WEBVTT 00:00:04.240 --> 00:00:08.640 Hello, I'm Pastor Craig, and thank you for tuning in to New Sun Churches Podcast. 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:15.359 We're a gospel center church and work here in Ontario for believing the true and life-giving word of Jesus as we love and serve our neighbors. 00:00:15.599 --> 00:00:18.000 May God bless you today through his life-giving word. 00:00:21.359 --> 00:00:27.679 Our second reading today is taken from the book of 1 John, chapter 1, verses 1 through 10. 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:39.520 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands concerning the word of life. 00:00:39.840 --> 00:00:51.920 The life was made manifest, and we have seen it and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us. 00:00:52.399 --> 00:00:59.439 That which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us. 00:00:59.840 --> 00:01:05.519 And indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. 00:01:05.760 --> 00:01:10.079 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. 00:01:10.879 --> 00:01:19.760 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaimed to you that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 00:01:20.239 --> 00:01:27.920 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 00:01:28.239 --> 00:01:37.840 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 00:01:38.719 --> 00:01:44.799 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:55.519 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 00:01:56.159 --> 00:02:02.640 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 00:02:14.719 --> 00:02:22.319 Lord, we just ask that anything that is distracting us from this week would just fall away, and that you would draw us to yourself. 00:02:22.479 --> 00:02:24.000 And I pray us in Jesus' name. 00:02:24.319 --> 00:02:24.960 Amen. 00:02:25.360 --> 00:02:26.639 Please be seated. 00:02:33.919 --> 00:02:41.360 If I start coughing during this sermon, it's just because I have something in my throat today, so my voice is a bit shaky. 00:02:47.919 --> 00:02:54.800 Now in a court case, there's always um there's always witnesses that come up to give their testimony about something. 00:02:54.960 --> 00:03:00.080 If uh if the court case is about maybe a murder, a robbery, or something of that nature. 00:03:00.319 --> 00:03:06.719 They always have people who come who give a testimony to what has taken place within the what they've seen. 00:03:06.960 --> 00:03:13.840 And during their witnesses, the the witnesses are normally cross-examined by the opposite party that's taking place there. 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:25.199 And when they when they examine them, if it comes out that they find out that they've lied, or if they actually weren't there, their testimony immediately becomes uh null. 00:03:25.360 --> 00:03:31.919 It becomes disqualified, and they have to leave because they're no longer fit to be a witness or give testimony. 00:03:32.400 --> 00:03:46.800 Or if you're listening to someone tell a story, and they were they start giving the story, and it's a long story, and it goes and goes, and then you start to notice that it starts to contradict itself, and then you ask them about it, and it turns out they weren't actually there. 00:03:46.960 --> 00:03:48.639 They were just telling a good story. 00:03:48.800 --> 00:03:51.599 You wouldn't trust them after that when they give a story. 00:03:51.919 --> 00:04:02.719 The writer John, the Apostle John, of the text that we're looking at today in his letter, was an eyewitness and disciple of Jesus, and he was a very close friend of Jesus. 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:08.080 And I just want to take a moment to point out that he was a close friend of Jesus. 00:04:08.240 --> 00:04:13.840 He says it says in the Gospel that he was the one that Jesus loved as a close friend. 00:04:14.080 --> 00:04:17.680 That is something that you know what it's like to have a close friend. 00:04:17.839 --> 00:04:19.759 You have this relationship with them. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:25.360 You know what makes them tick, you know what makes them laugh, you know what frustrates them, you know their favorite food. 00:04:25.519 --> 00:04:30.480 And this is the writer that's writing to us right now in the letter of 1 John. 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:41.279 It's something that we need to remember as he writes, because it's it's so easy to gloss over these things that the disciples, the eyewitnesses, were very close friends of Jesus. 00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:45.759 They walked with him, they saw him in every aspect of his ministry life. 00:04:46.000 --> 00:04:49.680 And John is writing his letter to speak against false teachers. 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:53.920 People are saying that Jesus is not divine, but only human. 00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:58.000 And he's also writing because people are saying that everyone will be saved. 00:04:58.079 --> 00:04:59.120 Do what you want. 00:04:59.360 --> 00:05:02.480 So as we come to this letter, we need to keep that in mind. 00:05:02.720 --> 00:05:04.079 So, how do we approach this? 00:05:04.240 --> 00:05:06.560 How do we approach John's letter? 