ESCHRISTMAS08 Behold! What manner of love is this! Christmas Eve 2019
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Welcome to our Midnight Christmas Service. It is a great pleasure to have you here especially if you are a guest. There will be another service at 10am to celebrate on Christmas Day. You are all most welcome to come to that one as well.
Prayer
Prayer
At our Carols by Candlelight service I started with a prophecy from Micah about Bethlehem told 700 years before Jesus came. And tonight I start with his contemporary: Isaiah, who said:
6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
CAROL:
CAROL:
1 And it came to pass in those days that a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered. 2 This census first took place while Quirinius was governing Syria. 3 So all went to be registered, everyone to his own city.
4 Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child. 6 So it was, that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.
8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, 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, goodwill toward men!”
15 So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us.” 16 And they came with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger. 17 Now when they had seen Him, they made widely known the saying which was told them concerning this Child. 18 And all those who heard it marveled at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. 20 Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told them.
CAROL:
CAROL:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.
12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
Prayer
Prayer
Carol:
Carol:
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
22 So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying: 23 “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which is translated, “God with us.”
24 Then Joseph, being aroused from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and took to him his wife, 25 and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.
Il Divo - O Holy Night - mp3
Il Divo - O Holy Night - mp3
Christmas is, for us, the time when Jesus came to earth, God sending His Son, to live like us. God was demonstrating His love for us: God Immanuel, God with us. I never cease to be amazed - one of the overarching themes of Scripture is that God genuinely wants to be with us and actually wants us to be with Him.
But for that to happen God had to deal with the thing that got in the way of that happening: our sin. So, God sent His Son to pay the price:
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The price that Jesus paid for us is death.
He has lavished His love upon us. What I am speaking of today is not so much of ‘you must do this or that’ but to’ think on His love and the rest will then follow’. Hear these words from Scripture:
1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
The first word ‘behold’ is a Greek term meaning, Look at this, become aware of this, consider this. The real emphasis is—hey, look at this, pay attention! The Lord wants us to stop what we’re doing and look at something He wants to show us. He wants us to pay attention. He wants us to see what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God.
There are two “John 3:16s” in the Bible.
There is the usual one that we should all know and it is especially thought of at Christmas for it says:
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
God has given us His Son. We read about this in the Isaiah readings, don’t we:
14 Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
6 For unto us a Child is born,
Unto us a Son is given;
And the government will be upon His shoulder.
And His name will be called
Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of His government and peace
There will be no end,
Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom,
To order it and establish it with judgment and justice
From that time forward, even forever.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
These words were not fulfilled completely by Jesus first advent but it shall with His second.
And then there is the other John 3 16 that is from his first letter:
16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
In other words, if you could only draw one picture for the world to depict the concept of love, it wouldn’t be a wedding ring, a sensual embrace, a romantic candle, or a sacrificial act of kindness. There really is only one picture to draw: It would not be a baby in a manger though this is one of the incredible marvels of coming to be like us, to feel like us, to know what it is like to human - this indeed was a sacrifice but it is surpassed by the Cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the picture we think of when we think of Jesus - a cross.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
John later writes:
9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Propitiation is an interesting word. It is about appeasing anger. In this case, wrath of God. He hates sin so much that it must be punished but He loved us so much that He wanted to save us for He wants desperately to be with us and we with Him. And so we read on in his letter
14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
Jesus appeased the wrath of God. As it says in that great modern hymn ‘In Christ Alone’ by Stuart Townend:
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live.
We can rely on His love at the crucial junctions of life. We can rely on His love when our strength fails, when our friends die, when our hearts break, when our minds reel, when our hopes are dashed, when our health is gone. We can rely on His love, and His love is embodied in Jesus Christ. So this verse says, in effect, whatever you’re facing right now, rely on Jesus! We don’t need to be afraid of anything in this life, because we can rest in the fact that come-what-may, God loves us and His perfect love casts out fear. (Morgan 2007, p.367)
Perhaps Christmas is not your cup of tea or it does not have great memories; still, remember the reason why Jesus came: God loves you, really loves you, and you can rely on His love. He wants to be with you - even right now, if you would invite Him into your heart, and He will give you His Holy Spirit to be with you right now.
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us that we should be called the children of God.
Carol: Joy to the World
Carol: Joy to the World
Benediction
Benediction
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Bibliography
Bibliography
Morgan, R. J. (2007). Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook (2008 Edition). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers.