Participants:
Series Code: AU
Program Code: AU000091S
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00:01 - This time of year, you'll see nativity scenes popping up
00:03 all over the plac,e from private homes to church yards 00:06 and other public displays. 00:08 For a brief moment, the world almost remembers that God 00:12 actually entered human history as one of us. 00:15 And today, we're gonna slow down 00:16 and ask ourselves, "Why would God do that?" 00:20 [bright upbeat music] 00:41 This is that special time of the year when a lot of people 00:43 who might not really care about Christianity 00:46 January through November, suddenly show 00:49 at least passing interest in the birth of Christ. 00:52 The TV networks and streaming services 00:54 are starting to show Christmas programming. 00:57 And if you can wade your way through 00:58 some of those terrible Hallmark movies, 01:01 you're still gonna find some content 01:03 relating to the incarnation of Christ, 01:06 that unbelievable moment when God, the Son, 01:09 entered our earthly existence as one of us, 01:12 a full fledged human being. 01:15 And so today, I'm gonna follow suit a little bit 01:18 and we're gonna turn our attention to the subject 01:20 of the incarnation 01:22 and ask ourselves why it's such an important concept. 01:26 Because, obviously, it's one of the biggest turning points 01:29 in the history of this world. 01:31 And I know there are skeptics who love to say 01:34 that Jesus wasn't real, that he's a figment 01:36 of our imagination, a convenient fiction invented 01:40 by the power brokers of this world 01:42 in order to keep the masses enslaved. 01:45 It's a very cynical tinfoil hat perspective, 01:48 to say the least. 01:50 And it's one I think we can tie at least a little bit 01:53 to the writings of Karl Marx, who brought the idea 01:56 of class struggle to the Western table. 01:59 He said, "You've got oppressors 02:01 "and you've got the oppressed." 02:03 And so, obviously, from his perspective, 02:05 the Christian Church is the oppressor 02:08 and the rest of humanity becomes the oppressed. 02:12 It was a worldview that when I was younger, 02:14 I thought was basically doomed by the fall 02:17 of the Berlin Wall in 1989. 02:19 For more than 70 years, the former Soviet Union 02:23 had tried to implement Marxism in the real world. 02:26 And it led to a massive humanitarian disaster. 02:30 Something like 100 million people were slaughtered 02:33 on the altar of Karl Marx 02:35 over the course of the 20th century. 02:37 And in the Soviet Union, 02:39 there was an awful lot of brutality, 02:41 including the willful starvation of millions by Stalin. 02:46 Instead of bringing about peace, harmony, 02:48 and equality, the Soviet Union just substituted 02:52 a new ruling class that considered average people 02:55 to be dispensable if it meant achieving 02:58 their ideological dreams. 03:00 And when they so obviously failed, 03:03 I thought that might be it. 03:05 I thought maybe we would've learned the lesson 03:08 that the politics of resentment 03:09 can only lead to moral disaster. 03:12 But alas, you're still gonna hear it today. 03:15 I'm actually alarmed that I now hear a lot 03:18 of younger people still talking about the supposed miracle 03:21 of communism as if we learn nothing from the past. 03:26 But now when you think it would be obvious 03:28 to all of us that Marx was wrong, 03:31 a disturbing number of people are still on the hunt 03:33 for oppressors, people they can blame for the pain 03:37 that comes from living in this broken world. 03:39 Now, I'm not claiming 03:41 that we've achieved perfection here in the West 03:43 because, obviously, we haven't. 03:45 We still have an awful lot of problems, 03:48 but we also don't have the state 03:50 telling us what we're allowed to believe 03:52 or threatening our lives if we've got the wrong opinion. 03:55 Although I do think there's a trend in that direction 03:59 and it's kind of disturbing. 04:00 Today, the labels are different. 04:02 It's not labor versus capital, 04:05 but it's still the language of the oppressor 04:07 and the oppressed. 04:08 And over the years, we've had people 04:10 take that idea to the church itself. 