00:05:06.879 --> 00:05:12.399 Well, we're going to approach it three ways in the first ten verses that we're looking at. 00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:16.800 The apostles' testimony is true and trustworthy. 00:05:17.199 --> 00:05:20.879 The gospel saves, gives fellowship and joy. 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:25.360 Humbleness and vulnerability keep you in light and truth. 00:05:25.519 --> 00:05:30.720 So in your Boltons, turn to 1 John chapter 1, verses 1 to 10. 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:33.519 Or if you have your Bible, it's really helpful that you can turn there. 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:35.439 Because then you can see what comes after that. 00:05:35.519 --> 00:05:40.240 Because there's amazing verses that come after it, but we're not going to get into that in this sermon. 00:05:41.279 --> 00:05:45.519 So, point one, the apostle's testimony is true and trustworthy. 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:46.639 Verse 1. 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:58.079 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life. 00:05:58.800 --> 00:06:03.439 Now, if you might have noticed this book or this letter has no intro. 00:06:03.600 --> 00:06:04.800 And that's very interesting. 00:06:04.879 --> 00:06:10.879 It's the what's this letter and then the Hebrew letter are the only two letters that have no intro. 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:13.519 The writers are getting right to the point. 00:06:13.680 --> 00:06:18.720 They don't have any of the greetings, which are very important when you break them down. 00:06:18.879 --> 00:06:26.319 But the writer here, John, is getting right into the point because what he's talking about concerns everything. 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:29.199 It is so important that what he's writing about. 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:33.040 So he skips the niceties and he goes right to the point. 00:06:33.199 --> 00:06:34.639 And that's what he's getting at here. 00:06:34.720 --> 00:06:40.959 And you might be thinking, I know John, his uh his writing can be confusing at times. 00:06:41.199 --> 00:06:45.439 When I first read um the Gospel of John, I had no idea what was going on. 00:06:45.680 --> 00:07:00.079 There he is um sometimes he comes off a bit as philosophical, but when you break it apart, he is his writing is so deep and so rich that you can you can like chew on it for many, many years, like for the rest of your life. 00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:02.000 It's his writing is so rich. 00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:12.800 And when he says that which was from the beginning concerning the word of life, you might be thinking, including myself, when I first read this way back when, was what is he talking about? 00:07:13.040 --> 00:07:14.160 What is he talking about? 00:07:14.319 --> 00:07:18.000 That which was from the beginning concerning the word of life. 00:07:18.319 --> 00:07:26.480 See, what John is doing here is as he writes about these false teachers and their false doctrine and what they're teaching, he is going right after it. 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:31.439 He is saying the word of life was before the world was created. 00:07:31.759 --> 00:07:35.199 It has a divine origin, it was before creation. 00:07:35.759 --> 00:07:38.639 And what he's who he's talking about, he's talking about Jesus. 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:40.160 He's getting right to the point. 00:07:40.319 --> 00:07:49.279 And this is so significant because when he says the word of life, when he's talking about the word of life, he is saying God's word. 00:07:49.920 --> 00:08:04.560 If you remember Genesis 1, when when that gives the account of the creation narrative, it repeatedly says, and God said, and it was, and God said, and it was, and it was good, and God said, and what it was. 00:08:04.720 --> 00:08:08.959 That is so important because when God speaks, life happens. 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:11.920 And that's what he's that's what John is getting at here. 00:08:12.079 --> 00:08:20.399 And he keeps you got to think about this, because all through the Bible, in the Old Testament, it's always God speaking, and then there's life. 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:26.160 In Genesis 2 and 3, the fall happens, then he promises a redeemer through his word. 00:08:26.560 --> 00:08:31.439 And then he speaks through covenants through his word that he promises a redeemer. 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:39.200 And then he speaks through his prophets, and it's his word speaking through them, that he will send a redeemer, he will send life. 00:08:39.600 --> 00:08:49.919 And if John stopped here in his writing, or if the Bible stopped here in the writing, that it was only spoken, it would end up, it would make us be skeptical. 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:51.200 How could we trust it? 00:08:51.360 --> 00:08:52.240 No one was there. 00:08:52.320 --> 00:08:56.399 We don't know who was there at the beginning, but it doesn't end there. 