2. Unwrapping The Best Christmas Present Ever
Notes
Transcript
Me:
Me:
Welcome to Christmas Sunday at Iowa City Church, both online and in person! Thank you for joining us as we continue with part two of our series, Hidden Hope. If you are new with us, this series is part of a bigger spiritual growth campaign called Core52. Each week we are focusing on one of the core verses that make up the Bible. The goal here is a great understanding of the Bible, and how it always keeps pointing to Jesus. If you would like some resources to be a part of our journey, it is not too late. Talk with me or reach out to me through our church website…we want to help!
One of my most favorite Christmas presents was a BB Gun. Not a Red Ryder…it was a Daisy. I was probably 5th or 6th grade, I can’t remember for sure. My dad thought that it was time to learn how to be responsible with a firearm. For a farm kid it was like a dream come true…and the entire world was my target!
Listen, I wasn’t a perfect son....not by any stretch of the imagination! I wasn’t always obedient. I didn’t always treat my siblings as I should. However, on that special Christmas morning, I remember my dad giving my that present.
Wouldn’t it have been a shame if my dad gave me that present, all wrapped in paper with a bow on it, and I never opened it? Think of all the joy and fun I would have missed out on!
Actually, let me state something obvious, yet it needs to be said:
Presents are given, so they can be opened.
We:
We:
One of the most difficult times for people, each and every year is Christmas. Now this year, add in a pandemic, and things are even worse! For some people, maybe even you, your days are not merry and bright, because for you Christmas…even life hurts. For many depression, grief, sadness, brokenness, hurts and guilt hover in the background on even the most ordinary of days and we get used to battling to keep them all at bay on a regular basis. But there’s nothing quite like the holiday season to ratchet up the pressure to feel, not only to have it all together, but to wrap it in lights and tinsel and broadcast it in a heavily filtered Instagram pic. You may feel more compelled than ever to feel good, and more guilt than ever to admit that you don’t. Why is this?
Simply put, all of this hurt, grief, sadness, and guilt…it is a result of evil in the world. Evil is immoral, wicked, and destructive actions. If you are one who believes in the Creator God, evil is to act in opposition to how God created the world and created life to be lived. Evil is the result. The action of rebelling against God’s design for creation and life is sin.
Often times, we oversimplify evil and sin. For example, if you stole something from a neighbor and they caught you…you could admit your crime, return the item with compensation and even say that you were sorry. However, there is still a ripple effect. The relationship you have with the neighbor has been broken. Trust is gone. The applies to every sin or act of evil; lies, abuse, addictions, lust, violence, or deceit. There is always a ripple effect which continues even if the act has been forgiven. Sometimes the ripple effect takes the form of guilt, or a cycle of being hurt of hurting others…abuse or addiction.
I compare it to the Creeping Charlie that is all over my yard. Is an invasive ground ivy that is so hard to get rid of. You pull out one strand of it, but then you find another and then another. It takes very little time for Creeping Charlie’s tentacles to cover and entire yard. The effects of sin and evil do the same exact thing with our lives and relationships. It’s these tentacles of sin and evil that bring such destructive burdens upon our lives. When we feel guilt, it’s like a weight. When we battle our brokenness, it’s like a burden. When we wrestle with shame, it’s like a rock is tied to our leg. And this weight, well, we try everything in our power to shake it; we move on to another relationship trying to forget our past mistakes. We drink a little bit more so we don’t have to feel the pain. We get caught up in addictive behavior just so we can some how cope with the regret…and the guilt.
Some tinsel, lights and figgy pudding will never be enough to fix the hurt and remove the weight of evil, sin and it’s devastating effects. But there is good news!
Our merciful God, has given us an amazing gift, that when opened, frees us from the weight evil and sin.
Let me show you what I’m talking about.
God:
God:
If you have a Bible or device, find the Old Testament book of Isaiah, chapter 53. If you have the YouVersion Bible app, go ahead and find the section marked, Events. Click on there and look for Iowa City Church. Click on that and all the Scriptures and sermon notes will pop up on your device.
