12-24-18 Christmas Eve - Down from Heaven

we want to reflexed tonight ion Christmas What is Christmas? Why are we here? You you heard the story at the story that were very familiar with we almost to the point that we we want some novelty in it because we lose the thrust and power of the birth of Christ in our lives. That's not because there's some Fault In Christ. I don't like to hear this but it's because there's a fault in us. That's why he came.

James tells us this and it'll be the the foundation of what we look at tonight every good gift. every perfect gift it's from above. Coming down from the Father of Lights.

So what we want to look at tonight, and then really go. I want on vaile our Christmas gifts. Almost titled it there or had some concept of opening our Christmas gifts, but I don't want you to get distracted going. Okay, Wendy going to actually open something and I want us to to take the veil off of what God has actually given us in Christ. You know, what what really? Motivates me and excites me in my walk with Christ. I want to begin to understand the depths of what God has done. When I move beyond what Paul calls the milk of the Gospel. And get to the meat. When I begin to chew app on the word of God and recognized what it is that he has done for us. What is it that he's done for us? Well there two gifts that we will look at tonight. The first is the one we've been singing about in talking about it is Jesus the Christ. Let me walk through several texts of scripture will move through this section pretty quickly. But what I want you to see is when Jesus came to the earth, I want us to be at all of what actually happened. God visited us God from his throne room. Humbled himself, we don't think it's great humility to take on human rights glassware. Like pretty good for the gospel says we're actually not that were sinful people needed a savior. God says I will come to you in the first gift was Jesus Christ and we began we look at John 1. What does it say Jesus Christ Heath, it talks about him and he said he was in the beginning with God.

Matthew 1 verse 18 now the birth of Christ Jesus took place in this way. What is Mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph before they came together? She was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. I want you to see not just take my word that Jesus is God, but you're beginning to see he was in the beginning with God. He is and was born on to this earth, which means he wasn't he didn't come into being at the time of his birth, and he was born by and from the Holy Spirit and Mary. Is Kristoff curious? These Greek words Christ Kristoff the Lord the anointed one. Who is Lord over all Luke 2 is where you see this among many of other of the other places for unto you is born this day. We're in the city of David according to prophecy one who is Kristoff's kurios Christ. It's a formal name for him that it is his title. It is connecting him back to the coming one the Messiah God visited us as evidence in Hebrews 1 he is the radiance of what he's not just radiant. He is the radiance of the glory of God. And not only that but the exact imprint of his nature. Motivate us as we think about tomorrow as we share gifts with family. Some of you have already done this some of you will do it after Christmas day, but the whole concept of this season is giving an exchanging and loving one another because we're pointing back and recognizing a highlighting in our lives. God came to us as a gift to us. Can we see discontinued picture of him being God Almighty and Matthew chapter 3 verse 16 when work the scene is at his baptism and he looks up and he saw a dog and the spirit of God descending like a dove and coming what to rest on him. And I was special we read that Jesus was baptized. It's important to pause there for a moment because the spirit would come upon people in the Old Testament and then use them or are you give them certain gifts and then move on? The New Testament the New Covenant is something special because the spirit rested and stayed upon the Son of God and that's going to be very critical when we go up to the second gift that we receive. He saw the spirit of God descending like a dove and rested on him to our first gift Jesus. The Christ is and was and always will be almighty God. So you wake up tomorrow? Whether you wake up to all kinds of activities for the day or whether you wake up to I don't have a lot to do today because things have changed my life and there's not as much activity right now. There's something to reflect on. God visited us because he loved us. now the second gift that we want to look at we're going to go to Revelation 21. Set up keep mentioning that we've been a revelation. We were here Sunday and this is where everyone goes for Christmas right Revelation. The easiest book in the Bible to understand. I would explain it to us today. I want I want you to walk away with this understanding. We are at the end of the book there 22 chapters where it Revelation 21 at the beginning of the book Revelation chapter 4 John makes this astonishing statement. Jesus has given him a message to the churches. He's written it down three chapters and then it says and then I looked up and I saw a door open to heaven. Reminds me of the Ever Seen The Truman Show. He looks up in there that little door up there and he's like his it says wide open the world that is going to walk into John sees this vision of something absolutely astonishing it got a glimpse into heaven. If he gets to tell us all the things that he saw.

Converse Chuck II 21 about II the gift that we've received and it is connected directly to the first gift, but John actually John actually gets a picture of it before it comes and it is this new city. Jerusalem it's very much like the first gift in this. This is very confusing. I've often wondered. Why is there a city come out? How does that work? Because I thought we were going to heaven but the new are they all passed away. The new is calm. There's a new City Jerusalem coming down what explain what that's talking about because for me this is the foundational joy and excitement that we experience at Christmas time. And you going to wait I thought was the birth of Jesus. Yes, but what is it that the birth of Jesus actually has secured for us was look into that first one and two of Revelation 21:4 new Heaven and a new Earth for the first Heaven and the first Earth had passed away. And the sea was no more. I mean, can you imagine what John's looking at? How much does one of the Sci-Fi television shows where the Earth was exploded and disappear nose like this this moment of what if that actually happen like that's a weird. Could it happen? Is that possible John it passed away whatever it was that he had known the sin and the destruction in the curse. passed away

and then I saw the holy city New Jerusalem coming down. Out of Heaven from God prepared as a bride adorned for her husband Prepared meal delivery that are married men. Did you say you had a picture in your head when the doors if you got married in a church or somewhere in the door is open and your bride stepped out.

The bride adorned for her husband when we were married. There is it was really bright and it rained in the bright lights were coming through the door and it was just this it's stuck in my mind. And I create a picture for their just a beauty and an excitement and joy, and the strange thing is that he's talking about a city here. But the problem with this is the bride is typically the bride is reference to the church, right? The church is the bride of Christ. Switch John looking at here.

Actually looking at the church. Let me explain we were talking about. Why is it that he describes it as a city? Whilst we're going to go up a few more verses 14 vs up to verse 16. This is a weird when the quote is your way up to. I mean, this is one of those verses you skip on past the first of all four square and you think that's one of those apps people used to use. I don't know about it anymore. But like a game you played as a child like you don't really know what is talking about. Absolutely critical for our Christmas celebration. Let me explain why.

It is describes the city coming down in the size of the city. It was Square. It's length and its width where the exact same. That supposed to draw our minds all the way back into the Old Testament. To the the holy of holies one commentator pointed. I'm not smart enough to figure this stuff out of commentator pointed this out for me. The holy of holies was Square. It was the one square thing in the temple. Perfection all of these things were tied up in his imagery. Do you know what the holy of holies was it was in the temple in Jerusalem the place where God dwells they had to go through all of this ritualistic ceremony to to cleanse the temple to ensure that that God could come and dwell in that one spot. And what we're looking at here is a representation of the dwelling place of God. Old Testament Jerusalem was what it was God's holy city. It was the place where his people live there. If you say Jerusalem Israel Israel, I figure that's my city. That's where we live. That's where the Israelites live. It was a place for both the temple and for God's people the holy of holies and what John is seeing is what Christ Unleashed for us, please sing a glimpse into heaven and what he's seeing is that God's dwelling place is now expanding Beyond this small 30 foot square box in the middle of the temple and going to the entire dwelling take place of his people it now feels Jerusalem is an image. It's a picture that the dwelling place of God is no longer confined. But it is now expanded. It is now wherever the people are is the dwelling place of God. He sees God living throughout the land. the people there's three. Let's go back a few verses in Revelation 21. John had been told that this is what this picture means and I heard a loud voice from the throne saying the hold the dwelling place of God is with man. It has been explained to him before they get before he got to the image got this. This is what I'm about to show you that I am coming to dwell with you and if that doesn't excite you encourage you to think about it more and more because what is why are we all sitting here tonight? Because Jesus Christ came to to live on this Earth to die for us. But why do we care about that? Because what we are is the very beginning that I walked with Jesus and they lost that fellowship at along with it. All of creation was cursed and all of creation longs to be freed. John says I've seen it. It happens. God comes to live with us again and not just in the midst of us but in US The Dwelling Place of God is with man. He will dwell with them. They will be his people and God himself will be with them as their God and then we go to Revelation 21 verses 9 and 10 John was then taken his angels to take let me take you to the city that you just saw. You're John. You're probably a little bit of like yeah, let's go. Wait a minute. I don't know if you know if you're seeing something quite amazing to you go to you. I'm talking to an angel. I've already been exiled to Patmos Patmos. So he goes verse 9 says, I will show you the bride the wife of the Lamb. I'm going to show you the church the Saints and he carried me away in spirit to a great high mountain and showed me the Holy City Jerusalem that was coming down out of Heaven from God the John now gets to the city and then verse 11. John sees the city and its inhabitants and they're filled with the glory of God and this is the beautiful picture. having the glory of God the city had the glory of God its Radiance was with filled like a most rare Jewel like a Jasper clear as Crystal like a beautiful Dimond on the Ring of your bride. He says it was magnificent. He said it was filled and beautiful is everything.

That's why it's exciting. And a celebration for us that Jesus came to this earth. If Jesus came to this earth and merely walked and showed us an example of how to be good people I got news for you. I'm in trouble. I know some of you you're in trouble to joking.

That's not what he did. He came and we celebrate because of the Holy City Jerusalem that is an image and a picture of our future. We will all one day. I don't know if they'll be cushion chairs or not, but we will be sitting there before the Throne of God probably standing and screaming.

Hallelujah, hallelujah. Hallelujah

For second gift was was like the first gift they're all connected United together. It was the New Jerusalem. But it is Eden restored. And that doesn't even do it justice is better. Sun losable unquenchable John in this Vision, he sees the reason that God gave himself to us as a gift in the first place. He now goes I get it all back in weave with this on Sunday never tried that he wanted to open up the in Revelation 5. He couldn't open the scroll and couldn't unsee. What is who's worthy. I want to know what's in that it was the the purpose in the will of God written down from eternity past that would be carried out for the first people and it was a it was a story of the destruction of sin and the salvation of God's people passing through death into new life. And then this is where we get to Revelation 21 Reese's I've seen the end. And you've heard it said probably Revelations confusing and all you need to know is that the end we win some more than that? We Reign victoriously and glory and it might 10 we shine forth of the gradient glory of God into all of the creation and we live to be and so forth exactly what we were created to be. No creatures ever happiest then when they are doing and living the way that they were designed to live. Webb restoration and peace with God in our second gift and Christ coming to this Earth was all and service of providing us with this second gift. But tonight our goal was to 200 Vale a Christmas gifts from God to take the veil off of it. It kind of took to make it a little bit clearer so that we won't be like that kid on YouTube that you're maybe it was on America's Funniest Home Videos of screaming. Yes. Yes. Yes. What is it? Write do do we know what we're celebrating? Because I think when we do it will change how we celebrate.

Eden will be restored and has been restored by Jesus Christ. Who is almighty God.

Do you want peace?

I think so all of us want peace. Will receive the Light of Christ. We're about to pass the Light of Christ around hold it high and proclaim the words of truth is we sing together? If you have not received Christ, as you receive this light receive him ask him to come to you and and save your soul now if you have and you have this piece. Raise it high and Proclaim it from the depths of your soul and then let tomorrow be a launching pad for celebration weekend and week out as you gather with the saints of God reflecting upon and recognizing what it is that God has done for us and given to us.