16, God tells David your house and your Kingdom shall be established forever before you.
Your throne shall be established forever and Jesus, a descendant of David, is the fulfillment of this promise to David.
He is the rightful air to the throne.
Currently he sits on the throne with the father in heaven.
But he will return, establish his Kingdom here for 1000 years. He will rule and reign here upon the Earth, and he will rule and reign in a sense. He rules and reigns. Right now we don't see every aspect of that realized just yet.
But he will rule and reign forever and ever.
He will sit on David's throne.
And he will be established for all eternity.
This is an aspect of the Ministry of Jesus that is important for us to consider.
Because he's not just a savior.
From sin.
He is a ruler.
The gift that God has given to us is the gift of one who will reign over us.
One who will have lordship over us now.
The direct connections to the prophecy here are to the House of Israel to the Jewish people, to the nation of Israel.
But but it also speaks to us about the Lordship of Christ in our own lives.
And the understanding that what we've been given is someone who will Lord over us, someone who will be our Lord for all of this life and for.
All of eternity.
The gift of God to us is Jesus.
Who is?
King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Who is the authority above all authorities and and we don't at any time in our acceptance of his gift and in our deliverance from sin.
We don't at any time go outside of his authority outside of his realm.
We we don't.
We're not liberated in that sense.
Paul talks about us being slaves to sin at one point.
But then in our encounter with Christ and being born again, we become slaves to righteousness, were delivered from our slaves sinfulness, which is death.
It brings death.
The results in death and results and things that were shameful love.
But what God gives to us is a leader.
To submit to Jesus.
A Lord to bow to his name is Jesus.
What what God gives to us is someone that we can commit ourselves to and seek to serve wholeheartedly for this life and for all of eternity.
This is one of those gifts that maybe you're like.
Well, maybe I don't want that like I like the exciting the the fun.
Give me the drones.
Don't give me the socks right like this is not that kind of gift and and yet this is something that God is given to us because we need it so desperately.
You need Jesus on the throne of your life.
You need Jesus on the throne of your heart as Lord of your life because.
He knows what's best for you.
Because he wants what's best for you.
And because he is able to accomplish good in your life, Jesus rules over you.
Well, finally point #4. We're going to jump to the Gospel of John chapter one.
Point #4 this morning is that Jesus provides you or provides your access to God.
Let's check out John chapter one.
We're going to look at verses 12 through 14.
Here's what it says, but as many as received him to them, he gave the right to become children of God to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
And the word became flesh.
And dwelt among us.
And we beheld his glory, the glory, as of the only begotten of the father, full of grace.
Jesus provides your access to God.
He doesn't just save you from your sin.
He doesn't just establish himself as Lord of your life, but he grants you access.
Into the Holy of Holies access.
To the father.
It's one of the reasons why we talk about Christianity not being religion, but being relationship.
Because we get to have relationship with God.
We get to be justified.
So that we stand before God, just as if I'd never sinned, that whole forgiveness from sin thing.
Back in Matthew chapter one that we considered.
It's not just the deliverance from the penalty, but it's also a deliverance into the presence of God that we can have fellowship and relationship with God, which is.
What we need the most?
Jesus said in John chapter 17 verse three, this is eternal life.
That they may know you he's speaking to the father, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.
Jesus says this is really what eternal life is.
This is what eternal life is all about.
And if knowing God doesn't excite you, then eternitys gonna disappoint you.
But if knowing God doesn't excite you, then you probably haven't really encountered the Lord anyway.
So eternity as we know it might not be.
What you get to experience?
Knowing God is eternal life, Jesus says.
It's a relationship with God.
It's encountered with God.
It's fellowship and access to God that is given to us by the Lord.
And so here, in the beginning of the Gospel of John.
John is introducing Jesus.
He's announcing Jesus, but using some poetic illustrations to do so.
At the beginning of the chapter he talks about Jesus as the word in the beginning was the word, and the word was with God.
The word was God.
He was in the beginning with God.
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.
Alluding to Jesus as the word, he picks up that thought again in verse 14.
And he says the word became flesh.
And dwelt among us.
Or you could also put it this way.
The word became flesh.
And tabernacled among us, there's some hints and references here to the Old Testament Tabernacle.
Or the temple that God had LED them to establish and build as a police for him to meet with his people.
Remember the most sacred room in the Tabernacle was the Holy of Holies where the Ark of the Covenant would go, and it had the cherubim on top of it as a lid.
And there was two angels on that lid and between their wings, God says that's where my presence is going to be.
That's where I'm going to meet with my people.
That is where I'm going to dwell with the people of Israel.
Well here in John chapter one we see that that took new shape.
No longer is this going to take place in this physical Tabernacle, but the word Jesus became man.
He is God has always existed, but he added humanity to his deity and dwelt among us, tabernacled among us, so that humanity could have access to the presence of God.
Says we beheld his glory.
The glory of the only begotten of the father, he represents the father.
He reflects perfectly the father.
Remember later on Jesus will say if you've seen me, you've seen the father.
He he fully reveals to us the father.
Brings us in contact with.
Our heavenly father.
Full of grace and truth, these are important.
Things to combine?
He's full of grace.