Let me give you a little background on the book of Isaiah. It is written and influenced by the prophet Isaiah. It is a long book which covers warnings leading up to Judah’s defeat and exile in the empire of Babylon. In the second half of the book, you see the Jewish people returning home from exile, with a lot of questions about what is next; did God abandon us, is he still with us and does he still care.
In chapters 49-55 of Isaiah, the readers are introduced to God’s plan to bring hope back to Israel and fix the problem of sin and evil. There is talk of a coming king and kingdom. There are a couple oddities about this king that is to come. First, he is referred to as a servant. One doesn’t typically think of a king being a servant. The second oddity is this that this servant king must suffer. Now, the Jewish folks who read these words actually pushed back. No great king, no messiah must suffer. Surely the author means that the kings enemies must suffer…that makes more sense. But the author of Isaiah is adamant, God is going to send a suffering servant King to fix the cycle of evil and sin plaguing his people. But I want you to notice one important thing: How is God going to fix the effects of evil and sin upon his people?
Let’s dive in for a closer look. Isaiah 53:5-6, which happens to be our core verse for the week. Here is what it says.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
This suffering, servant King, who God is sending will be pierced for Israel’s transgressions. This king will be crushed for their iniquities…the word in Hebrew literally means crooked or bent. So, this suffering, servant king is going to be crushed for their crookedness. All of this was done to bring to God’s people peace. To free them from the weight of sin and it’s effects, the servant king is going to be punished. This is very clear when we read the phrase, “by his wounds we are healed.” Wounds refers to lashes, some of your translations say stripes. It’s referring to a whipping or beating. This punishment, heals the effects of sin and evil in our lives. This punishment frees us from the burdens of guilt, shame, brokenness, anger, and hate.
How do we know this to be true? Verse six makes it clear…our struggles with sin and evil are a result of us turning and doing what we think is right in our own eyes. Sounds just like Adam and Eve when they first rebelled against God in the Garden of Eden. They wanted to define good and evil on their own, apart from God…and the ripple effects evil were traveling forward until this suffering servant king, takes on his back the punishment that was meant for people.
Listen, what we are reading is scandalous, backwards…it makes no sense! Sure a king has been known to pardon guilty prisoners, but that’s not what’s happening here. The king is taking on the punishment of the criminal. The suffering king takes the lashes, the beating so that the criminal can go free.
There’s actually a term for this: Atonement.
Reparation for a wrong. It’s paying the debt so that two parties can be reconciled.
So in Isaiah, we get a glimpse of God’s plan. Send in a King, who is a suffering servant to atone for the evil, sin, guilt, a rebellion of Israel…by taking their punishment.
Fast forward over 400 years and we read these words, spoken to Joseph of Nazareth from an angel (Matthew 1:20-21)
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
400 years later, God sends a gift, in the form of a little baby named Jesus, which literally means, “God saves.” This baby grows up to claim the title, King of the Jews, and to save his people from their sins.
Here’s the remarkable, thing. He didn’t become king and save his people by raising an army, and leading a rebellion. He didn’t become king and save his people getting people to do his dirty work, and gain wealth and prestige. Jesus became king by serving, suffering and dying on a Roman cross in Jerusalem. But that death wasn’t a rebel’s death. That death wasn’t a martyr’s death. That death on the cross, was an atoning death.
Listen, I don’t understand how it all works. I don’t understand the depth and the complexities of how Jesus’ death on the cross pays everyone’s debt. But that is one of the many things Jesus’ death on the cross does for not only you…but for all of us. Jesus died for us.
The apostle Peter believes this as well. He writes in one of his letters these words. See if any of them sound familiar.
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
The word “bore” means to take up, to carry. On the cross, Jesus took up our sins…here’s the key part…so the we might die to sins and live for righteousness.
1. Die to sins. The apostle Peter is saying that because Jesus bore our sins on the cross, we now can die to sin. What does that mean and how does that help me with evil, sin, guilt and shame? Good question!