04:13 They insist that Jesus was a fictitious character 04:16 developed to keep the powerful people in charge. 04:20 [bright upbeat music] 04:21 You're gonna find these kinds of ideas circulating 04:23 on that amazing font of religious knowledge, the Internet. 04:27 But there are no serious historians 04:30 who believe that Jesus didn't exist. 04:32 The evidence is just far too overwhelming. 04:35 And the idea that the story of Jesus was invented 04:38 by powerful people to help oppress the poor 04:41 and keep them in line, well, 04:43 that's completely laughable if you take the time 04:46 to actually read the source documents. 04:48 I mean, yes, the church did behave reprehensivably 04:52 in the medieval period, and the modern church 04:55 isn't exactly blameless either. 04:57 And so I'm not denying that a lot of nominal Christians 05:00 have actually caused a lot of pain 05:02 and heartache, sometimes in the name of God. 05:06 But the horrible behavior 05:07 of Christians has always been a departure from the person 05:11 and teachings of Christ, who went out of His way 05:13 to help those who were actually being oppressed. 05:18 In the "Bible," we find this remarkable statement 05:21 in a sermon that Peter preached 05:23 after the earthly ministry of Jesus had come to an end, 05:27 Peter's speaking to a group of Gentiles 05:29 at the home of Cornelius, 05:31 a Roman centurion who was converting to Christianity 05:35 and here's what he says, "As for the word that he sent 05:39 "to Israel, preaching good news of peace 05:41 "through Jesus Christ, He is Lord of all, 05:44 "you, yourselves, know what happened throughout all Judea, 05:47 "beginning from Galilee after the baptism 05:50 "that John proclaimed: how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth 05:53 "with the Holy Spirit and with power. 05:56 "He went about doing good 05:59 "and healing all who were oppressed by the devil 06:02 "for God was with him." 06:05 So let's think about this carefully. 06:07 If the story of Jesus was invented to control you, 06:10 to keep you in your place, to make you compliant, 06:13 then that would make this book the worst piece 06:15 of propaganda ever written. 06:17 Because one of the key messages 06:19 of the first century church was liberty. 06:22 Jesus went about doing good 06:24 and setting people free from the oppression of sin. 06:28 And then Peter tells us, "This is why God sent His son." 06:31 It's the complete opposite 06:33 of what the cynics might be telling you. 06:36 I'm also reminded of a passage found in Luke's other book, 06:39 the "Gospel of Luke," 06:40 where Jesus essentially launches his public ministry 06:43 by participating in a synagogue service. 06:46 Here's what it says in Luke 4, Verse 16. 06:49 "And he came to Nazareth where he'd been brought up." 06:52 So because we're dealing with the incarnation today, 06:55 let me just stop here for a moment 06:56 and point out something kind of profound. 06:59 Jesus had a normal childhood. 07:01 He had a normal, authentic human life. 07:04 The incarnation was a central feature to who He was 07:07 and why He came, but He was human, like us. 07:11 Let's keep reading. 07:13 "And as was his custom, he went to the synagogue 07:16 "on the Sabbath day and he stood up to read. 07:19 "And the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him." 07:22 And of course, we always hear a lot from Isaiah 07:25 during the Christmas season 07:27 because he predicted the appearance of Messiah. 07:30 It continues, "He unrolled the scroll 07:33 "and found the place where it was written. 07:35 "'The spirit of the Lord is upon me, 07:37 "'because he has anointed me 07:38 "'to proclaim good news to the poor. 07:40 "'He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives 07:43 "'and recovering of sight to the blind 07:45 "'to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 07:48 "'to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.'" 07:52 So again, if this book was written by evil people 07:55 trying to enslave us, you'd have to argue 07:57 that they're not very smart evil people. 08:00 And I know that I've pointed this out on other shows, 08:02 but let me say it again because it's just so important. 08:06 Back in the days of American 08:08 and Caribbean slavery, there were slave owners 08:11 who did not want their slaves to read the "Bible." 