Able to accomplish in our lives the good things that we do not deserve and could never earn, but not at the expense of truth, not at the expense of, well, just do anything.
Believe anything, walk any way you want but but but he brings forth the truth he brings forth with clarity.
What is real?
What is true?
Perfect revelation.
Now, perfect Revelation also reveals then.
How sinful we are.
How far we fall short and that's why it's important that he's not just full of truth.
But he's full.
Of grace and he he loves us, and he's good towards us, even though he knows the truth and brings forth and reveals the truth.
To those who receive him going back a couple verses in diverse 12.
To them he gave the right to become children of God.
To those who believe in his name, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man.
But of God.
This gift
That God has given to us.
His name is Jesus.
And those who receive him.
Have rights.
Those who believe in him.
Have the right to become children of God.
Have the opportunity the doors are swung open, you get to experience.
This new kind of relationship to God as his child.
Now there's a sense of.
All people are children of God in the sense that all people are his creation.
But all people do not have access to God and fellowship with God.
But those who receive Jesus, the gift that he sent.
He says he gave the right to become.
Children of God.
He gives you the right the opportunity.
To have access to this new fellowship, this new kind of relationship with God as his children, that is full access to God.
Communion with God fellowship with God.
That is known only.
By those who receive Jesus.
Commentator Rodney Whitaker says everything up to this point talking about John chapter one could be interpreted in a way that would have been compatible, even attractive to various ancient thinkers.
But now comes the break with all non Christian thought.
This word, the agent of creation has become a creature.
He who brought the universe into existence now is born within the universe as a human being.
This thought is so familiar in Christianity.
We may no longer be staggered by it.
The word became flesh.
The incarnation is what we we celebrate.
For Christmas, the birth of Jesus Christ, that God the creator.
Became man.
And and my prayers.
I look at these things as that we would once again be staggered by it that we would be astounded at the reality of the birth of Jesus.
That he went to this great extent to bring us.
Into fellowship with God to give us the opportunity.
To know him.
To be children of God and to have access to God as his children speaks to us.
Of that real personal.
That close that.
Intimate access to God.
Is an incredible aspect of the work of Jesus Christ.
May it stagger us.
The incarnation God loved you so much.
That he became man.
Put on humanity experienced birth.
Toddler years teenage years.
You think about that Jesus experienced teenage years for you.
He experienced the suffering of this life.
He experienced death upon the cross.
For us that we might know, the father that we might encounter God, that we might have access.
Forgiveness, the Holy Spirit.
And that we might be with him forever.
And so here is the gift of God to us for us to consider it's Jesus.
He saves you from your sin, he fills you with the Holy Spirit.
He rules over you forever.
And he provides your access to God.
Let's pray.
But as we consider these things this morning, I pray for all of our hearts, Lord, that we would be in this place of receiving.
Your gift.
And Lord, I pray as we hopefully get that opportunity in these coming days, Lord, to hold out our hands and have something placed into them.
But as we draw that present unto ourselves and begin to unwrap it, and.
Feast our eyes on what is within.
But may we not be just captivated by that thing in our hands?
But load me the picture.
Be engraved upon our minds and hearts.
This is what you have given to us.
Your son Jesus.
And your hand is extended towards us with this gift.
We get to choose.
Load whether or not we receive it.
We get to choose if we will open up this gift and.
Spend time learning.
About it and experiencing it.
But we get to experience the extent that we benefit from all the goodness that you have offered to us.
All the grease and the truth.
That you have brought forth.
I pray God that you would help us to fully receive your gift.
But we need.
To be saved from our sin.
And so, Lord, would you?
Would you save us?
Would you forgive us?
Considering your work upon the cross and the penalty of sin that has been paid for it once and for all.
But we receive that we reach out our hands.
We accept that you have done this on our behalf.
We believe that your sacrifice.
Was full and complete enough to cover our sin.
Because you?
Being God became man.
Lived a sinless life.
So that you could be that perfect sacrifice.
To cover our sin to remove and wash us.
Would we receive that?
Wash us, cleanse us.
From all of our sin.
I might be asked right now.
That you would fill us with your Holy Spirit.
Baptize us
Lord, we need that transformation.
We need that life that spiritual life, Lord.
That fire to rain upon us.
But we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
And we invite you to work in us and transform us.
To make us like you.
Lord, we receive your rule forever.
Sometimes we try to take that.
Authority back that Scepter back but Lord we.
We give it back to you right now and we receive your authority in our lives.
We submit ourselves once again to you.
Because Lord, we trusts you and know you that you know what's best for us and want what's best for us and you're able to accomplish what's best for us.
And so Lord, we we trust you with our lives.
And we submit ourselves to you once again.
Would you help us to walk?
In obedience to.
Your word and your will for us.
God, I pray that you would.
Help us to receive the access to God.
Help us Lord to partake of fellowship with you ongoing throughout the day, each and every day.
Or that we would know you that we would take step by step with you that we would communicate with you.
We receive this gift card and we enter in.
Declaring Lord we want your presence in our lives.
Thank you Father for this incredible gift.
Thank you, Jesus.
For your work in US.
May we receive it fully and wholly.
In Jesus name we pray.