00:08:56.559 --> 00:09:01.039 Because when we look at the text again, let's look at it again, verses one to three this time. 00:09:01.279 --> 00:09:13.360 That which was from the beginning, which we have seen, or which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life. 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:23.919 The life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify it to it and proclaim to you eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us. 00:09:24.399 --> 00:09:27.919 That which we have seen and heard, we proclaim also to you. 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:31.600 Did you notice how he describes this? 00:09:31.919 --> 00:09:37.440 He says, We have heard, we have seen, we have touched with our hands. 00:09:37.759 --> 00:09:49.759 I remember when me and Amy were um starting to date, and there it went when it went from this idea of that we're dating to when we've held our hands for the first time. 00:09:49.919 --> 00:09:51.200 It becomes real. 00:09:51.519 --> 00:10:02.080 And that's what's going on here is that John is saying that it is no longer this word that we've been told, that it has become real, that we have touched it. 00:10:02.240 --> 00:10:05.120 The word of life has become manifest. 00:10:05.279 --> 00:10:09.360 It's no longer this thing that's up in the air, this promise that we've heard. 00:10:09.440 --> 00:10:15.840 It's become physical and it's entered into history, into the world, in the timeline of the world. 00:10:16.080 --> 00:10:22.399 And also something that we can rest in is that when it says we, us, are, that's plural. 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:24.399 That means there's many witnesses. 00:10:24.559 --> 00:10:28.000 It's not just one guy giving an account of something. 00:10:28.159 --> 00:10:37.519 Is that there's many people here, with here with him, and that they would, if he was saying something contrary, they would point that out and say you're wrong. 00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:44.879 But there's people to support the testimony, and it gives it more credibility that we can trust with. 00:10:45.440 --> 00:10:51.440 And the thing about the apostles' testimony is that it is true and that it is trustworthy. 00:10:51.840 --> 00:10:58.480 Because if you think about it, you might be thinking, well, Matt, the gospels have contradictions all over them. 00:10:59.039 --> 00:11:09.679 But the thing about a court testimonies, in court, when they have many witnesses come up testifying about the same thing that's happened, it is never exactly the same. 00:11:09.840 --> 00:11:10.399 It's never. 00:11:10.480 --> 00:11:18.320 And if it was, they would get rid of all those witnesses and they would say they made they met together and made a plan of what they were going to say. 00:11:18.559 --> 00:11:24.480 What in a court case, what they're looking for is the through line of the truth in the testimony. 00:11:24.639 --> 00:11:32.320 There might be discrepancies about like it happened at 9 o'clock, but it happened at 12 o'clock, or stuff like that, or it was sunny or it was raining. 00:11:32.480 --> 00:11:36.240 But what they're looking for is the truth within the testimony. 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:38.799 And that's what's going on with the Gospels. 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:42.000 They're arranged in a certain way to point to Jesus. 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:47.919 But there's truth in them because they all give the same account in a sense. 00:11:48.639 --> 00:11:51.759 God's word has become manifest, John is saying. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:56.559 Manifest means clear, visible, reveal, promised. 00:11:56.960 --> 00:12:01.679 The promised word of life is revealed in Jesus, in the infant. 00:12:02.639 --> 00:12:06.480 And you might be thinking, well, if that's true, what does it matter? 00:12:06.639 --> 00:12:12.399 Well, point two the gospel saves, gives fellowship, and joy. 00:12:12.639 --> 00:12:15.120 Let's look at verses three and four. 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:27.600 That which we have seen and heard, we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us, and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. 00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:32.879 We are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. 00:12:34.240 --> 00:12:36.960 So you might be thinking, well, what's so good about this? 00:12:37.440 --> 00:12:44.559 Well, what's so good about the Gospels is that there's the thing that's so interesting, the gospel just means good news. 00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:50.080 And we live in a world that promises so many gospels, so many good news stories. 00:12:50.320 --> 00:12:52.159 You can just think of so many of them. 00:12:52.240 --> 00:12:59.200 And it's coming up to Christmas, and Santa Claus can be a gospel that if you do good, you get things in return. 00:12:59.759 --> 00:13:09.679 But there's also these other gospels that tell you that if you could define your own life, define your own meaning, do your own thing, no one else will tell you what to do. 00:13:09.840 --> 00:13:15.360 You'll be successful, you'll be happy, you'll live a long life, you'll feel satisfied. 