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<v Speaker 1>Good morning During the sermon time.

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<v Speaker 1>If there are any children here, ages three to six, who would like to go downstairs for just a bit for a children's church, you can slip out now and our teacher will guide you downstairs for some Bible lessons about Christmas.

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<v Speaker 1>You can do that now, and as we focus on Jesus' birth during this Advent season, we've been looking at chapter 1 of John's Gospel.

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<v Speaker 1>If you want to turn there for preparation for the sermon, you can do that.

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<v Speaker 1>If you didn't get a sermon outline or would like to borrow a Bible, our ushers would be happy to give you one of those now.

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<v Speaker 1>So just raise your hand, thank you.

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<v Speaker 1>While Matthew and Luke give us the historical details of Christmas, like Mary and Joseph traveling to Bethlehem, there was no room in the inn.

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<v Speaker 1>Jesus was born in a manger.

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<v Speaker 1>Angels appear, the shepherds come in, the star guides, the wise men John doesn't mention any of those things.

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<v Speaker 1>Instead, he wants to explain what all those historical things mean.

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<v Speaker 1>He's telling us that the birth of Jesus is filled, absolutely filled, with life-changing theological truths.

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<v Speaker 1>If we listen, today we're going to take another look, one last look at John, chapter 1, and zero in on verses 14 to 18 a bit.

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<v Speaker 1>But let me read the passage one more time and get our bearings around that, because it's so rich.

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<v Speaker 1>John's description in this prologue to his gospel.

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<v Speaker 1>Here it is in John, chapter 1, verse 1.

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<v Speaker 1>In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God.

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<v Speaker 1>He was in the beginning with God.

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<v Speaker 1>All things came into being through him and apart from him.

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<v Speaker 1>Nothing came into being.

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<v Speaker 1>That has come into being In him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness could neither overcome it nor comprehend it.

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<v Speaker 1>There came a man sent from God, whose name was John, and he came as a witness to testify about the light so that all might believe through him.

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<v Speaker 1>He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.

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<v Speaker 1>There was the true light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

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<v Speaker 1>He was in the world and the world was made through him, and the world did not know him.

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<v Speaker 1>He came to his own and those who were his own did not receive him, but as many as received him to them.

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<v Speaker 1>He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in his name, who were born not of blood, nor the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God.

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<v Speaker 1>And the word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

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<v Speaker 1>John testified about him and cried out, saying this is he of whom I said.

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<v Speaker 1>He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for he existed before me.

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<v Speaker 1>For of his fullness we have all received grace upon grace, for the law was given through Moses.

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<v Speaker 1>Grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ.

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<v Speaker 1>No one has seen God at any time, the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father.

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<v Speaker 1>He has explained him Today.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm going to meditate on really three things in verse 14 that we learn about Jesus.

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<v Speaker 1>First of all, the Word became flesh.

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<v Speaker 1>Second, he dwelt among us.

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<v Speaker 1>And third, we beheld his glory.

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<v Speaker 1>First, let's look again at the Word made flesh.

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<v Speaker 1>John tells us that Jesus is the Word of God at the beginning and end of this passage.

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<v Speaker 1>In other words, god has spoken and his word to us is Jesus.

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<v Speaker 1>The thing is, your words are the clearest revelation of who you actually are.

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<v Speaker 1>For example, if I have someone over to my house and I don't know if they would like to have some coffee.

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<v Speaker 1>What do I do?

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<v Speaker 1>I ask them and they tell me.

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<v Speaker 1>Then I know their word communicates more to me than just observing things about them.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, I see a lot of people at the gym where I work out and you know what?

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<v Speaker 1>I can infer a lot about them just by watching them.

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<v Speaker 1>Their facial expressions, their relative age, their mannerisms, all communicate things.

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<v Speaker 1>But if you ask me, do I know them?

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<v Speaker 1>And I've never spoken to them, I would say no, I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>If a person has never spoken to you, you're not likely to really know them.

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<v Speaker 1>Speaking words to you is the ultimate and clearest expression of who you are, and clearest expression of who you are.

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<v Speaker 1>We reveal ourselves through our words.

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<v Speaker 1>So when it says that Jesus is the word of God, it's an amazing statement.

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<v Speaker 1>It means that you cannot know God except through his word, jesus Christ.

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<v Speaker 1>He's God's communication, his word.

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<v Speaker 1>Now, that doesn't mean you can't know anything about God.

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<v Speaker 1>I can infer.

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<v Speaker 1>Just like I see people around, I can infer a lot of stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>I can infer his existence by what I see in creation and so on.

