1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:04,860 I’ve been thanking the Lord in a special way really over these last days and want 2 00:00:04,860 –> 00:00:10,440 you to know what’s been on my mind when Paul thanked God for a congregation he 3 00:00:10,440 –> 00:00:16,940 loved so much in Thessalonica. He spoke about their work of faith, their labour 4 00:00:16,940 –> 00:00:23,139 of love and their patience of hope. And I thank God for these things in all of 5 00:00:23,139 –> 00:00:28,240 you. Some of you have been blessed especially with an enterprise of faith. 6 00:00:28,400 –> 00:00:33,320 You see what can be done, you grasp a vision, you run with it, you go for it. 7 00:00:33,320 –> 00:00:39,080 Some of you have been blessed in a special way with an ongoing labour of 8 00:00:39,080 –> 00:00:44,779 love, staying faithful year in, year out, sustaining the life of ministry, bringing 9 00:00:44,779 –> 00:00:50,820 stability to the life and to the ministry of the Church. Some of you have 10 00:00:50,820 –> 00:00:55,520 been blessed with the patience of hope and you have pressed on through 11 00:00:55,520 –> 00:00:59,700 disappointments and through discouragements showing grace and 12 00:00:59,700 –> 00:01:06,059 showing patience, as all of us try and offer our very, very best to the Lord. 13 00:01:06,059 –> 00:01:10,339 And so I want to say again this Christmas time, thank you to you for 14 00:01:10,339 –> 00:01:15,440 your commitment to Christ, your commitment to the Church and for the 15 00:01:15,440 –> 00:01:22,099 great joy that it is for us to serve the Lord together. Now in the run-up to 16 00:01:22,139 –> 00:01:26,980 Christmas, we’ve been in Isaiah chapter forty and I invite you to open your 17 00:01:26,980 –> 00:01:31,940 Bible there again. This remarkable chapter that as we’ve seen begins with 18 00:01:31,940 –> 00:01:36,059 comfort and it ends with the renewing of strength, what’s not to love about that? 19 00:01:36,059 –> 00:01:39,680 And the reason it begins with comfort and ends with the renewing of strength 20 00:01:39,680 –> 00:01:44,300 is that all the way through it is packed full of anticipations of the coming of 21 00:01:44,300 –> 00:01:48,879 Jesus Christ into the world. Growing up in Edinburgh, Scotland one of our 22 00:01:49,000 –> 00:01:55,339 traditions was that on New Years Day our family always went to a performance of 23 00:01:55,339 –> 00:02:00,680 Handel’s Messiah in the city of Edinburgh, started at noon ended at three 24 00:02:00,680 –> 00:02:06,279 and I came as a child to know that marvellous piece of music very well as 25 00:02:06,279 –> 00:02:11,960 many of you do and it’s just striking when Handel launched his whole 26 00:02:11,960 –> 00:02:17,600 presentation of the Messiah, Jesus Christ coming into the world, and wrote that 27 00:02:17,660 –> 00:02:24,679 marvellous and timeless music. His launch point was Isaiah 40. If you think about 28 00:02:24,679 –> 00:02:29,020 this chapter and if you know the music there you’ll see immediately. Where does 29 00:02:29,020 –> 00:02:33,880 it begin? comfort ye my people every valley shall be exalted and the glory of 30 00:02:33,880 –> 00:02:38,320 the Lord shall be revealed o thou who tell us good tidings to Zion and lift up 31 00:02:38,320 –> 00:02:42,240 your voice and say behold your God and so forth all of it comes out of this 32 00:02:42,240 –> 00:02:46,660 chapter and that’s why I’m saying to you that here is a chapter that is packed 33 00:02:46,720 –> 00:02:51,220 full of anticipations of Jesus so that when the the great musician came to 34 00:02:51,220 –> 00:02:55,899 compose a presentation of the Messiah his starting point out of all the Old 35 00:02:55,899 –> 00:03:00,279 Testament was to come again and again and to pick up these great themes from 36 00:03:00,279 –> 00:03:05,720 this chapter that has been in front of us and is open today and we’ve noted 37 00:03:05,720 –> 00:03:12,600 together especially from verse 2 that this is God speaking tenderly to his 38 00:03:12,740 –> 00:03:18,779 people and he’s calling us to speak into a very broken world in the same tone and 39 00:03:18,779 –> 00:03:23,039 the question of course is when we speak tenderly into a broken world what are we 40 00:03:23,039 –> 00:03:27,179 to say, what is the message that is given to the church, what are we to speak into 41 00:03:27,179 –> 00:03:32,539 the world and we’ve been tracing it from this marvelous chapter we are to speak 42 00:03:32,539 –> 00:03:37,979 first about God’s abundant provision and we saw that from verses 2 and 3 it’s all 43 00:03:37,979 –> 00:03:41,899 about peace being established and a pardon 44 00:03:42,419 –> 00:03:47,000 being secured and a payment being made through a person whose way is to be 45 00:03:47,000 –> 00:03:52,059 prepared who is coming into the world, the person of Jesus Christ. But we’ve 46 00:03:52,059 –> 00:03:57,539 also seen that we’re to speak tenderly and candidly and directly about our own 47 00:03:57,539 –> 00:04:02,940 desperate need and we looked at that last week our lives are beautiful verse 48 00:04:02,940 –> 00:04:07,559 six but they’re also fragile they’re like the grass. They’re beautiful because 49 00:04:07,580 –> 00:04:11,839 we’re made in the image of God but our lives are fragile because when God 50 00:04:11,839 –> 00:04:19,239 blows on us we are gone. And we saw how wonderful it is that a Christian 51 00:04:19,239 –> 00:04:25,480 believer can say now my birth and my life and my death are all in the hands 52 00:04:25,480 –> 00:04:30,679 of my Heavenly Father who loves me and nothing that happens in all of my life 53 00:04:30,679 –> 00:04:36,440 will ever be by random chance I am in the hands of God who made me, 54 00:04:36,459 –> 00:04:42,220 in the hands of God who redeemed me. And his Word stands forever. 55 00:04:42,220 –> 00:04:48,260 That’s where we came to last week there in verse 8. The Word of the Lord stands 56 00:04:48,260 –> 00:04:52,559 forever and therefore here is the foundation on which I can build my life 57 00:04:52,559 –> 00:05:01,079 and on which any person can build a life that is sure for time and for eternity. 58 00:05:01,079 –> 00:05:05,480 So here is the great message that we are to speak. That is given to the church 59 00:05:05,559 –> 00:05:10,239 that we are to speak into the world. It is a message of God’s abundant provision 60 00:05:10,239 –> 00:05:14,399 through the One who will come into the world. It is matched with a presentation 61 00:05:14,399 –> 00:05:18,839 of our own desperate need of this provision and today therefore I want us 62 00:05:18,839 –> 00:05:24,279 to see how these two things come together in Jesus Christ. 63 00:05:24,279 –> 00:05:28,640 And we’re going to pick up particularly on verse 5 which we passed over earlier 64 00:05:28,640 –> 00:05:33,980 and I did that deliberately to keep it for today and then verse 9 through 11. 65 00:05:33,980 –> 00:05:41,100 Verse 5, The glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together. 66 00:05:41,100 –> 00:05:46,540 And then verse 9 takes up this great theme, in the light of what 67 00:05:46,540 –> 00:05:50,980 has been revealed we are to say into this broken world with great tenderness, 68 00:05:50,980 –> 00:05:56,940 Behold your God! Behold your God! Now these are the two key words the words 69 00:05:56,940 –> 00:06:02,839 Revealed and Behold. And immediately you will see that these obviously belong 70 00:06:02,880 –> 00:06:08,079 Together. The glory of the Lord is going to be revealed. What has been hidden is 71 00:06:08,079 –> 00:06:13,000 Going to be made known. So this is rather like opening a Christmas present, 72 00:06:13,000 –> 00:06:17,059 So here are these gifts and they are under the tree, but they are wrapped. 73 00:06:17,059 –> 00:06:22,119 And we know that something good is there. It may even have our name on it and we 74 00:06:22,119 –> 00:06:26,200 May even think that we know what it is. But we don’t absolutely know for sure 75 00:06:26,200 –> 00:06:30,739 Until we get to tear the paper off. We have not yet actually seen it until the 76 00:06:31,179 –> 00:06:36,239 Our gift will be revealed. That’s the word here, the glory of the Lord. 77 00:06:36,239 –> 00:06:40,399 What has been wrapped is now going to be revealed in the coming of Jesus Christ. 78 00:06:40,399 –> 00:06:43,959 And because the glory of the Lord is going to be revealed therefore we are 79 00:06:43,959 –> 00:06:49,679 Able to say, and Isaiah calls us to say verse 9, Behold your God is the message 80 00:06:49,679 –> 00:06:53,040 Of the Church. We’re to say in this broken world with great tenderness and 81 00:06:53,040 –> 00:07:00,459 Love now look at your God look at what has been revealed in Jesus Christ. 