08:14 Why? Because it would give them the idea 08:16 that God prizes personal liberty. 08:19 So eventually, someone produced a heavily redacted "Bible" 08:23 with most of the content removed. 08:25 Today, we call it the "Slave Bible" 08:28 and it only included the passages 08:30 that didn't reveal how God feels about oppressing people. 08:35 So again, if this book is really propaganda 08:38 written by powerful church people 08:40 who intend to subjugate me, 08:42 let me tell you this, they did a bad job of it. 08:45 I mean, just ask yourself, 08:47 "Why does the Chinese government 08:48 "bulldoze Christian home churches 08:50 "and persecute the followers of Christ?" 08:53 It's not because the story of Jesus is useful 08:55 for keeping peasants in line. 08:58 Snd speaking about my place, 09:00 it's time for a really quick break, 09:02 but I'll be right back after this. 09:04 [bright upbeat music] 09:07 - [Narrataor] Here at The Voice of Prophecy, 09:09 we're committed to creating top quality programming 09:11 for the whole family, 09:13 like our audio adventure series, "Discovery Mountain." 09:16 "Discovery Mountain" is a "Bible"-based program 09:18 for kids of all ages and backgrounds. 09:21 Your family will enjoy the faith building stories 09:23 from this small mountain summer camp town. 09:26 With 24 seasonal episodes every year 09:29 and fresh content every week, 09:31 there's always a new adventure just on the horizon. 09:37 - In the earliest years of the Christian movement, 09:39 the subject of the incarnation of Christ 09:42 proved to be, well, a little tricky for some people. 09:45 On the one hand, you had people with a Greek bit 09:48 who thought the idea that God would become a physical human 09:51 utterly ludicrous, 09:53 and it's the word physical that they had a problem with. 09:56 From the Greek perspective, the created material universe 09:59 is flawed and you can only find true perfection 10:02 somewhere out there in the non-physical realm. 10:05 So the idea that a perfect holy God 10:07 could adopt a physical human presence 10:09 seemed, well, ridiculous. 10:11 A good example of this would be an early heretic 10:14 from the second century named Marcion, 10:16 and that's Marcion with a C 10:17 as opposed to someone from the planet Mars. 10:21 Marcion believed that the world had been created 10:23 by an inferior deity they called the demiurge 10:27 and he said, "Jesus came to fix the demiurge's mistakes." 10:31 It was agnostic approach to Christianity, 10:33 and, of course, it was roundly condemned 10:35 by most of the church. 10:37 And among the ideas that Marcion insisted on 10:39 was the notion that Jesus' body only seemed to be human. 10:43 "It was an illusion because a perfect God," he said, 10:46 "would never condescend to our level." 10:49 So from that perspective, he said that Jesus was only divine 10:54 and not divine and human. 10:57 If you want a word for his idea, 10:59 it's Docetism from a Greek word that means illusion. 11:03 So to these people, the Marcionites, 11:05 the incarnation was nothing, but an illusion. 11:09 But then on the other hand, we also had people 11:11 who pushed the needle in the opposite direction, 11:13 insisting that Jesus was only human. 11:15 He may have been special, he may have been called God's son, 11:19 but at the end of the day, he was just a human being. 11:22 A good example of that kind 11:24 of thinking was a guy named Cerinthus 11:26 who was contemporary to the Apostle John. 11:29 In fact, there's quite a bit of evidence suggesting 11:32 that John may have actually written his gospel, 11:34 at least, in part, as a response to this guy. 11:38 Cerinthus denied the virgin birth, the Christmas story 11:42 and said that Jesus was just a regular guy 11:44 with two normal parents 11:46 and that he was possessed 11:47 by the Spirit of Messiah at his baptism. 11:50 And then he lost his special status 11:53 the moment he was crucified. 11:55 "He may have had a divine mission," Cerinthus said, 11:58 "But he was really just human." 