In the late 90’s film Good Will Hunting, we learn about the punk kid from the south side of Boston who is a mathematical genius. The problem is that he was physically abused growing up, and really has no family, and is a violent, broken young man who won’t let anyone into his life. Long story short, he is connected with a counselor in a last ditch effort to help him and keep him out of jail. In the most powerful moment in the movie, the counselor has a break through once he sees all the abuse and hurt that Will has experienced while going through the foster system. The counselor tells Will, “It’s not your fault.” He repeats this phrase over and over until Will just breaks down and embraces his counselor and the tears just break out. It’s a powerful moment of acknowledging the hurt and accepting it wasn’t his fault.
Now, let’s be clear. Some of the evil, sin, hurt and brokenness that you are carrying around is clearly…your fault. You made the decision. For others of you, it wasn’t your fault, you were the one who was abused, and yet you still carry around the shame. So how does Jesus atoning death on the cross fix that? What Jesus wants you to know…in fact, like Shawn in the Good Will Hunting, wants to put his arms around you and say, “The debt has been paid, you don’t have to live this way anymore.”
You don’t have to carry that weight of guilt and sin anymore. You don’t have to carry that label of being a mistake, and addict, or bad person. You can die to the old way of living because the debt has been paid…and if the debt has been paid, there is a new way to live.
2. Live for righteousness. Peter says that we put on a new life, a life of righteousness…pursuing what God wants because our debt has been atoned for. Righteousness is to live life the way God requires. I know a lot of people want that, but they believe they can never live that because of the weight of evil, sin, guilt and shame. So when Jesus pays the debt, we are now free to live the life God provides.
Now, to be clear, this life of righteousness is a journey. You’re learning a new system, new routines, and new muscle movements. There will be moments when the comfortable way will be to return to old habit and ideas. Here’s what we need to remember, our freedom was bought with price. The freedom was given to us so that we could have a new identity. An identity that isn’t defined by our evil, sin, or our mistakes. Instead an identity that is given to us by God…we are his!
This is all made possible because God gave us the gift of Jesus.
God gave us the gift of Jesus so that our debt could be paid and we can live new lives.
You:
You:
Jesus actually gave us two ways to open and share in this gift.
Seek out a Christian counselor or mature Christian friend to help work through how Jesus’ atoning death can help us heal.
Communion helps us release sin, guilt, shame and brokenness. - Jesus instituted this simple meal called the Lord’s Supper of Communion. It consists of a little piece of bread, and a small cup of grape juice. The bread represents Jesus’ physical body that was beaten and lashed and pierced. To pay our debt. The juice represents the blood that he sheds. Blood represents life. Jesus life blood spilling out, was what paid for our lives to be set free.
As we journey this life, there are going to be moments where we make sinful choices, or where we are hurt or feel the ripple effects of sin. Communion brings us back to a place, a place where we are reminded that what we feel and are experiencing in this world of sin…has been paid for…and we in turn let go. We let go of the guilt. We let go of the sin. We let go of the hurt. We let go of the weight. It’s been atoned for. In just a few minutes you are going to have an opportunity to do this. To be reminded that God gave us the gift of Jesus so that our debt could be paid and we can live our new lives.
Baptism provides us with a moment to open God’s gift. - Yes, baptism was Jesus’ idea. He gave it to his followers as a marker. It marks your public acceptance of God’s gift to you. The apostle Paul describes this baptism transition in Romans 6.
What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
For some of you, it’s time to let go of the weight of sin, hurt, brokenness, guilt and shame. It’s time to go all in and accept the atoning gift Jesus wants to provide in your life. God gave us the gift of Jesus so that our debt could be paid and we can live new lives.
We:
We:
What would you do if I gave you a gift? Probably would probably be wondering what the joke is. I’m hoping that most of you would open it…I mean, that is the courteous thing to do right? If someone gives you a gift, you open it. What would you do, if your parent, spouse, or someone close to you gave you a gift? You wouldn’t even hesitate would you? You would almost immediately open the gift! What would you do if your loving Heavenly Father gave you a gift? You would open it....right?
Some of you, have this amazing gift from God sitting right in front of you. What are you going to do? Are you going to open it. My prayer is that you…because what you will find is that your debt has been paid and you can live a new life.