82 00:07:00,679 –> 00:07:04,899 And of course when something great and glorious, something of great value is 83 00:07:04,920 –> 00:07:10,260 Opened it is revealed you want to look at it. I mean what would you make of a 84 00:07:10,260 –> 00:07:14,660 Person who a little box and it’s wrapped up and they open it and it’s it’s a 85 00:07:14,660 –> 00:07:20,440 Diamond and they say Oh right fine and then open the next box and and and it’s 86 00:07:20,440 –> 00:07:26,200 Candy and you say now wait a minute. Look at what you were just given. 87 00:07:26,200 –> 00:07:29,059 you’re never going to be given in all of your life another gift that’s quite like 88 00:07:29,119 –> 00:07:33,859 That it’s a supreme value. Don’t pass it to one side as you’ve opened it now. Now 89 00:07:33,859 –> 00:07:40,279 look at it. Look at it. And take in what it is that you have been given. The glory 90 00:07:40,279 –> 00:07:47,559 Of the Lord will be revealed. Behold your God. So there’s a revealing and there’s a 91 00:07:47,559 –> 00:07:53,380 Beholding and these are the two things that are before us today. So I hope your 92 00:07:53,459 –> 00:08:00,600 Bible is open there the glory of the Lord shall be revealed. What is 93 00:08:00,600 –> 00:08:09,940 the glory of the Lord? And what does it mean for this glory to be revealed? 94 00:08:09,940 –> 00:08:17,519 Let me give you a simple description. The glory of the Lord is the full wonder of who God 95 00:08:17,619 –> 00:08:27,640 is. It is the splendor of God himself. And those who know the Bible will perhaps 96 00:08:27,640 –> 00:08:33,400 immediately think of how earlier in the Bible story Moses, who knew much about 97 00:08:33,400 –> 00:08:36,960 God, went up the mountain and on one occasion 98 00:08:36,960 –> 00:08:42,979 he prayed with great passion and intensity. Oh God please show me Your 99 00:08:42,979 –> 00:08:48,760 glory. And when Moses prayed that he was asking God simply this, show me the full 100 00:08:48,760 –> 00:08:57,679 wonder of who you are. Now here’s the fascinating thing about Moses’ prayer. 101 00:08:57,679 –> 00:09:03,320 God had already made Himself known to Moses. He’d done that of course in the 102 00:09:03,320 –> 00:09:08,260 burning bush, and he’d done that in the miracle of the crossing of the Red Sea. 103 00:09:08,619 –> 00:09:14,880 More than that we are particularly told that the glory of the Lord appeared in a 104 00:09:14,880 –> 00:09:21,059 cloud. We’re told that the appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a 105 00:09:21,059 –> 00:09:27,260 devouring fire. And when the tent of meeting that housed the tabernacle 106 00:09:27,260 –> 00:09:30,880 where God was to be worshipped, and the people were to gather, when that was 107 00:09:30,880 –> 00:09:35,080 dedicated, it’s in the last chapter of the book of Exodus. We’re told that the 108 00:09:35,200 –> 00:09:39,719 cloud of the glory of God’s presence filled this tent in such a way that 109 00:09:39,719 –> 00:09:46,900 Moses was not even able to go into it. So very clearly something of the glory 110 00:09:46,900 –> 00:09:55,099 of the Lord had been revealed already. But notice how it had been revealed. It 111 00:09:55,099 –> 00:10:00,919 had been revealed in a cloud. How’d you get ahold of a cloud? I mean that’s 112 00:10:00,919 –> 00:10:04,299 saying that although something, some of the brightness of the presence of God 113 00:10:04,419 –> 00:10:09,979 had been revealed, it was, was ultimately at that point unknowable. And it was 114 00:10:09,979 –> 00:10:14,659 revealed in a fire, in the pillar of fire. How close can you get to a pillar of 115 00:10:14,659 –> 00:10:19,940 fire? Not very close. So it was unapproachable. And then when the glory 116 00:10:19,940 –> 00:10:24,400 of the Lord comes down and it fills this tent of meeting, Moses can’t even get in. 117 00:10:24,400 –> 00:10:29,299 It’s inaccessible. And so something of the glory of the Lord has been made 118 00:10:29,299 –> 00:10:34,080 known. But the full wonder of who God is, is yet to be made known. And so Moses 119 00:10:34,119 –> 00:10:38,640 comes before the Lord and drawn by everything that he does know of God, he 120 00:10:38,640 –> 00:10:44,960 says, show me your glory. Lord, I’ve seen reflections of the brightness of your 121 00:10:44,960 –> 00:10:51,039 glory in the fire and in the cloud. But that has given me this great desire. I 122 00:10:51,039 –> 00:10:58,080 want to know the full wonder of who You are. I want to see Your face. Show me Your 123 00:10:58,099 –> 00:11:04,940 glory. And you can read in Exodus chapter 33 how God spoke to Moses on that 124 00:11:04,940 –> 00:11:15,320 occasion and said, Moses you cannot see my face and