12:01 Now, both of these approaches 12:02 are kind of understandable when you examine the person 12:05 of Christ from a strictly logical position 12:08 the way that a Greek philosopher might do it. 12:11 Our logic tells us that you can't have two natures 12:14 at the same time. 12:15 You can't be God and human, but it's the wrong conclusion 12:19 because it's not what God says about the subject. 12:23 The truth of the matter, as often happens with the "Bible," 12:26 actually lies in the tension 12:27 between those two different things. 12:29 On one end of the heresy spectrum, we have people who say 12:33 that Jesus was nothing but human. 12:35 And then on the other end, 12:36 we have those who insist that he was only divine. 12:39 But the way the "Bible" talks about it, Jesus was both, 12:43 fully God and fully human at the very same time. 12:48 In other words, what we see in Jesus 12:50 is what God would look like if He was a human being. 12:54 And that's where the Christmas season 12:56 gives us a lot of cause to really think 12:59 about human existence. 13:01 And I suppose, we could get bogged down 13:02 in a lot of theological hair splitting 13:04 because nobody has completely wrapped his 13:08 or her mind around how the incarnation works. 13:11 I actually had to tell somebody that 13:12 in a letter the other day, I don't know how it works, 13:16 but I will say this, when Christians say that Jesus 13:19 is fully God and fully human, 13:22 it doesn't mean that he's 50% of each. 13:25 He's both, 100% at the very same time. 13:29 And it also doesn't mean that he switches modes, 13:32 sometimes flipping on the human switch 13:34 and other times flipping on the God switch. 13:37 Although, you will see moments when his divinity 13:40 absolutely flashes through his humanity, 13:43 these moments where Jesus suddenly reveals his divine power, 13:47 like the time he told Nathaniel that he already knew 13:50 who he was because he had seen him sitting under a tree 13:53 before they ever met. 13:56 So why is the birth of Christ such an important development 13:59 in the story of the "Bible"? 14:01 Today, a lot of Christians focus on his death 14:03 and resurrection because we understand, 14:06 we can't be saved without those things. 14:08 It was at the cross, after all, that Jesus took the penalty 14:11 for my sins on Himself. 14:15 But, you know, it's not just the death 14:16 and resurrection of Christ that saves us 14:18 because, well, in that case, 14:20 He could have just manifested himself as a fully grown adult 14:23 and gone straight to the cross 14:25 without having to spend about three decades 14:28 living a very difficult life. 14:31 But that life, that authentic human life, also matters. 14:37 It means that God, the Son, is one of us. 14:39 And the "Bible" reveals that He stays that way forever. 14:43 I mean, don't forget, when Jesus rose from the dead 14:46 and His disciples were trying to wrap their heads 14:48 around the fact that He'd come back from the grave, 14:51 He invited them to touch Him to make sure 14:54 that He was still a real person 14:55 and not some kind of apparition. 14:58 In fact, Jesus also ate something to prove the point 15:01 and the piece of fish He ate didn't fall 15:04 through His ghostly presence and land on the floor 15:06 because He was real. 15:10 And then in Acts, Chapter 1, 15:11 the disciples were told that this same Jesus 15:14 would come back someday. 15:16 In other words, that same physical person. 15:19 So what that means is that the incarnation 15:22 of Christ was not temporary. 15:24 That baby in the manger, that's a permanent deal. 15:28 In fact, you'll notice, 15:29 when you're reading the New Testament, 15:31 that Jesus gets several titles, Rabbi, Son of David, 15:35 Son of God, and, of course, Son of Man. 15:38 And it's that last one, the Son of Man, 15:40 that Jesus uses the most. 15:43 He could have chosen to emphasize His divinity, 15:45 which is what we would probably do 15:47 because how do you not underline something like that 15:50 when you're dealing with people 15:51 who are clearly inferior to you? 15:54 But no, Jesus seemed to underline his human identity 15:57 calling himself the Son of Man, but why? 16:04 Why is it so important that Jesus 16:05 started in that manger in Bethlehem? 16:07 Well, biblically speaking, we can find all kinds of reasons. 16:10 Back in Genesis 3, immediately after the compromise, 16:13 the fall of the human race, God promised that the seed 16:17 of the woman was gonna come and fix things. 16:20 Messiah, in other words, would come from the human race. 16:23 And, of course, God essentially makes the same promise 16:26 to Abraham over in Genesis, Chapter 12 where he says this, 16:32 "And I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you 16:35 "and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 16:38 "I will bless those who bless you 16:40 "and him who dishonors you, I will curse. 16:42 "And in you, all the families of the Earth 16:45 "shall be blessed." 16:47 Now, that promise doesn't specifically mention Messiah, 16:51 but as you read through the rest of the narrative, 16:52 right through to the end of the book, 16:54 you quickly discover that Christ was the real blessing 16:58 that came from Abraham. 16:59 Here's the way that Paul describes it in his letter 17:02 to the church in Galatia, he says, 17:05 "Now, the promises were made to Abraham 17:07 "and to his offspring. 17:08 "It does not say, 'And to offsprings,' referring to many, 17:12 "but referring to one, 'And to your offspring,' 17:15 "who is Christ." 17:17 And then he goes on to explain that you 17:19 and I can be adopted into the family of Abraham. 17:23 We consider ourselves to be Abraham's descendants 17:26 through Christ. 17:27 So right out of the gate, we know that the birth 17:29 of Christ in Bethlehem was really, really important 17:33 if for no other reason than God was keeping his promise. 17:37 But, of course, that's not really the complete answer 17:39 we're looking for because it makes it look like 17:42 this is just a matter of heavenly bookkeeping, 17:45 just a matter of checking off prophetic boxes 17:47 on God's to-do list. 17:49 And it still doesn't tell us why. 17:52 And this is where it proves very important to sit down 17:57 and read the whole "Bible." 17:58 I know I'm a bit of a broken record. 18:00 I say that every single week, read the whole book 18:03 because there are a lot more answers 18:05 in here than most people think. 18:07 And those answers make really good sense. 18:10 I mean, let's face it, it's the Christmas season. 18:13 And so a lot of people are cracking open "Bibles" 18:15 for one evening to read that famous passage from the gospel 18:19 of Luke, the one with the nativity scene. 18:22 But maybe this year, let me challenge you 18:24 to read your "Bible" again the next day 18:26 and the day after that and the day after that. 18:29 And I promise you, by the time you get to next Christmas, 18:33 you're gonna have a radically different perspective 18:35 on the whole world. 18:36 And now, it's time for another quick break. 18:39 But don't you touch that dial and don't you click that mouse 18:43 because I'll be right back after this. 18:45 [bright upbeat music] 18:49 - [Voiceover] Dragons, beasts, cryptic statues, 18:53 "Bible" prophecy can be incredibly vivid and confusing. 18:58 If you've ever read "Daniel, a Revelation" 19:00 and come away scratching your head, you are not alone. 19:03 Our free focus on prophecy guides are designed 19:06 to help you unlock the mysteries of the "Bible" 19:08 and deepen your understanding of God's plan 19:11 for you and our world. 19:12 Study online or request them by mail 19:15 and start bringing prophecy into focus Today. 19:19 - Today, in the spirit of the season, 19:20 we've been asking why it's so important for God 19:23 to come as a real flesh and blood authentic human being. 19:27 And, of course, there's no way we can answer 19:30 that in a half-hour to everybody's satisfaction. 19:33 All I can really hope to do is start you on the path 19:36 to discovery, so you can begin to discover 19:38 for you self why this matters. 19:41 But maybe, let me just cruise through 19:43 a few more "Bible" verses, 19:44 so that you've got a good starting point. 19:47 And if you feel like you might want a little more help 19:49 getting started studying, maybe go over to biblestudies.com 19:56 and take a look at our free "Discover Bible" course. 19:57 Just think of it as a Christmas gift from the good people 20:01 at the Voice of Prophecy. 20:03 But for right now, let's go over to the book of Hebrews, 20:06 which underlines one very important reason 20:09 that Christ became a real human being. 