Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:05 My name is Pastor Matt. I'm the youth pastor here at Village Church of Bartlett. And so if we haven't met yet, hello, we've met, um, we're starting off our Christmas series today. And uh, I wanna start off with a story of, um, a farmer in Egypt. He was, this is in the 18 hundreds. He was looking for a place to build his farmhouse. And so he looks across over the desert and you'd be like, this is not great land. Um, this is, by the way, this is not an actual picture of where he was looking. It's a Google image church. Um, but he was looking across the desert to see where he could build his house. And he scrapes some sand away and finds that there's some rock here, there's a smooth stone. He's like, nailed it, found it, bedrock, and build my farmhouse right here.
Speaker 1 00:00:52 And so over time, more and more sand gets blown away from this rock that he has built his house on. And he, he starts to think to himself, this is more than a rock. This seems to be manmade. And so there starts an excavation and a digging. And what had actually happened is he had stumbled upon the Luxor temple, which is um, now what they're calling Egypt's Pompe. And it has been excavated for years and they're finding artifacts and they're finding these columns. And he had built his house on top of an 80 foot column having no idea it was there. And I think Christmas and talking about Jesus at this time can be a little like that. We hear year after year a story about the birth of our savior, the wise men, the angels, the shepherds, the mad guy, magi, we hear, we hear all these stories over and over again.
Speaker 1 00:01:47 We think, oh, you know what? I know this Jesus thing, but we don't know Jesus as much as we fully could. Every year. Something can be revealed. Every year we can learn something. And even if for the benefit of the doubt, you have all the theological knowledge of Jesus Christ and know exactly how he works in every single way, we can still be floored when we are reminded of his glory and his grace. And so, and John writes in John 21, now, there are also many other things that Jesus did. We're every one of them to be written. I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. So the theme for Christmas 2022 is simply glory. And so I'm gonna speak to today about Jesus's veiled glory. Next week Dean is gonna preach on Jesus' revealed glory. And then after that on our Christmas Eve, Michael, um, will preach on reflecting glory back to Jesus.
Speaker 1 00:02:46 And so this morning, my goal might not be to put forth any new information up about Jesus. Maybe you'll learn something. But if we can elevate Jesus and praise him, then we are revealing back to glory. So let's talk about this glory. What is it? We often throw the world word around or we use it in many different ways, kind of e ebbing and flowing literally glory means weight and it refers to the impact of experiencing glory. So it feels like weight, but when we see it, it looks like light. And it's light that emanates from God's presence. Not that God is a ginormous light bulb, but just God's being his absolute perfection and his holiness and his power. We just see this as glorious light. And then we go back to using glory as a way to give God glory. We want to glorify God.
Speaker 1 00:03:46 So we in a sense reflect that light back to God. So both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, this word is used of experiencing God's glory, which weight and light. The image that I thought of was just like that light that's right there. And if I had been in a completely dark sanctuary for about an hour and then Keith back in the production studio just flipped on that spotlight, you would see me go like this and immediately I shielded my eyes and I bowed down because of just experiencing that bright light. And we also use that word weight. Um, don't know if you've heard of the some person having a level of gravitas like, oh, and someone walks into the room, whoa, you can feel it. All right. I gotta be honest, if Sylvester Sloan walks into the room right now <laugh>, I'll be like, Hey, Rocky, how you doing? And he'd be like, my name's Sly. I'd be like, no, could you just be rocky right now? I'm really sorry to hear about Adrian. I would like, he'd be like, you're delusional. Like Uhhuh, he'd like meeting my hero from childhood. Good.
Speaker 1 00:05:01 So glory is heavy, weighty, radiant, pure light that emanates from God's character said another way. Glory is the substance of his significance over and above all things. And what happens when people are in front of that glory of God? They fell over as dead. They were blinded. Isaiah was speechless. He said, probably in his heart, God, I can't talk to you. And God said, I will burn your lips and purify you so that you can stand in front of me and not die. They were in utter awe anytime God gave a glimpse of his glory. So let's take a look at what the Bible says about Jesus' glory and why it was veiled at first. Um, we're gonna be in Philippians chapter two today so you can open up your Bibles or your apps to there. We'll start in verse six.
Speaker 1 00:05:57 It says, of Jesus who though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. Simply put, Jesus was God in every way. Let's go back to the verse. There's two words to illustrate Jesus' deity. He was in the form of God. And this translation phrases it equality. He did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped. Not that he wasn't equal with God. He didn't consider it something that he would hold onto at the moment. And so the form this, this word morph is God is both inwardly and outwardly fully. God. Anything that God is Jesus Christ is, he did not trade his godness. There is no distinction in deity. And the other word is the E equality. It's iso. We get words like isometric and isokinetic. Same. Jesus is exactly equal to God.