live. And so God hid Moses in 125 00:11:15,320 –> 00:11:19,840 the cleft of a rock the Bible says, covered him with his hand and then God 126 00:11:19,840 –> 00:11:25,299 caused His glory to pass by the cleft of the rock so that Moses was allowed to 127 00:11:25,460 –> 00:11:32,539 see the afterburn of the glory of the Lord. 128 00:11:32,539 –> 00:11:42,460 He’d seen an appearance, he’d seen a reflection, he longed to see the thing 129 00:11:42,460 –> 00:11:53,799 itself. Last month marked fifty years since the assassination of President Jon 130 00:11:53,859 –> 00:12:02,200 F. Kennedy. And amongst the many programs that were made to mark that occasion, CNN 131 00:12:02,200 –> 00:12:09,460 ran a piece that included reference to the pink suit that was worn by Jackie 132 00:12:09,460 –> 00:12:16,359 Kennedy on that day. Now, most of us can immediately picture that pink suit, right? 133 00:12:16,359 –> 00:12:19,299 I thought well, I don’t need need to put a picture of that up on the screen 134 00:12:19,299 –> 00:12:24,739 because everyone has a picture of the pink suit, the iconic pink suit, fixed in 135 00:12:24,739 –> 00:12:30,539 our own minds. Why is that? Because we have seen many, many pictures, images of 136 00:12:30,539 –> 00:12:36,000 this in newsreel footage and in magazine photographs and so forth and so on. 137 00:12:36,280 –> 00:12:40,380 We have all seen a representation of the pink suit. I would be almost certain that 138 00:12:40,380 –> 00:12:46,059 not one of us here has actually seen the thing itself. And what was fascinating 139 00:12:46,059 –> 00:12:51,119 to me about the CNN report is, the pink suit, they said, has never been 140 00:12:51,119 –> 00:12:58,419 cleaned. That it was given as a gift to the people of the United States by 141 00:12:58,419 –> 00:13:06,440 Carolyn Kennedy in 2003, which was nine years after her mother’s death, and that 142 00:13:06,440 –> 00:13:12,400 the gift came with the condition that it should not be put on display for a 143 00:13:12,400 –> 00:13:20,280 hundred years, so 2103. And even then it would be with the permission of that 144 00:13:20,280 –> 00:13:27,419 generation of the Kennedy family, and not before that time. Further, the suit is 145 00:13:27,419 –> 00:13:35,799 now stored in the National Archives building in Maryland, and it is stored in 146 00:13:36,039 –> 00:13:44,580 windowless vault in an acid free container where the air is changed three 147 00:13:44,580 –> 00:13:50,119 times every hour for the preservation of the fabric and the temperature is 148 00:13:50,119 –> 00:14:01,500 maintained between 65 and 68 degrees. And so it will be for at least 90 years. 149 00:14:01,500 –> 00:14:06,340 All of us have seen images of the pink suit I refer to the pink suit immediately 150 00:14:06,340 –> 00:14:10,719 you have a picture as I have a picture in my mind but none of us has seen the 151 00:14:10,719 –> 00:14:19,679 thing itself. It is locked up in a vault, it is hidden from public view, but 90 152 00:14:19,679 –> 00:14:25,739 years from now the children of the youngest children here today in their 153 00:14:25,739 –> 00:14:31,359 old age may be able to go and see it if it’s put on display in Washington. They 154 00:14:31,380 –> 00:14:38,080 may get to see the thing itself. Earlier this year Karen and I visited the Space 155 00:14:38,080 –> 00:14:43,020 Centre at Cape Canaveral. Some of them may have been there, remarkable experience 156 00:14:43,020 –> 00:14:49,000 once in a lifetime just to be up close to the thing itself. I mean all of us 157 00:14:49,000 –> 00:14:54,559 have seen endless pictures of rockets, but at Cape Canaveral we were able to 158 00:14:55,359 –> 00:15:02,780 see Saturn Five suspended in a vast hangar so you can walk all its length. 159 00:15:02,780 –> 00:15:08,159 The sheer scale, the sheer size of this was utterly overwhelming, it’s different 160 00:15:08,159 –> 00:15:13,780 to see the thing itself no matter how many pictures you may have seen over 161 00:15:13,780 –> 00:15:19,400 many many years. Now think about what is being said here 162 00:15:20,299 –> 00:15:26,739 The glory of the Lord will be revealed. Oh yes, reflections have been seen. The earth 163 00:15:26,739 –> 00:15:31,239 declares the glory of the Lord. There’s been some reflection of this in the fire 164 00:15:31,239 –> 00:15:36,039 and in the cloud but the thing itself is going to be put on display it’s going to 165 00:15:36,039 –> 00:15:41,099 be after many hundreds of years beyond the time of Isaiah. We’re going to get 166 00:15:41,099 –> 00:15:45,140 something that is more than reflections of the glory of the Lord that are 167 00:15:45,580 –> 00:15:49,419 unknowable and unapproachable and inaccessible. 