20:11 Listen to what it says in Hebrews, Chapter 4. 20:14 "Since, therefore, the children share in flesh 20:17 "and blood, he, himself, likewise, 20:19 "partook of the same things, that through death 20:22 "he might destroy the one who has the power of death, 20:25 "that is, the devil, and deliver all those 20:27 "who, through fear of death, 20:29 "were subject to lifelong slavery." 20:32 So again, you'll notice, that's the opposite of oppression. 20:36 It continues in Verse 16. 20:39 "For surely it is not angels that he helps, 20:41 "but he helps the offspring of Abraham. 20:43 "Therefore, he had to be made like his brothers 20:46 "in every respect, so that he might become a merciful 20:49 "and faithful high priest in the service of God, 20:52 "to make propitiation for the sins of the people, 20:55 "for because he, himself, has suffered when tempted, 20:58 "he is able to help those who are being tempted." 21:02 Now, there's an awful lot of material there, 21:05 but here are a few little takeaways. 21:07 First, we know that the wages of sin is death 21:10 because it compromises our intimate tie to the only source 21:14 of life in this universe. 21:16 When you push away your life source, 21:18 you can just guess what happens next. 21:20 So when order to save us, Jesus came and died in our place. 21:24 He conquered the grave, He died on my behalf, 21:29 and He had to be a human being to do that. 21:32 Secondly, and this is a big one, 21:34 He also demonstrated very powerfully that He understands us, 21:39 the God that Christians pray to, He's been here, 21:42 He knows exactly how weak and compromised we are. 21:46 He's been hungry and tired 21:48 and rejected, subjecting Himself to an honest to goodness, 21:52 real, authentic human experience. 21:55 And for that reason, you can approach the throne 21:58 of God boldly. 21:59 The Bible says you can go to the throne knowing 22:02 that, A, God knows exactly who and what you are, 22:05 and B, He loves you in spite of that. 22:09 So the incarnation of Christ underlines the fact 22:11 that God has entered the arena with us as one of us. 22:16 In spite of what we've done, 22:18 God didn't cut our mooring rope and push us away. 22:22 In fact, He got even closer 22:25 because God is driven by unselfish love. 22:29 But then we also have the matter of living the perfect life. 22:33 When we were originally created, 22:35 our human existence was supposed 22:36 to highlight the love of the Creator. 22:39 We were made in God's image and in our original state, 22:42 we were a vivid expression of who God is. 22:45 But then after the fall, 22:47 our lives essentially became a lie 22:49 about the one who made us. 22:51 Someone could point to our senseless cruelty 22:54 and our selfishness and they could defame God by saying, 22:57 "Would you look at that? 22:58 "Is that the work of a loving God?" 23:01 And you know that's what people do. 23:04 I mean, if if there was a court case deciding whether 23:06 or not God could be trusted, you wouldn't want my life 23:10 to be exhibit A, but you would want the life of Christ 23:13 because He's the only human being 23:14 whoever exhibited the character of God perfectly. 23:18 And what He does, unbelievably, is offer 23:22 to pull your paperwork out of heaven's filing cabinet 23:25 and replace it with His own. 23:27 So now, when somebody asks the question, 23:29 "Did Shawn's life reflect the glory of God?" 23:32 Well, under the terms of the covenant that God has made 23:35 with us, when they go to pull my file, 23:37 they're gonna find the perfect life of Christ instead. 23:41 He offers His righteousness as a gift. 23:45 You and I are now Abraham's offspring. 23:47 Paul describes it like this, "For as many of you 23:51 "as we're baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 23:54 "There is neither Jew nor Greek, 23:56 "there is neither slave nor free, 23:58 "there is no male and female, 23:59 "for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 24:02 "And if you are Christ's, 24:03 "then you are Abraham's offspring, 24:05 "heirs according to the promise." 24:08 So in other words, because of the incarnation, 24:11 Jesus can be our substitute. 24:14 In 1st Corinthians 15, 24:15 Paul explains that all of us fell when Adam did. 24:19 We were born with a tendency to sin, 24:21 hardwired for selfishness. 