Speaker 1 00:07:08 It says elsewhere in scripture, Hebrews two and Colossians, I'm sorry, Hebrews one, I love this verse. He is the radiance of the glory of God, the exact imprint of his nature. And he upholds the universe by the word of his power. In Colossians one, he is the image of the invisible gods of the invisible God. Jesus has absolutely every trait God does. So we talk about God's attributes, we talk about his character. Jesus was the very character of God, his love, his mercy, his patience. The gospels are replete with Jesus, exhibiting God, whom John says, no one's ever seen God. But Jesus displayed him. Jesus champions justice. He praises faith in obedience. He welcomes repentance, sinners and we like to leave this out. He commands righteous behavior. Yes, Jesus accepts everybody, but he also says, go and sin no more. He says, of the woman at the, well, you're right. You don't have a husband cuz you got five it. He's okay to call out sin, but he welcomes them back. In repentance. Jesus reveals God's divine character, but he also has all of God's attributes, all those omni words. His omniscience, his omnipotence, his omnipresence, God's omniscience meaning he knows all things. Jesus displayed knowledge of people's thoughts. He displayed knowledge of people's hearts. Jesus displayed knowledge. I really love this one. He was like, you're gonna go in Jerusalem, you're gonna find donkey over there. I'm like, whoa, Jesus, do you have like MapQuest in your head? <laugh>
Speaker 1 00:08:53 He knew it. And this is, this really blows my mind. Jesus knew or knows all things actual and possible he said of a town called Som, which in the Old Testament, Sodom was a place that was so wickedly evil. God said he must destroy it so that it does not continue. Jesus said that if Sodom had seen the miracles you're seeing now, they would have remained until this day. So Jesus not only knows what is and what will happen, he knows what could be and what would've happened. And so now I think of the knowledge and the wisdom of God. I'm thinking not just as Jesus like God, Jesus, they choose the absolute best, but they choose the best with full knowledge of everything that could be. Michael says, if you knew what God knew and see, you saw what God could see, you would do what God does every single time.
Speaker 1 00:09:46 And that that blows my mind even more that all things actual and possible. Jesus is walking around playing such 4d chess. It is crazy. God's omnipotence. Anytime Jesus wanted to and was appropriate, he bent the laws of nature. He walked on water, he told the servants, oh yeah, dip your cups in there and that's gonna be wine. Now he was sleeping on a boat, his disciples were freaking out and he woke up and went be still calm the sea, everything he healed, blindness, paralysis, leprosy, a myriad of other diseases, commanding demons when appropriate, Jesus used that he had power. Now the next one is pretty tricky. Jesus' am in the presence. This is Jesus's being everywhere at every time it seems in his humanity. Jesus in bodily forms stayed right where he was. But that's not apart from his knowledge of everywhere that ever could have been.
Speaker 1 00:10:53 At the same time he knew that the donkey was over there. He knew that those people 10 miles away were thinking this. He knew what was going on. So in a way he was everywhere because he knew everything. But it just seems like he stayed in that body. But after Jesus's ascension, he has no problem saying, wherever two or three are gathered in my name, there I will be. And lo I will be with you to the ends of the earth in the great commission. So is Jesus fully God, yes, 100% from conception to death. Yes, 100%. If Jesus is anything less than God, our salvation is null and void. Only God can save forever. Only the immortal can say forever. Those who put their faith in him and Jesus' blood had to be so pure and so powerful as to save the sins of many. If he is not God, we are doomed. And right now he is being praised in heaven, angels, and the elders saying, worthy is the lamb who is slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and blessing to him who sits on the throne and to the lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever. God does not share His glory with anyone else. And Jesus is very God. He gets the same glory. God does. So Jesus is fully God. Yes. Why didn't the wise men and the shepherds
Speaker 1 00:12:24 And Mary and Joseph die immediately? The more my brain came to think about this, the more down the rabbit hole I went and I thought like as soon as the, as soon as Mary was impregnated by the spirit, why didn't her belly glow like glow like a glow worm,
Speaker 2 00:12:42 <laugh>.
Speaker 1 00:12:43 And then I thought, there's a picture if you wanna look back at my Facebook, 2009 when my daughter was born, Lauren's giving birth and I'm bored and I'm like, who do? So I'm like, Hey, it take some pictures. So I had like my backpack and I was like right there by Lauren. Like, come on Madison. I was waiting for and why didn't like Joseph open it up and go and he's dead.
Speaker 2 00:13:05 <laugh>
Speaker 1 00:13:08 Telling you my mind went to some weird places.