168 00:15:49,419 –> 00:15:55,020 Isaiah says the glory of the Lord will be revealed. What Moses longed to see 169 00:15:55,020 –> 00:15:59,739 will be put on display. And it will not be made accessible only to a few like 170 00:15:59,739 –> 00:16:04,500 Moses. All flesh shall see it together. The coming of Jesus Christ will bring 171 00:16:04,500 –> 00:16:09,380 about a position in which any person in the world may come to know God as He is 172 00:16:09,380 –> 00:16:14,679 through His Son, who is the image, the exact representation of His being. God is 173 00:16:14,679 –> 00:16:20,640 going to make the full wonder of who He is, made known in Jesus Christ. And 174 00:16:20,640 –> 00:16:25,159 that’s why when you get to the Christmas story you have John saying the Word 175 00:16:25,159 –> 00:16:36,440 became flesh and dwelt among us and we have seen His glory. It’s like the whole 176 00:16:36,640 –> 00:16:44,440 Bible story has been leading up to this. The full wonder of who God is now made 177 00:16:44,440 –> 00:16:49,760 known in Jesus Christ, so that the knowledge of God may be accessible. God 178 00:16:49,760 –> 00:16:56,960 approachable to all who will come to the father through His son Jesus Christ. This 179 00:16:56,960 –> 00:17:00,559 is the marvel. This is why the coming of Jesus Christ into the world is the 180 00:17:00,640 –> 00:17:04,920 center point of human history and must always be so. 181 00:17:04,920 –> 00:17:11,119 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed. Now, in the light of this great reality 182 00:17:11,119 –> 00:17:15,459 that we celebrate at Christmas, what are we to do? 183 00:17:15,459 –> 00:17:24,760 Well, says Isaiah, here’s what you do. You behold your God. You look at what has 184 00:17:24,800 –> 00:17:29,800 been revealed. And do you notice there that the word behold comes not once, but 185 00:17:29,800 –> 00:17:37,760 it comes three times. Behold your God. Behold, the Lord God comes with might. 186 00:17:37,760 –> 00:17:45,160 Behold, His reward is with Him. Now, to behold simply means look at, look at this. 187 00:17:45,160 –> 00:17:50,180 The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, so look at your God. Look at His might. 188 00:17:50,180 –> 00:17:54,400 Look at His reward. That’s what Isaiah says. That’s what we’re to do. 189 00:17:55,079 –> 00:17:58,140 And that’s what we’re to call other people to do. 190 00:17:59,699 –> 00:18:07,380 Look at your God. See here is the message of Christmas, and it is so wonderful. 191 00:18:07,380 –> 00:18:14,800 God became man in Jesus Christ and He is the image of the invisible God. 192 00:18:14,800 –> 00:18:20,260 He is the exact representation of His being. And quoting the Scriptures here, 193 00:18:20,560 –> 00:18:26,819 Word-for-word, God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell bodily in Jesus Christ. 194 00:18:26,819 –> 00:18:34,859 We have the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. How? In the face of Jesus Christ. 195 00:18:34,859 –> 00:18:43,260 The full wonder of all that God is, has been revealed in Jesus Christ. 196 00:18:43,439 –> 00:18:52,219 So that Jesus says, whoever has seen me, has seen the Father. 197 00:18:52,219 –> 00:18:54,140 Astonishing statement. 198 00:18:54,660 –> 00:18:58,939 So now here’s the question, someone’s come into church today and you’re sincerely 199 00:18:58,939 –> 00:19:00,420 wrestling with this question. 200 00:19:00,420 –> 00:19:02,739 How can I know God? 201 00:19:02,739 –> 00:19:04,979 Where can I find God? 202 00:19:04,979 –> 00:19:06,699 Who is he? 203 00:19:06,699 –> 00:19:08,979 What is he like? 204 00:19:08,979 –> 00:19:12,619 And these are good questions and these are the greatest questions you will ever ask in 205 00:19:12,619 –> 00:19:13,619 your life. 206 00:19:13,619 –> 00:19:16,219 They’re the questions that will shape your eternity. 207 00:19:16,219 –> 00:19:17,359 And here’s the good news. 208 00:19:17,359 –> 00:19:21,979 God has not left you to make up your own answer. 209 00:19:21,979 –> 00:19:26,099 When you want to know who God is, look at Jesus Christ. 210 00:19:26,099 –> 00:19:29,020 That’s the message here. 211 00:19:29,020 –> 00:19:31,920 And when you look at him, here’s what you will see. 212 00:19:31,920 –> 00:19:37,479 You will see holiness and compassion and justice and truth. 