00:13:15.759 --> 00:13:18.879 Or we can turn the lens and look at Christianity. 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:28.399 And you might hear in some churches that God taught that we should help all the marginalized, that no one will be rejected, everyone is saved. 00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:37.279 Or you might hear in other churches that you need to try harder, you need to measure up, you need to follow these rules in order to be holy. 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:44.720 The thing is, both these have truth elements in them, but they're both false. 00:13:45.840 --> 00:13:48.480 And this is not the gospel that Jesus taught. 00:13:48.799 --> 00:13:50.159 So what is it? 00:13:50.559 --> 00:13:59.840 Well, you hear me and Creighton up here all the time saying Jesus died for you, he took our punishment, he took what we deserved, and that is correct. 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:01.120 That is the cross. 00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:03.679 The cross of Jesus is everything. 00:14:03.919 --> 00:14:10.480 That is Jesus dying for us, taking our sins, so we can stand before God blameless. 00:14:11.279 --> 00:14:13.120 But there's more to it than that. 00:14:13.360 --> 00:14:14.399 There's more to it. 00:14:14.559 --> 00:14:18.879 Today is Advent 1, so we have Christmas on our minds. 00:14:20.080 --> 00:14:24.240 We have Christmas on our minds, we have thoughts about what kind of presents we're gonna buy. 00:14:24.480 --> 00:14:27.519 Mariah Carey songs are blasting on the radio. 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:34.960 Um but the gospel is the cross of Christ, but it doesn't start there. 00:14:35.440 --> 00:14:42.080 It starts with a baby entering into the world, God dwelling among us. 00:14:42.639 --> 00:14:50.720 And the thing that's so profound about a baby entering the world is that it is in a sense helpless. 00:14:51.120 --> 00:14:53.200 A baby can't do anything. 00:14:53.600 --> 00:15:04.799 So what it's what that means, that God came into the world through a baby, is that God humbled himself so much to be a baby, to be taken care of. 00:15:05.440 --> 00:15:09.679 Because the thing is, we will never get to God on our own. 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:11.440 He comes to us. 00:15:12.240 --> 00:15:21.519 Fellowship with the Father and the Son is fellowship with the Father and the Son is promised to those who put their faith and trust in Jesus. 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:36.080 And that is a profound thing, and that's what John's talking about here in these opening verses, is that when you trust in Jesus, it's not just that this hypothetical thing happens. 00:15:36.159 --> 00:15:38.159 It's that you are given a family. 00:15:38.399 --> 00:15:43.759 It's a family in the present here among us, but it's also a family in heaven. 00:15:44.000 --> 00:15:47.840 We have a father and we have Jesus Christ the advocate for us. 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:51.519 If you read further on in 1 John, that's what it says. 00:15:52.240 --> 00:16:00.720 It's a profound thing that John is trying to show here is that before the beginning of creation, the word of life was there. 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:10.480 And then as God came into the world, he came into the form of baby, and the word of life became flesh and dwelt among us, was manifested to us. 00:16:10.960 --> 00:16:15.600 And what's promised is that you get fellowship and you get joy and you get salvation. 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:19.200 And this joy is so profound. 00:16:19.360 --> 00:16:23.919 And you might be thinking to yourself, well, I'm I'm a Christian, but I don't have much joy. 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:25.679 See, that's a superficial joy. 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:31.600 What the joy is talking about here is that you could have joy in any situation in your life. 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:38.879 One commentator said that this is the secret of Christianity, is that you can have joy in all situations. 00:16:39.440 --> 00:16:55.039 And what that means is that you could be having going through a horrible time in your life, but you have this sense of joy that God is with you, walking with you, and that you have this future hope that one day everything will be made right. 00:16:55.279 --> 00:17:08.160 And that is a great truth, and that is a great promise that what John is talking about here, and that is one of the core elements of the gospel, is that there's joy to be found. 00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:15.440 It is not something that is burdensome, it's not something that pulls us down, but it's something that gives us great joy. 00:17:15.519 --> 00:17:19.039 And no other joy in this world, nothing else can do that for you. 00:17:19.200 --> 00:17:20.400 It will fail. 00:17:21.599 --> 00:17:25.039 John gives a profound opener to his letter. 00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:30.640 What he says is that our testimony is trustworthy and true. 