Love’s Pure Light

Luke 2:8–20 (ESV)

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. 10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 “Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

15 When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. 17 And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. 19 But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Msg Title: “Loves Pure Light”

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Pray

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We have been studying, preparing and coming back around to these important themes and foundation stones of this time of year: the Incarnation: the Christmas Story: the Coming arrival of a baby in a manger as the ANGEL says “Who is Christ the Lord”

Biblical Themes of the Advent: Christmas coming. Christ coming & what this means:

Hope - Promises hoped for

Joy -

Peace -

Love

Of all the gifts that one could talk about at christmas time this would have to be the grandest of all. This wuld have to be the one we finish our advent series on / Hope / Joy / Peace… and LOVE

Christmas is simply put a way for us to consider in our faith that this is the crescendo moment of the great promise maker.. being a promise

whats found under the Christmas tree this year is Love under the christmas tree:

What we have here is a divine act of LOVE.

Love that literally was born that Christmas day. The greatest Christmas gift ever to be given - was handed out to humanity on that day. Thats what the angels were proclaiming to the shepherds: Glory to God in the highest. and on Earth Peace among those whom God is pleased.

It pleased GOD - for Jesus to be BORN - and for if you like - LOVE To BE SEEN.

I was caught by the lyrics of the hymns and the carols again this year - they get deeper and deeper for me in terms of meaning:

2 Silent night, holy night, Darkness flies, all is light; Shepherds hear the angels sing, "Alleluia! hail the King! Christ the Savior is born, Christ the Savior is born."

3.Silent night, holy night, Son of God, love's pure light Radiant beams from Thy holy face, With the dawn of redeeming grace, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth, Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.

Loves pure light: meaning a light like no other: a love like no other:Its interesting this idea of love. and we bandy around this term alot. sometimes for the right reasons sometimes for the wrong reasons, sometimes its what brings us together and sometimes it a lack of love that tears us apart

but our human idea of Love is not what the hymn writer was talking about….

we know love in a variety of ways

We know the human form of love and we use it in that way

Love for an intimate partner

love for a family member

love for a friend

love for a person thats a loyal love

We also use love in terms of things or stuff we like “ i love doing that” i love hanging out” or i “love going to buckeyes”

Then its interesting in the biblical definition it makes an interesting distinction between the religious use of Love in terms of HUMANS LOVE FOR GOD.

That there is a form of love that we employ in our human, broken way, which is our very best way of love, devotion, commitment and desire to be close and loving God.

We are instructed in terms of this love

Deuteronomy 6:4–5 “4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

Then There is what can only be described as Gods love. A different love altogether: a love that called out a people out of nowhere and desired to promise to them, to call them, to choose them - despite them doing nothing

despite them giving anything back

despite them walking away many times

despite them wandering off plenty of times

despite them CHOOSING other Gods… and the enemy several times… a love that breaks through, that permeates, that stays no matter what.

Gods love.. is covenant love. Promise keeping love. A love thats different.

symbolized ransom, redemption & ultimately his own sacrifice for the sins of the world.

That love only comes from GOD

and it is THIS VERY DIFFERENT LOVE THAT showed up in human form -

GOD’s only son beloved by the Father…. Given in an act of divineLOVE…. for the purpose of us, you and me recieving this LOVE… and then becoming SONS

and daughters

redeemed, adopted….Beloved.

Listen to what it says in Is

Isaiah 43:4 (ESV)

4 Because you are precious in my eyes,

and honored, and I love you,

I give men in return for you,

peoples in exchange for your life.

Johns Gospel has the most to say about this Christmas love. Because it was John who seemed to have an acute awareness and revelation of this love:

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

And again in a later letter

1 John 3:16 ESV

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

This Christmas is a reminder of three important things about this divine act of love and specifically Gods love in these three ways: what kind of love is this?

1.Love that existed

advent shows that this love existed before we did. Love existed for Gods people before Jesus came.

God has had a stedfast love for the world. and has a heart of love for that which he created.

God loves the world.

God created the world

God wants the world, and all its people to be in relationship with him.

Our God is a GOD who LOVES PEOPLE.

John 3:16 (ESV)

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

arent you glad God loves the world?

arent you Glad that God loves you?

2.Love that made a way

Advent is love making a way to us, to Love us….. not us making a way to love Him

Its very important you dont get swayed by culture and think the reason that you havent experienced his Love is because youhvent come up with the right behaviour, or confidence or decision in your own ability t love God.

you dont have the ability to LOVE GOD.

God loves us first. and we respond to his love - through the power of the holy spirit in is

1 John 4:10 ESV

10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

by nature we are enemies with God. at War if you like with him. our sinful nature HELD us back from every being ABLE To love God…

until Christ came.

until the WORD BECAME FLESH and dwelt among us

until HE SHOWED US WHAT REAL LOVE IS…

Christmas time is a time when we SEE what REAL LOVE LOOKS LIKE.

and for 33 years…. the people of earth were able to SEE THIS LOVE.

This is why Johns Gospel is so important to us - Its the red letter edition - more words of Jesus than any other gospel - but He was the LOVE apostle. And his is the LOVE GOSPEL. He saw this LOve. and wrote down what this love looked like, sounded like was like - so that people would know…

THIS IS LOVE

1 John 3:16 ESV

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

for this we know… how do we know?

Because we have access to it - because of Christmas - We have obtained access to His mercy and His grace

through the will of the father… by the obedience of the son… and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

This love makes a way in that it overcomes many things mainly FEAR

1 John 4:18 ESV

18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Love that already existed

Love that made a way, and makes a way

and finally. this is a prevailing love.

3.Love that always prevails.

What we see in the new testament is the love of God expressed through his Son now begins to make its way out into the world.

revealed in the gospels

Outworked in the Acts of the apostles

Explained in the epistles

and will be fully revealed on the day the Lord returns

Romans 8:35 ESV

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

Ephesians 3:14–19 (ESV)

14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

A promise fulfilled

A Joy overflowing

A peace that transcends all understanding

A love, so magnificent, it surpasses ANYTHING we have ever known

May god grant this knowledge to us today… to know this prevailing love

Does this love prevail in your life?

“Nothing in fiction is so fantastic as this truth of the Incarnation. The more you think about it, the more staggering it gets. - JI Packer.