213 00:19:37,599 –> 00:19:44,079 And you will see mercy and kindness and patience and love. 214 00:19:44,079 –> 00:19:46,640 Look at Jesus Christ and you will see the heart of God. 215 00:19:46,640 –> 00:19:49,239 You will discover who God is. 216 00:19:49,239 –> 00:19:52,199 The word was made flesh and we have seen his glory. 217 00:19:52,199 –> 00:19:54,000 John, what was it that you saw? 218 00:19:54,000 –> 00:19:58,880 We saw that he was full of grace and of truth. 219 00:19:59,880 –> 00:20:06,859 If someone should tell you that they hate God, 220 00:20:06,859 –> 00:20:12,459 you ask them to tell you about the God that they hate 221 00:20:12,459 –> 00:20:18,219 and then talk to them about Jesus Christ. 222 00:20:18,219 –> 00:20:23,160 Behold your God. 223 00:20:23,160 –> 00:20:26,199 This is who he is. 224 00:20:26,199 –> 00:20:28,479 And then Isaiah says more than that, 225 00:20:28,479 –> 00:20:30,599 as you’re beholding your God, 226 00:20:30,599 –> 00:20:34,680 focus in particularly on this. 227 00:20:34,680 –> 00:20:37,020 Look at his might. 228 00:20:37,020 –> 00:20:39,900 Look at his strength. 229 00:20:39,900 –> 00:20:43,660 Behold the lord God comes with might 230 00:20:43,660 –> 00:20:47,520 and his arm rules for him. 231 00:20:47,520 –> 00:20:49,420 As the glory of the lord is revealed, 232 00:20:49,420 –> 00:20:50,420 what do we see? 233 00:20:50,420 –> 00:20:54,359 We see the strength of almighty God. 234 00:20:54,359 –> 00:20:55,819 And how wonderful this is. 235 00:20:55,819 –> 00:20:57,140 You see it in the life of Jesus. 236 00:20:57,140 –> 00:20:59,439 As how he endures temptation and opposition 237 00:20:59,439 –> 00:21:02,540 and the relentless demands of so many people. 238 00:21:02,540 –> 00:21:04,859 You see it in the power that is demonstrated 239 00:21:04,859 –> 00:21:07,560 in his miracles bringing the renewing of life 240 00:21:07,560 –> 00:21:09,819 to so many people. 241 00:21:09,819 –> 00:21:11,939 You see it in his death. 242 00:21:11,939 –> 00:21:14,380 As he suffers physically and spiritually 243 00:21:14,380 –> 00:21:17,760 and emotionally in every way 244 00:21:17,760 –> 00:21:21,239 and he endures what is indescribable. 245 00:21:21,239 –> 00:21:24,060 And you say, what strength carries that cross 246 00:21:24,260 –> 00:21:27,540 with a lacerated back and endures all this 247 00:21:27,540 –> 00:21:28,819 and trusts God still. 248 00:21:28,819 –> 00:21:31,020 What kind of strength is that? 249 00:21:31,020 –> 00:21:34,020 But you see this strength even more 250 00:21:34,020 –> 00:21:38,319 and supremely in the power by which Jesus Christ 251 00:21:38,319 –> 00:21:42,339 raises himself from the dead. 252 00:21:42,339 –> 00:21:44,520 We quoted last week the words of Jesus. 253 00:21:44,520 –> 00:21:48,020 He says, now, nobody takes my life from me. 254 00:21:48,020 –> 00:21:50,219 I’m the one who has power to lay my life down 255 00:21:50,219 –> 00:21:53,239 and I’m the one who has power to take it up again. 256 00:21:53,400 –> 00:21:55,479 And that’s what he did on the third day. 257 00:21:55,479 –> 00:22:00,119 The power by which he raises himself from the dead. 258 00:22:00,119 –> 00:22:01,819 Look at his might. 259 00:22:01,819 –> 00:22:04,500 Behold your God comes with might. 260 00:22:04,500 –> 00:22:05,920 That’s what Isaiah says. 261 00:22:05,920 –> 00:22:10,920 Now, think what a savior with power like that 262 00:22:11,439 –> 00:22:13,000 could do for you? 263 00:22:14,780 –> 00:22:17,160 So here you are and there are things about yourself 264 00:22:17,160 –> 00:22:20,199 that you’ve not been able to change. 265 00:22:20,199 –> 00:22:22,719 You set out on this year with resolutions 266 00:22:22,719 –> 00:22:24,800 and all the rest of it and how you were going to improve 267 00:22:24,800 –> 00:22:26,839 and how you are going to be different, 268 00:22:26,839 –> 00:22:28,359 and you’ve found that it is more difficult 269 00:22:28,359 –> 00:22:29,199 than you thought. 270 00:22:29,199 –> 00:22:30,719 You’ve found, as the Bible says, 271 00:22:30,719 –> 00:22:33,760 the leopard cannot change its spot. 272 00:22:33,760 –> 00:22:36,199 You’ve tried the turning over a new leaf kind of thing 273 00:22:36,199 –> 00:22:39,079 and you know that you cannot reinvent yourself. 274 00:22:39,079 –> 00:22:43,560 You need a power that is greater than yourself. 