Sermon Tone Analysis

Merry Christmas!

My name is John Lee and I serve Mission Church as the Senior Pastor.

I am humbled and honored to be with you this evening... especially in this context ....as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, anticipate His return, while also considering how these two events impact our lives today.

If you have a Bible please open it to John 1.

It is here where the apostle John introduces us to Jesus..and my goal this evening is to help make sense of this text both practically and relationally especially regarding the Eternal life and heavenly light that comes to those who trust Jesus and are born again.

But, before we dive into the text let’s pause and ask God for His help.

Let’s pray.

You and I ….we live in a time and space…we live in a culture and a society that is focused on the present…absorbed with the here and the now…and engrossed with how we can live the most comfortably…become the most successful ....and experience the most exciting life that we can.

This notion is seen clearly in phrases like FOMO…..or the “fear of missing out” and YOLO……or….

“You only live once”…… these popular sayings speak to the mindset that says, “Do what you want……live it up….avoid

what is difficult…and pursue comfort……you only live once so make it as awesome as possible.”

The truth is…for many of us…this attitude …wether consciously or subconsciously ….has infected us like a cancer and it motivates how we plan our days…..it drives how we spend our money…it determines our priorities….and

it ultimately reflects our shortsightedness.

But....What if I told you .....that in 5 billion years you and I will still exist and the quality of your eternity is tethered to how you answer and respond to the question…..Who is Jesus?

You see...This is the most important question any of us will ever answer.

However….despite

the importance of this question….there

are a plethora of entrenched and divergent opinions about the answer.

Too often we have mistaken Jesus for just another man…just another good teacher or prophet.

But none of those descriptions are enough…for...they all fall short.

Now…..With this in mind.....let’s take a look at how John …who...many consider to have been the closest to Jesus when He physically and visibly walked this earth and who ...under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit ....defines for us who Jesus is.....and like the opening movement of a grand symphony…..… John’s words grab our attention and they draw us into the story—the story of all stories.

Let’s take a look.

John 1:1–2 (CSB)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning.

Now the question is begging to be asked…..Who is the Word?

….

Well……John’s choice and use of the greek word “LOGOS”…which is translated into English as “WORD” ...... is informed by the Old Testament teaching concerning the phrase….

“the word of the Lord”….which

speaks to God’s agent in creation, revelation, and salvation…Jesus Christ Himself.

And....John is saying here…… everything that can be said of God ….can also be said of Jesus….John…..who was Jewish……who was monotheistic…meaning he worshiped only one God…..which speaks to the fact that he would never refer to someone or something else as a “God.”

And yet……John answers the question… Who is Jesus?…. by saying something absolutely amazing… John is emphatically declaring that Jesus is God!

The Word was BOTH with God and the Word was God…..meaning……The Word is both DISTINCT from God…while also being the SAME as God.…..you see....there was never a time in which the Word was not…for the Word both was…… and was with God in the beginning!

Now that doesn’t mean that the Word came into existence at the beginning …for Jesus is the preexistent.. eternal Son of God! Rather John is saying that everything in existence came into being through the Word……..in other words....there never was a time when Jesus did not exist.

Look at v3

John 1:3 (CSB)

3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created.

Underline or make note of this phrase, “All things.”

You see...John chooses his words very carefully and by doing so he’s drawing our attention to each individual thing Jesus created....he’s shining a spotlight on everything from the largest whale to the smallest amoeba… from the sunflower seed to the redwood tree, from the beautiful sunset to the tiny lightning bug, Jesus Christ designed and created all of it.

Consider

Colossians 1:16 (CSB)

16 For everything was created by him, in heaven and on earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through him and for him.

Consider also

Hebrews 1:2–3 (CSB)

2 In these last days, he has spoken to us by his Son.

God has appointed him heir of all things and made the universe through him.

3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact expression of his nature, sustaining all things by his powerful word.

After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.

Did you know…There are about one hundred billion stars in the average galaxy…….and

there are at least one hundred million galaxies in the known universe.

Einstein believed that we have scanned with our largest telescopes only one billionth of theoretical space.

This means that there are probably something like ten octillion stars in space……..that’s 10 with twenty-seven zeros behind it.

And Jesus created them all!

And………Not only is he the Creator of the macrocosm of the universe, but also of the microcosm of the smallest atom.

Church ….this speaks to the truth that we can trust Jesus with everything.

Because Jesus created everything ....

He knows exactly what you need.

It was said of Charles Steinmetz, the mechanical genius and friend of Henry Ford, that he could build a motor in his mind, and if it broke down he could fix it in his mind.

So when he designed it and actually built it, it ran with precision.

One day the assembly line in the Ford plant broke down.

None of Ford’s men could fix it, so they called in Steinmetz.

He tinkered for a few minutes, threw the switch, and it started running again.

A few days later Ford received a bill from Steinmetz for $10,000.

Ford wrote back, “Charlie, don’t you think your bill is a little high for just a little tinkering!”

Steinmetz sent back a revised bill: “Tinkering—$10.

Knowing where to tinker—$9,990.”

Brothers and Sisters....only Jesus knows where the tinkering should be done in your life to keep you in perfect running order.

Christ always knows which screw to turn, which belt to loosen, and the most beneficial oil to use.

Think about this! Nothing that has been created was created apart from Jesus and everything that exists …He sustains.

JESUS IS GOD…JESUS IS CREATOR…AND JESUS IS THE SUSTAINER!

Tell me… Have you entrusted your life to him?

Are you resting in him?

Look at v4

John 1:4–5 (CSB)

4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.

Now……this word Darkness ……it’s not simply referring to the absence of light.

…but rather… John is referring to evil…..and not just the evil that is out there in the world but the evil that exists inside each and every one of us.

Consider what John says in John 3:19

John 3:19 (CSB)

19 This is the judgment: The light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than the light because their deeds were evil.

You see…the greatest problem that you and I face today is not necessarily the evil that exists out in the world but it’s the evil that exists inside each and everyone of us.

The Bible calls this evil sin.....and sin is rejecting or ignoring God, disobeying his rule and law, and not receiving the good life he offers.

And Sin separates us from God.

It makes us rebels and outlaws who have committed crimes deserving death.

Friends....sin has caused a rift between God and it destroys us and everything around us.

Consider Romans 3:23

Romans 3:23 (CSB)

23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God;

Consider also Romans 6:23

Romans 6:23 (CSB)

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

You see..…sin ….it does’t just make you bad…but……it makes you dead…………..And……John is making the point that it's impossible for you and I to simply be indifferent towards sin or indifferent towards Jesus.

He says we love sin…….

and those who love sin ……Hate Jesus!

And friends…..this is who we are……and If we hooked ourselves up to a spiritual heart monitor…… you would hear one long beep…….it

would show a flat line……because….the

truth is……apart from God’s intervening power and grace we are all spiritually dead.

Consider what the Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 2:1

Ephesians 2:1 (CSB)

1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins

Paul doesn’t say you were bad……he is not saying that you and I just made a mistake…But he says we are dead!

Now……I have heard some compare salvation to a person stranded out in the ocean…..The waves are crashing all around him.