Credit:
Many of the ideas came straight from John MacArthur’s sermon, probably even uncited quotes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXzIKQ-OTXc – I chopped it up a lot, but not all of the sermon is original.
I also stole some from the intro of this sermoncentral sermon for my intro and conclusion. Also some of it is word for word. Nothing personal and no stories.
https://sermoncentral.com/sermons/he-brought-heaven-down-pro-sermon-on-god-30001538
Use this however you want, just don't give me credit :)
More than a baby #3
John 1:14
Let me share with you a quote from theologian, J.I. Packer, who once said,
"The Christmas message is that there is hope for a ruined humanity - hope of pardon, hope of peace with God, hope of glory - because at the Father's will Jesus Christ became poor and was born in a stable so that thirty years later He might hang on a cross."
Today will conclude our series:
- More than a baby
- Remembering that before Jesus was a baby.
- He was already God, and part of the creation story in Genesis 1
Jesus did not become God at His birth,
but rather revealed God to the world
We will visit many texts today, but our main text will be John 1:14
“The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the the Father, full of grace and truth.”
The Word has become flesh:
- The Word becoming flesh can be hard to understand.
- that phrase is talking about God revealing Himself
- to us in a way that we can understand and relate to.
It's about God making Himself known to us:
- not just through words or ideas,
- but through a person, through a life,
- through a relationship.
God entered:
- into our world, into our lives,
- into our joys and sorrows,
- into our hopes and fears,
- into our dreams and disappointments.
While the Old Testament tells us about God,
Jesus shows us God in the flesh.
Let’s remember that at Christmas…
1. Jesus touches earth, but not for the first time.
A. The birth of Jesus….
Over 2,000 years ago:
- a young Jewish woman from the
- town of Nazareth named Mary
- was visited by an angel named Gabriel.
The Angel Gabriel told the Jewish woman:
- that she would have a son named Jesus,
- though unlikely, unmarried and a virgin
- she would give birth to a child who would be God's Son.
“And the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and give birth to a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; 33 and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His kingdom will have no end.”
Luke 1:30-33 (NASB)
At this time:
- Mary was engaged to her soon-to-be husband, Joseph.
- When told, Joseph was hurt and confused because
- Joseph did not believe Mary.
The angel Gabriel visited Joseph and told him,
"Do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit," and her son, Jesus, would save the people from their sins.” Matthew 1:19; 21 (NASB)
You probably know the story of the birth of Jesus:
Mary and Joseph had to:
- travel to Bethlehem because of
- an order from the Roman emperor
- that a census of all people be taken in their hometown.
After traveling pregnant on a donkey for several days:
Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem and
- were told there were no places to stay.
- The inns were full.
Seeing that Mary was due at any moment:
o an inn owner told Joseph.
o They could stay in his stable.
o Which was not like a wooden barn, but
o more like a cave with animals.
“While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. 7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”
Luke 2:6-7 (NASB)
B. Jesus has been here before:
When you were born:
- on your birthday you breathed for the first time
- Soon you saw light and heard noises.
- Everything was new and exciting.
That isn’t the way Jesus entered the world:
- He had been here before.
- He understood everything.
- Because He made everything and everyone
Have you ever ridden with a contractor?
- They like to point out the things they have built
- I built that house, I put on that roof,
- We redid that patio.
I wonder if Jesus ever thought to himself:
- I made you and you.
- I made that mountain and that river
- I knew your grandparents.
Maybe Jesus didn’t think that way:
- But when we use our senses
- What we see God made
- The people we meet God made
- When we look in the mirror, we notice He made us too
Christ rescues the perishing
“For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins.”
Christ Is Supreme
“Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through him and for him.”
Colossians 1:13-16 (NLT)
Let’s remember that at Christmas…
2. Jesus is not just a baby, He is God.
God has always desired a relationship with His creation:
- You see that in the way He designed the Garden of Eden
- So that Adam and Eve could walk and talk with God
- Sin soon ruined that relationship.