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<v Speaker 1>I can infer that he made the world and other things about him, just observing what he's done.

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<v Speaker 1>But to really know God, I need Jesus Christ, Because Jesus is the clearest and ultimate revelation of who God is.

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<v Speaker 1>That's what this passage is about.

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<v Speaker 1>That's why John adds this in verse 18 at the end no one's seen God at any time, the only begotten God, referring to Jesus, who is in the bosom of the Father.

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<v Speaker 1>He has explained him.

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<v Speaker 1>Listen to what Jesus actually said before he went to the cross.

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<v Speaker 1>He's talking to his disciples and preparing them for his death.

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<v Speaker 1>And John 14, 6 and 7, he's answering some questions.

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<v Speaker 1>And Jesus said to him Thomas, I am the way, the truth and the life.

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<v Speaker 1>No one comes to the Father but through me.

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<v Speaker 1>That's an amazing statement.

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<v Speaker 1>That's an amazing statement.

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<v Speaker 1>Many people, you see, are looking for spiritual truth and experiences and they're looking for some persuasive reason to believe in God and believe in Jesus.

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<v Speaker 1>And there are plenty of reasons to believe Jesus is true, historical and so on, plenty of reasons to believe in Christianity.

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<v Speaker 1>But if they're looking for a logical, airtight argument that proves Christianity is true, they won't find it.

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<v Speaker 1>It's the wrong place.

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<v Speaker 1>John tells us that Jesus is the word or logos of God.

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<v Speaker 1>We've talked about this before, the word logos in Greek means logic, reason, purpose, jesus himself.

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<v Speaker 1>What does that mean?

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<v Speaker 1>That Jesus is the logic of God, the argument of God.

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<v Speaker 1>It means God hasn't given us an airtight argument that Christianity is true.

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<v Speaker 1>He's given us an airtight person, not an abstract argument.

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<v Speaker 1>Look at him.

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<v Speaker 1>John is begging us.

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<v Speaker 1>Look at him.

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<v Speaker 1>The person of Jesus is compelling proof that the God of the Bible and Christianity is absolutely true.

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<v Speaker 1>You have to look at him.

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<v Speaker 1>Look at what he said about himself, look at his behavior.

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<v Speaker 1>What do you see?

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<v Speaker 1>Jesus' life was perfect.

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<v Speaker 1>No one ever could accuse him of sin.

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<v Speaker 1>He towered above all others.

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<v Speaker 1>He's unique, he's inexplicable, really a person.

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<v Speaker 1>Do you know him?

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<v Speaker 1>Do you know Jesus?

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<v Speaker 1>Have you even taken the time to study him?

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<v Speaker 1>Listen to him, to know him?

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<v Speaker 1>Well, you can, you see, because of Christmas, because Christmas is about the word made flesh.

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<v Speaker 1>That means that the word was soft.

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<v Speaker 1>The divine was made human and knowable.

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<v Speaker 1>The divine was made human and knowable.

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<v Speaker 1>The divine was made vulnerable.

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<v Speaker 1>The divine was made killable.

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<v Speaker 1>I love Hebrews, chapter 2, verses 14 to 18, because it draws out many of the implications of what it means that the word was made flesh.

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<v Speaker 1>Let me read it Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood.

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<v Speaker 1>He himself likewise also partook of the same that through death he might render powerless him who had the power of death that is the devil and might free those who, through fear of death, were subject to slavery all their lives.

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<v Speaker 1>For, assuredly, he does not give help to angels, he gives help to the descendants of Abraham.

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<v Speaker 1>Therefore, he had to be made like his brethren in all things, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

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<v Speaker 1>For since he himself was tempted in that which he has suffered, he's able to come to the aid of all those who are tempted.

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<v Speaker 1>Jesus chose to share our humanity.

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<v Speaker 1>He had to be made like us so that he could become killable and die for us in our place, for our sins.

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<v Speaker 1>He had to be made like us so that he could become merciful to us and faithful to us as our high priest before God, because the God of heaven has become flesh.

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<v Speaker 1>He's able to understand us, have compassion on us and help us in our struggles.

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<v Speaker 1>You know, isaiah 9-6 describes Messiah as the wonderful counselor.

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<v Speaker 1>Have you ever thought about that and why we sing it at Christmas.

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<v Speaker 1>Ever thought what that means?

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<v Speaker 1>Here's a thought the best counselors, the best counselors, are people who understand People who have been through suffering, terrible suffering, and have come out on the other side of it and are okay, go talk to them.

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<v Speaker 1>You know why they get it.