Speaker 2 00:13:11 <laugh>,
Speaker 1 00:13:12 Look at verse seven. Jesus emptied himself. No one can behold the glory of God and live.
Speaker 1 00:13:23 But it says Jesus emptied himself. We cannot see him in his full glory and live. And Jesus said he would do it. By the way, in John 17, this is Jesus's prayer. He said, I glorified you on earth having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now Father glorify me in your presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. Notice a couple things. Jesus did not ungod himself. Jesus did not say God, I was God with you in heaven. But now that I'm in, I'm not God. But give me back God when I come back, he just says, give me back my glory. How did that work? No idea. All right. Again, my mind went to some weird places this week and I pictured Mr. Rogers like putting on, you know, it's a beautiful day in
Speaker 2 00:14:16 The heaven leaves,
Speaker 1 00:14:18 He just changed his coats. No idea how he did it, but he did it. He did it by this way. He became human in every way. Let's continue with verse seven. He emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being found in the likeness of men. Jesus was willing to remove his glory so that he could remove our sins.
Speaker 1 00:14:48 Isaiah kind of paints this in a really neat way. It says, says this, for to us, a child is born and to us a son is given. Number one born, the child was born. Jesus was born in the most humble of ways to a seemingly illegitimate marriage to a stepdad who he who'd be considered a loser the rest of his life. Jesus would've to bear the reputation of his father, Joseph. He was born not even in a hospital or a room or anything like that, but going to an end. They said, there's no room for you here. Why don't you go where we keep the animals, the animals, which are by the way used for labor and sacrifice. Hint, hint. Jesus was born to die.
Speaker 1 00:15:38 He was born to experience humanity in the fullest. And it says a son is given in Jesus's humanity. He doesn't trade anything about being God. And then so then we're left to think, okay, Jesus, the God man, was he like superhuman, just like waiting to be revealed or like what was going on within Jesus? A hundred percent God, 100% man. And Hebrews two says this, he had to made be made like his brothers in every respect. So we know that Jesus wasn't just like pretending to be man while he was fully God and could do anything he wanted at absolutely any time he was fully human with every ounce of weakness that we have. He was man inwardly and outwardly. That phrase in Philippians is the same phrase, that form and that iso equal and literally the same. He endured every emotion that a baby, a child, a teenager, a man has. He went through the physical changes that a baby, a child, a teenager, a man has, he endured physical and emotional hardships that anyone has endured. And yet he was sinless. And so as a parent, I have a lot of questions <laugh>. So Jesus never angry, cried.
Speaker 1 00:17:17 So Jesus never punched his brother James when he was being a doofus. And now that I'm a parent of a teen, hi, mad grace Jesus never like disrespected his dad and went like Dad. And I say, spell that d a d dash u h I don't know, <laugh>. And by the way, Jesus didn't use his deity as a cheat code because when the Bible talks about Jesus was tempted in every way as we are yet without sin, therefore he is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. He is able to help us. He helps us as one that understands if Jesus would've gone through temptation as only God, the Bible says God cannot be tempted by evil Jesus' humanity. He had to endure that temptation through his humanity in order to be both merciful and faithful high priests to us. And why is his sinlessness and humanity so important?
Speaker 1 00:18:26 Look at verse eight. In being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Just like if Jesus is not fully God, our salvation is null and void. If Jesus is not fully man, our salvation is impossible. One of the attributes about God that is really cool is God cannot be harmed or hurt. That's why he does not change. With the passing of time he doesn't decay. He is absolutely invincible. Well, speaking of Jesus and Isaiah, he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities upon him, the chastisement that brought us peace. And with his wounds, we are healed. An invincible God cannot be pierced, cannot be crushed, cannot be hurt so horribly that that paid for the sins of every single person sitting in this room and every single person in the entire world. If Jesus is not man, he cannot pay for our sins.
Speaker 1 00:19:37 And that acts so loving, so selfless, so wonderfully marvelous. The next verse says this, and because of that, God highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name so that the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth. And every tongue confessed that Jesus is, Christ is Lord to the glory of God the father village church. Although Jesus' glory was veiled for a time, it is absolutely revealed right now. And Paul goes on and he writes about, Paul actually says the, the very next verse is therefore so today I just have two. So what's for you? I know it's a short sermon. It's Christmas, we have visitors. You're welcome. I only have about 8,000 words a day. So I haven't spoken for the last two days just to be ready for this <laugh>. Um, so what number one, Paul just says it, he says, work out your salvation with fear and trembling. Verse 12, therefore my beloved as you, you have always obeyed. So now, not only my presence, but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who has, who is at work in in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.