We can’t blame Adam and Eve, we have sinned too
Sin is a big barrier between people and God:
- God hates sin.
- Sin hurts us.
- When we choose sin we choose to move away from God’s
“It’s your sins that have cut you off from God. Because of your sins, he has turned away and will not listen anymore. 3 Your hands are the hands of murderers, and your fingers are filthy with sin. Your lips are full of lies, and your mouth spews corruption. 4 No one cares about being fair and honest. The people’s lawsuits are based on lies. They conceive evil deeds and then give birth to sin.”
Isaiah 59:2-4 (NLT)
Even at Christmas:
- We remember we have a sin problem
- And that baby Jesus would one day
- Pay the price for our sin
In the past people had….
Limited ACCESS and NO access to God:
- In the OT God spoke to Moses and the Prophets
- God spoke through His written word
- But no one had seen God,
Only the High Priest could approach God:
- And only once a year on the “Day of Atonement”
- To burn incense and sprinkle blood
- As an offering for his own sins and the sins of the people of Israel
That all changed with Jesus:
- In the OT God was concealed
- With Jesus in the NT, God reveals himself.
Do you want to know:
o what God looks like?
o What makes Him tick?
o Look to Jesus, the creator, the Word, the Christ, the Messiah, the Holy One
We can know God and see God:
- Due to the fact that
- God so loved the world
- That He revealed himself in Jesus
“Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.”
Philippians 2:6-11 (NLT)
Hebrews 4:16
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
Let’s remember that at Christmas…
3. You must BELIEVE in Jesus to be SAVED
The purpose of the Gospel of John:
o is to convince the sinner
o of the true person of Christ
o the true person of Christ.
The purpose of John’s Gospel:
Is evangelistic in nature,
He wants us to know clearly that Jesus is fully God and fully man
But John wants more:
than for your head to be filled with information….
He is pushing for a transformation and a commitment
Johns Gospel is written…
“That you might believe, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing, you might have salvation in His name.”
John 20:31
To have eternal life:
o you must believe in the true Christ.
o You must believe in the true Christ,
o not a false Christ, not a misrepresentation of Christ
So many of us are avoiding God:
- thinking He is mad at us
- or that we don’t need Him at all
- or we are deep in sin and ashamed.
Yet Jesus is holding out an olive branch of peace:
- His love is displayed on the cross
- His love is indescribable.
- His love is not cheap.
An author’s choice of words tell you a great deal about their intent:
- John mentions truth 45 times
- 80 times he talks about love.
- But one hundred times in this gospel, he uses the word believe - believe.
John’s message is simply this:
- The eternal God Himself has become human.
- The Creator has become a part of His creation,
- fully God and fully man.
And why?
o In order that He might save sinners
o from their sin, death, judgment, and eternal hell.
At Christmas time remember that…
1. Jesus touches earth, but not for the first time.
2. Jesus is not just a baby, He is God.
3. You must BELIEVE in Jesus to be SAVED
What this means for our lives:
o It means that we are not alone in this world,
o that we are not left to our own devices,
o that we are not abandoned to our own fate.
We have a God who cares for us:
- who understands us, who empathizes with us,
- who stands with us, who fights for us,
- who suffers with us, who rejoices with us,
- who weeps with us, who loves us.
God is not distant and detached, but:
o close and involved, not indifferent and aloof,
o but passionate and personal,
o not cold and impersonal, but warm and intimate.
Do you know Him?
- As Savior, Lord, and friend?
- If you do not, don’t wait another day to make a commitment.
- Since Jesus is God our only responses can be to TRUST and OBEY HIM
Credit:
Many of the ideas came straight from John MacArthur’s sermon, probably even uncited quotes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXzIKQ-OTXc – I chopped it up a lot, but not all of the sermon is original.
I also stole some from the intro of this sermoncentral sermon for my intro and conclusion. Also some of it is word for word. Nothing personal and no stories.
https://sermoncentral.com/sermons/he-brought-heaven-down-pro-sermon-on-god-30001538