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<v Speaker 1>You ever been to a counselor who has no clue how to relate to what pain you have experienced?

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<v Speaker 1>That's not a wonderful counselor.

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<v Speaker 1>A wonderful counselor is someone who has been through so much more than you and understands you, has compassion and is able to help you.

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<v Speaker 1>That's a wonderful counselor.

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<v Speaker 1>You know why Jesus is a wonderful counselor Because he became flesh.

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<v Speaker 1>Christmas is saying what no other religion in history can say or has said the God of the universe has become flesh.

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<v Speaker 1>He was hungry.

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<v Speaker 1>God was hungry, thirsty, lonely, homeless, rejected, suffered, tortured, died, and on and on and on.

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<v Speaker 1>Everything we're going to feel or go through.

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<v Speaker 1>So you can go to him with whatever you are going through.

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<v Speaker 1>You can trust him.

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<v Speaker 1>He's a wonderful counselor and because of that, we've got to begin to learn to frame our problems, what we're going through with the knowledge that the word became flesh.

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<v Speaker 1>Like us, he gets it.

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<v Speaker 1>He experiences hardship.

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<v Speaker 1>Like us, he understands.

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<v Speaker 1>It's why Jesus invites all who are heavy laden to come to him and find rest for their souls.

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<v Speaker 1>He understands, and that brings us to the second part of verse 14.

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<v Speaker 1>He dwelt among us.

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<v Speaker 1>If you're reading this in Greek, you're going to see something you can't see in English.

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<v Speaker 1>It's astounding because John could have chosen a number of Greek words for the word dwelt, but well, like abide, or live, or reside, but he didn't choose any of them.

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<v Speaker 1>He chose the word tabernacled.

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<v Speaker 1>Some of the English translations are just well, tabernacle, that's just put dwelt.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, john is actually deliberately using the Greek word tabernacle from the Greek translation of the Old Testament to call our attention to the tabernacle that Moses set up in the wilderness.

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<v Speaker 1>Just to make absolutely clear that he's talking about that, john adds and we beheld his glory.

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<v Speaker 1>John is making us remember that when Moses was on the mountain, he asked God to let him see his glory, and God said to him I can't show you my glory, it'll kill you.

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<v Speaker 1>So he hid him and let him see partially.

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<v Speaker 1>But he said but I'll tell you what.

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<v Speaker 1>I will appear to you in the tabernacle that you will set up for me.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll dwell behind the curtain in the Holy of Holies because my glory must be concealed.

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<v Speaker 1>I will be there, but concealed in the tabernacle.

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<v Speaker 1>John is saying Jesus is the tabernacle.

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<v Speaker 1>In him we can behold the glory of God that Moses could not.

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<v Speaker 1>That's an amazing statement, but what does it mean?

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<v Speaker 1>It means that Jesus is the end of religion as we know it.

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<v Speaker 1>By religion I mean all the efforts, practices, lengths we go through to try to know God, try to gain his favor.

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<v Speaker 1>Christmas is the end of religion as we know it.

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<v Speaker 1>To illustrate this, consider an imaginary conversation that a first-century born-again Christian is having with his pagan neighbor.

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<v Speaker 2>Hey, rufus Silas.

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<v Speaker 2>Is that you, bro man?

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<v Speaker 2>Imagine meeting you here in Rome.

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<v Speaker 3>Why?

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<v Speaker 3>I mean, like they say, all roads lead to Rome.

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<v Speaker 2>You know I'm always so impressed with this place the Forum, the Colosseum, the Great Italian, the Deeper Dish of Pizza.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, actually you do look hungry, so hungry.

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<v Speaker 2>I could eat a lion.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, I don't recommend the Colosseum.

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<v Speaker 2>Why is that?

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<v Speaker 3>Over there, if you're on the wrong side of Caesar, they feed you to the lions.

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<v Speaker 3>Suddenly, I'm not so hungry, so, hey, what's new.

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<v Speaker 2>Actually, you know, rufus I don't know how to say this I just became a Christian, huh interesting.

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<v Speaker 3>Where's your?

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<v Speaker 2>temple.

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<v Speaker 2>Well, we don't have priests or sacrifices or a temple.

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<v Speaker 2>Jesus is our temple.

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<v Speaker 2>That's the way it goes.

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<v Speaker 3>I don't understand.

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<v Speaker 3>Where do your priests go to offer sacrifices then?

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<v Speaker 2>Again, we don't have priests or sacrifices.

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<v Speaker 2>Jesus, our Messiah, he's our priest, he's our once-for-all sacrifice.