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:41.440 We dwelt with the manifested Savior, the one that we were told as we grew up that there is this great promise that God gave, and that is in the form of Jesus. 00:17:41.759 --> 00:17:44.880 And then he goes on to say the gospel saves you. 00:17:45.200 --> 00:17:54.319 The gospel gives you fellowship, family, it gives you a father, gives you a brother of Jesus, and then it gives you joy. 00:17:55.440 --> 00:17:58.559 But look what he says next in the next verses. 00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:00.799 So we'll go into point three. 00:18:01.039 --> 00:18:06.079 Humbleness and vulnerability keep you in light and truth. 00:18:06.400 --> 00:18:07.920 Verses five to ten. 00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:18.079 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaimed to you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. 00:18:18.319 --> 00:18:24.799 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:33.599 But if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us from all our sin. 00:18:34.079 --> 00:18:38.880 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:48.640 If we confess our sins, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 00:18:48.880 --> 00:18:54.400 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:58.079 What are we to make of this, light and darkness? 00:18:58.319 --> 00:19:02.799 Well, the thing with light and darkness in the Bible, it has great significance. 00:19:03.200 --> 00:19:12.799 And what it means, at the at the at the knowledge level, it means light means truth, darkness means ignorance and error. 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:18.319 At the morality level, it means light means purity, darkness means evil. 00:19:18.799 --> 00:19:25.839 In pulp culture, this idea of light and darkness is used a lot, used quite a lot. 00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:30.319 Creighton gave a Star Wars illustration last week, so I won't do that to you again. 00:19:30.480 --> 00:19:47.599 But in Lord of the Rings, in the second book or in the second movie, there's this great elf, Galadriel, Galadriel, and there's a moment where she gives people in the fellowship group gifts. 00:19:47.759 --> 00:19:51.599 And she gives Frodo, the main character, this gift. 00:19:51.680 --> 00:19:56.480 And she says, I give you the light of Arendil, our most beloved star. 00:19:56.960 --> 00:20:01.680 May it be a light for you in dark places when all other lights go out. 00:20:02.480 --> 00:20:10.240 Then also in Harry Potter, Dumbledore writes a will, because there's a moment where he dies, spoiler alert, it's been out long enough, so it's okay. 00:20:10.480 --> 00:20:24.720 And he has his will, and he gives to one of the main characters, he says in his will, to Ron, the deluminator, a device of my own making, in the hope that when things seem most dark, it will show him the light. 00:20:26.160 --> 00:20:29.279 See, we this idea of light and darkness is everywhere. 00:20:29.440 --> 00:20:32.640 It's all through our culture, it's all through writings. 00:20:32.960 --> 00:20:42.960 You go through, if you look at all the great myths, all the great trilogies, all the great stories, there's always light and darkness playing a role in this. 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:48.960 And then when we look at this text, John is talking about, he's speaking about God's character here. 00:20:49.279 --> 00:20:55.039 God is light, God is perfect, God is truth, God is perfect purity. 00:20:55.440 --> 00:20:57.279 And then it says darkness. 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:02.799 So there's this idea that there's a light and dark path that you can take in life. 00:21:03.039 --> 00:21:06.799 And you might be thinking now, well, this is my problem with Christianity. 00:21:07.039 --> 00:21:12.559 It's telling me I have to change, I have to be a certain way to be right with God. 00:21:12.880 --> 00:21:14.960 But that's actually wrong. 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:23.920 What it's actually saying, what Christianity is actually saying, what the gospel message truly is, is that you'll never be able to change on your own. 00:21:24.160 --> 00:21:28.559 You'll always turn from God, you'll always deny Him and your sin. 00:21:28.880 --> 00:21:34.000 That's what John is writing out here in terms of the light and darkness, the paths that you can take in life. 00:21:34.319 --> 00:21:43.680 But the thing that's so profound here is that God gives his beloved son the light, the light of life, to save us. 00:21:43.759 --> 00:21:46.559 And it's a freely given gift to us. 00:21:46.880 --> 00:21:50.799 Timothy Keller, in his um his great book, actually, I just finished it. 00:21:50.960 --> 00:21:52.000 It's a small book here. 00:21:52.079 --> 00:21:53.920 Um it's called Hidden Christmas. 00:21:54.079 --> 00:21:58.559 It's a great uh, I I would encourage you to get it for uh coming into the Advent season. 00:21:58.720 --> 00:21:59.759 It's called Hidden Christmas. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.839 And he writes about this idea of a gift that God gives. 00:22:04.000 --> 00:22:06.240 I'm just going to read it because it is great. 