2024-12-22 The Light of Love

Today we are celebrating our last official Sunday of the year together, and we are continuing our Advent series with possibly the most important topic there is. It’s the central focus to all of Christianity. It is the very definition of God. It is the highlight to every thing God has done, is doing and will do, and his invitation to us is the same, that we live out of this to the fullest of our ability as we learn to rest in His… That is / / Love!

God is love.

That’s what John the Apostle, who, of course of himself, but still relevant, calls himself in John 13:23, / / The disciple Jesus loved…

Now, you can read that as arrogant, or you can read that as humble. You can choose to read this and hear John saying it like, “ ‘I’ am the one Jesus loves… Me… Not you, but me… He loves me…” which, doubtful, right? I mean, that’s extremely arrogant and doesn’t feel like the writer of five of our new testament books.

On top of that, I think John is probably the writer that focuses the most on the love of God, and I would suggest that might be because of the realization that despite his frail humanity, despite his sin, despite his short comings, Jesus STILL loved him.

John is the one who writes, / / See what kind of love the Father has for us, that we should be called Children of God. (1 John 3:1 ESV)

He also is the one to quote Jesus in John 13:34 (ESV), / / “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”

And we shouldn’t forget that this is also the disciple, who, along with his brother James, in Mark 10:35-45, says to Jesus, / / “…we want you to do us a favor… When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”

Now, that is pretty arrogant. But also, part of the process of working humility. Jesus chastises them both, saying they can’t even begin to comprehend what it is they would go through if they want that spot of honor. He says, / / “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?”

Now, I find this interesting, and I’m going to read something from Revelation 4. Also written by John. The one who asks for a seat next to Jesus in heaven, asks for a throne next to Jesus… And then he is the disciple that is invited into heaven to see the throne of God.

So, Revelation is a series of visions that John has, and this is one of them:

Revelation 4:1-8, / / Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” And instantly I was in the Spirit, and I saw a throne in heaven and someone sitting on it. The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones - like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. Twenty-four thrones surrounded him, and twenty-four elders sat on them. They were all clothed in white and had gold crowns on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder. And in front of the throne were seven torches with burning flames. This is the sevenfold Spirit of God. In front of the throne was a shiny sea of glass, sparkling like crystal.

In the center and around the throne were four living beings, each covered with eyes, front and back. The first of these living beings was like a lion; the second was like an ox; the third had a human face; and the fourth was like an eagle in flight. Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty - the one who always was, who is, and who is still to come.”

So, there’s some debate about the timing of the books that John writes. Some believe that the book of Revelation was written in the early 60s, and the events that it speaks of are at least in part fulfilled in AD 70 in the destruction of Jerusalem. And some believe a timeline of the later AD 90s, which would mean it has nothing to do with that.

I think I lean toward an earlier date, personally, but we can’t be sure, he didn’t date the top of the page.

I do that. When I sit down with my journal, I always write the date. So that if I ever question, “When did I write this, feel this, or think God may have said this…” then I know. but… John didn’t do that…

So, going with this vision being part of the revelation, the revealing of Christ to John the Apostle, when I read “the disciple Jesus loved…” I don’t read it as arrogance. I read it as reverence and awe, “I…I … in all of my ignorance thought I could handle the throne where the twenty-four elders are sitting, and the thing that looks like a lion, and an ox, and an eagle… ya…I was sooooo far off base…. yet…. he…still…loves…me…”

That’s kind of how I read that. John is identifying himself as the one that Jesus loves that probably never deserved that love. It’s not from a place of arrogance, it’s from a place of revelation and acceptance. Because no matter when Revelation was written, and no matter when his 3 other letters were written, the book of John was written at least 30 years after the events of that question. He is a seasoned apostle, he has been walking with, and walking in the love of Jesus for many many years. He is a changed man from his earlier time of arrogance.

Which means, by the time we read his writing where he says, “God IS love…” we need to really pay attention, because this is someone who knows what the love of God is like. He experienced it first hand through the life, death, resurrection, AND heavenly revelation of Jesus Christ!

So, we’re going to read a bit of his discourse on love here, because it’s first of all, incredibly valuable to us for our understanding of God’s love toward us, but also, because that is our focus this coming week, that Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe, BECAUSE of love, right, that’s what John 3:16 says, for God so loved the world… so, for the sake of love, God, who as we will read in 1 John 4, IS love itself, was willing to be born into a human body of flesh, so that he could carry the weight of all the sin of mankind to the cross and put it to death once and for all.