Speaker 1 00:21:05 The only reasonable response we have to Jesus' gift of his body and his blood and his life is to make him the Lord of our lives and to submit to his will. We have minute by minute, day by day, year by year choices to submit to the lord's will. And that will I know it, it is contrary to what our flesh wants. The will of the Lord is contrary to what is easy in our present culture. The will of the Lord can be contrary to just making life easy or making life look exactly the way we thought it would.
Speaker 1 00:21:48 But you know what's neat about Jesus'? And I just thought about this this week, Jesus' sinlessness says to me that he never experienced the regret because of his sin. I would love that if I didn't have the weight of my own regret, because of my own choices. When I do not choose to submit to the will of the Father, man, that would be wonderful. And so even though our flesh and our culture and our maybe our own will says, oh Lord, I don't want to do it. Jesus absolutely knows it is best for us. And we know in our heart of hearts that submitting to hill and submitting to his will and working out our salvation is absolutely necessary. So we do that. We praise him with our lives, but we can praise him with our voices. All right, now I get all right that Christmas music and Christmas songs are wonderful.
Speaker 1 00:22:48 I want them played from 12:00 PM on December 23rd to 1:00 PM on December 25th. It's marvelous. I made a few enemies here. That's okay. All right. So I get that. It's whatever it might be a challenge to be in the mood to praise Jesus to the songs that we know every year after year. You know what a challenge is not an excuse. And so when a Christmas song comes on, or, or when we have a Christmas song up here, Matt, take a breath, say a prayer, crack your neck. Make the decision to praise Jesus Christ. And we might have people in here that this is their first Christmas celebrating Jesus. I remember that very well. I didn't come to faith in Christ until I was 18 years old. And uh, you know, I had heard Christmas songs before I had gone to my buddy's Catholic church and they sang some songs like I remember Joy to the World, pretty good actually used to prank call people and sing joy to the world, to 'em. <laugh>, that's what you do when you're 14. Don't have a girlfriend. Um, so you know, let's, let's prank call people and sing Joy to the world. But my first Christmas, all right, I'm standing there singing and I'm in this church in Ohio. I'm like, I go quiet for a moment and I nudge my mentor, the man that led me, the Lord. I said, Hey, are all these gonna be about Jesus?
Speaker 1 00:24:17 The look he must have given me was like, <laugh>, are you stupid? I was like, he says, yeah, they're about Jesus. I had no idea. I mean, I could literally sing joy to the world in a prank call and just my mind was so spiritually dark, I had no idea the songs were about Jesus. Or this could be literally your 1000th time to be at a Christmas service or a Christmas Eve service. Jesus is so absolutely glorious because of who he is and what he did. God bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father. So after Dean does communion today stand up and praise Jesus with a loud voice. I make it a challenge to those of you who have the same affinity for Christmas music that I do, leave the radio on that one song and try it, but without bowing the knee my neck. So what? Um, it's hard to swallow, but it's true. There are two ways to bow the knee to Jesus by faith or by force.
Speaker 1 00:25:30 Paul wraps up his, um, talk about the deity and humanity of Jesus in saying every knee will bow of those who are on heaven and on earth and under the earth. And so by faith, we confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. We believe that he died on the cross for our sins. By faith, we humble ourselves and say, you are God and I am not. And Lord I trust you and you have saved me. Amen. I praise you. And so when you stand before God as a follower of Jesus Christ, you are not consumed or destroyed. You are saved and saved for all of eternity. But if you stand before God as one, not having put your faith and cru the weight and light, the glory of God will humiliate you. And you will confess that God is God and Jesus is king and Lord.
Speaker 1 00:26:27 But it will be too late. And so Dean is gonna come up now and he's gonna lead us in communion and explain the gospel message of how to willingly bow your knee before the Father, before it is too late. Cuz it, it will inevitably happen. And so I'm gonna pray for us now that this Christmas season we praise Jesus for who he is in all of his humanity, all of his glory, for what he has done, for who he is. And, and that as we have unbelieving friends and family members or people that are just seeking to know about Jesus, that you come to understand that the gospel is for you and can be yours today. Heavenly Father, you are, uh, to say a genius is an understatement, Lord, how you sent your son Jesus Christ, fully God and yet fully man to purchase our salvation is beyond me Lord.
Speaker 1 00:27:28 But it it Lord i in my heart of hearts, I understand it. And Lord, for those of us that call Jesus our savior, I pray that this Christmas season is one of praise and worship to you. I pray that despite the hardships that Christmas brings about and some of the craziness and the busyness, Lord, we do not lose sight of how miraculous and glorious it is. And Lord, for those that are here that do not know Jesus and are curious, are wanting to know about him, are just, um, Lord, they have not humbled themselves to confess you as Lord God. I pray that you would be working on their hearts and that Lord, they would come to be saved before it's too late. Lord, I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.