00:22:06.559 --> 00:22:11.920 He says this Christmas is about receiving presents. 00:22:12.240 --> 00:22:16.400 But consider how challenging it is to receive certain kinds of gifts. 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:20.960 Some gifts, by their own very nature, make you swallow your pride. 00:22:21.839 --> 00:22:27.440 Imagine opening a present on Christmas morning from a friend, and it is a dieting book. 00:22:27.839 --> 00:22:37.519 Then you take off another ribbon and a wrapper, and you find it, it is another book from another friend, and it's titled, Overcoming Selfishness. 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:46.000 If you say to them, Thank you so much, you are in a sense omitting, for indeed I am fat and obnoxious. 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:56.640 In other words, some gifts are hard to receive because to do so is to admit you have flaws and weakness and you need help. 00:22:57.039 --> 00:23:07.359 Perhaps on some occasion you have a friend who figured out you were in financial trouble and came to you and offered a large sum of money to get you out of your predicament. 00:23:07.839 --> 00:23:14.240 If that has ever happened to you, you probably found that it that to receive the gift meant swallowing your pride. 00:23:14.720 --> 00:23:22.400 There has never been a gift offered that makes you swallow your pride to the depths that the gift of Jesus Christ requires us to do. 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:32.799 Christmas means that we are so lost, so unable to save ourselves, that nothing less than the death of the Son of God Himself could save us. 00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:38.240 That means you are not somebody who can pull yourself together and live a moral and good life. 00:23:38.480 --> 00:23:46.720 To accept the true Christmas gift, you have to admit you're a sinner, you need to be saved by grace, you need to give up control of your life. 00:23:46.960 --> 00:23:50.799 That is descending lower than any of us really wants to go. 00:23:51.680 --> 00:23:58.000 Yet, Jesus Christ's greatness is seen in how far down he came to love us. 00:23:58.400 --> 00:24:04.319 Your spiritual regeneration and eventual greatness will be achieved by going down the same path. 00:24:04.640 --> 00:24:11.519 He descended into greatness, and the Bible says it is only through repentance that you come into his light. 00:24:12.319 --> 00:24:16.400 What Keller is saying here is that there's two paths you can take. 00:24:16.640 --> 00:24:29.359 One is where we elevate ourselves and lift ourselves up, and the other is where we humble ourselves and be vulnerable in confessing that to God that we can know we can't do it on our own. 00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:32.079 That is what summarized the gospel. 00:24:32.240 --> 00:24:35.839 The gospel is what saves us, and it is pure hope. 00:24:36.079 --> 00:24:37.440 It is freely given. 00:24:37.519 --> 00:24:39.119 It's a gift given to us. 00:24:39.359 --> 00:24:41.279 All we have to do is believe. 00:24:41.519 --> 00:24:43.279 And then look at verse 9 again. 00:24:43.359 --> 00:24:50.720 It says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:55.279 That word cleanses is present tense. 00:24:55.440 --> 00:24:56.640 That means continual. 00:24:57.440 --> 00:24:59.599 That means we're always going to mess up. 00:24:59.759 --> 00:25:05.440 We're always going to try to do our things our own way or elevate ourselves. 00:25:06.079 --> 00:25:13.119 But it means also is that when we confess that we have sinned, God is quick to forgive us in his son. 00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:20.480 See, God's word, God's word of life became manifest to give us eternal life, and it's found in Jesus. 00:25:20.720 --> 00:25:21.359 Let's pray. 00:25:23.599 --> 00:25:28.559 Heavenly Father, we just thank you for the Christmas story. 00:25:28.799 --> 00:25:35.200 We thank you, Lord, that what is promised in your Son, that we can cling to, we can hold on to. 00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:38.640 Lord, we just ask that you would help our unbelief. 00:25:38.880 --> 00:25:44.240 Help us, Lord, to admit our faults to you and also to one another. 00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:46.400 And I pray us in Jesus' name. 00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:47.359 Amen. 00:25:48.880 --> 00:25:51.440 We hope that you've been blessed by God's Word today. 00:25:51.599 --> 00:25:56.880 If you live in the Port Perry area, we hope that you'll come and worship with us in person on Sunday at 10 a.m. 00:25:57.279 --> 00:26:00.720 If you'd like to learn more about Newsong Church, we'd love to connect with you. 00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:05.680 Please find our contact information at newsongportperry.ca and reach out to us. 00:26:05.920 --> 00:26:11.119 Newsong's ministry is entirely funded by the generous giving of those who worship and journey with us. 00:26:11.279 --> 00:26:19.440 If you feel called to support our ministry with a financial gift, please go to newsongportperperry.ca slash giving to make your contribution. 00:26:19.680 --> 00:26:22.160 Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.