Ok, so 1 John 4:7-19, / / Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love - not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. All who declare that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love.

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.

Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. We love each other because he loved us first.

If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a fellow believer, that person is a liar, for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.

John uses the world love 27 times in 15 verses.

And it’s a lot of connection there, if you noticed. Something about God’s love, and then something in how we respond either in or to that love.

God loves us…we should love each other…

If you don’t love others…how can you say you love God…

It’s not that we loved God….it’s that God loved us…

God loved us first…now we can love God in return…

We live in love…God lives in us…

As God lives in us…our love grows more perfect…

Love has no fear…love expels fear…

we love each other because he first loved us…

love and hate don’t mix, meaning love transforms our whole lives. If you say you love over here, but hate over here, you don’t actually love over here… that’s a wild take, but can you see how true it is?

Those who love God must also love their fellow believers.

And that really is almost a perfectly direct quote from John 13:34-35, This of course Jesus speaking to his disciples, / / “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

Maybe that’s why 1 John 4 has so much love reference….this is what John heard form Jesus…. love love love…

What’s love got to do with it???... apparently EVERYTHING!

So, scripture lays that foundation. This is literally all about love. Couldn’t be more about love. Everything God has done is out of love for the humanity that he has created.

Let’s look at the most dramatic expression of love there could possibly be. And most would say that’s the cross, but I would suggest to you this morning that it might just be the vulnerability Jesus puts himself in as he is born kicking and screaming into the world to a young teenage daughter in the middle of a cruel and difficult time for his people, with threats surrounding him, and no proper room for him to even be born in!

Let’s read some more of the Christmas story as we wrap it up this morning.

Filling in a couple of the gaps we left from last week, going back to Luke 2, let’s read vs 4-20 this morning.

As you remember, a Census was called, meaning all the people had to go back to the town their ancestors were from to be counted on the local books for the census. And Luke, remember in chapter 1 he says that he’s also felt compelled to do a thorough investigation of the facts, so he gives some specific details. This census is done by Augustus, the Roman emperor, but it’s the first census while Quirinius is the governor of Syria. So some specifics that give us some historical timeline. So everyone heads back to their home town, so to speak.

/ / And because Joseph was a descendant of King David, he had to go to Bethlehem in Judea, David’s ancient home. He traveled there from the village of Nazareth in Galilee. He took with him Mary, to whom he was engaged.

And while they were there, the time came for her baby to be born. She gave birth to her firstborn son. She wrapped him snugly in strips of cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no lodging available for them.

That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified, but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior - yes, the Messiah, the Lord - has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”

Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others - the armies of heaven - praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”

When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger. After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds story were astonished, but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often. The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them.

…

And finishing with John 1, which isn’t part of the Christmas story, but is the reality of the birth of Jesus:

/ / In the beginning the Word already existed. The Word was with God, and the Word was God. He existed in the beginning with God. God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him. The Word gave life to everything that was created, and his life brought light to everyone. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness can never extinguish it… The one who is the true light, who gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.

He came into the very world he created…

So the Word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father’s one and only Son.

So, this morning we want to focus a bit of time here on the love of Jesus, who is the light of the world.

First, let’s look at the involvement of God as a whole.

/ / 1. The Trinity’s Love

The coming of Jesus is more than just a Jesus thing. It’s the design and desire of God in His fullness.

I love Galatians 4:4, which says, / / But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman…

At the right time… All of this has been a part of the plan in God’s heart for humanity.

And we know, John 3:16 says that it is because of love that God sent his son, right? / / “For God so loved the world, he gave his only begotten Son…”

Now, I want to touch on something here. I mentioned a moment ago that I wonder at the two sacrifices that Jesus made. We mentioned this last week, that Jesus, in what we call the incarnation, that means God becoming flesh - Hebrews 10:5 says, / / That is why, when Christ came into the world, he said to God, “You did not want animal sacrifices or sin offerings. But you have given me a body to offer.” He is talking about the physical flesh of humanity. And when he was raised from the dead he told Thomas in John 20:27, / / “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!”