24:23 The decision to turn against God's will 24:25 had permanent consequences for all of us. 24:29 But now, Christ becomes the last Adam, 24:32 and he succeeds where the first Adam failed. 24:35 In fact, he succeeds where all of us fail. 24:38 And now, you can be moved from column A, 24:40 descendants of the fallen Adam 24:42 to column B, a part of the family of Christ. 24:46 I'll be right back after this. 24:48 [bright upbeat music] 24:52 - [Announcer] Life can throw a lot at us. 24:54 Sometimes we don't have all the answers, 24:58 but that's where the "Bible" comes in. 25:00 It's our guide to a more fulfilling life. 25:03 Here, at the Voice of Prophecy, 25:05 we've created the "Discover Bible" guides 25:07 to be your guide to the "Bible." 25:08 They're designed to be simple, easy to use, 25:11 and provide answers to many of life's toughest questions. 25:14 And they're absolutely free. 25:16 So jump online now or give us a call 25:18 and start your journey of discovery. 25:21 - Let's wrap up today by reading 25:23 what some Christians call the "Magnificat," 25:25 the prayer that Mary uttered when she found out 25:27 she was carrying the Christ child. 25:29 Here's what she said in Luke, Chapter 1, 25:32 "And Mary said, 'My soul magnifies the Lord 25:34 "'and my spirit rejoices in God, my Savior, 25:37 "for he has looked on the humblest state of his servant. 25:40 "'For behold, from now on, 25:42 "'all generations will call me blessed, 25:44 "'for he who is mighty, has done great things for me 25:47 "'and holy is his name. 25:49 "'And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation 25:52 "'to generation. 25:53 "'He has shown strength with his arm. 25:56 "'He has scattered the proud 25:57 "'in the thoughts of their hearts. 25:59 "'He has brought down the mighty from their thrones 26:01 "'and exalted those of humble estate. 26:03 "'He has filled the hungry with good things 26:05 "'and the rich, he has sent away empty. 26:08 "'He has helped his servant Israel 26:09 "'in remembrance of his mercy 26:11 "'as he spoke to our fathers, to Abraham 26:14 "'and to his offspring forever.'" 26:17 So again, if the story of Christ's birth, the idea of God 26:20 and human flesh was invented by a church to subjugate us, 26:25 they picked the wrong book 26:26 because the incarnation of Christ was an act of God 26:29 designed to set you free. 26:32 And I've got to tell you, that baby in Bethlehem, 26:35 the idea that God cared enough to actually join us 26:38 as one of us, that's the most liberating idea in the world. 26:42 Because if God cared for us that much, 26:45 if He was willing to pay that much to save you, 26:48 well, you know He values you. 26:50 I know that some of you grew up thinking 26:51 God's trying to get rid of you. 26:53 So sometimes I like to say, 26:54 I don't think God's an unwise investor. 26:57 What are the chances, 26:59 after going to those lengths to save you, 27:01 that He's gonna try and find a reason to reject you? 27:06 If you struggle with the idea that God actually loves you, 27:08 ask yourself this. 27:10 "Given the amount of pain that you've suffered, 27:13 "would you choose living in this place 27:14 "knowing what you know?" 27:16 Probably not, and yet, that's what God did. 27:19 He chose this place knowing full well what kind 27:22 of life He could expect. 27:24 The prophet Isaiah predicted that Jesus would be, 27:26 "A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," 27:30 who would be, "Despised and rejected," 27:32 and He came here anyway. 27:35 That little baby in Bethlehem 27:37 is God's guarantee that He cares. 27:39 What Christians celebrate this time 27:41 of year is not just a birthday. 27:43 They're celebrating that God became one of us, 27:46 so that you could know that He can save you 27:49 and you can know that He understands you. 27:52 Jesus lived a perfect life because He knows you can't, 27:55 and He's eager to see you fully restored. 27:58 He knows that you are weak and frail, a spiritual infant. 28:02 So He joined us. 28:04 This was God stepping into our story to clean it up. 28:10 Thanks for watching, Merry Christmas. 28:12 I'm Shawn Boonstra, and this has been "Authentic." 28:15 [gentle upbeat music] |
Revised 2023-12-18