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<v Speaker 3>Come on, man, you've got to have a normal religion.

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<v Speaker 2>This isn't a religion, rufus.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a relationship.

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<v Speaker 2>That's weird.

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<v Speaker 2>No, no, you should check out what Jesus is all about.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm serious.

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<v Speaker 3>Hey, my allegiance is to the indestructible, eternal Rome.

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<v Speaker 3>You know when in Rome.

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<v Speaker 3>Besides, I just don't think this new faith is really going to catch on.

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<v Speaker 3>Eh.

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<v Speaker 2>Rome wasn't built in a day.

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<v Speaker 3>Well, you're right, what do you say?

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<v Speaker 3>We grab some lunch.

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<v Speaker 3>I know a great Italian place, sounds good.

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<v Speaker 2>Just so they don't have lions.

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<v Speaker 2>Thanks, Most.

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<v Speaker 1>All religions say if you do all this stuff, god will forgive you and accept you.

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<v Speaker 1>But Christianity says if you have Jesus, god will forgive you and accept you, apart from anything you do.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the gospel.

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<v Speaker 1>We don't get a religion, we get a person Jesus.

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<v Speaker 1>The word made flesh.

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<v Speaker 1>And that brings us to the last point.

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<v Speaker 1>We beheld his glory.

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<v Speaker 1>Last point we beheld his glory.

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<v Speaker 1>How is it possible that we can behold the glory that Moses couldn't?

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<v Speaker 1>Well, the problem was for Moses.

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<v Speaker 1>There's a huge gap between us and God.

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<v Speaker 1>That gap is caused by our sin, as Isaiah 59 says Behold, the Lord's hand is not short that it cannot save, nor is his ear so dull he can't hear.

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<v Speaker 1>But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God.

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<v Speaker 1>Your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

00:20:11.550 --> 00:20:17.182
<v Speaker 1>Before we can see God's glory, something must close that gap of sin between us.

00:20:17.182 --> 00:20:25.050
<v Speaker 1>To bring us together, there has to be atonement for sin, and the tabernacle in Israel was pointing to that.

00:20:25.050 --> 00:20:33.192
<v Speaker 1>There were priests in that tabernacle, and later the temple, and they were offering sacrifices.

00:20:33.192 --> 00:20:41.096
<v Speaker 1>And when the word became flesh and tabernacled among us, he became the place of sacrifice to enter God's presence.

00:20:41.096 --> 00:20:52.042
<v Speaker 1>That means Jesus Christ came to earth to become vulnerable and killable so he could pay the price and the atoning sacrifice for our sins.

00:20:52.042 --> 00:20:58.242
<v Speaker 1>Jesus closed the gap of sin for everyone who believes in him.

00:20:58.242 --> 00:21:02.640
<v Speaker 1>That's why he died and rose again, as Peter tells us 1 Peter 3.18,.

00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:03.624
<v Speaker 1>Listen carefully Everyone who believes in him.

00:21:03.624 --> 00:21:05.490
<v Speaker 1>That's why he died and rose again, as Peter tells us 1 Peter 3.18.

00:21:05.490 --> 00:21:12.135
<v Speaker 1>Listen carefully, for Christ also died for sins once for all.

00:21:12.135 --> 00:21:16.378
<v Speaker 1>The just for the unjust took our place.

00:21:16.378 --> 00:21:18.721
<v Speaker 1>He was just, we're not.

00:21:18.721 --> 00:21:21.463
<v Speaker 1>He took our place the just for the unjust.

00:21:21.463 --> 00:21:31.013
<v Speaker 1>He stood in our place so that he might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.

00:21:31.013 --> 00:21:36.903
<v Speaker 1>Jesus closed the gap so we can now see and really experience God's glory.

00:21:36.903 --> 00:21:53.337
<v Speaker 1>In the Old Testament, if you remember, the glory of God appeared quite often as a fire Moses' burning bush, the fiery Mount Sinai, the pillar of fire in the wilderness.

00:21:53.337 --> 00:21:56.040
<v Speaker 1>And then we're told God is a consuming fire.

00:21:56.040 --> 00:22:13.049
<v Speaker 1>And at Christmas, john is telling us that the indescribable, unscalable, matchless majesty of God, the transcendent holiness of God, the unapproachable glory of God, has become a baby.

00:22:13.049 --> 00:22:18.135
<v Speaker 1>What, yeah?

00:22:18.135 --> 00:22:18.877
<v Speaker 1>What does that mean?

00:22:18.877 --> 00:22:22.234
<v Speaker 1>Think about it.