So, as Christians we believe that Jesus, who is God, who has always been God, as we read in John 1, The word was with God in the beginning and the word WAS God, and he decided to put on the flesh of the very humanity that he created. But we also believe that God cannot cease to be God, not even for a moment, right? If God can not be God for a moment then God is not God at all. You are either all powerful, or you are not. That doesn’t break.

John 3:16 also says that God so loved the world. It doesn’t say the Father. It doesn’t say the Spirit. It doesn’t say the Son. It says God. And the greek word there is / / theos, and that is the word we would use for the godhead, the entire trinity.

So John 3:16 says that the entire trinity, which is, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, so loved the world, that they all make a decision to become intimately involved in the lives of humanity.

/ / God the Son Son decided to come to earth and connect himself to human, created flesh, for all of eternity future

/ / God the Holy Spirit commits to becoming part of our humanity by becoming one with us

1 Corinthians 6:17, 19 says, / / But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him… Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God?

/ / God the Father commits to taking all of humanity into his heavenly home for all of eternity.

Jesus said in John 14:1-3, / / “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me. There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am…”

You see the design of God’s intervention into humanity through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus was not an act only by Jesus, but took a commitment by the entire Trinity, which is why I say maybe just maybe this is why John 3:16 uses the word theos, to identify the Godhead, not just what we would call one member of the trinity. God, in his fullness, Father, Son & Holy Spirit, have been, are, and will forever be committed to the humanity they have created.

The son Marries himself to flesh, allows himself to be crucified on a cross, and raised to life again in that flesh.

The Spirit marries himself to the Christian when they believe in the Son.

The Father invites and welcomes us into his heavenly home for all eternity.

Now to the second point in there.

/ / 2. Jesus Two-Fold Sacrifice

Now, I use the word sacrifice a bit loosely here, because I don’t want you to think that God looks at humanity and says, “eewww…. human flesh…” Jesus did not complain within himself as the Godhead that he had to become flesh. He wasn’t disgusted by the idea of humanity. For God so loved the cosmos, right? And one of the things that we have to understand is what we call the doctrine of Creation, that when God created the world, he said it was good, and when he created humans, Adam & Eve, in the garden, even knowing they were going to mess up, even knowing they were going to sin, when he created humans his response was not that they were good, but in Genesis 1:31 it says, / / Then God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was very good!

At the end of every day of Creation God saw that what He had made was good. But at the end of the day he created humanity, he saw that it was very good.

You are the very good creation of God.

Do you have flaws…. say it ain’t so… but ya, we do, right?

Are we perfect? NO, humanity is seriously messed up if we’re honest about it, right?

But as bad as a thing that is created can become, that does not ever diminish the value and care that the creator put into that creation.

Doesn’t matter how far gone someone might be. They were created as the good creation of God.

So, I don’t believe that Jesus looked at becoming a human and thought, “ewwww…”

BUT, that being said, there are most definitely limitations to human flesh, right?

This won’t be a perfect analogy, but it would maybe be like Superman choosing to walk around with a piece of kryptonite in his pocket. He knows that in so doing he is choosing to not use any of his power. He still has that power, but because of the kryptonite, he’s not able to access it - that’s where the analogy falls apart, I do think Jesus could have done anything he wanted at any time, and chose not to - even to the point of saying that if he wanted legions of angels to come to his aid, he would ask the Father and the Father would send them…He doesn’t even say he could do it himself. He was like a method actor completely in the role, but never NOT being who he really is.

Philippians 2:6-8 says, / / 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. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

If you’ve ever watched those TV shows where a millionaire or billionaire gives up all their money, contacts, technology and they get dropped off in a town with $100 in their pocket and start from nothing. They have their brain, their knowledge, and whatever physical ability they might have, but they don’t have any of their resources. Again, a bad analogy to compare the savior of the world too, but maybe some of these things can help us understand the idea of the incarnation of Jesus. God choosing to become a human baby.

So, there’s a reality here. Jesus is choosing to become vulnerable, limited by the flesh of a human. Born as a baby into this time period is risky enough. 50% of children born didn’t make it past infant-hood.

So, that’s the first “sacrifice” that Jesus makes.

The second, of course is his willingness to go to the cross.

All of that is summed up in Hebrews 10:5, / / “…you have given me a body….. to offer…”

The body was intended for a purpose. To be offered as a sacrifice once and for all.

/ / 3. Love To The Very End

So these two “sacrifices” are truly about love. John 15:13-14, / / There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.