275 00:22:43,560 –> 00:22:47,839 Now look, behold, the Lord comes in might, 276 00:22:47,839 –> 00:22:49,640 the glory of the Lord has been revealed. 277 00:22:49,640 –> 00:22:51,500 There’s a savior who comes. 278 00:22:51,500 –> 00:22:52,599 He’s strong. 279 00:22:52,599 –> 00:22:54,079 Look at his strong hands. 280 00:22:54,079 –> 00:22:56,339 He’s reaching out to you. 281 00:22:56,339 –> 00:22:59,619 And if your life were to be in his strong hands 282 00:23:01,459 –> 00:23:03,119 how different that life could be? 283 00:23:04,479 –> 00:23:05,920 Look at your God. 284 00:23:07,260 –> 00:23:09,579 What in the world are you running away from, 285 00:23:09,579 –> 00:23:13,260 fighting against, a God who has grace and mercy and love 286 00:23:13,260 –> 00:23:17,160 that is reaching out to you as you see it in Jesus Christ? 287 00:23:18,939 –> 00:23:20,699 Look at his strength. 288 00:23:21,579 –> 00:23:24,719 What difference can come to your life 289 00:23:24,719 –> 00:23:27,459 if your life instead of being lived in isolation from him 290 00:23:27,459 –> 00:23:30,180 is placed into his strong hands, 291 00:23:30,180 –> 00:23:32,979 the one who has the strength to raise himself from the dead 292 00:23:32,979 –> 00:23:35,780 and one day if he’ll raise you from the dead 293 00:23:35,780 –> 00:23:38,880 and bring you into his immediate presence? 294 00:23:38,880 –> 00:23:41,180 What a savior, behold, look. 295 00:23:43,060 –> 00:23:43,959 And here’s the last thing. 296 00:23:43,959 –> 00:23:45,380 Look at his reward. 297 00:23:46,640 –> 00:23:48,640 It’s the most wonderful of all, I think. 298 00:23:49,579 –> 00:23:54,579 Behold, his reward is with him 299 00:23:56,420 –> 00:24:00,520 and his recompense before him. 300 00:24:00,520 –> 00:24:01,839 Now what does that mean? 301 00:24:03,640 –> 00:24:05,520 Here’s the thing that I’ve found most helpful 302 00:24:05,520 –> 00:24:08,099 in all the reading I’ve done of commentators and scholars 303 00:24:08,099 –> 00:24:11,800 and linguists, Alec Metier who I’ve quoted to you before. 304 00:24:11,800 –> 00:24:14,859 I think the greatest living scholar on the Book of Isaiah 305 00:24:14,859 –> 00:24:17,839 translates it literally like this. 306 00:24:17,880 –> 00:24:22,199 Look, his wage is with him 307 00:24:23,160 –> 00:24:25,500 and his work is before him. 308 00:24:25,500 –> 00:24:27,699 Metier says that’s the most literal translation 309 00:24:27,699 –> 00:24:30,040 you can get of the Hebrew, look. 310 00:24:31,439 –> 00:24:33,760 His wage is with him 311 00:24:35,000 –> 00:24:38,500 and his work is before him. 312 00:24:39,880 –> 00:24:43,199 So we’re being told here that Jesus Christ 313 00:24:43,199 –> 00:24:48,199 comes to do a work and to earn a wage 314 00:24:48,800 –> 00:24:50,719 and that the wage is with him 315 00:24:50,719 –> 00:24:52,199 and when he comes into the world 316 00:24:52,199 –> 00:24:54,579 the work is before him. 317 00:24:56,359 –> 00:24:58,180 What is the work that is before him? 318 00:24:58,180 –> 00:25:01,800 Let Jesus himself answer that question for you. 319 00:25:01,800 –> 00:25:04,400 What does he say about why he came into the world? 320 00:25:04,400 –> 00:25:06,640 Why this Christmas story? 321 00:25:06,640 –> 00:25:09,140 He says this, the Son of Man has come 322 00:25:09,160 –> 00:25:13,219 to give his life as a ransom for many. 323 00:25:13,219 –> 00:25:14,979 Here’s the great work that was before him 324 00:25:14,979 –> 00:25:19,979 here’s the great reason for which he came into the world. 325 00:25:20,020 –> 00:25:22,239 He took our flesh on that first Christmas 326 00:25:22,239 –> 00:25:24,739 the cross was before him 327 00:25:24,739 –> 00:25:27,979 becoming a sacrifice and a substitute for sinners 328 00:25:27,979 –> 00:25:29,060 was before him 329 00:25:29,060 –> 00:25:31,540 this was the great work paying the price 330 00:25:31,540 –> 00:25:32,699 being the ransom 331 00:25:32,699 –> 00:25:35,900 the Son of Man has come to give his life as a ransom 332 00:25:35,959 –> 00:25:40,959 to pay the price to buy back many is what he says. 333 00:25:42,099 –> 00:25:44,979 And so if that is the work what is the wage 334 00:25:44,979 –> 00:25:46,040 think about this 335 00:25:47,819 –> 00:25:50,719 what does Christ want so much 336 00:25:52,060 –> 00:25:54,000 that he would leave Heaven’s glory? 337 00:25:55,319 –> 00:25:56,859 What does Christ want so much 338 00:25:56,859 –> 00:25:58,619 that he would stoop to take the frailty 339 00:25:58,619 –> 00:26:00,239 of human flesh to himself? 