00:22:22.234 --> 00:22:27.640
<v Speaker 1>A baby is accessible, a baby is personable and lovable.

00:22:27.640 --> 00:22:29.654
<v Speaker 1>A baby is safe.

00:22:29.654 --> 00:22:32.135
<v Speaker 1>A baby is embraceable.

00:22:34.911 --> 00:22:47.340
<v Speaker 1>Jesus Christ, the Word of God, who became flesh, grew up to die on a cross to pay our sin debt and close the gap for us, so we could be joined to God eternal life.

00:22:47.340 --> 00:22:57.910
<v Speaker 1>All that is left for us to cross that bridge is what Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3.

00:22:57.910 --> 00:23:02.459
<v Speaker 1>We must look to and believe in Jesus to bring us to God.

00:23:02.459 --> 00:23:05.431
<v Speaker 1>He is our one and only hope of salvation.

00:23:05.431 --> 00:23:22.560
<v Speaker 1>Listen to this very familiar passage in John 3, where Jesus says to Nicodemus as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so the Son of man will be lifted up so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life.

00:23:22.560 --> 00:23:30.875
<v Speaker 1>For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

00:23:31.651 --> 00:23:50.011
<v Speaker 1>I don't know what else Jesus could say about why he became flesh than this to save us, to save, to allow us to receive the free gift of eternal life, life with God forever in heaven.

00:23:50.011 --> 00:24:27.675
<v Speaker 1>Jesus is the embodied logos and glory of God and we have the privilege really to experience what Moses and the Old Testament believers could not the glory of God Because listen, this is amazing If you believe in Jesus, the life transforming glory of God Because listen, this is amazing If you believe in Jesus, the life-transforming glory of God can come right into your heart in the person of the Holy Spirit, dwell with you and transform you, as the Apostle Paul describes it in 2 Corinthians 3,.

00:24:27.675 --> 00:24:35.016
<v Speaker 1>Now the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty or freedom.

00:24:35.016 --> 00:24:52.013
<v Speaker 1>But we all and he's contrasting us with Moses we all, with unveiled face, are beholding, as in a mirror, the glory of the Lord and we're being transformed into the same image, from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.

00:24:52.013 --> 00:25:00.219
<v Speaker 1>He goes on to say that our body, when we believe in Jesus, becomes God's dwelling place.

00:25:00.219 --> 00:25:10.951
<v Speaker 1>There's an awesome thought His temple where he dwells his tabernacle 1 Corinthians 6, 19 and 20,.

00:25:11.011 --> 00:25:27.056
<v Speaker 1>Don't you know and he's speaking to believers, those who've placed their faith in Jesus Christ to save them Don't you know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you're not your own.

00:25:27.056 --> 00:25:29.371
<v Speaker 1>You've been bought with a price.

00:25:29.371 --> 00:25:32.094
<v Speaker 1>Therefore, glorify God in your body.

00:25:32.094 --> 00:25:50.897
<v Speaker 1>And then later, in 2 Corinthians 4, apostle Paul says For God, who said light shall shine out of darkness, is the one who has shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

00:25:50.897 --> 00:26:08.740
<v Speaker 1>We have this treasure in earthen vessels, meaning our physical bodies, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves, from ourselves.

00:26:10.365 --> 00:26:19.057
<v Speaker 1>All I can say is I invite anyone here who has not done so before to believe in Jesus, to experience the life-changing glory of Christmas.

00:26:19.057 --> 00:26:22.529
<v Speaker 1>Believing in him.

00:26:22.529 --> 00:26:32.016
<v Speaker 1>He actually comes to live inside us, dwell with us and we receive the free gift of eternal life.

00:26:32.016 --> 00:26:45.574
<v Speaker 1>So with all of that, maybe it's appropriate to say Merry Christmas.

00:26:45.574 --> 00:27:03.167
<v Speaker 1>Let's pray, father, thank you that Jesus became flesh tabernacled among us so that when he died for our sins, he could tabernacle within us when we believe in him.

00:27:03.167 --> 00:27:06.615
<v Speaker 1>Wow, thank you, father, for that.

00:27:06.615 --> 00:27:15.757
<v Speaker 1>Thank you, thank you that Jesus came for us so we could be with you forever.

00:27:15.757 --> 00:27:22.938
<v Speaker 1>And, lord, you help us, lord, to spread this really great news to others for whom you died.

00:27:22.938 --> 00:27:26.355
<v Speaker 1>We ask all this in Jesus' name, amen.

00:27:26.355 --> 00:27:31.837
<v Speaker 1>And now I invite our choir to come up for a special song.