And the angel says to the shepherds that this is good news of great joy for all people. The Savior, the Messiah has been born.

There’s just something about this time of reflection.

As I was sitting, preparing for this morning, I was brought to this place of reflecting on the love of God. Of thinking on His great love for us. As we do throughout the Advent season, taking time to focus on these aspects of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

To think upon the Hope we have in him. When I stop to think about that hope, I am actually filled with hope. That’s kind of the point, right? Reminding ourselves of the hope we have in Christ.

The Peace we have under His authority. Not just a baby born, but the King of Kings, the Prince of Peace.

Reminding ourselves of Isaiah 9:6-7, / / For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

The passionate commitment. Sounds like love to me…

What about the Joy. Reflecting on the announcement of the angels to the shepherds, / / “I bring you good news that will be of GREAT JOY to all people.”

Are we taking time to focus and reflect on these things?

And love. The love of God to the very end. Listen to Romans 8:35, 37-39, / / Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow - not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below - indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

This is the love of God that goes to the furthest of all extents to both draw us in, and to keep us!

/ / 4. The Light of the World

I want to finish this morning with a thought I’ve had over the last few weeks. Something that I’ve noticed is that everyone is absolutely fascinated by lights, especially at Christmas time. We all love to drive around at night and look at all the lights. If you don’t, that’s not a bad thing, I would just suggest that you’re probably the exception to the common. Especially if you have children, they are enamored with the lights.

Fireworks at the fourth of July or New Years.

The Vegas Strip, even, what is that, just completely surrounded by lights.

‌Even in the pitch black of the night, we look up and see the stars in the heavens… Light. We love light.

Here’s the reality, light shines brightest in darkness.

And as we reflect on the love of God this week through the birth, but also the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, I want you remind yourself that He is the Light of the world.

Jesus said in John 8:12, / / “I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won’t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”

And as we’ve seen that prophecy in the Old Testament was continually pointing to Jesus, so does this idea of Light.

Psalm 119:105, one of the more well known verses in the bible, / / Your word is a lamp to guide my feet and a light for my path.

What does John 1 call Jesus? / / The Word become flesh!

The word is the light to guide us. The word became flesh. Following Jesus, the light of the world, leads to life.

I was explaining to someone the other day that sometimes it feels like decorating the front lawn of the church seems like a bit of a waste of time. Like, couldn’t there be better things to be doing than putting lights up? But I’m brought to these verses in the bible about the light of Jesus Christ shining bright and drawing people to His love. Psalm 27:1 says, / / The Lord is my light and my salvation…

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:6 (ESV) says, / / For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

My prayer for you this season and my prayer for our community, for the people of Cutler Bay, for the people of this region, has been, let them see past the lights that we are so enthralled with, and let them see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

My prayer for you this Christmas is that as you reflect on Jesus Christ that you are drawn into the glory of his presence, the light of his face, and it draws you out of any darkness you may be experiencing in your life.

It is the light of Christ, because of the Love of God, that draws us out of darkness.

James 1:17 (ESV) says, / / Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights…

1 Peter 2:9, / / …you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.

The promise of Jesus Christ, as we read earlier finishing the Christmas story in John 1:5, / / the light shines into the darkness, and the darkness has not [will not, can not] overcome it.

Jesus Christ, the light of the world, came to us, Emmanuel, God with us, and He is drawing us by his love, the love expressed through the incarnation and through his death and resurrection.

This is the Christmas story. This is the Advent season. This is the good news of the gospel promised for all time, fulfilled in Jesus Christ, and available to each and every one of us who believe today.

As you reflect on this Jesus of Love this week, I encourage you to pray that those who you are believing for, praying for, hoping would come into a revelation of the love of God through Jesus Christ, would see the light of heaven, the light of the world, this Christmas season. That the people in our town, in our community, that no matter how close or far from God they may be in this moment, would see the light of Jesus Christ shining bright. That they would see past the natural lights we throw up in the trees to make our lawns look pretty, and they would see the light of the world, who came to earth as a baby, setting aside his divinity so he could have a body to offer on the cross, to save us from our sin. Pray they see that. Pray they feel that. Pray that people begin to see the darkness that they are in, not to fear the darkness, but so they can see the light of Jesus Christ leading them out of that darkness and into HIS glorious, wonderful light of salvation and redemption and freedom.