340 00:26:02,000 –> 00:26:04,500 What does Christ desire so intensely? 341 00:26:04,500 –> 00:26:07,439 What is the reward that he has set his heart upon 342 00:26:07,439 –> 00:26:09,760 that he would be ready to earn it 343 00:26:11,459 –> 00:26:15,239 through an unspeakable suffering endured on the cross? 344 00:26:17,020 –> 00:26:19,239 And the answer is right there in verse 11. 345 00:26:20,579 –> 00:26:24,780 He will tend what his flock 346 00:26:26,040 –> 00:26:27,040 like a shepherd. 347 00:26:28,800 –> 00:26:31,000 What does Jesus Christ get out of all 348 00:26:31,000 –> 00:26:33,040 that He endured in this world? 349 00:26:33,060 –> 00:26:35,619 What are the wages that He so desired? 350 00:26:35,619 –> 00:26:40,619 Answer, a flock of dirty, smelly sheep. 351 00:26:42,520 –> 00:26:44,800 That’s why He came into the world. 352 00:26:44,800 –> 00:26:46,680 That’s why He endured all that He did 353 00:26:48,099 –> 00:26:52,119 to secure for Himself the great reward 354 00:26:53,000 –> 00:26:56,280 of a flock that needs tending and gathering 355 00:26:56,280 –> 00:26:58,819 and carrying and leading. 356 00:27:00,420 –> 00:27:02,359 And you see Jesus says this Himself 357 00:27:02,819 –> 00:27:03,800 in words that you will know well 358 00:27:03,800 –> 00:27:05,400 and they’re really just taken straight out 359 00:27:05,400 –> 00:27:06,939 Isaiah in chapter 40. 360 00:27:06,939 –> 00:27:09,300 Jesus says, I am the Good Shepherd. 361 00:27:09,300 –> 00:27:11,439 I’m the one that Isaiah was talking about. 362 00:27:12,560 –> 00:27:15,719 And the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 363 00:27:15,719 –> 00:27:18,619 The flock are what I earn. 364 00:27:18,619 –> 00:27:20,060 The wages that I earn 365 00:27:20,060 –> 00:27:21,800 and the way that they become mine 366 00:27:21,800 –> 00:27:23,880 and that I obtain them is 367 00:27:25,099 –> 00:27:27,599 that I do this work of laying down my life on the cross. 368 00:27:27,599 –> 00:27:28,599 I am the good Shepherd 369 00:27:28,819 –> 00:27:32,420 and the Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 370 00:27:34,359 –> 00:27:36,680 The flock are His wages. 371 00:27:36,680 –> 00:27:40,400 Brother and sister in Jesus Christ, you are His reward. 372 00:27:40,400 –> 00:27:43,400 You are the reason that He came into the world 373 00:27:43,400 –> 00:27:45,880 and you can be sure that having purchased 374 00:27:45,880 –> 00:27:48,839 every one of these sheep at such a cost, 375 00:27:48,839 –> 00:27:52,719 He will tend and He will gather and He will carry 376 00:27:52,719 –> 00:27:56,280 and He will gently lead every sheep in His flock. 377 00:27:56,319 –> 00:27:58,319 And Jesus says about His flock, 378 00:27:58,319 –> 00:28:03,319 I give them eternal life and they will never perish 379 00:28:05,560 –> 00:28:10,560 and no one will snatch them from my hand. 380 00:28:13,119 –> 00:28:17,000 The glory of the Lord is revealed in Jesus Christ. 381 00:28:18,199 –> 00:28:22,699 Now look at Him, behold your God. 382 00:28:23,520 –> 00:28:25,640 Look at His love and His mercy and 383 00:28:25,640 –> 00:28:27,180 His compassion and His grace, 384 00:28:27,180 –> 00:28:28,520 and ask yourself the question, 385 00:28:28,520 –> 00:28:31,959 why am I still running from this God? 386 00:28:33,339 –> 00:28:35,420 Who reaches out to me with love like this. 387 00:28:36,300 –> 00:28:40,040 Look at His strength and ask yourself the question, 388 00:28:40,040 –> 00:28:43,400 what can my life become if it is wholly placed 389 00:28:43,400 –> 00:28:47,219 into the strong hands of this savior? 390 00:28:47,640 –> 00:28:51,239 Look at His reward 391 00:28:51,239 –> 00:28:53,359 and say, what greater thing could there be 392 00:28:53,359 –> 00:28:56,219 in all of the world than to be one of his sheep? 393 00:28:57,560 –> 00:28:59,239 And when you come to that conclusion, 394 00:28:59,239 –> 00:29:02,819 you will then want to trust Him with your life, 395 00:29:02,819 –> 00:29:05,599 you will want to worship Him with all that you have 396 00:29:05,599 –> 00:29:07,280 and all that you are, 397 00:29:07,280 –> 00:29:12,020 and you will want to follow Him all of your days. 398 00:29:12,020 –> 00:29:13,959 And you will join with all of the other 399 00:29:14,560 –> 00:29:18,619 redeemed flock of God who say together at Christmas, 400 00:29:18,619 –> 00:29:22,400 come, let us adore Him 401 00:29:23,479 –> 00:29:28,140 because He is Christ and He is the Lord.